Chapter 9 The Sign of a True Jedi

Mace and Anakin left the ship together, walking purposefully toward the entrance of the compound headquarters, gathering the Force around them as they approached the building. The entrance was around the corner and was not visible from the ship. It was for this reason that Anakin and Zak were able to bring Obi-Wan out without detection. There were two guards stationed at the door. Mace drew nearer to the guards.

"We are here to see Mas Amedda, you will let us in." He ordered Forcefully.

"We will let you in." One of the guards repeated.

"You will not announce our presence." Mace went on.

"We will not announce your presence." The guard repeated as he entered the code in the panel beside the door.

As soon as the door opened, Mace and Anakin entered, side by side. Simultaneously, they drew their lightsabers, but they did not ignite them. Amedda was standing with his back turned berating one of his guards.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND HIM? HIS SHIP LANDED TWENTY MINUTES AGO! FIND HIM AT ONCE!"

"Yes, my Lord." He said desperately as he backed out of the room.

"Fools, must I do everything myself." He said to himself. He still had not noticed the two Jedi, and they remained silently in their place.

"Umm…My Lord, Umm…I am sorry to report that, Ah…well…" It was a transmission coming from one of the command posts.

"Report what, you fool. Tell me, I don't have all day." Amedda ordered impatiently.

"Well, ah…it seems that…well…I am afraid that…the prisoner…"

"The prisoner? Kenobi? What about him? Is he dead?" Amedda asked becoming more agitated by the moment.

"Well, ah…no, my Lord…he's gone, escaped."

"Escaped? Impossible. He was in no shape to go anywhere. Search every cell. He must be there somewhere." Amedda answered, his voice now beginning to rise. "You will find Kenobi NOW, or suffer the consequences; do you understand?"

"You won't find him, Amedda." Anakin said.

Amedda whirled around in shock.

"Skywalker! How did you…" He started.

"Master Yoda was right, you are a fool. Your guards are weak-minded; they were easily convinced to help us." Anakin answered. "And now, you are under arrest, my Lord, for the kidnapping and torture of a respected Jedi and war hero. You will not escape this time."

Then Amedda did some thing unexpected. He started laughing, hysterically.

"Who do you think you are? You have no right to arrest me. Do you know who I am? I am the vice chancellor of the Republic; in fact, since you brutally murdered Chancellor Palpatine, that makes me the Supreme Chancellor. This is treason; I will have you up on charges."

"You're insane, Amedda. You are nothing. Your political career is finished; it was the moment Palpatine was revealed." Anakin said.

"Master Skywalker is correct, Amedda. You are now our prisoner; we will escort you back to Coruscant. You will stand trial for crimes against the state, and against the Jedi. You are finished."

"No, I do not think so, Master Jedi." Amedda said as he picked up Obi-Wan's lightsaber in one hand and his force lance in the other.

Anakin's rage flared and he ignited his own lightsaber.

"Don't, Anakin. He is not worth it." Mace said.

Anakin did not seem to be listening to him.

"I want Obi-Wan's lightsaber, Amedda; you will give it to me now." He ordered.

Again, Amedda laughed.

"Or what, Anakin, you will cut me down as you did the Chancellor?"

"I would like to; and if I have to kill you to get that lightsaber, I will." Anakin said evenly.

"Ooh, you are frightening me, Anakin. If you want it so badly, come and get it." Amedda said with an evil grin.

Unable to use the lightsaber, Amedda tossed it behind him and brought his lance up, "Do you like it? I've had it modified; now it's more than just a symbol of power. I call it a force lance because I can force anyone to do anything I wish with it. Come, Anakin, let me give you a demonstration." Amedda taunted as he tapped in on the floor. 'zap'
Anakin moved forward, lightsaber up ready to attack.

"Be careful, Anakin. Do not let him touch with that lance." Mace warned.

"I know all about that thing." Anakin told him without taking his eyes from Amedda. "Stay out of this, Master Windu; this is personal."

Anakin moved to the right, forcing Amedda to turn in order to keep facing him. Anakin smiled, this is what he was just what he had hoped Amedda would do. Anakin was now flanking Amedda and he began to move around to his back, getting ever closer to Obi-Wan's discarded lightsaber. Amedda could wait no longer, and surged forward to attack Anakin. However, Anakin quickly parried the force lance, nearly dislodging it from Amedda's hand, and Amedda retreated. Anakin continued to circle him, and again, Amedda attacked ferociously. Still, Anakin was able to beat him back. Mace stood back and watched, ready to step in if he thought Anakin was in trouble.

"Anakin?" He asked.

"Not yet, Master Windu." Anakin answered.

It was apparent to Anakin that Amedda was now becoming nervous; Anakin could sense his fear and used that to his advantage.

"You can't win Amedda. Surrender now, before it's too late." Anakin said.

"Ha! You have not won yet, boy. You have no idea the power I have." Amedda replied.

"Power! What power? The power to hire others to do your dirty work? To torture those who are unable to fight back? You are nothing, Amedda, nothing." Anakin told him. "Give it up; this is a fight you cannot win."

Amedda's answer was to attack Anakin again, and this was his mistake; as he moved forward, Anakin was able to circle just close enough to Obi-Wan's lightsaber to call it to him. Instantly he ignited it and countered Amedda's attack with not one, but two lightsabers. Two blue blades clashed with Amedda's force lance and Amedda was forced back. Relentlessly Anakin now hammered down on Amedda's weapon until finally, exhausted, Amedda lost his grip and the force lance dropped to the ground. Anakin kicked the lance away with his foot and brought the lightsabers up and crossed them against Amedda's throat. It was so tempting to end it, right then.

"Anakin, think about what you are doing. Remember Dooku, do not do this." Mace told him.

Anakin hesitated, yes, Dooku. He would not make that mistake again. He lowered one of the blades, but kept the other close to Amedda's neck. Amedda slumped to the floor.

"Now, it's over Amedda." Anakin said.

Mace then came forward. He spied a pair of binders lying near one of the control panels and quickly secured them around Amedda's wrists. With his hands now bound behind his back, Amedda was helpless.

Anakin cut the power to the lightsabers, tucked them into his belt and bent to pick up Amedda's force staff.

He tapped it on the ground 'zap'. It was still charged and he turned to Amedda.

"Do you know what it feels like to be hit by this?" Anakin asked.

Amedda backed up only to be held in place by Mace.

"No? Well, I'll tell you then. It feels like every nerve in your body is on fire." 'zap' Anakin told him.

Amedda turned to appeal to Mace, "Please, I'm helpless, you can't let him hurt me." He pleaded.

"Helpless? What a coincidence, so was Master Kenobi." 'zap' Anakin answered.

"Master Windu, please.." Amedda pleaded again.

"How many times did you hit him, Amedda? Once, twice?" 'zap, zap' Anakin continued.

"I think that would be, let me see, five, yes five times, Master Skywalker." Mace informed him.

"Oh, yes, five times; thank you, Master Windu. Should I hit you five times, Amedda?" 'zap, zap, zap' Anakin said.

Amedda fell to his knees, "Please, Anakin, I beg you, have mercy." He cried.

"Mercy? After what you've done, you don't deserve mercy." 'zap, zap, zap' Anakin told him. "But, I am a Jedi, and you are a helpless prisoner; you're lucky." 'zap'

Anakin threw the force staff across the room and hauled the now sniveling Amedda to his feet. With Amedda in front of them, he and Mace headed back toward the ship. Amedda did not resist and they had no trouble bringing him aboard. Mace locked him in one of the storage lockers.

Anakin placed Obi-Wan's weapon his hand, "Try not to lose this." He said as closed Obi-Wan's fingers around it. "This weapon is your life."

"Very funny, my young Padawan." Obi-Wan answered with a weak smile. "So, you have arrested Amedda, but you wanted to kill him; didn't you."

Anakin waited a moment before answering.

"Yes, I did; and if Mace had not been with me, I may have." He admitted.

"But you didn't Anakin. That is what you must remember." Obi-Wan told him.

"No, I didn't." Anakin replied, and then changed the subject. "We are closer to Naboo, Obi-Wan. I think it would best if you came back there with me."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"I'm tired, Anakin. I just need to rest; I don't care where I do it." He answered.

"Then, to Naboo it is." Anakin said decisively.

"I will send a message to Coruscant to have a Republic ship meet us on Naboo." Mace said as he came up behind them. "Then we can escort the vice chancellor back to face the charges brought against him."

Anakin nodded.

"Master Windu, when we were back there with Amedda, you called me 'master', but I'm not; I'm not even a Jedi."

"Anakin, you can never stop being a Jedi, it is what you are; and you are a master, you proved that today when you arrested Amedda instead of killing him." Mace answered.

"But I would have, if you hadn't been there. I intended to kill him, I wanted to kill him." Anakin said.

"Do you really think that, Anakin? If you had really intended to kill him, I could not have stopped you. I only reminded you of your duty." Mace countered. "Now, we should go, the sooner we get Obi-Wan to Naboo the better."

Anakin sighed, who was he to argue with a master such as Mace Windu? Giving Obi-Wan one final pat on the shoulder, he stood and walked towards the cockpit, "Anakin, the important thing is you wanted to kill him, but you didn't; that is the sign of a true Jedi." Mace added.

"Yes, Master." Anakin replied and then looked down to see Zak at his side.

"Can I fly this time, Master Anakin?" He asked eagerly.

"Yes, Zak. You did very well today." Anakin told him.

Anakin let Zak take the pilot's seat and he patiently talked Zak through the launch procedures. Zak listened silently and did exactly what Anakin told him. When he was finished, Zak lifted the ship off the ground. The ship lurched and Zak panicked.

"Careful, Zak, I think Master Obi-Wan has been thrown around enough, don't you?" Anakin said quietly.

"I…I can't do it; I think you should take over now, Master Anakin." Zak said nervously.

"You're doing just fine, Zak. Calm down, you can do this." Anakin assured him.

Zak took a deep breath and carefully maneuvered the ship skyward. They were met by two smaller ships demanding to know who they were and where they were headed. Anakin used the Force to convince them that their business on Champala had concluded and they simply wished to leave. They were not challenged again. Anakin entered the coordinates for Naboo into the nav-computer and only took the controls when they were ready to make the hyperspace jump.

"I did it, didn't I?" Zak said.

"Yes, I knew you could; I trusted you." Anakin answered.

Once they were in hyperspace, Anakin went back to see Obi-Wan. He was sleeping, a deep, healing sleep. Anakin pulled the blanket up a little higher and watched him for a while; he could not remember ever seeing Obi-Wan look so bad. Blood darkened his hair and he looked gaunt and pale. He was worried that his friend would still die. Mace sensed his concern.

"He is very strong, Anakin. He needs rest and time to heal, but he will be fine." He told him.

"I've never seen him like this, Master Windu. It scares me." Anakin answered.

"I know, Anakin. But trust me, he will recover." Mace replied as he laid a reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder.

By the time they reached Naboo, Zak was curled up sleeping in the seat closest to Obi-Wan. When they landed, Mace picked him up and carried him out. The Republic cruiser was waiting for them when they arrived with a squad of clone troopers ready to take Amedda into custody. Dav had brought Anakin's speeder up and Mace lowered Zak into the front passenger seat. By that time, Quinlan Vos and Anakin were helping Obi-Wan down the ramp of the yacht and over to the waiting speeder.

When Obi-Wan was comfortably positioned, Anakin turned to Mace, "Tell Master Yoda that I will come to see him as soon as Obi-Wan is fit to travel." He said.

"I am proud of you, Anakin. You have done well." Mace told him as he clasped his hand firmly. "You are still a Jedi."

"Thank you, Master Windu." Anakin answered.

Then, as Amedda was being led to the Republic ship, he spotted Anakin and Mace.

"This is not over, Skywalker. I will get you, I swear. You will pay the price for this treason." Amedda screamed at him.

"Oh, I don't think so. You are the traitor, Amedda. It is you will pay the price." Anakin called back at him.