Slavery Is A Crime

Chapter 8

- Coruscant

"I don't care if you think he's dead by now... I'm going after him!" Anakin yelled at the room filled with Jedi Councilors, more specifically, Mace Windu.

"Skywalker, we don't like the idea as much as you, but we have to face the fact that we have no leads towards where he could possibly be, or what's being done to him. You last saw him when he was blasted away from the gunship on Kadavo, and when we sent a search party back for him, he was nowhere to be found. We can only assume he's either dead or trying to make his way back to the Republic. The safest option at the moment is to assume he's dead rather than believing he's alive, only to be disappointed," Mace explained.

Anakin's hands, originally resting peacefully at his sides, tightened into fists. "I... don't... care..." he growled. "He's still alive! Our bond is still intact! It's blocked, but still intact! I know he's out there! Just let me go after him and I'll prove it!" Skywalker begged.

Yoda hummed. "Careful, you must be, Skywalker... An illusion of the Dark Side, your intact bond could be." Skywalker looked towards the green Jedi Master. "With all due respect, Master, I know my bond with my Master and I know he's alive. I have to find him," he said.

Yoda looked toward Master Windu.

Windu examined the young Jedi Knight for a moment, then let out an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. As much he didn't want to let Skywalker go looking for Kenobi and end up finding him dead, he also didn't want Kenobi to be alive and then feel guilty if he died trying to make his way back to the Republic.

"One month," he offered. Skywalker's eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets. "What?" he asked, not believing what he had heard. Was Mace Windu, the Mace Windu, who made it very clear that he didn't like Anakin from the start, agreeing with him...?

"You have exactly one month to find Kenobi and bring him back here," Mace repeated. Anakin broke out into a grin. "Thank you, Master Windu! You won't regret this!" Anakin exclaimed. Windu, however, did not give a smile in return and continued with his usual stern face.

"Just bring Kenobi back alive," he replied. Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master. I'll bring him back safe and sound," he said with a bow. "Hopefully," Windu corrected. Anakin cleared his throat. "Hopefully," he repeated with a small bow of his head.

"Careful, you must be, Skywalker... If found dead, he is, let your attachment consume you, you should not," Yoda warned. "Yes, Master..." Anakin replied, bowing to the Grand Master.

"Dismissed," Mace stated. Anakin gave one last bow to the Council, then walked out the doors and headed straight for the hanger.

~

- Coruscant 

"Ahsoka!" Anakin called when he arrived at the hanger. "Yes, Master?" Ahsoka asked, rolling out from under the Twilight, some grease on her face. Anakin smirked slightly. She probably picked up the habit from me since I do the same thing when Obi-Wan is at Council meetings. Anakin thought.

Anakin was snapped out of his thoughts as he watched Ahsoka reach for a rag to wipe her face with. "Did we get a new mission?" she asked with slight excitement. "We did. We have exactly one month to prove Obi-Wan is alive and bring him back to the Republic," Anakin proceeded to explain.

"Prove he's alive? Whoever said he was dead?" Ahsoka asked, starting to put the tools she had been using, back into their toolbox. "The Council said that we should assume he's dead because of what happened on Kadavo," Anakin said. "You mean him getting blown away from the ship?" Ahsoka asked.

"Exactly. The Council apparently sent a search party to the exact location that his comm had been last tracked to, but they didn't find him there and assumed he was either taken and killed, taken and tortured to death or he was eaten by something on the planet," Anakin said with a shrug.

"I know he's not dead though. If he had died, our bond would have shattered and it didn't, it's still intact. Blocked, but still intact. I proceeded to tell the Council such and Master Windu granted me one month to find him," Anakin sighed. "And if I don't find him within that space of time, they're going to assume he's dead, regardless of my bond with him."

Ahsoka frowned. "I don't think that's fair, but I suppose the Council would rather protect themselves from pain instead of waiting for him to be confirmed... dead..." Ahsoka said, swallowing hard before speaking the word she dreaded to be true about her Grandmaster.

"So... what modifications did you make to the Twilight?" Anakin asked with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. Ahsoka smiled back and replied, "I added a bit more speed to it. It still won't be very fast when flying regularly, but it'll travel through hyperspeed faster, making for a quick getaway." She gave a wink at the end.

Anakin grinned. "Well, I guess because of this mission, we now have an excuse to test it out," he said, jogging over to the boarding ramp of the ship, Ahsoka following not too far behind.

~

- Coruscant

Anakin looked at Ahsoka as he made sure everything was working properly. "Ready for hyperspace?" he asked. Ahsoka nodded, then said, "But you might want to also check with our friends..." She gestured for him to look behind the Twilight and next to it.

When he looked out the window, he smirked, as he saw five Y-Wing fighters flanking him, then heard all Y-Wings check-in as members of the 501st and 212th. He turned to Ahsoka with a small smile. "Thanks, Ahsoka," he said.

Ahsoka gave a small smile back paired with a slight shrug. "It was nothing. They all want Master Kenobi back as much as us, and they needed something to do while Rex is out of commission from his injuries on Kadavo, so I figured they could come with us since we need all the help we can get," she replied casually.

Anakin nodded a little. "Still... thanks..." That was all he said before turning to the comlink of his ship. "All right men, who's ready to bring back Obi-Wan?" he asked with a grin. Whoops, and cheers could be heard from the other side of the comm, and Anakin laughed. "Then let's get into hyperspace!" he exclaimed as he pulled the hyperspace lever on his ship back, heading for Kadavo System.

Just hold on, Obi-Wan... We're coming... I'm going to bring you back alive... I promise... Was Anakin's last thought as the Twilight and Y-Wings launched into the blur of stars.