Cure | Anakin Skywalker

chapter seven

Master Obi-Wan and Master Windu bring news of an arrest on Coruscant. The Order believes it was the root of the assassination attempt on Senator Amidala, meaning we were given the all-clear to return home and close this mission. Anakin and I are finally going to face the Council for what happened on Tatooine, and his fate will be decided.

During the trip home, Anakin lets little fear or anxiety show on his face but I sense that he is worried. When we reach the Temple, I try to offer some quiet words of encouragement but my companion keeps his head high, too proud to let on that he is nervous. Inside the Chamber, only Windu, Obi-Wan, and Master Yoda sit waiting for us with stern gazes.

"Welcome home, Jedi," Master Windu speaks as we come to the center of the room. "The Council has been in discussion for some time now about what kind of... consequences, you're deserving of."

"Master Jedi, I take full responsibility for what happened on Tatooine." Anakin's voice echoes strongly around the Chamber. The sound both comforts and startles me. It eases me to hear him speak so confidently and earnestly, but I wasn't expecting the humility.

"Got your words back, Skywalker? Last time we saw each other, you weren't too keen on speaking."

"I apologize for my behavior. I have no excuses."

"Be too harsh on young Skywalker, we must not," Yoda speaks, gesturing at Master Windu. "A hard loss it is to lose one's mother."

Though he stays still, I can sense Anakin's emotions flinch at the mention of his mom.

"We are sorry, Anakin. But we must also look at what you've done to the Tusken Raiders very seriously. I hope you understand our position," Obi-Wan says. I can tell that he's trying to be kind, at least as kind as the Council will allow him. The bond between a Padawan and their Jedi Master is nearly unbreakable. Obi-Wan clearly empathizes with his old student.

"I understand."

"The Council has decided that Skywalker needs to be tested. There's news of a Separatist group in Jedha rallying to overtake the Temple of Kyber. That is a holy place. It should be untouchable but the Separatists are growing bolder as this war wages on." Windu stands and paces around the room.

"This is the test. Jedha is strong with the Force, it will affect you in ways you have not been prepared for in your training. There are people there who might try to turn you towards the Dark Side or change your allegiance to the Republic. If you can locate and contain the group threatening Kyber, and return home, the Council will look past what you've done."

I glance to my right to try and gauge what Anakin is thinking. This sounds like a difficult mission, even for me. Though I'm sure I could do it, I'm grateful I'm not the one being sent out.

"Siorah, you'll be looking out for Anakin on this mission as well. The Council decided you also needed a reminder of what duty looks like," Obi-Wan informs me.

I close my eyes. "Of course."

Yes, of course, I will be going too, I think sarcastically. Just when I thought I was going to get out of this situation cleanly.

"The two of you are dismissed until it's time to go. Your ship leaves in two days." Windu waves us away and we bow. I suppose it's not as bad as it could have been. Anakin is still a Jedi and I have yet to be sent on a mission I'm not prepared for. But I still must speak with Yoda about how I can help my partner, if he even needs help from me at all.

"Master Yoda, may I speak with you before you go?" I ask. The small, green Jedi nods in agreement and I wait as everyone else leaves the room.

"Filled with anxiety, you are, young Siorah Katha." He blinks at me as I take a seat in front of him. "I sense you have many questions."

"I feel confused. I want to believe in Anakin and trust that he is the Chosen One as everyone says, but what I saw on Tatooine frightened me. We've been through the same training, have nearly the same level of experience, are the same age. How can I help him?? I want to but I don't know how," I sigh.

"Nineteen years is too short a time to have learned valuable lessons, you think?" Yoda says, raising his brow at me. "And believe that Skywalker needs saving now, you do. First, you must ask what makes you feel this way."

I look at my hands that rest gently in my lap, confused. "So, Anakin doesn't need my help at all? Perhaps I read the situation wrong... but I know what I saw. More importantly, I know what I felt. Anakin brushed dangerously close against the Dark Side, I sensed it that night. The feeling was so strange and frightening, I can't stop thinking about it."

"Anakin Skywalker believes he chooses his own path. A way of controlling what he does not understand, he thinks this is. But Skywalker stands on a precipice. What did not happen today, might very well happen tomorrow. Such unease, unrest, and distrust, there is in the Order. Strong are these emotions in controlling which way Anakin will fall, ever-present are the opinions of others on his shoulders."

"You think he might turn?" I ask.

"He is more defenseless than we know. Few people, he truly trusts in, and this pushes him further to the edge. It is up to you, young Katha, to pull him home," Yoda says slowly. I look back to the ground, my eyes shifting quickly between my hands.

"What do I do?"

"Believe in him, you must. Never lose faith in the strength of his desire to protect those he loves."

I nod. Despite knowing that it's useless trying to get a clear answer from this particular Jedi, I still feel confused and uneasy about what it is I'm meant to do for Anakin. It's difficult to trust Yoda's riddles and hope to find truth in them sometime in the future, but there's nothing more for me to ask.

I stand and bow again. "Thank you, Master. I will do everything I can."

Anakin waits for me outside the Chamber doors, his brow set sternly and fists clenched by his sides. I come up beside him, Yoda's words still echoing in my mind.

He stands between two worlds now, I feel it even more than I did before. The anger he feels, and his search for balance, sit in his two hands, guiding him down two different paths. I must keep him facing the sun, in the direction of hope, always towards the light.

He turns his head towards me but keeps his eyes on the ground. "Be ready to go. We move out in two days."

With that, he starts down the hall, the weight of this next mission hanging over both our heads. We must not fail this one, not that I am used to getting into trouble for missions, but this time the stakes are personal.

If Anakin is barred from going on to become a Knight, the Empire may lose its most anticipated weapon yet; the Chosen One.