AN:September 1, 2007. Ok, so now I babble again. Dad got out of the hospital, and is doing much better, and thanks everyone for their concerns. I expect with school and everything to only be getting a chance to post about once a week, but that should be either Saturday or Sunday each week, so we'll see how that goes for a while.

Charlie Hayden: I've taken what you said into consideration, and am fixing the section with Jasmine and Anakin...a little. This is, as always, a work in progress, so I occasionally flip my lid about what should be going on in a particular section.

ElusiveMaverick: I don't forsee Tann and Cedric meeting again, at least not in this book. I may be wrong, I've been wrong before.

And as promised, they will leave for Bespin in chapter 25!

Chapter 24

Jaedrea spent the day working on her math homework, reviewing what she'd done on the last three months, and by dinner, she'd finished all the math problems that Obi-Wan had given her.

"Clear the table, Jae, and could you set it as well?" Siri asked from the kitchen.

"How many, Master Siri?"

"Just the three of us. Fin is on Dantooine for a while."

"Did he get Knighted?" she asked as she put away her schoolwork.

"Oh, that was a couple of months ago, Jae. You were there."

It was just another reminder of how much she'd lost out on, not remembering the last few months. She sighed, quiet as she set the table for dinner. Obi-Wan and her father had taken off before lunch, in an intense discussion about her journal. He was back now, as she finished. "Good evening, Master."

"Good evening, Jaedrea," he said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "What have you gotten done today?"

"I'm finished with my math homework."

"When are you going to start on your paper for your forms class?"

"In the morning."

"Alright. Do you think you'll need help?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"I'll hang around then."

"Thank you, Master."

Anakin sat down on Obi-Wan's sofa. Jaedrea was supposed to be working on something, he didn't remember right then what, but she wasn't, because she was in the common room with them. "Don't you have something to be doing?"

"I'm stuck," Jae answered him.

"Don't you have something else you could do in the meantime?" Anakin asked, not really wanting her there while they discussed their upcoming Council meeting.

"No, I'm finished with everything else."

"Why are you stuck?" he asked, deciding that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Because," she told him but didn't elaborate.

"What are you having a problem with?"

She sighed. "I'm supposed to write a paper on the nature of the Soresu, but I'm not sure how."

"Ah. I had trouble with a couple of those."

"So can you help me?" Jae asked.

"Obi-Wan would be more help, but why don't you go hunt down someone with a bit more recent experience, like Dak-Tin?" Anakin asked pointedly.

"I suppose I could do that, but he's probably too busy."

"Well, go ask, and come back if he is."

"Ok," she grumped, gathering her notes and heading off to see if she could find Dan.

"She's put that paper off until last," Obi-Wan said. "Just as you would have done."

"I know," he sighed. "I can't help but think that all of her troubles are my fault."

"Well, I suppose, in a way you could say that was true, but she would not have any troubles at all, if it weren't for you as well."

Anakin thought about that for a while. "But why did he choose her?"

"I would say that the answer to that is that she is, on the inside, wholly your daughter."

"I was afraid that you'd say something like that." Anakin said, then his frustration broke its bounds for a moment before he could reign it in. "He fooled the whole Galaxy. What chance did she have against him? And Jasmine tells me that she feels like the darkness is still hovering over her."

"What does she mean by that?"

"Like it's waiting for her to come back to it," he sighed, "I don't know, Master."

He went back to scanning Jaedrea's journal, when something caught his eye. "Wait, you told her that?"

"Told her what?"

"She said, 'Master Obi-Wan is acting downright weird today. I asked him about it, and he said it was the anniversary of the day he met Luke,'" he read as he handed the book over to Obi-Wan."Oh, that. I suppose that it's one of those things that slipped my mind at the time."

"He's been teaching her Djem So," he said, indicating a further entry where she mentioned it.

"You learned that technique when you were younger, too, Anakin."

"Yes, but I didn't learn it from a Sith Lord."

"And you learned to channel your darker emotions properly before I let you learn it, as well," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully.

"Yes. I don't understand this whole concept that the triplets seem to have that five minute's difference in age makes a difference in anything."

"I don't know, Anakin. I think Jasmine does tend to act somewhat younger than the other two."

"I think that's mostly shyness, Obi-Wan. I believe Jasmine is actually a lot more mature and able to handle things than Jaedrea is."

"And Jaedrea insists on trying to emulate you."

Anakin grimaced at the thought. "And Julia doesn't care what anyone else is doing as long as she has something to fly."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, Anakin. She does care very deeply about her family, I think. Jaedrea, on the other hand, we will need to sit down and have a talk with her soon about this. We've been avoiding the topic, and she's been letting us, and we need to address it."

"The morbid curiosity hasn't killed her yet?"

"I don't think she's eager to go through the fall to the dark side again, even verbally. I think she still knows subconsciously what happened, and she's not eager to repeat the experience."

"So she's not regained any of her memories?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

"Well, I wouldn't want to remember anything about my time talking to a particular Sith, myself."

"Well," he said, flipping to the front of her journal, "I suppose that if warning bells would have gone off when he asked her to hide his presence from me, none of this would have happened."

"She's nine. She doesn't have warning bells," Anakin said, exasperated.

"Well, I know. Who was it that you met in the caves, when Palpatine was alive? I know you met him the second time around."

"Darth Maul. It was strange, but I could deal with that. I knew who he was, what he was."

"Well, let's go see what the Council has to say about this."

"Alright. I'm glad you're here to help me with her."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Where else would I be, brother?"

Lando watched as another load of Tibanna gas was shipped off to the mystery system of Endor. Hopefully by this point, the slicers whose programs Lobot had permitted to remain in the systems of Cloud City had decided to do something about the shipments that were going out. He'd started to rearrange the cargos so that cheap items and the custom built plating for whatever she was building were going out together, and more easily sold items, pricier ones that would make a pirate think about hitting a particular shipment, like the Tibanna gas, were shipped in larger quantities, together. The hold of the ship that was taking off was filled to the brim with Tibanna gas, and it was a shipment that he was hoping they would hit. Not that he wanted the pirates to have it, but it was something that would piss Tann off, and she would go searching for them and leave him alone.

Double-checking his manifests, he had three other ships to send her today, most of it that ugly custom hull plating, and a few odds and ends that any ship could use. Shipping as much of the hull plating as he could manage at once made sense as well. It actually stacked fairly well, so the more of it that he had to throw in one ship, the less room it took up overall. He thought the amount of hull plating was scary. Just how many ships was she building? He'd sent enough to build over 3,000 Republic Dreadnaughts, which was easily half the Republic's fleet. He also doubted that Cloud City was the only facility that she had taken over. He had no direct proof of this other than the fact that she was gone far more than she was there. While that was a relief, he couldn't help wonder what other nefarious things she was doing with her time. He hoped this shipment would get hit. He left the landing platform wishing the Jedi would hurry up and arrive.

Cedric walked in to the room quietly. He did most everything quietly, at least according to the standards that non-Jedi would use to judge, and even the standards of most Jedi. It was just not in his nature to be particularly loud in the first place, and being trained in the way of the Jedi allowed him to be quiet to the point of invisibility, for those that paid attention with their ears. Unfortunately, most humans and most other sentients actually paid very little attention to what went on with their ears, and instead relied mostly on what their eyes told them. He met the gazes of a few of those invited as he made his way toward the back; not because he didn't want to be involved in the discussion, but because he wanted to be able to scan the room at will, and judge others' reactions through the Force. It wasn't long before Bail walked in, and everyone found a seat, and the proceedings opened.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming. I know everyone here is excited by the opportunity that we have here. I hope you all are comfortable. The Chancellor has expressed to me her regret at not being able to personally attend, but she's with us in spirit. I don't want this to be a horribly stuffy proceeding; most of us do enough of that in the Senate as it is, but we do need to keep things moving along, so I'll try to make sure everything is done in an equitable manner. I have taken the liberty of setting an agenda for this; we will listen to one proposal a day. If you don't think that a particular proposal has received enough attention, we can delay the next proceeding on a case-by-case basis. I have received and reviewed all of the proposals that were submitted, and have selected five to be presented. There are ideas in each that are worthy of attention, and I hope that you will give each one due consideration. There is no one here without my express approval, and you all know that the secrecy of this meeting is of the utmost importance."

He paused for a moment. "I won't be able to be here all of the time that we'll be working, but I hope to be here most of the time. I will be designating someone to ensure that the proceedings are moving smoothly while I'm not here. But we'll get to that when it's time. I hope everyone can be respectful of whoever happens to be talking, and I will try to be fair about who is chosen to speak. This is one of the most important things that you will ever do in your life, and so we must be very deliberate about what is put into this Constitution. The first proposal will be presented by Mon Mothma," Bail said, and he stepped over to a seat that was further back, but higher, so that he could see just as well as from the main podium.

Cedric yawned. He was almost bored with the presentation. He'd reviewed the proposed Constitution the night before, and was looking now for holes he could poke in it, but the problem was that it was Mon Mothma's proposal. She was well respected among all assembled here, and by Cedric himself. He found himself disappointed that she had shown such a lack of imagination with her proposal. It pretty much amounted to keeping everything as it currently is, with the addition of some of her own pet projects. The longer he listened to her proposal speech, the more irritated he got. He had thought that of all the senators here, SHE would get the point of this exercise. He found himself anxious to get to the cross examination phase of the deliberations. His Jedi senses told him that no one here was taking him seriously, except for Bail. He knew that if HIS proposal were to have even a fair hearing he needed to get them seeing him as a Jedi and scholar in his own right instead of a thirteen-year-old boy. Not that many of those here actually knew who he was, nor what his true age was. He was quite tall, taller than some adults that he knew, even now, and so people who didn't know him tended to judge his age by his height, and he'd heard people comment when they thought he wasn't listening that they thought he was as old as seventeen. Ordinarily his natural caution would have him wait until he was actually older, but he knew that this chance to fix things wouldn't come again, at least not in his lifetime.

Finally her speech came to a close, and Cedric motioned to be allowed to speak. He was a shade faster than the other committee members, a calculated move on his part. Let them think they might have a shot at beating him in the physical aspects of this exercise.

Bail recognized him nearly immediately, and grumbling could be heard, and Cedric felt the resentment, quickly followed by a sense of relief. He could guess what they were thinking. 'Yes, get the side show out of the way. The boy needs to learn after all. It's probably part of his assignment to speak.' He was glad at that moment that his voice had already finished going through the changes that puberty brought. It made it easier to ensure that his words carried to every person in the room.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, honored members of the committee, and to the honorable Senator from Chandra. I found your presentation on the state and future of our Grand Republic to be most fascinating," he paused, just long enough to make the anxious think he was done. He felt the relief start to spread through the assembly, but then squashed it like a bug.

"However, I am disappointed that the esteemed Senator shows such a lack of imagination in presenting her plan for the future of this Republic. I am equally disappointed that the Senator saw fit to place in her plan some of her own pet projects. Projects that while on their own are laudable and meritorious, don't belong in the framework we are attempting to build here.

"Tell me, esteemed colleague, just why are you here? Your proposal seems to suggest that you believe the failed status quo is the best framework we can come up with. I await your answer," Cedric said. He allowed a small smile as he felt a ripple of reappraisal run its course through the crowd. The game was now afoot.

Leia was not entirely ready for what she was trying to do, but she was doing it anyway. That was sort of the point, but it was still embarrassing. Chewie was directing her through the exercises that he had taught her, and she was still clumsy at them, and Han was being allowed to watch. What was worse, was her Master was permitting, encouraging, him to take holos. She was even suggesting angles he could try, in order to get the best shot. Although the term best was debatable as to her exact meaning. At least she hadn't fallen out of the tree. She had re-developed her connection with the Force to an extent that she could at least stop that.

"You are doing very well, Leia'wa. I didn't expect you to catch on quite as quickly as you did. Of course, I didn't expect to have to find you seven months pregnant when I got home from Askaj, either."

She didn't respond; she was slightly busy with a complicated maneuver, the name of which she didn't remember the Basic equivalent for. She had been doing this for nearly an hour, and she thought they had filled the camera by now, surely?

"Are we done yet?" she asked, swinging to another branch.

Han looked at the camera. "The camera is full, but I could put another cartridge in," he said with his particularly cute roguish grin.

She jumped down, using the Force to retain her balance and cushion her fall. "I don't think so."

"Oh, well. I guess I'll have to use it on the twins so that we have pictures for while we're away."

"That is a much better idea," she said, patting his cheek as she passed him, headed for the shower.

Anakin and Obi-Wan presented the information about what happened with Jaedrea to the Council. It was as complete as they could make it, a week after she had attacked her sister.

"Well, we have given you one week to decipher what has happened. Are you prepared to present evidence as to what happened, so that we may debate Jaedrea's continued position within the Temple?" Mace asked.

"We are ready," Obi-Wan said. Anakin had known, though he hadn't said anything about it to his family that Jaedrea was practically on trial for what had happened. If they couldn't find a reason, an explanation of what happened, and then he didn't know what would have happened. Had she been Elizabeth's age, she would have been dismissed from the order, unless the explanation had been a very good one. She'd pushed the tolerance of even some of Council, though, on many occasions, so Anakin didn't know how they would react to what they were about to say.

"What we believe happened is that she was under the direct influence of the shade of Darth Sidious," Obi-Wan said.

"Darth Sidious?" Saesee Tiin asked incredulously.

"Jaedrea was most anxious to help us, since she does not remember what happened. She provided us with her Journal, which describes what happened when she encountered him in the caves on Ilum. He assisted her in finding a crystal, which he then inhabited," Obi-Wan continued.

"I would like to hear this, in her words," Kit Fisto said.

Anakin opened his daughter's journal, and read the relevant entry, "'We landed on Ilum today, and I went into the cave, which was kind of strange. I didn't stay too long. It felt kind of creepy. I met a ghost in there. He said he was a friend and that I had great potential. He called himself Sid. He seemed really nice. It was chilly in the cave, though, so I didn't talk to him for very long. I hope he comes back tomorrow. I'm going to go back tomorrow, when I have more time. Master Obi-Wan said that it was ok if I didn't find a crystal for a few days. He says not everyone does. He said that Daddy found seventeen the first time he came to the cave. I kind of feel a faint pull when I go in there. I guess that it's my crystal, telling me where to go so I can get there, but it feels far. I don't know how else to explain it. Obi-Wan just nods when I say that. He says that I can go tomorrow, and see if I can find it.'"

"The thing I find strangest about that particular entry was it was that it was rather warm there that day," Obi-Wan said.

"The chill she felt may have been his dark presence," Oppo Rancisis said, saying what might have been obvious to everyone, but needed to be put into words anyway. A few of the others nodded at what he said, but no one had further comment on that topic.

"And there was talk of the crystal the next day?" Kit asked finally.

Anakin answered, "Yes, there was. 'I did it! I found my crystal. Sid helped; he said that I needed a crystal to focus my emotions, particularly my anger. It sounds similar to what Obi-Wan says. My crystal is blue. Sid asked if he could live in the crystal, I like Sid, so I said yes. Sid also said that I shouldn't tell Obi-Wan about him. Obi-Wan says that that it's ok for me to have a blue crystal. I thought I would have a green one, but Obi-Wan says that the blue one suits me. Daddy has a blue lightsaber, so I guess he's right. Of course Sid living in it makes it even more special. It was just lying there, in the middle of the floor. It took me three hours to get to the place where it was. I wish it had been closer. I almost got lost coming back to the ship. Those caves are so huge; it's really kind of scary.'"

"I assume that it goes downhill from there," Plo Koon said.

"Yes, it does. He exerted heavy influence over her, twisting what she saw into what he wanted her to see. She started out not believing what he said, but the more she heard, the more she believed, and the quicker she believed it as well," Obi-Wan said.

"We tried to intervene, as you know, and it would have been successful, had we known what was truly going on," Anakin added.

"Well, now as to the lightsaber, what can you tell me about it, Anakin?" Mace asked.

"It is of standard construction, though the crystal has been focused with dark energy. I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been looking for it; but otherwise, it does not seem to be in any way significant. I took every type of energy reading that I could think of, and nothing seemed out of line. I do not believe that the ghost still resides in the crystal. Jaedrea will have to construct a new lightsaber, though," Anakin said.

"Why is that?" Eeth Koth asked, though the question was on all of their minds. He felt no hostility toward the idea, only curiosity.

"She has picked it up only once in the last week. I don't know if she will be able to use it." Obi-Wan said.

"She also claimed that it felt oily. I think it would be best to allow her to construct another saber, since she at least subconsciously seems to remember what the one she already has has done," Anakin said.

"You let her have access to her lightsaber?" Shaak Ti asked. Cedric had spent a good deal of time in her quarters as opposed to being home, with the Constitutional issues he was trying to help out with, and he'd apparently confided his own concerns about her with his Master.

"I have yet to fix the damage it received from being underwater when she hit her head," Anakin told her. "I had planned to show her how, but I don't know if she will want to use it. I doubt it."

"She won't keep it in her room. She has asked me to leave it in the common room," Obi-Wan informed them.

"She actively avoids touching it?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"Yes, she does. That is why we feel she should construct a new lightsaber," Obi-Wan said.

Coleman Trebor spoke up then, "She does not remember constructing the first one, correct?"

"That is correct. That is another reason we feel this way about it," Obi-Wan said.

"We will allow this. It is highly unusual to construct a new lightsaber unless the first is lost or damaged beyond repair, but this is a highly unusual situation." Mace Windu said, closing the matter.

They debated additional evidence for the rest of the day, but in the end it was decided that Jaedrea should be watched carefully, Obi-Wan's continued guidance was the best that they could find in her situation, and that they could go obtain another crystal for her when she was ready for that step, and she should return to as normal of a schedule as possible, when Obi-Wan thought she was ready.

Anakin was putting the final touches on a droid he was putting together, when someone walked into his workshop without knocking. He turned to see who it was, and found his Padawan there. "Ash," he said, turning back to the droid, "Did you need something?"

"Well, Master, I've hardly seen you this last week."

He finished the final tweaking on the droid, and started it up. "Well, I'm not doing anything right now, and not for the foreseeable future, at least until dinner."

He couldn't tell if Ash was smiling, but from the sound of his voice, he was. "Let's go down to the Mid-regions again. I feel like I'm actually doing something when I'm there."

"You'll get to start going off planet again here pretty quick," he said, knowing that the real reason the boy was going stir-crazy was because they hadn't been off Coruscant in ages.

"Can we go to Bespin?"

"I can't, not with Jaedrea the way she is. Ask Luke, he's the one in charge of the operation. I don't mind if you go without me, since you'll have a fair number of people to watch out for you. You're close enough to your Knighting that it shouldn't be a problem."

Ash nodded. "I'll do that next time that he's got everything all laid out on the table in the common room."

"You should just go ask. I think they're leaving this afternoon. You aren't the only one itching to go to Bespin. I've heard a couple of others asking."

"So maybe I'll have company?"

"Well, I don't think that the ones asking are going to get to go. The only reason that Jasmine is going is because Luke is. I don't know if he will let any other Padawans go or not. Leia and Jasmine should be enough trouble as it is."

"I'm not any trouble, Master."

"Of course not," Anakin commented dryly. "Ask; you have my permission to go if he will allow it. Now," he said, shutting off the droid, "Shall we go down to the Mid-Regions?"

"Yes, Master." Ash said.