Chapter Twenty-Four
Tension filled the office for a few moments until finally Padmé spoke.
"Anakin, Obi-Wan just arrived," she told him, seeing the rage in his eyes. "I think your timing is perfect, since we wanted to speak to the Jedi anyway."
Obi-Wan turned to her at this. "Oh?" he asked. "Why is that?"
"There is a so much to tell you I hardly know where to start," she said, watching Anakin as he slowly started to calm down. He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the desk behind her, looking at Obi-Wan appraisingly.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Obi-Wan said, watching as Anakin leaned forward and kissed his wife. "I…." he stopped as a realization dawned on him. "You two are in love, aren't you?"
Padmé looked back at Anakin, and then at Obi-Wan. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yes, it certainly is," he replied. "Though it wasn't last night. In fact, it seemed quite the opposite."
"Good, then our ruse is working," Padmé commented.
"Excuse me? Ruse? What ruse?" Obi-Wan asked, completely bewildered by this point.
"Perhaps you ought to start at the beginning, Angel," Anakin suggested.
Padmé nodded. "Yes, good idea." She took a deep breath and then looked back at Obi-Wan. "The Supreme Chancellor is behind the attempt on my life," she told him. "He is in league with the Separatists, and wants me dead because I oppose the formation of a Republican army."
Obi-Wan sat for a moment in silence, too stunned to reply. "I…I beg your pardon?" he said at last. "Palpatine is a Separatist?? How is this possible?" He looked at Anakin.
"He's more than a separatist," Anakin said. "He's a Sith Lord."
Kenobi's widened in utter shock. "A Sith Lord? Are you sure??"
Anakin did not reply, but removed his lightsaber from his belt. He ignited it, the red blade glowing ominously. "Yes, I'm sure," he replied.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure what to say at this point. The Jedi Council had begun to suspect the presence of a Sith Lord, but had been unable to find him or even to find definitive proof of his existence. And now, here was the apprentice of the Sith Lord revealing his identity. It hardly seemed possible, and it made Obi-Wan wonder….
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked at last. "Why are you telling me this? If you are the apprentice to the Sith, then why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want to bring him down," Anakin replied at once. "I want to make him pay for all that he has taken from me, all the lies he has fed me for so long."
"So you want revenge? Is that your motivation for betraying him?" Obi-Wan challenged.
Anakin narrowed his eyes. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Kenobi," he replied coolly. "You have no idea what my life has been like since the Jedi cast me aside."
Obi-Wan lifted an eyebrow. "I am quite well acquainted with your exploits, Anakin," he countered. "You are nothing if not infamous."
"If you have something to say, Kenobi, just come out and say it," Anakin said, standing up. "Otherwise…"
"Anakin, please," Padmé said, stepping in at last. She looked from one man to the other. "This posturing is not accomplishing anything. There is more to Anakin's desire to have Palpatine stopped than simple revenge, Obi-Wan; the fate of the galaxy is at stake, and he knows it. That is the true impetus behind it."
Obi-Wan did not reply at once, unsure how much he ought to divulge to them about the Jedi Council's suspicions. It was clear that Padmé trusted Anakin; but she was in love with the man, which itself was shocking.
"Please elaborate," Obi-Wan said at last.
Padmé looked at Anakin briefly. "Palpatine is ruthless and manipulative, Obi-Wan; the only reason he took Anakin in all those years ago was because he saw the power that Anakin possesses. He wanted that power at his disposal, and, for the past decade, has had just that. Now all the pieces are in place, and he only has to create this army in order to realize his ultimate goal; complete and utter control of the galaxy."
"You know this is his goal?" he asked Anakin.
Anakin nodded. "He has nothing but contempt for the Senate," he told him. "Although he hides it well behind a façade of diplomacy and benevolence. And as for the Jedi…well you can imagine how he feels. He has spent the past decade nurturing hatred for the Jedi in me as well, starting by telling me that the Jedi didn't care what became of me after the death of Qui-Gon."
"And you believed him?"
Anakin frowned. "I was nine years old," he replied. "Of course I did. What else did I know?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Of course," he replied, starting to understand. "So Palpatine has groomed you to be his right hand," he said, trying to piece it together. "And has trained you in the ways of the Dark Side?"
Anakin nodded.
"So if you are a Sith, then how did you end up married to Senator Amidala? I don't imagine the two of you have a lot in common."
"Anakin came to Naboo while I was there under the protection of the Jedi," Padmé explained. "Palpatine sent him there to kill me."
"But obviously his attempt failed," Obi-Wan remarked.
"No, he abandoned the mission," Padmé told him. "When we met face to face against after so many years, he wasn't able to do it."
"Why not?" Obi-Wan asked, addressing Anakin. "What stopped you?"
"Many things," Anakin replied. "But mainly it was Padmé who stopped me. She made me stop and examine my motives, and made me realize that Palpatine was lying to me about everything that mattered, including the past, about her, about everything. The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that she was right. Palpatine had spent ten years trying to make me forget about my mother, turning me against Padmé, against the Jedi…and it was all based on lies. All he ever cared about was his own motives, and was using me to achieve them. But no more."
"Anakin has to continue to maintain the appearance of being a loyal apprentice," Padmé explained. "Or Palpatine will become suspicious. He believes I married Anakin in order to prevent him from killing me. He doesn't know how we truly feel about one another," she concluded, looking at Anakin.
"Of course not," Obi-Wan commented. "Sith don't love." He looked at Anakin. "So what does that make you, then?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Anakin replied. "All I know is that I have rejected Palpatine and all that he represents. I will not allow him to control me or my family, not ever again."
"Family??" obi-wan asked. "Are you saying that…" he stopped, looking at Padmé.
"Yes, I'm expecting twins," Padmé told him. "Palpatine knows nothing of them, and we hope to keep it that way."
"The offspring of Anakin Skywalker would pose a tremendous threat to him," Obi-Wan observed. "How do you plan to keep their existence from him a secret? Surely it will become obvious before long."
"By that time Palpatine will be dead," Anakin declared. "I will see to that personally if I must."
Obi-Wan did not reply immediately, but stood up and walked over to the window on the other side of the room. His mind was spinning with all that he had learned in such short order. It would be easy to dismiss it all as an elaborate trap set for the Jedi by a vengeful, angry young man; but somehow Obi-Wan knew better. The love Skywalker bore for his wife and their unborn children was crystal clear, and the love she bore him just as evident. Their auras were brilliant with it, undeniable and potent. Senator Amidala was not a woman who could be manipulated; she was one of the strongest people Kenobi had ever known. And she believed in Anakin with every fiber of her being; that alone was reason enough not to dismiss this startling and incredible turn of events. Amidala believed it, and that was enough.
Obi-Wan turned back to the couple. "The Jedi Council must know this," he said at last. "Palpatine must be stopped."
Padmé looked over to her husband with a smile. "I told you they would listen," she said to him.