Chapter 10
Mace Windu was not one to enjoy mysteries. Sure, he could usually solve them quickly but when he couldn't they ended up being the sort of mystery that ended up getting a lot of people killed. The woman who'd come back from Geonosis with Kenobi and Skywalker was a mystery, one that he hadn't been able to solve.
Yet.
In the chair beside him, Yoda chuckled quietly. Mace looked at him. "Thinking hard, you are, hmm? See it in your eyes, I can."
"Much has happened today," Master Plo Koon mused. "We all have a lot to think about." Noises of agreement came after his statement, along with a few muffled yawns. The entire Council had been busy since they left Geonosis. Even Jedi Masters got tired.
The door to the Council's chamber opened and Anne Sparks entered. The Human woman bowed to the Jedi Masters before walking further into the room. She stood directly across from Mace Windu and waited for the Council to speak.
"Come a long way, you have," Grand Master Yoda said with a nod. "But not welcome, you believe you will be?"
"Not me so much as what I know, Master. Information that would be dangerous in the wrong hands is not something that you want right now." Mace made a small huffing sound that no one else heard.
"Believe this truly, you do?" Anne bowed to Yoda reflexively. Images of Jedi being killed by clone troopers and the Temple in flames assaulted the minds of each of the Council members as the woman unintentionally broadcasted her thoughts. Master Plo Koon turned a pale shade of orange and many of the other Councillors tensed.
"Yes, Master."
"Your Master, I am not," Yoda chided, his voice shaking. Mace spoke up.
"What is it that you know that you believe would be so dangerous?" What could destroy the Jedi?
"I know everything about how this war could go, Masters." Anne squeezed her eyes shut. "I know how it could end."
"Has the Force shown you this future?" Master Tiin asked. Anne shook her head.
"No, Master. I'm not Force-sensitive."
"Not sure of that, you should be." Anne opened her eyes and looked at the Jedi Grand Master. Her unspoken question received a nod from him before he went back to the matter at hand. "Saw the future, but not through the Force. A 'movie' call it you?"
"You think that a holofilm showed you the Galaxy's future?" asked another Master incredulously. Anne held his gaze.
"Master, where I am from none of you are real but everything you've done has been recorded." She thought for a moment and flashes of images were thrown out so quickly that they couldn't be seen. She looked at Mace Windu. "'The thefts seem small for now. But a small threat can be a hint of a greater threat to come. Either from within or without, this threat is real.'" Mace blinked at the exact quoting of the words he had spoken to Qui-Gon many, many years ago and hadn't known that he had remembered. Anne looked at each of the Council members. "I could tell you about the invention of the lightsaber or the experiments done by Je'daii but I doubt that would make you believe me."
"Not remember the Je'daii, most do," Master Yoda mused. "Of this war, tell us would you?" Anne bit her lip. What could she tell them that wouldn't reveal the entire outcome of the war, wouldn't make it worse?
"Jedi generals will lead the clones," she said eventually. If that had been decided already it hadn't been released to the public yet. "On the Separatists' side, a cyborg called General Grievous will be put in charge of a ship." I want to get out of here. "And the Separatists have blueprints for a battle station that can destroy whole planets."
The Jedi Masters looked at each other. "Tell us more, you will, when the time comes," Yoda decided. "Where is it, you are from?"
"Earth, Master Yoda." Anne smiled slightly. "You could say that it's in a galaxy far, far away."
"Hmmm, stay here, you should. Helpful, you will be." He quirked his brow. "Or help the Separatists, you could."
"My friends are part of the Republic, Master. I stand with them." Thank the Force.
"Hmm. Change, allegiances do." With that Yoda got out of his chair saying, "Late, it is. Meet again tomorrow, we will." He headed towards the door and after a moment the other Masters followed his lead.
Anne stood to the side so that Yoda and the Masters close behind him could leave before her. She was about to duck through the door when Master Windu put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her aside.
"Why do the clones start killing Jedi?" He asked in a whisper. "Who destroys the Temple?" Anne waited until the rest of the Councillors had left before whispering back.
"They have, may have, an order numbered sixty-six. Look into that. The Temple…to minimize deaths it would be helpful to have two." She left the room before Mace could ask anything else. He scowled. More mysteries, how very wonderful.
Anakin was waiting outside the Council chamber. When Anne left he stopped leaning against the wall and gave a small wave with his robotic hand. "I didn't expect to see you," Anne commented when she'd gotten close enough not to have to yell. "Shouldn't you still be at the Healers'?" Anakin grinned.
"Yeah, Obi-Wan got us both out of there after he woke up." Anakin fell into step beside Anne. "What did the Council want?"
"I don't really know. Yoda, Master Yoda asked one question and then I just ended up begin asked about the future." About the Star Wars movies.
Anakin lowered his voice. "You mean about the movies?"
"Among other things."
Clone troopers shooting down Jedi.
Obi-Wan battling a four-armed cyborg wielding a lightsaber with each hand.
The Jedi Temple, burning.
Mace Windu having his limbs sliced off by a red lightsaber.
Anakin stumbled sideways and caught himself on the wall. Master Windu gave him a sidelong glance as he walked towards the elevator. "Are you alright, Padawan Skywalker?"
I'm not alright. "I'm fine, Master." Windu gave him another look like he didn't believe him, but he nodded and continued walking.
"Which is it, Anakin?" Anne asked. "I don't think you can't be alright but still be fine."
"I just said that I'm fine." He pushed off of the wall. "Were you thinking about…" The end of the Jedi Order? Anne nodded.
"Yes, I'm sorry. It's hard not to." When you've know about it for your entire life.
Who was the cyborg?
General Grievous.
Why were the clones killing Jedi?
Sidious activated Order 66.
Who is Sidious?
Palpatine.
"What!" They were on a lower level now and Anakin's loud shout made a group of Initiates jump and look at him fearfully before hurrying down the hallway. "He can't be!"
"Maybe he isn't, but he was."
"I hope you're not talking about me." Anakin and Anne turned around to see Obi-Wan standing behind them. "Whoever 'he' is doesn't sound like a very nice person."
"He—" Anakin was cut off by Anne elbowing him. He looked at her incredulously and she looked back.
It's late. We can talk about this in the morning. Anne's eyes flicked briefly towards Obi-Wan. We can tell him in the morning.
Are you sure?
Yes.
"Fine." Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. "Did you need something, Master?" Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
"I was wondering where you were going. You walked right past Master Tachi's room." Anakin looked past Obi-Wan and saw the blond woman standing in a doorway with her arms crossed, leaning against the open door.
"Sorry, Master. I had a lot on my mind." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.
"Of course you did, Anakin. That's why you walked past an open door."
"Sorry, Master."
"Master Tachi as in Siri Tachi?" Anne asked. Obi-Wan looked at her.
"You've heard of her?"
"A few times." Obi-Wan nodded.
"Well, Siri has offered to let you stay with her until you find more permanent arrangements." He rolled his eyes towards his Padawan. "Anakin was supposed to tell you."
"Sorry, Master."
You're said that three times already.
You were counting?
Maybe.
Obi-Wan sighed. "So you've said, Anakin. Why don't you head to our rooms while I introduce Anne to Master Tachi, if you think you can manage it?" Anakin rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Master."
A fresh mug of tea clinked onto the table in front of Obi-Wan. He automatically picked it up and raised it to his lips, never breaking Anakin's gaze. Master? Anakin's thought trickling through their Force bond prodded him with concern.
I'm fine, Anakin. Just processing. He took another sip of his tea. Anne sat down beside Anakin and looked between the Master and the Padawan. Obi-Wan looked like he was alright. They hadn't dumped anything too disturbing on him but finding out there were a bunch of films in another galaxy that told the future of yours was a lot to process.
"Do you know everything that will happen?" Obi-Wan asked finally. Anne shook her head.
"There's so much that's already changed. The war wasn't supposed to start for a few more days, for one."
"Is that why you think Chancellor Plapatine might not be the Sith lord?" Anne nodded while Obi-Wan put his mug on the table before he dropped it.
"The Chancellor is a Sith?"
"He was, in the movies." Anne looked at Anakin, asking for permission. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan and then nodded to her slowly. "He turned Anakin to the Dark Side."
"But we don't know if he is now," Anakin jumped in before Obi-Wan could say anything.
"Have you told the Council yet?" Obi-Wan knew before he finished the question what the answer would be. Anne's cheeks flushed pink and Anakin grimaced. "You haven't. Why?"
"What's worse for the Republic, going into a war or going into a war with no leadership?" Anne weighed the two possibilities with both hands and the second one dropped. "If he's the Sith lord then he wants all the Jedi dead, but that's not going to happen in one night and if he isn't we need someone to head the Senate." Her hands dropped back to the top of the table. "Besides, we'd need proof."
"She didn't even tell me about it until last night," Anakin added. "I'll tell the Council today."
"We'll tell the Council today," Obi-Wan corrected. He tipped his head back and drank the last drops of his tea. "I can't have my apprentice accusing the leader of the Republic of being a Sith lord without me, can I?" Anakin smiled weakly.
"No, Master. You can't." Obi-Wan nodded.
"They won't be in session for a while though." He looked at Anne. "Why don't you tell us more about these Je'daii while we wait?"
"I'd be happy to." Anne closed her eyes and thought for a moment. When she'd decided where to start, she opened them and began. She'd decided to start at the beginning.
"The Je'daii believed in balance between both sides of the Force. This was inspired by the two moons that orbited Tython, their home planet. The Je'daii had seven Temples on the planet's surface and each one taught a different discipline…"