Not believing what he was seeing, Cody could only stare in shock. They had just come from a successful mission, having saved Generak Koon. During the whole mission the Generals had stayed tense, barely holding themselves from snapping at others. The news of the Senate's new trick, had them on edge. They had not calmed down until General Skywalker had joined them.
Which lead to Cody's situation. The Commander watched as the blond jedi strutted around on his revealing tatooine clothing, proudly and shamelessly showing off the beard burns and kiss marks his redhead husband had left behind.
"Something wrong Commander?" Anakin asked with a smirk, as Arto came to a stop beside his master.
"Nothing General," Cody answered, glad that he had not taken off his helment, because he was staring at the general's neck- which had more kiss marks than unmarred skin.
Who would have thought my General was so wild? Cody thought doumbfounded, as he watched the blond sturt towards Plo Koon, who was watching his son with a fond-amused look.
"Vode," Rex greeted his brother with a smile. Now that his General was back, he was much more relaxed as well. "What's wrong?"
"Did you see your General?" Cody turned to his brother dumbly.
"I did," Rex chuckled amused. "Quite the work your General did."
"Idiots! The both of them!" Cody huffed, as Rex laughed. The cosy moment was ruined by the noise of a ship approaching. "Did you have anything scheduled?"
"No, did you?" Rex replied seriously.
"No," Cody frowned.
"There are two younglings on that ship," Both Commanders calmed down at Plo's word. "What is the Counsil thinking by sending them into a battle field? Especially, since they are underage and have not been chosen by a Jedi Master yet."
"It did happen," Anakin commented with a grim expression. "I thought that with the future being in constant movement and them not appearing when they were supposed to... that it wouldn't happen."
"What did you dream?" Plo asked his son worried.
"Ashoka and Barris are on that ship and they've been sent to be our padawan and train on the battlefield," Anakin informed them grimly, shocking everyone silent, before they exploded.
"But they are younglings!"
"Anakin is 20! A master at such a young age? Are they insane!"
"Kriff!"
"What the kriff are they thinking?!"
"Enough," Plo spoke up. He did not raise his voice, the authority in his gentle voice was enough to make them all stop and turn to him. Plo's attention was fully on his son. "Why did you not tell anyone about this? You always tell at least someone about your visions."
"Because I only saw it once, a long time ago," Anakin was careful with how he answered, he did not want to be caught lying. "It happens more than you would expect. As the issue with Grievous."
"The King of Kalee? The one who waged war with Huk and exterminated the Yam'rii?" Obi-Wan turned to his husband surprised, having just joined them."You saw that happen?"
"No," Anakin shook his head. "I saw the Kaleesh continued to be prayed upon the Yam'rii, while the Republic turned a blind eye on the whole thing and continued to believe the lies of the Yam'rii, without further investigation. I mean those Sleemos prayed on the young of the Kaleesh!"
Everyone turned green at the reminder. Before this war and various senators involvement with the Hutts, that had been the Senate's greatest smear campaign. Grievous spread the holo recording through the galaxy, showing what kind of people the Republic aided and deffended. It tied the Senate's hands, no aid or revenge could be mentioned about the genocide that had happened in return.
"Grievous, hurt and desperate, joined Count Dooku and became the greatest Jedi assassin." Obi-Wan and Plo blanched at Anakin's words. "But that changed. Somehow my mom had found out about it during her business trips and arranged the aid of the Freedom Alliance Rebels. Grievous took the smuggled weapons mom offered for this and... took it further than all of us had expected. I only found out about it when mom came to me distressed about it all." Everyone stared at him in disbelief. "Yeah, good news, they are on our side and will fight with us if asked. I recommend not to ask... unless they take things too far... again."
"Tell me about it," Rex replied breathless.
"And this has happened before?" Cody asked. "You would dream of things and they would change without your involvement."
"If I do not change them directly like I did when I dreamt about Qui-Gon's death, I would do it inderedly," Analon nodded his head. "The Freedom Rebel Alliance never got as much tracking as it did now, mostly because of mom's business and money. Which happended because of my invention. I also saw dad come to Tatooine and approached him. In that same line, my childhood friends would have stayed in Tatooine as slaves and would have join a rebellion like a decade in the future from now. Chancellor Palpatine by now would hold various emergency powers, which he does not because of Pademer and her political party." Anakin sighed. "All of that, I've only seen happen once. Yet it never came to be. How was I to expect this to came true when my dreams did not warn me? Like Force! When things happen they bombard me like crazy! Also, Barris was supposed to be Master Luminara's and their lightsabers were not supposed to be white. Well, Ahsoka would have been, but not in years to come."
"Seeing the future must be complicated," Rex commented as he watched his General's passionate rant.
"You've got no idea!" Anakin snorted-drily.
"It is a difficult art to master, especially as the future is always in movement, like Grandmaster Yoda likes to say," Obi-Wan sighed, before smiling proudly at his husband. "Dear heart is one of the most talented future seers in the Order and yet he still struggles."
"The times I've woken dad and my angels with my screaming after a vision," Anakin shook his head, laughing without humor. "Is the insistance that gets to to me most of the time. It's like the Force keeps the dream on repeat until I've decided to take the correct path to stop that future."
"Like with Qui-Gon," Plo sighed, smiling softly at his son. "You had night terrors for days."
"Not night terrors," Anakin corrected him. "Night terrors are constructs created by anxiety and fear. What I saw happened... would have happened? It got better with time, as I learned the tricks to help me focus and keep grounded on the present. Most of my visions are boring and mundane, no longer filled with blood... at least, until the war. But the Force loves keeping me in line, throwing me a curveball like this!" Anakin threw his hand at the ship that had just landed.
"Well, let's greet them first," Plo said, being the voice of reason. "We will yell at the Counsil afterwards."
Obi-Wan laughed at the surprised looks on the commanders' faces. "You do know he was ear heart's master, right? What kind of person do you think would raise someone as chaotic as dear heart?"
------------------------------------
Ahsoka was having the time of her life. She was Jedi Knight Skywalker's Padawan! It was a dream come true. Not the mention, the 501st was the best battalion out there!
On her first day, she had been worried, holding hands with her sister Barris, as they watched their masters shout at the Jedi Counsil via a holo-call for being foolish and buckling under the pressure of the Senate to send more Jedi into the battlefield. They had feared that their masters did not want them. But at the end they had accepted them.
Anakin had proceeded to do his magic and won, once more, the battle of the public opinion. Got the civilians boycotting the Senate for forcing underage younglings to fight a war. Most parents afraid of when they'll start sending normal underage civilians. It got the decree taken back and the ones that pushed for it sentenced.
Anakin was delighted to see more of Sidious servants leaving and his "grandfatherly" public image destroyed even more. He then proceeded to keep Ahsoka, going as far as to tell the Jedi Counsil that he did not trust them with her safety. Why should he? When they ruled to keep the Senate content, rather than to protect their younglings.
Ahsoka and Barris have never seen the Jedi Counsil look so hurt or debasted before. They were even more shocked when they all apologized to them. Ahsoka did not get a lot of time to come in terms with what had just happened, as the 501st was shipped to the Wild Space. Anakin had finally found concisive proof of the Zygerrian Slave Empire working with the Separatists. The Republic had sent support to the Freedom Rebel Alliance.
At the beginning Ahsoka had thought that she would be participating. But she was wrong. She was part of Search & Rescue missions, or when aiding the freed planets to stablish their independence and new governments. But otherwise she was studying. At first it made her angry, but she understood why Anakin did it. She was also kept busy with a lot of school work.
Ashoka's skills in lightsaber combat had developed over time, and she began to favor using a variant of Form V in battle like her master, although Barris was certain she would be skilled at Form VI as well. She came to Anakin with a yellow bead. Anakin had also given her a white armor and told her to decorated with blue if she so wished to, because she was already a Skywalker.
Anakin bonded with her via lightsaber training, tinkering with machines, and piloting lessons to decompompress. By the end of the war with the Zygerrian Slave Empire, Ahsoka had earned a red and orange bead. She had already knew Tortugi and Basic, Anakin had the droids and robots only speak to her in Binary, the troopers only speak to her in Mando'a, outside of missions of course, and he would only speak to her in Huttese when not in missions or lessons. This way she gained her fluency quickly.
As for the classes, she was in advanced piloting, lightsaber tecnique, maths, algebra, coding, physics, quemestry, mechanics, and living force manipulation. She was in normal classes of biology, geography, astronomy, civics, history, and living force philosophy (which worked as the second needed force course and the needed art course). Instead of healing, like Anakin had taken in his youth, Ahsoka took a Shadow Beginner Course- as Anakin already knew she was good at sneaking around and nor being found. She is now focusing on keeping her skills sharp (lightsaber, pilot, and langauges), while focusing on earning her blue bead.
So, yes, in six months she got a red and orange Jedi padawan bead, added to her yellow bead. Ahsoka was also on her way to get her blue and black bead. All things considered, it proved that she had the best master and she was very proud of her achievements.
Though, she missed Barris. It's been half a year since she came to the Wild Space, and holo-calls were not the same.
"How are you doing Ahso'ika?" Rex smiled fondly at his General's padawan, as she joined the vode for breakfast, in the currently occupied Zygerrian palace. "Slept good?"
"Force did I!" Ahsoka smiled, earning a chuckle from Jesse and Hawkes. "I've never slept in a fluffier bed.'"
"We can't wait to take you to Naboo!" Fives told her.
"True!" Echo agreed! "Lake City, the Skywalker residence, is incredible and they have the best beds!"
"Awesome!" Ahsoka cheered. "We are done here right?"
"We are," Rex assured her. "Just need to make sure Zygerria is stabilized and we will get a two months break. General promised us another vacation in Naboo."
"Yes!" Ahsoka cheered excitedly, earning chuckles from the vode. "Talking about Skyguy, where is he?"
"Last night he crashed," Kit told her. "He exhausted himself and will be taking a break. General Secura and the 524th will in charge today."
"Force exhaustion, right?" Ahsoka asked, earning a startled look from the medic. "I do not possess, my master's talent. But I was raised in the temple and grew up hearing stories about his gift. Did you know why he is called the best future seer of the century?"
"Because he can see decades in the future?" Echo guessed.
"No, though only a few of them can," Ahsoka replied. "Skyguy is capable of navigating the different timelines. He does not have to wait for his dreams to tell him what will happen." The vode were looking at Ashoka in stunned awe. "Awesome, right? Isn't it suspicious that all of our battles were a success and we lost so little soldiers? How can you beat someone that can see the future?"
"All this time, his strategies were based on his visions?" Kit asked shocked. "No wonder he got Force exhaustion! Why did he not say anything?"
"Becase the future is in constant movement," Rex hummed thoughtfully. "He can't know everything and things might change in the middle of battle. If the vode followed his plans as if they were prophecies... it might take their in independant thinking and get them killed in battle."
There was a deep, thoughtful silence, in the table. Before Five, broke it. "What about his dreams?"
"That is the Force communicating with my master," Ahsoka answered. "Showing him something he had missed or not looked into, that the Force wanted stopped or changed."
"This is kriffing complicated!" Hawkes complained, making Ahsoka laugh.
"Why else do you think so few padawans, earn a green bead for precognition?" Ahsoka chuckled. "Most get it for their Jedi Consular training."
"So, our General is the best?" Jesse joked, making everyone laugh. "Tell me something I did not know."
"Apologies," a modulated voice interrupted, making the table turn to a mandalorian with red and gold beskar armour. "I would like to know where's General Skywalker"
Oh, I almost forgot to mention them! Anakin might have not taken the Kaleesh offer for help. But he did ask for the True Mandalorians and the Children of the Watch. They worked incredibly good together, what a better way for a warrior culture to unite and mend broken bonds than to battle united on the same side?
You see, Anakin had faked the evidence of the Zygerrian Slave Empire getting involved with the Separatists. As much as Anakin loathed to admit it, the Zygerrian Queen was smart and would have never gotten involved with the war after what had happened with the Hutts. So, Anakin got himself and his friends sent to deal with the situation. "Unfortunately," they got there late, after the political figures of the Zygerrian Slave Empire had been killed... by mandalorian venom dards.
What a pity.
So, Anakin and the 501st had stayed to aid the fallen empire and aid the planets like they did with the Hutt Space. This time the True Mandalorians and Children of the Watch had gotten a lot of exposure and a lot of holonet videos explaining their creed of aiding the weak, accepting all species and sexual orientation without judgement, and taking in younglings. The people loved them and "realized" that the warmonglers were Death Watch and the bad mandalorians, not this religious sect... which can be violent, but only to those that deserve it.
The Senate could do much when the mandarolians started killing slavers. The planets are now independant and have the same deal, as the Hutt Space, with the Republic about the hyperspace routes, but won't join. They had to accept the True Mandalorians and allow the creed as a new accepted and lawful religion. As a recompence for their aid and to mantain a good friendship with this new influential religion.
The True Mandalorians and Children of the Watch (and Clones) ended up creating a lot of security, mercenary, and bounty hunter type of business available thanks in part to good publicity, and the increase of piracy and crime due to the war taking up the able bodies that were previously policing it all.
They now have settled into the various freed planets of the Hutt Space and the Zygerrian Slave Empire, alongside the new governments and Jedi Corps. They security businesses they had created, which stepped up to police the armyless planets, and to train their growing police and army forces.
As for the public opinion... the New Mandalorians' image was on the trash. To say that Duchess Saline's hate for A duplicated, was an understatement. First he takes her ex-lover, and how this!
Of course, Anakin "suggested" to the Senate to give them all the rights to beskar from Mandalore, as the Duchess has prohibited the use of the metal and religion in her lands- which she was getting quite a backlash from. With the pressure of the senate and public opinion, Satine agreed. As long as they swear to never set foot of Mandalore unless to mine the beskar and to never try to claim her lands. Which bit her in the ass, as the True Mandalorians had a good reputation now and she was being seen as a cultural and religious genosist.
Anakin made sure of that, he hated her for trying to take his Obi-Wan away from him and for trying to censor free choice of a religion. Another blow dealt to her, was that the True Mandalorians proved that one can be neutral without being inactive.
Maybe core-worlds are too soft, but the outer-rim welcomes the creed's protective violence with a welcomed embraced. Because of their creed the clans grew fast in numbers by the adoption of various freed slaves and war orphan foundlings. They also vowed to protect their world.
"Armorer," Rex greeted her with a respectful nod, as he stood up. She was the leader of the Children of the Watch. "It is a surprise, I thought you would be with your new son." That's right, she had adopted a foundling they saved in Aq Vetina, after the Separatists had raced his village. "But unfortunately General Skywalker is resting. He used too much Force and will be dead to the world for days. General Secura is in charge until he recovers. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I hope for his quick recovery," the Armorer bowed respectfully. "I just wanted to give him the droids leftovers from the Aq Verita that my tribe had collected. I knew he can recover intel from them and recycle them to aid us."
"Then you can give it to us, the 501st will sort through them and prepare everything for when he wakes up."
"Good," the Armorer nodded and left immediately after, she had an ad'ika to get back to.
"She does not talk much," Ahsoka chuckled. "She takes 'get to the point' to another level." Before anyone could say anything, she clutched her chest and screamed, gaining the attention of the whole room.
"Ahso'ika!" Rex rapidly went to her side, filled concern, closely followed by Kit. "Whats wrong?"
"M-master! Something is wrong with Skyguy!"