| abstract | - Without an appointment, Bail Organa burst into Chancellor Amedda’s office. “I'm not sure whether to believe this or not,” he told the Chagrian. “Anakin Skywalker has been arrested?” “I'm afraid that is true, senator,” Amedda replied regretfully. “I was surprised at the news myself but it cannot be denied.” “But Stokra…” Bail shook his head in frustration. “I don’t like this; it’s far too convenient given what he said last week on the Holonet.” “Like it or not the evidence is there,” Amedda told him. “It’s far from conclusive but I doubt Stokra will pay any attention to that.” The Temple was abuzz with the news, rumours were flying everywhere and Sona was not sure who to believe. She asked several Jedi, even Master Kenobi when she saw him walking through the Temple, though when she was reminded that she was better to focus on her studies Sona sought out more definite answers. Why she came to the lower levels of the Temple where Jedi Skywalker was reportedly held she did not know exactly. She asked the Jedi on duty if she might see him, and when there appeared to be no objections she went in. But before she did she spotted something sitting on the shelves where Skywalker’s belongings were held. There, with his lightsaber and comlink was a flat river stone, black in colour and round and smooth. When she touched it she could feel…a ripple of sensations flooding through her, places she had never seen, faces she could not identify. She went in with it in her hands. Anakin, who had been staring angrily at the wall, looked up when he heard he had a visitor. At first he had expected it to be Obi-Wan, or even Yoda but walking towards him was the last person he had expected to see. It was Sona, the young Jedi initiate in his—no Obi-Wan’s—‘saber training class. She held something out to him. “I…thought you might want this,” she said in a small voice, more curious than nervous. Anakin took it from her, it was the river stone that Obi-Wan had given him on his thirteenth birthday. The same stone that Obi-Wan had been given when he was Qui-Gon’s Padawan. “I thought it might be important,” Sona said. Anakin stared at her. “How could you know this?” Sona shrugged. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “It’s just…a feeling I had.” There was silence for a few moments. Finally, Anakin knew he had to get rid of her. “Why have you come?” he asked her, hoping she would take the hint and leave. She shrugged again. “I think I wanted to find out some answers,” she said slowly, her dark eyes examining his face carefully. “But I also wanted to talk to you, ever since that night with the lambent poppies I've wanted to.” Anakin didn’t know what to say, and this alone stunned him. The only ones he knew who could disarm him like this were Obi-Wan and Yoda, and of course there had been Palpatine and Padmé… But this twelve year old girl who he had not even known up until about a week ago? Why? Sona’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “I wanted to ask you something.” Her eyes were still on him, watching his every movement. “What is it that you have seen that makes you like this? I mean,” she continued, “that you keep trying to look angry with everyone but there’s something else there that you’re trying to hide, isn’t there? Something that you don’t want to even mention.” How could she know this? Anakin thought, his mind spinning from the questions she was posing. And what he said next surprised him more. “I…I lost someone very close to me,” he said. Sona’s eyes were wide. “Someone you…loved?” Anakin found that he couldn’t answer that question. And what would she know about love anyway? he thought rather bitterly. Yet Sona appeared to understand his silence, she touched his knee. The touch was slight, barely more than a flower petal alighting on his shoulder, yet it sent up a pulse through his body as strong as last time. And for a moment, briefer than a nanosecond Anakin’s mental shields around his pain for Padmé fell, but that wasn’t all that was surprising. He could feel Sona entering that space, and he didn’t even fight it. He felt her reach out to him in the Force, nothing but compassion behind her impulse. It’s all right, he felt her say, I know how you feel. The spell was broken when the door to the cell was opened. Anakin and Sona jumped perceptively and looked rather guiltily at the duty Jedi. “You’ll have to go,” he said to Sona, staring between them curiously, “Master Kenobi is here.” Anakin stared at the doorway after she had gone. There was something about the question she had asked that was familiar, either that or with what he had said. Yet for the life of him he couldn’t name it. What has he done this time? That had been Obi-Wan’s first thought when he had heard the news about Anakin. Immediately he had set out for the Temple, wondering if his former apprentice could mess things up any more than he already had. Should he have been surprised? A part of Obi-Wan’s mind told him that this could have almost have been expected, especially since it involved Senator Stokra. Yet that was not what surprised him. What made Obi-Wan stop in shock when he was waiting to see Anakin was the fact that one of his initiates—Sona Cantari who had stopped him earlier when he was on his way to see Yoda—had apparently been Anakin’s visitor. She looked rather guiltily at Obi-Wan as if being caught doing something she shouldn’t, yet apart from the customary greetings she chose to say nothing. What is behind all this? Obi-Wan wondered, Don’t tell me they liked Anakin that much. Yet all of these questions were out of his mind when he entered the cell. Fortunately Anakin was not in the mood for an argument even though Obi-Wan had come prepared for one. Anakin didn’t even look at him when he entered, he merely continued to stare at the wall. This was probably all the attention that Anakin would decide to give him, so Obi-Wan decided to begin. “You’ll be seeing the Jedi Council this evening, the last session.” For a moment Obi-Wan was silent as if waiting for Anakin to answer. “Even with all the noise Stokra is making we’ve got to hurry this through with Gunray’s trial impending.” Anakin did not seem to hear him. “You’re late,” he said, staring at the Jedi Master accusingly. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. “Sorry?” “You said you’d be only a few days and now it’s a week later,” Anakin explained as if it were obvious. “Anakin, this is you we are talking about!” Obi-Wan half-shouted. “What happened this morning pretty much ruined everything my mission was about. All we have is your word against Stokra’s and even if this was all a set-up, you could be in a very precarious position.” He paced the cell in exasperation. “I just don’t know why you were with Stokra in the first place, even you should know better than that!” Anakin took a deep breath and gave Obi-Wan his full attention. “He called me this morning and said he wanted to make a compromise.” Obi-Wan looked at Anakin sceptically. “And what did he say?” “He said that he had perhaps misjudged me and I had the impression he wanted to withdraw his allegations against the Jedi,” Anakin answered. Obi-Wan sighed, this was just like Anakin. “Why couldn’t you wait until I had returned?” “I wanted to,” Anakin admitted, “but he said this afternoon, and it wasn’t like I could argue with him. And Obi-Wan,” he added for good measure, “he didn’t mention you at all, he wanted to talk to me.” “Anakin, can’t you see how he trapped you into this situation for his own benefit?” Obi-Wan demanded. Anakin looked surprised. “Isn’t that going too far?” Obi-Wan ignored the question. “Here is what Stokra is saying,” he told him. “He claims that his allegations were true in how the Jedi are moving against our political opponents and this is justification for reducing our jurisdiction.” Anakin’s mouth opened and closed in exasperation. “But that’s…that’s…” Obi-Wan nodded. “I know,” he said, “but the problem is that people are believing him.” When Anakin didn’t reply he continued. “There are those in the Senate who are on our side, but Stokra’s using this to get himself more support…” “Against us,” Anakin finished, glowering at the toes of his boots. “There’s still something I don’t understand, Obi-Wan,” he said after a moment silence. “Why is it so important that I am at Gunray’s trial? With everything that’s going on isn’t that a bad idea?” Obi-Wan smiled quietly. “I can see what you mean, Anakin,” he replied evenly. “But you’re the only one that can give details about Sidious, and since Gunray and Sidious are connected well…” Obi-Wan closed his arms slowly with some satisfaction. “You won’t have long to wait though, the trial should take place in a matter of weeks.” Yet when Obi-Wan had left, promising he’d be back later, Anakin continued to stare at the wall. Great, he though morosely, something else to look forward to. From Star Wars Fanon, a Wikia wiki.
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