Chapter 19 The Wisdom of Mace Windu
Mace patrolled the corridors of the Temple; he was almost certain there was no danger as he had told Anakin, but he wanted to be sure and he had assigned several other Knights to do the same. Through the Force, he could detect no Darkness within the Temple; however, he remembered that for many years, there had been no sign of Palpatine's Darkness. His last stop before returning to his quarters for the night was the nursery where Padme and the twins were now staying. Padme looked up from where she was sitting.
"Master Windu, have you heard from Anakin?" She said.
"Yes, and he has told me some rather disturbing news." Mace answered. "He and Obi-Wan think that the Jedi he spoke with this morning deliberately prevented him from speaking with any of the Council members."
"I don't understand; why would they think that?" Padme asked.
"Because he did not want Anakin to warn us about this morning's attack in the courtroom." Mace told her.
"But how could he have known about it?" She asked.
Mace paused, a grim look on his face, "Your government rooms were probably being monitored." He told her.
"Monitored? But who would do that; and why?" She wondered.
"Possibly to see if Anakin would say anything to you about the hearing. What they heard, however, was much more valuable." Mace replied.
"Anakin's nightmare." She concluded. "He told me about it."
"Yes, and now we know that a Jedi is involved in this." Mace answered.
"Are you sure we're safe here? What if this Jedi is still here, in the Temple?" She asked worriedly.
"Do not worry about your safety, Padme. We have made an extensive search of the Temple; there seems to be no trace of him and I can sense no Dark presence." Mace assured her.
"But you couldn't sense Palpatine's Darkness either." She argued. "How can you be sure?"
Mace sighed, "I cannot be completely sure; however, every Jedi in this Temple is aware of the possible danger, if he is here, we will find him. I find it highly unlikely, though; after this morning, I am sure he knows that we must suspect him so I do not think he would come back here." He said.
"And if he has come back?" Padme wondered.
"Then you will be well protected." Mace assured her. "My main concern is for Anakin and Obi-Wan."
"Anakin? Is he in danger?" She asked in alarm.
"Not Anakin; Obi-Wan. The Chancellor and I have come to believe that Obi-Wan was the Clone's primary target. The Chancellor was the diversion; however, I believe that he would have been killed if not for the bravery of Obi-Wan's young Padawan." Mace explained.
"Then by being with Obi-Wan, Anakin is in danger. He shouldn't be there!" She cried.
"He must be there, Padme; surely you can see that." Mace told her. "Obi-Wan is weak and vulnerable. If another attempt is made on his life, he will not be able to defend himself."
"Does Anakin know this?" Padme asked.
"I am sure he is aware of the possibility." Mace answered.
"But you haven't told him?" Padme asked.
"He is not a fool, Padme; I am sure he has already come to this conclusion." Mace replied.
"Oh; maybe that's what Master Yoda meant when he said that Anakin had to be with him." Padme guessed.
"No, that was an entirely different matter; equally important, but different." Mace said.
"The gift, you mean; I wish someone would explain that to me." Padme replied.
"Until we understand it ourselves, we cannot." Mace told her.
"Understand what, Master Windu? What is this 'gift' that Master Yoda was talking about?" Padme asked.
Mace hesitated before speaking, "It's called the 'healing touch'. No living Jedi has actually seen it, but it is chronicled in the archives."
"And what makes you think that Anakin has this…touch?" Padme asked curiously.
"Two nights ago, Obi-Wan was seriously ill; feverish from the infection in his shoulder. Overnight, for no reason other than Anakin presence, that infection completely cleared up." Mace informed her. "Tonight, it seems to have happened again. Obi-Wan's blood loss was extensive and he was comatose when he arrived at the medical center. Although we were informed that he would probably recover, he was not expected to regain consciousness before morning. When Anakin went in with him, he did, within minutes. No one can give any medical reason why this happened."
Padme was speechless, "He is the Chosen One, Padme. Perhaps he was sent to us to do more than just balance the Force." Mace continued.
"Then he should not have left the Order. This is my fault; I should not have fallen in love with him." She replied with tears in eyes.
"Perhaps that was his destiny, also; to marry and have children. Children of the Force; like him." Mace answered. "He can still make many contributions to the Order; he is not lost to us, Padme. But you must understand that we need him as much as you and your children do."
Padme nodded, but did not speak.
"Now, do not worry about your safety, the safety of your children and certainly not about Anakin's. And I want to hear no more talk about his decision to leave the Order. We have all come to the conclusion that it was the will of the Force; we decided that many months ago." Mace assured her.
"Yes, Master Windu." Padme replied quietly.
"Good; I will leave you now so that you may get some sleep." Mace said.
When he left, he could sense that Padme's fears had subsided and he headed for his quarters where he found Zak waiting for him, "What are you doing here, Zak? It's late." He said.
"I…I can't sleep." He answered. "Can I speak with you?"
"Yes, of course." Mace replied. "Come in."
Zak followed Mace into the room and stood waiting for Mace to tell him what to do next.
"Sit down, Zak; on the bed." Mace told him as he sat in his chair.
Zak sat, back rigid with tension on the bed, "Now, tell me." Mace said gently.
"I…don't know where to start." Zak began.
"The beginning is always the best place to start." Mace answered.
"This morning…in the courtroom…"
"In the court room, go on." Mace urged.
"I…I…killed them; I killed them both." Zak finally managed to say. "I murdered them."
"Oh, Zak, I have already spoken with Master Gallia about this; you did not murder either one of them." Mace told him patiently.
"But Lord Grel…"
"Lord Grel was dying. He could not physically strike you, so he hit you with the only thing he had left – that word; and it appears to have been very effective." Mace explained. "Does Master Obi-Wan know about this?"
Zak looked down at the floor, "Yes. I didn't want to tell him, Master Anakin told me not to." He answered.
"Why would Master Anakin tell you that?" Mace asked.
"He said Master Obi-Wan was sick and that I should wait until he was better." Zak replied.
"Well, Master Anakin had a point; however, when you told your master, what did he say?" Mace asked.
"That I did what I had to do." Zak answered.
"And he was right, Zak. Lord Grel left you no choice." Mace assured him.
"But Lord Amedda; I killed him too." Zak protested.
"No, Master Gallia told me about that, also; and she told you that Lord Grel caused that by shooting at you." Mace countered.
"Then…I'm not a murderer?" Zak asked hopefully.
"No, Zak; and I do not understand why I had to be the one to convince you of this when Master Anakin, Master Gallia and even your own master should have been enough." Mace answered. "You were very brave today, Zak. You saved the Chancellor's life and you prevented Lord Amedda from escaping."
"But he died." Zak said.
"Yes, he died; but that was not your fault. Mourn the taking of a life, Zak, it is what makes you a Jedi; then you must move on; alright?" Mace told him.
"I think so; then you think I had no choice?" Zak asked.
"Not that I can see, Zak; no." Mace confirmed. "Now, it is very late; do you feel at least a little better?"
"…Yes; a little." Zak answered.
"Well, that's a start; tomorrow will be better, and the day after even more so." Mace said.
"Thank you, Master Windu." Zak replied with relief.
"I was glad to help; now, off to bed with you." Windu ordered.
"Yes, Master Windu; thank you again." Zak answered as he rose from the bed.
Mace could feel the boy's pent up tension easing and was glad to sense it; Zak had acted bravely and it was unfair that such a burden of guilt had been placed upon him.
"Master Kenobi's condition appears to be improving; however, I am unable to accurately assess this without performing a probe." EMD421 announced.
"Well you can't do that; and don't you have a silent mode?" Anakin said quietly.
"I do not understand. I did not probe Master Kenobi; I did not disturb him." EMD421 answered.
"But you will if you don't be quieter; he can hear you." Anakin replied softly.
"But I did not insert the probe; I did not disturb him." EMD421 insisted.
"Talking will wake him. Please, be quiet." Anakin ordered, trying himself not to raise his voice.
"I cannot insert the probe, I cannot be audible; how can I perform my function?" EMD421 asked.
"Just get out." Anakin told it, clearly becoming frustrated.
"I must perform my function, Master Skywalker." The droid said.
"Either be quiet or get out before you wake him up." Anakin replied.
"Too late." Obi-Wan murmured.
"You stupid droid; you've done it again. Get out…now, before I dismantle you." Anakin said angrily.
"I am not stupid; I am a fully functional Emergency Medical Droid. I have complied with your wish; I have not probed Master Kenobi. You cannot dismantle me." EMD421 answered, sounding as fearful as a droid could sound.
"I told you that Master Kenobi is a Jedi who needs to rest so that he can heal himself, does he look like he's resting to you? All you had to do was go into silent mode; you didn't need to say anything to check his condition. Now, get out." Anakin replied evenly, trying very hard to hold his temper.
EMD421's sensors noted Anakin's animosity and chose to do as Anakin wished; It left, mumbling something about not understanding human behavior.
"Go be with Padme, Anakin." Obi-Wan said quietly.
"I can't." Anakin answered simply.
"Why not? All I need now is rest; there's no reason for you to stay here any longer." Obi-Wan replied.
"You don't understand; do you?" Anakin asked.
"Understand what? I'm out of danger, Anakin; I just need rest." Obi-Wan told him.
"Then you don't see it." Anakin said.
"See what?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You were the target in that courtroom." Anakin answered.
"Oh, I don't think so, Anakin. The Chancellor was the target." Obi-Wan disagreed.
"Obi-Wan, you're always telling me to trust my feelings. Think about it. When Zak knocked the Chancellor down, that Clone didn't shoot at him again; who did he aim at?" Anakin replied.
"Probably no one in particular." Obi-Wan answered.
"Well, he had to turn in order to fire in your direction; why would he do that?" Anakin asked.
"I don't know, maybe he just panicked." Obi-Wan replied.
"A Clone?" Anakin countered skeptically, "Alright, let's leave that for now; what about JK?"
"What about him?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Think, Obi-Wan. Who was he firing at in that courtroom? Zak was a much easier target and he was trying to stop Grel; why didn't he shoot at him?" Anakin told him.
"Maybe he was shooting at you, Anakin." Obi-Wan answered.
"Then he should have stopped shooting when I left you. Why is it so hard for you to accept this?" Anakin asked, exasperated. "You were the target; you're still the target. Can't you see that?"
Obi-Wan rubbed chin and sighed., "I don't know. Maybe you're right; but I can't understand why I would be singled out. There were at least half a dozen Jedi in that room not counting Zak or you. Why me?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding almost as frustrated as Anakin was feeling.
"I don't know that; not yet. But someone wants you dead, Obi-Wan; and I don't intend to let that happen." Anakin answered firmly. "So, for now, I am staying put. You're not strong enough to defend yourself."
Again, Obi-Wan sighed.
"Well, I can't argue with that. I don't think I can even stand up." He admitted.
"And there's something else you should know." Anakin started. "When I spoke with Ma…Master Windu earlier, he said that someone had shut down the security cameras in that courtroom."
"That would make sense; whoever is behind this wouldn't want anyone to see what was going on." Obi-Wan reasoned.
"Yes, but, Obi-Wan, that someone…was a Jedi." Anakin revealed, "Possibly the same one who wouldn't let me speak with anyone when I contacted the Temple."
"Oh dear…does Mace think this too?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, he's the one who mentioned it." Anakin confirmed. "I wonder if this Jedi…"
"I don't want to believe that, Anakin." Obi-Wan said reluctantly.
"I don't either, but…"
"I said I don't want to believe it." Obi-Wan corrected. "But I can't deny that it could be possible."
"The question is why? You're one of the most agreeable Jedi in the Order. Who could dislike you so much?" Anakin puzzled.
"I'm too tired to think about that right now." Obi-Wan answered wearily.
"I know; just go back to sleep." Anakin said, "Nobody's getting past me."
