Yoda grabbed the crane and held it fast, but in doing so, he had to release Dooku. The Count wasted no time, sprinting away, leaping up the ramp to his sail ship. As Yoda began to move the fallen crane harmlessly aside, the sail ship's engine roared to life, and all three Jedi watched helplessly as Count Dooku blasted away.
As Anakin and Obi-Wan walked over to the exhausted Yoda, Padme rushed in, running to Anakin and wrapping the sorely wounded young man in a tight, desperate hug.
'A dark day, it is,' Yoda said quietly.
Epilogue
In the gutters of lower Coruscant, a graceful sail ship glided down, its wings folding delicately as it went to its more conventional drives, settling easily inside the broken pavement of a seemingly abandoned building.
Count Dooku climbed out of his ship, walking to the shadows at the side of the secret landing ramp, where a hooded figure waited. He moved before the shadowy figure and bowed reverently.
'The Force is with us, Master Sidious.'
'Welcome home, Lord Tyranus,' the Sith Lord replied. 'You have done well.'
'I bring you good news, my lord. The war has begun.'
'Excellent,' Sidious said, his gravelly voice hinting at a hiss. From underneath the dark shadows of his huge cowl, the Dark Lord's smile widened. 'Everything is going as planned.'
Across the city, in the somber Jedi Temple, so many lamented the loss of friends and colleagues. Obi-Wan and Mace Windu stood staring out the window of Master Yoda's apartment while the diminutive Master sat in a chair across the way, contemplating the troubling events.
'Do you believe what Count Dooku said about Sidious controlling the Senate?' Obi-Wan asked, breaking the contemplative silence. 'It doesn't feel right.'
Mace started to respond, but Yoda interjected, 'Become unreliable, Dooku has. Joined the dark side. Lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now.'
'Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate,' Mace put in, and Yoda agreed.
After some more quiet contemplation, Mace turned a curious gaze upon Obi- Wan. 'Where is your apprentice?'
'On his way to Naboo,' Obi-Wan answered. 'Escorting Senator Amidala home.' Mace nodded, and Obi-Wan caught a glimmer of concern in his dark eyes- concern that Obi-Wan shared about Anakin and Padme. They let it go at that time, though, for there seemed greater problems at hand. Again, it was Obi- Wan who broke the silence.
'I have to admit, without the clones, it would not have been a victory.'
'Victory?' Yoda echoed with great skepticism. 'Victory, you say?'
Obi-Wan and Mace Windu turned as one to the great Jedi Master, catching clearly the profound sadness in his tone.
'Master Obi-Wan, not victory,' Yoda went on. 'The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, this Clone War has!'
His words hung in the air about them, thick with emotion and concern, as dire a prediction as anyone in the Jedi Council had ever heard uttered. Senator Bail Organa and Mas Amedda flanked Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as he stood on the balcony, overlooking the deployment of the Republic army. Below them, tens of thousands of clone troopers marched about in tight formations, an orderly procession that brought them in files ascending the landing ramps of the huge military assault ships.
A deep sadness marked the handsome features of Bail Organa, but when he looked over at the Supreme Chancellor, he saw there a grim determination.
On distant Naboo, in a rose-covered arbor overlooking the sparkling lake, Anakin and Padme stood hand in hand, Anakin in his formal Jedi robes and Padme in a beautiful white gown with flowered trim. Anakin's new mechanical arm hung at his side, the fingers clenching and opening in reflexive movements.
Before them stood a Naboo holy man, his hands raised above their heads as he recited the ancient texts of marriage.
And when the proclamation was made, R2-D2 and C-3PO, bearing witness to the union, whistled and clapped.
And Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
