Chapter 2
A/N: Hello all, I'm happy to post the second installment of Relegation for you today. I'd like to respond a guest review real quick since I cannot PM them.
Guest: I just don't buy your descriptions and actions for Padme. She is so duty bound and intelligent she never would have accepted and be ok with Anakin neglecting his duty just to be with her. Padme would rather they not be together if it meant jepordizing Anakins ability to to do his duty of protecting the Republic and being a Jedi. Your
I almost fully agree with you. This seems to be a failure on my part to present it how I intended. Padme was being supportive of Anakin when they were confronted by Obi-Wan/Yoda… however she doesn't really like what he did and wished he hadn't. On the flipside she was unconscious, she couldn't stop him obviously and now it's too late cause from the Jedi's point of view it is Anakin's attachment that possibly prevented them from getting Dooku.
Obviously in the movie they caught him and failed anyway, but the Jedi don't know any of that reality… and to them Anakin's actions could very well be the reason of the Clone Wars. Even Anakin is going to be bothered by this idea and it will show in early chapters. So basically she didn't want him to do that… but she's still going to support him.
I am overall very pleased with the response chapter 1 received! Hope everyone enjoys the update :)
Anakin stood in the elevator in silence. It had been a very depressing morning on Coruscant. Anakin had been officially exiled; they brought him before the council for formalities sake. He knew this would happen the second he jumped out of that blasted gunship… but it was still very hard to take in. He was overwhelmed, and he had sensed that Padmé… in spite of this being for her… Was a little upset as well. Sure, she stood up for him and supported him in front of Obi-Wan and Master Yoda but she couldn't hide it from Anakin… that she wasn't pleased with his actions because of where they lead him.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open and he started down the hallway. I'll make it up to her… she'll come around. I can make her feel better about this I know I can. Although Padmé was his immediate concern… he also was worried about Obi-Wan. Would he ever patch things up with his longtime friend and mentor? All of this burned in Anakin's mind as he approached the chambers of an old friend he wished to bid farewell before he left Coruscant. "Anakin! Greetings my friend! I'm pleased to see you made it off Geonosis without sustaining any major injuries."
Anakin smiled weakly. "Good morning Chancellor… and yes it was a gruesome battle… and I'm fortunate."
I sense that something is troubling him… "What's the matter my Jedi friend?"
"Well that's actually what I've come to see you about." Anakin paused. "It might be awhile before you see me again."
"Why would you say that?" Palpatine asked, sitting down in his fancy chair and turning something off on his holoscreen.
"I've been exiled from the Jedi order."
"What!? They can't do that to you Anakin! After everything you've done!"
"No. They have every right, I broke the code and they must uphold it." Anakin defended.
"What kind of talk is that?" Palpatine disagreed. "You've shown how talented you are, you have indescribable potential… you Anakin… you are special. The Jedi must see that! This is nothing but an excuse to be rid of you Anakin! They fear what you could become someday."
Why would the Jedi fear me… that doesn't make any sense. He thought, ignoring the notion.
"It doesn't matter if I'm as strong as Master Yoda… I ditched my pursuit of Count Dooku to save Padme. I chose love over my duties and it endangered everyone- Even Obi-Wan." Anakin replied shamefully.
"You're in love with Senator Amidala?" Palpatine asked with interest.
Anakin looked down to the priceless carpets before answering. "We… had some time to connect during my mission protecting her on Naboo. We can't help it. Both of us attempted to deny our feelings for one another… both of us shoved those feelings away… and all it did was bring us even closer together."
"Anakin… the Jedi have wronged you my friend…" Anakin merely stared at him gesturing him to go on.
"I heard what happened to Senator Amidala… about falling out of the gunship." Palpatine lied. He actually probed this information from Anakin's mind… which Anakin wasn't blocking because he had no clue that the chancellor had any knowledge of the force.
"As a Jedi… it is your duty to protect. Isn't it?"
"Well yes, but-"
"But nothing." Palpatine interrupted bluntly. "You jumped out of a gunship and defended a galactic senator who could have been in grave danger… is it right that you are being punished because she is close to you?"
Anakin thought about it a moment. No… it isn't right that I'm being punished… Jedi are supposed to protect… and she is a senator… What are you thinking Anakin? You KNOW that's a twist of perspective… if she was any other senator you would've listened to Obi-Wan and stayed put!
"I suppose it's all a matter of perspective…" Anakin answered hoping the conversation would make a turn to a more favorable path.
"Perhaps." Palpatine agreed. "Well, I'm sorry to cut our visit short… but I have to get ready to go to the senate building. I hope you remember to come by next time you're in Coruscant."
Anakin smiled. "And you if you happen to be on Naboo." He stated before bowing.
"May the force be with you Anakin." Someday… you will be mine Anakin Skywalker…
Anakin smiled again. "Thank you Chancellor."
"It's imperative that we send clones to defend as many systems as possible as quickly we can." Ki-Adi-Mundi stated.
"Agree I do… vulnerable the galaxy is to a separatist takeover as long as the republic does not have presence there. Master Yoda inputted.
"With a droid army… I doubt that the separatists will take long to get organized and go on the offensive. Master Windu added.
"Some planets will be more likely to be targeted early than others… we would be wise to decide which ones need extra fortification." Ki-Adi-Mundi noted.
"Hmm…" Master Yoda thought aloud. "Send Jedi to command the troops on those planets… we will."
Mace nodded. "I agree."
"That's a wise move, perhaps we should have a special council meeting to share which planets we believe the separatists will strike against first." Master Gallia suggested.
"All in favor?"
"Aye." The entire council agreed.
"Anakin!" she greeted, hurriedly rushing over to the door to embrace him. "Are you all right…? I know that must've been hard for you to do and then you took longer than you said it would to come back. I was starting to get worried…"
"I'm fine Padmé… the council didn't need much time to make their decision. It's not like I expected different."
"Then where've you been, Ani?" She asked, withdrawing from the hug.
"I decided to stop by the Chancellor's and say goodbye. He didn't know what was going on, after all."
"Oh, how did he take the news? Did you tell him about us?"
"I did, and he didn't seem to have a problem with it… he actually argued that the Jedi were using it as an excuse to get rid of me… he thinks they're scared of me."
Padmé gave him a quizzical look. "I don't think he's right of course… there's no logical reason why the Jedi would allow me to be trained all these years if they were afraid I would betray them. It was… an interesting viewpoint he saw." Anakin continued.
"That's crazy… you've been training to become a Jedi for a decade. And you've said it yourself: 'attachments are forbidden.' They banished you because it was what they had to do."
Anakin nodded. "You're right. The chancellor must've just been frustrated to hear I wouldn't be around anymore… he's always thought I had a lot of potential. He's watched over me with interest over the years, you know? He's been a good friend."
They stood at the window in silent thought for a moment, Anakin still thinking about the chancellor's bizarre claim. Padmé got lost in thought as well… but in a different way.
"What's troubling you Padmé?" Anakin spoke up, sensing that she still hadn't relaxed since he walked in. He had initially thought she was merely tense because she was concerned about him as she had expressed… but that stress wasn't dissipating. "You can't hide your feelings from me, you know?"
She sighed in defeat. "I just… I feel…"
"Yes?" He urged.
"I feel guilty Ani."
"Guilty? For what?"
"If it wasn't for me… you wouldn't… you…you" she stuttered.
"Would still be a Jedi? Yeah probably… or I could be dead by the hands of Count Dooku following Obi-Wan and I's pursuit. Who knows. Who cares. At least we made it out of that mess… alive… and together." He smiled towards the end.
"But this is exactly why I tried not to let us be together in the first place! I said it would jeopardize your allegiance to the Jedi, and look what happened! And now… the Jedi need you more than ever!"
"I don't care."
"YES, yes you do whether you want to admit it or not."
"NO, I don't!" He replied, angrily. "I'd love to remain a Jedi, but I love you more! If the Jedi won't let me have both… then I choose you! Which is exactly what I did!"
She got close to him again. "I'm sorry Ani… I just hate feeling like I took ten years of your life away!"
"It's okay…" he softened. "I enjoyed it, I did a lot of good things and if I hadn't been a Jedi I wouldn't have been assigned to be your protection… which means we probably never would've had the chance to be together anyway. And we certainly wouldn't have survived in the arena!" He chuckled. "But that's all in the past… let's think about our future instead."
Obi-Wan was exhausted. He had very little sleep since they fought the separatists on Geonosis. It wasn't Geonosis that troubled him though… it was Anakin. He had bonded with him, trained him, and spent a lot of time with him since he was a small boy that he originally was against the idea of training. They had a brief conversation after the council made his exile official but Anakin said he had a few things to do before meeting up with Padmé so they could head back to Naboo.
This night however… Obi-Wan fell asleep the second he laid down. Lack of sleep over the past several days was the likely reason. But when he passed out… he would immediately wish he hadn't…
**Dream**
Ray shields? He thought confusingly as he gazed through the translucent but impenetrable shields. A familiar looking figure was knelt to the ground, peaceful looking… just waiting for the shields to deactivate.
Oh no… no this was bad enough when I lived it in real life! He thought, quickly recognizing it was a dream. Err… nightmare would be more accurate.
Just beyond the familiar frame of is master… was an impatient dark entity wearing all black and covered in face paint. He was pacing back and forth… also waiting for the shields to deactivate in order to resume our duel.
This is just a dream Kenobi… you don't have to suffer through this twice! Just run faster this time! He told himself.
Each ray shield began deactivating temporarily one by one suddenly. Qui-Gon and Darth Maul ignited their lightsabers and resumed the battle. Disregarding patience completely, Obi-Wan anxiously sprinted as the very nano-second he had a clear path to join the fray. He worked down the hallway as fast as he could. I'll make it this time Master… even if it is a dream…
He kept his promise, bursting out of the hallway and igniting his sky colored lightsaber. Maul and Qui-Gon's blades locked and Maul made a gesture with his free hand, launching Qui-Gon's young apprentice back into the hallway. He hurriedly got back up knowing what was about to happen but was too late. The ray shields were back up. Blast it! How could I have possibly not seen that coming!
Qui-Gon and Maul resumed the familiar sequence of strikes at one another that were all too familiar to Obi-Wan. Perhaps I didn't see it coming… cause that didn't actually happen so I didn't expect it…
Obi-Wan watched dreading the inevitable. Maul struck down his old master again… in the exact same moves as the real one had ten years ago. Maul then spun around awaiting the ray shield to allow Obi-Wan passage. Master Kenobi felt the pain eat away at him… this was not a memory he wished to relive like this. I've failed you again master… I can't even save you in my dreams it would seem! He thought… gripping his lightsaber tight with frustration.
**Reality**
Obi-Wan awoke hyperventilating. He grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand to his left and guzzled it entirely. "I'm so sorry master." He muttered. Why am I having dreams about Qui-Gon and Maul all the sudden? He thought in remorse.
Is this how Anakin feels about his situation right now? If it is… I've indeed failed him.