Chapter 4: Competition
The twins joined Ahsoka and Anakin in the casino. They talked about everything they'd done that day, and Ahsoka was genuinely happy to hear that Leia had spent quality time with her father. Anakin looked happy too. If this was the path to saving him, he was happy to take it.
"Luke is an excellent master pilot," Ahsoka smiled.
"I thought you said he crashed his ship into the ocean?" Anakin teased, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes. She'd never stop teasing her about that pathetic lie. She should know it was hard to lie to the famous Chosen One.
"I let him pilot my ship back to Coruscant. I think he's better than you," Ahsoka teased.
"Better than me?" Anakin asked, amused but somewhat hesitant.
"Me, of course not," Luke replied timidly, not wanting to create rivalry with his father.
"There's only one way to find out," Anakin said, and Ahsoka smiled. She had what she wanted: Anakin spending time with his son, even if he didn't know he was one.
"Really? You'll challenge him to a race, Master? Do you want to be humiliated?" Ahsoka teased, and Leia understood his plan.
"Oh, come on, Luke," Leia said encouragingly. "Will you accept? Or are you afraid of losing?"
"I accept," Luke said, smiling.
"Fine, take my ship," Ahsoka said. "I want it unscathed."
"We won't promise anything," Anakin said, leading Luke toward the hangar.
"Can I take your other ship so we don't miss this?" Ahsoka asked as the two men hurried away.
"Sure, but just stay. Don't crash it," Anakin requested.
Anakin and Luke were in their respective ships; both had the same design, so neither had the advantage.
"Ready?" Anakin asked, feeling the adrenaline rushing through him.
"Of course," Luke said, happy to be able to compete with his father. It was what he'd always been told: that his father was a great pilot. His aunt Beru always mentioned that he was just like his father.
The race would be difficult. Anakin had loaded the course onto both ships. Leia and Luke gasped when they saw R2 on Anakin's ship. Was R2 his droid? They'd have to find out later.
The race started, and Ahsoka headed toward one of the points they'd have to pass through; it would be impossible to keep up.
"Typical Anakin," Ahsoka sighed.
"Typical Luke," Leia smiled.
A race in the middle of the afternoon wasn't the best idea, but Anakin enjoyed getting into trouble, although he preferred it when no one noticed. Even so, they flew hastily, jumping obstacles in the heart of Coruscant. If it weren't for the fact that they were Jedi ships, Anakin was sure he would have been stopped.
"An advantage of being a Jedi?" Luke asked, and Anakin smiled.
"Don't you have that advantage in the future?" he asked, surprised.
"I don't think so," Luke replied, taking advantage of Anakin's distraction.
"You won't get away with it," Anakin said, speeding up.
"Ahsoka, Anakin is blocking my signal," said Obi-Wan's annoyed voice. "Could you tell me why you and Anakin are speeding through the middle of Coruscant?" he asked, annoyed.
"As incredible as it may seem, that's not me, it's Luke," Ahsoka smiled. "It was my idea, Master. Don't bother with them."
"I'll take care of the council," Obi-Wan sighed. "If they cause any trouble, you four will fix everything," Obi-Wan said, hanging up.
"Does she always worry about him like this?" Leia asked curiously.
"They're like brothers," Ahsoka replied. "They're never apart or far from each other."
"What do you think caused them to separate?"
"I don't know, but I promise you, Leia, we'll find out and prevent it."
"We will," Leia smiled, her hopes completely renewed after that morning.
The race continued for almost 30 minutes. By then, neither of them wanted to give up. Anakin could hardly believe the boy had so much talent.
No matter how hard Luke tried to beat him on the final lap, Anakin narrowly won, reaching the temple hangar first. They disembarked their ships and shook hands. At the contact, Anakin felt the same excitement he had with Leia, but tried to ignore it.
"Good race, kid," Anakin said, smiling.
"Hey, you're only three years older than me," Luke complained.
"Whatever you say, kid," Anakin smiled and climbed back into his ship.
"Where are you going, Master?" Ahsoka asked.
"To tour the city," Anakin said, taking off again.
"I just hope he goes to see Padme and not the damn Chancellor," Ahsoka sighed.
"What did you discover about the Sith?" Leia asked as they gathered in Ahsoka's room.
"Not much," Luke said, annoyed. "Just something about the rule of two: there's always an apprentice and a master."
"I'm absolutely convinced that apprentice is Dooku, the leader of the Separatists."
"We must find him."
"We've been trying for months. He's one of the main drivers of this war; capturing him is basically impossible," Ahsoka said.
"We have to make it happen. It's the only possibility."
"You'll have to participate in every mission with us. I'll have to speak with Master Yoda about that," Ahsoka sighed.
Each of them went to their rooms that night. However, Leia dreamed of Palpatine. He was with her father, talking at an opera, but she couldn't hear what they were talking about. Nothing good, she was sure of it.
Anakin, for his part, held his wife in his arms. He had missed her like crazy, and this week he had off, he wanted to spend every night with her.
"Are you sure you want to meet them? It's a Jedi matter; you don't have to if you don't want to," Anakin said, referring to the twins he'd told Padme about. At first, Padme had a hard time believing they were from the future, but if Anakin, with his skepticism, believed it, it had to be true.
"Of course, even more so if they might have important information on how to end this war."
"As you wish, my lady," Anakin smiled, kissing her, and she rolled her eyes, then lost herself in his arms again.
That night in the arms of his beloved wife, there were no nightmares for Anakin; there was only peace, a peace that was becoming increasingly rare during the war.