YES! I FINALLY GOT OVER MY WRITER'S BLOCK! FINALLY!

You should actually get these updates more often now. I was having a problem with writers block, obviously, though I still have a problem with time. It won't be nearly as often I update as I would like, but you will be getting updates on this story again. As soon as I get over my writer's block for In The Thick of Battle, I'll be back to a steady flow of updates for all of my chapters.

As for why it's been taking me so long, it's my senior year and I'm laden down with scholarship applications, dual credit classes, regular homework, work, church, and now registration. But I am still getting my writing in at the same time!

So, knowing that its been a while since I wrote with this book and knowing I had to skim over the previous few chapters for a refresher, here's the next chapter, yay!

PLEASE Review, again I'm so sorry it took so long!

Enjoy!

Aria and Padme walked in companionable silence through the marketplace of Phtari for quite some time, dipping into their allotment of credits to buy Aria the clothes she needed to blend in. For a while they dabbled in small talk, nothing serious, but eventually the topics turned to more serious matters while they perused a small corner tent for a nice formal dress-just in case, as Padme had put it.

"So...I've noticed you tend to look at Anakin...with a twinkle I know all too well in your eyes," Padme said casually as Aria was judging whether or not one of the gold dresses was what she wanted.

Startled, Aria looked up to meet Padme's gaze. "What?"

Padme gave her a gentle smile, placing the gold dress back and offering a red one. "I'm not being accusing, it's just an observation. You like him, don't you."

Aria almost forgot that she had a dress in her hand. "Oh...uh...well...not that way, per say. It's more like a boy crush." She blushed. "I mean, just look at him!"

Padme laughed, which caused Aria to relax again. "Yes, he is handsome, isn't he? And thank you for being honest."

Aria shrugged. "Well, you know, even if it was more than a crush, you wouldn't have to worry about me making a move on him. He's yours, and without you two, well, as awkward as it may be for you right now, there would be no Luke without the two of you. I couldn't imagine a universe without Luke Skywalker."

Padme studied the young woman for a long moment, taking her time before she spoke. "Oh...so he's the one you actually like?"

Aria paused in picking a new dress off the rack, staring at Padme in shock. "I...well, I…" she deflated, knowing that whatever the expression on her face was currently, it gave away her true answer. "Well...yes. But I don't really know him, do I?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've read his entire biography on earth, yes, and I've watched those movies about the key points in his young life, but I can get all that second hand information all I want and that doesn't mean that I know him. Knowing about a celebrity doesn't mean you know the celebrity."

"You're getting to know him now, aren't you?"

Aria sighed. "Well, yes, I am, but-"

"But nothing. What you know already with what you're learning, what do you think of him?" she asked curiously.

"What about you and Anakin? How are the two of you handling things?" Aria deflected. Padme rolled her eyes, far from fooled. However, she still answered Aria's question.

"Well, it's understandably strange between us right now, trying to get the groundwork of a relationship when we both know that we're going to marry in the future. As nice as it is to know that we are willing to take that step in the future, it's...strange."

"I can see how it could be."

Padme shook her head. "Well, even with us knowing, we are making progress. I'm a lot more comfortable with him now, and knowing that we at least have Obi-Wan's...support, in a way, helps. I'm still hesitant about entering a relationship though."

Aria nodded. "Because of the entire Senator/Jedi/Forbidden thing...and the terrible outcome the first time. Though I'm just going to say, the relationship itself isn't what was wrong, in my opinion. The Emperor just worked off of the fact that he was afraid he was about to lose you and he felt like there wasn't anyone he could turn to. He never stopped loving you, not even when he was on the dark side, as twisted as his way of showing it ended up being by that point," Aria said gently. "Everything will work out just fine, take all the time you need and go at your own pace. There's no need to rush things."

Padme gave her a small smile. "You know, you're pretty wise for someone your age, but don't think for a moment that I've forgotten what I asked you."

Aria sighed, turning to flip through the dresses once more. "It would never work. Yes, I like him, but unlike you and Anakin, Luke and I are from entirely different universes and times; it could never be. Besides, he's also much older than me."

To Aria's surprise, Padme actually snorted. "the same difference between Anakin and myself is between Luke and you. You're about to turn seventeen, and he's twenty-two. That's five years. Are you going to tell me that I'm too old for Anakin?" Padme scoffed, eyebrow arched. Aria blushed but said nothing, and Padme shook her head. "However...you do have a point. Being from a different universe, never mind another time...you do make a point. It would be a relationship doomed to fail."

"Not so wide of a stance, Luke, it would be far too easy for me to sweep your legs out from underneath you."

Luke, Anakin, and Obi-Wan were all gathered in the hotel room, having pushed the furniture to the far ends of the room so they would have adequate space in the middle for their activities. Obi-Wan and Anakin had agreed to teach Luke what they knew, and currently Luke was borrowing Anakin's lightsaber while the two instructed him on his lightsaber form. Earlier he'd been practicing his English with Anakin, and he was rather sure that he would be quickly getting the hang of Aria's written language, thankfully.

He had taken notice of the fact that Anakin's lightsaber currently was slightly different than the one Luke had inherited, and he wondered if Anakin had modified it or made a new one at some point in time. Adjusting his footing as Anakin had instructed him to, Luke focused once more on Obi-Wan in front of him. The elder Jedi was frowning, studying Luke's movements closely.

"Have you ever sparred before? I know you've been in a lightsaber fight by now, but have you been able to spar for practice?" he asked in concern. Luke shook his head.

"I've had to practice my lightsaber forms without a partner."

"That explains it, then," Anakin commented.

Obi-Wan ignored his pupil, keeping his attention fixated on Luke. "How about we try to spar every day? I believe that should help, especially since you're such a quick learner."

Luke nodded. "I can do that."

"And remind me to teach you about constructing a lightsaber, as well."

"Oh, I will."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I think you may be a better student than Anakin is."

"Hey!" Anakin protested, looking wounded. "I'm right here!"

"Is that anyway to talk to your Jedi Master?" Obi-Wan chided him, causing Anakin to scowl. "I thought so."

Luke rolled his eyes and raised his lightsaber once more. "All right, I'm ready to continue now."

The two continued to spar, with Anakin watching and giving Luke advice every now and then, until at long last Obi-Wan called a break. Anakin promptly fell back onto the bed he'd been sitting on, a whoosh of air escaping him.

"When are the girls going to come back? I didn't think it would take so long to get clothes," he griped.

"They're women, Anakin; they take pride in their wardrobe. Especially Padme," Obi-Wan informed him.

"Still, you would think they'd be back by now."

"I'm sure they're fine. They should be back anytime, now. The Alliance didn't give them enough credits for them to be out all day buying clothes, just enough for her to get the essentials."

"I hope someone told Padme that."

Luke laughed, and about that moment the door opened. "Told me what?" Padme's voice asked, and Anakin blushed a deep red. Even Obi-Wan started to laugh, though their reactions only caused Padme's eyebrow to arch in suspicious question.

Anakin, luckily, was quick enough to recover and deflect the question, eyeing the bags that were lading down the two girls' arms. "How much did you buy? I thought you were given a limit!"

"We were: we can budget, Anakin," Padme said, much like she was educating a child. Luke's laughter quickly turned into painful coughing when Anakin shot him a deadly look, and eventually they calmed down once more. The girls moved to pack away their newly bought clothes, and as they were doing so Anakin decided to corner Aria with yet another question.

"So, when will you be showing us Episode Five?" he asked curiously, eyes never wavering from Aria as she moved about the room. Aria paused, mulling it over.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said hesitantly. "I mean...The Empire Strikes Back is far worse than A New Hope, and honestly you didn't react that well to the first, and that was the happiest of the three."

Anakin paled slightly, but Aria could see the determined glint in his eyes and she sighed. "All right, fine, but remember that you asked for it," she warned him. "It won't be pleasant; it's known to be the darkest of the three."

She cast her gaze to Luke, who seemed quieter than normal in his own little corner, picking at a spot on his boots idly like he didn't even realize he was doing it. "Luke, you and I can watch Episode Two before they watch Five: I feel like that's a smart decision." She cast her gaze back around to the others. "We can watch them on our way back, after we get done with what we're supposed to be doing here."

Thankfully, Obi-Wan chose that moment to add himself to the conversation. "That's something that we need to figure out, by the way. We know we're supposed to be closing the deal Teeb made with Obath and that we need to rescue Teeb from the detention center here in Phitari. We need to figure out the how for both."

"So which do we do first? Close the deal or make the rescue?" Padme asked pointedly.

"Perhaps we should figure out what the deal is first, that way we can prioritize more accurately," Luke suggested.

Anakin nodded. "We could still scout out the prison to start drawing up plans on how to break Teeb out."

"Who should the negotiation party be?" Aria asked pointedly. "I'd say Padme, but this isn't exactly the Republic, is it?"

"That's no problem," Luke commented, sliding off of his seat upon the bed. "Padme and I can both go talk to Obath while Anakin and Obi-Wan scout out the prison."

Aria frowned. "And what about me."

Luke gave her a small smile. "You can hold down the apartment until we get back, maybe study more of your notes?"

Aria huffed, putting her hands on her hips and ready to argue. However, she didn't follow through, realizing she would probably prefer to skip the scouting and negotiating anyway. Besides, her strength was in knowledge in certain events and people, and she needed to work more on that. She could study her notes more and try and devise a more effective way to stop Palpatine, and she could draw up a safe way to divulge the information she carried with her so as not to overload anyone or accidentally push someone in the wrong direction.

All in all, Luke had a good point, and it would probably be better for her to stay behind and work on her larger plans while they handled the smaller plans for here in the present.

Sighing in defeat, Aria rolled her eyes. "All right, fine. Are we doing that now, or waiting a while?"

"Well, I'll have to find a way to set up the meeting with Obath before we do anything, but Anakin and Obi-Wan can find and scout out the prison right now," Luke commented.

"We'll get right to that, then," Obi-Wan said. "Come one, Anakin."

Anakin sighed, but slid off the bed easily and followed after Obi-Wan, looking for all the world like he was bored out of his mind. Aria had to resist the urge to snicker at the expression on his face, watching him as he left. Once the two were gone, Aria returned to finding a home for her clothes with Padme while Luke struggled over in his corner to set up a meeting with Obath. By the time he had managed to set up the meeting, both girls were dozing on the bed, though they sat at attention whenever he finally finished.

"I was able to get us a small window of time with him; not much, but enough for us to figure out what deal was made and hopefully gain his confidence that we can carry the deal the rest of the way," Luke told Padme, who nodded.

"That's all the time I need," she assured him, and they both turned to Aria. "I assume you'll be fine staying here and waiting for all of us to return."

Aria gave them a smile and fell back on the bed with a relaxed sigh. "Oh yes, I think I'm going to rather enjoy the peace and quiet: play some music, get some things done, maybe take a nap. I'll be fine."

Padme laughed while Luke simply rolled his eyes. "We'll see you in a while, then. Try not to have too much fun without us."

"I will," Aria said with a wink.

"I can't believe the galaxy has changed so much in just under three decades," Anakin muttered under his breath as Obi-Wan and Anakin casually surveyed the area around them. Obi-Wan snorted softly, eyes roaming the walls, ground, and paths of the alleyways around the Phitari prison.

"Plenty can change in the space of five years, Anakin, let alone three decades," he responded. Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Obi-Wan briefly tore his eyes away from observing his surroundings to study the people around him before he nodded slowly in agreement with Anakin. "I do…and you're right. And I thought the galaxy we were in was in a terrible state."

Just a few blocks back they had seen militia abuse as they turned a vendor's stall inside and out simply because they were bored and the vendor wasn't human, destroying his products even as the Ithorian had wailed that it was all he had and what he had to live off of. It had taken all of Obi-Wan's self-control to not be the Jedi that he was and step in. If he would have done that, then he would have been killed. Another thing he couldn't believe with the current state of the galaxy: almost no Jedi. What was the universe without the Jedi?

Well, it seems we're seeing that now, Obi-Wan thought bitterly.

"I hate not being able to do anything," Anakin hissed from behind as they saw a group of Stormtroopers bothering another minority civilian.

"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do other than make the situation worse. We have to stick to what our objective is and keep our heads down, or Luke's rebellion will suffer a painful loss."

Anakin quieted at that, and he didn't comment any further on the subject, though Obi-Wan did feel his spike in distress and agitation every time they passed someone in need. Obi-Wan was experiencing similar feelings, but he was firmly ignoring them, keeping his attention on the area around them.

From their brief rounds around the building, obi-Wan had accounted several routes on the street that they could use as an escape route and he had discovered a Stormtrooper patrolling the perimeter of the prison, with only one entrance inside the compound guarded by two heavily armed Stormtroopers and requiring an Officer's clearance to get inside. Obi-Wan frowned, wondering if there was any way for them to get ahold of the blueprints of the inside of the prison: perhaps that could help the endeavor. There was a dumpster at the back of the prison, and if Obi-Wan was sure he wasn't going to be cutting into the guard's lounge or anything of the like he would suggest cutting an entrance to the prison in the back wall and covering it with the dumpster to hide the evidence from the Stormtrooper on patrol. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure, and he would need more information before attempting such a thing.

So, silently, the two Jedi continued their task of scoping out the surrounding area and other possible ways in and out of the compound.

"I would say that I'm sorry that it took so long for this meeting to occur, but I'm not, not anymore. I have already realized that you cannot help me, so I will not help your Rebellion."

Luke and Padme stood in the center of Zeven Obath's office inside Obath Incorporation while the man remained seated at his desk, a tortured yet steely gleam in his eyes. Luke kept his calm, as did his mother, whose face remained a perfect mask of diplomatic serenity.

"Mr. Obath, Kennex Teeb failed to provide us with the nature of the agreement between the two of you, which is why we're here today. We want to fulfill our end of the bargain, but we cannot do so if you do not tell us what the bargain was in the first place," she said calmly.

"He already failed, why should I believe that whoever else you send will be any more successful?" Obath argued.

"Because we are going to make sure we have the resources and means to complete the bargain. I assume that the reason Teeb failed was because he was not prepared for the nature of our end of the bargain, and we are going to do everything in our power to fulfill it. We ask nothing more than to know what the nature of your deal with Mr. Teeb was so that we can make necessary preparations. If it would be more pleasing for you, we can fulfill the Rebellion's end of the bargain and then we can sit down and discuss your end of the bargain."

Obath sighed, leaning back and studying Padme. "You are definitely a woman of words. I'm beginning to wonder why you even brought him with you, and the only explanation I can come up with is that he's your bodyguard."

Padme smiled faintly. "My companion here would be one of those doing whatever it is you require to assist the Rebellion. I am simply the diplomatic negotiator."

Obath nodded. "All right…if you can fulfil your end of the deal, I will open myself up to arrangements once more."

Padme nodded. "Thank you Mr. Obath. Now, if I may ask again, what is it that Mr. Teeb promised to do for you before he was imprisoned?"

"That's the thing: he was arrested while trying to break my wife and daughter out of prison and provide them with Rebellion protection. I will not assist the Rebellion so long as my family is at risk of being used against me as weapons of the Empire."