My Unfortunate Fate

chapter 72

Moving on is necessary, but that does not make it any less difficult.

I prefer not to think about the Council session during which I delivered the details of my mission.

It wasn't a disaster, as opposed to what I had expected. Anakin wasn't in the room—unsurprising, given that he isn't a member of the Council. Although I could've believed that, if he were there, he'd help me, I knew that wouldn't have been the case. He would've made me more emotional due to the rawness of the events that unfolded, and the pain they caused me. Needless to say, I didn't want to be vulnerable in front of the Jedi Council.

Regardless of what happened then, it is the reason we're here: on the bridge of our Venator. Of any high honour assignment in the Grand Army of the Republic, patrol duty is by far the most boring. It consists of keeping military lanes clear for as long as we need to transport weapons, troops, and other cargo—it typically takes a few days.

I understand why this is all they've given us to do. I am still not in optimal condition for combat, but I still need to get back to work. For now, this is where I am most useful. When I told Anakin, he was relieved. He was worried they'd send us out on the field again, or worse, separate us.

My comm beeps, so I sit up on my cot to answer it. "Yes?"

"General y/l/n, I think you should come to the bridge," Anakin says through my wrist-comm.

"I'm on my way." I get up, toss on a robe, and hurry out of my quarters.

His tone sounded urgent, but this isn't an important emergency, from the looks of it. If it were, our cruiser would be blaring alarms throughout the ship.

I make it to the bridge in a matter of minutes. The first person I recognize is Admiral Yularen, who scoffs at the monitor before him.

I walk up to him. "Admiral, I believe General Skywalker asked for me."

He points behind him, toward the many viewports that line the walls of the bridge.

I nod in silent acknowledgement, though I doubt Yularen notices. I reach Anakin, who stands with his back to me as he observes the starship lanes. "You asked me to come?" I pry, hoping for him to explain why I'm here.

He turns around. "Yes. Earlier, when the admiral was yelling at some rookie pilot for being in the wrong lane, I felt something."

"You felt something? What did you feel?"

Anakin lowers his voice when he says, "Ahsoka."

That shocking revelation hits me hard. Since she departed from the Jedi Order, I have tried not to think about her. I try not to remember whatever attachment Anakin and I had toward her. I do this because I know that thinking about her will only hurt me. And right now, it's as if a knife has been stabbed through my chest.

"She's still alive?"

We never had any confirmation that Ahsoka had died, but I know we both have our doubts. This world is a rough place, and we were scared she wouldn't be able to survive it. Not without us.

"And she's been on Coruscant; they were trying to leave the system."

She's been under our noses this whole time? Not that we were looking for her—if we were, that would constitute attachment—but to know that she could have been found so easily... This is surreal. I cannot believe it. Could our paths have crossed while we were none the wiser?

"You're still on break, right?" Anakin asks.

"Well, technically, I'm on call, and you called me."

"Could you help me with something?"