The Edge of the Universe

XIV

Anakin's POV

My comm went off in the Chancellor's office and on the inside, I sighed in annoyance.

"Sorry, I need to take this," I apologised before walking outside his office.

"Skywalker," I said into the comm.

"Anakin where are you? Rex needs us for something, he said it was urgent," Obi-wan replied.

"I'm with the Chancellor, I'll come now. Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm outside your apartment, I'll meet you on the ground floor of the Jedi Temple,"

"I'm on my way,"

I poked my head back into Palpatine's office and explained I had to go and he nodded and wished me good luck for whatever it was. The Chancellor had called me to his office to explain how the Jedi Council was planning something and he asked me if I knew what it was, obviously, I hadn't been let in on the plan because the Jedi Council definitely didn't trust me.

I made my way to the Jedi Temple as fast as I could and Obi-wan was tapping his foot impatiently, I kind of apologised and quickly changed the subject before he could lecture me. We walked towards the hanger and I was lost in my thoughts, we've been back for two weeks, the first few days I was in the bacta tank fixing my broken ankle and Obi-wan had been in for a whole week. Somehow I knew that he already knew what the Council was planning, he was a Jedi Master which was understandable but Palpatine told me that a few of the clones and other Jedi Knights knew what they were planning.

"Are you alright?" Obi-wan asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" 

"You've been quiet today, that's all," he pointed out.

I couldn't think of an excuse on the spot but luckily we arrived at the hanger doors, clones from all different squadrons were walking around and fixing ships or just talking. We spotted Rex over the far end of the hanger and made our way towards him, moving between clones and ships.

"General Skywalker, General Kenobi, Commander Tano has contacted me and explained that the Jedi on the Sepeartist ships need to be picked up immediately. She's on board as well and she has talked to Master Windu and he told her to contact me," Rex explained. 

"So it's just a relief mission?" I asked.

I saw Obi-wan glance at me looking for my reaction to hearing Ahsoka's name for the first time in a long time. With the war and so many missions I had quickly forgotten about Ahsoka leaving the Order, well, I hadn't really forgotten but the mission kept my mind distracted so I didn't think about it much. It had been a year and a half since she left so she'd be 16 now. 

"Yes sir, just a quick pick up and then back here to Coruscant. No battle or fighting," Rex replied.

"The 501st should handle it, I know you miss her. Plus, there aren't many of you guys so it should be good for a relief mission," I commanded.

"Yes sir, also I'm going to Kamino soon to get more troops. Having so little in the 501st makes things feel kind of strange," Rex replied, "We'll get going right away, are you coming?"

"No, I've got to go to Ilum to get a new lightsaber. Haydes can fly the ship," I replied.

Rex opened his mouth to say something but I saw Obi-wan give Rex a warning glance and he closed his mouth again, I pretended not the notice.

"Well, good luck," I said.

"Thank you, sir, and you too," Rex replied.

I turned around and walked out of the hanger and I heard Obi-wan and Rex talking in low voices as I left. 

To distract myself I went into the training room and trained for about 4 hours, the sun had set and the 501st set out a while ago. I went to Padme's apartment and tried to sort of my emotions and hide my anger and frustration with the council while she worked on her report for the Senate. I didn't know how long we sat there but finally, Padme set down her datapad and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"What's bothering you?" she asked.

"It's nothing," I lied sitting up from the couch.

"I can sense you're angry about something, don't hide it from me Anakin," she said.

I got up and paced a little bit struggling to rein my anger in a bit more.

"The council doesn't trust me, they never have," I said.

"They trust you with there lives," Padme argued, "I know they do, why do you think they don't trust you?"

"Ever since I came to the Temple they didn't trust me. They're afraid, they're afraid of the power I have and could have. They made sure in my training I never went too far so they could control how much power I could use. But now I'm beginning to tap into it and I can tell that the Council is wary of me and they'll try and contain how much I use," I ranted, "It's just wrong. I have enough power to potentially end the clone wars but they're holding me back! I know Obi-wan's in on it as well and I know he's also afraid of what I could do,"

"What makes you think that? You don't know for certain if Obi-wan's holding you back because the Council asked. You can't assume things," Padme responded.

"I can sense it within the force, it's different, the feeling is a lot stronger than it ever was, it's full of suspicion and wariness. Whenever I enter into the room or talk to Mace Windu or any other Jedi I can sense that they don't trust me. I can even sense it in Obi-wan,"

"Obi-wan's your friend, you've saved his life multiple times. I don't think he'd throw away your trust just because the Council asked him to, we both know he would never do that," Padme reasoned getting up and placing a hand on my back and kissing my cheek.

Padme's presence was calming and my anger cooled down a bit and I forced it behind my shields and turned my attention to Padme and kissed her.

"You may be right about Obi-wan, but I can tell the Council is wary of me," I said.

"It'll all pass, trust me," Padme whispered.

I sighed and pulled her into a hug letting her calming presence wash over me and melt away my anger and pull my shields down slightly. 

"You need to sleep, I can tell you're tired," she stated pulling away and giving me a small smile, "Plus, you're going to Ilum early tomorrow morning and need to concentrate to find your crystal,"

I sighed and kissed her before she disappeared to get ready for bed, I picked up the two broken pieces of my lightsaber. I examined it one last time before placed it in the drawer of the bedside table next to the box which had my old shattered crystal in it. 

Padme climbed into bed next to me and I flicked the light off with the force and sighed before my head hit the pillow.

"Trust goes both ways, Anakin. Maybe the reason they don't trust you is because you don't trust them," Padme suggested.

I said nothing and Padme grabbed my hand and I squeezed it back saying 'I'll think about what you said'. I sighed again and looked up at the ceiling while my thoughts whirled around in my brain all night long.