Downfall
A/N.
Disclaimer: None of this is mine. It all belongs to George Lucas and Lucasfilm.
Padmé travels with Obi-Wan in one last effort to redeem the man she loves. A short story, leading up to Obi-Wan's Duel with Anakin.
The circle of white armoured stormtroopers closed around them. They didn't need to be ordered to place their hands behind their heads; they had already done so. Besides, they were as good as dead anyway. Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi, fugitives. Criminals, wanted for high treason. The troopers moved to escort positions, placing binders around the captives' wrists, searching them and confiscating weapons. The two exchanged glances as the commander ordered them to move, each of them bearing the same expression. Not fear, for they had given that up long ago. Not anger, because anger would not get them anywhere. Simple determination. She didn't bother asking wether this was such a good idea, because they had had that conversation already. He didn't ask if she really wanted to go through with this, because he knew that even though she didn't, he couldn't stop her. She was as much of a part of this as he was, and maybe she could succeed where he may fail. They simply marched in silence, toward an uncertain destination, and into an uncertain future.
Padmé surveyed the landscape. It was a more desolate place than any she had seen before. The planet itself didn't have a name, just an astrological catalogue number. It had been a staging point for the Republic Fleet during the Clone Wars. Teeming with primitive life, the place had been balmy and tropical. She'd been there once, years ago. But the memories were painful to bring up now, in the wake of all that had happened. When the enemy had discovered the fleet's presence here, they had done something unprecedented. They had executed order Base Delta Zero. A sustained high power surface bombardment until all life on the surface had been extinguished. It had been a paradise, perfect in every way, and the wasteland that greeted her eyes now seemed to be a mocking metaphor for the fate that had befallen the entire galaxy. And of the fate that had befallen one man.
Obi-Wan did not look around at all. His eyes were fixed on their destination. The bombardment had cracked the planet's crust, causing huge amounts of volcanic activity. The largest of these new, overnight volcanoes stood before him now. Although there was no sign of it on the outside, he could sense the construction work going on behind those drab, dark rock walls. It didn't serve any purpose; it was simply a monument to the power of this new order. A palace, a fortress, a place of refuge. Built for one man. And that man was who Obi-Wan could sense the easiest. He had known him so well. Even as he was now, he could still recognise the mind of his friend. But only just.
They arrived at the foot of the mountain, where a small airspeeder was waiting for them. Their escorts roughly pushed them into the back and seeled the hatch. The prisoners could feel the craft lifting off, and knew that there could be no return from here. They didn't speak for the duration of the journey; all that they could possibly say to one another had already been said.
The speeder rose silently up the slope of the volcano, and rounded the peak. It dove into the crater, drifting slowly down until it reached the cavern. The cavern was lit by the sea of molten lava down below it, and was criss-crossed by metal walkways. Structures had been built into the sides, which extended much further into the rock. The speeder came to rest on a small platform by one of the catwalks. The prisoners were ushered out of the back.
The heat was stifling, but Padmé did not let her discomfort show. A push in the back from one of the troopers and they were marching again. Out along the metal walkways that lined this cavern like a spider's web, moving ever towards the center. And then she saw him. He was standing with his back to them, on a circular platform right in the middle of the web. He's the spider, she thought. Memories and feelings welled up in her, and she fought them down. She knew that he could read her. He could smell her fear, taste it. She forced her heart to be silent. Her husband was dead, Obi-Wan had told her. Betrayed and murdered by the man she saw now.
Obi-Wan forced his fear to drain away, and reached out through the Force to help Padmé do the same. His face was set as he strode towards the center. He knew what he must do. He reached out his feelings towards the dark man in the center, searching for the good he knew must still exist somewhere in him. He sensed the dark man's lip curling in a humourless smile as the troopers brought them to a halt at the edge of the platform. He took in the sight before him. The man he had once called his friend was clad all in black, and had a lightsabre at his belt. His right hand was gloved, hiding the bare metal of the mechanism attached to his wrist. Obi-Wan had been there when that wound had been inflicted. He had done it himself.
Without turning, the figure spoke. "Thank you commander," he said in a voice that was as cold as the cavern was hot. "You may remove their binders. They will not need them." Then he turned around.
It took all the strength Padmé had to not cry out. It wasn't that he had changed, he looked almost exactly the same as he did on the day he had left her, betraying them all. But his eyes were different. There was a cold fire in them, a fire that instilled fear in even the Emperor himself. He looked at her first. He had always been able to see right into the depths of her soul, but now his gaze cut through her like a knife. He walked slowly towards her, relaxed, but at the same time like a coiled spring. She could feel her fear slipping back.
He reached up with his ungloved hand and his fingers brushed her face. She couldn't draw away from this. She seemed somehow frozen. It was like it had always been, and yet somehow different. The eyes bored through her relentlessly. She tried not to flinch.
"I didn't expect you to come, Angel," he said, his voice soft, like velvet, and just as dark. "But then, you were always strong, weren't you?" His hand fell away from her cheek, and she felt it being replaced by a single tear. His held her gaze for a few seconds longer, before turning away.
His eyes now met Obi-Wan's. They said nothing to each other, or what they said was not expressed in words. Padmé felt the tension in the air. Finally the dark man looked away. He turned and walked to the edge of the platform, to look out over the ongoing construction effort.
"Transformation, General," he said, referring to Obi-Wan by his formal title. "It is all around us. I used to be afraid of it, but now I understand that it is necessary. It's a constant of nature, I know. But most of the transformations we see, the changes we undergo, are small, fleeting things. A little bit, here and there. But that kind of transformation is useless. It is tiny, weak, and impermanent. If you want things to change, you have to think big. Change everything at once. Rip it out and start again. That's what is happening here. That is what is happening to the galaxy."
"That is what has happened to you," Obi-Wan replied.
The dark man turned around. "Yes. You are quite correct. You believe that the man you knew is dead. That is what you told her." He gestured towards his wife. Obi-Wan nodded. "I see," he continued. "Another one of your little 'certain point of view' speeches, General. I see you do not tire of them easily."
"The only absolute truth in this universe is that there is no such thing as an absolute truth," Obi-Wan replied, re-iterating the proverb he had constantly reminded his pupil of throughout his education, right up until it's abrupt end.
"But how do you explain the significance of pain, General? Fear? They are things that every life has. They are common across all perspectives, all points of view. Are they not absolute, universal truths?"
"One man's pain is another man's triumph."
"How true. And, really, that is what this is all about, isn't it? Why you are here. Fear and pain combine to push you to desperate actions. The fear is yours, and the pain hers. Together you come here, into the heart of your enemy's territory, and you believe that you can bring me back to your so-called 'good side'. Am I correct in this assumption?"
"It is my hope that I can find in you the shadow of the man I used to know. And that you will come back with me"
The dark man smiled mercilessly. "To the 'good side'?" he asked. "General, by your last argument, there can truly be no good side. For the concept of good is also in the eye of the beholder, totally and helplessly dependent on your own point of view. One man's victory is another's defeat, General. You have experienced both in this campaign. Each side fights for their own idea of 'good'. They fight for what they believe in. You can not say what is 'good', and what is not."
"Belief. Do you truly believe that this is right? What you are saying? What you are fighting for?"
"Does it matter to you what I believe? Did it ever? You were out fighting the good fight, General, teaching me what was right and what was wrong. But you used me, Kenobi, I was just a tool to you. Whatever you may have believed, you never believed in me. You held me to your Jedi code, and denied me what I truly wanted." His gaze shifted slightly, towards Padmé.
She felt her throat constricting again. She had been silent through this last exchange, but she spoke up now. "Anakin…"
But she couldn't say any more. He stepped towards her again, only this time he did not touch her. "That name," he whispered almost apologetically, "no longer has any meaning for me."
Unbidden, a memory rose up in her mind, of a conversation years earlier. She had seen him for the first time in 10 years, and called him "Ani", his childhood name. He had told her that she had to call him Anakin. That Ani made him sound like a little boy. In that moment, the child she had known had become the man she would marry. And now, he was telling her that his name had changed again. Anakin truly was dead.
She hung her head, unable to look at him anymore. The dark man kept looking at her, but he raised his voice again, so her companion could hear. "Why did you bring her here, Kenobi? She does not deserve this pain."
"She insisted on coming. I wanted to come alone. She came because she loves you, and she wanted to face you one last time. She believed that if I failed, she could succeed."
The dark man turned his head to look back at Obi-Wan. "She loves Skywalker, not me." He looked back at her for a second more, and seemed to come to a decision. He gestured to the stormtroopers that remained standing at the edge of the platform. "Commander, did the General bring any of his men?"
"No, Lord Vader, only these two were captured. There may be more rebel forces elsewhere in the area. I request permission to conduct a further search."
"That will not be necessary, Commander. Was the General armed?"
"He was armed only with this, my Lord." The stormtrooper placed a short metal cylinder in the dark man's hand.
"Very good. Take her away, and return her to their ship. She is to be allowed to leave unharmed."
This shook Padmé back to reality. "No!" she exclaimed. "I'm staying here! I'm not afraid of you Anakin, I-"
The dark man silenced her with a look. "I'm sorry, Angel. For everything. I truly am. It is my duty to the New Order to eliminate you, but I am allowing you to go. This is one last favour to Skywalker. He loved you. Now go." He turned back towards Obi-Wan. "I don't want you to see this." He was holding Obi-Wan's lightsabre out, and the General was stepping forward to take it.
"Go Padmé," he said, taking his weapon. "I swore to protect you, and you will not get another chance to escape like this." His eyes had not left his former pupil's. "And I don't want you to see this either."
The stormtroopers had taken hold of her. If they had any qualms about aiding the escape of a wanted criminal, they were hiding them well, and carrying out their duty. "I've seen people die before," she said.
"Have you seen one man you love kill another?" he husband asked. She fell silent. The images that came unbidden to her mind were too painful.
"I know you didn't want it to come to this, Padmé," Obi-Wan said. "But we can't just talk this over. I can see it in him. He will not come back, and it is my duty to try and stop him from committing any more terrible deeds." He turned away from his opponent for a second. "I'm sorry," he said to her. She saw in his eyes that he was prepared to face his fate.
"No…" she said, still struggling to break free of the stormtroopers. Though what she would do if she got loose, she didn't know. She needed Obi-Wan. She needed him to take care of Luke…
"Why is she still here Commander?" the dark man asked, unhooking his own lightsabre from his belt. "Stun her if you must, just ensure that she gets off this world safely."
Padmé heard the click of a blaster setting switch behind her head as she was yanked around, away from the two Jedi. The last thing she heard before the stun bolt washed over her was the crack of two lightsabre blades making contact.