Obi-Wan looked around the courtroom at how packed the gallery was. He didn't know why he was shocked, though, since it was a high profile case. His hand rested gently on Padmé's thigh as they waited for the trial to begin.
"How long do you think this will take?" Anakin asked.
"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan admitted, "It depends on the complexity of the arguments."
Chatter ceased as the judge entered.
"All rise for the honorable Judge Bonteri," the bailiff announced.
Obi-Wan rose, taking in the no-nonsense woman that walked in and settled in the chair at the head of the room. Suddenly, it all felt so real. They had gotten this far. He just hoped that they would be able to see it through. As his gaze fell on the unsuspecting old man sitting at the defendant's table, his mind raced. Obi-Wan replayed the last moment's of his father's life. He replayed that feeling of nauseous anxiety that had settled in his stomach as he held Padmé's limp body after the explosion. He replayed kidnapping Maul. This man had single-handedly wrecked his life, and he looked as though he were offended that someone would even believe him capable of all of this.
"You know, psychopaths typically end up in positions of power," Padmé murmured nonchalantly in his ear.
Obi-Wan cracked a smile at that, squeezing her hand as they sat back down.
"I'll allow opening arguments," Judge Bonteri announced.
District Attorney Mon Mothma stood in her white pantsuit and faced the jury. Her mouth was a firm line as she looked them all in the eyes before beginning. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are here today because we have been lied to by a man who was meant to protect us. He was elected to put the people's interest first, and instead, he has been acting in an underhanded manner that puts our very lives at risk. Throughout the course of this trial, he will try to reinforce this placating facade of an innocent, honest public servant when he is nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. We will show that he has been laying the foundation for a criminal empire for years. We will show evidence that he has been amassing buildings in criminal neighborhoods to control the various crime syndicates. We will show that he is responsible for multiple gang activities, as well as racketeering and the attack on his own political office. The defense will try to discredit our witnesses due to the fact that they associated with his client and committed questionable acts, but it is important to note that our witnesses are the victims of grooming. They were taken advantage of by a man who they thought they could trust, much like the rest of us. Do not let his lies, no matter how prettily worded they are, distract you from the truth. Governor Palpatine is a criminal mastermind who has played us all. Don't lose sight of that."
With a curt nod, she returned to her seat, relinquishing the floor to the defense.
Mace Windu stood, straightened his tie, and then walked over to look at the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I want you to take a look at my client sitting over there. He is someone you have placed your trust in. He's someone you've elected to serve this community in various government offices because you believe in him. He has done so much for all of us, improving the lives of many. It doesn't make sense that someone who has done so much good for us would commit such underhanded acts. The prosecution would like you to believe that not everyone with good intentions is a good person. I think it's that kind of cynicism that has brought us here today. The prosecution's so-called 'witnesses' are children who have become disillusioned from the idea that there can be good mentors. They have nothing in comparison to this man. In fact, by besmirching his name, they will gain notoriety. Even the District Attorney has something to gain from this case. But, at what cost? That cost is a man's life. A man that has worked hard to make sure that every bit put into making this government great has tripled in value and spread far and wide to improve the lives of many. This trial is a sham and there is nothing for the prosecution to prove except that they are incompetent at arresting the real criminals in the city."
DA Mothma's eyes narrowed slightly at Mace's comments, to which, he just shrugged.
"I can see why you wanted to be a lawyer," Anakin murmured into Obi-Wan's ear. "You're good at arguing."
Obi-Wan gently elbowed him.
Mothma stood, adjusted her jacket and turned to the judge. "The prosecution would like to call our first witness, Captain Rex Morrbaker."
Obi-Wan watched Rex get up and swear in before taking the stand.
Mothma's direct examination of Rex was very cut and dry. Rex answered every question to the best of his ability, making sure that he was clear and simplistic enough that the jury would be able to understand him.
"No further questions, your honor," Mothma said with a satisfied smirk as she sat.
Mace casually got up, folding his arms behind his back as he looked at Rex. "Captain, isn't it true that you didn't involve a superior officer in this until after you had gathered the evidence?"
"Well, yes," Rex said, hesitating slightly.
"Isn't it also correct that the people that you had help you gather evidence aren't even police officers?"
"We use informants all the time in my line of work," Rex shot back.
"Informants that you still kept secret from your superiors," Windu smirked.
"Objection, your honor," Mothma said, standing, "that wasn't a question."
"Sustained," Judge Bonteri declared, "Phrase it in the form of a question, counselor."
Windu's eyes narrowed, "Why didn't you inform your superiors about your informants?"
"Well, do you think my superiors would have believed me?" Rex asked with a raised brow. "I barely believed my informants when they told me. Yet, I went out a limb and here we are, so I can't say that I was wrong to trust them."
Windu frowned, "No further questions, your honor."
"Thank you, Captain," DA Mothma said, standing once again, "The prosecution would now like to call Anakin Skywalker to the stand."
Anakin shot Obi-Wan a nervous glance. "Wish me luck."
"You don't need it," Obi-Wan grinned as Anakin went up to swear in. Inside, though, Obi-Wan was more nervous than Anakin was.
Anakin sat in the designated seat and faced the jury. He answered all of DA Mothma's introductory questions before they got into the nitty-gritty of it all.
"Your honor, I would like to enter a recording in as prosecution exhibit A," Mothma said, handing a CD to the Judge.
"I'll allow it," Judge Bonteri nodded before having it entered into evidence and handing it back to her to be played.
DA Mothma played the recording of Palpatine from the night of the election for the jury to hear.
"Do you know who recorded this tape?" Mothma asked.
"Yes," Anakin said. "It was a joint effort between myself and Captain Rex. I wore the microphone. He recorded it."
"Now, how did this conversation come about?"
"Well, for several weeks I had to work my way up until I was deemed worthy enough to meet the head of the operation, Darth Sidious," Anakin explained.
"And who is this Darth Sidious?"
"Newly-elected Governor Palpatine."
"What, if anything, did you have to do in order to be 'deemed worthy'?"
"Well, aside from many late nights running errands back and forth, I was tasked with building and planting the bomb that detonated in his political office. That earned me a meeting with Darth Tyranus, known by most people as Count Dooku. Dooku is his second-in-command. Then, I was tasked with murdering a gangster named Maul. Only after that was I able to meet Darth Sidious, where I then learned that it was really Palpatine," Anakin replied.
Obi-Wan's hand tightened around Padmé's at Anakin's admission. He knew Anakin would have to say it, but he knew that his brother was only giving Mace fuel to help pick him apart.
"So, for clarification, you would say that the defendant tasked you with a series of crimes, manipulating you into committing them in order to gain status?"
"Yes."
"Did he offer anything in return for you committing these crimes?"
"Yes. He offered me status and protection for myself and some people important to me," Anakin said, briefly catching Padmé's eye across the room before looking down at his hands. "At the time, I had just lost my father and was feeling isolated. This seemed like the right path to take in order to get to where I wanted to go."
"Do you regret anything?" Mothma asked gently.
Anakin looked up at the jury, a raw emotion in his eyes. "I regret all of it. I caused pain to people who didn't deserve it in a selfish grab for power. It's not who my father raised me to be. The only thing I don't regret is that my actions led to this being uncovered. At least some good can come from it all."
"No further questions, your honor," Mothma said before returning to her seat.
Mace got up with a confident smirk on his face. "So you're a gang member?"
"No."
"But you described some gang-like activity that you would partake in, so doesn't that make you a gang member?"
"A square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn't a square," Anakin shot back.
"Yet, didn't you just admit to a bombing and a murder?"
"The bombing yes, but I didn't murder anyone. I just kidnapped him and snuck the guy into our apartment building so that they would think he was dead."
Obi-Wan facepalmed.
"So, you expect us to believe the word of a man who confessed to kidnapping and a bombing?"
"Objection!" Mothma said, standing quickly, "Your honor, my witness is not on trial."
"Sustained," Judge Bonteri nodded, "Careful, Mace."
"Withdrawn, your honor. No further questions."
Anakin let out a breath of relief.
"Your honor, I would like to request a recess," Mothma declared.
"I'll allow it. We'll have a brief recess and meet back in an hour," Judge Bonteri said before smacking her gavel.
The room rose until she left.
Then, Obi-Wan made his way up to Mothma.
"Things don't look good," Mothma admitted softly. "Your brother's testimony was necessary, but Mace's cross might have just ruined his credibility. I also was unaware that he kidnapped a person. That doesn't look good."
"His name is Maul. It wasn't exactly kidnapping? I mean, yes, we did take him, but he technically was free to leave at any point and he just chose to stay," Obi-Wan explained.
"Is there any way we can get him on stand?" Mothma asked.
"I could call him," Obi-Wan offered.
"Do it."
Obi-Wan pulled out his phone and put it on speaker.
"Amidala residence," Maul said after the second ring.
"You have got to be kidding me," Obi-Wan sighed.
"Kenobi. What do you want?" Maul asked.
"We need you here. Thing's aren't going well-"
"Oh, no, no, no. I make it a point not to testify at trials that aren't my own," Maul said. Obi-Wan could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Besides, what's in it for me?"
"Immunity," Mothma replied, looking at Maul's file on her computer, "We could expunge your brother's record for those shoplifting charges."
"Y-you'd do that?" Maul asked.
"I told you, we're desperate," Obi-Wan sighed.
Padmé peeked over Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Please, Maul?"
Maul sighed. "Alright, I'll be there. But, I'm doing it for her and my brother. I owe none of you anything after this."
Obi-Wan hung up, turning to Mothma. "Well, we may be able to turn this around after all."
"It's our only hope."
"Lovely."