Wuff:
This was a lovely chapter! I really liked it. Thanks, I'm glad that you liked it. Damn it, Anakin really knows how to hurt Obi-Wan... ok, Obi-Wan was not very understanding either. Well, sometimes you do hurt the ones you love the most. Just telling Anakin to end it, not showing any sympathy... oh dear, oh dear. Can you blame him, Anakin did betray him – he lied to him. Padmé's words gave me a chill. I really hope Ani and Obi will apologise to each other before something happens. The scene where Cordé apologizes to Padmé on the landing pad in AOTC came to my mind I was starting to write this. For some reason, the scene just really stood out and I had to use it. Update soon! Ask, and you shall receive.
QueenNaberrie:
I think Padmé is right. Anakin should apologize to Obi-Wan as soon as he can. And I'm glad that Obi-Wan has decided to keep Anakin and Padmé's secret. Well, Obi-Wan cares deeply about Anakin, and as much as Anakin hurt him, he would not betray his own brother (and son).
I just hope they are able to make amends before Obi-Wan is shipped off somewhere. Sometimes things do not go as they are planned. Please update soon. Chapter 3 is completed and ready for you to read. Grin
Kim-Gordon:
Please update soon!! Chapter 3 is up and ready to go. I hope you enjoy it.
Author's Note: Anything that is underlined means that it is directly from the book 'Revenge of the Sith'.
Chapter Three: The Mission
We have seen that young Skywalker has the power to battle a Sith Lord alone, if need be; he has proven that with Dooku. If he is indeed the chosen one, we must keep him in a position to fulfill his destiny.
Revenge of the Sith
With his lightsaber blazing florescent blue, the Jedi Master leaped high in the air and over the droid General as its two arms quickly became four, each bearing a lightsaber of its own. The Jedi ducked and rolled as one of the droid's blades swept violently through the air where his head had been just mere seconds before.
The fierce battle continued between the two powerful generals, neither one daring to slow down. Slowing down would invite death, and neither one wanted nor was willing to embrace that seductive mistress.
Finally, the battle came to an end with the Jedi Master collapsing as his life force bled from his body. The Jedi painfully lifted his head to stare past the droid, his sight beginning to dim. A gust of wind appeared as if it was planning to take the Jedi's soul back to the Force; back to his brethren whom had passed on into the Force's loving embrace. The wind began to lift up high into the Utapaun air, not only carrying the Jedi's essence, but his words as they left the dying shell of Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I'm sorry, Anakin. Forgive me, my padawan…"
Chirp! Chirp!
Chirp! Chirp!
Chirp! Chirp!
Anakin scrambled out of his bed and onto the floor, the sheets and sweat clinging to his body like a second skin. It took him a moment to realize that the chirping sound was coming from his personal communicator and not the dream. He quickly became solemn as he thought of the nightmare, watching his master killed by the insidious droid, General Grievous.
Unlike the night before, the vision this time was not hazy; it was clear… and truly frightening. For just a brief moment, it had seemed that Obi-Wan was winning the duel with General Grievous, but became distracted by something… or someone that Anakin could not see. Anakin could tell that it had caused his old master to lose focus, allowing Grievous to strike the fatal blow. But before the blow had been dealt, Anakin had felt the immense pain and agony that Obi-Wan had been in and there was something else… something that felt like… anger. Anger?
Chirp! Chirp!
Chirp! Chirp!
The chirping sound interrupted his thoughts, causing him to wonder who would call him so early in the morning. Untangling the sheets from his legs as he stood, Anakin used the Force to levitate the comlink to his outstretched hand. "Yes," he answered gruffly.
"The Council requests your presence, Knight Skywalker. You are expected in ten minutes," a young timid voice of a Council page answered.
"Do you know in regards to what they want to see me about?" Anakin asked, worrying about the events of the day.
"No, I'm afraid I do not, Knight Skywalker. I was just informed to notify you of the Council's orders."
"Inform the Council that I will be there shortly," Anakin replied before shutting his comlink off. Anakin tried to clear his mind as he dressed, he did not want to appear before the Council with his emotions in an uproar. But images of Obi-Wan standing before the Council were not helping him to find his peace as he left his quarters for the session.
Anakin paced back and forth in the ante-chamber, waiting for the past hour to be called before the Council. He had yet to understand why the Council continued to expect people to arrive promptly for a session, yet ensured that once they arrived they were kept waiting for an obscene amount of time. The argument with Obi-Wan, the restless night, and visions of the aforementioned former master's death had left a short fuse ready to ignite inside the young Knight.
'Obi-Wan.' Anakin's thoughts darkened as he remembered the argument with Obi-Wan the day before. 'We were wrong to trust him. I bet that is why they've kept me waiting out here. He's probably before them right now, betraying me. Betraying Padmé. They're probably discussing ways of taking Padmé away from me; taking my child away. Well, I won't allow it. Palpatine was right, I am better than them. The Council only thinks of holding me back. We shall see about that.'
Anakin had no time to contemplate further on his imagined ill-conceived notions of the council or the events of the day before as the doors leading into the Council Chambers opened slightly, emitting a young Council page. "The Council will see you now, Knight Skywalker."
Anakin did not spare the young awestruck boy a glance as he approached the doors, his emotions warring between trepidation and anger. He remembered all to well the first time he had stood within a ring of Jedi Masters gathered to sit in judgment upon his fate. He remembered how Yoda's green stare had seen into his heart, had seen the cold worm of dread eating away at him, no matter how hard he'd tried to deny it: the awful fear he'd felt that he might never see his mother again.
He couldn't let them see what the worm had grown into, for they would not understand. This worm… no, this dragon had been his constant companion since he left his mother so many years ago. It had given him strength when he slaughtered his mother's murderers. Yes, they would never understand.
Anakin approached the center of the room, his head bowed in respect and humility, even though he did not feel it at all. He pushed his dark thoughts to the back of his mind, placing impenetrable shields around them. Not once did it cross his mind as to wonder about the sudden chill that went down his spine as he noticed that Obi-Wan was not present in the chambers.
"Do you know why you've been called before the council, Anakin Skywalker?" Jedi Master Mace Windu glared at the young Knight, his black gaze unreadable though the tone of his voice was cold. Mace Windu had never been vocal of his distrust of young Anakin Skywalker outside of the Council Chambers, but he had never tried to hide it. There had always been darkness in the young man; it had been present when his old friend, Qui-Gon Jinn, had brought the then nine-year-old boy before them to be tested. And because of a promise forced upon a young man, the darkness had been allowed into the temple of light.
Anakin stared at the Korun Master, his face emotionless, but inside the dragon hissed in hatred. He hated the games that the Council played, forcing him to be their victim. Soon they would have no control over him. 'No, Master. I do not."
Inside he seethed again with hatred, but this time towards his former master. 'So, Obi-Wan wasted no time in crying of my wrongdoings to you, has he? He just couldn't wait to betray me.'
"Called here for two reasons, you have been, young Skywalker," Yoda replied, his eyes narrowing as if he could sense the turmoil inside of the Jedi before him. "Concern Chancellor Palpatine, they do."
On the outside, Anakin maintained a serene appearance while inside shock riveted throughout his body. He had been sure that the Council had called him because of his marriage. With the argument he had had with Obi-Wan, he had been expecting it. Could Obi-Wan have-
"Elsewhere, you wish to be, Skywalker?"
Embarrassed, Anakin kept his gaze on the floor, knowing that if he looked at Yoda, the old troll would see that he was lying as he spoke, "No, Master. I'm sorry. I'm just concerned. Is the Chancellor okay? Did something happen to him?"
"No, young Skywalker. In good health the Chancellor is. Concerns something else it does. Comply with his directive, the Council has decided. Granted a seat at the High Council of the Jedi you are, as personal representative to the Chancellor you will be," Yoda replied.
Anakin stood very still for a long moment, until he could be absolutely sure he had hear what he thought he'd heard.
Palpatine had been right. He seemed to be right about a lot of things, these days. In fact – now that Anakin came to think of it – he couldn't remember a single instance when the Supreme Chancellor had been wrong.
Finally, as it began to sink in upon him, as he gradually allowed himself to understand that the Council had finally decided to grant him his heart's desire, that they finally had recognized his accomplishment, his dedication, his power, he took a slow deep breath.
"Thank you, Masters. You have my pledge that I will uphold the highest principles of the Jedi Order."
Mace Windu leaned forward in his seat, staring intensely at the young man. "The Council does not allow this appointment lightly, Knight Skywalker. On many levels this move by the Chancellor is disturbing."
The Chancellor's words from the day before came back to haunt him. 'They have become more concerned with avoiding the oversight of the Senate than they are with winning the war…'
"I understand, Master Windu."
"I don't think you do, Skywalker."
Anakin had stopped listening to the Council members after being told that he would have a seat on the council. After realizing that Obi-Wan hadn't betrayed him, he had already begun seeing himself leaving the chambers for the archives, demanding that Madame Jocasta Nu give him access to the restricted vault by the authority-
"You will attend the meetings of this Council," the Korun Master said, "but you will not be granted the rank or privileges of a Jedi Master."
"What?"
It was a small word, a simple word, an instinctive recoil from words that felt like punches, like stun blasts exploding inside his brain that left his head ringing and the room spinning around him – but even to his own ears, the voice that came from his lips didn't sound like his own. It was deeper, darker, clipped and oiled, resonating from the depths of his heart.
It didn't sound like him at all, and it smoked with fury.
"Do what? How dare you? You think you can deny me 'Mastery'? No one can match my power! No one!" The dragon roared in anguish, ready to break forth, ready to strike out at anyone in its path, just as it had done to Count Dooku and the Tusken Raiders.
"Enough, young Skywalker. The Chancellor's representative, you have been chosen," replied Yoda, his ears flatting was the only visible sign that he was upset with the young Jedi. "Attend the Council, you will, as his representative only. But no vote, you will have. Present the Chancellor's views, wishes, ideas, and directives you shall. And only his, not your own."
"This will not be tolerated. Do not even begin to imagine that this will be tolerated. You have insulted me and the Chancellor."
Mace Windu's eyes were as cold as the voice from Anakin's mouth. "Take your seat, young Skywalker."
Anakin matched his stare. 'Perhaps I'll take yours.' His own voice, inside his head, had a hot black fire that smoked from the depths of his furnace heart. 'You think you can stop me from saving Obi-Wan? You think you can make me sit back and watch him die?'
Suddenly, a gentle voice was whispering to him, unheard by the other Jedi in the room. 'Please, Anakin.' It sounded like his former master, but Anakin could not tell where it was coming from. But it had the desired effect that it was meant to accomplish. That same gentle voice had in the past, calmed a young boy, soothing his fears away; keeping the dragons at bay. The same voice was now banking the flames of his anger; putting the fire out.
Even though he was dismayed to have lost his only means of saving Obi-Wan, he suddenly felt foolish and very young due to his conduct; a conduct that would have shamed his friend. "Forgive me, Masters." As he took the assigned seat, it was then that he remembered that Obi-Wan was not present. The chill in his spine became present once more, but this time with a terrible sense of foreboding.
The rest of the session passed in a haze for Anakin. Normally one to prove his worth, Anakin didn't register that Yoda would be would be leaving for Kashyyk to help the Wookies. It wasn't until they mentioned Obi-Wan's name that Padmé's words came to his thoughts, the chill worsening, causing him to wrap his cloak tighter around his body.
We don't realize how much we care for someone until they're gone.
The visions of Obi-Wan's death began to replay in front of him like a horror holo-film that he used to enjoy watching during the years of his time with Obi-Wan. 'Forgive me, Anakin. I'm sorry, my padawan…' Obi-Wan's words began to haunt him once more. The need to save his father and friend became stronger with each beat of his heart, scaring him with the intensity as he realized that the mission to Utapau was where Obi-Wan would die, but he would not allow it to happen.
"I want to accompany Master Kenobi to Utapau. I-"
"A mission, already you have, young Skywalker," Yoda interrupted, causing Anakin to glance away from him, still embarrassed with his actions earlier. "On behalf of the Chancellor, it is. Concerns the Senator Amidala, it does."
Anakin grasped, fear choking the very breath from his body, strangling his heart. First Obi-Wan and now his wife. That same fear prevented him from speaking.
"The Chancellor has requested you to provide protection for Senator Amidala. It appears that one of her handmaidens was murdered several hours ago," stated Mace Windu emotionlessly. His voice became cold again as he continued, "You are to only act as protection, you will not conduct an investigation. Do you understand, Knight Skywalker?"
Too numb with fear for his wife and unborn child, Anakin could only nod.
Yoda hobbled towards Anakin stopping short at the Knight's chair. He had felt the distress radiating from the young man when they mentioned his former master's mission to Utapau, but now the distress had increased when informed of the need of protection for the Senator of Naboo. Yoda was all too aware of the young man's attachments; to his mother, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Chancellor… and to Senator Amidala.
"Conduct the investigation, Captain Typho and Coruscant law officials will. Protect Senator Amidala until the murderer is caught, you must." Yoda approached closer to the Knight, laying his clawed hand upon the young man's shoulder as if to provide support for the troubled Jedi. "Arriving shortly, the Chancellor's personal shuttle will. Take you to Senator Amidala, it will. Leave now, you must, prepare for your assignment, you should."
Still numb, Anakin stood up and bowed to Yoda, albeit shakily. Assuming he was being dismissed, Anakin left the chambers to grab his gear from his quarters. During the walk to his personal quarters, Anakin's thoughts continued to go back and forth between his wife and former master. He loved Obi-Wan, but his love for his wife was even more. He would not allow anything to happen to Padmé, but at the same time the need to save his master was still there. One of the things that he had feared had come to pass. His wife and his father were both in need of saving, but only one would…
'No, I can't think like that. I will protect Padme at all cost, but I won't let Obi-Wan die. There has to be way to save him. I just know there is.' Dread filled the young man as he stepped inside his quarters, gathering the items he would need for his assignment while at the same time, thinking of a way to save Obi-Wan.