Ch. 10
The Jedi burst in, light sabers raised, in search of the clone traitors, only to find Anakin Skywalker, light saber at his side, standing over nearly fifty dead storm troopers. Shock could not adequately describe Obi Wan Kenobi's feelings upon seeing the sight before him. The Jedi Masters stared open-mouthed at Anakin for what seemed like an eternity, until the young Jedi himself broke the silence.
"Hello Master," Anakin said sheepishly. Suddenly, Obi Wan came to his senses.
"Anakin, thank God you got here in time- and that you and all of these people are all right. When you weren't in your quarters at the Jedi temple, I could only hope that you had gotten the alert before me and made your way out to find the rest of the Jedi. When I didn't find you at the assigned post, I feared the worst." Obi Wan paused, surveying the scene. "You did all of this by yourself, young one?"
"Yes Master," Anakin replied, amazed at how fortunately the circumstances had turned out for him. He could simply say he had gotten the alert, all the while seeming like a hero! This was too good to be true.
"Well then, Anakin, instead of reprimanding you as we thought we might have to after this night, praise is due!" Said Master Windu. "Well done, and thank you. We saw clones running into so many buildings, and split ourselves up. We were assigned to this block of buildings. We feared we were too late, and clearly we were, but the storm troopers in the streets held us back for a long time. It is Mayhem, as I'm sure you saw Anakin."
As Ki-Adi-Mundi and the other Jedi went to check on the patrons of the bar, Obi Wan and Mace Windu continued to look at Anakin. Anakin knew they could sense that something about the situation was suspicious. The two masters were particularly confused as to why Anakin looked so shocked when they said there were troops in the streets. His next question only raised their suspicions.
"Actually, Masters, I've been in here most of the time. There are more of them?" Anakin replied, shocked.
"More of them? Anakin, this is just a one millionth of the damage- the troops turned on us, surely you got that message?" Obi Wan answered him.
"No, I was focused on my job here. Where else did they attack?"
"Mainly civilian places like this, but… Anakin this might be hard for you to hear," Obi Wan warned him, "Someone you're close to may have been… well…"
Anakin could sense great disturbance in his master- something was terribly wrong.
"What Master- I must know." He said bravely.
"We don't yet know who got out safely and who was injured, but Anakin… the main targets of tonight's attack were… the Senators."
Padme gasped, loudly. All heads turned toward her. She knew that she was no longer hidden, and cursed herself for having no control. But she couldn't help it- all of her friends, her dear mentor Bail Organa… what had become of them? And what would have become of her, had Anakin not taken her out tonight?
"Senator, thank goodness you're all right," said Mace Windu.
"But what are you doing here?" Obi Wan asked.
If Anakin hadn't known better, he could have sworn that Obi Wan had a suspicious twinkle in his eye. He tried to see into Obi Wan's thoughts, but it seemed as if Obi Wan was blocking him out. Anakin looked toward his Master, but Obi Wan stared intently at Padme. Anakin was confused.
"Have you heard from Bail Organa?" Padme asked.
"We have heard from no one," said Mace Windu gravely. "You can't even imagine how refreshing it is to see you alive and well. But I must echo Obi Wan. Why are you here?"
"I was… I…" Padme didn't know what to say. There was absolutely no reason in the universe that she would be in that bar. She stuttered around, and saw her husband doing the same. Poor Anakin- wait a minute, of course! Anakin! "I was with Anakin." She replied.
Anakin turned to her. 'What are you doing,' he asked her with the Force, nervously. He was shocked- was she about to tell the Masters their secret? She wouldn't do that, she couldn't- that would be like betraying him. And he knew she wouldn't. But her certainly did wonder what she was going to say now.
"You had asked me earlier tonight, Master Windu, to talk with him… you remember," she looked at him, and he nodded to Obi Wan. "Anakin called me after that, he said that he couldn't sleep and sensed that I couldn't either, and I suggested that we go somewhere together, and talk. He is a good friend of mine, and I hadn't seen him in months, so this suggestion was welcome. So we sat here, talking, when suddenly the storm troopers came in, and Anakin defended everyone in here." Padme finished, pleased with herself.
'Master Windu asked Padme to talk to me?' Anakin thought to himself, perplexed, 'About what?'
"That certainly seems to make sense, Senator," replied Master Windu. "But Anakin gave us the impression that he was here because of the Order's alert…"
"Actually, I said nothing of the sort Master," Anakin replied, catching on quickly. "You simply assumed- that is why I was so surprised to hear that the attack was so widespread." He said this staring directly at Obi Wan, challenging the suspicion he had earlier felt in his master.
Anakin silently thanked the people in the bar for keeping quiet. He was actually surprised at how trustworthy these people were proving to be.
"Did they attack the Senators in their homes?" Padme asked nervously.
"Sadly, yes, Senator," replied Mace Windu. "It won't be safe for you to return home for some time. I'm sorry," he said, sincerely.
Padme was heartbroken. Everything in which she had believed seemed to have been destroyed. The Senate of the Republic was destroyed, and no one knew where the Senators were. Their own troops, under the leadership of some unknown enemy, had turned against the Senators and the Jedi. The confidence she had felt at Anakin's side just moments ago was completely shattered. She was overwhelmed, and sat down on a stool, unable to support herself any more. The galaxy seemed to be falling apart.
"Don't be so quick to give up, Senator," said Obi Wan.
She stared at him, suddenly sick of always being around Jedi who read her mind.
"I'm sorry," he said, "we don't mean to listen to your thoughts, but your grief at that moment was disturbing the force severely. It would have been difficult not to listen."
She looked at her husband and the other Jedi, and most of them nodded.
"The fact is, most of the clones have been destroyed. Their leader had severely misjudged the strength of the Jedi," Mace Windu told her. "In fact, one could look at it this way- we are far closer to the end of the war now than we were before the betrayal of the clones."
Anakin was reassured by this news, and he felt that Padme was too. He suddenly felt exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to be lying next to Padme, his arms wrapped around her, both sleeping peacefully.
"The Senator has had a difficult night," Anakin started, cautiously. "She cannot go to her home- I am willing to offer her my apartments. There she will be under the protection of the Jedi Temple." He looked around, encouraged that he hadn't been shot down immediately. "I will sleep on the floor of my common room, of course, and guard her door," he added quickly.
"Those arrangements make good sense to me," said Obi Wan, surprising Anakin greatly. "Take the Senator home with you, and you will be her bodyguard for the night until we can work this situation out further."
Again, Anakin thought he saw something in Obi Wan's eyes, a kind of suspicious, knowing smile. 'How could Obi Wan know,' thought Anakin. 'His duty would be to turn me in, and the other Masters are clearly not informed of the situation.' This angered Anakin. If Obi Wan knew something, Anakin wished his Master would be straightforward and ask him about it, rather than playing with his mind like this. Anakin reassured himself that he was imagining things, and began to head out the door with his wife.
"Oh, and Anakin," he heard Mace Windu say, hesitantly, "We… we would like you to meet us in the Council room for meeting tomorrow morning at 0900. You have fought better than any of us tonight- we could use your opinions in figuring this situation out."
Anakin couldn't believe his ears. Was Mace Windu, the man who had never fully trusted him as Obi Wan had, asking him to join the Jedi Council? This was beyond anything he had imagined, at least for another year or more. He couldn't believe it- was this really happening?
"Master Windu," Anakin began, barely containing his excitement, "Are you asking me to be on the Jedi Council?"
"At least temporarily Anakin," said the Master sternly. "Understand that this is not a permanent assignment," explained Windu. "However…," he hesitated, "Seeing as no Jedi has ever been on the council without being a Master…you are granted that rank, at least as long as you serve our Council. You must prove to us that you deserve the title indefinitely. We discussed the matter today- you have proven yourself time and again in battle for us, and during the war we felt you would be a valuable asset to our Council. We were wary, because of your recklessness, and so we thought that we would wait for you to prove yourself to us once more. Tonight, you have done so."
"Master, I can't even express…thank you," Anakin said humbly, shaking Mace Windu's hand. He couldn't even believe it. He was, finally, a Master. And he would not let them down- he would make sure that his post was permanent, at all costs.
"Anakin, understand that you must prove your usefulness on the council to be granted a permanent place… and the unrestricted rank of Master," Obi Wan said to him, sternly. Then he smiled warmly, saying, "Congratulations, my Padawan."
Obi Wan was nearly knocked off of his feet by Anakin's bear hug.
"I owe everything to you Master," said Anakin. Beaming, he led Padme out the door.