Hello! Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Essays and forgetfulness and real life – not to mention inspirations for other things that were bursting to get out – left me with little time to proof-read and remember to post it. However, there's only two chapters left (plus a possible 'trailer' for the next fic) before this is finished, and I'll try to remember to get the next one up over the exam period, though I can't promise.
Over seven thousand words for this chapter! Nice and long. It is a little bit bitty though, I hope that's not too much of a problem. 'Dates' are given, so I hope that helps.
Chapter 10: Preparation
'In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.' – Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)
XXXXX
Mid-Fourth month, 19 BBY, Coruscant:
Across the galaxy, millions of citizens of both Republic and Separatist space watched their holoprojectors avidly as they witnessed a turning point in history, though few yet understood that.
"…revealed that the beautiful Senator Padmé Amidala was secretly married. However, we can now exclusively reveal the identity of her husband and the father of her unborn son. The well-known and handsome Hero With No Fear, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.
"New evidence has shown that they married shortly after the beginning of the Clone War, when Jedi Skywalker escorted her home. He had been assigned to her protection just a few weeks before, and Skywalker is known to have spent several days with her on Naboo, 'protecting' her. It is clear that a whirlwind romance followed, heightened by their deadly encounter on Geonosis – did they admit their love fearing they were both about to die?
"This new information certainly explains the Senator's surprising reaction to the news of his death in the Senate a few months ago. A pregnant wife hearing her husband had died in so impersonal a setting? It is a miracle she didn't lose her child. And yet, her plight is one more call for the end of the Clone Wars. How many others will lose those they love?
"However, there is something else at work here. Senator Amidala and Jedi Skywalker's marriage and romance are – were – forbidden by the Jedi Code. Forced to meet in secret, hiding behind a lie, a façade of only friendship, it is a wonder they survived the strain placed on them. Clearly, their love is one that forbore all obstacles, including the Jedi Code. And yet Skywalker has never been lax in performing his duties as a Jedi. Further evidence indicates that Skywalker's former master, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, was aware of the marriage, even witnessing the wedding. Furthermore, there has been a suggestion of his having an illicit relationship with the former Queen's decoy and handmaiden, who became her Senatorial assistant, Sabé Kaltiere. The film evidence currently being processed certainly shows a great deal of 'friendship'. The team investigating the Senator's death has joined that investigating Skywalker and Kenobi's deaths.
"After all, it cannot be coincidence that a husband and wife – especially ones with such a forbidden, secret romance – have been killed in seemingly tragic accidents barely months apart?"
XXXXX
Dathomir:
Padmé watched the holoproj with a smirk and turned to her husband.
"So now the entire galaxy knows about us. How do you feel, 'well-known and handsome Hero With No Fear'?" Padmé teased.
"Strangely blasé." Anakin replied, hugging the woman close to him. "It doesn't really affect us anymore. That is quite disturbing."
"They're making their aspersions already." Obi-Wan observed. "Just a hint – that it can't be coincidence and that the relationship goes against the Jedi Code. Of course, he's been indoctrinating people in the Jedi Code and our heroism for the last thirteen years."
Anakin nodded in agreement. "Ever since Naboo. Of course he's probably planned half of it anyway."
"The only thing he didn't plan on was our landing on Tatooine." Padmé observed. "And he found a way to use that to his advantage as well."
Anakin nodded. "Kind of scary, how's he's planned everything for the galaxy."
Padmé snorted. "He's planned every facet he's been able to of my life since I was born. I'm just lucky he wasn't able to start training me until I was five. I'd had enough of my parents' influence that I wouldn't just bow to him and his views. He knows that, and he's worked around them as best he can." She smirked. "Of course, he wasn't entirely successful."
"I was under the impression you were going to train them." Sabé commented acidly, gesturing to the Jedi.
Padmé stuck her tongue out at her friend. "All in good time. All in good time."
XXXXXX
Coruscant, Jedi Temple:
"Blind we have been, if see their love, we could not." Yoda stated, shaking his head. "And sense her child's father…"
"Senator Amidala has always had a powerful presence in the Force and with Naboo's history of Force-abilities it is not unlikely that she was able to unconsciously shield her child from detection." Adi Gallia suggested. "I am surprised that Master Kenobi did not stop Anakin, though."
"Anakin was a knight and his friend." Mace shook his head. "Many of us have been faithful to former-Padawans when we should have reported to the Council." He thought of Anakin's advice when he lost Depa Bilaba. And of Anakin's words. His eyes widened. "And Anakin…"
"Know something, you do?" Yoda enquired.
"After Depa… shattered. He spoke to me. About balancing the Force. About the Jedi."
"And?" Adi asked.
"He said that the Jedi needed to change, to understand why the war was destroying so many of us. I think perhaps he found something to hold onto. Something to stop himself from shattering."
"His attachment to Senator Amidala."
"His love for her."
The Council stared at Kin Deslad.
"Love, you believe?" Yoda asked.
Kin nodded. "Anakin is not the type to just become attached, through desire or lust. He fell in love with her. That's why he married her."
Yoda nodded. "More questions than answers, this news has brought."
XXXXX
The Senate Building:
Those still designing the Petition, and collecting signatures, met with unease.
"It is no wonder she was so badly affected." Giddeon Danu sighed. "To lose the father of her child, as well as her husband…"
Fang Zar nodded in agreement. "We may take heart in the fact that he loved and married her. He was an honourable man, as well as a Jedi. He allowed his heart and principles virtue over his vow to the Jedi."
Mon Mothma nodded. "I agree, but I don't like the underlying implications given here. There is a hint of a conspiracy, and I have a feeling that now that there is one proof, we suddenly will come across many more. I would hate for any to paint either of them in a poor light."
"All four were well-known, two Jedi heroes, Sabé admired for her work with Padmé, the famous Naboo queen and senator. The masses will want to know what happened. They will speak of a conspiracy. That someone planned these deaths." Bail stated. "I hate to think who they might blame."
The meeting grew silent as they considered the danger others may be in.
XXXXX
End of Fourth Month 19 BBY, Jedi Temple:
Jedi watched in shock, horror and amazement as they witnessed one of Anakin and Padmé's early conversations on Naboo when he protected her.
The HoloNet had found this footage in Padmé's home.
"She's wonderful." Padmé smiled, looking at the distant camera then turning back to Anakin.
The Jedi couldn't help but wonder at her choice of outfit, which seemed decent from the front, but incredibly revealing from behind. That bare skin screamed 'seduction'.
"She was the first of a range of spy-droids I built for the temple." Anakin smiled back. There was a hint of pride in his voice. "I was allowed to keep her, because I made her, but handed over the design schematics. The Council were impressed. However, I was placed under mandate to keep her away from Nayan at all times."
"Nayan?"
"A friend of mine at the Temple. He passed his Trials last year." Anakin smiled. "He had a habit of 'borrowing' Esseph to 'protect' the female Padawans' and knights' changing rooms."
There was some uproar as several of the young female knights and older Padawans turned to face a blushing Nayan, who attempted to stammer his apologies.
"He what?"
Several of the women smirked at Padmé's shocked reaction, and then felt equally shocked by Anakin's bald comment.
"He was perving on them."
"I thought Jedi were above that."
Anakin gave a slightly cruel laugh. "They prefer celibacy, but as long as you don't form attachments or choose a fellow Jedi, you're perfectly allowed to enjoy pursuits of the flesh. Slap a few credits on the table and they still don't care."
Many of the Jedi looked as shocked as Padmé by this view of Jedi 'non-attachment'. Others wondered where Anakin had gained that view.
"Anakin, surely they don't…"
"Maybe I'm being harsh, but I was brought up in slavery, by a loving mother. For a long time I thought I was the result of someone doing that to my mother, and I vowed never to do that to someone else. I know now that I never actually had a father, but… I was always taught that you should think of lovemaking, not just sex. That you should be in a loving relationship…"
"That's how it should be. For humans, at least…" Padmé pointed out the politically correct terms.
"Some in the Order are permitted marriage, but few. Even then, they are told not to become attached." Anakin sighed. "Sometimes it seems backwards. Surely we should be encouraging compassion and love, not… wasting our own on one-night stands and grateful rescuees."
"The Jedi cannot be that bad, Anakin."
He shook his head. "It's just a point we don't agree on. I feel love should be accepted, unconditionally. We encourage compassion, why not love?"
Padmé smiled. "What happened to your mother?"
Several of the Jedi noted Padmé's swift changing of the subject. Nayan looked interested, and considering. He had just heard Anakin's views of the Code and put that way, it did not look good. If enough people in the galaxy were watching this, words said in frustration could cause a lot of problems for the Jedi.
Anakin's thoughts seemed to bring a smile to his face. "A few years back, she met a man who was after something from Watto's shop. Eventually, he bought her and freed her. Involved some trickery, I tell you, Watto wasn't keen to let go." He looked out. "Qui-Gon came through for her. He sent some things along to help with a Jedi. She was freed. I now have a step-father and brother, not to mention what I think is a soon-to-be sister-in-law."
"Oh?"
"Cliegg Lars married Mom. Good man, a moisture farmer. He has a son, my age, maybe younger. He's dating a girl named Beru – she's sweet, and perfect for him, from what I saw. I'm glad Mom found a family to help her." He gave a grin. "Her stepson's a farmer, and her son's a Jedi. About as big a contrast as you can get."
"Well, other than a Sith."
The Jedi looked surprise at her knowledge of the Jedi's historic enemies. Knowledge of them now was known, due to Dooku, but had not been before the war.
Anakin looked at her sharply. She gave a disarming smile. "Well, what else killed Master Jinn? That's even further apart. Although similar, I guess, if you consider lightsabers and the Force."
He nodded. "We use it differently. Sith are consumed by a need for power, to rule. Jedi are – well, try to be – selflesss."
"Is anyone?" Padmé asked.
"What?"
"Is anyone truly selfless?"
"We try to be. But not even the most dedicated Jedi, or Senator, or Doctor can be completely selfless." Anakin shrugged.
Jedi considered his thoughts. Even from 'the grave', Anakin Skywalker was imparting wisdom.
Padmé nodded. "I'm glad your mother found comfort. She's a kind woman."
Anakin nodded. "I can only thank the Force we got there in time."
"Got there?"
"She'd been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. I'd had visions - terrible visions. Obi-Wan and I arrived in time to stop a generation of farmers being wiped out. And we saved her. If she'd died…"
"What?" Padmé asked, curious. She saw a glimpse of darkness in those beautiful blue eyes, and she was curious as to their source.
"I'd have slaughtered every one of them." Anakin murmured. "I saw it. I saw her in pain, dying in my arms… I'd have lost control." A bitter laugh. "The 'dark' side of love and attachment."
They froze. Could one of their heroes have truly considered such a thing? A slaughter? Admittedly to those who had done wrong, but…
"That's human."
Padmé's reply caught them off guard. That she could consider such a terrible reaction normal was unbelievable.
"Not for a Jedi."
There was a nod of understanding from some, shock from others. And then a clip of footage that was not in the original conversation, but added later, to protect his family.
"I still worry about her." Anakin confessed. "The Tuskens have her scent. If they come again…"
"It's natural to worry, Anakin. Shmi's a strong woman…"
"She was caught once before. She could have died… would have died. If I dream of it again, I don't know if I can save her…"
"She'll be more careful. I know she will." Padmé smiled.
"She's stuck on that pathetic planet! I just wish I could help!" Anakin groaned.
Here, the doctored footage stopped. It would one day be soon connected with another piece of footage that would reveal Shmi's death. Anakin had once told his mother that the Chancellor believed her dead, and the Jedi had not done anything to correct that notion. Shmi had nodded her agreement when he said he wasn't going to correct them either. His notoriety had made him a target – he didn't want his family to be targeted as well.
The tape continued.
"You don't like Tatooine, do you?"
"No. My family – and a few friends – are the only things on it worth anything. I'd never go there again if I had a choice. I'd never condemn someone to a lifetime spent there."
"With all that sand?" Padmé teased.
Anakin smiled. "With all that sand."
"Sand can be good. It can be made into glass… Blowing glass is magical…"
"No, Naboo is magical. When I was young… I never imagined so much water in one place. That lake has more water in it than there is on all of Tatooine." Anakin told her.
"Naboo is calmer."
"It's peaceful. Everything here is… fresh, radiant. It's soft…" His eyes were drawn to her skin. "Smooth…"
Breaths caught as those gifted with psychometry could sense the emotions connected with the tape. Overwhelming uncertainty, desire, passion and love.
The two stared at one another, their eyes connected. Watchers fancied they could even see an actual connection between them as they gave into their feelings, leaning into each other and kissing with undisguised passion and desire.
Adi Gallia in the Council Chamber gave a scream at the strength of the emotions connected to the tape, of the singing and laughing of the Force as she bound her two servants to each other. She could sense the emotions.
Want. Hunger. Need.
Love. Desire. Devotion.
Jedi watched with bated breath, wondering what would happen.
Anakin broke the kiss first, staring down on Padmé in shock.
"I shouldn't have done that." Padmé looked out to the water.
"I – I need to check security." Anakin replied. He bowed stiffly. "Milady."
He left speedily.
Padmé was frozen in position, her gaze dreamy as she raised her hands to her lips, murmuring Anakin's name under her breath.
The camera turned and left…
The Temple was silent.
"They were connected." Nayan's broken voice rang through the Mess Hall.
"What?"
"Anakin and Padmé. The Force decreed their attachment. They were connected. I – I could sense it."
XXXXX
Same time, Dathomir:
"New lightsabers?" Anakin asked.
Padmé nodded. "You can't use your own. They might be recognised. And you can't use something that is so obviously built in the Jedi's style. So we need to find crystals – you won't have synthetic Sith ones, because you aren't part of the Dark Side yet. And we don't want it to be so obvious." She looked at Sabé. "You're going to get one too. I know you like your blaster, but a 'saber will provide extra protection. And if you become part of Bana's 'entourage', it will be something of a symbol."
Sabé grinned. "Can I have pink?"
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Crystals suitable for use in a lightsaber are hard to find. You might have to accept what you can find."
"We can't use the caves at Ilum. Blue and green have become too distinctively Jedi." Obi-Wan observed.
Padmé nodded. "There is a deposit on the estate, but I can't guarantee the quality of any of the stones. Naboo has very few due to our lack of a molten core. Haruun Kal…"
"Is still broken with the war. Mace got his crystal there though." Obi-Wan looked at Sabé. "Would violet suffice?"
Sabé just smirked.
"We'll work more on the physical stuff now – the rest will have to come later in the pregnancy." Padmé sighed. At just three months she was already starting to show, though only slightly.
"If we need a transport, we'll need a disguise." Anakin observed. "Padmé and Sabé look like sisters. Padmé's pregnant, so that can be used as a disguise. It's just me and Obi-Wan." He fingered the scar. "I don't know if make-up will work when it's not just for footage."
Padmé felt a sudden surge of power and her hand shot out to cover Anakin's scar. Seconds later, the skin was healed, and she stared at her stomach.
Anakin got his voice back first. "Looks like one of them is a keen healer."
Padmé nodded dumbly.
"What other Force abilities will we need to know about?" Obi-Wan asked. At present they had been training in the more aggressive side of duelling, Padmé teaching them to modify their original styles while she wasn't too pregnant to wield a lightsaber. They could not afford for anyone to later notice that Darth Bana's two manservants bore the same lightsaber duelling styles as two dead Jedi, let alone using the same lightsabers. They had to learn enough Sith and 'Dark Side' katas and moves to change their own Jedi styles.
"What abilities do you have now?" Padmé asked, curious and mentally berating herself for not asking earlier. "A full description, please."
Anakin started. "The general. Telepathy, telekinesis, speed, Force sense, 'saber throws, Farsight, jumps and mobility and stuff, mind-tricks, creating waves and whirlwinds, deflection, that one they call 'valour', I get premonitions and visions." He thought. "I have some skill with animals and battle precognition as well."
Obi-Wan nodded. "The same Core abilities. I also have Force projection, deflection, breath control, comprehending other languages, healing…"
Anakin grinned as he interrupted. "Obi-Wan could've been a healer if he'd decided."
Obi-Wan shot him a glare. "I can absorb information quickly…"
"So you've got a fair few of the light-side abilities between you." Padmé observed. "Any… not so light-side abilities you have or you've tapped into?"
"Rage in general." Anakin replied. "With Ventress. And Dooku. My temper's always been dreadful. And I learnt how choke someone with the Force in battle last year."
"I think I tapped into my rage when Qui-Gon was killed. Other than that, I'm unsure."
Padmé nodded. "The main thing you have to remember is that it is usually the individual that makes an ability light or dark, not the power itself. I wouldn't recommend Force lightning though. It has corrupting tendencies. I prefer the so-called 'Electric Judgement'."
"The Jedi version." Anakin observed.
She nodded. "For now, we just need to see what abilities you will pick up best, which ones you have the potential for and which can be amplified. Your choking ability though, Anakin." She smirked. "That has wonderful potential."
"How do you mean?"
"It can be both lethal and non-lethal. If you become over-protective or 'fanatically loyal' to your 'mistress' it can be used to warn others of danger or dispose of those who take the Empire too violently."
Anakin's head snapped back. "Yes. Those who wish to commit slaughter, those who do… And then we have a low-level spy reveal the truth behind each 'victim' to the Rebels that are sure to appear…"
"They begin to get suspicious of who we are." Obi-Wan pointed out.
Padmé shook her head. "But they also see someone who is not the war-mongerer and tormenter Palpatine is."
"We undermine him and bolster the Rebellion by killing off 'incompetent' officers." Anakin grinned. "You're brilliant."
"I'm a Sith, if unconventional. If I destroy and rule the galaxy, I'll get bored." Padmé smirked, but she wasn't a true Sith; she wasn't after recalling the Sith Empire. In fact, all Padmé wanted was to truly improve the galaxy. The Republic was dying, the Empire would fail, but hopefully a new republic – and Jedi Order – could rise from the ashes of those that came before them, stronger and incorruptible.
"So, training?"
"I've got a few holocrons you need to take a look at…"
XXXXX
A few days later:
Padmé looked at the woman who had been her best friend and almost-sister for so many years and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Sabé asked, looking up from the datapad she was reading.
"Sabé, I need to know the truth." Padmé murmured, taking her friend's hands in her own. "Please, I have to know. Who was your father?"
Sabé drew in her breath sharply, pulled her hands away from her friend and stood. She turned away from Padmé, staring out of the window into the Dathomiri wilderness.
"His name was In'den Halbarr." Sabé murmured. "He was born on Naboo, and the Jedi took him when his abilities became too difficult to control – he was two, with vague memories of his parents and homeplanet. He met my mother while hunting a spice-smuggler who was using Naboo to launder money. They fell in love and married, using Mama's name instead of his. When I was born, he checked my midichlorian count – I had enough to be a Jedi, but not a spectacular amount. He had a feeling that it would be more important for me to remain on Naboo. He gave me snippets of training when he could, teaching me to meditate, to sense the Dark Side, and to control my emotions. He also observed that I had an ability to heal, but he was sent deep undercover a few months after the Trade Federation invaded. We've had the occasional letter and holomessage, but he's been impossible to track in the war."
Padmé nodded. "Thank you. It may seem odd, but I have a feeling that identifying him is important. Does – does your mother know the truth?"
"About my 'death'?" Sabé asked. She shook her head. "I wanted to send her a message, but it's too risky. She'll be so angry with me for not telling her."
"Soon. Once we've got Ani and Ben trained enough and we can work out good enough disguises, we'll go. And I think we need to set up several 'permanent' false identities. We'll need them in the years ahead."
Sabé nodded. "Padmé… will you try and find him? Or – or what happened to him, at least?"
"I'll try. I promise." Padmé stood to leave then turned back. "One thing, how old was he when he met your mother?"
"Young. He'd become a knight barely a year before. Twenty-three. I was born a year later. He's barely into his fifties." She gave a wan smile. "I have his eyes."
"Good… the description will help."
Sabé nodded again as her friend left, wondering exactly what role her father had to play in the coming years.
Little did she know.
XXXXX
End of Fifth month, 19 BBY:
Padmé watched her husband and his former Master spar with interest and alacrity. Anakin was the more skilled of the two, to be certain, in drawing on the 'dark side' to fuel his attacks and he had absorbed the new movements more easily, but Obi-Wan remained the more technically skilled. However, as he got older and more powerful, Anakin was giving him more and more of a run for his money.
Obi-Wan was also taking pains to teach Sabé the rudiments of lightsaber-work and drawing on the Force to increase stamina, speed and strength, as well as heightening one's senses in the sphere of attack. Even these simple steps were ensuring Sabé's increase in skill and long hours of work made her all the more deadly, and would make her all the more effective when she played her part as one of Darth Bana's servants.
Padmé, on the other hand, was exercising as gently as possible. She did not want to cause harm to her children by exerting herself too much, or drawing on the less savoury aspects of the Force, lest they become poisoned by darkness from the womb. Instead, she had been focussing on research and academic aspects to the secret lives they were now to lead.
As the others ceased their practises for the day, Padmé called the others to her.
"I've set up one 'permanent' new identity for each of us." She explained. "This is the 'true' identity we will be beneath the false ones, if we are ever caught by those who wish us harm. The people we supposedly were before Bana and your 'Sith' names." She pursed her lips on a moment. "We will have to decide on those, you know. I have also set up several other false identities."
"Orders?" Anakin asked curiously.
Padmé shrugged. "As much inferred as anything else. I think he knew I would be sensible enough to do so."
"So, who are we now?" Sabé asked.
"You and I are sisters." Padmé grinned. "You're the elder, of course."
"Of course."
"We grew up on Naboo, the children of farmers. Our parents were killed in the Trade Federation's attack. This fuelled an intense desire for revenge." Padmé explained. "We decided to sell the farm and buy a ship, in order to carry freight and attack the Trade Federation. On a trip to the Outer Rim, we met these two." She gestured to Anakin and Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan took on Anakin after his family was slaughtered by Sand People on Tatooine." She saw Anakin wince. "Sorry, but it happens enough that few will be able to doubt it. Obi-Wan was a smuggler and found Anakin as a mechanic and excellent shot, working freelance. He took him on into the world of smuggling." She grinned at Obi-Wan's questioning look. "What can I say, it appealed! Anyway, we met and formed a partnership. Not long afterwards, Anakin and I fell in love and got married. Obi-Wan and Sabé took longer to fall in love, and have been living a life of sin." She giggled at the reproach on her friends' faces. "Well you are, at present." They coloured in embarrassment. "Sidious approached us six years ago to make trouble, and took me on as his apprentice, knowing that your fierce protection would ensure your loyalty as well. Since then, we carried on as normal, while taking time out to train, particularly myself, in the Dark Side."
Anakin nodded. "Good story. Enough truth in it that we won't be caught out by references to Tatooine or Naboo, but what about Obi-Wan? No one's going to believe for a second he's had a life as a smuggler with an upper-class Coruscanti accent like his."
"Oh, he's the illegitimate son of one of Liberyn's mistresses. He's been dead long enough that no one will question it, and it is easily explained that he was angry and chose to rebel against his mother's wishes." Padmé smirked at Obi-Wan's horrified face. Liberyn was a famous businessman with huge investments in gas mines across the galaxy, and equally infamous for his profligate lifestyle and string of mistresses, most of whom were well kept, not to mention his children by them. He had also had very similar colouring to Obi-Wan's natural look. "But of course, he doesn't like to talk about his past, and the accent charms away those who suspect him of smuggling."
"And our names?" Anakin asked.
"Well, Sabé and my maiden name is Irinna, nice common Naboo name. I'm Alsa, she's Elva – we're from south-west Naboo where our style of names is less common." She shot Anakin a look, having recognised his cheeky grin as he opened his mouth, and was rewarded by his sigh. "Ani's Venas Moonlighter, and Obi-Wan's Ben Ovorin."
"VEH-nas?" Anakin checked the pronunciation of his name. Padmé nodded. "Good. There would have been a lot of evil jokes had it been VEE-nas."
Padmé rolled her eyes. "Mind in the cantina?" She asked.
Anakin looked shocked. "You've spent too much time with me if you're spouting Tatooine phrases."
Padmé giggled. "Perhaps. But I want to continue to spend time with you, so I don't mind."
"You've got copies for us?" Obi-Wan asked. "Of our 'identities'?"
"Yes. And the other actual false identities. Study them, memorise them, then make sure you erase or destroy the pads."
The others nodded.
"Any other changes?"
"Sabé'll need to go a different hair colour, the brown-black was too common while we were in the Senate. A brown-blonde, perhaps." She suggested. "Obi-Wan, you'll need to lose the beard – again, it's too recognisably you. Perhaps change your hair as well. Something darker. Anakin, you'll need to change style at least, and maybe the colour slightly – perhaps blonder, like when you were younger?" She suggested, and received Anakin's assent.
"That was from more time spent in the suns." He explained.
"As for me, I think I'll need to shorten my hair and use curls less." She sighed, she loved her hair. "When we get strong enough, we might be able to use the Force to distort our appearances to other eyes as well, but for now it is other changes."
"Do you have any colour contact lenses?" Anakin asked. The archaic tool had been used to help eyesight, but the coloured versions changed one's eye colour.
"I believe so, in my costume cupboard." She grinned.
"Then I will check there, see if I can't disguise my 'ice-blue eyes'." He quoted the description given by his 'fans'.
Padmé rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you will. We've various other 'permanent' false identities to support the idea of covering our 'real' identities, as well as our being smugglers and mercenaries. Not to mention our position as 'Emperor' Palpatine's servants." She looked down, almost ashamed. "We will be the highest he has, the most feared group in the galaxy."
"Until the Rebels realise exactly what we're doing." Obi-Wan pointed out.
Padmé nodded then grinned. "Then we'll be the most mysterious, confusing group in the galaxy."
"Indeed."
XXXXX
Sixth month, 19 BBY:
Anakin laid on the bed with Padmé his hand resting on the swell of her stomach, her pregnancy now more than five months gone. He grinned at her, trailing patterns over the smooth skin, wondering at the children that lay there.
"What are we going to do?" He asked, melancholy in his thoughts, knowing he would be unable to raise his children.
"I don't know." Padmé sighed. "I've had visions, but…"
"Perhaps my parents?" Anakin asked. "Mom and Dad will be happy to take them in."
"Not both." Padmé blinked back tears. "They're too strong together. Palpatine would sense them when we left the planet…"
"Separate then."
"But how can we do that to them?"
Anakin shook his head. "One must be trained in the ways of the Force. Tatooine is far enough away from Coruscant that Palpatine would not sense a presence – not a strong one, anyway – and he is actually under the impression my mother's dead."
"What?" Padmé looked at him in surprise.
"We were in a meeting and he asked after my mother. I've never been too comfortable around him anyway, and began on her kidnapping by the Tuskens… before I got very far, he gave me his condolences. I didn't see the need to correct him. He has no idea of my family on Tatooine." Then he stopped. "Except for the tape! Naboo… If he saw that…"
"Actually he didn't. And that was the purpose of the scene we did in my quarters where you broke down in grief." Padmé reminded him. "Everyone will believe your mother and family dead. And few, if any, will actually connect the names. Part of me even doubts that the Jedi will check."
Anakin nodded, relieved. "So they're still safe."
"And if one of the twins is stronger, they must go there." Padmé declared. She mused. "Who else can we trust?"
"Do they have to know the child's ancestry?"
"I suppose not…"
"It would be impossible for us to leave a child with your family, much as I hate to say it. But perhaps someone else you trust… Someone not directly connected to the Jedi, but definitely not a supporter of Palpatine."
"Bail."
"Organa?"
Padmé nodded. "His wife cannot conceive a child, and I know he spoke of adoption to me. Their taking on a child would be no surprise. He was part of the Loyalist Committee and part of our Petition, but clever enough not to be heard to overly criticise Palpatine." She smiled ruefully. "I confess, I may have made a few suggestions that made him keep quiet. He is totally committed to the Republic. If there's a Rebellion, he'll be involved."
"Allowing for the other child to also be involved." Anakin grinned. "Perfect."
Padmé sighed. "They'll be in danger if they join."
"Anyone would. And do you really think our children will accept just being trapped on planet, unable to do anything to help?" Anakin asked, then shook his head. "With parents like us… I'm a Jedi, and much of your vitriol as a Senator was not just vitriol."
Padmé nodded. "Sidious always knew I disapproved of the deaths due to war and the unnatural life of the clones, and the disruption they cause in the Force. However, he also knew that he could kill or ruin me with a word, and with the importance of family drilled into me on Naboo, as well as the realisation that the Republic was truly dead… He knew I would not stop him, so he let me think for myself."
"Just as well, really." Anakin sighed. "I don't think I could have loved a true Sith."
"And a true Sith could not have loved you." Padmé murmured, smiling softly at her husband.
"Has he noticed any differences over the holos?" Anakin asked.
She shook her head. "My clothes and my kneeling hide that. I'll need to use an illusion when I get much further along, though." She murmured. "Three and a half months. If that." She mused. "Twins are usually born early. I hope so."
"When's he planning the takeover?" Anakin asked.
"Ninth month." She replied. "I hope I've delivered by then."
"The Temple?"
"He'll expect you three to swear loyalty." She explained. "And all of us to prove it."
"Oh, gods no." Anakin groaned. "We can't…"
"We'll have to. Just remember, all those who're left stayed for a reason. Make their deaths quick and clean."
Anakin's head snapped up. "They'll leave the injured. Or those who volunteer. The weaker Jedi, or the older ones, the ones who won't survive much longer, or those who've nearly snapped… Most of those that they leave will be those who volunteer or those deemed too weak or dangerous to take with them." He realised, trying to decide whether to applaud the ingenuity or bemoan the cruelty.
"It makes sense."
"Horrible, isn't it?"
XXXXX
The next three months passed quickly, and quietly. Anakin and Obi-Wan began to use the Force in yet more ways, in ways Padmé had never even considered, while Sabé mastered the use of both sword and lightsaber to a believable level. Being physically fit and well-trained beforehand, the intense regime had polished her skills to be a believable bodyguard/assassin. Her father's Jedi legacy had left her with her own potential to be a Jedi, and the others had spent a great deal of time training her in the most important aspects. Other than the general abilities, and her ability to change her hair-colour at will, she also found herself with a great connection to animals and planets themselves – a power in the Living Force that also stemmed from her father's legacy.
The rest of the Sixth Month passed quietly enough, except for the discovery of another tape, this time showing Padmé comforting her husband after his family's 'death' from scarlet fever…
"All of them." Anakin sobbed, his shoulders shaking. "All of them dead. And the neighbours… They'd just burned them! I saved their lives, and they just burned them before I had a chance to say goodbye!"
"It was to stop the spread of fever, Ani." Padmé soothed. "They didn't do it to harm you."
Anakin gave a reluctant nod. "It just hurts so much. Mom, Dad, Owen, Beru…"
"I know, sweetheart, I know." Padmé murmured, rocking her husband in her arms…
Actually, it was somewhat ironic that at the time the tape was set, he truly had just come back from Tatooine. However, it had not been to sort his family's funeral and effects, but to celebrate Owen and Beru's marriage.
It was in the Seventh Month that they began to see the beginning of the end.
"…discovered that a triggering signal was sent to the explosive on the ship that carried Kenobi and Skywalker. What has shocked the galaxy is the appearance that the signal was sent on a Jedi frequency. The Jedi themselves have made no comment except to say that the code itself was old at the time, and it is possible that it was leaked.
In which case – is someone trying to implicate the Jedi? If so, who? Or has it a deeper meaning? Was someone aware of Skywalker's 'breaking' of the Jedi Code in his marriage to Senator Amidala? Is there a divide in the Jedi we are unaware of; is the Council as divided as the Senate?
This information has sparked further interest in the crash that killed Senator Amidala, Skywalker's wife, and her close friend and former bodyguard, Senatorial Assistant Sabé Kaltiere. Further updates will be provided.
In other news…"
"It has begun." Anakin whispered, horrified at the aspersions cast on the Jedi. Across the galaxy, in the centre of Jedi learning, a dark-skinned man spoke the same words to the eldest Jedi of them all.
A few days later, the HoloNews related new evidence from another tape, in which Padmé Amidala's horrified words "It's not responding!" could be clearly heard. Further research into the speeder in question showed a small incendiary device that would cause the speeder to lose control and disconnect the actual controls while not being seen. Again, there was evidence that a trigger was used, and considering the new tape evidence had come from a Jedi camera, there were further whispers that the Jedi had killed their own, along with his wife and child. Rumours that they felt the child was the main threat, and even that Senator Amidala was viewed as another, along with the belief that Sabé Kaltiere had seduced Obi-Wan Kenobi, a man viewed as the consummate Jedi.
"Palpatine will have fewer problems convincing people of splits in the Jedi infrastructure…" Obi-Wan mused. "How exactly is he intending to convey it?"
"That the Jedi, when they discover the truth and go to arrest him, made an attempt on his life, tried to take over the Senate and such." Padmé replied.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "He needs to make it seem that there is a split within the Jedi themselves – some loyal to the Republic, others entrenched in Jedi dogma to the point of destroying the Republic. It would explain the takeover – which is very uncharacteristic – and ensure that the Order seems more dangerous than it actually is. Also, he will decree all Jedi a threat, and if there's evidence of a split…"
"They'll have more sympathy." Padmé breathed. "But he won't let the Order have any sympathy."
"He can. He can state that at the same time as the attempt on his life, there was a civil war in the Temple between insurgents and loyalists. That would account for the dead bodies – including children. The clone troops were sent in to calm everything…"
"Resulting in Jedi that are shot dead." Sabé finished. "And the absence of the younglings could be explained as someone's premonition – which it will be – and he can offer help to the fled Jedi looking after them."
"With the intent of brainwashing the younglings and killing the Jedi." Obi-Wan sighed. "He'll recall the active Jedi with the general beacon, saying the war's over, and have them killed as insurgents."
"Which means we'll have to ensure that the beacon is changed." Anakin confirmed. "He'll change it himself… one of us will need to get back in and change it – you, Obi-Wan." He grinned. "And any Jedi who gets back in will have great fun trying to work out how the hell Kenobi changed the message from the grave."
In the Eighth Month, Padmé decreed it time to search for new lightsaber crystals. Haruun Kal had settled somewhat, and she knew where the crystal deposits were.
It took Sabé very little time at all to find a lilac crystal to suit her needs. Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan, however, were satisfied.
It took a great deal of meditation and searching before Obi-Wan found his crystal – a black emerald that produced a blade of green so dark it almost looked black. Anakin eventually found his on Tatooine, much to his consternation. It was in one of the deep caves that the krayt dragons frequented. A rich ruby, producing a fiery red-orange blade was the final item added to his new lightsaber. All were pleased, and Anakin and Obi-Wan were especially pleased that their new blades were so different to their old.
Their old, however, were kept. Anakin had an idea of passing his old lightsaber onto the child that would remain with his family – the one both parents knew was destined to be a Jedi. They did not speculate on which would be which, but Anakin had an idea they would be like their parents – one a Jedi, one a politician (Padmé's true vocation in his eyes), with the sex to match.
It was towards the end of the Ninth Month that they knew that this war was coming to a close. Palpatine was captured.
Padmé knew that this was the trigger.
"When he is rescued, we will be called into active service. He will want you to swear loyalty." Padmé informed them.
"I swear loyalty only to you." Anakin stated fiercely.
"He will not like it, but he will accept it. He's so certain of me." Padmé shook his head. "Mainly because he knows he has the power to destroy me, and he will if he gets the chance. And there's still so many of his plans I do not know."
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Anakin assured her, and placed his hand on her bulging stomach. "We all will."
XXXXX
A/N:
So, what do you think? Dark enough? I've tried to show the balance between Padmé's attempting to teach them enough of the dark side to convince Palpatine at least of their loyalty by the event of RotS, but not being consumed by it. Even Anakin won't be a 'Darth' until the next fic. Not to mention the fact that Padmé's pregnant. Lots about family and such in here – it isn't a stretch to gather that it's important.
I'm quite proud of Sabé's dad. I know his birthdate and everything. Well, I have it written down, I can't remember it…
As I said before, anyone wanting to offer younglings for Kin and Nayan's band in the final chapter and next fic are welcome too. Preferably human – since the 'parents' will be human. Half-humans are acceptable – they can always be nieces and nephews of deceased brothers and sisters, an all too real situation in war.
Can't remember if I told you all, but I have some fanart for this story up at Twisting the Hellmouth. Same penname, but if you look under the Star Wars category, and then under Fanart, it's there. It includes some of my photo-based fanart and some drawings done by one of my reviewers, Anya. It is the ultimate compliment, to hear you've inspired others. If you like, you can check out my other fanart as well! If anyone else has done any for my fic, I would also love to put it up there – if you don't mind of course. If there is anyone, that is. Blushes
Sorry again for the late update – two English essays and exams coming up – on the bright side, I did an essay on Revenge of the Sith and got a 2.1 (63 marks!) for it! Go me!
Please review.
Lol, Tanydwr