Anakin and Obiwan sat alone in the pod that hovered before the chancellor's podium in the rotunda. The senate was in session and the house was packed as it had rarely been in recent history. The Separatists had returned and now occupied their historic seats, although Obiwan knew the voting functions in those particular pods had been disabled pending a resolution on their reinstatement in the republic. He felt somewhat comforted to see Bail Organa in the role of chancellor, though he knew it was somewhat of a false comfort. They were there to give a deposition on the Jedi's failure to identify Palpatine as a threat at the onset. Organa would mediate the deposition, but he could not shut out the questions of those hostile to the order without being accused of favoritism. He was a fair man, however, and Obiwan thought that at least with him in control of the proceedings, the factions friendly to the order would have an equal say.
Obiwan turned to look at his former padawan, who sat quietly beside him, his cloak wrapped tightly around him. He'd slept all afternoon at the temple, finally awakening just as Obiwan was about to leave to come here, and when he'd heard what was about to happen, insisted he had to come along. The Jedi Master had tried to stop him; his former student still looked too pale to him, his face somewhat gaunt. Obviously, he hadn't entirely recovered, and Obiwan knew this evening's session was bound to be grueling. Yet Master Yoda had agreed with Anakin's wishes, saying that for him to attend would help them both. Outnumbered, Obiwan had acquiesced, consoling himself with the thought that at least Padme had been - was - here; there was no doubt in his mind now that she'd been entirely necessary for his brother's recovery.
Chancellor Organa signaled that the deposition would begin. The acting Vice Chair (Obiwan didn't know his name) called the session to order.
"Tonight's session begins the senate inquiry into former Chancellor Palpatine's attempted takeover of the Galactic Republic," the acting chancellor began. "We will commence by hearing the statements from the Jedi Order. A copy of the written deposition provided by the Jedi Council head, Master Yoda, was previously provided for each of you. Two representatives of the Council are now with us to answer any questions you may have about that deposition."
Obiwan felt Anakin stiffen at the words 'two representatives of the Council.' He glanced over at his former padawan reassuringly, seeing the sudden alarm in his eyes.
"But I'm not ..." he started to whisper.
"It's okay," Obiwan whispered back. "It's just a technicality. You are a representative, if not a member."
His friend didn't say any more about it, but he could tell the appellation still bothered him. Anakin hadn't yet agreed to return to the order, yet Obiwan knew that wasn't the issue here. At issue with his brother would be the technicality that - at the time of the ex-chancellor's death - he had not been a member.
The older man was more concerned with the fact that Anakin really did not have a good grasp on the actual content of Master Yoda's deposition. He'd tried to read it on the way over from the temple to the rotunda, but had finally given up, admitting he was unable to concentrate on it. Then again, Obiwan thought he was probably more concerned about Anakin's admission.
"The chair recognizes the senator from Nadiripon," Organa stated, interrupting his thoughts
------.
A pod rushed out immediately into the center and hung beside the Jedi. Its main occupant, a well-fed middle-aged Iriponi with a luxurious braid of blue chin-whiskers, leaned forward anxiously. Obiwan braced; he knew the Iriponi seat had been one Palpatine had cultivated.
"We would like to know," he began, his question carefully worded and rehearsed (since each representative was allowed only one), "Why, if Palpatine was a Sith Lord and therefore Force-sensitive, and since the Jedi actively seek out the Force-sensitive in the systems of the republic, of which Naboo is one, the Jedi were not aware of his presence - or at least his Force-sensitivity - before he was elected to office?"
The senior Jedi glanced at Anakin, who sat quietly, aware that this was something Obiwan would have to answer, not him. Still, he felt some odd distress in his brother that he couldn't quite place, and which he had no time to pursue. Now he had to focus on answering as best he could. But even Obiwan had been no more than a youngling when Palpatine was first elected. He tried to best compose his reply in the short time he had while the senator's pod returned to its dock. It wasn't long before he heard the formal words from Organa: "The senate will hear the Jedi's reply to the question."
Obiwan took a deep breath. "For the first part of my answer," he said, "I would like to state that the Jedi have never required the Force-sensitive to be tested, nor do we keep dossiers on children tested whose parents declined to send them to the temple for training - as we do not keep dossiers on any other citizens of the republic ..."
------
Anakin listened halfheartedly to his brother's reply, his focus instead tuned to the atmosphere of the senate chamber. The emotions of the thousands of beings in the rotunda assailed him, but did not overrun him as he'd been afraid they would earlier. He still felt what they felt, but the newfound connection he had to his brother had forged an extra layer of insulation against the feelings of the masses. Their feelings were muted, dampened - well, except for one. Though she sat on the opposite side of the rotunda, Padme's presence was as clear and strong to him as Obiwan's. She was worried about him (so was Obiwan), but there was nothing he could really do about that except continue on as he was. His experience earlier today in the temple had convinced him that the surest and quickest way to completely recover was to face squarely head-on everything he'd previously denied. Palpatine's death was one of those things; he still had no recollection of the event, although he'd been told the details of the encounter. He hoped tonight might precipitate a return of that memory. (And on a more mundane level, he hoped it would satisfy most, if not all, of the news cameras that had suddenly found it necessary to follow him everywhere.)
Obiwan was expertly wrapping up the answer to the Iriponi's question, managing, as he always somehow did, to address what needed to be said without assigning blame to any of the parties. He knew Padme had become anxious at the question; though she'd no doubt known in advance that Naboo would be a likely target for attack. But Obiwan hadn't become known as 'The Negotiator' for nothing. In Anakin's opinion, at least, he was the best at what he did, and if ... And if ...
He caught his breath, the understanding of his own purpose in the rotunda tonight unfolding before him: He was, as he had always been, Obiwan's enforcer, the one who took the lead when negotiations turned aggressive. Something about that role felt wrong; he'd oddly known this on some subliminal level as soon as he'd understood the true meaning of his dream-visions. He could no longer fight with - would no longer allow himself to fight with - a lightsaber or any other weapon. But was he meant to play that role tonight in some as yet undetermined way? He suspected now that Master Yoda thought so. He only wished he were as sure of his role as the diminutive Council Head appeared to be.
He heard Bail Organa give the floor to the senator from Humbarine. As that system's pod approached, he felt a reserved amount of fear and trepidation radiating from her, although he felt no hostility along with that as he had from the Iriponi. She stopped her pod farther away than had the previous senator, though still close enough for her to see the Jedi clearly.
The slight human woman tabbed a button on her control panel to activate her microphone. Anakin felt her brace herself for the question; she was clearly (to him) afraid to ask it, though when she spoke, no fear was present in her voice or her outward manner.
"We would like to know," she began, "given that Count Dooku was once a Jedi, and given that he evidently willingly became an apprentice of a Sith Lord, what measures were in place to prevent this abuse of Jedi power and where those measures failed; or if no measures were in place, why they were not, and what is being done now to correct this problem?"
Obiwan was taken aback by the question, though on the surface, he covered his surprise well. Anakin reached forward and switched off the microphone, which had been left on from the previous response. He turned to look at his brother.
"That isn't really a question about anything covered in Master Yoda's deposition about Palpatine," whispered Obiwan. " I'm sure it will come up; I'm sure it has come up, but ..." - he broke off as if reading Anakin's mind (and maybe he did, thought Anakin) - "no, I can't just tell them that. It would look bad; as if we're trying to hide something from them. And Senator Breemu wasn't in Palpatine's faction; her name was on the Petition of 2000."
"You could tell them the 'it has come up but' part. They ought to understand that, at least."
"But what then? I've still got the problem that if I allow this, then I open the proceedings to a lot of unrelated questions I'm not prepared to answer. But I can't insult her, either."
This is it, Anakin suddenly thought. The negotiations have broken down. This is the moment. "It will be all right," he said automatically.
"That's reassuring."
"No, it will," he insisted. "Just say the 'it has come up but' part. I'll take care of the rest."
He felt Obiwan's apprehension. Not that he could blame him; he'd never held any illusion about being a diplomat himself; never been able to comprehend why adults couldn't just speak plainly to each other. He'd accepted that such a thing 'just wasn't done' in politics by keeping himself out of verbal negotiations completely. Now, however, he thought his way would work, would have the result Obiwan wanted it to. Please trust me this time, Obiwan, he thought. There wasn't time for much else; the senator's pod had returned to its dock and all eyes were now on them
------.
Obiwan groaned inwardly, but even as his hand touched the switch for the microphone, he knew in his heart that Anakin's proposal was the right one. Knowing didn't make it any easier to take, because he wasn't exactly sure what his friend was up to. Would he tell them, in no uncertain terms, what they could go do with themselves? He cringed inwardly at the thought, even while he took a small amount of private pleasure from it; he'd certainly heard Anakin's opinion often enough - and had even agreed with him - while they had been stationed at the far edge of the galaxy during the civil war.
"The Jedi Council has certainly discussed the problem you have identified," he stated. "Unfortunately, owing to ..." he went on to lament the deaths of the bulk of the council members in Order 66, and to relay that any action taken at that time had been rendered moot. But they would certainly be re-addressing the problem once a quorum of Jedi returned, and that the senate should be assured that outstanding Jedi sufficient for a quorum had been recalled to Coruscant and should be arriving shortly. Of course, the senate would be kept informed of the council's progress on this and on any other problems which had arisen.
He stopped and looked over at Anakin, who was still seated, apparently expecting him to go on. Momentarily unsure, he hesitated, then said, "While that technically answers the question, we understand that it doesn't fully address the concerns behind it. Master Skywalker would like to speak to you about that." He glanced at Anakin, and took his seat.
Anakin stood and cleared his throat. He looked grim, Obiwan thought, though he wasn't radiating grimness, or any strong emotion at the moment. Another moment and he might have marveled at this, considering how emotional his padawan had always been, especially these past couple of weeks. But he felt the Force stir; felt it swirl around them, and realized his brother had called upon it to help him with his speech.
"I'm ... I'm not an eloquent speaker," he began. "No one would send me to negotiate the fine points of a treaty and I'm way too blunt to be a diplomat. So please bear with me if the words I choose are not the ones someone used to these things would use."
He paused and swallowed, then continued, "But I have been tempted by the Sith, and so I know what methods they use and how a Jedi can be turned."
The chamber grew wholly silent at his words. Even Obiwan realized he was holding his breath and deliberately let it out.
"They can be turned by the same methods used on anyone else," he declared, his voice ringing into the silent void of the rotunda. "The same methods used on senators."
The gasp was audible, so silent had the room become. From the corner of his eye, Obiwan saw Organa's head snap, a silent warning to the members to refrain from interruption.
"Palpatine did not use the Force to try to turn me," Anakin continued. "He never needed to. He used my dissatisfaction with what I viewed as unreasonable limitations placed on me and my fears about emotionally painful events in my life. He used - he waited for - my greed and my desperation, in the same way he used the greed and desperation of those here who were fed up with the endless fighting over trivial concerns in the senate..."
Anakin went on, restating his point again and again, accusing the Separatists and senators who had stood with Palpatine alike, but always careful to stand with them as one of the accused. The Force filled the rotunda; yet for all the power behind his brother's words, Obiwan sensed many senators growing more hostile; not everyone would want to face the truth about themselves. Still, by the time he'd closed his statement and taken his seat, he'd managed to succeed in what Obiwan wanted, and without admitting to any guilt, since Anakin had not acted on the temptation he'd claimed. Senator Breemu wasn't insulted, as she had signed the Petition of 2000, and it was doubtful if anyone would ask a question not on the agenda again if they had to risk Anakin answering them.
So he was surprised, when Organa recognized the senator from Chandrila, to hear that her question was for Anakin alone:
"Master Skywalker," Senator Mothma began, "You mentioned 'The Jedi' several times in your statement as if they were a group apart from yourself. It was rumored earlier that you had resigned from the order recently. Is this true, and if so, was it due to the temptation you just mentioned, or to something else, and if something else, what?"
------
Anakin stared at her. She had smiled kindly as she'd spoken, as if she already knew the answer to her question, and he realized she did, at least partly. She'd been in the committee room he'd met Padme in earlier. He glanced over at the chancellor. Bail Organa nodded to him in acknowledgment; neither he nor the senator from Chandrila bore him any hostility; in fact, he felt the opposite from them. They wanted him to speak publicly about his marriage. Now.
He stared across the gulf of the rotunda towards his wife, though she was so far away he couldn't see her clearly. Nevertheless, he felt the strength of the bond he had with her; she was as shocked by the request as he was. It wasn't that they'd intended to continue their charade; but he had hoped, somehow, that they could simply go live somewhere anonymously, such as Naboo. Certainly, he hadn't wanted to create a scandal for Padme by announcing their marriage in the middle of a congressional session. But Senator Mothma's question left him little choice.
He stood and cleared his throat again as his questioner's pod docked and the acting chancellor nodded to him to speak.
"I have resigned from the Jedi, yes," he admitted. "But it has - had - nothing to do with being tempted by the Sith, or with any other political reason. I resigned because ..." - he paused, taking a deep breath, and stared out over the sea of senators towards the seat of Naboo - "because attachment and marriage are forbidden by the Jedi Code, and I have been married for the past three years." He felt the shock in the chamber as it once again ground to silence, and forced himself to continue, his voice seeming to echo in the void, "We did try to keep our marriage secret, but that is no longer possible, and ... and we wouldn't want it to be anyway." He licked his lips. "I am married to Senator Amidala."