Has it been a week? Kest, that went by too fast. Really, it did. Back into writing and fretting over a video editing competition I've entered (Link on my profile for my YouTube account if you're curious as to what I mean) and just general shenagains.
This chapter is kinda just a tie things together chapter. I had to address the Grievous issue at some point, and though we won't see anything, I wanted to remind you that it still happens. Oh, and Ahsoka is back. Go her!
Chapter Ten
Master Kenobi, what a wonderful surprise," Padme greeted as Threepio led Obi-Wan into the main living area. "Are you here to see Luke?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," he nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."
"None at all," she said brightly. She stood, careful not to jostle her full belly too much as she went towards the hallway where Luke and Leia's rooms resided. Obi-Wan noted the small bulge under the former Senator's thick robes and decided not to mention it. "Luke," Padme called, knocking on the door to his room. "Luke?"
The door slid open with a quiet whoosh and and he stepped out. "What is it?"
"Master Kenobi is here," she said with a smile as Luke's eyes lit up with interest. He stepped through the doorway and into the living room bowing in greeting to his master.
"Good morning, Luke, I trust you slept well," Obi-Wan said with a smile.
"To a degree," Luke returned. "Why are you here?"
"I'm afraid I'm being sent out on a mission," Obi-Wan announced. "It appears the Chancellor's men have discovered the location of General Grievous."
"The Chancellor's men?" Luke asked lamely and caught the whiff of Obi-Wan's distrust in the report as well through the Force.
"It appears he got it late last night. Anakin was called to the Opera House and the Chancellor disclosed the information to him there," Obi-Wan explained.
"Why Anakin?"
"He is the liaison between the Chancellor and the Council. Anakin was granted a seat on the council the day you and Leia fainted a week ago. Which, I might add," he continued, "I apologize for not seeing you sooner. I was present many days during your coma but I appeared to have missed the day it truly mattered."
"It's quite alright," Luke assured. "Did the Chancellor appoint Anakin the liaison?"
"Yes, much to the Council's dissatisfaction," Obi-Wan said. "The Chancellor is meddling far too much in Jedi affairs for the Council liking. He's controlling the Senate too closely already. This Republic is turning more and more into an Empire."
Luke's throat closed as Obi-Wan hit the mark. He couldn't respond at all for a few moments, instead nodding weakly to thwart suspicion.
"Hopefully once this war is over the Chancellor will finally step down, though I wouldn't hold my breath," Obi-Wan sighed. Luke noticed Padme standing in the corner, pain etched into her face at the discussion. She hated losing the Republic nearly as much as Palpatine loved destroying it.
"We can only do our best to keep the Republic in power," Luke mumbled. He glanced out at the balcony and saw Leia leaning against a pillar with a sad expression on her face. She was thinking about how things will change as well.
"That is true," Obi-Wan nodded. "I must leave now, I'm afraid. I have a General to apprehend."
"Be safe," Luke said. "May the Force be with you."
"And to you as well," Obi-Wan nodded before heading out the exit. All was still in the apartment for a moment before Leia sighed and walked over to the couch next to him and flopped down.
"You okay?" Luke asked and she shook her head.
"There has to be more we can do," she grumbled.
"We'll do okay," Padme assured, crossing the room and sitting down lightly next to Leia. She wrapped an arm around the young girl's shoulder and pulled it against her, wresting her cheek on the crown of Leia's head.
"I've got to talk to Ahsoka, so I'll see you two later," Luke promised.
"Be careful," Leia called and Luke gave a curt nod, exiting the same way Obi-Wan had. After a few beats Leia spoke again. "Do we have another meeting soon?"
"Tomorrow," Padme assured her. "Bail held it off until you were awake. He knew you'd want to make sure you were there."
"I do," Leia nodded. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Alright I suppose," Padme said lightly. A hand fell down and ran across the barely visible bump underneath her heavy robes. "My little Angel is kicking up a storm in there."
Leia smiled and shook her head. "You should see a doctor."
"Yes, but I can't trust any of the Medical Facilities around here enough not to sell the information to the press," Padme sighed. "I just hope this little one is alright."
"They are," Leia said and realized her mistake as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth.
"They?"
"Padme, I'm so sorry," Leia shook her head. "I didn't mean to spoil things for you-"
"Hush," Padme smiled. "It's alright. Twins?"
Leia nodded mutely and the small on Padme's face grew wider.
"My little angels..." she cooed lightly, rubbing her belly affectionately. "Please don't tell me or Anakin the sexes, I want it to be a surprise."
Leia smiled and nodded. "I promise."
"It certainly is nice having someone know," she murmured after a moment. "Through this whole process I haven't even been able to talk to my sister or mother to know if I'm doing things right."
"I'm sure you've done alright," Leia said. Padme leaned back into the couch with a sigh and closed her eyes, a contented smile on her face.
"I don't have any names yet," she whispered after a moment.
"I'm sure you and Anakin will think of something," Leia assured and Padme opened her eyes and looked at the young woman.
"Are you sure you're Alderaanian? You look awful lot like the Naboo women," Padme said. Leia shrugged the question off but inside her heart had frozen.
"Maybe my mother was from Naboo," Leia said after a moment.
"Did you know her?"
"No, she died giving birth," she answered and Padme reached down and squeezed Leia's hand reassuringly.
"Well, I'm sure she'd be very proud of you and your brother," Padme said. "I know I would be."
Leia's eyes welled up in tears and after a moment's hesitation threw her arms around Padme's shoulders, burying her face deeply in Padme's collarbone. Padme returned the hug, holding Leia tightly against her.
"You will be the best mom anyone can ask for," Leia mumbled. "Those two kids in there are extremely lucky." She sniffled and gripped the Senator's robes tighter, never wanting to leave that moment.
They stayed like that for a long time until Leia finally released her grip on Padme. She wiped at the tears that had fallen down her face and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry," Leia mumbled. "I normally don't break down like that."
"It was quite alright," Padme grinned. "You seemed like you needed someone to hold on to."
"It's been years since I've really been able to do that. Since my father died..." she trailed off, the fresh pain of Alderaan coursing through her veins. "It wasn't until even recently I started letting people in again."
"You're close to your brother," Padme noted but Leia shrugged.
"We are, but more like friends who know they are related," Leia said. "I've just held myself so tightly... I just miss my past, you know?"
"To one degree," Padme replied. "Tell me what you miss most."
"I miss Alderaan," Leia sighed. "I miss playing in the gardens by the Palace, and how my father, when he came back from being off planet somewhere he would always greet me with a story and a small piece of what life on other planets was like.
"I miss being able to relax. Every time I try to relax someone needs me for something or another. I miss Ha..." Leia sniffed again, feeling another wave of tears come. "I miss Han. So much. I don't know if I'll even see him ever again. I just don't know how he is, or if he's alright. I just... I just..." She trailed off and ducked her head back into Padme's shoulder, finding comfort in her mother's soothing embrace.
"Everything is so wrong," Leia mumbled. "Everything. Nothing should be this way. Palpatine shouldn't be taking over the senate, the sith can't be winning... Everything is going wrong."
"The sith haven't won yet, Leia," Padme said, pulling Leia's face up to look into her eyes. "And neither has the Chancellor. As soon as this war is over the Chancellor will have no choice but to give up his powers of face impeachment. Right now he has an excuse, but it won't last long. As for the Sith Master Kenobi is leaving today to catch Grievous. We'll be one step closer to discovering who the Master is. The Jedi will pull through."
Leia bit her tongue and gave a weak nod. She could only hope that this time around Padme would be right.
"Ahsoka! Ahsoka wait!" Luke called as he jogged down an empty corridor within the Jedi Temple. The lithe Torgruta turned, and glanced back at him, a smile crossing her face as she realized who he was.
"Hey! If it isn't Mr. Coma himself," she laughed. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright, I suppose," he shrugged. "I need to talk to you."
"Sure thing," she nodded. "I assume in private?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
"To my quarters we go," she said and led the way off. They made their way up a few levels to where the quarters lied and stopped in front of a small door that looked every other one in the hall. She palmed it open and the door slid open, revealing a darkened room. Ahsoka waved her hand and the blinds on the windows switched to allow light in. "Welcome."
Luke followed her in, taking in the sparse and slightly messy room. A simple bed was pushed against one wall, the covers thrown back and still tangled from the previous night's sleep. Several stacks of data-pads sat on the nightstand, with a small, thin lamp spiraling out from the middle and resting above them like the trees of Kashyyyk. A few holos were resting on the dresser, displayed out proudly. Next to them laid several more discarded data-pads and what looked like were Game Plug-ins resting next to it. A small reddish rug lay on the floor and attached to the back of the door was a small star chart, naming off all the systems.
"What are the red dots on the different parts of the Galaxy?" Luke asked, looking closer. It seemed almost random, though many of the dots were found in clusters.
"Every planet I've been to," she said proudly. "I haven't been to the extreme planets yet but it's only a matter of time."
"Skip Hoth," Luke suggested and she laughed.
"I take it snow isn't your thing?"
"No, snow is fine," he shrugged. "It's the wampas I have an issue with. Nasty creatures. I got this scar from an attack," he pointed to the thin, barely visible scar that ran down his neck from just below his ear.
"I'll make a note then," she nodded. "So, what do you need to talk about?"
Luke scratched the back of his head while Ahsoka threw herself backwards onto the bed, bouncing with the mattress.
"Leia and I were hoping you could fill us in on some of the things we missed," he said.
"Holo-Net too good for you?" she grinned. "Well, did you hear about my Master's appointment to the Council?"
"We did indeed," Luke nodded. "Master Obi-Wan came over this morning."
"Alright, well, Chancellor put him there, Council in retaliation didn't make him Master," Ahsoka shrugged. "I think it was fairly childish but the Council has its reasons. From what I've picked up about politics, I guess the Chancellor has more power in the Senate. People are worried he'll become a dictator."
"With good reason," Luke sighed. He sat down on the foot of her bed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is getting hard to follow. Okay, did you hear anything regarding the clones?"
"Nothing, no one knows anything regarding their programming other than the basics."
"Kriff," he cursed under his breath. "We need to find out what those orders are."
"Agreed," Ahsoka said. "But how are we going to find them? It's not like we can just walk up to the Chancellor and inquire about three orders."
Luke grinned and shook his head. "Of course, that's exactly what we do!"
"We? I think you're mistaken," she shook her head and sat up. "I am not getting into this."
"You already are. Look, we could break into the Chancellor's office," Luke said. "Between the two of us having the Force and the Senate meeting later today, we have a really good chance of this working!"
"No, you're missing the main problem," Ahsoka said. "He has guards. Lot's of them. All tall and carrying Plasma rods."
"So we knock em out," Luke shrugged. "We do it quietly and wake them up before the Senate meeting ends."
"I don't know..."
"Look, I need your help," he begged. "You're the only one who knows my motives."
"So find some other Melvin who wants to jump in and save the Galaxy!" she cried out, standing up and looking out the window.
"I don't know what that means but pretty much everyone I know is either under five or hasn't been born."
"That's weird," she said, shaking her head.
"Will you help me, please?" he asked and she bit her lip in thought.
"Alright," she sighed. "Fine. I'll help you break into the Chancellor's office. But seriously, if we get caught, I'm saying you held me hostage."
"Agreed," he shrugged. "What do I care? I'm dying in a few weeks anyway."
"That's the spirit!" she laughed and sat back down on the bed. He shook his head along with her laughter.
"Okay, let's work out the plan details..."
So, another cliff hanger. We meet again.
So I'm listening to Zeds Dead's Darkside song... Yeah, nothing is cooler than nerdy dubstep. I highly recommend it. YouTube it. The soundbites in it are awesome.
I discovered today that somewhere along the line I mislabled chapters for this, so instead of having what I thought was 15 chapters, I now have maybe 17. I haven't renumbered them yet but it's kinda thrown me for a loop. I wrote this in July, so I have no idea what happened.
Plot wise, we are kinda at mid-point here, or just past it. Things will be reigning in now and just falling into place for the sequel. And that is winding down as well writing wise, so I'll probably post it almost as soon as the last chapter of this is up. Go me...
In case you forgot, I totally sent you guys to my YouTube page. Just a reminder. LMAO
