Chapter 14 - Passing of Judgement

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars or any of the characters in it, though we wish we did. xD

Author's Note: In which Ahsoka talks to the Council. :D

~ Amina Gila

"– And the Separatist forces were defeated," continues Obi-Wan. He and Anakin are standing in the center of the Council chamber, delivering the report on the Kaminoan attack.

"They were after the clone DNA," Anakin relates, "The Sith assassin tried and failed to retrieve it."

"Of course, they would try to stop our production of the clones," murmurs Ki Adi Mundi, glancing over at Windu for a moment. He nods his agreement.

"While attempting to escape with it, we captured the assassin," Anakin finishes.

"Question her, we shall," Yoda decides, "Important information to help us end the war, she could have." No doubt about that. She's Dooku's personal assassin, after all. Even without telling them who the Sith Lord is – something Anakin definitely intends to get out of her somehow – there's got to be a lot she could tell them.

"Anakin already spoke with her on the way here," Obi-Wan says, "She was not very forthcoming with any information. But it's obvious she only is working for Dooku because she has nowhere else to go. If she had something to gain by providing us information, she might do it."

"She did mention, though, that the Sith are controlling both sides of the war," Anakin adds, "The other Sith is in the Senate, and from what she's saying, he's controlling most of what happens."

"Dooku told me the same thing on Geonosis, but I didn't believe him," Obi-Wan murmurs in concern.

"Whoever this is, it is someone who we communicate with or who somehow hears many of the reports," Anakin continues. And who he knows, apparently. He doesn't add that part.

"How can we be sure she was telling the truth?" Windu replies, voice cold. As always.

"We can't be," Anakin retorts, "But it would explain many things."

Yoda nods slowly, as if contemplating their words. "A greater plot in this, I sense. Truth to her words, there are." Anakin nods. He thought so too, though he doesn't know how it's possible. He keeps all his doubts to himself, though.

"If this Sith is really in the Senate, it must be someone near the Chancellor," observes Plo.

"Surrounds the Chancellor, the Dark Side of the Force does," murmurs Yoda with concern. Anakin shifts uncomfortably. He doesn't like this. At all. He's known Palpatine for years, and to think that there could be a Sith influencing him... He clearly must have some direct connection with someone who knows the Sith at least.

"If the Sith is really manipulating the Republic, everything has become far more complicated. This information must not go beyond those in this room," decides Windu.

"Do you know if she knows the actual identity of the Sith in the Senate?" questions Mundi.

"She does," Anakin confirms, "But she refused to tell me."

"We will talk to her to see if we can get more information," decides Windu.

"Discuss these matters in more detail, the Council shall," Yoda says, "As well as the fate of young Tano. Dismissed you are, Skywalker."

Anakin bows and exits the room. As the doors slide shut behind him, he walks over to the window, awaiting their decision. It may be a while. He expects it will be. This is by no means an easy decision to reach. Anakin honestly has no idea what conclusion they'll reach. It's not like there's ever been a similar situation before. They are never going to trust her, regardless of what happens, but that doesn't mean they'll refuse to give her a chance.

The sun slowly sinks farther down in the sky, the light it casts through the windows slowly fading to orange. The Senate building stands out brightly against the other buildings. Anakin hates waiting, and he thinks the decision will take a while longer to reach. Even if the Council won't trust anyone with the information, he certainly knows one person he can trust with it. And one thing he knows for sure: Padme would like to hear the update.

**w**

"If she knows who the Sith Master is, this could help turn the tide of the war in our favor," Windu says.

"End the war, this could," asserts Yoda.

"It is disturbing that there has been a Sith in the Senate all this time and we didn't sense it," Shaak Ti murmurs.

"Dooku told me about that back on Geonosis, but we didn't believe him," reminds Obi-Wan. He thought the Count was only trying to confuse him and make them lose trust in the Republic entirely. Maybe that is part of the reason he told him, but apparently, for some reason, it was somewhat of a warning as well, one that they chose to ignore. And now they're facing the consequences of it.

"Too arrogant, we have been," murmurs Yoda.

"If there's Sith on both sides, they have undoubtedly been keeping the war going all this time, feeding information to the Separatists," Mundi declares.

"I'm sure there's a lot of information Ahsoka could tell us, even beyond who the Sith master is," Plo points out.

"Assuming she will even be willing to cooperate," reminds Windu.

"She'll just need the right motivation to do so," insists Obi-Wan. He understands how much the Togruta is afraid of failing Dooku. And telling the Jedi information willingly is never something she would do unless she had reason to believe she'd never end up in the Count's hands again. So that's something they'd have to make sure of first.

"Perhaps if we cleared her of charges and offer her asylum, she'd be willing to cooperate," proposes Obi-Wan. It's the best option he can think of. Besides, none of what she's done under Dooku has been her choice.

"That presents its own risks," Windu objects, "We cannot allow a Sith to walk about freely. It's too risky."

"She can be kept at the Temple under supervision," Obi-Wan points out. "She is but a child, and it would be wrong to hold her accountable for everything she did. Using the Dark Side was not her own choice. I believe it may be possible to help her find her way again. She's not a real Sith. I've fought her multiple times in the past. She kills only when necessary. It would have made her mission easier later on, and Dooku would certainly have been pleased with her, but she still didn't do it. And then there was that incident on Maridun."

"I agree with Obi-Wan," adds Plo, "What happened to Ahsoka was our failure, not hers. We didn't find her after she was captured by those pirates. Dooku did instead. She's not to blame for that."

"Yet she still was the one who chose the Dark Side," insists Windu.

"What choice did she have?" Plo retorts, "She was but a child left alone."

"Begun on a dark path, she has," Yoda interjects. "Much guidance, she will need." Obi-Wan isn't sure that the grandmaster believes she can fully find her path, but he at least wants to try. She deserves better than what she's gotten, and it would simply be wrong to not give her the help she needs.

"Anakin and I can help," offers Obi-Wan. He's glad the Council is at least willing to consider this, even if he and Plo are the only ones who aren't reluctant. He just hopes that they'll end up making the right decision.

**w**

Ahsoka raises her head as the ray shield deactivates, revealing the dread in her expression, which she's clearly trying to hide. "Come on," Anakin says, motioning for her to come out. The Council finally reached their decision, and she'll be brought up to talk to them. He honestly was expecting it to take longer than overnight. He doesn't know what it is they've decided, but he has the feeling they already know exactly what they're going to rule, whether it be in her favor or not.

Ahsoka stands up stiffly, stepping out of the cell. Something suddenly seems different about her. She wasn't acting so... guarded yesterday. Which is strange. Nothing changed that he knows of.

They start making their way through the halls, heading up to the Council chambers. Four Temple Guards are with them as well. When they finally reach the room, Anakin pauses right outside and turn back to Ahsoka. She's going to need some encouragement.

"Don't worry," he reminds her, "Just try to stay calm and be yourself. And don't annoy them. Everything will be fine." He hopes. Obi-Wan told Anakin earlier that he doesn't think there will be anything to worry about, so he takes that to be a good sign. Unless something changes.

Ahsoka looks up at him, frowning slightly. Something still feels off. She's acting so cautious. "Maybe." He can clearly hear the doubtfulness in her voice.

"Look, you might have done things, but none of them were your choice. They understand that."

"I hope you're right." She pauses for a moment, then smirks slightly. "Skyguy." He'll take that to be a good sign.

"I'll be right outside... Snips. The Council doesn't want anyone beyond them inside." Ahsoka smiles slightly, but it quickly fades, and she nods in understanding. Anakin gets she's tense over their decision, but he thinks something's wrong beyond that. "What is it?" he demands finally.

An expression of slight confusion flits across her face, then frustration. "Excuse me for being a little on edge when my fate is about to be decided by people I don't know and certainly don't trust."

"There's more than that," he retorts, giving her a pointed look.

The Togruta hesitates a moment before answering. "Sidious. I sensed darkness – even though it's really well shielded – when I came here." And the knowledge that if the Council doesn't want to take responsibility for her, she'll fall right into his hands is scaring her.

"Just don't annoy them," Anakin offers. "But somehow, I think you'll do that without even trying."

"Comforting." He doesn't have a chance to respond before the doors open, signaling it's time for her to go. "Good luck," he calls after her as she disappears into the room.

**w**

As Ahsoka steps inside the room, she can only hope Anakin's faith isn't misplaced. Everything she's always heard gave her the impression the Council would rule for whatever gave them more favor in the eyes of the Republic, even if it's not true justice. Then again, what she always heard was biased. A sensation of trepidation fills her. This decision – whatever it may be – will determine her fate.

She's almost afraid to look. She used to know them, a lifetime ago. Before she was abandoned. Ahsoka forces herself to look up anyway, scanning everyone in the room. She doesn't recognize all of them, but a good portion.

There's Master Yoda and Master Windu. Then there's Obi-Wan. His expression is the same calm she remembers it, but he gives her an encouraging look. She doesn't take the time with any of the others ... except one. Her heart skips a beat when she finally lays eyes on him. Master Plo Koon. She could never forget him any more than she could forget that day. The day everything fell apart. For a long time, she had hopes he would come find her.

"How did you end up with Dooku?" Plo queries. "When I last saw you, you were leaving to Ilum for your lightsaber crystal."

She remains quiet for a long moment, uncertain. Anakin advised her not to annoy them, so she should comply with his request. Still, she doesn't exactly feel comfortable with telling Jedi such personal information about herself. "It happened when I was ten," she admits finally. "I ended up on Zygerria, and Dooku was meeting with the queen. It's a slave planet. I'd hoped for a long time that the Republic would come to free us, but eventually I got tired of waiting." She hesitates, feeling almost embarrassed. "It was stupid, but the only attempt at freedom I could think of. I tried to assassinate her but failed. When the guards attacked me, I threw one of them over the railing, which was what caught Dooku's attention. He took me from there to become his apprentice."

Silence falls over the room for many long moments, and Ahsoka gets the feeling that they're speaking to each other telepathically. It's downright unnerving.

"How much do you know about the Separatists, and their bases and plans?" questions the one she thinks might be Mundi.

"Not much," she responds after a pause. "I'm an assassin. I did what Dooku told me. I'm not that involved in the details."

"Skywalker informed us you know who the Sith Lord behind the war is," Windu states, his eyes narrowing on her. Ahsoka tenses instantly. This was exactly what she'd been hoping she wouldn't have to talk to him about.

"I do," she confirms curtly, hoping her tone and expression is enough to keep them from asking. No such luck.

"Who is he?" Windu demands. "We must know."

"I can't tell you," she shoots back, meeting their gazes fearlessly. "You'll react irrationally. You can't do anything against him without proof."

"Wouldn't your confession be proof enough?" retorts Windu, clearly irritated that she suggested he may react irrationally. So much for not annoying them.

"No," Ahsoka retorts adamantly. "I'm a Sith assassin, remember? You couldn't know whether I was making it up. You'd have to have more conclusive evidence to prove to the people I wasn't lying. And the Sith could easily claim I made everything up just to throw the Republic into chaos. If you're going to move to take him down, it can't be obvious and irrational. The Republic would never accept proof of my word that he's a Sith. You would need evidence more than just words, physical evidence perhaps. It would have to be a lot, and unquestionable. If you try something, especially now, he'd know I told you. He has endless contingency plans, and I'm fairly certain my being captured wasn't one of his plans, but he seems capable of thinking up all sorts of things in no time. He's probably already considered that I might reveal him, so he's already concocted some sort of plan."

"Just because we cannot take your word as evidence enough does not mean you can't tell us. It would give us important information to start with for ending the war," Plo finally speaks up. Point. But she honestly doesn't trust them with information like this.

"Reached a decision, the Council has," informs Yoda when Ahsoka continues to remain silent, "If tell us everything you know about the Separatists including the identity of the Sith Master you do, grant you immunity we will. Agreed to this, the Senate has." Hopefully he doesn't mean that he mentioned the part about the Sith Master to the Senate. If he does, she's dead. But considering what she told Anakin, hopefully they had the brains not to mention it.

Hope and relief run through Ahsoka. Anakin was right, then. Apparently, the Jedi Council can be reasonable, even if they're not usually. It should be an easy decision, but it's not. She's been raised to hate the Jedi with the belief they're seriously misguided even if they're not exactly 'evil'. She still thinks so, in some ways. They're far from right on many of their beliefs, but maybe not everything. Maybe they're not at the point of no return, at least not quite yet. Not if they would give her such an offer.

She's a Dark Sider, and from what she's always heard, they should always treat her as an enemy. Not someone to make agreements with, and certainly not someone to consider granting immunity to. Apparently, she was wrong. Neither the Jedi nor Sith are evil, but neither are they right – at least not completely. There is a line between the two sides, which she's fairly certain Dooku is really close to, even though he raised her as a Sith. Maybe if she learns more about the Jedi, she'll be able to find it herself. And maybe she'll be able to help others find it, too.

"I agree," Ahsoka decides at last. She knows Dooku will be furious with her, but it doesn't matter. If she stays here, she will never go back to the Separatists again. It's what she wanted. It's not freedom – not really – but it's still what she's always been searching for. A chance to find her own balance, her own place and purpose in the universe. A world where she has a choice. Considering she'll be staying on Coruscant, the same planet Sidious is, she probably should be worried. For some reason, she's not. It's the first time in her life she's ever felt truly at peace. Calm. Fearless. Like the Sith she used to want to be.

The Council looks at her expectantly, waiting for the revelation.

She takes a deep breath before dropping the bomb shell. She hopes she won't regret this. "Darth Sidious is Chancellor Palpatine."

The Council chamber instantly falls dead silent, looks of shock playing across everyone's faces. She understands their shock. Palpatine is the one they've been reporting to, the Chancellor ever since the Federation blockade of Naboo over a decade ago. They've been reporting everything to him, and they likely suspected someone who knew him was in contact with the Sith, but they never would have expected Palpatine himself.

Since no one says anything for a moment, Ahsoka takes the opportunity to continue explaining. "Dooku has told me he and Sidious have a plan to destroy the Jedi. I don't know what it is or how it's possible, but they seem fully confident it will work."

"That's impossible," protests Windu, "There's no way they could do this. There are far too many Jedi." She understands their disbelief. That's probably part of the reason Sidious is so confident that whatever he's planning will work. Whatever it is, it's the last thing they would expect. She honestly has no idea how he could do that either.

"Sidious is the definition of the word paranoid," Ahsoka points out, raising an eyemarking at them, "If he's confident something will work, you should be concerned about it."

"Disturbing this is," murmurs Yoda, "Sensed this years ago, we should have."

"Do you know of any of Sidious's other plans?" inquires Obi-Wan.

She pauses, thinking. "Some. Sidious is planning to create an Empire once he destroys the Jedi." Which is why he has to destroy them in the first place. They would never allow such a thing to occur.

The Council members exchange shocked and almost disbelieving looks. "Perhaps you should tell us what else you know about the Separatists now," Obi-Wan suggests. Ahsoka nods, thinking for a moment, then beginning to speak again.

Once she's finished, aside from the little fact of Sidious having an interest in turning Anakin which she carefully keeps to herself for now, there is silence for a few moments. "You will be required to remain here at the Temple under our supervision," Windu informs her at last, "Skywalker has been chosen to supervise your activities." Of course, they wouldn't trust her to be alone here. She doesn't mind too much, though. At least if she's at the Temple, it will probably be much harder for Sidious to try anything. Hopefully. Ahsoka understands their reluctance to let her move about freely quite yet. She was a Dark Sider, despite everything. They'd be stupid to trust her immediately.

"I... understand," Ahsoka says finally, because 'thank you' hardly seems appropriate.

"And when he is gone from the Temple, either Master Kenobi or I will remain with you," Master Plo informs her. Ahsoka's gaze turns to him, a flicker of surprise running through her. Not that she's surprised they'll still have Anakin going on missions – she'd be surprised if they didn't. He's one of the best generals the Jedi have, if not the best – but she didn't expect Obi-Wan and Plo to be the ones chosen to keep any eye on her. Ahsoka knows Plo from before, and she thinks maybe she wants a chance to get to know him better. Maybe. It's like the past she's tried to keep herself as far from as possible is coming back, and she won't be able to run from her memories anymore.

"Your lightsabers will not be returned," Windu adds. Also expected. They'd be stupid to trust her with her lightsabers so soon. "Otherwise, you are free to go wherever you choose, as long as you remain under our supervision." Apparently, Jedi can be reasonable. Who knew?

"Want to become a Jedi, would you?" questions Yoda suddenly, startling her. Windu looks at the grandmaster as though he just sprouted horns.

"I don't know," Ahsoka admits finally. She really doesn't. She'd never fit as a Jedi, but at the same time, she's not sure that she exactly dislikes the thought. At least not anymore. She's always been told they're enemies, but that's obviously not fully true.

"In the future, consider this we may, if want this, you do," Yoda informs her. Windu looks like he wants to argue but decides better of it, which Ahsoka takes to be a wise choice. She doesn't really want to hear them argue about that in front of her anyway.

"Dismissed you are," Yoda says at last.

"Anakin should be waiting for you," Obi-Wan adds as Ahsoka turns to exit the room. Honestly, she can hardly believe it. Even two days ago, it would have almost been laughable to think that she's here with the Jedi. How things have changed...