Chapter 5
The next afternoon, Anakin arrived back at his home. He went inside and went straight to Obi-Wan in the living area. Obi-Wan looked up and asked "What did you find in that cave?". Anakin rather than talking, pulled the crystal from his pocket and put it on the table in front of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and said "I think this means that we are on the right track. It's plain that this crystal is meant for a lightsaber. There is only one other who has used a lightsber with a purple crystal in recent memory, Jedi Master Mace Windu. He created a variation of Form VII lightsaber combat, he called it Vapaad. It allows him to call on the Dark side without being corrupted by it. It also allows him to use the darkness of his opponent. For any force user to have a purple crystal, it must choose them." Anakin, feeling strangely calm spoke "Obi-Wan, I had a vision while I was in the cave. Based on what I saw, I believe that the Jedi Order and the Sith both need to end." Obi-Wan, shocked at Anakin's words, asked "Why Anakin? The Jedi are flawed certainly, but for the most part, they are good people." Anakin answered "I'm not talking about wiping them out, I am saying that their view of the Force causes more harm than good. I am saying that the Force needs to find balance.". Obi-Wan asked "How do you intend to accomplish that?". Anakin answered "I honestly don't know, but I think at least some of the answers I need are on Alderaan. The archives in House Organa go back tens of thousands of years, knowledge that even the Jedi Archives might not have. Only problem is gaining access to those archives." Obi-Wan with a small smile said "Why don't you talk to your wife? She is a senator, and the senator for Alderaan just happens to be Prince Consort Bail Organa. They happen to be friends and he has a reputation for being very reasonable. I am pretty sure that Padme could get you a meeting."
Anakin went straight to his private comm unit, he typed in Padme's frequency, knowing that it was the middle of the day on Coruscant and the senate was most likely in session, Anakin left her a message to contact him when she had a moment to spare. He then went into the kitchen and grabbed some leftover roast gorak to eat. After eating, he walked over to his workshop to make sure that his employees were ok. He walked in the front door and caught sight of his old friend Kitster. When Anakin first opened his shop, Kitster was the first one through the door, hoping to see his old friend. After mentioning that he had gained his freedom from slavery, Anakin offered him a job, now Kitster kept the books and managed the store when Anakin was away, he made sure that all the money the shop made right down to the last druggat was accounted for. Kitster broke into a huge smile when he saw Anakin "Ani, I have some truly incredible news, we have recieved an offer from Incom Corporation!". Anakin, feeling a little stunned, asked "What kind of offer?" "They want us to build performance speeders for them, they will provide us with the speeders. We build them and ship them back to Incom where they sell them on, we split the profits 50/50." Anakin, with a smile said "Contact them, get them to send the contracts to me so I can get a lawyer to review them, if the deal is as you say, I will sign them. It will make us a lot of credits, which we will need. I intend to branch the business out." Kitster asked "How?" Anakin answered "I want to build custom starships, nothing too big. Freighters, starfighters and gunships, basically what we have been doing with the landspeeders. But we need to buy a decent size hangar and overhaul facility". Anakin was about to say more when his commlink went off.
Anakin went into the office and answered the call. Padme's voice came through "Hey Ani, how did your trip to that cave Obi-Wan mentioned go?" Anakin answered "It was interesting, but I was thinking, there is something I would like to discuss, and I would like to see you. So how about I come to Coruscant?" Padme, sounding very pleased said "That sounds wonderful, matter of fact, Chancellor Palpatine has been droning on and on about how much he has missed you". Anakin, thinking back to all the patience and understanding that Palpatine had shown him during his time in the Jedi Order, said "Yes, it would be good to catch up with him as well. Anyways, I will book passage, theres a ship leaving for Corellia tomorrow morning, from there, I can book passage to Coruscant easily" Padme however said "No Anakin, not with the war on, civilian transport is not all that safe. With the fighting, pirates are far more bold. Naboo is relatively close by, book passage there. I will have a ship wating for you in Theed to take you the rest of the way."
24 hours later.
Anakin stepped off the passenger ship at Theed spaceport. Two men in the uniforms of the Naboo Security Forces approached him. "Anakin Skywalker, follow us please, we have instructions from Senator Amidala and Queen Jamilla." Anakin followed them outside where a Seraph-Class Flash speeder waited. Once they were all settled in, the speeder took off. Anakin wondering where they were taking him, asked "Where are we going?". "The Palace hanger sir." Anakin, rather than asking further questions, sat back and waited. Soon enough, they arrived at the Palace hangar. Anakin's escort motioned for him to follow them inside. They led him to a Naboo N1 Starfighter where a very familiar astromech droid waited. "Artoo! It's good to see you!" R2-D2 whistled and beeped with excitement. One of the two officers escorting Anakin asked "I am curious, how do you know Senator Amidala? She was the one who ordered all this." Anakin with a smile said "You do know that she's married, right?" "Yes sir, I do". Anakin, with a sly smile said "I'm her husband" The officer, stunned spluttered "You are THAT Anakin Skywalker?! The same Anakin Skywalker that flew an N1 starfighter during the Battle of Naboo and destroyed the droid control ship?!". Anakin with a broad grin said "I didn't realise I was a celebrity.". The security officer said "I was one of the strike force that was led by Senator Amidala back when she was Queen, to capture Nute Gunray. Ric Olie is a friend of mine, when he told me what you had done, I nearly had a heart attack!" Anakin, chuckling said "I was told to stay in the cockpit so I could stay out of danger. I followed the instruction to the letter, but no one said I couldn't take the cockpit with me.". On that note, Anakin climbed into the cockpit, Artoo whistled happily. Firing up the thrusters, Anakin steered the fighter out of the hangar, then he engaged the sublight engines and roared out of Naboo's atmosphere. "Artoo, might wanna make the calculations for the jump to hyperspeed.". A minute later, Artoo whistled and Anakin saw the needed calculations flash through the nav computer, smiling, he engaged the hyperdrive.
