Chapter Text
Grievous was dead.
The final battle was over, and clearing was all that was left to do before they returned to Coruscant.
With Dooku dead and now Grievous gone as well, Obi-Wan could finally, finally, see the end of this damned war. After three long years, too many dead Jedi, orphaned Padawans, and too many Padawans knighted far too young. He could see himself enjoying morning tea in his quarter again. Soon.
Obi-Wan was supervising the clearance when he felt it.
At first, he thought the disturbance came from one of Utapau’s native sentient beings startled by the noise of the battle, but this felt far, far more distant. It felt like an echo, tossed from cliff to cliff before finally reaching him, and it got weakened by the barren winds of the Utapau terrain.
“Sir?” Cody asked, noticing Obi-Wan’s sudden jolt.
Obi-Wan couldn’t feel any remnants when he tried to trace it back, unlike any normal deliberate communication or code would.
“Do you know of any other battalion within our radius, Cody?”
“No, Sir. We are the only battalion within 10 parsecs”
Interesting.
He tried to trace it again, sending a Force nudge as far as he could, but there was really no other force-sensitive close enough to receive it, or nudge back to announce their presence.
“...not some message then”, Obi-Wan whispered under his breath while brushing his beard.
“Do we need to worry, Sir?”, Cody asked as he tentatively raised his blaster.
“Someone nudged me through the Force” he had some inkling, a hunch, of who the sender was. But the suspect was on Coruscant with no apparent reason to contact him, unless he had some important news from his ’special mission’.
He hoped that wasn’t the case.
He tried to dial with his wrist comm, only to find out the number he called was out of reach.
Noticing the worry in Cody’s signature, Obi-Wan added, “It was probably just Anakin. The only person who can send me a Force nudge from that far is him, probably because he can’t comm me like a normal person, with the distance and all”.
“That was from Coruscant?”
“That’s my assumption, considering there was no other Force-sensitive within our radius”
“Maybe… some Shadow we didn’t know?”
“That’s another possibility, but I need to make sure. It could be some important notice from the Council”. Obi-Wan turned around, and started jogging lightly toward the Negotiator.
“I’m going to see what the fuss is about. I hope the signal is better on the main ship”
…
Reaching the communication chamber, he dialed Anakin’s number with the HoloTable.
There was a pause while the call rang on the other end.
Obi-Wan sat there, waiting for Anakin to pick up his official comm.
No answer.
He went on and called Anakin’s personal comm, instead.
Same result. Both times, he was greeted with silence and Anakin’s voice telling him he would be directed to voicemail.
“General Skywalker here. I might be busy right now, please leave a voicemail. Thank you”
Followed with a ‘Beep’
Obi-Wan raised his head, checking the chrono on the other side of the table. It showed both the planet's local time and Coruscant’s.
0300 on Coruscant.
It was early in the morning, barely dawn. Obi-Wan chuckled at the realisation, apparently, Anakin had finally remembered that he was, in fact, a diurnal species.
Thinking back on the nudge, if he read it right, what he felt was static –faint, stale static. The kind of static HoloNet would air after midnight, when they thought no one would actually be watching, the kind of white noise that drove people to sleep.
That wasn’t entirely out of character for Anakin. Back when he was still learning about the master-padawan Force bond. He used to send all manner of nonsense through it. Anakin used to find the whole thing endlessly amusing. Like some kind of portable and VIP comm line.
But Anakin hadn’t done that for a really long time, especially now that he had his own master-padawan bond with Ahsoka. Something, Obi-Wan was sure, Anakin had kept, even after Ahsoka left the order.
Some uneasiness built in the pit of his stomach–was it a presage? But the force nudge wasn’t a distress signal nor an affliction from the other end.
That eased his mind and annoyed him at the same time.
He contemplated calling the council or someone on Coruscant to make sure, but that would cause more trouble with the council, too much, really, if it was only for the sake of easing his mind.
After all, Anakin was on Coruscant. What could have happened there?
The most rational thing, for now, was to focus on the clearance and return to Coruscant as quickly as possible. He would just call Anakin again once he was no longer out of reach. Probably once his fleet entered hyperspace on the way home.
“Is there some news from Coruscant, Sir?” Cody appeared behind him.
“Anakin decided to nudge me through the Force and deserted me on call”. Obi-Wan shut down the holo comm and faced his commander.
“Should we call the Council or Rex to make sure?”
“No need, Commander. Besides, Anakin is on Coruscant, if something happened there, I’m sure we will find out right away”
Even though his face was covered by his helmet, Obi-Wan could feel Cody’s lingering stare.
“Spit it, Cody”
“Nothing, Sir”. Cody paused a second. “I'm just wondering why the council didn’t send ‘The Team’ together and made Skywalker sit on Coruscant”.
Anakin was his first Commander before Cody, back when Anakin was still his senior Padawan at the earliest phase of the war, something Obi-Wan appreciated and bemoaned at the same time.
“I didn’t know you had some soft spot for Anakin like that” Obi-Wan said, knowing it would irritate Cody and deflect the conversation to different topic inevitably.
A little scoff escaped from his commander.
“I just thought that was strange, looking at the scale and the importance of this mission”
As if he realised what he had just let out, “I believe the Council had better judgment on this, Sir” Cody hurriedly clarified.
Obi-Wan, if he had known the true nature of Anakin's ‘secret mission’ would definitely object to the council's decision as well. He would rather have Anakin here with him.
They are at their best when they work together, after all.
“Anakin was… needed elsewhere” is all Obi-Wan said. “Besides, Rex along with half of his battalion, isn’t even with him now”.
“I didn’t know Rex wasn’t with Skywalker?”
“Anakin sent half of his Battalion on a hunting trip with Ahsoka”. Obi-Wan felt a sting anytime he remembered Mandalore. Another loss in the war.
“For what we expected to be the last Sith" unless the rumored Sith among the Senate wasn’t just a canard, Obi-Wan thought. The problem was, there was no way to confirm that, now that Dooku and Grievous were dead.
“Skywalker must be envious because he got left out of all the fun” Cody snickered.
A small chuckle escaped Obi-Wan.
“I think so”, Obi-Wan silently reminisced about his last meeting with Anakin before he took off to Utapau.
Something that he was glad had happened at all.
After the rocky patches he and Anakin had trodden since they arrived on Coruscant and after… he delivered… Anakin’s ‘special mission’. That last meeting was surprisingly pleasant, something he could be at peace with. And Anakin? Even if he wanted to go along with Obi-Wan to Utapau, Obi-Wan was pretty sure he had, surprisingly, handled the Council order quite well. Elegantly, even.
It actually surprised Obi-Wan how composed Anakin was when he sent Obi-Wan off to Utapau. But still, it made him proud, nonetheless.
“How’s the clearance down there, Cody?”
“Almost done, Sir. We only need to inactivate some battle droids, then we are good to go”
“How long before we can take off?”
“We will be ready in less than an hour, Sir”
“Good, keep up the good work, soldier” Obi-Wan patted Cody’s shoulder. “This clearance is going to be the last one. I hope there won’t be any more of it”
Or any more of the war. Obi-Wan silently prayed to the Maker. Because, Force, he was so tired of this war.
“Yes, Sir!”
…
They took off an hour later, because, turned out Grievous had hidden some battle droids in the caves of Utapau.
Once their fleet exited Utapau’s atmosphere, Obi-Wan felt it –the uneasiness in the air. Or was it because of the uneasiness in the Force affecting the air around him?
Obi-Wan turned on the Holo Table once they had safely entered hyperspace.
Mace Windu’s face immediately manifested in the glowing hue of the Holo.
“I’m here to present my post-mission report, Mace” Obi-Wan started his report.
“Go on, Obi-Wan” Mace Windu’s answer was delayed for a few seconds.
“We already eliminated Grievous and his droid battalion, even the ones that he hid. Currently, we’re on our way back to Coruscant”
“Good job, Obi-Wan. I know we can count on you” The answer got delayed for a few seconds, again. Was it a lag in their communicator? Obi-Wan thought.
Obi-Wan waited for a few seconds for any continuation from Mace Windu, but there was none.
It wasn’t like the council owed him any compliment, but rather, something was off with Mace Windu's demeanor. There was no follow-up question nor requests for clarification, as he usually did.
“Is everything okay, Mace?”
“Why do you ask?” The answer came much faster, that wasn’t a lag in their communication then, as he had previously assumed.
“Probably just…” Obi-Wan opened his mouth, but closed it again.
Obi-Wan had this urge to ask Mace Windu about whether he felt the suspense in the air.
He had just killed a Sith lord, had he not?, Pellucid air was something to be expected, which didn’t surprise him. So why did he also feel the murkiness along with it?
“Just a weird… air on Utapau, I think”
He contemplated asking about Anakin's ‘special mission’, whether the council got any new information out of this mission on Coruscant, and about the last Sith Master they’ve had under suspicion. Something to explain this unease he felt.
“Is there anything you want to add, Obi-Wan?” Mace asked.
“No… Nothing” Obi-Wan answered, “That’s all”
Obi-Wan decided that directly asking Anakin through the comm could be a better idea, now that he can reach him through the comm, and that would definitely save them both from any impending lecture.
“What’s your ETA?” Mace Windu finally asked again.
“Tomorrow, hopefully”
“Great” Mace Windu answered. Obi-Wan caught how Mace’s lips were moving before he closed them again. It seemed like Mace was the one who had something to add.
“What is it? Mace, " Did something happen on Coruscant?” Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow. Maybe that could explain the murkiness he felt.
“Anakin also sent me a random nudge through the Force a few hours ago” Obi-Wan bit his tongue when that slipped out of his mouth.
Now, the Council going to lecture him about attachment, for sure.
“What did he send you?” Mace asked him instead. There was no ‘you’re in trouble’ look from him.
“Nothing coherent, really”
“When was…” Mace paused for a few seconds. “Anakin sent that?”
“Almost two hours ago” Obi-Wan answered.
Mace was looking at him for a few seconds, with the kind of look that Obi-Wan couldn’t interpret.
“I will see you on Coruscant, Obi-Wan” was all Mace said before he ended the call.
Well, that was interesting.
What surprised Obi-Wan the most was the fact that Mace had let the opportunity to lecture him about attachment slide. Knowing that kind of nudge, one that was so far away, only possible if he still had his master-padawan bond with Anakin, something he should have severed years ago.
Something the council wouldn’t approve. But the bond served a lot of practical uses. Quite handy even.
Obi-Wan needed that bond to communicate with Anakin, after all. He was the general on his sector, his subordinate, whom he needed to contact often, for coordination purposes. Anakin just happened to be his former Padawan as well.
Their force bond. Now that he had been reminded of its existence.
Obi-Wan traced that bound absentmindedly. That bond had existed for longer than a decade. He knew it was there, instinctively even, often without realizing it. Like breathing, he never asked whether his chest was moving when he inhaled, he just knew it.
He expected to feel that warm, glowing bond, right where it was supposed to be. Only to find an empty space in its stead.
A gnawing hole was all he found in the place where his bond with Anakin was supposed to reside.
What?
He was sure that it was Anakin who nudged him through the Force.
It was there a few hours ago.
That bond was the reason why Obi-Wan could feel that blip through the Force, even from across the galaxy.
Was that the distance between them? That wasn’t a problem two hours ago.
Was there any interference in the Force, that affected his bond with Anakin?
He tried to trace it once more, trying to seek Anakin’s presence.
But there was nothing.
Where is it?