Darred turned off the holo with a grimace and chanced a look at his wife. She sat with lips pressed together and fire in her eyes as she gently stroked the sleeping baby's head. It had been two weeks since the "upheaval" as he referred to it, and things had started to calm down some, only to have this...setback...occur. Emperor Palpatine had decreed that the new Empire Day would be celebrated on Naboo's traditional First Day of the new season - when the equinox brought about the warmer seasons and thus new life. He was more than certain that the Emperor had chosen the date not just because of its cultural significance and the fact that he was Nabooian, but also because it was the date of Padme's death. And if he had figured that out, he had no doubt that Sola had as well.
The comm unit went off and Sola answered a tearful Jobal Naberrie. Darred gave her a tight smile and made his way to Ryoo's room, where he heard an argument that was dangerously close to escalating into an all-out fight. "Girls," he said warningly as he entered without knocking. "Your mother and grandmother are trying to speak on the holo. I'm certain that they don't want to hear your bickering in the background."
Ryoo turned tear-filled eyes toward her father: "Pooja said I had to be adopted, because her and the new baby have light hair and I have dark hair," she hiccuped. If only you knew, he thought to himself.
"You know full well that that is not true," he told her reassuringly as he patted her shoulder. Ryoo was so very sensitive, much like he had been as a child. "Pooja, why would you say something like that to your sister?"
"Because that's what the other children were saying at school. The other day when mother came to get us, they saw the baby and they told me that Ryoo didn't look like me or Baby Lukie," she said matter-of-factly, not realizing just how hurtful such a thing was. She was at a delicate age, where only overt cruelty was recognized as such - brutal honesty was the trademark of all young children, after all. Or at least until they were taught proper social norms, whether they understood why they were in place or not.
"If all the other children said that this was Alderaan and not Naboo, would you believe that too?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
"No, that's just silly!" Pooja exclaimed, still clueless to why her sister was in such turmoil.
"Well, so is those children saying that you are not sisters by blood," he stated bluntly. "They don't know this family or that Ryoo looks a lot like my side of the family, except that she's got dark hair. You get your curly hair from the Naberries, Ryoo gets the straight hair from the Janrens. Just because you don't look alike doesn't mean you aren't sisters," he said soothingly as he made sure to look at both of the girls.
"Thank you father," Ryoo said with relief as she sniffled. She allowed herself to sit next to her father on the floor and put her head on his shoulder. Darred sighed inwardly - he missed the days when she crawled into his lap and acted like he was her only protector. He wasn't ready for his girls to grow up, but at the same time, couldn't wait for Pooja to outgrow the constant social faux-pas stage.
"Just remember, next time someone says something like that, don't take it seriously or repeat it. If you have a question, ask your mother or me, ok?" he asked and both girls nodded in response. His logical architect's mind could not understand how children believed just about anything they were told, but he wondered if that was more a sign of his age that he had forgotten what it was like to be young and impressionable.
"Girls," Sola announced from the doorway suddenly, causing all three occupants of the room to jump a little. "Sorry," she said with a small smile. "I know that that was an intense conversation, but I need you to clean up and get ready for dinner. Grandmother Jobal and grandfather Ruwee are coming over, so you need to be looking your best so Grandmother doesn't fuss," she said looking pointedly at Pooja.
"Yes, ma'am," the girls chorused and dispersed to their duties as the parents exited the room. Darred waited until they had reached the kitchen, where they would be out of earshot, to ask his wife if Jobal was alright. Sola sighed as she put the remains of the muja fruit she had abandoned during the Emperor's broadcast into the disposal unit.
"She's not. She and father really want to be with us right now. They are upset over the continuing insults to Padme, they don't understand the vindictiveness. And to be honest, I don't either," she said as she looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
"I'm not sure what to say," Darred said as he put an arm around her shoulders, being careful not to jostle the baby awake. "I think that the Emperor will be someone that shall haunt all of Naboo to our everlasting shame," he said honestly. He hadn't been completely unaware of the political situation, and had been horrified at seeing peaceful protests being shut down ruthlessly and lethally, especially where the non-human populations were concerned. He worried about the Empire descending on the Gungans in the near future and creating instability on Naboo itself.
"It feels like a vendetta," Sola said fiercely. "Not just against democracy, but Padme as a person. And it frightens me that he might come after us for no other reason than that he apparently had a severe falling-out with her."
"I don't think he will," Darred said soothingly. "I should think that that would be a bridge too far. It would most certainly backfire as far as the public is concerned - and he very much needs them on his side. I think the extent of his involvement with us took place at the funeral."
"Not the best portent of things to come," Sola replied acidly as she felt Luke's diaper and found it soaking. "I'm going to change this little one and get him ready for mother," she said as she kissed Darred's cheek and disappeared. Darred sighed - he hoped he hadn't just told her a lie, but he didn't want to be callous and tell her the Gungans were more in danger than themselves. He decided not to be a pessimist and hope that Naboo would be left unspared so as not to reflect badly on the Emperor's homeworld.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Darth Vader asked from his kneeling position in front of Emperor Palpatine. He had just "pacified" a group of teenagers in front of the Coruscant Library who had protested the recent curfew. Why Palpatine had wanted children squashed publically was beyond his ability to comprehend. He would much rather have been sent to intercept the last remaining Separatist holdouts who refused to acknowledge defeat.
"Rise, my friend," Palpatine said in his sickly sweet voice. "I have here the final autopsy and DNA results to confirm that neither you nor I were deceived regarding Amidala's death," he said as he produced a datapad and handed it to a shell-shocked Vader. Why had he brought this up again? He wisely said nothing and perused the results, which verified what Palpatine had told him - death in childbirth due to weakened larynx. The child was, of course, verified to be Padme's - but no ties to himself? And when had he tested the dead child? Anger coursed through his veins at the thought, but he tamped it down lest he receive a punishment from his new Master.
"I felt that probe in the Force towards the new Naberrie baby," Palpatine said, all business all of a sudden. "I do not want our new Empire to be undermined by any distractions or fantasies on your behalf - am I understood, Lord Vader?"
"Yes, my Master," he replied hollowly. He felt numb. He wasn't sure whether he preferred the numbness or the pain, for at least the pain made him feel alive.
"Do not concern yourself with any part of Anakin Skywalker's life - that is in the past. That man is dead, as he should have been all along. His wife had been a traitor anyway," Palpatine said with anger, and Vader was left wondering if he would have ever allowed her to live had he not choked her. She would not have agreed to the Empire's existence or policies willingly. He put those thoughts aside - he could not fathom his failures regarding his wife at that moment. He was glad to be rid of Skywalker's weakness - he needed to move forward. Perhaps then he would never feel pain again.
"Yes, my Master. You are correct," Darth Vader replied as he buried any hopes of having any living family left. The Darkness and his Master were all that he had left. That, and his Empire.
"Good," Palpatine said as he sat back in his throne and steepled his fingers. "Now that that is out of the way, let's discuss where pacification efforts will be most benefited by your talents."
Obi-Wan Kenobi retreated to the back of the ship as Dorme and Sabe fumed and raved and cried over the Emperor's betrayal of all that they and their Queen had ever held dear. He had not realized the enormity of the Emperor's address and what it had meant to the Naboo. He sighed and realized that there was so much that he didn't know about the Galaxy at large. As a Jedi, he had gone to many different worlds as a padawan, a negotiator, then a general. But, he had never really gotten to know anything about those people or their worlds beyond the superficialities needed to get the job done. Whatever small cultural trivia had been needed had been discarded from his memory banks once the mission had been completed.
He felt a deep shame from the bottom of his toes to the top of his head envelop him. It's no wonder we failed, he thought. We couldn't be bothered to get to know the people we were supposed to be serving - we only cared about the results. He wondered if perhaps Luke and Leia would succeed where they had failed, since they would be raised in loving and well-educated families who would teach them about the wider Galaxy in the ways that mattered.
As Obi-Wan listened to the sobs from the women in the cockpit, he wondered what it would be like to let himself feel the way that they did. Instead of just releasing his feelings into the Force, what if he allowed himself a cleansing cry or laugh? He noticed that the handmaids were the height of professionalism when on the job itself and had more control over their emotions during chaotic situations than many a Jedi. He fought the part of himself that scoffed at the violation of the Code, since there was no more Code to uphold anymore. And perhaps that is not such a bad thing, he thought. Besides, there is so much more I need to learn.
He hoped that any survivors that he found would be able to help him find his inner footing again. But that was selfish - he was a Master and had been a Council member. They would most likely be expecting support from him. Obi-Wan sighed and sank onto the floor, knees up to his chest and his forearms resting on them. After a few moments of just sitting there, he allowed the first tears to fall from his eyes since he could remember - and he had done it willingly.
