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| - On the landing platform of the Alderaanian consulate, Bail Organa waited nervously. He had had several serious talks with Mon Mothma, Danta and other influential senators for most of the day and his arguments had hit home with them. But what they needed, as Danta had said from the very beginning, were some ‘big guns’ so what they proposed had weight. The Jedi could be one of these, but he was not willing to rely solely on them. That was why he had contacted an old friend: Chiron Dunai the former Senator of Mamphra. The system had been separate from the Republic for a number of years but had not joined forces with the Separatists nor needed to. The Mamphrans were quite capable of defending themselves. But that was not why he had contacted Chiron Dunai, the last thing they all wanted was to start another war. What they needed was a solution they could put all of their arguments behind, and Dunai had said he had found one. Yet it was not the familiar face of his former colleague that disembarked the starship, but the slight form of a young woman wearing a deep violet dress with a veil of a similar hue that shrouded her hair. “Senator Organa?” she asked. “I apologise for my father not being here, he has taken ill. I am Lefki Dunai and he has appointed me to represent him.” “No apologies needed,” Bail said smoothly, escorting her inside. “All that I need to know is the fact you are here and you bring what he said he would.” “There is no question of that,” she replied with a smile, and for a moment Bail was reminded of her father. Later when Mon Mothma and Danta had arrived, Lefki outlined what her father had proposed. “I know it is extreme,” she said when she had finished. “But he told me several times that it was the best course of action to take.” “But making a petition—”Mon Mothma objected. “Will do nothing,” Lefki interjected. “By all means do as a cover, but don’t expect it will get anywhere. Not with all the power the Chancellor has already.” “Are these your own thoughts or Chiron’s?” Bail asked, intrigued. “Both,” Lefki replied, with a smile. “We tend to see things eye to eye.” “Once thesa is done, what wesa do next?” Danta asked. Lefki displayed the rest of the documents. “The main thing is you have to do it in a way that the only questions that can be raised is that why didn’t anyone push for this before,” Lefki explained. “I know it’s asking a lot, but unless you do that Palpatine’s supporters are going to raise so much ire that excuses are going to be made for him.” “The question is,” Bail considered, “how we are going to go about it?” Mon Mothma stared at him. “I don’t like this,” she objected. “This is dirty, back-room politics. Surely we do not want to lower ourselves to Palpatine’s standards?” “What is the alternative?” Lefki asked. “I’ve considered this myself and all I can see is using undue force, which normally makes this a lot worse.” “That's right,” Bail agreed with conviction. “And as for lowering ourselves, haven’t we done that already? By even suggesting the idea of not trusting Palpatine we’ve already dirtied our hands.” Mon Mothma considered this, but didn’t reply. Anakin found Palpatine outside his office examining at a large holographic display of the galaxy that was projected in the air in behind the rails of a balcony. Here and there were spots outlined in blue where Republic forces were engaged in combat and red worlds that were under Separatist control. Below the hologram they could see the floor below and some of the workings of the Senate. Somehow, Anakin thought with a smile, it brings everything into perspective. Yet that thought gave him a sour feeling inside when he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “It appears that I have some good news for you after all this,” Palpatine said, gently waving a hand at the holographic display. He handed Anakin a holocube. Anakin activated it, the device projected the figure of Grievous followed by a tan-green coloured planet. “You've found him!” Anakin said with a smile. “Well, not me personally,” Palpatine admitted. “It was Clone Intelligence, they discovered he was hiding in the Utapau system.” “At last,” Anakin murmured triumphantly, he closed his fist over the holocube. “We’ll be able to capture the monster and end this war.” “Personally, I would worry about the collective intelligence of the Council if they didn’t select you for this assignment. You’re their best choice by far,” said the Chancellor with a smile. “But they can’t always be trusted to do the right thing.” “They try,” Anakin replied, defending the Council on Obi-Wan’s behalf. “Guards, leave us.” Palpatine said, and the red guards who had been hovering in the background until then departed. Once they were alone, Palpatine smiled sadly at Anakin. “Anakin, you know I’m not able to rely on the Jedi Council,” he confessed. “If they haven't included you in their plot, they soon will.” “What…what do you mean?” Anakin asked in surprise. “You must sense what I have come to suspect,” insisted Palpatine. “The Jedi Council want control of the Republic.” He looked at Anakin. “They're planning to betray me.” Anakin wasn't convinced. Surely those on the Council might not like the Chancellor, but wasn't this going a bit too far? “I don’t think—” “Anakin, search your feelings. You know, don't you?” Palpatine’s gaze was penetrating, for a moment Anakin looked away. “I know that they don’t trust you,” the young Jedi admitted reluctantly. “Or the Senate,” Palpatine continued, “or the Republic, or democracy for that matter.” “I have to admit that my trust in them has been shaken,” said Anakin. Ever since they said I was on the Council in name-only, he added in thought, ever since they refused to make me a Master. But this seemed new to Palpatine. “Why?” He examined Anakin with interest. “Have they asked you to do something dishonest?” Anakin didn’t answer, he didn’t trust himself to. “They asked you to spy on me, didn’t they?” Anakin stared at him. “I…I don’t know what to say,” he stammered. “Oh, I don’t mind, Anakin,” said Palpatine with a chuckle. “I have nothing to hide.” He paused for a moment, examining the hologram. “Do you remember when you were a small boy and I tried to teach you the ins and outs of politics?” “Vaguely,” replied Anakin. “From what I can recall I wasn’t particularly interested in those lessons.” “For any lessons, if I remember correctly,” said Palpatine. “Never mind, I told you that to understand politics is to understand power itself. And all those who attain power are afraid to lose it.” He caught Anakin’s eye at this point. “Even the Jedi.” “But the Jedi use their power for good,” insisted Anakin. “Good is a point of view, Anakin,” remarked Palpatine. “The Jedi concept of power is not the only one. The Sith on the other hand…” Anakin felt a shiver as Palpatine said the words “…they believed in justice and security but are considered by the Jedi to be…” “Evil,” finished Anakin, remembering his vision. Anything that was going to kill Padmé he considered evil. But Palpatine waived this. “That’s a Jedi’s point of view.” He looked at Anakin. “Isn’t evil a name we put on those who threaten us?” “Um…yes,” Anakin reluctantly agreed. “The Sith and the Jedi are very similar in their quest for greater power,” continued Palpatine. “Where they differ is that the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are the more powerful.” “The Sith rely on their passion for strength,” said Anakin. “They think inward, only about themselves.” Yet he knew his words sounded hollow, he could have been repeating something that Obi-Wan or Master Windu said. “And the Jedi don’t?” queried the Chancellor. “The Jedi are selfless,” insisted Anakin. “We erase the self to join the flow of the Force. We care about others.” Palpatine smiled quietly. “Or so you have been taught to believe,” he murmured. “Tell me, if the Jedi are so selfless, why is it that they have asked you to do something that is wrong?” Anakin was silent again. “I’m…” He could feel his face get hot with the embarrassment. “I'm not sure it’s wrong.” “Have you been asked to betray the Jedi Code?” Palpatine asked. “The Constitution? A friendship? Your own values?” Anakin did not reply. “Think, Anakin! I have always tried to teach you to think,” the politician urged. “You need to consider their motives and keep your mind clear of any assumptions. The fear or losing power is a weakness of both the Jedi and the Sith.” Just as Anakin was wondering where Palpatine could have possessed such knowledge of the Sith, the Chancellor surprised him again. “This brings to mind a curious legend,” Palpatine said meditatively. “Anakin, have you heard the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?” “Um…no, I don’t think I have,” admitted Anakin. “Well, it’s not surprising,” said the Chancellor. “It’s not a tale that the Jedi would choose to tell. It’s a Sith legend.” Palpatine paused for a moment. “It says that Darth Plagueis was such a powerful Sith Lord that he could actually influence the midi-chlorians that create life.” Here Palpatine paused again, gazing at Anakin expectantly. Anakin found himself listening intently. “He could also save the ones he cared about from dying,” added Palpatine. “He could actually save people from death?” Anakin asked. “With such knowledge of life, stopping death was but a little thing to him,” Palpatine replied slowly. “In my experience, the dark side of the Force is a path to many abilities some consider to be… unnatural.” “What happened to him?” Anakin demanded, he could get this much philosophy from Obi-Wan. “Well,” said Palpatine slowly. “He became so powerful that all he feared was losing it. He taught his apprentice everything he knew and the apprentice killed him in his sleep. Very ironic,” remarked the Chancellor with a dry smile. “He could save others from death but he could not save himself.” “And the apprentice?” Anakin prompted “Your interest in this Anakin, is quite surprising,” Palpatine noted, fortunately he didn’t question it and went on with the story. “His apprentice becomes one of the greatest Dark Lords the Sith had ever known.” “Is it possible,” said Anakin, his heart racing at what he had just heard, “possible at all, to learn this power?” “Well,” admitted Palpatine with a shrug, “not from a Jedi.” It was late when Padmé entered Bail Organa’s apartment, the Alderaanian senator was garbed in a light grey tunic and he invited Padmé to sit across from him. “There’s something I need to ask of you,” she told him. “Go ahead.” Padmé took a deep breath and then began. “I haven’t told anyone of what you are planning,” she explained to him. “But there’s one other Jedi I wish to approach so I can give you more of an idea as to what might happen.” “And you trust him?” Bail asked. “Implicitly,” Padmé replied without hesitation. Bail thought for a moment. “Fine, it can’t hurt,” he said. “Just don’t tell Mon Mothma that I said this to you.” “I understand,” Padmé nodded. “She is still hesitant about you being included in this,” he told her. “Included?” Padmé asked. “I wouldn’t go so far to say that.” “My worst fear is that if we fail that you will be implicated too, as well as other Jedi,” Bail confessed. “That all depends on what you decide to do,” Padmé reminded him. “And there can be no question about it being just, can there?” Bail didn’t answer for a moment, he laid a document reader on the table before her. Padmé examined it and started in surprise. “That’s….” “The Chancellor’s seal? Yes it is.” Bail quickly put it away. “But this can…” Padmé shook her head. “I don’t understand this.” “This is what it has come to,” Bail told her. “We want to save the Republic, and this means doing things we consider…questionable.” “But falsifying documents?” Padmé stared at him. “And who is to say that even if you do act in this way Palpatine will able to manoeuvre politically so as to discredit you?” Bail smiled. “You should have been a politician, Padmé,” he observed. “I’m no politician, I’m just following my instincts,” she insisted. “But this…” She held up her hands in surrender. “It can explode all over you and destroy everything you’ve worked for.” “That is a risk I am prepared to take,” Bail told her. “What would really suit our purposes is if we were able to trip Palpatine up by exposing something he actually did do.” “That could never happen,” Padmé said. “He may have been made a dictator but he’s not stupid.” “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Bail remarked. “Dictators normally create their own enemies.” Yet Padmé was not sure if she could agree.
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