Chapter Text
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The bridge crew conducted its military business with brisk efficiency around Obi-Wan. They seldom indulged in chatter when he was present. The time when the clones under his command hadn't noticed his arrival among them, the officers were usually gossiping amongst themselves worse than a table full of Archivists who'd added one too many nips of damiana to their afternoon cup of cassius tea. They were constantly cracking jokes and speculating on the battles ahead—or at least they were until they noticed Obi-Wan was nearby. Hopefully that would change soon. Obi-Wan didn't mind that they respected him, of course, but he would rather the room not fall silent when he arrived.
"General Kenobi." Admiral Delinord Block came to a stop beside Obi-Wan. He wore his graying hair in braids that began in neatly squared sections on his dark scalp and ended an inch above the shoulder of his perfectly-pressed green uniform. He wore a pair of glasses which had a holographic display running across the top, a steady stream of information fed straight to him similar to that of the HUD in the clones' helmets—or buckets, as they referred to them in their lingo. "We're looking at an hour until we arrive in orbit around Christophsis," the Admiral said.
"And our secret weapon?" Obi-Wan turned, subconsciously matching the Admiral's posture.
"The stealth ship is ready for deployment."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Excellent. Now we only need to ensure that Anakin behaves himself around it."
Admiral Block's lip twitched. "I'm sure that General Skywalker will be delighted to have a new toy to play with."
"We only have to keep him from crashing it before it can be put to its intended use," Obi-Wan said wryly.
"General Kenobi. Admiral Block." Commander Cody strode up behind the two, his helmet—bucket—tucked under one arm, a second trooper with puce cheeks and an unusually thick head of hair behind him. The two clones came to a halt, saluted, then stood at attention.
"At ease, gentlemen." Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he would ever get used to being saluted. He was a Jedi, not a soldier. He'd dedicated his life to peace, to protecting life; how had he found himself on a warship, being saluted by troopers bred to die for the Republic? "What can I do for you, Commander?"
"Go ahead, Sergeant," Cody practically growled, stepping aside. He wore a look of disgust that rivaled the face Anakin made when asked to eat something that hadn't been deep fried first.
"General Kenobi, Sir, I've been trying to explain to Commander Cody that your special requisition order isn't a prank," the trooper said miserably.
"Wooley, do you really expect me to believe that our General—the one who doesn't eat meat—put in a special order for ten crates of carnivore ration packs, twenty packets of freeze-dried bantha liver strips, ten kilos of powdered nerf milk, five kilos of rivi cheese sticks—"
"I'll excuse myself," Admiral Block muttered to Obi-Wan, trying and failing to hide his grin. He squeezed around the outraged Cody, still reciting his list.
" —bacon-flavored vitamin drops, calcium-coated dehydrated minnows, and menstruation hygiene supplies." Cody, funnily enough, looked less perturbed at the last request than he did by the freeze-dried bantha liver.
"Sir," Wooley said to Obi-Wan, pleading with his eyes for help.
"I did indeed put that order in, Cody." Obi-Wan drew upon a lifetime of training in controlling his emotions so that he didn't burst into laughter at the look of sheer disbelief on Cody's face. "I didn't get a chance to mention it yet, but we'll be welcoming my new Padawan soon. I wanted to be prepared."
"A new Padawan." Cody smiled, but his eyes were screaming. "So soon?"
"Yes, well, you know how much I enjoy teaching." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and watched his Marshall Commander go through all five stages of grief in the span of a few heartbeats. He couldn't really blame the poor man. He had only just gotten rid of Anakin, after all.
Cody glanced down at the datapad containing the list. "Are you expecting a Trandoshan, Sir?" he asked faintly.
"Close." Obi-Wan grinned. "A Togruta. Was that all?"
"That's all, Sir." Cody shoved the datapad back at Wooley, saluted Obi-Wan, and frog-marched the poor Sergeant off the bridge.
Obi-Wan turned back to the viewport, laughing under his breath. Cody needn't worry. He had a feeling he was going to like Ahsoka a lot more than he ever liked Anakin.
He already knew she was going to love the clones.
"...Then it looks like our problems are solved." Obi-Wan strode to meet the newly landed transport, Anakin by his side.
Anakin grinned. "Fresh troops, new supplies…"
"And perhaps they brought my new Padawan with them," Obi-Wan said blithely.
Anakin chewed on the inside of his cheek, clearly displeased at the reminder that he was being supplanted. "You really think it's a good idea to bring a Padawan into all this?" he asked.
"I spoke to Master Yoda about it." In truth, no, he wasn't sure that Ahsoka should be joining them given that Christophsis was about to be overrun again. A more secure, victorious position would have been ideal. Still, the Force felt like it was boiling; Obi-Wan had the familiar feeling that things were about to change in a major way.
"Is it a good big, or a bad big?"
"You should put in a request for one," Obi-Wan continued, smirking. "You'd make a good teacher."
Anakin snickered. "No thanks."
"Anakin, teaching is a privilege," he admonished his old Padawan, "and it's part of a Jedi's responsibility to help train the next generation." Anakin would need to take a Padawan eventually, but he was in agreement that he was in no way ready for the responsibility of molding a young, impressionable mind.
Besides, one of him was enough.
Anakin scrunched his nose. "A Padawan would just slow me down."
The docking ramp descended. Obi-Wan sucked in a breath. There she was; Ahsoka. Her markings had grown and split, no longer connected in a wide fleur-de-lis across her brow but jagged, like twin fangs on her forehead. Her little dots had sharpened into diamonds, and the soft, round-edged trapezoids that had once graced her cheeks had shrunken and divided into a set of wings. She was a gawky little thing, with coltish legs and long arms. She wore a set of white Padawan robes under red tabards, and had a sash bearing the Shilian flag hanging from her belt. Obi-Wan was at first shocked, then full of pride, to spot an akul-tooth headdress adorning her montrals. She'd come a long way from screaming at lilies if she'd managed to slay one of the fearsome beasts.
Obi-Wan tempered his excitement. It had been almost a decade. She'd been only five when they had parted. She may not even remember him.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Anakin asked suspiciously.
Obi-Wan stared at Anakin. Did… did he truly not recognize her? He was ten, not five, when they'd parted, and his heart had been broken by their separation; Ahsoka now was standing right in front of him and he really had no idea who she was? Artoo beeped excitedly, dancing in place. At least one of them remembered Anakin's best friend.
"I'm Ahsoka? Master Yoda sent me." Her big blue eyes flicked to Obi-Wan's. She suddenly seemed unsure. "I was told to tell both of you that you must get back to the Jedi Temple immediately. There's an emergency."
Every drop of blood drained out of Anakin's face, leaving him stark white except for twin blooms of red on his cheeks. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bit of an emergency right here," he snapped, biting off the words.
Obi-Wan found his voice. "Yes, our communications have been a bit unreliable, but we've been calling for help."
"Master Yoda hadn't heard from you, so he sent me to deliver the message," Ahsoka said apologetically.
Anakin turned with a giant huff and stomped away. "Oh, great. They don't even know we're in trouble." It was more than that bothering him. His former Padawan was quivering like a fathier at the starting block of the Canto Bight Classic.
Maybe he did recognize her. Obi-Wan gave him a series of reassuring nudges through their bond until he turned back around, a bit perturbed by how discomforted her presence seemed to make him. Why was he so upset? Obi-Wan had expected Anakin to be shocked at her appearance, of course, but he had hardly anticipated such blatant annoyance.
"Maybe you can relay a signal through the cruiser that just dropped me off?" Ahsoka said hopefully.
Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged looks, silently agreeing after a moment that it was as good a plan as any. "Let's hurry then." Obi-Wan said, smiling at her.
She smiled back, and for a few seconds he forgot they were on the battlefield. Then Anakin gave their bond a hard, angry tug and he was painfully reminded.
"Master Yoda, we are trapped here and vastly outnumbered!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "We're in no position to go anywhere or do anything. Our support ships have all been destroyed!"
"Send reinforcements to you, we will. Y—" The transmission crackled and started to break up.
"Master Yoda? Master Yoda!" Obi-Wan leaned forward, frowning at the rapidly disappearing hologram. The channel closed with a squeal of static.
"We lost the transmission, Sir!" A communications officer's hologram took Yoda's place.
"We have to leave orbit immediately." A second officer approached and almost lost his footing as a blast hit the ship. "More enemy ships have just arrived."
"We'll get back to you as soon as we can," said the first trooper, then ended the transmission.
"Well, I guess we'll have to hold out a little longer," Anakin grumbled, crossing his arms.
Ahsoka looked at Anakin again, clearly nervous. Did she remember Anakin? Did she remember him? It was time to find out. "My apologies, young one. It's time for a proper introduction." Obi-Wan stepped around the table, smiling like his heart wasn't pounding through his chest. It had been so long but she was here, actually here, and she was his. The circ*mstances of her arrival were less than ideal, of course, but what mattered is that she was in front of him for the first time in nine, very long years.
Ahsoka smiled hesitantly, her sharp upper fangs poking out from under her top lip. So they did grow back. Obi-Wan was relieved to confirm it. "I'm the new Padawan. I'm Ahsoka Tano."
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, your new Master." He beamed down at her. Was it too soon to ask for a hug? Did she even still like hugs?
Ahsoka blinked a few times, looking strangely apologetic. "I'm at your service, Master Kenobi, but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker." She pointed at Anakin.
Obi-Wan's hearing was replaced by ringing, as if he had stood too close to a cannon going off. He wanted to laugh. No, that was ridiculous. She wasn't assigned to Anakin. There had to be some misunderstanding. Yoda wouldn't dangle her in front of him and then give her to Anakin. That was cruel.
"What? No, no, no no no no. There must be some mistake." Anakin hid behind Obi-Wan, oblivious to the silent heart attack his Master was having, and pointed at him. "He's the one who wanted the Padawan."
Ahsoka crossed her arms, offended. "No, Master Yoda was very specific." Her eyes flicked to Obi-Wan, then back. "I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker, and he is to supervise my Jedi training," she continued.
"You know what would be funny?" Siri asked, grinning. Her eyes darted meaningfully towards Anakin.
Obi-Wan felt a pang of grief like a hot blade in his heart. Siri would have thought the entire exchange hysterical if she were alive to see it. If there was any part of her watching them from the Cosmic Force now, she was undoubtedly laughing herself to atoms. He silently ordered her to stuff it because Ahsoka was his Padawan, not Anakin's.
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Anakin protested.
Obi-Wan agreed. He couldn't let the conversation go on any longer, everyone was only going to become more confused. "We'll have to sort this out later," Obi-Wan said calmly, stepping between them. "It won't be long before those droids figure out a way around our cannons."
"I'll check on Rex in the lookout post," Anakin said sullenly, turning on his heel to escape.
Obi-Wan reached out and laid a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. She locked her big blue eyes onto his and smiled. She had changed so drastically; she was a girl on the precipice of maturity now, not a toddler, but her eyes—her smile—were just as he remembered. Obi-Wan decided it would do no harm to indulge her while there was a break in the fighting. They'd have plenty of time to catch up once the misunderstanding was sorted out. "You'd better take her with you," he found himself saying, aware that if the battle did unfortunately resume then there was no safer place for Ahsoka than by either his or Anakin's side. His old Padawan was brave—often reckless—but he was a fearsome warrior without peer. He would never let anything happen to Ahsoka.
Anakin stomped off. Ahsoka eagerly darted after him. Obi-Wan crossed his arms and watched them leave, the Force stilling from its rolling boil as they got further away. He took a deep breath in, then out. There was no time to wallow in doubt over who Ahsoka's true Master was when the battle could resume at any moment. He chose to trust the Force, and turned back to the holotable.
"We've set up another command center at the end of this block, just as you ordered, Sir."
"Thank you, Denal." Obi-Wan approached the small, teeming hub full of troopers running about. Several stood to the side on tibanna duty, rapidly refilling used canisters from a dark green tank. It had a flame inside an interdictory circle emblazoned across the front, a warning that was being ignored by one of the troopers with a hand-rolled t'bac stick hanging from his lips.
"Master Kenobi!" Obi-Wan spun embarrassingly fast at the sound of Ahsoka calling his name. She ran from the direction of the lookout post, waving her arms to get his attention. She stopped short a few feet away and bowed. "Captain Rex sent me ahead to warn you that the droids are advancing across the bridge with an energy shield!"
"Oh dear," Obi-Wan said, biting the inside of his cheek. He glanced at Denal. "That will make a counterattack difficult."
"Yes Sir, it most certainly will," Denal said, disgruntled even through his vocabulator. "Nax, start rendering a live holomap of the city center."
"Sir, yes Sir!" Nax rapidly typed upon his gauntlet computer.
Obi-Wan turned back to Ahsoka, standing patiently at attention like a little soldier. He wondered if she'd practiced on the shuttle ride over.
"We don't have a lot of time, I know, but um, but I also had a question, Master Kenobi," she said, biting her lower lip. The blue stripes on her montrals and lekku darkened. She shifted nervously from side to side.
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "Of course, Padawan. What is it?"
"I, um…" Ahsoka's gaze dropped. "Halo an sin. Ciamar a tha mo stràc?" She looked up at him shyly from underneath her lashes.
Obi-Wan forgot how to breathe for a moment. Her accent. She'd asked him how her accent was. "E foirfe," he finally choked out. "It's perfect." She'd studied Qui-Gon's diary, kept up with her Màor-Grasta. She hadn't forgotten it.
She hadn't forgotten him.
Ahsoka broke into a shining, relieved grin. "Hi, Bobi," she said.
Obi-Wan took a shaky breath. "Hello, mo nighean." Neither of them made a move for a few heartbeats, then she lunged for him. He caught her, crushed her against him like she'd never left. He hooked his chin in between her montrals—and they were enormous, no longer a set of gently-sloping buds but a proper set of horns, adorably pointy with a draconic tilt—and took a deep breath of the sweetspice-sunshine smell that clung to her. It was stronger, darker than he remembered, but it was still the unmistakable scent of Ahsoka. The atrophied Force bond he'd forged with her so long ago tingled weakly, like a limb coming back to life.
"I missed you." Ahsoka twisted in his arms and rubbed her lek against the side of his face. He laughed, unable to bring himself to tell her to stop, especially when she started purring.
He pressed his forehead against hers, grinning so wide it hurt his cheeks. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, but they just didn't have time. "And I missed you, my dear," he said simply, and gently reached out through their dusty bond to let her sense his feelings.
Her grin told him she felt them. "Your beard tickles," she said with a tinkling laugh, leaning back in his arms. She ran her fingers through it. "It's so long!"
"Is it that much longer than before?" Obi-Wan asked, grinning. Oh, but he'd missed her. Their bond shone in the Force, that shining golden thread that tied them together braiding itself back into the strong rope it had been so many years ago.
"Definitely. And so is your hair!" It almost made him sad to hear her pronounce the word properly. She finger-combed the long strands with both hands, grinning madly. He found that he didn't really care if she mussed them. "It's so soft."
The troopers around them were starting to stare at the pair and the uncharacteristic display of affection their General was putting on. Obi-Wan reluctantly put Ahsoka down and took a step back. "I was worried you didn't remember me," he confessed.
"Of course I remember you!" Ahsoka exclaimed, looking offended; she glanced over her shoulder at Anakin, who was rapidly stalking towards them with Captain Rex at his side. The poor clone had to almost jog to keep up with his angry stride. "I wish we had more time to talk," she said quickly, taking his hands. "Please don't be upset that I was assigned to Anakin." She squeezed his hands and a feeling almost like cool, soothing water ran up his arms, bringing with it a sense of peace-comfort.
Obi-Wan smiled and shook his head. "My dear, I'm the one who requested you. Anakin is not your Master."
"Yes he is."
Obi-Wan's smile faltered. "No, he's not." There was a surety in her eyes that he didn't like.
"Yes, he is. Master Yoda said that I have a very important job. I—"
"Obi-Wan!" Anakin was approaching unnaturally fast. He clapped a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and tugged him away from Ahsoka. "I need a word, now."
"It's not necessary to manhandle me, my old Padawan." Obi-Wan turned to Nax. "What is the status on our map?"
"Still rendering, Sir, I apologize. When comms are jammed like this, data transfers slow down worse than muck."
"I want to know the instant it's ready." Obi-Wan allowed Anakin to drag him out of earshot of Ahsoka and the clones and into the lobby of the bombed apartment building the men had staged in front of.
"Ahsoka shouldn't be here." Anakin gripped his shoulders hard enough to make the plastoid creak and shook him a little. "Obi-Wan, she has to go back to the Temple now."
"Oh, do you remember who she is now?" Obi-Wan replied, raising a brow.
"Of course I remember her!" Anakin exclaimed. His eyes were almost perfectly round in his panic. "I mean it took me a second, yeah, but come on, she looks totally different." He leaned in. "She called me Skyguy in front of Rex," he said in a tortured whisper.
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "I've no idea how you survived the humiliation."
"How are you so calm right now?" Anakin demanded. "And why—why is Ahsoka under the impression that she's my Padawan? She's supposed to be your Padawan! I'm not ready for a Padawan! I was a Padawan three months ago!"
"I'm aware. I'm going to get it sorted out, don't worry." Obi-Wan gently pried Anakin's hands off his armor. "Take a deep breath, dear boy. There's nothing to be done about it now except keep her close. You and I will protect her, as will the men." He peered through the broken windows and yanked Anakin around to look; Ahsoka stood surrounded by a circle of curious clones in both 501st blue and 212th gold, grinning like a tooka with a mithoo in its mouth and clearly delighted by all the attention.
"She landed in a Nu, right?" Anakin asked desperately, turning back around. "They've got hyperdrives, why don't we just—"
"Besides the fact that she'd be shot down before she breached the atmosphere?" Obi-Wan asked, fighting his annoyance. "Anakin, why are you so upset? I would have expected you to be thrilled to see Ahsoka again."
"Thrilled?" Anakin squawked. "Obi-Wan, what were you thinking?"
Obi-Wan frowned. "Pardon me?"
"What were you thinking asking for a Padawan at a time like this?" Anakin was becoming more agitated by the second. "We're in an active kriffing warzone, we're outnumbered, we're low on ammo and rations—oh, hey, let's bring a fourteen year old girl to the front lines just to keep it interesting!" Anakin was wild-eyed and trembling with what Obi-Wan recognized as a specific brand of anger that bloomed from fear. He'd either go very quiet or start screaming soon, neither of which they could afford at a time like this. "Fourteen, Obi-Wan!" he repeated.
"I'm aware of how old she is," Obi-Wan snapped.
"And you brought her here! She's just a little kid! She should be in her math course!"
Obi-Wan took a deep, centering breath. He had never, never struck his Padawan in anger, but every now and again—now especially—he got the urge to smack Anakin across the back of his head for being a brat. "This war will not go on forever. Ahsoka will be my Padawan for the better part of a decade, and this conflict will be but a blip in our history. If I didn't petition for her now—"
"You have no idea how long this war will go on!" Anakin snapped, cutting him off.
Obi-Wan bristled. "That is for me to worry about, not you."
"Oh, really? 'Cause the child following me around calling me Master says otherwise!"
"I already told you I'll sort it out—"
"You saw how Siri's death at Geonosis destroyed Ferus! What happened when Echuu lost his Padawan!"
Obi-Wan was taken aback by the real fear in his eyes; who was he more afraid for, Ahsoka or himself? "Ferus didn't fall to the Dark Side, he left the Order," he said shortly. "And as for Echuu, losing Stam was no—"
Nax waved from the ruined doorway "Sir, the map is—"
"Not now!" Anakin barked. Nax disappeared so quickly Obi-Wan wondered if he'd actually been yanked.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan chastised him.
"This is all wrong, Obi-Wan!" Anakin said desperately. "Is this—is this some sort of test by the Council? Do they regret knighting me, so now they're—"
"No." Obi-Wan squeezed his boy's shoulders, wishing he could physically pull him out of his spiral. Anakin was the bravest, smartest man that Obi-Wan had ever met; that is until he panicked, and then he turned into a complete idiot and made the stupidest, most nonsensical decisions imaginable. Right now the 501st needed their general, not the dumbest version of his Padawan, especially when the odds were already stacked so high against them. "I don't know why there's been so much confusion, but I will fix this. Calm down. Take a deep breath with me."
Anakin took a long, shaky breath and closed his eyes. His brow furrowed and he tilted his head. "Do you smell that?" he murmured. "It smells just like it does on Tatooine right before it rains."
Obi-Wan glanced over his shoulder, searching for the source of the eyes he suddenly felt on the back of his head. He didn't see any, but he did see a flash of orange disappear behind a half-collapsed wall. "We don't have time to argue about this now, so listen to me," he said in a low voice. "As annoyed as I am by it, Ahsoka believes that you are her Master and will not be convinced otherwise. That means that until it's sorted, you will act accordingly. For her sake. Am I understood?"
Anakin sagged, the anger draining out of him like someone had pulled a plug. "Yes, Master."
"And do not ever drag me away like that in front of the men again." He fixed one of Anakin's curls that had twisted around on itself and was standing straight up. He desperately needed a haircut, even if he insisted he was growing it out. "I outrank you, remember?"
"Sorry, Master." It was impressive how easily Anakin turned back into a sullen little boy, but he was no longer panicking. Obi-Wan would take grouchy Anakin over panicked Anakin any day.
"Like you keep saying, Anakin, she's fourteen. She was going to be assigned soon, regardless of my petition. At least she's with us, yes?" He tugged on their bond so Anakin would unlock his sulky, downcast eyes from his feet. "Picture her with Ki-Adi-Mundi and the Marines. Don't you agree that she's better off here?"
Anakin's lips twitched. "Master, are you trash talking your fellow Councilor?"
"I've no idea how you reached that conclusion." He patted Anakin's cheek. "Think of it as a trial period. You get a Padawan for an afternoon. Maybe you'll even realize how much you want your own after I speak with Yoda."
Anakin snorted and rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."
"None of that, you sound like an orbak. You did miss her, didn't you?"
Anakin nodded reluctantly, scowling.
Ahsoka made no attempt to not crunch the broken glass of the trashed lobby as she crossed it, trying to play off like it was her first approach. Rex followed, a weary look on his face; Obi-Wan assumed he was assigned to babysit her in Anakin's absence. "Nax has the map up and running, Master Kenobi," she announced politely.
"Thank you, my dear." He turned. "Walk, Anakin." Obi-Wan practically dragged his pouting Padawan out of the lobby by his collar. He let him loose in Rex's direction and turned his attention towards the holomap, doing a quick once-over before speaking. "The shield generator is somewhere in this area," he said, pointing. "They're slowly increasing the diameter, and keeping it just ahead of their troops."
"Heavy cannons are gonna be useless against that," Rex grumbled beside him.
"As they get closer, I suppose we could try to draw them into the buildings." Obi-Wan went to one knee to get a closer look. Ahsoka snuck in beside him. He fought down a smile. "That might level the playing field a bit."
"If that shield's gonna be such a problem, why don't we just take it out?" Ahsoka asked, raising her brow markings.
"Easier said than done," Rex sharply. He didn't seem very impressed by Ahsoka, unfortunately.
Anakin had a constipated look on his face. "Well, I, for one" —he cleared his throat— "agree with her. Someone has to get to that shield generator and destroy it. That's the key."
"Right, then." Obi-Wan met Ahsoka's eyes and saw determination, excitement. "Maybe you two can tiptoe through the enemy lines and solve this particular problem together." He rapidly plotted out a plan of attack; it was risky, but it would be safer for Ahsoka to stick with Anakin instead of staying on the front lines to catch a stray cannon blast. If Obi-Wan led a company to distract the droids, it would allow the pair to sneak in and hopefully avoid a direct confrontation.
"Can do, Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka said excitedly, bouncing in place.
Anakin gave her a sharp look. "I'll decide what we do," he grouched. Ahsoka deflated.
"If Rex and I can engage them here, you two might have a chance to get through their lines undetected, here." Obi-Wan indicated the respective points.
"They won't have much time," Rex said warningly. "The droids far outnumber us, so our ability to street fight is limited without the use of heavy cannons. They will march forward under the protection of their shield until they are right on top of our cannons, then they'll blow them away."
"We'll figure out a way," Ahsoka chirped, enthusiasm renewed. "Come on, Master, let's go!"
"If we survive this, Snips, you and I are gonna have a talk," Obi-Wan heard Anakin growl at her as they walked away, bending over comically far so that he was within hornshot.
Obi-Wan raised his brow. Snips? It wasn't a nickname he remembered hearing before.
"They make quite a pair, don't they, Sir?" Rex said. "You think they have a chance?"
Obi-Wan tried not to be offended on both of his Padawans' behalf. "They'd better. If they can't turn off that shield generator before it reaches the heavy cannons, there'll be no escape for any of us."
"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said calmly, as if he didn't have a struggling Kerkoidan general in a headlock. "Your timing is perfect, as always."
Yoda smiled. A pair of clones removed Loathsom from Obi-Wan's arm and put him in a pair of binders. "Get your filthy hands off of me, meat droids!" Loathom snarled.
"Now, General, there's no need to be a sore loser—" Obi-Wan began, fighting the urge to laugh.
"It's not a loss if the other side cheats!" Loathsom snapped. "A false surrender? The so-called noble Republic has no respect for the rules of war, I see! The Yavin Code—"
"Technically, the term is perfidy," Obi-Wan said coolly. "And it is defined as 'the feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce, or of a surrender.' While it is indeed prohibited by the Yavin Code, you may recall that at no point did I surrender my forces. I alone submitted myself as your prisoner without ordering my men to stand down, and since the battle continued while we spoke—how does it go? Oh yes, by doing so I did not 'commit any act inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of galactic law.' It was a ruse, General, one you fell for like a stone. If anyone committed a war crime, you did when you threatened to destroy an unarmed prisoner of war that you were obligated to protect." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and smirked.
Loathsom let out a goatish snarl as he was dragged away. "You dishonorable son of a Pyke, this isn't over!"
"It is for now." Obi-Wan waved goodbye at him.
"An interesting argument you present, mm?" Yoda shook his head and motioned for Obi-Wan to follow him out of the ruined base to the troopers' landing zone. "Always good at finding loopholes, you were. Following the rules by not following them."
Obi-Wan couldn't tell if he was being chastised or praised. "I needed to stall for time. I was very careful in my choice of words, Master, you needn't worry."
"Worry? No, not worry. Trust the Force, I do." Yoda punctuated his declaration with a tap of his gimmer stick. "An important mission you have, Obi-Wan. Go to Tatooine, you will. Negotiate a treaty with Jabba the Hutt, you must. Missing, his son is, and help of the Jedi, he requests, to bring him home safely."
Obi-Wan was glad his stomach was empty of everything except for Loathsom's terrible tea, or thinking about Hutt reproduction would have made him sick. "I assume that this treaty you'd like me to negotiate is contingent on the return of his son?"
"Mmhm. Access to Hutt hyperspace lanes, the Republic receives, when done the deed is. Deny the Separatists these lanes, we must. Lose the Outer Rim, we will, without them." He breathed out a weary sigh. "To negotiate, you will go. Retrieve the Huttlet in the meantime, Skywalker and Tano will."
Obi-Wan came to an abrupt halt and stared down at Yoda. "And why would Ahsoka be going anywhere with Anakin?"
Yoda looked back at him shrewdly. "A good match, they make. Agree, do you not?"
Obi-Wan swallowed hard and ducked to the side to avoid two clones running a stretcher with a third to the triage center. "Of course they're a good match. According to the Council they were too good of a match, if I recall." He lost nine years with Ahsoka because of it, he should know. "There's been some sort of miscommunication, Master Yoda. I'm the one who requested a Padawan."
"Aware, I am, but Skywalker's Padawan, Tano is."
Obi-Wan froze.
"Tell you this on arrival, did she not?" Yoda asked.
"Yes, but—"
"But believe it, you refused to. It is to Skywalker that Tano is assigned. No miscommunication. No confusion. Know this, you already do, but stubborn, you are."
"Why?" Obi-Wan wanted to vomit, every ounce of joy earned from their victory squeezed out of him like a dirty sponge. "Anakin isn't ready for a Padawan, he's only nineteen! He's been a Knight for barely three months! I'm the one who petitioned for her, why would you give her to him?" He could hear his voice going up in pitch and he hated it. He heard Siri cackling at what she called him going gull and called upon a memory of smacking her to shut her up.
"Not the only one who petitioned for Ahsoka Tano, were you," Yoda said calmly. "Petitioned, Master Koon did as well. Denied, he was, just as you were."
"I was—" Obi-Wan took a deep breath and centered himself before he punted the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order across the landing pad. "I was denied? Why didn't you tell me? Why send her here with no notice, knowing full well I would believe she was mine?"
"Told by her, you were." Yoda shrugged. "Refused to see the truth, you did."
Obi-Wan turned away, wrestling his temper under control with all his might. "Help me understand why, at least. They were forcibly separated as children for being too close. Why would you put them back together now?"
Yoda's eyes took on a far away look. "Nine years, it has been," he said quietly. "No longer children looking for a connection, are they. Matured, they have. Matured in mind, and matured in the Force." He refocused his eyes and shrugged. "Ready, they now must be."
"No." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and glared down at Yoda. "That's not a good enough answer."
"Brought together by the Force you have said they were, hmm? Many, many times you have said. And agreed with you, I have, every time." Master Yoda's shoulders sagged. "Concerned, I still am. Strong is their bond. Passed, much time has, but still strong, their bond is. Feel it, did you not?"
Obi-Wan looked away, not wanting to admit that he'd ignored any probing of a bond between them in favor of the one he shared with her. "I was careful with Anakin's training, Master Yoda. I did not rush him. I worked hard to give him the foundational knowledge that he was missing. I let go of my hopes of taking on Ahsoka as my Padawan long ago, but now I can do it." He looked at the ancient Master pleadingly. "Anakin was knighted three months ago, leaving me free to take on a new Padawan. Ahsoka became eligible to become a Padawan not a few days later. Is that not also the will of the Force? Was it not meant to be me?"
Yoda sighed, a look on his face as if he were teaching the same lesson over and over and it wasn't sinking in. "Knighted, Skywalker was," he said carefully. "Free, you both became."
"Ahsoka said she had an important job," Obi-Wan said desperately. If he knew what it was, they could figure out a way for her to do it while apprenticed to the right man. "What was she talking about?"
Yoda paused, staring out over the lines of troopers running by in perfect unison. "Strong, her Empathy is. Seen manifestation of its like before, I have not. Able to sense emotions all Jedi are, yes. Unique, her colors are, but more unique her power. Sending emotions out, controlling them, influencing without effort. Different from mind tricks it is, very different. Much training, she has undergone, to control her gift."
Obi-Wan felt pressure in his chest, as if he were being squeezed by a snake made of pure dread. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Struggles still with his emotions, his attachments, Skywalker does. Done all you can for him, you have. Needed, a new approach is. A Jedi, Skywalker will teach Tano to be, and emotional control, she will teach him in return. An exchange. Balance. Leave, she eventually will, but how to let her go, she will have taught him first."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He wanted to rant and rave about how unfair it was, that Ahsoka was more than just a portable mood stabilizer, but it was pointless. It was already done. Yoda had made his decision and Obi-Wan had to live with it, just as he always did.
"Bobi, no! Don't leave me!"
Obi-Wan felt a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder despite no one being nearby to do so. Yoda slowly lowered his hand. "If refused by Skywalker, she is, then your Padawan, Tano will be," he said gently. "Important to you, she is. Understand this, I do. Sought you out as a youngling for a reason, I know she did, but at Skywalker's side, she is meant to be. Sure of it, I am."
The bubbling, rolling boil that Obi-Wan had felt in the Force was settling. Things had changed, just as he had predicted. Just not in his favor.
"I sorry it was a bad big."
It was the story of his life, wasn't it? "Very well, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan spoke calmly, despite boiling inside. "We'll see what Anakin says when they arrive. I doubt he's changed his mind within the last hour or so, but we will see."
"Not long, have we to wait." Yoda pointed his gimmer stick at an incoming LAAT/i. His mouth quirked. "Arrived, your Padawans have."
Obi-Wan gave him a dirty look.
Anakin and Ahsoka dismounted the gunship, both in one piece with no visible injuries. Anakin was smudged with ash and dirt and something with a yellow-green tint that Obi-Wan hoped was hydraulic fluid; Ahsoka was equally dirty, but instead of exhausted she looked exhilarated. "Master Obi-Wan. Master Yoda." Anakin said. They came to a stop and saluted Yoda simultaneously.
"Trouble, you have, with your new Padawan, I hear," Yoda said without preamble.
Ahsoka's shoulders slumped. She and Anakin exchanged a look; Obi-Wan's heart clenched to see her porg eyes pop for the first time in almost a decade. "I was explaining the situation to Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said quietly.
Anakin raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
Yoda's eyes trailed over to Obi-Wan. "If not ready for a Padawan, you are, then perhaps, Obi-Wan, we can—"
Obi-Wan's hope suddenly returned.
"No, wait a minute," Anakin interrupted. Obi-Wan's heart sank. "I admit Ahsoka is a little rough around the edges. But with a great deal of training" —he glanced down at her and gave her an encouraging smile— "and patience, she might amount to something."
Ahsoka's smile returned, even as the last bit of hope Obi-Wan possessed fled him. She stood up straight and beamed up at Anakin—at her Master. Obi-Wan felt the rolling, changing tide of the Force click into place with a sense of finality and he realized that Anakin was never actually going to say no to her.
"Then go with you, she will, to the Teth system," Yoda said with a nod.
Obi-Wan's pounding heart skipped a beat. Anakin tore his eyes away from his new apprentice. "Teth? That's Wild Space. The droid army isn't even in that sector."
"Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been."
"And you want me to rescue Jabba's son?" Anakin asked coldly. His eyes tightened, as did his fists.
"Anakin, we'll need the Hutts' allegiance to give us an advantage over Dooku," Obi-Wan said in a soft voice, tugging on their bond apologetically. At least Anakin didn't have to deal with the Hutt directly, just his spawn.
Ahsoka noticed Anakin's distress. She watched the air around his head and then fluttered her eyes shut, taking a deep breath as she did. Anakin's fists slowly unclenched.
Obi-Wan found that his own ire had actually eased significantly. He glanced at Ahsoka; he didn't think she was pushing. There was no forceful, sudden whiplash in mood. She was just… just exuding a feeling of serenity. Once he noticed, he couldn't stop. When had she learned to do such subtle emotional projections? Compared to her childhood habit of pushing emotions by replacing them with whatever she wanted someone to feel, the projection she made now felt like sitting next to a delightfully warm bonfire when the air turned crisp; before, it was like being chucked on top of it to burn away everything she didn't want.
That couldn't possibly be what Yoda meant. Anakin wasn't learning a thing by that. Obi-Wan recrossed his arms and barely resisted the urge to harumph.
"Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will," Yoda continued. "Find the renegades that hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker."
"Come on, Master, it doesn't sound that hard," Ahsoka said encouragingly. "I'll find Rex and get the troops organized!" She flashed Obi-Wan a fanged grin before darting off towards the clones.
"Don't worry, Anakin." Obi-Wan forced a smile and patted his old Padawan on the shoulder. "Just teach her everything I taught you and she'll turn out fine." It was fine. She'd be fine. They would be fine. It wasn't as though Ahsoka was being sent to live on Hoth; he and Anakin took missions apart, but more often than not were deployed together. He'd see her all the time, and be as involved in her training almost as much as Anakin.
"You know, something makes me think this was your idea from the start," Anakin said suspiciously, turning to leave.
The urge to smack the back of Anakin's head returned with a vengeance. Obi-Wan forced a smile instead and watched their LAAT/i take off. Ahsoka waved cheerily, grinning up at her new Master as they ascended. She tugged on Anakin's shoulder to make him lean down then rubbed her lek on his cheek, laughing.
Obi-Wan let his forced smile drop and turned back to Yoda. "Let's just hope Anakin is ready for this responsibility," he said evenly, like his heart wasn't breaking in two.
"Ready, he is, to teach an apprentice," Master Yoda said, glancing up at Obi-Wan. "To let go of his pupil, a greater challenge it will be. Master this, Skywalker must."
Obi-Wan forced another smile. "If I've got to make a deal with Jabba the Hutt, I'd best be on my way." He saluted Yoda, hopped into his fighter, and took off with his mind spinning like a cyclone.
He'd lost Ahsoka again, just like that. Their paths had diverged at the Council's behest, but now they had converged once more—just without him. He couldn't help but feel bitter over it. He tucked his hand into his pocket and fingered Siri's ancient packet of cigarras. There were only two left. Staring out at the blue lights of hyperspace, he wondered how many alarms would go off in his fighter if he lit one up.
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