Chapter Ten - Common Goals
Early chapter! Posting this along with a new chapter of my new story.
Lady of Imladris: Seriously, if you set the filter for Lumiya on Star Wars, you'll notice a lot of stories whose description reads Ahsoka, but the character cast will read as "Lumiya." No idea why.
Author's Notes: I recently began writing another Star Wars FanFiction story called "An Extremely Well Put-Together Little Droid." PtLD is an AU story that takes place immediately after ROTJ and is about R2-D2 revealing the his and the Skywalker's past. I don't think this will affect the timeline of updating Shockwaves and I hope to be updating both on a weekly basis.
Thanks for the ongoing support, I hope that this chapter will meet your expectations. As always, feedback is welcome.
"There is no civility, only politics."
- Sheev Palpatine
#
Several scenarios were discussed in the chamber before Anakin cleared his throat, quieting the others.
"Skywalker? Young Skywalker?" Master Windu amended at Mara's chuckle.
"Before our meeting today, the Chancellor asked to meet with me. If you remember, he wanted to place me as his representative onto the Jedi Council."
"This Council is not at his beck and call, Anakin, and in light of this new information about him, I'm struggling to understand why you would bring it up," Mace Windu stated sternly.
"The reaction earlier, both your decision to keep me as a Knight as well as my outburst, are precisely the reactions he wanted, I think," Anakin said, unruffled.
"What do you mean, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"With Dooku dead, by my hand and with Palpatine's encouragement, I believe he wishes me to be his next apprentice. Putting the Council at odds with me would help him achieve that, I think."
"Chancellor Palpatine wants you to join him? How would he even hope to gain your cooperation, even if he remained undiscovered?" Senator Organa asked.
Glancing at Luke and Mara before finally settling his gaze upon Padmé, he began to speak softly. "I have never been as calm...as serene as most Jedi. I have even found myself controlled by my emotions at times. If the ones I care for were to be threatened, harmed, or killed...that is a time that I would be susceptible to Palpatine's manipulation."
"One of those you care for, threatened they are?" Master Yoda ventured.
Anakin's eyes held Padmé as he prayed that he wasn't about to make the biggest mistake in his life. 'Last night I had a Force vision, a vision of my wife dying in childbirth. Mara told me that she sensed the Dark Side at work."
A shocked silence held the room captive.
To Anakin's relief, Padmé didn't seem to be angry, in fact, she seemed as relieved as he was to finally be free of their silence. There was anxiety yes, but there was no recrimination for him.
Obi-Wan followed Anakin's gaze to the very pregnant figure of Padmé. So many things seemed to make sense at that moment and he wasn't sure what he was feeling or even what he was supposed to feel. Given the expressions of the other Jedi, they were in the same state.
Oh Anakin, he thought sympathetically as the young man's face gave the impression that he expected a beating or for some terrible punishment to rain from the heavens.
Obi-Wan, to his amusement, heard Mara mutter, "I said you should tell someone not the whole bloody Council."
"Anakin-" Master Windu began but was cut off by the older Skywalker, Luke.
"Master Windu, discussion about Anakin's marriage can wait until after the Sith Lord has been dealt with, wouldn't you agree?"
"I agree," Obi-Wan said with a look directed towards Anakin that Anakin interpreted as a promise that they would speak later.
Mace Windu's face was like stone and he furrowed his brows but ultimately acquiesced.
"So...Anakin...you have always been close to him. Do you think that he's had his eye on you for a while then?" Mara asked.
"The first words he ever spoke to me were that he would watch my career with great interest. Suddenly, that doesn't feel like praise anymore," Anakin replied.
"So what do we do?!" Padmé asked, frustration lacing her tone. "How do we respond to a threat like this?"
"Senators, I believe you already have taken steps in that direction. You are forming the Delegation of 2000 to approach the Chancellor to try and convince him to relinquish his powers now that Count Dooku is dead," Mara prompted.
"How do you-?" Padmé asked, but Mara interrupted her.
"It is one of the many things that my husband and I have seen, and while Palpatine will not agree, it is important that you go ahead with your plan."
"But why, if you already know it will be pointless?" Senator Organa asked.
"At some point, Palpatine will have to be confronted. This will be a violent confrontation, there is no avoiding that. Assuming we are successful in taking Sidious down, then we have to make sure that the Jedi do not have the appearance of taking over the Republic, of treason. The Delegation of 2000's prior efforts can be used as support for our actions, so long as the Jedi prompt a new election of Chancellor and do not hold the power for anything more than a brief moment of time," Luke said. "We do not know what the repercussions are if Sidious is destroyed before he can issue Order 66, and a creature like him depends on contingency plans."
"We will have to move fast. It is likely that he felt our presence and the disturbance in the Force that it created. It's possible that he already is investigating our appearance," Mara supplied before glancing at Luke, "I felt eyes on us as we entered the Temple."
Luke just nodded.
"It is possible that your presence here will place you in danger, Senators, and for that, I apologize. But you are three senators that I trust implicitly, for even if you do not know me, I know you, all of you, enough to know the quality of your character. We must begin moving now, but cautiously. The Jedi out in the field are the most at risk for immediate danger if Order 66 is given or if there is an unknown contingency plan that takes place if Sidious dies. Those Jedi must be moved closer together, or among non-Clone units if possible. Other Jedi enclaves in the galaxy are to be given warning, and when things begin to come together, the youngest must be moved to hidden places in case all else fails," Mara added in dark, somber, tones.
"Senators, it falls upon you to make sure that the procedure to elect a new Chancellor is executed quickly. We don't know exactly when things will happen, but when it does, you need to be ready to move. Electing a new Chancellor quickly will be necessary to order the Clone units to stand down as well as to insure that the Jedi aren't placed in a position to be made scapegoats," Luke said.
"What should we look for to give us an idea of when the Jedi will confront Palpatine?" Senator Mothma asked.
"The Chancellor told several of my colleagues today that so long as General Grievous remains alive, he is unwilling to relinquish the powers the Senate granted him," Senator Organa stated thoughtfully.
"Find Grievous, capture or destroy him, and the Chancellor will have to relinquish his powers or expose himself for what he is," Obi-Wan said. His statement was met with nods from around the chamber.
"So we play along for now, discretely putting Jedi in safer places or warning them while we hunt Grievous. When we have him, we confront Palpatine if he refuses to relinquish powers?" Anakin asked.
"A dangerous plan, this is," Yoda warned. "On the Council, you will remain, young Skywalker. Play to the Sith's plans, we must."
"Yes, Master Yoda," Anakin responded.
"We will do what we can to prepare, Master Yoda," Padmé said. "I trust what I have been told in this chamber, but I am still finding it hard to reconcile that a man I considered a mentor has become this...Sith."
"He fooled all of us, Padmé, he must have been planning this for decades. Even setup the invasion of Naboo in order to get himself elected to Chancellor," Anakin said, remembering Luke and Mara's words to him.
"Stars, I didn't even think of that," Obi-Wan said. Nearby, Mace Windu grimaced in shared realization and disgust.
"Thank you Senators, for coming and for listening today," Obi-Wan said, then smiled slightly, "Anakin, why don't you see Senator Amidala to her apartments, in her condition, we wouldn't want her to have to brave the journey by herself."
Senator Mothma smiled at Padmé while Padmé blushed. Anakin's mouth dropped open and he hurriedly helped his wife out before anyone could object. Mace Windu glanced at Obi-Wan with a blank face, but there was amusement in his eyes.
After the Senators had left, Master Yoda looked at Luke for a long time. It was long enough that the other Jedi took note of it and looked towards Luke as well. Luke was suddenly nervous and could almost feel the *smack* of Yoda's gimer stick for some failure.
He was thus pleasantly surprised when Yoda just started laughing. Not the somewhat half-mad cackling that Luke remembered in the swamps of Dagobah, but a deep laughter that held only warmth.
"Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan inquired.
"See it before, I did not. Sensed it, I should have. Strong in the Force, and very much like his father, Luke Skywalker is."
Mace Windu blinked in confusion then looked from Luke to the chamber entryway that Anakin had recently departed through. Obi-Wan's reaction was surprisingly the most expressive.
"What in the name of-I don't believe it. No child of Anakin could be as calm as you."
Mara's laugh echoed in the chamber. "Master Jedi, Luke is older than you and he has been through much. Far more than any of you most likely. But in his youth, Master Kenobi, I know that Luke could have given even Anakin a run for his money when it came to recklessness."
Luke grimaced, "That is unfortunately true. But as Mara said...I grew up. There are terrible days coming, days that will come even if Sidious is defeated cleanly and quickly. No mere Sith could have brough Mara and I back, far worse than a Sith happened for the Force to act so."
"Your wounds...and Zonama Sekot?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, that is not something to get into now. I am working with Mara to write down information on a datapad for you in case one or both of us should fall. We are here to avert a terrible future and Sidious is just the first stepping stone," Luke said.
Somehow, this did not reassure any of the present Jedi.
Anakin drove the speeder to Padmé's apartment while his wife remained quiet, contemplative. She didn't feel angry, merely thoughtful, and so while Anakin desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, he knew by now that she would tell him in her own time. When she did speak, her question was the one he had been dreading. He had not married a fool and though he treasured her, every bit of her, sometimes he wished she just wasn't so damn insightful.
"If Luke and Mara hadn't shown up, do you think you would have turned?"
He sighed. How does one answer a question like that. I'd never imagined that I'd be capable of turning on the Jedi of all people. Then again, I never imagined I'd be the type to slaughter a whole village of Sand People. "I don't think I can know for sure, but I do think the possibility is there. The nightmares I had of my mother couple with my new nightmares about you...yes, it would be possible. You know how deep I can fall when those I care for are threatened or hurt. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's true."
Padmé merely nodded. "Then our son truly is a gift, Anakin, for many reasons now. If you had turned, Ani...that is not a path on which I could follow you."
Anakin swallowed hard. "A gift. And his sister...Luke loved her dearly. I imagine she will be a gift as well."
Padmé was quiet again. "Things are going to get bad then, aren't they?"
"They will get worse before they get better, yes. Palpatine..." Anakin sighed. "I thought he was my friend, Padmé. I've trusted him, trusted him enough that I've told him things I wouldn't even tell Obi-Wan. What a fool I've been."
He was startled by a slim hand wrapping around his bicep. "You were far from the only one, Ani. He made fools out of a great many people."
They spent the rest of their journey in silence.
"Until tomorrow, a break we will take. Consider what has been said, we will. Masters Skywalker, a moment please."
Obi-Wan cast a concerned glance towards Luke before joining the others as they left the room or the holographic projects cut out.
"Mara...personal animosity towards the Emperor, you have. Why?" Yoda asked without any judgment in his tone.
Mara sighed. Luke was right, little gets past him. "In our future, the one we hope to avert, he raised me to be his tool. For him, I was an assassin and spy. I believed in him."
"But believe in you, he did not," Yoda said.
"No...it was many years before I shrugged off the yoke he had cast upon me, but I did. I journey with the Light now."
"Journey on the path of the Light, you do. But truly surrendered to the Dark, you never did."
Luke nodded on Mara's behalf.
"In your future, turned your father did?" Yoda asked, turning his gaze to Luke.
"Yes."
Yoda sighed. "A terrible future, we could face."
"The Jedi were destroyed, almost entirely by Palpatine and my father. My father did terrible things to the galaxy and even to me...but he did turn back to the Light though. He sacrificed his life to save mine."
'Young Skywalker spoke true today. A man of great emotion, he is. An excellent Jedi, but one that could be made to serve the Dark Side."
"We are here to help prevent that, among many other things," Luke said firmly.
"Trust in your judgment, I will."
"What do you think, Bail?" Senator Mothma asked as they exited the Jedi Temple and made their way to Senator Organa's personal speeder.
Bail Organa whistled out his mouth. "I know things were bad but..." he trailed off, not really needing to say more.
"I'll speak with the other leaders of the Delegation and we'll approach the Chancellor tomorrow. Hopefully, he will relinquish his powers, but now...I suppose that is a near impossibility," Mon Mothma said sadly.
Bail just nodded.
"What have you discovered?" came a dark raspy voice from the comlink that Aurra Sing held.
"I was able to program a maintenance droid and attached a bug to it. I had the droid near the Temple so when-"
"Spare me the details, bounty hunter, and get to it."
"Very well, Lord Sidious," Aurra said, trying to hold her temper. "I overheard a very brief conversation between the Senators of Chandrila and Alderaan. They indicated they would be approaching the Chancellor to ask him to relinquish the emergency powers granted to him by the Senate."
A chuckle that raised the hair on the nape of her neck came from the device in her hand. "Really, how entertaining. Was there anything else?"
"No, my lord."
"Very well, contact me when you find out anything useful."
"Given that you sent Anakin away, I suppose we are trusted enough to leave on our own?" Luke asked Obi-Wan.
"Yes, but if you plan on returning to Padmé's apartment, I'd like to come with you. I think my former padawan and I are long overdue for a talk," Obi-Wan said exasperated. "That boy will be the death of me."
Obi-Wan didn't notice the simultaneous wince by both Luke and Mara.
"So how exactly did a former assassin for a Sith Lord and the Last Jedi become involved with each other?' he asked, chuckling.
"It is probably about as long of a story as how a former slave turned Jedi and a Queen turned senator of the Republic became involved," Mara said with a smirk.
Obi-Wan sighed. Yes, a long overdue chat.
The Chancellor of the Republic shut off the comlink in his hand and sat, steepling his fingers as he considered the information that Cad Bane had provided.
The Jedi knew about Anakin.
They knew and Anakin had not been expelled. Indeed, he had received a notice that held the Council's agreement that Anakin be placed among them. He had received a message from Anakin later that also gave him the information that the Council hadn't granted him the position of master.
Obviously the news about his marriage might have had something to do with it, but why would they allow him to stay in the Jedi at all, let alone the Council?
Anakin's frustration had been real and that alone assured Sheev that things hadn't yet turned against him.
Luke and Mara Skywalker.
Bane had reported the two strangers' names, but had no other information about the two to report. But their names alone...What could it mean? Two Skywalkers appearing out of nowhere and the disturbance in the Force that recently occurred...that could be no coincidence. So what caused the disturbance? His musings were getting him nowhere, but he was extremely unsettled by this recent discovery.
He had placed far too much effort into young Skywalker and he was unwilling to let him go.
Sheev took the comlink and activated it.
"Bane."
"Yes, Lord Sidious?"
"You are to kill Luke and Mara Skywalker."
There was a pause.
"That will be difficult, my lord."
"Do what you must. Kill them."
"Alright, I'll get the job done."
"Make sure you do."
