Redemption - A Star Wars Fanfic

Chapter 12

"Anakin didn't take his assignment with much enthusiasm." Obi-Wan held his chin up high as he walked beside Master Windu and Master Yoda, toiling over his former Padawan until his brain started to numb. He had practically raised the boy after he had entered the Order so long ago; he thought he knew Anakin Skywalker inside and out. The Hero with No Fear and the Negotiator—they were a duo known for their perfect balance of one another, symmetry that allowed them to prosper in battle.

But Jedi weren't made for battle. At least, they weren't supposed to be.

Anakin and Obi-Wan may have made names for themselves as Generals, but with everything the galaxy was going through, he had a hard time remembering just how young Anakin really was—just barely out of his Padawan braid. He was a young man, easily riled up with passionate beliefs, but never naive. Anakin didn't trust many people. Once Obi-Wan thought he was a shoe-in for the exclusive list of people his student trusted wholeheartedly, but the more they interacted, the more he began to doubt how true that was. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where he had lost Anakin, what moment had led them to drift apart—maybe more than just a singular moment. Somewhere amongst it all, Anakin had let Chancellor Palpatine in to replace Obi-Wan as a mentor figure, trusting his word over any other. And now a stranger he had known for a few days was getting more say in Anakin's decisions than Obi-Wan had ever been able to manage. A stranger he was committed to figuring out.

Never in a million years would the Council accept an outsider into their ranks; they had barely accepted Anakin as a child! But Master Yoda had insisted, eyes sparkling with wisdom he never shared with the group.

Obi-Wan saw the positive effect Luke was having on Anakin, and he more than welcomed it, knowing that, after Ahsoka, someone to teach was what Anakin desperately needed. But the strange half-Jedi boy still knew something more, and it drilled at him every time they came into contact. Master Yoda assured him, asking him to let it be when he expressed his concerns, and yet... Luke still felt unsettlingly familiar.

It was as he had told Anakin, the Force was bubbling with activity he hadn't felt since he and Qui-Gon had faced Maul on Naboo. Something was going to happen, and it all centered around the mysterious young man who had managed to slip into Anakin's list of confidants without much energy at all. Almost as if the Force had instinctively pushed him into sensing Luke's intentions to help...a manifestation of the Force's will.

Obi-Wan looked over to Mace, hoping to catch an equal sense of disquiet from one of his Master's oldest friends, who had, over the years, transferred his friendship onto him as well. Mace, however, maintained his straight-faced facade better than most Jedi, and gave no indication of a troubled mind unless he stated it outright.

"Much anger there is in young Skywalker, yes. Too much under the sway of the Chancellor, he is. Pride in his powers. Fear of loss."

"Loss, Master?" asked Obi-Wan. What more could Anakin possibly lose that he hadn't already in such a short time?

"Yes. Come to me, he did. Very troubled. Visions he had...darkness he saw." Yoda looked up at Obi-Wan, watching his face drain. "Help him, Starkiller will. Faith in him, I have."

Mace scoffed. "All due respect, Master, I think putting the two of them together is dangerous. We're trusting an undertrained newcomer with our most delicate internal proceedings."

"The rules of war, you are focused on, Master Windu. Listen to the Force, you must, yes. See Starkiller's importance, you will."

Obi-Wan frowned. He had heard Master Yoda's riddle-speak since he was a young boy, more than accustomed to the frustration that often followed his words. But Luke had told him something vital, something he was keeping to himself on purpose.