a.n. I know it's been about 2 weeks since the last update but I've been busy with school. I have finals this week and I had a paper due today. But, school's out for 3 weeks on Fri, so I should have plenty of time to update while on vacation, 'specially since I'll be flying to Ohio on Christmas to spend time with some relatives. I'll try to have some more updates up throughout my break, but no promises. Enjoy, read, and review!

Chapter 10: Questions

Yoda's grave statement created a palpable silence in the room. Everyone remained silent, letting the seriousness of the Jedi Master's words be absorbed. No one voiced a comment, but the same thoughts were on everybody's mind: What if a war was inevitable? Would the Jedi be able to protect the Republic?

Luca stood by, carefully examining the expressions on everyone's face. He knew that no matter what he did now, no matter what he attempted to prevent, nothing could ever prevent war from breaking out. He could only hope that he would make a difference in trying to help Anakin from falling into darkness. Everything, including the conclusion of the war, hinged on the decisions Anakin would be faced with and the choices that he would ultimately make.

The silence was broken by a holotransmission for the Chancellor, announcing that the Loyalist committee had arrived to talk with Palpatine. The Chancellor announced for them to be sent in and presently, the door opened and the committee strode into the room. Senator Bail Organa from Alderaan, Senator Orn Free Taa from Ryloth, and Speaker of the Senate Mas Amedda all bustled through the door as the Jedi watched them enter. Though all of them were well-known in the political world and all commanded a high degree of respect, foremost among the group, and the one that held all the attention, was the contingent from Naboo, including the illustrious Senator Padmé Amidala. Accompanied by Representative Jar Jar Binks, her handmaiden Dormé and her head of security Captain Typho, the proud Senator walked gracefully and purposefully into the room. She paused before the Jedi Council and stood with the other members of the committee, waiting to speak to the Chancellor.

Yoda walked over to the Senator, a relieved smile crossing his wrinkled face.

"Senator Amidala," he acknowledged her with a respectful bow, "seeing you alive brings warm feelings to my heart."

Padmé smiled gratefully, happy to see the widely-respected Jedi Master.

"It is good to see you, Master Yoda," Padmé told him happily. She looked over the rest of the occupants in the room, noticing all the Jedi Council members that were present. Her eyes rested on an unknown figure standing among the Jedi. He seemed mature, not much more than a few years older than herself, but the sad wisdom in his eyes showed that he had seen many more horrors in his relatively short life than his appearance would make it appear. His somewhat shaggy sandy-blonde hair curled just past his shoulders and his face was hardened and bronzed. She stared at him for a quick moment, almost certain that she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't place where. She felt some sort of connection to him, and that confused her. She didn't know why she was feeling that way towards someone she was sure she never met but she would find out.

Padmé tore her gaze away from the stranger and focused on Palpatine. She addressed him and the Jedi Council in the room with her questioning eyes.

"Do you have any idea who was behind the attack?" she asked.

Master Windu was the one to answer her question. "Our intelligence points to disgruntled spice miners, on the moons of Naboo."

While this answer seemed plausible enough, something about it still didn't feel right. There was someone else behind the attack and she had a feeling that she knew who it was.

"I think that Count Dooku was behind it." Her response was met with some surprise, particularly by the Jedi. Of course Dooku had been a Jedi for many years before he left because of his political beliefs and his diminishing faith in the Republic. To her it made perfect sense that Dooku could be the one behind the assassination attempt made on her life. The Jedi, however, seemed to disagree.

"You know, milady," Windu began, "Count Dooku was once a Jedi. He wouldn't assassinate anyone; it is not in his character."

"He is a political idealist, not a murderer," Ki-Adi-Mundi agreed.

Padmé still couldn't shake the notion that Dooku had a hand in the attempt made on her life. She noticed that all the Jedi seemed to harbor the same beliefs that Windu and Mundi had. None of them felt that Dooku was the type of person to do such a thing.

"I feel I must agree with Senator Amidala."

Padmé turned her head towards the unfamiliar voice, as did everyone else in the room. The stranger she had noticed earlier had talked for the first time since she entered. That feeling of familiarity threatened to overwhelm her once again and she still couldn't figure out why that was so. She didn't know anything about this young man, and she assumed he knew nothing about her, yet he was agreeing with her.

He must be having the same misgivings about Dooku that I am, she thought to herself.

"Tell us Luca," Windu asked him, "why you feel this way."

Luca just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he addressed the Korun Master.

"I don't know why I feel this way, Master Windu. I just think that there may be some truth in Senator Amidala's words. Just because Dooku was once a Jedi doesn't mean that he is incapable of committing an illegal act. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he leave the Jedi Order because he felt that the Republic and the Senate were becoming too corrupt and not adhering to the democratic principles upon which it was based?"

The Jedi in the room looked at each other as they processed the young man's words. Luca did make some sense, no matter how much they would want to deny it. Dooku did leave for political reasons. No longer being a Jedi, he would have no reason not to pursue those avenues that would bring about the changes he wanted in the Senate. To get what he wanted in the end, he would go through any means necessary to accomplish it.

As the Jedi mulled over what Luca had said, Padmé focused her attention on the mysterious young man. Not only did he agree with her, but he was doing the very thing she felt like doing, questioning the reasons the Jedi had in proclaiming that Dooku could never do anything wrong or illegal. She would have to find out more about who this man was.

Luca watched the expressions on the faces of the Jedi Council. He knew his statement had made a great impact on the views of the Jedi. With all he knew about this point in time, he could proclaim that even though Dooku wasn't directly responsible for the assassination attempts on Padmé's life, he did have a hand in it. He could also denounce Dooku as the Sith Lord he was and hopefully get a chance to apprehend him before things progressed to far. Yet, he knew that he couldn't do that now. Some of the Jedi didn't really trust his motives and he didn't want Palpatine to find out that he knew what the future held. The only hope he had was the fact that Yoda trusted him and his judgements enough to not question him, and that Yoda would help him in his endeavor. The other Jedi respected Yoda enough to believe that any decisions or ideas the old Master presented to them would be worth thinking about and knew that if Yoda trusted Luca, there was a reason for it.

While this exchange was going on, nobody noticed the Chancellor's eyes turning a sickly yellow color. He knew exactly who was trying to kill the Senator, but he wouldn't reveal it. The Jedi had almost discredited the Senator's accusations and suspicion would have been deflected from Dooku until later. This would have worked into his plans perfectly and they would be progressing smoothly. That was until the curious man known as Luca Redenov had made his declaration and brought the Jedi around to Amidala's line of thinking. His statement had made the Jedi think more deeply on the matter and question Dooku's character more thoroughly. The Jedi would now be more suspicious of Dooku and his actions and his plans would have to overcome this obstacle. Exactly who was this young stranger that seemed to know so much about everything yet who he had never seen? Yes, he would keep an eye on him indeed.