Chapter 12
Disclaimer: It's Georges story and it always will be
Anakin walked outside of the temple in a search for at least one person he knew, and his wish was granted. But the person he met was not a Jedi. On their way to the senate was a group of politicians, in the middle of them was none other than the chancellor himself. Anakin smiled when the chancellor broke of his conversation to speak with him but then Anakin received a really bad vibe from the force. Something he had never had before when he was around the chancellor. It was one of the feelings that Anakin got when he was around Dooku, but it was much, much worse. Anakin froze a few steps from the chancellor and took the time to look at him. Properly. He had been taught to see through the eye of the force by his tutor as a thank you for helping her deal with some troublesome darksiders. Anakin could make his eyes glow white when he did this, but decided that the chancellor would find this strange.
Anakin quickly surveyed the chancellor and was shocked to see that he was surrounded by dark energy, not only that, but his face was completely different. The chancellor had no idea what Anakin was seeing when he came up to him.
"Anakin, my boy, how have you been?" Palpatine asked. Anakin was speechless for a moment and opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. "Anakin, are you alright? You seem pale." Palpatine asked in faked concern.
Luckily for Anakin, a speeder crashed in the air and went up in flames. Anakin glanced down at the chancellors hands as he turned towards the wreckage and caught a glimpse of two black and gold lightsabers quickly flicking to them and then retreating back up his sleeve. Anakin could not stand there any longer and bolted back towards the temple to find Obi-Wan or anyone he could talk to.
Anakin was caught by the arm in mid step by Master Fisto and Master Plo who had appeared behind him. "Skywalker, whats wrong? We can sense your distress." Kit Fisto asked.
"Palpatine's the sith lord." Anakin informed them.
"What did you just say?" Master Plo asked.
"Palpatine. He's Darth Sidious. I couldnt see it before but after having spent weeks away from Coruscant on a force sensitive planet I can sense how dark he is, and when he turned towards the wreckage of a speeder two lightsabers flew from his sleeve and into his hands before quickly going back up." Anakin explained.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Positive...hang on. Did you ever tell him where I was?"
"He was told a few hours ago that you had been on Thython."
Anakin cursed silently and tried to move back outside, but they stopped him again.
"It is far too dangerous for you to confront him if he is Sidious." Fisto advised.
"I'm not going to confront him, I'm going to Thython! He is the sith lord and he must have told the separatists where I was and where everyone I know is!"
"At least let some of us come with you, the clones..."
"Are under his control. I will not let them anywhere near Impetus, or anywhere near my friends."
"You must be certain that he is the sith lord before rushing off to do things, have you even spoken to your friends yet?" Anakin's silence was all they needed. "Contact them now and then we can decide what to do."
Anakin quickly pulled out the communicator that both he and Callum shared and turned it on. Thankfully, Callum answered, but not in the way that Anakin had hoped he would.
"Anakin! Thank gods its you!"
"What? Why? What's happened?"
"The separatists came here an hour ago and tried to find us. They blew up some houses but we destroyed their ships and stopped them from sending word to their friends."
Anakin glanced at Master Plo and Master Fisto who now looked deeply concerned.
"Are you alright? Were you hurt?"
"I have a broken arm, but other than that I'm fine. Listen, the news gets worse. I cant find Leah anywhere! The separatists didnt discover the location of Impetus, but they destroyed a primary school and Leah was there when it happened."
"Okay, stay put I'm coming home."
"Got it, but there isnt much of a home to come back to unless we fix up this village. The council of elders is waiting for your arrival at the request of Ludforber before they set up any planetary shields."
"Well tell them I'm coming. Stay out of trouble and find our friends from Impetus, they probably went to help aswell. Bye."
"Bye Ani."
The communicator beeped the indication that Callum was gone and Anakin looked up at the masters. "Do you believe me now?" Anakin asked.
"It certainly seems strange. The moment you speak with the chancellor, you see all of these things that tell you he is the sith that we have been searching for. You give us proof that he is, but are only concerned about getting to your home." Kit Fisto summarised.
"Well, why wouldnt I want to be there? It's my second home, and I need to make sure that they're alright."
"But, as you said, the clones are under his command. If he has some plan to turn the clones on the Jedi, we need to find a way to prevent it."
"There are millions of clones, and more being made every day. I dont think I'm going to wait for them all to be observed before I go home. I promised Callum that I was on my way."
"If your friend was strong enough to survive a fully fledged separatist invasion, he can live without you for a few more minutes."
"Fine. So what do you want me to do first?"
"The chancellor should be monitored, you never explained how you knew for certain that he was a sith."
"Well, I was taught how to do this complicated thing with the force by my tutor, who looks after my side. It allows me to see things and people through the eyes of the force, when I sensed the dark side circulating around Palpatine I decided to try it, just to be safe, and I saw him clouded in darkness and his face was different."
"The council will need proof of that ability."
"Alright fine, hold on." Anakin closed his eyes, waited a moment for the force to flow through him, and opened them again. The stunned looks on their faces was enough to prove that he had done it. His eyes were glowing with bright white lights and he could see the aura surrounding them. For each of them it was a flowing white stream of the light side, something Anakin was glad to see. But what he found even more interesting was the small animal behind them, Orion. Anakin looked down at him and smiled before letting his eyes turn back to blue.
Orion walked around Anakin's leg and pressed against it to show how happy he was to see him.
"I think that will be proof enough for the council." Master Plo agreed with Master Fisto. "But as far as I know, some are in a battle strategy meeting, and the others are either meditating or training."
"Do you know where Obi-Wan is?" Anakin questioned.
"He's in the meeting. Normally it would be unwise to disturb such an important meeting, but I think this is an exception."
Anakin nodded and followed them to the meeting, leaving Orion in the care of some younglings who seemed to enjoy his company.
Sidious cursed as he turned back to Anakin to find him sprinting for the temple at top speed, using the force to quicken his running. He had sensed something powerful in Anakin, he had done something. But what, he did not know. Sidious had sensed a sudden realisation and need to be somewhere just before Anakin had bolted. He cursed in the ancient sith language. If the boy had somehow discovered his identity before he was ready, which he most probably had, then the rest of his plans would fall to pieces.
He turned and headed directly for the senate building to initiate order 66. He was now being forced to accelerate his plans and form the empire without the sense of security and power that he had promised himself that he would have when he did this. The boy would run straight to his pathetic Jedi friends, then he would discover of the separatist attack on Thython. True, he had only been staying in a village, from what the Jedi had told him, but where had he gotten so powerful from?
After calling an emergency senate meeting he declared the republic the first galactic empire to many 'boos' and negative feedback. But he did not care, order 66 came next and this would be a day that the Jedi never forgot. Unless the boy had already informed the Jedi that was...
The Jedi from around the galaxy were given an immediate order to go to Thython, and into the Jedi temple there that had been forgotten for a few hundred years now. The clones were not informed of their whereabouts and the Jedi temple on Coruscant had been evacuated before any sort of trouble could arise. Anakin had explained everything to the Jedi in the meeting, and then again to the Jedi council. He had shown them proof of his way of seeing things through the eyes of the force and voiced his concerns about the clone troopers. An investigation was launched and within ten minutes order 66 was found. The order to eradicate the Jedi order. Anakin had suggested that the order be moved to the temple on Thython that the republic knew nothing about and the council had taken him up on the idea. All archive knowledge was transferred by ship and data base. All younglings were moved within the hour and the other Jedi departed the moment the temple was clear of any evidence as to that they had left.
The chancellor was in an emergency senate meeting and would not be able to initiate order 66 for at least another hour and by then they would all be on Thython which would be protected by the planetary shields the force users had created. The council of elders had also used the force to mask the location of every populated area on the planet so that if any spies did happen to come to Thython, they would find nothing. Special routes were made for people walking from town to town and the Jedi were given supplies to adjust to their new life. But Anakin hardly cared for any of these things for he had to find Leah and Callum. The moment that he had arrived, Ludforber had told him that they were both in Impetus and a medical droid had been set up in their living room to treat their injuries. Anakin then thought of Coruscant, abandoned by the Jedi who had been given no choice. Anakin had wasted no time in going back so that he could find Padme and bring her to Thython, although she protested Anakin had threatened to carry her over his shoulder if she didnt agree and eventually she decided to go for her own safety.
Anakin had bought a house for them to stay in which reminded him of the lake retreat he had been at with Padme. It was very secluded and hard to find, just like the Jedi temple. Obi-Wan had almost exploded with fury when Anakin admitted that he was married to Padme, you could practically see the vain throbbing in his temple. Anakin loved the fact that Obi-Wan couldnt punish him, now that he wasnt a Jedi. Anakin had promised to help the Jedi establish their new lives on Thython and recieved numerous lectures from almost every member in the Jedi council of how he should return to their order. Anakin declined them, again, and after they were all set up in the temple he almost ran for Impetus.
Anakin slammed the door on the opposite wall when he opened it in his haste to see the people who had become his family. They were fine, each and every one of them. Leah was being treated by a medical droid for a broken wrist and Callum was at her side. The others were only too pleased to see Anakin as they had heard news of what was happening in the galaxy from the HoloNet.
"Ani! We've been so worried, the attack on the village a few miles away really scared us." Melody stressed.
"It's alright, see. Look at me, I'm fine. The Jedi are all settled in their new temple and the planetary shields have been activated. No one will be able to find us now, Ludforber says that the only way that our defences can be penetrated will be if someone from the inside betrays us, and the chances of that happening are next to nothing." Anakin assured.
"Good. It's still the holidays by the way, Anakin. We only came back because we feared that someone might be dead, but now that we're all safe and together, lets have some fun!" Dylan exclaimed. Anakin started to laugh and walked over to Callum and Leah.
"How are you two feeling?" Anakin asked.
"We've seen worse, believe it or not. How are you doing? Is that bandages I can see on your arm?" Leah asked curiously. Anakin had forgotten about the breakage his wrist had suffered when a lone republic cruiser had attacked his small ship and shot his through the wrist. Fairly painful, but it was definitely getting better.
"Oh, I got shot on my ship when I was coming back. I dont think I'll be leaving the planet for a long while though, not after what happened. But I dont want to talk about it now, we're supposed to be recovering and, as Dylan said, having fun. It is the holidays after all."
"Hey, heres an idea. What about a party?" Austin suggested.
"Theres no where near enough of us for a party." Brayden commented.
"Not in our year there isnt, but we can ask the others. There are five separate years on our side, thats got to make us have around fifty people at least."
"Ludforber wont be happy." Aiden added.
"Well, I think he did something terrible by separating all of the years on our side. We should all be together, united. If the other sides cant live with it, then we can. I'm sure of it. Theres so many modifications happening to Impetus now that we might be able to get our dormitory pushed to a size that allows our entire side to stay in one place."
"Fifty people in one place? That's a little ambitious dont you think?" Callum asked.
"The place will have to be bigger, more rooms so we dont all crowd one area. Are there any architects in here?"
"I am." Sabe said.
"Great, we can talk it over with Ludforber and Tutor Lenises, they'll probably call us into a hall for a meeting and then we can see what the others think."
"Dylan, thats...thats brilliant! It's nice to see you acting so smart, so sensible. Like a proper person." Anakin mocked.
"Really? I dont know what came over me." Dylan spoke and turned his chin up and went into the boys dormitory.
"Nice to know some things never change." Anakin muttered. "Who's going to speak with Ludforber?"
Silence was the reply he got and then he turned to Leah and Callum. "Will you come with me?"
"Sure, why not. Lets go, the medi-droids finished with us now." Callum informed Anakin.
Sidious cursed and cursed and cursed. They were gone, every last one of them. They had fled and left no trace that they had eve been there, that the Jedi even existed. He had tried to reach out with the force to sense who had once been here, but Skywalker had done something to remove their presence from the temple. The people that had brought this news to him were now dead at his feet as he howled with rage. Dooku had been found in dead space with barely any life left inside of him, the separatist leader Nuke Gunray had fled in fear from the public eye and, interestingly enough, Senator Amidala was missing. Skywalkers dearest friend must have gone with him, but a search of her apartment proved fruitless as everything from there had been erased too, including the lingering force presences, again.
This was going to be a harder battle than he had thought. The Jedi order remained intact and unfrayed. The force users had disappeared from Thython, much to his disgust, but the empire now had the might of the separatists on their side. That, coupled with the new stormtroopers, was enough to make anyone cower in fear. He would rule with an iron fist, ordering many deaths to ensure that he stayed as the emperor. No one would dare question him, and the Jedi would be found. He had diverted all of his resources to finding them.
The planets that were strong in resistance were being put in their place by the empire and the Jedi were being considered beacons of hope by many, even when the emperor preached that they had abandoned them in their time of need. But there was one person in particular that they all appreciated, someone that they all loved. The hero with no fear. Anakin Skywalker. Before his departure from Coruscant, Skywalker had gone around telling people to address him as 'The One'. No one spoke his name and now only the emperor knew that Skywalker was the person that they spoke of. It was obvious to him as to where the name had originated, and it made the emperor curse Skywalker even more. The boy had finally accepted the truth, that he was the chosen one. If he had accepted this, he could only begin to imagine the problems that would be caused by him. But this, being, was no longer Skywalker. No longer a human that was born into the galaxy. He was the son of the force, not of this galaxy. Not even of this universe, Sidious dared to say. When the force had finished moulding Skywalker, he would be unstoppable. Invincible. And like all sons of kings and lords, he would eventually accept his fathers place. Skywalker would become the force.
Sidious cursed and threw the bodies of men and clones across the room in a frenzy. How would the sith prevail with Skywalker in control? With Skywalker as the force? He barely knew of what was happening to him, and yet he was going around telling people that his name was 'The One'. Soon no one would remember the name Anakin Skywalker besides his friends and relatives. Soon he would confront the empire and eventually, Sidious. This time, he did not deny the feeling of fear that rose from the pit of his stomach. The end of the sith, his end. Was almost here. There was only one way to ensure that he prevailed, a lesson from the days of the old republic. An army of sith. An unstoppable force. The force sensitives of the galaxy were in for a shock when they were brain washed to follow under Sidious' command. Dooku was irrelevant to him now. This was the only way. This was what would happen, this would be what ended Skywalker. Jedi or not.
