Disclaimer
All characters appearing in the Star Wars saga are copyright Lucas Arts and the Walt Disney Cooperation. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Star Wars AU The Triumph of Darth Plagueis: Episode Eight – Attack of the Clones Part 6
By
Celgress
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, c.1150 C.E.
Coruscant – one week after the events on Geonosis
By the time Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-wan Kenobi & Siri Tachi returned to the capital planet the entire Republic had been convulsed by several days of renewed crisis. Following what Republican Loyalists were calling the Battle of Geonosis, Sepertists referred to the happening as the Massacre on Geonosis, footage had surfaced on the holonet purporting to show the four Jedi along with the new Clone commandoes slaughtering unarmed Geonosians civilians! In short order several alleged 'survivors' of the terrible event came forward. The most memorable being a young Geonosian who claimed his entire direct hive line had been wiped out by the Jedi and their troops. The youngster went on to say that his carefree existence had been shattered and he now hated all Jedi. Outraged by the reports citizens were demanding answers. In spite of efforts by Supreme Chancellor Hego Damask and the Senate to defuse the situation tension continued to mount. Upon the return of the party from Geonosis even some senators were calling for a full blown investigation into the incident and possible direct governmental regulation of the Jedi Order.
Following an emergency meeting of the Jedi Council during which it was decided that the best course of action the Order could pursue was one of transparency. The 'Jedi Four', as they were being called on the holonet, offered to testify before a special subcommittee of the Senate which was investigating what happened on Geonosis. On the first day Yoda was called to testify. The Grand Master was grilled relentlessly by several senators. Yoda reminded the irate senators that the leader of the Separatists, Count Dooku himself, was a rogue Jedi.
That very evening, as if to counter Yoda's testimony, Count Dooku appeared on the holonet news having consented to do a sit down interview from an undisclosed location. When asked about his past affiliation with the Jedi Order Dooku stated he was no longer a Jedi. That he had abandoned the 'corrupt', 'politically motivated', 'dogmatic' sect in favor of a 'more open minded', 'freedom oriented', 'politically egalitarian' one. Dooku proudly proclaimed he was no longer a Jedi he was now a Sith. The reporter a bit taken aback by Dooku's declaration asked the Count if all Sith were evil like the Jedi and Republican government had claimed for generations. Dooku just laughed at the allegation labelling it propaganda perpetuated by successive generations of Jedi and their equally power hungry politicians allies so that they could insulate themselves from the possibility of losing their ill-gotten gain. Dooku went on to tell how the Sith had been unfairly demonized over the centuries by inaccurate portraits of both their techniques and their motives. Dooku promised a big surprise for the holonet viewers tomorrow night. A surprise which Dooku claimed would further cement his argument about the true nature of the relationship between certain members of the Republican Senate and the Jedi Order.
The next day Mace Windu testified before the subcommittee. Maddeningly for Windu most of the questions he was asked had nothing to do with the events on Geonosis, rather they concerned the allegations Dooku had made during the interview last night. Windu nearly lost his temper several times with the senators. By the end of the daily session nothing had been resolved.
As he promised that evening Dooku delivered an unforgettable surprise. The surprise came in the form of one Darth Maul! The Dathomirian Night Brother explained both how he had courageously survived his brutal duel with then Padawan Obi-wan & Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and how he had discovered a secret plot by the Jedi Council to steal the profits from Naboo's massive plasma reserves. Maul explained how former Supreme Chancellor Valorum had been pressured by the Jedi Council into forcing the Trade Federation to blockade Naboo by enacting laws against trade conglomerates. The true reason for the free trade act was so that the Republic and the Jedi Order would have a pretense for weakening the Trade Federation and while no one was looking obtain the profits for themselves. Maul contended this was because the Republic, along with the Jedi Order it financed, was on the verge of bankruptcy before the Naboo Crisis due to lavish overspending. In short both entities desperately needed those credits. Maul even produced clips from a holographic recording which he claimed was of a meeting between Valorum and several members of the Jedi Council, including Yoda, Windu & Qui-Gon, during which the scheme was hatched.
If the first part of Dooku's interview had been a fiasco for the Republican leadership than the second was a catastrophe. With Valorum having been dead for several years there was no way to counter the allegations other than more ineffective Jedi denials. In the days following Maul's revelations rioting broke out on several key Republic worlds, including on Coruscant itself. A third of the Worlds in the Republic took the opportunity to join the Separatist cause. Which Dooku had reorganized into the Confederacy of Independent Systems or CIS following the events on Geonosis. A failed coup had also been attempted on Muunilinst, home planet of Supreme Chancellor Damask, led by San Hill chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. While the coup had been defeated the majority of the coup plotters had escaped, including San Hill who had absconded with over half of of the vast wealth the planet possessed! Against such a backdrop Supreme Chancellor Damask had no choice but to declare martial law on the worlds still under his jurisdiction using several newly arrived shipments of Clone troops fresh from Kamino to quell the violence. This was the setting into which Senator Padme Amidala and Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker returned to after being away from Coruscant nearly a standard month. However while at times peaceful their absence had been anything but restful.
When Anakin had brought his mother Shmi Skywalker-Lars back to the Lars farm alive and seemingly unscathed the morning after he went searching for her, everyone in the tightly knit Moisture Farmer community had felt it was a miracle. During the next few days everybody kept asking Anakin to provide more details of the daring singlehanded rescue. Oddly Anakin was reluctant to do so. The usually boisterous Jedi in training was surprisingly tight lipped about the whole ordeal. Other than saying he had used the Force to locate his mother and that he had dispatched the two Tuskens guarding her he provided few details about what happened.
Observing Anakin and his mother that week Padme would often smile. Padme could tell how much the young man cared about his mother. There was a special bond there that was unlike anything Padme had ever seen before. No doubt it was caused, at least in part, by the unique circumstances surrounding Anakin's supposed virgin birth.
By the time the two travelers left Tatooine the Lars Clan, not to mention the entire Moisture Farmer community, had accepted the pair as their own. Both Anakin and Padme truly regretted that they had to leave. Following a round of heartfelt goodbyes, including Shmi & Cliegg telling Anakin to be a great Jedi and to stay in touch, Padme and Anakin left returning to Naboo the next day.
The following night Padme was shocked to wake up only to find Anakin once again sobbing softly by the pool. "Anakin what is it, what is wrong? Don't tell me you've had another dream about the future?" Padme asked worried what the answer might be.
"No, not this time" Anakin said turning around to face her.
"Than what is it? Why are you crying again?"
"They think I'm something I'm not, everyone does."
"What do you mean?"
"The people back on Tatooine, my fellow Jedi, even you. You think I'm a hero but you're wrong."
"Anakin why would you say such a thing? You saved your mother from Tusken Raiders all by yourself. That is pretty brave in my book."
"You don't understand Padme, I'm not the Jedi I should be I can see that now perhaps I never will be. I did something I know was wrong, but I don't regret it. If I had the chance I'd do it again even though it isn't the Jedi way" Anakin said with a strange gleam in his eye.
"Anakin you're frightening me" Padme said a confused look on her face. "What did you do?"
"First promise me you will not tell another member of the Jedi Order what I'm about to tell you. Please Padme I have to tell somebody what happened."
"Anakin why can't I tell the other Jedi what you did? By the Force Anakin did you hurt someone, maybe by accident?"
"Promise me you will not tell the Jedi, please."
"Alright" Padme finally said against her better judgement. "I promise I will never let another Jedi know what you have done."
"Thank you Padme, you do not know how much this means to me" Anakin said with the slightest sign of relief.
"What happened on Tatooine?"
"I killed them Padme. I killed them all" Anakin blurted.
"Who, who did you kill?" Padme asked softly, her voice trembling.
"The Tusken Raiders who took my mother. I killed them all, not just the warriors the women and children too."
Padme gasped at this revelation fighting to control her initial sense of revulsion. "Things got out of hand that is, understandable Anakin."
"You don't understand I killed them to save my mother" Anakin sobbed. "When I arrived it was too late she was near death. She died in my arms Padme. Her last words were telling me how proud she was of the Jedi I had become."
"I don't understand Shmi is not only alive, but in good health" Padme said trying to reconcile the images she remembered of the happy, vigorous, older woman with the story Anakin was relating. "How could she have died?"
"After my mother spoke her last words a man appeared his face covered. He was clocked all in black" Anakin explained. "He told me he was a Sith Lord and he then showed me he could restore my mother to life and perfect health for a price."
"The price being the lives of the Tuskens, oh Anakin" Padme reasoned aloud, "what have you done?" Padme said her expression an odd mixture of pity and disgust.
"I didn't have any choice I did what he asked. I exchanged their lives for that of my mother's" Anakin said wiping the tears from his eyes. "I just kept thinking how unfair it was that my mother finally found happiness with Cliegg Lars only to die a brutal death not long afterwards. I thought of all her years spent as a slave, my inability to help her. She deserved better than what happened Padme."
Padme didn't know how she should respond. Anakin started crying again. Not knowing what else to do Padme embraced him and started crying herself. She knew she should be repulsed by his actions. That she should break her word and turn him into the Jedi Council for his crime, but she couldn't. There was something about Anakin which drew Padme to him, like a mouth to a flame. She knew he was unstable and even potentially dangerous still she couldn't turn her back on him. Before morning dawned the pair found themselves in Padme's bed making love.
By the time the pair left Naboo nearly a week later they had become lovers and were secretly engaged. Anakin had wanted to marry before they left for the galactic capital. Padme decided they were not ready for that step. Both knew the risk they were taking, that their relationship was forbidden by both the Jedi code and the rules of the Senate, still neither cared. The impact on galactic history their forbidden love would have was staggering.
To Be Continued, next up my rendition of the Clone Wars!