The Naboo Chronicles

by Kittenmommy

AU fic in which Anakin never turns to the Dark Side. Includes Sabe's Big Fat Nubian Wedding AND possibly the FIRST EVER Star Wars meets St. Elsewhere crossover!

2. Chapter 4 - 6

"The Naboo Chronicles"- Chapters 4 – 6

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: The Star Wars characters belong to George Lucas. The others belong to me. I'm not making any money from this.

WARNING ABOUT CHAPTER 6: Darth Sidious is a VERY BAD GUY. Very bad guys tend to do VERY BAD THINGS. If graphic violence, physical and emotional torture, or non-consensual sex disturb/offend you, I'd advise you to skip over CHAPTER 6. Oh yeah… though I think it's probably (hopefully?) a given, I nevertheless feel compelled to say don't try any of this stuff at home, kids.

Remember: VERY BAD GUY, VERY BAD THINGS, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. You have been warned.

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Chapter 4

"What a terrible story," Obi-Wan Kenobi's holographic image said to Anakin Skywalker. "But at least the mystery of Palpatine being in two places at once has been solved at last. What does the Council say?" Anakin shrugged.

"They are still discussing it," he said. "Most of them have their panties in a wad because they can't detect Palpatine's Force signature and they can't feel his twin through him." Obi-Wan snorted.

"It is little wonder. After what happened to him, he probably uses the Force to keep himself isolated from other Force users without even realizing he's doing it."

"That was my guess too. But you know, some Council members are really bugged by that. They can't get over the fact that a non-Jedi is able to use the Force to protect himself that way. I think it hurts their pride that this guy they didn't train, this amateur, is able to put up defenses against them." Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Let me guess: They are considering holding an Inquiry to find the Sith Lord."

"How did you know?" Anakin asked, feigning surprise. His tone turned serious. "You'd better get your butt back here before this gets totally out of control."

"It sounds like I'm already too late." He thought for a moment. "Anakin, if they do hold an Inquiry, they will destroy him." Anakin nodded.

"I know. The Council in general doesn't give a tinker's damn about Palpatine. They just want to find the Sith Lord, and some of them are so obsessed that they'll stop at nothing to do it, including invading Palpatine's mind by force."

"Yes, and after they've driven him mad or even killed him, they will comfort themselves with the belief that drastic situations call for drastic measures, and that the outcome justifies their actions," Obi-Wan said sadly.

"Breaking his shields and invading his mind would salve their wounded pride, too," Anakin said in disgust. "I wonder if that's not the primary motivation for some of them – to prove to themselves that they've still got the exclusive market on using the Force."

"Be careful, Anakin," Obi-Wan cautioned. "If you get in their way, they may run right over you as well, especially if some of them are on a power trip."

"Not a chance. I'm the Chosen One, remember?" he said, only half-joking. "Anyway, I hope to beat the Jedi Council to the punch on this. The problem is figuring out how to get Palpatine to drop defenses that he doesn't even know he's put up and that he can't consciously control. Any ideas? Suggestions? Advice?" Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't think of anything useful. But I will be there soon."

"I hope so."

"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan said, cutting the connection from his end. Anakin shook his head.

"I'm going to need it," he said to himself as he walked down the hall towards the Jedi Council chamber. As he reached the doorway, he encountered Mace Windu escorting Sabé and Padmé from the chamber. The women did not appear to be going willingly. Anakin narrowed his eyes. "What's going on, Master Windu?" he asked. Windu shook his head sadly.

"They are holding an Inquiry, Anakin." Sabé began to cry softly. Padmé put an arm around her.

"Shouldn't you be in there too?" Anakin asked Windu.

"What they are going to do to that man is wrong. I refused to participate. I will not abuse the power of the Force in that way."

"Thank the gods that at least one Jedi Master has some scruples," Padmé said bitterly.

"I wish you were in there, Master Windu," Sabé said quietly. "Maybe you could stop them before…" Tears flooded her eyes, and she was unable to continue. Anakin's jaw hardened. Wordlessly, he pushed past the two women and tried to open the sealed Council chamber doors. They've disabled the lock override codes, Anakin thought. "Stand back," he said, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Not much could break Jedi Master Yoda's concentration. However, Anakin using the Force to blow the thick marble Council chamber doors out of their housing did the job. Anakin strode through the swirling cloud of marble dust, his expression black with fury. The members of the Jedi Council goggled at him in astonishment. Yoda, however, seemed unsurprised.

"Jedi Skywalker, an Inquiry we are holding," he said mildly. Anakin walked over to stand next to Palpatine, who was standing with his head down, breathing heavily and swaying unsteadily on his feet. Anakin concentrated again, putting a Force shield around Palpatine. For a long moment, no one said anything as Anakin's icy blue gaze swept around the Jedi Council.

"This Inquiry is over," he announced pleasantly.

"Interfere in this matter you will not. Remove the Force shield you must." Yoda told him. Anakin gave him a dangerous smile.

"Make me." Yoda's eyes widened.

"Insubordination this is, Jedi Skywalker!" he exclaimed.

"Yep."

"A place on the Jedi Council you will never have!" Yoda promised him.

"Give a shit about that I don't." Anakin said mockingly. "Arrogant you are. Too big for your britches you grow. Overstep your authority you do. A reality check you are in need of." Furious, Yoda rose to his feet.

"Too far you go this time! Get away with this you will not!"

"Oh well," Anakin replied, shrugging.

"A Jedi Knight you are!" Yoda reminded him. "To obey the Council your duty is!"

"Yeah? That's really funny. See, I thought the job description also included stuff like 'defending justice and protecting the innocent'. I guess that part got lost somewhere." Yoda was outraged.

"To defend justice and protect the innocent is why we seek the Sith Lord!" Yoda informed him. Palpatine sniffled. Anakin watched as he retrieved a handkerchief from his pocked and wiped blood from his nose. Anakin shook his head, sighing in disgust.

"I realize I am not a Jedi Master, so sometimes the subtleties slip right by me," he admitted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Please explain something to me, Master Yoda. Is THIS," - he indicated Palpatine, who continued to hold the handkerchief to his bleeding nose – "what you call defending justice? Or maybe it's an example of protecting the innocent, huh? I'm not sure. Please enlighten me, O Wise Jedi Master." As Anakin's fury increased, his voice grew more and more quiet. "This man came to you in good faith, to tell you what he knows. He believed in the Jedi. He believed that once we had all the facts, we'd ride right out on our proverbial white horses and slay the bad guy. And see how you repaid his faith in you. See how you repaid his trust. You should all be ashamed of yourselves." One by one, Anakin fixed each Council member with a chilly stare. Many of them were unable to meet Anakin's eye. "I am ashamed for you. Your actions tonight make me ashamed to call myself a Jedi." He put his arm around Palpatine's shoulders. "Come on, Chancellor. We're leaving." From the destroyed doorway came the sound of someone applauding. Anakin turned to see Master Mace Windu standing there, an approving smile on his face.

"Yoda is going to have your head on a platter," Obi-Wan's holographic image informed him. Anakin shrugged.

"Yoda can bite me," he said. "When are you getting here?" Obi-Wan sighed.

"Though we are taking a slight detour in order to drop your twins off, Ric Olie gave me an ETA of sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"You aren't bringing the twins?"

"No. I think they would be better off somewhere hidden, somewhere safe. Don't worry, we're leaving them somewhere no one would ever think to look for them."

"Good. You know, I'm starting to see why the Naboo are so distrustful of outsiders and choose to remain as isolated as possible." Obi-Wan nodded in agreement.

"From what you've told me, tonight was not one of the Council's finest moments." Anakin snorted.

"Not even close," he agreed, sighing. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then. May the Force be with you."

"How is he?" Padmé asked as Sabé walked into the living room.

"Sleeping. And I don't care what he says, I am going to call Sara and tell her to cancel his appointments tomorrow, because he is not going in."

"Go ahead," Anakin said, appearing from the office. "I'm done with the 'phone. And before you even ask, YES, for the millionth time, I am SURE he will be all right. I didn't want to probe his mind too deeply after what the Council did to him, but from what I can tell, the harm they did him was more emotional than physical." Sabé walked over to Anakin and gave him a crushing hug.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I can never repay you for what you have done."

"Repay me? I'm surprised you don't hate me. I was the one who convinced Palpatine to go to the Jedi Council." Sabé shrugged.

"You believed that was the right thing to do. It is not your fault that they disappointed you." Anakin snorted.

"'Disappointed' is putting it mildly," he told her. "Right now, I wouldn't care if they kick me out of the Order. I'd go get a fishing pole and spend the next 30 years sitting on the river bank near the Palace."

"But Palpatine's brother would still be out there somewhere," Padmé reminded him. He went to the sofa and sat next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Well, Padmé, as it is, he's still out there. And since I'm not prepared to use our children or Sabé as bait to lure him out, Palpatine is our only link to him." He glanced over at Sabé, who sat in a chair opposite them. "Your unborn children are extremely gifted with the Force. I'm betting that the Force is very strong in Palpatine, and that would mean it's equally strong in his brother. And that is very bad news indeed."

"What was the Council trying to do to Palpatine, anyway?" Padmé asked. Anakin sighed.

"I shouldn't tell you this, because it is one of the Mysteries of the Jedi Order. However, since I may soon be an ex-member of that Order…. well… Palpatine is unconsciously using the Force to hide and protect himself from other Force users. The Council wanted to poke around in his mind a bit to see if they could sense his twin through him and figure out where he's hiding and what he's up to, and that would require forcing Palpatine to lower his defenses."

"Why didn't they just use the Mind Trick on him?" Sabé asked.

"They probably couldn't. No doubt he is able to resist the Mind Trick the same way he defends himself from other Force sensitives, without even knowing he's doing it." Sabé frowned.

"But you've Mind Tricked him – several times, if I'm not mistaken." Anakin's eyes widened.

"You're right." He sat back against the sofa as the importance of the fact truly sank in. "Wow. Do you know what that means?" Padmé shrugged.

"You're a super powerful Jedi?" she guessed teasingly. He shook his head.

"No," he smiled, a mixture of pride and happiness written all over his face. "I'm able to slip past his defenses, because he really trusts me. And that means," he continued, an idea forming in his mind, "that he'll willingly allow me to do what the Council tried to do by force." He shook his head sadly. "I never should have told him to go to them. Obi-Wan and I should have handled this ourselves. We should have just kept it quiet and kept it in the family." Padmé smiled.

"You begin to sound like a Naboo," she teased.

"I begin to see why they feel the way they do about so many things," he replied.

For thousands of years, the Sith Order had hidden itself. Generation after generation operated in secret, until the day that the most gifted, clever, and powerful among them would rise up and seize power on a Galactic scale. From their secret cloister on Coruscant, they quietly kept their traditions alive, training apprentices, selecting the best and discarding the others. A Sith Master might spend over half his life in the training of his Apprentice, only to have that Apprentice strike him down and take his place. The new Master would then cast his mind across the Galaxy, searching for the next generation of Force-gifted children who might be taken and trained in the Sith tradition, and so the cycle was perpetuated. As the years passed, the Sith Order acquired more power and riches, enabling them to renovate and improve their Cloister in absolute secrecy. Because his Apprentice could not be everywhere at once, an early Sith Master designed and created robotic servants to do his bidding, beginning the tradition of mechanical servants and robot armies. The current Sith Master, Darth Sidious, discovered the limitations of an entirely robotic army during his botched attempt to invade Naboo, and so he began abducting the poorest, weakest, and most desperate individuals from the lower levels of Coruscant – society's "outcasts" whose disappearances would be noticed and questioned by nobody - and turning them into mindless "nulls" via surgery and drugs. Never again would he rely upon robots.

It was one of these nulls that met him when he arrived at the Sith Cloister, silently escorting him to his lavish quarters and helping him off with his long black robes. As the null carefully hung his black robes in a closet, Sidious went to stand on his balcony. He looked down over the city, his thoughts on the evil he would do once he was ensconced in the Supreme Chancellor's office and his brother's children were under his tutelage. Ah, and the Chosen One… well, that one eluded me, but his children will be mine also... From the four children, he would choose his successor. Or perhaps… perhaps he would break with Sith tradition and train all four children as Sith. Together, his apprentices would wipe out the Jedi and begin a new Sith Order, perhaps in the very building that currently served as the Jedi Temple. His face twisted in an evil smile as he contemplated the future, where he saw himself robed and crowned as Emperor of the Galaxy with an army of Sith Apprentices to do his bidding. Soon, he thought, taking in the spectacular view of the city, it will all be mine.

Unbeknownst to him, Obi-Wan arrived on Coruscant mere hours after Sidious. It was late afternoon when he walked down the ramp of the Nubian cruiser and bowed to Queen Amidala, who stood on the landing platform surrounded by blue-robed Chancellor's Guards.

"Your Majesty," he said quietly. "I am surprised to see you here alone." She shrugged.

"Look around you, Obi-Wan," she said, indicating the guards. "I am hardly alone." He made an impatient gesture.

"You know what I mean." As they reached the waiting hovercar, one of the guards hurried forward to open the door for them. They entered the car and settled themselves in the back. Padmé watched through the car's window as Obi-Wan's scant belongings were removed from the Nubian and placed in the car's trunk.

"Palpatine is still asleep," she finally said. "Sabé refused to leave him, and Anakin felt he should remain with them in case… Well, you know. And so here I am, alone." She changed the subject. "I assume you have left my children back on Naboo in Eirtaé's care?" He shook his head.

"No. The Sith Lord was last seen on Naboo, so I thought your children would be safer well away from there."

"Where did you take them?" she asked. He looked into her eyes, considering.

"I think it's better that you don't know. The fewer people who know, the better. Should anything happen to me, Captain Panaka knows where they are. You must trust me in this." She frowned.

"I do trust you, Obi-Wan, implicitly. But please, at least, tell me who is caring for them." Obi-Wan smiled.

"Palpatine is not the only one with a brother no one knows about."

Heeding Anakin's instructions, Sabé opened the door cautiously.

"Oh it's you!" she exclaimed with relief as she ushered Padmé and Obi-Wan into the apartment.

"Though I have no authority to do so, I want to apologize to you on behalf of the Jedi Order for the Council's treatment of your husband." Obi-Wan told her. "I would beg you not to judge all Jedi Knights on the behavior of some, even if those in question are our leaders." She smiled and embraced him warmly.

"Though I will never forgive the Council for what they did to my husband, I promise that I do not hold their actions against you. Anakin, Master Windu, and you are the best of the bunch, and I believe in you. The rest of the Order can burn in Hell as far as I'm concerned."

"I don't suppose I can blame you, Sabé," he said quietly. He shifted the focus of his vision so he could see the Force auras surrounding the twins she carried. My gods, the Council did badly to alienate this woman, Obi-Wan thought. Her twins are as powerful as Anakin's… He followed Padmé and Sabé into the living room, where Anakin and Palpatine were sitting together on the sofa.

"Thank the gods you're here, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, rising to his feet to embrace his old friend. Padmé went to sit next to Palpatine.

"How are you feeling, Chancellor?" she asked him quietly. He smiled.

"Much better, thank you. I am only sorry that I haven't been able to help in any way." Anakin overheard his words and walked over.

"That's nothing to be sorry about. You're not deliberately protecting him. Anyway, you may be able to help us yet," he told Palpatine.

"How?" he asked. Sabé went to stand next to the sofa where her husband sat.

"He's been through enough, Anakin," she reminded him.

"Sabé, I am probably going to be expelled from the Jedi Order for what I did last night. You should know that I of all people won't hurt him." She lowered her eyes.

"I am sorry," she said quietly.

"I would just like a chance to… ah… well, see if I can sense anything through Palpatine."

"I trust Anakin," Palpatine told his wife. "And something must be done to stop my… this Sith Lord." He shook his head. "Though he is my brother, it is easier if I do not think of him as such. I wish I had never learned he is still alive. In a way, it was much easier when I still believed him dead."

"He IS dead," Obi-Wan told Palpatine. "In a manner of speaking, of course. When the Sith Lord who abducted him began his training, he effectively killed the good man your brother could have grown up to be. So it would be accurate to say your brother IS dead – from a certain point of view."

"From a certain point of view?" Sabé asked in disbelief. Obi-Wan smiled at her.

"You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view," he told her kindly.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," Palpatine said. He glanced at Anakin. "I suppose you'd better get on with it," he sighed. Anakin nodded slowly, allowing his vision to shift out of focus. He found that he wasn't very surprised by what he saw.

"All right," he said finally. "Let's do it." As Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated, Palpatine steeled himself for another attempt to invade his mind. "Just relax," Anakin murmured. After a moment, the Jedi opened his eyes.

"Well?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin shook his head, rubbing his temples.

"He's nearby. That's all I could get. Where, I have no idea."

"I'm sorry," Palpatine apologized. Anakin snorted.

"Don't be. I'm sure your, er the Sith Lord is shielding himself from you to prevent the Jedi doing exactly what I tried to do. And," Anakin added, "he is at least as powerful as Yoda, if not more so."

"Who, the Sith or Palpatine?" Sabé asked. Anakin gave her an odd smile.

"Yes."

Chapter 5

Darth Sidious hid in a recessed doorway, peering around its corner to watch as his brother approached down the main corridor of the Senate Building. How foolish and trusting he is, Sidious mused, watching as Palpatine stopped to have a brief conversation with a young woman dressed in the blue livery of a Senate Aide. He truly thinks himself safe. Such is his genuine belief in the basic goodness of people, it never occurs to him that anyone might want to do him harm. Well, he shall soon learn differently. Palpatine smiled, nodding as the aide gave him some documents. Though he was too far down the corridor to make out exactly what was being said, Sidious could hear the good-natured cheer in his brother's voice. Palpatine scrawled his signature across the bottom of one of the documents and handed it back to her, gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and turned to continue up the corridor, alone, as the aide disappeared around the bend in the hall. Sidious cast his malevolent gaze up the corridor and saw it was empty, save for his approaching brother.

Darth Sidious smiled to himself and stepped out into the corridor. Palpatine froze, staring at him in shock.

"It's you," Palpatine finally managed in a shaky voice. "My gods… all those years… Until the other night, I had thought you dead." Sidious gave him a malignant smile.

"Not at all," he replied. "Though YOU soon will be, dear brother." Sidious raised his hand and with a negligent wave, shot a bolt of purple Force lightening at Palpatine, who crumpled to the floor without a sound. A door slid open across the hall, and one of Sidious's nulls emerged from the darkness of an empty conference room to drag Palpatine's unresisting body inside. Chuckling, Sidious followed.

"Strip him," the Sith Lord ordered as the door slid shut and the lights came on. Another null came forward to help the first one with its task, while a third stood by Sidious as he removed his clothing, taking each piece from the Sith Lord and folding it carefully. When nulls were finished stripping Palpatine, they brought his clothing to Sidious, who dressed quickly but carefully, making sure every fold and pleat of the elaborate Nubian robes hung correctly. Once he was dressed, he turned to leave. "Take him back to the Cloister and put this on him." He tossed his black Sith robe at the null. Plastering a cheerful Palpatine smile across his face, Sidious stepped out into the corridor.

"Chancellor!" He turned to see Sara, Palpatine's personal assistant, racing up the hallway to catch up to him. "There you are!" she said breathlessly. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Well, you've found me," he said as cheerfully as he could manage, patting her arm. She frowned at him.

"Are you OK, sir?" she asked.

"Never better!" he proclaimed heartily. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, your wife called you in sick yesterday…" He gave her a dazzling smile.

"I am completely fine now, I assure you." She shrugged.

"Well, you just don't seem quite like yourself today, for some reason."

"Interesting your report is, Jedi Skywalker," Master Yoda admitted. Anakin glared at him.

"'Interesting'? I'll tell you what's interesting. It's 'interesting' that the Council felt they had to hold an Inquiry when they could have simply asked me to try to sense the Sith Lord through Palpatine. But no, you guys didn't think of THAT, did you? I'm just a Knight, not a Jedi Master like the esteemed members of the Council. Would asking for my help have wounded your already bruised and battered egos too much?" Most of the assembled Council members were astonished at his audacity. Master Yoda and Master Windu were not.

"Enough that will be, Jedi Skywalker!" Yoda exclaimed.

"Master Yoda," Windu said softly. "Jedi Skywalker has brought us important information, information that this group was unable to get. The Council's behavior the other night was negligent at best, dangerously and unforgivably self-indulgent at worst. After that night, I do not blame Jedi Skywalker for his anger at this Council. Do you?" Yoda sighed.

"The information we will act on, Jedi Skywalker. Concern yourself further in this matter you need not." Anakin was furious.

"This 'matter' involves my children, my wife, and people I've come to think of as my family. I am not going to stand by and let others handle this." He turned on his heel and walked out of the chamber.

"Insubordination this is again, Jedi Skywalker!" Yoda called out as Anakin departed.

"Yeah, yeah," he said without turning around. He stalked out of the room, encountering Obi-Wan leaning against the wall in the hallway outside.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"About as well as could be expected," Anakin replied. "Come on, let's get back to Palpatine's apartment before something ELSE happens."

Darth Sidious had enjoyed a successful morning in chambers. He had listened attentively as the Senator from Alderaan and the representatives from the Trade Federation battled it out and had already thought of numerous ways to turn the situation to his advantage. Perhaps Lott Dod and his minions could be useful yet. Now he sat at Palpatine's desk, staring at the computer monitor and trying to figure out how to log onto the network. He had already tried all of the obvious choices for his brother's password: Sabé (with and without the accent over the "e"), Naboo, Padmé, etc. None of them worked. He had searched every inch of his brother's desk hoping to find it written down somewhere, but to no avail. Sara, a veritable font of knowledge regarding all things Palpatine, was no help either. He had called System Support and asked them what to do about his "forgotten" password, only to be told that he should have written it down somewhere. They would need at least 72 hours to reconfigure his account and assign him a new password. He glared at the computer in frustration, wishing for the millionth time that he could Mind Trick it into cooperation. Perhaps, he reflected, it is time for me to return to the Cloister and see if my brother has regained consciousness…

Inside the Jedi Counsel chamber, Master Yoda was still upset about Anakin's behavior.

"Fully trained Jedi Masters this situation with the Sith requires!" Yoda exclaimed. Master Windu smiled.

"The situation is in good hands, Master Yoda. We need not trouble ourselves further. Jedi Kenobi and Jedi Skywalker are capable. We need only stand ready to act should they need assistance." Yoda shook his head, sighing.

"Like this not I do," he said quietly. "But little choice in the matter do we have. Impossible would it be to find the Sith Lord without the Chancellor's help. Trusts Anakin only, does he."

"Now, whose fault is that?" Windu asked mildly. Several members of the Counsel shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Finally, though Windu's question required no answer, Yoda spoke.

"Our own fault it is. No, MY own fault it is." He stood. "Prideful and arrogant my behavior has been. Meditate I must." Without another word, he walked out of the chamber.

Darth Sidious smiled as he opened the door to his brother's prison. Palpatine was sitting on the floor, wrapped in Sidious's black robe, his back against the wall. He looked up as Sidious entered the room.

"Hello, Maurice," Palpatine said softly. Sidious glared at him and raised his hand.

"Never call me so again," the Sith Lord warned, shooting a small bolt of Force lightening at his brother's head. Palpatine ducked, narrowly avoiding being zapped as the bolt of energy collided with the wall above him. Palpatine sighed.

"What do you want?" he asked tiredly. Sidious smiled.

"Your network password, for starters," he replied. Palpatine shook his head sadly.

"Surely you must know that I am not going to help you with this masquerade of yours."

"Ohhh," Sidious said slowly, "I think you will change your mind about that before too long." He smiled. "You know what comes next."

"I suppose you'll do something terrible to me," Palpatine replied, trying for a nonchalant tone. Sidious motioned to someone outside. A floating black orb hummed into the room. It was equipped with a large hypodermic needle and a variety of wicked looking instruments. It was a prototype, one of his favorites; Sidious looked forward to testing it.

"You have no concept of terrible," Sidious told Palpatine as the droid floated over to him. "Not yet."

"Well, it looks like I'm still a Jedi," Anakin said.

"For today, anyway," Obi-Wan added. "Tomorrow it may be otherwise."

"Why do you say that?" Padmé asked. Sabé poured steaming tea in mugs. She set mugs before them and joined them at her kitchen table.

"I for one am happy that you remain a Knight," Sabé told him, cautiously sipping her hot tea. "The Council had no right to do what they did to Palpatine," she continued, her eyes flashing with anger. "It is good that there are Knights with honor in the Order."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to honor their orders, so I may not be a Knight for long," Anakin told her. "They want me to stay out of this business with the Sith. That's not going to happen. This guy picked the wrong family to mess with."

"Still, you'd better try being a bit less… abrasive," Padmé advised. "You will not be able to do anyone any good if you get expelled from the Order."

"The lives of our children, hell their very SOULS may be at stake!" Anakin flared.

"Your children are quite safe, Anakin," Obi-Wan reminded him. "The Sith will not find them. Padmé is right. You must not further antagonize the Council or run out half-cocked looking for this Sith. We will stay close to Padmé, Sabé and Palpatine and protect them as best we can."

"I do not like it," Anakin told him. Obi-Wan shrugged.

"You do not have to like it. But if you want an opportunity to take care of this Sith Lord yourself, it is your best bet. I have a feeling that HE is going to come to US."

Darth Sidious returned to Palpatine's office in a foul mood. The prototype interrogation droid had performed marvelously; Sidious had been quite pleased with it. However, though it had come close to killing him, it had failed to persuade Palpatine to answer any of the questions Sidious had put to him. The network password wasn't even the issue any longer. Sidious was simply determined to bend his brother to his will, and the fact that he could not infuriated him.

"Good afternoon, Chancellor," Sara greeted him brightly. Without replying, he stalked by her desk and into Palpatine's office, sliding the door shut behind him. The intercom on the desk sounded, and he stabbed its button angrily.

"What?" he snapped irritably.

"Sir?" Sara's voice asked timorously.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Ah… Senator Lott Dod is here to see you, Chancellor." The confusion in her voice made Sidious realize that his behavior had been quite out of character for Palpatine. So what? he thought irritably. Soon my brother will be dead and I will be in charge. They'll just have to get used to the NEW Palpatine. "Sir?" Sara's voice asked through the intercom, breaking his reverie.

"Send him in, you stupid girl," he snarled, thumbing the intercom off. The door slid open to admit the Neimoidian.

"Chancellor," he hissed, bowing obsequiously. "It isss ssso nissssce to be working with you again. I feel I ssshhould remind you of promisssesss you made during the unfortunate incident on Naboo."

"I am aware of the deal we had," Sidious snapped. "And although your brainless minions bungled the invasion, my brother was elected Chancellor, which is all that truly matters. So, I will give you what you ask. Not right away, of course. The Republic must grow used to my leadership. I am not a spineless weakling like my brother. I do not pander to the masses." Lott Dod nodded. "Soon, Senator, you may operate your slaving franchise openly. But only after my complete control of the Senate and the Republic is a reality."

"He is in an important meeting and can't be disturbed, Lady Sabé," Sara said into the voicephone. "I must say, he is very short-tempered today. I have never seen him like this before…. yes, I will tell him you called. Perhaps you can jolly him out of that black mood of his."

Later that afternoon, Sidious stood over Palpatine's unconscious body, thinking about what to do next. The interrogation droid hovered patiently behind him. Finally, an idea came to him. He leaned over and placed his hand on his brother's forehead.

"Wake up!" he snapped, giving a little mental push with the Force. Palpatine's eyes snapped open. He blinked a few times, staring up at Sidious through a pain-induced fog. Sidious was pleased to note that the drug the interrogation droid had injected him with was still in his system.

"What do you want now?" Palpatine asked muzzily, his voice hoarse from the screams the torture droid had forced from him earlier. Sidious's lips twisted into a nasty smile.

"Because of your unwillingness to cooperate, I am afraid that your new friend" – he gestured at the torture droid – "will have to pay a visit to your lovely wife."

"No…" Palpatine protested faintly, trying to sit up.

"You would rather your new friend remain here? You only need to say the word." Palpatine made a choked sound that was halfway between a sigh and a sob.

"Petunia," Palpatine finally said. "My network password is 'petunia'."

"Why 'petunia'?" Sidious asked, in case it held some significance.

"I grow them. In pots. On my balcony."

"How… sweet," Sidious sneered. "Now, you may sleep." He turned to leave, and Palpatine closed his eyes in relief. "I am quite enjoying playing the role of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, dear brother. Now, I think the new Chancellor will go home and make love to his beautiful wife." Palpatine opened his eyes, a horrified expression on his face.

"Please… don't," he begged. "I'll do anything you want." Ah, and not even the torture droid could budge him before. This is what happens when you love, dear brother, Sidious thought. Truly, love is a weakness. Sidious gave Palpatine another of his malevolent smiles.

"Of course you will," he spat. "But later. Right now, the Chancellor's wife is waiting for her husband, and one mustn't keep a lady waiting. Pleasant dreams, brother dear."

CHAPTER 6

"Palpatine." Darth Sidious said into the voicelock on his brother's apartment door. He listened as it clicked and whirred busily, lights flashing. After several moments, the lights turned green and the apartment door slid open. Smiling evilly, he stepped inside. "Sabé?" he called. "Where are you, my little…" his lips twisted. "…petunia."

"Hi, Palpatine," Anakin said, walking into the living room. All day, Sidious had pretended to be Palpatine. Though much of his behavior had been out of character for the Chancellor, no one had even suspected that he was an imposter. The possibility simply never would have occurred to them. None of the people he had dealt with knew about Palpatine's Sith brother, nor could they use the Force. But the young man who stood before him now knew all about Sidious, and he was a Jedi Knight. Sidious knew he would have to be careful. He could not afford to slip up and snap at this man. The façade would have to be perfect. The time was not yet right for him to reveal himself to the Jedi. "Your 'little petunia' is not here," Anakin told him. Sidious gave Anakin what he desperately hoped was a pleasant smile.

"Oh?" he asked. "Where has she gone?"

"She went to our hotel with Padmé and Obi-Wan. They're getting our stuff so we can move into one of the other bedrooms here."

"You're moving in here?" Sidious felt a surge of irritation. The Jedi's presence would mean the Sith Lord would have to maintain his shields full time to avoid being detected.

"Well, yeah," Anakin said lightly. "Nice place ya got here. I really like the view. Heck, I might just move in." Sidious did not know what to say to this.

"Yes, well…" He spied the doors to the balcony. "I think I'll go look at my plants."

"Knock yourself out," Anakin replied in a strange tone. Sidious gave no response. He could feel Anakin's eyes upon him as he opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

Palpatine drifted in and out of consciousness. The drug the torture droid was loaded with increased physical sensations and sharpened emotions while dulling the senses and suppressing inhibitions. The hope was that the effects of the drug combined with the physical torture meted out by the droid would cause a prisoner to break quickly. In Palpatine's case, it hadn't worked. Though he could not consciously manipulate or control the Force, it flowed through him, obeying his subconscious commands. He had almost broken several times during his "interview" with Sidious, but had experienced a sudden rush of strength and courage from the Force each time. Now he lay on the cold stone floor of his prison, huddled up in a protective ball under the negligible shelter of Sidious's black robe. He shook violently from the cold, which was exacerbated by the early stages of shock. Without medical attention, I will not live long, a small voice in the back of his mind said clinically. Not that Sidious would care if he died; he was marked for death eventually anyway, once the Sith decided that his usefulness had come to an end. A distinctive humming sound reminded him that the interrogation droid was hovering in the corner, awaiting Sidious's return. He tried not to think about it. Instead he thought about Sabé. He thought about the way her eyes lit up when she smiled at him. The way she would reach down and take his hand during the boring political receptions they were obligated to attend. The way she had been prepared to sacrifice her title and everything else for him only a couple of nights ago, when Padmé had learned he was not truly Naboo. The way he felt when he held her in his arms. The way her hair would spill over her pillow in a chocolate brown pool under her head when they made love. He wished he could believe he would live to see her again, to see their children. Their children… ah, Gods. His brother would take them and twist them into something evil. And Sabé… he suddenly remembered his brother's plans for Sabé this evening, and moaned in despair. He could not bear the thought of that monster touching her, hurting her. Raping her. But it wouldn't be rape; she would willingly sleep with him, thinking he was her husband. Perhaps if she does not resist, he will not hurt her… But he knew better. His brother did not need a reason to hurt people. He did it because he enjoyed causing pain and watching people suffer. For the first time in his life, Palpatine found himself wishing that the Naboo believed in sending their children away to be trained as Jedi. Anakin had said he was strong with the Force, and his brother clearly had it. Perhaps the Temple would have wanted me for training, he thought. If I were a Jedi… ah, and if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. He wished he had paid more attention whenever Obi-Wan or Anakin had talked about their Jedi abilities… he could only cling to the desperate hope that one of them would realize that his brother had taken his place.

Anakin opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. Sidious stood at the railing, looking out over the gorgeous view of the city at dusk. Anakin walked past the neatly folded deck chairs leaning against the wall and the bags of potting soil and plant food to stand next to Sidious.

"How are your babies?" he asked, gesturing at the neat row of terra cotta pots. Sidious grunted noncommittally. Anakin closed his eyes and reached out, seeking the glimmer of the Force that flows through every living thing. He opened his eyes and saw that the plants glowed with a healthy bluish haze of Force energy. He opened his mind to them. Joy joy joy joy joy joy joy joy joy, they yammered mindlessly. Anakin smiled. Plants were capable of only the most basic feelings. Obviously, these were happy, well cared for plants. Too bad Palpatine was never trained to use the Force, Anakin mused. I bet knowing how happy his petunias are would cheer him up. It is a small thing… I wonder if I could teach him. "Hey Palpster," he said. "Would you like to learn how to talk to your plants for real?"

"What are you talking about?" Sidious asked, feigning ignorance. He sounded vaguely irritated.

"Through the Force," Anakin explained. "It's easy. You just close your eyes and… well… reach out with your mind." He closed his eyes. Sidious studied the young Jedi, vaguely amused. The Sith Lord had already investigated the plants, of course, and had been disgusted by their general happiness and good health. Leave it to his idiot brother to waste his time in such a pointless way, nurturing and coddling those useless little lifeforms when he could have been using his position as Chancellor to manipulate the whole of the Republic for his own personal gain. He has no sense of what is important, Sidious thought. His priorities are all wrong. He decided that as soon as he got the opportunity, he would slowly pull the plants apart piece by piece. Plants could feel pain as well as joy. He would get a perverse pleasure from teaching the concept of pain to these tiny lives that his brother treasured so much. "How did you do?" Anakin asked, opening his eyes. Sidious suddenly wondered if this were some kind of test. He decided to err on the side of caution.

"I am afraid I am too old to learn these things, Anakin," he said at last.

"What, a little thing like that? I doubt it," Anakin replied. "You could never learn to do really big manipulations, of course. The Force is strong enough in you that you could have learned the art of it when you were young, but now it's too late. Your brain wouldn't be able to handle channeling and directing that kind of power – it's simply not conditioned for it. The nerve pathways have to be forged by Force manipulation when the student is very young. But I'm sure you could learn to do small, simple things." Sidious suddenly had an idea.

"I would like to learn to use a lightsaber," he said suddenly.

"You? Use a lightsaber?" Anakin snorted "Don't make me laugh. You'd probably cut your own ear off or something." If only you knew, my young Jedi, Sidious mused ironically. He realized that while Anakin had seemed to dismiss his request out of hand, he was actually giving it serious consideration. He decided to press further.

"Only for self defense, of course," Sidious said.

"Hmm…" Anakin said thoughtfully. "I don't know. Maybe… well…" Sidious could see that the Jedi's indecisiveness was merely a show; he had already made his decision. "Oh, OK." He gave Sidious a brilliant smile. "Just don't tell Obi-Wan. He might not think it's a good idea."

"My lips are sealed," he assured Anakin. My, but he is reckless and impulsive… I may yet be able to turn him. When the time is right…. Chuckling to himself, he followed Anakin back into the apartment.

"Stay here," Anakin said, walking back to the bedroom he and Padmé were using. Sidious sat patiently on the red sofa, waiting for Anakin's return. I will let him "train" me, gain his trust, and then… "OK," Anakin said, returning from the bedroom. "See this?" he asked, holding up something that looked like a small metal ball. Sidious recognized it immediately; it was a practice remote. Knowing that Palpatine would have no idea what it was, he put on a suitably blank expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A remote," Anakin answered. He switched it on and tossed it into the air. "Go," he said. Immediately, the remote flashed into life, hovering around the young Jedi with a slight hum that made Sidious think of his prized interrogation droid. Anakin ignited his lightsaber, and the remote immediately began firing small bolts of blue energy at him, which he easily deflected with the lightsaber's green blade. While the Jedi was thus occupied, Sidious reached out with the Force to touch his mind lightly. No sign of fear, anger or aggression. The Sith was disappointed. Perhaps the Chosen One could not be turned after all. Ah well, there are always the children… After a moment, the remote's attack ceased, and it moved up and over into a waiting position. Anakin deactivated his lightsaber. "See?"

"I see," Sidious said. He stood. "May I try it?" Anakin hesitated, but only briefly.

"Sure," he said. "Those bolts it shoots can't do you any serious harm, but they do sting a lot, so don't let it zap you if you can help it."

"Right," Sidious agreed. Anakin handed Sidious his lightsaber. Sidious smiled. I will strike him down now, while he is defenseless. When Obi-Wan returns, he will find a dead Jedi and an incapacitated Chancellor. The mysterious hidden Sith will get the blame… and with Anakin out of the way, it will be that much easier to take his children.

"You gonna stand there all night looking at the hilt, or are you gonna use that lightsaber?" Anakin asked.

"I am waiting for you to tell me what to do."

"Oh," Anakin said, sounding sheepish. "Sorry. The remote is programmed to activate when it hears a lightsaber ignite. So get ready to begin fighting right away. What you want to do is relax and let the Force flow through you. Just let go. Go where it leads you. When you use the lightsaber, it should feel more like instinct than something you're consciously thinking about and controlling. Got it?" Sidious gave him his best uncertain smile.

"I think so," he said, easily hefting the weapon. Anakin stepped back. Sidious ignited the lightsaber, momentarily disconcerted at seeing a green blade where he was used to seeing a red one. The remote had already sprung to life and taken advantage of his momentary distraction to get off a couple of good shots. Their stinging pain triggered long-buried memories of his childhood training sessions and the merciless beatings that were the punishment for failure. Reacting instinctively, he went against the remote with all he had.

"Wow," Anakin breathed, amazed to see the man he took to be gentle, mild-mannered Palpatine using a lightsaber like an experienced warrior. Aside from the initial shots fired while Sidious had been distracted, the remote failed to score a hit on its target. At last, the training device finished running through its programming, its attack stopped and it returned to its previous position. Anakin had never seen a Padawan Learner take to the lightsaber as quickly as this man had. It is a shame he is too old to be trained as a Jedi, he mused. He is surely born to it. "That was really good, Palpatine," he said quietly, awed.

"Oh did you think so?" Sidious asked sarcastically. He raised the green blade. "And now, Anakin – " The main door to the apartment slid open.

"Hi guys," Sabé said as she walked in, followed by Padmé and Obi-Wan, who was Force-levitating several pieces of luggage behind him. They all froze, speechless at the sight of "Palpatine" standing there with Anakin's ignited lightsaber in his hand. Obi-Wan was so stunned that the luggage suddenly tumbled to the floor, forgotten.

For a long moment, no one moved.

Then Obi-Wan noticed the remote, still humming quietly in the corner. He gave Anakin a dark look. He might as well have said it out loud: You're in deep shit now, Anakin Skywalker.

"Jedi Skywalker," he said quietly. "I would speak with you alone. Retrieve your weapon and come with me."

"It feels like the good old days," Sabé joked as she hung the Queen's elaborate dresses in the spare room's closet. Padmé smiled, happy to have her old friend help her unpack. She wondered briefly what Obi-Wan was saying to Anakin. She could hear their muffled voices through the wall as they argued back and forth. No use dwelling on it; she would find out what had been said eventually.

"I have missed you, Sabé," she finally said. "I wish you and Palpatine did not live so far away." She moved to sit down on the bed.

"So do I wish it," Sabé answered. She stopped what she was doing and went to sit on the bed with Padmé. "I miss Naboo," she confided. "I have not been back since my wedding. But there is no help for it," she sighed.

"How strange it is to see all your old familiar knickknacks in Palpatine's apartment," Padmé mused. "And I am almost surprised when I walk into your old apartments and see Eirtaé there." Sabé smiled.

"And how does Eirtaé like being in charge?" she asked.

"She likes being in charge. She does not like playing my decoy, and she does not like the training regimen that Panaka is putting her through. And she becomes annoyed when the others make mistakes, which is frequently. She is becoming nearly as short-tempered and sharp-tongued as you," Padmé said teasingly. Sabé laughed.

"Ah, and she used to complain about me. Well and well, the shoe is on the other foot now, isn't it?" Sabé mused. "I must call her to gloat."

"I doubt that will serve to sweeten her disposition," Padmé laughed.

"I must call her to gloat," Sabé repeated, grinning wickedly.

"Speaking of sweetened dispositions, I notice that marriage seems to agree with you," Padmé observed.

"Indeed. Palpatine is a good husband, and we love each other well. And soon we will have children." She patted her abdomen, which as yet showed no sign of the lives growing inside. "Truly, I have never been happier, despite missing Naboo."

"I will be happier still once this business with the Sith is over," Padmé said. Sabé shook her head sadly.

"Palpatine has been through so much. I am amazed he has not become bitter," she said quietly. It was a moment before she spoke again. "I am not his first wife."

"Yes, I know. His first wife died."

"Do you know how?" Padmé shook her head. "She was cut to pieces by someone with a lightsaber."

"My gods," Padmé said, shocked.

"She was pregnant," Sabé continued. "Seven months. And they never found who did it."

"I think I can guess," Padmé said quietly.

"Yes," Sabé agreed. "Though I know it will never happen and I know I should not wish for such things, I would dearly love to find that Sith myself and repay him in kind for what he has done to Palpatine."

"I wonder why he did it, why he killed her," Padmé said. Sabé shrugged.

"I do not think he would need a reason." They were quiet for a moment. "Well," Sabé said, standing, "I suppose we should join Palpatine. We left him all alone out there in the living room." Padmé stood.

"What's for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"Oh who knows?" Sabé asked rhetorically. "Whatever the cook made, I imagine." The two women laughed.

"What were you THINKING?" Obi-Wan yelled, brandishing the hilt of Anakin's lightsaber as he angrily stalked the spare bedroom where he had spent the previous night. Anakin sat on the bed, looking up at Obi-Wan as he paced the room. "Your recklessness boggles the mind! Perhaps the Council is right about you." Anakin shrugged.

"I tried to show him how to talk to his plants. He said he'd like to learn to use a 'saber…"

"I don't care WHAT he wants to learn!" Obi-Wan shouted. Anakin was shocked. He had never even seen Obi-Wan get angry. Now he was utterly infuriated. "Don't you understand anything, you stupid, STUPID boy? You could have gotten him KILLED!"

"Oh come on, Obi-Wan," Anakin said. "Aren't you exaggerating a bit? I was just trying – "

"To teach him to talk to his plants," Obi-Wan finished for him, sounding tired. "And that would have been fine, as long as he wasn't later tempted to try bigger and better things, things like, oh... let me think for a minute… things like USING A LIGHTSABER!"

"Obi – "

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE?" Anakin was astounded; his mouth snapped shut with an audible clicking of teeth. Mindful of Padmé, Sabé, and Palpatine out in the other rooms, Obi-Wan lowered his voice. "Listen to me, Anakin. Palpatine is, what – in his fifties? He is far too old to learn to use the Force, and if he begins playing around with it on his own, he is liable to have a stroke. He could die." Anakin opened his mouth to say something, but Obi-Wan cut him off. "Yes, he is enormously powerful. Yes, he would have made an extraordinary Jedi. But that ship has sailed. Look, there it goes, right down the river. Wave goodbye, Anakin!" he said facetiously, raising a hand to wave farewell to an imaginary boat. For a long moment, neither man spoke.

"You should have seen him fight that remote," Anakin finally said. Obi-Wan whirled, furious, his eyes blazing with sea green fire. When he spoke, his voice was very quiet.

"Have you not heard a single word I've said to you tonight?"

"Yes, but – "

"No, none of your 'buts'. You can pull that bullshit with the Jedi Council, but not with me. And anyway, if the Council knew what you've done this evening, they'd have no choice but to… well, who knows WHAT they'd do to you? I doubt this is a situation they've ever encountered before, because by the time MOST people are made Knights, they have more sense than to try to teach the art of using a lightsaber to a man who is in late middle age!" Anakin began to protest then stopped, lowering his head.

"You're right, Obi-Wan," he said quietly. "It was stupid. I guess… well, when I saw how strong the Force is in him… ah, I don't know what I was thinking." Obi-Wan sighed, moving to sit next to his former Padawan.

"So," Obi-Wan finally said. "He was good, huh?" Anakin's head jerked up in surprise.

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "He was great." Obi-Wan shook his head.

"What a waste."

Sidious sat in the living room, smiling to himself as he used the Force to listen in as the two Jedi argued. If he could encourage Anakin to continue to behave in ways guaranteed to irritate Obi-Wan, perhaps he could engineer the break-up of the famous Kenobi-Skywalker team.

"I am sorry, Palpatine," Sabé said as she walked into the living room. Padmé followed her, waving at Sidious as she continued into the kitchen. "I have neglected you this evening."

"Oh?" Sidious asked. Sabé walked over to where he sat, leaned over and kissed him.

"Yes," she replied. "I haven't asked you how you are feeling."

"I'm feeling fine," he assured her. "Why?"

"I spoke with Sara this afternoon, and she told me you weren't acting like yourself." Sidious frowned. He made a mental note to have a talk with "his" personal assistant about that conversation tomorrow. In the meantime, he must placate his "wife".

"Oh, I'm fine, Sabé. I merely had a disappointing lunch meeting which put me in a bad mood."

Mace Windu sat at the kitchen table in the Jedi Temple, sipping a cup of fragrant herbal tea. A nasty headache had troubled him all day, and now he could not sleep. He had begged off attending the Council's afternoon session in order to see if he could meditate the headache away, but to no avail; the pain had made it impossible for him to concentrate on his meditation. Finally, in frustration he had walked down the street to the drugstore to purchase some aspirin. As he'd walked back to the Temple, removing the shrink wrap from the bottle as he walked, he'd felt a sudden stabbing pain in his head. He'd looked around, startled. For some reason, his attention had been drawn to a nondescript black building set back from the street. Though trees effectively secluded the building from view, Windu had wondered why he had never really noticed the building before. Shrugging, he'd continued back to the Temple.

Now, as he sat sipping his tea and thinking about that mysterious black building, another sharp pain lanced through his head. Frowning, he reached into the pocket of his robes and retrieved the bottle of aspirin, popping the top off and tossing three pills into his mouth. This headache has to go away sometime, he reasoned. I just have to wait it out.

Sabé lay on her back, smiling up at her "husband". She could tell he did not feel like himself; he had been surprisingly ungentle. Several times she had complained that he hurt her. He had never hurt her before. But, she reasoned, he had been through a lot these past few days; perhaps he was simply exhausted and not really up to making love.

"We can just go to sleep if you want," she said softly, reaching up to twine her fingers in his hair.

"Oh no," he replied just as quietly. "I want to do this. Believe me." He lowered himself onto her, not gently, and she gasped in pain. He smiled, reaching over to pick up something he'd placed on the nightstand beside her. She looked at his hand and froze.

He wore no wedding ring.

"What happened to your ring?" she asked in a shaky voice, afraid she already knew the answer. He gave her an evil smile.

"Nothing," he whispered in her ear. "It remains on your husband's finger." He gave her a malicious grin. Horrified understanding filled her eyes, and she opened her mouth to scream. He clapped his other hand over her mouth, resting all of his weight on her small body, painfully grinding into her as she struggled underneath him. Tears ran down her cheeks. "See this?" he asked, holding up the device he'd retrieved from the nightstand. "It is a remote control for the torture droid that is keeping your husband company." He pushed a button on its side, and a red light on the device's side lit up. Sabé's eyes widened as the meaning of his words sunk in, and her struggles became more desperate, inadvertently bringing him to the brink of fulfillment. He put the device back on the nightstand and smiled, turning his attention back to Sabé. Keeping his hand over her mouth, he pulled out of her momentarily. "Not yet, my dear. Not yet. I want to make this last for you," he whispered in her ear. "I want you to savor it."

The interrogation droid's rising hum woke Palpatine, and he watched its approach with abject terror. He prayed that in his weakened state, it would kill him before it was able to do much to him. He wondered how and why it had been activated; perhaps his brother was coming to ask him more questions. The droid finally reached him, extending its wicked hypodermic needle and burying it in the flesh of his upper arm. He whimpered as he felt the drug burning through his system. Before the droid had even finished injecting the dose, he felt the effects of the drug. His pain increased, his fear and despair were heightened. Finally, the droid pulled the needle out of his arm. He closed his eyes, literally shaking with the fear of what he knew would come next. To his surprise, he heard the droid hum away from him. He opened his eyes and saw it had returned to its corner, where it powered down again. He couldn't understand why it had injected him; perhaps it had an error in its programming. Then he felt his brother's mind pressing into his, crushing his shields and –

He suddenly knew why the droid had dosed him again; one of the drug's effects was to amplify emotions. He barely felt the tears on his cheeks as he watched through his brother's eyes as his brother raped Sabé.

Anakin was thirsty. He crept through the darkened apartment into the kitchen, opened the refrigeration unit, and pulled out a carton of milk. He retrieved a glass from the cupboard and filled it. He only drank his milk straight from the carton when Palpatine was watching, because it made Palpatine crazy, and making Palpatine crazy was one of Anakin's hobbies. Making Obi-Wan crazy was his other hobby. I did a good job of that tonight, he reflected ruefully as he sipped his milk. I thought Obi-Wan's head was going to explode – and I wasn't even TRYING to make him crazy that time!

Mace Windu stood in front of the mysterious black building that had been occupying his mind all night. For a long moment, he considered what to do. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. He walked up to the door and rang the buzzer, waiting for an answer as the wind whipped his brown Jedi cloak around him. Finally, the door opened and a blank-faced person gazed up at him incuriously.

"Is the master of the house at home?" Windu asked. The man gazed up at Windu, expressionless. Pain lanced though the Jedi Master's head, and he suddenly sensed –

Without another word, Windu grabbed his lightsaber, pushed past the unresisting man, and raced into the building. He reached out with the Force with all his might, searching for another glimmer of the Force signature he'd just sensed a moment ago. He found it again and got a mental lock on it. The halls were empty; no one stopped Windu as he frantically searched the building, the Force signature steadily fading as life slipped away. Down, he thought, and found the stairs. At the bottom of the staircase was a door. Igniting his lightsaber, he destroyed the locking mechanism. He stepped inside, holding his lightsaber in a defensive position. He heard a muffled moan. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to make out the form of someone wrapped in a dark shroud lying on the ground. He hurried over and knelt on the ground beside the body, deactivating his lightsaber and grabbing a shoulder to turn the man over. As he'd suspected, it was Palpatine.

"Chancellor?" he asked softly. Palpatine's eyes flicked open. He smiled weakly at Windu.

"Master Windu," he whispered faintly. "So good of you to come."

Sabé was curled up in a fetal position on her side, clutching the remains of her torn nightgown against her body and sobbing. Darth Sidious stood over her, relishing her misery as he put on one of Palpatine's robes and tied the sash around his waist. His lips twisted into a malignant smile as he thought of what he was going to do next. He opened the nightstand's drawer, pulled out his lightsaber, and walked out into the darkened living room. He would kill the Jedi and the Queen in their sleep. Then he would take Sabé to the Cloister, return to the apartment and allow himself to be "found", incapacitated. The Sith would be blamed for all, and the Jedi would be off to chase wild geese…

"Hey!" Anakin's voice said out of the darkness. The lights, responding to his voice, came on. Anakin saw Sidious standing there, clutching a lightsaber. Does he want to fight the remote again in the middle of the night or something? Wait a minute, where did he get that lightsaber?? Realization hit Anakin like a ton of bricks. He remembered that had no weapon. "Shit," he said. "OBI-WAN!" Sidious knew he had lost the element of surprise. He ignited his lightsaber.

Everything that followed seemed to happen all at once.

The training remote, long forgotten but still hovering in the corner of the living room, flashed into life at the sound of the igniting lightsaber and opened fire on Sidious, who whirled and futilely tried to cut the darting little device in two. Obi-Wan came running into the living room, ignited lightsaber in hand. Sidious, still trying to vanquish the remote, turned to face the new arrival. He attacked, his red blade sparking against Obi-Wan's green. The remote continued to fire on Sidious. Padmé came running into the living room, pulling a robe on as she ran. She tossed Anakin's lightsaber in his general direction, and he used the Force to draw it to him, igniting it as soon as its reassuring weight slapped into his palm. Suddenly, the sound of a blaster firing filled the living room. Sidious froze, crumpling to the floor with a sickening slowness, a smoking hole where the left side of his head used to be. The training remote stopped its attack. They all turned to see Sabé standing in the hall. Her nightgown was torn, her face was stained with tears, and a rivulet of blood was running down her leg. She held a blaster in her hand. Slowly, zombie-like, she walked over to Sidious's body. She stood over it for a long moment, then pointed the blaster at it, firing over and over into his corpse as though he could never be dead enough to suit her.

CONTINUED IN "THE NABOO CHRONICLES" CHAPTERS 7 – 9