Blurred Sides (COMPLETE)

7.6.1

A month had finally passed. It had been a hard four weeks, especially with the perpetual threat of the Inquisitor, but Anakin had made it. He jumped on a speeder and wove his way through afternoon traffic to the Senate Building.

The Inquisitor had been seen several times since Master Plo Koon had returned with the Twi'lek Youngling and another report of the Sister. Information, resources, codes, weapons, all of these had gone missing without so much as an alarm sounding, in three different locations across the galaxy. There was no correlation between the locations, no pattern in the time the resources were stolen. Most of the time, no one even saw the Inquisitor, but in the places the resources ought to be, all that could be found was a circle with a line cutting through the horizontal middle.

If it was information or codes, that were stolen, it was an image of the symbol. When it was weapons or rations, or medical supplies, it was burned into the wall next to the empty rack. It had confused the Republic at first, but Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Depa Billaba, Caleb Dume, and Plo Koon had all confirmed that it was a) the shape of her lightsaber handle, and b) the same symbol that was on her belt. Besides, only a lightsaber could have burned the symbol onto the walls.

As for the Youngling, Lura, she had transitioned fairly well into the routine of the underage Younglings, and after a week, she was settled. The other Younglings treated her well, and she loved being able to play rocks with the other children. None of the adults became worried when stones, food containers, or spare parts started to float everywhere in the nursery. More to the fact, Lura had become accustomed to the weird feeling she got from everyone in the Temple. Everyone was strange, just like the strange man who had taken her here.

Whenever she saw Plo Koon, she laughed and ran up to him, along with a few of the other Younglings that he had brought to the Temple. They would all talk to him, those who could talk, and he would try his best to listen and understand, grateful for a distraction from the war at hand.

He wasn't always distracted, though. During the few moments he got alone with little Lura, she would tell him what she had said on the Temple steps on her first day. "Scared of red," she would whisper. "Angry at blue."

Instead of being confused, though, Plo Koon would simply sigh, and say, "I know, little one." He knew it didn't fix anything, but there was nothing else he could do. Not yet.

Anakin, of course, never saw this and didn't know much about the orange Twi'lek. All that he did know was that her name was Lura, and every time she saw him, she would point and saw "Blue! Blue!" over and over again. Not that he understood how she knew what color his lightsaber was, but at least someone wasn't whispering about him.

Speeding over Coruscant, Anakin smiled a little bit when he remembered the small child. Normally he didn't care about Younglings, but this one had almost been taken by the Inquisitor, so she was different. At least, that's what he told himself as he slowed his speeder to a stop at the Senate Building.

He passed through security and walked up to Padme's office. She didn't know he was coming yet, but he wanted to surprise her anyway. The Jedi Order decided that someone that was such an active advocate for democracy was sure to be targeted by the Inquisitor, so they had ordered Anakin to escort her to her chambers in the next building over, where she normally stayed. He had asked if it would be redundant if he stayed the night to protect her while she slept, and no one had objected. He had barely been able to hide it, but he couldn't wait to see her. One whole afternoon with her, as soon as she knocked off work. It made the whole month worth suffering through.

~

Palpatine strode down the halls towards the landing platform. His ship was here to take him back to Dromund Kaas, and he was more than ready to leave the Senate Building. They had taken the past full rotation to debate about a new law that would potentially give the Chancellor more executive power during the war, but the tension in the chamber nearly burst through the walls. Eventually, Palpatine had been able to persuade the majority of the Senate to agree with him and vote for the law, but it had been quite exhausting.

It was worth it, though. His 'emergency' powers would last as long as the Clone War lasted, and by the time it ended, Palpatine would have already completed his plan. He would rule on high as emperor, and the 'emergency' powers would become permanent under his new dictatorship. The Senate couldn't take away his powers if he took away the Senate's power first.

For now, he had to be patient. One step at a time, he told himself.There is still work to be done, starting with the Sister. She had been quite successful recently, stealing vital information and resources from foundational bases across the galaxy. Overall, the Inquisitor had performed quite well in the past month. It was time to utilize her abilities and channel them into a more imposing role.

He descended the stairs that encircled the main lobby of the building but saw Anakin on his way down. Smiling, he approached him. A little nudge in the right direction was certainly not going to hurt him.

"Well this a pleasant surprise," he said, pausing on the landing between flights. "To what do I owe this?"

Anakin looked up and shook his head. "I'm actually here on assignment, Chancellor," he told him. "The Council has asked me to escort Senator Amidala to her quarters."

Palpatine folded his hands. "Another one of their new security measures, I presume? I will say they chose the right Jedi to do so."

The Chosen One smiled and looked down. Palpatine could see that he was blushing, and knew that there was another hidden motive behind the assignment. Of course, he knew, why wouldn't he?

"Well, say hello to her from me," he said, smoothing out his suit. "There was a heated discussion today and I'm afraid I never got the chance to speak with her afterward."

"I will, sir," Anakin replied. "Good night."

"Good night, my boy," he bade him, before turning on his heel and continuing down the staircase.

Good night, indeed.