Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's Office
Imperial Executive Building
Four days later
"Thank you for making time in your schedule, Chancellor," Mace Windu said with a courteous bow towards Sheev Palpatine. "The situation on Mandalore is most complex, and we hope that something can be done to alleviate the distress of the Mandalorians, especially those formerly led by Duchess Satine Kryze."
Darth Sidious smiled in a kind, fatherly, noble way, "Of course, it is my pleasure to assist the Jedi and the Senate in this matter."
He wasn't exactly lying, either. Nor, of course, was he telling anything close to the complete truth. A few days before, he had sensed a great disturbance in the Force. He had quickly and surreptitiously traveled to Mandalore and discovered, to his annoyance and surprise, the dead bodies of his former apprentice Darth Maul and Maul's brother Savage Opress. The Zabraks had both died by lightsaber which meant, presumably, that Kenobi had killed them both.
That was surprising. Kenobi was a powerful Jedi, but it seemed unlikely that he could take down both Dark Siders. On the other hand, Maul had been bisected by Kenobi on Naboo many years earlier, and while the Dark Side Nightsister Mother Talzin had healed him significantly, the man hadn't been entirely right in the head. Perhaps he had been too confident, as he had been on Naboo as well?
The fool.
Sidious shot a careful look at Kenobi. The Jedi Master was clearly exhausted, and he had several bruises on his face. He had clearly been battered in his battle against the brothers.
"Chancellor, Senators, Master Yoda, Master Windu," Kenobi said, drawing himself erect, "Duchess Satine of Mandalore has sent this message to the Senate and the Jedi Council. The time has come for Mandalore to side with the Republic against the Separatists."
All those in the room turned their attention to a holo cube. A moment later, the shimmering holograph of Duchess Satine appeared at full size, and the woman spoke, her voice urgent, "Senators, Jedi, and anyone else watching this. Mandalore has fallen to the power of the Death Watch, a group opposed to the pacifist ideals of the New Mandalorians. The Zabrak known as Darth Maul was the leader of Death Watch until his defeat at the hands of the Jedi. While Maul is dead, the Death Watch continues to wreak havoc on my people. I beg you to come to our aid, and in turn, Mandalore will side with the Republic against the Separatists. Help us, Leaders of the Republic, you're my only hope!"
The holograph flickered out amid gasps and murmurs from those in attendance.
"Darth Maul?" Senator Bail Organa demanded in surprise. "I understood that he died at your hands on Naboo more than a decade ago, General Kenobi."
"Indeed," Kenobi agreed with a weary nod. "Regrettably, he survived my attack and appeared on the galactic scene a few months ago. He was obsessed with vengeance against me, and he enticed me to Mandalore by threatening my old friend, Duchess Satine."
"Ordered you were to stay away, Master Kenobi," Yoda stated in a crabby tone.
"My apologies, Master Yoda. I found that I could not, in good conscience, follow your dictates. I was successful in saving the Duchess, and now she is willing to bring her faction of Mandalorians into the Republic fold. Mandalore needs our help."
"Are you absolutely sure that it was Darth Maul?" Jedi Master Fisto demanded, his dark Nautolan eyes concerned.
"Absolutely certain," Kenobi replied firmly.
"It would appear," Fisto murmured thoughtfully, "that the Sith are focusing on independent systems, then."
"For what purpose, Master Jedi?" Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila inquired courteously.
"Perhaps a distraction it is?" Master Yoda murmured, his small green head shaking in concern.
Darth Sidious took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. First of all, Darth Maul was not a Sith. There were only two Sith – the master and the apprentice. He was, of course, the master. At the moment, Dooku was the apprentice though the former Jedi would soon be discarded in favor of Anakin Skywalker, who was well on his way to turning to the Dark Side.
"With all due respect," Kenobi stated in a weary voice, "the underlying issues, while important, are not as vital as the anguish of the Mandalorians. I took the Darksaber off of Darth Maul myself; it is an ancient weapon which is wielded by the leader of Mandalore, and thus it is clear that Death Watch has overtaken the Duchess's planet. We must act."
"The Darksaber?" Yoda demanded in a startled tone.
"Yes," Kenobi replied, reaching a hand under his robe and withdrawing the oddly hilted saber. "Observe."
The laser sword flared into being, and in spite of himself Darth Sidious shuffled close to the Jedi Master. The Darksaber. He wanted it.
"A most interesting blade, Master Jedi," Bail Organa murmured, craning his head in an effort to see the weapon. "The laser is black? Is that common?"
"Not at all, Senator," Kenobi replied courteously, turning rapidly toward Organa and casually lopping off Palpatine's head. The Chancellor's head, eyes narrow with covetousness, bounced onto the floor, rolled a few meters, and came to rest next to a potted millaflower plant.
"Not at all," Kenobi repeated with a slightly manic grin, even as he turned off the saber, dropped the hilt, and raised his hands above his head in surrender.
/
Padme Amidala's Senatorial apartment
1 day later
"Padme, I rushed back to Coruscant as soon as I could. Is it true!?" Anakin Skywalker cried out, striding through the door and pulling his wife into his arms.
"It is true, Ani," Padme murmured, clutching her husband against her only slightly rotund belly. "Obi-Wan Kenobi assassinated Chancellor Palpatine."
"It can't be, it can't," Anakin began, his eyes horrified, even as he trailed off at the sight of the blonde woman standing in the living room, her eyes red with weeping.
"Duchess Satine?" he demanded in shock, shooting a stunned look at his wife.
"The Duchess knows about us, Ani," Padme said wearily. "She knows we are married and have been since the beginning of the Clone Wars."
"What?!" Anakin demanded in disbelief. "How?"
"I was about to explain, but Senator Amidala said you would arrive soon and so it seemed wise to wait until you arrived, Jedi Skywalker," the woman replied. In spite of her exhaustion and sorrow, she maintained the regal demeanor of Mandalorian royalty.
The woman lifted a thin hand and brushed away tears, "He told me he would deal with Palpatine but I truly did not dream that he would take this route. Why would he do such a thing? He'll be executed!"
Anakin opened his mouth to say something, though he didn't know what, only to have Padme shake her head at him.
"You said you had some holo to show us, Duchess?" she asked politely.
"Yes," Satine replied, rising to her feet and pulling a data rod out of an inside pocket. "This is from the throne room in the Sundari Royal Palace on Mandalore."
She strode over to a nearby projector and inserted the rod; a moment later, it began running an image of two Zabraks, two guards, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Satine herself.
"Wait," Anakin demanded, pausing the holo with a twitch of the Force, "is that Darth Maul?"
"Yes, Master Skywalker," the Duchess replied wearily, "and I assure you the situation only grew more bizarre. Please, watch the entirety of the holo and then we can discuss the situation."
Anakin nodded with a frown and switched the feed back on. He and Padme watched with growing incredulity, and grunts of astonishment, as an individual identifying himself as their son appeared out of nothingness, along with his son's wife, and proceeded to defeat two skilled Dark Siders and then outline the fall of the Jedi Order, the fall of Anakin Skywalker, and the rise of Darth Sidious, also known as Sheev Palpatine.
When the holo ended, Anakin and Padme stood in bewildered shock, their hands clutching one another tightly.
"This, this is ridiculous," Skywalker finally stammered out. "Absurd. It has to be some kind of trick."
"Were you indeed married to the Senator at the beginning of the Clone Wars?" the Duchess demanded.
"Yes," Padme admitted softly.
"Are you pregnant, Senator?"
"No," Anakin stated firmly.
"Yes," Padme stated, just as firmly.
Anakin gasped in shock even as he turned to this adored wife, "What?!"
"Yes, Ani," she murmured, her face concerned. "I'm pregnant."
He reached out a hand to touch her belly and was shocked to feel the slight swell of the child within.
Or was it children?
"That's ... that's wonderful!"
"Ani, what are we going to do?"
Anakin Skywalker was wobbling slightly from shock, but he found his voice enough to say, "We're not going to worry. This is a happy moment, the happiest moment of my life."
"I think your problems are far less serious than Obi-Wan's, and you are the reason he is sitting in a cell facing a death sentence," Satine interrupted, her tone icy. "Don't you see? Kenobi killed Palpatine because he knew that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. He knew that in your son's timeline, you turned to the Dark Side, Jedi Skywalker."
The besotted couple turned and paled simultaneously as her words shattered their joy.
"Why didn't Obi-Wan bring this holo to the Council?" Anakin asked. "The Council could have dealt with Palpatine."
"Because he would have betrayed you and me if he had," Padme exclaimed in response. "Don't you see, Ani? Our son spoke of our marriage, of our children, of your fall. Obi-Wan cares for you deeply. He obviously decided that it was too risky to tell the Council about Palpatine because then he would have had to tell about you!"
Satine was nodding vigorously, "He's right. Obi-Wan told me on our way back to Coruscant that he feels guilty about the loss of your mother. Apparently you were having dreams of her death and he told you to ignore them? I believe he feared that if the Council turned against you, it would precipitate your fall."
The memories, shoved into the back of his mind, surged forward. Of his dreams of Shmi Skywalker suffering. Those dreams had come true.
"Our son spoke of your death, Padme!" he cried out in horror.
"Stop, Ani, stop," Padme responded in a soothing tone. "Everything has changed. Palpatine is dead."
"But if your son is correct, the clones still have chips in their heads which can be used to turn against the Jedi," Satine warned. "They are walking thermal detonators."
Anakin's mind was racing and he bit his lip hard enough to bleed, "Fives."
"What?" Padme inquired worriedly.
"Fives. He was a clone trooper who tried to assassinate Palpatine. He ... he tried to warn me and Rex about something involving another clone named Tup, who assassinated the Jedi General Tiplar. Palpatine's troopers killed him before he could say much."
Padme placed a comforting hand on her husband's rigid arm, "So it might be true, then."
"It is true," Skywalker replied, his eyes dark with grief, "Palpatine was manipulating us, and me most of all."
"What are we going to do, Ani?"
The Jedi Knight stared out into the darkening sky toward the setting sun. He was a husband, and now a father, but he was also a warrior and a general. He was the Chosen One.
"I have a plan."
/
Author Note: Ok, I'm going to write ANOTHER chapter for this timeline! Many thanks to those of you reviewing, and thanks to THE MAN, my wonderful husband and editor!
