FicWad

Although the senior Senator of Alderaan is anxious to leave the hospital, he is forced to stop and wait several times - for the med-droids to agree to allow him into a 'fresher by himself; for the queasily light-headed feeling to pass after he gains his feet; for his own distressingly weak and clumsy hands to become coordinated enough to work the fastenings on the set of clothes his brother by marriage has brought for him to change into; for an actual doctor to go over his chart, look him over, and pronounce him fit enough to leave; for his discharge to be processed so that he can go; etc. - before he is finally given clearance to leave the facility. Rather than allowing the time to go to waste (as he considers the days he spent unconscious in the bacta tank and beneath the various healing instruments of the surgeons and med-droids), Bail Organa uses it to gather his thoughts and reflect on the dangerous situation the Republic's government has gotten itself into and the all too likely possibility that the recent highly disturbing changes on the Republic's capital world will soon be spreading to all of the Republic's other worlds, as well, if the Senate, the people, continue to fail to act.

Even before the surprise attack on the capital world - which Bail, for the life of him, still cannot manage to figure out how the Separatists pulled off so that there would be no advance warning of the coming attack, as the Republic has been very careful to monitor the hyperlanes at all of the known possible safe hyperspace reversion points that are within jumping distance of all of the Core Worlds, as well as all of the currently known to be embattled worlds, since the Clone Wars first began - squads of blaster-wielding, helmeted and therefore seemingly faceless clone soldiers could already be found on Coruscant's shuttle landing platforms, in the plazas, arrayed in front of banks, hotels, theaters, and indeed anywhere and everywhere that beings gathered or mingled, scanning the crowds and stopping anyone who fit the current possible terrorist profile, conducting searches of individuals, belongings, residences, and even businesses. Although the clone troopers never act on anything as frivolous as a whim, since they don't have enough free will or personality to operate like that and instead answer only to their training, it is increasingly difficult to believe that all of the duties they perform are for the good of the Republic, as the Supreme Chancellor always claims. It is even harder to believe this when Bail considers both how much the clone troopers have been specifically tailored and engineered to serve and protect the Galactic Republic by unquestioningly carrying out commands and how much control Palpatine himself, as the acting head of the Republic, technically has over all of the clone armies.

Bail knows that some clones - especially the ARC troopers and clone commanders who have so distinguished themselves in battle that they have won names entirely separate from their Kaminoan-assigned identification numbers - are much more human than the vast majority, whom the Kaminoans methodically designed and bred for a diminished aptitude for independence and a strong tendency towards complete obedience and utter loyalty to known figures of authority, and that essentially all of these more intelligent and independently-minded clones have unfailingly proven to be just as unswervingly dedicated to their Jedi commanders as they are to the Republic. Bail himself has aided the Jedi in their campaign to see to it that all second- and third-generation troopers - not just the highly distinguished ARCs and other clone commanders - be given names, instead of numbers, to foster a growing sense of fellowship. Bail's overall opinion of the clones even tends to shadow that of Obi-Wan and Anakin - who believe it is morally wrong to treat living, sentient beings as if they were machines, and that it is not right to treat any one or any thing, organic or otherwise, that is capable of reason as if it were no more than an object to be owned and used by others.

However, just because Bail does not entirely agree with the Republic's initial use of the clones - as if they were nothing more than a limitless, renewable, nonliving natural resource, to be spent however and whenever the Republic might see fit - and even admires some of them, for they way in which they selflessly serve the Republic and unfailingly treat their Jedi commanders with respect and honor (especially the famous Kenobi and Skywalker team, whom the clones regard with a combination of respect and care that approaches reverence, as evidenced by their nickname for the legendary duo, that of the Warrior of the Infinite) - all too human emotions that the Kaminoans most certainly did not program into any the clone troopers - this does not mean that Bail trusts the clone troopers implicitly. Already there have been several disturbing rumors about antiwar demonstrators being put down by force, about disappearances and seizures of private property, and though proof of such abuses of power rarely surface and, even when it does surface, is almost always quickly discredited, the growing possibility of such abuses of power becoming common if the utterly loyal and obedient clone troopers were indeed to be garrisoned on every Republic world is simply too great to ignore.

The omnipresence of soldiers in Galactic City - clone troopers who might very well obey even the whims of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, if they were worded as orders - has always seemed to bother Bail Organa much more than it has his few friends on Coruscant and many of his peers within the Senate - a fact that the Prince has long tried to attribute to the fact that he hails from pacifist Alderaan, though he knows this only explains some of his discomfort and unease - but that might very well change if the Chancellor ever actually begins stationing clone troopers on other Republic worlds. The majority of the Coruscanti may have acclimated to these changes with far too much ease and a willingness that at times almost appears to be eagerness to surrender personal freedoms in the name of more security - and a false security at that, for although Coruscant may seem far from the war, it is also at the very center of it, a fact that the recent attack has well proven - but surely such a pattern cannot and will not hold on all of the other Republic worlds too . . . Or can it?

Three years and more into a conflict that might have been ended just as abruptly as it had first begun, if only the government would have refrained from continually hindering the Jedi and instead simply allowed them free reign to deal with the problem, every new security measure, no matter how ridiculously petty or insidiously invasive, is met with equanimity and taken in stride - except, of course, by the members of those species most closely associated with the Separatist agenda, many of whom have been ostracized or forced to flee the capital outright, especially those who are Geonosian, Muun, Neimoidian, and Gossam. COMPOR - the Commission for the Protection of the Republic - runs public service ads stamped with the warning that "nonhumans need not apply," and not a single protest has been lodged from amongst the Coruscanti public. More and more, Coruscant resembles a police-state, and yet no one seems to care enough to protest. Having apparently lived for so long in fear and ignorance, few Coruscanti stop to question what is really going on anymore or why. The morality of the Republic's decisions are never even questioned anymore, no matter how dubious or even wrong such actions might actually be. If even the Senate itself is so busy modifying the Constitution that it has essentially completely abandoned its role as a balancing arm of the government, is it really wise to assume - or to even hope - that the rest of the citizens of the Republic's many worlds will be any different?

The Senate . . .

Before the war, widespread corruption had often stifled the legislative process entirely - though for a while things had gotten better after the whole debacle over Naboo. More often than not, though, bills had languished, measures had lain buried in obscurity for years without being addressed, votes had been protested as miscounts and subjected to endless recounts as officials were charged with tampering and gross ineptness and new rounds of voting were called for . . . One effect of the war has been the replacement of bribery, dishonesty, and inertia with outright dereliction of duty. Reasoned discourse and debate have become so rare in the highest political arenas of the Republic as to be archaic. In a political climate where representatives are all too often far too afraid to speak their minds, it has simply become easier - and is thought by many to be safer - to cede power over to those who at least give the appearance of knowing some part of the truth, and never mind whether democracy is being thrown entirely by the wayside with such actions. If Bail Organa can be continually disheartened and ashamed by the cowardly behavior and continuous failure of both his peers within the Senate and the people of Coruscant to see what is becoming of the Republic and to act to stop it or at least speak out against it, then can he truly count on the governments and peoples of the other Republic worlds to act any differently? Even if Palpatine does station garrisons of clone troopers on their planets?

Lately, the HoloNet news has been full of nothing but the many sieges in the Outer Rim and one hard-won triumph after another, not entirely confirmable statements about battles on distant and unfamiliar planets full of praise for the Grand Army of the Republic, all glory going to the clone troopers. Rarely is there even any mention of the far too many Jedi who are all too often giving their lives in the gain of those supposedly triumphant victories, unless of course one of them is being commended by Palpatine in the Senate's Great Rotunda, and aside from the many highly public laudations of young Knight Anakin Skywalker and his former Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, such commendations are exceedingly few and far between. Otherwise, one hardly ever even sees an adult Jedi out and about on Coruscant any longer, much less on any of the other Republic worlds, even on those worlds that possess Jedi chapterhouses, such as Alderaan itself. Stripped from their chapterhouses and brought back to join their brethren at the main Temple on Coruscant so that they could be sent out, with their fellows from the Temple, on missions related to the war, the Jedi have been spread entirely too thinly throughout the galaxy, and are kept busy leading companies of troopers into battle - perhaps too busy to pay adequate attention to recent changes within the government and Republic whose democratic freedom and peace they are sworn to uphold and protect.

Given the Supreme Chancellor's and therefore the Senate's manifest approval of Anakin and Obi-Wan, the holofeeds have, understandably, made the Kenobi and Skywalker team into a touchstone and living example of the Republic - of all that the Republic stands for, all that is good within the Republic - shaping the many stories that surround the two Jedi until they have become both the protective icon and avenging angel of the whole of the Galactic Republic, not to mention civilization itself. The holofeeds are also extremely fond of using the phrase aggressive peacekeeping to describe the Jedi's actions in support of the war effort. Other than that, though, they mainly tend to ignore the many ongoing sacrifices of Jedi lives and blood as if the Jedi were just some infinitely abundant and automatically self-replenishing natural resource to be used and consumed however the Republic sees fit. And unfortunately, as the holofeeds tend, so, too, do the minds and hearts of far too many of the citizens of the Republic. To the extent that friendship can be kept up or sought out with any of the Jedi, under such strained and uncertain circumstances, Bail has stubbornly persisted both in strengthening existing bonds and forging new ties with a select few individuals, including not only the golden duo themselves - Bail's longtime friend (who is a member of the High Council, nowadays) Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Obi-Wan's former Padawan learner, the powerful and famous Anakin Skywalker - but also a few other Council Masters as well, such as Yoda, Mace Windu, and Saessee Tiin - those privileged few Jedi who are also allowed to meet personally with Chancellor Palpatine.

Palpatine . . . No matter how much Bail Organa dislikes the man and is growing to fear his power-hungry ways, he must acknowledge the fact that even Palpatine's harshest critics within the Senate or in the various media outlets cannot hold the man fully accountable for everything that has happened on Coruscant or what the Republic swiftly seems to be turning into. Not even the Jedi believe that. Though hardly the innocent that he sometimes pretends to be, Palpatine alone is not entirely to blame for the terrible (and worsening) situation in which the Republic currently finds itself - though neither Palpatine's attitude nor his actions lately have certainly done anything to help improve matters, either. The former Senator of Naboo's talent for being at once sincere and exacting is what got him elected as the Supreme Chancellor in the first place, at least according to Bail Antilles, the Prince's predecessor in the Senate as Alderaan's most senior Senator and his father by marriage. Thirteen years ago, the Senate was interested only in ridding itself of Finis Valorum, Antilles had, at any rate, once told Bail. Valorum, who had believed he could put honesty on the Senate agenda . . . and who, many believed, had been summarily elaborately set up in order to get him out of power and keep him from accomplishing that goal.

Bail Antilles of Alderaan should have been Supreme Chancellor after Valorum. He was the most widely respected and powerful member of the Senate during Valorum's term, and he should have easily won the election after Finis Valorum was ousted with a vote of no confidence called for by a very young Queen Amidala of Naboo, who had been so desperate to save her people from the invading armies of the Trade Federation and so disgusted with the Senate's endless arguing and inaction that she would have done anything to get the Senate's attention. Unfortunately, though, even back then Palpatine had possessed more than his share of influential friends - far more than had been apparent, earlier on in Valorum's term, given the sudden prominence of Naboo's sad plight. Still, Bail can't help but wonder who might have succeeded Palpatine as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic if the Separatist crises on Raxus Prime and Antar 4 had not occurred when they did, just as Palpatine's term of office was ending. He well remembers both the arguments that had raged over passage of the Emergency Powers Act and the essential point that most of them had boiled down to: that it's dangerous to "change dewbacks in the middle of a sand dune." Back then, many Senators had felt that the Republic should bide its time and simply allow Count Dooku's movement to play itself out.

Such thoughts had all vanished after the full extent of the Separatist threat had become clear, though, when some six thousand worlds, all apparently lured by the promise of free and unrestricted trade and the lack of a centralized bureaucracy to meddle in the affairs of specific systems, had seceded from the Galactic Republic. Indeed, after shockingly heavily and sophisticatedly armed corporations such as the Commerce Guild and the Techno Union had partnered with Dooku and the entire Rimward leg of the Rimma Trade Route had become inaccessible to Republic shipping, these Senators and then the Republic itself had soon begun singing a much different tune. As a consequence of such occurrences - and by an overwhelming majority - the Senate had voted to amend the Constitution and to extend Palpatine's term as Supreme Chancellor indefinitely, with the understanding that he would voluntarily step down from office once the crisis had been resolved. In short order, however, the likelihood of a quick resolution had evaporated. Formerly gracious and unassuming Palpatine had suddenly become democracy's champion, vowing that he could not condone a Republic divided against itself. Soon afterwards, rumors of a Military Creation Act had begun to circulate, though Palpatine himself had refused to come out in favor of building an army for the Republic, leaving such things for others - the Senate's nominal Sand Panthers. Finally, Palpatine had attempted to arrange a peace summit, but Count Dooku had refused to attend it.

Instead came war.

Despite the fog of sorrow and shock - and an almost soul-numbing grief for the nearly two hundred brave Jedi who had just lost their lives - Bail Organa can clearly recall the days after the disastrous so-called victory of the Battle of Geonosis. Most of all, he can clearly remember the day he stood with Chancellor Palpatine, Mas Amedda, the Malastarian Senators, and a few others on a balcony of the Senate Office Building, watching tens of thousands of clone troopers march into the enormous ships that would take the war to the Separatists. Moreover, Bail can clearly recall the feeling of utterly disconsolate distress that had risen within him as he had contemplated the fact that, after a thousand years of peace, war and evil had finally returned to the Republic. Or, more accurately, been allowed - perhaps even worse, quite possibly actively invited - to return. Nevertheless, after a long, hard, painful discussion with Obi-Wan Kenobi about the far too few options remaining for people such as them - loyal to the ideals of a democratic Republic and dedicated to the preservation of peace - in an atmosphere of war and fear, in the interests of solidarity in the face of secession, Bail had chosen to quietly put his personal feelings aside and had uncomplainingly played his part, endorsing bills that he likely would have previously denounced and supporting Palpatine's "efficient streamlining of cumbersome bureaucracy."

It wasn't until the passage of the Reflex Amendment, about two years into the war, that Bail's fears had begun to resurface and intensify to the point whereat he could no longer continue to dismiss them. The sudden disappearance of Senator Seti Ashgad after he had argued against installation of surveillance cams in the Senate Building; the suspicious explosion of a star freighter aboard which Finis Valorum was a passenger; the passage of a security bill that granted Palpatine wide-ranging powers over Coruscant: all of these things, and many others far too similar for his peace of mind, combined to give Bail Organa more and more sleepless nights. Increasingly concerned for the Republic's future - even should the war end, soon, in their favor - Bail desperately began trying to make plans, should his fears ever prove to be true and the worst come about.

After the behavior of the Supreme Chancellor himself - frequently isolated by his covey of advisors and technically illegal cadre of red-robed personal bodyguards (not that anyone dared to publicly speak against the increasingly militarized nature of those guards, intentionally culled from among the ranks of the clones) - had begun to thoroughly and consistently alarm Bail, the Alderaan Prince quietly began the process of sounding out allies with whom he could share his plans - and the burden of his fears. Palpatine changed so suddenly and yet so completely with the advent of war, seeming to become a man of iron, a creature of stone, unbending in his resolve and unwilling to move against his resolution to continue fighting until the war had been won - one way or another. Gone was the humble, self-deprecating Palpatine . . . and so, too, went the tractable Bail Organa. After that, Bail had vowed to speak openly of his concerns, and so he began not only to cultivate friendships with Senators who genuinely seemed to share some of his concerns, but also to report on the more disquieting rumors of immoral actions in the name of security and each possible new movement to add yet another amendment to their poor shredded and desecrated Constitution to the few individuals whom he could continue to respect and admire among the alarmingly decreasing ranks of the Jedi Order, especially the increasingly obviously dissatisfied and suspicious Master Windu, since "General" Kenobi was by that point increasingly being called away from Coruscant and sent more and more often into the thick of the worst battles, especially the ones in the Outer Rim Territories.

Now, though, Bail Organa is truly beginning to fear that not only has he not done enough to oppose the many reprehensible changes within the government and day to day activities and organization of both Coruscant as well as of the Republic itself, he is afraid that not even the combined might of the Jedi Order and all of his contacts within the Senate will be enough to stem the tide and save the Republic from itself. The loss of Padmé Amidala is not only a blow to Bail personally, as a respected colleague and friend, it is a tremendous potential loss to the true heart of the Republic, whose spirit the Naboo Senator, formerly Queen of Naboo, epitomized with her fiercely courageous and independent spirit, unquestionable integrity, and passionate yet logical and unfailingly articulate and persuasive voice in the Senate - a voice that has never failed to support democracy or peace, not even when in danger of being silenced for Padmé's unbending opposition to the Military Creation Act. The Senate's decision - and the Supreme Chancellor's agreement, however reluctantly the man may have claimed to have given it - to use the first of the clone armies bred on Kamino for its Grand Army undoubtedly saved the lives of Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi; yet, the Naboo Senator publicly wept to hear that the Military Creation Act had been passed, and, as far as Bail knows, neither of the two Jedi most intimately involved in uncovering the existence of clones - especially not Master Kenobi - have ever entirely believed the story that the Kaminoans told, about a (conveniently deceased, as of about the proper time frame in which the order would have been placed) Jedi placing the order for the clone armies in the name of the Galactic Republic.

Without a doubt, Padmé Amidala could have been a limitless source of strength in the struggle that Bail is increasingly certain will soon be rapidly coming to a head. Still, perhaps some of his plans can still be salvaged, now that Obi-Wan Kenobi, the famous Negotiator, and Anakin Skywalker, the famed Hero With No Fear, are back on Coruscant again . . . If, that is, Bail can get in to see them, or at least Obi-Wan, and a firm agreement can also be reached between the Jedi Order and the remaining democratic members of the Senate, so that an actual plan can be made and steps can be taken in concert to counter this growing threat from within the Republic itself . . .

Perhaps, if what Raymus Antilles has told him about the contents of Anakin Skywalker's HoloNet interview - especially Palpatine's inexplicably rude dismissal of the Jedi team and Order responsible for saving his life - is true, Kenobi and Skywalker's increasingly popularity can be used as leverage for a stopgap to keep Palpatine from passing that amendment meant to give the Chancellor control over the Jedi High Council and the Order . . .

"Raymus, where is the holorecording of Anakin Skywalker you spoke of earlier? If I am going to be forced to wait all night, I may as well watch it now," Bail finally says, rousing from his thoughts to find himself still sitting in yet another hospital waiting room.

"Here, Bail. Enjoy. It should be enlightening," Raymus Antilles smiles, reaching into the top of the bag he brought with him to the hospital to carry his Prince's personal effects and pulling out a small handheld portable holoprojector.

"The increase of light is greatly appreciated," Bail nods, accepting the device and flipping on the switch that will turn on the recording. Only moments later, he is so engrossed that he has entirely forgotten the inconvenience of the long wait.

As Bail Organa looks upon a countenance that is both comfortingly familiar and yet oddly different - leaving him to wonder exactly what it is that could have happened to have suddenly caused the young Jedi Knight to kindle so thoroughly with devotion and spark so brilliantly charismatic - gazing intently at the engagingly animated and positively radiant countenance of Anakin Skywalker and listening in startled but thankful amazement as the young Knight pours forth an eloquent flood of rapturous words of love and support for Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi Order - a rush of words that leads Bail to recall his first meeting, as a very young junior Senator of Alderaan, with an extremely young Padawan by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the ease with which he had tumbled headlong, entirely fascinated, into a relationship of growing closeness and complexity with the Jedi Bendu - a long unfamiliar emotion stirs within the Prince's heart.

Hope.

***

Though the physical storm has not yet ended, the night beyond the Temple is already full of clones. Battalions of them. Brigades. Thousands. The de jure leader of the Galactic Republic and, thus, the head of its armies has ordered these clones to sterilize the Jedi Temple, showing no mercy and leaving no living creature behind. As far as these clone troopers know, the Jedi and, by extension, all those who have so completely thrown in their lot with the Jedi that they willingly reside with the Jedi in the Temple complex, have been rightfully and truthfully declared enemies of the Republic. Thus, they are all to be immediately and remorselessly executed as traitors, with no hesitation and no questions asked. Order Sixty-Six is one of a very few commands that have been thoroughly embedded in each and every variety of clone trooper, regardless of series or generation, rank or unit, and military affiliation (army infantry or navy, BARC, ARC, or SCUBA troopers, AR-RT drivers, pilots, security, shocktroopers, commandos, sharpshooters, assassins, etc.). Before they even awaken to life in their crèche-schools, all clones begin to receive training to respond automatically in the affirmative ("It will be done, my lord") to the issuance of this particular command and to swiftly and unthinking carry out the order as soon as it has been given. Fortunately, the clone troopers on Coruscant are not authorized to speak to any of the clones off-planet about the orders they've been given, even if those orders include the execution command of Order Sixty-Six. Even if they were to tell other units off-planet about the issuance of Order Sixty-Six, none of the clones are allowed enough personal initiative to attempt to carry out this order unless their specific unit leaders pass on the order first, and these specific unit leaders cannot issue such a command until they have heard Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself actually command the execution of the order. Otherwise, many, many more lives would have been lost to the Sith Lord's vindictiveness.

In the time that it takes their small shuttle to race from the Senate Building to the Temple district, the storm winds down to an eventual close and Obi-Wan Kenobi has just enough time to place one call.

"Senator Mon Mothma?"

"General Kenobi?" The Senator's voice is clearly shocked, but it is not blurred with the fuzz of sleep. Evidently, the Senator has been so busy since she left that Temple that she has neglected to notice how late the hour has grown.

"Forgive me if I am interrupting you, Senator, but I fear I have no time for pleasantries. We discovered that Chancellor Palpatine is also the Sith Lord Sidious, the man responsible for orchestrating the war. Anakin and I went to the Senate Building with a few other Jedi Masters to confront the man with this knowledge and to arrest him. He fought. Violently. Master Windu was badly hurt, but in the end Anakin and I prevailed. I am afraid, however, that we were forced to slay him. He would not surrender, though he was given the opportunity to surrender many times. There are recordings - both audio and holo - of the entire confrontation on the building's main security as well as on additional equipment that Sidious - excuse me, Palpatine - had installed in his own offices. I need you to rouse security and to tell them to check the Chancellor's desks for the additional audio devices. Try not to be shocked by what you see on the holorecordings. The Force is infinitely powerful and infinitely more mysterious than most - even many Jedi - consider it to be. We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of all that is possible within the Force. When others express their shock, I need you to please remind of these facts. I also need you to contact whoever is necessary to call an immediate emergency meeting of the Senate. Whatever you do, though, do not try to contact Mas Amedda or Sly Moore and do not allow security to try to apprehend them alone. They are both aware of Palpatine's identity and many of his activities as Sidious, and they are both potentially quite dangerous. Those two will be dealt with by the Jedi as soon as possible. I fear I am not yet aware of how many others within the Senate are also aware of Palpatine's identity as Sidious, but the man kept highly detailed records and diaries that the Jedi will attend to and report upon to the Senate just as soon as possible. Sidious used his influence as Senator Palpatine to arrange for the creation of the clone armies, and then the Sith Lord had the former Supreme Chancellor, Valorum, set up so that he would become mired in accusations of corruption during the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo and Palpatine would be elected the new Supreme Chancellor. I fear that he also had Valorum murdered after the man refused to simply peacefully retire and return home. If Bail Antilles can be persuaded to return to politics, the Senate could do far worse than to elect him the Republic's new Supreme Chancellor. If not Antilles, then perhaps Prince Organa, when he has recovered more fully. I'm afraid, though, that the Jedi Temple is currently under attack, and so it will not be possible for the Jedi to provide any guidance or counseling during this emergency session. When he understood that he could not escape us, Palpatine attempted to initiate one of the control protocols that he had secretly ordered programmed into all of the clone troopers: Order Sixty-Six brands all Jedi, Jedi trainees, known Jedi allies, and close Jedi associates as traitors and calls for their immediate execution. Anakin and I are on our way to the Temple to stop the attack. And we are nearly there, so I fear that I must end this conversation soon. I know this is a lot to take in at once, Senator, but do you understand everything that I have told you?"

"Master Kenobi - /Obi-Wan - " /Mon Mothma's voice is filled with so much anguish that her pain and shock are almost palpable.

"I know, Senator. Believe me, I know. But I must know if you understand everything that I have told you. /Please/, try to focus. The pain will have to wait until later, after we have begun to put things back to rights and ended this terrible war."

"I understand, Master Jedi," Mon Mothma replies, her voice still full of pain but also hardened with the same immovable resolve with which she had so recently vowed to see to it that the proposed Constitutional amendment to place the Jedi High Council under the control of the Office of the Chancellor would never be passed. "I will do everything that you have asked of me. In his Holonet address, Palpatine called for an emergency session first thing in the morning, so it should be relatively easy to simply move it up. I will call security at once. Thank the Force the Senate never agreed to allow Palpatine to replace the building's security staff with those clone troopers! What can I do to help you? The Temple - Force, the /children - !"/

"The younglings are well protected and they shall all be fine. And the clones should not be punished for following their orders. They have been created and programmed specifically to be subservient to authority, to fight for us and to follow orders issued by both their superiors and acting commanders as well as the actual government of the Galactic Republic, and to obey all of their command protocols immediately and unconditionally. The vast majority of the actual clones are only troopers of one kind or another, Senator, and the troopers have not been allowed to have sufficient free will to be able to question such orders. We will deal with this and the clones will not be purposefully harmed if we can help it. With Palpatine gone now that Sidious is dead, it is no longer possible for any of these secret command protocols to ever be initiated, so they are no longer a threat to anyone. The clones are loyal to the Republic and it would be a sad thing indeed for the Republic to seek to repay that devotion with scorn for the limitations - such as the much decreased antonymy - that the Republic itself agreed to allow to be built in to all but those first few generations clone troopers and the subsequent generations of the somewhat more specialized clone commanders and elite commandos. In any case, this mess is certainly is not the fault of the clone troopers. Nonetheless, we shall deal with it. It will simply take some time to neutralize the situation and to deal with the consequences of both the Chancellor's identity as the Sith Lord and his death."

Mon Mothma's voice is subdued when she answers. "Of course, Master Kenobi. You are right. Forgive me. The shock - "

"I quite understand, Senator, but time is growing short and I fear that there is one more thing I must tell you before I have to go. The Sith Lord lied to and used the Separatists in much the same way that he lied to and used the Republic. The remains of the Separatist leadership have been on Utapau, which is also where General Grievous headed when he fled Coruscant space and where he and the remains of his fleet should have all arrived by now. Within the past hour, the Separatist leadership will have been sent into hiding in a 'secret bunker' on Mustafar. It was the Sith Lord's intent to eventually end the Clone Wars by arranging a Jedi purge that would coincide with a final testing for a new apprentice, who would be sent out to Mustafar simply to slaughter the entire lot. The Jedi have sworn to neutralize Grievous. I trust that the Republic will find some way of dealing with the remaining Separatist leaders that will not plague the galaxy with further unnecessary bloodshed. Am I understood?" Obi-Wan asks, quietly interrupting.

"I understand you, Obi-Wan. Forgive me for my earlier remark about the clones: you are right, of course. And I heed your meaning about the Separatists. I will advise the Senate to extend the Holonet transmission detailing Palpatine's identity as the Sith Lord Sidious and his death so that the Separatists will also receive the signal. And I will seek for a way to immediately and /peacefully end this terrible conflict. The aid of the Jedi will doubtlessly be called upon for this task,"/ the Senator all but promises.

"Thank you, Mon Mothma. Pardon me if I am short with you, but I fear I must be going. We are about to enter the Temple district."

"Of course, General Kenobi. I won't keep you. May the Force be with you all."

"And with you. Kenobi out."

The instant that Obi-Wan has clicked the comm unit off, Anakin is speaking. "Did you see this at all in any of your far-sight visions? This shuttle has no shields to speak of whatsoever. I'm a good pilot, Master, but I'd prefer not to have to try to outfly all of the weapons those clone troopers are going to have."

"Yes, Anakin, and yes, I know. I'd also prefer it if you didn't try to do that. This is why I asked you to swing wide and come up to the Temple as if you were coming from the opposite direction of the Senate Building. The clones won't have been able to surround the Temple yet. Qui-Gon and Dooku and the others will have seen to that. Land as near to the Temple as you can get us; the clones won't be able to tell we're there. We'll have to circle the Temple on foot and work our way up to where the unit commanders are. Do you trust me?" Obi-Wan asks, the barest hint of a smile momentarily tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Of course I trust you! Why?" Anakin asks, brow furrowing. "That's usually not a question that precedes anything good, Master."

"Well, we can end this threat will a few well-placed and well-amplified Force-commands, but it's going to require drawing on some of those gifts the Force has given us. I'm going to need to draw on your power as well as my own. It would be easier simply to break their minds, but I do not wish to harm them. It isn't their fault that their existence is due to Sidious' machinations and that they cannot resist his final order. The unspecialized ranks of soldiers have been programmed to obey and the Republic has already taken far too much advantage of that fact. We owe them our protection now. We owe them more than that, in truth, but this will have to do, for a start. Besides which, I'm afraid that the Republic is going to need as many able-bodied fighters as possible in the days to come. If they remain willing to fight for us, then we cannot afford to lose the clones," Obi-Wan sighs, idly rubbing his neck with one hand.

"That's alright. I understand. Don't worry about what's coming later now, love. Focus on the here and now. We have to survive all the fallout of this storm before we can face the coming darkness of the storm that hasn't yet reached us," Anakin soothingly responds, taking a moment to turn and smile encouragingly at him. "Whatever you need me to do to help you save as many lives as possible, you know I'll do it."

"I know that you will," Obi-Wan smiles back. "You needn't scold me with Qui-Gon's words, Anakin. I am focused and, unless the Force chooses to suddenly present me with the gift of another vision - as it did with the far-sight vision of a possible combination of the two most probable future paths that would conserve even more Jedi lives and innocents, after we had saved Mace from Sidious - I will remain firmly planted within only the here and now. Speaking of which, are we by any chance there yet?"

"Just about to descend for landing. What will we do with Master Windu?" Anakin asks. "I will admit that I'm not particularly fond of the man, but Sidious really hurt him, and I have no wish to leave him here undefended."

"He should be safe enough here, Anakin. The clone troopers won't make it this far around the Temple unless we fail in our task. And there's little else that we can do with him. The risk to the Temple is too great to try to get them to open a door. And we cannot afford the delay. Qui-Gon and Dooku are absorbing most of the output of the larger weapons, but even they can't cover the entire Temple complex," Obi-Wan notes sorrowfully.

"Ah. Well. I suppose we'll just have to win, then, won't we?"

"Indeed."

***

From the moment the alarm sounds and word begins to filter out that the Jedi Temple is soon to be under attack, the Temple is awash in (partially) controlled chaos as children below the age of nine standard years and all noncombatants are methodically rousted out of their beds and their cradles and are rapidly sent to the center of the Temple complex. Younglings above the age of nine who prefer not to join this group are paired up with Padawans, and these pairs are armed so that every Jedi child in training has two fully operational lightsabers - one to use outright, if necessary, and one to fall back on as a spare, if necessary - before they are ranged in a completely encircling wall about the area holding the younglings and noncombatants. Eventually, after the noncombatants and all of the children, including all of the Padawans, are all safely accounted for and positioned (and armed, if appropriate), the Healers and their assistants are ranged in a loose ring around the Padawan-youngling pairs, similarly armed with two fully functional lightsabers apiece so that they can fight in the event that the Temple walls are breached and the attacking clone troopers actually succeed in bringing the battle to the inner core of the Temple. But the Knights and Masters - including the few Council Masters who are present on Coruscant and also within the confines of the Temple (Masters Yoda, Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto, in other words) - either take up positions that range along the windows on the upper floors of the ziggurat on the side facing towards the gathering clone battalions or at the windows of the northeast and northwest spires.

The north side of the Temple faces towards the location of the Senate Building, and so it is the protruding north wing - sandwiched between the northeast spire, with the Reassignment Council, and the northwest spire, with the Council of First Knowledge - and the public center of the Temple that is in the most immediate danger from the weapons of the clones. The Jedi busy themselves in trying to stem the tide by aiming Force-blows at the clones that barrel them over without truly causing them much harm, by coaxing the remains of the dying storm to concentrate its wildest energies over the clones so that they cannot easily see the Temple or its window-facing occupants to accurately aim their weapons, by dissipating and absorbing as much of the energy of the attack as they safely can, and by very carefully wielding the obscure talents of malacia and morichro - which induces nausea and dizziness in its targets without causing any lasting damage and which slows down the bodily functions of its targets, in effect dropping them in their tracks by placing them in suspended healing trances - against specific clones who are attempting to bring more dangerous weapons to bear against the Temple.

The blue-limed figures of Jedi Masters Qui-Gon Jinn and Dooku appear to be everywhere upon the battlefield, continually popping in and out of existence in different spots in order to take one direct hit after another from the most powerful of all the weapons ranged against the Temple, never lingering in one spot any longer than the time required to completely absorb the energy of the blasts. Whenever possible, the two Jedi Masters convert the power they've absorbed from the firing of these larger weapons into pure energy that they channel into the Force and then harness by feeding it directly into the defensive sphere of a fragile looking but nonetheless effective Force-powered shield that they have stretched across all of the transparisteel windows at which the various Knights and Masters of the Orders stand. At other times, they have to let the excess power bleed off, and they do so by wielding massive waves of rippling, relatively mild Force-blows, toppling hundreds of clone troopers at a blow. Unfortunately, because they are unwillingly to seriously harm any of the troopers, the amount of damage that the Jedi are free to inflict is too limited to do much more than force the clones to concentrate their fire on one side of the Temple complex and protect themselves and as much of the Temple as they can. There are simply too many clones present to put that much of a dent in the attacking force. Thus, in spite of the combined efforts of all of the Jedi Knights and Masters within the Temple and the two Force spirits outside of it, the Temple complex is still taking a beating. After the storm finally dies, the structure of the north wing catches on fire, and it is soon after this that it finally happens.

Reinforcements arrive in the form of a two-bodied flashing whirling dervish of leaping, ducking, rolling, swinging, dancing electric fury.

They whirl in perfect unison, blue lightsabers flashing and humming, crackling in bursts of energy where they connected with the weapons of their opponents. Back to back, they are a magnificently relentless and utterly graceful machine. Together, their guard is impenetrable and they are unstoppable. Even when circumstances force them apart, still they move together, each aware of the other - from as little as a few feet away or a distance as great as fifty meters or more - every move complementing that of his counterpart. In fact, even when one of them is apparently intent on a single target, they are both still completely aware of each other. So, for example, even when Obi-Wan sees the smoking remains of the laser cannon that he has danced his way up to in order to slice apart with one sweeping motion, he also watches through Anakin's eyes as half a dozen swift blaster bolts shoot towards him and are effortlessly deflected, to the ultimate detriment of their sources, the weapons that have shot them neatly destroyed. Yet, it is more than the fact that they are utterly aware of one another, more than this total awareness, that makes the two Jedi into such a perfect team. For Anakin and Obi-Wan now truly think with one mind. They are not just simply coordinating their two attacks into one larger offensive, they truly are only one attacking force, so closely and completely are their minds coupled together, their bodies arrowing their way swiftly up through the ranks of the clone troopers towards where the commanders who are ultimately responsible for coordinating the movements of the attacking clones are clustered.

The two move so incredibly quickly that the watching Jedi Knights and even the younger Masters have a difficult time tracking their progress, and yet their moves are so extraordinarily graceful that they appear almost strangely languid to the elder and more powerful Masters. To the few Council Masters who are present, they seem to move with the nonchalance of Jedi who are able to see so far into the future that they can easily foresee every possible move of every single opponent upon the field of battle who is going to come against them at least a minute in advance of when every blow would fall. Their progress is just as wondrously awesome to behold as it is troubling and even awful. Even more disconcerting, though, is that fact that, within the Force, Kenobi and Skywalker burn with all the concentrated power and uncontainable fury of A0 class O stars - the hottest burning and most luminous class of stars in existence, stars that blaze strongly blue - endlessly and violently exploding into supernovae. More importantly, though, the two are also undeniably beautiful, and to the watching Jedi Masters this is perhaps the most disturbing thing of all. The distance is too great for even the eyes of Master Yoda to discern all of the changes that the embrace of the Force has wrought upon Anakin and Obi-Wan's flesh, but their beauty is so alluring and powerful that it is obvious to - and strongly moving to - even the most serene and unmoving of Jedi Masters.

Their mesmeric power is so great that the longer they are upon the field, the slower and more confused the efforts of the clones grow against them, as more and more individual troopers simply fall under the hypnotic spell of their beauty and grace and stop moving, stop fighting, so that they can just stand and watch the two dance their way as one across the battlefield.

In the end, not a hand is raised to stop them as they pass into the midst of the unit leaders.

The biggest shock, though, comes when Obi-Wan Kenobi opens his mouth and a stream of Force-amplified and Force-saturated words boom forth, rushing out to cover an area much bigger than even the entire field of battle, rattling the transparisteel windows of the whole Temple structure in their casings with its Force-boosted power. It isn't just Force-persuasion or Force-command that he is using. It is an absolute and impossible to doubt or disobey demand and truth of the Force. Hands all over the Temple automatically open as Jedi and Jedi trainees alike drop their lightsabers, rocked with the power and the truth of that demand, even though it is not directed towards them.

"ENOUGH! YOU WILL CEASE STRUGGLING AND WILL LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS IMMEDIATELY! ORDER SIXTY-SIX IS A LIE GIVEN TO YOU BY A MONSTER, AN ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY AND A TRAITOR TO THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC, WHICH YOU ARE SWORN TO SERVE AND PROTECT. YOU WILL NO LONGER STRIVE TO OBEY THIS FALSE COMMAND, NOR SHALL YOU EVER SEEK TO FULFILL ITS TREACHERY EVER AGAIN. THE JEDI AND THEIR ASSOCIATES ARE AND REMAIN YOUR STAUNCH ALLIES AND YOUR FRIENDS, AS THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS THE TRUTH. COME TO YOUR SENSES AND CEASE THIS MAD CAMPAIGN TO DESTROY YOUR OWN ALLIES NOW. DO NOT ALLOW ONE MAN'S HATE TO SULLY YOUR PEERLESS RECORD OF PERFECT AND SELFLESS SERVICE TO THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC. SEE THE TRUTH AND UNDERSTAND IT AND YOU SHALL RECOGNIZE IT ALWAYS. COME REJOIN THE RANKS OF YOUR BRETHREN. LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS AND SURRENDER TO US NOW!"

The final word is all but overwhelmed by the crashing of easily tens of thousands of weapons to the ground as thousands of clone troopers throw down their blasters, hunting through their armor and uniforms to find any and every item upon them that might be considered a weapon, fishing them out and then tossing them to the ground with expressions almost of shocked distaste. That quickly, the battle ends and the danger to the Temple and its inhabitants utterly passes. Obi-Wan's Force-infused speech is so powerful that even the clones who have been rendered unconscious and placed within healing trances hear it, submit to its truth, and will obey it when they regain full consciousness. It is, without a doubt, the most incredible display of Force-skill that any Jedi has ever seen, one that is somehow even more incredible than the impossible presence and skill of Qui-Gon and Dooku because it has been done by one of their own, a living, breathing Jedi, not some blue-fired Force spirit. Yet, if what Obi-Wan Kenobi accomplishes with the power of his voice and the aid of the Force alone is stunning, then what happens next is almost inconceivable. Because as soon as the Jedi Master has finished speaking, something - some incredibly powerful link between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker that the Jedi cannot even begin to comprehend - suddenly shifts in some strange manner, and where before there has been one mind inhabiting two bodies, there is abruptly instead two bodies with two distinctly different minds and spirits whose souls are nonetheless so thoroughly intertwined that there is neither a beginning nor ending to the one but that there is an ending or a beginning to the other. Their souls aren't just fitted together, they grow - naturally and utterly inseparably - into one another so that they are so absolutely and completely meshed that they truly are one/. There is but one staggeringly enormously powerful shining /white soul between the two of them. One that makes both of them even more impossibly bright and powerful within the Force than they appeared to be only a moment previously.

And as if that weren't shocking enough, as if that weren't impossible enough for the Jedi who are watching from the Temple windows to take in and understand, as the now completely disarmed leaders of the different clone units begin to crowd up around the two Jedi - Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker standing together, their arms natural and comfortable around one another's waists - Anakin Skywalker pulls Obi-Wan Kenobi around so that he slides up to him with an inescapable ease and, as the Jedi Master appears to smile and tilt his head obligingly back for his laughing companion, Anakin Skywalker does the unthinkable, the inconceivable.

In the sight of every Jedi Knight and Master within the Jedi Temple and within plain view of the thousands upon thousands of clone troopers - several of whom still carry fully intact and running holorecorders - they have just kept from fulfilling Order Sixty-Six with nothing more than their will and the help of the Force, Anakin Skywalker kisses Obi-Wan Kenobi - full on the mouth, no less! - with all of the tenderness and passion of the most loyal and devoted of lovers.

***

The clones cheer them vigorously and wholeheartedly as Anakin and Obi-Wan kiss. Later on, it will be discovered that not a single solitary clone trooper from the Open Circle Armada took part in the thwarted effort to raze the Jedi Temple since, oddly enough, not even one clone commander out of the entire enormous fleet of the Open Circle Armada managed to respond quickly enough to Palpatine's signal to actually hear the command to execute Order Sixty-Six. Despite being engineered for utter loyalty and subservience to authority, the clones of the Kenobi and Skywalker fleet have found one of the flaws in Sidious' plans for the Jedi Purge: namely, that the clone commanders must actually hear the command from Palpatine's lips before they will instruct the clone armies to carry it out and the clones, although purposefully created to have very little autonomy and even less inclination towards independent thinking, are quite smart enough to realize that the compartment concealed within every clone commander's armor - unknown to any but the clones themselves and the one who ordered that the armor be equipped with just such a concealed compartment so that it could hold a secure comlink frequency-locked to a channel reserved solely for the commander in chief, the Supreme Chancellor himself - would necessarily only be used for the issuance of the highly specialized orders instilled in the clones as command protocols, including Order Sixty-Six itself.

These clones - realizing that the silent buzzing vibration of the frequency-locked comlink securely hidden within the secret compartment of their Mandalorian-influenced combat armor would most likely herald the command to execute Order Sixty-Six and faithfully loyal to their beloved Jedi leaders - all simply found one reason or another to not immediately answer those comlinks when they finally went off. Because of this and because of Anakin's swiftness in destroying Palpatine's communication device, none of the Open Circle Armada was exposed to the command to execute that specific order. Thus, none of them took part in the action against the Temple, since none of them were under orders and, therefore, none of them were required to take part in any such action. In truth, very few of the clone commanders specifically belonging to Jedi fleets such as the Open Circle Armada answered their vibrating comlinks quickly enough to be subjected to the command to execute Order Sixty-Six. However, this does not keep the clone commanders who did answer their comlinks as well as their troopers from cheering long, loudly, and wholeheartedly joyfully and approvingly as Anakin and Obi-Wan kiss in the midst of what was, only moments ago, the thick of enemy lines. After all, the clones have access to the HoloNet, the same as regular citizens, and they well know who Kenobi and Skywalker are.

The clones all approve unreservedly of an actual match between the legendary pair.

Qui-Gon and Dooku, on the other hand, seem to be slightly worried.

"Was it entirely necessary to kiss within full view of every single Jedi Knight and Master currently within the Temple? You know that they will not take it well," Qui-Gon frets, frowning.

"It does not seem like a very diplomatic action to take. They have already suffered several shocks and will soon suffer several more. Being presented with evidence of your new relationship will doubtlessly only confuse and offend their hide-bound sensibilities. While it is true that there is nothing that they can do to alter the nature of your relationship and that they will have to learn how to embrace the many changes that you will bring to them and to the Order, it seems almost as if you are deliberately trying to provoke their anger and their obstinate hubris by indulging in such an obvious display of affection. Are you entirely sure that doing so is wise?" Dooku asks.

Obi-Wan merely laughs, a little bit breathlessly, as Anakin's mouth finally reluctantly releases his. "It doesn't matter. We've won. More than that: we've managed to safely combine the two most possible probable future pathways. We've kept Sidious from executing Order Sixty-Six and kept true to the guidance of the Force. It would be a crime to try and hide ourselves, after all that. Let them watch! They will have to grow used to it and to us in the days to come."

Anakin, chuckling warmly, only adds, "If they are so full of anger and intolerance and overweening pride as that, then it will do them good to have their egos deflated and their hearts lanced of such darkness. Let them watch! It would be a crime indeed to keep such an example of love from them," before he takes advantage of Obi-Wan's still up-turned face by deeply and thoroughly reclaiming his offered lips.

After the second kiss ends, a clone commander given the name of Mark politely clears his throat and then respectfully offers a salute to the two Jedi as they turn towards him, their arms still around each other's waists. "Sirs, we would like to volunteer our services at the Jedi Temple. We've damaged part of the structure and would appreciate a chance to set things right again."

"Oh?" Obi-Wan frowns a bit, turning his attention fully towards the Temple. "Oh, my! The Temple's burning. Anakin - "

"Hold on a minute, let me see . . . ah. There! Like this. Here, help me," Anakin smiles brilliantly as he reaches out with his mind and the Force, and Obi-Wan automatically reaches back, offering his own power up to Anakin's guidance. A moment later, a whirlwind springs to life all across the still-blazing wing protruding from the north side of the Temple. This towering inferno - which is beginning to threaten the ziggurat proper, small tongues of flame licking at the outer edges of the ziggurat's facing wall - is sucked up and away from the structure in a tight vortex of power that kills the fire by separating it from the air that fuels it even as it separates each flame from the building. Within moments, the blaze has been so thoroughly extinguished that not even one smouldering cinder remains alive to threaten the fire's return, and the vast roaring conflagration of power within the Force that is Anakin and Obi-Wan's combined might at work within the Force quiets and steadies back to its previous - well, not quintessence within the two Jedi, certainly, but at least something somewhat slightly less overwhelmingly obvious as their blazing overlapping reflective presences in the Force calm down to a steady burn.

Obi-Wan turns slightly in the loose circle of Anakin's arms, looking back at the staring clone commander. "Forgive me, Commander, but I fear that I don't know you and I haven't caught your name. You are - ?"

"Mark, Master Jedi," is the somewhat faint response.

"The Temple has been in need of some outer work and cleaning for some time," Obi-Wan explains, referring to the growing prevalence of flaking paint, ancient bronzium gutters dripping long green streaks down the broad curved rooftops, and molded metal sheets that have lost their buffers of insulation and are beginning to corrode electrically, creating fantastic rainbow patterns on their surfaces where they touch, though the five minarets are still gleaming and spotlessly immaculate. "I'm afraid that we've lacked the time and resources to spare to tend to everything properly, of late. You and your fellow clones shouldn't feel as if you have a debt to the Order that needs to be cleared because of your actions today. You believed that you were following a command that the Republic had sanctioned and it would be wrong to attempt to hold that against you. However, if you gentlemen wish to perform a good deed and desire to be of service to the Order, you may volunteer your services to the administration and I am sure that they will happily oblige you by putting you to work, doubtlessly in order to /find, fix, finish/," he smiles as he repeats the familiar rallying cry of both the clone trooper commanders and commandos as well as of the more advanced ARC troopers, causing the commander's eyes to widen with startlement, "the necessary repairs. The north wing is safe to enter now and I am sure that the amount of time and patience needed to restore it will be greatly reduced with your help."

"The east wing houses the administration center for the day to day goings on here at the Temple. It's morning now and the danger has passed, so personnel should be staffing their posts soon. If you will please ask the other commanders to gather up any clones who have been injured or placed within trances and bring them up to the gates, they will be taken to the Healers. Simply ask, and someone will point you and the other commanders to the administration center. I fear that we will be required at the Council Chamber, up in the southwestern spire, or else one of us would show you," Anakin explains.

"At once, Master Jedi," Mark snaps off a salute and spins sharply on his heel, going back to where his fellow commanders are still staring at the now extinguished northern wing.

"Shall we face the music then, Master Jedi?" Obi-Wan asks, mouth quirking.

"Don't worry, Obi-Wan. They'll come around . . . eventually," Anakin smirks and drops a kiss on Obi-Wan's forehead, and then they head determinedly towards the nearest gate, arms slug naturally, snugly, around each other's waists.

Qui-Gon and Dooku trail after them silently, shaking their heads.

***