The Masters had allowed Anakin to remain on the Jedi Council, even though he had not yet attained the rank of Master yet. They spent a great deal of time conversing about the Separatists and where they could possibly find them.
"An important mission, this is," said Yoda wisely. "To find and disband the Separatists, the Jedi Council must."
"This would be a good mission on which to send Young Skywalker and his former apprentice," said Master Windu thoughtfully.
"But Master," said Shaak Ti. "It could just be a wild goose chase for all we know. Perhaps the Separatists could even be hiding on Coruscant, and not on another planet."
Obi-Wan Kenobi sat thoughtfully, listening. He raised his arm, and the eyes in the room rested on him.
"If I may say something?" he asked. Both Master Windu and Master Yoda nodded, and the rest of the Council watched him.
"When I was on Geonosis a long while ago, I was able to spy on the Separatists. I think Geonosis would be a good starting place to find clues as to where they have gone. They may have left some traces there, perhaps a holodisk or a hologram left in their 'projector. As I spied on them, I did see plans for a space station. Maybe they left something there."
"Without Dooku, maybe there's a chance that they haven't covered all their tracks," said Windu, nodding. "I see what you're saying Obi-Wan."
"It was so long ago, Master Kenobi," said Shaak Ti suddenly. "When young Skywalker was still your Padawan. How can you even be sure there's anything left?"
Obi-Wan honestly shrugged and shook his head. "I can't. I was just hoping to gather a lead from there."
"I will go," said Anakin. "Master Obi-Wan shouldn't have to risk his life looking for bits of evidence."
Obi-Wan gave his friend a questioning look. "Anakin, your life isn't something to be wasted either."
"Well I don't see who else we could spare," said Anakin, sounding a little frustrated. "I don't see why I can't go, after I've taken the Trials."
"You don't know where to look. And I'm getting old. It won't be such a great loss to the Council if I happen to die."
"Who said anything about dying? I thought this was recon!"
"Stop your arguing," said Master Windu, frowning at them. Obi-Wan looked resigned and sat back in his chair, folding his arms, while Anakin stayed at the edge of his seat, looking irritated.
Shaak Ti slightly smiled. "Remember when Qui-Gon Jinn brought Anakin to us as a boy? His faith in him was so strong. Now our faith also must be strong in him. He is the Chosen One." She nodded at Anakin, who tilted his head back in respect.
Master Eeth Koth, a Zabrakkian, snorted. "I thought Qui-Gon had kind of lost it toward the end before he was killed by a Sith," he said with his nose wrinkled.
Obi-Wan's face changed. "You will take that back, Koth, or you will regret that statement."
Master Yarael Poof's small face looked alarmed atop his long, high neck. "Please, please. Let us all calm down."
Master Koth narrowed his eyes at the Quermian. "You just keep out of it, Poof!"
Anakin stood. "STOP!" he shouted, holding his arms in the air to quiet everyone. The chatter and arguing stopped slowly, tittering away into silence. He turned to Eeth Koth, his expression a mix of irritation and curious indignation.
"I know that you don't like me, Master Koth," he said calmly. "For whatever reasons that are your own. All right. Whatever I did in the past to wrong you, I sincerely apologize. But I must ask you to keep your aversions of me out of conversations when talking about deceased Jedi Masters."
"I don't trust you, Skywalker," said Eeth Koth simply. "The fact of the matter is, you were a puppet for the Sith Lord. How do we know, even now, that you aren't a Sith in disguise, waiting for the moment to strike?"
"I agree with you," he said, negotiating. "You have no reason to trust me, I know. Especially since I was under the hand of Chancellor Palpatine for such a long time. No Jedi should have such an alliance as I did with him. But it was not the Jedi that I betrayed that night when Master Windu, and three others who are now dead, went to arrest the Chancellor!" he said loudly, looking around him. His face was a contortion of sorrow. "I wanted something very much from Palpatine that he alone could have given me. But I denied it, and I destroyed him with my own hand. If that alone cannot convince you that I am true to the Light Side of the Force, then I ask that you would allow me to prove my loyalty by this mission." He sat down, feeling a little dizzy.
"Well said, Young Skywalker," intoned Mace Windu from his seat, carefully rubbing his chin. Anakin nodded dully. He felt alone, a feeling not utterly alien to him since he had married Padme.
Master Yoda spoke. "Listened to Skywalker's heart, we have this evening. Felt his sorrows and worries, I have many times. Wrong it would be, to deprive him of this mission. Terrible we should feel if not allowed he is to continue on his destined path."
"Hear, hear!" said Master Poof heartily.
"Tomorrow we will hold the Trials for Anakin," announced Master Windu, looking around the room at the Masters gathered. "This Council has already agreed that through the course of the Clone Wars, Young Skywalker has proved himself in the Trials of Skill, Courage, and Flesh. All that remains are the Trials of Spirit and Insight."
Obi-Wan looked over at his former padawan, who was sitting up straight and had an impassive look on his face. Anakin, feeling his master's gaze, looked back at him unblinkingly, and then nodded to him respectfully.
"Anakin," said Mace Windu, looking pointedly at him. Anakin locked eyes with the dark-skinned Master. "Tomorrow at daybreak, you will begin the final two Trials, and we shall see if you are truly made to be a Jedi Master."
"He's the Chosen One. Don't you think that already makes him a Master?" asked Eeth Koth sarcastically, but quietly. Windu chose to ignore his slight.
"The Council is adjourned," said Mace. "It will meet again tomorrow just before daybreak."
With that dismissal, the other Masters got out of their chairs and left the Council chambers. Anakin remained behind with Obi-Wan, both sitting thoughtfully.
"Master, do you know why I irritate Master Koth so much?" he asked, knowing the answer for himself.
Obi-Wan's smile was wan. "I have no idea, my young friend."
"It's because I'm better than he is. He fears me, therefore he hates me." He laughed dryly. "Not that he'd ever actually admit to hating me, because then he'd be susceptible to the Dark Side. . ." he trailed off, staring into the air.
Obi-Wan shook his head with a smile. "You and your pride, Anakin, are the only things holding you back from being a truly great Jedi."
. . .
Ahsoka Tano was wearing a helmet with the blast shield down, holding her green lightsaber and her yellow-green shoto in the Shien variation of form V. Three Marksman H training remotes circled about her in the air, ready to shoot little blaster bolts that were, essentially, harmless, but would sting on skin contact.
As if sensing when she let her guard down, they all began firing at her simultaneously, a rigourous exercise that had her slicing her lightblades through the air quickly, trying to keep the irritatingly painful bolts from hitting her rust-colored skin. She was at this exercise for a good thirty minutes, and then the remotes stopped firing their blasters and hovered away to the side of the room, where they settled down to the ground and deactivated.
The hums of Tano's blades was silenced as she turned them off, and she pushed up the blast shield on the helmet to look around. Anakin was standing in the doorway, holding a training remote in his right hand, and wearing a confident smirk on his face.
"Is something funny, Master?" asked Ahsoka impertinently.
"You know, I think that it is universally true that all females have a temper that flares up for no good reason," grinned Anakin, as he set the remote into a cubby on the wall and then walked toward her.
Her eyes narrowed. "What made you make that assumption?"
"You are always in a hurry to get mad at me," he said conversationally, as his smile dared her to make something of his remark. "And Master Shaak Ti got a little upset with me the other day when I nearly ran into her."
"Maybe Master Ti knows something about you that the rest of us don't. And maybe you're highly irritating sometimes," said Ahsoka, sounding angry, but only teasing her master.
"Master Obi-Wan would probably agree with you about the irritating part," said Anakin ruefully.
"Maybe one day I'll ask him how he put up with you," she said, taking the helmet off.
"Maybe you should," said Anakin, taking the helmet from her. He put it on his own head and pulled the blast shield down.
"What, are you going to have me fight you now?" asked Ahsoka. "You know that's completely unfair. You have a huge advantage over me."
"What advantage is that?" asked Anakin, his voice slightly muffled. "I can't see and you can, and your hearing is a thousand times better than mine, even with this old helmet off. I'd say you have the advantage, Snips."
She didn't even try to take her lightsabers from her belt. She just stared at him.
"Seriously? You're going to pretend that you're not really good at using the Force or using a lightsaber? C'mon, Master, I'm not stupid. Even if your physical eyes can't see, you can see a ton just by using the Force to feel around you."
"Then I won't use the Force," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well I don't want to slice you in half!" complained Ahsoka. "Why don't you just use a holocron to fight with? I'll be too easy for you, and if you don't use the Force, I'll end up chopping off once of your limbs by accident."
"Let him leave the helmet on," said a voice from behind them. Master Shaak Ti appeared from the shadows of the doorway. "I have no problem sparring with Young Skywalker."
Ahsoka's eyes grew huge. "M—Master," she stuttered.
"Is there a problem, Padawan Tano?" asked Shaak Ti kindly. "Let Skywalker use the Force all he wants. With that helmet on, he will have a hard time fighting me." The smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes reflected the joking tone in her voice.
"Ah, Master Ti," said Anakin beneath the helmet. "So you've come to teach me a lesson I won't soon forget, right?"
"You're very proud, Skywalker," said Shaak Ti, finding it hard to be truly irritated with his demeanor. "I just intend to bring you a little closer to the ground." She chuckled.
"Master Ti, I don't think this is a good idea," said Ahsoka nervously.
"I won't hurt him," said Shaak Ti.
"It's not him I'm worried about," said Ahsoka, seeing Anakin's grin beneath the blaster shield.
Anakin took a moment to Force-grab a training lightsaber from the nook in the wall where the training equipment was stored. Shaak Ti did the same for herself, though she wished they were using real lightsabers to try out their skills. She truly wanted to see Young Skywalker's skill for herself.
"For future reference, Snips," said Anakin, activating the yellow blade, "you don't have to hack me into little pieces. Training lightsabers aren't just for Younglings, you know."
Shaak Ti activated her lightsaber, which happened to have a green blade. In truth, she disliked other colors for blades, and cherished her own sapphire blue blade in the lightsaber hanging at her belt.
"All right, Young Skywalker, show me the power of the Chosen One!" She sounded eager as she brandished the green blade at Anakin. He stood quietly in the first stance, his feet shoulder-length apart, his blade low. With the lightsaber humming, he brought it around and swung at Shaak Ti. She avoided his wide swing with a "tsk tsk" and then lunged at him with hers. He parried and struck again, which she parried.
They fought for twenty minutes easily, dancing around the room, lunging and dodging, thrusting and parrying. Ahsoka had spoken the truth earlier when she'd said that it didn't matter if Anakin was wearing a helmet. The Force lended him even better sight than that which he got from his real eyes.
Ahsoka had the sneaking feeling that Anakin was toying with Shaak Ti.
"Enough of this!" Shaak Ti said, a little annoyed. Apparently she'd got the same suspicion. She pulled her blue-bladed lightsaber from her belt and activated it. She tossed the training one to Ahsoka, who caught it, surprised. Then Shaak Ti launched at Anakin Skywalker, slicing and hacking against his identical blue blade as if she really meant to cut Anakin into minced meat.
Anakin's thoughts were calm. He could feel Shaak Ti's irritation. In truth, he was surprised at her reaction to him, and all that he had been through. If he had done something to injure her personally he would have understood what her annoyance was, but it seemed to have come out of nowhere.
Then Shaak Ti dropped her deactivated weapon and fell to her knees, sobbing.
Anakin tore his helmet off, looking for injury, his lightsaber deactivated and on his belt in a nanosecond. He took Shaak Ti by the shoulders. "Master! Are you all right? Did I hurt you?"
She shook her montrals, her head tails shaking. "I am . . . embarrassed!" she managed between sobs. "I am so embarrassed! First the Chancellor . . . now you . . . I am truly NOT the excellent judge of character I prized myself to be once long ago!"
Anakin looked awkward as he patted Shaak Ti on the shoulder, trying to comfort her. Ahsoka kneeled by her, giving her as much of an embrace as she could from the awkward side angle.
"I felt your true spirit, Skywalker, as we fought. I am sorry to have judged you, even if it was only a little!" said Shaak Ti. He handed her the lightsaber respectfully.
"Master, whatever I have done, I am truly, very sorry for it," he said honestly. She took her weapon from him, looked up at him, tear streaks on her rusty-white cheeks.
"You have not wronged me. You will do well, here, Skywalker." She stood as regally as she could, considering her embarrassing scene. "You will be a true Jedi Master. Farewell until the morrow." She hurried out of the training chamber, her robes swirling around her legs as she went.
Ahsoka and Anakin traded a look that said, "What was that about?"
. . .