Chapter 23 – The Shadow Hunters Unleashed

It had been a trying year for the Grand Inquisitor. After several years of progress infiltrating and neutralizing parts of the Jedi network, and the many new future Inquisitors he had added to his collection thereby, almost all his victories had been undone. Another three Inquisitors had been found dead on Daiyu, their bodies hacked to pieces. On their bodies, as with all the others lost over the past months, Imperial intelligence had found the red and black symbol, the symbol of the one-time Sith Lord, Darth Maul.

Maul had been on their list of targets since the foundation of the Order of the Inquisitors in the days after the Siege of the Jedi Temple, but he had been very far down that list. After having freed Palpatine from his stasis chamber, the former Captain of the Jedi Temple Guards had been told to assemble the Order of the Inquisitors and begin figuring out which Jedi had survive the Great Purge. That had been Palpatine's name for the event, but the Grand Inquisitor had always liked to think of it as fundamentally a reform. The Jedi's primary function, so the Grand Inquisitor had always thought, even when he was a guard, was to protect the galaxy from Force Sensitive individuals. It did this by gathering all those individuals together into a structured hierarchical Order which was under the authority of the central government. Any individuals who refused to obey the commands of the Order, or refused to join it at all, had to be hunted down. The Jedi Order had been too lax, and always too independent of the central government. There had to be a supreme commanding will, or else chaos would result, that is what the captain of the Jedi Temple Guards had thought. Many Jedi who would not accept the reformation of the Order had to die, but in the long run it would be for the best, for the galaxy and the Order, even if it had to be renamed. After all what value was there in a name? He had left his behind long ago.

The task of determining who had survived had taken them most of two years. The list they arrived at was daunting. Several members of the Jedi Council, and a surprising number of Jedi at all ranks had survived. Those three members of the Council, Yoda, Kenobi and Skywalker were of particular concern. Finding them had been their chief task, though Palpatine had made it very clear that they were not to engage them, as none of the Inquisitors had any hope of surviving the encounter. They were to be killed either by the Emperor himself or from a distance. That was all for the best as far as the Grand Inquisitor was concerned. He had no wish to fight any of them, familiar as he was with their abilities from his days in the Jedi Order.

But other than its center, no part of the Jedi network of safe houses and transit points was off limits to the Inquisitors, and their efforts at locating and eliminating nodes in that network had met with great success. He had been in his Master's good graces, rewarded with the knowledge that had always been denied him when he was a Jedi. Always the Jedi had told him, when he requested the right to study the deepest of the Jedi arts, that his talents lay in the martial arena. He had come to the attention of Palpatine after the arrest of Barriss Offee, and Palpatine had given him peeks behind the veil of mysteries the Jedi had erected around their most esoteric knowledge. There had been no glimpses into the secrets of the Sith, but the Grand Inquisitor believed it would only be a matter of time, and more successes, before he was taken fully into the Emperor's confidences.

But now all that was in danger. Now he was on Coruscant, preparing to explain himself to his Emperor. But how to explain that half the Inquisitors under his command at the beginning of the year were dead? How to account for what Maul was doing? The attacks always came on planets that the Inquisitors had determined were waystations on the Jedi network. Had Maul cracked their system of communications as well? How? It had taken ISB years to do so. How could one man, even a Sith Lord, do such a thing alone? Of course there was the chance that he was not alone. There had been rumors he had co-opted parts of the criminal underworld before the end of the Clone Wars. Perhaps he was using such contacts again now. But why would he do it? Palpatine was sure to ask and the Grand Inquisitor had no answer. They had made no move against him. He had suddenly appeared, in the form of the mark he left on the bodies of his victims, seemingly bent on destroying the Empire.

Not only did he not have an explanation, he had no plan. They had to attack the Jedi network to prevent them from recruiting Force Sensitives into the order, and of course the Inquisitors needed those children as their own recruits now more than ever. But the military could not be used for such purposes. They were too slow, the Jedi always melted away when a Star Destroyer emerged. But for the Inquisitors to move in quietly required putting themselves at risk of an ambush by Maul.

The Grand Inquisitor had been waiting in the anteroom to Palpatine's chamber in the old Jedi Temple long enough for the sun to have set, and for all the pink to fade from the night sky. The place Palpatine had chosen for his inner sanctum on Coruscant, was not, as the Grand Inquisitor had at first expected, the Jedi Council chamber. That had been turned into a highly fortified and extremely sophisticated communications hub hooked into the military and intelligence networks, the only place in the Empire where both information streams met. Palpatine had claimed that the Council room was chosen for this purpose because it was the highest point in the old Temple and therefore perfect for broadcast and reception. The Grand Inquisitor knew that the real reason was that it was too exposed for the paranoid Emperor to make it the place where he spent any time. While Maul and his strikes were infuriating, the Grand Inquisitor knew it was Anakin Skywalker who was the source of Palpatine's fear. He knew this because the threat of Skywalker's vengeance kept the Grand Inquisitor up at night as well.

At last the Grand Inquisitor was granted an audience, and he strode into what had once been the Jedi Archives. The benches were gone, as were the servers made to look like bookshelves, a particular useless affectation that had made the Grand Inquisitor roll his eyes even as a Jedi. Palpatine's throne, a rotating black chair that curled over his head, was located on the wall opposite the entrance. The room was kept poorly lit, and the walls were not visible in the darkness. There were small, sickly lights visible in that gloom, red and faint. The Grand Inquisitor guessed they were emitted from Sith artifacts now being stored with the only person living who knew their use. That knowledge was one reason, and perhaps the most important one, the Grand Inquisitor had for helping to keep Palpatine alive, at least until he began to share his secrets.

The Grand Inquisitor knelt before his Master when he reached the dais on which the throne was mounted. He waited for the Emperor to tell him to rise, but the Sith Lord said nothing. The Grand Inquisitor maintained his position, despite the strain on his legs and the fury he felt at the disrespect inherent in stretching his moment of obeisance out in this fashion.

Eventually Palpatine deigned to speak and he said, "You have failed me Grand Inquisitor."

"My most humble apologies my Lord," the Grand Inquisitor replied in as meek a tone as he could manage.

"You have allowed this failed apprentice to wreak havoc on the security of the Empire!" Palpatine said as though he had heard nothing from his servant.

"His presence in the fight was unexpected my Lord. He is not behaving in the manner of a criminal. He makes no money from his assaults, he only kills my Inquisitors," he said.

"My Inquisitors!" Palpatine snarled. "They are mine just as you are mine. Do not let your title deceive you. You are the first of their number, but they do not belong to you. They belong to the Empire, and the Empire belongs to me."

"Of course my Lord," the Grand Inquisitor said through gritted teeth.

"But you speak the truth of Maul's intentions. This is clearly a mission of childish vengeance on his part. He kills my Inquisitors because he seeks to hurt me. It is the lashing out of an immature mind, and one that was to be expected. I am surprised only by his effectiveness. He has learned a trick or two since last we met. But his foolishness will still be his downfall," Palpatine said.

"How my Lord?" the Grand Inquisitor asked.

"Are there any worlds suspected of being part of the Jedi's network for smuggling Force Sensitive children that we have not yet targeted?"

"Yes my Lord, several," the Grand Inquisitor said.

"We shall need one that is urbanized and well trafficked," Palpatine said.

The Grand Inquisitor thought for a moment and said, "We believe there have been children moved through Eriadu, my Lord."

"Yes, yes that will do. You will increase the presence of your Inquisitors on Eriadu. There will be no need for special precautions or secrecy. Have them visit the world several times, and await my signal before going there yourself," Palpatine said.

"I do not understand my Lord," the Grand Inquisitor said. "We have taken special precautions to defend ourselves against ambush. If we visit more than once then Maul is sure…"

"It is not for you to understand. Do as I bid, and we will be rid of this pest soon enough," Palpatine said.

In an abandoned apartment in a sparsely populated area on the outskirts of the capital city of Daiyu, the object of Palpatine's fury was pacing under the watchful gaze of Master Quinlan Vos, who sat on a counter in what had once been someone's kitchen. It was now a grimy, dark space that struck no one as a good place to eat.

"Where is she?" Maul demanded to know.

"She knows her business Maul. She will return when her task is complete," Vos said.

"Or perhaps she will not return, having sold our location to the Inquisitors," Maul said.

"She would do that to you maybe, but not to me," Vos replied, unperturbed.

"You are a fool to trust that one," Maul said. "She belonged to Dooku, which means she belonged to Palpatine."

"So did you," Barriss said. "Any reason we have to mistrust Ventress is also a reason to mistrust you." Quinlan nodded slightly in Offee's direction.

"Except you do mistrust me, which is why I was not sent on this little errand. I who have contacts across the galaxy and do not need to rely on rumors overheard in bounty hunter back alley bars," Maul growled.

"If we could crack your network, so could the Empire," Vos said. "And you have nothing to keep those contacts loyal to you but money, which the Empire has more of. Also, as far as the Empire knows Asajj is dead, while you have made it very clear to them that you are still alive."

"Spare me your Jedi squeamishness. This is all part of Master Skywalker's plan, is it not? I am the bait to draw them out. Well for that to work I must announce myself mustn't I?" Maul said with delight.

"I think the paint serves as enough of a calling card. The dismemberment you are doing for fun," Vos responded.

"Oh I had forgotten; these were old friends of yours weren't they?" Maul said with malice. "How your heart must grieve for those cowards who abandoned your precious Code the moment the danger came their way. And how sad you must be to see so clearly what the rest of the galaxy always knew; that beneath the robes and the wise façade, every Jedi was always a self-serving hypocrite like those Inquisitors, or a monster like your Master Skywalker."

"He really frightens you doesn't he?" Vos said, refusing to be baited into another argument with Maul.

"He should frighten everyone," Maul said quietly. "Sidious spent decades preparing to make Skywalker his apprentice. He put as much effort into seducing your friend as he did into the downfall of the Jedi and the Republic. Why do you think that is?"

"Because that is what Sith do, try to corrupt everything good they find?" Vos said.

"He did it because he was afraid of Skywalker. And anything that frightens Lord Sidious should terrify the rest of us," Maul said.

"Oh do stop whining," came Ventress' voice from the shadows.

"Back at last?" Maul said with suspicion.

"What did you find out?" Vos said as hopped to the floor.

"No one has seen a sign of any more Inquisitors, and rumors about the ones we killed have spread. It looks like the Storm Trooper contingent that normally travels with them is off planet too," Ventress said.

"According to bounty hunters," Maul sneered.

"Who have no reason to lie to the nameless, faceless nobody at their bar," she said.

"Faceless?" Maul asked.

In response Ventress reached into her bag and pulled out a helmet, throwing it to Maul. She turned her head to look at Barriss. "Remember when you pretended to be me little girl, tried to pin the Temple bombing on me? Well it gave me the idea. You should be proud."

Barriss stayed quiet, as she normally did in the face of conflict with her confederates. While Maul and Ventress bickered, and Vos tried to keep Maul in line and keep Ventress mostly peaceful, Barriss Offee just followed.

"Where then have they gone?" Maul asked. "I must confess to enjoying this part of Master Skywalker's plan. The hunt I mean. I could use some more."

"We know that the ISB has infiltrated the network, at least partially. If they had Daiyu and Mapuzo but not Jabiim, that gives us a clue as to where else is compromised. It seems like they might have the routes to Mapuzo, but not from Mapuzo. There are several planets on that list they haven't hit," Quinlan said.

"We should split up, cover more ground," Maul said eagerly.

"Agreed," Quinlan said warily.

"Very good. I can get my own ship without much trouble. You should give me the planet they are most likely to go to, as I am doing almost all the actual work anyway," Maul said with a nasty grin directed at Ventress, who gritted her teeth.

"We will split into groups of two. Maul and I will go to Eriadu, while Asajj and Barriss should go to Taris," Vos said while staring at Maul. "So no one is alone."

"What is the purpose of an alliance if we are not going to trust one another?" Maul said with pretended sadness.

Vos ignored him and said, "There will be more Force Sensitives moving through those worlds, so they will be more tempting targets for the Inquisitors. Also, it will be easier to hide on urban worlds."

"Aggh," Ventress said, "Taris' cities barely count. Overbuilt and shabby. Nothing but an Old Republic boondoggle, rebuilding that place."

"Still, there are millions of people there, and the population centers have a Lower City you can lose yourself in," Vos said.

"Yes Master Vos," Offee said obsequiously as Ventress rolled her eyes and Maul sneered.

As Maul and Barriss packed up their gear, Quinlan and Ventress found a moment to be alone in a different room of the apartment.

"I want to be done with this," Ventress said as Quinlan wrapped her in his arms.

"Of course, we all do," he replied.

"I don't mean because I want Palpatine dead," she said looking up at him. "I mean because I want the two of us to be free of this. I was done with the war, but this is just the war all over again. I am an assassin again. If I keep this up, an assassin is all I will ever be."

"It will be over soon. We are making progress. The endgame is coming," Quinlan said while brushing one of her short locks of hair off her forehead. He smiled at how different she was now than when they had first met, how her hair was a symbol of how she had thrown off the yoke of the Sith.

"I want to leave them behind, the Jedi, the Sith. I am done with their wars. And I want you to be done with them too. I want us to put it behind us, to move on, together," she said, looking up at him imploringly.

Quinlan said nothing. He had thought about it of course, what would happen after Skywalker succeeded, if he succeeded. When Anakin had found him and laid out his plan, one of the first topics they turned to was what the Jedi Order would be after Palpatine was dead. He had been ready to leave the Order before the Purge, ready to make a new life for himself. But as they talked it through it became clear that the years ahead, even if everything went as Master Skywalker intended, would be hard years. It would take generations to get the Order back up to the strength a renewed Republic would need. In the meantime the Jedi that remained would have to render twice the service to the Republic they normally did. He had felt his duty then, and been ready to honor his commitments to the Order, to the people of the galaxy. But then they had found Ventress. Quinlan's gratitude to Anakin was matched by his desire to run away with her. His spirit had been unbalanced ever since. The two of them had done jobs for Skywalker, and Quinlan had become quite certain that all of them were being done without the knowledge of the other surviving Jedi. It had not escaped him that this arrangement made it easier for him to disappear after the success of their mission. For all his other virtues, Skywalker was still something of a glory hound, always seeking to have the great victory be his. Would he let him go? Would he tell the others?

Not comfortable with his long silence, Ventress interrupted his thoughts to say, "I mean, I want you to be careful. Skywalker's plan is mad, and I don't want you to die because of his overconfidence."

"I will be fine," Quinlan said softly.

"No you won't! Not unless you are very, very careful. He is trying to get Sidious to come to him. and if it happens while we are separated and I am not there to be protect you, I want to know that you are not going to act like some damn fool Jedi. I don't want you to die a noble death, I want you with me!" she said, bringing herself to the edge of tears.

"I want to be with you too. I want a life free from all the plots and the fighting. And the way we get that is to destroy the Emperor. That is the only way we get it. You think he will let us live our lives? You think he won't hunt us? We can't have the life we want until he is dead, and if Anakin needs my help to do it, I am not going to abandon him," Quinlan said.

"Damned foolish noble Jedi," Ventress whispered as she rested her head against his chest and the two enjoyed the few moments of private silence they had left.

As his hunters separated, Anakin was arriving on the Windu for a meeting he had long anticipated. When he had returned home after finding and securing Maul, Padme had confronted him, and in the process revealed that Obi-Wan now knew of his absences over the past several months. The fight had not been resolved by the time he had to leave Atollon in order to rendezvous with the Jedi fleet, which now boasted two Mon Calamari cruisers in addition to the Star Destroyer and frigates from the early months of their rebellion. But still the Windu, the ship on which he had escaped the Temple, served as the flagship and the center of the Jedi Order in the galaxy. Its only function now was serving as Yoda's home and a place for advanced instruction of younglings. The only other permanent resident of the ship, other than the Grand Master of the Order, was the ancient droid Huyang, who guided the younglings in the construction of lightsabers. It was a task made more difficult by the fact that the Empire had locked down all the major known sources of kyber crystals. They could only be acquired now on the black market, and only at incredibly inflated prices.

Anakin entered the conference room and to his surprise found Ahsoka waiting with Obi-Wan and Yoda. With the Jedi were Rex and a clone Anakin had not seen since before the Purge, Cody. There had been, ever since Palpatine had decommissioned the clone armies, a trickle of clone recruits into the Jedi cause. The way they explained it, time slowly took its toll on the power of the inhibitor chip. Of course any clone looking to join up had to undergo the surgery to remove it, but many of them seemed no different after the procedure, which made it easier to believe their stories of the slow degradation of Palpatine's control. Or it made it easier for everyone but Anakin, who found it difficult to trust any but the clones he had saved and who had served under him the past five years.

Anakin sat down in a chair across the table from the other three Jedi, who were seated together on a bench. He asked, "Is this to be a council meeting?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said.

"Then as much as I like seeing you Ahsoka, should you be here?" Anakin said.

"Given her a seat on the council, we have," Yoda said.

"Really?" a surprised and somewhat perturbed Anakin said. "Did you get a Padawan and train them to knighthood since we last talked?"

"Times have changed Anakin, and the rules needed to change with them. Though, in this case, there was a precedent for admitting someone to the Council before they achieved the rank of Master. I should think you, of all people, would understand the need for flexibility," Obi-Wan said.

"Of course. Congratulations Snips" Anakin said while nodding at Ahsoka, who smiled weakly.

"Perhaps we can turn now to the reason for this meeting," Obi-Wan said.

"I am dying to hear what it is," Anakin said.

"Are you going to pretend you don't know Anakin?" Obi-Wan responded.

"Well I am not going to pretend," Anakin said.

"We know of your secret excursions Anakin. We know you have recruited a great many of our clone soldiers to cover for your absences. We know that they are serving as an intelligence gathering organization within our forces, one that is kept secret from the rest of the Council. What we want to know is why you have done this, and what you have been doing," Obi-Wan said firmly.

"I have been fighting the war," Anakin said calmly.

"On your own?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin turned to his former Padawan and regarded her silently for a moment. His look was not the one of annoyance and exasperation that she had become used to when he was her Master. It was a new look; one he had never given her before. She felt for the first time, when looking in the eyes of Anakin Skywalker, that she was looking at a stranger. A very dangerous stranger.

"Since you all have decided not to participate, yes," Anakin said at last.

"That is hardly fair Anakin. Everyone at this table has taken substantial risks over the past few years. Ahsoka and I have fought in more than one battle," Obi-Wan said.

"You have fought to secure more younglings for the Order, that is true. But what have you done to help overthrow the Emperor? What have you done for all the people in his Empire who lack the Force? Nothing. All we do is prepare for a fight coming sometime in the future, we know not when. We play this game with the Inquisitors where we race to get our hands on children. And for what? So we can have a smaller version of the thing he already defeated once?" Anakin said with disgust.

"Alternatives you have to suggest?" Yoda said softly.

"Yes, Master Yoda. While we are building up the Order and he is building up the Inquisitors, Palpatine is also building something else. He is building a machine of war. He is building ships, he is building armies, he is building systems of control across all the planets in the Empire, and he is preparing to take more worlds. Worlds that were never in the Republic, worlds that have no defense against what he is going to send against them. We can't beat that. It doesn't matter how many Jedi we have. We can outnumber the Inquisitors ten to one and it won't change the fact that his army outnumbers ours a million to one," Anakin answered.

"So, building an army are you?" Yoda asked.

"I am working with those who are doing the work necessary to build one. A rebellion is forming. People who, without us to lead them, have decided to no longer accept what is being done to them. Ordinary people across the galaxy willing to fight for their freedom. They fight while we sit here, with three warships that could help them. With a small army of the most experienced soldiers in the galaxy. With dozens of Padawans ready to step into their roles as Jedi Knights. We could lead this rebellion, protect it, help it grow. That is what I am doing," Anakin said.

"If that is what you are doing, why hide it from us?" Obi-Wan said.

"Because I knew what you would say. I have raised these points before. I have suggested that we could do more, and always I am met with the need for caution," Anakin said.

"What do you think happens to the galaxy if the Jedi are finally wiped out Anakin? How will this rebellion you speak of fare without us to stand by them when the time comes? Obi-Wan asked.

"Well since the time seems unlikely to ever arrive, I suppose we are going to find out!" Anakin snapped.

Obi-Wan sat back, shocked at Anakin's anger.

"Remember do you, Master Skywalker, the Jedi Order before the wars began?" Yoda asked, his voice weary but free of anger.

"Well I was very young, but I suppose I do," Anakin answered.

"Think you ever, of how the wars changed us?" Yoda asked.

"We did what we had to do, what the galaxy needed us to do," Anakin said.

"You are avoiding the question," Obi-Wan said. "And it is the important question here. How can we rebuild the Jedi Order if are still walking down the path that led to its collapse in the first place?"

"It was Palpatine that was responsible for the fall of the Order, not us. The Jedi that died didn't die because their values were corrupted. They died because they were killed by the clones, the clones he made," Anakin responded.

"We chose to fight alongside the clones despite the fact that we did not know where they came from. The demands of war made us act against our better judgment and put us in the position for Palpatine to do what he did," Obi-Wan said.

"What choice did we have? Were we supposed to allow the Separatists to overrun the Republic? How could we have stopped them without the clones?" Anakin asked.

"We could have not fought in the war at all," Obi-Wan said.

"Ah, I see. You would have given up the Republic, millions of lives, so you could what? Keep the Jedi pure?" Anakin said sharply. "None of which has anything to do with right now. We have to take Palpatine down! How can there be any debate about that?"

"There can be debate about how we take him on Anakin! Surely you must see that!" Obi-Wan said, beginning to lose his own temper.

"What do you mean?" Anakin said.

"I mean what else have you been doing, besides helping to build this army you are talking about?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Nothing," Anakin said.

"You haven't been working with Maul?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin stared straight ahead, refusing to look at her as he said, "I don't know what you mean."

"Someone has been killing Inquisitors, Master, and leaving signs on their bodies that point towards Maul. But Maul is not strong enough to have done this on his own," Ahsoka said.

"And I would not need Maul's help to kill Inquisitors. They are weaklings," Anakin said dismissively. "Besides, where would I even find him?"

"So you have nothing to do with these killings?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, but why would you care? If someone is taking down Inquisitors so much the better for us. They have been getting to close for comfort. How long until they find one of the main hubs on the Path? And then how long until they find us?" Anakin said.

"What worries us Anakin is that whoever is behind these killings seems to know the Path too. These deaths have all occurred on planets through which we route fleeing Force Sensitive children. Someone on the Path is helping Maul," Obi-Wan said.

"Well as long as he is focused on the Inquisitors, I say all the better. But that is not what I have been spending my time doing. I want ships and soldiers, not to kill a handful of traitors," Anakin said.

"Will you at least tell us what you have been doing?" Ahsoka asked.

"I just did," Anakin said tersely.

"I mean the details Master," Ahsoka said evenly.

"Is it going to be a fight every time?" Anakin asked. "I am good at war. You all know that. What is wrong with simply giving me this assignment and letting me do what I know needs doing? What are you afraid of?"

"Fear, yes everywhere fear is. Makes it the Emperor does. How he has done all his works. Fear in the people. Fear in us. Fear you we do Master Skywalker, fear your desire to defeat the Emperor we do. Change you it will. Change you it has," Yoda said.

Anakin shook his head and leaned back, refusing to answer Yoda, who continued speaking, "Once much fear in you I sensed. Fear for your mother, fear for yourself, your future. Now no fear do I sense. Now, nothing there is. Hidden from me you are. Why do you hide Master Skywalker?"

Anakin considered Yoda's words for a few moments while he looked first at Ahsoka and then at Obi-Wan. In their faces he could see the same doubts Yoda had just expressed. He turned at last to the old Master and said, "I can win this war, I know I can. I can bring the Empire down, if you will let me. If you will stay out of my way. So I keep you out of the way. You think I disagree with what you are doing, but I really don't. I want the Jedi Order to survive. I want you and Master Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to rebuild it. I want to give you the chance to do that. But I don't want you caught up in what I have to do in order to give you that chance. You are true Jedi, and true Jedi cannot win this fight. What we were was not strong enough. I see that now. In the Clone Wars we were stuck in between what we used to be and what we needed to be to win the war. And halfway was the worst place to be. If we weren't going to commit, then we should have stayed out of it like you said my Master. But I have committed now. I am what the galaxy needed me to be in the past, what it still needs me to be."

Anakin stood up and put his chair between himself and the other Jedi. "I want you all to survive. The galaxy will need you when I am done. So let me be. Let me do what I need to do, so you can do what you need to do. And in the end, we will, all of us together being what we were meant to be, we will save the galaxy."

He had made his play. There was enough truth in what he said that the lie at its center could stay safely hidden. Enough truth that he could tell himself that his lie was incidental. He did intend to defeat Palpatine, he did wish to save them all. They did need to get out of his way for him to do it, and this was simply what was necessary for that to happen. They could not see the path to victory. The Code was a prison for their minds. Only he understood, only he had freed himself from the Jedi strictures enough to do what must be done. And when Palpatine was dead at Anakin's feet, when the Empire crumbled around its master's corpse, he would admit the truth to his friends then. And he would be happy, he thought to himself, to hand the future of the galaxy and its people over to them. When the task was done he just wanted to take Padme and the children somewhere far from Coruscant and its politics, far from war and intrigue. He wanted an end brought to it, and there was no one to end it but him.

Obi-Wan hemmed and hawed for a while, but it was clear that what Anakin had admitted to was bad enough to partially confirm their worries, but not so bad that they felt they needed to take any action. Yoda seemed increasingly weary of everything but training younglings, Obi-Wan didn't want to believe the worst of Anakin, and Ahsoka was still too attached to him as her teacher to follow her doubts to their logical destination. He had the room to maneuver he needed, but he was running out of time. As he left the Windu he was determined to do whatever was necessary to see his plan come to fruition soon. He was going to Eriadu to meet Maul and Vos, who had contacted him shortly before his trip to meet the other Jedi. Anakin was on the hunt.