I like this fic. I shall share it with my f-list prior to finding a comm that'll have it. Part one of lots.

Title: Momentum of Fate
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Character death, violence...probably slash, knowing me
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: An AU branching off mid-ROTS. A minor difference changes the course of the future.

Chapter One - The Council

No-one would describe night on Coruscant as peaceful. Traffic streaked through the skies heedless of the darkness, music blared from the clubs and bars on the lower levels. However, the senatorial apartments did manage to acquire some degree of serenity…which was broken by a young Jedi Knight awaking from a nightmare with a cry of horror. Breathing fast and shallow, Anakin Skywalker sat up in bed and ran a trembling hand through his hair. He shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it of the terrible images from his dream.

A dream, he reassured himself shakily; just a dream. But Anakin had never been much good at lying to himself, and he knew perfectly well that it was more than just a dream. It had been a vision.

Resigned to getting no more sleep that night, he swung his legs off the side of the bed and got a little unsteadily to his feet. His steps traced the familiar path to the balcony, and he leaned against the fountain as his eyes subconsciously traced the lights of passing vehicles. Not just a dream. A warning.

“Ani?” a voice came from behind him, and he turned to see Padmé blinking sleepily at him; “Ani, what’s wrong?”
“A dream…” he hesitated; “…like the ones I used to have about my mother. Just before she died.”
Her voice quivered as if she was afraid to ask: “What did you see?”
“I saw…” his eyes unfocussed as he struggled to recall the details: “I saw the Temple. The Temple in flames…taken unawares by attack in the middle of the night.” He closed his eyes, once again seeing flame flaring across his vision, the searing light of blaster fire, lightsabers flickering out one by one… He jumped at a sudden, unexpected touch on his forearm, and looked down into his wife’s huge brown eyes.
“It’ll be alright, Ani,” she whispered, leaning against him and laying her head on his shoulder; “Come back to bed.”

And how was he supposed to turn down a proposition like that?

XxXxXxX

Anakin was not normally the sort of person who was open about his feelings and fears. But this vision had shaken him more deeply than he was willing to admit, and it concerned the whole Jedi Order, not just him. Thus it was that early the next morning, he found himself seated in front of Master Yoda, while the tiny green Jedi studied him speculatively.

“Premonitions you say you have, young Skywalker. Glimpses of the future, hmm?”
“I believe so, Master,” Anakin replied, forcing himself to be properly respectful and deferential.
“And what saw you in this vision of which you speak?” Yoda asked. Anakin looked down at his worn boots.
“I saw the Temple in flames, Master,” he said, a little of the apprehension he felt seeping into his voice; “Clone troopers…gunning down younglings with their blasters. Thousands…thousands dying.”

For a long time, Yoda was silent. He clasped his hands around the top of his stick and regarded the young Jedi before him over his stubby green fingers. Not for the first time, he wondered why the Force had chosen to place this burden upon Skywalker. Surely one more respectful of the Code, more at ease with the life of a Jedi, less volatile and temperamental… He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts, his pointed ears twitching. “Meditate on this, I will,” the wizened little Master said thoughtfully; “If in danger the Order is, swift action we must take.” Yoda narrowed his eyes at Anakin; “Late for Master Kenobi’s briefing on the Outer Rim Sieges, you are.”

Anakin was perceptive enough to know when he was being dismissed. Stifling a flicker of irritation at being so casually waved aside, he rose and bowed: “Thank you, Master.”

Anakin walked quickly down the echoing corridors, the rhythmic thudding of his boots setting up a swift tempo which neatly underscored his thoughts as he headed for the Briefing Room. Sithspawn – with everything else going on, he’d completely forgotten about the briefing which was to take place. It was already over by the time he got there – people were leaving. Anakin swore under his breath and continued into the room. Obi-Wan was shutting down the projector, clearing away the data disks. He glanced up on hearing Anakin enter; “You missed the report on the Outer Rim sieges.

Anakin shrugged: “I'm sorry, I was held up. I have no excuse.”
“In short, they are going very well,” Obi-Wan told his former Padawan, shutting down the last of the equipment; “Saleucami has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity.”
That was good. Noting that Obi-Wan still seemed worried, he asked; “What’s wrong, then?”
There was a pause before Obi-Wan replied; “The Senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the Chancellor today.”
”Well, that can only mean less deliberating and more action,” Anakin said, unable to see the problem; “Is that bad? It will make it easier for us to end this war.”
”Anakin, be careful of your friend Palpatine,” Obi-Wan said patiently, but not without a little sharpness in his tone. A lesser man would have been very frustrated by the younger man’s apparent naïveté by now. True to his nature, Anakin sounded genuinely confused when he replied: “Be careful of what?”

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment, internally debating whether or not informing his former Padawan of he latest development. Eventually he said somewhat reluctantly: “He has requested your presence.”
”What for?
“He would not say.”
”He didn't inform the Jedi Council?” Anakin said in confusion; “That's unusual, isn't it?”
”All of this is unusual, and it's making me feel uneasy,” Obi-Wan replied, starting to get a little frustrated; “You're probably aware that relations between the Council and the Chancellor are stressed.”
”I know the Council has grown wary of the Chancellor's power,” Anakin retorted; “Mine also for that matter. Aren't we all working together to save the Republic? Why all this distrust?”
”The Force grows dark, Anakin, and we are all affected by it,” Obi-Wan warned; “Be wary of your feelings.”

Yeah, whatever. Anakin was sorely tempted to say something to that effect, but managed not to. People thought he had no self-restraint, but they would probably have been even more worried had they known that the reckless and hotheaded nature they were familiar with was Anakin with substantial self-restraint. They didn’t know the half of how bad he really was. So Anakin exercised that self-restraint: he bowed perfunctorily and left the room again.

The walk to the Chancellor’s Office was not a particularly long one on a planetary scale…but Anakin took his speeder anyway. Whether this was due to impatience or laziness was open to debate.

XxXxXxX

Some time later, Anakin made his way back to the Temple in a daze. The Council! He was on the Council. He would be a Master…the youngest Master in the history of the Order, if he was remembering the little he’d retained of his history lessons rightly. It was incredible…

Still…he doubted the current Council members would be pleased. Master Windu in particular wouldn’t be happy. Anakin was glad that he would be spared the ordeal of informing the Council himself. He parked his speeder outside the Temple and walked inside. He wondered when the Council would be told he was to join them.

Little did he know they had already been told, and were discussing what to do at that very moment.

“I don’t like it,” Mace Windu said bluntly; “The boy has no place on this Council, and Palpatine has no right to tell us who to take on.”
“I agree, but we must be diplomatic,” Ki-Adi-Mundi, present only in holographic form, said placatingly; “It would be unwise to alienate one of our strongest and best-known Jedi in the middle of a war.”
“That still doesn’t alter the fact that-“
“We could use this situation to our advantage,” Eeth Koth interjected; “Having a member of the Council – even one in name only – so close to the Chancellor could be very useful.”
“Master Koth makes a good point,” mused Ploo Koon, who was also visible as a hologram; “After all, we have been looking for a way to keep a closer eye on the Chancellor’s private dealings…And now, as his ‘representative’, Skywalker has a perfectly good reason to take an interest in such things.”
“Unsure of this, I am,” Yoda said, shaking his head. He had thus far been silent, listening to the debate, but now he finally spoke; “Headstrong young Skywalker is, yes, but not without morals. Like the idea of spying, he will not.”
“He is too much under the influence of the Chancellor,” Mace Windu said; “Keeping an eye on Palpatine is a sensible precaution, but Skywalker will not see it that way.”
“Master Kenobi, you know him best,” Ki-Adi-Mundi said in an attempt to settle the argument; “How would you advise we handle this?”

Obi-Wan was silent for quite some time, every eye trained on him as he considered his answer. They needed someone to spy on Palpatine for them, this much was true, but…Anakin looked up to the Chancellor. Force only knew why, but he did. Asking him to betray – and that was how Anakin would see it – a man he respected would put the young Jedi under more strain than he could cope with. “It is true that Palpatine has…too much influence on Anakin,” Obi-Wan said slowly; “It would not be…wise…to invite trouble by asking this of him. We should not contest the appointment, but I think it would also be a mistake to make Anakin a Master so soon.” His ego needs no further fueling; “In the meantime, keep him away from Palpatine as much as we can without arousing suspicion.”
“Agree with Master Kenobi, I do,” Yoda said firmly; “Send for Skywalker we shall, and of our decision inform him.”
“We should be prepared for a very negative reaction,” Mace Windu warned the other Jedi.
“Surprise you, young Skywalker might,” Yoda said cryptically.


And to save on spam:

Chapter Two - To Utapau

Outwardly, Anakin Skywalker appeared perfectly calm. It was a side-effect of all the training he’d endured and battles he’d been through: he was able to appear completely in control while inside he was having a panic attack. The Council hadn’t actually spoken to him yet, but from the tone of the summons to the Council he had received, they were pissed. So here he was, waiting in the vestibule outside the Council Chamber, as jittery as a tauntaun in a gundark nest. It was odd – he’d done worse before, but a meeting with the Council had never made him so nervous. Perhaps it was something to do with his vision… The door slid open. Anakin took a deep breath to calm himself and walked inside.

“Anakin Skywalker,” Mace Windu said gravely as the young man took his place in the centre of the circular room; “We have approved your appointment to the Council as the Chancellor’s personal representative.”
Anakin felt a wave of relief wash through him; “I will do my best to uphold the principles of the Jedi Order,” he replied dutifully. But something wasn’t right…there was something they weren’t telling him. He could feel it.
“Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not,” Yoda said, narrowing his eyes; “Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine.”
”I understand.” Anakin looked straight back at the old Master, his feeling of unease growing.
”You are on this Council,” Mace Windu told him; “But we do not grant you the rank of Master.”

That stung. Anakin stared back, dumbstruck for a moment as anger and indignation swept through him; “What? How can-“ The vision of the Temple burning flashed through his mind again. He couldn’t anger the Council, not now; they couldn’t face whatever this threat was divided. “I will abide by the will of the Council,” he said through gritted teeth, forcing himself to calm down.

If he’d been open to the feelings emanating from the Council members instead of concentrating on calming himself, Anakin would have felt the surprise – even shock – coming from the older Jedi. Not because of his initial outburst: they had been expecting that. But the amount of self-restraint he had just shown was something no-one had been prepared for. Obi-Wan sat back in his seat, feeling a mixture of pride and relief, while Yoda just smiled knowingly. The rest of the Council members were in varying degrees of shock: but none more so than Mace Windu, whom you could have knocked over with a feather.

“Take your seat you may, young Skywalker,” Yoda said, gesturing towards an empty seat with his stick.
“Thank you, Master,” Anakin responded, composing himself. He sat down with relief. He felt oddly hot and cold at the same time, and he realised he was trembling. He let out a shaky breath and returned his attention to the Council.

“We have surveyed all the systems in the Republic and found no sign of General Grievous.” The silence was finally broken by Ki-Adi-Mundi expertly changing the subject.
“Hiding in the Outer Rim Grievous is,” Yoda said thoughtfully; “The outlying systems you must sweep.”
“We do not have many ships to spare,” Obi-Wan pointed out.
“What about the droid attack on the Wookiies?” Ki-Adi-Mundi added.
“It is critical we send an attack group there immediately,” Mace Windu said firmly.
“He’s right,” Obi-Wan agreed; “It’s a system we cannot afford to lose.”
“Go, I will,” Yoda said decisively; “Good relations with the Wookiiees I have.”
“It’s settled then,” Mace nodded; “Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiiees on Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all.”

With that, the Council meeting was over. Anakin got up and left quickly before he could be accosted, not particularly wanting to speak to any of he Masters. Well…except maybe one. And that one caught up with him in the corridor downstairs.

“I’m impressed, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. The younger man glanced suspiciously sideways at him, trying to work out whether or not he was being sarcastic: “Why?”
“Well, you showed unusual self-control in there,” Obi-Wan grinned; “I once trained a young Jedi who would have exploded under the same circumstances.”
Anakin laughed ruefully; “I think maybe that young Jedi is starting to grow up a little.”

XxXxXxX

Chancellor Palpatine was a regular patron of the opera, as much of Coruscanti high society knew well. However, he found himself somewhat distracted from the current performance. The cause of his concern – a feeling the Jedi Council were all too familiar with by now – was Anakin Skywalker.

Blast him, the boy wasn’t behaving at all like he was supposed to! He didn’t seem to be reacting at all to the visions he was supposed to be receiving. The hotheaded young Jedi Palpatine knew would have been instantly up in arms at the thought of his wife dying, but Anakin had shown no signs of that. What in the world was going on? “Tell Skywalker to get over here now,” Palpatine – known to some as Darth Sidious – told his aide irritably. He would get to the bottom of this. Perhaps the boy was stronger-minded than he’d given him credit for.

The thought that his induced visions were being overruled by genuine ones didn’t even occur to him.

XxXxXxX

“Palpatine thinks General Grievous is on Utapau?” Ki-Adi-Mundi said in surprise.
“A partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic packet from the Chairman of Utapau,” Anakin explained. This was the second Council meeting in as many days, and already Anakin was wondering why he’d ever wanted to be on the Council. It was unspeakably boring.
“Act on this, we must,” the hologram of Yoda said; “The capture of General Grievous will end this war. Quickly and decisively we should proceed.”
The Chancellor has requested that I lead the campaign. Anakin considered mentioning this, but thought better of it. The Chancellor had been acting…oddly. Anakin was starting to suspect that the Council might have reason to mistrust Palpatine.
“Master Kenobi should go,” Ki-Adi-Mundi recommended.
“If it is the will of the Council,” Obi-Wan said.
“Isn’t it dangerous to send just one Jedi against an enemy as strong as Grievous?” Anakin protested. Yoda and Mace Windu exchanged looks – both were thinking of their earlier agreement that Anakin should be kept away from Palpatine as much as possible.
“A fair point you have, young Skywalker,” Yoda agreed, much to Anakin’s surprise; “Go to Utapau with Master Kenobi you shall. Anything more to discuss, have we?”
“No,” Mace Windu said; “Meeting adjourned.”

Anakin and Obi-Wan walked out of the Council Chamber together, the former with a sense of exhilaration, the latter with one of concern. They would have little time to pack whatever essentials they would need before going to find a ship. Anakin looked thoughtfully at his former master: “What’s Utapau like?”
“I’ve never been,” Obi-Wan said; “But I hear it’s hot, dry…you should be right at home.”
“Wonderful.”
“There is some water, though. It’s just all underground. Some of the deeper sinkholes reach the water table – that’s where the cities are.”
“So, not many to search?” Anakin said hopefully.
“Not as many as there could be.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“Isn’t it?” Obi-Wan countered. Anakin gave up.

Less than half an hour later, they were both on a Clone Army gunship, headed for where the new Star Destroyers were docked. Thousands of clone troopers swarmed everywhere, readying the ships for takeoff. Depending on your point of view the sight was either awe-inspiring or absolutely terrifying.

The gunship touched down in a flurry of dust and the two Jedi disembarked. Unerringly they made their way through the labyrinthine docks towards the Star Destroyer to which they had been assigned. “She’ll do nicely,” Anakin murmured, running an experienced eye over the massive ship. Obi-Wan – who could only tell one end of a ship from the other with the aid of an astro-droid – made a vague noise of agreement and led the way on board.

“Commander Cody,” Obi-Wan greeted the leader of the detachment of clones; “Are we ready to take off?”
“The pilots should be getting the order to lift off any moment now,” Cody replied in the distinctive accent all the clones seemed to have acquired from somewhere.

Obi-Wan and Anakin followed Cody through the twisting corridors of the ship towards the hangar where the smaller fighters were kept. The stark, utilitarian walls vibrated gently and the floor tilted slightly as the ship took off. Then came the strange, vertigo-inducing moment where the artificial gravity and the planet’s gravity started working against each other. Obi-Wan paled a little and muttered something which sounded remarkably like ‘this is why I hate flying’. Anakin grinned. Soon enough the ship was out of Coruscant’s gravity well, and the artificial gravity could work unopposed.

“Your fighters are over there,” Commander Cody said, gesturing towards the far end of the hangar. Far off, the rumble of the ship’s gargantuan engines began to fall in pitch, indicating that they were coming to a standstill. He pointed at a holographic display of Utapau; “Fortunately, most of the cities are concentrated on this small continent here, on the far side.”
“We’ll keep them distracted until you get there,” Obi-Wan said; “Just don’t take too long.”
“Come on, when have I ever let you down?” Cody asked, feigning hurt.
“Very well,” Obi-Wan conceded. He climbed up the wing of his fighter and into the cockpit.
“We’ll make sure to leave some droids for you,” Anakin reassured the clone commander with a cocky grin, hopping into his own fighter. On that note they fired up their engines, and the main airlock slid open. The two fighters streaked out into open space. “Are you sure you have the co-ordinates properly programmed?” Obi-Wan asked over the comlink.
“Master, I’ve been flying since I was tall enough to see over the control panel,” Anakin replied with exaggerated patience; “I know how to set hyperspace co-ordinates.”

Obi-Wan chose not to dignify that comment with an answer. The two ships linked up with their respective booster rings, ready for the hyperspace jump to Utapau. Anakin glanced out of the transparisteel view-screen at Coruscant and frowned as a sudden wave of apprehension flooded through him. Something was about to go horribly wrong – he could feel it.


On to chapters three and four...