Chapter 12

'Well,' Anakin thought ruefully, 'I was right. It was a long night.' He could honestly say that he hadn't even gotten a wink of sleep. He was distracted from his thoughts by the yawn coming from the body next to him, as Revan stretched and sat up.

"Morning. Sleep well?" She asked, eyes bright.

"Yeah." Anakin lied.

"Liar." She chuckled.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan burst through the door, yelling for his former Padawan. He stopped dead as he saw the male and the female facing away from each other, Revan just finishing pulling a set of robes over her head and Anakin pulling on a pair of pants. Both were most distinctly blushing their brains out. "Anakin, what did you do?"

"Actually, Master Kenobi, it was my fault." Revan stated calmly. Her mind was whirling and a hundred miles an hour, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. A sharp twinge in her leg granted her clarity of thought. "Last night, because of my injury, I collapsed on Anakin's bed as soon as we arrived. I must have fallen asleep, right Anakin?"

Anakin looked mildly confused, then nodded.

"I'll bet Anakin didn't want to disturb me, so he probably made me comfortable and went to sleep on the floor."

Obi-Wan was skeptical, but he could find no flaw in the excuse. "All right, then, Master Star, I have no choice but to accept your explanation. Anyway, Anakin, the Council has a mission for us. It seems that the Chancellor has been taken prisoner, and is being held on Dooku's flagship as we speak."

"What?" Anakin exclaimed as worry for his friend swept over him. Obi-Wan and Revan both watched him, the former with worry and the latter with curiosity. "We have to rescue him!"

"Yes, Anakin, but be sure not to let your feelings for him cloud your judgement."

Anakin bowed sheepishly. "Yes, Master."

"Master Star, the Council would like you to join us in this mission as a field test of your powers, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, Master Kenobi. I would be honored to join you." Revan smoothly assured him.

"Excellent. Anakin, as soon as you are dressed, meet Master Star and I in the docking bay. We leave immediately."

"Yes, Master."

"Master Kenobi, if you don't mind, I would like a moment alone with Knight Skywalker."

"All right, I don't see a problem with that." Obi-Wan turned smoothly and left.

Revan looked at Anakin. "So, who is this Chancellor?"

"Chancellor Palpatine. He's a great man! When I told him about the Sand Raiders, he totally understood."

"Hmn. Anakin, I am going to need you to be extremely careful around this Chancellor."

"What? Why?"

"I didn't want to alarm the Council, but, being a former Sith Lord, I am somewhat more in tune with their presences than most Jedi. Up until late last night, the Sith Lord you have been looking for had been somewhere on this planet. Now he's not. I feel as though the Sith Lord's departure from Corusant and Chancellor Palpatine's might be connected."

"Why didn't you tell the Council you could sense the Sith?" Anakin questioned angrily.

"Anakin, think for Force's sake! Sith are trained to tap into the power of their emotions. You've felt the power that comes from just scratching the surface of what you feel. Imagine someone who could harness that power a hundred fold at their slightest whim. Do you really think that the Council, or even the whole Order, would stand the slightest chance against him?"

Anakin thought it over. "Fine, I see your point. But I still think that Chancellor Palpatine has nothing to do with this!"

"Fine! You have got to be the most stubborn, insufferable male I've ever met!"

Anakin smirked. "I love you too."

"Ugh! Let's just…Let's just go, shall we?"

"Sure. The docking bay, Master Kenobi said?"

"Yeah."

Anakin grinned, lighting up the room and sending Revan's heart doing backflips all the way up to her mouth. "Race ya."

Revan smirked evilly. "Oh, you're on, Jedi boy!"