23

Despite all her training sessions, Saedii found herself unable to sleep that night.

She tossed and turned in the small room that she shared with Omega, unable to get comfortable, even though she had a real bed. Even though it was dark and quiet all the way down here, in the heart of the mountain. Even though she was exhausted.

Her mind was in turmoil, focused on the last part of her training session with Anakin and the rest. On Obi-Wan's warning of Siths and their mind games.

Their minds tricks are superior to ours.

Far superior.

What could they have meant by that? What had Darth Sidious done to Anakin – or nearly made him do? And, if the Sith could exhaust such control over a trained Jedi knight, what kind of control could they have on a Padawan?

What kind of control could they have on Kalth?

Their recent encounter replayed in grueling detail across her memory. Every word he said, every move he made – Saedii was suddenly analyzing it. Trying to decipher if he'd been under anyone's control or working of his own accord. Trying to decide if there was anything left of the friend she knew.

Across the room, Omega was sleeping soundly, tucked in under a massive pile of blankets.

She had chatted incessantly for an hour before finally falling asleep, telling Saedii all about her day helping AZI in the med bay. She'd mentioned Lyana and Pabu, too, which made Saedii uncomfortable, since Omega wanted to go back and Saedii didn't. Saedii had been relieved when her young friend had finally fallen asleep.

Careful not to wake her now, Saedii pulled her boots back on and slipped out the door.

The hall was quiet. A quick glance at the time told her it was past midnight, though dawn was still several hours away. Most of the Clones would be asleep by now, unless they were on watch detail.

From the door right across from hers, the raucous sounds of Wrecker's snores announced the Batch's room. A spot across the hall was the furthest away that Hunter was willing to be from Saedii and Omega. She wondered if he was sleeping now, too, or if he was still in meetings with Rex.

A part of her debated sticking her head in to see. It had been nice talking with him on Pabu. He always had a new perspective for her. Always knew just what to say to set her mind at ease.

But Hunter wouldn't have the answers that she sought. Not tonight.

Tonight, there was someone else that she needed to talk to.

Someone that she really, really hoped was already awake. Otherwise, he might be a little angry with the late visit.

Twenty minutes later, Saedii knocked very quietly on the tower door.

It was quiet out here. Very quiet. At this time of night, even most of the animals hiding in the forests below had gone off to sleep.

Something shuffled on the other side of the door a moment before it slid open. Glowing yellow eyes stared out at her from the darkness.

"Hello, Padawan Synn," C-3PO greeted.

"Hello," Saedii said meekly, suddenly nervous. "Uh, I'm sorry to bother you this late at night."

"It is no trouble to me. I do not require sleep."

He was trying for a joke, Saedii realized. She flashed a smile before growing more serious. "I hate to ask, but is Master Skywalker awake by any chance? I need to talk to him."

"You are in luck!" C-3PO exclaimed. "He just got up with the twins. Would you like to come up and see him?"

"Please."

C-3PO hurried her in before shutting the door.

This time, instead of leading her up to the topmost room, he stepped before a door halfway up the tower. From the other side, the loud laughter of a baby was the only sound.

C-3PO knocked. It was then that Saedii noticed the bottles in his hand.

Anakin opened the door, looking beleaguered. His hair, which had grown long, was sticking up in all directions and his robes were in disarray, as if he'd put them on in the dark. Purple bags under each eye told her that he hadn't gotten much sleep tonight.

"Do you have those bottles?" Anakin asked eagerly before his attention settled on Saedii, waiting sheepishly at C-3PO's side. He startled at the sight of her. "Oh, hello little one."

"Master." Saedii nodded respectfully. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

A wry smile pulled at his full mouth. "Not at all. In fact, I'd be happy for some help."

He took the bottles from C-3PO and hurried Saedii in.

This room appeared to be a nursery of some kind. Light beige walls had been painted with cute drawings of Jedi and lightsabers and droids. Two cribs hovered in the far corner with mobiles made of several different kinds of ships above each.

In the center of the room, Luke and Leia were laughing and cooing at each other.

"Padme got up with them yesterday," Anakin explained as he snatched Leia off the ground, carrying her over to a nearby chair. With a very tired-sounding sigh, he sat down, pulling her into his arms. "Tonight's my turn."

Saedii reached out for the bottle he handed her, turning to pull Luke off the floor. He had grown so much since she'd first seen him nine months ago. He was nearly a year old now, with soft blonde hair and wide blue eyes. Even so young and small, Saedii could see Anakin and Padme in his features.

She took the other seat, awkwardly pulling Luke into her arms. She wasn't very good with babies. Back in the Temple, she and Kalth had often gone to visit the younglings still in their cradles, but only to look and hold their little hands. She had no experience with holding something so small.

Luke cooed softly, small hands reaching up for the bottle that Saedii held above him. His fingers rested against hers as she brought it down and slipped it into his mouth, where he began to suckle dutifully. He was warm against her chest, swaddled in light blue pajamas with little feet.

Next to her, Anakin was struggling. Leia was screaming and turning her head. Unwilling to take her bottle.

"Leia's our problem child," Anakin said tightly. "She's fussy and never wants to sleep. She's usually the one that gets the twins up in the night."

Saedii looked down at Luke in her arms. His little eyes were already fluttering closed and he seemed to be drifting off to sleep. Compared to his sister, he was far better behaved.

"Luke takes after Padme. Leia, unfortunately, takes after me," Anakin added ruefully as Leia screamed and batted at the bottle.

C-3PO shuffled over, taking the bottle from Anakin's hand. Then, ever so gently, he slipped it inside Leia's mouth. "Leia does require a bit more coaxing than Luke. However, once she realizes she's being fed, she settles down."

Sure enough, as soon as she had the bottle in her mouth, Leia calmed down. Though, instead of falling asleep like her brother, Leia's big brown eyes stared straight up at her father. As if refusing to fall asleep.

"Thanks, 3PO." Anakin's head tipped back against the chair. For a long moment, he closed his eyes. Enjoying a moment of silence.

Then, he let out a soft exhale and sat back up. "Well, little one, I'm assuming you didn't come here at one in the morning to help me feed the twins. You have something on your mind."

"I was hoping I could talk to you about what happened on Coruscant. With Palpatine," she began slowly.

He nodded, as if he had suspected as much. "What do you want to know?"

Saedii hesitated, unsure how to phrase her questions. Was Anakin going to want to talk about what he'd been through? About what had happened?

"It's alright," he advised gently. "You can ask."

"What did Palpatine do to you?"

Anakin took a long moment to answer. He attention drifted back to Leia in his arms, who was still watching him. Then, he began, "Sidious manipulated my desire to protect Padme and our children. He stoked my fear. Made me desperate enough to do anything to save them."

"How?" Saedii asked.

"Over the years, he planted seeds of doubt," Anakin explained. "As he drew closer to his ultimate plan, he made me see things – visions of Padme and our children, dying, growing those seeds of doubt into fear. I thought them horrible dreams at first, but the more that I had them, the more I believed that I was seeing glimpses of the future – my future, where I was unable to save those I loved most."

Visions? She'd never heard of such a power. How could someone make you see things that weren't there?

Anakin continued, "The night that Mace and I led a coup against him, I was frightened. I thought that my visions were starting to come true. My fear pushed me out of balance and made it easy for Sidious to exploit. All it took was a little push from him, and I was consumed by the dark."

"A push?"

"He slipped into my mind. Broke the last remaining piece of control that I had."

That was even more terrifying than making people see things. Because Saedii herself had done it – had reached into people's minds and pushed them to make a different choice. She'd done it just last year on Ryloth. She knew how it felt to prod at a mind until it was persuaded to do something else.

Saedii adjusted Luke in her arms, so that he was pressed closer to her chest. Needing his proximity. "You said the dark consumed you?"

"Yes." Anakin gently began to rock in the chair. Perhaps to try and coax Leia into sleep. "It was like drowning."

"Drowning?"

"It was everywhere. Took over everything. Like I'd been plunged straight into a pool of ink. Or mud."

Saedii flinched. Just last year, she'd had a similar experience. Had felt a terrible uneasiness in the Force after Ironside's death.

Had that been the Dark side? Tempting her?

Anakin's brow furrowed. "It was like someone else took over my body. Like I was watching from above as I turned on Mace. As I tried to fight Obi-Wan."

"How did you get away?"

"Obi-Wan," Anakin said fondly. "He reminded me that Padme was safe, that I could only protect her if I stayed away from the Dark. He knew just what to say to pull me back to the Light."

It was widely known in the Order that Anakin and Obi-Wan were very close. Like brothers. Some had argued their attachment was too strong, but now, Saedii realized that that attachment was the only thing that could have saved Anakin. Without Obi-Wan, Anakin would have succumbed to the Dark.

Kalth had been her best friend. They'd known and loved each other for twelve years. Before Saedii had Plo and Wolffe or the Batch, Kalth had been her family. Her only family.

Did that mean that Saedii could save him? Even if Kalth had gone to the Dark, maybe it wasn't too late to bring him back, like Obi-Wan had for Anakin.

"I sense the unease in you, little one," Anakin said quietly. When Saedii looked up, his cool gaze was on her. Assessing. "Do you ask because you have been tempted by the Dark?"

"No," Saedii said at once, even though she thought briefly of last year. Of Ironside. "No, I'm asking for Kalth."

Anakin inclined his head in understanding. "Your friend. The Inquisitor."

Saedii let out a slow breath. "What if he can be saved?"

A slow silence crept upon the two of them. In it, Saedii could sense Anakin's disbelief. He didn't think Kalth could be saved.

Before Anakin could say it, Saedii explained, "What if he's being controlled by Darth Vader just like you were by Sidious? What if he didn't really turn to the Dark side, but was forced? Maybe I can help him, like Obi-Wan did for you."

"It's...unlikely."

"But not impossible."

In Anakin's arms, Leia's eyes finally started to shut. Slowly, like she clung to consciousness but couldn't help the pull of the bottle and the gentle rocking of her father's arms.

Lowering his voice, Anakin pressed, "Were there any others on Serenno? Any Inquisitors or Force users?"

"No, but –"

"Then there's no way he was being controlled." Anakin's expression was gentle, as if he understood the disappointment that Saedii felt. "The Sith mind tricks are powerful, but even they cannot control someone from across the galaxy."

"Maybe this Darth Vader has abilities that Sidious does not."

"It doesn't work that way. If Darth Vader truly exists, then he will be the apprentice. If Sidious cannot control others from afar, then neither can Vader."

Saedii looked helplessly down at Luke. He was fast asleep, body curled in towards the warmth of Saedii's chest. Delicately, she reached up and brushed his downy hair off his forehead.

"I just can't believe that he would have turned. That he would have killed the children in the Temple," Saedii said suddenly.

Leia's eyes twitched at the sound.

Anakin sighed. "The Dark side changes us. I shudder to think what I would have been capable of, if Obi-Wan had not pulled me back."

"But there was something off about the way he was acting. He wasn't himself."

"I told you. The Dark side has changed him."

"He never said my name," Saedii challenged softly. "He called me Jedi."

The look that passed over Anakin's face was pitying. "You're reading too much into this, little one."

"But –"

"Did you consider that perhaps he only called you Jedi to unbalance you? To make you hesitate?"

Something cold slid into her stomach. She had hesitated. When she'd had the chance to kill him, she'd tried to take him prisoner instead. A mistake that could have cost her and the Batch their lives.

Had he been the one using mind tricks, then? Had his fear and his pleads to kill him only been a ploy?

Leia was now asleep, one arm dangling to the side. Anakin reached out with his prosthetic hand to play with her tiny fingers.

"I know it's hard," he began slowly, "but the friend you knew is likely gone. There's nothing you can do to save him."

A part of her had known that, of course. The friend she'd known and loved would have never bragged about taking a life, especially not those of younglings.

But she'd still hoped.

The two of them lapsed into silence. As they did, Luke finished his bottle and Saedii carefully slipped it from his sleeping lips.

"I can take him from here." C-3PO, who'd been very quiet throughout Anakin and Saedii's conversation, appeared before her, arms out.

Very carefully, Saedii handed him over. C-3PO methodically wrapped Luke up in a soft grey blanket before pulling him against his shoulder and lighting patting him on the back.

Just as Anakin pulled the empty bottle from Leia, the door opened and a red and blue blur rushed inside, beeping urgently.

Leia's eyes shot open almost immediately and she let out a wail.

"R2!" Anakin snarled as, across the room, Luke too suddenly began to cry. "Come on! We just got them to –"

R2's beeping became more insistent as he relayed the report.

Howzer was back. Rex was calling an emergency meeting.

Saedii jumped to her feet. Finally.

"Tell Rex I'm not going to make it," Anakin snapped, standing. Leia struggled in his arms, screaming at the top of her lungs.

R2 gave a very disproving beep.

"Hey, I have two screaming kids that I need to put back to sleep. Rex will fill me in on anything I miss."

"I'm going," Saedii said.

"I figured." Looking strung out, Anakin readjusted his hold on Leia, who was now trying to push her way free. "Well, thanks for your help. Any time you can't sleep, your services are always welcome here."

Saedii nodded, then sobered. Very quietly, she said, "Thank you for talking to me, Master Skywalker. I appreciate your honesty."

"Happy to help."

R2 beeped impatiently. Time to go.

Patting the top of his head, Saedii left Anakin and C3-PO behind with their two screaming charges.