Disclaimer: George Lucas owns it all.
AN: Here's chapter 2! I want to thank everyone who left such nice reviews, they really give me inspiration to write. This chapter will begin with first person POV's, but then it will switch back to third person.
A Matter of Trust
Chapter 2: The Truth
Obi-Wan's POV
We've been in hyperspace now for 12 hours. I can still feel Anakin's troubled emotions through the Force. He has been attempting to meditate and rest, but I don't believe he's been very successful. He knows that soon we will be having a discussion and that I expect nothing but the truth. For the last 12 hours, his thoughts have been on Senator Amidala and I have respected his privacy, as to not delve any deeper into our master/padawan bond than that. I sense that Anakin is now waiting for me to open the comm channel.
Anakin's POV
Meditation and sleep seem impossible. I can't stop worrying about Padme. What does Dooku want with her? If he harms her, I swear I'll kill him with my bare hands! I know my master can sense my anger, but I cannot help it. My wife is being held hostage by a Sith. I feel guilty about keeping our secret from Obi-Wan, as I know he will feel betrayed. In a lot of ways, I'm going to be relieved to tell my master the truth. I know I'll probably be expelled, but at least we won't have to hide anymore. I just hope this doesn't ruin Padme's career completely. A senator is not forbidden to marry, but I'm not sure how the senate will react to her being married to a former Jedi. I sighed, as I saw the comm light come on. I switched it on and my master's face appeared on the screen.
"I think we have a lot to talk about Anakin," Obi-Wan began.
"Yes master," Anakin replied, as Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. Anakin suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that his master was just waiting to lecture him on the Jedi code.
"All right master, what do you want to know?" Anakin replied, beating around the question.
"How about the truth?" Obi-Wan retorted.
"Fine. I love her master, it's as plain and simple as that," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan sighed.
"Anakin, I thought you'd be over this infatuation by now," Obi-Wan chided. Anakin's lips curled into a disgusted frown.
"It's not infatuation, we love each other," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan sighed again.
"Anakin, I know this is hard, especially at your age. The Jedi don't expect us to be celibate, though it is encouraged. But attachments cannot be formed," Obi-Wan stated. Anakin couldn't help but snort in disgust. He shook his head in disbelief.
"In other words, it's okay if I leave credits on the bedside table. It's okay to satisfy the physical need, but it's not okay to build a loving relationship like Padme and I have! What kind of twisted morals are those! I would never dishonor Padme like that! My mother taught me better than that. The truth is, we're husband and wife and we love each other," Anakin confessed passionately.
'Married!' Obi-Wan screamed to himself.
"Yes master, we're married. The Jedi say it's wrong, but our hearts say it's right!" Anakin added. Obi-Wan had winced at the mention of Anakin's mother. She had taught him many things that the Jedi had tried to reverse. Perhaps Anakin was too old to be trained...
"Anakin, do you realize what the council will do when they find out?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"They can expel me if they wish, but I will not leave her. That's not even an option," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan threw up his hands in defeat.
"How long have you been married?" Obi-Wan ventured.
"Since Geonosis," Anakin answered.
"Three years!" Obi-Wan mentally screamed again.
"I'm sorry I've disappointed you master, I never wanted that. But nothing can ever change the fact that I love her.
"You married her? What were you thinking! What was she thinking!" Obi-Wan asked.
"We were thinking that we loved each other and we wanted to be together, regardless of what that meant. Believe me, we tried to push our feelings aside, but we found out that we just couldn't fight it. To do so would have made us miserable. I know that we have been dishonest and we both hate that fact, but we felt that we could not lie to our hearts. Love is such an amazing thing Obi-Wan, I do not understand and will never understand why it is forbidden," Anakin finished.
"It is forbidden, because it can lead you to the dark side! Did you both think that you could really hide this secret forever?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"No, we've talked about revealing our secret after the war is over. Both Padme and I want to have a family someday. We will leave or careers behind if we have to," Anakin replied.
"So you're willing to throw all your training away for something that you don't even know will last. Relationships don't last forever Anakin," Obi-Wan reasoned.
"Padme and I are forever master, you don't have to doubt that. I love being a Jedi, but I love Padme more. If I am made to choose, I will choose her," Anakin replied.
"Anakin, this is exactly why attachment is forbidden! So a Jedi does not have to make these rash choices!" Obi-Wan argued.
"Then why not let me be a Jedi and a husband! I've already been doing it for three years! She's what keeps me going! She's why I fight so hard!" Anakin yelled back. Obi-Wan resolved himself of the situation. Reaching into the force, he calmed his nerves.
"We need to prepare to come out of hyperspace. I suggest you calm yourself for the upcoming battle as well," Obi-Wan suggested, as their comm screens went dark.
"Yes master," Anakin replied, as he too reached into the force and sought to calm his nerves as well.
As Anakin prepared to disengage he hyper drive on his star fighter, he pondered the discussion he and Obi-Wan just had. Mentioning his mother brought up a lot of memories, both good and bad. When she died in his arms, he had lost control. He had let the dark feelings take over him, causing him to do something he regretted. At first, he relished the powerful feeling. But after he had enacted revenge, it left him with an awful feeling of wrongness and injustice. He had killed for vengeance and allowed himself to be engulfed by the dark side. And that frightened him. Padme was the reason that he was still here. She had pulled him out of the cloud of darkness with her warmth and love. She hadn't judged him, she had comforted him. He was always astonished at how the darkness around him receded when he was in her presence. She was his saving grace, truly his angel. And now, nothing would stop him from saving her from the hands of the Sith...
"Bring us out of hyperspace Artoo," Anakin ordered. Artoo complied, and he and Obi-Wan appeared over Coruscant. In the distance, a fierce battle between the republic and the separatists waged heavily. The two Jedi star fighters wasted no time in sweeping in and engaging in the fight.
"Lock onto them Artoo," Anakin ordered, as he opened the comm channel.
"Master, General Grevious' ship is directly ahead. The one crawling with vulture droids," Anakin said.
"Oh I see it. Oh, this is going to be easy," Obi-Wan said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Then, Obi-Wan ordered the clone troops to move into attack position. They complied, moving in behind him. Anakin smirked.
"This is where the fun begins," he said, as the vulture droids headed directly toward them.
"Let them pass between us," Obi-Wan ordered. Anakin became very concerned as several clone troops were killed.
"I'm going to help them," Anakin announced.
"No, no they are doing they're job so we can do ours," Obi-wan replied. Anakin complied, as the droids then released missiles.
"Missiles! Pull up!" Anakin called.
"They over shot us," Obi-Wan informed.
"They're coming around," Anakin announced. Arfour beeped in, taking the controls.
"No, no Arfour, nothing too fancy!" Obi-Wan grimaced, as his ship lurched.
"Surge all power units, stand by, reverse thrusters!" Anakin ordered. Anakin grinned, as his ship began to spiral, causing the missiles to mimic the behavior. The missiles collided and exploded. Anakin chuckled, as he heard Artoo's response.
"We got 'em Artoo," Anakin smiled. Obi-Wan was becoming frustrated, as he took manual control of the ship. He was still trying to shake the missiles.
"Flying is for droids," Obi-Wan complained. The older Jedi was hit and a number of droids latched onto his ship.
"Buzz droids!" Anakin exclaimed. Obi-Wan looked on, worried, as the buzz droids began tearing up the ship.
"Arfour, be careful..." Obi-Wan stopped, as he saw one droid tear Arfour's dome off.
"Oh dear," Obi-Wan lamented. The droids continued to tear holes in his ship.
"They're shutting down all the controls!" Obi-Wan called.
"Move to the right, so I can get a clear shot!" Anakin responded.
"The mission. Get to the command ship!" Obi-Wan ordered. But Anakin's resolve only hardened, as he plunged forward, taking pot shots at the droids. Unfortunately, he accidentally shot off one of the wings.
"What in the name of!" Obi-Wan yelled, as his ship lurched hard.
"Hold your fire, you're not helping!" Obi-Wan yelled.
"I agree, bad idea," Anakin replied.
"I can't see a thing," Obi-Wan complained, as his windows were fogged over by the droids.
"Move to the right," Anakin said, as he tried to bump the droids off with the wing of the ship.
"Hold on Anakin! You're going to get us both killed! Get out of here, there's nothing you can do," Obi-Wan yelled at him.
"I'm not leaving without you master," Anakin called back. Anakin knocked out more droids, but one made it onto Anakin's ship, immediately heading for Artoo.
"Get him Artoo!" Anakin told his faithful droid. Artoo zapped at it.
"Watch out," Anakin instructed.
"Artoo, hit the buzz droid, center eye!" Obi-Wan instructed. Artoo did so, successfully destroying the droid. It slipped harmlessly off the hull of Anakin's ship.
"Yeah, you got 'em!" Anakin said.
"The general's command ship is dead ahead," Anakin stated.
"Well, have you noticed that the shields are still up!" Obi-Wan yelled.
"Sorry master," Anakin apologized, as he circled around. He shot laser blasts at the control panel, deactivating the shields.
"Oh I have a bad feeling about this!" Obi-Wan called, as the metal sealing doors began to slide shut. The two Jedi star fighters made it inside just in time. Upon landing, Obi-Wan flipped out, lightsaber activated and began taking out droids. Anakin quickly joined him and the two successfully took out the droids.
"Artoo, locate the chancellor," Obi-Wan ordered. Artoo beeped and Anakin smiled.
"And Padme too," Anakin answered. Artoo brought up a hologram design of the ship.
"The chancellors signal is coming from up on the observational platform at the top of this spire," Obi-Wan pointed.
"Artoo, what about Padme?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan gave him a withering glance.
"Spare me the lecture master," Anakin responded to his master's reprimanding look.
"Chancellor Palpatine must be our first priority," Obi-Wan reasoned. Artoo beeped, as he located her.
"Padme is and always will be my first priority. Besides, she's in the detention block, which is on the way up," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan sighed.
"Blasted stubbornness," he muttered.
"I sense Count Dooku," Anakin mentioned.
"And I sense a trap," Obi-Wan replied.
"Next move?" Anakin smirked. Obi-Wan smirked back.
"Spring the trap," Obi-Wan smiled. Artoo chirped at them.
"Artoo, go back. I need you to stay with the ship," Anakin ordered.
"Here, take this," Obi-Wan said, tossing the comlink to him.
"Wait for orders," Obi-Wan said. As Anakin and Obi-Wan waited for the turbo lift, destroyers approached. Anakin and Obi-Wan called forth their lightsabers. The two Jedi deflected their blasts and entered the turbo lift. The turbo lift happened to be filled with battle droids.
"Drop your weapons. I said drop 'em," the droid said mechanically. The two Jedi glanced at each other, before proceeding to chop the droids to pieces. Suddenly, the turbo lift stopped.
"Did you press the stop button?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No, did you?" Anakin responded.
"No," Obi-Wan answered.
"Well, there's more than one way out," Anakin said, as he ignited his saber and cut a hold in the top.
"We don't want to get out, we want to get moving. Artoo, activate elevator 31174," Obi-Wan ordered. Back in the docking bay, Artoo slipped farther into the corner and tried to muffle the comlink, hoping those other search droids would ignore him.
When Anakin finished cutting the hole in the top, he forced jumped out and onto the top of the lift.
"Always on the move," Obi-Wan quipped. Suddenly, the turbo lift jolted and began descending rapidly. Anakin jumped and held onto the side of the platform tightly, feet dangling.
"Artoo! Stop! Stop, we need to be going up!" Obi-Wan called. Anakin looked down, but suddenly heard a voice above him.
"Hands up Jedi!" the droid said, pointing it's blaster at him. Artoo positioned himself at the controls and locked in, reversing the course of the turbo lift. As the turbo lift ascended, Anakin flipped and jumped back onto the lift and dropped through the opening he had made. He landed with a thump, causing Obi-Wan to ignite his saber. He quickly extinguished it, realizing who it was.
"There you are," Obi-Wan said.
"What was that all about?" Anakin asked.
"Well Artoo..." Obi-Wan started, but Anakin cut him off.
"No loose wire jokes," Anakin said.
"Did I say anything?" Obi-Wan replied.
"He's trying," Anakin insisted.
"I didn't say anything," Obi-Wan insisted.
As they exited the turbo lift and rounded the corner, they ran into Grevious. There, along with his droid commanders, were his captives. Jedi Master Shaak Ti and Senator Padme Amidala.
"Shaak Ti," Obi-Wan said.
"Senator Amidala," Anakin said, trying to keep his composure, which was beyond difficult, as he looked into her frightened brown eyes.
"I'm sorry master Kenobi, I failed," Shaak Ti said.
"Ah, General Kenobi, we've been waiting for you," Grevious rasped, as he bent down behind Shaak Ti. He ignited his saber, plunging it through her chest. Padme screamed, as she witnessed the brutal, heartless murder take place before her eyes.
"Stinking Jedi," Grevious laughed, as she fell to the floor in a heap, dead. Obi-Wan and Anakin ignited their sabers, as Grevious grabbed Padme's arm. Droids ascended upon them and they extinguished their sabers.
"That was a bad..." Anakin started, his stormy blue eyes locking on Padme.
"Mistake," Obi-Wan finished. Grevious coughed, clutching Padme's arm tighter.
"A tragic ending for a gallant warrior. I would kill the senator too, but Nute Gunray has expressed an interest in carrying out her demise," Grevious rasped. Obi-Wan watched Anakin, as he brushed his fingers along the side of his face.
"Rescue Anakin, not mayhem," Obi-Wan answered.
"I look forward to adding your lightsabers to my collection," Grevious rasped, releasing his hold on Padme's arm. Exactly what Anakin was waiting for. Anakin brushed his fingers over his lips.
"No, no, no," Obi-Wan answered. Anakin gave him a withering glance.
"This is not a good time to argue master," Anakin replied.
"Might I recommend?" Obi-Wan asked, as he tugged at his mustache. Anakin scoffed.
"There's far too many of them for that," Anakin disagreed. Anakin brushed his fingers across his eyebrow and looked down.
"Oh yes," Obi-Wan answered. Reaching deeply into the force, Anakin pulled Padme to him, catching her in his arms. Obi-Wan and Anakin ignited their sabers and cut a hole in the floor underneath their feet. The three fell through to the deck below and into the fuel tank.
"The fuel tank is rupturing. Hurry, seal off the bulkhead!" Grevious ordered his droids.
"We're safe for the time being," Anakin said, clutching Padme's hand tightly.
"You're idea of safe is not the same as mine," Obi-Wan replied. Anakin stopped for a moment, taking Padme's hands in his own.
"Are you all right?" he asked. She glanced ahead at Obi-Wan. Anakin smiled slightly.
"It's okay...he knows," Anakin informed her. That's all he had to say, as she threw her arms around his neck.
"I am now," she replied. Anakin held her trembling form for a moment, while kissing her tenderly. They broke the brief embrace and caught up to Obi-Wan. As they made their way deeper, Anakin found an opening.
"Okay angel, climb in," Anakin said, helping her through it, knowing that her senatorial gown restricted a lot of movement. Anakin and Obi-Wan followed her through. Obi-Wan began to climb up the rivets in the wall, while Anakin took out his ascension cable from his utility belt. He threw it up and it attached itself to the wall. Padme wrapped her arms around his neck, as he wrapped one arm around her waist. Together, they began to climb up. Obi-Wan accessed the opening of a cylindrical shaft. Anakin hoisted Padme through and the two Jedi followed suit, as they crawled through the shaft. Padme pressed a button on the control panel, which opened the other end of the shaft, allowing them to crawl through to the deck. They had arrived at the observation platform at the top spire...