The next time Anakin saw the Chancellor was a week later.

Drin and a young man named Kolban whom Anakin had not met personally were being briefed for an upcoming mission to Orest 6. Since Grievous' treachery, government was in disarray and riots were breaking out in the streets. Jedi had been requested in the capacity of peace-keepers.

Anakin, bored, was surreptitiously picking at a snag in the fabric of his chair. This mission had nothing to do with him, so he was only here for the sake of the meeting, and the fact that Amidala had promised to contact them today.

"And have you decided when you will leave?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"We were planning to leave today," Drin answered, "but as you know no ships will be available until two days from now, so—"

Just then the holo-projector started beeping, indicating an incoming transmission.

"That must be the Chancellor," said Windu. Drin and Kolban moved to leave the room, but Windu waved them back. "Stay," he said. "We will continue in a moment."

"Thank you for your time," Amidala said as soon as the hologram popped up. "This won't take long; I only wanted to make sure you were up to date on Alliance matters."

"We appreciate it," said Windu.

"As you know, we have been hoping to establish another peace agreement, since Grievous' was voided by his treachery," Amidala said. "I and several other Senators met with the Alliance emissaries today for the last time, and the treaty was finalized. They also made a formal apology to the Republic for Grievous' actions."

"At last approaching, peace is," said Yoda softly.

Amidala nodded, her political veneer breaking as she smiled. "The Republic is finally in true amity with the Alliance," she said.

"Is there anything else, Chancellor?" Windu asked her.

"Just one thing, Master Jedi," Amidala said. She coughed, and smoothed out her dress. "As you know, the Alliance prefers a central government, over all its planets. They want representatives of their own planet's interest to be heard, of course, but they have asked for a single, trustworthy leader to take charge, especially in these troubled times."

"They have asked?" Windu repeated.

A look of amusement played across Amidala's face for a moment. "The Alliance has requested a Jedi to lead them."

Before the Jedi Masters lost their stunned silences, Amidala hastened to speak. "I understand that this is impossible," she assured them, "but I didn't feel that it was my prerogative to tell them so. I told them that I would relay their message, and that you would contact them tomorrow with your answer."

"I thank you for your discretion," said Windu finally. "Such a thing, of course, cannot be done. Jedi do not aspire to positions of power."

"I understand—but it would be best if you told them yourself."

With a few more pleasantries the transmission was finished. Windu turned back to Drin and Kolban and apologized for the interruption.

"So you'll be leaving in two days?"

"Yes, as soon as possible."

"Excellent."

Master Mundi inclined his head toward the holo-projector. "The Chancellor's recent message indicates that the Jedi are perhaps not so disliked on Orest 6 as we had suspected. However, caution is still advisable."

"Of course," said Drin, bowing.

"I think that's all the business we have for today," said Windu. "Anakin, if you'll talk with the Alliance tomorrow, that should take care of everything."

The Council adjourned only moments afterward, for which Anakin was grateful. All day he had been waiting for some time of his own, and now that he had it he knew exactly where to go. Ordinarily the library wasn't a place where Anakin willingly spent his free time, but this was a special case.

"Master Nu?"

The white-haired librarian looked up at him with a look of faint suspicion. Jocasta Nu had been librarian at the Temple for decades, long enough to remember the days when Anakin's only purpose for coming here was to cause trouble and make noise.

"Can I help you find something, Master Skywalker?" she asked him.

"I'm looking for lightsaber designs—historic, maybe—or something more current…" It occurred to Anakin suddenly that he didn't know anything his plans for his future lightsaber—all he knew was that he needed one. Fortunately, Jocasta Nu seemed to know what she was doing. Bending over a computer console, she soon had a list of designs available on the screen.

"This is what we usually show Padawans who are building their first lightsaber," she told Anakin, pointing as he sat down at the console. "But I've opened up a few extra files that you might be interested in."

Anakin thanked her and began browsing, while the librarian left to attend to other things. At first he was even a little bit excited; after all, it wasn't every day that you were able to make such an important weapon. But page after page scrolled down, and the further Anakin got the more he found himself missing his old lightsaber. He'd barely even looked at the blueprints then; he'd simply built it, choosing every piece as if he'd always known it would go there.

He gave up, after almost an hour of searching. His lightsaber was nowhere to be found in the archives—those designs belonged to someone else, fit to another's hand.

Tomorrow, he promised himself, after the Alliance meeting, he would go to Ilum.

He was awakened the next morning by a pounding on the door.

Anakin, still dreaming, thought for a moment that the knocking was his sleep couch yelling at him in a language only furniture could understand. When lucidity returned to his brain, he stumbled toward the door and answered it. Drin was standing there.

Anakin blinked. "Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm sorry," said Drin, looking downcast. "I knew you were meeting with the Alliance sometime this morning, and I had to catch you before then."

"Okay." Moving aside, he allowed Drin entrance. Before anything else happened he grabbed his tunic from the back of a chair and pulled it on. Drin sat down. Anakin was awake enough now to notice that his former student wore an unusual expression on his face—like guilt, but without any wrong-doing.

"What's going on?" Anakin asked.

"I need to talk to you."

"So I gathered."

Drin looked faintly embarrassed. "About what the Chancellor said yesterday."

"You mean, the peace agreement?"

"No…about a Jedi leading the Alliance." He gave an awkward little cough. "I, um—I want to go."

At first Anakin didn't believe what he was hearing. It was a minute before he said anything. "You want to go to Orest 6 and—and lead the Alliance?" he asked incredulously. "Drin, are you serious?"

Drin took a big breath. "I know it sounds crazy, but—"

"It's ridiculous!"

"Just give me a chance to explain!"

Anakin was looking at him with the disbelief of someone who's seen a loved one gone mad. "Leave the Order—that's what you want to do?"

"No!" Drin protested. "I mean—Anakin, please listen to me."

The news had startled Anakin, but he was slowly regaining rationality. With a great sigh he sat down. "Just tell me, then," he said.

Drin's lips pressed together. "I can't explain it," he said, shaking his head. "But I heard her say it, and something inside me—rang. Like a bell. And it kept ringing, until that was all I could hear. This isn't something I've just come up with out of nowhere—I've been up all night, thinking about it. Anakin, the Force wants me to do this."

A million objections rose up in Anakin's mind, but something in Drin's face kept them silent. All he could say was, "Why?"

"Look, I know—" Drin shrugged uncomfortably. "I know I haven't exactly been the Council's favorite over the years. I've been stupid. You know that, too. But that's why. I know what it feels like to—to need redemption, and forgiveness."

Anakin shook his head, grasping at straws, trying to understand. "What you did is in the past. You don't need to atone for past wrongs."

"I know that," said Drin, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But I can do something with them."

Whether it was an epiphany of the Force or the sleep finally leaving his mind, Anakin understood then. Drin knew, as few Jedi did, the dangerous fall from grace that the Alliance had experienced, because he had lived it first-hand. Both had misplaced their trust; both had nearly lost everything because of their mistakes, and both had, in time, returned to the light.

All Anakin could think to say was, "You won't be a Jedi anymore."

"Yeah," Drin agreed quietly. "That'll take some getting used to."

"I'll have to talk to the Council. They'll need to know."

Drin looked up. "So you're all right with this?" he asked eagerly.

Anakin didn't know how to reply. "I don't want you to go," he admitted at last. "But I trust you."

Left alone after Drin had gone, Anakin's thoughts were a confused mess. He hadn't expected anyone to step up, let alone Drin, let alone with such maturity. It almost frightened him, to think how things had changed. But in the part of his stomach that usually hurt when he was worried, there was no tightness. Something within him refused to fear, as though the Force were whispering to him, "You see, my son? There is a plan."

At last, when dawn was breaking over Coruscant, Anakin went to Windu's room. The Master was already awake, so deep in meditation that he didn't sense Anakin's presence until Anakin spoke.

"I found someone to lead the Alliance," Anakin said to Windu's back, figuring it was best to get it all out at once. "Drin Audris."

For a moment, Windu didn't even seem to hear. Then he stood and turned, his brow darkening over his eyes. "Drin Audris?" he repeated. "Anakin, do you realize what you're saying?"

"Yes," said Anakin simply. "And it's all right. Don't worry. Everything's all right."

Strange, how true that felt.