Chapter 14
Even Stars Burn Out
A scream of rage and anguish exploded from Anakin's lungs as he propelled himself across the room with the aid of the Force to the door, his lightsaber alight and burning with the same fury in his heart. He grabbed the doors with the Force, ready to rip them apart to get at the fleeing Chancellor of the Republic.
"Anakin! No!" Master Yoda's voice was barely above a whisper. "Chase him now, you should not. Fight enraged, and suffer the same fate as he has, you may. Join Shaak Ti and grieve for our fallen friend, you should. The pain, release, or consume you it will."
The words struck Anakin like an anvil.
Grieve! Fallen friend?
Anakin turned around and collapsed to the floor when he saw the decimated Jedi Master's burnt form still smoldering from the new Sith Lord's vicious attack. How many more friends was he going to watch die? The tears Anakin wanted to shed did not come. Instead, a determination overcame him as he stood and walked over to the dead Jedi Master's deteriorated body. He knelt next to Plo Koon and placed his hands on the Kel Dorn's head.
"Anakin," Shaak Ti said with a tinge of concern as she watched the Jedi Knight close his eyes and call on the Force. "What are you doing?"
"No limits on the Force, exist," Anakin replied, his face contorting in concentration. "I'm doing what the Sith seemed to have learned to do. I'm going to save him."
Shaak Ti's eyes opened wide. "The…Sith..?" she whispered.
But Anakin Skywalker was not listening. He summoned the Force to him as if he were a powerful magnet. He envisioned the man beneath him coming to life. He searched the body in the Force at the same time, looking for any sign of success. When no sign came, he summoned the Force into him with greater strength. He would not fail! More and more energy poured into him and yet he could feel nothing from the fallen Jedi but the cold hand of death surrounding him.
Frustrated, Anakin felt the dragon rage inside him. He let it. The light side of the Force was not powerful enough. He called on the Force and the dark energies poured into him. He wasn't afraid. He pulled them into him and drove the energy into his fallen comrade.
I will not fail!
Yoda watched Anakin with a knowing look, a hand on Shaak Ti's shoulder to silence her protests. He saw the sweat bead on the young Jedi's face. He felt the surging dark energies pour into and out of Anakin. But still, he watched. Anakin's face continued to twist with increasing concentration. Soon, the entire chamber was filled with energy that Anakin was pulling into him.
I cannot fail! Nothing is impossible! I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!
The energy he was pulling into him was beginning to overwhelm the young knight. He could feel the dark side energies destroying him. He could feel the dragon devouring him from within. Images swirled in his mind as he exerted all his will on this one task. A task that neither the light nor dark seemed capable of achieving. He called on his rage. He called on his love. He pulled energy from every region of his being and from the very fabric of space itself.
Power began to visibly crackle around him as blue tendrils of lightning formed around him in a sphere of pure power. Yoda watched without expression. Shaak Ti began to move toward Anakin, feeling there was something she should be doing but Yoda's aged hand held her shoulder firm with surprising strength. Yoda seemed to be waiting for something.
With a scream of frustration, Anakin collapsed.
Exhausted, the Hero With No Fear's shoulders slumped as he knelt next to his fallen comrade. Tears filled his eyes and he sobbed from exhaustion and despair.
"I'm not strong enough!" he wept. "I'm…not…strong…"
"No one is." Yoda was now standing beside him with his hand on Anakin's shoulder. There was nothing but sympathy in the great Jedi Master's eyes. "A path to stop death, no one can walk."
Palpatine.
Fire burned in Anakin's chest.
Liar!
The dragon, still not tamed from Anakin's call, burned fire in his heart.
"Anakin," Yoda said softly as he tenderly grasped Anakin's chin and pulled his face up to look into his eyes. "For a promise of power, always a price there is. To seduce one with great power, greater power still, the dark side must offer. Wanted your power, Sidious did. Feared your power, he did. The greatness in you, for himself he wanted. But the promises he made, lies they were. Accept this you must. Once done this is, let go you can."
The dragon wanted revenge.
It wanted to destroy.
No! Anakin screamed in his mind. I will NOT be consumed!
With a flick of his mind, the light side of the Force came rushing into him. With it, he felt the acceptance of Plo Koon's death. He felt the acceptance of his mother's death. He felt the acceptance of his own inevitable death. He could not stop it.
I am strong in the Force, he smiled in the light, But not that strong.
One day, twilight would be upon him, then night would fall.
That is the way of things.
The way of the Force.
All things die.
Even stars burn out.
And the thought brought him peace.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, the Senate was in emergency session. The Grand Convocation Chamber was filled to capacity as thousands of species from the far reaches of the galaxy gathered to hear a petition by the Senator from Naboo. There was a palpable feeling of euphoria throughout the Senate Chambers as Senators congratulated themselves for their role in winning the Clone Wars and bringing peace and justice to the galaxy by placing their fate in the hands of The Greatest of the Jedi. Gentle murmurings were heard throughout the chamber as Senators basked in the glory of their collective genius.
A hush fell over the Senate Arena as the Chancellor's pod rose dramatically from below to take its position center stage. A few Senators marveled at the genius that was Mace Windu as his pod continued to rise past its customary stop at the center ring. They cheered themselves and their new Chancellor as they watched him rise high above to the very top ring of pods and then slightly higher. His presence was so great that he belonged in the clouds.
When the pod finally came to rest, Mace Windu rose to take the main podium wearily. Concern covered the faces of the gathered Senators as they saw the look of sadness on the great man's face. What could bring so exalted a Jedi so low that he would be saddened on so happy an occasion as the liberation of the Republic from the treacherous jaws of the Separatists? What horrible event could prevent him from celebrating the dawning of the age of the Galactic Empire?
Mace Windu bowed his head for a moment as his hands grasped either side of the podium at which he stood, as if the support from the Great Seal was all that kept him on his feet. He looked as if he were desperately holding back the tears in his heart that begged to be shed. The Senators loved him all the more for it.
"My fellow members of the Galactic Empire," he finally began. "I realize that we are here to hear a petition from our esteemed colleague Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Unfortunately, I must take this opportunity to make a vital report to you all. A great tragedy has befallen our fledgling government. A tragedy, I'm afraid, I have played an unknowing part in."
The gathered Senators became concerned and worried grumblings began to rise among them in a tidal wave of fear. The Chancellor waited patiently as the representatives of the men and women of the Galactic Empire voiced their concern to each other. After several moments of increasing noise, the Supreme Chancellor raised his hand to silence the masses.
"When I went to arrest Darth Sidious in his quarters," Mace Windu said sadly, his voice cracking slightly with emotion, "I was joined by three of the greatest Jedi I have ever known. Their deaths haunt me even now." He bowed his head again as if in respect for the fallen great ones.
"Their deaths haunt me because their great sacrifice was in vain," he announced finally. "I had believed, as they did, that the target was only the Sith Lord. But I have since learned, that the target was the Republic itself!"
Screams of outrage and contempt erupted in the chamber. Pronouncements of "Impossible!" and "I don't believe it!" and "Not the Jedi!" resounded throughout the room. Master Windu looked even sadder than before. Again he raised his hand for silence and the Senators granted it without protest.
"I didn't want to believe it myself," he announced. A small gesture by Mace Windu silenced the throng as an audio file began to play on every speaker in the room.
(the following is a transcript of an audio recording presented before the Galactic Senate on the evening of the first Empire Day; identities of all speakers verified and confirmed by voiceprint analysis)
YODA: Now we shall see. At last. The waters will begin to clear.
KI-ADI-MUNDI: Have you considered that if Palpatine refuses to surrender power, removing him is only a first step?
MACE WINDU: I am not a politician garbled sounds in background. Words unintelligible. Possibly "This is enough for me" (?)
KI-ADI-MUNDI: But it will not be enough for the Republic. Palpatine's dictatorship has been legitimized—and can be legalized, even enshrined in a revised Constitution—by the supermajority he controls in the Senate.
YODA: Filled with corruption, the Senate is. Controlled they must be until replaced the corrupted Senators can be, with Senators honest and—
MACE WINDU: Do you hear us? How have we come to this? Arresting a Chancellor. Taking over the Senate--? To save the Republic we have to destroy it…?"
(recording ends)
The entire Senate was silent. Could it be true? It wasn't possible. Wasn't Windu in that conversation too? What's going on here? How is this possible? They think the Senate is corrupt? How can they think that when they hold secret meetings planning the Republic's downfall?
"It was at great personal risk, that I was able to retrieve this recording," Mace Windu proclaimed. "I recovered it with the intent to make the Senate aware before the Jedi attacked." The Senators hung on his every word, desperate for an explanation. Desperate for hope. The Korun continued.
"After Sidious' death and my election to Chancellorship, I reported to the Jedi Council of my success. I expected them to be pleased. Instead, they ordered me in secret session to dissolve the Senate and then I was to turn over the Empire to Yoda. When I refused, they attacked me viciously."
He paused as he relived the betrayal by the only family he had ever known. He gripped the podium so hard the Senators wondered if it wouldn't collapse under the strength of his traumatized soul. They wept with him as they considered the feelings of betrayal they shared with the Korun Master. Choking back the tears that he refused to shed, the Supreme Chancellor continued.
"I fought as hard as I could, using the very training they had given me to my advantage. But they were relentless. Only the accidental death of one of their Masters during the fight gave me the time to gather this small piece of evidence and flee for my life."
The Senators now understood. They were amazed at the integrity of the man that stood high above them. He had fought the Jedi throughout. He had fought for the freedom of the galaxy. He had fought his family. He cared more about the people than his own life. Could a man have a greater love for the Galaxy? The recording showed clearly how he fought against their plans. The anguish in his eyes showed the depths of his pain. The fire in his eyes showed the determination of his convictions.
"I am no longer a Jedi," Mace Windu announced. "I renounce them and their subversive ways! I am yours! The Empire's! I pledge my life to you and in service of you!"
The Senate erupted in a torrent of applause. Thousands of Senators vied for the opportunity to scream the loudest and cheer the hardest! What chance did the Jedi have against the one that was greatest among them? Would they even dare attempt their plan, knowing that the Empire had the most powerful army the Galaxy had ever seen at its disposal? Could they be so brazen?
"To prove my loyalty is to the Empire first above all," Master Windu continued, raising his voice preternaturally above the din but allowing their cheering to continue in a rumbling thunderstorm of approval, "I have just declared the Jedi and all who support them Enemies of the State!"
The cheering grew louder. Yes! Attack them first! Pre-empt their attack! Hit them before they can mount their inevitable campaign! The former Jedi Master was a tactical genius. He would rid the Empire of the disease of the Jedi.
"In twenty-four hours," Mace Windu announced, "I will take the Imperial Army into battle and strike at the very heart of the Jedi. I will wipe them off the face of Coruscant! I will free this great planet of their scourge! Then we will hunt them down wherever they hide. No corner of the galaxy will be safe haven for them! No planet would dare harbor them. I will root them all out and free our great Empire!"
Of the thousands of Senators in the room that screamed and cheered and hollered and celebrated, two thousand sat motionless. One Senator in particular marveled at how easily swayed her colleagues were; how hunger for security had blinded them to the obviousness of the half-truth they had been told. How could they not wonder if the recording had been edited or tampered with? How could they not consider that Mace Windu was a coconspirator in this alleged crime? How could they be so blind as the give this man the power to eliminate the one group of people with the power to stop him if he chose to hold on to power?
Padmé Amidala would weep no more. Gone were those days. She would fight now and forever. She closed her eyes and envisioned her child. She called to Anakin with her heart and hoped he would always know how much she loved him. She was aware that the volume in the Senate Arena had lowered substantially.
It was time.
She placed a tentative hand on her swollen belly and felt the child inside her move. She poured all her love into that child and drew strength from that love knowing that it was for the sake of her child that she had to fight. She breathed in deeply and rose when she heard the Supreme Chancellor speak—
"Now," announced the Supreme Chancellor with a malicious grin emblazoned on his face, "The chair recognizes the Senator from Naboo."
Anakin Skywalker was now seated in the Council circle, completely depleted of all energy, exhausted. He had never felt so weak and disconnected. His body ached in ways that he didn't think were possible and his mind ached even more. He tried to call on the Force to help him, but he couldn't concentrate. He could feel the soft tendrils of the light side dancing on the edge of his consciousness but he couldn't bring that power to him.
He needed help.
"Master Yoda," Anakin breathed weakly, "What are we going to do?"
Yoda seemed to ponder this question seated comfortably in his chair. The Jedi Master looked to Shaak Ti and watched her expression closely. Yoda appeared to be unnerved by the fear in her eyes. She had watched a dear friend fall to the dark side and murder another dear friend with a power unlike any of them had ever seen.
"More powerful than Sidious, Windu has become," Yoda whispered. "Cause death with lightning born of the Force, never have I seen. And know, I do not, of it ever having been done."
It was an incredible statement. The small green creature that dominated the Jedi Council for over three hundred years seemed to know everything that could be known about the Jedi and the Sith. If what Mace Windu had accomplished so casually was unheard of before, then Mace represented an even greater threat than any of them believed.
"No doubt," Obi-Wan's voice interjected from across the Galaxy, "He is solidifying his power in the Empire even as we speak. I'm sure he is finding a way to vilify us. It won't be long before the Jedi are under attack." Yoda nodded at this as did the other Jedi Masters.
"But how do we counter him?" Shaak Ti asked. "We don't have a political voice to defend ourselves and I'm not sure any of us can match his power." The room quieted for a long moment.
"Two separate questions," Master Yoda finally said, though his voice did nothing to lessen the growing tension, "deal with, we must. A fight in the political arena, win, we cannot. The attack from Master…Darth Salus, inevitable it is. Protect the Order at all costs, we will." Yoda's voice seemed to be breaking under the emotional weight of the situation.
His eyes were full of tears, but he would let none fall.
He turned to Shaak Ti. "The younglings and padawans, gather you will," he began. "To Illum, take them and their training you will continue. In the caves, you will hide until safe it is to return. Master Drallig, Nu and Jurokk, take with you."
"Yes," Obi-Wan announced. "An excellent idea. Might I also suggest that they safeguard all available data in the Jedi archives? It's a monumental undertaking, but Jacosta can do it."
"Illum is too obvious a choice," Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke up. "If I were this Darth Salus, it would be the first place I'd look for wayward Jedi. We must select a hiding place more difficult to find. One that would hide the Jedi even from those most powerful in the Force."
Yoda nodded after a moment's pause. "Hmmm….know of a place like this, I do" Yoda responded. "Bathed in the dark side, it is. To hide the future of the Jedi, a perfect place it is." He turned his eyes back on Shaak Ti.
"To Dagobah, take them," he said sadly. "Prepare them you must. Go."
Shaak Ti stood and headed out the door in almost a run. The tasking she had been given was momentous and daunting. The Jedi Temple housed almost a hundred younglings and padawans. Transporting all the holocrons and the children alone would be challenging enough. But she also had to find a way to get them all off-planet without alerting anyone outside the Order. This would be a true test of her cunning. It was a test she intended to pass.
"I will come to Coruscant immediately," Ki-Adi-Mundi announced as Shaak Ti left the room. "I believe every Master available should be there to face this Darth Salus."
"No," Yoda replied shaking his head. "Too important the Order is to risk losing all its leadership. Remain hidden you and Pablo-Jill must. If fail our efforts do, the only hope for the Jedi, you will be."
"But with Shaak Ti gone," Pablo-Jill said "And taking with her the rest of the Masters on the planet, that will leave you and Anakin alone to face Mace. Is that wise? Should not our goal be to defeat him, not just survive?"
"Master," Anakin spoke up. "I'm simply not strong enough to face him now. Perhaps Master Ki-Adi-Mundi is right. And besides, this is a task for Masters, not knights."
Yoda looked at Anakin with wide eyes. He had never heard the knight speak so humbly or admit his failings so freely. He looked at Anakin in the Force and could see the exhaustion that had enveloped the young man. He was, indeed weak but his strength would return.
"Face Salus alone, I will," Yoda sighed. "If fail to destroy him, I do, give time for Master Kenobi to arrive and you to recover, I will."
"Obi-Wan," Anakin said sitting up. "You have to get off that ship of yours. Salus controls this Empire of his, which means he owns the clone army. No doubt they will be his fighting force. We can't risk you being the first casualty of this conflict."
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. "I had thought the same thing, Anakin," he replied. "I will…persuade the clone commander to give me a smaller ship for myself with hyperspace capability. It may delay my arrival by an hour but I will be there as soon as I can." The Jedi Masters nodded in acceptance and prepared to carry out their assigned tasks.
"Before end this meeting does," Yoda said, "A matter long overdue, resolved must be." He turned to Anakin Skywalker with serious eyes. "Several openings, there are, in the Council now. The one left by Salus, Master Kenobi will fill. The one left by Kenobi, Master Skywalker will fill."
And with those simple words, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was declared a Jedi Master. The entire Council leadership nodded assent and the decision. Anakin sat wide-eyed in shock at the words.
He wasn't ready.
He wasn't worthy.
He was dangerous.
He was accepted.
He was honored.
"Thank you, Master Yoda," Anakin replied finally after composing himself. He looked over at the now-vacant location where Plo Koon had fallen. He didn't remember when the body had been taken out of the Council Chambers. He decided at that moment that he would find a way to honor that man's death with the rest of his life.
It was settled. The battle plan was in place. The order to execute, given.
The light began to prepare for the war with the dark.
"My fellow Senators," Padmé began. There was no shake in her voice, although her innards tore at her with fear. "Our Republic, that so many of us have fought and died for is dead." She paused for a moment to let the words sink in. No rumblings emerged from the delegates. No outcries of dismay at the inflammatory words.
Padmé Amidala realized in that moment that she had already lost the first battle in her rebellion. They know! her mind reeled. They know what they have done and have accepted it! They think they can win security by giving up liberty and so they are giving it up willingly! They aren't being deceived! They are deceiving themselves!
Padmé didn't know what to say now. Any words against the Supreme Chancellor—soon to be named Emperor—would not just be political suicide. She would most likely be labeled a traitor and executed. While death did not scare her, she knew that she was needed to lead the Rebellion until someone else could take over. The Jedi may not be able to help them win this fight.
People, she reasoned, will have to resist…not politicians or ideals or religious groups—but people. The men and women of the galaxy. She would organize them. Someone had to. She was no good to anyone dead—martyred before her cause was even known.
She made the decision.
"Perhaps it needed to die," she said. Her voice cracked at the words that she didn't believe. She saw the pain in Mon Mothma's eyes as she said them but knew that the Senator understood. She felt the stab in the heart of Bail Organa but prayed he would forgive her. "Even stars burn out, don't they?"
Even stars burn out she thought. But maybe I can stoke again the first embers here.
"But how do we replace so great a democracy as the Republic?" she asked. Before she realized it, her own fires began to burn. "Do we end a thousand years of representative government with a dictatorship? Is this what we, the Representatives of the people of this Galaxy, think is in their best interests?"
The murmurings began.
Senators shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Ever the politician, Padmé saw an opening and decided to go for it. She would not risk treason but she would find a way to get them to question themselves. It would be her first effort at recruitment in her rebellion.
"The great Mace Windu," she continued, "has graciously taken the mantle of leadership temporarily while we settle our differences. For how long will we lay this burden on him? A year? Two? For the rest of his life? Is that fair to him? Is that fair to the Galaxy?" She paused a moment to gage their collective reactions. When she saw them grow even more uncomfortable, she pushed.
"The Jedi, it seems, have betrayed us. Can any one of you here not personally attest to how much you trusted the Jedi before today? Would any of you not have placed your lives in their hands without question before today? And what of Palpatine? Did we not all trust him?"
Now her words began to have the desired effect. Senators began to grumble audibly. This seemed to cue several Senators, including Bail Organa, to begin to fan the flames Padmé was building. Short shouts of outrage wafted across the Arena.
"How can we risk putting all of our trust in any one person or organization again?" Padmé asked to the crowd. "How can we give absolute power to anyone? And it is absolute power that you have given our new Chancellor, make no mistake about it. You have named him Emperor in deed and will name him Emperor in fact! Surely, Master Windu is the most incorruptible of us all! But what of his successor? Surely there will be one. How much power will that person have? When will it end?"
Now the concern that began to form in the Senate Arena began to build upon itself. She had made her cause known. She had chosen her words carefully. Perhaps, Padmé thought, there is still hope
"Senators!" Padmé yelled as the noise level began to rise exponentially, "We must ensure that betrayal can never cripple our Empire. We must guarantee the people, that our government cannot be broken. We must fight! We must win!"
The Senate became a maelstrom of pandemonium. Senators cheered and jeered the speaker who had the floor. They called her a traitor and they called her a patriot. They screamed of her bravery and they decried her cowardice. Senator Padmé Amidala stood solemnly in her pod, smiling proudly within.
After several minutes of the cacophony of dissent, a wave of quiet gripped the Senate Chamber with a simple gesture from the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Empire. His right hand was raised as he smiled at the horde.
"Thank you, Senator Amidala," Windu announced, "For a truly inspiring and honest presentation to this most hallowed of bodies in the Galaxy. Truly inspiring."
Dramatically raising his other hand, Mace Windu brought his palms together in a resounding clap that echoed in the suddenly silent chamber. After a moment, he brought his hands together again. He repeated the maneuver over and over again, developing a steady rhythm of applause. As he continued, other Senators began to join him. Within moments, the entire Senate Arena was filled with the steady rhythmic ovation as the entire Senate stood and cheered the Senator from Naboo.
Padme stood in her pod, unsure of what to do. She brought her eyes up to Windu's and met his gaze. It was then that she realized that no one was looking at him. Everyone was looking at her. Had they bothered to look, they would have seen the malevolence embedded in the eyes of the Supreme Chancellor. They would have seen the threat that seemed to come with his every breath. They would have known the silent declaration that he made to her.
After several moments, the Chancellor ceased his clapping and the rest of the Senate followed suit. He continued to smile but the malevolence in his eyes remained. Padme wondered if she was the only one to see it.
"Truly inspiring…" Mace Windu announced. "But…I'm afraid…the Senator's time has expired."