Chapter 65: Star Wars : Chapter 65: Council against the Senate II
The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic sat at the small desk in his private office, staring distractedly at an abstract twist of neuranium that Anakin had always assumed was supposed to be some kind of sculpture, and merely sighed, as though he had matters of much greater importance on his mind.
"I'm sorry, sir," Anakin said, shifting his weight in front of Palpatine's desk. Chancellor, we have just received a report from Master Kenobi. We can confirm that General Grievous has been eliminated, and Master Kenobi and his forces are currently clearing out Separatist forces at Utapau"
"I must say, that is quite impressive, given his own experiences at the entire course of the war".
"I should be there with him"
"Yes, yes, of course, Anakin. Yes, quite." Palpatine still looked as if he was barely paying attention. "I entirely understand your concern for your friend. Let us hope he is up to the task"
"He already has, Chancellor.", Master Fisto said, adding hostility to the title. "Maul, Savage and Viszla could attest to that",
"It's not just concern for Obi-Wan, sir; taking General Grievous is the final victory for the Republic—!"
"Will it?" He turned to Anakin, and a distinctly troubled frown chased the distraction from his face. "I'm afraid, my boy, that our situation is a great deal more grave than even I had feared. Perhaps you should sit down." Anakin didn't move
"What do you mean?"
"Grievous is not the real enemy. Even the Clone Wars themselves are now only... a distraction."
"Is he...giving a clue as to who he is to Master Skywalker?", Caleb observed, seeing the Chancellor to be giving away an idea for him.
"Remember, Anakin has always been close to the Chancellor for years in the process of turning him into his apprentice", Mundi reminded his fellow Jedi. "Under the visage of a charismatic, yet deceiving, politician"
"What?"
"The Council is about to make its move," Palpatine said, grim and certain. "If we don't stop them, by this time tomorrow the Jedi may very well have taken over the Republic."
Anakin burst into astonished laughter. "But sir—please, you can't possibly believe that—"
"Anakin, I know. I will be the first to be arrested—the first to be executed—but I will be far from the last."
The Jedi were now uneasy. It looked like as if Palpatine knew how the Jedi would act and how he could use this to his advantage.
"Given Skywalker's friendship to Sidious, albeit unknowingly, the Sith Lord is planting him the seeds of doubt regarding the Order. And the process of turning him to the dark side", Windu observed.
"At the same time, turned him away from the light, we have", Yoda reluctantly admitted, a feeling shared with Obi-Wan.
Anakin could only shake his head in disbelief. "Sir, I know that the Council and you have... disagreements, but—"
"This is far beyond any personal dispute between me and the members of the Council. This is a plot generations in the making—a plot to take over the Republic itself. Anakin, think you know they don't trust you. They never have. You know they have been keeping things from you. You know they have made plans behind your back—you know that even your great friend Obi-Wan has not told you what their true intentions are... It's because you're not like them, Anakin—you're a man, not just a Jedi."
Anakin's head drew down toward his shoulders as though he found himself under enemy fire. "I don't—they wouldn't—"
"Ask yourself: why did they send you to me with this news? Why? Why not simply notify me through normal channels?"
And take careful note of his reaction. We will need a full account.
"Sir, I—ah—"
"No need to fumble for an explanation," he said gently.
"You've already as much as admitted they've ordered you to spy upon me. Don't you understand that anything you tell them tonight—whatever it may be—will be used as an excuse to order my execution?"
"By this time, we never had intention to harm the Chancellor. Only to compel him to give back his emergency powers", Saesee Tiin said.
"Unless he acted first, we could not know the full extent of his plan at that matter", Mundi added. "Given his intelligence, he knows when and where to put any disadvantage to his advantage"
"That's impossible—" Anakin sought desperately for an argument. "The Senate—the Senate would never allow it—"
"The Senate will be powerless to stop it. I told you this is bigger than any personal dislike between the Council and myself. Iam only one man, Anakin. My authority is granted by the Senate; it is the Senate that is the true government of the Republic. Killing me is nothing; to control the Republic, the Jedi will have to take over the Senate first."
Kriff it! Just what are you trying to poison him with, Palpatine?!, Obi-Wan fumed, wishing that he remained in Coruscant to help Anakin.
"But the Jedi—the Jedi serve the Senate—!" "Do they?" Palpatine asked mildly. "Or do they serve certain Senators?"
"This is all—I'm sorry, Chancellor, please, you have to understand how this sounds..."
"Here—" The Chancellor rummaged around within his desk for a moment, then brought forth a document reader. "Do you know what this is?"
Anakin recognized the seal Padme had placed on it. "Yes,sir—that's the Petition of the Two Thousand—"
"No, Anakin! No!" Palpatine slammed the document reader on his desktop hard enough to make Anakin jump. "It is a roll of traitors."
Anakin went absolutely still. "What?"
"There are, now, only two kinds of Senators in our government, Anakin. Those whose names are on this so-called petition," Palpatine said, "and those whom the Jedi are about to arrest."
"What?!", exclaimed just about any Jedi in the chamber.
Anakin could only stare.
He couldn't argue. He couldn't even make himself disbelieve.
He had only one thought.
Padme... ?
How much trouble was she in?
"Didn't I warn you, Anakin? Didn't I tell ylou what Obi-Wan was up to? Why do you think he was meeting with the leaders of this... delegation... behind your back?"
"But—but, sir, please, surely, all they asked for is an end to the war. It's what the Jedi want, too. I mean, it's what we all want, isn't it? Isn't it?"
"Perhaps. Though how that end comes about may be the single most important thing about the war. More important, even, than who wins."
Oh, Padme, Anakin moaned inside his head. Padme, what have you gotten yourself into?
"Their... sincerity... may be much to be admired," Palpatine said. "Or it would be, were it not that there was much more to that meeting than met the eye."
Anakin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Their... petition... was nothing of the sort. It was, in fact a not-so-veiled threat." Palpatine sighed regretfully. "It was a show of force, Anakin. A demonstration of the political power the Jedi will be able to muster in support of their rebellion."
Anakin blinked. "But—but surely—" he stammered, rounding Palpatine's desk, "surely Senator Amidala, at least, can be trusted..."
"I understand how badly you need to believe that," the Chancellor said. "But Senator Amidala is hiding something. Surely you sensed it."
The Jedi were becoming agitated. They could see Palpatine trying to tell Anakin that what the Jedi intended is a forceful (no pun intended) takeover of the Republic and the arrest of many of Palpatine's supporters who were Senators. However, as protectors of the Republic, they are to make sure that power is bestowed to the people, and that there is a need to remove Palpatine to save the Republic from becoming a dictatorship and eventually the Empire as they knew it.
"Palpatine knew when to act and how to hypothesize scenarios given on how he had dragged the Clone Wars this far", Mundi spoke with reluctance. " A genius. A diabolical one. But a genius nonetheless"
"If she is—" Anakin swayed; the floor seemed to be tilting under his feet like the deck of Invisible Hand. "Even if she is," he said, his voice flat, overcontrolled, "it doesn't mean that what she is hiding is treason."
Palpatine's brows drew together. "I'm surprised your Jedi insights are not more sensitive to such things."
"I simply don't sense betrayal in Senator Amidala," Anakin insisted.
Palpatine leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers, studying Anakin skeptically. "Yes, you do," he said after a moment. "Though you don't want to admit it. Perhaps it is because neither you nor she yet understands that by betraying me, she is also betraying you.''
"She couldn't—" Anakin pressed a hand to his forehead; his dizziness was getting worse. When had he last eaten? He couldn't remember. It might have been before the last time he'd slept. "She could never..."
"Of course she could," Palpatine said. "That is the nature of politics, my boy. Don't take it too personally. It doesn't mean the two of you can't be happy together."
"What—?" The room seemed to darken around him. "What do you mean?"
"Please, Anakin. Are we not past the point of playing childish games with one another? I know, do you understand? I have always known. I have pretended ignorance only to spare you discomfort."
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