Episode II: The Facade of Amidala (part III-again)

by Mr. P

The last time I posted this, I had some trouble uploading it, so I'm reposting it. The 3rd part in my vision of Ep. II; you need to read the first tow parts, links inside.

DISCLAIMER: These characters don't belong to me; they belong to George Lucas. I don't claim to own them. I am not making any profit from them. I'm just playing with them, and I hope I won't break them.

This fic is archived at Conceptul Gravity. YOu can also find the first two parts at:

Part I

Part II

Please, R/R! I love feedback.

The last time I posted this at ff.n, I had some problems with it, and I think that some people didn't follow the link, since it was off-site. So, I am reposting it. I present:

Star Wars Episode, II: The Facade of Amidala

By Mr. P

---

Part III

"I need to talk with everybody," said Anakin.

"Everybody is a lot of people now," said Bail. "Specifically who?"

"Her Highness, Panaka, the Handmaidens, Jar Jar, you, Lars, and Master. It is very urgent."

"I'll get everybody assembled in the diplomacy room." Every Republic cruiser had a diplomacy room, where diplomats and opposing parties could meet and come to agreements without the possibility of involvement by others, such as an army.

When everybody came in, everybody had something to talk about. Everyone had some observations, and if they could just piece it all together, they could come to a conclusion as to who was behind all of this.

"I assume that all of you have something to add to my collection of observations of this whole affair," said Anakin. "So, I believe that we should talk about it and come to some conclusions."

"I agree, Skywalker," said Panaka.

"So do I," said Bail. "I understand that you have some extremely interesting information as well."

"Why yes, I do. It particularly interests Jedi, because I guess that their armor is immune to being destroyed by a lightsaber."

"How is that possible, Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan. "Only certain crystals in certain forms can resist a lightsaber."

"Well, I saw that you brought some captive Invaders in, so would you be so kind to bring one of them here?"

"They may be awake. Should I kill them?" asked Panaka.

"No, I don't think so," said Bail. "We may want to ask them some questions, such as who cloned them."

"Clones?" asked Obi-Wan.

"We'll look into it later," said Anakin. "We'll do one thing at a time."

"Yes, Anakin," Obi-Wan said almost like Anakin was the Master and he was the Padawan.

"I'll go with him," said Amidala. "I'll take my stun rifle and stun him."

In a few minutes, Amidala and Panaka returned with one of the Invaders, and set him down on the table in the center of the red carpeted room. "Master, if you would do the honors?" asked Anakin, holding out his lightsaber.

"I would be honored, Padawan," said Obi-Wan. He took the lightsaber, and lit it. Everybody backed up a little bit, and Obi-Wan carefully struck down on the armor, trying to pierce it. Everybody was shocked when it went out once it touched the armor. "I don't believe it," said Obi-Wan. "This is on more thing to show the Council when we return."

"Could I have my saber back, Master? I need to take a look inside." Obi-Wan gave it back, and Anakin took out a few tools that he always kept at his side. Over the years, he hadn't let his technical skills slide. He had bought droids to take apart and put back together again, built many lightsabers and adjusted them to do many different tasks, such as one that wouldn't kill, but would only stun, and was now building his own spaceship, one of the things he was going to do back on Tatooine, but he never did because he got freed and went with Qui-Gon.

The lightsabers he was building were being replicated and both students and teachers were learning how to use them, in the case they ran into another Sith. It was as if they were preparing for a war. His personal lightsaber had, like his podracer before it, been given some special modifications, such as for troubleshooting right now.

He opened the casing, and touched two wires to two connecters that were sticking out. The lights on the contraption that was now connected to the saber changed colors and went on and off in different sequences. Nobody but Anakin could understand what they meant, but Anakin knew exactly what the problem was with the saber. He had developed the system so that he could troubleshoot any circuit for any problem. He picked up the half-open saber, and turned it on, and hit the armor again. The saber went off again, and the lights flashed in another pattern. "I think I know what the problem is," said Anakin.

"You know just like that?" asked Bibble.

"I bet he does," said the Queen. "If you must know, Anakin is practically a technical genius. He built his own podracer and droid when he was nine."

"Nine?!" exclaimed Bail. "I'd be happy to offer you a job as a tech on Alderaan, after it is liberated, of course."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Viceroy, but I really want to be a Jedi. As I was saying, I think that the material sent the power back as feedback and overloaded the circuit."

"Meaning..." said Panaka.

"It means that it overloaded the capacitors, and they would burn out. Basically, they put too much power into the circuit, and it shut off automatically from a safety measure that is in all lightsabers."

"If you took out the safety measure, wouldn't that solve the problem?" asked Owen Lars.

"No," said Obi-Wan. "It would just make sabers very dangerous to use, if they aren't already," he said with a chuckle.

"So, do you have any idea what material it is made of?" asked Lars.

"No," said Anakin. "I'll have to check up on it on Coruscant. Another interesting point about their armor is that when I sent their shots back at them, they had weak shields protecting them, which I don't doubt they turned on only when they saw that I am a Jedi."

"Obviously, these commandos work for somebody who knows that in order to take over the galaxy, they have to deal with the Jedi somehow," said Bail. "If it weren't for the Jedi, the Republic would have fallen ages ago."

"And we have some more to talk about," said Amidala. "it appears that these Invaders are clones. Jar Jar, would you go get another one?"

"Sure ding, Queen Amidol." He left, and in a few moments, came back with another one. Queen Amidala took off their helmets, and everybody looked at them.

"Clones!" said Anakin. "So, they were clones in Jar Jar's picture."

"Picture of what?" asked Bail.

"Jar Jar took some pictures at the riot on Naboo. Artoo should be here..." said Panaka.

Boop dweet not girf dip

"Ah, here's our little astromech droid," said Bail. "Would you show us the pictures?"

"The only one of importance is the one of the clones," said Anakin.

Boot firt wern

The picture came up. They all saw the clones, and their faces were the exact same as the Invaders in front of them. "So, this is just a big assassination attempt for you, Queen Amidala?" asked Bail. "Just because of you, they attack my planet?"

"I think that they are actually trying to take over the galaxy," said Anakin. "They are also definitely aligned with the Sith. We were attacked on Naboo."

"The Sith! When they asked for me to surrender, they said we would become part of the Great Sith Empire of something like that," said Lars.

"Sith Empire?" asked Obi-Wan. "I think Anakin and I need to talk alone."

Everybody filed out of the room, leaving Anakin and Obi-Wan. "Anakin, do you remember when I told you that I once defied the Council?"

"I think so, Master."

"Well, I think that it's time I told you that story of my run in with Yoda and Yaddle in the CSA part of the Temple Library."

******************

"The CSA section? I didn't know it existed? What does it stand for?"

"Not many people know it exists either. Twenty at the most. It stands for the Council Specific Area. You need to be on the council or have specific Code-One access cleared to you. It has all sorts of stuff in it, including the great copy of the journal and the Sith writings."

"Let me guess - one of your friends dared you to sneak in."

"That's pretty much it. A few of my friends and I were playing truth or dare about twenty-five years ago, and one of my friends, a Mon Calamari named Bant, dared me to sneak in and find out something."

"Yeah, so what did you find?"

"It wasn't so easy as just going in and looking around. It is hidden in the base of the Temple, and I didn't have authorization, obviously, so I had to find it. Bant had found a reference to it in one of the books she had read, and told me how to get there. I couldn't get in though. I eventually just snuck in after Yoda and Yaddle were going in, going in right behind them."

"Didn't they notice you were there?"

"I think that I shielded myself well enough, but they might have known I was there and decided to see what I was looking for. It was a giant complex, and was dark, very dark except for a few windows that sent beams of light piercing the shadows through lots of dust in the air. Artifacts and other odd pieces of equipment were all along the walls. Anyway, I found a big slab of carbonite, and in it, was, according to what it said on the wall, it was someone named Boba Fett."

"Yeah. So what does this have to do with now?" asked Anakin.

"Well, I looked up some stuff in the computer next to it, and I found that there is a lot of information the council has withholded from us on the Great Sith War. According to what I found, Boba Fett was the leader of the Mandalorians, who were a group of warriors who sided with the Sith in the war. They were basically destroyed, except for this one. I learned what the armor looked like, and this person," he said, pointing to the Invader, "has the exact same armor, give or take a few weapons.

"Also, I found out the history of this one person, frozen in carbonite. Supposedly, he escaped with the one surviving Sith. We found this out from him, after we captured him about ten years after the war ended, but he wouldn't tell who this last Sith was, or where they were. This basically started the whole 'mystery' of the Sith, where they were. We've had people looking for them since then."

"So...are you saying this is a Mandalorian?"

"Yes. I am absolutely sure of it. And by the looks of him, I think he was a clone of the original Boba Fett."

"So, how did you get caught?"

"Well, I was backing away from the computer, and walked right into Master Yoda. It wasn't a pleasant ordeal. Let's get the rest of everybody else, I wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

After everybody else, who were just wainting outside and chatting walked in, Obi-Wan said, "Could I see that picture again?"

Yup rit

The picture came up, and Obi-Wan gasped. "I'm sure of it now, they are Mandalorians."

"Manda-whos?" asked Bail.

"Mandalorians. They sided with the Sith in the Great Sith War about a thousand years ago. I guess they haven't figured out which is the bad side to be allies with... Oh, Jar Jar, I have a question for you. Have you every had a midi-chlorian count?"

"Nosa, why - is dat importidant?" asked Jar Jar, leaning back in his chair, nose in the air as if he was smelling something.

"Well, you just seem to have extraordinary luck," said Obi-Wan. "Even though luck doesn't exist..." he added as an afterthought.

"It just tests to see if you could possibly be a Jedi. Not that important, especially at your age, Jar Jar. They were reluctant to train me at the age of nine, they wouldn't dare at the age of whatever you are."

"Fifdy-sit!"

"Fifty-six, Jar Jar? Well, I must say, you are very...clumsy, you said it yourself, but never seem to get hurt, and it always seems to do things right on target, as if the force was guiding you. Your clumsyness even causes good things to happen, like what was rumored to happen during the battle of Naboo; you destroyed about a hundred droids by accident."

"Well, that is truesa..." Jar Jar said, looking down, and tring not to show off and hide his pride. He wawsn't really succeeding.

"Why don't you go down to the Med and ask for a count," said Anakin. "It couldn't do you any harm."

"Okeday..." said Jar Jar as he exited the room, when he tripped over Artoo, and the picture went away. "Oh...mesa sorry..."

"Artoo, get that picture up again," said Lars. "I want to take a closer look."

Boops dweet king

"I'll try," said Panaka. He pushed at it, and tried to move it around. All the while, Artoo was talking gibberish, and after a fashion, he announced, "It won't work. Something's wrong with Artoo. And I can't get it out, either. It's stuck in there pretty good."

"Oh well," said Owen. "It wasn't that important anyway. I actually have a question for the Governor. How in Alderaan did you remember that code? It must have been at least fifteen numbers and letters."

"I know! You must have had a -" Rabe' was cut off before she could finish what she was going to say.

"Holographic memory," Sio finished her sentence. "I have a holographic memory. I remember everything I see, hear and do, and remember it forever. Not many people, know, because I'm pretty sure that none of my political opponents, and also allies, or pretty much anyone at all, wouldn't be a little upset that I was effectually recording everything that they say. It is a pretty good tool, though, I must say."

At that moment, Jar Jar stumbles in again. "Ohhh...mesa arm...'tis nunbed... it hurts..." He kicked, again by accident, Artoo, once again, and fell onto Panaka. "Mesa sorry."

"What did they say?" asked Panaka. I hope he can't become a Jedi. I want him to burn in shame, thought Panaka.

"Uhh, try-tousand, I think. Is - is dat good?"

"Jar Jar, that's more than me!" said Obi-Wan. "If you were found when you were less than a year old, then you would have become a Jedi. A powerful one, too."

"Oh...does dat maken mesa a Jedi?"

"No, Jar Jar, it says that you could have become a Jedi."

"And whaten are dese 'midi-whatsis' yousa talkin' about?"

"Midi-Chlorians are cells that live within our cells. They provide us with a conduit to the force. The force flows through them into us, and the more we have, the more of the force we can tap. Also, each person's midi-chlorians mark them as a different person. When somebody gets cloned, there are the same exact midi-chlorians in both organisms. This confuses the midi-chlorians, and causes a great disturbance in the force. It marks them with the Dark Side, and is one of the reasons that the Jedi pushed for cloning to be outlawed thousands of years ago. The technology still exists, though," explained Anakin.

"I need to go and take a rest", said Amidala. "This is a really fast-moving vacation."

* * * * * *

The two Sith looked over the plains of New Mandalore, with their black and withered plants and dying animals. The Cloning operation had destroyed what had been once a beautiful world, through it's 'disturbance' in the force, as the Jedi called it. To the Sith, it really was like taking a nice, warm bath after being out in the cold of Hoth for a week. "Master, what are we to do now?" asked Darth Vader, apprentice to Darth Sidious. He was kneeling in front of his master, head touching the ground, almost like he was a slave.

"Wait for our enemies' next move," Sidious replied.

"But aren't we supposed to make the first move?" questioned Vader, standing beside Sidious. "That is what Master Kun always said."

"Master Kun never learned the value of patience."

"Patience! But isn't that a Jedi trait?!"

"Yes, but even so, it is a good one to have. If you do not learn patience, you will rush into something, and get yourself killed. The one Sith who learned that during the Great Sith War was the only one to survive. You must learn it as well, or it will be your undoing."

"I will attempt it, Master."

"Very well. I will watch your progress in that area, but for now I will not be too patient with your lack of patience. It will be needed very shortly. Operation Boged Bignevah is progressing on schedule. When Amidala and her cohorts reach Coruscant, it will be nearing completion. And when it is completed, the Republic will be ours and the Jedi will be destroyed."

"But what of Skywalker and Kenobi? Will you leave them out of your equations, Master? I do not believe that even an army of Mandalorians could destroy them."

"Do not overestimate your opponents, Vader. It could be just as bad as underestimating them. However, I am taking them into account. I plan to use Skywalkers love for his mother to our advantage."

"How, Master?"

"That is not for you to know at this point. You do not need to know...yet. But for now, let us leave this place. We need to be on Coruscant when the Queen arrives to speak with our friend the Senator. He is vital to our plans."

"Yes, my Master."

************

Anakin was worried. There was something wrong. He couldn't place it, but it was there. And not surprisingly, he felt this wrongness everywhere. Even on the ship. He looked at Amidala, but she, as far as he could tell from her complexion, didn't know about it. Figures, thought Anakin. She isn't force-sensitive, so she probably couldn't feel it anyway. He looked at Jar Jar and Obi-Wan, the only other force-sensitives in for a long way, and they didn't seem to know either. He probed his Master's mind, and he didn't feel anything. His master was too close to the unifying force to feel it anyway. Anakin knew, even though he didn't know why, that it was something that you had to open yourself totally to the living force to even get a whiff.

But still in Anakin's mind, he thought of his Master as the greatest Jedi in the history of the Order. He had this itching feeling that his Master would be very close in on the final battle between the Jedi and the Sith. He felt he would be there, but also knew that Obi-Wan wouldn't. Would he be dead, then? Why would his master not be at his side, battling with him, unless he was no longer his Master, and Anakin was a knight. Perhaps Anakin was training another, the other Jedi he felt near him in the visions he had repeatedly of his final battle. But he could never see himself, feel what he was thinking. It was as if the Force was deliberately was keeping this information from him.

Always in motion is the future, was what Master Yoda said. Perhaps this recurring vision of his was not meant to actually happen. He hadn't told anybody about this vision, because it scared him. A lot. He didn't know why, and that was why he was afraid to tell anyone.

Anakin hated the term 'chosen one'. It was his master's excuse to push him farther and farther in his studies, to work all the time, hour after hour after hour, and time during those sessions creeped as if he was trying to stay away from something for as long as possible. 'Chosen One'. He shuddered. According to the prophesy, he was supposed to destroy the Sith and return the Force to Balance. But nobody said what 'balance' was. He had looked into it, and there was no commentaries on this prophesy at all. None, nada. All of the prophesies of the Jedi had at least one commentary on it, by one of the great Jedi, be it Sunrider, or Yoda, or Da-Boda.

All but the Chosen One Prophesy. Nobody had said anything about it, even though it was theorized that it was the most ancient prophesy of all. Perhaps, it was meant to have flexibility, so that the Force could let the Chosen One take it's course. Anakin commented over this prophesy day after day, taking up his free time, writing them down. Obi-Wan knew about it, but didn't tell any of the Jedi. There was no rule against commenting on the Prophesies. Nobody knew what Anakin was writing down, even Obi-Wan. He didn't let anyone read them. He would present them to the Council when he was finished.

Now, you would wonder how he got all this time to work on his training and also comment of the Prophesy which his life supposedly was bound into, and still have a social life. There was a way, and that was that he didn't have one. From the day that he had first started his training, he hadn't had any friends. He never had, ever. When he was on Tatooine, he didn't have a father. His mother had said that his Father had died before Anakin was born, but nobody believed her. He had been ostracized by his peers, and he had taken to building things. He had kept on telling himself that he was building Threepio for his Mother, but he had always known that he was lying to himself, that he was really building a friend. You've been a great pal, he had said. His podracer, too. He built it because he wanted to prove to everybody else that he wasn't just a worthless slave boy without a father that everybody hated. Those others, like Wald, they had taunted him, which was the only reason they hung around him. Kitster, on the other hand, he was a real friend. He wasn't a slave, but he, of all people accepted the story that Mother had said. He actually wanted to be friends with Anakin, for the Force knows why.

Even when he was taken to the Temple, the Masters had put him in front of the other Padawans and initiates, and explained that he was a 'special situation' when people asked why his training started so late. But whyyyyy? They would ask. Why did he start so late. The Council never lets anyone. Anyone at all, why him? They explained about his midi-chlorian count, reluctantly. All of a sudden, he was isolated from his fellow nine-year olds, because he was better than them. Anakin took to himself to prove to them that he was the best, and that it just wasn't any petty midi-chlorian count that said who you are. He still had no friends. The stupid, stupid midi-chlorian count. Because of it they loved him and they hated him. They envied him and shunned him, they accepted him and ostracized him. The looked upon him in contempt.

Anakin placed his attention to the conversation at hand, and spoke up for the first time in minutes, even though nobody else had spoken, either, and he had started this whole thing. "I see that nobody has any other stuff to talk about," he began, "so I'll just go back to my quarters. You probably should too, take a rest. We'll have a couple days before we reach Coruscant, it'll probably be hyperspeed once we land for the next couple of years. Master, Your Highness," he said, "I would like you to come with me. I need to speak with you, privately."

Everybody left the room, and scattered across the ship. Amidala, Anakin and Obi-Wan walked quietly, as not to draw attention, not to Anakin's quarters, but to a quiet place on the ship. The droid room.

* * * * * *

The droid room was right next to the engines, you could hear the humm and buzz loudest there. The droids were kept there, and the walls had no decoration, no possible place to hide a bug, to listen in. The ship had been left out during an invasion, there was no risk that was not to be looked over. Anyway, Anakin's quarters would have been too small to hold all three of them, anyway. Anakin had told his Master, and Amidala had just followed them.

When they arrived, they opened the door, and sat on the floor. "Anakin, I think that I should tell you something. I may have been more lenient about your time and what you do around the Temple, and the way you have kind of taken control, and I understand why. You know the most about what's going on. You're almost a knight, Anakin-"

"I know master. I just want to speak to you, about a disturbance in the force that I am feeling."

"I feel it as well," Master replied.

Ami chimed in, "It appears that you don't need me here, I best be going-"

"No," said Master. "If Anakin asked you to be present, he must have a reason. I truly don't think he does, but I know him best, and if I ask him what it is, he'll make something up."

"True, master. But I do have a reason for her being here. I want to talk about something that you, Master have to be present for."

"So now you want to talk to me, Jedi?" asked the Queen "After all those times you kept telling me to leave you alone?"

"Well-"

"But I'll stay, because I like talking to you, Jedi Boy. I want to hear what you want to say."

"AMI-"

"What, Ani?" she said, cocking her head.

"Just let me speak."

"And where did these nicknames come in?" asked Master. "I thought that she was 'your highness', and you were 'Skywalker' or 'Anakin'."

"Let it be," Amidala said, looking sideways at Master.

"As I was saying..." Anakin said, emphasizing the saying, trying to point out how he was interrupted, "there is a disturbance in the force."

"I feel it. It's around Alderaan, and Naboo."

"Yes. Also Coruscant, and Malastare. There are a couple other pinpoints of this disturbance, out somewhere where I don't know. Do you have any idea what it is?"

"Being in a Bacta Tank hasn't meant that I haven't been keeping my tabs on what's going on. They've been invaded, and this invasion force is made of clones."

"Naboo, invaded?" asked Amidala. "Oh, my..."

"I would have expected it," said Anakin. "The planet was in shambles when we left. The government was destroyed, and there was anarchy everywhere."

"Ani, you know I don't like this-"

"You know it to be true, Ami. You saw it in the riot. And so did we. The Clones. Obviously, this clone army tried to get you off the planet so that would happen; it would make their conquest so much easier. Confused people are easier to dominate."

"I guess, that's true. But why are they picking on me specifically. We know that the Sith are behind this. They seem to think Naboo is special. The Trade Federation attacked us, the Sith attacked us. The Sith were behind it all the time."

"We know," said Obi-Wan. "I think those clones are the source of the disturbance, and the Sith are only feeding it. The army camouflages where the Sith are, so we can't find them."

"And it makes them harder to destroy," Amidala said, figuring it out. Obi-Wan naturally looked at Anakin.

"I'm not ready!" he said, knowing what was about to come. Another lecture from his Master. This one was Master's favorite, 'You are the Chosen One, and you must fulfill your Destiny. You will be ready.' Anakin hated it even more than Yoda's 'fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering' lecture.

"Not now, but you will, Anakin. The Prophesy demands that you be ready to destroy the Sith. At any time, the time to destroy the Sith may come, and you must be ready. You ARE the Chosen One. The one who will come to bring balance to the Force. The one with the higher than possible Midi-Clorian count, the one that is stronger in the force than any being in the history of the universe. You WILL be ready." It didn't take log to figure out that not only was Obi-Wan lecturing Anakin, but he was also trying to show him and his abilities off to Amidala.

"What's all this about balance, and chosen ones..." said Amidala.

"In short, Anakin's the strongest person ever in the force," explained Obi-Wan. "He's supposed to destroy the Sith."

"Oh...I didn't know you were so important, Ani," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "For luck, so you don't get killed fulfilling any prophesy you end up caught in."

"Thanks..." he said. "Nobody has ever reacted that way to the prophesy...they always say I'm dangerous."

"Dangerous to what?"

"To the Jedi. If I ever turn...like I would," he said, knowing he never, ever would turn, "then the Jedi would be dead. The fact I started my training so late means that according to the council, I have a greater chance of falling to the Dark Side."

Amidala was not so stupid as to not know what this meant. If Anakin turned, everyone was dead. "So, what does this have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that," said Anakin. "Only my Master interrupted me, and went off on a tangent just so that he could give me another lecture. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you felt that and it just wasn't me, Master. I mean, I could be going crazy!"

"I certainly hope you aren't. Who is more crazy, the crazy person, or the person who decided to be the Master to the crazy person?"

"I wasn't exactly crazy when you took me on," said Anakin.

"Not crazy?" asked Amidala. "You'll have to stretch the truth a lot to get that. Do you call flying into the middle of a battle that we really didn't think we'd win when you're a little tiny nine-year-old not crazy? Guess again!" she exclaimed as she broke up in laughter. "Oh well, at least the crazy was a great pilot, or we might not all be here today."

"I think that what I said there is finished. I need to talk with Ami about what's going to happen when we reach Coruscant."

"So, now you're the royalty, Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan. "You get to decide everything, don't you?"

"What do you want me to do now, control-crazy man?" asked Amidala.

"I want you to bring up the slavery on Tatooine issue again."

"Anakin, you know that the Council won't let you sit in on the Senate. Jedi just don't normally do that," said Obi-Wan.

"I can't do that Anakin. It would be totally off the topic, and of course we wouldn't have any soldiers to spare, with the war and all. We need to liberate Alderaan, after all."

"But we don't need any soldiers, just a thingamajigy-whatsitcalled that says that Tatooine is under Republic law, and some police to enforce it."

"Some police to enforce it. Like who? To patrol a whole planet? There are a lot of people who would break Republic law there, from slavery to podracing."

"Podracing isn't illegal! They do it on Malastare..." said Anakin.

"Anakin, the Council, let alone me wouldn't let you get within fifty light-years of Malastare. You'd probably jump ship and join a podracing circuit there and we'd never see you again." Qui-Gon had taken a vid of the podrace from Watto when they left, to show the council if Anakin's midi-chlorian count wasn't enough to prove Anakin was the Chosen One. He hadn't had to use it, and it had finally ended up in Obi-Wan's hands. Anakin had had a lot of explaining to do on why he put everybody in such danger then. Another lecture on how Jedi had to set a good example for others.

"You know me a bit too well, Master."

"So, you want me to bring it up, Ani. I'll think about it. I've wanted to bring it up, which is one of the reasons that I was so, uh...stressed out on Naboo. If you didn't notice, not having to be Queen for a few weeks has certainly made me less stressful. I'll consider the idea. The proposal will most likely be shot down before it takes off, by the Senate. It's in nobody's interest in the whole Senate. And when that happens, even I know that nobody will vote for it. Talk to me about it later; I've got to go to sleep." She left the room, and Anakin's eyes followed her as she walked out.

"Master, would you agree with me that she is the most energetic girl you're ever going to meet?"

"Well, there were a couple of girls my age when I was a Padawan that would have contended for that position. But those stories are for later. Let's take the Queen's advice and head back to our quarters. We have to train some more tomorrow, and to train you need sleep. Off we go, Padawan."

"Touche'," said Anakin, giving his Master a lightsaber-salute.

**********

Obi-Wan woke up groggily in the morning, seeing as he wasn't able to sleep that night. The dark disturbance in the force was growing steadily, and it had been troubling him. What could cause such a disturbance? It could not be just the Mandalorians.

He looked at the chrono, and sighed. It was 7:30 in the morning. He had set his alarm to go off at 8:30, but obviously, he hadn't done so. A dumb mistake, moving to fast, a little to drowsy before he hit the sack. Well, I might as well get up, there's a day ahead of me, he thought. He got dressed into his Jedi garb, the same old off-white and brown robes he wore every day, with obviously a change in the robes daily as the clothes from the previous day went into the wash. I wonder if Anakin is up...

He probably wasn't. Obi-Wan had noted over the years that Anakin liked to sleep in, but Obi-Wan wasn't used to it. Qui-Gon Jinn, his Master, had always made him get up bright and early in the morning - 7:30 would have been a nice sleep-in back then. He had been used to that routine then, but he found that it was a little more...relaxing to sleep in for the extra hour or hour and a half.

He noted that this would give him some extra time to prepare his lesson for today. He still had some new things to teach his student, his Padawan. Obi-Wan had had to start from the beginning with Anakin almost ten years ago. Most nine-year olds, even six-year olds, knew how to handle the Force better than Anakin. But Anakin had a better grip on it than anyone else he had ever seen, and was an extremely quick study.

Obi-Wan knew the virtue of patience; it was the Jedi way. When he saw how quickly Anakin had absorbed the material, lessons and techniques, like a dry sponge, he was at first disturbed. Anakin's learning was beginning to slow now, seeing as he now had full control of the force, but still was learning how to control himself. It was a dangerous time for Anakin.

Obi-Wan knew why Anakin learned so fast. He had a yarning to become a Jedi greater than even Obi-Wan had, and that was saying something. Obi-Wan had wanted to be a Jedi Knight for as long as he remembered, but it wasn't as if he was given any choice. All Jedi, Anakin being the exception, were taken from their families within the first six months of their lives. Obi-Wan had looked through the files, and he believed that his family was on Alderaan. All the more reason to liberate it...

Obi-Wan abided to the Jedi Code, seeing as it was his duty, but that didn't mean that he agreed with it entirely. For example, he didn't like the idea of taking students from their family at such an early age. Caring for all the babies was a task, and took up a lot of work that could otherwise be spent training Padawans and protecting the gaxaxy. He felt that a few years later, perhaps at the age of five, students should be taken. Give their parents a time to cherish what they would ultimately lose to the Order.

Of course, the Jedi never took a child without their parents' consent; that would just be inhumane. Some opted to keep their child, but the Jedi still kept an eye on force-sensitives, so they could go after their children, seeing as they would probably be force-sensitive, as well.

Obi-Wan had been a Jedi so much, he had even sometimes separated himself from his friends to spend many hours upon hours studying. His friends had quietly said, 'You know, you don't have to work so hard.' He sometimes seemed very hard on the surface, like no emotions at all could penetrate his mind. But it wasn't true. True friends, such as Anakin and Qui-Gon knew that Obi-Wan only disguised his emotions, as best he could. He had been unable to when his Master died.

Obi-Wan had been happy about reaching his Knighthood, but sad at the same time. Instead of having the normal festivities of a Knighting that he had been hoping for his whole life, he had received a somber operation that went right into Qui-Gon's funeral. Not exactly what he had seen in his dreams as a young boy and adolescent.

One of the things he had especially looked forward to was taking on his own Padawan. He would honor his mentor's last wish. Taking on Anakin right after his Master's death was not exactly what he had been expecting, so many years before. He had always expected to have Qui-Gon there, so that if he had a problem, initially teaching his Padawan, he could go to Qui-Gon for advice. He always knew exactly what to say...

And Anakin, of all people! Obi-Wan had looked down on Anakin before he had taken him on as a Padawan, and had referred to him as a 'pathetic lifeform' and a stray. Of course, he respected his power in the force, but didn't understand why they had to drag him along with them. At first, as well, Anakin and Obi-Wan hadn't really formed a bond like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had. Anakin firmly believed that Obi-Wan had taken him on only to honor his Master's wishes, not because Obi-Wan genuinely liked Anakin. Obi-Wan saw it differently. He saw this as a unique opportunity to teach someone what he knew. Over time, however, Anakin and Obi-Wan had developed a deep friendship that Obi-Wan didn't think even death could break.

The thing that had surprised Obi-Wan was that the Council had even let Obi-Wan take on any Padawan, let alone Anakin, of all people. They considered Anakin dangerous, as had Obi-Wan previously. So why let Obi-Wan, an inexperienced Knight just out of Padawanship without any sort of guidance from his Master take on the boy with the highest midi-chlorian counts ever found in a lifeform? It would be the same as entrusting a set of china to Jar Jar Binks.

Obi-Wan figured that it wouldn't hurt to wake up Anakin a little early.

Anakin, rise and shine...

Hmmm?...

Obi-Wan got to his feet and walked over to his bathroom. I'll be over at your door in thirty minutes, Padawan. You had better get dressed, because I'll make you come out to train just as you are.

What! It takes me like an hour to get ready!

Then get ready twice as fast. The clock is ticking... he said over their bond, as he began to trim his beard. He was beginning to grow a beard, but he didn't want it to get overly long. It was perhaps two or three inches long, a little bushy. He didn't know just why he was growing it, he just had an idea one morning and decided not to shave. According to Anakin, he looked better with it. He wasn't sure whether to trust him or not.

*********

After Obi-Wan dropped his training materials for the day in the conference room, he headed over to Anakin's quarters. It had been almost half an hour, and Obi-Wan certainly hoped his padawan was fully dressed...otherwise some people would be in for a show they hadn't been expecting. If Obi-Wan was anything, he was a person who always kept a promise. He might have been lenient on how his padawan spent his free time, and a bit...defensive of the Council's decisions, but he never, ever broke a promise. He would do what was needed. Next time, he was sure, Anakin would be able to get up a little faster rather than loafing around in his bed for fifty-five minutes and getting dressed in twenty seconds.

Finally, he reached Anakin's door. Not surprisingly, it was locked. Unlocking it with the Force, it opened with a whish and he found Anakin standing right there at the door, fully dressed. What a relief, thought Obi-Wan.

"Good morning, Master," greeted Anakin.

"To you as well. Why was your door locked?"

"Well, one does need a little privacy, doesn't he, Master?"

"Of course, Padawan. But you were dressed."

"Well, I was just getting ready to go see where you were. I thought you were still trimming that little goatee of yours."

"IT'S NOT A GOATEE, ANAKIN! It's a beard."

"I don't think so. A beard would be a little longer. I say you should make it a few more inches."

"We can discuss this on our way to our training area."

"Sure thing, Master. We aren't in the Temple today, so where are we going?"

"Where we always train on a cruiser, a conference room."

It was Anakin and Obi-Wan's little tradition to train in the conference rooms of starships. If there wasn't one, then a lounge-type area would suffice. There were chairs to sit in, enough room to spar, and objects to levitate. It was almost perfect, in Obi-Wan's opinion. He wondered why his Master had never come up with such an ingenious idea.

"Anakin, we'll be trying some new techniques today, but let's start with a focusing exercise," said Obi-Wan as he sat down in a plush red chair. He took out a box, and keyed a few buttons on it's side. Two glowing yellow, floating balls came rushing out of openings on it's side. "Anakin, get your saber ready. They will send bolts of energy at you; you know what to do. You've done this before."

The seeker balls struck. Anakin struggled to keep them off of him as they struck repeatedly. Many of the shots he blocked, harmlessly deflecting onto the walls. Others hit him. One shot got through, and another. The shot was enough to break his concentration even more, and he let even more in. It was an exponential cycle.

"Anakin, you must focus. You have been able to do this before, what is stopping you now?"

"Master, the thoughts of the up and coming possibility of freeing my mother from slavery is clogging my thoughts. I can't keep it out of my head."

"You see, Anakin, why the Council kept the information on the slavery-freeing legislation away from you. You would not have been able to concentrate on your training, and you could not have become a Jedi. To become a Jedi, you must have the utmost focus, and concentration, and it takes a lot of work. You have to think of nothing at all, and let your mind drift away, trusting your instincts only. Free your mind..." he said in almost a mesmerizing buzz.

Anakin had lost any thought in his mind during this, and his mind was left to only instinct, just as his teacher had said. Suddenly, he swung back and forth, forwards and backwards, across and out. He didn't know why, he just did. The seeker balls had launched a massive attack, moving with deadly speed, even though the shots were not deadly by a long shot, if they were, most anyone would be dead. But Anakin, totally lost in the force, had blocked every one, even scoring a hit or two on the seekers.

"See, Obi-Wan! I did it!"

"That shouldn't be such a big feat for you, Anakin. You did well. Let's see if you could do it again."

Anakin's pride was cut short as Obi-Wan released seven more seeker balls, and let Anakin go to work.

* * * * *

Anakin was exhausted. It had been four hours of only "focusing exercises". After the seeker balls had come the levitation, and then the levitation and seeker balls at the same time. Force, when will this ever stop, and he will teach me something new for a change...

"Anakin, I say we take a break for lunch. I know you could use a break from focusing exercises. Afterwards, we can take a look at something truly new."

"Good. I could really use a talk with someone other than you, a couple of chairs and seeker balls."

"That we will most certainly have. I doubt we won't find anyone there, at the mess."

When they arrived at the mess, Anakin went and got a bit of gundark to eat. He liked the way the meat was a little hard to chew, and had a tangy taste. Once, the first time he had eaten it, he had tried to use the force to try to help chew the food, but eventually he had figured it out. You had to chew it in the side of your mouth, in a very special manner. He sat down next to his Master, who happened to be across the table from Panaka, and next to Rabe'. Anakin ended up across from Ami.

He caught her eye, and attempted to start up a conversation. "So, Panaka, how's Jar Jar doing?" he asked jestingly.

"Mesa doin' fine, no thanks to you, Cap'n Panaka!" said the gungan as he sat next to Anakin. "Lockin' me out of da cockpit durin' da trip to Alderaan was a bombad trick you played," he said, getting a general laugh.

"Jar Jar, what does 'bombad' mean?" asked Panaka. "I've heard you use it millions of times, in both good and bad context."

"I know what it means," said Anakin. "He uses it when he doesn't know what word means what he's thinking."

"Yousa right, Ani! When mesa dunno whatsa worden to say, mesa sayen' 'bombad'."

"Hmmm..." said Ami, rolling her eyes. "So, where were you Jedi Boys this morning? Panaka was looking for you all over the ship, but couldn't find you."

"Ami, we were doing 'focusing exercises' in the-"

"In the conference room," finished Obi-Wan.

"You could have let me finish!" exclaimed Anakin. "Master kept me doing those crazily boring exercises all morning. He says they're necessary."

"I don't really like it when you refer to Obi-Wan as..." she paused as she chewed a bit of food, "'master'. It brings back memories of a time when you were a real slave and you had a master that was master by more than title. It sounds like you're his slave."

"Well, technically, Anakin's really supposed to be my slave. You know, do my laundry and stuff like that."

"You wouldn't make him do that would you?" asked Rabe'.

"No, he wouldn't," said Anakin, "or I would team up with Master Windu and blackmail Obi-Wan with old photos from when Obi-Wan was just a little Padawan."

"Don't you go talking about that, Anakin! No, really, Padawans are supposed to do their master's laundry, but not much more than that. Maybe a better word for 'master' would be 'mentor'. A Padawan's Master is supposed to teach them in the ways of the Jedi. Which is what I was doing by having Anakin spend hour upon hour fending off seeker balls while levitating chairs at the same time. It will help him later on."

"Later on," said Anakin, "won't help me now. If a Sith attacked me on Alderaan, do you think that I would really be able to defeat him? The only reason I won while escaping from Naboo was that the Sith wasn't used to battling in such closed areas." He looked over at Obi-Wan thoughtfully. "The Queen helped as well," he added almost as an afterthought.

"Speaking of fighting in closed areas, Anakin, we need to try out a little bit of technology that we will use to teach you something new, I know, for once."

"But I didn't even finish my lunch!"

"Anakin, you should know by now, especially from your favorite class, Galactic Cuisine, you know, 'You Must Eat Everything On Your Plate Without Making a Face or You Will Fail and Have To Eat It Again Next Semester,' that as a Jedi, you might have to stop eating in the middle of a meal at least once in your career. Come along, now."

"I'm sure some of the Queen's handmaidens could use this, uh...Galactic Cuisine course. In my opinion, they have the worst taste in food of anyone in the Galaxy."

"I'm sure they don't," said Anakin. "Master Yoda does; he eats that disgusting green gruel of his three times a day and routinely offers free tastes to people in the Cafeteria." Anakin took one last bite and ran off towards the conference room and catch up with his Master.

When Anakin and Obi-Wan arrived back at the room, Anakin said, "Master, what will you be teaching me today?"

"Patience, Padawan," said Obi-Wan as he went fishing through his bags and took out about four or five pieces of equipment. "You must learn patience. All will become known to you in time."

He kept looking for something; he finally found what appeared to be an old lightsaber hilt. "Ah, my old lightsaber hilt," said Obi-Wan, looking it over, swinging it around as if it were really a working lightsaber. "I took out the crystal a few years before I met you, Anakin. It doesn't work anymore, all it is is the casing."

"Then what good it is?" asked Anakin. "You most certainly cannot spar with me with it."

"Not in reality, but perhaps with this new piece of equipment. The Virtual Duel."

"That sounds interesting. Let me guess. Another prototype training tool that Yoda gave you to test out on me."

"That's pretty much it, Padawan. I didn't get a chance to work with it on the way to Naboo, and couldn't very well use it on the way to Alderaan. Try it on."

It was black, and fit onto Anakin's head, like a helmet. It had a few appendages that attached to Anakin's hands, elbows, knees, and feet. More importantly, it easily attached to Anakin's saber. Obi-Wan started to fit up as well.

"Well, Anakin, try it out," said Obi-Wan. "Just press the switch on the helmet."

Anakin pressed it, and suddenly, in front of him, his vision lit up. Instead of it being a dark helmet, he could see a room. He called out, "Obi-Wan? Where am I?"

"Move around, Anakin. The room is what I pick. I have the Master Apparatus, you are just a slave-rigged subordinate of my systems. For example, I can choose a large, feature bare room, just like this." Anakin's vision changed to a large, cubical room, and he was in the middle of the floor, as it turned out. He moved about, and found that he could move freely, almost as if he was really in the room.

"For today's exercise, I will chose a much more confined area," said Obi-Wan. The room changed to the Council room of the Jedi Temple. Anakin, as far as he could tell, stood in the dais, and Obi-Wan stepped in through the door.

"But Obi-Wan, we can't spar," said Anakin, "your saber doesn't work!"

"Maybe not for real, but this equipment can make it work, at least in our mind. It takes what our mind is thinking, and makes it into what we see on the screen. So, if you want to do a flip, and put your mind through the normal ways of that particular motion, then the Virtual Duel makes it happen on-screen. The real value of this equipment, in the words of Master Yoda, 'Practice in areas where normally be you would not.' So, we could practice dueling in the bowels of Coruscant, or the peaks of the Monira Mountains of Chandrila. Today, we will work in a confined area."

"Why, Master?"

"In your little fight with the Sith a few weeks ago, you had to work in a confined area, a corridor. A lot of the Jedi fighting technique has a lot of flashy moves, and takes up a lot of room. Your opponent was used to that type of fighting, you were a little more flexitive. You were able to adapt your swordfighting, and it is what made the difference in that fight. So, we will practice in various smaller areas."

Suddenly, Obi-Wan attacked, and flipped over Anakin, to start the fight, only he hit the ceiling. "You see, Anakin? If you try flashy moves like I did, not only will you hit the walls or the ceiling, but you will hurt yourself! Pain and other feelings of touch and strain will be felt by you as well, like if our sabers get locked, or you glance your elbow on the wall."

"I think I understand, Master," said Anakin, as he attacked Obi-Wan, who was down. "Master, you shouldn't let yourself get down like that, your opponent could take advantage of it."

"I know. But you have to feel the force when you duel or spar, Anakin, not just act on logic, like 'he attacked, so I have to parry'. Try something new, and let go of your conscious self. Just like we were working on in the focusing exercises, you need to rely on instinct, not sheer power, force, and agility, when you fight."

"I'll try," said Anakin.

"No," said Obi-Wan. "you'll DO, and you will realize the art of dueling."

"Now I see why you spend all this time on focusing exercises," said Anakin, as they continued to fight, every once and a while one of the bumping into a chair. Anakin was beginning to figure out how to use parts of the room for strategic principles, like ducking behind a chair and sneaking up on his Master. Soon, Obi-Wan changed the room again, to a hallway in the Jedi Temple. There were people all around, and both of them had to watch out for hitting innocent bystander Jedi as they fought. Soon, it was all over, and Obi-Wan switched off the machine.

Obi-Wan looked at his chrono and sighed. "Do you believe we've only been at this for an hour?" he asked.

"No," said Anakin. "I feel like I had such a workout that we were sparring for at least a few hours."

"Well, I'll let you take the rest of the day off," said Obi-Wan. "You definitely deserve it, even though I beat you every time."

"It's not my fault!" said Anakin.

"I never said it was."

*************

Obi-Wan Kenobi sat on his bed, reading a very engrossing book, The Jewel Of Baroonda. It told the story of how, many thousands of years ago, a fictitious group of aliens, the Valanals, fought a whole bloody war that lasted over three thousand years over a single jewel that had been stolen from them. He was just to the part when Furundil stole the Jewel back, only to get his hand bitten off by the Hound of Morgot, while it was clutching the Great Jewel, when a knock was heard on his door.

Obi-Wan, sprawled on his queen-size bed, answered, "Yes?"

"It's Owen Lars. I want to have a little talk with you. Can I come in?"

"Sure, Lars. The door isn't locked." The door opened and in stepped Owen Lars in a green jumpsuit, who sat down in a plush purple chair off to the side of the bed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I would like to know what is really going on here."

"I don't even know that," said Kenobi, sitting up on the edge of the bed. "But I don't think we have been introduced."

"Owen Lars."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Lars' eyes widened in shock, and he looked away. "K-k-k-kenobi?"

"Yes. Did you mishear me?"

"No...maybe I should come back later..."

"Why? I don't see any reason. Why were you so surprised that my name is Kenobi?"

"Well, I know, personally, the Kenobis on Alderaan."

"Really. I thought I came from Alderaan, but I was never really sure. What are they like?"

"They are very nice, well-mannered people. You would be happy if the Jedi hadn't taken you away from your home."

"Tell me, Lars. I know that Alderaan follows the ladies' side for last names. Are you married?"

"Yes, actually." He's hitting pretty close to the mark, and I don't like it, thought Owen. "I had to leave my beautiful wife Beru on Alderaan when we left so suddenly. I am very much disliking you and you companions for all the commotion you seem to have caused. I bet if you never came to Alderaan, we never would have been attacked! This is a whole assassination scheme for what's-her-face, isn't it, anyway?!"

"What was your original name? You seem very familiar, even if you know my family."

"Its-its-its...Greenhaven."

"I don't like the sound of that," said Obi-Wan. He stood up, and Owen stood up as well, slowly backing towards the door. "What was is really, Owen. I know there's a lie in there somewhere..."

"You Jedi see through people too easily! My real original last name was Kenobi."

"Really. So this is how you know my family? What is your relation to me?"

"Brothers," he said, looking down to the floor. "Brothers. I'm your older brother..." It didn't seem like he wanted to be reunited with his long-lost brother.

"We're brothers?" said Obi-Wan as he gave him a bear hug. "Sit down...tell me about my parents."

"Wait, Obi-Wan! It's nothing like that! My real old last name is Greenhaven as well! We didn't want a Jedi in the family. We don't personally like the Jedi. So-"

"But wait a second...if our parents didn't want the Jedi to take me, why did I become a Jedi?"

A fire crept into his eyes that Obi-Wan hadn't seen before. It was cold, as if he had pure hate for something that was tangible and he wanted to take it in his bare hands and rip it to pieces. "Because the Jedi don't give you a choice! They make sure every hospital in the Republic does midi-chlorian counts on children, and so then the Jedi come and pick up the force-sensitives! They don't give you a choice!"

"But we do give parents a choice..."

"What do your precious Jedi tell you that you give parents a choice whether or not their force-sensitive child will become part of the all-powerful Jedi Order?" he ased as he got up and paced the metallic steel floor. "I bet that's what they tell you! And when we might complain to our local governor or senator, they tell us that the more Jedi we have, the better; the better to protect ourselves from outlaws, the better to keep the laws in practice. Are the Jedi now nothing but police?"

"No, no, no, Owen! That's not how things are at all. When we find a force-sensitive child, a Crèche Master comes and takes them, and if there is any argument, the Crèche leaves the child and we keep close watch over them so that they do not fall to the Dark Side. It is the best way."

"What is? These Crèche Masters, they comes and takes them anyway. You see?!" he leaned forward and placed his forefinger on Obi-Wan's forehead to punctuate the argument. "You're precious Order doesn't seem so clean and white anymore, does it? My family, your family no longer, changed our name so that we would not be shamed for having a Jedi in the family. Why should you become a Jedi? We would never see you again! My parents shared the brunt of having a child, only to have him taken away from them...at least we had the honor of naming him! And now, I'm married, so my name will no longer, even in the books where it might have said: 'Owen Greenhaven, changed from Owen Kenobi', ever be associated with the uncouth word, 'Kenobi', now it is Lars."

"I'll have to look into this," said Obi-Wan. "If this is true, then we have serious problems."

"You have serious problems already! You keep at least three quarters of the Order locked up in your precious Temple training away, but if anyone dared to attack it and destroyed the Temple, there goes your Order, and the whole Council with it! All at once, all of these people's children are dead, that were taken from them, and now all these people who lost children to this Order don't even have them in the breeze anymore. Do you think I'll let any child, even anybody that I adopt become a Jedi, take them away from me like I lost a younger brother by three years!"

"I don't think you will, after all this ranting you have recently been doing about the Jedi."

"So the Jedi Wisdom is correct, after all," he said, mockingly. "You'll find that my opinions are not just mine. Many people are saying the same things as I. I'm warning you...Jedi...that your day will come, eventually. I'm only doing this because I'm your brother, warning you like this," he said with a scowl. "Otherwise, in my eyes, you're bantha poodoo. I'm giving you warning so you can prepare yourselves. I admit, the Jedi can be helpful at times, to get you out of a jam, but otherwise, they are aristocratic fools who sit around all day under the sun and bend spoons. I'll find someone else who can explain what happened on Naboo and who's the REAL queen of the Naboo." He screwed up his face at Obi-Wan.

He stomped out of the room, and slammed the door shut. Off to the side in the corridor, General Durfus said to Lieutenant Dreyfus, "What's with Lars?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't like the looks of it," replied Dreyfus.

*************

The Sith Infiltrator landed with a hiss on Darth Sidious' personal landing platform. The Sith weren't associated with the ship in the records, there was an alibi that made sure the Jedi didn't catch on who was really on the ship, and destroy them. That would not be a good thing for the Sith. The platform was 'owned' by the alibi, and was a good fifty kilometers from Sidious' flat.

As the door opened, steam came out of the hinges, and out of it stepped Darth Sidious and Darth Vader in flowing black robes that touched the ground in a circle around each of them. "So, my young apprentice, what do you think of how our plans are coming?"

"I think they are coming very well. It's a pity, though."

"What is?"

"That we have to throw it all away."

"Yes it is, isn't it? But it is necessary. A necessary. The public can never be given the opportunity to draw the conclusion that the Mandalorians are connected to what they will become, and their successors, either. We tread a fine line, Vader."

"Yes...we do. If we stray, all will be for naught, and we shall be destroyed."

"True...tell me, have the files been planted into the Jedi's computer systems by our Mandalorian slicers?"

"Yes. And we did not get caught, not the slightest. And they are set to show themselves when we give the command."

"And the Random Specimen AAA-23FTG? How is the genetic alterations coming along?"

"I have word from Boba Fett that everything is going along with schedule. I do not agree with you about this decision to activate this specimen...it could be our undoing."

"It could, but it could also be the undoing of the Jedi."

"Yes...I know that. But if the alterations do not break them to our will, so that they cannot try the Sith way of destroying the other Sith, then we will have another disaster, like in the Great War where the Sith fought as much with themselves as with the Jedi."

Sidious sighed. "I know that! Now, listen to me: we cannot fight the Jedi alone. We have only two; that is the way it has been for a thousand years. But to destroy the Jedi with only two of us, would take nearly forever. And what if four or five Jedi attack you at once? Even I could not keep off that many attackers. We need others to share the brunt of the attack."

"Yes, master. Your wish is my command. I have yet another question for you."

"Well, what is it? I haven't got all day!"

"Which Senator were you referring to when you said 'our friend the senator'?"

"Well, obviously, at this point, on the eve of the completion of Operation Boged Bignevah, all the senators are our friends, and we have many contacts in the Senate and Republic Intelligence, but I was not referring to our greatest contact, but Sate Pestage, senator of Naboo. He will be of great importance to the workings of the Senate. He already trusts me...a great deal from the information I provided him about the death or life of Queen Amidala."

"But he knows you are a Sith! He will not believe you when he finds out who is really behind these invasions."

"Perhaps a little purging of his memory is in order? He will not remember that I am a Sith, just 'Darth Sidious'. I will also plant the idea that it is preposterous that I could be a Sith. That way if the Jedi try to convince him, then he will not be swayed. He is needed for the Senate debates..."

"I cannot wait for the Operation to take place," said Vader.

"Me either," said Sidious. "But our enemies, especially Amidala, Kenobi, Skywalker and Organa, must make their move first. If we act too early, it will fail. But it will not, I have forseen it..." he concluded, with a harsh, cackly laugh.

*********

Anakin stormed around his room. How could Ami not go for the anti-slavery action? I mean, she said it ten years ago. 'I can't believe there is still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws...' and to that that the Republic did not exist in the Outer Rim. That's the problem. He settled down into a chair, only to get up again.

The Republic effectually did not exist in the Outer Rim. You could say that it was part of the Republic, but credit was not accepted there, and it's laws were not enforced. Jabba's Gang controlled most of it, which was known as Jabba's Space, part of Hutt Space. Jabba administered his own rules and regulations, most of which consisted of major tariffs which were paid to himself, and his cronies.

We need the Military to act on this, thought Anakin. Without the Military, we can't enforce the anti-slavery laws. But we don't have enough military. It will all be used to fight off the Mandalorians, if that is even possible. Even so, the Senate would still have to approve of Military action, and the bureaucracy still had a lot of power, even with the reforms of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had made many reforms. In the time of Valorum's Chancellorship, the Chancellor had had no power whatsoever to make movements in the Senate. Now, while each Senator could make two 'major' movements per year, the Chancellor could make five. 'Major' movements qualified as the beginning of a sequence, such as the movement to activate the Military, or change tax laws. They did not include actions such as calling committees to look into an issue, from a Major Movement. This was why Amidala was so uncomfortable to use her movements for Anakin; they might need it later.

Does she not remember the pain and suffering the slaves of Tatooine? She must understand my point of view. Anakin was appalled. I have to go talk to her. I'll make her understand.

He stopped pacing, and left his room. He coded his door locked, and strolled over to Amidala's room. That's where she should be. He passed groups of Alderaanians, chatting quietly with each other. He finally reached her door, and knocked.

"Who is it?" asked the queenly voice of Queen Amidala from behind the door.

"It's Anakin. May I come it?"

"Of course, Ani."

He opened the door, and sighed. There was Ami, sprawled out on her bed. Why isn't she getting up? Is she going to lie there all day? He was distracted for a moment as he looked for a place to sit down; her chocolate-colored hair covered almost the entire bed. Normally, it was wrapped up in gigantic headpieces that would most likely make her an old woman young, but now she had unstrung it all, and let it go free. "Ami, I need you to understand-"

"I do understand you, Ani. Perfectly. You want to free your mother." She looked at Anakin, and from the angle she was at, from her head on the bed, she could see how tall Anakin really was. My, how he's changed, she thought. Much older, taller. Anakin now was almost six feet tall, more than his Master, and it was the first time she had realized this. Most people paid it no mind. How in the world did he get so tall?

"Yes. That's why I have come here. I need your help; the Senate's help."

"They won't give it to you. There's no use."

"Yes, they will. You just have to ask them for it."

"But I don't have the power to! You obviously don't understand the inner workings of the Senate. I, as a ruler of a world, am only allowed one Major Movement per year. Senator Pestage is allowed two, and Chancellor Palpatine is allowed five."

"But you must have some saved from previous years, don't you?"

"No. I used them to help my people survive after the Trade Federation fiasco. We imposed strict regulations on the Trade Federation, so that we would take fifty percent of their profits, for our own uses, and they would never raise any form of army again, so that they would keep their trade franchise. It took a lot of work to convince the Senate. But that money was used to keep our people alive, and repair the damage during the Invasion. All the same, you can't 'save' them. If you don't use one from one year, it is lost, and it can't be recovered. You can only use one per year, and that is the way it works."

"Then couldn't Palpatine use his to mobilize the military? Master told me about the Mandalorians." He rested his head in his hand in frustration; he was trying every trick in the book to get her to help him, but nothing was working. "The last time they took a strike at the Galaxy, they weren't happy with just one planet; they took thousands. It took centuries to win that war. The Chancellor needs to move the military against everyone, so he should do it." Perhaps there really isn't a way to do it, thought Anakin. If I know Ami, if there was a way, she would tell me, because she does the right thing.

"You still don't understand, the Senate still doesn't think that there is even Slavery in the Outer Rim. They won't believe it. And they would say the Military is needed elsewhere for the War." She was tired of this argument. It was going nowhere. Anakin was making good points, but the senate was a very...stubborn body.

"Ami, look at me!" Amidala had been looking down at the bed, as if she couldn't muster the strength to look him in the eyes. "Other than this, why? Why put so many people out there in pain, or let the Slave Traders and Bounty Hunters make profit on uncouth means?" At least she is being honest with me...I know some people who would lie to me, to either make me go away or to make me happy. I can trust her, even if I don't like what she has to say.

"There is no other reason. The bureaucracy is what is holding me back." He wasn't going to give up. He is very passionate about this topic, thought Amidala. He really, really loves his mother, more than anything. I wish someone would love me that much, rather than it either being that I am a Queen, I would like it rather that it is because I am who I am, like Anakin loves his mother. If only he wasn't so irritating to others when it came to this passion...

"Why, then? The War will throw all things out the window. Of course, you can always just do it, and wait for the consequences, after doing such a good deed. What do your people need now? If the Invaders have conquered them, there's not much you can do. Even if they haven't yet, I highly doubt they will stay that way once the Invaders catch whiff that their leader isn't there to defend them and they are in a state of chaos."

"Anakin, you didn't have to reopen the wound! Anakin..." she said as she really looked at him for the first time in ten years. She closed her eyes as tears began to form, albeit slowly. After a few moments, opening them again, she eyed his Padawan Braid, a foot in length, and his eyes, were so blue like the great oceans of Alderaan, contrasted by his dark blonde hair. My, my...he's no longer the little boy that he was when he asked if she was an angel all those years ago. But he still loves his mother with such power that he would try and convince her to use her Motion on him...without using a Jedi Mind Trick.

Her expression changed to a smile, and he looked at her in an odd manner. What's she thinking that's got her smiling? He tried to probe her mind, but it was closed to him. Why? Why?

She looked upon his tousled blond hair, and tanned skin. A smile spread across his face. "Well? What's got your tongue?" he asked. She did not reply, deep in thought. His smile...incredible. It's like a blinding light, brighter than Tatooine's suns. Gods...

* * *

"Anakin..." she paused. Anakin didn't reply, because he thought that she was going to finish saying something. But the silence kept going and going and going. It was as if she had lost her breath. She smiled, for some unknown reason, and it troubled him. What was she smiling about?

"Well? What's got your tongue?" he asked. No reply. He passed a hand in front of her face. It didn't do anything, she just stared blankly at him. He looked at her...like looked at her for the first time in all these years, really looked at her. She suddenly was seen in his eyes as he had seen her all those years ago, on Tatooine. An Angel, an Angel of Iego. The most beautiful creatures in the universe. Just her eyes lent her that status. Those big, beautiful orbs of swirling brown, which looked like stars shining as bright as jewels. She has changed. In many ways, I'm sure. But right now, she's looking me over, I know that much. Why, that's the Force's guess. It's spooky...

He looked at her neck, and no doubt, it was still there. The pendant he had given her on the way to Coruscant ten years ago, carved hastily out of a Jappor Snippet, was still there, on a fine gold chain. It was on a piece of rope before. Why did she put it on a gold chain? It was still there. But this is weird...she's really spaced out. What's up with her? By mistake, he started thinking aloud. It was a habit that he just could not get rid of. "Okay, Ami, this is really, really, really weird. Is anybody in there?" He waved his hand in front of her again, and she seemed to snap out of a trance.

Anakin, you are really, really dumb. You just opened up a deep emotional wound that you pretty much made in the first place, while working on the speech with Ami. Dumb, dumb, dumb...but the fact that it is so deep still, now, three weeks after the events, shows a feeling for her people that few could match in loyalty. I wish that I could by so loyal to the Jedi and my promise to Mom at the same time...

* * * *

Amidala brought her left hand up to her chest, touching the pendant Anakin had given her almost ten years ago on it's gold chain, remembering that day. It seemed like yesterday...time certainly does fly, she thought. 'Are you an angel?' it was so funny, she thought, looking back on it. He tried to use a pick up line when he was nine. And then, on our third 'date', if you could even call them that, he gave me jewelry. Not bad for a nine-year old.

She contemplated why she always went to Anakin for help, and always went to him to talk to someone. Could it be? Perhaps. He waved a hand in front of her face, for the first time, as she had noticed it, but she had no idea how many times he had tried to get her attention. It's not like he didn't have it the whole time. "Yeah, there's someone here, Jedi Boy." A small smile crept across her lips.

* * * * *

Anakin didn't like the way she had been staring into nothingness. At times, he had thought she was looking at him, at others, well, he just didn't know. "Yeah, there's someone here, Jedi Boy."

"Good. I was afraid that the resident had vacated the premises."

She stifled a chuckle. The way she looked, and the way it felt, it was like I was a little kid again, and he was being scrutinized by a stranger who he just pronounced an angel. 'You're a funny little boy' she had replied. I must really have been funny, looking back on it now...

* * * * *

"Good. I was afraid that the resident had vacated the premises," Anakin replied. Amidala tried not to laugh. After all these years, he was still a 'funny little boy'. It's almost funny, Amidala, she told herself. You really feel that way about that 'funny little boy'...it's obvious. Admit it. And she gave in to her feelings, and acknowledging them. You have it in for yourself now, Amidala, she talked to herself again. You've fallen in love with a Jedi. Oh, well. You can't help it, I would in your place.

"No, I'm still here. Just thinking."

* * * *

"What about?" Yeah, that's what it looked like. Like back on Tatooine...

"I've been thinking about the past, the present and...the future."

"The future? In what way?" ...back on Tatooine...now I realize, the pendant, I've been in love with her all along...

"I'm not sure. What's going to happen when we get to Coruscant, for example," she said, lifting an eyebrow at him.

"Like how you are going to help me out?"

"I'll do what I can, Anakin," said she. I truly wish I could do something. "It may not be much, but I promise you, after the War is over, I'll...I'll go to Tatooine with you to free the slaves."

Anakin just nodded, deep in thought. Suddenly, he looked up, sending his piercing glance into her chestnut brown eyes. "Do you realize what the War will do to Tatooine? If the Mandalorians get their hands on Tatooine, which I don't doubt will eventually happen, they'll scatter the slaves across the galaxy. I'll never...never see her again."

Ami took his hand, replying: "Ani, I know you want to free the slaves. I know you promised your mother. But listen to me. Nothing will be possible during wartime. The Council will no doubt whisk you off to fight in the war, if the Jedi take part. The Military will be busy with the Mandalorians. I will be busy, either fighting in the war, for Alderaan and Naboo, not to mention getting rid of the Mandalorians, or will be stationed on Coruscant to deal with politics. The future is not bright, but if we can just live through it, I'm sure you'll see your mother again."

Anakin just nodded.

***********

Chancellor Cos Palpatine stood with his aides on his personal landing platform, patiently awaiting the arrival of the Cruiser from Alderaan. They had called a head a few hours ago, so it wouldn't be such a great surprise for them to arrive. Palpatine looked to the horizon, hoping they would arrive soon. He had an appointment with the senator from Ord Mantell in about an hour. All he saw was lane after lane of air taxis, patrol craft, cloud cars, starships and other transport vehicles circling round and round the sky of Coruscant. He looked at his chrono oh his left wrist, becoming more and more impatient.

"What do you think is keeping them?" he asked to his main advisor, a shadowy man whose pitch black hair was drawn over his eyes.

"I do not know, Chancellor," he replied softly, almost a whisper. "They did not say when they would arrive to the minute, you know."

"That is true," he said as the cruiser finally came over the horizon. "Finally..."

The Radiant VIII landed softly at the edge of the Chancellor's Platform, as it was formally called. It was circular, except for four protrudings that acted like arms that ships landed on. It was not Valorum's, Valorum had kept his. Now, Valorum was the Senator for the system of Malastare, and kept his platform for his uses. On the other end of the platform from the Radiant VIII was the Utopian Paradise, Palpatine's personal shuttle.

The hatch opened and many people walked out. Palpatine knew some of them: Queen Amidala, in a handmaiden's guise, Panaka, Bibble, Organa, his friend Pestage, Lars, Skywalker and Kenobi were the only ones here he knew by name. Many others were unknown to him. "It is good to see you again, Your Highnesses," he said, approaching Bail and Padme'. "I may ask, what brings you to Coruscant?"

"Alderaan has been conquered by an Invading Force," replied Bail. "Our small volunteer force was no match for them."

"We tried to contact the Sector Fleet, but they said that they were engaging another Invading Force," spoke up Owen Lars, formerly known as Owen Kenobi and then Owen Greenhaven.

"Yes, we were just able to escape to bring our call for help to the Senate," said Amidala.

"There have been some anomalies lately. Systems are not responding to our calls, others have had not traffic from them for more than a week, which is odd. One ship came back from Malastare, and claimed that they were being Invaded," said the Chancellor. Almost as an afterthought, "Valorum was with them," he added.

"If Malastare has fallen, I wonder who else has," said Panaka.

"We do not know who else has. We believe that we are being invaded, by the data and strange ship that the Malastarians came in, but we cannot be sure of who exactly is being attacked," said Palpatine's advisor.

Obi-Wan eyed the advisor, looking him over. There was something...about him that reminded him of that Sith that he had encountered on Naboo. He looked to Anakin. What is it about him?

Who?

That advisor. He reminds me of the Sith on Naboo. The Advisor eyed Obi-Wan, and shuffled away from the Jedi.

I agree, there is something about him, but I can't place it. I highly doubt that the Sith are in alliance with Palpatine. Palpatine is a good man. I don't see what the Sith would have to gain from having his alliance. <>Me either, Ani. I'll keep a watch on him. We'll have to present this to the Council, along with everything else. "Excuse us, kind sirs," said Obi-Wan, "but my Padawan and I must make our way to the Jedi Temple."

"Very well," said Palpatine.

Obi-Wan walked away a bit, and keyed his comlink to the Jedi Temple. "Jedi Temple," a voice said.

"This is the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padawan Anakin Skywalker," he replied. "We need transport to the Temple immediately, and a session of the Jedi Council needs to be called to discuss information we have collected on our mission."

"It will be arriving in five minutes."

"Thank you," replied Obi-Wan. He turned off his comm, and spoke to Anakin. "Go inside the ship and get the Mandalorian. We'll need him."

Anakin ran into the ship, while on the other side of the platform, Palpatine continued: "We have sent out some patrol ships to about ten systems. None have returned yet."

"Where are these systems?" asked Bail. "Mid-rim, outer-rim, core systems?"

"Most are on the Outer-rim," said Palpatine. "None have returned, but it is possible that they haven't even reached the systems yet. The military hasn't even been activated because the Senate is looking into which systems are or are not invaded."

"I thought you had taken control of the Bureaucrats?" asked Amidala.

"It is no use right now. The military can only be used with explicit permission by the Senate, and they won't touch those laws, even during a period of reform."

"Enough of this," said Ami. "I all these systems turn out to be conquered, about how many would there be?"

"As far as I know, there are two hundred systems that might be. Those systems, we have had no contact from them in weeks, and all our attempts to contact them have failed."

"Tell me, Chancellor," said Sio Bibble, "Is Naboo one of those systems?"

"Unfortunately," he replied, "it is."

***********

"It is?" Amidala shook her head in dismay. "What can we do? If there are two hundred conquered systems, it could be years before we get to Naboo."

"Nothing has been done yet," replied Palpatine.

"Nothing! I say, something should be done about all this mess," said Sio Bibble.

"There is nothing we can do. Although I am not controlled by the bureaucrats, the Senate must be consulted to mobilize the fleets."

"Of course," said Lars. "But there must be a faster way? I mean, the Sector Fleets must be able to help out the planets, couldn't they?"

"Unfortunately," spoke up Palpatine's shadowy advisor, "we have not heard from the fleets in at least twenty sectors in a week. We have calls for help from them, but many people in the Senate claim that this is just a trick by the Enemy to draw our forces out and expose other territory."

"How much of a majority must we have to mobilize the military?" asked Amidala.

"Three-fourths. The main problem is that we don't know what is invaded, and what isn't," said Palpatine.

"Surely there must be some way to convince the Senate," said Pestage.

"No, there is not."

"Then, I must go to my office and check up on my things. I certainly hope, for your sake Chancellor that there is some way to fend off the Mandalorians. You may be stuck in the same bind that Valorum was and voted out of office." Pestage concluded, and walked away to the side of the platform, hailing a taxi.

"Mandalorians...hmm, hoom. This is news indeed. We had no idea who was attacking us," said Palpatine. He looked like he was genuinely interested in this new information, as if he didn't know this before.

"It does not make any difference, Chancellor," said Panaka. "What good would knowing who the attackers are? It appears that it just gives us a name for these people. I checked the databases on the way here. The Mandalorians are reported as an extinct people, dating from the Sith Wars."

"Then we must work all the harder to destroy them, if I can get the Senate to act," said Palpatine. "I believe you will be staying...where? Just so I know where to contact you."

"I believe we will stay in the Jedi temple. I assume that they have hospitality enough for us?" asked Organa.

"Yes, I should be able to arrange that. You couldn't stay in the Alderaanian Senator's quarters, though. The Governor of Alderaan, and also commander of the Alderaanian Sector Fleet, Gyris Tarkin, is here now. One of his ships escaped from the sector, and they brought back some very interesting information they collected when they captured an Invading ship that had landed on Oovo IV. That was where the Alderaanian Sector Fleet was destroyed, if my information was correct."

"Very well. We'll head over to the Temple. It was nice to see you again, Chancellor," said Amidala.

"I'll organize transport to the Jedi Temple for you, Your Highness," said Palpatine. "It should be here in a couple of hours, if all goes well."

* * * * * *

It had been only a few minutes after Anakin exited the ship again with the newly-stunned (again) Mandalorians and Artoo when a small grey cloud car, with the Jedi Emblem, an Acrilyc Bird with it's wings turned up, embroidered on it's side. The Acrilyc Bird also served as a symbol for the Republic, and how the Jedi and the Republic had come out with the same emblem was a matter of much debate.

The two Jedi boarded the ship and were whisked away to the Jedi Temple quickly. "Do we really need to meet with the Council right away, Master? I would like to have a couple minutes to settle down, at least."

"No, we do not have to meet with them immediately, Anakin. But these days, time is of the essence, it appears. We'll probably be summoned by them in short time, no doubt, however. They'll be most interested by the fact we are here, instead of Naboo."

"Good; these last few weeks have been moving incredibly fast, Master. I'd like a little time to think to myself about what's been happening."

"You already get too much of that," said Obi-Wan with a laugh. "But if the Council summons us, we'll go and talk to them, tired out as we are."

"Yes, Master," said Anakin, as the cloud car settled into one of the many hanger bays in the side of the Temple. The temple appeared to be a giant saber, coming out of the ground around it in the sunset. Because much of the area around the Jedi Temple had not been built up to the extent of much of the rest of Coruscant, the windows and panels of the Temple seemed to shift color as one's perspective of it changed, at least in the colored sunset, to become what would look like a shimmering blade.

Master Windu was waiting for them when they touched down. "Welcome back to Coruscant, Knight Kenobi, Padawan Skywalker," he greeted them.

"It is good to see you as well, Mace. We have urgent information for the Council," said Obi-Wan.

"We were informed of that. We are most interested in what brings you back to Coruscant in such short time. You should still be on Naboo, mourning for Amidala."

"You will get your answers in front of the Council," said Obi-Wan.

"Still, the events around Queen Amidala's death should still have kept you there... Very well. You will be summoned by the Council in the morning."

"You shouldn't trust your eyes so much, Master Windu. They can deceive you, and often will," said Anakin. Almost as an afterthought, he added: "I'll see you in the morning, Master," as Mace Windu walked away, into the bowels of the Jedi Temple.

*************

Sate Pestage walked alone through the Senate corridors, thinking. It was almost two in the morning; the next Senate meeting was in two days, so he was able to take late walks and think. He was trying to devise a plan to get the military activated. He had to get at least a three-quarters vote, a very hard-to-get amount. The main problem was that the Senate did not know what planets were conquered and what planets just were out of touch. He had this odd feeling someone was following him.

He ran over the evidence that Intelligence, he closed his eyes and weighed it all. Everything that Intelligence had collected could not be put in any form in any manner to show that either Alderaan or Naboo was Invaded. Well, Alderaan shouldn't be too hard- he thought as he walked right into a wall. Falling to the ground, he looked up, only to see a short cloaked man. "Well met, Senator," he announced.

Pestage easily put two and two together. "Surprise, surprise. The Sith Lord speaks with me again. I assumed that you would follow me if I wandered around here long enough. What are you doing here, Sidious? How do you get into the Senate building?"

"That is my business alone. The important thing is that I am here, speaking with you. I have some important information for you Senator-"

"Why should I believe you at all? All right, once, you gave me correct information, about the Queen, but I don't know where it came from. And also, I know that it was your people who attacked Alderaan!"

"Really. And who told you this?" He peered at Pestage, still on the ground. "And why don't you get up, as well. It might be easier to talk, and walk at the same time."

"I was told this by the Commander of the Invading Forces! He said that we would be welcomed into some Sith Empire or something-"

"That is where you are mistaken, Senator. You see," he said, waving his hand in front of his face, careful not to make it too obvious, "there are Sith and there are Sith. It's hard to explain to people who don't understand our way of life, but the way it is is that the Invaders are allied with Sith, certainly, but another faction. The Sith are always fighting another, and always have been, over the millennia. I have been trying to get rid of this exact patch of scum for a few years now. That is why I am helping the Republic on this matter. I want them destroyed. Utterly, out of my way, not any more of a threat than you are to me."

"So...then why do you not come in front of the Senate and give them your information there?"

"That is because if word got out that there was a Sith in the Senate Chambers, we'd have an army of at least a thousand Jedi and five hundred apprentices on our hands, and we wouldn't want that. Besides, it would help you more" he motioned his hand once more, "if you presented this information to them."

"I see. Well, tell me, then, where did you get the information that Queen Amidala was alive?"

"That is not your business. All that is yours is that I gave you correct information."

"And why should I believe you now? The Jedi said that Sith are devious, and lie. 'They should not be trusted.' Why should I trust you? You gave me correct information, true, but how do I know that you were not just helping me to get my trust, to betray me later?"

"You know that because I," making a very, very wide hand motion this time, "am not a Sith. I am a rogue Jedi named Smitty, who wants to help out but cannot go back to the Jedi because if I do, they will destroy me." Sidious was prided in his use of the Sith Mind Trick, more powerful than the Jedi version, and he was a master at it. Come to think of it, he was a master at everything else as well.

"I see. What have you to tell me?"

"That the Senate will not, under no circumstances, mobilize the military. The Invaders, I have contact with spies there, have contacts in the Senate. At least with one-fourth, and if more than one-fourth votes against military action, then the military will not be able to mobilize. They can only defend, without the Senate's permission, not attack."

"So there is nothing-" Pestage began to look frustrated and panicked, if nothing could be done, what was the use of defending? If the military couldn't defend them, what was the use of not just walking up to them and surrendering?

"Nothing at all," Sidious finished his sentence. "Of course, if there was a stronger control of the Military..." he muttered.

"What?"

"If there was a stronger, more centralized control of the Military. I believe that the way that the Republic deals with mobilization of the Military is very...slow and redundant. The military should be able to act on it's own. How do you fight a way when you are held back by bureaucrats?"

"I do not know. I have never fought a war before. In fact, the Republic itself has not fought a real war in at least eight hundred years."

"You see, Pestage, that the Republic's war laws are very much outdated. I have had a nice little talk with the Chancellor-"

"The Chancellor?"

"Yes. We are good acquaintances, I have assisted him before. I suggested the idea, and he agreed that the Bureaucrats still very much controlled the Military. He believes that a more centralized control is the only way to win this war."

"It makes sense, for only a certain period of time. After the war, it would most certainly have to go."

"If you would excuse me, Senator, I need to go back into hiding from the Jedi. If they catch me, I'm in for it."

"You can trust me, Smitty, I'll never mention you."

"Thank you. Have a good night, although for you, you might consider it still evening because you are still up." He departed, leaving Pestage alone to think.

*************

The alarm from the chrono woke Anakin up with a start. He looked at it, and was surprised. It was 9:00. That was late for Anakin. I guess that Obi-Wan decided to give me a little rest. He quickly go up, and changed into his best robes. He would appear before the Council, which meant that he had to show the utmost respect. He hadn't exactly done that the last time he was in front of them.

The last time that he had been in front of the Council was only three weeks ago, but it seemed so long ago to Anakin. So much had happened, so much had changed. The galactic equation had changed the most, with all the invasions taking place, and the Queen here on Coruscant. Not to mention that Amidala was alive rather than dead.

Anakin and Obi-Wan's suite was five rooms: two bedrooms, a common room, a kitchen (though they never used it; Obi-Wan's cooking was notorious), and a holo room. When one walked in, they walked into the common room, which had paintings around the walls and sculptures, and a round table in the middle with chairs. It was carpeted blue, and the walls were red. The ceiling was off-white. To an entering person's right was Anakin's room, and to the left was Obi-Wan's room. Forward was the Kitchen, and to the left and forward was the holo room. The holo room had a direct doorway to Obi-Wan's room, so he could go right in there, but Anakin had to go through the Common Room to go anywhere. Obi-Wan's room also had a doorway right through to the hallway.

Anakin found Obi-Wan in the holo room, which was also walled red and carpeted blue, with a two-thirds holovid and a plush green couch. On one wall was a wooden bookcase, which was stacked with novels and training books. "Good morning, Master," Anakin greeted. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Relaxing," Obi-Wan replied. "I'm watching the news. It doesn't look too good."

"In what way?" Obi-Wan isn't even looking at me. He is more interested in that boring holovid than me. Hmmph.

"It appears that the Senate is stumbling over itself; they can't figure out who to go and liberate and who is just out of touch."

"Hmmm." The reporter was doing an editorial, talking about how something would have to be done soon, or the Republic would fall. He was telling some of the more popular theories on the attackers. They included that they were aliens from outside the galaxy, that it was a planet from the Republic attacking it's neighbors and the rest of the Galaxy, and that the Jedi were behind it, to name a few. "The Jedi behind it, Master? I don't see how that is even logical."

"I don't write the newscasts, Anakin. But you have to understand that there are many, many people who do not like the Jedi, and would easily use them as scapegoats."

"When did you find this out? About a lot people thinking this way?"

"Just recently. It doesn't concern you, Padawan, at this time. No doubt, you may hear about how I learned this soon."

"Yes, Master. Why did you set my alarm so late? You usually wake me earlier."

"The Council wishes to see us at eleven o'clock. I thought you might like to sleep in."

"Oh. Isn't eleven late for a normal council meeting to start?"

"I guess. But I assume that they will be meeting earlier, and will be waiting for us. They'll probably be gossiping and thinking about why we are here and not on Naboo. A proper amount of meditation, as well."

"Never assume, Master, or it'll make an ass out of you and me," Anakin said in a poor try at a joke. It was a twist on a popular Jedi proverb, and Anakin had thought it up on the spot.

"All right, Anakin. I don't assume, I...well, I think. And watch your language."

"But ass isn't a bad word!"

"Jedi are supposed to set an example for the rest of the galaxy. So set a good example. I've told you this enough times."

"But all the pilots in Mos Espa-"

"Did not exactly follow the Jedi's example. This is the end of the argument. Go do some meditating."

Anakin got up with a 'harumph' of anger at Obi-Wan. Storming out of the room, he went to meditate in the Common Room. The suite was very well decorated and was beautiful, but it was a great irony in Anakin's eyes. The advanced Padawans and their Masters received the better rooms, but they were rarely there because they were on missions for at least ninety percent of the time. And now, Anakin and Obi-Wan were having less and less time at the temple than before.

Obi-Wan claimed that he had had at least twice at much time here at the temple at this stage in his training. He said that the Jedi were being put on more and more missions, because they were looking for the other Sith or Siths, and the Chancellor had been asking for more and more missions. Now, they were starting to slack a little from him, much to Obi-Wan's suspicion, and they were getting a little more time. At one point, the only Jedi at the temple were the Council, the initiates, the healers, and the very basic padawans and their Masters. That was not a lot. Also, many Padawans were being promoted earlier than usual, with the Council trying to swell the ranks to keep up with the missions.

Anakin suspected that his trials were coming near, and perhaps very soon, with the way that Anakin had handled the Sith Lord on Naboo. And then, almost as soon as he had started to meditate, he was being drawn out of it by Obi-Wan. "Yes, Master?"

"You have been meditating for almost an hour! This is a record for you...we have to go up to the Council, now. It's a quarter to eleven."

How could he have meditated for so long? It had felt like only a few seconds. "Already? Let's go."

They left their quarters, and headed to the nearest lift tube, to their left, and headed up to the Council Chambers. Waiting outside the great steel doors, they suddenly opened from within to reveal the Jedi Council.

***********

"And so, we battled the Sith Lord," finished Obi-Wan. They had explained the details around the death 'Amidala', and were now at the part about the battle with the Sith.

"A Sith? Was this related to the people who doctored the riot?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Yes. It appears that the riot was cover for our battle with the Sith. Also, it appears that the Sith want Amidala dead," said Obi-Wan. Anakin stood to his flank, being silent, as any good Padawan does in front of the Council.

"Became of the Sith, what did?" asked Obi-Wan. "Endangered, we are, if the Sith are involved."

"I was the first to battle the Sith. Anakin went to help the Queen to escape the riot and the planet. For the most part, I handled the Sith well. But when I jumped up to the hatch of our transport, the Sith pushed my feet out from under me, and hurled me into a wall, where I went unconscious."

"Then why are you here, as opposed to dead?" inquired Mace Windu. "I do not think a Sith would have left you unconscious, but would have gone and made sure you were dead."

At this point, Anakin spoke up. "Apparently, the Sith thought that my Master was dead from the impact. Also, he seemed to want me dead, moreso than my Master, and could have been preoccupied with me."

"So how did your fight with the Sith go?" asked Adi Gallia.

"It went well. I led it into the corridor of the ship, and told the pilot to raise the ship. The Sith was not able to adapt to the smaller area, and I had no trouble. The Queen tried to help, with her blaster, but it was just deflected back at her. I threw the Sith out of the hatch to his apparent death in a few thousand meter drop."

"Hmm...know that the Sith did die, how can we? Obi-Wan, die he did not in his 'supposed' death, so how be sure can we?" asked Yoda.

"We cannot, but it is almost a sure thing."

Yoda looked to the other members of the council, who nodded. "Ready for the trials, we think you are, Skywalker. After the fight with the Sith you had, this is what we believe. Ready are you?"

"I will not impose on your council of who is ready or not. But if you would have me take the trials now, I would."

"But you have not heard all of the story," said Obi-Wan. "Anakin confessed to me later, while I was recovering that during his encounter with the Sith, he cut off the Sith's hand."

"This is not good," said Mace. "Jedi are not supposed to do this, even to an enemy. Apparently, Anakin already had the mastery of the fight, and it was not necessary."

"Yes," said Plo Koon. "Obviously, Anakin is not ready for the trials if his anger can master him so easily."

"But-"

"No buts, Padawan Skywalker," said Yoda. "Consider this, we will. But also forsee, we do, that much time on Coruscant you will spend with your Master."

"This is still not all that we have found," said Obi-Wan. "We know who is Invading the Republic, and some very interesting information about them."

"What is this?" asked Adi Gallia. "Do you claim to know everything in the Galaxy, now?"

"No. After leaving Naboo, we went to Alderaan for the Queen to find refuge. We were going to make straight for Coruscant, but Alderaan was invaded during our stay there. We have captured a few Invading Troops. I have come to the conclusion that they are Mandalorians from the Sith Wars."

"That is impossible! We destroyed the Mandalorians centuries ago!" said Windu.

"If the Sith survived, not surprised am I that the Mandalorians did as well," said Yoda.

Yaddle now felt that it was her turn to ask questions. "Unexpected this is. What more do you know?"

"Their armor...cannot be pierced by lightsabers," said Obi-Wan.

"I can attest to this - I had a hard enough time when I was faced with them!" exclaimed Anakin.

"Anakin, go get the one we have stunned," said Obi-Wan. After Anakin had left, Obi-Wan continued. "After Anakin had dealt with their weapons and made them unconscious, he stunned them with their own weapons. On the ship, we gave the prisoners tranquilization drugs, so they can still be interrogated. We took one of them with us off the ship to the Temple."

"So, this will be of use to us," said Windu, "just as Fett was when we captured him and froze him in carbonite? We will be able to interrogate him. Very well."

At that moment, Anakin came in with an unconscious Mandalorian on a repulsorbed. It floated into the center of the room, and Master Windu spoke: "Kenobi, if you would do the honors?"

"Ah...I have lost my saber. Anakin had placed it in his quarters, and was away from them when Alderaan was invaded," explained Obi-Wan. Almost forgetting that the Council didn't know why he hadn't been carrying his saber, "I was in a bacta tank, and Anakin had been holding onto my lightsaber for safekeeping."

"You can do it if you wish, Master Windu," piped up Anakin.

"Alright," said Mace. He came up to the Mandalorian, and swung his saber down hard. It had a purple blade, and it went out, just as Anakin's had, as soon as it touched the armor.

"It sends a power feedback to the circuits," said Anakin. "It overloads them, shutting off the blade through a safety mechanism."

"Cortosis ore, is has a layer of," said Yaddle, after a moment of hesitation. "Known of this material, we have, but never have we seen it used."

"So...does this mean that there is no way to get past it?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi. "If we have known about it, but have never encountered it, we must have tried to make lightsabers beat it?"

"Tried, we have," said Yaddle, "But try not: do or do not. There is no try. Researched it, we did, and found that the material crumbles for blaster fire, but be destroyed by laser swords, it will not. Nothing we can do."

"And also," said Obi-Wan, "they are clones."

"Clones!" exclaimed many of the Council members at once. Adi Gallia continued, "Cloning was outlawed centuries ago, though!"

"Yes, but obviously, this group of people do not care for the Republic's laws. They are allied with the Sith."

"Know this, how do you?" asked Yoda.

"They asked for the surrender of Alderaan to the 'Great Sith Empire', if our accounts are correct."

"Sith!" exclaimed Mace Windu. "It appears that we have a disaster on our hands. If the Sith are making a play for control of the Galaxy, with an unlimited supply of cloned Mandalorians for their armies, then the Republic must act fast, or all will be lost."

"Why we are faced with a problem, that is," said Yoda. "Soon make a case to the Senate, Amidala will."

"Yes. We must watch this case in the Senate closely. I sense that Palpatine may move for a military buildup. They will also try to bring the Jedi into this, to help the war," said Mace.

"The last war we were in," said Yoda, "killed were half the Jedi, and turned to the Dark Side did almost all the other half." The last war the Jedi had been involved in had been the Great Sith War. At that point, their ranks had swelled at almost a million, but after it they were down to about a thousand. They had been reluctant ever since then to take part in any war.

"We will discuss this at a later time. The new information on the armor of our enemies makes it harder for us to take part, knowing that our weapons would make no dent on them. But that is not for now."

"Anakin, leave us. I need to speak with the council on...personal matters," said Obi-Wan.

********

"What would include, 'Personal matters'?" asked Yoda after Anakin had left the Council Chambers.

"I'll tell you what they include: I was just reunited with my brother!" screamed Obi-Wan. He had done some thinking about this since the truth had been broken to him, and had decided to bring it to the Council. It was not like him, he normally defended the Council, but he really couldn't on this matter.

"Control your anger, you must," said Yoda. "Have a brother do you? Unexpected this is, and unfortunate."

"Unfortunate that I have a brother! No, it's not. I must admit, it was not such a bad thing to know that I have a family. I haven't thought about it really, but there's one thing that's really bugging me."

"What would that be, Obi-Wan?" asked Mace.

"Mace, I was informed by Owen, my brother that I was taken from my family against their wishes. That's not the way it works."

"Why bug you this does? Not wish to be a Jedi do you, now?"

"No, or course I still want to be a Jedi. I have all my life. I just want to know why you have been lying to us. You keep telling us that Jedi have to set a good example for the rest of the galaxy, and here you are - lying to your own kind!" He was truly disgusted.

"In what way have we been lying?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"You claim that the Jedi give the parents of force-sensitives a choice over whether or not their child becomes part of the Order! But you don't! My family, they changed their name, because they didn't want the 'shame' in their eyes that one of their family was a Jedi! My brother informed me that the Jedi don't give parents a choice - they just take, and that's that!"

"Anger leads to hate, Kenobi," said Yoda. "Control it you must. Understand us, you must. The only way, it is."

"Yes, listen to Master Yoda," said Mace. "If we gave parents a choice, the Jedi would have gone extinct hundreds of years ago. There wouldn't be enough Padawans. Even taking every force-sensitive, our ranks have not even increased ten thousand in eight hundred years. If did not take everyone, then there would be no Jedi."

"But what about parents! They want a child, and it is taken away from them, possibly against their will. Some people don't like the Jedi, if it doesn't spoil your fun. Sorry to break it to you, but I have found some people over the past few weeks who despise the Jedi for one reason or another. Some people don't want their child to join the ranks of an Order they don't like."

"Yes," said Adi Gallia, "but not everybody in the galaxy can like the Jedi. Not everybody can hate them either...but without Jedi, where would the Republic be?"

"Each of your points are well taken," said Obi-Wan. "However, it still isn't right that you lie to the Jedi. Most people don't know that we don't know this, I assume, and if it was found out, many people would like the Jedi even less!"

"Control yourself, Kenobi," said Plo Koon. "You are correct. We shouldn't lie to you. But from a certain point of view, lying on this matter really isn't lying."

"Yes," said Mace. "I know of no Jedi who has inquired on this topic. When you did, we were honest with you. You just never asked. You may find that many of the truths we cling to are from a certain point of view. The truth that we are not lying to you about this is just one of them."

"Listen to Master Windu, you must," said Yoda. "Asked, have you ever, if parents are ever given a choice? Have you?"

"Actually, no I haven't," Obi-Wan said, shuffling his feet. He looked down, now seeing how they both were right. "You are right. I know of no Jedi either who ever asked about this. And I assume the Crèche Masters know this, that you haven't lied to them?"

"No, we have not lied to them. They may have lied to a number of Jedi, but Crèche Masters are not Jedi. They know the truth," said Mace.

"Alright, I'll not fight you on this. There is one other matter."

"And what is this?" asked Yaddle.

"The name Jar Jar Binks has most probably elevated itself to your ears, has it not, Masters? It would most easily be connected to the Battle of Naboo."

"I have heard of it," said Mace. The others nodded.

"He is exceptionally clumsy, but his clumsiness seems always to be in the right place at the right time. For example, at the Battle of Naboo, he accidentally destroyed some thirty battle droids."

"And where is this going?" asked Plo Koon.

"I was intrigued by this recently, how he is incredibly 'lucky' if I may use the term. So, I administered a midi-chlorian count on him. He has a count that would make him force-sensitive. I know that he could not be taken on as a Jedi. He is too old, fifty-six. But I would like him trained enough that he will be able to ward off temptation to the Dark Side."

"We would be proud to," said Mace. "But no farther. We do not have the time to train him as a Jedi, and either way he is too old to begin a normal course of study. Just enough not to be tempted." It had been the Jedi's way over the centuries, even if a force-sensitive was too old, to train them enough to ward off any temptation of the Dark Side. From that point on, they would be watched very carefully, making sure nothing of the sort actually happened.

"This is an unexpected point for Kenobi to pursue," said Adi Gallia. "If you don't remember, he has shown much contempt for 'primitives' in the past. And now, he is taking a detour from his normal duty to follow one? Interesting, most interesting..."

"I am much surprised as well. After Anakin, who you most obviously didn't want taken on as a Padawan before the Battle of Naboo, one who is so much older than he was to be taken on...is a very interesting turn of events," said Obi-Wan.

"Later, we will discuss this," said Yoda. "Needing of meditation, the council has. Leave us, Obi-Wan. We will summon you at a later date."

* * *

Anakin was waiting outside the Council for his Master. He was sitting on a bench, looking out the windows, following the space lanes. "What was all that about, Master?" asked Anakin.

"For the most part, Anakin, it is not your business. But also, Jar Jar will be taken on for some training, at least enough for him not to be tempted by the Dark Side."

"This is very...interesting," said Anakin. How would they take Jar Jar on for training! He's much, much older than I was...and they didn't even test him, either!

*******

After Amidala and her cohorts had unloaded all their things at the Jedi Temple, they went to scout out their rooms. The Jedi Temple often hosted political guests on Coruscant. The Council wasn't exactly happy with all these outsiders coming into the temple, but they did it because they had a lot of extra room, since their numbers weren't exactly up to the amount when the Temple had originally been built. Either way, guests only got to see the parts closest to the exits, because the Jedi didn't want them all over the place.

Amidala and company had gotten the pick of the guest rooms, seeing as they were the only ones there at the time. Besides that, most of the Jedi were out on missions, which left a great majority of the Temple free. Amidala had taken a six-room suite that was linked with a four room for the Handmaidens. It was down the hall from Bail Organa and Owen Lars' place. Further off were the rooms for the other Alderaanians, most of which were working in either the military of government. They had smaller rooms, and took up the majority of the guest area.

Amidala led her belongings that she had with her out of the lift tube, and down the hall on a repulsorwagon. It was a grueling affair, getting all that onto a repulsorwagon. The wagon had to fit into a lift tube, and she had lots of stuff. Her bags kept falling off, and she had decided to take two trips. She had not taken any help offered to her by her handmaidens, or Panaka.

Pestage had his own place on Coruscant, and was sharing his with Bibble, as he was feeling generous that day. Jar Jar was staying at the temple, but where he was was a mystery to everyone. Probably got lost, thought Ami.

Settling down on her large sky-blue couch, she sighed. Why did I have to pick this room? It's mostly blue, the color of Ani's eyes... she had been trying to hide her emotions from Anakin for most of the rest of the week-long hyperspace trip to Coruscant. She didn't think that he liked her like she liked him, and was, well...embarrassed a bit around him. She had been working on shielding her thoughts, and knew by now that nobody could get in her mind unless they were either very powerful and strong-willed, or she let them.

Pacing for a moment, trying to figure out what to do now that she was here. She turned on her holo, and clicked through the channels. Not much on... she thought for a few minutes as she went through all four-hundred and ninety-five channels. Finally, she ran into a documentary about the Naboo-Trade Federation Fiasco, as it was 'formally' known.

It was talking about how Anakin Skywalker had saved the day for the Naboo, and his battle in space. "As a nine-year old, Anakin Skywalker was a pilot, and still is today, included in his training as a Jedi. Originally from Tatooine, he was freed from slavery by the late Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who ceased during a battle with a Sith Lord while Anakin was flying in the Battle of Naboo. A true rags-to-riches type story..." the narrator continued. Gods...I need help. This is driving me nuts! I need to talk to Anakin...but I can't! I wish Sabe' were here, I could talk to her about this...

Her problems with Anakin were almost making her insane. She thought he felt the same way about her, but she was afraid that it was just wishful thinking. Closing her eyes, lying down, and unconsciously fingering the japor snippet around her neck, she was sure that he had felt that way...if a nine year old could...back on Tatooine, but he was a much different person now.

Letting it all sink in, her problems mounted before her. And I'm going to have to appear before the senate in a few days! How am I going to prepare for that if I'm daydreaming about Anakin all day! Wait a second... she thought as a plan began to form in her mind. I've got an idea. I'm sure my handmaidens wouldn't be too upset if I asked for a little love-life advice...

* * *

Rabe', Yane', Sache' and Eirtae' settled down easily in their four-room suite. Rabe' and Sache' shared a room, as did Eirtae' and Yane'. There was a holo-room, and a common-room. Right now, they were sprawled out on the floor in the holo-room, watching a sappy romance holofilm. In Yane's words, 'We're all suckers for true love.'

They hadn't been into it for half an hour when they heard the door that connected their suite with Ami's open with a click. Their suites had a door that connected their common rooms, but only Amidala could open, due to a code that had to be input from the handmaiden's side. From Ami's suite, she could open it without any code whatsoever.

"Rabe', Yane', Eirtae', Sache', where are you? I need to speak with you," called out Ami.

"We're in here!" yelled Yane'. "We're watching a film!"

"Yeah," said Eirtae'. "You're welcome to join us..."

"Sure, I'd love to watch a film with you guys!" said Ami. She walked in, and sat down on the couch that the handmaidens were purposely not paying any attention to. "What movie is this?" she asked.

"It's...well, I'm not sure," said Rabe'.

"We started watching it after they told everyone what movie it is," explained Sache'.

"Mmmmhmmm..." said Ami, engrossing herself in the film. "So, what's happened so far?"

"Well," said Yane', "there are these two people, a guy and a girl, who are hopelessly in love, but don't know that the other is as well. They think it's just them."

*******

"Well, at least it's interesting..." said Ami. "There's no love triangle, is there?"

"God, no, Ami! Why should there be a love triangle?" asked Eirtae'.

"Well, I dunno-"

"Well, in my opinion, love triangles could just go to hell," said Rabe'. "I think love triangles are just despicable. I mean, love's supposed to be a good thing, not something that destroys, like love triangles. I'm a sucker just for a good romance. It doesn't need a triangle to mess things up."

"Well, it seems that there is something going on in two places tonite," said Ami.

"How is that?" asked Rabe'.

"Well, I haven't told you yet, but..."

"But what?" asked Eirtae'.

"I...I..." said Ami, hesitating. How am I supposed to tell them this?! Oh, well. If I can't tell this to my handmaidens, how the hell am I going to tell Anakin. Might as well just say it. "I think..IthinkthatI'minlovewithAni."

"Say that again, please," said Sache'. "I couldn't really get what you said."

"Oh..." said Ami. "Well, you know Anakin Skywalker?"

"Yeah, I know who that is," said Yane'.

"Well..." said Ami, "I think...I think that I'm in love with him." There...I said it.

"What?!" exploded Yane' "This is definitely news." She had this blank look on her face, that clearly said how-could-we-not-have-figured-this-out-if-she-was-keeping-this-from-us.

"Really! How long has this been going on?" asked Rabe'.

"Yeah, tell us all about your love life!" said Eirtae' jokingly.

"Well, I've only known for about a week," said Ami.

"So, is this going to be a 'happily ever after' story, Ami? Does he feel the same way about you?" asked Rabe'. "And we should have figured this out. Now that I think about it, you've been giving Ani long looks all week out of the corner of your eye..."

"No, I do not stare at him all day!" exclaimed Ami to this last comment. Getting back on-topic, "Well, I'm in kind of the same position as the people in this film-"

"Oh!" exclaimed Sache', "So you don't know if Anakin feels the same way about you?"

"That's pretty much it. I don't know. I want to know if you know."

Eirtae' and Yane' had taken to poking fun at the Queen. "So, Ami, what have you and Ani been doing all these time you've gone to each other's rooms..." said Yane'.

"Stop it!" said Ami. "It's nothing like that. As I said, I don't know if he feels the same way about me as I feel about him.

"Well..." said Sache', "I do know that he felt kind of like the way you do back when he was a prepubescent flying ace..."

"But he's not prepubescent anymore," said Rabe', "and that means that he's changed a bit, possibly more."

"True, and that's the problem," said Ami. "I mean, for all I know, he might have a girlfriend back at the Temple."

Yane' and Eirtae' were having their own private conversation, just it was loud enough for everyone to hear, and they were poking fun at their friend the Queen. "You know, we should have realized this!" said Yane'.

"Why? She didn't tell us..." said Eirtae'.

"Well, she was giving Anakin these really long glances out of the corner of her eye..." Yane' continued, as they purposely made fun of Ami, all in jest.

"I could easily see him picking some Jedi chick up there..." said Sache'. "I mean, look at him now: a 6-foot knockout! He could easily get anyone he wanted, in my opinion."

"You watch out, Sache'! He's mine!" yelled Ami as she punched Sache' in the shoulder.

"I think I see your problem," said Rabe'. "You want to tell him, but you're afraid that he isn't the same way, and you'll be really embarrassed."

"You could say that..." said Ami. "But it seems so much more complicated than that. Anyway, do you think he feels the same way as me?"

"I dunno," said Yane', coming out of her conversation with Eirtae'. "He hasn't exactly been staring at you or anything..."

"I don't agree," said Sache'. "He was looking at Ami a lot, when they were around each other. It's a feat they didn't catch each others' eye."

"I didn't see him looking at me a lot," said the Queen. "My fear is that anything that's pointing to him feeling the same way is just my overactive imagination and wishful thinking."

"And you don't want to proclaim anything if it's not reciprocated?" asked Rabe'.

"Yeah - that's pretty much it. I wanted to know if you knew if Anakin felt the same way about me as I feel about him."

"Well, to tell you the truth, Ami, we don't know anything," said Yane'. The other girls nodded.

"So coming here was a complete waste of my time?" asked Ami.

"Not really!" said Eirtae'. "You told us some really, really valuable gossip material-" she was cut off as Rabe' started beating her over the shoulders.

"What she really means, your highness," said Sache', "is that you can watch the end of this sappy romance movie with us!"

"If I were you, Ami," said Yane', "I would just go and tell, Anakin. I mean, what have you got to lose?"

"What have I got to lose?" asked Amidala. "I dunno, just my pride. That's not too much," she finished, considering Yane's advice. "Not that much..."

"Let's see what we missed, giving our Queen love advice," said Rabe', still hitting Eirtae'. They continued to watch the movie for the rest of two hours.

*********

It was night on Coruscant. As if there really was a night there. The lights of vehicles, buildings and starships kept the sky almost full of ambient light twenty-four hours a day. In the dim, flickering light of the Coruscant evening, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader strode through the porch of their flat.

"I say, my apprentice, have all the arrangements for my rise to power been made?" asked Sidious with a wisp of a grin of his shrouded face.

Vader stopped, and knelt before his Master. "Yes, Master."

"Good. Tomorrow, in the Senate Meeting, the first, the crucial step will take place. Have you met with Tarkin?"

"Yes, Master. He knows the routine, and will present the plan to the Senate, obviously before you make your move."

"Yes...this provides me with a problem. Should I make my move before or after Tarkin makes his? If I make it after, the Senate may be uneasy to deliver such power into my hands," he stopped speaking for a moment for a small laugh. "But if I make it before, then his move is redundant, is it not?" asked Sidious.

"Master, you are correct. After your move, it would not be necessary. I'll go tell him that his move is not needed-"

"Of course it is needed, fool!" screamed Sidious as he sent lightning through his apprentice. "Fool, of course it is needed! I just realized that if I did it myself, then the whole plan would be foiled! I'd just be getting rid of a problem that I created with Operation Boged Bignevah, and that would not win the public over. Of course, we need to go through with the plan."

Vader was trembling now. "Are you so sure that the Senate will accept Tarkin's proposal? If they do not, our schemes will fail utterly."

"They have to. I have some people lined up that will make testimony that will show the Senate that 'Tarkin's Plan' is the only way to win the war. You have of course made the correct movements to make the Senate meeting tomorrow media-free?"

"Of course. The media would be deterrent to our operations. Since the meeting tomorrow will discuss the war effort, it is of course free of any media."

"Good, good..." Sidious said as he let out a laugh that would chill anyone to a bone as a patrol craft crashed nearby. "Let us go inside, we would not want to attract attention, my young apprentice. Soon, our plans will be complete, and the Republic will be ours, and the demise of the Jedi along with it!" He was joined in his laugh by his apprentice as they walked inside.

*********

Queen Amidala walked into the Naboo pod and got situated for the Senate Meeting which would take place in just a few moments. The pod was connected to Senator Pestage's office, and could detach and fly around the Senate Chambers when it was called upon by the Chancellor. Amidala would have no problem addressing the Senate because of the...details surrounding Sabe's death because every member of the Senate had received a memo explaining it. Some thought it outrageous, others had no problem with it, some even commended her for doing such a thing to relieve her of stress so she could rule better. Of course, nobody was happy about someone dying, and everybody was happy that the Queen wasn't dead, for the most part.

The Meeting was closed to reporters. Normally, Senate Meetings were broadcast so anybody could watch them. But today, they were to discuss the War, and that meant top security. The Enemy could have easily intercepted a broadcasted meeting, and thus find out their plans, if it were broadcasted. That would not be a good thing. It would be like having a spy right there.

Amidala settled down in the pod, in the best dress that she had managed to bring with her or acquire. She originally had only had her one set of robes that she had worn at the riot, and had picked up a few more sets of clothing on Alderaan, before it was invaded. Now that they were on Coruscant, and it looked like they would be here for a very, very long time, she and her handmaidens had gone shopping since they had arrived, giving all of them a few more sets of clothes. Amidala had bought a simple dress, not very much like the royal gowns she had worn on Naboo, or purple, blue and red. It had no headpiece, and she had let her hair down instead of keeping it up in a tight bun as most Nubians did. She also had a band of sparkling corusca jewels in her hair. It brought out her beauty more than royal tradition. Personally, she loved it.

Quickly, Chancellor Palpatine called the session to order. "Welcome, Senators," he said, "and other delegates to the Senate. We have just had some very important arrivals, in terms of importance to the War." He used every part of the Senate building to his advantage, from projecting to how the lights reflected around the dais in the center of the chamber. He was a master at politics, and it was partially thought this that he had been elected Chancellor. "I call forward: Viceroy Bail Organa of Alderaan to give testimony on what he has observed in the Alderaan System."

Alderaan's pod, the one closest to Naboo's, zoomed out towards the podium where Palpatine and his shadowy aides sat, as at least ten amplification and recording droids flew in circles around the pod to give pods all the way across the chambers a better view and better hearing. "Supreme Chancellor, and delegates to the Senate," began Bail, "I come from a situation of grave danger. Soon after a group of refugees from Naboo had arrived in Alderaan, containing most notably Queen Amidala, and the Jedis Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, our system was invaded. Our small defense force was not enough to even slow them down, and we were forced to escape from Alderaan to Coruscant to beg of you to take action and help us take back what is ours."

Murmurs spread through the Senate as delegates discussed this grave news with their aides and colleagues. Message droids flew across the chambers as senators talked with others, trying to come to some conclusions. Almost as soon as it began, a pod came out from the side of the chamber. It was the pod from Ord Mantell; "Why should we believe you?" asked it's senator. "I move that a committee be made to find the truth in this matter."

Another pod came out, before anyone could second it. It was Amidala: "Why not?" he asked. "We were there! Do you accuse us of lying?"

"No, no, of course not. You could be mistaken. Of course, this could be some kind of feint. You could have been brainwashed or something..." It was clear they were trying to cover up what they were doing.

"But, Senator," said Valorum of Malastare, as his pod came flying out, "nobody is being accused, like someone was during the Trade Federation Fiasco of ten years past. This is not a trial. The Viceroy of Alderaan merely wishes us to mobilize the military and take back Alderaan."

"But what if it turns out that there is no invading army at Alderaan?" asked the senator from Kessel. "They could have taken Alderaan and backed out just as quickly. They could perhaps be trying to draw our army out to weaken our defenses elsewhere."

Palpatine finally decided that he had had enough of this bickering. "Order, order!" he called. "A committee will not do. We are a committee. We were formed to sort things such as this out, without having to resort to committees of people that are not as well trained as us." Others around the chamber nodded in agreement to what the Chancellor had stated. "I say we vote whether or not to send out a few ships to scout out the Alderaan system now, and then take a fifteen minute recess as the votes are counted."

"Yes," said the senator from Ord Mantell. "I agree, vote now, there is nothing to lose in just a scout mission. It would only take a short while, perhaps a few weeks. And it would not take away much of our defenses."

"But," said the senator from Kessel, "We have already sent many of these scout missions to places closer than Alderaan, and have had no reports from any of them. I say it is a risky venture, but we will vote now."

"Very well," said Palpatine. "On your screens there should be a yes button, and a no. The vote will take half an hour, for you to decide which you should vote for. Remember, a three-quarters vote is needed to give this mission the green light, as it is a military vote."

For the next half an hour, Senators discussed the topic with their advisors and colleagues, and eventually, all the votes had been cast. At the end of the time period, Palpatine spoke again. He had no vote in this matter, he was just the overseer of the procedures, and could debate and make motions. But he had no vote. "Time is up. All votes have been cast. This meeting will recess for fifteen minutes." With that, every being in the chamber filtered out into their offices and cubicles, to await the results.

*********

"Do you think that it will pass?" Bail Organa asked to Alderaan's senator, Mon Mothma. In her thirties, her tall figure was silhouetted nby the morning sun through the window in her office peering across the sprawling, glittering Coruscant metropolis. With brown hair and grey eyes, she had the Pendant of Alderaan around her neck, a bronze medal awarded for service.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I most certainly hope so, don't you? I just have my doubts. Valorum showed up from Malastare, and pleaded their case, but they were voted down. I just have a very bad feeling about this."

"Really? What was the vote like?" asked Bail.

"It was pretty close," said she. "Something like sixty-five percent to thirty-five. I just guess that there's a whole bunch of very hesitant people in the senate."

"I don't know..." replied Bail, "if the Senate is capable of controlling the military in a very...good manner. I mean, I was there, I know Alderaan was invaded, but the senate is just too big. It doesn't move fast enough to run a war."

"Yes," said Mothma, looking downward in frustration. "The Senate is too slow. But let's go back. Our time is almost up; we have to find out what the results are."

* * *

The Senate was bubbling with conversation as the recess came to a close. Everyone was speculating what was to become of the vote. "Order!" exclaimed Palpatine from the dais in the center of the Senate Chambers. "The vote has come in."

One of Palpatine's aides came up to his microphone, and said: "The vote is: seventy-three percent in favor, twenty-two percent not in favor. There will be no scout mission."

Over at the Naboo pod, Amidala was furious. "Damnation!" she exclaimed, banging her fist against her armrest.

Pestage looked at her in an odd way. "What?!" she asked. "It's not like it's the first time I've sworn, is it?"

"Well, never mind that..." said Pestage. "We definitely have a serious problem. It doesn't look like Alderaan has a very bright future on the horizon."

"No, it doesn't look like that," said Amidala. "However, I wonder...if it would help if we gave them some more information..." she said as she sent a message droid over to the Alderaan pod.

* * *

"This is not good..." said Bail.

"You can say that again," said Mon Mothma. "Hang on, Bail, we've got a message. From Naboo!"

"What?! Well, what does it say?" asked Bail anxiously.

"Amidala says maybe it'll help if we tell them some 'interesting facts we found out about the Invaders', as she puts it. I guess it's something she thinks you'll understand."

"Of course I know what she's talking about. Hmm...that just might work..."

"I'll send a message to the Chancellor saying you want to speak again."

"No! I mean, yes! Well, send a message, but tell him to call up Amidala, Mon."

She sent a message to the Chancellor within a few moments. As well, she sent a message to Amidala, telling them their plan.

* * *

Once again calling the meeting to order for the next order of business, Palpatine said, "Order! I call before you, the sovereign system of Naboo, who reportedly has some 'very interesting information', I am told." He shot angry looks over at the Alderaan pod, from where he had received the message. This is moving too fast. I might lose everything if they present too much information too fast. The Naboo know too much.

The Naboo pod came forward. Pestage stood up, and said: "I present to you...Queen Amidala of the Naboo." Sitting down, he motion for the Queen to stand up, and she began to speak.

"Good day, delegate to the Senate. While we were on Alderaan, as you know, the system fell into grave danger. When we escaped, we ran into some stunned Invading Troops, and took them with us. With the help of the Jedi with us, Kenobi, and...Skywalker," she said with a bit of hesitation, "we made some profound discoveries about the invaders. First of all, we know who the invaders are. They are Mandalorians, a group dating back to the Great Sith Wars."

There were murmurs throughout the chamber. Most everyone remembered the bloody horrors of the Great Sith Wars, when there were thousands of Sith running around the Galaxy, each backed up with at least ten thousand Mandalorian Troops. Amidala waited for the noise to die down before she spoke again. "Apparently, they now have better weaponry, and armor than before. No doubt, their fleets will have improved as well. Perhaps moreso than ours. Secondly, as I have said, we have captured several Mandalorians, and have found that they are clones."

At this remark, there was an explosion of sound as everybody argued back and forth over the amount of truth in this statement. A pod came out from the side of the chamber. It was the pod from the system of Vruil. "This is impossible, insane!" cried out it's senator. "Cloning has been banned for centuries!"

Alderaan's pod came out to defend Naboo. "Cloning may have been banned," said Mon Mothma, "but obviously, the Mandalorians have no respect for the Republican laws. They are trying to conquer us, you know. Why should they do things our way?"

"Yes!" cried out Bail Organa. "They don't have any respect for our laws. They want to set up an Empire! They said this right to my face, the Great Sith Empire!" At this comment, Palpatine started to talk to his advisors. They are giving too much away, thought Palpatine. I'll have to put a stop to this... All this time, Organa kept talking. "They have teamed up with the Sith again, hear that! They don't care for us and our democratic ways! And if you would like proof of clones, we could bring in our prisoners."

"No, no..." said the senator from Hoth. "That is not necessary."

Palpatine decided that now was the time to put his plan into action. He nodded to Tarkin, over at the Alderaan pod. Taking note of the Chancellor's signal, he got up and made his announcement.

********

Tarkin was ready to give his carefully prepared speech to the Senate. Palpatine had written it for him, and all Tarkin had to do was work with Palpatine's plan. He wasn't sure what all the reasoning behind it was, but he lie the Chancellor, and what he stood for, and he knew that whatever became of it, he would get much of the spoils.

He began, "If we are fighting an army of clones, then we are fighting an enemy with an unlimited supply of troops. The only way to beat them, then, is to clone our own army. Fight fire with fire. Eventually, we'll run out of soldiers, while they still have an army."

The pod from Caamas came flying out. "No!!" the senator exclaimed. "Cloning is immoral, to make a clone army to fight would be like making mindless droids out of living, thinking beings." It was obvious that in order to make a clone army, they'd have to make them into drones that never questioned their commanders and wouldn't rebel.

Now, the pod from Chandrila came out to debate on this. "Besides," said Carlist Rieekan, senator from Chandrila, "the cloning technology was lost to us hundreds of years ago; how do you expect to make clones with nonexistent technology?"

Heads nodded around the chamber as people agreed with the Camaasi and Chandrila. But Tarkin was not dissuaded. Palpatine had suspected that the idea would not have been accepted at once, and had prepared many arguments that Tarkin could use to defend the idea. "A-ha!" he exclaimed. "But you are forgetting me! My fleet the Alderaanian Sector Fleet, was stationed at Oovo IV, when a large fleet entered the system. My fleet was decimated. Utterly. There were just too many of them, they were too skilled, with technology that was much better than ours.

"The shields on my flagsip, the Vigilance, went down, and I ordered everyone to abandon ship and head back to Coruscant, to plead with the Senate. Myself and five of my best officers commandeered a shuttle to take us here, but as we were about to make our jump to hyperspace, we were hit, and our hyperdrive disabled. As a result, we were forced to land. We hijacked a landed and empty landing-craft, and made our way to Coruscant. We have found on it plans for a working cloning cylinder. Would it be permissible to clone an army for the war, and afterwards, destroy the cloning facility? Even to save the Republic?"

The senator from Camaas hesitated. "Well...er...I don't know. We have the technology to win the war at our fingertips to do with as we wish, but is it still right to use bad technology for a good cause? The ends don't necessarily justify the means."

"I still say it would help the war," said Tarkin. "It is true that the ends don't necessarily justify the means, but if the ends are survival, does it rally matter? Survival of the fittest. But let's leave that for now. Here, I'll show you what one of these cylinders would look like..." he said as he pressed a few buttons on his control panel and stuck a disk into a slot.

Above the dais, a large hologram appeared of a large, blue cylinder. It had red stripes down the side, and a large tube in the middle. About twenty-five feeder-stations lined it, and many feeding tubes came out of it. It had a computer hooked up to it, where, no doubt, the flash-learning information was to be stored. For about five minutes, everyone just stared at the alien technology in awe, spinning above the dais. There were comments of "Oh, my God..." heard in some places. Tarkin smirked in joy of his accomplishment.

The first person to stop doing this and talk about it was the Chancellor. "And what...version, if I may say, is this? What do they call it?"

Tarkin was surprised at this question. This wasn't something that they had talked about, planned on an answer for. "I don't know what they call it, sir. But the ship we found it on was the Spaarti, so let's call 'em 'Spaarti Cloning Cylinders'."

Everybody nodded in agreement at the choice of name; it seemed logical enough. But sate Pestage thought that there was something fishy gong on here. The Naboo pod came out, and Pestage began, "But let's get back to what we were speaking about before. We have two choices here: either we use this technology, or we destroy all records of it, so that we don't have a problem with this in the future. But I ask, how much would all of this cost? We don't have an unlimited amount of troops, we don't have an unlimited amount of money, either. Or time."

"I don't know, Senator. But I'm sure that a cloning center wouldn't put too much of a dent in the Republic's treasury. And in terms of time, it would take a hundred of Coruscant's gigantic construction droids only a few weeks to build fairly large cloning center."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Tarkin. We know that to make a stable clone takes at least five years. We don't have that kind of time."

"Well, I suppose that if you're sending them off to war, a fair number of them will die. They don't need to be stable. You could make a clone stable enough to fight a battle or two or four."

"And don't forget that an unlimited amount of troops won't necessarily win the war," said Rieekan. "We still need warships that can fight with the Mandalorians."

"Well, Rieekan," said Palpatine, "I think that I could help you there. I was just informed recently that there have been some recent developments over in the Army Technology departments. Let me represent two men to you: Rendili StarDrive's Blissen Wessex and Sienar Fleet System's Rindil Sienar. These two men have designed two ships that may provide our fleets with the firepower they need. I present, first off, Blissen Wessex."

Wessex stood up silently. He was an old man, almost sixty, with silver-white hair and wrinkled skin. He had blue eyes, and his fingers were quite long. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, and a grey hat. "Good day, my friends," he announced. "I have designed quite the ship for all of you. May I present: the Victory-Class Star Destroyer." He pressed a button, and above everyone, in place of the Spaarti Cylinder, was placed with a hologram of a Star Destroyer. It was wedge-shaped, with the bridge towards the back and three engines. With thirty-five turbolasers, it was perfect. "It doesn't cost that much, only thirty million credits a ship, and if we do follow on with this plan of Tarkin's for the cloning bit, we should have enough clones in no time. It doesn't take long to build, at all, anyway. I've held my spotlight long enough. I present my friend and colleague, Rindil Sienar." He motioned, sat down, and Sienar stood up.

When they switched off the hologram, everybody was still gaping at the empty space where the Victory-Class Star Destroyer had been. "My vriends, I haf alsso defeloped a nice little ship. Ve are in desperate need of a sta-ship zat is better zan ze old Z-95s. They just von't vork anylonger. Not against dese newa sta-ships ov da Mandalorians. I present, ze TIE Fighter. Extvemely sheep, it iz de vest choice vor da next generation ov sta-ships. More maneuferable zan ze Z-95, and alsso vis more fire-pover, it iz also ezy to tran vor. It vould alsso vork pervectly vis de Fictory-Classs Sstar-Desstroyer."

Now, there was a ship spinning in the air above the dais that had people gasping for breath. It had a spherical core, and two hexagonal wings jutting out from the sides. All of a sudden, a bell rang out. "Delegates," said Palpatine, "The mid-day bell has rang. There will be a one-hour recess for lunch."

**************

Amidala loved the restaurant Malastarian Munchies. It had great Malastarian cuisine, with lots of what was referred to as 'chinese' food. They had all sorts of really weird names, from some ancient culture that had been discovered on Malastare. They had found all sorts of writing on old parchment. Think of that! Parchment! Not on data disks, but on paper, in some weird symbol language. After a few hundred years on Malastare, it was finally decoded, and what they had actually found was a cookbook, it turns out. An odd find, but an entrepreneur had come up with the idea to try to actually sell the ancient food, and it had worked. Thus, Malastarian Munchies was born. By now, there was a Malastarian Munchies in almost every Republic system in the Galaxy.

"Mm...I love the egg rolls!" said Ami.

"Yeah, me too," said Pestage. Sate Pestage, Queen Amidala, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and Owen Lars had all gone out to lunch together, mostly to discuss what they were going to do about the proposals in the Senate earlier.

"But let's get back to what we were talking about," said Mothma, taking a bite out of her delicious food. "I think that these new ships are a good idea. But can we afford it?"

"I think we can. I admit, our fleets are certainly behind the times, at least in comparison to these Mandalorians, if all accounts are true," said Amidala.

"Yeah, but how many of these can we actually make? The treasury isn't unlimited," said Pestage. "I think that we can make at least a thousand Star Destroyers and a hundred times as many TIEs."

"Is the treasury really that big?" asked Owen, taking a bite out of his Beef With Broccoli. "I don't think we can make half as many of those. I mean, look at it! Thirty million for a single Destroyer? A thousand of those, would cost 30 billion credits!"

"Yeah, but the treasury actually has something like a hundred trillion," said Mothma. She stopped for a few seconds to finish chewing what her bite, and continued: "At least that's what it was a few years ago. I think we should say yes. And also, to the clones. We could just get rid of them after the war. We really can't win otherwise."

"Unless we find their source of clones, first, so they run out of troops as we beat them with these new ships. Then we don't need the clones," said Amidala. "I don't like all this war-talk. Why do we need to fight? Can't we meet at a peace summit, and talk out our differences?"

"I wish we could do that too, your highness, but it just isn't possible. They want to fight us, so we have to fight them, or we won't survive," said Bail.

"Yes, but the real question is whether or not it is morally acceptable to clone at all. The ends don't justify the means. However, if we do build all these new ships, then we need the crews for them, right? We can get them through the clones. But I don't like the idea of clones fighting clones. They could just get together and work together to rule the galaxy together!" exclaimed Pestage in despair, getting up to throw out his food.

"Well, I suppose to save us, it is morally acceptable. Anything to keep the Republic, over some Empire or whatnot," said Mothma. "I wouldn't be able to stand not living in a democratic society."

"Hmm..." said Owen, eating a bit more of his rice. "The questions will be for future generations, not for us. We should let ourselves break our moral code so that future generations can look upon it and decide for themselves whether what we did was right. Besides, most of them will die, anyway, right? So what's the big deal about cloning something to save yourself?"

"I agree with Owen," said Pestage. "We should clone them, and after the war, destroy both the clones and the cloning facility. And the new ships are a must, as well."

"So it is decided," said Amidala, "that we should break our own laws to save ourselves? Do you realize what sort of precedent it sets? Now, in some trade dispute, when someone is legally blockading a planet, they can murder the blockading party, to 'save themselves', because their leaders did it before? It is not right.

"I don't think you understand, Amidala," said Mon Mothma. "Would you rather be alive without morals, or dead with them?"

"I'd rather be dead," said the Queen. "But let's finish quickly. It'll take us a few minutes to get back to the Senate Building, and also, we'd want to discuss this a little when we get back. I take it you all are voting yes for everything?"

Everyone shook their heads yes. "Oh, well. I guess I didn't affect you, let's get back," she said, finishing off her Egg-Foo-Young.

********

Senators and other delegates filed back into the Senate after the lunch-recess, chattering among themselves as to what they would do when the vote was called. Palpatine was off to the side of the hallway, talking to Tarkin. "That was well done, Tarkin," said the Chancellor.

"Thank you, sir. But the thing about the name of the cylinder...why? We hadn't planned on it," replied Tarkin.

"You were too sure of yourself. You looked like you thought you were invincible. Which, in that position, you were. I needed to make it look differently."

"Oh...so, why do you want the clones?" asked Tarkin.

"I have my reasons. Let's get out of here, before we attract attention." He seemed like he didn't really know, from the expression on his face.

* * * * * *

"I hope you all had a nice lunch," said Palpatine, calling the meeting to order once more. "We don't need to do much now. I have had a report made of the information, debating points and arguments, and vote results presented today, as always, over the recess. It should be arriving in your pods momentarily. It also includes specs and other information about the Victory-Class Star Destroyer and TIE Fighter. Are there any more points and arguments to be made about any of the three topics?"

Nobody answered, which meant that nobody needed to bring anything up. Most likely, everybody had discussed the topics over a bit of food, and had come to a decision of their own. A pod came up from its resting place along the wall. Apparently, there was still some debating to be done. Or perhaps not. "I move that all three votes be voted on now," said the pod, from Chandrila, the Senator Rieekan.

Naboo's pod came out next. "I second that movement, Chancellor," said Pestage. "We should move quickly, we have a war to run."

"Very well," said Palpatine. Giving Tarkin a wide grin, he began: "There will be all three votes on your screens. As you all know, each sector gets one vote for each system in it's domain. All are yes or no votes. You will have one hour and a half to decide on each one. As Senator Pestage has said, we have a war to run, so choose very carefully. The choices you make could either save or destroy the Republic."

* * * * *

"I don't think it'll take half the senate half the time he's allotted us. There's a reason he is taking this long with the votes," said Pestage.

"I know...something's fishy around here," said Amidala.

"Why? What's in it for him?" asked Pestage.

"What do you mean, 'what's in it for him'?"

"He's a politician. Most politicians never do anything unless there's something in it for them."

"So, you are accusing him just because he's a politician?" asked Amidala. An odd look crossed her face, she was contemplating something.

"No, but usually on war votes, there is ten minutes per vote. And technically, everybody's had another hour to discuss what they're going to vote on. I think he's trying to stall."

"Stall for what?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I don't want to. But all the same, I don't like it. It just doesn't feel right. Oh, I don't know!"

"What, you think you're some kind of Jedi, getting hunches?" asked Amidala.

"Of course not. But I've got this strange feeling about all of this, like the Chancellor's behind all of this somehow, but he's not."

"Well, we can get back to this later. We still have an hour and fifteen minutes to talk conspiracy theories. Let's vote. We've got...how many?"

"Thirty six."

"It's yes for all three?" asked Amidala.

"Yeah. I'll do the honors..." he said, as he pressed the correct buttons on the screen. Yes, yes and yes. "You know, we could be condemning our political careers for this, if word leaks out that we supported cloning?"

"Yes, but we also could be saving the republic at the same time. I would make the sacrifice."

* * * * *

After an hour and a half of such talk between senators, aides, and others, Palpatine announced that all the votes had come in, and there would be another one hour recess as votes were counted. "And I hope that the best decision wins," said Palpatine, as he concluded the session.

* * * *

When the votes had been counted, and everybody was situated, Palpatine came to the microphone again. "The votes have been counted," he announced. "First: The TIE Fighters. 93 percent in favor, 2 percent not in favor, 5 percent abstaining. It passes."

The chambers filled with applause at the outcome of the vote, as Sienar stood up and gave a courteous bow. "Thank you for your support..." could be heard many times, if you could block out the impressively enormous din of the senate.

"Secondly," said the Chancellor, "the Victory-Class Star Destroyer. The vote is seventy-nine percent in favor, ten percent not in favor, and eleven percent abstaining. It passes."

Now it was Blissex's turn to give thanks. The senate applauded his efforts and designs, and also that what they had voted for had come to be. But now, it wasn't as loud as before, as they had only just barely gotten the procedure passed.

"And the third, most important vote, on the cloning..." announced the Chancellor, "Seventy-four percent in favor, eighteen percent not in favor, and six percent abstaining. The motion is voted do- wait a moment, delegates, there appears to be a small problem here. It doesn't add up..." Palpatine talked with his advisors and they called down to the statistics room, and after a short bit of chaos at what was going on, appeared to have gotten everything under control.

"It appears that we have had a blunder down in the statistics rooms," said Palpatine. "They didn't count about a hundred and fifty votes. The new statistics are: seventy-six percent in favor, eighteen percent not in favor, and six percent abstaining. The motion is passed!" Apparently, the statistics rooms counted the votes, and then divided them by the number of total votes to get a percentage. By not counting about a hundred and fifty votes, one percentage count, this time the one for the 'in favor' votes, was down a few percent, and it wouldn't add up to a total of one hundred percent.

This time, there was no applause at all. Nobody was sure about what was going on. Was it passed or voted down? This was the most important vote of them all, and much depended on the vote. Eventually, it all boiled down to one question: was the chancellor's first pronouncement or second correct? It appeared that the second one was, and eventually, the Chancellor just sent down a request for another vote count. After about an hour of chaos, it finally died down, and the Chancellor decided that now was the time for the really important stepping-stone in his plan. Relative to the cloning mayhem, that was pennies on the dollar.

************

After all the chaos caused by the mismatched votes had died down, Palpatine began his proposal. "My friends," he began, "we are in a time of great peril. For the Republic, and ourselves. We are being invaded for the first time in eight hundred years. In the time since, the Republic has changed a great deal. We do not have the fast-acting, versatile and extremely flexible government we had. Now, everything must pass through the Senate. It is an extremely slow process. Matters of great urgency, such as the votes on the military campaigns, pass through as if we had all the time in the Universe on our hands.

"We have seen an example of this today, with the Alderaan issue. The people of Alderaan could be killed, or enslaved at this very moment, for all we know. It is the same thing for many other planets. And we are not coming to their aid. Sadly, the Senate is too slow a body to run a war, my friends. It always has. We were saved in the Great Sith Wars by a group of valiant Jedi and a number of ingenious military leaders. We don't have those leaders these days. At least, not enough of them. We were saved by luck back then. We may be at the end of ours now.

"It took us all day to get through four issues. Four! That is not a lot. If it takes us all day to get through four issues, what will happen when we have fifteen war issues, and another fifteen civil issues? What will we do? There would not be enough time, and our procrastination, stalling and endless debates, the last of which are not necessarily a bad thing, would cost us precious systems.

"There is one thing, one thing that we could do that could save us from that dreadful day. It is the Wagner War Emergency Measure. Proposed by Am'kil Wagner a few thousand years after the forming of the Republic, this law has fallen into decay and disuse over the millennia. However, it is still on the books, and just hasn't been put into practice.

"You see, the WWEM, as it is called, must be brought before the Senate by the Chancellor to be put into action. Rarely has it been done. Only once, actually. That was when it was first proposed twenty-two thousand years ago. But then, it was voted down. Many Supreme Chancellors believed that they could win a war without going to it's extreme measures, without bypassing the Senate. You see, it is only a measure, not an act." As a 'measure', it was a premade act that could be passed whenever the conditions stated in the measure were met, and the Senate passed it by whatever margin was set in the measure.

"You should be receiving a copy of the Wagner War Emergency Measure through your terminals momentarily. Go over it, and in fifteen minutes, I will come before you again."

* * * *

"What does it say?" asked Bail to Mon Mothma at the Alderaan pod.

"Well, the conditions are certainly met," said Mothma. "There has to be a war going on, and the Chancellor has to bring it forward."

"You still didn't answer my question," said Bail. "What happens if this measure is passed?"

"If it is passed by a ninety-five percent or higher vote, then..." she frowned as she saw what it said. "...then the Supreme Chancellor can mobilize the military without calling on the Senate. He can also place the Jedi on missions without our consent. And the public is not told."

"Hmm..." said Bail. "It doesn't seem like it'll pass. A ninety-five percent vote is practically an impossibility! But it makes sense. The Senate is a very slow body. I can very well attest to that, from my time here a few years ago!" he said before she could counter what he had said.

"Yes, the senate is a slow body, but I think that it gives the Chancellor far too much power. I was wondering why he was stalling the vote on the TIEs and Star Destroyers. Most likely to lead up to his proposal."

"The military and the Jedi? That isn't even a smidgen of the entire power of the government. He can only do that, and has to bring everything else before the Senate."

"Yes...but what would stop him from proclaiming himself an emperor or something with the power of the army behind him? When somebody would call the army off of him, they would reply that they had no right, because the Chancellor had complete control of the army."

"Why would he do that? He's Palpatine, for goodness sakes. We all know he would never do anything like that. He's a very humble person, who happened to get elected Chancellor because his naïve Queen, at least at the time, called a vote of no-confidence in Valorum. Besides, doesn't it have a clause about that? Like if he does things with the Army that break Republic law, up to a point, the measure is revoked?"

"Yes...it has a clause of that sort."

* * * * *

"What do you think of this Measure, Senator?" asked Amidala.

"I think that the idea is very good, theoretically. But up to a point, it holds water. Afterwards, it just falls apart," said Pestage. He held out the printout, studying it, looking for something to refer to in his discussion with Ami.

"In what way, Senator?" She leaned back, turning her back to Pestage as she looked around to see countless delegates discussing the proposal with their

"Well, I agree we need more centralized control of the Military, and I know for a fact that a friend of mine...spoke with Palpatine about this situation and offered his suggestion. I don't doubt that he pointed out the WWEM to him. But how do we know that the Chancellor can handle the military effectively? For all we know, he might really mess up, and we would be in for bigger problems than we have now."

"Well, I would assume that by passing this measure, we would be placing a large amount of trust in Palpatine. I guess that he'll also have all sorts of military advisors and admirals and such to help him out, strategically. I'm sure he doesn't know enough about war to run it himself."

"Well, by this Measure, he doesn't run the war, it's just that instead of military decisions coming to the Senate, it goes to him, that way it's faster. That way the war effort has a faster reacting time; also, he can tell the Army to do whatever he wants, as long as it doesn't break the law. So, if this gets passed, and your friend Skywalker goes to him and tells him about the slavery on Tatooine and asks him to lend him a few ships and legions of troops, which wouldn't be so hard with the clones and all, and gets the Chancellor on the same page as him, Palpatine could put the mission together, whether we like it or not. It certainly isn't breaking the law, for sure."

If this passes, I think I know of a present that I can give to Anakin... thought Amidala. "I think that this is quite a good idea, as you said, in theory. It speeds up our reaction time in the War, and provides a more centralized control. I like this."

* * * *

It seemed as if the fifteen minutes to go over the WWEM had only started, when Palpatine brought the meeting to order once more today. "This Measure would need a ninety-five percent in favor vote to pass. It never has. So, we don't know how it would work, seeing as it has never been put into practice. You, as the Senate would compose a committee of advisors to pass along help for the Military for me. And, or course, I could do nothing that breaks a New Republic law. And about the cloning issue: it's already passed, so when it is done, it would not have been done while the Measure was in action, meaning that I did not break the law. Besides, it's already passed, so we can't do anything about it, anyway.

"Would anyone like to come up and speak on this topic, now?" asked the Chancellor. "The floor is open."

The Naboo pod came forward. Standing up, Pestage addressed the Senate. "My colleagues, I believe that the Chancellor is correct in the statement that this is a very slow moving body. We take forever to get only a few things done, and that will bring us down in a time of war, like now. In this nature, I believe that the decision on this topic should be made as soon as possible. Perhaps, we should vote...now."

"Absurd!" exclaimed the senator from Rodia. "This has just been brought up, Pestage! We must discuss it so that we can make the most correct choice on this matter!"

"But we need to make this choice quickly if it is not to be in vain," said Rieekan, from Chandrila. "For if we wait too long, we could be so far back in the war that no matter what our decision is, there will be nothing we can do to win this war!"

There were callings of 'vote now' and 'vote later' all over the Senate. Suddenly, the Alderaanian pod came forward. "Perhaps we could make a compromise," said Mon Mothma. "I move that we could vote on this tomorrow morning, first thing. It would not be too far in the future, and it would give us all time enough to discuss this with aides, advisors and other politicians."

"I second that motion," said Valorum of Malastare. After his stint at Chancellor, he went back to his homeworld of Malastare. The Chancellor's pension was not enough to keep him living off of it for the rest of his life without work, especially since he was voted out of office and didn't retire, so he ran for the Senatorial position of Malastare, the position he held before being elected to the Chancellorship.

"Are there any that are opposed to this movement?" asked Palpatine. Nobody answered, so it was settled. "Very well. It will be the first order of business next morning. This meeting is adjourned, unless there is any more new business?"

Again, there was no answer for the next few minutes as the silence permeated every living thing in the room. "Very well," said Palpatine. "This meeting is adjourned."