Knight Errant

Chapter 1: Dark Epiphanies

"Stay here."

The words echoed in his mind, again and again. A never ending barrage, those two syllables repeated themselves in tune with his racing heart. Like the beats of a drum they pounded against his skull, drowning every thought from his mind but that of desperate need. Two seemingly insignificant words that held the lives of his Angel and their unborn child in the balance.

Anakin Skywalker stood in front of one of the large transparisteel windows that surrounded the High Council chambers. Shoulders stiff and arms crossed, he looked out blankly onto bustle of Coruscant. I should be with them, the thought bubbled from the cacophony of noise in his ears. They're not strong enough to take him on their own…

"Stay here."

In an instant, hot anger flooded into him and he slammed his flesh fist against the transparisteel. Unrelieved, he slammed it a second time. And then a third. It's so unfair! He howled internally, his upper body collapsing against the window.

Master Windu told me to stay here until he and the other members of the Council returned. But I am the Chosen one! Sithing hells! They have shoved that kriffing prophecy down my throat from the moment I set foot in the Temple! But now that they actually need me, now that I can ensure the Chancellor is arrested and brought justice for his crimes, they leave me behind?

Furious he pushed himself off of the window and collapsed into one of the nearest plush red chairs that surrounded the Council chambers and ran a gloved hand through his hair desperately.

"Stay here," the command repeated itself.

But I need the Chancellor! He's the only one who knows how to save Padmé from dying. I have to –

"Stay here."

What's the point in listening to Windu? he reasoned with himself.

Mace Windu had disliked him from day one. What was he doing sitting in this chair while the chances of saving his wife slipped away by the second? Because the man had finally acknowledged him as not being a complete disgrace to the Order? He was a fool himself if he thought Windu trusted him. The entire Council didn't trust him. They never had.

"You are on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master." Those words burn like fire in his veins, enraging him. I deserve it more than any of them! They sit in this room and do nothing while the Order rots from the inside! While the entire Republic dissolves into chaos!

"Stay here."

Kriff Windu. Kriff the Council. Kriff the entire kriffing Jedi Order! he raged.

The dream that had plagued him for the last week reared its ugly head. Padmé looked up at him, so pale and weak, screaming in pain. Calling out for him…

"Stay here."

He couldn't live without her. He wouldn't.

So why was he still sitting here?

"I have to save her!" he raged to the empty room. "It's not fair! I should be there!"

Frustrated, Anakin pushed himself out of the chair and began to pace the room. He glanced at the chrono on his wrist gauntlet.

"Stay here."

Factoring in evening traffic, they would have just arrived at the Chancellor's office. If he left now, he might be able to make it in time. He could keep them from killing the Chancellor, have the man arrested and force him to tell him to save Padmé. He turned to pace in the other direction.

"Stay here."

No! he reasoned with himself, confused. "I have to keep the Chancellor from killing them! So that I can arrest him and force him to tell me how to save her. He stopped in front of the large glass windows facing the Senate Building, watching the busy skyline.

Yes. That's what I have to do, he decided. Keep them from killing the Chanc- keep him from killing them.

"Stay here."

He was marching to the large wooden doors that led to the antechamber when he felt it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and a presence vibrated in the Force. His back stiffened. He was not alone. His hand tightened around the knob.

"You should take Master Windu's advice," the eerie, but familiar voice intoned stoically behind him.

Anakin whipped around to face the intruder.

Standing in the center of the large circular chamber was Qui-gon Jinn. Or the ghostly presence that resembled the man. Bathed in blue, like a perfectly clear hologram, Qui-gon stood just how Anakin remembered him. Back straight, chin out, arms hidden in his sleeves. Even though they were of near equal height now, the older man still managed to look down the bridge of his crooked nose at him.

It took a moment for Anakin's shocked mind to catch up with him. "How- how is this possible? He had to fight the urge to run a hand through the mirage of his old mentor. "I saw you burn on a pyre."

Qui-gon (or the figment of his imagination – Anakin wasn't ready to leave out the possibility that he'd finally cracked) gave him a sad smile. "When I died on Naboo, I discovered a way to keep certain aspects of myself from becoming one with the Force. I can see and interact with you here in your world, but I am of it no longer."

Anakin leaned his back against the closed doors and slid down until he was on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees. "I didn't think such a thing was possible," he said in awe.

Qui-gon's ghost moved closer. "A great many things are possible with the Force," he said gently.

Hope blossomed in Anakin's chest and he looked up at the older man with wet, desperate eyes. "Do you know? How to keep her from dying? I'll do anything. Please, Master Qui-gon-" his voice cracked with emotion and he let out a wet sob. "I'll do anything. Please… I can't live without her."

The Force ghost knelt down in front of him and placed his hand on Anakin's knee, but he didn't feel it. He sniffled. "Palpatine is lying to you, young one," Qui-gon replied gently. "There is no way to cheat death."

Not for the first time that night, Anakin's world crashed down around him. He buried his face in his hands and let out a strangled cry. "No! Palpatine is my friend. He wouldn't lie to me. He wants to help!"

Qui-gon frowned. "Is that what you think?"

"Yes!" Anakin snapped angrily. The krayt dragon wrapped around his heart reared its head once again. "The Chancellor has been a better mentor that any of the Jedi! The Council doesn't trust me. Half the Order looks down at me. All they've ever cared about is the stupid prophecy. That's I've ever been to anyone," he added bitterly. "Even Obi-wan. He's always been so obsessed with kriffing Code! I could have saved my mother if he had just let me- just listened to me. But all he did was brush me off! Obi-wan was never there when I needed him– he didn't even want to train me! He only took me on because you told him too. The Chancellor is the only one who has ever been there for me."

"You don't find it the least bit curious?" Qui-gon asked, quietly. Anakin glared up at him with a mix of anger and confusion. "Doesn't it seem strange that the newly minted Chancellor of the Galactic Republic took such an interest in a nine-year-old boy? He'd been on Coruscant for years before I brought you here. But in all that time, he never showed the least bit of interest in mentoring padawan learners. Or any other child for that matter. Tell me, Anakin. When did he begin to take an interest in you?"

The older man stroked his beard and waited for an answer. "After the celebration on Naboo," Anakin whispered hoarsely.

"After you blew up the droid control ship," Qui-gon corrected. "Before that he never noticed you, did he? Not until he saw your potential… He's using you, Anakin," he finished bluntly. Anakin flinched at the realization. "He's been using you from the moment you stepped out of that Starfighter. Grooming you to fit his purposes. Everything he's said to you has been a lie to gain your trust."

Anakin's stomach roiled and struggled to keep the bile in his throat down. "He wouldn't," he replied weakly. "He's my friend. He-"

"Search your feelings," Qui-gon urged. "You know it to be true."

His anger fell out from underneath him, leaving him empty of everything but the painful realization. Everything he had confided in the man all of these years, all of the advice he'd received washed over him. He shivered.

Unable to hold it any longer, Anakin rolled onto his hands and knees and vomited on the tile. Qui-gon continued to kneel beside him, the only comfort he could give.

Good, Anakin! Good… Kill him… Kill him now. DO IT!

I'm surprised they haven't knighted you yet. After your heroism on Ansion… I guess Master Kenobi just isn't ready to let you go. Ironic isn't it?

I can imagine your frustration. Placing you in those classes with the younglings is an insult to your intelligence and frankly insensitive. Have they no one to spare to catch you up on lessons privately?

You did well Anakin. He was too dangerous to be kept alive.

There's nothing to be ashamed of, my young friend. They tortured and killed your mother. It's only natural that you would seek revenge. As I understand it, the Sand People have done nothing but reave and rape since they first appeared on Tatooine. You've done the Galaxy a favor wiping them out.

After what felt like an eternity, Anakin sat up on his knees and dragged a shaky hand across his mouth. His shoulders sagged.

"It doesn't matter," he whispered. "I don't care what happens to me. I have to save her."

"How would Padmé feel if she knew you had turned to the dark side and betrayed everything you've ever upheld, just to save her? You don't even know that it will do anything. In all likelihood, Palpatine is behind the dreams that plague you. To force you to play your cards-"

"You don't understand, Master. I love her."

Qui-gon scowled. "Don't understand? I understand more than you think, young one. I was in love once. She died in my arms. I could have killed the man responsible - believe me I wanted to – but I knew it was a dishonor to her memory. She wouldn't have wanted to see me a murderer." His voice softened. "Even if what you saw was a true vision, you have no way of telling how it will come to pass. You must be mindful of the future, Anakin. For all that you know, trying to save her by bowing to the Sith could be the very thing that kills her."

"Then what can I do?"

Qui-gon's image wavered before him. "I cannot tell you. That, you need to figure out for yourself."

Anakin stared up at the Force ghost beseechingly. "Please, Master," he begged. "Just tell me what to do-"

"There are rules, coming to you from beyond the veil, Anakin. Rules that cannot be broken." His image wavered again. "I'm afraid my time here is at an end. Trust me, Anakin. Don't go to Palpatine."

"But-"

"You must trust in the Force. Your place is here."

With that, the ghost of Qui-gon dissolved into thin air. But his voice remained.

In a soft whisper, nearly inaudible, Anakin heard the words: ward right and guard your heart from the darkness.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Palpatine scowled at the self-righteous, bald Jedi in front of him.

He had prolonged this duel as much as he could, toying with Windu and refraining from inflicting any real damage to the man. In any other circumstance, Sidious might have applauded the man for his expertise in Vapaad. But not now that all of his carefully laid plans were in jeopardy.

The boy hadn't come.

The years he had spent training the boy, listening to his whiny, teenage dribble. Carefully planting the seeds of his fall that would take years to come to fruition. Every detail meticulously planned and executed. All of those rumors among the Jedi about Skywalker being the Chosen One (he mentally spat in disgust – Foolish Jedi and their prophecies. The future must grabbed and molded into what you want, not passively waited upon!). The death of Shmi Skywalker. Turning the boy against his Master. All done to ostracize him from the Jedi. And playing on Skywalker's fear of losing his wife? That had been the linchpin.

Windu sprung back into the duel. Palpatine knocked him aside with ease.

His Master might have been able to manipulate Midichlorians to create life, but he found that simple solutions were often the best. Plagueis always had a flare for the dramatic, he thought. All he had had to do was have her birth-control pills swapped with placebos…

He had been prepared for it to take months of switching meds for her to become pregnant. But he thought it would be worth it. At best, a child would make Skywalker fall harder – and an excellent hostage to keep the man in line. At worst, an insurance policy just in case he lost his grasp on Skywalker. He almost laughed to himself. Oh, his dark joy when the whore had stepped into his office to blather about peace negotiations and he had felt it. Two tiny bundles of life, ripe with Force potential. Two! And only a month after his deception! Skywalker was more virile than he had anticipated.

Forcing back yet another attack, Windu retreated to catch his breath. "You've lost, Sidious," he wheezed, a sparkle of understanding in his eyes. "He's not coming."

"Fool Jedi!" Palpatine spat. The gall of this man, to throw his failures in his face. "I may have lost Skywalker, but it is you who has lost!"

Done with the charade in front of him, Palpatine whipped out his hands and pushed the Jedi out the nearby window and into traffic. The look on Windu's face as he fell was a delicious sight he' remember for years to come.

The threat removed, because even Windu - the Corellian cockroach that he was - couldn't have survived that fall, Palpatine stepped closer to the window and nudged the purple lightsaber over the edge.

He pulled his comlink out of his robes and lifted it to his mouth. "Execute Order 66."

If he couldn't have Skywalker, no one would.