The False Peace

by Jude Watson

  "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 caf© 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 them 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."

  "Hardly. I am the Jedi Council's biggest supporter. What I am trying

  to do is discover a way to fight those who seek to take away their power,

  their influence. I have come to several conclusions, though, and they

  aren't helpful. Would you care to hear them?"

  "Of course." Anakin leaned forward slightly to show his interest. He

  felt flattered that Palpatine took him seriously enough to talk to him this

  way. He had imagined that the Chancellor did not waste his time with mere

  Padawan learners. He dealt directly with the Jedi Council, with powerful

  Jedi like Mace Windu and Yoda.

  Palpatine looked out his window toward the spires of the Jedi Temple.

  His gaze was clouded. "One reason that the Jedi Order has become the object

  of jealousy in the Senate is that the Jedi don't know how to defend

  themselves. Of course the Jedi are bold warriors, but when it comes to the

  war of words in the Senate, they simply disengage. This is a grave mistake.

  "

  "Our actions and our results speak for themselves."

  "There you are wrong. Results do not speak for themselves, not in the

  Senate. There must always be someone to explain why the results are good."

  Palpatine shru
gged. "Everything must be interpreted, or someone else will

  do the interpreting. Facts are not important, only the twist that helps the

  Senators understand them. It is the way it is. They must be fed their diet

  of truth."

  "You make Senators sound like children," Anakin observed.

  "Ah, but they are." Palpatine shook his head. "I did not seek this

  office, yet I must carry out the burden of carrying on its duties. One of

  these duties is to recognize that what the Senate needs is a strong hand,

  just as children do."

  "The Jedi don't believe that," Anakin argued. "In the Jedi Order,

  children are given the freedom to dissent and be independent."

  Palpatine smiled. "Unlike the Jedi, Senators are not gifted with the

  Force. Jedi can afford to give their younglings freedom, because they know

  they are exceptional. Most beings are not exceptional, Anakin. They need

  someone to tell them what to do, and sometimes, what to believe."

  Anakin struggled to grasp this. It went against what he believed. Yet

  he could not deny that Palpatine's strong hand had kept the Senate together

  during these years of growing strife with the Separatist movement.

  "You want to turn the Jedi into politicians," he finally said.

  "No. I want them to recognize that they are politicians, whether they

  like it or not. Power and politics are inseparable." Chancellor Palpatine

  rose. "You, Anakin Skywalker, you have power. I can see it in you. Your

  connection to the Force gives you clarity and boldness. The Jedi Order

  needs more like you."

  "I am still a student," Anakin said, standing.

  "Then learn," Palpatine told him. "Take this opportunity. Find out how

  to maneuver in Senate politics. It might turn out to be the skill the Jedi

  Council needs most. Not exactly the glory of lightsaber battles, but

  crucial nonetheless."

  "How can I do that?" Anakin asked.

  "Come with me to meetings while you're here," Palpatine said. "Watch.

  Listen. Tell me what you think, and I will share my thoughts with you."

  It was an extraordinary offer. Anakin knew he had to take it.

  "I will have to request permission from my Master."

  Palpatine inclined his head. "Of course. And in the end, who knows?

  Perhaps you'll be able to teach Master Kenobi a thing or two."

  CHAPTER NINE

  Obi-Wan trailed Teda through the maze of Senate corridors that led

  through the various wings. He hated how Teda strolled as though he belonged

  there. He remembered the prison he had seen on Romin, the prisoners ragged

  and starving. He remembered the slums he had seen on the outskirts of the

  capital city, the luxury of Teda's life compared to the suffering he pushed

  outside the city walls. Teda did not deserve his clear conscience. He did

  not deserve his ease.

  Teda stopped at last at one of the little caf©s that were tucked into

  the alcoves of the Senate hallways, a place for beings to stop and take

  light refreshment before returning to their duties. Teda hesitated at the

  entrance and looked around, then headed to a table in a far corner. Obi-Wan

  headed for the self-service refreshment bar. As he helped himself to some

  tea, he saw in the mirror overhead that Teda was meeting Senator Sauro.

  Obi-Wan made no attempt to conceal himself. He put down his steaming

  mug and headed to their table.

  "I can't say this is a surprise," he said. "I expected that you would

  be behind any plot to discredit the Jedi Order, Sauro."

  "As usual, you begin every exchange with rudeness," Sano Sauro said

  coolly. His thin face looked as tidy and pale as ever. His lips were almost

  white. He was dressed in a severe suit of black cloth. "I don't know what

  I've done to deserve your contempt and I don't care, but it continues to be

  tedious to put up with it."

  "You know very well what you've done in the past, and what you are

  doing right now," Obi-Wan said. "You are the shadow behind these hearings."

  Sauro sipped at a glass of water, the only item in front of him.

  "Senator Divinian is the presiding official over the hearings, not me."

  "How odd, then, that you are meeting with the main witness against the

  Jedi," Obi-Wan said.

  "I'm merely holding out a friendly hand to an exiled ruler of a

  democratic government that was overthrown by Jedi aggression," Sauro

  answered.

  "That's right," Roy Teda said, anxious to demonstrate his importance

  in the discussion.

  "Also, how odd that you chose to meet so far away from the hearing

  chamber, in a deserted part of the Senate," Obi-Wan remarked.

  "I like peace and quiet," Sauro said. "Obviously, I am not finding it

  at the moment."

  "That's exactly right," Teda repeated, nodding. He looked desperately

  eager to please Sano Sauro.

  Sauro didn't pay attention to Teda. He kept his cool gaze on Obi-Wan.

  "So you see, Kenobi, I have no hand in the utter demoralization of the

  Jedi. I am merely a witness to it."

  Obi-Wan leaned over the table on his fists. He locked eyes with Sauro.

  "I'll leave you to your thieves and murderers, Sauro. I realize they've

  gotten you far, but one day the company you keep will ensure your downfall.

  "

  "Who are you calling a murderer?" Teda sputtered. "Or wait, am I the

  thief?"

  Obi-Wan turned on his heel and left. He walked quickly through the

  halls and jumped into a turbolift. He didn't want to waste any more time.

  He needed to talk to the one being he knew had the most knowledge of Senate

  intrigue, the best political mind he knew - his friend Tyro Caladian.

  He took the lift down to the lowest level, then followed a twisting

  corridor that narrowed as it descended. After a short ramp, it turned and

  Obi-Wan found himself in a dim hallway. Bins and durasteel boxes were

  stacked outside a door. He smiled. Tyro hadn't changed a bit. He could

  always count on his industry.

  The door was slightly ajar, so he pushed it open and peered in. "Tyro,

  I need you once again."

  A voice came from behind a stack of procedural manuals. "My ears are

  happy! It is the voice of my friend Obi-Wan!"

  A Svivreni poked his head over the manuals. His small face twitched

  and his bright eyes were alight with pleasure. He scurried out from behind

  the desk that took up almost the entire room. He stopped directly in front

  of Obi-Wan, opened his hand, and closed it. He placed it against his heart,

  and then Obi-Wan's.

  Obi-Wan followed the same gestures. Svivreni had different codes of

  greeting and good-bye, and Obi-Wan had advanced to the most affectionate

  with Tyro. "It's been too long."

  "Yes, indeed. Oh, let me find you a chair." Tyro broke away and began

  to sweep books off a chair. "You Jedi, never sitting, always moving."

  Obi-Wan sat. Tyro leaned against the desk to face him. Now, they were

  eye to eye.

  "I do not have to ask why you have come," Tyro said, his dark eyes

  full of worry. "I was at the hearing." Obi-Wan grimaced. "I did badly."

  "You did well, my friend. As did Senator Organa. But the anti-Jedi

  faction had packed the house with supporters. And Di
vinian's questioning!"

  Tyro threw up his hands. "An outrage. It was obvious he wasn't looking for

  truth. In another time, too obvious. Steps would be taken to have him

  removed from a position of authority. But these days..." Tyro shrugged and

  fiddled with the metal clasp that kept back his waist-length dark hair. It

  was a gesture he used when nervous, and Tyro was often anxious about the

  state of the Senate.

  "Yes, things continue to decline, no matter how the Chancellor tries,"

  Obi-Wan remarked.

  "He does his best. But this uproar against the Jedi - I've never seen

  anything like it. Even for the Senate, it's ridiculous. And frustrating.

  It's just a distraction from the real work they should be doing."

  Distraction. The word clanged like a bell inside his mind, but Obi-Wan

  didn't know why. Another word had hit him earlier, just a tiny ping, what

  was it...

  Demoralized. Sauro had said that the Jedi were demoralized.

  Disruption + Demoralization + Distraction = Devastation.

  Xanatos! Granta Omega's father had devised that formula for

  orchestrating evil to take root. He had done it at the Jedi Temple itself,

  hoping to destroy it forever. Could it be that his son was using the same

  formula to destroy the Senate? Was that his real goal?