With shaking hands, Anakin let go of the controls and leaned back in his seat.
The familiar blue and white colors of hyperspace flashed around him as he let Artoo take over his starfighter, carefully guiding it to the coordinates he'd typed in only seconds before he'd made the jump with Obi-Wan and the few Jedi who'd remained in space above Coruscant to wait for them and, if necessary, clear the way for an escape path if Republic cruisers had waited for them.
Thankfully, the Senate apparently had not thought that they would escape the temple alive and had as such disregarded the need for a blockade.
Anakin was no optimist though – he knew that not everyone had made it out. He'd seen bodies on the floors of the temple, unmoving, unbreathing, scorched by blaster shots and flames.
And he hadn't been able to do anything! Wasn't he supposed to be the Chosen One?! Or had his impressive Force abilities receded the moment he'd struck Sidious down? Perhaps it really had abandoned him, had abandoned them all...because they'd been fooled by the Sith Lord for too long. Maybe the Force itself had seen how useless Anakin had been, not ever noticing the slightest hint where the true enemy had hidden all this time despite such close contact throughout three years of war, that it left him the moment he'd truly needed to call upon it again.
And Gods, what about Ahsoka? She had looked so shaken by the aspect that her home was being marched upon and there hadn't been enough time to reassure her before they'd been separated due to their different obligations during the evacuation. The strong bond he shared with her, the one that normally pulsed a warm and comforting presence at the forefront of his mind, had become but a weak tugging at the back of it, inaccessible just like all his other Force-related abilities.
It was enough to know that she was alive, at least. But what if she'd been hurt during the escape? What if she was alone?
"Anakin," came a soft voice over his comms. The Jedi Knight opened his eyes – when had he closed them? He hadn't noticed – and focused on the open channel between him and another starfighter – Obi-Wan's, he realized with relief. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," he answered after a few seconds, "I'm fine. What about you?" He wasn't fine by any means, but that would have to wait until they reached the rendezvous point. As soon as he knew if Ahsoka (and Talon and Aayla and the younglings, Force, the younglings and...everyone) was safe, he'd be able to calm his racing heart, he was sure about it.
Obi-Wan's voice was slightly strained when he answered: "Not a scratch, thankfully. Let's hope the others were as lucky."
Anakin knew better than to mention the dead. Right now, the only goal he had was to meet up with the rest of the order on Ilum – the planet the council had agreed upon as a place for temporary refuge in case of emergencies (like the event of an evacuation of the temple). Every Jedi knew where it was located and how to get there since it had always played a major part in the order's history; furthermore, while the climate was not the best or the most accommodating, it was usually not visited by any other ships, even those that cared little about a planet's inhabitants or, in this case, ownership. Ilum was a Jedi planet, but thankfully for them, while the kyber crystals on it were worth a fortune, it was also not the most likely a place someone would plan a vacation to. They'd be safe there for a while until they formulated a better plan or course of action.
"I've been receiving transmissions from other ships," he said to Obi-Wan while pressing a few buttons to regulate his communication channel. "They're a bit unsteady, so whoever's sending them has probably already landed on Ilum. I definitely heard Aayla though and I think Master Mundi tried to say something as well, that one was mostly static though."
"It's good to know at least that we won't be the only ones down on that ghastly cold ice planet. Surely most of the Jedi are already waiting for us," Obi-Wan answered, trying to sound somewhat lighthearted. "I just hope that the men back on Coruscant aren't getting into any trouble with the Senate now."
It was all Anakin could do not to suddenly crash his fighter. The men! The losses of several Jedi weighed heavily on his mind and heart, but he hadn't yet allowed himself to think about what fate awaited his men and all the other clones who had aided them in their hasty escape. Surely the Senate wouldn't blame them for everything that had transpired, would it?
"I didn't mean to make you even more worried, Anakin," his master quickly interrupted his thoughts. "I'm quite certain that no harm will come to them. They're an excellent opportunity for the Senate to implement further propaganda against us and will provide the means to continue the anti-Jedi policy that lovely senator has strengthened."
To hear that made the young knight even angrier: Rex, Fives, Echo and all the others, they had just been declared free of all this political nonsense. They should've been given ships to explore a peaceful galaxy with or, at the very least, some sort of compensation for the three brutal years – instead, they'd been dragged even deeper into all the bureaucracy and the corruption the Senate seethed off. Once again, they were treated as prized objects – only this time, it wasn't look at those clones, they were created for nothing but war and shall serve the Republic until their dying breath, alright, thank you, now off with you, go fight droids or something, but rather do you see these poor men who were used and mistreated by the Jedi Order, they deserve justice just as our Republic does!
Neither of these sounded particularly nice or respectful in Anakin's opinion, but, according to Senator Hyrlell, what did he know? He was nothing but a lousy Jedi after all. Speaking of that Rodian...
"That senator worries me," he muttered, reaching for the controls as Artoo signaled that they'd leave hyperspace soon. "He's very driven to get rid of us, but I'd like to know what his reason is."
"He's certainly not to be underestimated," Obi-Wan sighed in agreement, "perhaps the Senate has not been as throughout in its hunt for Sidious' supporters and allies as we thought."
Anakin couldn't help but snort at that, closing his eyes for a moment to chase his exhaustion away: "I wouldn't be surprised. While I was fighting Hyrlell, my Force connection was already significantly weakened, but the things I could still sense..." He broke off and pressed two buttons, Artoo beeping excitedly as the yellow and black starfighter shot out of hyperspace. The bright bluish-white, icy snowball that was Ilum was right in front of him and he could spot several other ships, both starfighters and larger transports, slowly flying towards the surface. Next to him, another fighter, this one colored red and white, appeared and Obi-Wan's tired, but frankly relieved face greeted him from the cockpit. Arfour was beeping something, probably talking to Artoo as the two Jedi greeted each other, happy to see the other safe.
"What did you sense then?" the Jedi Master asked, steering his ship towards the familiar planet, Anakin doing the same.
The younger man didn't reply for a few seconds, before he fixed Ilum with a resigned look and sighed: "I sensed the Dark Side."
Anakin's starfighter had barely touched the ground when he jumped out of the cockpit. He'd put on his thick coat right before the landing, but the harsh coldness of Ilum's frozen surface nevertheless managed to slow him down for a few seconds, before he shook out of it and headed towards the gathering of a large group of people, all wearing some sort of winter coat along with scarves, hats and gloves.
His eyes were already scanning the crowd, recognizing worried faces lighting up when they spotted him, but he barely heard their greetings over his heartbeat ringing in his ears.
Master Mundi, Master Unduli, Aayla, Master Fisto, Barriss, another padawan, knights, come on, come on...
Finally, he saw it: Her white and blue striped montrals were hidden in the hood of her long coat, but as the lean and small figure turned around to face him, probably having noticed him staring at her back, he recognized the big blue eyes and the white facial markings immediately.
Ahsoka's eyes widened, before she rushed over to him, effectively making a young knight she'd been talking to stare after her in amusement. A few startled younglings hurried off to the side as the Togruta leaped over to Anakin, abandoning any sort of reservedness and threw herself in his wide opened arms. The knight caught her and hugged her so close he probably cut her air off, but she didn't make a sound of protest, instead clinging to him just as hard. Her face was buried in his shoulder whereas he had lifted her slightly off the ground, completely, utterly relieved of her being unhurt.
"Oh Snips," he murmured, "you had me worried."
The Togruta let out a small laugh – he didn't point out how watery it sounded: "It's good to see you too, Skyguy."
She held onto him for a moment longer before slowly releasing her grip as he let her stand on her own feet again. Both smiled at each other, great joy pulsing through the remains they could still feel of their bond. Ahsoka seemed fine except for the shock and the fear they had all felt at some point during the night, but Anakin couldn't help but look closer just in case he'd missed something. However, aside from the exhaustion in her eyes and her shivering body due to the cold, he could spot no bruises or blood anywhere.
Oh, thank the Force.
"I'm fine, master," the Togruta eventually pointed out, an amused smile on her face. "We didn't run into much trouble during the evacuation."
"Not much trouble still means trouble," Anakin said, but nodded, satisfied with her state. "You got the younglings out though, despite of it." He could see several of the children huddling close to several masters who were busy handing out some more blankets to them. "I knew you would."
Ahsoka looked at him, an eyebrow raised: "Was there ever any doubt?"
Yeah, she's alright.
"I'm proud of you, Snips," he replied instead of answering the question, watching as another smile, however tired it was, lit up her face.
Of course, that was the moment Talon arrived at her side, looking worried, but relieved to see him: "Master Skywalker," the Aketan said in greeting, "It's good to see you made it out." The boy wasn't so subtly peering behind him as if hoping another figure would suddenly pop up behind him.
"Obi-Wan's coming any second now, he was right behind me." Anakin stepped forward and laid a hand on Talon's shoulder. "And for the record, it's good to see you as well." The small smile he received from the boy in return reminded him way too much of Obi-Wan – apparently, he wasn't the only one who'd had an astonishing influence on his padawan. And, as if he'd been summoned, footsteps sounded right behind their little group of three. They turned around and saw a somewhat disgruntled, bearded Jedi Master speed-walking over to them, very much disliking the cold judging by the expression on his face. His rather stiff statue loosened however as Talon quickly rushed over to him.
"Thank the Force that you're alright, master," the Aketan breathed with relief in his multicolored eyes. "...you are alright, aren't you?" He peered curiously at the older man who gave him a sheepish smile and lifted both hands to put them on his student's shoulder.
"Very much so, now that I've seen that you and the others are unharmed."
"It's good to see you as well, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka piped up, giving her grandmaster an honest smile which he returned before he grew serious once more.
"I've spotted several council members, including Master Windu and Master Yoda close to the entrance to the cave," he explained, looking over to Anakin. "We should go to them and see what our next course of action is, now that everyone who escaped has arrived."
The last few starfighters and one last transport which had carried the healers and their students as well as several boxes of medical items had indeed landed on the surface whereas all the Jedi who sat on the council had either already arrived or had never gotten to leave Coruscant. Anakin hoped it was the former, but he just knew that not all had been as lucky as him. He was sure they were missing a lot of Jedi.
Probably best not to think about that right now.
Leaving their padawans to intermingle with friends and a few knights nearby, the two councilors made their way to the hidden entrance of the cave. Normally, Anakin noted, he'd be sensing the hundreds of thousands of crystals hidden within it, but right now, only a low humming settled in the back of his mind, barely noticeable if you weren't trained to look for it. The same went for the rest of what remained of the council or so it seemed, as Yoda's ears were visibly dropping, and Mace's expression was anything but focused. Additionally, the knight noticed that the Korun seemed to favor his right leg at the moment, carefully balancing on it while leaning against a snow-covered rock in such a way that it would look completely normal to one who wasn't observing him.
With them were Kit, Shaak Ti, Plo, Ki-Adi, Depa and Luminara, all of them more or less unharmed. The Nautolan, the Mirialan and the Togruta seemed fine overall, Master Mundi seemed to nursing some wounds caused by blaster shots on his left arm, Depa was cradling her right hand to her chest and the Kel Dor had some sort of injury on his left lower leg, but he didn't seem to have any trouble standing on it.
Masters Adi Gallia and Even Piell were nowhere to be seen.
"Masters," Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin arrived at the entrance. Immediately, all of them looked up and visibly relaxed once they recognized them.
It's so weird, Anakin thought to himself, that they don't know you're there as soon as you're close to them like they usually do.
A Jedi without the Force, he decided, really was just like a child with a glowstick, wasn't he?
"A great relief it is, to see you, Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker," Yoda spoke once the two of them had come to a halt. "Starting to assume the worst, we were. Without the Force, troubling it is, to see clearly."
"And soon we won't be seeing anything other than snow if we continue to stay out here," Mace added, glancing at the hidden entrance. "We have to get the younglings and the injured inside. I doubt the cave will be able to hold us all, but the first challenge will be to open it in the first place." He turned around, a question in his dark eyes. "Anakin, do you think you'll be able to open it on your own?"
Looking surprised, the knight stared at the Korun for a few moments before glancing at his hands: "I'm not sure. My connection has grown weaker, but it might still be enough. Still, if everyone who still feels somewhat of a connection to the Force would help, I'm sure we can open the entrance."
Yoda nodded, cradling his stick in his hands: "Help you I will, Skywalker. Everyone, if enough strength they have left, focus on this task, they shall."
Anakin nodded, taking a deep breath as he took a few steps forward, staring at the ice-covered wall intensely before raising his hands and closing his eyes. Reaching towards the energy that normally came so easy to him, he felt it shying away from his touch, as if afraid of what he would do with the power granted to him. It didn't feel like a never-ending source of energy anymore, rather like a thin stream that had once been a wild river, still capable of moving and shaping the earth, but taking way longer to do so. Usually using the Force felt as difficult to him as it was for a Java to pick up a handful of sand – being denied its steady presence was unnerving to say the least.
A loud crackling sound echoed through the frozen wasteland as the hidden door to the familiar cave opened ever so slowly, making the remaining Jedi watching in awe fill the air with cheers of joy and relief. Anakin slowly lowered his hands, panting ever so lightly as he took in the small opening, he and a few other Council members had created, feeling as if the breath had been punched right out of him. The giggling younglings who passed him, playfully chasing each other shook him out of his stupor though as he watched them running towards the cave they'd ventured in not too long ago to find their lightsaber crystals.
"Good job, master," Ahsoka's voice chimed in and as he turned to the right, he saw her standing there with a proud grin on her face. She was still shivering and looked beyond exhausted, but now, she seemed to be able to breathe easier again.
"Truly," Obi-Wan mused, appearing on his former student's other side out of the blue, "you never cease to amaze me, Anakin."
"As much as I'm grateful for this," Talon pressed, arms wrapped around himself, seemingly suppressing a violent shudder. "C-could we go inside before f-freeze to death?"
As it turned out, the crystal caves were in fact able to hold them all.
For fear of not being able to open the entrance once again after closing it, the Council opted to keep it open and instead use the bigger ships they'd brought from Coruscant as some sort of blockade to stop the cold from crawling in with the Jedi who were now huddled together in small groups, all around a rather large fire they'd started in the middle of the cave. The younglings and younger padawans especially stayed close to the flickering flames, enjoying the warmth seeping into their bones, the latter pressing themselves to their masters' sides. The former were already busy chatting about Ilum and the crystals.
Anakin doubted that the children, without the Force as a sixth sense, really knew what to make of what had happened. The padawans however, who'd seen terrible things during the war and had finally thought to be safe from blaster shots ringing in their ears, were shaking from more than just the cold. Many of them had practically buried themselves in their masters' coats, only strands of hair and shaking shoulders were visible here and there. Their teachers, more often than not young knights, sometimes experienced masters, were carting hands through their hair or at least softly stroking their heads, speaking to them in hushed tones as they themselves had sunk to the ground, exhausted and tired. Some, the older padawans, seemed to be able to hold themselves together a little better, but even their faces were still terrified and the words they spoke sounded shaky.
As the proclaimed Chosen One made his way through the crowd, he spotted Luminara crouching down next to Barriss, who was staring unseeingly at the flames, leaning against the older Mirialan as she wrapped an arm around her. On the other side of the fire, a young boy with reddish blond hair, who couldn't be much older than fourteen, fifteen at best, whose braid didn't quite reach his shoulder, was trying not to cry, purple eyes wet and shimmering in the flickering light. He wasn't able to keep trying much longer however, as his master, a young man with short blond hair and deep blue eyes – so young! Had he been so young when he'd met Ahsoka too? It all seemed so long ago now – pulled him into his arms, burying the boy's face against his shoulder and lightly swayed back and forth. Small sobs could be heard once you stood close to them.
Leaving them to their privacy, he looked over to where he could see white and blue striped montrals as well as messy black hair.
Talon had pulled Ahsoka in the direction of the fire as soon as they'd entered, muttering about being cold and wet and just no whereas the Togruta was rolling her eyes, amused at her friend's antics. Obi-Wan and Anakin had shared a knowing look (and honestly, they were just glad that both of their students seemed to be handling themselves rather well, all things considered) before intermingling with the other knights and masters who were trying not to disturb the children's small source of comfort too much while exchanging worried glances and whispers of doubt, hopelessness, fear.
Force, he was so tired...
The second Anakin had spotted a rather comfortably looking rock close to the fire, without any snow or ice covering it, he'd pretty much slumped against it, slowly lowering himself to the ground, his legs refusing to carry him even one more step. His whole body ached – and he wondered why he hadn't felt it before. Adrenaline rush, perhaps? – his muscles were protesting any movement he made. Hells, it felt like every cell of his being was protesting about moving a single inch, as if using the Force to open the cave's entrance had drained all his remaining energy. He barely managed to keep his eyes half open, locking his gaze onto Ahsoka, who seemed to look more tired with every second she sat by the fire. She slightly turned her head as if sensing him, giving him a small wave before pulling her coat closer around her body.
She's safe, he assured himself once more. And so are Obi-Wan, Talon, the younglings, the others...
Could he sleep now? There were important...things to do! Like...talking and...gods, his head was so heavy all of a sudden. This couldn't be all Force exhaustion, could it?
Something suddenly covered his slightly shivering a body and the warmth emitting from it made him clutch it closer instinctively. It was soft even through his gloves and a quiet voice in the back of his head told him that it was a thermal blanket. A familiar presence sat down next to him, a hand brushing through his hair.
"It's alright, Anakin." Obi-Wan's quiet voice was as big of a comfort now as it had been when he'd been a child. "Sleep."
And Anakin listened.
Meanwhile, on Coruscant
It had taken them a while, but finally, every lightsaber had been found and handed over to the respective commander of the battalions, leaving the hangar floor spotless and the clones' hearts heavy in their chests.
Most of the faces of the 501st were looking murderous, so much in fact that even Fox was giving them space as Rex and Fives were holding out Anakin's and Ahsoka's lightsabers for them all to see.
However, they were not the only ones: Bly still held Aayla's saber pressed against his forehead as if pleading with it to tell him about where she went and how she was feeling, but his expression was positively thunderous. The same could be said for Ponds, Neyo and Grey whose eyes seemed to darken every time he glanced down at the wo silver hilts in his palms. In general, every clone battalion that had had a padawan running around seemed to be arguing with each other over how to set fire to Coruscant. Gree looked particularly appalled, but so did most of the men of the 212th. The ones who didn't were either still in shock or trying to process what the kark had happened in only one night.
There was a silence that seemed unnatural when millions of men were standing in the same place; ones that were normally happy to chatter. But right now, their voices had faded into soft murmurs full of deeply contained rage, barely hearable over the ghosts and the wind waving through the Jedi Temple.
"What do we do now?" Echo finally asked no one in particular, staring unseeingly at the destroyed remains of a statue. "What the hell do we do now?"
A few seconds of more silence. Then:
"Now," Cody answered, so loudly that every brother who hadn't been paying attention immediately snapped to it, looking at the Commander questioningly. The 212th trooper was holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber and clutched it so tightly as if afraid it would disappear if he let go of it, brown eyes narrowed as he stared right ahead. "Now we take every single thing the Jedi left behind, and I mean everything. Books, be it novels or for training, technology, droids, tools, holocrons, everything left in the archives, personal items they couldn't take with them but are important to them, anything of value to them. We take it all and put it somewhere safe."
He clipped the lightsaber to his belt as he'd done a million times before and bared his teeth in a rare show of pure fury.
"Because I'm not letting the Senate have a single thing from this temple. Over my dead body."