Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 27/?)
Aug. 24th, 2005 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyTitle: White Rabbits
Chapter: 27/?
Author: Diana Michelle (
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
butterfly)Warnings: Spoilers for Revenge of the Sith.
Pairings: Anakin/Obi-Wan; Leia/Han.
Rating: PG/PG-13.
Summary: Luke might be getting a bad feeling about this.
Disclaimer: Not Lucas, don't own a thing, not making any money.
Chapter Index
Luke walked ahead of Obi-Wan and Anakin on the pathway, left hand rubbing the bruised connection between his right arm and mechanical hand, making sure that his mind was shielded and closed off from Anakin.
Not that he thought Anakin would try to look. Anakin hadn’t reached out to probe Luke’s mind since they were both onboard the Falcon. Luke was definitely getting the impression that Anakin didn’t like him all that much.
And Luke was still trying to wrap his mind around the reality of Anakin. Some things were what he’d expected – Anakin’s lightsaber technique had been very much like Vader’s, though more acrobatic, and Anakin’s initial shocked reaction to hearing that Luke and Leia were his children had made sense.
But this didn’t.
Anakin had wanted to kill him in that fight. For just a moment, Anakin’s lightsaber at Luke’s throat, all that existed in Anakin had been hate, fierce and aching.
Then, the moment had passed, and Anakin had smiled, anger melting to arrogance and victory. Luke didn’t think that Obi-Wan had noticed – the surge of emotion had been almost blinding in the Force, but Anakin’s expression had barely flickered.
In some ways, Luke was glad that those two were going to be staying here at the headquarters instead of back on the Falcon. It would give him a chance both to think some things over and to talk Han into letting them back onto the ship in the morning.
Luke did plan on sticking with them, until they went back or at least found out how they’d gotten here in the first place, but when he sensed one of Mothma’s aides, Jual Todana, just behind the door back inside the building proper, Luke realized that he felt more than a touch of relief at spending some time away from Anakin.
Jual opened the door for them, gesturing them inside.
“Master Kenobi,” Jual said to Obi-Wan after they entered, bowing slightly. “It is my honor to inform you that a room has been made ready.”
“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said, inclining his head in return.
“Master Skywalker,” Jual said, turning to face Luke. Luke felt a flash of emotion from Anakin, too quickly hidden to categorize, though anger seemed a fair guess, from what he’d seen so far. “Minister Mothma has requested to speak with you in the Hall of Records. I believe that you already know the way.”
“I do,” Luke said with a smile. Jual’s broad, battle-worn face creased briefly with a return smile, before returning to his customary neutrality.
“Then I would be pleased to show the Jedi to their room,” Jual said, bowing to Luke.
“Thank you,” Luke said. He turned to Obi-Wan and Anakin. “I’ll come back tomorrow, after the Minister meets with you. And I want you to know that I do want to help you.”
“Thank you, Luke,” Obi-Wan said.
“And we’ll see you in the morning,” Anakin said, shading his words with an implication that Luke didn’t feel like examining too closely. Obi-Wan shot Anakin an irritated glance, but didn’t say anything. Luke remembered, earlier, Obi-Wan’s inability to describe just what his relationship was with Anakin, and the memory filled Luke with an odd sense of foreboding.
Some part of him was uncertain that he should leave them alone.
But they were already walking away and it was only the shadow of a warning, one that Obi-Wan wouldn’t have believed in any case. Obi-Wan trusted Anakin, hadn’t yet been betrayed by Anakin. There really was nothing that Luke could say that Obi-Wan would trust, especially without the Force there to inform him of his future bond with Luke.
And Minister Mothma was waiting.
Luke turned away, taking a route that wouldn’t pass the guest suites. Today, the walls seemed to be pressing in on him, just a little. He knew that Mothma wanted to keep the building plain, but a splash of color in the halls wouldn’t hurt anything.
Maybe he’d ask Leia to say something to Mothma. They had a certain closeness and often spoke for hours on politics and matters of state. Luke’s relationship with Mothma was much more tenuous, centered as it was around the formation of the New Jedi Order and just how much that Order would have to do with the
As he neared the room, Luke passed another of Mothma’s aides, Rau’a Tuwa, a native of Coruscant. She was in a hurry, her right hand clenched in a tight fist, the dark blonde bun of her hair slightly messy, clear green eyes focused on her destination. Mothma’s aides were generally rushing about, but this felt different somehow.
Luke filed the thought away to deal with later, and knocked lightly on the door.
“Come.” As Mothma spoke, Luke pressed his left thumb lightly on the panel at the side of the door. The door slid open with a gentle whisper of sound.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Luke said as he entered the room. The Hall of Records was much in the style of most of the rooms in the building, with one exception – the walls of the room were lined with drawers, each containing data slips of historical information. So many databanks had been wiped during the Clone Wars and their aftermath. This was one of the safeguards to prevent that from happening again, by having the information in a concrete form that existed outside the internal databanks of the main system.
Mothma was standing by the left wall, one drawer pulled out from the wall. She glanced up at him with a soft smile.
“It's my pleasure, Master Skywalker,” she said warmly. “The
Luke inclined his head and Mothma paused, looking uncertain for just a moment, and he noticed that she was twisting a data slip over in her hands.
“However, at the moment, I think you’ll agree that we have a more pressing matter to discuss,” she said, her conviction returning.
“Anakin and Obi-Wan,” Luke said.
“Precisely,” she said. “They do appear to be the men that I knew, those many years ago, but I’m sure you can understand why I might have some doubts. What proof do you have to offer that they are the Kenobi and Skywalker of time gone by, and not impostors or even clones?”
“I have nothing solid,” Luke said. “I would suggest a genetic scan but a well-made clone would pass one, we both know that. All I can tell you is that, as a Jedi, I know the truth of who they are.”
“The Jedi didn’t see the last disaster coming,” Mothma said. “How can you be certain that you’re seeing enough of the pattern this time?”
“We can never be certain, Minister,” Luke said. Mothma nodded thoughtfully.
“Then, for now, I just ask that you keep an eye on them while they’re not in this building,” Mothma said. “They are too valuable or too dangerous to lose, depending on the truth of what they are. I will be relying on you, Master Skywalker.”
“Believe me, I plan on staying near them,” Luke said.
“Good. And we shall speak more of your ideas on searching out Jedi for your new order after next week’s celebration,” Mothma said. “I’m afraid that my schedule is far too busy to work in another meeting before then, and I do have to head out to an appointment soon.”
“Of course,” Luke said, bowing his head, pushing away his frustration at this particular discussion being postponed again and suppressing the urge to ask who else she would be speaking to, this late in the day. He started to turn away and then Mothma held out her hand, and he paused.
“Wait,” she said, a data slip gleaming in the palm of her hand. “Before you go, I’d like to give you this. This data copy contains all the surviving information on Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. There isn’t much there, I’m afraid, but it’s a start.”
“Thank you,” Luke said, reaching out to take the slip. He closed his fingers around it, the slip still warm from Mothma’s hand.
This time, when he turned to leave, she let him.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 12:12 am (UTC)Anakin's reaction to Luke is... well, it's not surprising, but it is different than what many of this type of fic portrays. His jealousy of Luke is very much in-character - he doesn't exactly like being shown up, even if it is by his son. Luke's confusion and hesitations are well portrayed, and I am looking forward to seeing his reaction to what's in the file.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 07:51 am (UTC)Thank you!
Anakin's reaction to Luke is... well, it's not surprising, but it is different than what many of this type of fic portrays. His jealousy of Luke is very much in-character - he doesn't exactly like being shown up, even if it is by his son. Luke's confusion and hesitations are well portrayed, and I am looking forward to seeing his reaction to what's in the file.
Thank you -- I'm glad that the characterization feels natural and yet is also something not as commonly explored. That's neat to know.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 12:35 am (UTC)Could it have the video footage of Anakin becoming Vader and killing Jedi? The same stuff that Obi-Wan saw in RotS? That would be cool.
Another great chapter!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 07:53 am (UTC)And not to worry, the file's contents will not remain a mystery for long.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 01:27 am (UTC)Cute about suggesting Leia suggest some color *wink*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 07:53 am (UTC)And yes, there's all sorts of complicatedness going on.
*nods*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 02:55 am (UTC)I... I really want to know what'll happen that night. :O
Luke's taking Anakin's dislike/hatred/jealousy far better than I would if my estranged-turned-evil-father-from-the-future treated me the same way. A little too well, perhaps? Or maybe it's so surreal that it doesn't effect him.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 08:21 am (UTC)Luke's taking Anakin's dislike/hatred/jealousy far better than I would if my estranged-turned-evil-father-from-the-future treated me the same way. A little too well, perhaps? Or maybe it's so surreal that it doesn't effect him.
Little bit of both, I'd say. There's a lot that hasn't quite sunken in yet (and some things that he doesn't really want to think about, but knows that he should).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 02:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 08:23 am (UTC)Hee, thank you, very much.
And yes, I'll feel a bit sad when it's over, too (though that's not for a while yet). It's a very fun story to write.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 03:52 am (UTC)<333
Finally!! A new chapter!
I'm actually waiting to see if Obi-Wan and Dex would ever meet.. hehehe
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 08:24 am (UTC)There's definitely more coming up for Dex.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 04:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 08:25 am (UTC)Thank you.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-25 06:29 am (UTC)I think Anakin's emotions mostly stem from his fear that Luke will take Obi-Wan away from him: He knows Luke was trained by Obi-Wan and he knows that in this future he turned to the dark side and must have had a falling out with Obi-Wan. Add to this Luke asking Obi-Wan if he doesn't want to stay in the future and help him, something he wouldn't have asked if he knew how close Obi-Wan's friendship to Anakin was.
Deep down, of course, it all comes down to Anakin not feeling good enough. Here's his son who has succeeed where he fails, who has achieved serenity (of which Obi-Wan will approve) and who even has been given the rank of master.
One of my SW interpretations is that Padmé and Obi-Wan provide balance for Anakin. They both think things through before acting. Padmé shows Anakin the meaning of compassion, Obi-Wan shows him the meaning of mental discipline. (You could even assign elements to them: Anakin = fire, Padmé = water, Obi-Wan = earth. Palpatine could stand for air; he's the one who leads to Anakin's final explosion.)
Looking forward to more as always.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 08:37 am (UTC)Thank you! I'm really glad both that the dynamic isn't overdone and that it rings true to the canon. Yay.
I think Anakin's emotions mostly stem from his fear that Luke will take Obi-Wan away from him: He knows Luke was trained by Obi-Wan and he knows that in this future he turned to the dark side and must have had a falling out with Obi-Wan. Add to this Luke asking Obi-Wan if he doesn't want to stay in the future and help him, something he wouldn't have asked if he knew how close Obi-Wan's friendship to Anakin was.
Yeah, there's a whole lot of fear in Anakin. A lot of things that he's too afraid to look at.
Deep down, of course, it all comes down to Anakin not feeling good enough. Here's his son who has succeeed where he fails, who has achieved serenity (of which Obi-Wan will approve) and who even has been given the rank of master.
Anakin does have to feel slightly outmatched. And thus also feel the need to prove that he is better.
One of my SW interpretations is that Padmé and Obi-Wan provide balance for Anakin. They both think things through before acting. Padmé shows Anakin the meaning of compassion, Obi-Wan shows him the meaning of mental discipline. (You could even assign elements to them: Anakin = fire, Padmé = water, Obi-Wan = earth. Palpatine could stand for air; he's the one who leads to Anakin's final explosion.)
Oh, that's really interesting. I definitely agree that Anakin is searching for balance outside of himself.
Looking forward to more as always.
Thank you.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-15 05:39 am (UTC)I very much like your interpretation here. I find astrology to be of interest, esp. when it is used in helping to define fictional characters.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-19 10:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 02:51 pm (UTC)Duh... Luke so wants Anakin to like him, the poor puppy, and he's going to be denied.
So many databanks had been wiped during the Clone Wars and their aftermath. This was one of the safeguards to prevent that from happening again, by having the information in a concrete form that existed outside the internal databanks of the main system.
That's actually a good idea. Especially for Luke, who is going to have a time of what with the Temple Jedi being so concentrated -- they were only a few abandoned temples off Coruscant, but not much else.
This data copy contains all the surviving information on Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. There isn’t much there, I’m afraid, but it’s a start.
Oh, I like Mothma here! She's playing it pretty close to the vest, but she's clever and willing to work Luke against Obi-Wan and Anakin as much as she can. I wounder how much she knows, as she was friends with Bail Organa and Padme Naberrie before the Empire...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-28 03:38 am (UTC)Duh... Luke so wants Anakin to like him, the poor puppy, and he's going to be denied.
He does and is being yes, and, yeah, poor Luke right now.
That's actually a good idea. Especially for Luke, who is going to have a time of what with the Temple Jedi being so concentrated -- they were only a few abandoned temples off Coruscant, but not much else.
Yes, they were all, "well, this Coruscant place seems to be a nice little basket -- let's go put all our eggs in it."
Oh, I like Mothma here! She's playing it pretty close to the vest, but she's clever and willing to work Luke against Obi-Wan and Anakin as much as she can. I wounder how much she knows, as she was friends with Bail Organa and Padme Naberrie before the Empire...
Mothma made a really strong impression on me in my RotJ rewatch, which I thought was neat as she doesn't actually have all that much screentime.
re: Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 27: The Slip
Date: 2006-03-15 05:31 am (UTC)“Master Skywalker,” Jual said, turning to face Luke. Luke felt a flash of emotion from Anakin, too quickly hidden to categorize, though anger seemed a fair guess, from what he’d seen so far.
Anakin doesn't like it when he hears his title and name being used to address another. I also find it *interesting* that Mon and her people talk to Obi-Wan, but hardly seem to acknowledge Anakin. If I were Anakin, that would piss me off, for sure.
He knew that Mothma wanted to keep the building plain, but a splash of color in the halls wouldn’t hurt anything.
Thank you, Luke!
As he neared the room, Luke passed another of Mothma’s aides, Rau’a Tuwa, a native of Coruscant. She was in a hurry, her right hand clenched in a tight fist, the dark blonde bun of her hair slightly messy, clear green eyes focused on her destination. Mothma’s aides were generally rushing about, but this felt different somehow.
I have a bad feeling about this.
As for the data slip, I can't wait to see Luke and company's reaction to it.
Re: Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 27: The Slip
Date: 2006-04-07 07:37 am (UTC)It's always valid to be concerned about Anakin. Because... Anakin.
“Master Skywalker,” Jual said, turning to face Luke. Luke felt a flash of emotion from Anakin, too quickly hidden to categorize, though anger seemed a fair guess, from what he’d seen so far.
Anakin doesn't like it when he hears his title and name being used to address another. I also find it *interesting* that Mon and her people talk to Obi-Wan, but hardly seem to acknowledge Anakin. If I were Anakin, that would piss me off, for sure.
It'd piss me off, too.
Thank you.