Anneke rushed into the lecture hall, trying not to feel like a truant student. To her dismay, the hall was empty but for Obi Wan, who stood at the front, putting away his charts and maps. "You missed the report on the Outer Rim sieges," he said without looking up.

"I'm sorry, Master." She stood before him, resisting the urge to shuffle her feet. "I have no excuse."

"In short, they are going very well. Saleucami has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity." Obi Wan fiddled with his charts, avoiding her eyes. She sensed emotional disquiet in his Force presence.

She frowned. "What's wrong then?"

"The Senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the Chancellor today."

"Yes." She took a deep breath. "He told me."

Obi Wan's gaze snapped up to meet hers. "Who told you?"

She blinked, unnerved by the intensity in his eyes. "The Chancellor. He asked me to be his liaison with the Council."

Obi Wan's mouth fell open, and he stared at her in shock. "He did what?"

She gripped her prosthetic with her left hand, rubbing her thumb across the metal fingers. "He appointed me his 'personal representative' on the Jedi Council."

Obi Wan sat down suddenly in the chair behind him. "This is unexpected." He pinned her with his gaze. "Why you?"

She looked down, uncomfortable. "I–I don't know."

She heard him rise and stride over to stand in front of her. "Does he have something over you, Anneke?" His voice was surprisingly gentle. "Does he know something… something you've been keeping from the Council—from me?"

Sudden terror gripped her. "I—" She looked up and met his eyes, and the compassion there struck her speechless.

He reached out gently and took hold of her upper arms. "Tell me."

Something inside her broke, and the tears she had never let him see spilled over. "I don't want to ask you… It's not fair to you…" She turned away from the pain in his eyes, wrapping her arms around herself. A sense of inevitable defeat took hold of her. "I can't hide it much longer, anyway," she whispered, and dropped the shields that hid the life within from those sensitive to the Force.

A choked gasp from his direction told her he had seen, but she didn't turn around. She didn't want to see the disappointment, the betrayal, in his eyes. He was silent for a long moment, then he said in a voice that hardly sounded like him, "Padraig is the father."

She nodded. "We were married on Naboo," she whispered. Now that the gates were open, the truth continued to pour out. "After Geonosis, when I saw him home."

"I knew… I knew something…" His voice was strangled. She had never known her master to be so at a loss for words. His hand fell on her shoulder, and she flinched, turning as if compelled to meet his eyes. The hurt she had expected wasn't there; instead there was only a deep sorrow and weariness. "I'm sorry, Anneke," he said. "I failed you so greatly, and so many times."

"No!" She turned to face him fully. "No, you didn't. You were the best master I could have asked for." She swallowed hard. "I love him. It was my choice to be with him. Nothing you could have done could have stopped me."

He closed his eyes. "I should have tried."

She gripped her right hand tightly in her left. "Will the Council expel me from the Order?"

His eyes flew open. "What?"

She stared at her hands. "Attachment is forbidden. They can't let me stay, can they?"

"Anneke—" He broke off, and she could feel the conflict within him. "The Council is busy with the war," he continued slowly, each word sounding as if it were being ripped from him. "We need every Jedi right now."

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him, stunned. "But… you'll tell them… won't you?"

He scrubbed his hand over his face. "They'll find out eventually. This isn't something you can hide forever." His piercing gaze met hers. "But they won't find out from me."

Her knees nearly gave way, and with an exclamation, he caught her elbow. Guiding her to the chair, he made her sit over her protests that she was fine.

Going to one knee beside her, he said, "Don't do that in the Council chambers, or they'll know something's up. Jedi don't faint."

Surprised, she let out a half-laugh that was more of a sob.

"The Force grows dark, Anneke," he said gravely. "Be mindful of your feelings."

The doors to the Council Chambers swung slowly open, and Anneke entered, trying to dismiss the notion that she was going to trial. She stopped in the centre of the room, her hands clasped together before her, hidden in the long sleeves of her dark robe.

Mace Windu leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Anneke Skywalker, we have approved your appointment to the Council as the Chancellor's personal representative."

She inclined her head, feeling Obi Wan's gaze on her from his Council chair.

Yoda nodded slowly. "Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not," he said. "Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine."

Anneke nodded. "I understand."

"You are on this Council," Mace continued, "but we do not grant you the rank of Master."

Anneke's mouth fell open, and she quickly closed it. What had she expected? They could have denied her a place on the Council altogether—she had almost thought they might. It was unprecedented for one so young as she to be on the Council, and no one had ever been appointed by a non-Jedi before.

Mace indicated an empty chair. "Take a seat, young Skywalker."

She sat and listened, saying nothing as strategy and tactics were decided around her. She was on the Council, but her voice was not likely to be welcomed here, and she would rather stay unnoticed. Her shields were strong, but the power in this circle was immense; they could easily find out her secret if they but knew to look for it.

Anneke breathed a sigh of relief as the Council doors closed behind Obi Wan and herself. Though she had tried to pay attention to the plans and strategies they had discussed, her head was too full of swirling thoughts and worries.

"You did well, Anneke," Obi Wan said, his presence at her side reassuring as they walked the vaulted hallways.

Anneke blinked and stopped, turning to stare at him. "I did nothing. I said nothing."

He stopped as well, and smiled crookedly at her. "And you did it well. Anneke, the Council was not pleased. There is tension between us and the Chancellor. For him to appoint you… well…" He shook his head. "Saying nothing was the most diplomatic thing you could do."

Anneke nodded slowly. She could sense that there was something else on Obi Wan's mind, though, something that was bothering him. "I sense there's something more," she said quietly, turning and starting to walk again.

He took a deep breath and sighed, falling into step beside her. "Anneke, the only reason the Council has approved your appointment is because the Chancellor trusts you."

She nodded. "I see." Though she really didn't.

He closed his eyes, his steps unfaltering. "I didn't want to see you put in this situation."

She frowned. He was starting to worry her. "What situation?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his gaze straight ahead. "The Council wants you to report on all of the Chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to."

Her mouth fell open, and she stopped again, turning to gape at him. "They want me to spy on the Chancellor?" As if she didn't have enough on her mind already!

He nodded, stopping but not turning to look at her. "The Jedi Council is sworn to uphold the principles of the Republic, even if the Chancellor does not." He finally met her eyes. "We are at war, Anneke."

She shook her head slowly, not sure what she was denying or protesting. "Why didn't the Council give me this assignment when we were in session?"

"This assignment is not to be on record." His gaze was sympathetic. "The Council asked me to approach you on this personally."

"The Chancellor isn't a bad man," she whispered, unsure who she was trying to convince. "He can't be." She could feel tears pricking the backs of her eyes. "He's Padr–Senator Andelko's friend. He knows about us. He helped us."

Obi Wan's eyes widened, then he nodded slowly. "I see. And now you owe him a debt."

"No!" She shook her head violently. "It's not like that. He's been Padraig's friend and mentor for years; he wanted to help!"

"Use your feelings, Anneke," Obi Wan said softly. "Something is out of place."

She opened her mouth to protest again, then shut it and swallowed hard. Her feelings did tell her that something was wrong—hadn't she felt it in Palpatine's office? She closed her eyes, suddenly terrified. If Palpatine couldn't be trusted, then everything was about to fall apart.