Next chapter. Okay. This chapter is a little longer, and things take a twist. Read and find out!
Chapter Three
A Twist of Fate
Anakin Skywalker awoke very early the next day. He was the first one ready, and he mediated the rest of the morning until his Master was ready. The Master and Padawan and Senator Padme boarded a sleek cruiser and blasted off on a path toward Coruscant. Obi-Wan Kenobi glanced over at his Padawan. Normally, Anakin would have been overjoyed to be on such a nice ship. If he wasn't inspecting the ship and its controls, he was helping the pilot or fixing something in his quarters. He loved technology. Today, however, Anakin seemed to be in a distant world. He didn't seem to be aware of anything around him as he sat erectly in his chair. This worried Obi-Wan, and he decided to find out what was wrong. He quietly slid over to sit next to his Padawan. Anakin didn't notice. This worried Obi-Wan even more. "Hey," he said.
This seemed to snap his Padawan out of his trance-like state, and Anakin visibly jumped. "Oh," he said, noticing that it was only Obi-Wan. "Hi." Then he went back to his trance.
Obi-Wan was determined to get through to his Padawan. "How do you like the ship?"
Anakin looked up at his Master, a look of utter confusion written on his face for only a second. It passed so quickly, Obi-Wan wasn't sure that he had seen it.
Anakin looked up at his Master and then glanced around at different parts of the ship. "It's nice," he said. Why wouldn't Obi-Wan leave him alone? Couldn't his Master see he wanted to be alone? Still, Obi-Wan pressed on, aggravating Anakin.
"Yes, it is. But the Anakin I know would never have said that."
"I'm just not feeling well, Master," Anakin replied, trying to keep his cool. A Jedi would never explode in front of his Master or anyone.
"Physically or emotionally?" Obi-Wan asked.
That startled Anakin. What had provoked his Master to say something like that? A tiny amount of panic flowed into him. He was getting boxed in. It seemed that there was nothing he could hide from his Master. Every time he wanted to do something, Obi-Wan was right there. About the only thing Anakin had ever been able to keep from the keen mind of Obi-Wan was his secret marriage of Senator Amidala Padme.
Obi-Wan knew something was wrong with his Padawan, and he knew that it wasn't physically. Anakin rarely ever got away with something. Obi-Wan knew his Padawan well, and Anakin had no chance of getting away with anything. He noticed that Anakin seemed startled and even a little bit panicky at his last question, and for a moment, he was afraid that Anakin would just get up and leave. He didn't.
"I'm just confused," Anakin replied. Then he stood up. "I think I'm going to go get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us."
"You have no idea," Obi-Wan breathed as Anakin walked off. "You have no idea." Obi-Wan shook his head and walked off to take his position at the nav-computer again.
It seemed to Anakin like he had just closed his eyes, and yet they were already at Coruscant. Obi-Wan Kenobi had gently awakened him, and Anakin stretched and got up. Immediately, his senses were alert. Today was the day he was going to find out what power Chancellor Palpatine was talking about.
Obi-Wan and Anakin walked down the ramp leading off of the ship. Their brisk pace and erect stature made them stand out as Jedi. They arrived at the Temple in no time, all the while silent. This worried Obi-Wan still further. Anakin was the most talkative Jedi he knew, and yet Anakin seemed so distant in a far away world.
The first thing the Master-Padawan team did was walk up to the Jedi Council chambers and report to the Jedi Council. "Good to have you back, it is," Yoda greeted them.
"Thank you, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan replied.
"Things have been piling up," Mace Windu said in his usual monotonous voice. "We need you."
"We are here," Obi-Wan replied.
"We have a new mission for you," Shaak-Ti told the team. "Master Kenobi, you and your Padawan have little time to prepare. We would like if you would get started right away. Don't be confused. You will get your mission."
Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded and started to leave. Obi-Wan suddenly felt someone telling him something through the Force. He could also sense that it was channeled directly to him, not him and Anakin. "Anakin," he said, "you go ahead and get ready. I will meet you at your chambers in exactly one hour. Be ready."
Anakin nodded and walked off. Obi-Wan waited until Anakin was out of sight, and then he turned and headed back to the Jedi Council chambers. "You requested me?" he asked.
"Yes," Shaak-Ti replied. "I'm glad you got our message. We need to talk to you about Anakin. This mission may be dangerous to him and the Jedi. He has begun spending quite a bit of time around the Chancellor, and we are afraid he may be poisoning Anakin's mind. It is up to you to make sure that he doesn't do any harm to your Padawan's mind. That is exactly what you will be doing. You must ask Anakin to keep an eye on Palpatine. We believe that he may be up to no good."
"You do know that Anakin will try to protest," Obi-Wan said, raising his eyebrow.
Shaak-Ti nodded. "That is why we are trusting you," she said. "We know that you are the only one that can get through to him. Please, Obi-Wan. You must."
"I will do my best," Obi-Wan replied. Shaak-Ti nodded again, and Obi-Wan bowed and walked out of the chambers with a big problem ahead of him. How was he going to get Anakin to listen to him?
In about an hour and a half, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker had arrived at the Chancellor's chambers. Obi-Wan had briefly told Anakin that he was to keep an eye on Palpatine, but that was all he had told him. "Are you afraid he may be up to something?" Anakin had asked.
"Anakin, you must listen to me and understand me. Very soon, you will become a Jedi; and you will not be my Padawan anymore. We think that the Chancellor may be doing something to stop you from becoming a Jedi," Obi-Wan had replied, choosing his words carefully.
"The Chancellor would never do that," Anakin had replied. "He is a kind man, and he is helping me."
"Anakin, you must listen to me. Just keep an open mind. I am not saying that you must shun him or stay away from him, but you are our only hope of finding out what he is doing. The Council wants you to report on all the Chancellor's doings."
"That's treason."
"We are at war, Anakin; and your duty is to the Jedi."
That conversation had been in the lobby. The two then rode up the turbolift and to the Chancellor's chambers. The entire ride was made in silence. Obi-Wan rang the doorbell, and the door was very quickly. "Ah!" Chancellor Palpatine cried, seeing the two Jedi, "come in. I have been expecting you."
"Thank you, but I have to be going right now," Obi-Wan replied. "I have another meeting. I will be back to pick up Anakin in a few hours."
The Chancellor smiled, Anakin walked into his chambers, and Obi-Wan left, keeping a strong open end through his connection to Anakin through the Force. "So," Palpatine told the young man before him, "Master Obi-Wan would never leave you hear with me just for a social call. What is he planning?"
"Actually," Anakin said hesitantly, "there are some things I want to talk to you about. Mainly, I want to know what this great power you talk about is; and I want a straight answer right now."
Palpatine smiled. "I guess I have been avoiding that subject quite a bit, haven't I? It's about time you know. Anakin, that power is the Dark Side."
Anakin reeled back in surprise. All his life he had been taught to avoid the Dark Side and that it was bad. How could a man that he held so dear to him have just said that it had so much of a great power? Anakin recovered quickly, however, and listened as his mentor explained.
"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural," Palpatine said.
"Is it possible to learn this power?" Anakin asked.
"Not from a Jedi," Palpatine replied. "Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force and you will achieve a power greater than any Jedi."
"I cannot do it. I must report all your actions to the Jedi Council," Anakin said almost sadly. "My duty is to the Jedi."
"Is it?" Palpatine asked. Anakin looked at him quizzically. "I need your help, son. I'm appointing you to be my personal representative on the Jedi Council."
The two had been walking down a small flight of stairs, and Palpatine turned to Anakin, put his hand on the boy's back, and led him outside, where they talked and waited until Obi-Wan returned to pick up his Padawan.
Obi-Wan knew at once that something was wrong. He knew that this wasn't going to work. Something had gone wrong, and Anakin looked different. Obi-Wan resolved to get what Anakin already knew, and then he would keep Anakin from ever seeing the Chancellor again. Palpatine was hurting him. If only he could see that. He thought back to the short conversation he had had with Mace Windu on a transport over a battlefield that they had gone to help with.
"I hope Anakin will be okay with Chancellor Palpatine for the moment. We need the information he can get," Obi-Wan said.
"Very dangerous putting them together," Mace Windu replied. "I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him."
Master Windu had been right. It was too dangerous for them to be together, and it was hurting Anakin. Obi-Wan resolved to put a stop to it then and there. "Come, Anakin. We must go. The Council requests our presence," Obi-Wan said. With a quick glance to a smiling Chancellor, he and Anakin boarded an air taxi and took off.
Palpatine had been smiling, but underneath, he knew exactly what Obi-Wan had meant and planned to do. That was all right, though. Palpatine had his own plans as he walked back into the lobby and to the turbolift and finally to his chambers. Oh yes. Things were about to take a little detour.
Wow! Long chapter! But it was good. What did you think? Don't just sit there! Tell me! I can't wait to hear from you, and I promise to have the next chapter up relatively soon!