The Will of the Council

Out one side of the shuttle viewport Maul could see the fiery ruins of the Selonia and the tattered remains of the Separatist starfighters, and on the other the massive star destroyers of the Republic Fleet. His hands were bound with stun cuffs and his feet were chained to the shuttle floor. A platoon of clones surrounded him, and he was flanked by two Jedi Knights. There was no escape now.

The Republic shuttles made for the hangar bays of their respective ships. The vessel carrying Maul headed for the Resolute, which he recognized as the flagship of the fleet. When the shuttle touched down, his feet were unchained and Maul was dragged forcibly from the ship by two clones. He saw the tall Jedi with the amethyst lightsaber approach from another shuttle.

"General Windu, we've prepared a containment field in the brig," a clone officer announced as he jogged over to them and saluted Windu.

"Good," Windu said, "escort our prisoner to his new home."

He was hauled across the hangar and through the bowels of the star destroyer toward the brig. He sensed General Windu was still there, walking behind the group of clone troopers and Jedi guards. When they reached the brig, his stun cuffs were replaced with magnetic binders on all his limbs and he was lead onto a circular platform. The guards stepped away and the field was activated, lifting Maul into the air and rendering him totally immobile.

"Leave us," Windu said, now looking up at Maul.

"Master Windu, I'm not sure…" one of the other Jedi began to protest, but Windu cut him off.

"Go," Windu insisted. "I can handle myself." The Jedi bowed and left, along with the clone troopers, though Maul was sure guards were posted at the door. Windu clasped his hands behind his back and stared up at Maul.

"Now," the Jedi said, "there are some things I need to understand."

"You understand nothing, Jedi, and you never will," Maul spat down at Windu.

"Let's start at the beginning," Windu said, ignoring Maul's response. "Who trained you?"

"My master," Maul said with a small smile. Windu waited a beat, confirming that was all that Maul would offer up. When Maul said nothing more, he went on.

"And your master was a Sith Lord?"

"No," Maul chided him, "my master is a Sith Lord." Windu's eyebrows rose.

"Then your master is still alive?"

"The depths of your ignorance are truly astounding, Master Jedi," Maul said, laughing lightly. "I wonder, how attuned are the Jedi to the Force if they did not know the Sith were still at work in the galaxy all these long years?"

"Were you trained alone, or were there others?" Mace continued, again refusing to let Maul derail his line of questioning.

"Ah," Maul said knowingly, "you want to know about Sola."

"Yes, I do." Maul considered for a moment, trying to take the measure of the Jedi Master before him. The Jedi's mind was largely inscrutable, carefully walled off from Maul's probing by decades of training, but he thought he sensed a tinge of paranoia around the subject of Sola. It occurred to him that this might be exploited to his advantage.

"We were trained together," he stated, simply, truthfully. He saw a shadow pass over Windu's face. Yes, this was what the Jedi had feared. "She was destined for greatness. She threw away her chance."

"She forsook the dark side?" the Jedi asked, hopeful. Maul pondered the question.

"Yes, and no. She understood her power and knew how to use it, but she lacked the proper vision." There was a pause, and Maul thought for a moment Windu looked somewhat relieved. Maul took the opportunity to make his play. "Her son, though," Maul went on, unprompted, "now, there is someone who truly understands the power of hate."

"What do you mean by that?" Windu demanded, the hint of fear returning to his expression. "What do you know of Anakin Skywalker?"

"More than you, it would seem," Maul said with a smile. "What would you like to know?" Windu paused, hesitated a moment, then looked back up at Maul.

"Everything."

Anakin rode in the very back of the shuttle on the short trip back to the Resolute. Obi-Wan was near the front, being tended by the medics. Anakin tried not to look at his master. He stared instead at his hands, marking the creases of his palms, trying not to focus on his anger. But the fire within him would not go out. He'd been robbed of his chance to destroy his enemy and bring peace to the galaxy, a betrayal that had come at the hands of his own master. His hands started to shake slightly as he looked down at him, and he clenched his fists.

The shuttle landed in the hangar and the wounded, including Obi-Wan, went down the gangway first. The shuttle emptied out, but Anakin stayed in his seat. He was barely containing his rage, he didn't trust himself to face the interrogation he knew was coming. Bitter thoughts cycled through his head: the Jedi don't trust you, Obi-Wan betrayed you, Maul lives. The trembling in his hands was becoming harder to control.

A med droid floated into the shuttle, looking for potential patients. It swooped down on Anakin and began to scan him. Anakin looked up at the droid, staring into the light of its teal optical sensors. Then, something inside him snapped.

He reached up his hand and the droid flew towards him. He grabbed it around what was more or less its neck. It made a squealing plea. He could feel it trying to use its repulsors to free itself, its three-fingered metal hands prized at his grip, but he held fast. His rage ruled him, and it demanded destruction.

With all his considerable strength, he smashed the droid into the wall of the shuttle. Sparks flew and the droid made a strangled fizzling sound as its vocabulator broke apart. Anakin pulled his fist back and rammed the droid against the wall again, and again, and again, until a jagged piece of its broken body cut through his right palm and he dropped the droid, grasping his hand in pain.

As Anakin clutched his wounded hand, the red mist that had clouded his vision began to dissipate. The blood pounding in his ears began to drum a little slower, and he slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself. He looked down at the disintegrated droid as the light behind its manufactured eyes sputtered and died. His head snapped up as he heard footsteps on the gangway.

"What's going on in here?" It was a Jedi, a Bothan. Anakin couldn't recall his name, but he vaguely remembered that he was another apprentice. "Skywalker," the Jedi said. Apparently his memory was better than Anakin's. He looked from Anakin down to the mangled droid. "What happened?"

"I…" Anakin's mind was blank. There was nothing he could say to explain himself. He just shook his head and sunk back down into the seat behind him. Another set of boots sounded on the gangway and a second figure appeared in the doorway. This time, Anakin recognized who it was immediately.

"What was all that racket?" KeAnn asked as she came into the shuttle. She took in the scene at a glance and her eyes settled on Anakin's bleeding hand. "For Force sake," she muttered, striding over to him and whipping out a bacta bandage from her utility belt. She knelt in front of him and pulled his hand toward her. She deftly wrapped the bandage tightly around his palm. "You'll need to have this seen to," she said as she tied the wrap off, "it's a deep cut."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait," the other Jedi said, taking a step forward. KeAnn looked over her shoulder at him. "I have instructions from Master Windu. He has ordered Commander Skywalker to report to his quarters and remain there until we reach Coruscant."

KeAnn turned back to Anakin and looked hard at him for a moment. Their eyes locked and he felt her reaching out to him through the Force, trying to understand what was wrong. Everything, Anakin thought, everything is wrong. The tremble in his hands started up again and did not go unnoticed by KeAnn. She stood up and addressed the other Jedi.

"I'm amending those orders," she said firmly, "he needs to go to medical."

"But," the Jedi began, but KeAnn cut him off.

"He clearly needs care," she said. "I'll speak with Master Windu." The Jedi gave them a disapproving look, but nodded his ascent and headed back down the gangway. KeAnn looked down at Anakin and put a hand on his shoulder. "Go on," she said quietly. Anakin got up and walked toward the exit. He felt dazed. He could feel KeAnn's eyes on his back as he want down the gangway and came out into the bustling hangar, but he did not turn back.

In the medical bay, he kept his head low, hoping to avoid any encounters with Obi-Wan. A droid, much like the one he'd just destroyed, ushered him over to an examination bed situated along the perimeter wall. There was a small viewport across from the bed. The droid pulled the privacy curtain around the area before flitting off to tend to another patient who required more urgent treatment. Anakin sat on the edge of the bed, trying to gather himself.

His outburst of violence had given an outlet to his rage, but it had not dispelled the hate in heart. He could feel it spreading through him like a chill. It was dark and powerful, and while he feared what it might do to him, there was a part of him that reveled in it. It was his hatred that would destroy Darth Maul. It was the only thing that could. And he would destroy Maul. Next time, he thought bitterly, Obi-Wan will not be there to stop me.

He stood up and went to the viewport, leaning against the window and looking out at the swirling blue planet below. He could still sense his mother's presence emanating from the world, even from orbit. He remembered what Maul had said, that this was the place where Sola had learned about the Force. That she had been taught by a Sith Lord. He didn't know if Maul's words were true. Truthfully, he didn't care. It changed nothing. Maul had to pay for the blood he'd spilled. I will end this, he swore to his mother, and to himself, I promise.

"Anakin." He heard his mother's voice call out softly to him through the Force, as though she'd heard him. Instinctively, he turned and look around, half-expecting to see her. But he was alone.

"Captain?" For a moment his heart surged with hope. He waited expectantly, certain there would be more, but there was no reply. As Anakin looked back out the viewport, the stars became streaks of light and the Resolute jumped to lightspeed, leaving the Unknown Regions behind.

Padme hurried down the corridors of the Resolute, dodging through masses of clone troopers and Jedi on her way to the medical bay. She burst through the medical bay doors and quickly scanned the room for any sign of Anakin. Not seeing him, she waved down the nearest med droid, who pointed her towards a curtained off exam bed on the far side of the bay.

"Anakin!" she flung her arms around him as the curtain swayed shut behind her. She wanted to hold him forever, but as they embraced she suddenly became very aware of the fact that the only thing protecting them from prying eyes was a thin piece of fabric. She pulled away and stood back to look at him. She took in his bloodshot eyes, slashed tunic, and bandaged hand. He looked terrible.

Perhaps registering her concern, he gave her a weak smile, but she could see right through it. Something was very wrong. She'd expected him to be jubilant, rejoicing in Maul's capture and ready to move on with their lives. Instead, he seemed beaten down and withdrawn. There was an energy around him that made her skin tingle unpleasantly. She took his wounded hand in hers.

"Did Maul do this to you?" she asked.

"No," Anakin said quietly, looking down at his hand, "not exactly."

"Anakin," she said gently, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he responded evasively. "I'm just glad to see you safe," he said, looking up at her. "When I realized you'd followed me...I was so afraid I'd lose you."

"I was afraid of losing you too," she said, squeezing his hand lightly.

"How did you find me?" he asked, looking up at her. "I don't understand."

"I can't explain it," she told him, thinking back on the nightmarish vision that had brought her to the Unknown Regions. "I just…knew."

"You shouldn't have come after me," he said. His tone was one of admonishment.

"You shouldn't have left," she shot back, a little heatedly. Anakin dropped his eyes.

"You don't understand," he started, but Padme had no patience for his excuses.

"I lost my family to this war too, you know," she reminded him.

"Padme, I had him," Anakin told her, leaning forward and curling the fingers of his uninjured hand into a tight fist. She could hear the ire in his voice. "Maul should be dead. If it weren't for Obi-Wan, he would be."

"Obi-Wan?" she asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"He stopped me," Anakin said through clenched teeth. "I could have killed Maul, and he stopped me."

"I'm sure Obi-Wan had his reasons," Padme said cautiously, wondering what Anakin might be leaving out. There was a manic quality in Anakin's voice that made her very nervous. "You should talk to him," she suggested. Anakin huffed dismissively at the idea, but she persisted. "He's your mentor and your friend, he cares about you, Anakin," she reminded him. "Besides," she went on, "justice is coming for Darth Maul. The Republic will see to that," she said, trying to reassure him. "This outcome is not a failure."

"It certainly feels like one," he sulked.

"Victory doesn't always look the way we think it will," she said gently, putting a hand on his arm. "You have to accept that. We all do. It's time to move on."

"I can't," he said angrily, his voice straining with emotion, "I can't."

Padme stared at him a moment, uncertain what to say next. She'd come here resolved to tell him she was pregnant, but he could see he was barely holding himself together. Besides, they had very little privacy in the med bay. A voice in the back of her mind warned her to wait.

"When we get back to Coruscant there are things we need to talk about," she said at last. "Important things." He nodded. She glanced around to make there were no nearby shadows lurking beyond the curtains, then she leaned in and kissed him. "I love you," she whispered, holding his face in her hands, "don't forget that." There was a sound to her left and Padme quickly dropped her hands as a surgical droid rolled in and wordlessly began to apply mechnosutures to Anakin's hand.

Padme stepped back to allow the droid through, but lingered just a moment longer, her eyes locked with Anakin's. There was something in his eyes, something new and dangerous, that made her blood run cold. She turned away quickly, unnerved. As she left the medical bay, she was overcome by the sensation that some tectonic shift had occurred in the galaxy, and a lingering dread in her heart that the worst was yet to come.

The healing trance of the Jedi was supposed to be dreamless. But as Obi-Wan began to drift up out of his deep meditation, he found himself standing in a familiar place. He was at a docking bay in Sundari, the capital of Mandalore. He watched as a casket, bearing the mark of the Jedi and the body of his master, was loaded onto a docked ship.

"Obi-Wan." He knew the voice, but he could not see the person it belonged to at first. Then she emerged, as if from a fog, coming into focus in his mind. "I'm so sorry." It was Satine. Not as she was now, the powerful ruler of Mandalore, but as Obi-Wan had first known her, barely in her seventeenth year.

"I have to return to Coruscant," someone answered. He hadn't spoken, but it was his voice, or rather, a version of his voice. He was standing on the outside, he realized, looking in at his own memory. His teenage self stood before him, gangly and troubled. "They'll send another team of Jedi to continue the peace negotiations."

"You could stay," Satine said quietly.

"My master spent years training me," young Obi-Wan said with determination. "I have to honor that."

"I understand." Satine's head turned, as though a voice he couldn't hear called to her. She looked back at his younger self once more. "Goodbye, Obi-Wan." Then she disappeared into the mist and the memory evaporated, leaving Obi-Wan with the terrifying sensation that he was falling through his dream back toward consciousness.

He awoke with a jolt, his heart racing and voices from the past still echoing in his ears. He forced his mind back into the present and took in his surroundings. His bed was largely concealed by a privacy curtain, but he quickly realized he was in the medical bay of a Republic ship. He checked his right side and found his wound had been carefully stitched up and bandaged. He gingerly pushed himself into an upright position, wincing slightly as the mechnosutures pulled with his movement.

"Excuse me, Master Kenobi, you have a visitor," a med droid announced as it floated near him. Behind the droid, Anakin stepped through the privacy curtain, his eyes not quite meeting his master's. Obi-Wan recalled with a shudder the look on Anakin's face when he'd last seen him.

"How are you?" Anakin asked, still standing a few feet from Obi-Wan's bed. He did not appear to want to get any closer. Obi-Wan could sense Anakin was controlling his anger, but it was still there, simmering dangerously. He wondered who had goaded his apprentice into paying him a visit.

"Well, I've been worse," Obi-Wan quipped, trying to lighten the mod, but then grimaced as he tried to change his position, "but I've also been better."

"He could have killed you," Anakin said, his eyes shifting to Obi-Wan's bandaged side.

"But he didn't," Obi-Wan reminded his apprentice, "not yet."

"You should have let me end it," Anakin insisted, the volume of his voice increasing slightly in agitation. For the first time he looked up properly, meeting Obi-Wan's gaze. "Why did you stop me?" Obi-Wan saw a flicker of rage in Anakin's eyes.

"Revenge is not the way of the Jedi," Obi-Wan began, trying to remain calm.

"No," Anakin said, raising his voice as he took a step forward, jabbing an accusatory finger at Obi-Wan, "that isn't good enough. I don't want to know why the Order would have stopped me. I want to know why you stopped me."

"His life was not yours to take, Anakin," Obi-Wan said firmly.

"You wanted to kill him too," Anakin said, "didn't you?" Obi-Wan looked hard at his apprentice. He very much wanted to lie. He wanted to tell Anakin that killing Maul in revenge had never entered his head, that he had not acted on his basest instincts during his duel with the Sith Lord. But none of that was true, and they both knew it.

"Yes," Obi-Wan softly. "Yes, I did want to kill him."

"Then you should not have stopped me," Anakin said forcefully, clearly unable to reconcile his master's feelings with his actions.

"Would that have brought back your mother?" Obi-Wan asked pointedly, "or my master?" Obi-Wan could not keep the frustration out of his voice. "I was trying to save you from doing something you would regret forever." Anakin took a step back, his jaw and his fists clenched. He stared hard at the floor. Obi-Wan had the distinct impression it was taking all of Anakin's willpower not to unclip his lightsaber and take a savage swing at his wounded master.

"I will never forgive you for letting him live, Obi-Wan," Anakin told him, his voice brimming with rage. "Never."

"Forgive me?" Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to be angry. "You are so blinded by hatred that you cannot see beyond your own pain!" He was fed up with Anakin. His emotions were already raw from the painful memories Maul had dredged up, and now he'd reached his breaking point. Years of frustration boiled to the surface and Obi-Wan no longer bothered holding back. "Look around you." He gestured to the other patients in the medical facility, though it pained him to move. "There is suffering everywhere, but you only see your own. You are not the first Jedi to lose someone he could not save," Obi-Wan went on, "or love someone he could not have."

Anakin looked up sharply. "You thought I didn't know?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin. "I know, Anakin. I know what happened on Scipio." Obi-Wan saw Anakin's cheeks go scarlet. "And I have kept my mouth shut because I am trying to help you find your way, but someday…" Obi-Wan took a breath, trying to regain control. He was shaking with emotion, "Someday, Anakin, I will not be there to save you from yourself."

Before Anakin could respond, a med droid came in through the curtain to check the monitors. Obi-Wan realized something he was hooked up to had started beeping. Anakin ignored the droid, he was still staring daggers at Obi-Wan.

"Sir, you have elevated Master Kenobi's heart rate," the droid announced, turning to Anakin. "This is not conducive to his recovery. You need to leave."

"With pleasure," Anakin snarled at the droid. He cast one last scathing look back at Obi-Wan and then swept from the room, his deep brown cloak billowing behind him.

Maul swung gently in his restraints as the Resolute docked on Coruscant. Mace Windu was still in the room with him, but was now joined by several other Jedi posted at intervals along the room's perimeter. The Jedi were taking no chances with him. The door to the room hissed open, and an older man stepped through it flanked by a full platoon of clone troopers. Maul looked up and suddenly found himself face to face with his master.

"General Palpatine," Windu said, coming forward to great the newcomers, "we were not expecting you."

"We are here to take custody of the prisoner," Palpatine said. He did not meet Maul's eyes. "The Senate is preparing to vote on his fate later this evening." Maul's mind raced. His master was cut off from the Force, he could not sense his intentions. He could only hope that it was in the Sith Lord's design to help his apprentice.

"There will be a trial, of course?" Windu asked. Palpatine offered a wry half-smile.

"This is war, Master Windu. Trials are a luxury of peacetime." Now, for the first time, the eyes of master and apprentice meet, and Maul felt his skin go cold with fear. "Darth Maul will face the consequences of his actions."

"But there are things we might learn from him, and from investigating the facility in the Unknown Regions," Windu pointed out, looking over his shoulder for a moment at Maul.

"I'm afraid that facility has been destroyed," Palpatine stated simply. Windu turned around quickly.

"What?" the Jedi asked, and Maul could sense his anger.

"I ordered a team to return to the planet and demolish the facility," Palpatine explained. "It seemed the most prudent course of action. Who knows what dangerous secrets such a place might hold." Windu was outraged, though he managed to hide it reasonably well. Maul was not surprised. His master could not risk the Jedi discovering his identity.

"I see," Windu said slowly, clearly plotting his next move, "but as for Maul, the Republic is not prepared to keep such a prisoner." Palpatine raised his eyebrows. "Your facilities aren't equipped for a Force-wielder, and your men don't have the requisite skills to restrain him."

"My men are the best in the galaxy," Palpatine insisted.

"Yes," Windu conceded, "except for the Jedi." Maul watched the face of his master carefully. Palpatine appeared incensed, but Maul thought he saw a flicker of victory pass over the general's face.

"Darth Maul is a prisoner of the Republic, not the Jedi Order," Palpatine said, his voice laced with threat. He took a step toward the Jedi. "Do you forget whom you serve, Master Windu?"

"The Jedi are the guardians of the Republic, not its servants," Windu said firmly. "Maul is safest in our hands." Palpatine glowered at Windu a moment, then stepped back and straightened his robes.

"If you insist, Master Jedi." His eyes traveled for just a moment back up to Maul, suspended above the scene by the containment field, and then the general turned on his heel and left the room, his clone troopers right behind him. They might not be connected through the Force, but Maul knew his master well enough to realize he'd just played the Jedi. What troubled him was that he couldn't figure out how.

Anakin stepped down the gangway of the Resolute and onto the dock. It was mid-morning on Coruscant, and the docks were a sea of activity. Anakin moved toward the hover-taxi line, hoping to take advantage of the busy port to slip away and see Padme. She was the only person left whom he could truly trust. After their fight in the med bay, he was afraid his friendship with Obi-Wan might now be fractured beyond repair. His chest went tight at the thought. He was just about to hail to hover-taxi when someone called out to him.

"Anakin!" He turned and saw Mace Windu striding toward him, looking very serious. "You are to report to the Jedi Temple immediately," Master Windu said as he reached Anakin. "Your debriefing will occur as soon as the Council is gathered." Anakin clenched his jaw. He should have known the Jedi wouldn't just let him disappear, not after everything he'd done.

"Yes, master," Anakin said, bowing his head. Master Windu gave him a curt nod, then hurried off to join the other members of the Council assembling on the dock. With a deep sigh, Anakin turned and headed back across the dock toward the Jedi transports that would take him back to the Temple. As he walked past the Resolute, he saw General Palpatine descending the gangway with a platoon of clone troopers behind him. Palpatine saw him and shifted direction, heading for the young Jedi. Anakin stopped to wait for the general.

"Commander Skywalker," Palpatine said, beaming, as he came up to Anakin.

"General Palpatine." Anakin gave a low bow.

"Do you have a moment?" Palpatine asked quietly. Anakin hesitated. Master Windu had ordered him to report to the Temple immediately, but surely he was not expected to refuse a request from the leader of the Grand Army of the Republic?

"Of course, sir," Anakin said. Palpatine began to walk and Anakin fell into step next to him, the clone troopers following behind them.

"I was so relieved to discover you came through your encounter with Darth Maul unharmed," Palpatine told him. "Once again you have proven yourself the equal of our most powerful enemies."

"Thank you, General," Anakin said appreciatively. Anakin realized it was the first time anyone had shown any real gratitude for the role he'd played in capturing Maul. Meanwhile, the Jedi were treating him like a poorly behaved school boy, just as they had done after he'd helped bring down General Grievous.

"Surely now your order will see fit to make you a full Jedi Knight," Palpatine continued. Anakin bristled, knowing the Jedi had no such intentions. "Frankly, I was surprised they did not do so after your victory on Ryloth."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, General," Anakin said, "but I'm afraid that isn't very likely." But why not? Anakin asked himself. Haven't I earned it?

"Such a pity," Palpatine said sympathetically, "for a young man of your talents to go unrecognized. Another example of the shortsightedness of the Jedi leadership, much like their refusal to turn over Maul."

"What?" Anakin looked over at Palpatine, shocked at what he'd just heard.

"I thought you knew?" Palpatine said, raising his eyebrows. "I came here to collect Darth Maul myself, but the Jedi are unwilling to place him in Republic custody." Palpatine lowered his voice as he went on, "The Jedi Council is insisting that only they have the resources to hold him. But in truth they simply lack the stomach to see things through."

"What do you mean, sir?" Anakin asked.

"This is strictly confidential, but I trust you, Anakin." Palpatine said, his voice barely more than a whisper. They'd stopped walking now. They were standing at the edge of the dock, well away from the crowd. "The Senate is preparing to vote on several important measures this evening. It is expected that they will approve Maul's execution without a trial."

"A wise choice, given the unique danger he poses to the galaxy," Anakin said stonily.

"I thought you might think so," Palpatine said with a small smile. "Unfortunately, your Jedi friends do not agree, and that is why they continue to hold him." Palpatine looked thoughtfully at Anakin. "But perhaps, with your help, the situation could be rectified." Anakin shook his head.

"General, I disagree with the Council, but I am in no position to change their minds," Anakin said, wary of where the conversation was going. Perhaps Palpatine believed he had more power than he did, but he knew he'd never convince the Council they were making a mistake.

"I'm not asking you to change their minds," Palpatine said quietly. "The only way to bring Darth Maul to justice is to take him from the Jedi. In order to do that, I need your help." Anakin stared at the general, not quite believing what he was hearing. "The Jedi will never give him up. Don't you see? They are weak. They do not have the strength to do what must be done. Only you, my friend, are not blinded by their false ideals."

"But...what you are asking…" Anakin stammered, unsure what to say. He kept his eyes down, scanning the floor. His heart rate was accelerating. "I would be betraying the Order."

"And why should you not?" Palpatine demanded. "They have betrayed you. They have denied you justice. They have denied the people of the Republic justice!"

"I'll be expelled," Anakin said, turning away as he tried to think things through.

"Were you not soon preparing to leave of your own volition?" Palpatine asked softly. Anakin spun around and stared, wide-eyed, at Palpatine.

"How do you know that?" Anakin asked, stunned.

"I see much, my friend," Palpatine told him, taking a step closer. "I see that you want to leave the Jedi. I see that they are holding you back." Anakin swallowed hard, trying to understand how Palpatine knew what was in his mind. "You could be so much more. There would be a place for you here, by my side. You are a born leader, a cunning soldier. You could lead the Army of the Republic."

Anakin looked at Palpatine for a moment, then turned away again. He couldn't believe what Palpatine was saying. He was offering Anakin everything. The destruction of Darth Maul, a position of tremendous power, and a life beyond the Jedi - one that could include Padme. But the price was steep. He would not just be leaving the Order, he would have to utterly betray their trust, and maybe worse. He wasn't sure he could do that. Leaving the Jedi Order was one thing, turning against them was another.

"I must go, General," Anakin said at last, deciding simply not to give Palpatine an answer. He needed time to think.

"Consider my offer, my friend." Anakin did not reply, but turned and walked back into the crowd, toward the Jedi transports, his head pounding with confusion.

"What were you thinking?" Breha demanded loudly, the blue image of her head suspended above the holoprojector. Padme sat alone in her apartment and quickly lowered the projector's volume to ensure her neighbors wouldn't overhear anything.

"I…" Padme started, but she didn't know how to continue, "I don't know, exactly," she finished lamely. "I thought I could…"

"I can't imagine any ending to that sentence that would justify your actions." Breha interjected forcefully. "Stars' end, Padme, you could have been killed. You nearly were killed."

"I know," Padme said, contrite. "I know. I'm sorry." She cast her eyes downward. Breha exhaled sharply.

"You could have at least told me," Breha said, with more than a hint of resentment. Padme gave her friend a small smile.

"If I'd done that, you would have stopped me," she said.

"I would have tried." Breha said, a bit ruefully, but Padme knew her friend's anger was already running out. Eager to move past Breha's admonishments, she switched the subject.

"Are you arranging a transport to bring me to back to Alderaan?" Padme asked, assuming that she would still be expected to return to home. She knew the funeral of Queen Salma had been suspended during the search for her and Anakin.

"No," Breha said slowly, "I'm afraid not." Padme arched an eyebrow in surprise, and apprehension. "We need you in the Senate."

"The emergency session?" Padme asked. "The message from Mas Amedda said it was primarily for newly appointed representatives, to familiarize them with Senate procedures." Breha shook her head.

"It's a cover," Breha revealed. "I have it on good authority that Palpatine is going to make another bid for the chancellorship. And there will be some kind of vote concerning Maul."

"That snake," Padme seethed. "He'll never get the votes to be elected chancellor."

"Don't be so sure. People are scared," Breha warned her. "Maul came out of nowhere. There's a lot of anti-Separatist fervor out there. Things could take a bad turn if Palpatine is able to exploit it. Support for him is already building in the wake of Maul's capture, especially among those appointed to take up the seat of their murdered predecessors." Padme sighed heavily.

"Looks like I'll be staying here then." She tried to smile, but Breha saw through it.

"It won't be for long," Breha promised. "I've instructed my advisors to start cultivating candidates to run for your seat. You'll be back home soon."

"Yeah," Padme said, trying to convince herself, "I hope you're right."

Anakin stood before the doors of the Council chamber, anxiously shifting his weight from one foot to the other while he waited to be summoned. Obi-Wan was already inside, offering the Jedi COuncil his version of events. Anakin knew that the Council would not look favorably on many of his actions. He was certain to be reprimanded. He might even be expelled. Palpatine's words rattled around in his brain. I see that you want to leave the Jedi. I see that they are holding you back. You could be so much more. Anakin's head snapped up as the chamber door hissed open.

"Anakin Skywalker," Master Windu's voice called from within. Anakin exhaled slowly, then stepped forward into the Council chamber. The members of the Council sat, encircling the room, while Obi-Wan stood at its center, his hands clasped in front of him. Anakin walked inside and took his place next to his master, but Obi-Wan did not even glance at him.

"Anakin," Master Ki Adi Mundi addressed him, "Two days ago, you left your post on Alderaan without permission. We understand the board outline of events as they unfolded from there, however, we now wish to hear your account."

"Yes, master." Anakin launched into his story, recounting most of the details accurately, but also leaving many things out. He did not discuss how he'd used the dark side to locate Maul, or what the Sith Lord had told him about his mother. He also made no mention of bargaining away his own life to try to save Padme's. He figured he was in enough trouble as it was.

"After Master Kenobi was wounded I was able to successfully disarm Darth Maul," Anakin said, coming to the end of his tale. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Obi-Wan glance at him, but he kept his gaze straight ahead. He'd made several lies of omission already, but he knew there was no point in leaving out what came next. "It was my intention to kill Maul, but I was prevented from doing so."

"By your master?" Master Mundi asked.

"Yes," Anakin said curtly.

"How did you find Darth Maul?" Shaak Ti asked him.

"I was guided by the Force," Anakin said after a moment's hesitation. It was not, strictly speaking, a lie, but he could sense the Council was suspicious.

"Members of this Council were in meditation for hours attempting to locate him, but they failed," Master Balaba noted. "How is it that you succeeded?"

"I don't know," Anakin lied, dropping his eyes.

"And Senator Naberrie," Master Mundi chimed in, "do you know how she was able to follow you?"

"No," Anakin said sharply. "And it was never my intention that she do so."

"So you had no previous knowledge of this planet in the Unknown Regions?" Master Windu asked. "No one told you where to find it?"

"Of course not," Anakin said sharply. "Who would have told me?"

"Your mother," Windu said, "Sola." Anakin stared at the Jedi master, "What do you know about your mother's past?"

"Nothing," he insisted. It wasn't entirely a lie. Everything he knew came from Maul, and Maul could not be trusted. "She never spoke of it."

"She never told you, for example, that she was trained by the Sith?" Windu pressed. "Or that she lived much of her life on the very planet that you found with such apparent ease?"

"No," Anakin said emphatically. Clearly, Maul had already shared his thoughts on Sola Skywalker with the Master Windu, but Anakin wasn't convinced the Council would take the word of a Sith Lord over his. He wasn't certain of the truth, and he didn't need to be, but he knew that to the Jedi Council it would matter a great deal. "My mother wasn't a Sith," he told them, "she was just a spice smuggler. She was no one."

"Yet you just told us you know nothing of her past," Windu pointed how, "so how can you be so certain?"

"I knew her," Anakin said. "Even if your right, even if they trained her, she wasn't one of them," he said honestly. "This doesn't have anything to do with her."

"Hmmm...it does not?" Master Yoda asked, speaking up for the first time. "Sought Maul out, you did. Why?"

"Everyone wanted to find him," Anakin said, "it wasn't just me."

"You abandoned your post, you commandeered a ship, you disappeared beyond the borders of known space without telling anyone where you were going," Master Windu said, laying each of Anakin's actions out before the Council. He leaned forward and looked intently at Anakin. "You wanted to face him alone."

"He's a murderer," Anakin said quietly.

"As you would have been, if your master had stayed your hand," Master Ti said. Anakin's face went red.

"It's not the same," Anakin insisted, his voice raising.

"Your actions were in direct opposition to the Jedi Code," Master Windu said sternly.

"Darth Maul is a Sith Lord, an enemy of the Republic and of the Jedi Order," Anakin said angrily. "Am I to be censured for attempting to kill him?"

"You had already bested him in combat," Master Balaba pointed out. "He was, in effect, your prisoner. And you intended to execute him."

"We are at war!" Anakin half-shouted. He could not believe the Council's naivete.

"Defending the Republic is one thing, revenge is another," Master Windu said. "Also, this is not the only transgression that has come to the attention of the Council." Anakin cast a sideways look at Obi-Wan, but he saw that this master looked surprised that there was more. He shot Anakin a nervous glance.

"It has been observed that your relationship with Senator Naberrie is quite close," Master Windu said, leaning back in his chair and pressing his fingertips together. Anakin felt his stomach drop.

"The Senator is a friend," he said after a long pause. He didn't dare say more. He couldn't be certain how much they really knew. Or how much Obi-Wan told them, he thought bitterly.

"Darth Maul claims you surrendered to him in a bid to save her life," Master Windu said. "Is this true?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Anakin said, sidestepping the question.

"Your attachment to her is strong," Master Mundi said. "It compromises you and, thus, it endangers us all."

"End this liaison, you must, or expelled from the Jedi Order, you will be," Master Yoda said cooly, fixing his large eyes on Anakin.

"Even if you resolve the situation with Senator Naberrie, your behavior is a source of serious concern," Master Windu continued. "However, the Council is not yet in agreement on a course of action. Therefore, you will remain here in the Temple until further notice. You will surrender your lightsaber to your master and report each day to Master Nu for work in the archives." Anakin felt numb, but he managed to nod.

"Your weapon," Master Windu said, gesturing to Obi-Wan. Anakin turned to his master. He could sense that Obi-Wan did not want to take his lightsaber, that his master was also conflicted, but he was finding it hard to be sympathetic at the moment. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan held out his hand. Anakin unclipped the hilt of his lightsaber and gave it Obi-Wan. Then he gave a stiff half-bow to the Council and stormed out of the chamber.

"Anakin, wait!" Obi-Wan ran out the door of the Council chambers, following his apprentice.

"Leave me alone," Anakin spat, not turning around. Obi-Wan caught up with Anakin and grabbed his arm, forcing him pause. Anakin wrenched his arm away, but he did stop walking.

"Please, talk to me," Obi-Wan begged Anakin. He could sense the swirl of emotions in Anakin's mind. "I know you are angry with me, but I can help you."

"Help me?" Anakin asked, incredulous. "You told them about Padme!"

"I didn't, I swear it," Obi-Wan insisted. "What they know about it came only from Maul." He looked in Anakin's eyes, willing his apprentice to recognize that he was telling the truth, but the young man's eyes were clouded with anger.

"It doesn't matter," Anakin said, turning away. "They don't trust me. They never have. Just like you." Anakin's words stung, but Obi-Wan brushed them off, determined not to lose his temper as he had in the med bay.

"I am not your enemy, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly.

"We shall see," Anakin said, not bothering to turn back to his master. His voice low and threatening, and it sent a chill down Obi-Wan's spine. Then Anakin headed back down the corridor and Obi-Wan did not attempt to follow him. Obi-Wan looked down briefly at his apprentice's lightsaber, still clutched in his hand. When he looked up again, Anakin had disappeared from view.

Anakin wasted no time in disobeying Master Windu's orders to stay inside the Temple. He slipped out through a little used side entrance and took a public transport to the former apartment tower that was serving as a makeshift office for the usual inhabitants of the Senate Building. This time, he did not bother trying to hide his identity. He couldn't see that there was any point now. As the transport docked, he could see the Senate Building in the distance. Workers were already busy shoring up the gaping wound in the dome.

Anakin disembarked and hurried into the skyscraper. He asked directly for instructions on how to find Padme's office. Again, discretion seemed meaningless now. He took the lift up to the floor where her temporary office was located and the door slid open to admit him. He walked into what had clearly once been someone's living room, but now a series of desks were set up in the center of it. Unlike his previous late night call, Padme's full staff appeared to be present, and he was uncertain of who to talk to, but then a young woman holding a datapad came up to him.

"Can I help you?" she asked, smiling up at him.

"I need to speak with Senator Naberrie," he told her. "It's urgent."

"I'm sorry, the senator isn't here," the woman responded. "She has back to back committee meetings before the emergency session begins. She won't be back for hours." She took a moment to click something on her datapad. "Would you like to leave a message?" She looked up at him expectantly. Anakin considered it for a moment. He very much wanted to talk to Padme, but he also knew there was no time to lose.

"No," he said after a brief pause. "No, thank you." He turned and left without another word, making his way back down the hall to the lifts. His mind was racing. There would be no time to consult with Padme. The decision was his, and his alone.

The lift opened and its occupants left, leaving it empty. Anakin stepped in and the doors closed. He reached out for the controls, his hand hovering over the button that would take him back down to the lobby. He reached toward it, but then stopped, and depressed another button, sending the lift shooting upward. The lift stopped and Anakin got out. There was no need to ask which office to go to now. Only one door was flanked by elite clone ARC Troopers.

"Commander Skywalker." General Palpatine rose from his desk as Anakin was shown in by the guards. "A most welcome surprise. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I have something for you, General," Anakin said.

"Yes?" Palpatine looked at him expectantly. Anakin took a deep breath.

"I am here to give you Darth Maul."