Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Star Wars or the characters or anything like that…and this disclaimer extends to the previous chapter because I completely forgot about it before.
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Anakin and Obi-wan arrived to their destination only to find that the people they'd been tracking had already left. But they were not completely surprised, as it was a more and more common occurrence. Somebody must have tipped them off.
The dealers who they'd been following were specifically known for black market babies, and so Anakin was more unnerved that they were missing than he ever would have let on. When he and Obi-wan had left the temple, they had been given only minimal information. Anakin suspected the council knew more, though, and he planned to investigate that on his own later. They didn't seem to trust him, and that was a great source of his anger.
The first thing both Jedi noticed when they entered the room was the dim lighting and the many cradles that lay haphazardly placed on the dirty floor. Anakin thought of his own child briefly and fought the emotions that threatened to rise in his throat. He could not risk Obi-wan sensing his weakness.
"How did they know we were coming?" Anakin wondered aloud as he picked up a small blanket on the floor. There were small droplets of blood on the corner and Anakin threw it down quickly. "Who would do something like this?" The young man's mind was telling him with increasing clarity to get Padmé off of the city-planet. He knew, though, that she wouldn't listen, and he dismissed the idea almost as soon as it came. "Obi-wan?"
But Obi-wan wasn't listening. Instead the master Jedi was crouched over a small desk on the other side of the darkened and dank room, looking on with horror at several small objects. "Sith!" He swore.
"What is it?" Anakin asked while striding over to his former master. Obi-wan shook his head and gestured towards four small needles on the desk. They were specific in shape and Anakin had the feeling that he had seen them before. "What are those?" His tone had dropped significantly and his eyes were hardened as his mind started recognizing them.
"These needles are specifically made to measure the force sensitivity in...well...children." Obi-wan backed away slowly with a pained expression across his face. "We must inform the council." He turned to leave and motioned for Anakin to follow, but the younger man stopped him.
"You go." Anakin said. "I'm going to continue tracking these merchants, and try to figure out why they would want to measure force sensitivity in their black-market trade." The Jedi knight shuddered briefly as the unspoken word 'baby', caught his mind. What would they want with babies? "I will catch them, Obi-wan."
Obi-wan nodded. "I never had any doubt." And with those parting words, the older of the men left and Anakin resumed his search for clues in the room once used for smuggling babies. For several minutes he didn't find anything, and his own frustration led him to using the force to smash the desk where Obi-wan had found the needles.
What Anakin discovered surprised him. Six medical coats used by doctors at the main hospital in Coruscant, identifiable because it said as much on the label. When he had smashed the desk he had made a hole in the wall where they had been stored.
So that was how they were taking the infants...by posing as doctors. It sickened Anakin greatly. Especially since Padmé had made it clear that she wanted to give birth at that very same medical center. He would have to talk her out of that.
He unceremoniously dropped the coats he had pulled from the wall when he saw something that genuinely scared him. Passes. Six of them. Diplomatic passes to all important buildings; including the Senate and the Jedi temple. He collected them and placed them in a pocket deep in his robes. Both the council and the Chancellor would have to see this. It was a matter of security for the entire galaxy. These black-market traders were clearly posing as officials and could jeopardize the safety of everyone around them. Without hesitation he pulled out his comlink and contacted Obi-wan.
"Anakin," Obi-wan's voice said, somewhat distorted. "Have you found something already?"
"They have medical coats to the hospital and security access to all high rank buildings on Coruscant," Anakin said in a rush. "How far away are you?" He knew that Obi-wan didn't have to come back and work with him, but Anakin trusted his former master's ability to piece things together and see things that he often overlooked.
"I'll be right there." Obi-wan stated recognizing the seriousness of the situation from his former padwan's tone of voice. Anakin nodded mutely looking at the room around him. "Give me ten minutes." If Anakin had been anywhere else he would have chuckled. It took Obi-wan ten minutes to cross the distance Anakin covered in two. "Wait..." Obi-wan's voice came over the link as Anakin was about to put it away. "Don't do anything rash, Anakin." The warning was said out of habit, mostly. Obi-wan, though he never told Anakin to his face, trusted the young man with his life.
"I won't," Anakin assured. And in an afterthought he added, "Unless it's necessary." He figured his former master agreed with him, as he remained silent in the devise that allowed them to talk.
"Are you sure you trust this Jedi?" The question came at Padmé from both Mon and Bail who wore identical suspicious looks on their faces.
"Yes." She stated calmly. "I trust him with my life." A part of her reeled with that comment and she suddenly realized how true it was. Sure, she had placed her life in Anakin's hands before, but somehow stating it to outsiders made it more real. She relaxed back into her couch with the sudden comforting notion that she trusted her husband entirely.
Fang's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "Then why won't you tell us his name?"
"His name is not the necessity in this situation," Padmé replied. "Only that he can help us."
Shea shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry if we don't respect that opinion, Padmé," She said to her friend. "This is a very sensitive issue for all of us, and we need to know who we are relaying this information to." She looked around and gestured to the other senators in the room with her hand. "We are grateful that you shared your home for our meeting and we trust you in that respect...But forgive us if we need to know the face behind the Jedi who will contain the knowledge of our treason." She looked Padmé dead in the eye. "You would want to know the same."
"Of course," Padmé accepted. She knew, while she could keep her marriage to Anakin a secret, she could not keep the galaxy from knowing she knew him. They had already shared far too much publicity together, but somehow her colleagues knowing that they were still in contact, bothered her.
"And are you sure the Jedi is not in league with the Chancellor?" Mon asked suddenly. Her eyes clouded with fear. "There are many people who are more than happy to be his eyes and ears in the senate and otherwise. How do we know that this Jedi is not as enamored by him as the rest of the republic?"
"He isn't." Padmé stated defiantly. "He would have told me if he was close to the Chancellor. I've known them both for some time now. Palpatine used to be senator when I was Queen."
"We know, Padmé," Shea said calming her. "We just want to be sure. Mon is right…you can never be too careful, nowadays." The other senators nodded and there was a small silence as they all contemplated the truth of her words. It was getting harder and harder to find people they could trust…especially on the capital.
"Who is it?" Giddean asked. "Who is the Jedi who can help us?" All eyes again turned to Padmé and she shifted slightly. Was it worth it for the rumors that had been circulating after Geonosis to start up again?
"Jedi Skywalker." Padmé relented. Bail's eyes widened as he took in the new knowledge and Padmé knew even without looking at him that he was suspicious. But before he could say anything Fang Zar once again stood up and commanded authority.
"Senator Amidala," Padmé winced at the formal name. They had all been on a first name basis for a while now, and the fact that Fang addressed her formally could only mean that he was strictly apposed to the idea. "You cannot suggest that we relay our thoughts to the poster boy of the order, can you? The one and only who saved the Chancellor himself from General Grievous not one month ago? Not him..." He looked around with a pained expression. "Anyone but him..."
Mon nodded appreciatively. "He is far to close with the Chancellor. Anyone who's looked has seen it. We would be jeopardizing everything. There has to be someone else."
Padmé sighed. She could have guessed that was coming. "I know I'm asking a lot, but please..." She adopted a more regal voice and went on. "This is not just our lives we're looking after. Naboo cannot afford to be overrun by clones. I will not stand by and watch as my people panic and die…It is my home, just as I know your planets are yours."
"Do you honestly think Jedi Skywalker can help us," Bail asked. There was no judgment in his voice and Padmé nodded. Bail sighed. "If you trust him, Padmé. So do I."
Again Padmé nodded. "I trust An-," She almost said his name but stopped herself. "I trust Jedi Skywalker with my life... and my secrets. He will not betray us."
"For our sake, I hope you are right," Mon stated lightly, but the warning behind her words was not lost.
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A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you like the second chapter. I'm still setting up the plot, but the chapters should get longer as the story picks up. R&R. Thanks!
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Konig15: Thank you for your review. And I'll be sure to add that in. Thanks for the suggestion, I really appreciated it.
great goddess of the cows: Thank you for your review. And yes, Obi-wan will face some sort of embarrassment in relation to Siri. I'm looking forward to writing that part. I haven't exactly figured out what kind of embarrassment though…
ILDV: Thank you for your review.
Tag des Todes: Thank you for your review. Sorry about the confusion. I hope it's fixed in this chapter. It was my first time uploading and I wasn't sure how to do the separation thing. Thanks for letting me know.
J.L.: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked that part. It was fun to write.
Katie: Thank you for your review.
Darth-Taisha: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked it.
Vila Restal: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you thought it was interesting. I hope it's not too boring.
Jedi Master Arie Skywalker: Thank you for your review. I'll be sure to update. I hope you like this chapter.
G-Anakin13: Thank you for your review. I'll definitely write more.
Mr.Sparrow: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, I'll be sure to write more.
CherryBlossoms016: Thank you for your review. That's a very good question. I'm actually still trying to figure out where Anakin's loyalties lie in this fic.
Justin-Mullins: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked it and I hope you continue to like it. I'm glad you find it well written, I put a lot of work into my writing and I'm happy you saw that. Thanks again.