Padmé watched as Obi-Wan walked calmly inside, though he was far from being calm.

"Obi-Wan, what is it?" Padmé asked, sounding alarmed, having discerned his discomfort with the situation. Anakin had trailed in a couple of steps behind him.

"Grievous," Anakin answered.

"Here?" she asked, as she unconsciously put her hands to her mouth in surprise.

"Here," Obi-Wan answered her. "We must get to shelter, or preferably, off the planet."

"What about the ship?" she asked.

"We cannot return to Theed, milady, Grievous will definitely occupy the city. It won't be safe," he said sympathetically, patting her arm. She looked at Anakin, who looked angry, scary angry.

"He won't get away with this, I swear it!" Anakin said through clenched teeth.

"No, Anakin he won't get away with it, but for now we must be calm and focused on surviving," Obi-Wan said sounding concerned about the sudden shift in his former Padawan.

Anakin let out a breath and seemed to calm down, "Of course, Master. You are, as always right. I only hope one day I have your wisdom,"

"You will, my friend. Now, Senator, do you know of any place we might secure transport that won't be subject to orbital bombardment?"

"We can go to the sheltered ships. I have high enough clearance to get in, and we won't need a pilot, so they shouldn't have a problem with us taking one of them." Padmé said, her mind starting to work to get them out of there.

"What kind of ships are they?" Anakin asked.

"Transports for the most part, why?" Padmé responded.

"We have a blockade to run; we need a ship that can last long enough to make the jump to hyperspace."

"Of course, I'm not sure what is there exactly." Padmé said.

"No matter, if your husband is half the pilot the HoloNet makes him out to be we'll be in good hands, now," her father said.

"What about your sister?" her mother asked.

"We can have them meet us. It's not that far."

"Is there anyone else that we would need to take?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Sola, Darred, Ryoo, and Pooja. I can't think of anyone else that we would be able to get in contact with quickly." Padmé said sadly, after a moment's thought. The first occupation had been bad. She knew in her bones this one would be worse and she felt guilty for being able to save her own family when so many would have to suffer.

"Where are these sheltered ships?"

"South of here, in the country. It's not that far, but it's rugged country. Most people don't know that there is a route that you can take a speeder in, but that's part of its advantage."

"I'll call Sola," her father said, heading for the comm station.

"I'll put everything back in the speeder. Do you have anything that you need to bring?" Anakin asked her mother.

"I'll pack a few things. We'll need clothes, but I don't think there's much else that I couldn't live without."

"Take only what you need to survive," he said, gathering several of the cases that he had brought, putting them in the speeder.

"I'll need some traveling clothes, too. I didn't pack much. Most of what I have on Coruscant is what I wear to the Senate, or out," Padmé said, heading after her mother.

"We should leave in the next ten minutes if possible, the shield won't last much beyond that," Obi-Wan called up the stairs after them.

"We'll hurry," Padmé called down to him.


Obi-Wan drove nervously according to the directions that Padmé was giving him. She was sitting in the front, having stuck Anakin in the back between her parents. The shield had lasted far longer than he thought it would, either Grievous was being gentle, or he didn't want to cause too much damage to the surface from stray shots impacting after the shield collapsed. Anakin was becoming slightly moody again. Slightly only because I've seen what moody is for Anakin. Were it anyone else, I would say he was very moody, he thought to himself as he glanced back at his sulking former Padawan.

"Relax, Anakin, tensing up isn't going to help anyone," he said to the man he'd come to love as a brother.

"I'm sorry Master. I just feel like there is disaster coming. And soon."

As soon as the words left Anakin's mouth the shield failed in a bright flash, like red lightning. Then from the north a bigger flash happened, from the glow on the road in front of them, Obi-Wan thought it was Naboo's sun, but it was from the wrong direction. The speeder cut out in that moment, crashing to the path with a jolt and sliding to a stop. Only some quick Force work from Anakin and himself prevented their deaths.

"Don't look yet!" He cautioned everyone, only when the intense light began to fade did he risk a glance back. What he saw chilled his bones to the marrow. A giant cloud rose into the air, the stem was easily tens of kilometers tall and it was capping out into a mushroom.

"He didn't," Anakin breathed in horror at the sight.

"He did. I knew he was a monster, but this…" Obi-Wan was interrupted by another flash near the first cloud. He shielded his eyes quickly. Padmé and her parents screamed.

"By the Force…"Obi-Wan sighed in shock.

"Doesn't he know what they'll do?" Anakin asked, the fire of outrage in his voice.

"Yes, Anakin. I'm sure he knows precisely what they'll do. I dare say he chose them for that very reason,"

"What are you talking about?" Padmé asked.

"Those aren't normal bombs. They are old style fission or fusion devices. That is why the speeder cut out on us. We aren't safe here; it won't be long before the fallout from the bombs get here. I mourn for your loss, Padmé, Mr. and Mrs. Nabarrie," Obi-Wan said somberly.

"What do you mean, Master Jedi?" Jobal asked, his voice betraying the dread he felt.

"Naboo is dying," Obi-Wan said and found he couldn't face his brother's in-laws any longer.


They met up with Padmé's sister and her family; they were on foot their speeder suffering the same fate when the bombs went off. Obi-Wan was grateful that it hadn't started to rain yet. They weren't that far from the city. Anakin was using the Force to trail their bags along behind them, and when Sola's family had joined them, he moved the bags they were carrying into the group. It gave him something to do with himself so that he didn't have time to worry.

"How long does it take for rain to reach here from Theed?" he asked.

"If the winds are right half a day, but it's not common that we get rain from there," Ruwee answered. Obi-Wan nodded the news making him more optimistic about their chances. During the hike he and Anakin had answered the family's questions about what was happening. No one had said much as the Jedi described the horrors these primitive weapons caused. Padmé and her parents were in shock and it pained Obi-Wan to see the look on their faces. It was the look of a solider too long in the field. The clones called it the thousand meter death glare due to the fact that the clones that started looking like that had stopped caring if they lived or died.

The long road was wearing somewhat on everyone's nerves, but they were heading farther away from the city, away from danger.

"Why would Grievous attack Naboo?" Padmé's mother asked. "He tried before, and it was so unsuccessful that he never tried again."

"Propaganda. This is the Chancellor's homeworld," Anakin said.

"The thought of what will be said about this sickens me, almost as much as the act itself," Padmé said.

"There is another possibility," Obi-Wan said.

"What is that, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Us."

"How would he know you were here?" Padmé asked.

"You left the Senate. It wouldn't have been too much of a stretch for someone who knows the Senate intimately, perhaps someone who works in the Chancellor's office, and would have had access to the Jedi deployment records. Anakin being taken off active duty with no good explanation at the same time that you disappeared apparently was quite suspicious to someone. Grievous and the Separatists have an extensive intelligence network, after all."

"We've walked into enough mynock storms to prove it, haven't we, Master," Anakin commented.

"And you think that he's after the two of you, Master Jedi?" Jobal asked.

"He has been quite trying, and the two of us especially have caught his eye. We are constantly escaping his grasp and it doesn't do well for his temperament," Anakin responded.

"Why is he after the two of you in particular?"

"Well, he has yet to defeat us. That is one thing. Anakin seems to have a penchant for enjoying tormenting him as well. We are Jedi, and he has made it his personal goal to destroy all of us he can." Obi-Wan answered.

"And you don't think we can win this battle," Jobal said.

"This isn't a battle, it's a slaughter. Nothing but mass murder."

"Master Obi-Wan is right. Our presence would have little effect on this. Once we get off planet, we will make contact with the Council, and they will send people to clean up the mess that he's made." Anakin said to her, looking at his hands. Obi-Wan knew how hard it was for Anakin to admit that he actually couldn't help in this particular case, and despite the gravity of the situation that they were in, he felt that Anakin being able to say it was nothing short of a miracle.

"Will we be able to clean up, as you put it, Naboo, so that it is as it was before?" Jobal asked, knocking Obi-Wan out of his reverie.

"I don't know. It has been tens of thousands of years since these types of weapons have been used." Obi-Wan said, grieving on the inside for those that were dying across the planet, innocents that happened to get in the way of Grievous's bombs and troops. They arrived at the shelter then, and hurried inside, along with Sola and her family.

"Senator Amidala!" one of the guards cried out, seeing her. "We had heard that you were in hiding because of more assassination attempts, but we had no idea that you had come home."

"I did. I'm almost sorry that I did, but I don't think that not being here would have prevented General Grievous from attacking."

"Assassination attempts?" Jobal asked worriedly.

"Nothing more than usual, Mom, don't worry."

"Someone trying to kill you is not a normal thing," Ruwee said.

She frowned at her father. "I am a controversial political figure, Dad. You have to remember Nute Gunray is a prominent leader of the Separatists and this wouldn't be the first time he's tried to have me killed."

"And asking you to stop being controversial would mean compromising your integrity," Ruwee said wearily.

She nodded, and then turned back to the guard. "I know it's asking a lot, but we need to get off planet, the weapons Grievous is using are poisoning our world. You are welcome to come with us."."

"Any ship you want, milady, is yours. As for your kind offer, I'm not worried about poison, I intend to fight." The guard told her.

"Then you are dead already," Anakin said.

"Is it really that bad?" the guard asked.

"My husband is never one to exaggerate. Your bravery makes me proud, but don't throw your life away. Naboo will need that courage if we are to have any kind of future," Padmé said.

The guard simply nodded then said, "I don't know if you'll make it out around whatever ships he has in orbit."

"That's what I'm here for. I'm the best pilot in the galaxy," Anakin said with no hint of the pride that was usually in his voice when he talked about his piloting skills.

"The best in the galaxy, huh? The way I hear it, that would be Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi of quite a reputation. You don't look like him, your hair is too long, and if you're a Jedi, where are your robes, and your lightsaber?"

It took Anakin all of half a second to pull his lightsaber out of the sheath in his boot and turn it on. "I am in disguise to help protect the Senator," he said over the hum.

The shocked look on the guard's face was enough for Anakin, and he put his lightsaber away, and said, "Come on, Master, let's go find a suitable ship."

Obi-Wan just shook his head and followed as they looked for a 'suitable' ship.


Anakin got all the bags into the ship that they'd chosen as his in-laws fussed over Padmé, and went to the cockpit. He knew better than to get overly fussy with her, but apparently her sister and mother were exempted from her annoyance at that particular trait. He started the ship, and slipped into contact with the Force. He would need all of his skill and speed to ensure that they got out of there safely. He wasn't feeling well and he knew it was the effect of the bombs on the planet. Too many life forms were sickening and dying from the radiation. He felt Obi-Wan settle into the co-pilot's seat next to him, and start to do what needed done from there.

"If I never have to go through a fusion bombing again it will be too soon," Obi-Wan said.

"Yes, I feel vaguely sick and achy," Anakin said. Grateful beyond words that they had been a team so long that words were no longer necessary for either of them to know what needed done, he was able to just talk to his mentor, while he maintained his hyper-alert state, ready to punch into hyperspace at the instant that they were on the proper trajectory. They had decided to go to Alderaan. It was not far, and Bail Organa was a good friend to the Jedi and to Padmé. He caught a glimpse of Naboo and what he saw sickened him, the once beautiful blue green sphere was now a sickly gray, flashes of destruction as the bombardment continued.

"He seems to be determined to render the planet uninhabitable," Obi-Wan said, sadly.

"Do you think Naboo will recover?" Anakin asked.

"I do not know."

Incoming fire distracted him for a moment, but he rolled the ship around it. The passengers felt nothing, the artificial gravity and inertial dampeners doing their jobs well. He worked through fire that would have brought down the ship of any lesser being than the Chosen One, but he dodged it all with every bit of grace and speed that the ship he was flying possessed. He made his heading as quickly as possible, to Kalarba first, he would calculate the heading for Alderaan later, and shot into hyperspace as soon as he was able. Once the ship was safe from attack, he nearly collapsed as he released his stranglehold on the Force.

"You know, Anakin, I don't know anyone else who could have done that. Though the last time I ran a blockade, I had yet to meet you, and, well I suppose if we'd been entirely successful, I would have never met you."

"It wasn't easy, Master."

"I realize that, but it's on the order of impossible. Though you have a habit of making the impossible merely difficult."

"Thank you, Master. I'm going to go steal my wife away from her family so I can sleep."

"Can't you sleep without her?"

He grinned. "Not as well," he said, getting up and heading toward the back. He felt out slightly to see what mood Padmé was in, and found that she was nearly as exhausted as he, and trying to hide it from Sola and Jobal.

"Padmé," he looked pleadingly at her, "It's nearly midnight; you should have been in bed hours ago," he chastised her slightly, realizing that it would be easy to claim fatigue, but easier to say that things needed to be a certain way because of the twins.

"It is?" she asked, but she got up, and he felt how glad that she was that he had come to rescue her.

"Well, on Coruscant it is. I know it's not on Naboo, but you haven't gotten adjusted to that schedule yet," he answered her.

"Now that you mention it, I am a little tired. Maybe I should go to bed."

"Good idea. Obi-Wan said he would watch the ship, since I got us into hyperspace without getting us shot."

"How many ships were you dodging?"

"They didn't send fighters after us, thankfully, but I was dodging big cannons from three ships," he said, then yawned, unable to suppress it in time.

"You look like you'll be out for the next twelve hours. Let's go," Padmé said, and linked her arm in his, and they went to the cabin that seemed to be set up for the Captain of the ship. He helped her out of her dress, one that was not as complicated as those she usually wore, but she wasn't quite as nimble fingered as she usually was, and then he changed into sleeping pants, and was out before she was.


Grievous led the droid army to the surface, and they were near Theed or what was left of Theed. The orbital bombardment had focused on the spaceports, and that had left the palace district intact. The information that his master had sent him on the Senator had not been specific on where she and Skywalker would be hiding.

The main army of droids swept through Theed, as he and a group of Droidekas avoided the main city, instead going to the Theed Palace. Grievous hoped the Queen would still be alive for questioning. He was pleased at the effect these weapons had. Indeed the arms dealer he'd bought them from had sold their horror short. Grievous smiled as he thought about what these weapons would do to Corusucant or another heavily populated world. The nature of the war had fundamentally changed now. Sidious and the Sith would be damned and Grievous would rule an Empire.

He walked through the Palace, it had been badly damaged, and fires burned nearby. The once beautiful building was dark with soot and scorch marks. The Palace guards weren't putting up much of a fight as they were hunched over heaving in their own vomit. Their hair was also falling out. Grievous took satisfaction at seeing the suffering. He was also pleased to find survivors, survivors that couldn't fight. His excitement about these weapons grew.

He finally reached the Queen's audience chamber where he found her. She was in no better shape than her guards, but had managed to keep her dignity. She was beautiful by human standards, and that beauty shown through even the radiation sickness. He was surprised when she stood, her stance was weak, and hunched, but her eyes held a fire of defiance.

Grievous spoke first, "Where is the Senator of Naboo? I know they came to this planet and I intend to find them!"

"I will tell you NOTHING, monster. When the rest of the Galaxy hears what you did here they will hunt you down like the beast you are," the Queen said, her voice defiant, if weak, though her cough at the end spoiled the effect for Grievous.

"Very well, Your Highness, you will be the last of your people to die from the radiation. Sergeant! See that she is awake every moment as she dies."

"Roger, Roger," the droid said.

Grievous left the Queen then and there. He went out of the palace into the ruined city of Theed. He quickly located a droid commander.

"Report," he called to the droid commander as he walked over.

The commander responded in short order. "The city is subdued, General."

"Very good. I need to know where these blasted Jedi could have gone to."

"Would you like me to interrogate the citizens about the whereabouts of the Jedi, sir?"

"No, doubtless they were in disguise. It would be more beneficial to interrogate them about the places a high level official such as the Senator Amidala could have gone."

"Very well, sir. I will see to it. We have the Prince of Theed as well as the Queen in custody. Perhaps we can get some information from one of them."

"Any other officials?"

"The Governor of the providence is also in residence, but we have yet to enter his home to capture him. There are several droids at each entrance. I was hoping to delay entering that building until Droidekas could be summoned for that task."

"Proceed. Contact me in one hour, regardless of what you have found, and less time if you can give me the information that I desire."

"Roger, roger," the droid captain said.