Whoa. Sorry this one took so long. My internet went out!

Anakin snorted as soon as they entered the palace. Obi-Wan was alone with him.

"I don't believe this. For Force's sake, Obi-Wan, it's a Sith fortress! Full of Sith writings, secret symbols and glyphs, and they just move in!"

"I don't think redecorating is high on their priority list."

"We aren't just talking questionable taste in colors or styles. We're talking about glorification of the Sith."

"They don't recognize it and I doubt they will understand the significance of the situation."

"If they did they probably would either have shot me a long time ago or they wouldn't arrest me now."
"We'll deal with it, my friend."

"I know." Obi-Wan nodded, pulling up a chair.

"Are you really staying here all night?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan said flatly. "I don't want them to think they can take control away from the Jedi on this matter."

Anakin heard a noise a few doors down.

"Lord Vader?" The sound was soft.

"Oh. Admiral Piett. I wondered where you went."

The man quietly dared ask, "Do you still believe in them? They seem to be casting you aside now that they don't need you."

"That isn't being done by a majority. Just one powerful...politician. Bureaucrat who seems in the way of his ambitions. And surely you noticed the Empire was rife with them. Unfortunately they flourish in any government."

That night Anakin marveled at the difference. The Imperial palace security wing was not designed for comfort. But Obi-Wan would have none of leaving it as is. He made sure that he was comfortable. Anakin found himself meditating and appreciating that he could. Clearly they didn't know about the ysalamiri, as none were present. Reaching into the Force, he brushed his family's presence. Luke with frustrated intensity. Leia with a surprisingly passionate outrage. Padme with her tears but determined fury. Ahsoka calm, collected, brushing him back questioningly. She was with Padme. As for Obi-Wan, the Jedi gave him a firm, confident nudge in reply. Anakin drifted off to sleep content.

Ahsoka quietly talked to Padme. Before Anakin was brought out the next morning, they had a plan of counter attack that applied on both the political and personal front.

The judicial chamber was the same one that Ahsoka had once been tried in. Mon Mothma was on the podium, but the jury was not made of senators. They were still in transition. This was largely a military type of trial.

The accuser was Fey'lya's second. The councilor was in disgrace. His presence would only lend ammunition to Anakin's supporters. His name was Brientain.

Anakin glanced at Nawara Ven. The twilek had been surprised by his normal demeanor. But he'd quickly proven to be a calm professional. Being willing to deal with the man who had been Darth Vader suggested he certainly wasn't one easily intimidated. As they paused by the entrance, Anakin glanced back at his family. He wasn't cuffed, Obi-Wan was close by and they accepted that assurance. The collision between Jedi and civilian government was already beginning, he thought. It made him uneasy, and not just because of the possible consequence to himself.

"You are concerned for your family." Nawara noted.

"It's kind of ironic. All that time I spent trying to tear them away from the Alliance. Now I don't want to and I'm starting to see fissures."

Nawara nodded slightly. "You have strong allies. That will help."

"I hope so."

The meeting room was unsettling. Dark with the light centered only on the accused, accuser, and judge. Mon Mothma was in charge podium. On one side was the accuser, Breintain on another podium. For the first time, Anakin noticed how the accused was immediately put on a lower level as if to intimidate. It was a subtle suggestion that the prisoner must be guilty to even been there.

There was a jury, they just weren't highlighted. He recognized their Force sense, given how few people knew about him, they had little choice but to bring in those who did.

"It is our contention, that Anakin Skywalker's ability and willingness to go AWOL in spite of his parole suggests that the Jedi are not capable of controlling him and it should therefore be revoked. There is some evidence that Darth Vader has struck fear into several worlds since he was granted it. And since the Empire is clearly aware of him his intel is no longer valid. Therefore any and all special privileges should be revoked and execution or imprisonment should be considered." Breintain stated firmly.

A mild reaction from Anakin supporters at the word 'execution'. Anakin could feel the outrage, all of them, even Leia who once had been ready to advocate for it.

He glanced at Ven whose eyes had narrowed. He would've bet the twilek wore the same expression in the cockpit of a fighter.

Mon Mothma spoke up. Her voice was polite but firm. "How do you answer the charges?"

"We answer not guilty." Nawara replied firmly. "Anakin Skywalker has an alibi for the times in question. Many alibis in fact, from impeccable witnesses. It is our contention that the Empire, on learning that he was with us, sought to discredit him."

"But then you do acknowledge that the Empire knows about him, and they will seek to negate the advantage his intel gives us."

"That we do not deny." Ven's voice was very firm. "However he is still an aid to the Jedi. There are also things that the Empire can not change. Codes hardwired in, entire warehouses and systems whose location and importance cannot be so easily be altered!"

"What of the contention that he violated parole to come to Coruscant."

"The charge is outrageous." His head tails twitched. "He did not come unauthorized. He was authorized by General Kenobi. He did not come until all of the alternatives to encourage investigation into his allegations failed. And his comrades are here and not being charged, on discretion of this council. The fact is, if this council were to charge them, they would cause division and chaos as they are heroes of the Alliance!"

"Those heroes were not on parole." The bothan fired.

The twilek shot him a knowing stare. "This city lies devastated from attack by a Super Star Destroyer buried in this city. A ship he warned us about." He activated a holo file. There are those in this room who questioned Anakin Skywalker thoroughly on this worlds defenses. They referred the matter as is normal, to the bothans to investigate. According to these files the bothans put it on the bottom of the priority list, citing that it was very unlikely to be true given the source and the impossibility of the claim." His gaze scanned the room. "As many lie dead or injured, how many more would there be if that Destroyer had lifted off?"

"How did you get those files?" The bothan was disgruntled and stunned.

"I gave them to them." Bail came foreward into the light.

"You, Bail?" Mon Mothma was taken aback, and judging from the murmuring the others were too.

"I was appalled when I realized such a risk was taken with lives and I didn't dare risk ignoring it. I was determined to know if he told the truth about the Lusankya!"

"Others could've gone. Others did go." The bothan growled. "And during the course of events he was alone for days aboard a Destroyer!"

"He was captured and tortured!"

"Have you any evidence of that?"
"Both Princess Leia and Ahsoka Tano are eye witnesses." He motioned them forward.

Leia's brown eyes circled the room, eyes meeting Bail's. She cast a defiant stare at Brientain.

"Anakin Skywalker was captured preventing my capture." She said firmly. She crossed her arms. "When we snuck aboard the Chimera we found he was being tortured with sensory overload techniques."

"How were they able to hold him?" The bothan demanded.

"Even Jedi can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers." Ahsoka said firmly. "He was unconscious when brought aboard the Chimera according to their own files."

"And how they captured him is not the primary point. They treated him as an enemy." Leia finished.

Mon Mothma sighed. "As word gets out, we will have the challenge of dealing with public perception on how we handle this."

Ahsoka glanced at Padme, who nodded. They knew she was biased and her words now would probably not have their normal impact.

"I have something to say about that." Ahsoka said firmly.

Mon Mothma gave a nod.

"The Alliance succeeds in large part due to it's diversity. We are stronger and have more potential together. Where one species is weak, another is strong." Ahsoka's legs spread slightly. "When a wookiee tells you he smells fire, unless your sense of smell is stronger, you had best heed him. When a being which sees different spectrums than you warns of danger, you would not just put him off. At least, those of you in the military would not, for you have learned to make use of those strengths. But there is one skill set you don't know how to make use of."

She paused for breath. "The Force is much more than just a sense, but at it's very least, it is that. A warning in times of danger to those who feel it. A Jedi is taught that it is not only are right, but our duty to heed the warning. To protect those who need it. For us, to ignore the danger and walk away without warning is no better than those who would cause the trouble. It's not always easy or straightforward, but we are expected to do our best." Her head cocked slightly, eyes shifting to Anakin.

"Many hate Anakin for becoming Darth Vader and all the tragedy he caused. Yet only a Jedi can destroy a Sith, whether it's the Emperor or the Sith inside him. To be Anakin, to turn away from the man you all call murderer, he has to be a Jedi. And that means when he feels danger to others he doesn't just turn away and let it run them over, whatever the danger to himself!"

"But we cannot trust him with those judgements based on a 'sense' none of us has!" Breintain exclaimed.

"You don't have the vision of a mon calamari, or the sense of smell of a wookiee either." The twilek lawyer said. "And I'd not ask you to fly their specially calibrated cruisers or smell game at a great distance. The fact that we haven't those senses ourselves means we can't trust ourselves to judge him, as we've no basis for comparison. We have no right, by common sense or the laws of the Old Republic that we seek to restore."

The bothan's fur was rippling and the sense was that he'd scored a point. Still there were doubters.

Mon Mothma finally called, "General Kenobi, you've been very silent on this issue. Have you any input?"

Obi-Wan nodded slowly and stepped forward. "I do." He paused. "I agree with Nawara Ven, as well as Ahsoka Tano's assessment. If you wish to cast blame you would need to blame me. I let him go, encouraged him, in fact. But most of all...Anakin is a Jedi. He was never technically expelled from the Order. And we need him."

By now the bothan was almost in a lather. "He killed the Jedi! Massacred them! His actions go far beyond the Order."

"Yes. Nonetheless, he has not been expelled." Kenobi's eyes met the bothan's. "And he will not be. We will stand with him on this." He faced Mon Mothma. "Had you chosen punishment over mercy in hope of his cooperation and accepting his defection in the first place, that would've been different. But you did not. You restored him to our custody. We did what we had to do, as did he, to save lives. If you want to punish him, know that you are punishing him for being a Jedi. Had he done any less than what he did, what would he be but a callous Sith watching death and destruction?"

Mon Mothma looked disturbed by this. "Anakin Skywalker, have you anything to say on your own behalf?"

He looked her in the eye. "I'm grateful for those who stand with me. And I'd do it again in a minute if it would prevent disaster. The Force didn't give me this gift to abuse it as a Sith, but it also didn't give it to ignore. It's there to help, even if at this point I'm left trying to compensate for my own mistakes."

Bail Organa studied the confused jury. In a real sense, they were a jury of his peers, since Anakin had been technically a military officer. In another sense, a Jedi sense, they were not, and they knew it. That was what scared them. But he had one more surprise to spring, an idea concocted by him and Ven after a casual remark by one of the rescued prisoners.

Nawara waited until Obi-Wan escorted Anakin out. Then he turned back to the group. "I have two more witnesses, if you will."

Mon Mothma eyed him. "Who are they?"

"The first, is a citizen. Nen Nelana."

The door opened and an old sullustan female entered in a repulsor chair. She needed a translator.

"Please, tell us what happened to your family right before the invasion."

"The Imperials swept the streets of the 'alien' quarter randomly choosing people and taking them away. My daughter and her mate were taken too." She paused. "Their youngling was left in my care, not for the hours I expected, but for many days. She blinked slowly. "I thought never to see them again. Those taken in such sweeps rarely returned. I dared not go out, the sweeps were increasing. But as the invasion commenced, I received word that they had been rescued. They were very sick and were in quarantine, but would be treated. There is hope that they will soon be well, because the sickness the Imperials brought on them was caught just in time. I am grateful, for a much as I love my family, I am too old for such a youngling. I would thank those who made their rescue possible, who took the time to save them."

"Thank you, Nelana." Nawara said. He waited until she was escorted out by the guards. Facing the group he pointed out, "This virus, this weapon, was only discovered before release due to Anakin Skywalker's actions. Upon coming across this data, seeking to prove the Lusankya existed and must be stopped, he could have decided it was too much, irrelevant to the immediate issue. Too much already, to sabotage a Super Star Destroyer with his handful of allies. But he did not ignore these people's plight. Instead, he and Ahsoka Tano went to investigate! He is directly responsible for saving these people.

Bail glanced around. The tide was turning some, now. Anakin really had set an impossible task and come out ahead. Now for the final strike.

"The last witness, is General Dodonna." Murmurs echoed around the chamber.

The man came in looking a good deal better than when rescued. Cleaned up, fed, medically treated, he was an officer once more, if a very thin one.

"You have been briefed on the situation, General?" Mon Mothma asked slowly.

"I have."

"I have just one question." Nawara said. "As a military officer and one of the Lusankya's prisoners, based on your experiences in both the Clone Wars and ours, what is your educated observation of this?"
Dodonna was sitting. His eyes grew distant. "I was surprised and saddened to hear that Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Clone Wars, turned into Darth Vader. But in retrospect, perhaps, based on my knowledge of this one, we should all heed such warnings. The Jedi were spread thin and exposed to death and cruelty on a daily basis. They were forced to make the harsh decisions of military tacticians without being prepared. By that I mean, they were trained as, and meant to be, keepers of the peace, not warriors or soldiers. I heard tales of other Jedi falling, even famous ones. Dooku, for instance. Pong Krell for another.

Looked at in that light, I'm less surprised, not because he was evil, for he wasn't. But because we all know, we who fight in wars, that all of us have a break point. A point where we must, absolutely must, be removed because we are burning out and a danger to those around us. It happens to non Jedi. It is no surprise it should happen to Jedi as well. To realize that he was broken before he became the tyrant, explains how he knew so much of breaking others. It explains certain incidents that seemed to trigger a nerve in him.

In the end though, I also look at this with relief and some awe. Breaking happens more often than we like to think. To fall so far and choose to come back, to accept help...that's amazing. It takes a great deal of courage to admit you even need help. Yet if he hadn't, and if he had not sought out the Lusankya to stop it, I know that I and my fellow prisoners would be transferred off onto some other horrible Imperial facility.

It boggles the mind how many Vader hurt, but they are decidedly more obvious than those Anakin Skywalker has saved. How many still live that would have died, had he never been a Jedi? How many still live, now free, on Coruscant?

I believe in the Force. We use it as our rallying cry, then we must not fear to follow where it leads. And I believe it leads us to the fact that the Force is not finished using him to save lives. It would be a terrible waste to kill or imprison him, and very dangerous to try and remove him from the Jedi's company.

The uneasy group waited for a decision. "What if..." Luke murmured. He didn't finish it. What if the leaders refused to accept the Jedi's resistance.

"Your words in there will have shaken them badly, General Kenobi." Nawara finally stated.

"I'm sure. My diplomacy has limits. I am more than pleased to serve but not at the expense of ignoring the Force we serve."

Anakin was silent. Ahsoka was standing, arms crossed, staring out the window. Padme finally rose and went to her side and laid an arm on her shoulder. Ahsoka put an arm around Padme in response and they talked quietly before parting.

Leia had waited at the council door, waiting for Senator Organa.

He finally came out and smiled with relief, hugging her. "We won. It was close but we won. Most of them had no idea that without being officially expelled, the Jedi could legally challenge them on the point. It shook them."

"Good. They needed it."

It wasn't until then that Anakin felt the tension leave. Padme flung arms around him and hugged him. "Let's go home."

"Do you mean back to the base?"

"This is officially the new base."

"I'm definitely not comfortable here."
"Sith." Her voice was firm. "I don't think they'll take time to redecorate."

"I agree. The Jedi will remain there for now. We aren't ready to reclaim the Temple yet anyway." Kenobi nodded.

"What happened to Mara?" Han asked.

"She left." Luke replied.

"And we just let her go? The Emperor's Hand?" Han was surprised. He looked at Anakin. "She turned you in."

Anakin blinked at his and Padme's entwined hands. "She needs to find her own way."

"She still wants to kill you." Leia said suddenly.

"I know. Or at least, I know she thinks she does. It's just now sinking in that he lied to her. Give her time."

Luke's eyes met his Father's. "So you don't mind I just...let her go?" He was second guessing himself.

Anakin shook his head. "No. Not a bit. What happened to Piett?"

"As long as he cooperates they are willing to give him a shot. We'd barely convinced him the Empire was wrong, but he's not so sure the Republic was right. Rebringing charges on you didn't help matters!" Obi-Wan noted.

"Are we taking Scout?" Ahsoka asked suddenly.

"If she's up to the trip and willing." Obi-Wan nodded.

Scout was a very pale young woman when they found her in the fleet's medical frigate.

Obi-Wan carefully sat next to her, Ahsoka on the other side.

"We are returning to our base. Would you like to come?"

"We're gathering the surviving Jedi. That includes you." Ahsoka said, touching her arm.

Scout looked carefully at Obi-Wan, hand on her ribs where she bore two scars. One was from Vader's lightsaber. "Will he be there?"

Obi-Wan's nodded. "I have to keep an eye on him. But he is no threat now. If anything you might say he's an excellent training assistant. No-one can say he doesn't know what he's talking about when he warns of the danger."

She glanced down. She ran fingers through her short hair. It had been such a mess they'd cut it. It was clean now, and growing back. She kept stroking that one scar. "It didn't take. The implant to boost my midichlorians. I rejected it, without the Sith drugs." She looked unhappy, brow furrowed. "I just wish...I didn't want it coming from the Sith. But I did like being able to feel the Force so much easier."

"No shame in that." Kenobi said. "Why you want it does matter, as long as you reject the price. It is what you do with it that makes a Jedi."

She nodded. "I never finished my training. Never got a chance. But I was proud of being a Jedi padawan. Even when so many thought I'd wash out."

"Hey, I didn't either finish either. But I'm one now." Ahsoka reminded her.

"And we've rediscovered a nice group of Jedi initiates that were lost. Now they are in training. You can come with us, learn new things, and share your experiences.

"I'd like that."

The Jedi returned to their temporarily chosen world.

"Now one thing we have to do. We haven't figured out just what, precisely, to do about that academy site we were looking at. Should we abandon the idea? I'm doubtful given the amount of Sith related artifacts. But it's a shame, given it's already set up as a base and unused. " Obi-Wan mused from his sitting position on the grass.

Anakin lay back on the grass, staring at the stars. "Blow up the crystal."
"Back to that?"

"Only because I can't imagine a safe way to harness it and throw it into the sun or the center of the plasma giant. Or the nearest black hole."

"Yes. I see your point. It almost acts like a black hole, distorting time like that. And the temple with the statue?"

"Blow it too."

"Are we in a mood to blow things up this evening?"

"Only if Sith is in the title. If we'd been lucky they'd have wiped out that blasted Imperial palace!" He returned to the subject. "Something is off about that statue temple too, even if I can't pinpoint what. Why risk it? I would say find somewhere else, but it would be better to train them to confront the dark side in a controlled setting. And it would give us that."

"Hmm. Speaking of risks, you need to work out with Scout."

Anakin rolled over and stared at him.

"She needs the confidence boost. As do you. Just as you did with me and Leia."

"Is this going to be a regular thing? Every time I run into a Jedi I hurt..."

"I certainly hope so. That means we'll find more!"

Anakin rolled over and stared up at the stars and hoped someday the Jedi would once more outnumber them.

Luke hustled up and sank to the ground next to him. "One of the Rogue pilot's crashed almost on top of that Jedi part of the museum. He's all right, but he's kind of baffled."

"Why?"

Luke's eyes were bright. "He said he found a holo of his father there. Here's a copy." He activated the holo projector. The small device lit with an image of a Jedi, labeled Jedi Nejaa Halcyon and padawan Valin. It was full of static."

Luke pointed to the young boy. "Corran says that's him. He'd seen holos."

Kenobi eyed it skeptically. "I don't recall Nejaa having a padawan."

Anakin was smirking and a snicker escaped him.. Obi-Wan and Luke turned to look.

"What is it?" Luke finally demanded.

"You just found Nejaa's grandson."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Nejaa...did not..."

"Remember when I wouldn't tell you what we talked about?"

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"He told you? He told you he'd...?" Obi-Wan was incredulous.

"Had a wife named...Scerra? Or something like that... and a son named Valin. And the Empire never found them. Oh, and he did know about Padme."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms with a hmmfph. "I had no idea you had a private 'married Jedi' club going." He considered, brows rising. "Were there others?"

"I don't know. But Djinn Altis agreed with us. So it's possible. Even probable."

Luke's eyes were bright. "And they could be a new hope for a Jedi Order."

Obi-Wan stared heavenward. "Now I know how Yoda felt. It's too big a burden."
"And how I felt, with the whole Chosen One business."
Obi-Wan just shook his head. "May the Force guide us all."

The End

Thanks for Reading! :)

Okay, that's all for now. I did start another but I keep getting interrupted and haven't even got the story title down yet. But I'll probably be back as soon as life stops throwing things like malfunctioning internet and such in the way!

And of course...after I catch up on the stories I've missed because I couldn't get online!