Chapter 10
"This is not a trap. We came to negotiate peace," Padmé said.
The Vice Chancellor's voice was calm and she seemed confident. Ahsoka really admired her. The situation was not comfortable at all.
"Liar!" Viceroy Gunray said. "The Republic had proved its inability to negotiate peace countless times. Why would it be different now? Your intentions are not honorable."
"Chancellor Palpatine was a traitor. He manipulated all of us. We are victims and so are you," Padmé defended her cause.
"He was the leader of both camp, you know that now!" Ahsoka got carried away.
Padmé glanced at Ahsoka with disapproval. She didn't want to show anger nor impatience. Should not feel threatened.
"The Chancellor was indeed a traitor," Gunray conceded. "It doesn't bring the Republic back into my good graces."
"And I can understand that. I came here on behalf of our new Chancellor, Bail Organa. He wants to change the Republic, to make it a better place for all of us. The conflicts are over. It is time to put an end to ours. Under those circumstances, we want to give your alliance a chance to speak. We want to find a peaceful solution to our disagreements."
Padmé's speech left the opposite camp silent for an instant. The silence was heavy. The droids were still holding their blasters and pointing them at Ahsoka and Padmé. Clones were hidden at the other end of the hangar. The situation was tenser than ever.
"We are not interested," San Hill said, his voice proud and arrogant.
"This war never made any sense. It was only the result of a man's cupidity. We have no reason to go on with this madness," Padmé tried one last argument, but she knew now that they would not change their mind.
Nut Gunray looked at the other Separatists leaders one by one. They didn't need to talk: he knew they all agreed.
"Eliminate them," the politician said to the droids.
Dozens of thin metallic arms all moved at the same time. They were all ready to shoot. Ahsoka instantly ignited her light saber and positioned herself in front of the Vice Chancellor to protect her. Padmé took her blaster in both hand and got ready to defend herself.
It only took a second for the clones to react. They strategically ran to all ends of the hangar and circled Ahsoka and Padmé. Shock could be seen of all Separatists leaders' face. They were not excepting an attack like this one on Utapau.
"What do we do now?" Ahsoka asked while twirling her light saber.
"We have to annihilate their protection. If Anakin and Obi-Wan finally got Grievous into pieces, and we have to hope they did, we will only have to arrest the Separatist leaders. This conflict will soon be over," Padmé answered while shooting at Droids.
"Not really diplomatic, if you want my opinion," Ahsoka smirked.
"Do you really want to discuss ethic and politic now?" Padmé asked.
Clones now occupied all exits. There was no way to escape the building. Ahsoka jumped on a droid and sliced its arms. She finished by cutting its head. Then, she looked around her and was satisfied to notice that this droid was the last one. The area was now secured.
"Take them to the ship," Padmé ordered to a clone. "I want your troop to bring them back to Coruscant as soon as possible. They have to be treated well. Contact Chancellor Organa. He needs to organize their trial."
"At your service," the clone politely answered.
Ahsoka looked at Padmé with great curiosity. She had never pretended she knew politics but, today, she felt more lost than ever. Vice Chancellor Amidala had asked to participate to this mission to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. However, what just happened was not pacific at all.
"Are you all right, Ahsoka?" Padmé asked with concern.
"I am a little disappointed, that's all," shed said sadly. "You hoped you would find a peaceful solution but we didn't do a really good job."
"Is that really what you think?" she asked kindly.
Padmé and Ahsoka walked to the other end of the hangar. They sad on empty munitions boxes to discuss. Clones were running everywhere to secure the area and organize the criminals' transport.
"The outcome of this mission matters less to me than the way we decided to handle it," Padmé explained.
"What do you mean"? Ahsoka asked, surprised.
"I am not naïve. I was not expecting Viceroy Gunray to change his mind in one day. He has never listened to me; I don't see why he would have stated today. However, if we had come here without trying to negotiate, how would we be different from Palpatine's government?"
"I never thought about it like that," the young Jedi answered with admiration.
"And yet it is crucial. The Jedi and the Senate will have a lot to do to bring back order and justice in the Republic. What matters now is that we don't do the same mistakes again. We have to listen to the people who disagree with us. It is not possible to impose our decisions."
Ahsoka was surprised but interested by the Vice Chancellor explanations. Since the end of the war, she had thought a lot about the meaning of the war. Padmé was a good advisor. Her vision of the future was comforting.
"Master Skywalker has always told me that the government was corrupted and that nothing could be done to change it," Ahsoka said with a smile.
Now that she thought about their discussions, the young Jedi realized how much her former Master's opinion was pessimistic.
"Anakin and I don't have the same opinion," Padmé answered kindly. "But I understand why he feels this way," she added sadly.
Ahsoka felt again this strange emotion, the same she had detected on Miriette. This famous and powerful politician appeared to smile when mentioning one particular Jedi.
"He admires you more than any other politician," Ahsoka said.
"I hope he does," Padmé said, trying to control her voice.
She was worried. The Separatists had been arrested but Anakin and Obi-Wan were still nowhere to be found. Where were they? Padmé had asked Anakin to be careful but she knew that this notion was extremely subjective in her young husband's mind.
"Milady. We have located General Grievous on platform number five. He is dead and won't be a problem anymore," the clone said proudly.
"Where are Anakin and Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka stood and asked.
"We haven't located them yet," he answered, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Then keep looking. We won't leave this planet without them," Padmé said firmly.
The clone left and joined his troop to keep looking for the two missing Jedi. Padmé closed her eyes for a second and breathed slowly. Losing her composure in front of Anakin's former apprentice was not an option. She had to calm down.
Yet, she could help herself but to think: what if something terrible had happened? She was not sure she could take it. They had just gotten married. She could simply not imagine life without him now.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're all right," Ahsoka said with a smirk.
"I am not worried, " Padmé defended herself.
Ahsoka ignored her answer. She couldn't deny that she was concerned more than what she should be. The young Jedi started to understand the feeling she had detected. During all the years she spent with her Master, they had travelled all around the Galaxy and met many people. Anakin had always been quite popular with women. Ahsoka had observed him being seduced by hundreds of them for a very long time. Despite that, he had never shown any interest.
When hearing the name of Anakin, Padmé smiled. It was simple and innocent, but it was there. This look was different from all the ones Ahsoka had noticed all around the Galaxy. And for the first time, Ahsoka noticed something even more surprising. Anakin had the same look. She had never seen him interested before.
"I simply hope they are not in any kind of trouble," Padmé added.
"Anakin and Obi-Wan always get into some kind of trouble," Ahsoka answered with a smirk.
The two Jedi had been locked in a cell at the other end of the building. The mission to kill Grievous was a success but they would still have to wait for their troops to find them. They were attached to the wall by magnetic strips.
"I still want to point out that none of this would have happened if you had called Rex instead of Cody," Anakin said with annoyance.
"Ho really?" Obi-Wan got carried away. "I think we already had that discussion. Twice!"
"And what got out of it exactly?"
"Cody did an excellent job. I don't know what Rex could have done more in this situation."
"Well… let's see. To begin with, he would have probably come," Anakin answered with irony.
Obi-Wan sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired and the only thing he wanted right now was to go back to the temple and stop listening to Anakin. They fought all the time about Rex, Cody and R2D2 wires defaults. Anakin was particularly stubborn about some topics.
"Cody is simply occupied somewhere else, end of the discussion," Obi-Wan concluded firmly.
"And what is he doing exactly?"
Obi-Wan didn't get time to answer the question. The door opened. Padmé, Ahsoka and a few clones got in. The two ladies looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan with amusement. The young Jedi sighed and approached her former Master.
"The war is over. General Grievous is dead. How did you two end up tied against the wall?"
"Untie us, Ahsoka," Anakin asked and sighed.
She walked towards the other end of the cell and looked at the control panel. It didn't take long for her to figure out how to use it. In a second, they were free.
"So this is the result of aggressive negotiation, I suppose," Padmé teased.
Anakin closed his eyes to try to hide his annoyance. His ego was legendary. He admitted it. But still, being tied up to a wall in front of Padmé, who he had married only a few days ago, was not exactly the best position in which he could hope to be seen.
Anakin reopened his eyes and looked at Padmé with a mix of amusement and embarrassment. He could deny the situation was somehow funny.
"What happened," Padmé asked, not trying to hide her smile.
"Nothing," Anakin answered.
"The hazards of the job I guess," Obi-Wan replied with more serenity. "However, I am very pleased to see that Cody received my message and came to support our mission, as I asked him," he added, pointing at the clones near the entrance.
"What is he talking about?" Ahsoka asked, intrigued.
"He is talking about nothing," Anakin answered firmly. "Are we done now?" he added, impatient.
"Our ship is ready to take off," she answered.
Obi-Wan and Ahsoka walked toward the platform. Anakin and Padmé followed them a few meters away. They wanted to talk but they preferred to keep their discussion private. They knew that the next hours would leave them little privacy and the young woman wanted at all costs to talk to Anakin in private before reaching the capital.
"I was so worried! Are you all right?" she asked, suddenly more serious.
"I'm fine. I'm used to those kind of situations," he said.
"So being tied up to a wall has become a habit?" she teased.
"I wish I could say no. But… yeah. It happens quite a lot," he said with a smirk.
Padmé discreetly took Anakin's hand into hers. She looked at his light saber and smiled.
"Yes, I know. I will give it back to you when we will be on Coruscant. I will have to build a new one."
"You gave it to me, it's mine now," she said with a smile.
She let go of his hand and they walked into the ship.
"Before we join everyone, I would like to make sure about something," she said, thoughtful.
"What is going on?"
"I know it won't be easy. We will have to hide and don't even know how we will handle it. But you will come and see me before being sent on a mission again?
Anakin couldn't help but to laugh lightly. He understood his wife's worries. However, the thought that anything could keep him away from her was ridiculous. It didn't matter if the Jedi ended up suspecting something. He would always find a way to come back to her.
"Nothing in this Galaxy has the power to keep me away from you very long," he said gently. "I will visit as often as possible. Truth is, you'll end up being sick of me. You won't stand me being in your apartment all the time," he joked.
Padmé smiled and sighed. She felt guilty to ask him so much. She had never wanted to stand between him and his Jedi life. Her feelings were now simply too powerful and she couldn't help it anymore. The had spent years away from each other and it hadn't worked well for neither of them.
"I will have to give you the codes for our apartment," she said. "I don't want you to be arrested when you come home."
"Padmé… I programmed your security. Don't worry about that, I know all your codes," he answered with a smirk.
He had replied with the charming smile she had fell in love with so many years ago.
Hey! Sorry... it took a million years to have the next chapter. I swear, I will finish translating this story in English! And ... hum... you probably notice, I don't have a beta reader anymore. :'( Sorry for all the mistakes in this chapter. It is very difficult for me to do better than that on my own.
I tried to send an e-mail to my beta reader, but the e-mail address is not valid anymore. So if anyone is willing to help me, let me know! ;)