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Chapter 3

Zam Wesell was getting anxious. It was nighttime, and the Senator hadn't gone to her bedroom as she'd anticipated, meaning that she had been relocated elsewhere. She briefly considered bombing the entire 500 Republica, but with the Jedi being nearby, there was no telling whether they wouldn't be able to detect it with those telekinetic abilities and apprehend her in record time.

She'd recalled Jedi Master Yarael Poof when he confronted Khorda, accompanied by some of his followers, prepared to activate the Infant of Shaa that would have spelled hell for all of Coruscant.

Damn, she knew she would have to get closer.

With every day passing, Fett was getting impatient with her.

Deep within the night, Wesell stealthily moved in through one of the bedrooms and made a hole big enough for herself to get through. She entered, holding her blaster out, prepared to shoot anyone who might be inside.

She moved over to the door and opened it. Maybe, with any luck, she could transform into a guard and blend in. But it wasn't to be. No guards were around. The servants were also nowhere to be found.

Damn, the spoiled brat of a Senator might be more adaptable than she'd believed anyone in that corrupting mess could be.

She continued moving, looking around for someone, feeling her nerves increase one by one as she felt the urge to chew on her lower lip.

She resisted the urge.

Where was this bloody woman?! Better yet, where was anybody?!

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she looked into the other rooms of the apartment, finding none. Her annoyance increased when she'd found nothing. Damn, Fett would have to just accept it like a man. She most certainly wouldn't let him kill her for lack of being able to find the Senator.

When she glanced one last time in the living room, she was surprised to find someone was standing there.

A man was staring at her.

Taking notice of his robes, she came to one conclusion:

Jedi!

Fortunately, he didn't seem like much. Just a young man. A Padawan, if that was the name. Still had to look out for his lightsaber though.

She aimed and fired, though he held up his hand. The bolts harmlessly traveled through his hand before he used his other hand to pull the blaster out of her grip.

"We would be honored if you will join us," the Jedi spoke sarcastically.

She heard footsteps and looked around, startled when guards emerged. The second Jedi, this one older, activated his lightsaber and pointed the cerulean blade at the bounty hunter. She reached for her backup weapons, but her holsters were empty.

"Looking for these?" The young Jedi asked tauntingly, levitating them in front of him.

"Force, Anakin, I taught you too much," the older Jedi quipped.

"This will be necessary for her trial, I believe, Obi-Wan."

For some reason, movement was impossible, even as she willed her legs to run.

Roughly, guards gripped her shoulders and placed handcuffs on her back.

She was subdued.

"Good work," Captain Typho said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Anakin nodded at the praise, and that was all. It was no surprise to sense that the guards of Naboo held him in high regard after he successfully countered the assassination attempt.

Obi-Wan spoke up, "Maybe if you thought more like this than you did with your lightsaber, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman."

Anakin remained quiet, not rising to the bait. There was no time to quip with Obi-Wan. His sudden rise in maturity and calmness was something that the Jedi didn't expect, but it would be normal for Young Skywalker from now on.

"What shall we do next?" he inquired patiently.

"I'll be taking Ms. Wesell here to the Jedi Temple for questioning about who may have employed her. You-"

Before Kenobi could finish the command, Anakin sensed the Force shouting a warning at him. Turning and activating his lightsaber in the same motion, he detected a form, a silver-and-blue figure in a nearby building, similar to last time. But no further attack came. He grasped at the dart through the Force and held it for a second, waiting for any further attack from the bounty hunter.

Jango Fett, the father of Boba Fett and genetic template for the Clone Army on Kamino, glared back. His arm lowered, having been the instrument in guiding the dart. Fett took off into the night sky, vanishing among the mass of speeders. Guards raised their blasters.

"Where did he go?!" Obi-Wan demanded, scouring the skies for Fett.

He's gone. His armor seemed similar to that of a Mandalorian, though.

"Mandalorian, huh?" Obi-Wan muttered, scratching at his beard for a moment. "That opens another complication. The Jedi Council will have to perhaps send someone to question Duchess Satine."

"That will not be necessary," Anakin dismissed. He turned to face the bounty hunter and knelt. "Your time with him has come to an end. Tell me who he is and where this comes from, and you may have a lesser sentence yet." He held out the toxin for her to see.

"Never!" Wesell growled, turning away.

Pulling the Force to him, Anakin waved his free hand in front of the bounty hunter's head and intensified his push into her mind. "Tell me..."

The bounty hunter couldn't resist for long. "J-Jango... Fett and he comes... fr-from Kamino."

"Kamino?" Obi-Wan repeated, his eyes widening. "I've never heard of such a planet."

"Cloners," Anakin elaborated, watching Obi-Wan look at him, surprised. "I have heard about them before," he immediately came up with an excuse, which was technically true, "there were several organizations and species that practiced cloning, although I heard the Kaminoans were the only ones who did it on an industrial scale. Also, rumor has it that they had found a way around the issue of Clone madness."

"Hmm, this must be reported to the Council immediately."

An idea occurred to him as Obi-Wan walked to a private room to comm Master Windu or Yoda no doubt.

"I will keep an eye on her," Anakin told the guards. "You should make sure there are no traps she left behind."

The guards nodded and left without argument, having no doubt in his abilities.

Anakin turned his attention to Wesell.

"As for you," Skywalker began, "how did you meet Jango Fett?"

"Huh, you can't intimidate me. I'm not saying anything else without my lawyer present. I know Republic's law!" She chuckled. "Jedi follows the law to the latter. A bunch of peacekeepers who will never accomplish anything."

Anakin snorted. "You are the one mistaken, bounty hunter. I am no Jedi, and you have threatened a life I cherish and put her through mental turmoil. I will not be lenient with you." He raised his right hand, tightening his hold around her mind with the Force. "You will tell me everything, even if I have to rip it from your mind piece by piece."

Wesell tried to resist with everything she had, but she succumbed with minimal effort and told Anakin everything he needed to hear before her world faded to black.

Now that he had felt the Temple without the lingering exhaustion, Anakin didn't know what to feel. The last time he was in this palace was during the Jedi Purge, dealing with the Jedi traitors as ordered and fighting his way through.

Well, that wasn't quite accurate. He had come to the building itself, or at least the Imperial Palace Sidious constructed. The Jedi Temple, on the other hand, was different. It was being maintained.

The Temple was active and full of life, a community; contrary to the embodiment of the Dark Side it became at his hands in the future he recollected. Anakin recalled killing most of the Jedi. That by itself was disconcerting. The Jedi weren't exactly his enemy currently. At best, most of them were blind fools who walked right into the Sith's games.

Anakin knew he couldn't be too harsh on the Jedi. He'd played right into Sidious's hands as well and massacred the entire Temple. Come to think of it, why wouldn't the man who tried to assassinate Padmé whisper nothing but poison and false promises in his ears? Kriffing contingencies...

Anakin kept walking deeper into the Temple behind Obi-Wan, keeping his barriers intact. Once upon a time, he'd considered the Jedi his family and this place his home. It was a residence of safety and peace.

The lurking of the Sith Nexus beneath this Temple only reminded Anakin how vastly complacent the Jedi were.

On top of everything else, even now, Anakin came to a resolution with the Temple bathed in yellow by the morning sun.

This place would never again be his home.

He was no longer a Jedi, at least by these standards. He had to build his own path, and not be bound by philosophy.

Anakin stood quietly in the Jedi Council Chamber, surrounded by a bunch of dead people caught in the crossfire of Order 66, if not outright haunted by Darth Vader himself. Beside him stood Obi-Wan, who had begun to give his report of the assassination attempt on Padmé's life. A notable change from last time: the meeting was occurring at night. Perhaps the lack of casualties or close calls led to this.

"Her name is Zam Wesell," Obi-Wan's voice brought him out of his dark thoughts. "She is a shapeshifting Clawdite bounty hunter working for Jango Fett on a planet known as Kamino."

"Is that all you know?" Master Windu asked.

"My Padawan seems to know more."

"Young Skywalker?" Yoda invited him to speak.

"She is from the planet Zolan. She was trained in the ways of the Mabari warriors on her homeworld before she was granted the title of a heretic and evacuated to the commercial center on Denon, assuming a job in personal security infiltrating as a human woman. Over time, she ascended through the ranks by improving her skills, gathering equipment, acquiring finances, and acquiring valuable contacts, which altogether allowed her to start a career in bounty hunting. Her associate was the one who attempted to assassinate her. He is a Mandalorian bounty hunter who goes by the name of Jango Fett." Several of the Council Members shifted in their seats, as the mention of the fierce race of Mandalorians gripped their attention. "She first encountered Fett during his search for the Bando Gora outlaw leader..." Skywalker stared at them gravely, before continuing. "Komari Vosa."

The chamber erupted into motion. "Impossible," Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke up, the ever embodiment of everything wrong in the Jedi Order. "Both Komari Vosa and her task force died during their mission to Baltizaar years ago. Some time before the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo."

Anakin shook his head. "I saw many things in her mind. She is untrained and undisciplined to resist the Force. Vosa survived... until Fett got to her with Count Dooku's hiring."

"Dooku?" Master Windu repeated the name.

"Yes, he'd turned to the Dark Side and had Vosa killed."

The outburst was expected.

"Enough!" Yoda slammed his stick. "Sense the truth from Young Skywalker, I do. A Dark Sider, Dooku is. Continue, Skywalker."

"Thank you, Master," Anakin nodded in appreciation. "After Fett abolished the Bando Gora, the two developed a partnership and handled various contracts over the past decade. However, some time ago, Fett was contacted by a man named Tyranus, who wanted him to eliminate Senator Amidala for unspecified reasons. In turn, Fett subcontracted the bounty to Wesell, who was behind the attack on the docking platform and the attempt on the Senator's life."

Anakin concluded his report and waited to see how the Council would respond to this new update. After several minutes of murmuring to one another, the chamber went quiet, and the two Jedi waited to see who would break the silence.

"Track down this Jango Fett, you must." Yoda declared, his eyes moving between the two.

"Most importantly," Windu added, "discover if Dooku may be this Tyranus."

"And what about Senator Amidala?" Adi Gallia asked.

Mace Windu frowned. "While I would usually argue that Skywalker should handle such a responsibility, given his extensive knowledge, perhaps the Council should consider sending him to this Kamino, and Kenobi to protect the Senator on Naboo."

Anakin's heart froze at that. Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds. No, he couldn't be separated from Padmé. At any other time, he might have taken the opportunity, but not now... "Masters, while I do possess a lot of information, I am but a Padawan. I believe Obi-Wan is best-suited for this test. Might I suggest another idea?" he asked kindly now, his face rivaling that of a collected diplomat.

Certain members of the Council raised several eyebrows at the idea of a Padawan giving recommendations, but Yoda nodded anyway, as always an advocate for the youth. "Very well, continue you may."

Anakin nodded. "Thank you, Master. While I understand you may disapprove of me questioning the Council, I believe the decision to send Senator Amidala back to her planet is too predictable and a death warrant," he replied, causing them to look at him far more deeply.

Master Windu gave him an inquisitive look. "Oh?" he mused. "Could you elaborate on why?"

"It will be the first planet where Fett or any other bounty hunter by Tyranus will search for her. It presents too much of a danger to the Senator's life, not to mention her family, who may also be targeted, and the countless people on the planet." Skywalker wondered why the Jedi didn't consider that. With the amount of technology, Padmé could have been hidden on this very planet without anyone's knowledge, including the Chancellor. But of course, many probably wanted Padmé dead, knowing that corrupted mess that called itself a democracy.

"We all know that the assassination attempt on Senator Amidala is public knowledge. Whether it will be carried out quietly, like the attempt in the Senator's apartment, or publicly, such as a bombing or shooting, we cannot rule out the possibility that there may still be sympathizers and believers within the Naboo government who would be willing to sacrifice her life for their own protection or some other form of compensation, whether it be wealth or power."

Silence fell in the room. The Council was all gazing at Anakin intensely. Their looks did not disturb him. Anakin had been used to this type of meeting. His suggestions would allow him to accomplish the best of two worlds. He had to restrain himself from smiling as he caught Obi-Wan gaping, wide-mouthed, at his Padawan. Hopefully, someone got a recording of that.

"You do bring up some valuable points, Young Skywalker," Shaak Ti conceded. Anakin remembered with a pang when he'd sent Starkiller to destroy her... "But if we were to decide on another planet to send the Senator, then which planet should we send her to?"

Anakin responded without hesitation. "Tatooine," he responded. He wondered if a few days' difference would alter the tragic outcome, or was his mother destined to die anyway? Only one way to find out...

More eyebrows were raised. "If I recall, Padawan Skywalker," Coleman Trebor, the initial Jedi diplomat before Obi-Wan assumed his title in the Clone Wars, spoke up, though not exactly in an interjection, "weren't your Master and his Grandmaster before him discovered on Tatooine during the Naboo Crisis?"

"That is a valid point. But the reason they were discovered was that the Trade Federation had a Sith accomplice."

"What stops that from being the case this time?"

"Because if that was the case, the Sith would have directly pursued the Senator and eliminated her instead of relying on bounty hunters to do the job," Skywalker reasoned.

"And if I also recall, that is the planet where you were born, and you've reportedly been having visions of your mother," Mundi spoke up. "Your attachment to your mother may be blinding your judgment again, and this may be an excuse to confirm if this is true."

Again, the room was silent. The Council looked at him intently, their gazes filled with surprise...

Skywalker met the Cerean's eyes unflinchingly, "You're correct, Master..."

"Then what guarantees do we have that you would be able to avoid her?" Tiin cut in. "Your feelings for your mother still remain despite your Master and this very Council attempting to instruct you to let her go."

Anakin shook his head begrudgingly. "As of late, I have reconsidered many things about the Code and am troubled."

'Well, now they know...'

"Troubled?" Plo Koon repeated the final word. He was one of the few Jedi who considered Skywalker a friend since he'd gotten to know him and approved of his training.

"Yes, troubled..." Anakin affirmed.

"Anakin-" Obi-Wan started in a warning tone.

That tone would have once been enough to assuage Anakin. But no longer...

"When Naboo was invaded ten years ago," Anakin started, "you not only sat in your seats and dismissed the words of two Jedi, but your inaction and complacency led to Qui-Gon Jinn being murdered by Darth Maul. As such, if Obi-Wan is deployed alone in this investigation and gets killed or I take the Senator back home and she gets assassinated, it would not be a good representation to the Order."

Master Windu stared at him, his voice broke with underlines of authority. "Skywalker, we had limited options and knowledge. What you refer to as complacency could be summed up as a mere accident. You have to understand that we, as Jedi, are going to make mistakes."

"An entire world being invaded should be taken seriously regardless of the lack of knowledge, Master. We always claim that we answer to the galaxy and protect its people, yet two Jedi were victims of our lack of appropriate action, and many people died on Naboo that day. How can you claim that you want the best for the galaxy when you continue to sit here and ignore its problems?"

"Your arrogance will be your downfall, Skywalker," Tiin responded sharply. "The Jedi Council could make its own decisions without interjection from a Padawan."

"It can, but do Padawans not have the right to call out the Masters? How can mentors claim that they wish to teach the youth when they don't want to listen to them and continue to be fools? As Master Windu just pointed out, though not in these exact terms, just because you're older doesn't mean you're immune to mistakes and criticism."

A shocked silence passed...

"Skywalker-" Windu began, "you must center yourself..."

"I have centered myself long enough and have came down to a decision. Give me the word to save Shmi Skywalker."

"That word will not be given," Mundi enforced, "stand down, Skywalker, or you may be suspended or expelled from the Jedi Order."

Well, he'd tried...

"It need not come to that," Skywalker replied, no longer intimidated by such a threat.

He reached behind his hair and snapped off his Padawan braid with ease, staring down at it one last time, before levitating the beads to the stunned Obi-Wan, who reached out to them instinctively.

Yoda stared at him with huge eyes, and he wasn't alone. All didn't expect this. Anakin stared back without any emotion.

"Think about this, you should!" the ancient being exclaimed.

"Oh, I have, Master Yoda," Anakin replied calmly, not willing to lose his temper here. "I consider the Jedi's ways foolhardy, outdated, hypocritical, and unrealistic."

"Anakin, you can't possibly mean to do this!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "This is not necessary!" He pleaded.

"You saw it for yourself, Obi-Wan. I'm not going to put the Jedi above my family anymore."

"The Jedi are your family!"

"They're not, Obi-Wan. The Jedi don't know the definition of family. None of you even remember your parents. My mother was abandoned in slavery. This isn't a family. This is a bunch of people who deny the tenants of what makes them living beings and refer to it as an achievement, and it's no wonder many fall to the Dark Side."

Obi-Wan stared pleadingly at the gathered Jedi Masters.

Yoda banged the ground with his favorite walking stick.

"This is proceeding too far, too fast. Corrupting you right now, your attachment is, Skywalker. Calm down and think about this, you should."

"You wouldn't be saying the same if the entire Order fell, Master. Moreover, every Jedi in here has an attachment to the Republic."

Yoda paled.

Tiin's fury was obvious. "Listen to what you're saying, boy! These emotions will be your destruction!"

It felt like the entire room had dropped several degrees in temperature, and judging by the look on Anakin's face, one would almost claim he was the cause of it.

"Since you're reluctant to give me the task, if you decide not to, I'll be going to the Chancellor and ask to fulfill the role of being the Senator's protector. From now on, nevertheless, I will consider the Jedi allies, but I am no longer a member of this Order."

"Anakin-"

Anakin looked at the desperate form of Obi-Wan, his expression hard. "I would never be able to let her go. Not like that..."

"Bu-"

"Have you ever been able to let go of Qui-Gon, Satine, Cerasi, and Siri, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan's face became cold...

"Think one more time, Skywalker, you will never be a Jedi after this!"

Anakin met Windu's eyes boldly, recognizing the disappointment and anger from the vast majority of the Jedi. A few understood his perspective, such as Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and Depa Billaba; but the rest thought he was being unreasonable and irresponsible.

Nevertheless, despite what they'd believed, the potential of what lay ahead was still tempting. What's more, Anakin felt free when he wasn't restrained by the Jedi or Sith, even if those events were temporary. His secret relationship with Padmé was perfect, but it came with many problems. To have to deny what made him human in the eyes of the public and allow himself to be lost in rules and protocols was entirely unacceptable this time around.

If he and Padmé indeed became an item a second time over, which was likely, Anakin would not have to hide it from anyone anymore and could give Padmé what she'd always wanted and more.

Forgotten memories rooted themselves in Anakin's mind. And he remembered the problems with doing this. He would perhaps never trained Ahsoka if he'd left the Jedi Order. He would never ascend to the level of a Jedi Knight, and he would have to operate as a Jedi outside of the Order, commandeering Palpatine's control over the GAR when the time came and assuming his own power play in the Senate as well.

The memories of the future Anakin had lived would be unreliable at best, yet he was willing to face the challenge.

He wasn't going to waste this second chance.

"Goodbye, Masters."

Anakin left the silent chambers. The doors closed behind him, silencing the first shouts.

He was free.