I had no idea if I was ever going to get this up today because I have to finish a writing for class tomorrow and didn't think I'd have time to check over it. But I got to it. I rather update in the morning, but oh well. However, I'm more inclined to forget about school if I see I've got a lot of reviews…

This is a pretty long chapter. It was originally about five thousand words but I broke it up. Everyone wanted to know who the ladies in waiting are, well here it is. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

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Chapter Seven

"Milady told me to come and see to you."

Anakin looked from where he was propped on his bed still in the medical bay. This was worse than being in a cell. He hated medical bays. He had spent way too much time in them when he had been younger.

"I don't need anything," Anakin replied.

The lady in waiting stepped aside to allow a droid carrying a plate of food through. "Milady would like you to eat something."

"I could only imagine why," Anakin said rolling his eyes as the droid put the tray on his bet. "I bet she said it was because she wants me to live to see her turn my daughter into her apprentice."

The Lady in Waiting, a human, didn't reply, but the small smile that crept onto her face told Anakin that he was right.

"I thought so," Anakin replied. "I have to find a way to get out of here," he added not caring that the woman was in the room. He hadn't come up with a plan to get out yet, so he had no fear of her telling on him. Pesinoé already knew he was looking for a way to get out of here. Not being able to connect to the force almost made him feel dead.

"She's not as bad as you think jedi," the woman said, the smile was gone from her face now. She seemed insulted that Anakin thought so lowly of her mistress.

"Well of course you'd say that. You work for her," Anakin said, but something told him there was more to the story.

"We do not work for milady," she said firmly. "We serve her out of loyalty."

"Excuse me if I find that hard to believe," Anakin replied. "She tore my family apart. We had to separate just so she wouldn't find us."

"Well, she hasn't ruined my family. In fact, I have no idea if my family is even alive," the woman replied.

"Oh?" Anakin asked.

"I was kidnapped by pirates and sold into the sex trafficking trade. All of the ladies were there. We were only nine or ten at the time. Three years after the empire began," the woman said.

"You were all in the sex trade?" Anakin asked feeling a rage inside him. Even after all these years, slavery and such cruelty existed in the galaxy. Not even the republic had done anything about it and now, neither did the empire. But he expected as much.

"So how did Pesinoé get to you?"

"We had been in a house for weeks, waiting to be sold. As sick as it is, I'm relieved that they wanted to keep us virgins. It made us more valuable. Milady was working undercover as a maid and a dancer. Something about finding a high ranking officer and catching him in the act," the woman said shrugging. "We didn't know. No one did. She dressed like a common pleasure slave."

Anakin found himself remembering back when they were on the death star and Han pulled out a piece of skimpy lingerie from Pesinoé's drawer. Could this be the mission Leia had mentioned?

"Anyway, she was the only kindness we knew there. She had her… firmness and she was so blunt about what was going on it was harsh, but she was the one who made sure we were fed and kept up our spirits."

Anakin raised his eyebrows. If Pesinoé was kind to them, she had to wonder what cruelties the ladies had seen.

"One day, our last day there, some man came to check the 'goods'. Turned out it was the officer, a governor mind you, that Pesinoé was looking for. I'm not clear what happened. But one of us, it was either Iana or Mi'amah. I'm not sure, but I just knew it was a torgruta at the time. She disobeyed one of the traders and I don't know whether it was instinctual or if milady had instilled some rebellion in all of us." The woman laughed. "I find it funny now. She bit the man and decked him in the eye. But back then, it was horrifying. We all knew the punishment for rising against someone."

"Milady was already mad, but I think she practically lost it when she found out the governor was going to do the deed. They told her to go in the room with the girl and make her more submissive before her punishment. I have no idea what happened in that room, but I heard screaming from my young friend, silence and then a hissing sound and a hum. The next thing I knew, milady had kicked down the door and killed every piece of scum in the house. She even killed some of the other pleasure slaves that were in the house, but what she did to the governor, I will not say. But it was one of the most violent acts of justice I had seen in my life."

"So she ended up taking you with her I assume," Anakin replied.

"She said as witnesses at first."

"At first?"

"For the first few days we were kept in the detention bay. Then she let us out and gave us rooms. A few weeks later, we were training to be her guards and assassins. We came to learn later, that she wanted to open a refuge house for us to grow up in and train us to free other slaves, men and women, and liberate them," the woman said.

"What happened to that plan?" Anakin asked when she stopped.

"The emperor. Milady knew he wouldn't allow it, and she also knew if he found out she was taking care of us, we would be killed and she punished for slacking on her duty. So she convinced the emperor to let her find nine non force sensitive girls because the lack of competency in storm troopers was a danger to her missions. That was a lie. Her army of troopers is perfectly trained and competent. I've seen them in battle. Unlike most troopers, they don't blindly follow commands. Anyway, she never told him she already had the people she had in mind," the woman said smiling. "We've been with her ever since."

Anakin was a little shocked to say the least. No one knew the story behind the Ladies in Waiting, not even the alliance had gotten that one. They were just at Pesinoé's side one day. He would have never guessed they were with her because they owed a debt to her for taking care of them.

He let out a bitter laugh. "So there is a heart buried deep down in there somewhere," he muttered.

"For you jedi," the woman corrected.

"What?" Anakin said.

"You were a slave once, weren't you?" she didn't wait for him to answer. "Milady only told us that she sheltered us for a friend that was once a slave."

Anakin vaguely remembered telling that to Pesinoé when he had been dueling her and had been trying to snap her out of her rage. He didn't think she would have remembered it. He picked up the tray seeing that the woman was only going to stand there until he ate. However, he was glad she had come. Her story only proved that he had been right all along. There was good in Pesinoé. Now all he had to do was convince everyone else that.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pesinoé crosses her arms in impatience as she waited for word on the ship that had evaded her.

"…Considering the amount of damage we've sustained Lady Pesinoé, they must have been destroyed."

Pesinoé shook her head. "They are alive. I want every available ship to sweep that asteroid field until they are found."

Next to her Mara scowled. "You're wasting valuable resources and time trying to find a ship and get one person. You have Skywalker and his wife already. We should have been on our way to deliver them to him. Besides, that ship is probably destroyed. The Emperor will not be pleased with this."

Pesinoé smirked. "Too bad you can't get in contact with him."

Mara growled. She had always hated that about Pesinoé. She never took people trying to tell her what to do well, even the Emperor to some degree. She always had her own agenda and it was just by luck that Mara had figured it out this time. Normally, she'd be stuck blindly following the woman. It was always like that when they went on a mission together.

"You do know you're wasting your time doing this," Mara said deciding to be helpful to get things rolling. The sooner Pesinoé was done with this, the sooner she could get into contact with the Emperor. "They have a busted hyper-drive apparently and until they can fix it, they're going to have to find some place other than an asteroid field to hide. Somewhere safer."

Pesinoé smiled. "You were always good for something Mara," she said and headed to the controls. "Admiral."

"Yes Lady Pesinoé," Piett answered immediately.

"Find the nearest planet that the Falcon can safely and quickly get to without making the jump to light speed. Mara, you go talk to the bounty hunters. Make them an offer they can't refuse," Pesinoé demanded.

"Yes milady," Mara mocked as she went to see to the bounty hunters.

"The nearest place is Bespin milady," Piett replied.

Pesinoé nodded. The force was telling her that this was definitely the place to go if she wanted to capture the princess.

"Commander Rex," Pesinoé said into her com. "Prepare a squadron of troopers. Go to one of my personal ships and get it ready. Oh, and put my two prisoners on board as well, in two separate cells. One at a time. Take the ysalamiri with you for the jedi. We're going to Bespin."

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"Run!" Yoda said and Luke continued to run with the little gremlin on his back.

He couldn't believe this was Yoda. Alex could have told him that Yoda was a little green guy around two feet tall. That would have helped dramatically. Apparently, Artoo knew Yoda. In fact, he had been trying to tell Luke who he was from the beginning.

"Flows from the Force, a jedi's strength does. But beware of the dark side. Anger… Fear… aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Start down the dark path, forever consume you it will, as it did your father's apprentice."

"Pesinoé," Luke muttered trying to keep back the feelings of anger he had towards the woman. He knew his father was never able to let go of his attachment to Pesinoé and that's why he couldn't kill her. That's why he died. Alex had told him that much. But he wouldn't let his father's feelings for the woman, whatever they had been, cloud his perception. She had to be stopped.

"Is the dark side stronger?" Luke asked.

"No. Quicker, easier, more seductive," Yoda said.

"Seductive. That's Pesinoé's specialty right? Seduction?"

Yoda didn't reply and so Luke continued. "But how am I to know the good side from the bad?"

"Know you will, when at peace you are. Passive, you must be. Use the force for knowledge and defense a jedi does. Never for attack," Yoda added.

Luke frowned. "So does that mean I can't have emotions? I just have to do what must be done?"

Yoda sighed. "Your father's influence I sense in you. An idealistic jedi, he became."

"But did that mean he was wrong in his opinion? The council wouldn't talk about it if it were," Luke said. "Why-?"

"No, no, no. There is no why. Nothing more I will teach you today. Clear your mind of questions Mmm."

Luke put Yoda down and put back on his shirt. They would definitely be getting back to this conversation later. He turned to see a black tree with a cave on one side. Luke stumbled back. He felt cold.

"There's something not right there," he said to Yoda.

"Strong with the dark side of the Force, that place is. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."

Luke turned to Yoda warily, but without taking his eyes off the cave. "What's in there?"

"Only what you take with you," Yoda said. "You weapons, you will not need them."

Luke decided not to take off his lightsaber and went inside. Luke knew he should be over fearing the dark and normally he didn't. But in caves, darkness sheltered the unknown and danger. There was no telling what was in here. He pushed deeper into the cave while lighting his saber for light.

It seemed to get darker and Luke turned around, he could no longer see the entrance to the cave. He hadn't gone that deep. The snap hiss of a light saber caught his attention. He whirled around to face Darth Pesinoé… or at least, that's who he thought it was. She looked different. Younger, but he could still feel the rage and hate radiating off of her. She came forward with her light saber and struck at him. Luke stepped to the side and slashes at her, across the chest. When she fell in death, Luke looked down at her in satisfaction thinking he had passed whatever kind of test this was. When the time came, he would kill Darth Pesinoé.

He started to try and find a way out when the sound of loud mechanical breathing froze him in his spot. Luke slowly turned back around in time to see a man in a suit. As he came closer, Luke realized it was more of a cyborg or a man who had been gravely injured and forced to wear it. He was holding a red light saber in his hands.

Luke stepped back in terror.

"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father did he?" the man asked in a deep voice.

Luke couldn't reply. There was something about this man.

"Luke," he said. "I am your father!"

"No!" Luke yelled and cut the cyborg's head off. It fell to the floor and the mask on his face began to crack.

In curiosity Luke stepped forward and looked at the face inside and gasped in horror. The man's face, looked just like his, except his hair was longer and a little darker. In fact, he looked like Alex…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pesinoé's ship landed in cloud city. She impatiently waited for the ramp to come down. When it did, she was immediately greeted by a tall black man with wavy brown hair. She walked up to him. He was nervous. Good. That would make this go all the more smoother.

"Lando Calrissian," she said.

"Lady Pesinoé," Lando said nervously. "A pleasure. What brings you here?"

"Let's cut the casualties and get to business," Pesinoé replied. "You know as well as I do that this is an illegal operation. Normally I would have turned a blind eye to it, but you'll soon be harboring fugitives."

"There are no fugitives here," Lando protested.

"I said soon. They're on their way here. They have a bad hyperdrive, and they're going to want to land to fix it. Let's say we strike a deal. Hm? I might be persuaded to ignore your little operation again," Pesinoé replied.

Lando mentally cursed. He hated the empire, but he had no choice. Either help them or get in trouble with them. He almost laughed. Helping them now, meant trouble with them later either way it went. But maybe Pesinoé would be reasonable…

"Alright," he said.

"Wise decision. I'll have to be here for at least a week. Maybe two," Pesinoé said with a smile. "I'll need accommodations for two prisoners I have on board, separate please. Now Calrissian, lead the way so we can go over the fine details of this deal."

Pesinoé made her way into the building flanked by her ladies. Lando could have broken down crying. Two weeks with the right hand woman of the emperor! He rubbed his head.

"This is going to be hell," he muttered. Sure she was saying they would make a deal now, but if the rumors were right, he'd be coming out of this with nothing but his life… even that was a long shot. But he really didn't have much of a choice. If he said no, he was dead anyway.

Back on the ship, Padmé pulled her arm out of the grip of the storm trooper.

"I'm already in cuffs," she snapped. "What can I do?"

The trooper let her go and Padmé started down the ramp. She stopped and then ran down to the bottom forgetting about her throbbing ankle.

"Ani!" she yelled running to where Anakin was flanked with an entire squadron of storm troopers. Apparently, Pesinoé didn't trust him not to try anything.

"Padmé," he said and leaned down to kiss her since he couldn't wrap his arms around her like he wanted. "What are you doing here?"

"I never left with the falcon," she said softly. "I came to try and find you. That woman that was with Pesinoé, Mara, she took me. I was so worried."

"Everything's fine now angel. We'll get out of this," Anakin said and winced when the injury on his chest throbbed.

"What's wrong?"

"An injury curtesy of Darth Pesinoé," Anakin said dryly as the storm troopers began to push them along.

"Oh God Ani. She was so angry when she saw me. She thought I was dead," Padmé whispered. "You should have seen her. I'm worried what she'll do to Leia if she gets her hands on her."

"Leia will be fine for now. Pesinoé wants to train her. Odd, I always saw Ahsoka training our daughter one day, before she turned. It's Luke I'm worried about."

"But we don't even know where he is."

Anakin shook his head. "I think he went to find Yoda. But Pesinoé will probably use Leia to lure him here."

"Wait a minute," Padmé said and turned to look at him. "The force. Why aren't you-?"

"Ysalamiri," Anakin replied dryly. "But now I'm kind of glad Pesinoé had it there. If it weren't for not having my force powers, I would have escaped without knowing she had you. She would have taken her anger out on you. I'm sure."

Padmé looked at him again and then blinked touching his now smooth face. "You shaved?" she asked with a smile.

Anakin laughed. "Blame that on Pesinoé."

"Break up the conversation," a trooper said when they got to their destination. Two cell rooms.

Padmé scowled as they took off her cuffs. "I love you Ani," she said quickly before they shoved her in her cell.

"I love you too angel," Anakin said before they put him in his.

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AN: Alright! Now the next chapter is where things get interesting. Pesinoé sure knows how to get what she wants. I think the times frames may be a little off. I'm not sure how long Luke was training in the movie or how long it took for Han and Leia to get to Bespin but make up what you will on the time issue (reasonably). It's why I never really give a time frame. I'm assuming a day or two. Maybe a little shorter.

Well I've got to get back to homework. I hope you enjoyed. Review Please!