fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, November 1, 1st period]

Anakin leaned a little uncomfortably against his desk as he waited for the students to take their seats.

"Today we talk about diligence, temperance, and forgiveness," he said quietly, "and we're going to use examples from last week's exercise to do so."

He flipped the hologram to life, focusing on a shot of Palpatine's face. "The goal was to save this man, the democratically chosen leader of your galaxy, at the cost--if necessary--of your own lives. After the first dozen or so droids shooting at you, you certainly had the option of retreating and leaving the mission for someone else to complete. So when does diligence turn to foolhardiness?"

The holocam switched to footage of two Jedi, blue blades flashing, taking on an older man wielding a red lightsaber. The older Jedi went ricocheting into a wall, then the second one, fire in his eyes, closed in on their opponent who dropped to his knees moments later with two lightsabers held to his throat.

The Jedi wielding the lightsabers looked an awful lot like their teacher.

"Temperance," Anakin said softly. "Do you kill him now? He's dangerous. He held the head of a galaxy-wide government hostage. He injured your partner. He certainly tried to kill you first. Or do you capture him and leave him to the whims of the courts?"

He shook his head. "Finally, forgiveness. You save the chancellor, at great personal expense, only to discover he's not the kind of man you thought he was. Your act of heroism has managed to make the situation at home much, much worse. How do you forgive yourself for it? Can you forgive the others who put you into that position?"

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"They took something from me," she said heatedly. "If they come back, I will ensure that they can never do that again."

"Absolutely not," Anakin said, a bite in his voice. "You will not become like them. It doesn't make you feel any better. It doesn't make you whole. It doesn't bring back what they have taken from you. It just leaves you with their blood on your hands and you having to live with that."

And that was the voice of experience, much as he hated to admit it.

She crossed her arms around herself. "I can't not want to."

"Oh, you can," Anakin said softly, "you're just choosing not to. The anger is easier to deal with than the vulnerability."

"And what if they do come back?" she asked quietly.

"Then you scream like hell for back up," Anakin said. "Taking them on alone will prove nothing."

"What if there is no backup? There wasn't before, aside from Seely, and he would kill them in an instant for me."

It was the first time she'd really thought about it, and it almost made her smile.

"And telling any student at this school to look for an adult is just asking for the biggest eyeroll of all time, isn't it?" Anakin asked rhetorically. "If it's just you, and your life is in danger, then you take them out. But going off and looking for trouble--trying to find them to inflict your own version of justice on them--that's crossing a line."

"I have no intention of looking for them," she said, shaking her head.

"Good," Anakin said quietly. "That's an important step to take. The next one is to stop seeing them around every tree and bush. You're safe here, and there are any number of people who would line up to prove it."

She nodded, keeping her arms around herself. "I know."

"You know it up here," Anakin said, touching his forehead, "but you haven't accepted it here," he said, pressing fingers to his chest. "And that's going to take some time."

She nodded, quiet. "Thank you for listening, sir."

"That's what I'm here for," he said quietly. "I've been where you are. It's not a comfortable place."

"It's not," she agreed, already slipping into numbness. "But I was built to be stronger than this, and so I will be."

Anakin caught the change, and his forehead furrowed. "And if you don't want to be, I'll never tell," he said quietly. "I have a daughter who's only a few years older than you. Being strong all the time can be exhausting."

She did smile at that. "I know. I do let it slip sometimes. Thank you."

"No need to thank me," he said, "just think about what I said, all right?"

"I will," she said, and with a final nod, she let herself out of the classroom.

Ethics [Thursday, November 1, 1st period]

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