[ anakin pauses. he knows what the masters would say. to accept as is would be to foster attachment. nothing for which he would be punished, but risky, nonetheless. distance is needed. ]
I'll think about it.
I have some things to take care of first, [ he continues after a little pause. ] Then I'll look in on you guys.
Sure, I mean-- it's not a big deal, anyway. [Anakin, the council sucked they couldn't see what was happening in the next hallway over let alone a galaxy away. Just saying you need some joy in your sad life ok.]
Hey, you need anything in the meanwhile? Rey is crazy good when it comes to picking up scrap, and I heard you talking about tech work.
No problem, buddy. [There's the snap of something distant, muffled and brief, and it comes with the scuffled sound of Finn sitting upright, scoffing out a thin, entirely amused noise.] Hey-- hey listen I should go, Rey's gotten into the--
[He's not laughing he is] I'll call you later, okay? Or you, me, whichever works.
[ he's still reeling. from the presence of his son. from the realization that he has a son. from the knowledge that at some unspecified point in the near future, he loses everything: his life, his wife, his child before anakin ever truly has him.
when he calls, an undercurrent of tension thrums through his voice that anakin cannot quite mask. ] Have a moment?
[Finn, in comparison, sounds duller— listless in a way that doesn't seem to match the bright-eyed intensity he so often wears. Looks like they've both had it.] For you, yeah.
—yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. [As convincing in the moment as you'd imagine, and he realizes that much at least. There's a pause where he scrapes his palm across his face, inhaling deeply: Anakin probably ought to know the truth. It's not like he was invested, but he was there for them. All of them.] It's just that Rey got...sent away. Different mission or something.
[Which was bad enough when it happened. Struck him right in the face like the back of Ren's fist on Starkiller, turning his world over in an instant. But at least for that shock Poe Dameron had still been around.]
Poe too, just now.
[And him, left behind without them for no reason he can understand.]
[ more than unfortunate, it bordered on cruel: they were all close. that was plain to see. strange that they would all be separated. he didn't think they had volunteered for a mission. like everything else related to alastair, it felt wrong.
a sigh. ] They might be reassigned. Don't give up hope. I doubt they'll want to be away any more than you do.
[ he, who resolved to stare down death, hasn't yet. alastair is much easier to circumvent. ]
No. [There's a hardness to it. A finality that he's holding onto as much as it hurts. He was tired, he'd told Poe. And everything he wanted out of this— their company, spending every day from sunrise to sunset just existing with the people he cares about nearby rather than worrying about the state of the universe or how he could possibly affect it— was selfish. It was always selfish. And maybe after living so long with the First Order breathing down his neck, it was warranted.
But they matter more.]
It's better this way; they're away from him. [He has to wear it on his sleeve, burn it down into his skin along with the scars and repeat it like a mantra.]
No, he can't. [ kylo ren: the newest thorn in anakin's side. one he would love to be rid of, and yet he can't. if he is being punished, it's unfairly. nothing he has done warrants this. except slaughtering an entire tusken camp, maybe. ]
That's partly why I'm calling. I came across someone. A little younger than you. He says his name is Luke Skywalker.
[ a pause. if finn recognizes the name, that would make two. ]
I'm keeping an eye on him, but I can't be with him all the time. Kylo Ren must not know of him.
[Somewhere on the other end of the line, Finn's heart has stopped beating. For a second, for a moment, but it's long enough that he feels it in his throat when it comes back to him again, heavy. So, so heavy. His own thoughts are swimming and the room is spinning, and idea that Anakin might not know his father is nothing new (he'd assumed— he'd had to— that Luke had kept his son far from his side for his own safety) and if he does know now—
No. No, that's none of his business. That doesn't matter.
He has to be focused. He has to be strong and steady and everything he promised himself he would be when there were lives at stake the way they are now. So Finn takes one deep, bracing breath:] Luke Skywalker??
I believe there is only one. [ haha he has to believe because he only knows next to nothing, his life is a joke.
but it means… it means a lot. further proof of something he had already assumed as true. his son does live. he makes a name for himself. kylo ren would have anakin believe luke turns against his father and his mother. that he would further sow chaos in a galaxy that both had sacrificed so much to restore to order.
everything spoken by a follower of the dark must be taken with a pinch of doubt, that he already knew. they will lie and twist the truth to suit their needs. ( as do the jedi, a fact he keeps at the fringes of his awareness. ) for all his talk, ren was no different: believing his own lies, trying to feed them to anakin. luke is not thus. his son could not be thus. ]
Okay. [Breathless, constricted by the way he's set his own fingers to the bridge of his nose with his eyes pinched shut.] Okay, okay.
[Luke Skywalker's here. Luke Skywalker's here because of course he is. Because even galaxies apart, somehow Finn can't escape the shadow of Luke's very existence or the fact that everyone out there is gunning for him. why is the question he wants to ask, to the Force or a nest of deities or whatever is out there pulling every string in existence.
Why is he always the one that's responsible for a man he's never even met and wants nothing to do with.] He needs somebody looking out for him, I can do that.
But I'm gonna need a weapon. I can't fight off Kylo Ren if it comes down to it with some sharpened sticks and a rock. [Well, technically he's sure he could, but the match would last for a good five seconds at best.] If you come across anything solid in the hands of some of the other recruits, you let me know.
[ approval meets the quick decision. solidifies his choice as correct. years served alongside the clone troopers had given anakin great respect for them. he expected no less from their future echoes. ]
That's the other thing I was calling for. How does your own lightsaber sound?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
still audio yooo.
I'd have checked in sooner if I knew I was looking for a big deal.
suck it, Ren
[Bad joke. Bad, bad joke-- but it's nice to be able to right about now, all things considered.]
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— or was it the third?
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And then, soberly:] He didn't come after you, did he?
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[ for a while, his anger at alastair outweighed his at kylo ren. since, he has settled into happily hating both. ]
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[A beat, earnestly obvious in spite of the fact that there's no visual confirmation:] Stay, maybe.
Me, Poe and Rey, we've got a nice space, and they're good people. They'd like you.
--and I'm not hurt anymore so it's not like I can't return the favor.
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I'll think about it.
I have some things to take care of first, [ he continues after a little pause. ] Then I'll look in on you guys.
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Sure, I mean-- it's not a big deal, anyway. [Anakin, the council sucked they couldn't see what was happening in the next hallway over let alone a galaxy away. Just saying you need some joy in your sad life ok.]
Hey, you need anything in the meanwhile? Rey is crazy good when it comes to picking up scrap, and I heard you talking about tech work.
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Thank you.
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No problem, buddy. [There's the snap of something distant, muffled and brief, and it comes with the scuffled sound of Finn sitting upright, scoffing out a thin, entirely amused noise.] Hey-- hey listen I should go, Rey's gotten into the--
[He's not laughing
he is] I'll call you later, okay? Or you, me, whichever works.no subject
[ says the guy who's meeting kylo ren in two minutes whateva he does what he wants ]
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For good.
[And with that-- and one quick call of 'Rey!' Finn drops the line.]
audio.
when he calls, an undercurrent of tension thrums through his voice that anakin cannot quite mask. ] Have a moment?
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What's up.
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Are you okay?
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[Which was bad enough when it happened. Struck him right in the face like the back of Ren's fist on Starkiller, turning his world over in an instant. But at least for that shock Poe Dameron had still been around.]
Poe too, just now.
[And him, left behind without them for no reason he can understand.]
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[ more than unfortunate, it bordered on cruel: they were all close. that was plain to see. strange that they would all be separated. he didn't think they had volunteered for a mission. like everything else related to alastair, it felt wrong.
a sigh. ] They might be reassigned. Don't give up hope. I doubt they'll want to be away any more than you do.
[ he, who resolved to stare down death, hasn't yet. alastair is much easier to circumvent. ]
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But they matter more.]
It's better this way; they're away from him. [He has to wear it on his sleeve, burn it down into his skin along with the scars and repeat it like a mantra.]
Kylo Ren can't hurt them if they're not here.
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except slaughtering an entire tusken camp, maybe.]That's partly why I'm calling. I came across someone. A little younger than you. He says his name is Luke Skywalker.
[ a pause. if finn recognizes the name, that would make two. ]
I'm keeping an eye on him, but I can't be with him all the time. Kylo Ren must not know of him.
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No. No, that's none of his business. That doesn't matter.
He has to be focused. He has to be strong and steady and everything he promised himself he would be when there were lives at stake the way they are now. So Finn takes one deep, bracing breath:] Luke Skywalker??
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
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that answers that. ]
I believe there is only one. [ haha he has to believe because he only knows next to nothing, his life is a joke.
but it means… it means a lot. further proof of something he had already assumed as true. his son does live. he makes a name for himself. kylo ren would have anakin believe luke turns against his father and his mother. that he would further sow chaos in a galaxy that both had sacrificed so much to restore to order.
everything spoken by a follower of the dark must be taken with a pinch of doubt, that he already knew. they will lie and twist the truth to suit their needs. ( as do the jedi, a fact he keeps at the fringes of his awareness. ) for all his talk, ren was no different: believing his own lies, trying to feed them to anakin. luke is not thus. his son could not be thus. ]
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[Luke Skywalker's here. Luke Skywalker's here because of course he is. Because even galaxies apart, somehow Finn can't escape the shadow of Luke's very existence or the fact that everyone out there is gunning for him. why is the question he wants to ask, to the Force or a nest of deities or whatever is out there pulling every string in existence.
Why is he always the one that's responsible for a man he's never even met and wants nothing to do with.] He needs somebody looking out for him, I can do that.
But I'm gonna need a weapon. I can't fight off Kylo Ren if it comes down to it with some sharpened sticks and a rock. [Well, technically he's sure he could, but the match would last for a good five seconds at best.] If you come across anything solid in the hands of some of the other recruits, you let me know.
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That's the other thing I was calling for. How does your own lightsaber sound?
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[Full stop.]
—What?
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[ a beat. ]
Unless you've changed your mind.
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6 minutes later because HUSTLING;
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1/3
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