***1***
The Freedom Act signing ceremony was hosted on Republic Square outside the Senate building. It was still early morning, the parents who wanted their children back already gathered. When Rackeli and the Shas arrived, the small crowd cheered. The three of them all wore red, the festive color of their homeworld. Crusader greeted them and stood next to them, looking at the stage expectantly.
It was a cloudy day. The weather report said there was a chance of rain. Rackeli still hoped the weather could get better when the sun rose further.
More and more supporters of the Freedom Act arrived. The anti-war activists, the adult Force-sensitives, and parents were talking to each other. It was like a festival.
Led by Jedi Master Mace Windu, a large group of Jedi walked toward the signing station with grave expressions. A Jedi caretaker led more than a dozen younglings who would be returned to their parents after the bill became law. Parents began to wave excitedly as they spotted their children. Almost none of the children waved back.
Ludi Sha was an exception. She ran to her parents, said hello, and hugged them, before returning to her Jedi friends. Rackeli was amazed by how empathic the little girl was.
With a loud cheer, she saw Chancellor Palpatine arrive, with Anakin following him a few steps behind. Anakin was still intense and solemn, but who could blame him? He had been abducted but had managed to take the opportunity to destroy the Dooku and Grievous' ship and almost single-handedly take down the Separatists. Thanks to his heroic deeds, the political chaos in her homeworld subdued greatly. The Separatists' supporters immediately stopped the secession movement.
"Ladies and gentle beings, your attention, please. Today we are gathered to celebrate equity, justice, and liberty for all," Palpatine announced with great passion. "The Senate reaffirmed the freedom of Force-sensitive individuals. It is one more step toward a more just Galaxy."
The audience applauded excitedly. He continued, "Personally, I am pleased with the Senate's decision." He gestured at his son. "I would want my son to enjoy the full rights of a Republic citizen, instead of being a member of a group that is monitored and discriminated against."
The Jedi group shook their heads in disagreement.
"Before I sign the Children of Force Freedom Act, I would invite anyone who has different opinions to speak. I am an open-minded person."
"Your Excellency, with due respect, the Jedi Council asks you to veto this bill," Windu demanded. "It is not only harmful to the Jedi Order, but also harmful for every Republic citizen. We can't train older kids, because they would easily fall to the dark side. Too much emotion, too much attachment."
Anakin snorted and rolled his eyes.
Windu looked at him sharply. "Your son is Force-sensitive. If he had come to us at age 10, we would have certainly turned him down," Windu continued. "We would have to turn everyone down. It is too dangerous for them to be trained. Without training, all their talents would be wasted. Without the Jedi, who will keep the peace?"
"I will do it," Anakin jumped in.
The audience burst into applause. After his recent actions on the Invisible Hand , was it any surprise they believed in him more than the Jedi?
"You don't understand the real meaning of peace," Windu pressed on.
"Then peace is a lie," Anakin refuted passionately, which earned an endearing look from his father. "Your oppressive religion has to accept your place. Your Excellency, it is a great reform. Please sign the bill into law. It is freedom for all."
The audience cheered again. The Jedi side whispered among themselves.
"Yes, it is," Crusader shouted. "Finally, we are free!"
The rain started to fall.
"Peace is a lie? You sound like a speaker of the Dark Side, Admiral Skywalker," Master Windu said with an authoritative tone.
Anakin burst into laughter as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous. It made Rackeli nervous.
"I am a speaker of truth. You accused me of not understanding peace when I brought peace and order back to the Galaxy. The Jedi's lies had to come to an end today," He declared in a voice that conveyed some hysteria.
"No child should be separated from their mother. Parents, take your child home now , otherwise, it will be too late ! Jedi Knights, I ask you to throw your lightsaber away and leave now . Don't sink together with a rotten institution!" Anakin said almost with desperation. His expression looked like he was going to cry. Rain fell on his face. It was hard to tell if it was rain or his tears.
Palpatine moved next to his son and covered him with his umbrella. "Calm down. Yesterday's event took a lot of toll on you. Don't let it get the better of you."
He turned to face the audience. "I announce that I will sign the bill. The Freedom Act marks a new era of liberty. This day will be long remembered."
"This day will be remembered as a dark day. May the light be preserved!" A Jedi Knight shouted. She turned on her lightsaber and held it straight towards the sky. All other Jedi followed.
"What are you trying to do? Murder us?" A supporter of the bill shouted back.
"Please don't get it wrong. They are showing solidarity with each other. It is the Jedi way to show our pursuit of light at a Dark time." Master Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived and ran into the crowd. Many supporters walked a few steps back.
"Now turn it off," Obi-Wan demanded. "Let us go back to the Temple. We still have much work to do. So many Knights are still fighting the Separatist remnants. They need our support from Coruscant." He joined Windu and led the group to leave.
Rackeli led the parents to the Jedi caretaker, who was giving each child a hug.
"May the Force be with you, younglings," the caretaker said, her voice clogged with unshed tears.
The Shas picked up Ludi. She was surprised by this movement and reluctantly accepted. Other children did much worse, crying and screaming. A few older children argued with their parents, called them strangers, and stated that they wanted nothing to do with them.
"May I see my Jedi family again?" Ludi asked. "I love them."
"You may," Rackeli whispered to her.
Seeing her friends leaving, the girl started to cry. Rackeli's own tears joined the rain on her cheeks. This was supposed to be the result that she had dreamed of, but she didn't like this ending.
If the Jedi had simply given Ludi back three years ago, none of this would have happened. Now the girl had an attachment to the Jedi Order, and leaving it hurt her as much as losing her had hurt her parents. Why did they have to be so stubborn?
Anakin and Crusader approached. Crusader was the only one who looked truly happy. Anakin had a haunted look. There was great turmoil within him. Maybe it was his illness. Maybe it was something else.
She felt they didn't win. This certainly was not the bright day she had hoped for.
The rain got heavier. A flash of lightning struck the highest spire of the Jedi Temple.
***2***
"Your fiance didn't look well at that signing ceremony," Bail said to Padme through the commlink. "No offense. I think he was in a crisis."
Padme was at home preparing her speech in the meeting with Palpatine. Bail called in to help her. Now they were taking a break from the preparation.
"I know. Obi-Wan called me. I watched the video. I never saw Anakin at this level of hostility toward the Jedi. The war is winding down. All the divisiveness resurfaced with full force. " She sighed heavily. "He needs to take a leave. A long one. We will go back to Naboo to stay a while there."
She was really worried about Anakin. It seemed like his mood problem was taking over his mind. She was confused by Anakin's quick deterioration of health. What led to it? He indeed had a lot of stress to handle. Both the clone accident and the abduction were stressful, but he had been through worse during the war. He did not want to talk about his problems, which concerned her the most.
"If we can ask Palpatine to step down, all of us will take a break," Bail tried to cheer her up.
"Indeed." She managed to return a smile. "But you can't. We need you to run for the Chancellor's post."
"Fair enough. Let us go back to your speech," he suggested.
"Wait. Did you see this? This article is claiming the Jedi threatened the Chancellor with violence in the signing ceremony. Unbelievable. I watched the whole thing on holonet. They didn't," Padme said angrily. "The state-sponsored media already went crazy."
"I was here with them. No, they didn't. Lighting up lightsabers together is a Jedi tradition. For solidarity and remembrance." Bail frowned. "Someone wanted to engineer an accident. The whole signing ceremony was a trap."
"Yes, someone in the highest office. They want to destroy the Jedi's reputation." She deliberately avoided saying Palpatine's name.
Bail nodded at her knowingly. "We need to be really careful with talking to the Chancellor this afternoon. Otherwise, we may be spun as we are threatening him."
"No news reporters are allowed in this meeting, so no witness. Whatever he tells the media later will be considered the truth ," she said thoughtfully. "I need to bring Anakin to our meeting as a witness. He would not be happy with it, but otherwise, he could be used as a wedge later."
She heard the door slide open. Her fiance was back.
"Bail, see you in the afternoon." She quickly hung up.
"Your Save Democracy group meeting?" Anakin said with an irritated tone.
"Correct. I invite you to join us as well." Padme locked eyes with him. "I don't want you to hear rumors about how we had threatened your father's life from the media. They are up to no good nowadays." She pointed at the holo news about the Jedi.
He spoke after a long hesitation. "The Jedi didn't. It was peaceful." He grimaced and rubbed his forehead as though admitting it pained him.
Padme was a little bit surprised. This probably was the first time he hadn't automatically thought the worst of the Jedi. He should have been the first one to scream Jedi violence.
"Will you join us?" she pressed on.
"I don't know!" he snapped. "I don't know." His voice went lower.
"Ani, it is okay." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "It is okay."
"No, it is not okay. I want to protect you." He almost cried, "I must protect you. But I don't know how."
"I am perfectly fine." She squeezed his hands. "More than fine." She smiled at him. "I have some good news to share with you."
***3***
"I am pregnant. You will be a father soon." Padme told Vader in the privacy of their bedroom.
She smiled beautifully and looked at him expectantly.
"I...I am surprised. This is great news." He tried to force a smile but was not very successful. "I need to protect the little one as well."
"Ani, it is okay. We are okay." She looked into his eyes, pleading. "You worry too much."
"No. Nothing was okay!" he shouted. Seeing Padme wince, he immediately regretted it. He put a hand on her cheek. "I am sorry," he murmured. "I am so sorry."
"Ani, tell me." She held his right hand and kissed his knuckles.
He could no longer face her gaze. He looked down at their joined hands, seeing their engagement rings. What would he say? Tell her about Dooku and Palpatine's deeds? Or the clone brain chips? Or maybe that his mother was abducted by Palpatine's agent? No matter what he told her, it would lead to the revelation that he has been deceiving her for years.
He did not want to lose her. Telling her the truth would mean losing her forever. It would be inevitable, but he would delay it as long as possible.
" Parents, take your child home now, otherwise it will be too late! " A voice whispered to him in the Force, repeating his own words from earlier in the day. Then it went on, "Follow your own words. Tell her now, before it is too late."
Vader felt a flame burn inside of him, a new determination. A child. He was bringing another life, an innocent life to the world, he had to be responsible for their fate. He overcame the shame and met Padme's eyes.
"I will tell you."
He took out the data card that contained the security holo of the Dooku ship's observation deck and put it in the holoprojector. Padme clicked "play" ahead of him, probably guessing that he might change his mind.
When he was alone, he watched the portion before he fought with Dooku. Palpatine and Dooku talked about how this fake abduction was so successful, and how stupid both Republic and Separatists leaders were. How their 10-years efforts paid off handsomely.
He could not bear to watch the recording again. He closed off his eyes and held Padme's hand as his source of warmth. His source of strength.
Her hand grew colder. In the Force, he could feel Padme's confusion, shock, anger, and betrayal.
He allowed the holo to go on, all the way to the part where he was ready to kill Dooku. With a move of his finger, he turned it off.
The room fell into silence. Padme stared at the holoprojector with a pale face. Her body was stern. Her breath was uneven.
"Too violent to watch." He broke the silence. "I would not ask for your forgiveness. I do not deserve it."
"You did not know, right?" She covered her mouth with a hand, and fought back her tears. She did not take away the other hand from his hand.
"Didn't know what?" He was confused. She could not mean that he did not know Palpatine was a Sith.
"That the two were plotting together. That the war was engineered," she said with great pain.
"I did not know. I thought Dooku was a traitor, and I was fighting to save the Republic," he answered truthfully.
" Then we can talk about you ." Her brown eyes registered with determination.
"You can be afraid of me, or hate me. I do not deserve you." He laughed with a real sense of relief that he did not experience for years. He was going to lose Padme, but he didn't care about it anymore.
"Snap out of it. Anakin," she demanded. "You call him Master?"
"Yes, he was my Sith Master. I am his Apprentice," he answered matter-of-factly.
"He was a master of deception and an abusive father! A criminal, and a slaver!" She looked like she was going to breathe fire.
"He did not hold slaves. Padme, you are wrong." Vader felt confused.
"Anakin, wake up! The way he used you as a weapon. A tool. He permitted Dooku to kill you," She screamed, then lowered her voice, and held his hand with both of her hands. "Are you free to walk away from him?"
"It is complicated." He shook his head. He stood up and paced in the room.
"So, the answer was no." She slowed down and said thoughtfully, "I followed your Children of Force Movement. By your standard, Palpatine was the worst type of slaver. You need to wake up to the truth."
"Yes, the truth. Why are you not afraid of me? I am a Sith!" Vader abruptly paused the pacing and turned to face her. "I have been lying to you. You do not even know who I am!"
"I know who you are. You are Anakin Skywalker. I've known you since you were 9." She closed the distance between them, tears falling down her cheeks freely. "What I did not know about was your secret career and power. How old were you when you started it?"
"I was almost 11."
"Too young!" She vehemently shook her head. "I believe you committed yourself to a cult without knowing the whole package. Just like you and your friends said about the Jedi children, but much worse."
He was about to say that 11 was old enough to make an informed decision. However, if it was the case, he would not have the self-tormenting issue at this moment.
"Maybe you are right." He gazed out of the window.
"Help me take him down!" she pleaded. "You know what he will do to the Galaxy. Just think about what he has done. This is not about democracy any more. It is about existence, life and death."
"But how ? I am just one person. He has a secret weapon. He has a way to control the minds of all the clones, using a biochip. Every one of them can become a murdering machine if he gives the word. Clones have no free will when the chip is triggered." He strode to her and held her shoulders. "He could kill anyone who opposes him. I want you to be safe."
"How about asking the Jedi to help?" she suggested cautiously.
"They will kill me first. Then my Master will kill all of them by activating that killer chip." He snorted, "And I do not trust them at all."
"They do not trust you either." She sounded defeated but bounced back immediately. "How about contacting Palis?"
"There is no time," Vader said with resignation. "She will not be able to arrive before sunset. We should accept our fate. It is too late." He could feel her hope fading in the Force.
"How about Obi-Wan? He is a friend." Padme's eyes filled with new sparks. "After Felucia, he promised that if you have any Force-related problems, you could come to him."
"Force-related problems..." He repeated sarcastically. "Being a Sith is not a problem. I am the Jedi's hereditary enemy."
"We can talk to him together. He will understand," Padme tried to reassure him. "Let us give it a try."
"Obi-Wan will be the one who hates me the most. I tricked him into believing that I have no training in the Force." He smiled bitterly. If he could be honest to himself, he would admit that he didn't want to see Obi-Wan's wounded look as well.
"Ani, please! Don't lose hope." She gave his hands a hard squeeze. "We are together in this. I am not going anywhere."
Vader felt something inside him break. He was always marveled by Padme's compassion and tenacity. However, he never fully appreciated her ability to see the best in people. He himself was such a terrible person, yet she still had so much faith in him.
"Okay, I will talk to Obi-Wan and work out a plan with him," Vader relented. "But you must go to your democracy meeting and meet my father."
"I must go with you," she demanded.
"It will be too late to cancel the meeting. It will cause suspicion." He pressed her head to his chest. "I will talk to Obi-Wan nicely, I promise you."
He and the Jedi would talk. A great deal of convincing and negotiation was waiting for him.
***4***
Obi-Wan received an unusual security holo call from Padme. She told him to go to the works on Coruscant, and sent him an address. She insisted that Anakin had an extremely urgent issue to inform him. It was about the clone army. He was asked to arrive as soon as possible, and he must get rid of all the operatives who may be following and monitoring him before he went to the meeting place.
To his surprise, there was really a person following him. He went to Dex's diner, and then the lower level, after a few turns, he lost the follower. He borrowed a speeder and drove it to the works at full speed.
The works was in an abandoned industrial district. Soon he arrived at an old building, which should have been abandoned for years. Anakin was waiting for him at the entrance. He wore military-style black clothes.
"Master Kenobi, welcome." He bowed to him. He acted differently from the person in the morning who seemed like he was on the verge of madness. He still had the anxious energy, but it was mostly under control now.
"Admiral Skywalker, your political agenda has been accomplished. I hope one day you could understand that it is the wrong cause." He found his irritation leaking into his voice.
"I doubt it," Anakin said over his shoulder as he led the way inside. "I have more important matters to discuss with you."
Obi-wan was shocked to see the advanced medical facility housed in the decaying building. A wide holo display screen took up most of the wall. In the center of the room was an operating table and surgical suite. He had to admit that the equipment here probably was as advanced as or even more advanced than the Jedi Temple's healing wing.
"Who is the owner of this place?" He walked toward the display screen.
"Me."
"Who is the doctor that performs surgery here?" he asked both out of curiosity and confusion.
"Me as well."
"What? I did not know you were a surgeon," Obi-Wan said with disbelief.
"You will soon find me full of surprise." The young man laughed.
"Hi Obi-Wan!" It was Palis' voice. He just realized that Anakin's commlink was placed on the desk. Palis was calling in.
"Hi Red. Good to see you here," he smiled at his friend.
"I am a couple of hours away from Coruscant. Anakin called me. He may have some really shocking revelation. No matter what it is, please let him finish it." She gave Anakin an encouraging look.
The display screen was turned on by itself. He did not see Anakin touch any button or made any motion at all.
"I found biochips in the clones' brains. Every single one of them. I cracked the codes inside the chip. Now you read it yourself." Anakin made a gesture of invitation and stood behind him.
Obi-Wan started to read. The codes were not long. There were some parameters that he did not understand. When he was reading the section near the end of the codes, he froze.
Order 66. Kill ALL the Jedi, no exception.
He inhaled sharply. This was an order of genocide.
"Tup's accident is not an accident. The Kaminoan senator told me when she was drunk. It was a chip malfunction," Anakin explained with an impatient voice. "The killer mode could be activated only by one person's voice."
"Who was that person?" Obi-Wan asked with despair.
"Darth Sidious," Anakin spoke with a cold voice with fear. Or maybe reverence.
"How do you know?" He was in full alarm mode now.
"Because I am his Apprentice."
"Anakin. You… This could not be true! I verified that you did not have training in the ways of the Force." He turned around to face the young man. He saw a pair of yellow eyes.
Like an instinct, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, and held it in a defensive stance. With a hissing sound, Anakin's own red lightsaber burst into life. At the same time, a ball of lightning formed in the young man's left-hand palm.
None of Dooku's trainees mastered the skill of creating lightning. It seemed like only a true Sith could master this powerful technique. Then what Anakin said must be true. Obi-Wan felt like a fool. It was harder to find a bigger fool in this galaxy than him. There were so many signs and irregularities. Palis had noticed and kept on reminding him.
Shame, bitterness, anger, and hate all stirred up in his body at the same time.
"Red, you are not surprised?" Obi-Wan called to Palis without looking at her.
"No, not really. We had a holo call last night. I hinted that I know. He didn't deny it. Obi-Wan, turn off your lightsaber. I don't think he wants to fight you."
"I doubt it." He locked eyes with the Sith Apprentice, speaking with defiance. "Go ahead to kill me. You presented this scheme to me, to show off that the Sith have the upper hand. You and your Master will destroy the Jedi. Your radical movement was simply a ruse to destroy our reputation, and justify your genocide. Before I die, tell me what your Sith name is, and who your Master is."
"Vader. I have no intention to kill you or fight you. I really don't. I will tell you Sidious's name after we have a deal," Vader said with determination.
Obi-wan sensed no deception, but Anakin had proved that he was a brilliant deceiver. "A recruitment speech. I will never turn to the Dark Side, Darth," Obi-wan proclaimed with disdain.
"No, no. Master Kenobi. You are wrong. I have no such interests. I want to work with you. To take Sidious down."
"Then you can take the title of the Sith Master? To replace him. I will never join your cause," he spat.
"I do not want to replace him!" The Sith showed a flare of rage in the Force. "I want to be free from him. And I have many questions to ask him." His voice became lower.
Obi-wan felt a sense of despair. Why did the Sith feel despair? He was ready to crush the Jedi once and for all.
"I want to protect Padme."
"Padme... What have you done to her, Darth?" He felt alarmed. Sith used people, they were not able to love anyone. They only had possessiveness.
"You two, stop it!" Palis shouted from the commlink. "Turn off your weapons, both of you. Save your argument for another day, otherwise, after the sunset of today, Jedi Order may not exist anymore."
Obi-Wan obeyed. The Sith followed the suit.
"You do not want me to lead an army to slaughter the Jedi Temple, right?"
"I, of course, do not."
"Neither do I, so listen to me. You need to stop Sidious together with me. Padme said you will." His voice showed despair, "There is no time to waste."
They locked eyes with each other. This made no sense at all. Obi-Wan didn't know what to say.
"Obi-wan, I know this sounds crazy. But Anakin is the prophesized Chosen One. He may be our only hope!" His friend spoke with urgency. "I believe in him. Please work with him."
"Very well. A deal. Last time a Sith suggested a deal with me was on Geonosis. Palis and I were held in ray shield cells. May I have a seat this time?"
"You may," the Apprentice said with a blank face. "I am not Dooku. I killed him."
So, what Palpatine had told the media was a lie. He was more than aware of his son's secrets.
"Now tell me. Who is your Master?" Obi-Wan demanded.
"The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, Sheev Palpatine."
