Chapter 3 Naboo

Anakin opened his eyes and blinked. Reality snapped into place, and he breathed a sigh of relief just before being embraced.

"Anakin!" Padmé exclaimed, hugging him. She was somewhat flat, but Anakin was a dwarf now and figured he couldn't be too picky with girls willing to hug him.

"I'm fine," reassured Anakin. "Just used the Force a bit more than necessary," he added, glancing at Obi-Wan behind Padmé. They were in a large room, but Padmé's handmaidens were not around. Padmé pulled away a few seconds later and kissed him on the forehead.

"Ani, thank you. You saved many lives, ours and the Gungans'. You're our hero," Padmé said joyfully. Anakin sat and smiled, nodding.

"Still, I couldn't do anything for Qui-Gon," Anakin said with regret. Obi-Wan winced.

"Anakin, the queen is organizing a welcome celebration for our Gungan allies, and I have to help her. See you tonight," Padmé said, understanding they had things to discuss, and bid farewell with another kiss. Anakin nodded, running his hand over the bed. This was Padmé's room; her essence was everywhere.

"Anakin, what happened?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin sighed, preferring not to tell this guy anything. He was too rigid, but he also knew he'd be keeping an eye on him for the rest of his life if he said nothing. Besides, it's not like Palpatine would find out anything since he didn't have access to the Jedi Council.

"What did Qui-Gon tell you about me?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan looked uncomfortable.

"Your midichlorian count is higher than anything the Jedi have seen before. You have a connection with the Force never seen before. Your perception surpasses many Jedi, and you possess intelligence and wisdom beyond any child your age. Qui-Gon says your mental maturity surpasses mine," Obi-Wan said reluctantly.

"Obi-Wan, if it makes you uncomfortable that I'm more mature than you, you didn't have to say it. You're too honest. I was just asking about my abilities," Anakin said with a smile, and Obi-Wan clenched his teeth. "I know what happened with Qui-Gon. The Force guided me to him to remind him of something he already knew, and that was the way to be one with the Force beyond death. Not one like returning to the Force or being part of it, but one like still retaining your mind and spirit beyond your physical death," Anakin explained.

"That doesn't exist!" Obi-Wan declared with contained fury. Anakin grimaced and looked him up and down.

Obi-Wan seemed to be beyond his twenties, and someone trained by Qui-Gon shouldn't be so temperamental… Anakin grimaced again. Here, he was the child; he didn't have to make excuses for a guy who was already in his twenties.

"Obi-Wan, don't throw a tantrum. I'm not your father or your master, and you're supposed to be the one taking care of me. Also, while I have a few virtues, patience is not one of them," Anakin scolded, and Obi-Wan looked stunned as he coldly observed him. "You're a Jedi, reflect, use the Force, and discern. Don't waste our time throwing tantrums when the world doesn't seem to be what you thought it was," he added, getting up to sit on the floor, on his knees, indicating to Obi-Wan to sit in front of him.

Obi-Wan felt embarrassed and sat in front of him to start meditating and reflecting. For a normal person, this would be very weird, but Jedi were not normal people and were always surrounded by the Force, which, if they were willing to allow it, could clarify their doubts and lead them to a correct or appropriate answer if they truly sought it.

…

Just a few minutes later, Obi-Wan opened his eyes.

"There is no such thing in Jedi teachings," said Obi-Wan. This time, he wasn't denying the possibility of something else. Anakin nodded.

"So, he didn't learn it from the Jedi," Anakin said. Obi-Wan furrowed his brow slightly, but eventually nodded.

"My master didn't always agree with Jedi teachings. It's possible he studied with other Force-sensitive groups and learned what you mentioned before them," concluded Obi-Wan, obtaining his own answers within seconds, and Anakin knew they were true, both because the Force indicated it and Xion's knowledge as a traveler.

"That's interesting," Anakin said, but that form of immortality was somewhat vague for his liking.

Did Force spirits, like Qui-Gon, have a life of their own? If not, perhaps it could be combined with technology to make better use of it, as one characteristic of the Force was its ability to interact with reality, and theoretically, that wasn't impossible.

"You're right, but how can we communicate with my master?" asked Obi-Wan reluctantly. Anakin shrugged.

"I know as much as you do, and I suspect even Qui-Gon doesn't really know what he achieved. If I hadn't arrived, he might be even more confused than us and not know what to do. So, aside from meditating and trying to contact him as if we were looking for a ghost, I can't think of anything else. But it's not our fault, it's Qui-Gon's for being careless and not taking the things he learned seriously," said Anakin.

"My master was not careless!" reprimanded Obi-Wan. Anakin shrugged.

"Careless, negligent, ignorant, fearful, call it what you want. Now we can only wait and see if what he learned was effective and if he can communicate with us again. If it consoles you, I'm sure he succeeded, and sooner or later, we'll see him again," said Anakin, ending the topic. He wasn't going to mourn someone he knew was still present in some sense. "Now, let's get back to our affairs in this plane of existence," he added, and Obi-Wan looked at him without understanding.

"Did you recover Maul's body?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan shook his head, confused. Anakin grimaced.

"He's still alive," Anakin said, and Obi-Wan looked stunned.

"You wouldn't think he survived that," Obi-Wan said.

"I wouldn't bet against the Force," Anakin said. "Can you organize a search party?" he asked. He didn't want Maul running loose causing chaos.

"The Council Masters will be here soon. We can communicate your concerns as soon as they arrive," said Obi-Wan. Anakin nodded. Those were his current limitations. He knew Maul was alive, but he couldn't search for him, and Obi-Wan wouldn't leave his post as the queen's guardian to do it. He also wouldn't order common people to pursue a Sith.

Anakin sighed internally and finally focused on himself, frowning at the pajamas he was wearing.

"There goes the rest of my dignity," Anakin said with regret. Obi-Wan laughed.

"Anakin, your dignity is intact. The queen ordered a nurse to change you, all under strict medical confidentiality," explained Obi-Wan. Anakin sighed in relief, and Obi-Wan laughed even more.

"If you find it amusing, someday, if you happen to lose consciousness under my care, I'll order you to change clothes in a public square," Anakin threatened, and he headed to the bathroom to relax a bit. Obi-Wan stopped laughing immediately, taking his threat seriously.

…

The celebration parade took place in the afternoon when the Gungan army arrived in the city led by their chief. The queen welcomed them and awarded recognitions and honors to their leaders. Anakin was also honored, both by humans and Gungans, who had initiated the battle against the droids. However, thanks to the quick deactivation of the droids, they barely had time to breach the Gungan shields before being neutralized, giving them a victory with no casualties.

As for the humans, Anakin destroyed the command ship before there were many casualties. The queen had been right in front of the viceroy, ready to capture him when his droids deactivated in the midst of the ambush.

Finally, the space battle had been recorded from the spacecraft, and Padmé played a video of the feat for everyone to see, from its departure from the hangar to its return. People cheered throughout his short but decisive intervention in the battle.

…

The Jedi arrived at dusk accompanied by a Senate delegation, including Palpatine, who walked alongside the Jedi with a broad smile, as if celebrating his victory. Anakin knew why he was like that, as Palpatine had contacts both on Naboo and in the Senate, and although he couldn't ascend to Supreme Chancellor, Padmé's actions and the situation on Naboo made him one of the favorite candidates for the upcoming elections.

Due to this, Padmé couldn't do anything against him, as her request to investigate Palpatine had been dismissed, even by the Jedi Council, who considered there were no grounds to initiate an investigation against him. The Sith Lord simply had them firmly by the beards.

Despite all this, Palpatine hadn't achieved what he wanted, which was to establish a precedent for rising to power using unconventional means. Although he could force his stay in his ambassadorial position, he had earned Padmé's enmity. For her, the refusal of the powers of Naboo, the Senate, and the Jedi Council to investigate Palpatine only confirmed her own suspicions. Now Padmé had become a staunch opponent of Palpatine and would strongly oppose all his plans.

Padmé wasn't alone. She had her own support in Naboo, and, in fact, Palpatine's current popularity was due to her. In terms of popularity, Padmé was above Palpatine, and her opinion carried more weight among the common people…

Anakin, who observed the arrival of the diplomats from one side of the grand entrance leading to the hangar, stood frozen. In addition to Windu and Yoda, who were with the diplomats, and Palpatine, another Jedi had come: an elderly woman of small stature with green skin. It was Yaddle, who at that moment was descending from the ship that brought the diplomatic delegation, talking to the ship's captain.

According to Xion's memories, Dooku should have killed Yaddle upon learning of Qui-Gon's death, so she shouldn't be there. Only Yoda and Windu should be present.

Anakin wondered about this change and immediately received his answer. Of course, his reaction in the council must not have gone unnoticed. They didn't understand his surprise at seeing Yaddle, and now they wanted answers, so they brought her here upon learning of Qui-Gon's death. This made it impossible for her to meet Dooku. In short, Anakin couldn't prevent Qui-Gon's death, but he managed to save Yaddle and didn't even say a word or attempt to do so…

Yaddle and all the Jedi sensed his shock at seeing Yaddle. Anakin grimaced; he wanted to save Qui-Gon, and Yaddle was of no use to him.

"Anakin, is something wrong?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shrugged. He realized that Palpatine, pretending to be interested in what the Jedi were looking at, took the opportunity to focus his attention on him, albeit only visually, as he dared not use the Force there.

"Something is wrong, but I suppose it can wait until we meet with the other masters. The fact that she's here means the Council is seeking answers," said Anakin. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Then we'll wait," said Obi-Wan, adopting the Jedi waiting posture.

…

"Hmmm… Anakin, can we go somewhere else?" Obi-Wan asked, seeing the Jedi masters looking around in Padmé's room.

Windu looked at the four destroyed destroyers piled up next to the large bed where Anakin was sitting.

"Padmé doesn't want them, but these droids are good pieces of technology, despite their design being a waste, so I kept them for myself. I've also been gifted a few dozen B1s," explained Anakin, who had plans for the droids and had already reprogrammed them to obey him. The Jedi Masters approached the bed.

"Possess, a Jedi cannot," Master Yoda said.

"I'm not a Jedi, and this is research material. I suppose knowledge of things is welcome anywhere," replied Anakin calmly.

"It is," said Yaddle, interrupting Windu, who seemed to have a more eloquent retort to make. "Padawan Obi-Wan," said Yaddle, looking at Obi-Wan beside her. Obi-Wan tensed. "The Council has agreed for you to undergo the trials to become a Jedi Knight," said Yaddle with an elderly voice, but her movements were more agile and lively than Master Yoda's, though equally wrinkled.

"Insist on taking the boy as your Padawan, you must," Yoda said when Obi-Wan glanced at him.

"It was my master's will," said Obi-Wan. Yoda chewed his own saliva and then nodded helplessly.

"Young Skywalker, you have heard; you will be a Padawan and become part of the Jedi Order," said Windu. Anakin nodded and stood up to bow.

"Masters!" Anakin greeted with a respectful tone.

Obi-Wan looked at him while Yaddle smiled, and Windu grimaced at his boldness. He was trying to discomfort him with protocol, but Anakin didn't care about protocols and even understood their usefulness.

"Padawan Skywalker, explanations the Council believes you can give us," said Yoda.

"Less than they believe, but yes, I can explain some things," said Anakin, looking at Yaddle to start with her. "The Force indicated to me that Master Yaddle would be killed shortly after my visit to the Jedi Temple. That surprised me, but Qui-Gon had already informed me of what the Jedi thought about Force visions, and as he indicated they would simply ignore me, I didn't mention the matter. I was more concerned with finding an answer to save Qui-Gon's life, but in the end, I got nothing, just acceptance and a possibility.

"Today, I already considered Master Yaddle dead, so it surprised me to see her alive. She shouldn't be here, although I have already reflected on it, and it was my own reaction to seeing her that made her present. I suppose the Council summoned her to try to determine my reaction, and not getting anything, they brought her here, avoiding her encounter with death.

"That was too easy, but I suppose, unlike Qui-Gon, who had a 'scheduled appointment with death,' Master Yaddle's was just 'an accidental encounter,' a small variable, and she survived. This will be useful to me in the future, as reasons are more important than I thought," explained Anakin, revealing all the information and awaiting questions.

"Young Padawan, Master Yaddle was never in danger or near any dangerous encounter," Windu declared. Anakin had said everything he had to say, clearly and without hiding more than necessary, so he didn't retort.

Yaddle's case was valuable to him and allowed him to better understand things for the future, so Anakin considered it a valuable experience. The disbelief of the big shot was something he had taken into account and had no relevance. Windu seemed to expect a retort, but Anakin just looked at them for a couple more seconds, to see if anyone had any questions.

"Well, now let's move on to the next point…"

"Wait!" said Obi-Wan, interrupting Anakin. He bowed to the masters to ask for permission to speak. Yoda nodded with interest.

"Anakin, did you know what was going to happen to my master?" asked Obi-Wan. The other masters immediately grasped the meaning of his words and frowned, but they didn't interrupt. Anakin nodded.

"As I explained to Qui-Gon once, seeing the future is not a probability of infinite possibilities, as the Jedi say," declared Anakin, and Windu tensed, Yoda furrowed his brow even more, and Yaddle looked contemplative. Obi-Wan was startled; contradicting the council with three of its most prominent members present was not something he would expect from his future Padawan. Anakin smiled, as his reaction was not unexpected.

"This is scandalous but true. And I have more scandalous statements because probability doesn't exist; only ignorance and unawareness exist," Anakin declared, but he decided to get serious and stop mocking the Jedi. He set aside the playful and rebellious nature of the original Anakin to embody the unsocial traveler.

"You see, when I met Master Qui-Gon, the Force warned me that he would soon die. That was a possibility, an exercise in probability, as everything was variables. I didn't know how, I didn't know why, I didn't understand the reasons. Then I learned some things about the Jedi. That gave me a context, and the possibilities gradually narrowed until I met the Sith, and then the possibilities disappeared.

"All of them! Now, there was only certainty. The future was no longer a probability. The Sith surpassed him in physical form; in a solo combat, he had no chance. His support had already been taken away once and could be again. Jedi don't heed warnings from the future, so there would be no reinforcements from their side.

"Padmé was also fighting a lost battle; she couldn't help. And lastly, myself. To help Master Qui-Gon, I needed the skills of a Jedi, but for someone whose greatest feat is using a bit of telekinesis, I would only be a hindrance. My presence would only contribute to an early death and worsen things, leading to three instead of one falling.

"With more time, more tools, and more training, it would be easy, but in this case, I was powerless. I had no path but to step aside and accept what happened. Fortunately, Qui-Gon had his own path, and In the end, something could be saved," Anakin said.

The masters were surprised and wanted to ask, but they waited for Obi-Wan to nod in agreement to conclude the conversation. Anakin didn't wait for them to ask.

"Well, the second point. Why did Qui-Gon's body disappear?" said Anakin, and Windu nodded. "That was his doing. Obi-Wan and I assume it was knowledge of the Force that Qui-Gon learned from other practitioners. Its purpose was to keep his consciousness in the Force after his physical disappearance…

"That's impossible!" Windu interrupted.

Anakin wanted to explain a few more things, but he also didn't care if these guys believed him or not about this. He gained nothing from it, so he kept quiet and said no more. Yaddle looked at Windu, and her expression showed a reprimand; then she looked at him.

"Young Padawan, if you intended to say something more, please continue," Yaddle said kindly. Anakin nodded, as it didn't bother him either.

"The Force indicates to me that Master Qui-Gon succeeded in his transformation as part of it. But since we don't see him around here, I suppose there's more to it, and success Is not enough for communication. I have also thought that if this is a matter of the Force, I might be able to help him. If there's anything I'm a prodigy at, it's my affinity with the Force, and as he is now part of the Force, a few searches on my part should yield some results.

"The truth is, I would like to ask him some questions because you seem very determined to think that what he did is not possible, and I wonder what other things you believe are impossible and are undoubtedly as interesting as this," explained Anakin.

"Young Skywalker, a great ally knowledge is, but…" Anakin raised his hand to interrupt the "green troll." Obi-Wan almost had a heart attack and turned pale. Anakin figured that not even Windu's big cat dared to stop Yoda's words.

"Master Yoda, I see you're fond of giving simple warnings, but unless it's something I'm unaware of or requires an explanation for my actions, please refrain from doing so with me. One of my virtues or flaws is thinking about the consequences of each of my actions, and in the past few days, thanks to the two times I saw Maul, I've already understood the danger of dealing with the Force and the nature of what you call the dark side," explained Anakin, with no intention of listening to advice for five-year-olds.

"Patience, one of your virtues it is not," said Master Yoda, and Obi-Wan looked at him in surprise after blinking to avoid fainting. The masters looked at Obi-Wan, and Anakin smiled, so they looked at him.

"Yes, I am aware of many of my flaws, and yes, patience is not one of my few virtues," said Anakin.

"Padawan, you said you understand the nature of the dark side; can you explain it?" asked Windu. Anakin looked at him and then at Obi-Wan.

"Are you sure? There are children present," said Anakin. Obi-Wan looked at him indignantly, but before he or Windu could speak, Yaddle intervened.

"Padawan Obi-Wan, please wait outside," said Yaddle.

Windu and Obi-Wan looked equally surprised, but Yoda nodded a second later, and Obi-Wan hurriedly left obediently. Once he was out, Yaddle looked at Anakin and nodded to give him permission to speak about dark matters. Anakin nodded.

"I've seen Master Qui-Gon's meditation technique, and it's the same as mine. He focuses on the Force and uses it to calm his emotions and increase his control and reason over his reflexes. It's a continuous exercise program that, over time, will enhance his own control of the Force. It could also be called power, but I wouldn't agree with that, as I haven't seen evidence of it so far.

"Then I met the Sith. There's only chills around him, an uncontrolled cold. He was pure passion, like those people who only scream and don't listen to reason, except for those that concern their own desires. An unrestrained animal; he shouldn't even have control over himself. I've seen it before; for someone like that, only strength and fear of pain would work.

"Therefore, I concluded that there was no way this individual focused his abilities on control. With my current understanding of the Force and the use I've given it, I've noticed that, indeed, at certain moments of distress and desperation, one could argue, my power increases.

"Taking this into account, the nature of the dark side is evident. Constant emotional overload will provide an apparent great increase in power in the Force. Obtaining it is not difficult either; just change the training method. Instead of meditating on control, it's about focusing on emotions and amplifying them in the Force, feeding it with them. But not to control, but with the express purpose of elevating them without any control.

"In the past, I had witnessed something similar in the training of fighting animals, where the goal was to make them kill without hesitation and without caring about anything. They are not aware of anything, and their owners only want a decisive fight. If we apply this to a conscious being, it's a tragic fate, but for a Force user, it would be easy to get there. I understood this when Qui-Gon informed me that Jedi were forbidden to love, and by the way he said it, that must be one of their most sacred rules."

"At that moment, I didn't know the Sith, and I believed they only took the easy way, brainwashing their members to gain greater control over the Force. But now I understand that they fear the dark side; they don't want to deal with the possibility of their members falling into it.

"I disagree with their way of doing things. Choice is very important to me; it's part of my own responsibility, and I don't consider denying it to be right. Moreover, ignorance makes all their disciples vulnerable, and a Sith could choose among them at will, creating a window for their own destruction.

"Still, it's not the most extreme option they could have taken. As I mentioned earlier, it's the easy way. Seeing that Sith and imagining an entire order of them, I can visualize chaos in the galaxy. For all this, I would understand if ordinary people decided to exterminate any Force-sensitive individual born in this galaxy. That would be extreme measures," concluded Anakin. The Jedi Masters had been observing him with shock for a while.

"Why do you say the power of the dark side is false?" asked Windu after a minute. Anakin thought about how to explain it in a simple way.

"Imagine a mother who sees her son being crushed by a heavy beam. In her life, she has lifted more than fifty kilos, and that with extreme difficulty, but now her son is trapped under a column of five hundred kilos. The mother is frantic, there's no reason, only emotion, pure desperation.

"In that emotional state, she lifts the column and rescues her son. Miracle? Obviously not. If the column weighed ten thousand kilos instead of five hundred, she couldn't move it. Increase in power? From a debatable point of view, yes. But is that the reality?

"No," said Anakin shaking his head. "The reality is that her body always had that capacity, and with effort and dedication, she could achieve the same thing at a given moment, with full reason and control.

"In fact, with training and dedication, her body will strengthen, and she will be able to do much more without relying on emotional overload.

"For all these reasons, the power of the dark side is false. It's not an easy path to power; on the contrary, it's a path to absolute madness and self-deception that will only limit your abilities by giving you the illusion of power you already possess.

"Moreover, the Sith seemed drugged and incapable of freeing themselves from this state. I suppose, like any addict, it would be necessary to hit them hard for them to abandon this path, and it would be a miracle if they managed to come back on their own. I wouldn't waste my time unless it's important to me," concluded Anakin.

The masters reflected for a few moments. It seemed they had a lot to think about.

"Reflect on your words, we must, young Skywalker," said Yoda, bidding him farewell. Windu nodded and left behind, but Yaddle stayed.

"Young Padawan, could you see how my death was?" Yaddle asked, and the Force sounded its alarms.

Anakin understood that Yaddle's encounter with Dooku and Palpatine was an accident. But if he mentioned the matter, they would come after him, and it wouldn't be an accident. In his current state, it would be a certain death, like Qui-Gon's.

"I'm sorry, Master Yaddle, I can't answer that question for now," said Anakin. Yaddle nodded and also left the room, which, being the hero of Naboo, was Padmé's room.

…

Anakin sat back on the bed. Now he was on the Jedi path. His only obstacle, despite all the knowledge he had, was the love he felt for his mother, and he knew that people like Dooku and Sidious would not hesitate to take advantage of that. Sidious would also try to influence him with Padmé, but Anakin didn't see her that way. He felt no physical or personal attraction to her, so as long as he stayed away from the dark side, his life would be good.

On the other hand, Palpatine, although no longer enjoying Padmé's support, would be elected Supreme Chancellor in a year. His clone army and plans with the separatists must already be in motion, ready to unfold in ten more years. Anakin knew that the wretched old man was as cunning as him in sensing danger and the future, but Anakin had more knowledge in certain dark aspects of the Force.

There were rumors that Palpatine's master, Darth Plagueis, knew some of these powers, but Palpatine was a fool and killed him before he could learn anything, giving Anakin an advantage. As long as he didn't despair and waited for his moment, perhaps he could defeat Palpatine at his own game. Otherwise, he might have to withdraw without suffering personal losses.

With all these thoughts in mind, Anakin still had unfinished business. One of those matters was Maul. He had already told Obi-Wan that he was still alive, but he didn't know what the Jedi would do about it. As for him, he was confident he could locate Maul, but if he did, and Palpatine found out, he would have to bid farewell to this world.

Anakin sighed and got up to take out a toolbox from under his bed, starting to examine one of the destroyers.

Physically, this world was no different from the Stargate universe that Xion visited, but the reality was distinct. Here, there was no naquadah or tritium. He could do something with neutronium, but he needed a technology to condense it that didn't exist, making it irrelevant.

Moreover, Anakin didn't want to use Xion's technological knowledge because he couldn't control it, and it could fall into Palpatine's hands, who would use it against him. The technology option was only viable if Anakin had enough power to protect it. Still, like Xion in the Stargate universe, he didn't plan to advance technology in this world, as it would only work against him and could lead to imbalances in any disaster that occurred. If Anakin decided to use technology, it would be solely for his personal benefit, as he couldn't defeat Palpatine with technology when he had the entire galaxy under his political control.

However, as a personal and strategic advantage, technology could be used to his favor. Anakin didn't forget that one of Palpatine's main powers lay in technology, such as the neural chip of the clones and the army of droids. He had to find a way to sabotage this, but he couldn't act hastily, as this was a card he could only play once.