Chapter 6: Steel and Dust
21 BBY, Outer-Rim
Anakin Skywalker pushed the Hyperdrive lever and closed his eyes in comfort as the stars around him turned into lines as the Separatist Shuttle that they had… commandeered went into Hyperspace. He felt at peace, for just this moment, as he thought back about how much had changed since they had crashed on Maridun.
The experience had been harrowing. The fact that he had been but a passenger in his own body alone would likely take him a lot of time to go through, especially given how close he was to killing Rex, and what could have happened to Aayla and Ahsoka had the Sith that possessed him stayed in control. There was also the darkness that he had felt inside himself, one that he had always been blind to, of a rage festering silently with every passing moment, that the Sith had used as his weapon.
And now, he felt… different, stronger. When the Separatists attacked, he hadn’t really thought about what to do; he just did it. He asked the Force for aid, and it followed, quickly and almost eagerly. His connection with the Force was also clearer, as if the rage that had always been there beneath his skin, almost urging to be let out, had been clogging it up somehow.
Letting go of it, of his rage, was one of the hardest things he had ever done, especially the burning anger against the Tusken Raiders who had been responsible for his mother’s death. Alas, Anakin had to, and he was a better Jedi for it.
He had felt that familiar rage in him when he saw what the Separatist Commander had planned to do. Anakin had spoken to the Lurmens after the attack, and they were extreme pacifists. There was no need to attack them except for cruelty’s sake, and that was a justified reason to be angry. And of course, that was completely aside from how closely his Padawan had gotten to getting hurt. Only this time, his anger did not cloud his judgement. Anakin had been able to set it aside and focus on stopping the threat to Ahsoka and Aayla, as well as the Lurmen village.
Anakin released a deep sigh at the memory, feeling at peace as he stared into the hyperspace beyond the viewport.
A chuckle of amusement broke him from his strangely peaceful moment. “Interesting.”
The source of these words was the resident headache that still remained from their trip to Maridun, Harry Potter.
Anakin had no idea how the Kriff the man had blocked a Lightsaber with his jacket, redirected Force Lightning with his blaster, which was nothing special, given that he had stolen it from Rex while he was unconscious, and most importantly, how he fired a blaster bolt that somehow got rid of the ancient Sith that had possessed Anakin.
He had so many questions, but the day had been long enough that he wanted to get some peace and quiet, at least until his inevitable debrief back in the Temple. He had a lot to think about, a lot to process, and the insanity that followed Potter would not grant him the opportunity to do any of that.
He felt relieved when Ahsoka spoke up, “What is interesting about Hyperspace? This isn’t your first time flying, is it?”
Potter smiled at his Padawan, “Oh, it’s just that a funny thought came to me. Whoever came up with Hyperspace travel must have been absolutely insane.”
“Actually, Hyperspace travel is very safe when we use established Hyperspace lanes.”
Ahsoka was right, of course. One of the first things that any pilot learned was to never try to do fancy tricks in Hyperspace. The lanes were, by far, the safest way to travel and were often considered strategic resources, especially in this war. Anakin was one of the few people in the Jedi Order who could probably use the Force to navigate through Hyperspace, but he rarely exercised that skill given the risks involved. Honestly, their survival after the Hyperdrive malfunction had mostly been a testament to the Republic’s new Navicomputers.
Anakin turned briefly to look at Potter and saw the man give his Padawan a cheeky look: “Well, the first person to use it didn’t know anything about Hyperspace Lanes, did he?”
Ahsoka blushed at that answer, and they started to bicker between themselves, changing the subject to the Clone Wars, and it wasn’t hard to see that Potter was leading his Padawan, trying to understand the state of the war, as he confessed to not even knowing of the conflict in the first place.
Anakin relaxed slightly at that, knowing that it was mostly harmless talk. Despite her age, Ahsoka was pretty sharp, enough to know not to say anything she shouldn’t. And in case her tongue slips accidentally, then Aayla would intervene. The other Jedi Knight was meditating as they sat on the journey, but Anakin could see her keeping an eye open on Harry, given his strange presence in the Force. He sent her a faint impression to keep an eye on Ahsoka, which made her eyes widen slightly and return her acceptance.
With that done, Anakin remembered that he should probably warn the council that he was coming to Coruscant on a Separatist ship. He smirked as he saw the fact that the ship had access to the HoloNet, specifically through a connection that used a Hyperwave transceiver. That must have cost a lot of credits, especially on a ship this small. This Commander really did like his luxuries, didn’t he?
He quickly sent a ping through an encrypted channel he set up with Obi-Wan in case something happened. The response came almost instantly: ‘Anakin.’
Anakin smirked as he answered, ‘You sure answered quickly, old man. Were you worried about me?’
‘I see that this accident did not dull your sense of humour. Are you, Ahsoka, and Knight Secura well?’
‘We’re fine. We stole a Separatist ship and are on our way back to Coruscant. You can call off the search. It’ll be a waste of resources if they continue.’
There, that should help the Lurmens slightly. Anakin did feel some sympathy for them, given that all they wanted was to stay out of the war, and this led away the gaze of the Republic and the Separatists when they inevitably knew of this. Ahsoka had already done much to ensure their survival by leaving them the Landing Craft to use in case of emergency, and that should protect them as much as they could.
Obi-Wan must have noticed that something was off, given his next message, ‘Why do I feel like there is more to this story?’
‘There is. I think I need to speak to the Council. In person, if it’s possible. I also found someone where we landed that I think the Council needs to speak to. The Force is compelling me to bring him to the Temple at the very least.’
‘This is highly unusual, Anakin.’
The young Jedi Knight took a deep breath, hesitating before sending a message, ‘Please trust me, Obi-Wan.’
A minute passed after this message, each second making Anakin’s heart drop slightly. Despite their time together, there had always been this… doubt that Obi-Wan trusted him. He knew that it was baseless, but his master tended to side more with the Council than with Anakin, and now he realised that this had caused some resentment to build up subtly inside him.
It was only then that he received Obi-Wan's message, ‘I have spoken on your behalf with the Council. They agreed to speak with you and to allow your guest into the Temple.’
Anakin relaxed at that answer. He could feel Obi-Wan’s concern in his words, but the show of trust was alone to set aside the faint lingering of doubt that had remained inside him. He didn’t blame him for his hesitation. Despite the events of the war, Anakin didn’t particularly enjoy his conversations with the Jedi Council, especially given that he knew that more than a few of them did not like him.
His thoughts were broken as he heard Ahsoka giggle. He turned and blinked as he tried to understand what was happening. After all, standing on Potter’s shoulder was a white bird that seemed to give them all an oddly haughty look while pecking him on his head. The man was protesting, trying to argue with her to stop.
The bird did just that, and its neck turned suddenly, as its eyes met Anakin’s own. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath and asked, “Why is there a bird on this ship?”
Potter smiled, as if there was nothing unusual about a bird being on his ship, one that he was sure had not been there before, “Oh, she just got a little hungry. Her name is Hedwig, by the way.”
The white bird turned to Potter and gave him a look of admonishment before turning back to Anakin and bobbing her head in acknowledgement. And, for some reason, Anakin felt compelled to nod back.
A part of Anakin wanted to argue or do… anything about the fact that Potter had somehow got a bird to appear out of nowhere, but from the twinkle in the man’s eyes, Anakin knew that this was a battle that he did not want to participate in. Soon, Potter would be the Council’s problem, and hopefully things would finally start making sense again. Besides, Anakin needed some time to deal with the things he realised about himself. He needed to talk to someone, and hopefully, Padme wouldn’t be too busy.
Finally, the shuttle came out of Hyperspace, and Anakin found himself staring at the image of Coruscant, the seat of the Galactic Republic. He quickly took control of the shuttle and prepared to navigate it towards the Jedi Temple.
He sensed Potter stand up and lean forward to take a better look at the planet. This must have been his first time seeing the city-planet. Anakin remembered the awe he had felt when he had first seen it all those years ago, “So, what do you think?”
The man deliberated for a few seconds, as if taking it all in: “It’s the most hideous thing I have ever seen in my life.”
That response was met with amused snorts from both Aayla and Ahsoka. Anakin, though, rolled his eyes and focused on landing the shuttle in one of the Temple’s hangars. He turned to Potter and spoke up, “Welcome to Coruscant, Harry Potter, the seat of the Galactic Republic. We’re currently in the Jedi Temple.”
The man simply nodded and sipped his mug of Hot Chocolate. Did that thing never run out or something? As if to make the situation all the more ridiculous, the man’s bird, which remained perched on his shoulder, hooted in reply.
Anakin honestly didn’t know what else to say and asked, “Would you mind if we go meet some of the members of the Jedi Council? They will have questions about what happened in Maridun.”
Harry Potter shrugged and didn’t seem to care in any way. “Sure. That sounds fun.”
The Jedi Knight did not think that a conversation with the Jedi Council had ever been called fun, by anyone… ever. But if that got Potter to speak with the Council, just as the Force pushed him to, without any problems, then he would be all for it.
The path to the Council Chamber was thankfully a short one since he chose to land the shuttle on the closest hangar. The fact that the journey didn't take more than a handful of minutes didn't change the fact that Potter seemed almost fascinated with everything that he saw. Anakin was much the same when he came to the Jedi Temple during the Naboo crisis, though this time, it was probably emptier because of the ongoing war.
When they finally reached the large doors that would take them to the Council Chamber, Anakin quickly gave Aayla and Ahsoka a nudge with the Force, giving them an impression to keep an eye on Potter, as the doors opened smoothly and he entered.
He was surprised to see that most of the council was there, though a grand majority were there as Holograms. The only ones that were physically in the chamber were Masters Yoda, Master Windu, Shaak Ti, and Obi-Wan. He felt his master giving him a worried impression in the Force, which he tried to reassure as much as he could.
Master Yoda spoke up first, as he often did, “Glad we are to see you safe. Young Tano and Knight Secura are safe as well, hmmm. Troubled, we were, by news of your ship vanishing in hyperspace.”
“Thank you, Master Yoda. I was mostly injured during the incident, but I am sure that Ahsoka and Aayla could fill you in on the specifics. We were separated during much of our time together.”
“Sense it, I do, that more occurred on your journey back to the Temple.”
Anakin couldn’t help but snort at that, and instead of responding immediately, he simply released his presence in the Force. Anakin knew that he must feel very different compared to before his possession. He was noticeably calmer and more controlled, though he didn’t know how that would translate to someone sensing his connection with the Force.
He knew that Ahsoka had definitely noticed something different and had given him a lot of side glances, telling him that she was waiting until they were alone so that she could pry what had happened from him.
However, it seemed to have been far more pronounced than he had expected, given the way Mace Windu’s eyes were wider than Anakin had ever seen them, that Shaak Ti had stiffened by it, the way that Obi-Wan was visibly gaping at him, and the fact that Master Yoda’s ears were twitching in a way that Anakin had ever seen before.
He reigned in his presence slightly, doing his best not to smile at the reactions of the normally unfazed, and spoke up, “Yes. Things have been… eventful since the Battle of Quell.”
Anakin was not looking forward to telling them about the fact that he had been possessed by an ancient Sith. Kriff, he didn’t even know how he would explain Harry Potter to them either. He wasn’t even sure what had happened in the first place.
Well, at least the man was outside, and they would get their answers themselves. After all, this was the middle of the Jedi Temple, where the man was surrounded by guards and guarded by two Jedi. It wasn’t like anything insane would happen, right? For some reason, that thought was far less reassuring than it should have been.
AN: We’re finally moving to Coruscant. I had fun writing it, even if I rewrote it like three times, each one with a different POV. As I said before, I’m still getting the hang of writing a Star Wars story, so bear with me if anything feels off.
I know that this chapter is a bit shorter than before. It was initially meant to be a Harry POV chapter, but I really didn’t like it. It didn’t feel right to do it in a transition chapter to Coruscant, so I decided to push it to the next one instead, since he would be a lot more active in it.
Still, I'm sorry if this chapter feels a bit slow. I felt a transition chapter to Harry going to the Jedi Temple was needed, and decided to use it to focus on Anakin dealing with his new sense of clarity, which I hadn't really explored since he immediately ran to save Ahsoka. I'm also not sure about including Hedwig here. Was it too goofy or something? I wanted to add her to the story and decided to make it in a way that would drive Anakin even more insane, but I'm not sure I pulled it off. Things should pick up again in the next chapter.
Also, feel free to let me know if you have any things you'd like to see in that story. SW lore is pretty expansive, especially Legends stuff, and there's a lot that I'll probably miss, so I'm counting on you guys :)
As usual, I don’t mind rewriting this chapter depending on your feedback, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.