His meeting with Yoda concluded, Anakin walked through the lower halls of the Jedi Temple towards what had over the past few years become the war room. When he arrived, several Jedi were filing out of the door. He excused himself as he squeezed past them and entered the room.

Obi-Wan looked up at Anakin as he descended the ampitheater steps. "You missed the report on the Outer Rim sieges."

"I'm sorry, I was held up. I have no excuse."

"In short, they are going well," Obi-Wan said as he rolled up a chart, tapping the end to straighten it out. "Saleucami has fallen and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity."

"So what's wrong, then?"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms. "The Senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the Chancellor today."

"Well that can only mean less deliberation and more action. Is that bad? It'll make it easier for us to end this war."

"Be careful of your friend Palpatine." Obi-Wan walked past Anakin towards the door.

Anakin turned as he left. "Be careful of what?"

Obi-Wan beckoned Anakin to follow. "He has requested your presence."

"What for?" Anakin followed up the steps.

"He would not say."

"He didn't inform the Council? That's unusual, isn't it?"

"All of this is unusual," Obi-Wan said as they walked through the door. "It's making me uneasy."

Anakin wasn't sure of what to make of this. The Chancellor had always been reasonably cooperative with the Jedi Order, why did they distrust him? Hadn't he always tried to do what was in the best interests of the Republic? Perhaps his meeting would help clear thing up for him.

--

The sun sat high in the sky when Anakin reached the Senate building. He knew the way to the Chancellor's office by heart and the guards had long given him unhindered access when Chancellor Palpatine was in. He entered the office and the Chancellor looked up from the parchments he had been reading.

"Ah, Anakin," he said, smiling. "Please, come in."

Anakin walked over as Chancellor Palpatine pushed the parchments aside. "You called for me?"

"Yes. I wanted to tell you that this afternoon, the Senate is going to call on me to take direct oversight of the Jedi Council. The Senate has become too unfocused to conduct a war, and this action will bring a swift end to things."

"I agree." The suddenness of this surprised Anakin, but he did think that this was a good course of action. "However, I don't think that the Council will see things the way we do."

"There are times where we must all endure change. Even the Jedi Council. This is what the people have chosen, and as part of the Republic, the Jedi must defer to them just as I do."

"With all due respect, sir, the Council is in no mood for more constitutional amendments, especially one as drastic as this. I fear there will be a great deal of pushback."

"Thank you, my friend. But in this case, I have no choice." Palpatine stood and walked around the desk to Anakin's side. "This war must be won. Everyone will agree on that." He patted Anakin on his back and they started walking.

"I would certainly hope so."

The Chancellor chuckled. "Anakin, I've known you since you were a small boy. Over the years I've advised you when I could. You've won many battles that the Jedi Council thought were lost. And you have saved my life."

Anakin bowed his head respectfully.

"Which is why," Palpatine continued, "it's upsetting to me to see that the Council doesn't seem to fully appreciate your talents." The two of them stopped. "Don't you ever wonder why, if you've done so much for them, they keep you off the Council?"

"My time will come. When I'm older and, I suppose, wiser."

Palpatine chuckled again. "Age is not a good measure of ability, Anakin. No, I think they see in you something they fear."

Anakin cocked his head and Palpatine started walking again.

"They see your future and how much stronger you will become. Too much for them to control. Perhaps a threat to their power."

Anakin nodded as he stared at the floor in front of him. "I have sensed that..."

Palpatine looked to Anakin. "I hope you trust me."

"Of course," said Anakin, looking up to his friend.

Palpatine sighed. "I need your help, son."

"What do you mean?" Anakin's brow furrowed.

"I am depending on you."

"For what? I don't understand."

"To be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic. Anakin, I want to appoint you to be my personal representative on the Jedi Council."

Anakin was stunned. "Me? A master? I- I'm overwhelmed, sir."

"I think it's high time," Palpatine said with a smile.

"But the Council elects its own members. They'll never accept this."

"I think they will. They need you. More than you know."

--

Anakin returned to the Temple to inform the Council of the new amendment and Palpatine's appointment. The reaction from the masters was predictably negative and several were outraged. But they realized that it was out of their hands and they had to obey the Republic's laws whether or not they agreed with them.

The Council dismissed Anakin to discuss what was to be done. After nearly an hour, he was called back into the chamber. Master Yoda waited until Anakin was in the middle of the chamber to announce their decision.

"Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not. Disturbing, is this move by Chancellor Palpatine."

"I understand," Anakin said. He had to admit, he was slightly excited to become a master.

"You are on the Council," said Master Windu, "but we do not grant you the rank of master."

Anakin's jaw almost dropped. "What?"

Mace Windu's eyes narrowed. Anakin's reaction was exactly why he had voted against making him a master.

"How can you do this? It's outrageous. It's unfair!" Anakin was beside himself.

Obi-Wan looked down at the floor. He knew that Anakin would take it poorly.

Anakin continued expressing his displeasure. "How can someone be on the Council and not be a master?"

"Take a seat, young Skywalker," said Mace Windu, scowling at Anakin's outburst.

Anakin took a few deep breaths, then bowed. "Forgive me, Master."

Obi-Wan shook his head in disappointment as Anakin walked over to his seat in the circle. Anakin sat, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Over the course of the war, many Jedi masters had been unable to take part in the Council's meetings because of their duties commanding troops far away from Coruscant. The Council had decided to install communication fonts under the seat cushions so that even though they couldn't physically be at the meetings, they could still take part.

Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was one of the masters far away during the meeting. His silver form was the first one to speak to continue the meeting. "We have scoured every territory in the Republic, but there is still no sign of General Grievous."

"Hiding in the Outer Rim, Grievous is," said Yoda. "Sweep the outlying territories, you must."

"We don't have many more ships to spare," said Obi-Wan, thinking about how many had been damaged or destroyed in the previous day's battle.

"What about the Separatist attack on the Wookiees?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"It is critical that we send an attack group there immediately," said Master Windu.

"Indeed," agreed Obi-Wan. "Kashyyyk is a region we can't afford to lose."

Yoda nodded. "Go, I will. Good relations, I have with the Wookiees."

"Very well then," said Master Windu. "Master Yoda will take a battalion of homunculi to reinforce the Wookiees in Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all."

--

After the meeting, Anakin and Obi-Wan left together. Anakin was still fuming from the Council's decision and couldn't help but express his displeasure as he and Obi-Wan walked the halls of the Temple.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Putting me on the Council but not making me a master? It's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting!"

"Oh, calm down Anakin. You have been given a great honor. To be on the Council at your age- that's never happened before either." Obi-Wan sighed. "The fact of the matter is you're too close to the Chancellor. The Council doesn't like when he interferes in Jedi affairs."

"I swear to you, I didn't ask to be put on the Council."

"But it's what you wanted. Your friendship with Palpatine seems to have paid off."

Obi-Wan's words struck a nerve. "That has nothing to do with this!"

Obi-Wan looked to Anakin. "The only reason that the Council approved your appointment is because the Chancellor trusts you."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "Where are you going with this?"

"Anakin, I am on your side. I didn't want to put you in this situation."

"What situation?"

Obi-Wan stopped and hung his head. He took a deep breath. "The Council wants you to report all the Chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to."

Anakin's lip curled. "They want me to spy on the Chancellor? Firstly, that's treason!"

"We are at war, Anakin."

"But not with the Chancellor!" Suddenly Anakin became more suspicious. "Why didn't the Council give me this assignment while we were in session?"

"This assignment is not to be on record."

Anakin could hardly believe that the Jedi Council that he had served for so long was this underhanded. Or could he? They had lied to him about Obi-Wan's death that one time. Perhaps they did this more often than he realized. "The Chancellor is not a bad man, Obi-Wan. He befriended me and has watched out for me ever since I first came to Coruscant."

"And that's why you must help us. Anakin, our allegiance is to the Senate, not its leader. Palpatine has stayed in office long after his term has expired, pushing through reform after reform."

"The Senate demanded that he stay longer," Anakin said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, but search your feelings, Anakin. Something is out of place."

Anakin pursed his lips. "You're asking me to directly break the Jedi Code. To go against the Republic, a mentor, and a friend. That is what's out of place here!" Anakin shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you ask this of me?"

Obi-Wan didn't like this either, but he had sworn an oath to the Order. "The Council is asking this."

--

A la'at soared above the rooftops of Coruscant. On the streets of the less affluent districts, lamplighters started their rounds in the burgeoning twilight. The three Jedi on the la'ats back hadn't said a word since they had left the Temple, but Obi-Wan decided to break the silence. "Anakin didn't take to his assignment with much enthusiasm."

"I think it's dangerous, putting them together like this," said Master Windu. "I don't think the boy can handle it. Frankly, I don't trust him."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. "With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One? The one to bring the world out of darkness and bring balance to the Force?"

"So the prophecy says."

Master Yoda grumbled in thought. "A prophecy that misinterpreted, could have been."

The other two Jedi nodded. "I promise you," said Obi-Wan, "he will not let me down. He never has."

"I hope right, you are."

A few minutes later, the la'at landed in the Grand Harbor where a Star Destroyer sat docked, ready to depart. In addition to the battalion commander, a representative for the Wookiees greeted Yoda upon landing. Before the last glow of the sun had vanished, the ship had left the harbor on its way to Kashyyyk.

--

After his conversation with Obi-Wan, Anakin went straight from the Jedi Temple to Padmé's apartment. The entire way there, he couldn't help but think about all the other ways the Council had either done him or those close to him wrong. The first that came to mind was how they had treated his Padawan, Ahsoka when she had been accused of the attack on the Jedi Temple. There were more, but that was the main one he focused on.

The Council seemed so out of touch with anyone who didn't conform to their narrow views to the point where the common people, it seemed, had lost faith in them. Maybe Ahsoka was right to leave the Order.

Anakin dismissed that idea. He couldn't turn his back on them now. Things would be different once the war was over. Maybe they'd improve. If not, he could leave like Ahsoka did and live with Padmé in Naboo and help care for their child. Perhaps he could start his own school of the Force, one that treated its students fairly.

There it was again. The thought of turning his back on the Jedi. He didn't want to, he had his whole life ahead of him but one way or another, he would make sure he spent it with Padmé.

When he reached the apartment, Padmé had just finished eating dinner. She sat on the balcony as Threepio cleaned up. Anakin joined his wife in the cool night air.

Padmé noticed the serious expression Anakin wore. "What's wrong?"

Anakin sighed as he sat next to her. "Sometimes I wonder what's happening to the Jedi Order. I think this war is destroying the principles of the Republic."

"Yeah... I would think that we'd all be united against a common threat and do what's best for everyone, but it seems like so many- too many are still as self-serving as ever."

"Exactly."

"Have... Have you ever considered we might be on the wrong side?"

Anakin's face hardened. "What do you mean?"

"What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists? What if the Republic has transformed into the very system we've been fighting against for the last three years?"

"I don't believe that at all. And you're sounding like a Separatist." There was bitterness in Anakin's voice.

"Anakin, this whole war represents a failure to listen. You're closer to the Chancellor than anyone, please, ask him to stop the fighting and allow diplomacy to resume."

"Don't ask me to do that," Anakin snapped. He stood up. "Make a motion in the Senate where that kind of request belongs."

Anakin's outburst caught Padmé off-guard. "What's bothering you so much?"

Anakin leaned against the railing, facing away from Padmé. "Nothing."

Padmé stood and walked over to Anakin. "Please don't do this. Don't shut me out. Let me help you."

Anakin turned to Padmé and she put a hand on his face. "Hold me," she said. "Hold me like you did in Varykino. So long ago when there was nothing but our love. No politics, no plotting, no war."

Anakin sighed. He held her close and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I'll tell you what's going on later. I still need some time to think things over."

--

Later that night, after Padmé had gone to bed, Anakin received a call on his pocket font while he meditated on the balcony. It was from the Chancellor's office, requesting that he meet with the Chancellor in the Uscru Opera House. After saying that he'd be there, Anakin woke Padmé to tell her where he was going and that he might not be back until after midnight. He gave her a kiss and left the apartment.

The Uscru Opera House was a shining example of Coruscant architecture. It was a round building with tall decorative arches of polished white marble contrasting with the purposefully rough-hewn stone of the rest of the building. The roof was covered in plates of copper, polished and treated to resist corrosion.

The interior was even more impressive. Every marble column had been carved into statues of characters from the world's most notable performances. Magnificent carpets of rich reds and blues covered any floor not decorated with mosaics and even the simplest metal fittings were plated in gold or silver.

Anakin walked through the front doors into the vaulted entry hall. He paid no attention to the grand ceiling fresco or any of the extravagantly dressed patrons. Instead he made his way to the Chancellor's private viewing box. The guards greeted Anakin and let him past.

Several of Palpatine's confidants sat around him as well as a pale lady that Anakin didn't recall ever meeting. They were watching the Mon Calamari classic opera "Squid Lake" with rapt attention. Anakin walked over to the Chancellor's seat and knelt beside it so as not to obscure the performance for the others in the box.

"You wanted to see me, Chancellor?"

"Ah, yes, Anakin. I have good news. Our homunculus spies have discovered the location of General Grievous. He's hiding in Utapau."

Anakin grinned. "At last! We will finally be able to catch that monster and end this war."

"Indeed. And I would worry about the collective wisdom of the Council if they didn't select you for this assignment, given how handily you took down Count Dooku. You are the best choice, by far."

Anakin bowed his head. "Thank you for your continued confidence." He wanted to add that he wished the Council had as much confidence, but he kept it to himself.

"Bah, but this is no way to have a conversation. Come, sit." Palpatine turned around to his guests. "Leave us."

They all stood, though Anakin noticed that the pale lady in her voluminous robes had difficulty rising out of the chair much like Padmé did these days. Palpatine brought him out of this thought by patting the now empty seat of the chair next to him. Anakin sat and was impressed by how comfortable the chair was.

"Anakin, the reason I called you out here tonught is because I know that I can trust you." Chancellor Palpatine's tone was serious. "With your appointment to the Jedi Council, if they haven't included you in their plot, they soon will."

"Plot? I'm not sure I understand."

"You must sense what I have come to suspect. The Jedi Council want control of the Republic. They are planning to betray me."

"I don't think that-"

"Anakin, search your feelings." Palpatine paused. Anakin's eyes fell to the floor. "You know, don't you?"

"...I know they don't trust you."

"Mm. Or the Senate. Or the Republic. Or democracy, for that matter."

Anakin took a deep breath. "I have to admit that my trust in them has been shaken."

"Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they?"

Anakin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Hmm. They asked you to spy on me, didn't they?"

"I... I don't, uh... I don't know what to say..."

Palpatine nodded. "Remember back to your early teachings. All who gain power are afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi."

"The Jedi use their power for good," Anakin said, slightly hurt but still understanding.

Palpatine chuckled. "Good is a point of view, Anakin. The Separatists think that they are good and the Republic is evil." He sighed. "The Jedi and the Sith are similar in so many ways, including their quests for greater power."

"The Sith rely on their passions for strength. They think inwards- only about themselves."

The Chancellor's eyebrows raised. "And the Jedi don't?"

"The Jedi are selfless. They only care about others."

On the stage below, the song concluded. The audience around them started applauding. The performers moved around to prepare for the next act. As the applause died down, Chancellor Palpatine turned to Anakin again.

"Did you ever learn about the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? It was a fable my mentor taught me as a youth."

Anakin turned to Palpatine. "No."

"Hmm, I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord so powerful and so wise that he could use the Force to create... life. He had such a knowledge of these esoteric aspects of the Force that he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying."

Anakin's heart jumped. "He could actually... save people from death?"

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some would consider to be unnatural."

Anakin nodded.

Palpatine raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "What about you, Anakin? You've seen them in action."

Anakin sighed. "Many of them are... Distasteful. But I have to admit that some of them could be useful for everyone if the Jedi were more open-minded."

Palpatine smiled slightly. "Mm. Quite."

"So, what happened to him? Plagueis, I mean."

"He became so powerful that the only thing he feared was losing his power. Which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. The apprentice killed him in his sleep." The Chancellor chuckled. "It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself."

"Would... Would it be possible to learn how he did it?"

Palpatine slowly turned to look at Anakin. "Not from a Jedi."