by Jude Watson
"Usually meetings like this are so dull that no one attends."
"Note who is here," Mace said in a low tone. "The room is packed with Bog Divinian's supporters. I hear that one must obtain tickets to observe, and supporters of the Jedi were told there were no seats."
Obi-Wan watched as Bog Divinian leaned forward to call Roy Teda to the stand. Teda's pod floated forward.
"I greet you hello, fellow rulers, amazing Senators, all wonderful beings who love democracy and truth," Roy Teda said. "I, too, am a believer and a lover of the democratic principles of many voices, all saying the same thing."
Roy Teda began his testimony, and began to lie. Obi-Wan listened to the lies fall from his mouth. He was not surprised.
"I beseech you, Senators, rulers, fellow citizens of the galaxy," Teda concluded, spreading his arms. "Stop this outrageous outrage before it overtakes us completely! The Jedi came to my planet and secretly plotted in an underhanded way with an unlawful army to bring about the destruction of the elected government!"
Obi-Wan snorted. "Hardly an army," he said quietly to Mace. "And we didn't plot with them."
"The truth has no place here," Mace replied. "They don't want to hear it. But you must tell your truth anyway."
"They overthrew my government! They rampaged through the streets! And it is no accident," Teda said, leaning forward on his fists, "that the Romin treasury of wealth disappeared!"
"Yes, because you looted it," Obi-Wan muttered.
"Jedi interference must be outlawed on every planet in the galaxy!"
Teda thundered. "Let them go back to their Temple and practice their secret hidden arts on one another!" he shouted. "Leave governing the galaxy to the Senate!"
Blocs of Senators roared approval. The crowd hooted and stamped.
High above Teda, Bog Divinian hovered. He did not dock his pod the way the presiding Senator usually did. He remained in midair, so that he would be in full view of the crowd.
"Senator Divinian, I have signaled for questioning and have been ignored!" Bail Organa's voice was a shout. He stood, maneuvering his pod closer to Bog's.
"If you have a question, of course the presiding official — which is me, may I remind you — will recognize it," Bog said, clearly displeased at the interruption. "The Honorable Senator from Alderaan has the floor."
Organa's pod zoomed closer. "Do you have any evidence of your claims, Former Ruler Teda?" he asked. His handsome face was stern, and his robes were thrown back off his shoulders as he faced the former dictator.
"Yes, of course," Teda answered smoothly. "The evidence is on Romin, only I am in exile and cannot reach it."
"The committee has ruled that a subcommittee will be formed in order to investigate the charges," Bog announced.
"And who will be appointed to this subcommittee?" Organa asked, turning to Bog.
"Some members of my committee — "
"All enemies of the Jedi!" Organa thundered.
" — who will choose its members, according to rule 729900, subsection B38 of the subcommittee rules — "
" — which are currently being revised by a committee headed by Senator Sano Sauro, another enemy of the Jedi!" Organa pointed out. There were few Senators who studied the bureaucracy as extensively. Organa knew that the tedious work of keeping up with the bureaucracy netted results. Injustice often began when the powerful Senators who headed committees changed obscure rules that they knew no one would notice.
No one but Bail Organa.
"The Honorable Senator from Alderaan must agree that no matter how unhappy he may be, it cannot be argued that procedure isn't being followed, " Bog said smugly.
"The procedure was changed by the same Senator who has been asked to investigate unfounded charges that suit his own agenda," Organa pointed out. "It is the very definition of unfair. It is also an outrage."
Obi-Wan was impressed. Organa spoke with authority. He did not bluster or shout. He made his points with acid, not with blows. He spoke truth, but Mace was right — this crowd did not want to hear it.
"The presiding official refuses to get bogged down in procedural details," Bog said, waving his hand. "The Honorable Senator from Alderaan will now yield the floor. Your objections will be noted in the log. The presiding official calls Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi for testimony."
Obi-Wan stood at the front of his pod. He pressed the lever that controlled its movement. The box moved forward to the center of the room.
Bog did not acknowledge that he knew Obi-Wan or had met him before, not even with a slight nod.
"Tell us, Jedi Kenobi, did the Jedi secretly meet with the resistance army on Romin?"
"Members of the resistance movement captured two of our apprentices,"
Obi-Wan replied. "The Jedi were on Romin to pursue a galactic criminal — "
"Ah, let's talk about that. Isn't it true you were on Romin illegally and using false ID docs?"
"It is true that we used false ID docs. Sometimes the Jedi need to travel in secrecy," Obi-Wan answered. "We were on the trail of an extremely dangerous criminal who had the means to destroy — "
"I am not asking your intent, merely clarifying your means," Bog interrupted. "Which, as I pointed out, were against the laws of Romin. Did you have personal dealings with the criminal Joylin who has seized power on Romin?"
"An action that the Senate sanctioned due to the criminal activities of Roy Teda," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"There are some in the Senate who pushed through this initiative, it's true," Bog said, implying that this action was highly suspect. "That initiative is currently under investigation."
"Senator Divinian!" Bail Organa called.
"Senator Organa, you are out of order!" Bog thundered. "I am questioning this witness!" He turned back to Obi-Wan. "Answer the question.
Isn't it true that the Jedi assisted the takeover?"
Obi-Wan hesitated a fraction of a second. It was true that the Jedi did assist Joylin and his band. But the plans had already been in place.
"Answer, please." Obi-Wan saw a flash of mean triumph in Bog's eyes.
"Yes. We offered them assistance."
"So you overthrew a legally elected government for your own purposes."
"No. We — "
"The record will note that the question has been answered," Bog snapped.
Bog looked down at his datapad, but Obi-Wan was sure it was for show.
Bog knew exactly what his next question was going to be. He wanted Obi- Wan's admission to hang in the air. The chamber was silent now, every face turned toward Obi-Wan. He was in an impossible position, and he knew it. He could not save the Jedi here. He could not save the Jedi with words, with truth.
Obi-Wan rarely felt helpless. He hated the feeling. He felt it burn inside.
"Isn't it also true that the Jedi were involved in a factory implosion on Falleen?"
"We happened to be in the vicinity."
"Oh," sneered Bog, "Jedi Knights are factory workers now?"
"Two of us were," Obi-Wan answered honestly.
"Do you mean to tell me that you got jobs in a factory? That's hard to believe."
"Truth is sometimes hard to believe," Obi-Wan said evenly. "That's why ignorant minds have a difficult time with it."
Bog's face reddened. Obi-Wan realized he had done an ignorant thing himself. He had allowed his temper to get the better of his judgment.
Always a bad idea — and, for a Jedi, a severe lapse.
"So you sabotaged the factory — "
"No." It was Obi-Wan's turn to interrupt. "We were caught there. The factory was deliberately destroyed by its owner to cover up violations."
"And you were there, after hours, after everyone else had gone home."
"Yes."
"I see. So you were the only ones there during the implosion, but you did not trigger it."
"I don't know if we were the only ones there. How do you?"
Bog flushed again. "What I see before me is arrogance and a
complete lack of remorse at the destruction of property — "
"Oh, I feel remorse," Obi-Wan said.
"That is unusual," Bog snapped.
"I never received my paycheck."
Guffaws exploded throughout the chamber. Bog looked helpless and angry. Obi-Wan followed his gaze to a dark corner of the chamber, where a pod hugged the wall. Obi-Wan recognized the slim, dark form of Sano Sauro.
Sauro must have sent Bog a private message on his datapad, for Bog looked down. He nodded vigorously, while the laughter slowly died down.
Obi-Wan had succeeded in something, at least. He knew now that Sano Sauro was controlling Bog like a puppet.
"The witness is dismissed," Bog said. "The hearing is adjourned."
Obi-Wan maneuvered the pod back to the wall. He crossed to sit next to Mace. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Obi-Wan. You did the best you could."
Mace looked out over the chamber crowded with beings. "Something is here," he murmured. "Some darkness. We feel it growing, but every time we look, we see nothing at all. You spend your time on missions, Obi-Wan. You are not here, like the Jedi Council is. Lately, I have been wondering…"
"Yes, Master Windu?" Obi-Wan asked respectfully. It wasn't often that Mace revealed what he was thinking.
"We send the Jedi throughout the galaxy. To help. To keep peace. To bring aid to suffering populations. But in the end, I wonder…" Mace's stubborn gaze raked the chamber"… if our real job lies here."
"I hope not," Obi-Wan said, gazing over the room. "Out of all my missions, this is one place where I do not want to stand and fight. It's like shouting into the wind.
"None of us want to be here, Obi-Wan," Mace said. "Perhaps that is our undoing."
He took a step back, then turned and disappeared into the interior hallways. Obi-Wan looked out over the crowded chamber. How, he wondered, had it come to this? Why were so many willing to believe the worst of the Jedi Order?
He glanced over at the shadowy box where Sano Sauro sat, receiving guests. Obi-Wan had first tangled with Sauro as a mere boy, when Sauro had questioned him in a hearing to investigate the accidental death of a student at the Jedi Temple. Sauro had twisted Obi-Wan's words even then, and Obi-Wan suspected that the Senator had crafted Bog's questions today.
Disgusted, Obi-Wan turned and headed out of the box toward the interior reception room, where most of the crowd was now congregating. He saw Bog Divinian hurrying toward him, a wide smile on his face.
"Obi-Wan! So good to see you again!" Bog thumped him on the shoulder.
Obi-Wan gazed at him incredulously.
"Oh, you didn't mind my questions, did you? Politics. A rough game, eh? I hope there are no hard feelings. After all, politics is temporary.
Friendship is forever."
Obi-Wan just stared at him. Friendship? With Bog? They had never been friends. Bog's words were completely hollow, as empty as the man before him.
"Oh, excuse me, I forgot." Bog whipped out a small data recorder.
"Hearing ended, great success, now greeting supporters."
Bog indicated the recorder to Obi-Wan. "This is how I keep track of things. And one day it will come in handy when my biography is written.
You'd be shocked and dismayed if you knew how many important leaders neglected to keep notes and records for the biographer to follow."
Obi-Wan said nothing. Whereas once he bowed and scraped to please those in power in order to advance his career, now Bog saw himself as a great leader. He had fulfilled his early promise and become a pompous, scheming bore.
Bog rode over Obi-Wan's silence. "Have you seen my wife? She's here.
She is dying to see you." Bog searched above the crowd, then began to wave.
"Astri! Astri! I found our friend!"
Obi-Wan saw Astri then. She was dressed in a simple blue robe, but her carriage was regal, and she looked as impressive as the Senators and their entourages who were dressed in opulent cloaks. She had cut her springy curls short, clipped to fall softly around her head. She came toward him slowly through the crowd, not rushing, as Astri always used to do. Her gaze seemed to slide off him in the way that he had come to know from other officials — diplomats, Senators, rulers — those who met beings constantly and never invested in a true exchange of hearts and minds with any of them.
His heart fell in disappointment. Astri, he feared, had become a Senator's wife.
"Hello, Obi-Wan." Her voice was pitched lower, yet another thing that had changed. "I'm glad to see you looking so well."
"I'm glad to see you, too," Obi-Wan said, even though he realized that Astri hadn't really said she was glad to see him. "And how is Didi?"
"He is back home." At last a small smile appeared on Astri's face, and he saw a flash of the prettiness he'd known. "Entertaining his grandson. Or should I say, they are entertaining each other."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You have a son?"
"A beautiful boy. His name is Lune. He just turned three."
"My son is the light of our lives," Bog said. "Astri, my dear, I fear that Obi-Wan is a little put out with me." Astri's gaze lost its warmth and formality clicked back into place. She looked away, past Obi-Wan's shoulder, into the crowd.
"You must tell him that each of us must follow our convictions," Bog continued.
"Obi-Wan knows this, no doubt."
"You must tell him how I've struggled with my decision to throw my support behind this. But I've come to feel that the Jedi Council wields too much influence in the Senate and with the Chancellor. I don't want to make enemies, I'm just looking for a more balanced approach. Is that so strange?
" Obi-Wan didn't answer. It was clear Bog did not expect one, and would not listen if one were given. The words he spoke seemed to have been memorized, crafted by someone far smarter than Bog.
How had Astri fallen for him? Obi-Wan had known Astri since he was a boy. He had watched her brave blaster fire and bounty hunters even while being terrified. All in order to save her father and Qui-Gon. She had turned herself from a cook in a rundown cafc into a warrior.
Now she was a Senator's wife. He felt sadness deep within him. Did he even know her anymore? Had everything, for Astri, only been about playing a role?
"It was nice to see you again, Obi-Wan," Astri said. "Take care."
She drifted off into the crowd. Bog gazed after her with affection.
"A perfect Senator's wife. She's involved in relief efforts, which is so important for my profile."
Obi-Wan felt he'd had enough. He saw Roy Teda leave a group of supporters and make his way toward the door. Saying a crisp farewell to Bog, Obi-Wan followed him. He had wasted enough time.
Chapter Eight
Anakin sat with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his red-walled office.
Red Guards stood outside at attention. He had wanted to see how his Master did at the hearing, but Palpatine had detained him, and he couldn't refuse the Chancellor. How could you refuse someone whose term as Chancellor had expired years ago, but who stayed on to serve because so many saw him as integral to the well-being of the galaxy?
Anakin would have preferred to be searching the galaxy for Granta Omega, but he couldn't do that, either. There were times Anakin felt that wherever he turned, there was yet another order he could not refuse. He was trapped in everybody else's needs but his own.
Palpatine seemed to sense his mood. "You think you are wasting your time here," he observed.
Anakin searched for a way to be honest without being rude. "We were on an important mission."
"I can understand being frustrated by the Senate," Palpatine replied.
"Yet here is where the power lies."
"It is not power I'm interested in," Anakin said.
"Really." The former Senator from Naboo smiled. "That is a very Jedi- like response. Yet, can I say this — it is not entirely true. The Jedi do not seek power, yet they have it. Why is that?"
The words sounded oddly familiar to him, as if he'd heard th
em before, but Anakin could not figure out where. He had a feeling that Palpatine was posing the question just to hear what Anakin had to say.
"Because we have the Force," Anakin said. "It is a source of power, yet we do not seek it. It is simply there."
"And it is a Jedi's choice to use it," Palpatine said. Anakin smiled.
"You sound almost like one of our critics."
