Saga Winds of Change - Anakin's Saga is completed!!!!....Sequel announced!

*takes out signs and begins to picket outside of the galactic senate* Down with the Chancellor!!!

*gushes* that last post was totally sweet! I loved it!

Amigirl

 

Well, it really does seem to be Sunday, and time to post the first half of chapter 7...


Chapter 7 (Part I) When one door opens...


?Senator Amidala, I hope this discussion has addressed your concerns about the Officer Training Academy Bill. If our reverend Jedi Masters are in agreement that this is the best path to take, and if it will ease their heavy burden of having to supply commanders for our troops, then surely you can have no further objections?? The Supreme Chancellor spoke with the greatest warmth and kindness.

Padmé?s stomach still was tied in knots, as it had been during the entire meeting. She was beginning to wonder whether she was losing her grip. In the past it had never been difficult to think clearly. Now she constantly was hearing things one way and feeling them another way. She looked around at the others who were seated at the Chancellor?s massive desk. Masters Windu and Mundi were as impenetrable as ever. Master Yoda kept watching her and making her thoroughly uncomfortable. The Chancellor was exactly as he had always been, but she nevertheless was reacting to him in odd ways without knowing why. Bail Organa was the only comforting presence in the room, except he was firmly in favor of the proposed legislation and she had the distinct feeling he was annoyed with her.

There was no doubt about the way she felt. No doubt at all. Padmé had serious concerns about putting the amount of resources that were under discussion into a training academy for military officers. It was going to be huge, and its reach would cover the Galaxy. As conceived in this draft of the bill it would turn out far more trained military personnel than were needed at present, even under war conditions.

But the Jedi were supporting it. Padmé was alone in arguing that the bill, in its present scope, was the first step toward the development of a massive military hierarchy that would supersede the sovereign military forces of the member planets. And yet the Jedi seemed to see nothing wrong with that. Why?

?I?m curious,? Padmé said, ?what role your Graces see for the Jedi Order in the future that this proposed legislation describes.?

Mace Windu fixed her with a level look. ?Role, Senator? I?m not sure what you mean. The role of the Jedi Order will remain the same it always has been. To ensure peace in the Galaxy.?

Padmé had to hold on to herself tightly not to retort out loud, well, you haven?t done a very good job recently, have you? Instead she behaved herself and said only, ?I ask because the development of a very large military force reporting to the Senate easily might end up assuming some of your traditional roles.?

?Perhaps you are reading too much into this,? the Chancellor intervened smoothly. ?We are only talking about making certain that we have trained officers to command our armies. You must admit that our need is grave, and immediate.?

?I am asking what comes after,? Padmé persisted. ?You, Chancellor, have vowed that you will lay down your emergency powers as soon as the crisis is over. What will happen to this Academy, and to the tens of thousands it will have trained, at that time? The Senate will no longer need an army then.? She looked pointedly at the Jedi Masters who sat in the plush red office so implacably in their modest robes. ?Suppose the Senate sees fit to retain a standing Army of the Republic and have it take over the peacekeeper role??

?What are you suggesting, Senator?? Master Mundi asked sharply. ?That the Order no longer has a place in the Galaxy??

?No, Master Mundi, not at all,? Padmé cut in quickly. Can you not hear what I am saying? Listen to me! ?I am saying that there is a danger the Order might find itself pushed out of its place.?

There was a very deep silence in the room.

?Padmé,? Bail said uncomfortably, ?I think you are carrying your concerns too far. If what you outline were the case the rest of us in this room surely would not be in agreement on this bill.?

?No, no, Senator Organa, Senator Amidala is right,? Palpatine s

 

Great post geo.
Padme is beginning to feel something is wrong with Palpy. How you explain that she can feel this and Jedi masters not?
But the thought being close to Anakin make her forget this feeling. Well, love makes people blind... She has an excuse for that, but Jedi masters, I don't know - I wonder what chances did the poor kid had against Palps, when they put him right into his arms?

 

Great post, Geo! Why don't they just hand Ani over to Palpatine giftwrapped with a bow and nice note? Geez, what idiots! They don't know what they have in him, and it will come back to bite them hard in the ass.

Palpy is SOOOOOOO disgusting! Blech!

 

Geo.. you are portraying Palpatine as his devious self.. great job! "blind are we to the dark side".. if only they could feel what he was up to.. all of ep3 would be so loving and different.. of course then ep 4-6 would have to be rewritten and GL does not have the time!!

 

Oh, this is getting good. Anakin going straight ino the hands of Palpatine spells doom over him (and everyone else).

Palpatine's manoeuvring's are a joy to read. The way he fools all of the Jedi, but there's that inkling of doubt that Padme feels..
well, you haven?t done a very good job recently, have you?
LOL, I wish she had said it out loud!

I like how Yoda remains silent and watches Padme all the time. I guess he sees more than the other Jedi.
And finally, how Padme's suspicious mind goes completely blank when Palpatine pulls out the 'Anakin' card in his little game..What a puppet master.

 

No wonder Anakin turned to the darkside so easily. He was put right where Palpatine wanted. It's good that at least someone is seeing that there is something going on with Palpatine, but I wish the Jedi would notice it and not just Padmé.

 

Yay for Padme for noticing something is up with Paply. It's easier to see how Anakin turned back, with Palpy getting him to work with him everyday and earning his loyalty for getting him away from the Jedi.

 

Anakin the child of prophecy; Padme the prophet. I guess they really are meant to be together...

Wow. This is brilliant. Palpatine has never been so alive, so masterful, so manipulative in anything I have ever read. You portray his ability to play everyone for a fool (including now even Padme) so remarkably. Absolutely amazing!!

And they would agree. He had foreseen it.
This is perhaps the most telling statement of all. Not only is Sidious the puppet master, but he never even has to take any risks...

 

Well, another brilliant Post!

It was great reading Palpy's wonderfully sneaky manipulatons...even though he makes me feel slightly sick! If only he'd turn that um, "talent" to really fixing the problems in the galaxy out...

You dumb Jedi schmucks... I can sympathize with Padme here, alright. Her Force powers she so recently aquired seem to be kicking in..

Can't wait for more. Anakin in Palpy's evil clutches - ARGH!

 

Palpy, that dirty, rotten @#$%^& *(^$##@!

One of the major questions the PT has to answer is: How does a loved and gentle nine-year-old boy turn into Darth Vader? You are doing a wonderful job of laying out the multitude of little steps that lead him down that path.

Yoda is catching on, but his focus is on the wrong person. He should be spending more time concentrating on Palpy and just leave Padme alone.

Great chapter!

 

<< wants to smak the crap out of the stupid self rightious Jedi, especially Mace "I have a stick up my butt" Windu...

You go Padme'... Sic 'em!!

 

As usual geo3 has written a post that has broken all previos records. I am so full of possible rants about her characterization of Palpy and Padme and the Jedi Council that I have choked on my words and been rendered speechless!

What I must say that I love the most about this story is that not only is the work quality - written beautifully with consistent characterization and attention to detail - but it is also faithfully updated. After endless waiting from posts from [whisper] You-Know-Whos (like me) [/whisper] reading a good story that the author is devoted to enough to regularly update enough to complete! is like a breath of fresh air in the Council Boards!

Keep it up geo3

And thanks for the review of my vignette!

 

Thank you all! I see our dear Chancellor gives rise to strong reactions whenever he appears!



Darth_Lex OK, OK! Beating subway fare is Darkside. I concede. As for "The Child of Prophecy and the Prophet" - I love that! That's it exactly! May I use it? And as for Palpatine - we will be seeing more of him.

Leia_Amigirl Thank you! I hope the Chancellor noticed the picket....

JediArwen Padme is not trained in the use of the Force. I wonder whether that has something to do with it?

sacysatrip It seems that way, doesn't it? Oh, and a belated Happy Birthday...

qinguak I just wanted to get a look inside what went on.

Lando_Plenty I guess there is a reason why Master Yoda survives the Purge...

aotc02 It's hard to be the only one who can see the truth.

PhoenixMage Exactly. I believe that Anakin's turn to the dark side was neither simple nor straightforward.

illuminatrix I take your point. A 'good" Palpatine might have done wonders for the Galaxy. But would he have been as powerful and influential if he were not a Sith? I think not.

lori71 That is exactly the question I am trying to answer. It's why I'm writing these stories. I need to understand how such a thing might happen.

DB Just wait!

Leia_Naberrie Thank you! It is my greatest joy to have contented and faithful readers. It's like going on a journey together. I will try to keep up until the story is finished.







Here is a teaser for the post that will go up on Wednesday:



?Let me show you something,? Anakin said, as a teacher.

?There is nothing you can show me,? Lon growled, as an adversary.

?Come on, Lon,? said Anakin reasonably. ?This is just a class. There?s nothing more to it than that.?

?You have no business teaching a class,? Lon said in a low and dangerous voice. ?You have no business teaching anyone. Especially the kids.? He glared at Anakin. ?I know what you said to Gren..."

 

I need to understand how such a thing might happen.

Well, you're doing a wonderful job. Thanks for allowing all of us to come along for the ride!

 

What did he say to Gren?! I need a new post!

 

I don't like this. The Jedi are getting on my nerves. Especially Lon. This is NOT gonna end well...ok, we all knew that, but I still think it's gonna be more messy than expected.

 

Geo.. change the title to reflect the chapter update!! Me, I look in as a matter of course but others need to see the new header...

 

Time for another post to complete Chapter 7...

lori71 Thank you!

aotc02 and Irulan Here is is.

DB Thanks.



Chapter 7 (Part I When One Door Opens).........Part II Another One Closes


?Oh, no,? Lon Erian groaned out loud. ?It can?t be. This has to be a mistake.?

Anakin grinned at him, waving a data pad in his hand. ?Afraid not, Lon. Saber Master Class. Final rankings. I?m teaching.? He pointed to the list on the pad. ?See? It says it right here.?

Lon tasted bitter gall. That meant Skywalker was empowered to approve his Saber Master qualification. Whatever happened, it was going to be his signature on the final document.

It was too much to bear.

?I thought you were teaching the young ones??

?I finished with that. I just have to clean up this lot.? He waved his hand to indicate the nine other young adult Padawans who were milling around the training room, stretching and chatting.

?I want another teacher present on grounds of extreme prejudice.?

?Don?t worry, Lon,? Anakin said kindly. ?The competition matches are all juried. My job is to make sure you?re qualified to enter them.?

Lon groaned again.

?So?Lon,? Anakin asked, all solicitous concern. ?How?s your wrist??

Lon had enough sense not to say what he was thinking out loud, but Anakin picked up the feeling behind it perfectly well and laughed.

He loved being in charge.

Calling the class to order Anakin made them go straight through five basic forms just to see what he was dealing with in terms of balance, strength and grace. They were all pretty good, as they ought to be by this level.

As usual Anakin made them go through several forms in his personal triple-slow motion style. There were groans all around. Predictably enough he quickly picked out a number of weaknesses that had been hidden by the momentum of the faster forms. Lon had a noticeable imbalance between his right and left arms. The problem seemed to originate in his shoulders and upper back. His wrist seemed fine.

Anakin decided that picking Lon out to work with first was asking for trouble, so he paired them all off and set them to sparring while he assisted one pair at a time. Over the next two hours he worked his way through the whole class, systematically identifying weak points and offering methods for curing them. Finally he couldn?t delay the inevitable any longer, and moved over to Lon. He was sparring with V?ar again.

There wasn?t much advice he could offer V?ar. She was brilliant, as always. Maybe just a little slow on the attack sometimes?but he couldn?t figure out why.

?Come and spar with me for a minute,? he suggested to her. He needed another look.

Lon glowered off to the side.

?There?s nothing wrong with V?ar?s style,? he said pointedly.

?I never said there was,? Anakin said, without taking his eyes off his partner. They both began with the same stance. V?ar lunged with her usual aggressiveness only to find that, wherever her blade went, Anakin?s was there already. He felt her pause. ?Go on,? he encouraged. His intentions were purely diagnostic. She attacked again and they fought for a few more moves.

There was nothing wrong with her style. It was her thinking. Anakin called a halt and puzzled about how to put into words something that he could feel and perceive in the Force, but could find no physical equivalent for.

Anakin?s continued meditation sessions with Master Yoda had begun to give him a different perspective on the Force. Before it always had been something he used, like a tool. Something that he reached for or into when he needed it. Now he gradually was beginning to feel the Force as something he lived inside of - something that was no different from himself. When he thought about something or reached for something or moved through space he was doing it as though he was the Force - and therefore there were no limits on his thought or his movement. There were only limits if one believed there were. He himself was the Force.

Belief. That was the key.

?Try imagi

 

Great post, Geo3! That Lon really is a brat, isn't he? Ani's such a good teacher! Now I understand "Join me, and I will complete your training..." (and wouldn't that have been interesting, but that's another story to be written).

 

Anakin is mischievous..How's your wrist?

It seems all Anakin's business is once again open to everyone in the temple
Such a good teacher but already there's conflict caused by his attachment.

I've noticed Obi-wan is absent lately..I'd love to see what he does when he catches up with Anakin.

 

Uh oh. Everyone likes learning from Anakin but they're scared of him too. That really is quite a statement about his status in the Temple now. We're a lot closer to Vader than we realize, I think...

So Yoda has taught the father the same lesson about the Force he'll later teach the son -- "That is why you fail." The only limits are in your mind. Of course, Anakin's mind is pretty screwed up...

?I want another teacher present on grounds of extreme prejudice.?
LOL! This is perfect!

Lon is such a punk. Vader needs to take this guy out.

 

I, on the other hand, have nothing left to lose.

This line says it all...Beautiful!

How does Lon know what Ani said to Gren? I wouldn't have guessed she would tell anyone...she is pretty young, but....

 

I daresay that he must have menatlly eavesdropped on them during the training lessons! Selfrighteous people like him would feel it was justified for the greater good!

By the way, geo3 :

TWO THUMBS UP!

 

::sneaks up behind Lon and kicks him:: Ha! There! Take that, you jerk!