Reluctant to leave, Obi-Wan lingered. He heard soft footsteps outside in the hallway, and Astri appeared in the doorway.
"They said I could find you here," she said. "I'm sorry about your friend."
Obi-Wan nodded his thanks. "And how are you?"
"I am good," she said softly. "So are Lune and Didi. Thanks to you.
Bog has been stripped of power, and he is now useless to the Commerce Guild and Sano Sauro. That means he is powerless to hurt us, too."
"So what will you do?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Didi wants to return to Coruscant, but I don't know." She hugged herself and shivered. "It has changed. I don't like it here anymore. I'm fearful here, but I don't know of what."
"I know what you mean," Obi-Wan murmured. He rose and came toward her.
He raised a hand and switched off the lights in Tyro's office, feeling something break inside him as he did so. Tyro was gone forever.
They walked down the hallway together.
"My advice," Obi-Wan said, "is to pick a pleasant world with a genuinely democratic government. Raise your son." He smiled. "Keep Didi out of trouble. And always remember I am here for you," Obi-Wan said.
"As you have proven time and time again," Astri said.
She stopped and put two hands on his shoulders. Her dark eyes searched his.
"I see the sorrow in you," she said. "I can't take it away. But you have saved me and those that I love. Know that, at least."
The small moments, Obi-Wan thought, as he laid a hand over Astri's.
They did not measure up against the times of sorrow. But they had to be enough.
Anakin sat with Palpatine inside the Chancellor's office. They looked out together at the temporary garden planted in an exterior courtyard of the Senate complex. Below, Anakin saw the tops of trees, delicate green leaves against silver bark. Running in a square outside the trees was the colorful splash of exotic flowers. Towering above the flowers were twin horns of the bloodred claing bush, native to Sano Sauro's world.
"I don't understand," he said to Palpatine. "You gave Senator Sauro the position of Deputy Chancellor. We are certain that he was in on the plot to assassinate you."
"I offered it before the vote on the Jedi petition, knowing he could not refuse," Palpatine said. "I knew he would betray Bog. The assurance of a powerful office would be enough to abandon a risky scheme."
"But you rewarded Sauro for betraying you."
"I have made my enemy my friend," Palpatine said. "His fate is now linked with mine. And I will always know what he's up to."
Anakin nodded. He would miss these talks with Palpatine. He felt that he was learning, even though he had not yet been able to sift through the nuggets of wisdom.
"I have asked you here to thank you for your efforts on that day,"
Palpatine said. "The Senate came close to being destroyed. Please do not fault me for saying this, but I feel that your Jedi Council did not fully appreciate what you did that day. I watched you. I saw how many you saved.
I understand that Ferus Olin was given a special commendation for what he did. I don't understand."
"You don't? He saved your life."
Palpatine stared out at the vast Coruscant cityscape. "Good of him, of course. But no more than he was asked to do. Whereas you, Anakin, always do more. I just think it's a pity that the Council doesn't see that. Perhaps I should talk to Master Yoda — "
"No," Anakin said quickly. "He would think I wanted you to speak to him about me, that I was seeking approval. Jedi do not seek approval."
"Then tell me, Anakin. From the point of view of a Jedi, since it is sometimes difficult for those of us outside your order to understand it.
Why did Ferus Olin receive special notice, and you did not?"
"Because he did his duty," Anakin said. He tasted bitterness in his mouth. "He obeyed his Master and stayed at his post. He saved your life and dozens of other lives."
"You saved more."
"It was not a contest."
"No. It was a battle." Chancellor Palpatine sighed. He looked back at the garden.
Through the transparent screen that separated them, Anakin saw Obi-Wan enter Palpatine's office. His Master saw them outside. He waited, not wanting to interrupt.
"I see your Master has arrived to fetch you," Palpatine said, rising.
"I want you to feel free to visit me from time to time, Anakin. I know you have other missions. And I know you will perform splendidly. I for one am glad you are on my side."
"I am honored," Anakin said. He bowed his goodbye.
"Granta Omega," Obi-Wan said once Anakin had joined him in the hall.
"We don't know where he is. But we know where he's been."
Anakin looked back at Palpatine. Studying the Senate had not been as bad as he'd thought. He'd been close to great power, the greatest in the galaxy, and he felt he was just on the verge of learning more about it.
But he felt he was not meant for power struggles and intrigue — not yet. He did not like to think about why the Jedi Council was so hard on him, about why Ferus earned recognition from the Council when he did not.
He did not want these feelings. He wanted them to fall away and leave him with his core, a core that was not threatened by what other beings thought or said. On a mission, everything else did fall away. He was able to concentrate, to focus.
He turned back to his Master. He was ready to go.