SURPRISE!: This chapter was betaed by the incredible wonderful kathrynd518. Send her love!

Chapter 5 - Poking the Rancor

Ben knew that Sidious was going to get word of Luke. He knew Maul was going to go after everyone he loved, again. But the timeline had changed.

He didn't know how Maul had originally found out about his relation to Satine, but with his luck, it's enviable that he would find his way back to Mandalore.

As of yet, he hasn't done all that much to change the past, but he can't let Mandalore's fate rest.

There was a reason the Empire subjugated the planet, its position, its resources, its history, and when the Mandalorians inevitably rebelled, it was after all -Mandalore, the Empire had nearly succeeded in a complete genocide of the war clans.

It was something Ben had great sympathies for.

Now all he had to do was convince the Council that the Republic needed Mandalore whether it was a part of them or not.

Maybe he could convince Satine to join the Republic?

He sighed, he would need to convince Satine of a lot of things, mainly that pacifism and naturality were going to get her and her people killed.

He had absolutely no idea how to do that.

Maybe if he told her he was from the future?

It would be nice to tell someone other than Luke. Luke was so new to the wider galaxy that in all reality the time difference hadn't really made much of a difference to him.

Well, aside from being the same relative age as his parents.

"Luke," Ben said, "I'm afraid we are going to have to start your Jedi training in earnest."

Luke looked at him curiously, they were in Ben's room on the 501st Star Destroyer, he had already contacted Cody to prepare them to go to Mandalore.

Satine was going to be pissed when he showed up with an entire Battalion uninvited.

He was sort of looking forward to it.

"So, no more training with the troops?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

Ben smiled, "Oh, no, you'll still be training with them, but you're too short to hide behind trooper armour and your presence shines in the Force. Darth Maul, an old adversary of mine is going to target you as soon as he hears your name. You need to learn basic blocks and how to run away from someone with a lightsaber without losing a limb or getting bisected."

Luke stared at him, "How dangerous is he?"

"He killed my Master, the love of my life, and kicked my butt several times over. He found us on Tatooine in our timeline two years ago."

Luke's eyes widened, "Did he-"

"I killed him, but that doesn't guarantee that I can do it again," Ben lied.

He was going to kill Maul this time around. There would be no more games. But he wasn't so arrogant to understatement how much damage Maul could do before Ben could catch him.

But he wasn't going in alone this time, he was positive Anakin would agree to go with him even if the Council said no.

Luke nodded, "Okay, where do we start?"

"We will start tonight, we'll be headed to Mandalore this evening."

Luke's eyes widened, "Isn't that where the Imperial Academy was?"

"One of the academies, yes, and the Empire had to slaughter more than half the population to keep that position."

Luke raised a brow, "I heard rumours of that... it really isn't any wonder why the Mandos are so grumpy all the time."

"And their personalities weren't exactly cheerful to begin with."

Luke shrugged, "I heard a Mandalorian laugh once when they were blowing up a cantina in Anchorhead."

Luke was, of course, referring to the only cantina in Anchorhead.

Ben rolled his eyes, "Of course you were there for that."

The settlers had been buzzing about that incident for months, it did not surprise Ben at all that Luke was at the centre of the action.

Shaking his head, Ben refocused on current events and said, "There is something I need to tell you before we land."

"What?" Luke asked with some concern.

"Other Force sensitives can sense each, it's why bringing you to a remote planet was necessary instead of placing you with your mother's family on Naboo. While being a Skywalker on Tatooine was safe enough, nearly anywhere else in the galaxy could put you in harm's way." Ben explained. It had also been one place in the galaxy that he was certain that Anak- Vader would never step foot on again.

Luke nodded, "I've been beginning to piece that together."

"You had a twin sister who was adopted by a close friend of your mother's, doubtless that Darth Vader sensed something from her but Leia Amidala Skywalker was raised as Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan," Ben said, remembering how Bail had taken the babe into his arms. Ben had no doubts that she would be safe with him. "It was her position as the sole heir to one of the noblest and peaceful worlds of the Core and the Republic, of the Empire, that kept her in the public eye and therefore protected her. So long as she was never trained in the Force, and her father went to great lengths to teach her control over her emotions, then she was relatively safe."

"Alderaan?" Luke asked, "You mean, that girl in the hologram that R2 had, that was my twin sister."

"Yes, she was," Ben said with some regret, "She became a leader in the Rebellion just like Senator Bail Organa, her father was, as you hoped to become one day. In fact, Bail was one of the masterminds behind the Rebellion."

"That's incredible," his expression fell, "But I'm never going to meet her, am I?"

"Not as your twin, no, I am sorry to say, but as your sister? Perhaps." Ben couldn't help but smile a bit, "Your birth parents are after all, still very much together. You may still become an older brother, though it will be decades between you as opposed to minutes. And if we achieve our goal in saving the galaxy from an Empire, who knows? Perhaps there will be even more Skywalkers in the world."

Which was honestly speaking, a bit terrifying, but not something that Ben would ever wish to prevent.

"What if I'm born again?"

"It's possible, but you still won't be the same person. Look at the clones, the same genetic material, yet each person is so very different."

Luke nodded before he sighed and looked away, "I wish I could meet Padme."

"You will be meeting her today, actually."

Luke's head snapped up, "Really?"

Ben smiled, "She will be there to greet us among the Senate representatives." He could always tell when she would be there because of Anakin's anxiety level nearing Coruscant. "We will be arriving around lunch and I will ask her to show you around Coruscant."

"You want to keep me away from Palpatine too, don't you? Appo mentioned that the Chancellor is going to greet us." Luke asked as the thought occurred to him.

"Yes, and Luke, it is imperative that you keep your emotions calm around him. He must not suspect that we know him for what he is." Ben knew it would be easier for Luke than it would be for himself. It just wasn't as personal for Luke.

Luke frowned, "Remind me again why we can't just kill him?"

"Because he is insanely powerful and because even if we managed to get the upper hand on him he would likely flee. The Sith are slippery," which would result in Order 66. "And besides that, it would be a political disaster. He's the Chancellor of the Republic, we would be branded as traitors and Dooku would simply take his place. There is a longer game to play here."

Get Anakin to beat him so Palpatine didn't have time to pull the kill switch on the Jedi Order.

And by the time Ben convinced Anakin that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, he hoped half the galaxy would already suspect him.

He sighed, Force help him, none of this was going to be easier, knowing the future was like knowing how they had failed.

But that didn't exactly cover all the new ways he could fail in an interesting fashion.

Luke put a hand on his arm, "We can do this, Ben. There are more people with us than against."

Ben smiled, because of course, Luke was right. Currently, they were far from alone.

Currently, they weren't beyond hope. And if he could still have hope when almost all Light in the galaxy was lost then he could have hope when there was still so much to save.

"Also," Ben said, changing the topic, "I am not sure if Ahsoka knows about Anakin and Padme, I know Rex suspects, but just so you are warned I plan on teasing Anakin."

Luke raised his brows, "How?"

"Anakin has yet to tell me that he's married. I suspected they were intimate since we had a mission with her at the start of the war, but I never knew they eloped until you were born. While Ahsoka and I would never tell the Jedi Council, I found myself a bit peeved that he never confided in me."

"But you know now, so what? You're going to drop hints until he confronts you on it?"

Ben smiled, "Precisely."

Luke smiled, "You two really were like brothers, weren't you?"

Ben's smile softened, "Yes, we were, and I hope this time around I can be there when he needs me."

The engine change was audible and he motioned for Luke to follow him.

Ben was relieved when he saw that they would be headed to the Chancellor's office as opposed to the Temple.

Luke was worried that the Chancellor would be there to greet them when they stepped off the carrier.

But he wasn't, instead, among the people waiting for them was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life.

Senator Padme Amidala.

Luke's heart hurt. Aunt Beru was as good a guardian as anyone could have asked for, but just like with Uncle Owen, there had been walls between them. She never wanted to leave the planet. Never wanted to step into the unfamiliar.

But Padme was his actual mother. And she was a Senator, someone who wouldn't have despised his dreams of leaving Tatooine, of wanting more from life than a quiet farmstead.

Aunt Beru had understood that more than Uncle Owen had, but there was a limit to how much she had been willing to speak with him about or listen to him talk about his dreams.

Neither Anakin nor Padme seemed to be without ambition, neither seemed content to let the galaxy tear itself apart, neither let anything prevent them from trying to help the galaxy at large.

And he loved them for it. They, just like Ben, he could aspire to be like without regret or disappointment.

Luke watched Padme's eyes, the colour of mineral stone hit just right by the suns, light up as she spotted Anakin. Though her face was a pleasant mask, her eyes were warm in greeting for him alone.

Glancing at Anakin, Luke saw the same look, how happy he was just to see her again.

It warmed Luke's heart to see how much they loved each other even if they were actively hiding it from those around them.

Beside Padme stood a tall man with noble white and grey clothing, his skin rich, his dark eyes filled with warmth and wisdom.

If not for his clothing, Luke would have assumed he was a Jedi. Luke was glad that standing before so ornately dressed people on this city-planet that his clothes had been replaced with an armour that mirrored Ben's.

Anakin stepped forward to greet them, but Ben caught Luke by the shoulders and stepped them both in Anakin's way.

"Padme, Bail, so good to see you," Ben enthused.

Bail raised a single dark brow while Padme smiled at him, "We came to greet you, Master Kenobi, when we heard you would be arriving on our way out."

"Ah, so you will be leaving us to the mercy of the Chancellor, I see."

Padme laughed, the sound light and beautiful, Luke could easily believe she was from a planet like Naboo, no one laughed like that on Tatooine.

"I'm sure you will be fine, from what I have heard it will be all praise and press today. Bail and I were just going to grab something to eat before one of our committees convene."

Ben smiled at her fondly, "That is the worst sort of danger there is. But if you must abandon us, may I ask for a favour?"

She seemed a bit surprised but still open, "Of course, anything, Obi-Wan."

"I was wondering if you might take my son with you to lunch? He's rather new to the city."

Her face went completely blank, and then she glanced at Anakin who had his arms crossed beside Ben.

"Your son?" she repeated, finally focusing on Luke, Bail too was looking at him with astonishment.

"Yes, and forgive me, we need proper introductions, Padme, Bail, this is Luke Kenobi, my son. Luke, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo and Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, dear friends of mine."

Bail inclined his head, "A pleasure, Luke Kenobi."

Padme's face had gone blank and her gaze slid back to Anakin, her eyes widening in silent question.

Anakin could only shake his head in response.

But Padme recovered with remarkable ease, "An honour to meet you, Luke, and it would be a delight to take you to lunch with us." She glanced to Anakin's left, "Ahsoka, would you like to join us too? I know the Council doesn't like having the Padawans involved with the press."

Ahsoka nearly shouted, "Yes, please!" Almost skipping to Luke's side.

Anakin looked deflated as their group waved goodbye.

Appo winked at Luke as he passed with the other top officers who entered the Senate building.

Luke didn't envy them at all, and while he worried for Ben, he was confident that Ben and Anakin together could handle just about anything.

"So Luke," Padme began, "where are you from?"

"Tatooine," he said, swallowing his nerves as he stepped onto the transport platform that would take them to a restaurant.

Padme stared at him, "You don't say. Do you know the Lars family by chance?"

Luke nodded, "Yeah, I know them pretty well, I lived close by."

As in, I lived with them.

Padme shook her head slightly, "Sometimes, in a galaxy so vast, it always amazes me how connected we all are."

Ahsoka grinned, "Yeah, Obi-Wan seems drawn to having his Padawans be from Tatooine. For such an unremarkable planet some of the most remarkable people seem to be from there."

Luke smiled at her, "Thanks."

Ahsoka smiled back at him, her blue eyes bright and kind.

"Luke, may I ask," Padme said, "Your mother-"

"She passed away when I was born," Luke said, thinking it would be hard to say that to her, but finding that it was more truth than lie.

Padme was the mother he had lost, whether she stood before him now or not, she hadn't been around to see him grow up.

"Ben came to bring me to the Order after my guardians were killed."

"Ben?" Bail asked.

"Um, sorry, Obi-Wan, I always knew him as Ben on the rare occasions I saw him."

"Obi-Wan stayed in touch with you?" Padme asked.

Luke nodded, "He's a tad bit protective, but I didn't know he was my dad. I thought he was just some old hermit, who would have guessed he was a Jedi?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "Yeah, I would never have guessed Master Kenobi had an alter-ego either."

Bail chuckled, "And here we all thought Skywalker was the reckless one."

Ben felt his own anxiety rise with every step they took toward the Chancellor's office.

Cody, Jesse, Rex, and Appo were all emulating his stress, their every step landing firmer and more in sync as if they were marching in a parade.

I can't do this.

Ben was having to fight his breath, how was he going to face Palpatine and not try to kill him.

Yes, the man was stronger than him, and in his present company…

He didn't have time to explain to Mace, Yoda would try to break up the fight, Anakin would stand shocked, helpless.

And Palpatine?

The slime wouldn't fight, he would pretend to be weak and turn everyone against Ben.

But that didn't change the fact that he couldn't do this. It was too much to ask. He had finally been able to reach Anakin, finally had been able to see the damage in his mind.

He needed a mind healer, but Anakin would never cooperate with that, so Ben was the best Anakin had.

But Ben couldn't sit on the sidelines, he couldn't play games inside of Anakin's head as he watched Palpatine undo any solace Ben was able to give him.

Ben realized that he couldn't be on the same side as Sidious, not even in pretence. He realized that he had been wishing, hoping that when he brought Luke before the Council as his son that they would kick him out.

Force help him.

Force what was wrong with him!?

He couldn't help Anakin and Ahsoka if he wasn't here. He couldn't help the clones if he wasn't here.

But how could he stay quiet when he knew that evil waited on every side, every front.

He-

He was a Jedi.

And no matter what path in life Ben could take he would always be a Jedi.

Even if he left the Jedi Order.

Even if the Jedi didn't exist.

Force help him, but he just couldn't stay.

He had to break this cycle, he had to save his people, clones and Knights.

Because they were all a part of the same, their fates were all unbearably tied together.

Their lives had all been twisted to the same bloody crescendo.

Jedi were meant to be first responders, they were meant to help people, not wage war against them.

People said that the Jedi had no family, no place, but at their height, the galaxy had been their home, all peoples were their people.

The only side they were supposed to be on was on the side of life.

Nostalgia swept Ben then, of all the adventures he had gone on with Qui-Gon, disobeying the rules to follow the Force, disobeying what was proper to do what was just.

Resolve came over him then.

He had thought to get Satine to side with the Republic, but not only would she never bow to the corruption of the Senate, but neither could he.

And just as Qui-Gon had gone against the Council to follow the will of the Force, Obi-Wan was going to go against the Senate to follow the true mandate of the Jedi.

He stopped abruptly, and the clones who had been watching him carefully came to a halt behind him as he turned.

Anakin, Mace, Yoda, and Plo Koon didn't seem to notice immediately.

Ben spoke in a low voice, "I am going to do something very stupid that will very well might lead to my arrest."

"General," Cody warned, taking off his helmet to glare at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Pick a fight," he said with a grin at the scowl Cody gave him, "I'm making a lot of unfounded accusations that I know to be true. I'm not going to ask you to join me but if this ends the way I hope it will and you don't want me to leave you behind then signal to me," he said in a rush. He looked at Rex, "I would prefer, Rex, if you stayed with Anakin but you don't have to. The Republic doesn't have the resources to go after an entire battalion if they just so happen to desert. Anakin will want to follow me but not if it means being branded as a traitor to the Republic."

"Sir," Cody said, a tinge of anger to his voice.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin called from up ahead.

They hadn't noticed Ben's distress because he had been folding away his Force presence, but the troops had been watching his shoulders tighten, his body language.

"Obi-Wan, what's the problem?" Mace asked.

Ben shook his head, "Apologies, I just had a question about the 212th."

Mace sighed, "That's all well and good but the sooner we get this done the sooner we can leave."

Ben smiled, "Of course." And stepped forward about to ruin everybody's day.

Anakin was relieved that today was just pictures and a brief synopsis for the press rather than a full press briefing.

This was a pretty clear victory for the Republic, even if both Zygerria and Kiros weren't a part of the Republic. Which of course, was why there weren't a lot of questions, just oh look, The Hero With No Fear, General Kenobi, the clone officers, some Council members, the High Chancellor, freeing slaves, hooray!

That freeing slaves felt like it should be the sole purpose of the Jedi, well, that was just Anakin's personal opinion.

Obi-Wan seemed strangely cheerful, he was actually smiling for the cameras.

He guessed his former Master must have felt the same.

Of course, after the pictures, came the meeting.

Anakin was grateful it was just Palpatine and the Senator from Chandrila. Mon Mothma was one of Padme's friends and he spared her a smile as they all began to discuss 'the current state of affairs.' Mon was there because she had been sitting in on some 'peaceful' separatist union discussions.

But even Palpatine could draw things out, and Anakin's attention was wavering.

Until Obi-Wan interrupted the Chancellor, "What is the point of that? Chancellor, this a galactic civil war, the goal should be to end it not win it. We are a Republic, not an Empire, if we continue the war like this it will last a hundred years."

Everyone stopped to look at him. Palpatine's eyes were wide with surprise.

"General Kenobi, I assure you, the quickest way to end this war is to win it."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "No, the quickest way to have won this war was never to have started it, to begin with, and to let the Separatists secede from the Republic that was no longer serving it. Your own homeworld was being starved out, under siege. And the only recourse the Republic gave was sending two Jedi to talk with the Trading Federation."

Palpatine frowned at him, "Yes, and that was why I was elected."

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed snidely, "And how many sympathetic votes did you garner from that little exploit?"

Anakin gaped at his Master, even the other Council members were rendered speechless.

Palpatine recovered first, "You were one of the Jedi assigned on that mission, surely you should have requested mor-"

"Save it, the entire venture was a shabacle, Naboo saved itself. Padme saved her people, not me, not Qui-Gon, not the Republic, not you, but the Queen. The lone fourteen year old girl made queen who saw an opportunity to bring peace between two peoples and won sovereignty of her entire planet. What do you think the Separatists are really fighting for? Why did you think Dooku left the Order? It wasn't to create a Sith empire, it was to be free from the Republic's corruption."

Mace coughed.

Anakin thought his jaw would unhinge, he had heard these ideas before of course, but never from Obi-Wan, least of all in front of the kriffing Chancellor. And Obi-Wan had never challenged authority like this before.

Okay, well, he had a few weeks ago what with bringing Luke into the Order and all, but by the karking suns, Obi-Wan was speaking treason.

"And what do you know of Dooku's departure, Master Kenobi?" Palpatine asked, his voice not half so friendly.

"I know only the report that exists in the Temple archives, that Dooku left because the Republic and the Council sent his apprentice and myself into a warzone without any sort of back up. Like they had done on other missions to war zones throughout the decades," Obi-Wan said with irritation.

"You survived," Palpatine said, a bit coldly.

"Yes, we did but others in similar circumstances haven't been so lucky, in the last fifty years Jedi have been dying on missions more than in previous centuries. Where are the Republic Guard, Chancellor? Where are the Republic's police? Even here on Coruscant, it is only the droids, the Jedi, and your personal guard. Where was the Republic's army when slavery and pirates started encroaching on Republic territory? Where was the Republic army when planets in their purview went to war with each other?" Ben asked, gesturing with his arms to indicate the area around him.

Palpatine levelled him with a hard look that would have quelled Anakin if it had been directed at him, "That's what the Jedi are for."

Obi-Wan scoffed, "Ten thousand Knights, the Force as their ally or otherwise, was never going to be enough to check over twenty-four thousand systems. And we were trained as diplomats, how to defend ourselves and others. The Jedi haven't been ready for galactic warfare in hundreds if not thousands of years!"

Palpatine kept his voice very even, "That's why we passed the bill for the clon-"

"Yes, to buy a slave army, great alternative. And we the Jedi, couldn't say no, because if we had, you would have let us die on the frontlines and signed the bill anyway."

"Better than mach-" Palpatine started.

But again Obi-Wan interrupted him, "How is letting living souls better than using technology? Yes, our troopers are better warriors but they are still dying for a Republic that they are only a part of because of a budget sheet."

Palpatine stood, "And where were these complaints years ago?"

"Oh please, you bantha-chewing-cud, none of the Council advised you to start this war, our 'complaints' have been being silenced for some time now."

Did Obi-Wan just call Palpatine a bantha-chewing-cud? Anakin wondered completely bewildered.

Mace was looking on in a sort of detached horror. Yoda was silent, his eyes flicking between the two angry men and Plo and the clones just stood in unreadable silence.

"The battle of Geonosis happened to save you," Palpatine snapped.

"Then you should have let us die! Our lives were not worth the millions who have died! My life was not worth the brothers and sisters I lost that day!"

Guilt swept Anakin as he realized how much Obi-Wan meant that for himself. He really wouldn't have wanted to have been saved like that. Force help them, how much had Obi-Wan been keeping bottled up all these years?

"If the Separatists really wanted peace," Palpatine said, clearly trying to restrain himself, "then they wouldn't have been a terrorist attack-"

"Which we never looked into fully," Obi-Wan cut in, "You stopped us from doing a full investigation when that vote failed to pass."

"Dooku claimed the attack!"

"No, he responded to the death of Senator Mina Bonteri." Obi-Wan continued relentlessly.

"Dooku-"

"Dooku's actions don't make much sense," Obi-Wan said, "I'll concede that, after all, it was him who green lighted the creation of the clone army twelve years ago."

Everyone froze.

Palpatine's eyes widening was almost comical.

"What?" Anakin managed, "Obi-Wan, what in the worlds are you talking about?"

"You reported that it was Master Sifo-Dyas, a council member, a Jedi Master," Palpatine said.

"Yes, I did but Sifo-Dyas was one of Dooku's closest friends, and he killed him. And the initial timeline the Kaminoins gave us just doesn't quite line up to Sifo-Dyas's death. You see, he was dead before the final permissions were signed."

Palpatine sat back down, "This is disturbing news."

"Yes, disturbing," Obi-Wan said dryly, looking at Palpatine as if he saw a particularly ugly insect.

"Obi-Wan," Mace warned.

But Obi-Wan seemed ready to break out all the conspiracy theories today, "And while we are talking about Dooku's friends, let's discuss your relationship to the man, shall we?"

Palpatine looked up at him sharply, "What are you talking about?"

"You really needed to get better at deleting videographic evidence, lunch meetings outside the senate district before and after Dooku's departure from the Order. Before and after your election."

Palpatine glared up at Obi-Wan, "What are you implying, Jedi?"

Obi-Wan smirked, "Just out of anyone in the galaxy, the only person I can really see benefitting from this war, is... well, you, Chancellor."

"Obi-Wan, that's ridiculous," Anakin said, "What has gotten into you?"

"Are your sympathies with the Separatists now?" Palpatine asked Obi-Wan, the man's endless patience seeming to come to end.

"I'm saying, if Dooku really wanted freedom for his systems, he could have done so without that attack on Coruscanti power plant. But perhaps his goal is just to kill the Jedi, which he is slowly but surely succeeding in doing, or perhaps his goal is breaking the Republic completely as we rot from the top down. Yet the only thing that stands out to me for certain, is what you gain here. I mean how many years now have you exceeded past the Chancellorship term limit?"

Palpatine stood, slapping his hands down at his desk, "How dare you?"

Obi-Wan smiled, but there was something like hatred in his eyes, "Because honestly, the Jedi might not have been prepared for this war, but between us and the troopers we have found our balance, if you didn't keep interfering we might have beaten Dooku a year ago."

"Interfering!?" Palpatine exclaimed, "Who do you think gives you your marching orders?"

"Exactly," Obi-Wan said with false cheer, "Always feeding us information, often without clear explanations of where you got that information. And then the stupid things you do that set us back every few months."

Palpatine's face went red, and he spoke in such a low tone that Anakin felt a chill go down his spine, he swore he almost felt the Force itself tremble. "You go too far, Jedi."

"I mean it was your decision to bring the Zillo Beast to Coruscant, wasn't it? After Mace and Anakin went to all that trouble to save it, after Mace told you repeatedly that we didn't have the resources to keep it contained. Nevermind how inhumane it was to bring it here. What kind of experiments did you want to do on it anyway? What happened to its remains? What purpose could you have in keeping a hide that would repel a lightsaber strike?"

"You are overstepping, Keno-"

"I mean really, that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen and I was Anakin's Master."

Anakin was too concerned with Palpatine's reaction to respond to that jibe. Anakin had known Palpatine since joining the Order, and he had always been so calm, so patient, but Anakin had never seen someone antagonize him like this either.

Why weren't the other Master's saying anything?

Anakin glanced at Mace, whose lips were in a thin line.

Anakin looked back at Obi-Wan, remembering what he himself had said about his Master, that he was like Dooku.

That Obi-Wan was a wordsmith, and when he engaged someone in battle, the fight was won and lost in the mind of his opponent.

He had brought up the Zillo Beast when Mace would definitely have intervened, but now it was too late, because the fallout was already coming.

"I am demoting you, Kenobi," Palpatine said, "Clearly if you have such issues with my leadership then you can't be trusted to lead my army."

"Oh, good, maybe I can have some time to sleep now. Maybe I will actually have time to screen your reports for errors that will cost us thousands of lives."

Palpatine gritted his teeth, "What part of demotion aren't you getting?"

"The part where you think you can demote me in the eyes of my men. No matter what you do, I will always be a Master Jedi. And I have always preferred being Master Kenobi to General anyway. I didn't devote my life to the Order to die in a politician's plots of delusions of grandeur," Obi-Wan said with such disdain that Anakin winced.

Palpatine looked on the cusp of seething, "Is that what you think? I am the leader of the Republic, I am the Senate."

Obi-Wan laughed, "You're a would-be-dictator that the Republic will reject once they realize that this war is entirely your fault. After all, why would Dooku make an army to defeat himself? He's your stalking horse, while you carve up more power for yourself under the guise of 'war time measures'."

Palpatine took a breath, but his blue eyes still glimmered with fury as he said, "The Jedi Order is under command of the Senate, and I demand that you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, be stripped of your Jedi status and be cast from the Order."

Anakin couldn't breathe, the world seemed to freeze around him.

"No, do this, you cannot," Yoda said, "punish, Obi-Wan, we can, but the power to cast him out, you do not have."

Palpatine looked down at Yoda, "Are you all traitors then? Only Anakin has expressed his disbelief."

"Hmm," Yoda hummed, "listen we did. Accusations he posed, proof they need."

"Proof?" Palpatine questioned, "no, we will not give credence to a Separatist's words. Pack your things Kenobi, either go into exile quietly or I will have you arrested for treason."

Yeah, Anakin thought sardonically, like there is any court in the Republic that could find actual fault in General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But Palpatine was the Chancellor, legally, he had the power to maybe get Obi-Wan thrown in prison.

Anakin stepped toward Obi-Wan, "Now wait a moment-"

Obi-Wan touched Anakin's shoulder, "It's alright, my old Padawan, if the Chancellor wants to take responsibility for the Jedi, then let him."

Anakin glanced at Palpatine in time to see his righteous fury falter.

What game is Obi-Wan playing at?

Obi-Wan unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and handed it to Anakin, "Take care of this for me, our paths will cross again, I'm guessing sooner than you might think. And remember, always listen to Padme, she's your better half for a reason."

Anakin startled, did Obi-Wan just say what he thought he said?

Luckily, Mace was distracted by other matters, "Obi-Wan, why?"

Obi-Wan smiled at him, "Because I'm done flying my sisters and my brothers, clone and Jedi alike into death's arms. We are better than this, Mace, more than this. And so once was the Republic."

Mace nodded.

Master Plo said idly, "Well, this will be difficult to cover up."

Obi-Wan smiled brilliantly at him, "You mean the High Chancellor losing his temper at one of the Republic's most beloved High General's on the eve of one of our greatest military and moral victories? Thus revealing that he has the power to expel Jedi from their Order at a whim without the rest of the Senate's awareness or approval, making him the true power of the Republic? No, I don't imagine that will be easy to cover up." He flashed that smile at Palpatine who had gone very pale, "Good luck with that.

And then Obi-Wan left, Cody, and strangely, Appo, went with him.

Leaving Anakin frozen with his Master's lightsaber in his hand, wondering what by all the kriffing stars in space had just happened.

AN: Did Obi-Wan just through a conspiracy theory in Palp's face while calling him a selfish idiot? Yes, he did.

Thoughts, reactions, flooffy banthas, or feedback? Pretty please?