(Coruscant System, Thirty minutes later)
More than fifteen minutes of unresponsive silence from the Temple followed my request for information. "Not even a 'please standby' or an 'unable to provide the information you've requested" I muttered. Concern beginning to crack the patina of calm I'd maintained for the first ten minutes.
Trying to act as Dark Woman would have wished, I focused on what I could do in the present. Studying Seraph's scanner returns on the situation that had by now moved into the system's outer reaches. Nearly all of the CDF's heavier capital ships were pursuing the remnants of the C.I.S task-group. Something like ten of the Recusants, plus a dozen Munificent frigates had formed up in a following half-sphere formation that had the surviving dreadnaught at it's heart. Totally unconcerned with their own survival, the warships making up said formation were acting as a trailing shield for the fleeing Malevolence's aft quarter. Soaking up turbolaser fire from four wedge formations made up of Venators and Dreadnaught cruisers busily hammering them into scrap, while bombers and starfighters zipped between firing arcs to launch concussion missiles or proton torpedoes at precisely chosen targets. Now that the vulture droids had been scoured from space, the Separatist vessels had no meaningful answer for the horde of small and nimble crafts, yet they remained for the moment an active impediment to the Republic warships trying to slag the enemy flagship's sub-light engines. A wing of Venators was working to simply overhaul the superweapon, but while they appeared to be faster than their quarry, it wasn't by much. Directing a silent query Seraph's way, I watched as the living ship's acute senses were translated by the sleekly grafted-on display into precise figures describing the rate of closure between the hunters and their quarry.
A check of the console chronometer confirmed my suspicions. Prompting me to shake my head, but otherwise keep the growing doubts concerning the likelihood of the Judicial Fleet stopping the wounded fleet-killer to myself. "It's been forty-five minutes since we crippled the Malevolence, and it doesn't look like that boarding action is going to be viable for several more minutes, minimum." The thought was a grim one, but I didn't see any reason to doubt my assessment of the available information.
A moment later, I sensed a split-second of confusion and subsequent disquiet from Padme. The related reactions meant she'd probably sensed my own growing uneasiness with the entire situation. Only to find herself wondering where she'd come by such a specific intuition. The Force Bond between us was certainly growing in depth and complexity at a speed I should probably have found alarming, but instead, I found the awareness of her in the back of my mind both comforting and curiosity-provoking. Had there been such a Bond between her and my counterpart in the Might Have Been? If so, I could easily see how it could have become a self-reinforcing part of that other Anakin's problem. Always being aware of what you had, and therefore stood to lose in such a visceral sense? That could definitely become fuel for a consumptive fear of loss, or the fodder to feed an ugly possessiveness.
Padme chose that moment to speak up in a concerned tone. Her voice wrenching me from my musings. "Perhaps your brothers and sisters have their hands full with the planet-side emergency. Couldn't that explain why there's been no response to your attempts to hail the Temple?" The question sounded reasonable enough, if you didn't possess an insider's knowledge of the Temple's deeper workings.
"The members of the High Council who haven't gone to locate saboteurs or help with the droids are almost certainly gathered in the Council's Situation Room. Given the nature and scope of the Separatist incursion, I'm not surprised the Council is unavailable, but there are always Jedi Knights on duty in the communications center. We aren't being jammed, so something's happened to the comm center itself. That's the only reasonable-" My mouth snapped shut in mid-explanation, as remembered images flitted through my mind's eye. Images that made me wonder, assuming I was right, just how much unpleasantness could possibly be squeezed into a single day.
Trying a different tack, I punched in the necessary code-keys to connect to S.B.I communications under the S.U.A (Special Unaffiliated Agent) identifier I'd been provided shortly after my Knighting. Requesting a secure comm-to-comm signal for one of the many frequencies I had memorized. The holo-comm remained dark for about thirty seconds, then Master Windu's bald head and upper shoulders suddenly appeared. Taking in the sight of the Senator to my right, he studied me for a moment, then asked "What have you got for me, Skywalker? We just lost the comm center to one of the walking bombs responsible for the planet-wide blackout and the damage to ground-side HoloNet relays, so I can't give you much time."
"Master Windu, I saw a flat-headed, roughly cube-shaped tech droid approximately point six meters tall enter the comm center by way of a ground-level service duct, then explode. After the explosion, my vision jumped to an irregular hole cut through a high-security door much like the one in the Archives. A male Duros was emerging from the hole, and he had a holocron in his hand" I replied in an urgent tone.
For just a moment, as the other man's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, I thought I'd finally fallen through the progressively thinner ice I'd been skating on with respect to my "visions" for years. Then the Jedi Master turned to one side, and began firing orders at Jedi I couldn't see. This went on for more than a minute, before his attention finally returned to me.
"Have you foreseen anything else the Council might choose to take into account?" The question was asked with Windu's usual calm restraint, but it contained some subtle, ineffable quality that made the words something like a challenge. It made me think the proverbial ice I'd so recently considered was now so thin a single wrong word could trigger my plunge through it.
Running a hand through collar-length hair only now beginning to darken, I loosened the tight rein I'd been holding on my feelings as I replied simply "I know that Dark Woman needs immediate medical attention. If I can feel her pain this keenly, her injuries must be severe enough they're preventing her from focusing."
It felt like there should be more I could say, more I could do for my Master, but I'd decided a very long time ago that I had to trust someone implicitly. It just so happened that, right now, trusting that someone meant not rushing off to do what I thought best. I knew it was possible that I might be abandoning to death the woman who'd gone to lengths which would horrify the blind and the ignorant to help me truly realize my potential. The mentor who by doing so had helped me discover a sense of self-worth which had eluded me for the entirety of my first life. It wasn't by any means an easy thing to do, but I also knew that real trust sometimes required faith. Faith strong enough that it saw you through putting another's judgment before your own, when everything in you screamed you should be doing the exact opposite.
Having turned slightly aside to nod in acknowledgement of something he was being told, Windu now seemed to consider me more closely. He studied me with a coolly impassive expression for several seconds, before his manner eventually softened. Inasmuch as Mace Windu could ever be said to soften, anyways. "I'm told that Master Vos rushed into the Halls of Healing a few minutes ago. He was carrying Dark Woman in his arms, despite his own considerable injuries. Circumstances obviously haven't provided opportunity for a debriefing, but he told Master Che that her injuries were the result of an explosion."
Shoulders hunching almost imperceptibly, his voice grew somber as he finished explaining "She was caught in the same blast which claimed the life of Master Poof."
Despite my continued concern for my Master, I closed my eyes and lowered my head at the terrible news. Allowing several moments to pass in a respectful silence, I finally looked up once more. A question in my eyes, and on my face.
Only to find the Jedi Master with a hand raised, and a resolute expression on his face. Anticipating my question, his head swung slowly from left to right in a gesture of negation, as he made his position clear. "For the time being, the High Council has decided to keep to itself the circumstances surrounding the serious injury of two Jedi Masters, and the death of one of it's members." He seemed to be waiting for me to object to this decision, but my focus was on carrying out the order I'd been given for an eventuality like this one.
"Dark Woman left a message for you specifically, Master Windu. In the event she was rendered unconscious as a result of severe injury, and returned to the Temple in that condition, I mean" I told the man promptly. I really did want to know who or what had gotten the better of my Master, but that desire paled to nothing, next to ensuring she got the sort of help she needed to recover.
For only the third time since I'd met him, Windu seemed completely caught out by something I'd said. He'd apparently thought I was really going to dig in and try to pry the details out of him, but his recovery was almost as fast as his reflexes.
"What did she say, Skywalker?" No cool, calm finesse this time. Just an insistent demand that had popped out as if by reflex. Demonstrating how deep his own concern really ran. It surprised me to realize he was actually almost as worried about Dark Woman as I was, but I didn't hesitate.
"My Master said that every effort should be made to return her to consciousness, then assist her in retaining her mental focus. Even if it means worsening her condition dramatically in the short-term. I've seen her use the healing trance to recover from injuries I would have considered almost immediately fatal if suffered by another, so that's almost certainly what she has in mind." I reported this in as calm and level a manner as I could manage. Knowing the Jedi Master I was speaking to always correlated credibility with control of one's emotions, and positive this was really all I could do for Dark Woman.
Seeming to consider what I'd said for only an instant, Mace nodded once, sharply. "I'll see to it the Chief Healer is made aware of this." He paused a moment, then added "Everything that can be done, will be done for her, Skywalker. Even if it means setting Master C'baoth and his devotees to fulfilling her directives." The words themselves weren't quite a promise, but the determined cast of his strong features made the statement the next best thing to one.
I was nodding my understanding, when I heard a number of distorted voices on his end that I couldn't make out. Whatever was being said, it snatched Windu's attention away again. Causing him to bark "Inform the Gatemaster there's more than one intruder, and send additional Guards to every exit!"
Looking as if his attention was being pulled in five different directions at once, his attention swung next to Padme. "Senator Amidala, One of your retainers appeared at the Temple gate a little more than an hour ago requesting she be admitted. I spoke to the Gatemaster, who conveyed to me the gist of the message she was hoping we could get to you. It seems appropriate I should pass on a concise summary of that message before I go."
Seeing he had her undivided attention, Windu continued, saying "Queen Neeyutnee has been trying without success to contact you since just before the beginning of the blackout and subsequent Separatist attack. Her Majesty was unwilling to share much with even so trusted an intermediary, but she did say the Gungan ambassador to the royal court was recalled without explanation a few hours ago. There was significant emphasis placed on the need for you to return to Naboo as soon as possible, Senator. That's what I was told, at any rate. You have my apologies that I couldn't arrange for the two of you to speak, but I hope you'll understand when I say the situation here is quite, hectic."
Shifting his attention back to me without waiting for a reply, the Master of the Order concluded by saying "Continue to protect the Senator, Skywalker. There's no reason to believe anything which has happened today will have altered the assassin's intent." I nodded my agreement with this, then waited, expecting him to continue. When he hesitated for a long moment, lips pursed as if deciding whether or not to say what was on his mind, I grew rather curious. Finally, with none of his characteristic decisiveness, Mace inquired "Skywalker, your capacity to perceive Shatterpoints. Has it, been diminished by any discernable degree?"
I frowned slightly at the sudden change of subject. Uncertain as to why this of all things was the question he lingered to ask. Especially with Cad Bane and his accomplice at large within the Temple. "If anything, Master Windu, I'd say my talent for seeing them, and my capacity to divine their nature has been steadily increasing of late. Why do you ask?"
"Merely curious as to your progress. It seemed reasonable to suspect you might have leveraged a shatterpoint, after I heard of your signal success against the Malevolence from Master Tiin." The reply sounded perfectly reasonable to my hearing, and the Jedi Master's face was it's usual study in stoic composure, but I couldn't shake the sudden conviction I'd just listened to Mace Windu tell me an outright lie. I thought I was successful in keeping my suspicion to that effect off my face, because a moment later he offered a very distracted "May the Force be With You", then terminated the connection before I could reply in kind.
I honestly didn't know what to think or say about any of this, but Padme didn't seem to share my ambivalence.
"Am I alone in feeling that conversation was as jarring as it was abrupt?" The beautiful brunette's question was asked in a polite tone, but I could feel the frustration rolling off her in waves. Caused by the way Windu had just dropped word of trouble on Naboo in her lap. Only to vanish without even mentioning whether or not her handmaiden had even been provided sanctuary from the fighting. I was briefly tempted to agree with her, but then I looked at the overall situation from the Jedi Master's point of view.
"I was hoping to gain a more coherent idea of what's been going on, myself, but I think we should just be grateful that Master Windu found the few minutes necessary to provide us with the information we truly needed. With all the demands being made on his attention, I'm inclined to forgive his not being more forthcoming." My reply seemed to take the edge off my companion's frustration. Especially after I looked at her directly and confidently added "You don't need to worry about Eirtae, Padme. I know the Temple's Gatemaster well enough to say Master Jurokk is not the kind of man who would allow a young woman's life to be needlessly endangered. Not as a result of doing her duty to her people."
Source of relief or not, I realized I might have put a foot wrong in attempting to reassure her when I saw the young Senator stiffen in response to my words. "Why would you know the name of the woman who handles my professional and personal correspondence, Anakin? With the exception of Sabe, I don't recall introducing any of the women from home who work with me." Despite the tight control of her tone as she asked the question, it's not hard to work out I've unwittingly raised the specter of suspicion.
Unlocking my chair from it's fixed-forward combat position, I swivel it to face a woman who obviously didn't want to think ill of me, but was being tempted to do it anyways. Looking her straight in the eye with a serious expression, I decided to tell her the unpleasant, unvarnished truth.
"If you want to be as certain as possible of killing a protected political figure, you either suborn or become someone close to said figure. The first, nearly successful attempt on the late Senator Greyshade's life? It was carried out by an ex-Senate Guard who'd stolen security codes belonging to a still serving Senate Guard, who just so happened to be his brother. The supposed "suicide" that constituted the second successful effort? Carried out by a beautiful Dark Side adept, who persuaded her hopelessly infatuated victim to dismiss his Jedi protectors. Senator Kim, Palpatine's predecessor as Senator of the Chommel Sector? Palpatine used his position as the Senator's "old friend" to learn of his planned movements, so he could pass that knowledge on to an assassin in his employ."
Looking at her evenly, I pressed my point even as she opened her mouth to reply. "Your friend, Senator Robb? She was undoubtedly murdered the same way. Disabling the security scanners in a Senatorial aircar isn't something done during a furtive two minute break-in under cover of darkness. If the assassin didn't use her driver in some way, I will eat my lightsaber, Padme. I would have been criminally remiss in my duty as your protector, if I hadn't run background checks on the women you rely on for so much."
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave me a challenging look as she answered "And what did you find? Any nefarious conspiracies involving women who have all risked their lives for me at one time or another?"
"No, but that's not the point, and you, milady, know it" I replied with a look of resolve that answered her challenge. As we sat there staring at each other, I couldn't help but notice how she somehow became even more beautiful when her emotions ran high. My gaze traveled from those flashing dark eyes, to the soft lines of her cheekbones, and on to a swan-like throat where I imagined pressing my lips to a throbbing pulse point for just an instant.
I had to suppress the urge to shake my head sharply as I snapped out of it. "So, ahh, Naboo then, Senator? I think we've accomplished everything we can here, for the time being, I mean." Thankfully, my question came out in the even tone I was trying for, if a little less smoothly than I might have otherwise wished.
The next moment was sublimely gratifying, as I saw her cheeks color a little, and felt the irritation of a moment ago vanish like smoke. Padme's recovery was so quick though, it reminded me why there were people who feared her poise and self-mastery. Her voice was perfectly controlled, as she replied after the briefest hesitation "I think that might be best, Master Jedi." Another momentary pause, then she frowned, and I could see the wheels really begin to turn behind those eyes. "I can't imagine why Boss Lyonie would recall the Gungan High Council's Ambassador to the Royal Court, but it must be serious if Jar Jar refused to offer any explanation. He wouldn't stay silent under these circumstances. Not without strict orders to remain so."
Reminding me she was listening to every word being said, Ahsoka chose that moment to speak up in a concerned tone. "I thought the Gungans and Naboo have been allies for, well, ever? Wasn't there some kind of invasion a long time ago that united your peoples, Senator?"
Despite the troubling uncertainty behind the Gungans' actions, I shared a brief smile with the twenty-four year old woman opposite me at my apprentice's adolescent notions concerning the passage of time. Unfortunately, the amused expression faded as quickly as it had come, and when she answered my apprentice, her tone was quite serious "Our two peoples have both profited a great deal from our alliance in the years since the Invasion. That's what makes this so hard to understand, Ahsoka. I spoke with Boss Lyonie only a couple of months ago, while his guest for the Festival of Warriors, and I didn't see any sign of a developing rift. On the contrary, Queen Neeyutnee's request that a number of RNSF volunteers be allowed to take part in the Festival competitions received the enthusiastic approval of Boss and High Council alike. Before this troubling development, I would have said the ties binding Gungan and Naboo had never been stronger."
Turning back to study the console before me once more, I checked on the situation in the outer system as the two continued to talk. There were a half-dozen new debris fields where C.I.S warships had been, but even as I watched, the tiny handful of surviving ships, including the Malevolence, disappeared from the plot. One of the red dots reappeared a couple of seconds later another few tens of thousands of kilometers further out, before immediately becoming a newly designated debris field. I didn't get my hopes up, though, and sure enough, Seraph identified the ship that was breaking up as the Trade Federation Dreadnaught.
My hands tightened around the control yoke until my knuckles were white, then I let out a long breath and released the yoke with a shake of my head. I sensed Padme's and Ahsoka's attention had returned to me, so I explained what I'd seen for their benefit. "The CDF failed to penetrate the C.I.S's protective cordon aft of the Malevolence in time. It just escaped into hyperspace, thanks to Admiral Dron's stubborn pride."
A small part of me wanted to pound on the yoke before me in frustration at the thought of all the people who were going to die because of one man's egotistical need to prove the Judicials didn't need help from the Jedi, but instead I took hold of said yoke, swung Seraph's nose away from the planet, and began accelerating away. Neither woman had replied as yet, so I began methodically punching strings of numbers into the nav-computer.
The moment the star field streaked and became the familiar blue and white tunnel of hyper-space, I called out in my most controlled, locked down tone "Artoo, keep an eye on things for me. I'm going to go take a minute to myself." The moment the astromech rolled forward between mine and Padme's chairs with a beep in the affirmative, I slid past him and into the corridor leading to the small cabins port and starboard. Neither woman said a thing, and to be honest, that was just the way I wanted it.
Edit, A/N: Sorry about the long delay between chapters, all. I lost a draft when SB went down, and since I've yet to get a new copy of Word to go with my new comp, wasn't keeping things backed up elsewhere. I realize this chapter was another bridge where not a ton really happened, but it was one of those necessary things to set up. I promise things are about to speed up, dramatically, and I intend to return to getting new chapters out on a much more frequent basis.
As always, constructive criticism is absolutely welcome. To answer someone's question: Anakin + Fell Star is the kind of thing that should have Darth Ximshak waking up nights in a cold sweat, but I wouldn't call it a Palpatine-class magic bullet by any stretch of the imagination.