The council was back in session, mainly due to Skywalker having been caught.
Yoda didn't know how to feel about it, he felt it unrealistic to believe Skywalker had done any of it, though not all the council was in agreement.
And to their displeasure, Tarkin was the one contacting them again.
"The Senate requests that Anakin Skywalker be expelled from the Jedi order and turned over to Republic custody, where he will face charges ranging from conspiracy to murder."
Mace just frowned.
"The council will act as it deems necessary."
Tarkin rolled his eyes.
"Keep in mind master Jedi that any move of refusal from the Jedi can be seen as a move against the Senate, this is sedition."
The transmission ended.
Yoda didn't like that the admiral had played the political card.
Obi-Wan was clearly angry about that, but also worried.
"Surely we cannot do what Tarkin suggest, we must stand with Anakin."
Ki-Adi hummed in thought.
"And yet there is evidence to suggest he is the mastermind behind the temple bombing."
Yoda hated the fact that Ki-Adi was so sure of himself.
Shadday seemed to agree however.
"He was found in possession of nano-droid explosives, that alone is enough to convict Skywalker."
Shaak Ti frowned.
"There was nothing suggesting they belonged to him, Shadday."
Plo nodded.
"I concur. I feel this council is already biased against Skywalker simply due to the fact they didn't want him in the order to begin with."
Depa said nothing, though seemed inclined to agree.
Yoda wasn't surprised, Depa was on the council back then, and she was one of the only ones who had been on Qui-Gon's side on the matter of Anakin's fate, along with Plo and Yaddle, the latter no longer being a member of the council following Qui-Gon's death.
Elizabeth wasn't on the council until some time before the battle of Geonosis, but she was a good friend of Skywalker. Though Yoda knew she would probably abstain herself from a vote given she'd be very biased.
Shaak Ti had been one of the few who had always stuck up for Anakin, and though she rarely spoke up against the council, this case was far different.
Yoda hummed in thought, he knew Elizabeth and Depa would both abstain from a vote, as they would both be too biased to side with Anakin. He himself wasn't biased against or for the boy, but he felt the evidence would be too solid against him.
Mace could actually go either way, whilst Ki-Adi, Shadday, Mira, Eeth, Kit, and himself was already a majority against Skywalker.
"The council believes Skywalker may be guilty of the crime."
He turned to Obi-Wan.
"Still think they are wrong do you, hm?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"Yes, I think they are more than wrong. I think there is someone we are not seeing."
Yoda turned to Mace.
"Thoughts to share have you, master Windu?"
Mace shook his head, though Yoda could sense, to his surprise, the korun Jedi master did not side with Yoda and the majority on this.
Yoda sighed.
"To the chamber of judgement, summon Skywalker and his Padawan."
Obi-Wan shook his head in frustration as he frowned while looking away from the grandmaster.
"Good to know."
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Ahsoka paced around, which was starting to annoy Anakin a bit.
"Snips, calm down."
She frowned.
"Master how do I calm down in this situation?"
"I don't know, meditate or something."
Ahsoka frowned further.
"That's not how it really works."
"Well I'm not one for simple things."
She snorted at that before taking a seat. Though a temple guard came over.
Anakin sighed.
"The council is ready?"
The guard merely nodded and Anakin rose.
"It's gonna be fine snips."
Ahsoka let out a deep breath.
"The waiting is going to kill me."
Anakin only chuckled sadly, mostly because he already knew what was about to happen.
So he walked into the chamber of judgement, stood on the center of a platform, and then it began.
"Knight Skywalker, serious charges have been levied against you. How plead you?"
Anakin shook his head.
"Not guilty masters, I'd never take the lives of the innocent."
"All evidence to the contrary."
That came from master Koth. Saving his life from Grievous once apparently meant nothing.
Ki-Adi spoke next.
"Can you explain how you got access to the nano-droids in question?"
Their experience together during the second battle of Geonosis clearly meant nothing, any bond he had with the cerean Jedi master also broken.
Anakin frowned.
"You say that like they really are mine."
Ki-Adi just narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Fine, I came across them in my own investigation, in which my goal was to prove that I am innocent. Clearly that was all a waste of my time."
Plo spoke next, but in a much more kind and soft tone. Of course Plo would side with him at least.
"What of Ventress? Can you explain your association with her?"
Anakin nodded.
"We had a mutual understanding, I thought she was helping me, obviously I was stupid to believe that."
Mace looked genuinely curious.
"Mutual understanding?"
Anakin shrugged.
"It was in the moment. But I am not the culprit here, someone is deceiving you as they have me masters, my vision is...clouded.
Yoda nodded.
"Clouded by the dark side, such things are, Skywalker."
Shadday then added...
"The question is Skywalker, who is deceiving us, Ventress, or you?"
From where she stood below, Ahsoka looked at the council with fury.
"This is so stupid! You've already made up your minds haven't you?! This meeting was just some ridiculous formality!"
Obi-Wan glanced between Plo, Shaak Ti, Mace, and himself. He had been surprised when Mace voted in Anakin's favor, but even that couldn't save him from the majority.
Yoda sighed.
"Hm, a decision we have come to, but not in total agreement are we."
Mace then sighed, and looked exhausted.
"It is the cou....the majority, of the council's opinion..."
Anakin didn't understand the sudden break in his statement, but regardless.
"...that Knight Skywalker has committed treason against the Jedi and the Republic."
Surprisingly, he caught Mace giving him a look of...was that actually sympathy? Wait, he knew this would go how it was going, but, did the master of the order actually believe him?
He also saw Plo Koon, Obi-Wan, and Shaak Ti shaking their heads, clearly they too had sided with him.
Elizabeth and Depa just looked away with somewhat guilty expressions, Anakin didn't blame them for abstaining though.
The platform began to lower.
"Your knight status will be stripped from you, and you will renounce all titles pertaining to the galactic Republic."
Ki-Adi's words really cut through him, he'd never see his men again. Rex, Fives, Mixer, Kix, Jesse, Redeye, Dogma, any of them.
He'd also never see Ahsoka again, or Obi-Wan, and that hurt the most.
"From henceforth, you are barred from the Jedi order."
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Meanwhile, the master of the order was feeling deeply disturbed by this.
Mace had used to ridicule Skywalker and criticize him all the time, and never really liked him, but, something about this screamed 'wrong'.
At one point maybe he'd have voted Anakin guilty, mostly out of spite, but his own hidden feelings towards Eeth's student, Feral, were helping give him new perspective.
*Yes, he's got himself a secret little love interest too, and doesn't know exactly how to handle those feelings, 😐😑😐, shocking right? Lol.
The younger zabrak male's kindness had, admittedly, helped soften his very hardened personality, and yes, again admittedly, that had helped him make smarter decisions.
And something about this was very wrong, Mace couldn't quite place it, but the force was telling him Skywalker was in fact innocent.
This is why he broke off from the majority and voted along with masters Kenobi, Koon, and Ti.
And in truth, Mace had come to this new understanding of Skywalker, or rather he already did, but had been in denial about it until now.
That experience with Anakin on Vanqor had completely changed how he viewed Skywalker, only now did it start to have an affect.
Mace did however know one major thing for sure...
This council, and this order, had really fallen very far from its former glory, and Mace didn't want to sit around and wait to see how much further it could go.