Star Wars_ The Dark Lord Trilogy - James Luceno [210]
Palpatine turned toward him, and his face lit up. “Yes, Anakin! Don’t worry. Come in, my boy, come in. Thank you for your report on the Council meeting this afternoon—it made most interesting reading. And now I have good news for you—Clone Intelligence has located General Grievous!”
“That’s tremendous!” Anakin shook his head, wondering if Obi-Wan would be embarrassed to have been scooped by the clones. “He won’t escape us again.”
“I’m going to—Moore, take a note—I will direct the Council to give you this assignment, Anakin. Your gifts are wasted on Coruscant—you should be out in the field. You can attend Council meetings by holoconference.”
Anakin frowned. “Thank you, sir, but the Council coordinates Jedi assignments.”
“Of course, of course. Mustn’t step on any Jedi toes, must we? They are so jealous of their political prerogatives. Still, I shall wonder at their collective wisdom if they choose someone else.”
“As I said in my report, they’ve already assigned Obi-Wan to find Grievous.” Because they want to keep me here, where I am supposed to spy on you.
“To find him, yes. But you are the best man to apprehend him—though of course the Jedi Council cannot always be trusted to do the right thing.”
“They try. I—believe they try, sir.”
“Do you still? Sit down.” Palpatine looked at the other two beings in the box. “Leave us.”
They rose and withdrew. Anakin took Mas Amedda’s seat.
Palpatine gazed distractedly down at the graceful undulations of the Mon Calamari principal soloist for a long moment, frowning as though there was so much he wanted to say, he was unsure where to begin. Finally he sighed heavily and leaned close to Anakin.
“Anakin, I think you know by now that I cannot rely upon the Jedi Council. That is why I put you on it. If they have not yet tried to use you in their plot, they soon will.”
Anakin kept his face carefully blank. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“You must sense what I have come to suspect,” Palpatine said grimly. “The Jedi Council is after more than independence from Senate oversight; I believe they intend to control the Republic itself.”
“Chancellor—”
“I believe they are planning treason. They hope to overthrow my government, and replace me with someone weak enough that Jedi mind tricks can control his every word.”
“I can’t believe the Council—”
“Anakin, search your feelings. You do know, don’t you?”
Anakin looked away. “I know they don’t trust you …”
“Or the Senate. Or the Republic. Or democracy itself, for that matter. The Jedi Council is not elected. It selects its own members according to its own rules—a less generous man than I might say whim—and gives them authority backed by power. They rule the Jedi as they hope to rule the Republic: by fiat.”
“I admit …” Anakin looked down at his hands. “… my faith in them has been … shaken.”
“How? Have they approached you already? Have they ordered you to do something dishonest?” Palpatine’s frown cleared into a gently wise smile that was oddly reminiscent of Yoda’s. “They want you to spy on me, don’t they?”
“I—”
“It’s all right, Anakin. I have nothing to hide.”
“I—don’t know what to say …”
“Do you remember,” Palpatine said, drawing away from Anakin so that he could lean back comfortably in his seat, “how as a young boy, when you first came to this planet, I tried to teach you the ins and outs of politics?”
Anakin smiled faintly. “I remember that I didn’t much care for the lessons.”
“For any lessons, as I recall. But it’s a pity; you should have paid more attention. To understand politics is to understand the fundamental nature of thinking beings. Right now, you should remember one of my first teachings: all those who gain power are afraid to lose it.”
“The Jedi use their power for good,” Anakin said, a little too firmly.
“Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi concept of good is not the only valid one. Take your Dark Lords of the Sith, for example. From my reading, I have gathered that the Sith believed in justice and security every bit as much as the Jedi—”
“Jedi believe in justice