SENATE OFFICES
Obi-Wan felt a little out-of-place in the elaborately decorated senator's office. His eyes were shut as he reflected on the world around him. Senator Bail Organa - a ruler on Alderaan, and well respected in the political ring. Why he had requested to see him and not a Master of more prominent standing, was beyond him.
"Master Kenobi," a prissy droid's voice called. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and the droid gestured grandly towards the door to Senator Organa's office. "You may now go in." Obi-Wan gave a slight respectful nod to the droid then headed in.
Senator Organa was a crisp and efficient man; his face was dark and lined with worry and stress, which had obviously taking it's toll on him. Obi-Wan could feel anxiety inside of him, but it was carefully contained by loyalty and a calm sense of duty. He looked up at his visitor.
"Thank you for coming Master Jedi, on such short notice. Please, be seated." He gestured to an empty seat before his desk. Kenobi sat and waited for the reason why he had been summoned.
"Master Kenobi, you know as well as I that the Republic is facing a crisis that could tear apart that which has stood for generations." Obi-Wan hesitated, then gave a nod of agreement. "You have been at the forefront of this conflict almost from the very beginning; you discovered the clones that now fight to protect our Republic and revealed the leader of the Separatists. All very admirable work."
"Thank you, Senator," Obi-Wan felt not a slight rise of pride in him, as he might have in the past. The conflict had matured him.
"Since you have survived numerous encounters with the... enemy, I would like you to advise soldiers in how best to meet them." Obi-Wan blinked in surprise - this wasn't what he expected at all.
"You want me to be…a military advisor?"
"Not as such. You already lead soldiers into battle and it is because of this you see the front lines and what is really going on."
"I'm not quiet sure I'm following you. Is there a problem with the clones? They are expert fighters."
"I'm not talking about the clones." Senator Organa's face had become stony - this was obviously a sore topic for him. Obi-Wan leaned forward.
"Sir, has there been a new development that I am not aware of?"
"With General Grievous on the scene we have begun to take some substantial losses." He sighed. "This... Warrior, is a gifted tactitian." He locked eyes with Obi-Wan. "There is more going on then meets the eye. I want to know what."
Obi-Wan was so startled it took all of his training to keep his face expressionless.
"Sir, I... must confer with the Council." Senator Organa nodded. He seemed to have relaxed as he saw that his proposal hadn't been immediately rejected. "One question: Why me?"
"As I have already stated, you have survived numerous encounters with the enemy and you have already foiled Grievous once before. You have also been there since this war started in earnest."
"Yes, but there is something more." Obi-Wan watched the man before him sigh; a deep ache throbbed inside of him. Here was a man who was watching the things he most deeply believed in disappear before his eyes.
"I have spoken to many Senators, and we want someone trustworthy. Someone with strong moral and ethical principals, someone who we know will not be a candidate for corruption. As a matter of fact, it was Senator Amidala who recommended you. I have a high regard for her words and her praises do not come lightly."
"So, this is not an official request?"
"No, nor will it will be addressed tomorrow," Senator Organa nodded.
Obi-Wan's mind whirled. A spy? Then again, in these dark times could one really afford not to use everything at their disposal.
A chill raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He was starting to think like someone else. Someone who's opinion did hold much favor with the Council these days.
In the darkness of space, two fleets clash. The world below them is lush with life, until... Ships explode, raining shrapnel on the land, other's crash, destroying majestic trees. Chemicals seep into the dirt to poison the plant life, and the planet shudders with the effects of war. The world's few remaining people pull themselves from the wreckage and ask themselves why the Gods would do this? Then, with tears for their once beautiful soil, they try to heal their dying home.
CORUSCANT: SENATE RESIDENCES LANDING PAD C
The first thing Padmé saw when she debarked the ship was Anakin waiting for her. She carefully kept a smile from her face, pleasure that he had come filled her. He stood there in his Jedi robes, tall and elegant, his loose dirty blond hair flapping in the wind. Dormé and Sabé gave each other knowing glances, as Padme stepped to greet her secret husband.
"It is a pleasure to once again see you, Jedi Skywalker." She gave him a slight nod as he bowed low to her.
"The pleasure is all mine. I shall escort you to your quarters."
He waited as Padmé signaled her guards that everything was all right. Then, she followed him into the building. They were silent, walking side-by-side through the halls, various technicians and other personal moved aside for them as they recognized the Senator and the great Jedi hero. They came to the Naboo suite, where she had met Anakin after ten years apart. How he'd grown! She allowed a smile to creep across her face.
Anakin tapped the pad, and the door slid open. He gestured and she stepped inside. As soon as the door closed, she glanced at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Don't worry, I disabled all of the security cameras. It's not particularly out of character. I like my privacy," she said softly. Innocently.
"How clever." He commented casually, as if admiring a work of art. He grinned at her.
She embraced him fiercely, thinking about how good it was to have him against her again. "I've really missed you." Padmé pulled away from the hug just enough to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Not half as much as I've missed you," he retorted, brushing his hand across her soft cheek. "It's been so quiet."
"Are you accusing me of being noisy and disruptive?" she asked, faking indignation.
"Maybe, but maybe I like noisy and disruptive!"
She stared at him then chuckled; he was so improper, so completely against all of her rules. She loved it.
They came together in a kiss...
JEDI TEMPLE
Obi-Wan stood silent before the Council, waiting for their verdict. Deep inside he felt a twinge of nervousness. He quickly shunted it away; it would do him no good if the Council read that in him.
"This is most unusual," Mace Windu commented, stroking his fingers.
Yoda glanced over at his long time friend and waited. The human Jedi Master, it seemed, was to be the voice for this meeting.
"Senator Organa seemed very sure that a Jedi's guidance would be needed," Obi-Wan remarked. "What I don't understand is-"
"Why you?" Master Windu interrupted. He nodded sagely. "Why indeed."
Obi-Wan kept his peace, but deep inside him he felt that something out there was growing - something that could be for good or evil. A vital turning point was coming, and he had a terrible feeling that he could do nothing to stop it.
There was a small room, painted totally black with no doors or windows for access. Nonetheless, there were people inside this box-like room. There were two - girls; opposites in form, but not mind. The first girl, her features blurred, ignited a blue lightsaber and swung it towards the other girl who had (brown?) hair that was pulled back in a braid. But her ruby red blade slashed it aside.
Together they battled - a dual that defied everything. The red bladed girl backed her blue bladed opponent up to a wall. But she stepped easily to the side and continued the fight, moving backwards up the barrier. Soon they hung upside down from the ceiling. The precision and excellence of the fighters was so great, that it looked as if the dual could go on forever. However, the two warriors made a mistake. The red blade swung just a little too high, whilst the blue one jabbed out an inch too low.
They cleaved each other in two.
Anakin's eyes snapped open, a slight shudder running through him. For a moment he was confused as to where he was. The bed he was on was far roomier and softer than the one he slept in at the Jedi Temple. Then everything came flooding back in a warm memory.
He glanced down at the sleeping figure snuggled against his chest; her chocolate brown hair was in disarray and mostly covered her face. Anakin tried to shift his position when he realized his hand was completely tangled in her hair. Slowly, so as not to wake her, he gently pulled his hand free of her brown locks. A faint smile sprung to his lips as he flexed his fingers to banish the pins and needles feeling.
What was she dreaming about? He wished he knew. It would be so easy to peek into her dreams, but he would never consider doing that to his Padme. Yes, his Padme. Her eyelids fluttered, and then gradually opened. She turned her eyes up to him and smiled.
"Good morning." Her voice was light and sweet. It sent tingles down his spine.
"Good morning to you, wife of mine," Anakin replied, kissing her forehead.
Padme moved to sit up and he reluctantly pulled away from her. He wanted to lay there with her forever, but Padme had other ideas.
She got out of bed and opened the doors to her extensive closet, filled with more outfits than some used in a lifetime. After a moments' consideration, Padme selected a green-shaded outfit, with a small jeweled headpiece. She started to pull on her clothes when she noticed Anakin was staring at her from the bed. He was propped up on one arm, grinning at her with a rather silly expression.
"What are you looking at? This isn't anything you haven't seen before," she chided him gently. Anakin's grin, if it were possible, widened.
"Just thinking about how lucky I am to be close to the most incredible person in the universe," he remarked, speaking from the bottom of his heart. A slight flush of red sprung to Padme's cheeks.
"My, such flattery, wouldn't that be frowned on for a Jedi?" she teased. His playful expression turned to one of shocked innocence.
"Me? Flatter? Never, I speak only the truth!" Padme chuckled at this, and then finished getting dressed. Anakin watched her leave in silence then reached for his Jedi robes.
'The Jedi Council has never been so divided,' Master Mace Windu thought to himself, watching the alarming sight of bickering Jedi crescendo in the chamber. Things were happening far too fast, and the Jedi no longer had the luxury for meditation. The Jedi had worked perfectly for thousands of generations, never altering their ways - so why was everything failing them now?
"Perhaps the imbalance, that young Skywalker must fix - or we may be too old to see why," Yoda had said when Mace had asked him the night before. His last few words had puzzled Windu; Yoda might be near nine hundred years of age, but he himself was barely in his forties. He stroked his fingers as the arguments around him continued. All was not well in paradise.
Obi-Wan met Anakin in one of the corridors of the Jedi Temple; the young Jedi was watching the air cars fly past. The look on his face and the thoughts within him were serene. Such peace he held that Obi-Wan had almost not recognized him.
"All is well, Anakin?" he asked, stepping up beside his student. Anakin didn't glance at him.
"Yes, I feel calm... There's no burning inside," he placed his hand on his chest. Obi-Wan silently studied Anakin; he had long been taller than Obi-Wan, and his blue eyes usually carried an icy determination. The powers he kept hidden inside were a mystery, as well has this 'burning' within him. Obi-Wan had first heard of it when Anakin had been merely twelve years old, Master Windu had been questioning him on why he allowed himself to search out distractions. 'I burn like a sun inside!' Anakin had cried, silencing the room. Obi-Wan had never forgotten that moment.
Normally, Obi-Wan didn't want to think of him as "The Chosen One" - he was simply Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan apprentice. But last night, he had had a dream. It could have been a vision, but that was almost too frightening to contemplate. There had been two boys, fighting with red lightsabers until... Obi-Wan suppressed a shudder. But the strangest thing of all was that he had constantly heard Anakin's voice saying over and over: "This isn't their entirly fault... They drove them to it... Why couldn't they see? Why couldn't we see? Without balance there is no Force and without the Force there is nothing... Soon there will be nothing..."
Anakin had set an important event in motion. Obi-Wan had been sensing it for a while now. This dream vision had merely confirmed it.
"Anakin, is there something you wanted to tell me?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of him and adopting a stern expression. He seemed to use that a lot with Anakin lately. His former student and (dear?) friend blinked - nervously? - at him.
"Not really, Master." He turned and started to walk away, when he felt Obi-Wan touch his mind.
"It's Senator Amidala, isn't it?" Anakin halted in mid-step. Obi-Wan took a slow, deep breath.
"Did you sleep with her?" Anakin spun around, shock plain on his face and in his mind.
"Master!" His features were now completely red. "I, uh..." he stuttered, not something common for him.
"I'm not angry, Anakin," Obi-Wan assured him. The shock emanating from his padawan was replaced with confusion.
"You're not? That's good... I suppose," he muttered. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
"So you did sleep with her? Really, Anakin, I knew you two had an emotion connection but this is over the line. If the Council knew of this, it would be harshly frowned upon." Anakin was silent, so he pressed on. "Do you love her?"
"You think I would be with her if I wasn't?" Anakin was beginning to get angry. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides. Obi-Wan was astonished by this display.
"Anakin! Control yourself!"
"You can't understand, Obi-Wan, you just can't." His anger slid into a shivering coldness. He then spun around and marched away, leaving Obi-Wan staring after him. It worried the Jedi Knight that the thing that disturbed him most about this confrontation, was the small fact that Anakin had for the first time addressed him only by his name.
And... Couldn't he understand? He chose not to answer the question for the moment.
Sitting in a large black chair, a figure shrouded in darkness smiled.