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| - Padmé headed through the Temple, not seeing anyone, her focus on her own thoughts. How could it be that so much had happened in so little time? Was it only yesterday afternoon that she and Anakin had emerged from the Invisible Hand with Obi-Wan? It seemed a lifetime ago, what with Obi-Wan confiding his worries about Anakin and seeing Danta and Bail Organa that morning. So intent on her thoughts she almost walked into C-3PO as the protocol droid came around the corner with his short, stumpy counterpart. “Oh, Mistress Padmé!” The droid made a worried gesture with his hands. “I do hope you are unhurt.” “I’m fine, Threepio,” Padmé said with a smile. “No harm done.” “One has to be sure,” Threepio said with another flourish. “I do consider myself to be quite clumsy, and perhaps that is why Master Anakin has left me here.” Padmé grinned again, Anakin had told her the real reason he had left Threepio at the Temple was that the droid constantly got on his nerves at the worst moments. Yet C-3PO did have his merits, some of which were being employed for Jedi intelligence purposes. He was considerably more presentable than when Anakin had brought him back from Tatooine. His dented metal body now shone with a gold hue that was almost blinding. “Do you find you’re duties here satisfying, Threepio?” Padmé asked conversationally. “Well, that is a matter of taste, Miss Padmé,” confided the droid. “My primary functions are in protocol and etiquette, but it seems they are somewhat secondary to the other measures I find myself employed in. It has been better since you arrived,” Threepio added, “Artoo and I, as well as several other droids and intelligence officers, have been extracting data from the Invisible Hand.” “That’s wonderful,” Padmé said, and she meant it as it could only help the war effort, but Threepio took the compliment personally. “Oh, thank you Miss Padmé,” trilled the protocol droid. “It does give me pleasure to know that my efforts are not wasted. And I must say—” Artoo took this moment to chirp a comment that caused Threepio to stop short. Padmé had to stifle a laugh, sometimes the little astromech could be very astute. “What is it Artoo?” demanded Threepio. Artoo mumbled something and beeped softly. “Oh, oh yes.” Threepio turned from his counterpart to look at Padmé. “I must tell you that Master Anakin is looking for you. He seemed quite anxious to find you this morning.” “Was he?” This was of no surprise to Padmé. “Do you know where he is?” “I’m not quite sure,” Threepio replied. “I saw him earlier but he pushed past me without another word, which seemed quite odd as I heard that he was given a position on the Jedi Council.” What? This was a complete surprise to Padmé. Yet why is Anakin so upset about it? she asked herself as the protocol droid continued talking, but it seems a little sudden… Padmé quickly interrupted him. “Um, Threepio?” “Yes, Miss Padmé?” “Which way did he go?” “That way.” Threepio gestured. “Thank you.” “You’re perfectly welcome, Miss Padmé.” But she had already gone. She found Anakin in the map room, examining a holographic readout of Tatooine. He didn’t say anything when she came in, merely scanned through the various items of data and muttering how life used to be so much simpler. “Anakin?” Padmé approached him. “Threepio told me how you’re on the Council now. That’s amazing, I'm so proud and Obi-Wan must be too.” “Obi-Wan is like the rest of them,” Anakin murmured. “Sorry?” Anakin slid down onto the floor, Padmé sat next to him. “Anakin, what’s wrong?” she asked. “I may be on the Council, but…” he looked up at her, “they refused to accept me as a Jedi Master.” “But why?” This had never occurred before in the Order. Surely there were reasons… “I’m only on there because of Palpatine, Padmé,” he explained to her. “He said he wanted me to be the voice of the Republic on the Council, help them do the right things but they refuse to recognise me.” “Anakin you must have patience,” Padmé advised. “In time they will recognise your skills. But before that you’ve got to ask why you are on the Council at all.” “But I know that,” Anakin told her. “Palpatine said—” “I know what Palpatine said,” Padmé interrupted. “But why has he chosen you?” “Because he trusts me,” Anakin retorted. “And those on the Council don’t.” Padmé realised that she was getting nowhere and wondered why Obi-Wan had approached her at all. But she wasn't done yet. “Anakin, try and see this from Obi-Wan’s point of view,” Padmé pleaded, she had managed to do this before so there was no harm in doing so again. “On one hand there’s the war where Grievous stands in the way of the end, on the other hand you’ve got Palpatine with his stringent security measures that go against everything the Republic and the Jedi Order stand for.” She paused. “And then there’s the Jedi right in the middle of it all trying to hold everything together.” She glanced up at Anakin. “Would I be right in guessing that Obi-Wan didn’t want to put you in this position?” “Yes,” replied Anakin, “but how did you know?” “Because he would rather you stayed out of it all and has no choice but to go along,” Padmé told him with a dry smile. “So where does that leave me?” Anakin demanded. For a moment Anakin was silent. “Anakin, I don’t know exactly what Obi-Wan asked you to do and I'm not going to ask,” she said. “But whatever it is, he would never have asked you to do it if he knew it would turn out bad for you in the end.” “But the Chancellor befriended me—” Anakin protested but Padmé cut him off. “I know, Anakin,” she said as she got to her feet. “And maybe that’s why Obi-Wan didn’t want to ask you to do this. But the fact is he has and there is another reason for it other than the one you think.” She left him then to ponder these words, not looking back. In another part of the Temple, Obi-Wan, Mace, Yoda and Nju sat in discussion. From where they were, quite high in one of the spires beneath the Council chamber, they could see the steady thrum of air traffic pass by. Obi-Wan normally found this calming, but not today. “Anakin did not take to his assignment with much enthusiasm,” he said. “Too much under the sway of the Chancellor, he is,” observed Yoda. “You weren't there,” Obi-Wan argued. “You didn’t see his face. I think we’ve done a terrible thing.” “We don’t always have a right answer,” countered Nju gently. “Sometimes there isn’t a right answer.” “Sometimes we have to be answers,” Mace added. “Know how important your friendship with young Anakin is, I do,” murmured Yoda. “But allow such attachments to pass out of life, a Jedi must.” Obi-Wan gave a long sigh. “I suppose,” he said resignedly. “He is the Chosen One, after all. The prophecy says that he was to bring balance to the Force, but…” Obi-Wan’s voice trailed off, all he could think of was Anakin’s face. “Yes, always in motion the future is,” stated Yoda. “And the prophecy, misread it could have been.” “And we still don’t know what bringing balance to the Force might mean,” Nju reminded them. “We have no way of anticipating this or knowing what it might involve.” “An infinite mystery is the Force,” agreed Yoda. “The more we learn the more we discover how much we do not know.” There was another moment of silence. “I should have argued more strongly in Council, today,” Obi-Wan said, yet knowing his words were hollow. “Much anger there is in young Anakin,” Yoda remarked. “Too much pride in his powers.” “It's very dangerous, putting them together,” noted Mace. “I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him.” “He'll be all right,” Obi-Wan reassured. “I trust him with my life.” “I wish I did,” said Windu. “But that is precisely the problem,” Obi-Wan complained. “For Anakin, there is nothing more important than friendship. He is the most loyal man I have ever met, loyal beyond all reason. Despite all that I have tried to teach him about how sacrifices are at the heart of being a Jedi, it is never something that I think he will understand.” “I thought you had confidence in his abilities,” Nju said. “I do, I do,” Obi-Wan replied. “He will not let me down. He never has. The problem is,” here he fell silent again, remembering Anakin's face, “that after what we have done to him today I don’t think he’ll ever trust us again. And,” he added cautiously, “I’m not entirely sure he should.”
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