SW Chapter 7 (Patreon)

En Route to Coruscant

Anakin POV

Hyperspace travel, a marvel of innovation, seemed almost too advanced to have been developed millennia ago. For a Force-sensitive, traveling through hyperspace was a unique experience. The currents beyond the viewport weren't just light and color; they had weight, texture, a presence that brushed against the edges of perception.

I sometimes wondered, without any real evidence, if there were even deeper layers to this. Older records hinted at other spaces beyond hyperspace—pocket voids, places recorded by Jedi of an older era.

Pulling back from my meditation, I reflected on the situation I'd found myself in. My conversation with Ta'an had been illuminating.I glanced toward the detention compartment where she sat behind the energy field. Her story had been more or less what I expected.

She had left Csilla, her homeworld in the Chiss Ascendancy, with a Force-sensitive friend named Vandalor. Finding the Ascendancy stifling, her ambition had chafed under the Chiss military's defensive constraints. She'd found a way out, traveled through the chaotic Unknown Regions, and eventually reached the Outer Regions of the Republic.

Ta'an was apparently part of a group called the Ozyly-esehembo, composed of young female Chiss who were Force-sensitive and capable of navigating hyperspace in real-time without a navicomputer. According to her, most girls in this group lost their Force sensitivity as they aged—how, I didn't know.But Ta'an was one of the few who had retained her connection to the Force, or more accurately, had hidden the fact that she still possessed it.

The information on the Chiss Ascendancy was informative, but what followed was crucial: Dooku hadn't found her by accident. No, Darth Tyranus had reached out to her and her companion first. This meant the Banite Sith had intelligence on the Ascendancy.

I grimaced. This wasn't good, though it was to be expected. They had plotted for millennia, scuttering like insects in the Republic's shadows. This was just the tip of the iceberg; only the Force knew what else they had plotted and hidden away.

Would the Sith of old applaud them or scorn them?

I shook my head, giving the viewport another glance before heading toward the main compartment. We were almost to Coruscant; the shift back into realspace would come soon. Ta'an, surprisingly, had been highly forthcoming and given information without falsehood.

After being picked up by Dooku, or Tyranus, he had taken them in as his students. Judging by the way she spoke, I could tell the training had not been kind. She had only survived by her capability of astrogation via the Force, which had bought her value, though she was weak when it came to the more flashy usage of the Force. I had to nod at that; it was an ability that even the Jedi had mostly forgotten. The era of Jedi Explorers and Seekers was long over. Now, the art of intrinsic astrogation was mostly seen if it was an ability that manifested naturally, which she had used to get the Sith attack ship close to the station and blindsided everyone.

I wasn't sure if the Order even had anyone that could do it.

Dooku had ordered her and the rest of her now dead compatriots to attack the talks with no other instruction. Ta'an hypothesized that it was a test from her former master—her words, not mine—a test for reasons unknown. Regardless, it was something I had expected. But something still kept bothering me: she hadn't mentioned the Yuuzhan Vong. Whether she didn't know or wanted to keep it to herself, I did not know. I did not want to push; all would be unveiled in due time. I had to focus on my immediate troubles.

The fact that my entire fight had been broadcast.

My lips twitched as I recalled the holocall I made back to the Temple after I had spoken with Ta'an.

The connection had taken a moment to stabilize. A Temple communications officer appeared first, looking quite tense after recognizing me, as though he had been waiting for this exact possibility.

"Padawan Skywalker," he said quickly. "We have standing instructions. Your call is to be routed directly to the High Council."

I only nodded. A moment later, the image shifted. Mace Windu stood at the forefront, his expression carved from stone. The iron control he was known for had not slipped; he stared at me in absolute neutrality.

You could never tell what the man was thinking.

"Skywalker," he said. "Report."

I did.

I kept the report clean and precise. I explained everything as I had experienced it: the summit, the warning from the Force, the unexplained failure of the station's shields, four dark-side users, the prisoner I now had in custody. Though I kept Ta'an's submission to myself. No need to add to the issues I had.

"Your battle was broadcast to the entire galaxy," he said. "The Jedi Order is facing questions from the Senate. The prevalent agenda is that a few Jedi attacked the summit."

"We know that is not true, Master. All we need to do is express the fact that it was the Sith that attacked the summit."

He stared at me with a clenched jaw. "The intention of the dark siders will be investigated by the Council. Is your prisoner compliant?"

"Yes, she is. I will bring her to the Temple. We are already en route to Coruscant," I answered, withholding a sigh at the words "darksiders."

There was a moment of silence as Mace Windu stared right through my soul. If I wasn't mistaken, the veins on his bald head pulsed faintly. At last, he gave a stiff nod.

"Very well. Bring the prisoner directly to the Temple. And Skywalker—" His voice dropped half a shade. "Be wary and do not let your guard down."

I inclined my head.

"Yes, Master. May the Force be with you."

"And with you."

The call cut.

I could have told him what Tann had given me. Until now, I had never possessed proof of Count Dooku's fall to the dark side. But I held back; they could find out on their own. I would have to wait until Ta'an was brought to the High Council. I was certain they would imprison her in the Temple detention center, which was made from saber-resistant materials.

It would be the best outcome for her, even if not for me. There had always been rumors among the Padawans—whispers of a more clandestine facility maintained by the Order for fallen Jedi and dark-side users. My friends and I had never been able to confirm its existence, but I suspected it was true.

I felt the weight of the corrupted kyber crystals I had taken from the fallen acolytes. They would have to be surrendered to the Archive of Forbidden Artifacts. Taking them had been the right choice, especially with how thoroughly the fight had been broadcast.

The ship shuddered as we dropped back into realspace. A brief announcement followed from the cockpit. Coruscant filled the viewport in a vast, glittering, dense sprawl.

I made my way toward the main compartment and found Padmé waiting with Captain Typho. She wore a snug white bodysuit beneath a cloak. Despite her outward composure, I could sense her turmoil.

I offered the duo a calm smile.

"Senator."

"Anakin," she returned, with a brief smile.

Typho's tone was far less warm. "Is it wise to leave the prisoner unsupervised?" The stiffness in his voice was unmistakable. I did not begrudge him for it. A rogue Force-user aboard a closed vessel was a legitimate concern. He had been against bringing Tann with us from the start and had wanted her transferred separately. Padmé had overruled him.

"She has been calm," I said. "There has been no attempt to escape."

He did not look convinced.

"I'm sure Anakin has it under control," Padmé said.

I gave her a small smile, then turned back to Typho. "Has a direct route to the Jedi Temple been approved?"

"It's in process," he replied. "Coruscant's atmospheric traffic is... what it is."

We waited. After a moment, Padmé addressed me again.

"Anakin, it's a shame we never found the time to talk about what really happened."

"My apologies, Senator. I was not in the right state for it."

She frowned slightly. "I see. It can't be helped, then." A pause. "Has she said anything?"

I considered how much to tell her.

"Yes. She is Chiss, from the Unknown Regions. She was trained by Count Dooku and sent to attack the talks."

Padmé's eyes widened. She brought the reaction under control almost at once, but not before I saw it.

"So I was right. It was the Count. He was behind my assassination. Behind all of it."

I merely shrugged, having no intention of offering her a fuller explanation. She wasn't entirely wrong.

Sabe approached from further down the compartment and offered me a reserved smile before leaning in to murmur something to Padmé. Padmé absorbed whatever it was, then looked at me.

"Since the Jedi will not hand the prisoner over to planetary authorities, several senators and members of the Judicial Department will be joining us at the Temple."

I raised an eyebrow, largely uninterested. It no longer mattered what they intended. The Order would take custody of Tann. The Jedi of this era might exist at the Senate's convenience in most things, but something told me this would not be one of them.

A brief silence settled over the compartment before the pilots announced that we were beginning our descent to the planet. Even with a direct route to the Temple, it would take us some time to reach it; the skies of Coruscant were just that congested with traffic in every skylane.

Sabe broke the silence that had fallen between us.

"I didn't know Jedi could fight like that, Anakin. You must be an incredible warrior."

I looked over at her and answered calmly, "Most Jedi are trained as warriors."

It was a safe reply. I could feel her probing, though I was not yet certain why.

"Oh my. Still, you must be exceptional."

I inclined my head. "Thank you, Sabe."

When I offered her nothing more, she smiled and tried another angle.

"After what happened... what do you think will come of it? It was all so sudden and so alarming, wasn't it, my lady?" She glanced toward Padmé as she said it, drawing her into the conversation.

I raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of them. The timing was too neat to be coincidence.

"What is this about, Senator?"

Padmé frowned at me for a moment, then smoothed her expression.

"Some of us—a few like-minded senators and certain organizations—will be working together to introduce clauses into the Military Creation Act. I would like the Jedi to support us in keeping the peace."

I looked at her intensely. "Organizations?"

"What organizations?"

She looked faintly uncomfortable. "The InterGalactic Banking Clan, for one. And others."

I shifted my weight slightly.

Clovis.

Interesting.

I was not blind to what had passed between the man and Padmé. From what I could tell, even Sabe had not been entirely uninvolved. It was surprising, in its way. For someone in Padmé's position to take such a risk, to be intimate in such a political setting—it was the kind of thing most would call reckless at best, and immoral at worst.

I was quietly glad I felt so little about it. If the original Anakin had been standing here, Palpatine might have gained a new apprentice before the day was out. The thought amused me.

Still, I kept my thoughts to myself and answered as neutrally as I could. After all, I did not represent the Jedi Order as a whole.

"That would depend, Senator. The Jedi will always fight for the peace and stability of the Republic. But what would these clauses actually do? I am surprised you are willing to accept the Act at all."

She nodded slowly. "We have to accept reality. As for the clauses... the plan is still rudimentary, but the intent is to bind any new military under strict oversight: limits on independent deployment, requirements for Senate authorization before major action, and restrictions on how and where force can be used without political consent."

I went still for a moment.

That could be very good. Or very, very bad.

Something told me it was the latter. I simply nodded.

Another announcement came through the comms. We would be landing at the Jedi Temple in five minutes. I turned back to the group. "I will get Tann. Will you be following us into the Temple, Senator?"

For some reason, she frowned at me again. Then her features smoothed.

"Yes," she said. "We will."

I moved through the ship without wasting time and retrieved Tann from the detention compartment. She rose as soon as the field dropped.

"We are at the Jedi Temple," I told her. "You will be taken before the High Council. If you give them a reason to treat you as a threat, they will."

She nodded, a faint smile touching her mouth. She seemed more curious than afraid.

Temple Guards, holding their pikes, were already waiting at the base of the ramp for us. We passed through the Temple gates quickly, with Padmé's group trailing behind us. Almost everyone we passed had seen the broadcast; their eyes found Tann first and stayed there.

She kept a polite smile on her face the entire way, a smile highly unbecoming of a Sith. We were nearly at the turbolift of the North Spire when a familiar voice called out behind me.

"Anakin."

I slowed, a smile forming on my face as I recognized the voice.

Faora Hu-Ul approached us with purposeful steps, looking exactly as she always did: sharp-featured, with short dark hair. Shorter than me, she was built like a lithe Loth-wolf, her dark Jedi robes flowing behind her as she made her way toward me. She was what most females would call a "girl crush," I thought, amused.

She gave Padmé's group a brief look, then fixed her gaze on Tann with far more intensity. After a moment, she stepped in close enough that only I would hear her.

"So this is the beginning," she murmured.

"Yes," I said, glancing down the hallway. "It is."

She nodded once. "You know my saber is yours."

I smiled at the sincerity in her voice. "I know. Thank you. We'll meet later."

She nodded and stepped aside as Tann, I, and the rest took the northwest spires' turbolift up. At the highest level, Padmé's group was directed aside. Tann was separated from me as well. One of the Temple Guards turned to me before I could question it.

"The Council wishes to speak with you first, Padawan Skywalker."

I nodded and stepped through the doors.

Unlike the last time I had stood in this chamber, there were only Masters Shaak Ti, Oppo Rancisis, Mace Windu, and, to my surprise, Master Yaddle, along with Grand Master Yoda.

I walked to the center of the room and bowed.

"Masters."

It was Yoda who spoke first. That alone was unusual; he almost never opened these sorts of conversations, preferring to listen first and then weigh in with his thoughts.

"A hard mission, yours has been," he said. "Tell us, what happened, you will."

I recounted the events just as I had with Master Windu. As I reached the part about my fight, Master Yaddle cut in before I could finish.

"How did they feel," she asked, "in the Force?"

"They felt twisted, Master," I said. "The Force in them was corrupted." I wanted to mention something about Tann but kept it to myself.

After all, I could feel that corruption in her; the Masters would see it too.

Her ears drooped slightly.

Yoda's eyes remained on me. "Fought, you did. Why not escort Senator Amidala and the others to safety first, hmm? Your mission, she was."

I met the little green Master's gaze.

"The Force led me to it. It felt like what I had to do."

"Hmm." He rubbed his chin and moved closer. I stilled at his approach.

"Heard through your friends, I have. Concerns, you have shared about our times. Speak then."

I stayed silent for a moment. It wasn't that I had kept it a secret, so I wasn't surprised the High Council members had heard of it.

"Darkness is upon us, Grand Master," I said. "And we, as Jedi, I feel must light the way."

"Hmm."

His presence unfolded, immense—a titan in the Force. He was a pillar of the light side, cultivated across centuries until it filled everything around us. His awareness reached toward me, probing.

I answered as I had with Tann.

I let my own presence rise and unravel like a supernova, flooding the space between us until everything else seemed to fade. For a moment, there were only the two of us in the Force.

Then the little green titan smiled at me.

Then he spoke a single word.

"Kneel."

I dropped to the floor on one knee.