Senator Orn Free Taa looked on all sides as he wondered where to go in this huge place that he was in, the mall.
Given that it was the weekend, the self-indulgent senator was determined to use it to make himself as comfortable as possible.
It was not such a bad thing, except for one thing.
The Twi'lek politician was a selfish, greedy man.
In his opinion, he and all his comforts came first, his people on Ryloth second, and the Republic, third.
He was a very unpopular man in his homeworld to say the least, but he did not care.
All that he cared about was stuffing his coffers and pockets with as much money as possible, and living lavishly till the end.
And so there, he stood, currently, wishing to have something lavish to eat.
And spotting the most expensive restaurant that he frequented in the mall, he began to wonder if he should go there for the day.
And of course, he decided upon a yes.
Glowering with pure desire for sumptuous food which money in his pockets could buy, he started forwards.
And then suddenly, something bumped into him and he nearly tripped.
He luckily managed to balance himself at the last second, and he straightened himself up, and looked down, to see a small Twi'lek girl on the floor.
Angry that this girl had come in her way, he shouted, "Hey girl, who do you think you are?! Get out of my way you insolent child!"
The girl replied, "I'm sorry mister, I was simply trying to find my Mommy and I didn't see you. Have you seen my…"
"To hell with your Mommy and blah blah blah!" Orn Free Taa cut her off cruelly, "You have no respect for gentlemen's time, or you would not be here alone like this, just wandering off by yourself and causing so much trouble! Kids these days!"
"Please," the girl begged, "I need to find my Mommy!"
"How dare you interrupt me and waste my schedule and time you little wretch!" Orn Free Taa shouted.
Suddenly, a third male voice yelled out, "Hey you! Just leave that poor little girl alone you bastard!"
And the next thing he knew, he was being slapped across his face and lekku.
He staggered for a moment, and then realized that he was looking into the glaring eyes of a young human boy, probably no older than 17 or 18.
And judging by his clothes and hair braid, this boy seemed to be a Jedi Padawan.
"Boy," the selfish senator demanded, "who do you think you are?!"
"My name is Anakin Skywalker if you don't know, you great big bully," the boy retorted, "and whoever you are, I don't care! Just leave her alone or you'll have to deal with me you…"
"Anakin," a shout suddenly rang out.
And the next moment, there could be seen a man running towards Anakin, another Jedi obviously, with ginger hair and a beard, and he was not looking happy to say the least.
"Anakin," the second Jedi reprimanded sternly, "This is no way to address a senator."
"Master," Anakin cried out, "He has no heart at all, he was just abusing this small girl here who's looking for her mother, and…"
"Anakin," the second Jedi said, "that does not mean that you just start using curse words and yelling. Reacting violently like this is not the way we do things."
He then turned to the senator and said, "Senator, I apologize for my Padawan's behavior, but I request you to leave the child alone, and if I might add, these words were absolutely unnecessary."
"And who might you be?" Orn Free Taa asked.
"Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi," replied Anakin's master, "and please leave the child alone. We will find her mother. Have a good evening senator."
And before the senator or Anakin could say another word, Obi Wan Kenobi pulled both Anakin and the girl away.
They went to a cafe and Obi Wan knelt down to the girl's level and said, "It's alright. You're going to be okay. We'll help you find your mother. What is your name, little one?"
"Jenny," the girl replied.
"Alright Jenny," Obi Wan replied, "Now where did you last see your mother?"
"At the clothes store." Jenny replied.
"Can you show us which one?" Anakin asked.
"Yeah," Jenny said.
Jenny showed them the clothes store where she had last seen her mother, and after a few enquiries, they finally found Jenny's mother, who herself was distraught and looking in the next store for her child.
Jenny's mother thanked them profusely, and Obi Wan of course said that it was their duty and that Anakin had been the one to spot her in trouble. Of course, the mother was furious to know about the manner in which Orn Free Taa had treated her child and declared that Anakin had done the right thing as a Jedi by giving him hell.
Little did they know that they were being watched by that same senator, on a story high, near the railing.
"The boy will pay!" Orn Free Taa thought darkly.
Meanwhile, Obi Wan sighed thinking about what had just happened.
He and Anakin were going to have to have a long talk tonight.
Some hours later in the Jedi Temple…
Anakin and Obi Wan were sitting in their quarters, and Anakin was sitting on one side of his bed while Obi Wan sat on the other side.
"Anakin," Obi Wan said, "What you did was extremely foolish and disrespectful."
Anakin hissed, "That man has no heart for anyone!"
Obi Wan said, "I understand you were angry at him, and alright, yes, I agree that he is a really pompous and selfish man, but the way you spoke was uncalled for. Could you not have done it in a better way?"
"What better way?" Anakin nearly shouted, "He was treating her like some slave on Tatooine! I used to see slave owners treating even small ones like Jenny like animals! No, like filth! And that's exactly what that monster of a senator did today!"
Obi Wan sighed. He could not help feeling sorry for Anakin upon hearing that. And yes, Anakin did have a point.
He couldn't blame Anakin for his opinion on the matter.
He softly said, "Listen Anakin, I'm not trying to belittle you for wanting to save her. In fact, I understand why you were so angry with him, but there is something you need to understand. If you just let anger take over you, if you just act without thinking, you might end up making the situation worse for yourself. I hate to say it, but the senator is an influential man with his wealth, and because of that insult, now, he may try to get back at you. Politicians like him may want to just destroy you, and I don't want you to end up in that kind of a horrible situation. And more than that, could you not have intervened without slapping him?"
Anakin sighed and a few moments later, he said, "You're right. I could have avoided hitting him, but I still don't feel sorry for yelling at him. I'll be more careful in the future, but I can't say I won't get angry if something like this happens again."
Obi Wan sighed and said, "I hope you come to understand what I am saying and apply it to your actions. Remember, anger is the way of the dark side, and as Master Yoda says, once you start down the dark path, it will forever dominate your destiny."
Anakin nodded and said, "So does that mean I have already gone dark? I mean, with what happened today…"
"No Anakin," Obi Wan replied, "I do not believe that. And for that matter, we all are emotional beings. We all experience moments of frustration and anger. But as Jedi, we must not allow that anger to control us. Going dark would mean allowing anger and other negative emotions to dominate you, which is something really horrible."
He then continued, "You know, when Qui Gon was struck, I was filled with rage. I wanted nothing more than to inflict pain upon Darth Maul."
"Really?" Anakin asked.
"Yes," Obi Wan replied, "But then I nearly fell down the shaft. The problem with anger is, it may seem more powerful, but it is tricky. It can make you go blind, lose focus, lose awareness of what's happening, of what you're doing. And just nearly falling down a shaft is not the same thing as losing your soul to darkness, which we as the Jedi seek to avoid. And for that matter, the Sith use anger as a weapon, but for us Jedi, if we let it control us, we lose focus. Sometimes, enemies will try to make you give in to your anger in order to win. If you give in, you are giving them what they want."
Anakin looked thoughtfully at Obi Wan and said, "You're right. I ought to try being more patient. I'll do my best."
Obi Wan smilingly said, "I know you will, my young Padawan. Now get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Good night Master," Anakin replied.
"Good night young one," Obi Wan replied.
Meanwhile at Orn Free Taa's apartment…
Orn Free Taa was sitting at his computer terminal in his apartment at night, seething with anger and humiliation.
A mere Jedi Padawan had done what not many would do, standing up to him, or rather, striking him, an influential senator.
And despite the boy's master's apology, the senator just would not admit his wrongdoings and let the insult go.
No, he wanted revenge.
But how?
He typed into a search engine on the terminal: Anakin Skywalker.
Immediately, search results showed up on the console.
He clicked a link and found something.
Anakin Skywalker was born in 41 BBY on the desert planet of Tatooine. Kept in slavery for the first nine years of his life, he was found by the Jedi Knight Qui Gon Jinn during the Naboo crisis (32 BBY) and taken to Coruscant to be a Jedi.
When Jinn and his Padawan, now Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi defended the then Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, from a darksider known as Darth Maul during the Queen's attempt to recapture Naboo from the Trade Federation, Anakin Skywalker flew into outer space in an N-1 starfighter and destroyed the main command ship which was controlling the droid army on Naboo, because of which, the droid army shut down and the result of Amidala's freedom fight was a victory.
Unfortunately, Jinn met his end at the hands of Maul. Maul was subsequently killed by Kenobi. Kenobi was knighted for this feat. In respect with his master's wishes, Kenobi took up the training of Anakin Skywalker.
Thus, Anakin Skywalker was formally inducted into the Jedi Order soon after the Naboo crisis and is currently training under Obi Wan Kenobi as his Padawan.
Taa sighed as he read the information.
This boy seemed to be a big hero in the eyes of the people on Naboo, and in the eyes of the Jedi Order, and the Republic. It was not to be unexpected that the mother of the child he had been mean to this afternoon would surely thank this boy for what he had done. And, from what he had heard from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Jedi normally did not take children of age nine years, and that Anakin had been considered too old to be trained, and yet he had been accepted as a Padawan.
There seemed to be no way Taa could get back at this boy for the insult.
And then suddenly, he thought, "What if he were to be framed? What if he were to be seen as an outcast by all?"
Yes, the idea was dark, but so satisfying to his ego.
Only thing was, how would he go about it?
Well, that could be figured out.
He would figure out something, anything to avenge the insult.
"Soon Skywalker," he growled, "I will destroy you!"
Meanwhile, in a dark hangar in a building in the industrial zone of Coruscant, Darth Sidious was pacing in deep contemplation.
Anakin Skywalker and his pesky master may not have known it, but he had sensed the boy's encounter with the senator of Ryloth.
And for some reason, he felt that he could use it to his advantage.
To achieve his goal of turning the 'Chosen One' to his side, and once again establishing the Sith Empire.
And everything had been going well until some hours ago.
Some hours ago, he had had a vision where he had succeeded in his goal, and had managed to turn the Chosen One to the dark side and thus create a powerful Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Darth Vader had then burned and Sidious had placed him in a suit to preserve and undermine him by restricting his abilities. He had then told him that his wife, Padmé Amidala had died by his hand, which had driven Vader further down the dark side, only to discover that Padmé had given birth to twins, and the son, Luke Skywalker managed to bring his father back to the light. The vision had ended with Darth Vader turning upon his Master and hurling him down a shaft.
And Sidious was fuming. In that vision, things had gone as he had planned, only for them all to have come crashing down by a 'loved one' turning him back to the light.
And he had to admit, the senator was never a part of his plan for Anakin, unless she could be used, and now it was clear that she would become an obstacle in some way or the other should she have anything to do with his 'soon-to-be' apprentice.
"Loved ones indeed!" He thought darkly.
It made him all the more angrier.
The concept of a Sith turning to the light disgusted him to the core.
Being adept in Sith lore, especially its history, he knew about the Sith Emperor, Tenebrae Vitiate Sith Emperor Valkorion, who had sought to destroy the entire galaxy in order to fuel himself and cheat death, and be able to experience everything in the universe, other galaxies, worlds and beings as he wished. And he had been destroyed by none other than a Sith.
This Sith, also known as the Outlander, the Alliance Commander, had once been the ancient Sith Empire's hand, but had always been more attuned towards the light side. And finally, when the Third Galactic War had broken out between the Republic and the Empire, the Outlander had joined the Republic and had even gone as far as to impress the Jedi with her strength with the light side and ultimately become a Jedi Master.
And she had even loved someone.
A republic spy and a descendant of Revan called Theron Shan, who was not even force sensitive or an ally of the dark side.
Thinking of all that made Sidious all the more furious, and he decided that he could not allow his potential apprentice to have anything to do with the light side or any loved ones if his plans were to succeed.
He could not allow Padmé to have any sort of association with the boy if he were to be fully turned.
He would have to make sure that either all of the boy's loved ones died or they turned on him.
And betrayal was worse than death.
And now, having seen the boy's encounter, an idea was forming in his mind.
He went to a nearby comm station, dialed the right frequency, and the next moment, the hologram of an old man dressed in a regal manner, with white hair and beard and a lightsaber with a curved hilt at the belt appeared, knelt down and spoke in a deep voice, "Greetings my Lord. What is thy bidding Master?"
Darth Sidious spoke in a sinister voice, "Rise Darth Tyrannus. It is good to see you. I have an urgent matter to discuss with you."
Darth Tyrannus stood up and said, "What could the matter be master?"
"It concerns the grand plan", Sidious explained, "We must accelerate our plans if we are to succeed. We must cause the war to begin this very year itself."
Tyrannus replied, "I will do what I can to instigate the members of the Trade Federation into war, my Lord."
Sidious then said, "Then there is another matter. It concerns the student of the student of Count Dooku's apprentice."
Tyrannus asked, "Do you mean Anakin Skywalker?"
Sidious replied, "Yes, and we must break him."
With that he let out an evil laugh.
He then said, "Now listen to me carefully…"
