Chapter 7

Anakin was summoned to the Council right after he had finished eating breakfast, and he immediately hurried to the Council chamber. Anakin was ushered inside as soon as he had arrived at the Council rooms doors where the Sith Council awaited him inside.

"My Masters," Anakin greeted, bowing his head in respect.

"The Council has reached a decision," Darth Bane began. "Your apprenticeship to Darth Dakonda is hereby nullified."

Anakin fought to keep a pleased grin from appearing on his face in triumph. He had won.

Anakin's triumph faded as he heard part of what was said next.

"…Darth Sidious will be your new Master," Darth Meltric finished.

Anakin glowered with anger that they had already picked a Master for him.

"Displeased, are you?" Darth Cralash asked, his fingers linked together under his chin.

Anakin's answer was sharp in reply. "Being that my former Master failed to train me as I would have liked, I should be granted the right to choose who I want to be my Master."

Darth Meshan snarled in rage and in seconds was out of his chair, his lightsaber mere inches away from Anakin's throat. "You dare defy us! We are the elders here, not an ungrateful apprentice interested in getting his own way! We decide what is best, not you!

"I am the Chosen One, or have you forgotten that already?" Anakin answered, anger lacing his voice.

"You would do well to keep your mouth shut. Chosen One or not it, you are to respect your elders' decisions," Darth Meshan replied warningly.

"The data that I brought to you from the archives says—"

"Blast what is says!" Darth Meshan retorted abruptly. "We still decide what is best."

Anakin clenched and unclenched his fists, his anger growing. "I see now."

"Good," Darth Meshan said, turning back to his seat.

"You are all a bunch of conniving, cold-hearted, sinister, plotting, hateful beings," Anakin finished.

Darth Bane raised a graying eyebrow at Anakin's words. "Of course we are. You are dismissed."

Anakin's face was red with barely suppressed fury as he turned and left the room.

"That ticked him off real good," Darth Milter commented with a twisted grin. "The angrier he gets, the more powerful he becomes."

"And dangerous," Darth Cralash added.

"Darth Sidious will do a splendid job in making sure that his anger goes in the right direction," Darth Meltric commented with a nod.

"Yes," Darth Fraunel hissed between her teeth. "The Jedi will have no chance against us now. They will all be destroyed, once and for all."

The room erupted in sinister cackles and thoughts as the Council relished in the thought of their enemies impending doom.

Drengin went into the kitchen area after taking a shower and found his Master already setting the table for breakfast. "Morning, Master," he said as he sat down.

Khunth sat across from his apprentice and took a sip of water. "Morning, Drengin." Should I go ahead and ask him? Or should I let him bring it up?

Drengin poured a little bit of syrup onto his hot cereal and stirred it around for a few seconds before looking up at his Master. "Master, what happened to the glass statue that was on the table next to the couch?"

Khunth sensed the hidden question in Drengin's words and felt Drengin's unease. "I had a visitor come not long after you left and he said something that I didn't like."

"Oh," Drengin replied as he stared into his bowl. "So, um, why are you here? I mean, you're a Jedi – an enemy of the Sith – so why did you come here?"

Khunth leaned back in his seat and allowed a small smile to appear. "It's a long story; simply put, I'm here on an unofficial mission."

Drengin's curiosity was stimulated as he looked up at his Master and into Khunth's gentle eyes. "Unofficial? You mean you aren't supposed to be here?"

Khunth emitted a short chuckle at Drengin's question as the tension around them eased. "Technically, no, I'm not."

"You're allowed to do that?" Drengin questioned, his eyes widening.

Khunth shook his head, his face becoming an emotionless mask. "No, it is not allowed. In fact, it is strictly prohibited by the Jedi."

"Why?" Drengin asked as he absorbed this information.

"Security reasons – things are much tighter for the Jedi than they were before the Sith war."

Drengin nodded his head slowly. "I understand, but then why would you break the restriction?"

It's good that he wants to know a lot, but does he have to know everything right away? "You're not giving up, are you?" he asked his apprentice, who was wearing a pleased expression on his face at being able to redirect the conversation back to his question. Khunth let out a sigh and rubbed his clean shaven chin. "About ten years ago, a friend of my friend lost his Master on a mission gone wrong. They had been sent to find the Chosen One only to find out that the Sith were a step ahead of them. Muln's Master was killed and, devastated, he made the decision to somehow complete the mission. When he later returned to the Temple, he began creating a plan. I got involved in Muln's plan a few days later before he left the Jedi Temple."

"When you say Chosen One, do you mean Anakin?" Drengin asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes---" Khunth was cut off as Drengin continued.

"Why do the Jedi want the Chosen One? What is so special about the Chosen One? Why should he carry that burden? Who would want to—?"

"Drengin." Khunth interrupted. "One question at a time."

Drengin crossed his arms and gave Khunth an irritated look. "I have a lot of questions."

A small smile appeared on Khunth's face as he answered. "I know you do, that is why you have to ask questions one at a time so that you'll get answers."

"Okay. So why do the Jedi want Anakin?" Drengin asked.

Khunth leaned back in his chair before answering. "He is part of a Jedi prophecy."

"That's all? The Jedi want Anakin because of some prophecy? What is so important about the prophecy?" Drengin asked.

"I can't answer that, since I'm not sure of the answer myself," Khunth explained.

"You're lying!" Drengin spat accusingly before quickly exiting the kitchen.

Thoroughly confused by his apprentice's change of attitude, Khunth ran after Drengin, only to be blown back to the wall by a powerful surge of the Dark Side.

Drengin's hand trembled as he lowered it, his heart pounding in his chest. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he looked one more time at his unconscious Master and then ran from the room.

Anakin paid no mind to anyone as he ran, ignoring the angry shouts and angry stares as he avoided colliding with a Sith Master or apprentice as he rounded a corner. Anger and frustration burned to the very core of his being, confusion following as the tumult of his emotions threatened to overwhelm him. He came to a stop and leaned against the wall as he caught his breath. Closing his eyes, he struggled to get his emotions under control.

Gradually, he opened his eyes and quickly noticed where he was. Walking a few steps forward, he turned left and found himself at Darth Redav's quarters.

You're welcome anytime, Anakin, even when I'm not here.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Anakin's lips as he reached out and pressed the numbers and letters of the code into the side panel.

The door opened without a sound and Anakin stepped inside. The lights in the room flickered on with a simple wave of Anakin's hand. "It's been so long since I've been in here," he remarked reflectively. He headed over to Redav's meditation mat in the left hand corner of the living room and sat down cross-legged.

The lingering traces of Redav's Force presence put Anakin even more at ease as he slowly slipped into a meditative state.

"Let yourself flow along with the Force, don't fight it." Redav spoke softly as he led Anakin in his meditation.

Anakin frowned and scrunched up his nose. "But Master Dakonda told me too—" he started to object.

"Anakin," Redav calmly interrupted, "has your Master's way ever worked for you?"

"Well, no," Anakin said in an uncertain voice. "But he thinks that I'm not trying hard enough."

"What do you think about it?" Redav asked with his eyes still closed.

"I do my best, I know I do," ten-year-old Anakin answered. "It's just that every time I try to meditate, I feel like I'm hurled backwards, undoing any progress I may have made.

"Do you want to meditate?" Redav continued.

"Yes, but---"

"There are no buts, Anakin; either you do it or you don't."

"I understand. I'll do it," Anakin agreed and once more began to follow Redav's instructions. Anakin inwardly smiled in satisfaction as he felt himself flow into the Dark Side's embrace.

Anakin slowly opened his eyes, now feeling more confused then before. The Dark Side offered no solace, no explanation for his emotions. The Dark Side felt cold, suffocating, and empty. What's wrong with me? "I wish you were here now Redav. I know you can answer my questions. I've made a really big mess of things."

Anakin drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I still wish you had been my Master, but when I saw a way to make it happen, that opportunity was ripped away from me. It's not fair!" Tears burned in his eyes, threatening to fall. Choking back a sob, Anakin shook his head. "I thought I knew what I wanted, but now I'm unsure."

He fingered the finely spun mat on his right side and inadvertently pressed a hidden button. Beside the mat, a small piece of the floor slid open to reveal a small square hole. Looking inside, Anakin saw something wrapped in a ragged piece of brown cloth that shined brighter the closer he looked. Carefully, he took it out and unwrapped it to see an ordinary round, blueish-brown, smooth stone; the glow he had seen earlier was gone.

He probed the stone with the Force and felt a familiar and unfamiliar Force signature. Eyes widening in astonishment, Anakin held the bare stone in his hand and curled his fingers around it. The stone hummed in his hand and spread warmth throughout his body. Closing his eyes, he relished the feel of Redav's reassuring presence, inadvertently bringing up a vision from the past.

"It's a stone," Obi-Wan said in a disappointed voice after opening his present for his thirteenth birthday.

Qui-Gon smiled and placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Not just any stone, Obi-Wan. What do you sense from it?"

Obi-Wan probed it with the Force and slowly a grin spread across his face as he came to a realization. "It's Force sensitive." He rubbed his fingers over the smooth bluish-brown surface in silent awe at this gift. "Thank you, Master," he said, giving Qui-Gon a big hug.

Anakin eyes snapped open as he put two and two together. Darth Redav was Obi-Wan. Intrigued by this discovery, Anakin repeated his previous actions and found himself thrown into another vision of the past.

"Why, padawan?" Qui-Gon asked in an anguished voice as Obi-Wan threw his severed padawan braid on the floor in front of Qui-Gon.

"I am your padawan no longer. You may address me as Darth Redav," Obi-Wan replied coldly.

Sidious chuckled from behind them. "It seems the Jedi can't keep their padawans from the Dark Side," he mocked.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon tried again in vain.

Obi-Wan snarled, "I am not your padawan anymore. I am Darth Redav, and you will address me as such."

Garen turned to Darth Sidious. "We will finish up here and meet you at your ship as soon as were done."

Sidious studied them for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement. "Good," he stated and walked out of the hangar.

Garen turned back to Qui-Gon who was still on the floor. "Don't try to follow us, Qui-Gon. You will be better off going back where you belong."

Obi-Wan walked away and went into the ship. He picked up a few items to take with him, then went to the cockpit and rigged the ship to self-destruct. His left hand clutched the stone in the pocket of his cloak hard as he fought back his tears. "I'm sorry Master, so sorry," he whispered.

Anakin dropped the stone and stared at it. "Why did he do that? This doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps I can help," a female voice spoke, quietly coming to him.

Running full speed, Drengin rounded a corner and collided into a passerby.

"Watch where you're going!" a voice snapped angrily.

Drengin looked up to see the stern face of a Council member, Darth Cralash. "I'm sorry," Drengin said quickly as he stood.

Darth Cralash grunted in irritation. "This is your final warning, Drengin: the next time you're clumsy enough to run into an elder, you will earn a severe punishment," he warned sternly. "Is that understood?"

Drengin bowed his head. "I understand Master Cralash. It will not happen again."

"See that it doesn't." With that said, Darth Cralash continued on his way.

Drengin relaxed as he watched the bald Councilor turn a corner. That was too close. He's right, too – I am clumsy. He continued at a walk through the halls, this time paying attention to those around him.

"Is it done?" Darth Milter asked, crossing his arms.

Darth Sidious bowed to the hologram. "It is. By the time we arrive at the Temple, he will be ours."

Milter gave a crooked grin. "Very good, Darth Sidious: you have done well. Everything is going as planned." With a loud cackle, Milter severed the communication as Sidious bowed one last time.

"Not your plan, Darth Milter – oh no. It is my plan that I will be putting into effect," Sidious stated after the communication was terminated. "Our plan."