The Rise And Fall Of Darth Vader (10 page)

Anakin threw himself at Dooku, knocking him from the balcony to the floor below. Leaping down after his quarry, Anakin struck again and again at Dooku until both of their blades were practically locked onto each other.

“I sense great fear in you, Skywalker,” Dooku said. “You have hate. You have anger. But you don’t use them.”

Anakin grimaced, angrier than before, the blades unlocked, and the duel resumed. Trading blows across the chamber, they came to a stop near the hostage Palpatine. Dooku was using both hands to grip his lightsaber, putting more of his strength into each deadly swing, when Anakin reached out fast with his left hand to catch Dooku’s wrists. In the moment that Dooku was temporarily pinned, Anakin’s right hand twisted sharply to swing his lightsaber between him and the startled Dooku.

Dooku’s lightsaber automatically deactivated as it flew out of his severed hands, which fell to the floor with an ugly flopping sound. His knees buckled, and he dropped to kneel beside his hands. Anakin snatched Dooku’s lightsaber from the air, then activated the red blade and crossed it with the blade of his own weapon, angling the blades to either side of his opponent’s head. Dooku’s eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he stared at the maimed ends of his arms. Because lightsabers cauterize as fast as they cleave through flesh, there was surprisingly little blood.

I got you,
Anakin thought, keeping the lightsaber blades close to Dooku’s neck.

“Good, Anakin,” Palpatine said from his seat. “Good.” Unexpectedly, he chuckled.

He almost sounds cheerful. He must be in shock.

Then Palpatine said, “Kill him.”

What?
Anakin kept his eyes on Dooku, who shifted his trembling gaze to Palpatine.

“Kill him now,” Palpatine said.

Dooku looked up at Anakin, who now saw genuine fear in the old, maimed man’s eyes. Anakin said, “I shouldn’t.” His words seemed to give some relief to Dooku, whose panicked expression relaxed slightly as he continued to tremble.
I can be merciful,
Anakin thought as he held Dooku’s gaze.
I’m a better Jedi than you ever were.

“Do it,” Palpatine said, practically spitting the words out.

Fear flickered again in Dooku’s eyes, as he suddenly sensed what was coming.

Anakin rapidly uncrossed the blades, cleaving through Dooku’s neck. Dooku’s body collapsed alongside his hands, while his head rolled and thudded across the floor like an ill-shaped ball. Anakin felt his own heart pounding in his chest as he deactivated the lightsabers, and almost immediately thought,
What have I done?

“You did well, Anakin,” Palpatine said calmly. “He was too dangerous to be kept alive.”

“Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner,” Anakin said as he released Palpatine’s energy binders. “I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not the Jedi way.”

Rising from the tall seat, Palpatine said, “It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn’t the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People?”

In the three years since his mother’s death, Anakin had convinced himself that he had temporarily lost his mind that night at the Tusken camp. It remained his darkest secret, something he’d never even told Obi-Wan because he knew he would be banished from the Jedi order, and yet he’d felt compelled to take Palpatine into his confidence. Anakin grimaced at the memory of the slaughtered Tuskens. The desire to kill them had been beyond his control.
Killing Dooku wasn’t the same. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.

Palpatine said, “Now we must leave before more security droids arrive.”

Anakin ran to Obi-Wan, who remained pinned under the broken section of the balcony. Outside the chamber’s large windows a ripple of fiery bursts indicated the space battle had intensified.

“Anakin, there’s no time,” Palpatine said as Anakin pulled his Master free from the wreckage. “We must get off this ship before it’s too late.” The Invisible Hand shuddered violently as it was wracked by a series of explosions.

Checking Obi-Wan’s vital signs, Anakin said, “He seems to be all right.”

“Leave him,” Palpatine commanded, “or we’ll never make it.”

“His fate will be the same as ours,” Anakin said, for once refusing to obey the Chancellor. He lifted and slung Obi-Wan’s body over his shoulders and ran with Palpatine to the lift tube.

* * *

Anakin and Palpatine were still aboard the Invisible Hand when Obi-Wan recovered. Along with R2-D2, they were briefly apprehended by General Grievous but managed to evade his metallic clutches. Unfortunately, Grievous launched all the escape pods and fled into space as the battle-damaged Invisible Hand began to tumble through Coruscant’ s upper atmosphere. Although the crash landing was bone-jarring for Palpatine and the Jedi, Anakin’s incredible piloting skills delivered them, and what little remained of the Confederate flagship, to a landing strip.

Mace Windu, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, and C-3PO were among the dignitaries who greeted Palpatine and Anakin at the Chancellor’s private landing platform at the Senate Offices while Obi-Wan returned to the Jedi Temple. After speaking briefly with Bail Organa as they entered the office building, Anakin found Padmé discreetly waiting for him in the shadows of a tall column. He hadn’t seen her in months.

Although Anakin was concerned that General Grievous was still at large and had assumed leadership of the Confederacy, he forgot his troubles as he embraced Padmé.

But she seemed different; she had something very important to tell him.

“Ani, I’m pregnant.”

Still in the shadows of the Senate Offices hallway, Anakin suddenly felt light-headed. Padmé stared into his eyes, waiting for him to say something. “That’s…” he began, then sighed and looked away. With the sudden realization that their marriage could not be a secret much longer, his first thoughts were of how this development would impact on their lives.
Padmé might be recalled to Naboo, and I’ll be cast out in disgrace from the Jedi order. It will be a scandal…

Then his gaze met Padmé‘s again, and he saw how frightened she was.

“Well,” he said, “that’s won- - that’s wonderful!” He smiled.

Less than assured, Padmé said, “What are we going to do?”

“We’re not going to worry about anything right now,” Anakin said, holding her tight. “All right? This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life.”

* * *

Later that night, in Padmé‘s apartment in Galactic City, Anakin had a nightmare so terrible that he nearly shouted when he awoke. He tried to ease himself out of bed quietly so Padmé would not be aware of his absence, but she woke up too and found him standing on the terrace, watching the air traffic glide past her apartment windows.

“What’s bothering you?” Padmé asked.

“Nothing,” he said. Padmé was wearing the good-luck charm that Anakin had carved for her shortly after they’d met. He reached out to touch the charm and said, “I remember when I gave this to you.”

Padmé gave him a hard stare and said, “How long is it going to take us to be honest with each other?”

Anakin took a deep breath. “It was a dream,” he admitted.

“Bad?”

“Like the ones I used to have about my mother… just before she died.”

“And?”

“And it was about you.”

Padmé moved closer to Anakin and said, “Tell me.”

Anakin moved a short distance away. “It was only a dream,” he said, but as soon as the words had been uttered, he felt them to be untrue.

It wasn’t just a dream. It was real, and it’s going to happen
.

He turned to face Padmé and said, “You die in childbirth.”

Padmé tried not to cringe. “And the baby?”

“I don’t know.”

Padmé moved again to Anakin’s side. “It was only a dream,” she said, now trying to convince herself as well as placate Anakin.

“I won’t let this one become real,” Anakin vowed.

“This baby will change our lives,” Padmé said. “I doubt the queen will continue to allow me to serve in the Senate. And if the Council discovers you’re the father, you’ll be expelled.”

“I - I know,” Anakin stammered, trying to push away those realities. “I know.”

“Do you think Obi-Wan might be able to help us?”

“We don’t need his help,” Anakin said, and glowered as he imagined his Master’s reprimands. When he noticed that Padmé looked frightened by his expression, Anakin shifted his features into a gentle smile and said, “Our baby is a blessing.”

Anakin thought about the dream again, hoping that it wasn’t an accurate depiction of things to come, but somehow knowing in his heart that it was. Fortunately, he knew someone who was something of an expert on premonitions.

* * *

“Premonitions?” Master Yoda said. “Premonitions. Hmm.”

It was the morning after his nightmare about Padmé, and Anakin was in Yoda’s quarters in the Jedi Temple. They were seated across from each other, and shafts of bright sunlight sifted through the blinds that lined the windows of the sparsely furnished room. Yoda said, “These visions you have…” 

“They’re of pain, suffering. Death.” 

“Yourself you speak of, or someone you know?” Anakin was reluctant to offer too many details, but admitted, “Someone.” 

“Close to you?”

Anakin lowered his gaze, and felt almost ashamed as he answered, “Yes.”

Raising a cautionary finger, Yoda fixed Anakin with a penetrating gaze and said, “Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side.”

Anakin recalled the dreams that had preceded his mother’s death, and then of his failure to save her. Returning Yoda’s gaze, he said flatly, “I won’t let these visions come true, Master Yoda.”

“Death is a natural part of life,” Yoda explained. “Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is.”

Hoping to stay on the right path this time, Anakin said, “What must I do, Master Yoda?”

“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”

I might be able to let go of being a Jedi,
Anakin thought,
but I can’t let go of Padmé. I just can’t. I love her too much.

I won’t let her die. I won’t.

* * *

Soon after Anakin’s meeting with Yoda, Palpatine confided to Anakin that he feared the Jedi Council wanted more control than they already had in the Republic. Anakin found this difficult to believe, but agreed to become Palpatine’s personal representative on the Council. Because only Jedi Masters served on the Council, Anakin assumed that his appointment would guarantee his promotion to Master, and felt insulted when the Council insisted that he remain a Knight. After his first awkward meeting with the Council, Anakin learned from Obi-Wan that the Council wanted him to report on all of Chancellor Palpatine’s dealings. It seemed that Anakin was the only Jedi who trusted Palpatine.

Palpatine suspects the Council is up to something, and the Council wants me to spy on Palpatine! Who should I trust?
Anakin tried talking with Padmé, but when she expressed her concern that democracy no longer existed in the Republic, he accused her of sounding like a Separatist.
Is she turning against me too?!

Later that night, Palpatine summoned Anakin to meet him in the Chancellor’s private box at the Galaxies Opera House. There, while watching a troupe of Mon Calamari perform a zero-gravity ballet within immense spheres of shimmering water, Palpatine informed Anakin that Clone Intelligence Units had discovered that General Grievous was hiding in the Utapau system. After dismissing his aides from the box, Palpatine further confided that he had come to suspect that the Jedi Council wanted to control the Republic, and was plotting to betray him.

Palpatine said, “They asked you to spy on me, didn’t they?”

Squirming in his seat beside the Chancellor, Anakin replied, “I don’t, uh… I don’t know what to say.”

“Remember back to your early teachings,” Palpatine continued. “All those who gain power are afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi.”

No, that’s not true,
Anakin thought. “The Jedi use their power for good,” he insisted.

“Good is a point of view, Anakin,” Palpatine said calmly. “The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power.”
That’s not true, either
.

“The Sith rely on their passion for their strength,” Anakin said. “They think inwards, only about themselves.”

“And the Jedi don’t?” Palpatine asked, lifting his eyebrows high to convey his belief that the answer was as plain as his face.

“The Jedi are selfless,” Anakin countered. “They only care about others.”

There was applause from the audience, and Anakin and Palpatine directed their attention to the performers. Palpatine said, “Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?”

“No,” Anakin admitted.

“I thought not,” Palpatine said smugly. “It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create… life.” He slowly turned his gaze to Anakin before he continued. “He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.”

Anakin thought immediately of Padmé, and of his most recent nightmares, and felt a tingling sensation along his spine. He said, “He could actually… save people from death?”

“The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”

Anakin thought about Darth Plagueis, wondering just how much of the legend might be true. He said, “Wh - What happened to him?”

Looking away from Anakin, Palpatine answered slowly, “He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It’s ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself.”

Because the Chancellor was such a learned man and had discussed the ongoing hunt for Darth Sidious with members of the Jedi Council, Anakin wasn’t curious about how he might have learned such a bizarre story about the Sith. Anakin only wanted to know one thing.