Chancellor Palpatine leaned back in his chair and smiled.

He turned his attention over to the wide glass window that took up most of the wall, gazing out at all the speeders and ships zipping by, thinking about all the innocent people who were going on with their daily lives.

What would they do if he changed all that?

He was a chancellor. He was in charge. He had power.

Power that he would do anything to keep.

And he would continue to use it, in more ways than one.

Palpatine shifted his thoughts to the Jedi, to the young Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and to her Master, Anakin Skywalker.

Skywalker was training her well. Ahsoka was a brave Jedi, strong in the ways of the Force.

Soon, she might even become a worthy adversary.

Palpatine glanced back over to the door on the other side of his office.

It slid open, and a nervous looking Anakin rushed inside.

"I- I'm sorry, Chancellor, but... I had to come. Ahsoka- she... I don't know where she went," Anakin gasped, trying to explain everything at once. "And the Jedi- I heard voices- they're gone, too, and-"

"Calm down, boy," Palpatine interrupted. He shifted in his seat again, but this time, he stood up.

"War is hard, Anakin, and sometimes it... can take a heavy toll on your mind," Palpatine smiled sadly.

Anakin shook his head, confused. "Are you saying I'm crazy?"

"No," Palpatine continued, "but I was trying to imply that the war has been rather... stressful. Wouldn't it be nice to take a week off? A meditative retreat, perhaps? I'm sure the Council would be understanding."

"I'm sorry, but no," Anakin sighed. "I know I was having... complications earlier, but I'm going to be okay. And... Rex and the rest of the troopers need me. I can't just leave them alone at the front lines-"

"You could ask Padawan Tano if she could lead your troopers tomorrow," Palpatine suggested.

Anakin looked down at the floor nervously.

"She's... not exactly going to want to do that for me right now," he mumbled. "I kind of lashed out at her earlier and she probably hates me now."

Palpatine smiled again. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"No," Anakin sighed. "I mean, I tried to look for her, but she was gone, and then all of a sudden I started to hear stuff... I didn't think I should probably stay where I was, so... I came here."

Palpatine's smile grew even wider.

"You're supposed to continue your search for Grievous on Eea tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah..." Anakin paced around the room.

"And that's the same place where you had gotten sick earlier?" Palpatine asked.

Anakin nodded his head silently.

"You shouldn't be going, then," Palpatine concluded, looking straight at Anakin. "You should go see the Council about sending Ahsoka in your place. It isn't safe for you to go. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I can go try to talk to her, but there aren't any guarantees she'll listen," Anakin mumbled.

"Now that sounds more like it," Chancellor Palpatine smiled.

Anakin forced a half-hearted smile back and shuffled out the door, his eyes darting in random directions, as if he was waiting for something to jump out at him.

Palpatine waited until the door slid closed behind him before picking up a commlink, pressing the button near the top to contact the hidden station on Eea.

"General Grievous," Palpatine addressed.

"Yes, my lord?" Grievous rasped, standing inside a dark, windy cave.

"Set up the traps around the Republic base," Palpatine ordered. "And when the Padawan arrives... eliminate her."

Grievous grunted in approval. "Of course, my lord," he nodded.

Palpatine smiled.

This was far too easy.

…

Ahsoka sat on one of the stairs leading down to the courtyard below the massive towers of the Jedi Temple.

Maybe she shouldn't have walked away.

But Anakin usually never had lashed out at her like that. He was never that angry. Especially over something so insignificant.

All she had wanted to do was make sure he was fine. To take care of him after that incident two days before. He was her friend, and friends watched out for each other. Cared for each other.

Anakin didn't seem to care anymore.

Ahsoka buried her face in her hands, letting a small tear run down her cheek. Why didn't he care? She was always there for him, even when he was unconscious, even when he wasn't feeling well. She was always right by his side, always-

"Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka quickly stood up and turned around.

It was Anakin.

"What... what do you want?" Ahsoka asked, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying.

"I just wanted to apologize," Anakin sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I didn't mean what I said back there, and I just wanted to... to say... I'm really sorry."

Ahsoka looked up at him.

"Th- thank you," she whispered.

Anakin glanced back at the entrance to the Temple nervously.

"Is there... something wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nope," Anakin mumbled.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "How long is it gonna take you to stop lying to me?"

Anakin sighed, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. "I... I was just wondering if you would... lead my troops in the search for Grievous tomorrow? I... don't really think I can go there again... not after what happened..."

"I... I think I can do that," Ahsoka smiled. "All I want is for you to feel better again."

Anakin looked up.

"I'll be fine, Snips," he smiled back.

"See you later, Skyguy," Ahsoka laughed before walking back inside the Temple.

Ahsoka grinned to herself once she was alone in the hallways. She knew Anakin cared. He was her best friend, after all. And best friends cared for each other.

She knew that everything was going to be okay.

…

Anakin watched Ahsoka leave and slowly disappear into the Temple.

She really was a good friend, and Anakin felt terrible for all the rude things he'd said to her, and all the stuff she'd had to go through just because of him getting sick. Or whatever was happening to him.

Sick people didn't really have visions about evil voices trying to tell you creepy stuff.

Or did they?

Anakin didn't really get what he was supposed to be doing anymore.

Later that evening, he walked up to his room, collapsing on his bed with a large sigh.

Why did he always feel so tired?

Thankfully, Ahsoka was going to continue his mission for him on Eea. If she didn't, Grievous would get away, and it would all be his fault. But now, he didn't need to worry about anything.

That's what friends were for, right?

Hopefully she would be safe. Besides, he had trained her well. She was brave, and strong, and courageous.

Nothing was going to mess with her.

Anakin shifted into a comfortable position on his bed, pulling the covers over him, closing his eyes and hoping to fall asleep soon.

But he couldn't stop thinking about Ahsoka.

What if he had endangered her safety? What if she got hurt? What if she needed him to help her, and he wasn't there, and it was all his fault?

He opened his eyes, trying to force his mind to think about other things.

It wasn't working.

Anakin finally gave up and jumped out of bed, shuffling over to the window.

It was dark outside, except for the millions of stars that glittered in the night sky. And if he hadn't been feeling so stressed out, he might have actually enjoyed it.

Anakin leaned on the window for hours, as the stars moved across the sky, and he managed to stay awake for the most part. Half of the time he didn't even remember what time it was, but that was okay.

He was fine just where he was.

And Ahsoka would be fine too, he told himself.

But for some reason, he had a hard time believing that.