Here we are in chapter 18. Just one more until we get to the Clone Wars movie. I'm skipping over the episode with Slick even though it does take place before the movie. I'm sorry to say, however, that this is not an action-packed chapter. Sorry, about that, but it is more character driven which is also good. Anyway, let the story continue.
Obi-Wan was in the council room they were discussing recent ongoings in the war. Plo Koon had just finished filling the council in about what had happened on Yavin IV. Before that, Mace Windu discussed what happened to him, Kit Fisto, and their team on Hissrich. There were no changes in his story, Ben had noted. He had defeated the Separatist "commander" droid, AD-W4, but Prosset Dibs attacked Master Windu. Prosset was currently awaiting trial.
"Troubling this is." Yoda lamented. "Costly this war would be, I knew, but not like this." He said feeling slightly guilty.
"I agree." Mace Windu said. "Between Prosset Dibs and this General Grievous, the Separatists have battles are not the only thing we've lost." He added.
"Our numbers were dwindling, but now this." Mundi said.
"We must need more knights." Adi Galla said.
With those words, Obi-Wan saw his opportunity to speak up.
"I know this will generate debate, but I believe we should forego the trials and promote my padawan, Anakin, to Jedi Knight." Obi-Wan said.
"This is preposterous!" Oppo Ranciss protested. "We can't just set aside our most hallowed traditions." The Jedi Thisspiasian argued.
"In this time of need, why do we hold back the chosen one?" Ki Adi argued.
"Whether or not he is the chosen one is still to be determined." Windu said skeptically.
Even Piell began to ponder.
"Palpatine has been requesting this for months now." He brought up.
Obi-Wan and Ben began to sour. It would seem there would have to be times where they'd have to follow along Palpatine's plan. Fortunately, this part was mutually beneficial for both parties.
"Politicians have no voice in Jedi matters." Windu told him in a fickle manner. To say Windu was annoyed by the Chancellor constantly getting involved in Jedi personal matters would be an understatement.
"Well, he is a cunning warrior and our best pilot." Fisto brought up.
"But he is reckless with his gifts." Master Galla argued.
"Sometimes in the past, yes. However, Anakin has been put through more difficult. I believe that he passed a trial of skill when he helped defeat Ventress on Yavin four and he endured an atrocious trial of the flesh at the hands of Count Dooku." Obi-Wan said. "And he passed through every trial by following my guidance." He said.
Yoda looked at Kenobi. To the rest of the Jedi, he was just observing the discussion until he thought it was best for him to enter the fray. The only one who knew why the Grand Master was listening so attentively was Obi-Wan.
"Then it would seem he has, but one test left." Eeth Koth said.
"Testing the spirit." Shaak Ti's transmission from Kamino said.
"Facing the mirror." Piell said.
"And that is what concerns me." Oppo said. "To walk the path of the Jedi, one's spirit must be strong. That requires discipline and he has often disobeyed you has he not, Master Kenobi." He continued.
"I will not lie, but yes, many times in fact. However, I had a reckless and impatient streak too. Rightly around the same age as Anakin too." Obi-Wan argued.
"I have my doubts about this decision, but if Skywalker is ready then he is ready." Plo Koon said.
"A good point, Master Kenobi makes." Yoda said. "A just debate this is, but in these days of war, need all the knights we can. Unorthodox, young Skywalker's career has been, so to will his trials." Yoda added.
The rest of the Jedi Council, even Master Windu, nodded and began to get up from their seats. Obi-Wan looked at Yoda and could tell the Grand Master wanted to speak with him in private. After all the Jedi left the room, the three Jedi began to speak.
"Thank you for your support, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan said.
"Welcome are you, Master Kenobi." Yoda smiled and nodded. "Though not fully comfortable about this, I am." Yoda said feeling hesitant.
"I know Anakin first hand that Anakin was a difficult student." Obi-Wan said.
"Not entirely that." Yoda said. "Learned enough from you, young Skywalker has. Although learn more from someone else, he must." Yoda said.
Upon hearing that, both Kenobis knew what Yoda was talking about. Ben took control of the body.
"You are suggesting a padawan for Anakin?" Ben asked.
Yoda seemed taken surprised for a second, but then figured why.
"In your timeline, I suggested it?" Yoda asked.
"Well not to me personally, but yes you did assign a padawan to Anakin." Ben said.
The time traveler then realized something.
"Is she a Togrutan by the name of Ahsoka Tano?" Ben asked.
Yoda nodded. "Yes." He simply said understanding how Ben was so specific.
"In my timeline, you had Anakin take on Ahsoka as his padawan in order to help him let go." Ben said.
"Worked well, it did?" Yoda asked.
Ben smiled fondly as memories of working alongside Anakin and Ahsoka during the war came back to him, but memories from Ahsoka's trial came back to haunt him. Ahsoka's departure from the Jedi turned Anakin for the worst. Even when they briefly talked before the siege of Mandalore the scars never healed for Anakin. However, now Ben had a chance to prevent Ahsoka's departure.
"For the most part, yes." Ben said. "They are both equally reckless, stubborn, and driven. I could not think of a more perfect student for Anakin. Ahsoka will learn much from Anakin and he will learn from her." Ben said.
"Good." Yoda said. "Take some time this might." He added as he walked away.
"I'm well aware, old friend." Ben said. "I'll start to call Anakin over." Ben said.
"Indeed, may the force be with you." Yoda said.
Anakin anxiously walked towards the door to Padmé's apartment and knocked. To his surprise, his secret wife did not open it, but instead, it was C-3PO with his new gold plating. During their wedding, Anakin and Padme exchanged both Artoo and Threepio as wedding gifts. One of the first things, Padmé did with Threepio was give him new plating with the protocol droids enthusiastic support.
"Oh, Master Ani! It's so good to have you back!" Threepio greeted enthusiastically.
"Hello, Threepio, it's nice to see you as well old friend." Anakin said as he entered the apartment. "Where's Padmé?" He asked looking around the room.
"I'm here!" Padmé called out as she walked out of the nearby hallway.
She ran towards Anakin who promptly caught her and spun her around in the air for a bit. The two embraced in a kiss with their eyes closed. After a couple of seconds, they broke the kiss. It was there that Padmé saw the scar, surprising her.
"What happened?" She asked full of concern rubbing his scar.
"Sith Assassin," Anakin said. "Don't worry, she lost." He said. "It's not even that bad." He said trying to reassure her.
Padmé kissed him on the forehead. "I know and I don't care." She said.
Anakin smiled as she grabbed his arm and began to lead him elsewhere when all of a sudden his comm activated.
"Great." Anakin sarcastically thought feeling annoyed.
He looked at his wife and noticed she was annoyed as well. He sighed and turned it on. Obi-Wan appeared with a large smile on his face as if knowing what he just interrupted. Anakin was beginning to judge the advantages of having his master safeguard his secret.
"What is it, Obi-Wan?" He asked feeling annoyed.
Obi-Wan looked confused. "Am I intruding on something important?" He asked sounding genuine.
"Okay, so he's not pulling my leg." Anakin thought.
"Uh…" Anakin said trying to think of something while looking at an equally perplexed Padmé.
"Well whatever you were planning, you'll have to put a temporary halt on it." Obi-Wan said. "The council wants to meet with you." He told him.
At that mention both Anakins' and Padmés' hearts skipped a beat and their eyes opened up in fear.
Obi-Wan noticed their reactions.
"Its not about your marriage." He said reassuring him. "In fact, you'll find the surprise to be quite pleasant." Obi-Wan said.
Anakin breathed a sigh of relief, as did Padmé. He noticed that his wife shared some of his disappointment.
"This won't take long, will it?" Anakin asked.
"No, I'd say a couple of minutes at the most." Obi-Wan said.
"Good, I'll see you there." Anakin said. "May the force be with you, master." He said.
"And with you, my friend." Obi-Wan said as he turned off their call.
Anakin went up to Padmé and gave her a small kiss on the lips.
"I'll be back here soon, angel." He said with a small smirk. "Love you." The Jedi said.
"I love you too, Ani." Padmé said.
With that, Anakin walked out the door as Padmé watched on.
It took a while for Anakin to get back to the Jedi temple. He was currently on a lift to the Council's chambers. Skywalker was anxious throughout the entire trip. Obi-Wan had said that it was a pleasant surprise, but there were only a few things he could think of. One was getting knighted. Another was the Council found out about their marriage, but Obi-Wan had somehow managed to convince them to remain married and as a Jedi. The lift stopped and broke Anakin out of his thoughts. He saw Obi-Wan who was waiting by the door wearing his hooded robe.
"I'm here." Anakin said as he walked towards his master. "Where is this "pleasant surprise"?" He asked.
"It is in there." Obi-Wan said pointing to the open door of the council room. It was dark, Anakin noticed. He was starting to feel suspicious about this whole scenario.
"I'm not feeling comfortable right now." Anakin said.
Obi-Wan sighed.
"Anakin, I just want to tell you that despite all the arguments and property damage we've had over the years, that I could not have asked for a better student." Obi-Wan said.
"Thanks, that helped… a little." Anakin said as he walked into the dark room.
Suddenly, the room was lit by numerous lightsabers in a circle. It was the council, all wearing their hoods with their blades shielding their faces. Anakin smiled having realized what this all meant. The "pleasant surprise" and what Obi-Wan had said before this. His eyes darted around the room and saw Obi-Wan with the same smile.
"Step forward, padawan." Yoda said.
Anakin walked towards Yoda and kneeled. All the other Jedi lowered their lightsabers.
"Anakin Skywalker, by the right of the Council. By the will of the force, dub thee I do: Jedi." Yoda said as he cut off Anakin's braid with his lightsaber. "Knight of the Republic." He said.
With that said, Anakin stood up feeling positively delightful. The rest of the Jedi stood up and began to leave. Some of them even congratulating Anakin.
After they all left, Anakin felt a hand on his shoulder. Without looking he knew it was Obi-Wan.
"I believe congratulations are in order." Obi-Wan said.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan. I know I wasn't the best student, but I'm proud to have made you happy." Anakin said.
"You always did." Kenobi said.
He picked up his old padawan braid.
"Keepsake?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, but not for me." Anakin said. "I'm going to be heading back now." He said.
"Where are you heading off to?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Padmé's. I was there earlier." Anakin said as he began to leave. "See you tomorrow." He said before he left through the door as he waved.
Obi-Wan smiled while waving back. Before blanching, when he realized why Anakin was at Padmé's.
Meanwhile, on Serenno, Count Dooku sat on his desk strategizing for the war.
Dooku sensed someone familiar enter the room: Ventress. He felt her anger and hatred emanate around her. While in most cases this would have been positive, he could tell this was from frustration. Which meant that she failed in her assignment of killing either Skywalker or Kenobi. She entered the room and kneeled in front of him.
"Did you succeed?" He asked despite knowing the answer.
"No, Count." Ventress said. "I underestimated them." She muttered looking down.
Dooku rolled his eyes and sat up.
He began to walk towards her and circled around her.
"Despite your failure, you came here instead of hide?" Dooku said.
"Yes." Ventress simply said.
"Why?" Dooku asked as he stopped pacing.
"Its what you would've done." Ventress said.
"Clever." Dooku thought to himself.
"Well done you passed." Dooku said. "You have earned the right to become my apprentice." The Sith Lord said.
Ventress' eyes widened. "But The Jedi! They live!" She said.
"There were two ways you would have passed. The best way would've involved the deaths in either Skywalker or Kenobi. The other would've been surviving against them and returning back here. Total failure would've been you dying or not returning back to me if you failed." Dooku explained.
"Thank you, Count Dooku." Ventress said gratefully.
"Yes." Dooku said.
Immediately, Dooku stuck his hand out and lighting shot out of his fingertips electrocuting Ventress. She screamed in agony. Dooku then stopped himself and her screams stopped. Ventress was on the floor panting.
"Do not forget, that you failed your initial task. If you had killed either of them this would not have happened." Dooku said sternly. "Now leave. I will summon you here when I want you to." He said.
Ventress grudgingly left.
Dooku walked back to his chair and sat down. He began to ponder about his new assassin. Sure he may have stretched the rules for his test a bit, but after all, he needed an apprentice. While he was certain that Ventress would be no Qui-Gon Jinn she would definitely be better than Komari Vosa had been. Not to mention, he saw a little bit of himself in her.
He turned on the holoprojector he used to talk to Sidious. He kneeled just as his master had appeared.
"Lord Tyrannus." Sidious greeted.
"Master, I have accepted Asajj Ventress into my ranks as an assassin." Dooku said.
"She survived." Sidious mused almost feeling surprised. "Yet she failed her task. Why did you let her join us?" Sidious said in a threatening manner.
For a brief moment, Dooku felt fear, but he swallowed it and came up with an excuse.
"She survived and came back here, despite knowing the consequences of her failure." Dooku said. "Besides with the loss of Jango Fett, we could use another assassin. Only this time one who relies on the dark side of the force instead of mere tools." Dooku argued.
Sidious seemed to think about what his apprentice had said. One could practically see the gears turning in his head.
"Very well." Sidious said. "But know this, if she has outlived her usefulness you will do what I say and destroy her. Do you understand?" He demanded.
"Yes my master, I understand." Dooku said.
He knew apart of him would regret doing so, but it was a rather small part.
"Good." Sidious said. "Now, we must move onto more important matters." Sidious said.
"Are you referring to the Hutt trading routes?" Dooku asked. The Hutt trading routes were integral to the Outer Rim and would be beneficial to either side that wanted them. Dooku had caught wind of the Republic's plan to negotiate with Jabba, so they could gain access to them.
"Yes, we need access to them. They will be a great benefit to whichever side has them." Sidious said.
"What must I do?" Dooku asked.
"You must talk with Jabba's uncle, Ziro. He wishes to usurp his uncle." Sidious said.
"You're not suggesting to killing Jabba, master. We could be dealing with a vacuum in the underworld." Dooku said. "Something that neither we nor the Republic needs as of now." Dooku said.
"I'm aware of that." Sidious said. "We must deceive him. Jabba has a child, Rotta. If the Huttlet were to be taken, then Jabba would surely embargo his child's kidnappers." Sidious said alluding to his plan.
"You wish for us to frame the Jedi for Rotta's kidnapping?" Dooku asked. "A brilliant plan, Master." He praised.
"Can it be done?" Sidious asked.
"Yes master, but it will take time." Dooku said.
The hologram turned off and Dooku began to strategize his plan.
"Looks like Ventress, could be of some use after all." Dooku thought to himself.
Now we can finally enter The Clone Wars. Speaking of which, who here is glad that we will be having it back for one more season? I know I am. As always, tell me your thoughts about this chapter, and I'll see you next time.
