Chapter Four:
With the galaxy in the midst of civil war, every system was in fear of even their own neighbors, trying desperately to uphold the Republic's greatest tradition; democracy. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi attempted to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the separatists. "Count Dooku," the Chancellor murmured to the Jedi, and they followed his gaze. Count Dooku was entering the large holding chamber with two security droids.
"This time," Obi-Wan whispered to Anakin, "we do it together."
"I was about to say that," Anakin grunted huskily as he moved around Obi-Wan to prepare for a confrontation with the Sith Lord. Count Dooku jumped over the railing, ignoring the stairs on both his left and right.
"Get help," the Chancellor whispered as Dooku began to approach the Jedi, "you're no match for him. He's a sith lord."
"Chancellor Palpatine," Obi-Wan replied with a smile, "sith lords are our specialties." Anakin and Obi-Wan dropped their Jedi robes to the floor; they would be taking every precaution this time.
"Your swords please," boomed Count Dooku, perfectly at home in this separatist ship, and taking every advantage of this home ground. "We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor."
"You won't get away this time, Dooku," Obi-Wan said, as he and Anakin advanced to meet the sith. The two Jedi ignited their light sabers. Dooku followed suit and the battle began. The Jedi parried, but Dooku kept them at bay easily. Anakin and Obi-Wan circled the Count, and he stepped back.
All three stood wary as the sith said, "I've been looking forward to this."
"My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count." Anakin said, keeping his head held high, and his shoulders back.
"Good," the Count crooned, "twice the pride, double the fall." Anakin lunged forward, with Obi-Wan at his side. The Jedi parried a few more stabs at Dooku, but, again, he held them off with ease. The Chancellor looked on with dismay as the sith lord lifted Obi-Wan up with the force and threw him to the side. Anakin stepped forward, making a half-hearted blow at Dooku, as they began to walk up the stairs, Anakin forcing the ascent, as Dooku walked backwards up the flight, keeping a cautious eye on the young Skywalker. Dooku made some blows at Anakin, but Anakin kept the sith lord at bay with experienced ease.
Obi-Wan got off the floor, grabbed his lightsaber, and ran to help his friend in battle. The security droids joined the fight, and fired some shots at the Jedi Master. He deflected the bolts, and a few slices later had the droids on the floor in pieces. As Obi-Wan intruded upon Anakin's quarry with the sith lord, he used the force to pick up both Jedi off their feet, and send Anakin tumbling into a corner. As for Obi-Wan, he sent flying across the room, crashing into the railing of the walkway, and into a crumpled heap on the floor.
Rage surged through Anakin's body. He jumped up as Count Dooku pulled one of the giant platforms of the upper walkway tipping into Obi-Wan's side and pushing him across the floor. Anakin attacked from behind, kicking Dooku over the railing and onto the lower floor. Anakin jumped down behind him and he began to attack relentlessly. Blue and red flew by in almost an invisible blur. The two sabers clashed, Anakin and the Count were locked into a battle of wills. Dooku began to push down on Anakin's saber, but he resisted. "I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them." Anakin pushed, and sent the sith reeling backwards. He raised his blue saber over his head, and make a few more attempts at the sith. Anakin and the Count flew about in circles, making blows, and holding up defenses.
Anakin finally got the upper hand as he cut off Dooku's wrists. He caught the red blade as it fell from the air. He crossed the blades over Dooku's neck, breathing deeply from the adrenaline. "Good, Anakin," the Chancellor laughed, "good. Kill him, kill him now." Dooku stared at the Chancellor in disbelief.
"I shouldn't," Anakin struggled.
"Do it!" The Chancellor hissed.
"It is not the Jedi way."
"If you leave him here, the Separatists will have an advantage. He is too dangerous to live!"
"He is an unarmed prisoner." Anakin closed the light sabers. He threw Dooku's to the side.
"It is only natural. He cut off your arm, you want revenge. It is not the first time." Anakin swiveled to face the Chancellor. "Remember what you told me about your mother…and the sand people?" Anakin sighed, and unlatched the Chancellor's manacles from the chair. He crossed the room, and kicked Dooku's knees out from under him as he passed. "Now, we must leave. Before more security droids arrive." The Chancellor walked with a brisk pace, and Anakin ran to pick up Obi-Wan as the Chancellor strode across the room.
"Anakin!" The Chancellor said, stopping, "there is no time! We must get off this ship before it's too late!"
"He seems to be alright," Anakin said, after roughly inspecting Obi-Wan.
"Leave him, or we'll never make it!"
"His fate will be the same as ours."
"Elevator's not working," Anakin told the Chancellor, holding Obi-Wan steadily across his shoulders, "Artoo, start the elevator." The ship began to tip sideways, and all sorts of scraps began flying out of the ship through passageways that had been blasted into the ship. Anakin and the Chancellor began to crawl through the elevator, and stood on the wall of the shaft, seeing as the ship was flying on its side. They began to jog down the shaft, toward the hangar where the Jedi had left their ships. The ship suddenly righted itself as the crew kicked in the emergency booster engines.
Anakin and the Chancellor began sliding down the shaft, feeling around for a handhold. Anakin finally found one, and kept one hand clenched to the shaft and the other on Obi-Wan, while the Chancellor gripped to his ankles. Obi-Wan pulled out of his unconsciousness with a thud. "Ah!" he mumbled, and scrambled to get a better hold onto Anakin.
"Easy!" Anakin told him, "We're in a bit of a situation here."
"Did I…miss something?"
"Hold on."
"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked as a shudder rumbled through the shaft.
"Oops…Artoo shut down the elevator shaft."
"Too late, jump" Anakin let go of the elevator, and they began sliding down the shaft, racing the elevator to their destination. Anakin threw a grappling hook onto one of the doors of the elevator. All three took hold and they swung through the doorway onto the floor. The trio stood up. "Let's see if we can find something in the hangar that's still flyable."
"Artoo, get down here!" Anakin spoke into the communicator. They began walking to the hangar, when the ray shields were activated and they were stopped in their tracks. "Ray shields," Anakin sighed.
"Wait a minute," Obi-Wan cried, "how did this happen, we're smarter than this!"
"Apparently not," Anakin mumbled, "I say patience."
"Patience?"
"Yes…Artoo will be along in a minute…and then he'll release the ray shields." Just then a side door along the hallway opened and R2D2 came screaming in, knocking against the wall with a thud. "See? No problem." But after R2 came two destroyer droids, they crawled onto their pointy legs just as security and battle droids came into the hallway as well. One of the security droids kicked over R2.
"Do you have a plan B?"
The group was led into the cockpit to consult with General Grievous. "Ah yes," said the living droid in a raspy voice. "General Kenobi, the Negotiator. We've been waiting for you. That wasn't much of a rescue." One of the battle droids handed Grievous the Jedi's light sabers, and he took them while he laughed huskily. "And Anakin Skywalker…I was expecting someone of your reputation to be a little…older."
"General Grievous," Anakin said with a disdainful look on his face, "you're shorter than I expected."
The General scoffed, "Jedi scum."
"We have a job to do, Anakin," Obi-Wan told his former Padawan coolly. "Try not to upset him."
"Your light sabers will make a fine addition to my collection." Grievous said as he clipped the light sabers to a rack underneath his cloak, next to four other unlucky trophies.
"Not this time, and this time, you won't escape."
"Artoo!" Anakin said, cueing the droid to send his blue sparks flying to unhook Obi-Wan's handcuffs. The experienced Jedi used the force to pull his blade to him, and in one smooth move, he had Anakin freed of his manacles as well.
"Crush them!" Grievous commanded, shaking with rage. "Make them suffer!" He backed away as his specialized security droids engaged in a struggle with the Jedi. Obi-Wan made quick work of one of the droids, cutting the other's electric spear in pieces, and began parrying at the droid. The two Jedi worked tirelessly to destroy the droids, and with cuts to the metal torso, they finally did. Anakin quickly destroyed two battle droids that had been carting away the Chancellor, and while he was at it, he cut off the handcuffs confining the Chancellor.
"Don't bother with them!" The General cried to two battle droids at the controls, "Keep the ship in orbit!" Grievous picked up one of the electric spears that had been discarded by one of his now disassembled guards. "You lose, General Kenobi," Grievous told the approaching Jedi as he threw the spear like a javelin into the dashboard window. The crack in the window spider webbed into a big problem.
The glass broke, and the shatters were sucked into space. The Jedi grabbed hold of a control panel in just enough time, as Grievous was sucked out the window. The robot General shot a grappling hook out onto the side of the ship to keep him from being thrown aimlessly into space. His feet gripped the side of the ship, and he began to walk up the side. Meanwhile, Anakin and Obi-Wan held their breath, struggling to keep their hold on the control panel. A metal shield closed over the window, and the airlock was sealed again. The Jedi let go, and were able to breathe freely.
Grievous re-entered the ship, into the escape pod room. He began, laughing, one-by-one to deploy all the pods but one; the one for himself. The Jedi fought off more battle droids in the control room, unaware that their chances of escape were becoming slimmer. "All the escape pods have been launched," Anakin told Obi-Wan grimly.
"Grievous," Obi-Wan mumbled as the two Jedi advanced across the small room,
"Can you fly a cruiser like this?"
"You mean do I know how to land what's left of this thing?" Anakin asked rhetorically as he took a seat in the pilot's chair.
"Well?"
"Well under the circumstances," Anakin said as Obi-Wan and the Chancellor each took seats behind him. "I'd say the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in." Anakin turned back to the controls with a grim, determined expression. "Open all hatches, extend all flaps and drive fins." The control room lurched as even more of the ship fell off into space. "We…lost something."
"Not to worry, we are still flying HALF a ship."
"Now we're really picking up speed," Anakin said with a smile as the burning ship began to quickly ascend upon the Coruscant atmosphere. Scraps began flying off the burning ship, as the ship gained even more speed.
"Eight plus…sixty… We're in the atmosphere."
"Grab that," Anakin pointed to a lever on Obi-Wan's left. "Keep us level." The ship, soaring now through the Coruscant sky at unbelievable speed, had become less of a ship, and more of a flaming asteroid.
"Steady."
"Easy Artoo!" Anakin cried as ships swerved around them as they veered to a clear landing strip where they could land what was left of the cruiser.
"Five thousand, five ships on the left and the right." The ships on either side of the cruiser began to spray them with water, trying to cool down the ship a little before its inevitable impact with the ground. "Landing strip straight ahead!"
"We're coming in too hot!" Anakin said, but brought the ship down to the landing ship anyway. The cruiser made an awful screech as its hull hit the ground. It skidded quite a ways, and as it did, the bottom of the hull was turning into a cloud of hot ash and smoke. The cruiser finally skidded to a stop. Lurching the foursome in the control room. Everyone took a sigh of relief.
"Another happy landing," Obi-Wan said with a relieved laugh, running a hand through his hair."
They were taken from the landing strip to the Galactic Council arena in one of the Chancellor's own, private, shuttles. They filed out slowly, the Chancellor first, meeting his fellow diplomats, with R2 following behind him. Anakin stepped out of the ship, searching the crowd for the only face he wanted to see; she wasn't there. "Are you coming, Master?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan, who leaned against the doorframe in the shuttle.
"Oh no," he said jovially, "I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report to the council. Besides, someone needs to be the poster boy."
"Hold on! This whole operation was your idea!"
"Let us not forget that you saved me from the buzz droids. You killed Count Dooku, rescued the Chancellor, carrying me unconscious on your back." Anakin stood in dismay a moment, because he had just assumed the Sith Lord was dead, because he hadn't actually killed him. But he shook it off.
"All because of your training," Anakin said, teasing, but humble.
"Anakin lets be fair. Today, you were the hero. And you deserve your glorious day with the politicians."
Anakin sighed, "You owe me one, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time!"
"Ninth time; that business on Cato Neomodia doesn't-doesn't count. I'll see you at the briefing." With that, Obi-Wan turned back into the shuttle, heading off to the Jedi Council, while Anakin and R2 headed toward the cluster of politicians.
"Chancellor Palpatine," asked Mace Windu, "are you alright?"
"Yes," Palpatine sighed, "thanks to your two Jedi Knights. They killed Count Dooku, but General Grievous has escaped once again." Anakin, upon hearing his assumption being presumed again, shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"General Grievous will run and hide as he always does. He's a coward."
"But with Count Dooku dead, he is the leader of the droid army. And I can assure you the Senate will vote to continue the war as long as he is alive."
"Then the Jedi Council will make finding Grievous our highest priority." Mace Windu bowed his head for the Chancellor and let him pass.
"The Republic cannot thank you enough," Bail Organa said to Anakin as the politicians began walking back into the enormous building.
"Thank you, Senator Organa."
"But the fighting will continue until General Grievous is spare…parts." Anakin's gaze flittered to behind a pillar, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.
"Well, I will do everything I can in the senate."
"Excuse me," Anakin said, walking away from the Senator, but it wasn't long before he broke for Padme in a run. He reached her and embraced her, wrapping his arms around her. She took his head in between her palms and kissed his cheek. He held her face gently, as if she were made of porcelain, and kissed her.
"Oh Anakin," Padme sighed, throwing her arms up around his neck, and pulling herself as close to him as she could.
"I've missed you, Padme."
"There were…whispers…that you'd been killed…" Padme said, having a hard time collecting herself and controlling her breathing.
"I'm all right," Anakin smiled, laughing a little, relieved to be around her again. "Feels like we've been apart for a lifetime; I might have been if the Chancellor hadn't been kidnapped, I didn't think they'd ever bring us back from the outer rim sieges." Anakin's voice dropped to a low whisper. He went to kiss her again, but she stopped him.
"Wait, not here."
"Yes, here! I'm tired of all this deception; I don't care if they know we're married."
"Anakin, don't say things like that!" He gave her a gentle hug, but the look on her face still seemed distressed.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asked, concern troubling his handsome face. "You're trembling. What's going on?"
"Something wonderful has happened. Annie, I'm…pregnant."
Anakin searched her face for a moment as he comprehended what she'd just said. "That's…ah…" he sighed, "that's, well that's wonderful." His face broke out into a smile again.
"What are we going to do?"
"We're not going to worry about anything right now, alright? This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life." Anakin leaned down, and kissed her, this time she didn't object, and she almost fell into his arms with relief.
"General Grievous."
"Yes, Lord Sidious?"
"I suggest you move the Separatist leaders to Mustafar."
"It will be done, my lord."
"The end of the war is near, General."
"But the loss of Count Dooku…"
"His death was…a necessary loss. Soon I will have a new apprentice. One far younger and more powerful."
Anakin stood in the doorway of Padme's balcony and silently watched her comb through her hair. He smiled to himself; he loved to watch her eyes wander across the Coruscant skyline. "Annie," she said, "I want to have our baby back home on Naboo. We can go to the lake country where no one will know, where we can be safe. I can go early and fix up the baby's room." She turned to look at Anakin, curling a lock of hair around her finger as he just smiled at her in response.
"I know the perfect spot," she continued, "right by the gardens."
"You're so…beautiful," Anakin whispered to her.
"It's only because I'm so in love."
"No," Anakin laughed, "No, it's because I'm so in love with you."
"So love has blinded you?" Padme asked, fake confusion spread across her face, teasing him.
"Well, that's not exactly what I meant."
"That's probably true."
A baby's cries broke the silence, Padme groans from the pain, "Anakin help me!" she cries, tears falling across her face, "help me Anakin, please! Please, please." Her pleas fall short as she has to suck in another breath, before she screams…
Anakin woke up as the whispery remains of a baby's cry ring in his ears. He was breathing heavily, sweat beading across his chest. He looked over at Padme, as if to confirm that she was still alright, not in pain. Her sleeping form was peaceful, as the covers moved with her body as she breathed, slow and steady. Still breathing unevenly, he gently pulled the covers off him, and swung his legs over the side of the bed quietly. He held in a strangled sob-like sigh as he covered his face with his hands, curling over so his elbows rested on his thighs. He sat like that until his breathing slowed and returned to normal. He then stood up quietly, grabbed his shirt, and slid out onto the balcony as he slipped it on around him. Padme stirred as the balance of Anakin's weight was offset as he stood up. She raised her head in just enough time to see him slip into the hallway, and then he was out of her sight.
Anakin sat by himself on the landing bay portion of the balcony, staring into the city scrapes of Coruscant, but all he saw was Padme's distorted face as she screamed in his nightmares. Padme came up next to him, quietly, and stroked the side of his face with her fingertips. "What's bothering you?" she crooned, her voice soft and kind, warm and inviting.
He sighed, "Nothing," he whispered, picking up the small wooden carving she kept on a twine around her neck. He fingered it gently, "I remember when I gave this to you." He smiled a little to himself, but only a little.
"How long," she sighed, "is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?"
Anakin let go of the carving and his smile dropped. "It was a dream."
"Bad?"
"Like the ones I used to have about my mother…just before she died…"
"And…?"
"And…it was about you."
"Tell me," Padme ran her hand across his back soothingly.
"Ha," he exhaled sharply, "it was only a dream."
"You die in childbirth."
"And the baby?"
"I don't know," Anakin sobbed, sending Padme running to him.
"It was only a dream…"
"I won't let this on become real."
"It won't, Anakin, it won't. I'm stronger than you think, stronger than I used to be, even. I can fight like a Jedi, Anakin."
"You think that fighting like a Jedi makes you stronger?"
"It does, at least for me. This baby will change our lives. I doubt the Queen will allow me to continue serving in the Senate, and if the council discovers you're the father…you'll be expelled…"
"I know…I know."
"Do you think…Obi-Wan might be able to help us?"
"We may need his help."
"Then ask him, Anakin. Tomorrow if you can. This is a problem we cannot ignore."
"Our baby is a blessing."
