Princesselsaamindala22 - he is sort or already in love. The real question is if anything will come from it.

Chapter 42

A chorus of training lightsabers hummed, every so often interrupted by the discordant sound of a clumsy strike. Master Yoda smiled as he watched over the class of small children each set with the task of defending themselves against a tiny training droid. Helmets were pulled over their eyes, forcing them to trust their senses instead of their sight.

"Don't think... feel... be as one with the Force. Help you, it will," he encouraged as the level of frustration within the group of younglings rose.

As each child gathered themselves to try even better, the aged master sensed a disturbance approaching through the Temple corridors. He frowned at the presence he felt following in the wake of a great rush of anger and frustration.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell the Council thinks it is doing?" Xanatos bellowed as he burst through the door.

The younglings stopped their exercises abruptly, pulling up their helmets to reveal eyes wide with shock at Xanatos' irreverent words as they looked over at the unexpected guest.

"Hmph."

Yoda gave a tired sigh, his posture slumping as he grasped his gimmer stick firmly in small clawed hands and gave the floor a tap. "Younglings. A visitor we have. Welcome him," he said in a soft gentle voice reserved for the future of the Jedi order. The children turned off their lightsabers. "Master Xanatos Marojni, meet the mighty Bear Clan."

"Welcome, Master Xanatos."

Xanatos glanced to the side as though seeing the children for the first time. He managed to stretch a polite smile across his features even though he was a writhing mass of un-Jedi-like emotion on the inside. "Good morning, Younglings," he added for good measure.

"Return to the crèche you should," Master Yoda said graciously as he motioned to the crèche master that accompanied the children. "Matters to discuss Master Marojni and I have," he continued, pinning Xanatos down with a disapproving stare.

Xanatos stood where he was as the children filed around him and exited the room, each giving him a wary glance on their way out. He could hear the sounds of low whispers once they hit the hallways and figured that the news that Master Marojni had yelled at the esteemed, elder master in anger would circulate through the Temple like a brush fire. His eyes snapped down to Yoda as the door slammed shut behind the group, aided by a Force push from the venerable master. He suddenly felt as though he were a nine-year-old youngling once again.

"Sit, you will, Xanatos," the small master said, extending his hand toward an empty chair.

Perhaps it was a carryover from his younger years and the stubborn, rebellious streak that was embedded so deeply. Xanatos took the chair opposite the one offered, earning him a frustrated sigh from the aged master.

"Control your temper you should." Cat-like eyes opened wide as Yoda stood in front of Xanatos. "Scare the younglings you did."

"It's time they learned that not everyone in this Temple is perfect … the grand and wise Jedi Council most of all."

"Angry you are," Yoda observed.

"That's rather obvious." Xanatos took a deep breath before he leaned forward and spoke very deliberately. "I need you to help me understand why the Council feels the need to undermine this mission as well as to interfere with my padawan's training."

"Grave accusations you make …"

Xanatos interrupted, determined to make his point before Yoda began to confuse the situation. "The protection of Senator Amidala was assigned to both Obi-Wan and I, along with our padawans. When that mandate was expanded to include an investigation, we as masters decided how best to divide the task. We had a plan, then the Council intervened …"

"The Council's place it is to assign teams and to make changes."

"Not when those changes make no logical sense, Master. I have spent most of my career as a Jedi involved in undercover operations and investigations. Obi-Wan and Ben are both exceptionally gifted diplomats. From an experience standpoint, it makes no sense to have Anakin and I protecting a Senator while Obi-Wan and Ben conduct an investigation and track bounty hunters."

"Believe you do that ill-suited for this role Obi-Wan and his padawan are?"

"That's not the point!" Xanatos answered sharply. "Of course, they are capable."

"Requested you and Anakin to protect the Senator, Chancellor Palpatine did. That is why the change was made."

"Since when does the Council allow a politician's whim to dictate assignments made? It is something I see more and more these days, and it worries me," Xanatos challenged. "Chancellor Palpatine seems less willing to keep his nose out of Jedi business."

"Not fond of the Chancellor you are."

"That's an understatement," Xanatos spat out quickly.

"No harm has he caused," Master Yoda offered. "At a loss the Council is to explain your hostility when he asks."

"Greed and power are potent temptations which he freely offers to Anakin. Have you read any of the messages I have forwarded to the Council?" Xanatos questioned in disbelief. "It is my duty as a master to protect him from undesirable influences."

"Shelter young Skywalker forever you cannot. A knight he will be someday and there to protect him you will not be."

"I understand that," Xanatos admitted, trying to reign in his frustration with a couple more deep breaths. "I was also under the assumption that training was a process that had various stages. He performs at the same level as his agemates and has met the same milestones. And he has done it with a life prior to the Temple that had left him behind in education, techniques, and the ways of the Force. In addition, we have been sent on a number of assignments over the past two years that exceed the norm for master, padawan teams. I have had to train around that, and now I am told that I am overprotective."

"Exceptional are his skills. Although disagree with many of your methods the Council does, effective they have been."

"Then what more does the Council expect of him … of us?"

"If true the prophecy of the Chosen One is, much is expected of him."

"Chosen One or not, Anakin is still a padawan. There won't be talk of knighthood for any of his agemates for at least two to three more years at the earliest, yet you expect him to be ready to bring balance to the Force," Xanatos said firmly. "You have no way to comprehend the sort of pressure that puts him under."

Xanatos rested his elbows on his thighs. Folding his hands in front of him, he bowed his head. Aware that Master Yoda was now studying him intently, he shored up his mental shields. Not that it would help if Yoda was determined.

"Much fear I sense in you, Xanatos," the Jedi master finally said. "Fear losing your padawan just as your master lost you."

"Is it such a bad thing to fear repeating the mistakes of the past? I know that you still sense the shadows that shroud his path. I believe he will be tempted by the Darkside."

"All Jedi face this temptation."

"Unlike my master, I am not blind to my apprentice's faults," Xanatos admitted softly before meeting Yoda's eyes. "Anakin is not yet ready."

"Complete this task he will," Yoda replied with confidence. "At his side to guide him you will be."

The small airbus weaved in and out of lines of transports and hovering cranes as it made its descent into the busy spaceport in the industrial area of Coruscant. It came to a stop before a large freighter that Xanatos, Anakin, and the senator would take, posing as refugees. Obi-Wan watched as Senator Amidala stood and made her way to the door. Even dressed in simple clothing, she managed to maintain an air of regality and elegance. Anakin followed, still looking exhausted. Xanatos brought up the rear of the small group, looking completely natural outside the trappings of a Jedi. Though he carried himself with strength and composure, Obi-Wan knew him too well. Xanatos looked as though he held the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders.

Obi-Wan walked up behind him and rested a hand on his padawan brother's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before directing a comment toward Senator Amidala. "My apprentice and I will get to the bottom of this plot quickly, Milady. You'll be back here in no time." He shifted his gaze to Xanatos, seeing gratitude reflected back in midnight blue depths.

"I will be most grateful for your speed," the senator said graciously.

"Time to go," Xanatos said softly.

The door to the airbus opened and they saw R2D2 waiting outside.

"May the Force be with you, Xan," Obi-Wan said. "I think after this one, we have all earned some time off."

"That would be nice. May the Force be with you as well." Xanatos paused before turning and casting Obi-Wan a conspiratorial smile. "Be careful. I don't want to get some message saying I need to come to rescue you."

The figures moved away, soon vanishing into the busy crowd, and Obi-Wan returned to his seat. Ben, who had been silent until then, finally spoke. "You are worried about them, Master."

"Yes, I am." The Force was strangely disturbed by this mission, an elusive feeling he hadn't felt since the events on Naboo and the revelation that the Sith still existed.

"So am I."

"Then we best work quickly. Resolution on this matter seems to depend on us."

"Focused on this game your mind is not."

It took Xanatos a few moments to look up from the Shamat board and meet the eyes of Master Yoda. After weeks with only the four walls that surrounded him for company and a myriad of legal proceedings as the only break in the monotony of waiting, he was truly grateful for the master's company. Yoda had helped him find true peace in the Force for the first time since he had raised his saber against his master, but now the weight of coming decisions pressed in on him threatening that serenity. He would be sentenced for his crimes the next day.

"If the Telosian authorities act on standing laws, I may not even be alive in a week. How do you expect me to focus on a game when I don't know what is going to happen with my life?"

"What would Qui-Gon say of the future?"

Xanatos bowed his head at the mention of his mentor's name. It was another reminder of what his foolishness and naivety had cost him.

"To live in this moment," he whispered. "But … it's a fairly dismal moment."

"Dismal company am I?" the aged master asked with exaggerated incredulity.

"No, Master." Xanatos laughed for the first time in weeks. "You are good company, and whatever happens, I am thankful you have not abandoned me to this alone."

Xanatos reached up and rubbed sleep-deprived eyes. The dark circles beneath those eyes showed that all the waiting was taking its toll. The young man wore his worry, defeat, and exhaustion like a heavy cloak.

"Rest you need," Yoda chided gently.

Xanatos let out a sigh as he ran his hands through hair that was already growing out from how he had worn it as a padawan. "I keep reliving the duel with my master over and over in my dreams. I don't think I could bear to see it again."

"A deeper, dreamless sleep you need … help you I will."

"And what about the game? We may not have another opportunity to finish it, Master."

"So certain are you that condemn you they will?"

"I sense the Force still has a purpose for me, but I'm not sure that I should trust my senses. My judgment has been flawed lately."

"Your senses led you to contact me, to turn yourself in, to try to set right what was wrong," the aging master suggested.

"Or was it desperation and fear? I am still baffled at why you and the Council are even bothering with me."

"More faith I have in my senses than you in yours … finish this game we will," Yoda replied confidently. "Now sleep you must … a big day tomorrow is."

Xanatos nodded before stretching out across the lone cot in his cell. Yoda approached. Reaching out, the Jedi master placed a clawed hand on the young man's forehead.

"Master Yoda?"

"Yes?"

"If I do not get the chance, please let Qui-Gon know that I am truly sorry for everything."

"Tell him yourself you will. Sleep now, in peace."

Xanatos' resistance to rest crumbled easily beneath the power of the suggestion. A slight smile curved the ancient Jedi master's lips. "The Force has not abandoned you, Xanatos."

The steerage hold of the immense transport was packed solid with immigrants, all surrounding tables or in makeshift camps. In the background was an incessant hum of whispers with the occasional angry yell or cry of a child piercing the even din. The trip had proceeded peacefully thus far, no attempts on Padme's life. The senator was now curled up on a bench sleeping peacefully, beautiful, like an angel.

Anakin gazed out across the table, trying to ignore his charge. His arms were folded and resting under his chin as he studied the game pieces laid out before him. This Shamat board was not as draped in history as the one Obi-Wan had inherited from Qui-Gon, but the set had been given to Xanatos by Master Yoda while in a Telosian prison and held much meaning for the Jedi master. His eyes combed through the pieces, trying to discern another move. He hesitated before finally picking up a piece and moving it to a new destination. Finally satisfied, he leaned back in his seat.

Xanatos let out a sigh. "I am going to allow you to retract that move, Padawan."

"What?" Anakin leaned forward, looking the pieces over again.

"Look carefully. I will take your Hanish in two moves, and you can't afford to lose another important piece," Xanatos said, motioning to the growing mound of white pieces stacked by the board.

"Maybe we should just call it quits. I don't know how I'm supposed to focus on a game right now anyhow."

"You're right. You need rest. Continuing to avoid sleep will catch up with you."

"I'll dream if I sleep, and I don't think I can handle seeing her in so much pain again." He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the sting ease as even his body urged him to rest. "Okay, I'll try."

Anakin settled down against the back of his chair, dropping into a restless sleep almost immediately. Xanatos began to collect the pieces to pack back into his case. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen the R2 unit that had accompanied them in some time, but he was certain the feisty little droid could take care of itself. He suddenly became aware of a set of brown eyes staring at him.

"Did you sleep well?" Xanatos asked.

"About as well as can be expected," Padme groaned as she sat up and stretched her neck from side to side. "Is Anakin asleep?"

"He just fell asleep."

"Good. I have been meaning to discuss something with you when I had the opportunity. I heard that you tried to decline this assignment."

"Yes, I did," Xanatos answered honestly.

"Do you have a problem I need to know about since I am looking to you for my safety?"

"Well, even if I had a problem with you I wouldn't allow an assassin to do you in if that's what you are asking."

"That's reassuring," she said dryly.

"We've had a rough few months, and were both looking forward to downtime, that's all," Xanatos admitted. "Whatever the general public, the Senate, or even the Supreme Chancellor himself may believe, Jedi are still only human. Does that answer your question?"

A gasped breath from Anakin drew their attention. The young Jedi began to jerk roughly, struggling against a dream.

"No, no, Mom, no …"

Xanatos was at his apprentice's side immediately, placing a hand against the young man's forehead. Harnessing the Force, he lulled Anakin into a deeper sleep before gently running his hand through dark blonde locks.

"It has to be difficult for him to not see her," Padme said softly.

"He's been in contact with her," Xanatos said as he returned to his seat. "And been able to see her quite regularly."

"I'm sorry. I was under the impression that Jedi were not allowed to have contact with family."

"As you most likely will discover, I'm not a conventional Jedi."

"I'm glad it's been possible, then. I remember his mother and when he left her behind. He was so small and lonely on that trip to Coruscant. It's strange to see him all grown up."

The obvious fondness in her voice set off alarms in Xanatos' mind.

"I wouldn't say he's all grown up. He's still an adolescent, still emotional, and still easily confused."

A slight blush stained her cheeks, and Xanatos realized he had spoken too harshly.

A series of whistles and beeps saved them from the awkward moment. Anakin was quickly becoming attached to their droid companion, treating it more like a stray puppy than a machine. And the little R2 unit was eager to please. It now stood before them with two bowls of some slop that looked less appetizing than one of Master Yoda's stews and a chunk of something that could possibly pass for bread.

"There you are … and you've returned … bearing gifts," Xanatos mused. He took the bowl, turning to face Padme. "Are you hungry?"

"Why not?"

He passed her one of the bowls before taking the other. Grimacing, he tore off a small piece of bread and dunked it into the sludge. It tasted every bit as bad as it looked. "Delicious," he murmured, eliciting a giggle from his companion.

"I'll take you and Ani … I mean, Anakin … to my parent's home when we get to Naboo. I can guarantee you a proper home-cooked meal."

"I'm going to hold you to that offer."

The quarters belonging to Xanatos and Anakin were completely dark and silent except for the low hum of a couple of appliances. The door to Xanatos' room was closed, his belongings tucked neatly away within its walls. Anakin's room could be described as organized chaos, at least that's the appeal he often made to his master. The door wouldn't close and a few stray parts trailed out into the common room.

A chiming broke the silence. No one was there to proceed to the communications console. No one was there to answer the transmission. Soon, a red light began to blink. Its methodical flashing broke into the darkness, a persistent reminder that an urgent message had been left.