"You can't possibly expect us to grant leave for your division, General. We're stretched thin as is. You can make do from where you are, and resubmit your request in three standard weeks."

Anakin Skywalker folded his arms over his chest, meeting the hologram visage of Mace Windu with a steely gaze. He wasn't about to let the Council Member intimidate him, not with this.

"All due respect, Master Windu, it wasn't a request. I'm coming back to Coruscant for a three-day leave. I just took on a Padawan, and I can't remember the last time 501st had some R&R. We're coming back, the Council will have to make do."

Anakin could sense the satisfaction and barely concealed laughter from the few troopers working in the communication hub. They were glad to have a General sticking up for them. In truth, his need for leave had little to do with them, but it was a great bonus.

"Urgency, I sense in you, young Skywalker. Other planets to take leave, nearer they are. Why must you come to Coruscant, hmm?" The voice was heard before its owner stepped into view of the holo-transmitter. Master Yoda leaned against his cane and eyed the young Knight expectantly.

Anakin leaned away from the console, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He'd hoped to avoid this part of the conversation.

"Master, I need to establish a training bond with Ahsoka. We've made it work for a few days, but I'm not going back into active combat without that connection. The best way to do that is at the Temple." He kept his tone even, but unwavering.

Jedi restraint or not, Mace rolled his eyes. "You don't need to be in-Temple to establish a training bond. If she's going to be in the field, she'll need to learn how to use the Force under pressure. And if she can't do that, you can send her back to Coruscant for reassignment."

Anakin shook his head, unwilling to budge, and more than a little irritated that the Council who assigned him a padawan was questioning his ability to teach her.

"She will learn that, I've been very impressed by her ability to work under stress so far. But our bond will form best if we can both relax and devote all of our attention to it."

He took a breath, letting his guard down and showing his sincerity.

"I don't want to do this in the middle of a warzone. Ahsoka is gifted, but still very young. She needs somewhere stable and familiar for the forging. That means in-Temple."

Yoda sensed rather than saw Mace's protest building, and spoke before another argument could begin.

"Bond between student and teacher, strong it must be. Knight of peacetime will be your padawan, only in peace can the bond be made. For this, grant leave we will. Three days, Knight Skywalker."

Anakin smiled, echoing the elation he felt from the soldiers around him.

"Thank you, Masters. You have my endless gratitude, and I'm sure Ahsoka will say the same."

He bowed, ending the transmission with a wave of his hand. As the blue figures disappeared, the few men around him couldn't help but erupt into excited chatter.

Anakin enjoyed the trill of happiness in the Force as he left the hub, mind turning over the task ahead. He'd already memorized the ritual, and vividly remembered forging a bond with Obi-Wan, but now he was the Master. He was the one with the hyperactive pre-teen chomping at the bit to prove herself, full of passion and emotion and absolutely no self control.

I really need to buy Obi-Wan a drink, he determined, picking up his pace towards the hanger bay to find said hyperacitve pre-teen.

He hadn't asked for a padawan. When she'd landed- too young, too eager, and far too mouthy -he'd rejected her, something he deeply regretted now. He liked the kid, he did, and even though he really hadn't wanted a padawan before now, the Council would have to send the entire 501st after him if they wanted Ahsoka reassigned.

But he seriously doubted that would work either; in the short time she'd been in the field, Ahsoka had been practically adopted by the entire division. She was memorizing their names as fast as she could learn them, and her uncanny ability to give anyone and anything a nickname meant that the shinies didn't have to use their numbers for long. It had taken him the better part of a month to gain the men's trust, Obi-Wan another full ten-day with the 212th. But Ahsoka had been fully embraced, their first vod'ika, as Rex phrased it.

And he figured, not that he would ever tell Obi-Wan this, that he could train Ahsoka differently. Force willing, she would be a Knight of peacetime, and Anakin couldn't shake the feeling that the galaxy would be irreversibly changed by the Clone Wars. His Padawan was going to face new challenges that the writers of the ancient Code never could have predicted. Whether the Council liked it or not, times were changing, and Ahsoka could be the first Knight of a new generation of Jedi.

Put that way, and coupled with the fact he'd grown rather fond of the kid, it was a challenge he couldn't resist.

But none of that changed how incredibly nervous he was about this next step. More than traditional, it was crucial for their partnership going forward. He'd already screwed up so much in their introduction, and there were no guarantees in wartime. Here was the opportunity to get things right, to prioritize her training over a blockade or a oh gods what the hell is she doing?

"Hey Master!" Ahsoka chirped, waving with her free hand, the other holding a hydrospanner, splotched head to toe with engine grease. But Anakin was far more concerned about her hanging upside down under a starfighter, knees hooked around the docking cradle, and swinging like it was playground equipment.

"Snips… what are you doing?"

"Matchstick said his engine was sounding weird when he tried to test the new hyperdrive. You were busy with the Council, so I told him I'd take a look!"

The pilot in question popped up from the cockpit. "Figured it out pretty quick, General. Whoever put the hyperdrives in didn't know you'd made modifications for us."

"Can you trick out my fighter? Please?" Ahsoka pleaded.

"It's an easy fix, sir." Matchstick continued, sparing the Knight from having to explain that the "modifications" enabled the fighters to maneuver with a speed and precision that no other pilot with any sense of self preservation would even dare to attempt. But if you were flying with General Skywalker, self-preservation was considered secondary to challenging the laws of astrophysics.

"The whole squadron'll have to have 'em adjusted before we take 'em out."

"You want me to go ahead and pull the others, Master?"

Anakin shook his head. "I want you to get down from there before you end up in the medbay. C'mon, I'll tell you about the Council meeting."

Her eyes lit up and she dropped to the ground, tossing the hydrospanner up to Matchstick. "Do we have a mission?"

Anakin started walking towards the bridge, belatedly remembering to shorten his stride as she jogged to catch up.

"Something like that."