Trial of the Times

Chapter 44 - The End in Sight

Anakin swears in Huttese, letting his head fall forward and hit the table with a resounding thud. He feels the resigned amusement from Obi-Wan. Dooku lets out a long sigh, but he doesn't protest this time. "I cannot believe it," he practically moans, "He's been on Korriban this whole time." It was so obvious and the last place they would ever have suspected.

"Or at least that's where the tracking beacon ended up," Obi-Wan adds dryly.

"True enough," Anakin agrees, looking up at him. "What will we do now?"

"We go to him," Dooku answers calmly. "If we choose the time and place of the battle, we will have a greater chance of success. This time, we will be better prepared."

"If we aren't walking into a trap that is," chimes in Ahsoka, frowning, "Which I think is highly likely. Do you really think that no one noticed the tracking beacons?"

"Even if Sidious is luring us there, we'd still be better off, because we'll stand a better chance," argues Anakin. "If we wait, we'll only push off the inevitable."

"He has a point," Obi-Wan concurs, looking at Dooku, who has a contemplative expression on his face.

"Yes," the Count murmurs, "We need to go to Korriban. We should take all of our forces. This is a do or die mission. Sidious must be stopped before he can do further damage to the galaxy. I don't know much about the planet, but I am assuming that he is located in one of the Sith Temples there, so we need to keep in mind that the Dark Side will be overwhelmingly strong."

Anakin shifts uneasily. He has little desire to go to a Dark Side planet, but he knows that Dooku is right. If they can make a strategic plan and take everything into account, they might actually stand a chance.

"He'll have rigged up a security system, right?" queries Obi-Wan, continuing before anyone can respond, "We can program our battle droids to enter and take it down. Artoo can help them."

"Now you put your faith in him," Anakin teases, unable to resist making the joke.

"That droid... has it uses," his former master admits, "But by no means can we rely on it to do everything for us. It can be used as part of a larger plan where it doesn't have a major role like you always give it."

Anakin huffs. "Artoo deserves it," he replies, "He has saved my life many times. He's been well programmed and has more creativity than the average droid."

"You'll probably never agree with each other on that," Ahsoka interjects before Obi-Wan can even begin to formulate a retort.

"Master Kenobi has a good idea," Dooku points out, "But we need more. I have no doubt that Grievous, Maul, and Savage will be there, so we must take their presence into account."

"Can we arrive without being noticed?" Ahsoka asks.

There's a pause, as the others glance at one another. Finally, Dooku shakes his head. "It is very unlikely. The majority of the remaining Separatist fleet is likely blockading the planet. We need to arrive prepared to fight a space and ground battle."

"That is not at all discouraging," Anakin deadpans, "Alright. Let's carry on. Should we split up when going there? All of us will be needed to confront Sidious."

"I don't think we should risk the chance that someone gets held up, especially not you," Obi-Wan answers, "The three of us couldn't defeat Sidious when we confronted him last time, but now, we've trained and practiced working as a team. Besides, we have Ahsoka with us."

"The main battle will be on the ground," Ahsoka reminds themm "Rex and Cody may be able to handle whatever space resistance we meet. It's probably more important to get on the planet, then worry about how we'll get off. If we can't defeat Sidious, we won't be leaving anyways, and if we succeed, it will be easy to shut down the droid army."

Obi-Wan looks at Dooku as if to say, "She has a point." Anakin can't help but feel a surge of pride. This is his Padawan, talking like an experienced adult. The Clone Wars forced her to grow up fast, but her ideas are excellent. "That's a good point, Snips," Anakin tells her, giving her a grin. He senses a hint of embarrassment at being the center of attention, but its quickly dispelled.

"Whatever happens," Obi-Wan says after a moment of quiet. "We cannot let ourselves be blasted out of space before we can land. We are the last hope for the galaxy. The Jedi will not be able to defeat Sidious without Anakin's help."

The silence after his words is solemn. This is about more than them now. It's about the galaxy as a whole. If they fail, they will doom the galaxy. The answer is simple. They can't fail, no matter what happens – and no matter who has to be sacrificed for that to come about. Anakin forces back his immediate fear at the prospect. He can't dwell on the possibility of losing Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, or Dooku. His own life doesn't concern him as much.

All at once, he remembers Ahsoka's vision. Maybe he's destined to die in the fight with Sidious. He won't mention it to the others. He doubts they would agree, and they might even try to do something different which could get them killed. No. If someone must die, it would be best to be him. A twinge of pain runs through him when he thinks about Padme. She would be devastated if he died, but if it's between him and the galaxy, he knows what she would choose.

"Does anyone have the footage of the fight with Sidious in the Senate?" Obi-Wan asks.

"No," replies Anakin after a moment's thought. "I think only the Council has it, so we'd have to ask them."

Obi-Wan quickly shakes his head. "Our memories will have to suffice. Ahsoka has never seen Sidious in combat. Perhaps you could show her the fight, so she will know better what we are up against. In the meantime, Dooku and I will work on possible plans."

Anakin glances at Ahsoka and shrugs. "I don't mind," he answers, rising from the table and motioning for her to follow.

"We must remember that Sidious will be fighting much more powerfully on Korriban," Dooku warns as they turn to the next room. "The Dark Side will make him an even more dangerous opponent, but we can use the power to our advantage as well."

"I will remember," Anakin assures him. He is the Chosen One, and while it's always been a burden to carry, the pressure has just increased tenfold, though this time, there are others who will help him bear it. He is probably the only one who can control the Dark Side better than Sidious, even if he doesn't have nearly as much experience. Whatever he has will have to be enough, and from there, he can improvise. He almost killed Sidious before, so he can do it again.

He sits on the rug in the middle of the living room floor in a meditative posture opposite Ahsoka. He opens their bond almost completely to enable him to transmit the memory, before slipping along the currents of the Force, into a light trance. He senses when she's with him and lets the images flash into her mind.

As the duel finishes playing, Anakin lets himself drift further into the Force. He rarely meditates, but now, he's hoping to gain some type of insight into their upcoming fight. There are so many factors, and it's so important, that he can only hope that everything will go in their favor. He hopes that he won't lose himself to the Dark Side on Korriban, but over time, he's become far more used to using both sides of the Force. He doesn't feel guilt over touching the Dark Side, which was originally one of the biggest things holding him back.

Ahsoka lays on the ground, trying in vain to inch backwards and away from the red blade arching down towards her neck. Her lightsaber is too far away for her to reach it in time. The entire world begins fading, just as a blue blur slams into the ruby blade.

Anakin is roughly pulled from his peaceful meditation, inhaling sharply. He rarely gets visions when he looks for them, but Dooku had shown him how Sith use the Dark Side to see a possible future. As horrified as he is by what he just saw, he can take comfort in the knowledge that he didn't see Ahsoka die. They've all had many close calls before and escaped alive. Hopefully, this time will be no different.

He opens his eyes to find Ahsoka looking at him curiously. "What is it?" he asks her.

"I – you were just drawing on the Dark Side in your meditation," she notes, "Did you have a vision of a future?"

He nods silently. "You were nearly killed on Korriban," he replies, "But if that is the worst of the potential future that we are facing by taking this path, then we should do it."

"I agree. Come on, Master," she urges, standing up, "Let's see if Master Obi-Wan and Count Dooku have concocted a plan for us to attack Korriban.