So before we begin I would just like to explain this is a rewrite. Some stuff will be completely missing, some brand new stuff will happen, and some things will be the exact same. The core plot will remain roughly the same, I will try to make it more coherent and will change things up to make things a little more interesting. If there's any complaints you had about the original you do not want to happen again, let me know via PM or review. Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE
He cut off your arm, he doesn't deserve mercy, Anakin thought to himself, his eyes locked on the Sith Lord in front of him. The red and blue glow from the lightsabers cast shadows on the mans angular face.
"Kill him now," a gravely voice said to his left.
Anakin shook his head, trying to block out all the noise. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and his heart was pounding. One quick jerk of his arms and Count Dooku would be no more. The Separatists wouldn't have a leader, and he would get revenge for his missing arm.
"Do it," Palpatine said in a low voice, encouraging him to act on what he wanted to do most. Pulling back, Anakin thought about how much suffering Count Dooku had caused the galaxy, starting the Clone Wars by leading the Separatists. And the man had caused Obi-Wan so much pain, reminding him of the loss of Qui-Gon thirteen years ago.
The thought of his best friend pulled Anakin from his train of thought. What was he going to do about Obi-Wan?
"Do it," Palpatine hissed again.
"On your feet," Anakin barked, surprising the Sith Lord. "Now!"
Dooku got up unsteadily, cradling the stump of his right arm with his remaining hand. Not giving him a chance to try anything, Anakin placed a Force restraint on the man's wrist, preventing him from using the Force.
"If you try anything, I will kill you," the Jedi Knight said in a low voice. Using the Force he released the Chancellor's restraints, and ran over to Obi-Wan, lifting the platform off of him.
"Leave him or we'll never make it," Palpatine said from behind him.
"His fate will be the same as ours," Anakin said firmly, lifting Obi-Wan over his shoulders. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind, but he pushed them aside for later. The four of them wouldn't make it off the ship if he didn't focus.
"You first," he said, jerking his chin towards the exit. Dooku gave him the smallest of bows, a scowl on his face as he marched ahead.
"Straight to the elevator bank, and stop ten feet in front of them," Anakin said, honing in on Dooku's Force signature. If he tried to call for help, he would pick up on it.
"R2, activate elevator 3224," Anakin said into the commlink. As he waited for a response, he felt the ship shudder as it was strafed by fire from a Republic star destroyer.
Suddenly the floor began to lurch forward, and Anakin used the Force to push Dooku and the Chancellor into the elevator shaft before they fell to their death in the now vertical hallway. As Anakin looked down the shaft for any signs of danger, he heard a shout from behind him, and turned to see Dooku fall.
"I-," Palpatine stuttered, "I lost my balance, and I reached out...," he trailed off, shaking from what he had just done. Anakin grabbed his arm, pulling him along.
"Come on, we don't have time," he said. He wasn't exactly torn up about the Sith Lord's death, but the Chancellor hadn't killed anyone before, and Anakin knew how much that could weigh on a person.
The ship shuddered again, and Anakin felt it began to stabilize beneath his feet. As his legs lost contact with the walls of the elevator shift, he felt the Chancellor grab on, his grip like steel. Reaching out with his mechanical arm, he ripped out some of the wiring as he fell, and used it to swing them out and onto the floor of an elevator bay.
The three rolled on the hard floor, trying to reorient themselves, and Anakin felt Obi-Wan stir beside him.
"Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan groaned as he propped himself up.
"Nothing important," Anakin said, extending his arm.
"Then where's Dooku?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin exchanged a look with the Chancellor, and bowed his head.
"He didn't make it when the ship was listing," Anakin explained. "Come on, we're near the control room, we might be able to capture General Grievous."
"Or commandeer an escape pod," Palpatine said eagerly.
"He's right. We're here to rescue the Chancellor, not fight Grievous."
A scowl on his face, Anakin pressed the transmitter button.
"R2, where's the nearest escape pod?" A series of beeps echoed in the hallway, and Anakin nodded. "Meet us there," he said calmly. "We're not far, the closest one is at the end of the corridor."
"We've lost the hyperdrive, sir," one of the battle droids reported. General Grievous let out a growl at the news, leaving the control room. He had seen the readouts for the Invisible Hand, and knew it wouldn't survive another strafing from the Republic.
"Time to abandon ship," he cackled to himself as he lumbered into an escape pod. After punching in the code, he laughed maniacally at the sight of the other escape pods jettisoning off into space. Not only would the enemy fighters be too overwhelmed to shoot down his pod, but the Jedi and the Chancellor would go down with the ship.
"R2 there's no escape pods," Anakin said. He listened intently to the astromech's report, and turned to face Obi-Wan and the Chancellor.
"Grievous jettisoned all the escape pods."
A panicked look appeared on Palpatine's face, and his eyes darted between the two Jedi.
"Surely the two of you came here on your own ships," he said frantically.
"I doubt they survived the ship rotating ninety degrees," Obi-Wan said grimly. As if he knew what his former Padawan was thinking, Obi-Wan shook his head.
"No, we're not doing that," he said firmly.
"Why not? It's not the first time I've done an emergency landing-,"
"Is that what you call crash landings?"
"Excuse me, but what exactly are your proposing, Anakin?" Palpatine interrupted.
"If the ship's steering capabilities haven't been damaged, I could do an emergency landing on Coruscant," Anakin said.
"It appears that's our only option," Palpatine said, looking at Obi-Wan expectantly.
"Lets go then," Obi-Wan said, breaking into a jog as he followed Anakin.
"Change in plans R2, meet us in the control room."
Obi-Wan called out whatever measurements appeared on screen as Anakin guided the ship into the atmosphere. The ship shuddered as flaps were ripped away, and Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He had no doubt in his former Padawan's abilities, but at the end of their exploits he was always stunned they had made it through relatively unscathed.
The three men lurched forward in their seats as the sound of groaning metal filled their ears. Anakin took a worried look back, and locked eyes with Obi-Wan.
"We lost something," he joked.
"Not to worry, we are still flying half a ship," Obi-Wan quipped in return.
Palpatine blanched at the two's rather cavalier attitudes towards the situation. R2 decided to alleviate his fears by beeping out some words that were not as reassuring as they should have been.
A bead of sweat rolled down Anakin's face, strained in concentration as he put all his efforts into landing the ship at a slightly less than breakneck speed.
"Steady," Obi-Wan said calmly, sending waves of reassurance along their Force bond. Anakin's Force presence felt like a wall, completely shutting out anything that wasn't relevant to 'flying' the ship.
"Easy R2!" Anakin exclaimed as the astromech let out another round of beeps.
Obi-Wan idly wondered what the little blue droid was saying to the other two passengers, but quickly returned his attention to the sensors. The ground was racing towards the ship at an alarming rate, and Obi-Wan braced himself for the inevitable rough landing.
Anakin pulled up on the joystick with all his might, his mechanical hand even straining from the force. His head nearly slammed into the dash when the ship collided with the ground, the grinding screech of metal on concrete echoing around them. The ship continued to rock and bounce, until finally it came to a complete stop.
"Another happy landing," Obi-Wan said while the others caught their breath.
Anakin and Obi-Wan remained by the shuttle as Palpatine greeted the Senators and Mace Windu.
"It's your big day. You hauled me around unconscious on your back on a ship full of hostiles, and then piloted the same disabled ship down to the ground without any casualties," Obi-Wan said.
"All because of your training, Master," Anakin said sardonically.
"Let's be fair. Today is your big day, Anakin. You get to spend today with the politicians, and have them thank you for your service," Obi-Wan jested.
"You owe me one," Anakin relented. "And not just for saving your skin for the umpteenth time."
"I recall us being at an even tie, something about Cato Nemoidia," Obi-Wan teased. "I'll see you at the debrief."
Anakin watched the shuttle depart, before walking towards the now retreating group of politicians. He always allowed Obi-Wan to 'persuade' him to spend the day with the politicians. That just gave him an excuse to be gone all night.
Unfortunately one of the politicians had lingered to have a word with him, but Anakin wasn't too bothered. It was the Senator from Alderaan, Bail Organa. He seemed to have a genuine concern for the outcome of the war outside of total Republic dominance, and it's effect on the Republic's citizens.
The two managed to hold a conversation up to the Senators offices, coming to a stop outside the elevator bank.
"We'll be concentrating our intelligence on communications with Raxus and Outer Rim worlds," Anakin said.
"That's good to know. I'll do everything I can in the Senate to make sure it goes smoothly. If you'll excuse me," Bail said apologetically, as one of his aides rushed towards them.
"Of course," Anakin said, bowing his head respectfully. Now that no one was paying him any attention, he walked as calmly as he could to the office of the Senator he really wanted to see.
"And make sure to get Mon Mothma to sign it. She can be forgetful when it comes to petitions so don't be afraid to be persistent," a familiar voice said in the next room. The aide she was speaking to said something in reply, before leaving the office.
Now that they were completely alone, Anakin could abandon any pretenses. Quietly, he walked into her office, and leaned against the door frame.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, startling her.
"Anakin!" she exclaimed, running into his arms. He lifted her up and spun her around, setting her down when she finished laughing.
"It's so good to see you," he said, giving her a kiss. "You have no idea."
"I can't believe you're here!" she breathed. "You've been gone for too long."
"And I've got the perfect way to make it up to you. I don't have a briefing until tomorrow at noon," Anakin said excitedly. "Our emergency landing got us a twelve-hour reprieve."
"That's wonderful! I get out of here in an hour. Will Corellian dumplings be on the menu tonight?"
"Of course. Much better than bantha stew. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some, meditation, to do," he said with a wink.
"Until next time, Master Skywalker," Padme said regally, giving her husband one last kiss.
The entourage of politicians had dispersed for the night, no doubt enjoying some of Coruscant's finer entertainment venues, leaving the Jedi Master and Chancellor alone to discuss the course of the Republic.
"Dooku's death is both a tragedy and a blessing for the Republic," the Chancellor said solemnly. "On one hand, the spearhead of a secessionist movement is no more, but now our chances of resolving this peacefully greatly dwindle with a lack of centralized power."
"I agree," Windu said. "We must move quickly to capture Grievous if we wish to end the war."
"He will be our top priority. I have all of our intelligence divisions on high alert for anything regarding his whereabouts." Palpatine took a deep breath, unsure of how to articulate what he had to say. "Master Windu, forgive me if this is crass, but how do you come to terms with taking another's life?"
Windu leaned back, surprised at the turn in the conversation. But he had heard the Chancellor explain, however briefly, how Count Dooku had met his demise.
"It isn't something that is easy to accept at first. But you have to remind yourself it is a war, and that loss of life, however regrettable, is unavoidable."
"Thank you for your words, Master Windu. It was just so sudden. I lost my balance and grabbed the closest thing," Palpatine explained, his voice cracking near the end. His gaze flickered to the holo, and straightened himself. "My apologies, I lost track of the time. I'm sure you have very important matters to attend to at the Temple."
"Of course," Windu said, rising from his seat. "Again, I'm glad you made it through unscathed."
"Me too, Master Windu."
"That was an interesting take on Corellian dumplings," Padme said as she tucked her feet up on the couch. "Where did you learn that?"
"When I was on Felucia we lost contact with the clones and were running low on rations. I had to hike into this village and I had no idea what I was buying, just pointed at whatever looked somewhat familiar. Needless to say I was pretty surprised when it turned out to be edible," Anakin laughed.
"Maybe they should send you to culinary school," Padme joked. "Then you can learn how to properly cook for me and the baby."
"Yeah the Council would be-," Anakin froze, his mind running over what his wife had just said. "You're pregnant?" he exclaimed. Without waiting for confirmation he enveloped her in the biggest hug possible.
"Yes," Padme said, her voice muffled.
"This is perfect!" Anakin said excitedly.
"I need to breathe, Anakin," Padme teased, and he loosened his grip, still not letting her out of his arms.
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"My motherly intuition says it's a boy."
Anakin closed his eyes, as if deep in thought, and shook his head.
"No, definitely a girl."
"I guess I'll be the one who's twenty credits richer in seven months," Padme teased, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek.
Anakin woke with a sweat, his heart racing from the nightmare.
That wasn't a nightmare, that was a Force vision, he thought to himself. Careful not to disturb Padme, he slipped out of bed and walked out onto the balcony, relishing the fresh air.
It was happening again, only this time he wasn't going to sit by and wait until it was too late. He wasn't going to take no for an answer from the Jedi Council, their ban on attachments be damned. The last time he waited for the Council's permission, his mother had died in his arms. If he had only gone to Tatooine sooner, if he hadn't wasted so much time deliberating with Obi-Wan whether or not the visions were real. If he had contacted the Lars and asked about his mother.
This time none of the 'if's' were going to stop him from saving Padme. Wherever the Council had him seven months from now wouldn't concern him, he would be by Padme's side, ready to save her from whatever was causing her so much pain in the vision-
"Anakin, what are you doing out here?" Padme's soft voice called from the entryway.
"Nothing, just thinking," he said, not moving from his position.
"Don't shut me out, tell me what's going on," she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. Her husband always did this, closing himself off whenever something was bothering him.
Anakin wasn't about to give her the news that she was going to die in childbirth, not until he had more to go on anyway. When he told her, he would have a plan of how he was going to save her.
"Dooku's death on the Invisible Hand," Anakin said, surprising Padme and himself. "The Chancellor, he kept saying how sorry he was, but he didn't, seem sorry." Seeing the confused look on Padme's face, he explained what had happened after he had arrested Dooku.
"That is rather odd," Padme said, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. "Did he seem angry beforehand?"
"No. Just desperate to get off the ship," Anakin said thoughtfully.
"Maybe he was in shock," Padme suggested. Her husband nodded in agreement. Still, something had seemed off while they were on the ship, but in the heat of battle he hadn't taken much time to stop and figure out what it was.
Too late now, he thought to himself.
"The Chancellor is what's keeping you up late at night?" Padme said, raising her eyebrows. "I know the two of you are close, but this seems a little mild for a late night meditation."
"I had another vision," Anakin said vaguely. He was kidding himself and he knew it, he could never keep anything from his wife. It was stupid of him to keep things from the one person in his life he could be completely honest with. "It was about you."
"And?"
"You died, in childbirth," he said slowly, as if not saying it would stop it from coming true.
"And the baby?" Padme asked, instinctively clutching her stomach.
"I don't know," Anakin said sadly. So much of the vision was unclear, he was beginning to regret caving in so soon.
"Anakin, I'm not due for another seven months. Anything can happen between now and then," Padme said reassuringly. "And whatever happens, I'm sure Obi-Wan will help us."
"I guess," Anakin said, guiltily thinking of Obi-Wan. He was still in the dark regarding his relationship with Padme, and now with a baby in the mix he felt like he had failed Obi-Wan somehow, as if all the years of training had gone to waste.
"Let's go back to bed," Padme suggested, gently tugging on her husbands arm. "You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."