The Galactic Senate Chamber

"This extraordinary meeting of the Galactic Senate is now called to order," called the President of the Senate, a balding older human by the name of Ziv Frynd. Appointed by the most recent Chancellor as a gesture to placate his political foes in the Delegation of 2000, this was not a role he'd ever expected to find himself in. Frynd looked as shaken as many of the other Senators and Representatives present, and shrunk behind the Chancellor's dais in the center of the cavernous Senate chambers.

High in the Senate chamber, one member wryly observed to the other. "It is clear why Palpatine chose Frynd to placate the Delegation of 2000."

The President remained standing. "I have summoned the Senate at this late hour in an extraordinary meeting to discuss the state of our government and grave news. In the late evening hours on this day Jedi Master Mace Windu and three colleagues, Jedi Masters Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto, moved to arrest Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine in the name of this body."

A murmur rippled across the room, a dull roar considering the number of politicians murmuring to each other. Frynd tapped a gavel, producing a much amplified bang. "The Senate will remain in order."

With that pronouncement the Senate quieted somewhat.

"The Chair calls upon Jesra Loture, Captain of the Senate Guard, to speak."

One of the many spare repulsorpods lining the lowest level of pods came free of its dock and drifted towards the chair. A human woman in blue armor, an ornate helmet topped with a strip of blue plumage under her arm, stood at the fore of it. "I thank the Chair for the opportunity to speak on the behalf of the Senate Guard. In the intervening hours since the confrontation between the Supreme Chancellor and the Jedi, my department has conducted as thorough an investigation as we may. Security holograms have been pulled from within and outside of the Supreme Chancellor's office that appear to show the aforementioned engaged in combat with Jedi Master Windu, and at the latter's direction my office did recover a lightsaber that appears to have belonged to the former."

Repeatedly, now, Frynd had to gavel the meeting to order. Hundreds of voices at once erupting into expressions of shock and disbelief threatened to drown out the Captain of the Guard, who waited patiently.

"I present to the Chair and the Senate the lightsaber suspected as belonging to the Supreme Chancellor," Loture said, extending her free hand to the side where an aide placed the weapon. It bore dents from its long fall from the Chancellor's office, but it was recognizable as what it was. Droids circled closer, feeding close-up images to the hundreds of view screens in the other repulsorpods. "This weapon, it is asserted, was utilized in the killings of Jedi Masters Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto."

"What happened to the Chancellor?" a voice called, and many began to grumble in agreement. Captain Loture, a long-time veteran, was unperturbed. She looked at the President, who banged his gavel again.

"If the Senator from Malastare seeks to speak, he must first gain the Chair's recognition," Frynd warned.

Before the aforementioned Senator could seek recognition properly, another voice called out. "I rise to a point of procedural inquiry, Mr. President."

"State your point," Frynd responded.

The speaker, the Senator from Corellia Garm Bel Iblis, continued. "Is this information subject to debate, as is implied by stating the Senator from Malastare must seek recognition to speak, or not?"

Frynd sighed, though it was imperceptible to most in the chamber being so far away. "The Senate is not presently debating this information. The Senator from Malastare is instructed not to interrupt the recitation of events until Captain Loture has finished."

The Captain returned Palpatine's lightsaber to her aide. "Master Windu evidently defeated the Chancellor in a duel. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is dead, and under suspicion that he aided the Supreme Chancellor in subverting the Republic's war effort the Vice Chair Mas Amedda has been detained and is presently being questioned. As additional evidence, we have pulled the holorecordings from the Chancellor's office."

With that pronouncement the Senate nearly exploded into simultaneous argument. Some Senators may have even ignored the footage beamed to their repulsorpods, displaying the otherwise stately, elderly Chancellor Palpatine diving through the air and running a Jedi Master through with a crimson lightsaber. Frynd fought furiously for nearly a minute to regain control of the body as the Captain of the Guard's testimony and the video footage formed a sort of dual shock to the system of the every Senator in the chamber.

"Mr. President," the Senator from Malastare called, standing in his pod as the Senate slowly came back under control.

Turning to face him, Frynd held up a hand. He looked back at Captain Loture. "The Senate thanks you for your continued good service, Captain, you are dismissed."

As the second repulsorpod retreated back to its place, the President returned his attention to Senator Aak. "The Chair recognizes the Senator from Malastare."

"I move that a special committee be established to investigate these charges," Senator Aak continued. Many of his colleagues in the Loyalist Committee sounded their approval. Half the chamber groaned in disagreement.

Someone in the upper chamber shouted, "You have three eyes! Have you not watched the video, or are they all blind?"

"Order, I say! Is there a second?" Frynd asked.

"Aye!" called out the obese Senator Orn Free Taa. "I second the motion."

Frynd turned away to face the Senate at large. "It has been moved by Senator Aak and seconded by Senator Taa to create a special committee to investigate the death of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The Senator from Malastare is recognized."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Senator Aak replied. "It is a time of peril in the Republic, and to have the Supreme Chancellor assassinated is a grave threat both to the war effort and to democracy in the galaxy. The establishment of this committee will grant the Galactic Senate and the citizens of the Republic assurance that the serious matter of the death of our Head of Government will be investigated thoroughly."

Half a dozen Senators stood, seeking recognition, as the Senate grew more contentious still.


The Jedi Temple

Across Coruscant, far from the rapidly more intense extraordinary session of the Galactic Senate, a similarly special meeting of the Jedi Council took place. Mace Windu had returned to the temple alone, hours after leaving. He had collected the Senate Guards and given them a statement, describing the battle and how the Chancellor had come to look so… disfigured.

In the final moments of the fight he had disarmed Palpatine, who had unleashed a barrage of Sith lightning at him. The exertion- or perhaps the effect of his own lightning- had deformed him, changing his paternal visage into a sallow, wrinkled shell of its former self. The Senate Guard scarcely believed it was him.

Master Windu was the sole remaining Master in the Jedi Temple, surrounded by the shimmering holograms of the rest of the Council.

"Confronted the Chancellor, did you?" Master Yoda asked from Kashyyyk.

Windu nodded. "I did. Masters Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto followed but they did not survive the encounter with Palpatine."

Yoda's ears drooped as he took in the news. "Sad news, it is, but not in vain were their deaths."

"No, the Sith threat is ended. Skywalker informed me that Palpatine was the Sith Lord we have been hunting," Windu explained. The implications were astounding. "We must investigate everything Palpatine has been doing since even before Geonosis."

"Where is Anakin now?" asked Obi-wan Kenobi, leading his own clones in an assault on Utapau. The biggest news of the day had been that he had struck down General Grievous, effectively beheading the military leadership of the Separatists.

Mace Windu stepped aside, allowing Skywalker to take his place. He was evidently distraught by the night's proceedings. "I'm here, Obi-wan."

Obi-wan appeared to lean forward in his seat. "How did you discover that Palpatine was a Sith Lord?"

"He knew the ways of the Dark Side," Anakin replied.

Windu looked on, exhausted by the ordeal. Lending his own word to support Anakin's, he added, "If it were not for Skywalker, the Republic would remain a puppet to the Sith."

"If Palpatine was the Sith Lord, that means he was leading both sides of this war," Master Mundi observed. "With his death the CIS has lost all leadership but for the Separatist Council. Dooku, Grievous, and now the Sith. I cannot imagine that Wat Tambor and Nute Gunray can ably lead a war effort."

"A new, more dangerous phase of the war have we entered," Master Yoda said quietly. "How often did intelligence pass to the Order from the Chancellor's office? So, too, must I wonder how often Dooku received such intelligence from his master."

Obi-wan looked up. "Anakin, you told me that Palpatine had received word from clone intelligence units on General Grievous' location didn't you?"

Anakin nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, that's what he told me."

"It would seem clone intelligence hadn't found Grievous, but Palpatine had instructed him to go to Utapau then sent us after him," Master Mundi said.

"Check up on this 'clone intelligence', we should," Yoda suggested. "A real war, are we fighting now. Good intelligence we need."

"Master Kenobi," Windu said, looking up from where he'd taken his seat. "See what you can find on Utapau. That's our only lead on the Separatist leadership. If they aren't there, then they may recently have been. Wherever General Grievous was, we should likely at least find communication with the upper echelon of the CIS."

"I will do what I can," Obi-wan responded.

"The 501st is undergoing a refit here on Coruscant," Anakin said. In the back of his mind he had to wonder why they'd been ordered home- had that come from Palpatine, too? "When we find the Separatists I'll take the 501st after them. We'll be resupplied, rested, and ready to go."

"A good plan, if we find the Separatists in good time," Obi-wan replied. "The 501st is an elite unit we might have better use for on the battlefield. Especially if the war intensifies."

"I shall search for news here," Master Plo said, looking between the other Masters. "It would seem likely that Nute Gunray would remain in contact with someone on Cato Neimoidia."

"Cato Neimoidia is a good place to look," Windu said. He looked at Anakin. "When the 501st is combat-ready, I think it should be sent to Muunilinst. Separatists have reclaimed it, and we might find a lead on San Hill there."

"Muunilinst has just been retaken," Obi-wan said. "The Banking Clan has likely moved operations since the Republic liberated the planet. What about Mintooine? The Commerce Guild is headquartered there, and the planet has not yet been touched by the war. It is near enough that we can withdraw the 327th Star Corps and Master Secura from Felucia to assist."

So far silent, Aayla Secura spoke up. "I do not believe there is even a single trooper of the 327th who would be sad to leave Felucia."

"We will rotate the 633rd from Mon Calamari to Felucia to relieve them," Master Windu declared. He sighed. "Are we decided, then? Skywalker and Master Secura will go to Mintooine, and those of us in position will seek out information on the whereabouts of the Separatist Council."

The Council assented, one-by-one.

"Stabilized, the situation on Kashyyyk has," Master Yoda reported. "Routed, are the droids. I will return to Coruscant soon."

"The Senate will want to hear from me," Master Windu said. "I hid nothing from the Senate Guards, but that will likely not satisfy Palpatine's allies."

"No," Master Mundi agreed, "it will not."

"Then this meeting is adjourned," Master Windu announced. "May the Force be with you all."

"And with you," Obi-wan replied before the council faded from sight and the High Council chamber darkened.

Anakin was left alone with Mace Windu. "I'll go prepare the 501st for deployment," he said after several moments of silence. He could feel Master Windu's exhaustion, his concern rippled through the Force.

Windu remained seated, reclining in his chair. "When I left this temple, I told you that you would have earned my trust if Palpatine truly was a Sith Lord. You have, Skywalker. Rest for the evening, prepare for war tomorrow. I suspect we'll see each other again before you leave for Mintooine."

The pronouncement surprised Anakin, even though he remembered the conversation. He and Master Windu were not on the best of terms after several arguments in this very chamber. "Thank you, Master."

Windu sighed, sinking into the chair. There was still something to discuss, but he decided against saying anything about it for the time being. He suspected that there would be time for the two of them to speak again in the future. "Go on, I'm going to rest here for a minute."


Padme Amidala's Apartment

It was late in the evening- perhaps even morning- when Padme Amidala returned to her penthouse. The sprawling space was dark, save for the lanterns on the balcony overlooking Coruscant's Senate District and the lights of the city itself.

The Senate's extraordinary meeting had been exactly that- extraordinary. The Chancellor was dead, the Jedi to blame, the entire war a farce if it was true that he was a Sith Lord. If- weird word choice considering what she had seen in the security footage that the Senate Guard had provided them. No normal person could move that quickly or kill three Jedi Masters in seconds. While she felt vindicated in opposing the war from the very start, the plain truth was that it was a hollow victory. So many dead, so much destruction across the galaxy… all because of the machinations of one evil man. Her worst fears were realized.

Exhausted, deflated, she proceeded into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Her throat burned from all the debate, and her pregnancy taxed her energy even further. How much longer can I keep this up? she wondered offhandedly. Sooner or later she would have to take a leave of absence, and she was concerned about leaving Jar Jar to stand in her place while she took maternity leave. Perhaps she would have to find another.

She walked out onto the balcony, feeling the cool night air on her skin. Before she could sit, she suddenly felt sure she was being watched. "Padme," a familiar voice called.

"Anakin?" she asked, turning to face her husband. He embraced her, emerging from the shadows. She saw his cheeks were wet, evidently with tears. "What's wrong?"

"Chancellor Palpatine is dead," he said, his voice thick. "I… talked to him, about you… and the childbirth."

Padme shook her head. "I'm going to be fine, Anakin, I promise."

"I saw him fighting Master Windu," he continued. His eyes closed. "I let Master Windu execute him, but I thought…."

Padme squeezed him tighter. "I'm not going to die in childbirth. You couldn't let a Sith Lord rule the Republic, you made the right choice. You saved democracy in the entire galaxy. You're a hero… you're my hero."

Anakin felt as though he deflated the tighter she held him. "I can't… I won't…."

She pulled him to one of the couches and sat them both down. "You did everything right," she said quietly, pulling him closer. There was news from the Senate, of course, grave news for the Jedi- but it wouldn't do to burden Anakin with it now. "Let's go to sleep."

For a few minutes they sat together in silence while Anakin composed himself. "I don't want you to leave Coruscant," he said. "I want the babies born here, where the best doctors in the galaxy are. I'll be there with you."

"You-" Padme began to say. His duty had been to fight the war, to lead the clones through battle and put all of this to an end. How could she tell him in this moment that he would be on Coruscant for the birth, almost certainly? Rather than saying so, she stroked his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder.

The couple stood at last, and proceeded to the bedroom in silence.