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Father of the Galaxy
Anakin left the Jedi Order after the Clone Wars. He had felt betrayed by the Council’s willingness to trust him to lead in battle and unwillingness to trust his judgement literally anywhere else. He and Padme had a public wedding ceremony a year after the twins were born on Naboo, and it was a beautiful celebration not only of their family, but of everything that had transpired to bring them together.
Toddler Twins
Padme was busy negotiating (she was still serving as a senator and was still very busy picking up the pieces of the damaged galaxy in the aftermath of uncovering just how deeply Palpatine’s control had rooted) a peace treaty of somewhere—Anakin honestly hadn’t been paying attention. He had been a little distracted by Luke toddling a little too close to the balcony. He assured Padme that he and the kiddos would be fine, and they would miss her very much while she was at work, and she would be brilliant saving the galaxy, as always. He managed to grab Luke and hoist him over his shoulder while balancing Leia on his opposite hip just in time to kiss Padme goodbye before her escort arrived. The three of them waved and waved and waved until a shooting star across the sky told Anakin that they’d jumped to hyperspace. Leia snuggled into Anakin and asked tearfully when Mama was going to be home. Anakin still hadn’t figured out a great way to answer that question—how much can you explain to a three-year-old who misses her mom and doesn’t understand galactic politics? But he was saved when a transmission came on from the other room. Leia perked up at the sound of a familiar voice and wiggled down so she could run to see the holo. “AUNTIE ‘SOKA!!!” Upon hearing that, Luke also managed to wriggle out of Anakin’s arms and followed. Anakin smiled a little bit watching them before following. Sure enough, it was Ahsoka, who was shushing the kids politely and asking where Dad was. She was visibly relieved when Anakin came into view. “Anakin! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had the kids with you! I wouldn’t have called, but—I need help. Can you meet me at these coordinates?” Anakin hesitated for a moment, looking at his beautiful kids, their little faces bathed in blue light from the holo, and then looked back up at Ahsoka. “Will there be trouble?” Ahsoka offered an apologetic half smile. “You know me…” Anakin grinned. “I’ll call Obi-Wan. Sit tight, Snips!” He then knelt down and gestured to Luke and Leia like he was going to tell them a secret. “Luke, Leia, would you like to go visit Auntie Ahsoka?” They nodded excitedly, Leia practically jumping up and down. “Awesome, because we’re gonna go on a little adventure with her. It’s a secret mission though, so you have to remember, no telling anybody,” he whispered conspiratorially, “not even Mama, okay?” The twins nodded, wide eyed and enthusiastic. Anakin helped them pack their little bags while C3PO complained and R2 fired up the ship. Anakin glanced at the holoscreen and then grabbed his lightsaber, although he really hoped he wouldn’t need it this time.
When Obi Wan boarded the ship, he barely made it two steps before he heard the patter of little footsteps and-- “Anakin! You did not bring the children with you on a mission.” Anakin is a little (a lot) defensive. “You know they’re gonna be safe as long as they’re with me.” Obi Wan shakes his head and sighs but nonetheless greets Luke and Leia with a smile and a hug.
Anakin was right—the kids were fine, and Ahsoka was too (after some uh, aggressive negotations). Essentially, they were her getaway driver. Obi Wan didn’t ask. Anakin didn’t ask. Luke asked, and Leia asked, and they both got told that it was a secret mission and wasn’t it cool that they got to help Auntie ‘Soka with her special secret mission? And of course the twins were placated. They took it very seriously, in fact, and when Padme came home from her (successful, but very stressful) negotiations, she found the twins sleeping peacefully on the couch and Anakin and Ahsoka chatting in hushed tones at the kitchen table. Ahsoka stood abruptly when she came in, but quickly relaxed when she saw it was Padme. There was a quizzical glance from her to Anakin, but Anakin gestured to the sleeping twins and motioned to be quiet. Padme figured she’d get the story another time.
Another Time
“Dad, this is cool and everything, but like, I don’t see how this is relevant to my future!” Leia was standing, arm outstretched, lifting R2 in the air with the Force. “Please, can I just go with Mom to work?” Anakin rolled his eyes, but he was definitely tired of Leia’s constant begging to go to a Senate meeting. It was so frustrating for him, for both his children to be so strong with the Force and only one of them to be interested in pursuing the study of it. Leia turned to face him, her focus on keeping the droid airborne never wavering, even as she addressed her dad again. “Please, Dad? You let Luke go with Obi Wan to the Jedi Temple last week, and—” Anakin cut her off. “If mom says it’s okay, you can go. AFTER you clean your room, young lady! C3P0 is a protocol droid, not a nursery maid!” Leia’s face lit up as she dropped R2 unceremoniously and ran over to hug her dad before running back into the house towards her room.
Anakin knew he technically shouldn’t be training the twins, since he wasn’t really a Jedi anymore, but he figured he knew better than anyone how to teach his own children, although it was sort of uncharted territory for the Jedi Order as far as he knew. He had only given Luke permission to attend the Jedi Academy after some fierce debate with the council to ensure that Obi Wan would oversee Luke’s training. (he knew that since Obi Wan could handle him, he’d be the only one he’d trust with Luke. And Leia, even though her training was far less official. Leia was not interested in becoming a Jedi. Anakin was absolutely sure it was because she spent too much time with Ahsoka.)
Padme was very proud of her daughter for her boldness in voicing her opinions and the strength of her convictions. She had tried to keep her out of politics to avoid putting her through the stress she had endured at nearly the same age, but Leia was bound and determined to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Padme pretended to agree with Anakin when he insisted that Leia was too young to be so involved, but she remembered too well that she and Anakin had been too young to be so involved in the affairs of the galaxy. She was thrilled when Leia dragged Luke into the dining room and begged to go to Coruscant with her for the next Senate meeting. Luke was mostly excited to go visit the Jedi temple again—he’d been anxious to do some research for some kind of project (that was almost certainly assigned not by his actual Jedi Master, but by Anakin).
Aboard the ship, all was peaceful in hyperspace, until a transmission came in from none other than Bail Organa. Always a close friend of Padme’s, she of course changed course when he said he needed help. “Luke? Leia? We’re going to take a little detour to Alderaan. Please Do Not Tell Your Father.” The twins exchanged a look. “Another secret mission?” Luke asked. Leia made a face at him that Padme just caught as she whipped around to glare at him. “What do you mean another?” Luke floundered a bit before Leia gave him a little push to continue. “Dad takes us on secret missions all the time…” Luke said meekly. Padme forgot she didn’t swear in front of the kids and said a few choice words directed at Anakin. Then she just shook her head and laughed. “Well, it’s our turn to keep secrets now!” She grabbed her blaster as they came out of lightspeed and approached a familiar horizon, ready to get into trouble.
Luckily the shenanigans on Alderaan weren’t too serious (although Leia was very upset she got a blaster mark on her new white boots—Padme was more concerned that her daughter almost got shot). Some battle droids had been found and reprogrammed incorrectly, causing them to attempt to lay siege to the city. There weren’t too many, but they had gotten patched into the power grid, trapping just about everyone, necessitating a bit of assistance. Luke had a great time reenacting some of Anakin’s more ridiculous stories about slicing up battle droids, while Leia just started blasting with a little too much gusto. Padme managed to disable the droid at the computer station while also not letting her twins out of her sight, a task she was quite proud of herself for managing. It was almost a shame she needed to keep this quiet, because she’d love to brag about it to Anakin.
The rest of their adventure followed the original plan far more closely. Leia made some enemies in the Senate, Luke made some friends at the Jedi temple, and Padme was very proud of them both. She did admonish Leia for being a little more rude than necessary, but absolutely agreed with her that it was vital she defend her position as strongly as she did. She told Luke to invite his new friends over for dinner any time.
Dinner, Any Time
Anakin wondered if Obi Wan had been as proud of him when he became a Jedi Knight as he was right now. Luke’s robes swished satisfyingly behind him as he stepped through the doors to where Padme, Anakin, and Leia were waiting. Anakin thought that he somehow managed to look incredibly grown up and incredibly young at the same time. The slightly wild grin and perpetually messy hair that Luke had definitely inherited from Anakin were definitely a factor in that assessment. “I’m proud of you, kid,” Anakin managed to say without betraying the catch in his throat. This must be why the Jedi discourage attachment, because you can’t have Jedi Masters crying every time a padawan graduates, Anakin thought to himself. Padme was far more eloquent, wrapping Luke up in a gentle hug before congratulating him and the several other newly minted Knights that had filed out of the room behind him. Anakin coughed and made a stupid joke that Leia almost snorted at, lightening the gravitas of the moment.
Later, at their house, C3PO fussed over how many people were crammed at the kitchen table. Anakin was trying to stop Ahsoka from regaling everyone with tales of her days as Anakin’s Padawan, while Obi Wan just looked amused. Leia was glad to see them distracted as she snuck outside with Han, who was looking for an excuse to not be introduced to Leia’s (legendary and intimidating) parents. Han, being the scoundrel he is, ended up convincing her to ditch the party for a little while. They went for a little cruise in the bucket of bolts Han insisted was, in fact, the fastest ship in the galaxy. Meanwhile, Anakin had managed to move the conversation towards the silly things Ahsoka and Luke had done as padawans, with such skill that Padme was finally convinced he had learned something from her after all. Alas, it was too good to last: Anakin and Obi Wan ended up getting into a silly argument about who taught Luke more/who was the better Jedi, which ended with a reminder from Ahsoka that neither she nor Anakin were technically Jedi anymore. Obi Wan looked a little too smug at that, so of course Anakin assured him that he could still kick his ass. Luke took the opportunity of his dad’s distraction to sneak into the kitchen with Ezra, and ended up getting surprised with meeting Ezra’s family.
Proud Dad, Part 2
Anakin and Padme sat on either side of Leia, both very focused on braiding her hair into one of the intricate styles Padme had worn when she was serving as Queen of Naboo. Leia’s aspirations were much bigger than just Naboo, but representing the planet as a Senator was still a huge honor and she of course wanted to look her best. Anakin’s brow furrowed as he tried to wriggle the pins holding the hair into place without tugging on any of the completed braids. He could see Padme’s eyes crinkle as she watched his efforts. “I don’t know what you’re laughing at, sweetheart, I’m going to get done before you,” Anakin joked. Padme actually laughed out loud at that. “Oh really? Who’s the one who taught you this in the first place?” She deftly placed one more pin and then stood up and moved over to Anakin’s side, helping him pin the final braid in place, and then holding a mirror up for Leia. “What do you think, Madame Senator?” Leia admired her parents’ handiwork, but only for a moment before hugging them close and thanking them, and they knew that it wasn’t just for today, but for everything. After she went to get dressed, Anakin held Padme in his lap and absentmindedly started combing her hair, the way he had when they had first started living together and she would come home from Senate meetings nearly in tears and so exhausted she would collapse onto the couch without even taking off her shoes. Back then, Anakin would bring her a warm drink and a blanket and he would carefully untangle her elaborate hair from whatever extravagant headpiece it was woven into. They’d sit there together, sometimes in silent understanding, sometimes talking about their day. Inevitably, by the time Padme had finished her tea, Anakin had her hair combed out and neatly braided into a single simple braid down her back. Now, Padme’s hair had a few strands of grey, but it still fell in a practiced braid down her back. Anakin hadn’t even really noticed that he had been braiding until his wife reached back to hand him a hair tie.
Senator Leia Skywalker’s first Senate meeting ended precisely as anyone who knew her could have expected it to: she started a lot of fights and threw several scathing insults veiled very thinly under a veneer of polite diplomacy. The younger Senator Skywalker was even more direct than her mother and had such an insane amount of unwavering confidence that on anyone other than her it would have been insufferable arrogance. Somehow, it just made her the kind of person you wanted to agree with. This is probably what allowed her to demand the end of the Outer Rim slave trade on her first day on the Senate floor without extreme consequences. She still came home fuming at the lack of urgency in the majority of the Senate, but Anakin didn’t think he could ever be more proud of her.
Ever
Even though Padme had wanted for at least one of her children to have a big, traditional wedding that she could make into an extravagant affair, neither her nor Anakin could deny that eloping was far more Leia’s style. As the Millennium Falcon streaked across the sky, even Anakin could admit that Han was actually a very good pilot. He would, of course, never admit that to his face, but he definitely boasted about his son-in-law to anyone else who would listen. The wedding had been rather unceremonious, and the resulting party had been what might be called rowdy, by some, but by the resulting headaches everyone had woken up to the next morning seemed to indicate that it had been a good time. There were definitely going to be some good stories. It was a good thing Luke was so well-respected as a Jedi Master that if any of the stories of his antics got out, they’d be dismissed as rumors. Luke and Ezra were very covert about the nature of their “friendship” around most other Jedi Council members and Senators, but as Luke liked to joke, he was a Jedi like his father before him, by which he meant he was going to bend or change as many rules as he could. It was working out very well for him so far. He had already managed to separate the Jedi from the Senate, relinquishing much of the power they’d gained during the Clone Wars and physically moving the Jedi off of Coruscant. That had been a much harder sell, but it certainly didn’t hurt that his sister was now the majority leader of the Senate and was most likely going to be elected Chancellor in the future. They were easily able to convince the Senate that it would be better for the Jedi to return to their role as peacekeepers who were at the service of the people of the galaxy now that the war was over. Anakin was very proud of Luke’s accomplishments, but he was self-aware enough to know that he would have resisted very hard had he still been a Jedi. As a father though, he was thrilled to have his son closer to home, so despite their arguments about the purpose of the Jedi Order, he ultimately ceded that Luke had made a good decision.
Ahsoka was also delighted by the wider dispersal of Jedi, as it made it easier for her to avoid the Council’s collective attention as she continued her research on the living Force. She currently found herself on Lothal with Kanan, who was also an avid researcher. Ahsoka found herself curiously drawn towards the legends of Mortis, and although Anakin refused to even talk about the subject, Obi Wan had let slip once that they may have found Mortis once during the war. It was like a world between worlds, and though they’d been there for days, it had appeared they’d been gone only moments. Kanan had suggested that it could be somehow connected to the Loth Wolves unique ways of travel, and Ahsoka was inclined to agree, but certainly had no objections to staying on Lothal for a while to study. She wished Anakin would be more forthcoming about what had happened on Mortis, but Obi Wan had cautioned her not to bring it up again with him. “It was a very dark time,” he had warned, “and besides, it doesn’t do to dwell on the past or what might have been.”
Tattooine
Anakin never thought he’d end up on Tatooine ever again. Crossing the familiar sands, he briefly let his mind wander to what might have been but was quickly called back to reality when his grandson’s voice rang out behind him. Padme squeezed his hand, as if she knew what he’d been thinking about. Leia and Han each had one of Ben’s hands and they counted one, two, three, and swung him between them. The toddler was already remarkably adventurous, which Luke and Ezra pointed out, was no surprise, looking at his parents. Leia sniped back with some remark about how at least she didn’t get the “let’s hide our relationship from the Jedi Council” gene. Ezra took a little bit of offense, but Luke just put a hand on his shoulder as he rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at Leia.
They ended up with excellent seats for the Boonta Eve Classic, and Anakin explained the race to his grandson, who was sitting on his knee and utterly fascinated by the odd looking vehicles racing by. So much seemed to have remained the same, but it was almost a completely different planet than the one he had known as a child. Tatooine had been the first planet, under significant pressure from Leia and Luke, to agree to end the practice of slavery. Anakin had tried to make sure his kids would never know the suffering he had known or even know of it, but Padme had gently insisted that they needed to be aware of injustice in the world if they had any chance of correcting it. As he told Ben the story of his own fateful pod race, he was so grateful he had the ability to share some positive memories with his family—his family! He would always miss his mother, of course, but he didn’t have to miss her alone. Padme would always be by his side, and his brilliant children had grown up to be so confident and capable, and now he had a sweet little grandson who would get to grow up in a world full of freedom that Anakin couldn’t have imagined at Ben’s age.
Ben was fascinated by Anakin’s tales of pod racing and Uncle Luke’s stories about racing through the canyons when he was learning how to pilot. “You really drove one of those funny looking racers?” Ben asked. “I sure did,” Anakin responded, “And I bet it was faster than Dad’s pile of junk,” he continued, with a wink in Han’s direction. Ben laughed and laughed, but did end up insisting that his dad’s ship was the fastest in the whole universe. Han was too busy betting on which racer was going to win to notice the slight against his ship. Ezra had bet against Han and they were practically shouting at each other as their chosen pod racers were neck and neck across the line. Padme even had to remind the twins to calm down and behave themselves (“I haven’t seen you two this riled up since that time that—” that was as far as she needed to go before they composed themselves instantly. All three of them were thinking of totally different incidents, all three of which would have been sufficient to shame them into respectable behavior for their respective positions. They settled for teasing Han and Ezra for their choices in pod racers. Anakin was now explaining how to build a podracer to Ben, who was hanging on every word even though his eyes were constantly moving between the screen and the gap in the canyon, straining to catch a glimpse of the final racers.
The whole ride home, Ben was asking everybody questions about how podracers worked and how to build a ship and could he help Dad fix the Falcon next time the motivator stopped working? Leia send him toddling into the cockpit to ask Dad himself about that one, and remarked to Anakin, “Look at what you did, Dad, he’s gonna end up building his first droid even younger than you did!” Anakin smiled and said, “If he’s anything like you, I’m sure he will.”
Like You
Chancellor Leia Skywalker’s first act as Chancellor was to sign into effect the new Articles of the Republic that outlawed slavery in any form throughout the known galaxy. Some planets had been more difficult to convince than others, but between aggressive negotiations both on the Senate floor and on the ground of the more difficult planets, the Republic was now dedicated to freedom in more than just name. There was still quite a bit of turmoil to sort out, but Leia had been raised in the aftermath of the Clone Wars and cut her teeth on reconstructing a dangerously fractured galactic republic. She was sure she could handle this. Her hope was that the people of the Republic could too.
Kayana was frustrated with the Mandalorian looking in her direction without being able to tell if she was actually looking at her or not. She, however had more restraint than her daughter, who was marching right up to the Mandalorian with the colorfully painted armor. Before Kayana could stop her, Rey demanded answers. “Why are you looking at us like that? We don’t need your pity!” The Mandalorian woman however, snapped back without any qualms about being verbally assaulted by a child. “Oh, I wouldn’t bother looking at you if I pitied you. No, you just remind me of someone I know.” Kayana rushed in to apologize, but before she could get a word out, the Mandalorian addressed her. “Are you related to Bo Katan, by any chance? I’m so sorry to pry, but the resemblance is striking.” Kayana was the one who felt struck. Her earlier frustration rose quickly back to the surface. “Oh, the same Bo Katan who dragged me out to this starsforsaken rock to ‘protect me’ and then I never heard from her again?” Kayana spit on the ground between them. “Yeah, I might have known her once, but I wouldn’t exactly call her family. Not anymore.” Rey stepped behind her mom, curious but guarded. Sabine removed her helmet before speaking again. “Believe me, I know families aren’t always what you want them to be, but I think she’d be really excited to see you.” Kayana scoffed, and turned to go, but she saw the question in her daughter’s eyes. And she realized she wanted answers as well. Without looking back at Sabine, she spoke. “Rey, go find your father and pack your things. We’re going to Mandalore.” Sabine reached for her comm. “I’ll let her know you’re on our way. We’ll be right here when you’re ready to go.” Kayana shook her head, already starting to regret her decision. Rey had already made a mad dash towards her father, who was standing by the door as if he already knew what had happened.
The first call Sabine made was not to Bo Katan, but to Ahsoka. “Ahsoka? I need you to find out where Bo Katan is and how to contact her. You know the rumors about how her kids survived the Clone Wars? I think I found them.”
Bo Katan was difficult to track down, but Ahsoka was very well-connected and a lot of people owed her favors. Bo Katan was not exactly open to conversation, but Ahsoka didn’t give her much of a choice. “You’re coming with me. There’s some people that need to talk to you.” “Is that a threat?” “That’s up to your kids.” The older woman did not respond, but her already heavy expression deepened into something walking the line between intense guilt and a flicker of hope. There was an uncomfortable silence in the cockpit of Ahsoka’s ship the entire flight, broken only when Bo Katan stepped into the back to place a hushed holo call to someone whose voice Ahsoka couldn’t make out from behind the heavy doors separating the rooms. They arrived at Sabine’s home just slightly before she did, and they watched the colorful ship land expertly on the landing pad, followed by another ship, one that Ahsoka knew in a heartbeat—“Master Kenobi? What are you doing here?” She did not receive an answer though, because a beautiful woman with a stormy expression and a child who would be even more lovely if her face was not clearly full of barely contained rage approached Bo Katan with such ferocity Ahsoka nearly drew her lightsaber to stop them.
Kayana was the first one to speak. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Every word was punctuated, but no one flinched. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, Bo Katan just stepped forward and wrapped her up in a big hug. Even more surprising, Kayana didn’t resist. Seemingly the most shocked was Rey, who looked at Ahsoka and remarked, “Mom said to be ready for a fight, but I don’t think this is it.” Ahsoka smiled, introduced herself, and offered an opportunity to spar outside with her while the grownups talked about whatever they needed to sort out. “It’ll probably be really boring stuff anyway,” she said, although she knew they were both a little anxious to discover what was going on here. Rey leapt at the opportunity to show off, and Ahsoka was a little taken aback by the lack of training in the Force the child had, despite her extensive training in combat. She gently pried for information, which Rey was quite willing to give her, in between her own questions. By the time Ahsoka decided they were done and it was time to go inside, Rey was following Ahsoka like a shadow. Inside the house, Kayana was sitting slumped over at the dining room table, while in the next room, Obi Wan and Bo Katan were having a heated conversation.
“I can’t believe you would keep this from me for so long!” Obi Wan was closer to shouting than Ahsoka had ever heard him. “You know this isn’t what Satine would have wanted!” Bo responded equally forcefully, “She did what she had to do to protect all of us! They wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t kept them from you!” “She knows I would have left the Jedi for her and certainly for her—our—children!” Obi Wan’s voice broke on the last word, and he took a shaky breath before continuing, much softer now. “If I would have known, I would have done everything in my power to—” he stopped and shook his head, as if that would stop the tears from gathering in his eyes. Bo cautiously sat next to him where he had collapsed onto the couch, and carefully put a hand on his shoulder. She gestured to the door that Kayana and Rey were on the other side of. “Would you like to meet them?”
Obi Wan was nearly overwhelmed with tears when he was introduced to his daughter for the first time. “You look just like your mother,” he murmured, almost too softly to be heard. It was a very awkward situation at first, to be sure, but as the day faded into night, Obi and Kayana sat at the dining room table talking for hours. Rey was very cautious at first around her grandfather, but quickly warmed up to him. He was a great storyteller, and Rey ended up falling asleep in his lap.
[maybe not canon but just consider how funny this is: Ahsoka was eavesdropping and on a call with Anakin… “Anakin? I can’t wait for the next time you talk to Obi Wan.” “Why, what has he gotten himself into this time?” “Oh, you’ll have to ask him…I just think the universe has a great sense of humor.”]
The Universe
Jedi had a knack for disappearing and becoming unreachable, and Obi Wan Kenobi, one of the most respected Jedi on the Council, was no exception. His sudden disappearance would have worried Anakin and Luke a lot had it not been for the near constant reassurances from Ahsoka that everything was okay. Padme tried to convince her boys to stop bothering her so much, she and Obi Wan would certainly come back when the time was right. The Force works in mysterious ways, she reminded them.
The Force was not working in a mysterious way in Rey, Ahsoka found. The dark side of the Force was her first instinct to draw upon, because despite her bright and curious nature, she was brimming with rage at almost all times, and Ahsoka was constantly working on healthy anger management with her. Obi Wan had relented to Ahsoka’s requests to train Rey, because despite technically not being a Jedi, Ahsoka was a great Force user who truly followed the light. Even in her angriest moments, Rey always had a lot of love for Ahsoka, who she called her Jedi mom (the only time Ahsoka allowed the title of Jedi to be used for her), so even though her training was very difficult and insanely frustrating at times, she kept trying.
Kayana was methodically searching for her brother, and Obi Wan was just as anxious to find him. He hadn’t really contacted anyone for a while, not even Anakin. He wasn’t sure how to even start that conversation. He had behaved rather harshly towards Anakin many years ago for essentially the same reason he was now gallivanting around the galaxy, and it felt very hypocritical and wildly unfair. It seemed best to let the emotions settle before saying or doing anything untoward.
As weeks became months, Anakin decided that he was tired of waiting. It had been a long time since he had a good old fashioned adventure anyway. He asked the kids if they wanted to come, and although both had to decline, Leia suggested that Ben was old enough to tag along and be helpful. She was sure that he could take a little vacation to spend time with his grandfather, right? So they set off across the galaxy to track down Obi Wan. It was definitely more than either of them bargained for, and not just because of the revelation that was waiting for them at the end. But, to be fair, they were Skywalkers, so what did they expect? Alas, Obi Wan proved impossible to track with any certainty, but even when Anakin returned home, he kept his ears open for any news about his friend.
The Revelation
As always, a member of the family earning the rank of Jedi Knight was cause for a huge celebration in the Skywalker household, and this time it was Ben’s turn for that honor. Although he had been reluctant to undergo Jedi training when he was little, he had grown into a capable and independent young Jedi knight, and was his grandfather’s pride and joy. Padme had, of course, invited the entire class, and the party was living up to the reputation that proceeded any party Padme hosted, but something was missing this time. Then, he walked through the door. Obi Wan Kenobi, absent from their lives for what seemed like a painfully long time, walked in as if all that time was nothing. He casually greeted everyone, and remarked to Anakin how proud he must be of Ben. Anakin of course had to agree. “But Obi Wan, is that the reason you decided to come back? To congratulate Ben on being knighted?” “Not entirely, although of course, he very much deserves it. Ah, Anakin, I’d like you to meet my children, and my granddaughter, who earned the rank of Jedi Knight today.” Anakin’s jaw might have hit the floor. Even Padme couldn’t contain her shock, and Luke and Leia stopped midsentence. Ben froze, the drink he was pouring overflowing onto the table. “YOUR WHAT???!!!!???” If the announcement from Obi Wan hadn’t been enough to get the attention of everyone at the party, Anakin’s reaction certainly was. Obi Wan had to rush to introduce his twins, their spouses, and then his granddaughter, Rey. “She’s a lot like you, Anakin, I’m sure you’ll get along.”
To no one’s surprise, the families got along very well, although the Skywalkers had many, many questions, most of which were answered in due time. Ben had a lot of questions for Rey, most importantly, “How did you become a Jedi if you were trained by Ahsoka? She’s pretty adamant about not being a Jedi.”
Ahsoka, being asked a very similar question by Anakin, just shrugged and grinned, winking at her padawan from across the room. Never one to resist an opportunity to tease Anakin, she did grace him with an answer, of sorts. “You know, you’re not a Jedi either, and somehow you got away with doing half the training of our little golden boy on the council over there,” she nodded towards Luke, “and I bet that might have something to do with it.”
Golden Boy
If Ahsoka had thought Anakin and Obi Wan’s rivalry with each other was bad, she knew Ben and Rey’s was worse. (It wasn’t, really, Ahsoka just had a harder time picking sides with this one. She trained Rey, so of course Rey was always right, but Ben was practically family, so she couldn’t root against him now, could she?) Ben had no problem with a little bit of friendly competition—he was his father’s son—but of course that quickly became insufferable for Rey when it was combined with the vast confidence that every damn Skywalker seemed to have. Although Rey knew she was capable and could easily hold her own among any of the other Jedi Knights, she felt like a bit of an outsider. Many of them had studied together, and at the very least they all knew or knew of each other. The only one she actually had met was Ben, and he was literally Master Luke’s nephew, so of course she assumed he was the golden boy of the temple. His unshakeable calm attitude did not help dispel this assumption, and Rey dedicated more of her energy than she was willing to admit trying to outdo him—or get him to break.
“Rey, the Council recognizes your excellent representation of the Jedi at the Senate meeting,” Luke said. Rey managed to keep a straight face, but couldn’t help but reply with a deadpan about how they really should have sent Ben, since, you know, his mother is literally the Chancellor. Luke was not amused. Neither was the rest of the council, and it painted Rey in a very unflattering light. It was unfortunate, because she really had done an excellent job earlier that day in front of the Senate. And despite her unorthodox training and occasionally unorthodox methods of teaching, most of the people at the temple genuinely enjoyed being around her. Luke resolved to have a word with her privately later. First though, he needed some perspective.
Ben heard the knock at the door and knew immediately who was there. “Door’s open!” He called, putting away the holo files he’d been poring over. He hated not having answers, and a youngling had managed to think up a question that he didn’t have a good answer for. He’d stumbled through an unsatisfying response, and then promised to do some research, so here he was. Mom always had a gracious way to admit that she didn’t know something, unless it was to Dad, but Ben definitely didn’t have that kind of composure. Making things up on the fly and presenting them as truth was a skill that seemed to be reserved for his grandfather, and try though might, he hadn’t been able to learn it from him. “Hey, Uncle Luke? Was Mom always good at—” “At getting her way? Oh, always,” Luke laughed, “but managing to do it without making people angry is something that’s come with age.” Ben smiled, wondering where his uncle was going with this. He had a funny way of disguising serious conversations with the most lighthearted choice of words. “That’s not what I was going to ask, but it kind of answers my question anyway,” Ben said.