fools, anakin skywalker (ongoing)

thirty.

this is another pretty long chapter. please try to read all the way through as there are important points that pertain to the rest of the story <3

CHAPTER THIRTY

ARTIE STARED AT REX, FLUMMOXED, AND A LITTLE ANNOYED. She put her hands on her hips and frowned, her alarm fading as quickly as it had come. "What?"

Rex gaped right back, seemingly at a loss. "I . . . General Kenobi, ma'am. I'm . . . He's dead."

An odd silence followed. They were almost completely alone in the cavernous Temple hall, save for a straggler here and there. It was evening, though the Federal District still glittered with activity just outside. Anakin and Obi-Wan were in a briefing and Artie had been overseeing a late lesson with the smallest Younglings, per Master Yoda's request. Everything was as normal as it had ever been.

So Artie could not, for the life of her, understand why Rex had come barreling in with such a ridiculous story.

"Are you kidding?" she asked with an awkward laugh. "Rex . . . you know, no offense, but I think you should just leave the jokes to Jesse. Until you've had more practice."

"It's not a joke, General."

"Rex, just — just knock it off, all right? Everything is fine." She gave him a wary smile. "I just saw Obi-Wan."

She wanted to leave. It didn't seem like it would be as nice to talk with Rex as she'd thought, for whatever reason. Perhaps he really was angry that Anakin had dropped an assignment on him unexpectedly, and this was his strange way of letting her know it. Pretending like Obi-Wan had died, though, was a few shades past strange; Artie had half a mind to suggest Rex see a shrink. A bit uncomfortable, she turned and began to walk away.

     "General," he protested. "Please. You need to come with me."

Artie spun back around. "Why? Obi-Wan is here with Ani and Ahsoka. I spoke to them an hour ago."

"And twenty minutes ago there was an accident!"

"Rex, stop." Artie's annoyance flared and became anger. "Stop it. I'm comming Anakin."

"Anakin is the one who sent me, Adhara."

It was this, after everything else, that made Artie stop short; her mouth hovered over her comlink, lips parted but producing nothing. Rex never called Anakin by his first name . . .

But he had to be lying. Artie would have believed anything else — Obi-Wan could get hurt, get lost, get captured, but killed? There wasn't anything that sounded more outlandish. There wasn't anything that Artie wanted to believe less.

"There was . . . a situation," Rex went on slowly. "A sniper fired at the three of them. They'd been waiting. Kenobi gave chase on the rooftops, but they landed a shot." He paused for several moments, each beat that passed straining the air more and more. "Obi-Wan fell. I think . . . I think it was Ahsoka who was with him . . . as he died."

The tips of Artie's fingers were numb. Her arms shook up to her shoulders and her knees felt ready to give at any moment.