Ben returned from his walk two hours later and found that Anakin had already left for the Council meeting. Going into his room, Ben took off his cloak and laid it on the bed. He placed his father's and mother's lightsabers in the center of the cloak and laid the holopicture on top of the lightsabers. Carefully Ben folded the cloak over the items and then just stared for a few minutes.
A tear escaped Ben's eye and trailed down his cheek. "I miss you Dad. I miss you Mom. I'm sorry I failed. I won't fail again, I promise. I will find a way to stop them." Leaving the bedroom, Ben took one last look at the things he had left on the bed and then left.
Anakin found Obi-Wan in one of the gardens, sitting in his usual spot. Anakin sat down next to him in a meditative posture. "Master."
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and turned his head to face Anakin.
"Do you think it's possible for someone to travel back in time?" Anakin asked.
"No, not unless the Force wills it and that I believe is highly unlikely." Obi-Wan answered. "The past is the past and should remain the past."
"So I guess you won't believe me if I told you that our little friend is from the future." Anakin remarked.
In a low voice, Obi-Wan asked. "What makes you think that?"
"I saw one of his lightsabers. It is the same design that I use and it is a design that I had designed myself." Anakin answered.
Obi-Wan rubbed his bearded chin with his hand in thought. "If what you think is true then we must be careful not to find out to much about the future. However, we're going to need to know why he is here."
Anakin frowned and looked at the stone pathway. "His presence will have changed the future anyway, Master. If he is here to change the future then I don't see why we can't know about the future."
Shaking his head, Obi-Wan continued to look at Anakin. "First of all, I find it hard to believe the Force will allow a child to come and change the past. Second, having a person from the future reveal the future to someone from the past is worse then having a vision."
"How can is be worse? At least you'll know for sure what will happen. If I could, I would go back in time to save my mother. I'm sure you wish you could go back in time yourself and save your Master." Anakin retorted.
"Anakin, no matter how much you try to prevent things from happening, there is always going to be something else that is going to go wrong. We should leave the past as it is and work for a better future. Knowing what the future holds will only be more of a burden. There may be something we don't like, or like, but when we attempt to make it go faster or make it right, something worse may occur instead." Obi-Wan lectured.
Closing his eyes, Anakin did his best to soothe his tumult emotions and release them into the Force.
"Of course that doesn't mean we'll still wonder. I would like to know how Ben has a lightsaber design similar to yours, but I won't pry unless it's the will of the Force." Obi-Wan added.
Anakin looked back at Obi-Wan quickly looked back at Obi-Wan, wondering what his Master's suspicions were. "There are a lot of possibilities, Master."
Smiling, Obi-Wan answered. "Indeed there is my Padawan. Now, I suggest we meditate on these new developments and see where the Force is leading us."
Anakin nodded in agreement and slowly sank into a meditation trance.
Ben walked into the Senate building and asked a passerby where Senator Amidala's office was located. Once he had its location, Ben headed straight there. He entered the reception room and walked up to the desk. "I'm here to see Senator Amidala, my name is Ben Jade."
The lady at the desk asked. "Do you have an appointment?"
Rolling his eyes, Ben answered. "I'm a friend. Do I have to have an appointment? At least tell her that I'm here." With that said, he went to go sit down on one of the chairs.
A couple of minutes later Padme's office door opened and Chancellor Palpatine exited.
Palpatine spotted Ben and, with a wide smile, put out his hand. "Hello young man. I'm Chancellor Palpatine."
Ben stood and bowed his head in respect. "It is an honor to meet you Chancellor. I'm Ben Jade." He answered and shook Palpatine's hand.
"That is a fine name you have Ben. Tell me, how do you know Senator Amidala?" Palpatine asked.
"I met her on Tatooine a couple of days ago. Master Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker have received guardianship approval from the Council, so now I have a home. I thought Senator Amidala would like to hear the news since she was so kind to me and all." Ben explained.
Nodding, Palpatine said. "Kenobi and Skywalker are good Jedi. You'll be well cared for."
"Yeah." Ben looked down and shifted his feet. "To bad they can't train me."
"Oh?" Palpatine responded, arching an eyebrow.
Ben looked back up at Palpatine and sighed. "The Council won't let me be trained, but I already had some training before my Master died. You see, after my parents were killed I found a retired Jedi on Tatooine who was willing to take me in and train me. He trained me for about five years. He died a month ago." Ben wiped at his eyes that had become wet with tears.
Placing a hand on Ben's shoulder, Palpatine gave Ben a reassuring smile. "I'm sure the Council will change their minds eventually. Perhaps you can prove to them that you are worthy to be trained."
"Perhaps." Ben sniffled.
Palpatine pulled a card from his pocket and gave it to Ben. "If you ever need to talk with someone, you can call me at this number."
"Thank you Chancellor." Ben responded, looking down at the card.
Palpatine gave Ben's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "And please, call me Palpatine."
Ben bowed, a small grin appearing on his face. "Palpatine."
Once Palpatine had walked away, Ben headed into Padme's office.
Anakin and Obi-Wan returned to their quarters after eating a meal in the cafeteria and sat down on the couch.
"So what do you think we should do?" Anakin asked.
"Let's wait to see if he'll tell us first, for now." Obi-Wan suggested. "He's come to the past for a reason."
"Or perhaps it's the other way around and we are supposed to help him." Anakin put in.
Obi-Wan turned his head toward Anakin. "We don't even know what kind of future he lives in. It doesn't make sense that he is here for us to help him. Why not in his own time? There must be someone there who could help him."
Anakin shrugged. "As you said Master, we don't know what his time is like and you did say that it is unlikely that the Force sent Ben here to change the past."
Shaking his head, Obi-Wan cast his senses into the Force to find Ben's presence, only to sense that Ben was not in the Temple. "Did Ben say that he was going to leave the Temple?"
"No, but he did say he was going for a walk." Anakin replied, his eyes closed. "I'm sure he's f…." Anakin stopped talking when he felt a disturbance in the Force originating from Ben. "Ben's in trouble." Anakin stated, rushing for the door, Obi-Wan following close behind.
Ben landed hard on the unforgiving ground, momentarily stunned by the impact.
"I can feel your anger. Use it." The Sith prodded, circling Ben.
"It hurts to much." Ben responded, slowly standing up.
The Sith pointed his blood red lightsaber at Ben, his face hidden by the shadows in the abandoned building. "Then you are a failure. A worthless being. A pity, you have so much power."
Anger flared up in Ben and he grabbed the knife that he had dropped when he was tossed to the ground and charged at the Sith, ducking as the Sith swung at him.
The knife was kicked from his hands and he was knocked in the head with the hilt of the Sith's lightsaber, causing him to tumble to the ground.
The Sith grabbed Ben's hair and yanked his head back. "Perhaps you need more persuasion." The Sith released Ben and poured Force lightning into Ben's body.