Chapter 7 Declan's Decision
The image of the Chancellor was once again present in the Council Chamber. All those who had been present at the meeting the day before were again in attendance excluding Obi-Wan who was still confined to his quarters.
"Are you absolutely certain that you can do this, Zak?" The Chancellor asked.
"Yes, sir, absolutely. I know my duty." Zak stated firmly.
Anakin could not help but to admire Zak's resolve and determination.
"Well, I am glad to hear it. Your testimony combined with the evidence we have should be enough to convince the Senate of Amedda's guilt. I do not think this should last very long." Bail replied.
"Has that raider admitted that he was hired by Amedda?" Anakin asked.
"No, not yet; but I think he will soon. He seems a bit of a coward, I do not think he will continue to protect Amedda." Organa answered.
"Before the hearings end, I hope." Anakin said.
"Hopefully, yes; but there is no way to know for certain." The Chancellor replied.
"Well, what good will it do us if he doesn't confess until the trial is over?" Anakin asked.
"Truthfully, I do not think we will need his confession, however it would give us more ammunition to convict Amedda." Bail told him.
"Anakin, the Chancellor is right. We have plenty of evidence right now to convict Amedda. It would be nice to have that confession, but it really is not necessary." Mace said.
Anakin sighed, "You may be right, Master Windu; but I would just feel better if we had it." He admitted.
"Much like Obi-Wan you have become, Anakin. Worry too much, I think." Yoda told him.
"Oh, I hope not, Master Yoda." Anakin exclaimed. "He worries way too much!"
"How is Master Kenobi? I do not see him with us today." The Chancellor asked.
"He is much better, however, we thought it best for him to stay in his quarters and rest for now. Our healer tells us that he is still vulnerable and we would rather not risk his health." Ki-Adi answered.
"That is good news, Master Mundi." Bail replied. "I hope he will recover quickly."
"We are confident that it will not be long before he is back on his feet." Master Gallia assured him. "His absence his keenly felt."
"Now, Anakin, are you ready for tomorrow?" Organa asked, trying to get the meeting back on track.
"Yes, Chancellor; I have every confidence that Amedda will not get away with what he has done." Anakin said.
"Good; my only concern now is for the security in the Senate building. I have taken every precaution, but I am not sure if it will be enough." Bail continued.
"The Jedi will also be present, Chancellor. We plan to have several Knights present throughout the Senate Chamber." Ki-Adi assured him. "If there is any trouble, we should be able to deal with it."
"That is reassuring, Master Mundi. I had hoped for your assistance." The Chancellor replied.
"Prepared we are for tomorrow, I think." Yoda said. "Details, now we must discuss."
The meeting continued for another hour, and by that time, every detail of testimony was reviewed and discussed completely. Zak was their greatest concern, but his calm determination was enough to convince them that he would not fail. When the meeting ended, Anakin decided to see Obi-Wan before he left and Zak started to follow him.
"Zak, Master Windu and I would have a word with you before you go." Ki-Adi said. Leaving Zak, Anakin headed for Obi-Wan's quarters. He knew that Obi-Wan would want to hear what was discussed at the meeting. His friend was napping, and rather than disturb him, Anakin sat down to wait until he awoke. He did not have to wait long; Obi-Wan, possibly sensing Anakin's presence, stirred and opened his eyes.
"Hello there. I take the meeting is over." He said.
"Yes, I was surprised that you weren't there." Anakin answered.
"I had no choice, did I. Master Yoda made it very clear that I was not to be there." Obi-Wan said as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up.
"Well, you didn't really miss much. All we did was go over the testimonies that will be given tomorrow. There is a possibility that your attacker will confess; The Chancellor seems to think he is cowardly." Anakin informed him.
"And what about me; are they even going to let me attend?" Obi-Wan asked.
"That hasn't been decided yet, Obi-Wan. I think they are waiting until they see how you are tomorrow."
"Hmph; I'm getting tired of sitting around doing nothing." Obi-Wan answered.
"I know; but it's for your own good; no one wants to see a repeat of yesterday. Declan thinks…"
"Declan! He worries too much." Obi-Wan interrupted.
"…that if you don't wait until your shoulder is healed, it could become infected again. I don't want to see that, Obi-Wan; do you?" Anakin continued.
"No, of course not." He admitted. "But I still see no reason why I can't at least go to that hearing tomorrow."
"I'll see what I can do about that. I'll speak with Declan; maybe if he sees how much stronger you are tonight, he will change his mind." Anakin said. "And you still don't think you're stubborn?"
"Alright, I have to admit, I am a little stubborn." Obi-Wan answered. "But not as stubborn as you."
"Well, that's true; or Zak, for that matter." Anakin admitted.
"Yes, Zak. Where is he? I fully expected him to be right behind you." Obi-Wan wondered.
"I'm sure he would have been if Master Windu and Master Ki-Adi hadn't asked him to stay behind. I'm sure that as soon as they are finished with him, he will be along." Anakin replied.
"I haven't seen him since this morning; I think I may have been too hard on him." Obi-Wan said.
"No, Obi-Wan, you weren't. He may be a little ashamed of his behavior and that's why he has been avoiding you. He knew you were right; he was just trying to get out of those classes." Anakin explained.
"Well, I hope so. We have not been together that long and I would hate for us to get off on the wrong foot." Obi-Wan answered.
"Don't worry, Obi-Wan. He has great admiration for you; he made a mistake this morning and he knew it. He probably thinks that unless he waited, that you would still be upset with him. He doesn't know you well enough to see that isn't your way." Anakin assured him.
"You may be right, I hope so, anyway." Obi-Wan replied, "I suppose he will be along as soon as Ki-Adi and Mace let him go."
"Ah, Anakin; I'm glad you are here. I just stopped in to see how Master Kenobi is coming along." Declan said from the doorway.
"Hello, Declan. I had intended to find you before I left to join my family." Anakin replied.
"Well, here I am. What do you need?" Declan asked.
"I think you should allow Obi-Wan to go to the hearing with us tomorrow." Anakin stated.
"No, Anakin. I don't think he is up to the stress." Declan countered.
"Well, he is stressed just as much by having to stay here." Anakin told him, "He's an active Jedi, Declan; this is hard on him."
Declan shook his head, "I know that, Anakin. But I just don't want that shoulder to get infected again." He said.
"It won't. I will keep an eye on him, and if it seems like he is tiring, I will have him sent back here." Anakin promised. "He needs this, Declan."
"Declan, I am aware of your concern; but if I feel something is not right, I promise to come straight back here." Obi-Wan assured him. "If Zak is going before the Senate tomorrow, I need to be there. You must understand this."
Declan paused, and after a moment, nodded, "Alright, Master Kenobi; I understand why you think you must be there. And you have my leave; but know that this is against my better judgment." He conceded. "If you feel the least bit weak, you are to come back to the Temple."
"You have my word, Declan." Obi-Wan promised.
"Anakin, I am counting on you to watch out for him." Declan said.
"I will, Declan; you have my word also." Anakin said.
"Alright, then. Now, as long as I'm here; let's take a look at your shoulder." Declan replied.
Obi-Wan pulled up his tunic exposing the wound. It showed the healthy pink growth of new skin around the edges.
"Oh, yes, this look much better. I would say give it another few days and you won't even know it's there." Declan said with satisfaction. "Just don't push yourself so hard this time, Master Kenobi."
"Don't worry, Declan; I have no intention of going through that again." Obi-Wan assured him.
"Good; now, I would like you to stay here until tomorrow morning. I will make sure that food will be brought to you here. Let's not push you too soon." Declan answered. "Oh, Anakin; before you head back to Naboo, I would like to speak to you at your leisure."
"Oh, no; not that healing business again. I told you, Declan, that's all nonsense." Anakin said.
"Maybe, maybe not. But I think it's still worth looking into, don't you?" Declan replied.
"Fine, fine, whatever you wish, Declan." Anakin conceded. "But as I said this morning, I think it's nothing but…."
"Bantha poodu. Yes, I remember." Declan said. "But I don't, so will you see me before you leave?"
"Yes, if you want; of course, Declan." Anakin promised.
With that, Declan left.
"I should probably be going too. I think Padme was hoping I could have dinner with her tonight." Anakin said. "I just wanted to see how you were doing and tell you what happened at the Council meeting."
"Oh, yes, of course, Anakin, don't let me hold you up." Obi-Wan answered. "I will see you in the morning."
"I'm glad you're going to be there, Obi-Wan. I think Amedda needs to see you there." Anakin told him.
"Well, if you hadn't spoken with Declan, I would have been stuck here; he would have never listened to me. Thank you, Anakin." Obi-Wan said.
"It's alright, Obi-Wan; I did what I felt was right, Zak needs you to be with him." Anakin replied, "I'll see you tomorrow."
When Anakin returned the Senate living complex, he again had to go through rigorous security checks before he could enter their suite. Padme had arranged to have their dinner sent up to them and it was waiting for him when he walked in.
"Now, how did you know when I was coming?" He asked as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him.
"Master Yoda contacted me to say you were on the way." She explained.
"Master Yoda; he always seems to know everything." Anakin replied and then kissed her lightly.
"So, how is Obi-Wan tonight?" Padme asked.
"Well enough to go the hearing tomorrow." He said.
"Hmm…it's seems as if you are pushing him a little too hard, Annie. He was so sick last night." Padme answered disapprovingly.
"That was last night; the infection is gone and his shoulder is healing. He has Declan's approval." Anakin replied.
"You pushed him into giving his approval, didn't you." Padme said.
"Well, I…it wasn't only me; Obi-Wan felt that he should go. It was the right decision; we gave Declan our word that if Obi-Wan felt something was wrong, or if I noticed anything, that he would go right back to the Temple." Anakin told her defensively.
"I can't agree with you, Anakin. As long as that wound is not healed, it could become infected again. Why do you want to take that chance?" She argued.
"Padme, why are you questioning this. Obi-Wan is fine, I assure you. If I didn't think that, I would not have talked to Declan." He replied. "You worry too much."
"Alright; I can see your mind is made up. Let's not argue about it any more." Padme relented.
"No, let's not." Anakin answered. "Now what's to eat, I'm starved."
They had a pleasant meal together and discussed what would happen at the hearings. Padme, much to Anakin's disapproval, had decided to accompany him. She would leave the twins at the Temple and travel with the rest of the Jedi to the Senate. Try as he might, Anakin could not dissuade her.
Sleeping next to Padme, Anakin was dreaming again.
They were at the Senate hearing. Someone had just finished testifying when one of the onlookers suddenly produced a blaster from beneath his shirt. Before anyone could react, blaster fire erupted. Panic and chaos followed. Suddenly, the assailant pointed the blaster in his direction. He threw himself at Obi-Wan seated next to him…
Anakin woke up in a cold sweat.
"Anakin? What is it?" Padme asked.
"Another nightmare, Padme; about tomorrow. I must warn the Jedi to be on their guard." Anakin told her.
"Why, Annie? What was it?" She asked.
"A weapon. Someone is going to have a weapon at that hearing." Anakin answered.
