Part 31 (1/2)
”So ...” He summoned a condemnation among the most offensive in his vocabulary. ”... uncivilized.”
He triggered his comlink, and directed Cody to report to Jedi Command on Coruscant that Grievous had been destroyed. ”Will do, General,” said the tiny holoscan of the clone commander. ”And congratulations. I knew you could do it.”
Apparently everyone did, Obi-Wan thought, except Grievous, and me . . .
”General? We do still have a little problem out here. About ten thousand heavily armed little problems, actually.”
”On my way. Ken.o.bi out.” Obi-Wan sighed and clambered painfully onto the dragonmount's saddle.
”All right, girl,” he said. ”Let's go win that battle, too.”
As has been said, the textbook example of a Jedi trap is the one that was set on Utapau, for Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi. It worked perfectly.
The final element essential to the creation of a truly effective Jedi trap is a certain coldness of mind-a detachment, if you will, from any desire for a particular outcome.
The best way to arrange matters is to create a win-win situation.
For example, one might use as one's proxy a creature that not only is expendable, but would eventually have to be killed anyway. Thus, if one's proxy fails and is destroyed, it's no loss-in fact, the targeted Jedi has actually done one a favor, by taking care of a bit of dirty work one would otherwise have to do oneself.
And the final stroke of perfection is to organize the Jedi trap so that by walking into it at all, the Jedi has already lost.
That is to say, a Jedi trap works best when one's true goal is merely to make sure that the Jedi in question spends some hours or days off somewhere on the far side of the galaxy. So that he won't be around to interfere with one's real plans.
So that by the time he can return, it will be already too late.
=16=.
Revelation Mace Windu stood in the darkened comm center of Jedi Command, facing a life-sized holoscan of Yoda, projected from a concealed Wookiee comm center in the heart of a wroshyr tree on Kashyyyk.
”Minutes ago,” Mace said, ”we received confirmation from Utapau: Ken.o.bi was successful. Grievous is dead.”
”Time it is to execute our plan.”
”I will personally deliver the news of Grievous's death.” Mace flexed his hands. ”It will be up to the Chancellor to cede his emergency powers back over to the Senate.”
”Forget not the existence of Sidious. Antic.i.p.ate your action, he may. Masters will be necessary, if the Lord of the Sith you must face.”
”I have chosen four of our best. Master Tiin, Master Kolar, and Master Fisto are all here, in the Temple. They are preparing already.”
”What about Skywalker? The chosen one.”
”Too much of a risk,” Mace replied. ”I am the fourth.”
With a slow purse of the lips and an even slower nod, Yoda said, ”On watch you have been too long, my Padawan. Rest you must.”
”I will, Master. When the Republic is safe once more.” Mace straightened. ”We are waiting only for your vote.”
”Very well, then. Have my vote, you do. May the Force be with you.”
”And with you, Master.”
But he spoke to empty air; the holoscan had already flickered to nonexistence.
Mace lowered his head and stood in the darkness and the silence.
The door of the comm center shot open, spilling yellow glare into the gloom and limning the silhouette of a man half collapsed against the frame.
”Master . . .” The voice was a hoa.r.s.e half whisper. ”Master Windu . . . ?”
”Skywalker?” Mace was at his side in an instant. ”What's wrong? Are you hurt?”
Anakin took Mace's arm in a grip of desperate strength, and used it like a crutch to haul himself upright.
”Obi-Wan . . . ,” he said faintly. ”I need to talk to Obi-Wan-!”
”Obi-Wan is operational on Utapau; he has destroyed General Grievous. We are leaving now to tell the Chancellor, and to see to it that he steps down as he has promised-”
”Steps-steps down-” Anakin's voice had a sharply bitter edge. ”You have no idea ...”
”Anakin-? What's wrong?”
”Listen to me-you have to listen to me-” Anakin sagged against him, shaking; Mace wrapped his arms around the young Jedi and guided him into the nearest chair. ”You can't-please, Master Windu, give me your word, promise me it'll be an arrest, promise you're not going to hurt him-”
”Skywalker-Anakin. You must try to answer. Have you been attacked? Are you injured? You have to tell me what's wrong!”
Anakin collapsed forward, face into his hands.
Mace reached into the Force, opening the eye of his special gift of perception-What he found there froze his blood.
The tangled web of fault lines in the Force he had seen connecting Anakin to Obi-Wan and to Palpatine was no more; in their place was a single spider-knot that sang with power enough to crack the planet. Anakin Skywalker no longer had shatter-points. He was a shatterpoint. The shatterpoint. Everything depended on him. Everything.
Mace said slowly, with the same sort of deliberate care he would use in examining an unknown type of bomb that might have the power to destroy the universe itself, ”Anakin, look at me.”
Skywalker raised his head.
”Are you hurt? Do you need-”
Mace frowned. Anakin's eyes were raw, and red, and his face looked swollen. For a long time he didn't know if Anakin would answer, if he could answer, if he could even speak at all; the young Jedi seemed to be struggling with something inside himself, as though he fought desperately against the birth of a monster hatching within his chest.
But in the Force, there was no as though; there was no seemed to be. In the Force, Mace could feel the monster inside Anakin Skywalker, a real monster, too real, one that was eating him alive from the inside out. Fear.