After watching the startling revelation about the truth of the Master of Darth Sidious, the Jedi Council continued to watch as they witnessed Anakin's meeting with Palpatine, feeding him with praises of his capabilities that were warmly accepted by the Jedi Knight.
Some members of the Council recalled the young Jedi Knight not getting much respect for his deeds, though some such as Yoda, Kit Fisto, Shaak Ti and Plo Koon had appreciated Anakin's deeds for the order and saw great potential in him.
However, most of them, including the absent forms of Oppo Rancisis and Coleman Kcaj, didn't give Anakin much respect for him and were always cautious of him and of his abilities, which may have serve as a basis of turning to Palpatine, who treated him no less like a son. And the others could see where they were going up against.
And then this happened...
"Oh, Chancellor—" Anakin broke into a smile of disbelief.
"There is no one more loyal than the Jedi, sir—surely, after all this time—"
But Palpatine had already turned away. He lowered himself into the chair behind his desk and kept his head down as though he was ashamed to say this directly to Anakin's face.
"The Council keeps pushing for more control. More autonomy. They have lost all respect for the rule of law. They have become more concerned with avoiding the oversight of the Senate than with winning the war."
"We are already spreading thin throughout the Outer Rim to deal with Separatist Strongholds. What does he mean we're not trying to win the war?", Plo Koon questioned in a inquisitive tone.
"Could be a way for him to persuade Anakin...", Obi-Wan began before he sighed. " And likely because of the Jedi's current position within the Senate"
"If I recall correctly, wasn't the Senate the one who began assigning Jedi to do what they wished was best for the Galaxy?", Kit Fisto spoke out in concern to which caused everyone to look at him. "But I could be wrong..."
"With respect, sir, many on the Council would say the same of you." He thought of Obi-Wan, and he had to stop himself from wincing. Had he betrayed a confidence just now?
Were these honest warnings, out of concern for him? Or had they been calculated: seeds of doubt planted to hedge Anakin away from the one man who really understood him?
The one man he could really trust...
Some members of the Council began to get wind on what Anakin was thinking: he thought that the Council was trying to cause a rift between him and the closest thing he had to a father, which of course was not a good sign.
Based on Anakin had been expressing his own resentment of the order internally, most of them thought he would simply shrug it off by accepting it as the will of the force. Or the fact that he will eventually get over it and continue his duties.
But apparently, it granted different results...
"Oh, I have no doubt of it," Palpatine was saying. "Many of the Jedi on your Council would prefer I was out of office altogether—because they know I'm on to them, now. They're shrouded in secrecy, obsessed with covert action against mysteriously faceless enemies—"
"Well, the Sith are hardly faceless, are they? I mean, Dooku himself—"
"Was he truly a Lord of the Sith? Or was he just another in your string of fallen Jedi, posturing with a red lightsaber to intimidate you?"
"Anakin had his reasons to doubt Palpatine is a Sith Lord if he never sensed anything on him firsthand", Shaak Ti stated with uncertainty. " Especially to the fact that we couldn't even sense him either..."
"Skywalker's mindset and his emotional attachments are what could have Palpatine used against him..." Mace theorized, as everyone could see that as an actual possibility.
If a certain Senator of Naboo is involved...
"I..." Anakin frowned. How could he be sure? "But Sidious..."
"Ah, yes, the mysterious Lord Sidious. "The Sith infiltrator in the highest levels of government.'' Doesn't that sound a little overly familiar to you, Anakin? A little overly convenient? How do you know this Sidious even exists? How do you know he is not a fiction, a fiction created by the Jedi Council, to give them an excuse to harass their political enemies?"
"The Jedi are not political—"
"In a democracy, everything is political, Anakin. And everyone. This imaginary Sith Lord of theirs—even if he does exist, is he anyone to be feared? To be hunted down and exterminated without trial?"
"Being a Sith Lord is not a crime for a very long time...", Depa recalled. "So that alone is not enough to convict him, or else the Senate will view this as a coup attempt by the Jedi"
"The Sith are the definition of evil—"
"Or so you have been trained to believe. I have been reading about the history of the Sith for some years now, Anakin. Ever since the Council saw fit to finally reveal to me their ... assertion ... that these millennium-dead sorcerers had supposedly sprung back to life. Not every tale about them is sequestered in your conveniently secret Temple archives. From what I have read, they were not so different from Jedi; seeking power, to be sure, but so does your Council."
Everyone's eyes widened in realization after recalling the last few scenes altogether.
Darth Plagueis and his power to cheat death using Sith techniques.
And then the Temple Archives.
Palpatine was basically telling Anakin that the power to cheat death is within the Temple Archives, and he knew that the Jedi Knight would want nothing more than to gain access to its knowledge to save his wife from death.
But there is a catch: he needed the rank of Master to gain access.
"The dark side-"
"Oh, yes, yes, certainly, the dark side. Listen to me: if this'Darth Sidious' of yours were to walk through that door right now—and I could somehow stop you from killing him on thespot—do you know what I would do?"
Palpatine rose, and his voice rose with him. "I would ask him to sit down, and I would ask him if he has any power he could use to end this war!"
"You would—you would—" Anakin couldn't quite make himself believe what he was hearing. The blood-red rug beneath his feet seemed to shift under him, and his head was starting to spin.
"And if he said he did, I'd bloody well offer him a brandy and talk it out!"
"You—Chancellor, you can't be serious—"
"Well, not entirely." Palpatine sighed, and shrugged, and lowered himself once more into his chair. "It's only an example, Anakin. I would do anything to return peace to the galaxy, do you understand? That's all I mean. After all—" He offered a tired, sadly ironic smile. "—what are the chances of an actual Sith Lord ever walking through that door?"
"Mind games...", Mundi observed with a visible frown. " And he is playing it well with everyone around him. Including the Jedi..."
"I wouldn't know," Anakin said feelingly, "but I do know that you probably shouldn't use that... example... in front of the Jedi Council."
"Oh, yes." Palpatine chuckled. "Yes, quite right. They might take it as an excuse to accuse me."
"I'm sure they'd never do that—"
"I am not. I am no longer sure they'll stop at anything, Anakin. That's actually the reason I asked you here today."
"Forgive my words, but is he really telling Anakin that we are stupid enough to accuse him of being a Sith Lord simply because he knows the Sith?", Kit Fisto inquired the entire chamber. But unfortunately none can provide him the answer.
He leaned forward intently, resting his elbows on the desk. "You may have heard that this afternoon, the Senate will call upon this office to assume direct control of the Jedi Council."
"He can't do that!, Saesee Tiin exclaimed.
"The Senate may have boldened since they are technically higher than the Jedi...", Luminara suggested.
Anakin's frown deepened. "The Jedi will no longer report to the Senate?
"They will report to me. Personally. The Senate is too unfocused to conduct this war; we've seen this for years. Now that this office will be the single authority to direct the prosecution of the
war, we'll bring a quick end to things."
Anakin nodded. "I can see how that will help, sir, but theCouncil probably won't. I can tell you that they are in no mood
for further constitutional amendments."
"Yes, thank you, my friend. But in this case, I have no choice. This war must be won."
"Everyone agrees on that."
"I hope they do, my boy. I hope they do."
Inside his head, he heard the echo of Obi-Wan, murmuring relations between the Council and the Chancellor are...stressed.
What had been going on, here in the capital?Weren't they all on the same side?
"I can assure you," he said firmly, "that the Jedi are absolutely dedicated to the core values of the Republic."
One of Palpatine's eyebrows arched. "Their actions will speak more loudly than their words—as long as someone keeps an eye on them. And that, my boy, is exactly the favor I must ask of you."
The Jedi raised their eyebrows in anticipation. And what would that be, Palpatine?, Obi-Wan thought.
"I don't understand."
"Anakin, I am asking you—as a personal favor to me, in respect for our long friendship—to accept a post as my personal representative on the Jedi Council."
...
Hey guys I would really appreciate it if you could throw some power stones to help elevate the ranking.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release, you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/Darkness013