Star Wars_ The Dark Lord Trilogy - James Luceno [182]
“But—”
“Palpatine will never allow it. Though he hasn’t said so …” Mace stared out the window. “… I’m not sure he even believes the Sith exist.”
Obi-Wan blinked. “But—how can he—”
“Look at it from his point of view: the only real evidence we have is Dooku’s word. And he’s dead now.”
“The Sith Lord on Naboo—the Zabrak who killed Qui-Gon—”
Mace shrugged. “Destroyed. As you know.” He shook his head. “Relations with the Chancellor’s Office are … difficult. I feel he has lost his trust in the Jedi; I have certainly lost my trust in him.”
“But he doesn’t have the authority to interfere with a Jedi investigation …” Obi-Wan frowned, suddenly uncertain. “Does he?”
“The Senate has surrendered so much power, it’s hard to say where his authority stops.”
“It’s that bad?”
Mace’s jaw locked. “The only reason Palpatine’s not a suspect is because he already rules the galaxy.”
“But we are closer than we have ever been to rooting out the Sith,” Obi-Wan said slowly. “That can only be good news. I would think that Anakin’s friendship with Palpatine could be of use to us in this—he has the kind of access to Palpatine that other Jedi might only dream of. Their friendship is an asset, not a danger.”
“You can’t tell him.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Of the whole Council, only Yoda and myself know how deep this actually goes. And now you. I have decided to share this with you because you are in the best situation to watch Anakin. Watch him. Nothing more.”
“We—” Obi-Wan shook his head helplessly. “We don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“You must keep this one.” Mace laced his fingers together and squeezed until his knuckles crackled like blasterfire. “Skywalker is arguably the most powerful Jedi alive, and he is still getting stronger. But he is not stable. You know it. We all do. It is why he cannot be given Mastership. We must keep him off the Council, despite his extraordinary gifts. And Jedi prophecy … is not absolute. The less he has to do with Palpatine, the better.”
“But surely—” Obi-Wan stopped himself. He thought of how many times Anakin had violated orders. He thought of how unflinchingly loyal Anakin was to anyone he considered a friend. He thought of the danger Palpatine faced unknowingly, with a Sith Lord among his advisers …
Master Windu was right. This was a secret Anakin could not be trusted to keep.
“What can I tell him?”
“Tell him nothing. I sense the dark side around him. Around them both.”
“As it is around us all,” Obi-Wan reminded him. “The dark side touches all of us, Master Windu. Even you.”
“I know that too well, Obi-Wan.” For one second Obi-Wan saw something raw and haunted in the Korun Master’s eyes. Mace turned away. “It is possible that we may have to … move against Palpatine.”
“Move against—?”
“If he is truly under the control of a Sith Lord, it may be the only way.”
Obi-Wan’s whole body had gone numb. This didn’t seem real. It was not possible that he was actually having this conversation.
“You haven’t been here, Obi-Wan.” Mace stared bleakly down at his hands. “You’ve been off fighting the war in the Outer Rim. You don’t know what it’s been like, dealing with all the petty squabbles and special interests and greedy, grasping fools in the Senate, and Palpatine’s constant, cynical, ruthless maneuvering for power—he carves away chunks of our freedom and bandages the wounds with tiny scraps of security. And for what? Look at this planet, Obi-Wan! We have given up so much freedom—how secure do we look?”
Obi-Wan’s heart clenched. This was not the Mace Windu he knew and admired; it was as though the darkness in the Force was so much thicker here on Coruscant that it had breathed poison into Mace’s spirit—and perhaps was even breeding suspicion and dissension among the members of the Jedi Council.
The greatest danger from the darkness outside came when Jedi fed it with the darkness within.
He had feared he might find matters had deteriorated when he returned to Coruscant and the Temple; not even in his darkest dreams had he thought it would get this bad.
“Master Windu—Mace. We