Chapter 20

Padme! She jolted awake, her heart pounding. "Anakin?" Pushing herself up to a sitting position on the reclining seat, she looked wildly around the apartment. It was dark, but she could see there was no one with her. "Anakin?" she called again. Hand to her heart, she tried to calm her breathing.

Dorme came running out of her room. "Padme? What's wrong? I heard you call out."

"Something's happened to Anakin, I can feel it!" she cried, running to the veranda. She looked toward the Jedi Temple where she could see some lights and activity there, but it was too far away to tell what it was. As she turned toward the Senate building, she felt a hard kick within her womb and she finally realized her baby had been kicking since she'd awakened. Holding herself, hoping Leia would calm down, she looked at the Senate building, letting her eyes travel up to the large transparisteel windows of the Supreme Chancellor's office. All appeared quiet there, but something wasn't quite right. The center window was very dark, except for a blue light faintly glowing low in one corner, as if someone had dropped a lamp there. It took her a few moments to realize that the window was the only one not reflecting the lights of the city.

"Look, Dorme," she said, pointing upward. "That center window, up in the Chancellor's office isn't there! It's been broken!" Both women stared briefly at the empty space, then at each other. "Come on," Padme said, hurrying to her room, "we're leaving!"

"Where are we going?" Dorme asked, following her. "To the Chancellor's office! Something is wrong there, I know it." She quickly threw on some clothes and a wrap while her friend did the same in her own room. They took the lift down to the main floor and hurried to the apartment complex entrance, passing by the surprised night security guard. Padme looked around for any sign of danger, then grabbed Dorme's hand and said, "Let's go, but be quiet."

The two women walked quickly over the short distance between the apartment complex and the Senate office building, entering through its main door. As a lift carried them to the top floor, Padme was almost hyperventilating; her friend put her arm around her and asked, "Are you all right, Padme?" "Yes, I'm just afraid. I know something is wrong," she replied, "I can feel it."

As they stepped out of the lift, they hurried to the Chancellor's office entrance and stopped. Dorme gasped as they saw two dead clone troopers lying off to the side. Padme shushed her and peered into the office entrance hallway. It was very dark, but the city lights illuminated some shapes at its end. Slowly and quietly they made their way through the hall, coming to a stop as they reached the opening to the office.

Dorme shrieked and then doubled over, staggering to the wall to hold herself up. Padme had seen dismembered bodies before, and though it was unsettling, she was not unnerved by the sight before her. She helped her friend to a chair and told her to keep her head down and breathe normally. Stepping around the bodies of the slain Jedi Masters, she crept by the desk toward the shattered window. The blue glow she had seen from her veranda was at the far end of the window; at first she couldn't quite make it out, but she could hear an uneven thrumming sound emanating from it. As she edged toward it, she recognized it as a lightsaber that had pierced a body through the chest and was leaning against the wall, holding the upper part of the body off the floor.

With a small gasp, she realized the body was that of Chancellor Palpatine. She reached toward the lightsaber to deactivate it, but stopped short. "It's Anakin's!" she whispered, recognizing its distinctive design. She searched the room with her eyes, but could see no one other than Dorme and the bodies she had already found. Then her gaze fell on a body lying on the floor near the far wall of the room. Her heart stopped; there was the black glove, the blond hair... She stumbled her way across the floor and fell to her knees beside him.

"Anakin! Anakin!" she screamed at him, looking for a response. Touching his face and left hand, she found them warm, but she could see no sign of his chest rising and falling. Dorme had heard her screams and managed to make her way to her. "Oh no, Padme! Is he alive?" she asked fearfully. Padme looked up at her and cried, "I don't know, his skin is warm, but he's not breathing!" She looked down again at the still form of her husband and said, "And look at his clothes, they're burned in places, and—and his skin is, too. What could have happened? Dorme, hurry and get an EMD here, right away!"

As Dorme ran to find an emergency medical droid, Padme touched Anakin's skin above his carotid artery searching for a pulse. She closed her eyes held her breath, waiting and waiting until finally her fingers felt a single beat. Keeping her fingers there, she waited for an eternity until another beat moved them.

Able to breathe once more, Padme lifted his head and laid it gently on her lap. She leaned over as well as she could and placed her cheek against his. "Anakin," she cried softly, "please don't die. Please come back to us. You—Oh no, your hair, your beautiful hair..." Tears falling from her eyes, she touched his hair, trying to smooth it where it had been singed by whatever had burned him. Sobbing quietly, she held his head tightly to her.

As the Tantive IV neared Obi-Wan Kenobi's starfighter, Bail Organa silently waited by Jedi Master Yoda. The wise old Jedi's eyes were closed in concern as he concentrated all his powers in his search within the Force.

"Senator," called Captain Antilles, "we have General Kenobi."

"Thank you, Captain," Organa answered quietly. He stood and made his way to the airlock. As the airlock door cycled, Obi-Wan entered the ship proper and greeted the Senator. "Senator Organa, I can't thank you enough for picking me up." They walked together toward the living quarters. "Do we know what exactly has happened? Why the clones turned on us?"

"No, not exactly," Organa answered. "I believe all of the Jedi, both out in the field and on Coruscant are being attacked by the clones. I was forbidden to enter the Jedi Temple, myself, by one of them. As I was about to leave, a young padawan boy attacked the troopers and was...killed by them," he said with a look of sorrow.

After a moment, Obi-Wan said, "This must have something to do with the Sith lord, although how he would be able to turn the army on us I cannot fathom."

As they neared one doorway, Senator Organa said, "Master Yoda is in here." He gestured Obi-Wan into the small room and followed him in. Yoda looked up at their approach.

"Obi-Wan, glad I am to see you," the old Master said. "Sit, please." Organa and Kenobi sat on the room's cot and waited. "From the Force, the darkness has gone. Noticed that, did you Obi-Wan?" he asked. Obi-Wan shook his head and replied, "No, Master Yoda. Not until now."

Yoda nodded. "Destroyed, the Sith lord is, I believe. Destroyed by the Chosen One," he said as he lowered his head. Obi-Wan and Organa looked at each other and waited for more. "On Kashyyyk, a great disturbance in the Force, I felt. Powerful, it was, and of light... It was the Chosen One."

Obi-Wan's heart quickened as he looked hard at the old Jedi. "What did it mean, Master Yoda?"

Yoda looked up at him and replied, "Uncertain, I am. But of one thing I am certain. In nine hundred years, never have I felt such power, not even from the dark side of the Force." His face took on a look of great sadness. "The dark side no longer clouds my vision, but find the Chosen One, I cannot."

Now Obi-Wan's heart stopped, pierced by a sadness and despair he had felt only once before.

Nestled in a white fog, at peace, content to be still, the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, was near the end of his life. No movement, no worries, no battles to be fought and won, this was good. He sighed in contentment. He felt no pain, no burning pain; in fact, he could not even remember why he expected to feel such a thing. Lying peacefully, he waited to be one with the Force.

Sounds intruded, faint sounds that pierced the soft cloud in which he lay, causing it to dissipate and give weight to his body. Revealed were two seated figures, a distance away from him, facing each other across a well-trodden path. Both were seated on the smooth planes of boulders unevenly lining the pathway. Irritated at the interruption, he raised himself to a sitting position and prepared to call out to the intruders. Then he saw that the person on the left was familiar; his hair was long and brown, shot with gray, pulled back on each side and clasped behind his head. He wore a brown cloak, which covered a light tan tunic pulled in by a wide belt from which hung several items Anakin couldn't make out. No name came to him, but the man was familiar.

He turned to look at the other man and he, too, was known to him but, again, he could remember no name. His hair was long as well, but not as long as the other man's, and it was blond and hung free in ringlets. His clothing was mostly black. They seemed to be friends as they were laughing and talking amiably, as far as he could tell, anyway.

Both of them stood as two more beings appeared between them and these two he did not know. They were a good bit shorter than the first two, one was female with long dark braided hair and the other was male with fairly short blond hair. They did not speak to the tall men, but stood facing Anakin without speaking. After a moment, the tall men also turned in his direction.

He blinked his eyes and started; the man with the long brown-gray hair now stood next to him with a gentle, kindly expression on his face. "I know you," Anakin said, turning his head to look at him. "Yes, you do," he replied. When the man said nothing more, Anakin groused, "Look, go away. All of you go away. I was very happy here until you came. Now, please leave so I can..." "Can what?" the man asked. Anakin looked at him thoughtfully, and then said, "Well, die, I guess. Yes, that's what I'm doing. Now, go away, all of you."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He waved his hand at the others, who were still watching Anakin. "They will be leaving soon, after you have come far enough back."

"Back? Back from where? To where?" Anakin asked.

"Back to your life, my young friend."

Anakin lowered his head and asked, plaintively, "Do I have to? It's so nice here, so calm and peaceful, I'd like to stay here."

"I understand," the tall man answered. "It is a good place. But you haven't finished, yet."

Anakin looked up at him and asked, "Finished what?"

"All the parts of your life. Many people still need you, you and your gifts. Here are two of them, now," the tall man said, gesturing toward the young man and woman who now stood smiling before Anakin. The young man stepped forward and hugged him, saying only, "Father." He stepped back and the young woman did the same.

Anakin's eyes became moist as he stood and put his arms around them. "My children," he said wonderingly. "Leia," he murmured, gazing down at her, "and, Luke." He nodded to his son and smiled. As he was about to speak to the tall man, he noticed that the man in black was gone. He began to understand why.

He turned to the tall man and said, "Qui-Gon, now I know you. You are Qui-Gon Jinn. Are you here to show me the way back? What about—?" He looked toward his children and saw they were now gone. His face saddened. Turning back, he said, " I want to go back, Qui-Gon. I want to be with my children...and Padme."

"Yes, Anakin," Qui-Gon said, quietly. "Lie here and sleep." The cloud had closed around them again. Anakin lay down and closed his eyes. "What do I have to do?" he asked, sleepily. "Nothing," Qui-Gon answered. "I will repair the internal damage done to your body, and restore your life energy with mine."

"With yours? But—won't you die if you do that?" Qui-Gon laughed softly, and said, "I have already died, Anakin, don't you remember?" He paused, and then continued, "But yes, I will be diminished here, in the afterlife of the Force."

"No, you can't" Anakin protested faintly. "Do not worry, my friend. I will always be with you," Anakin heard him say as he drifted off.

Padme held her husband tightly to her breast, stroking his hair and his face, crying softly. "Anakin...my love...Anakin..." She repeated his name softly, over and over. Abruptly, she straightened, hearing a loud gasp as Anakin began to breathe deeply. Her own breathing stopped as she watched his eyes open and focus on her. "Padme?" came hoarsely from his lips as he struggled to speak. He raised his hand to her cheek; she took it in hers and squeezed it tightly.

"Anakin," she whispered, tears sliding down her face.

"Why... Why are you here?" he asked softly, looking into her eyes. "How did you know?"

"I heard you call to me," she replied, smiling at him through her tears.

His peaceful look gradually disappeared, replaced by one of apprehension. He started to rise. "No!" she exclaimed, pushing him back down. "Anakin, don't get up, you're hurt!"

He took one of her hands and said, "I'm fine, Padme, just a little sore and...slightly singed." He rose to his feet and helped her up. He held her for a moment, then took her arms and said to her, "Padme, who becomes the leader of the Republic when the Chancellor dies?"

"One of the senior Senators, I believe. Why, Anakin?" she asked, searching his face.

"Palpatine activated an order he had installed into the clones to the clone commanders to eliminate the Jedi. He said the clones would take orders only from the leader of the Republic." She looked at him in shock. "We have to get someone to rescind that order! Can one of the Senators do that?"

She thought quickly. "Well, I suppose the most senior Senator we can reach would be able to take temporary leadership."

"Can you find one who isn't close to the Chancellor?"

"Yes!" she said, decisively. "I'll contact Bail Organa." She went to the Chancellor's desk and entered Bail Organa's personal comm code; she waited for an answer. Anakin walked over to the Chancellor's body, reached down and deactivated his lightsaber. He watched coldly as the blue blade retracted into its hilt, and the body fell to the floor. Offhandedly, he noticed the body had not disappeared and he smiled.

Footsteps sounded in the entrance hallway. Anakin stepped forward, his saber activated. "Padme?" Dorme asked as she entered the office, followed closely by an emergency medical droid. The droid scanned the room, and then looked down at the dismembered bodies of the Jedi Masters. "I cannot help these people," it announced. "You should have called for a medical examiner droid."

Padme had to smile a little, as Anakin dropped his head, shaking it. "Brilliant," he muttered.

"Bail?" Padme cried, as the Senator answered her call. "We need your help right away."

"Of course, Padme," Bail replied. "What can I do?"

"The Chancellor is dead. He gave an order to the clone commanders to kill all the Jedi."

"Yes, I know," he said, angrily. "Masters Yoda and Kenobi managed to get away and are with me on the Tantive IV." Hearing this, Anakin closed his eyes in relief and sighed heavily.

"Anakin says the commanders will take orders only from the leader of the Republic," Padme said quickly. "We need you to take over the leadership and rescind Palpatine's order."

"Order 66!" Anakin interjected.

"Order 66, Bail," she said, looking at her husband. "Can you do that, Bail?"

After a short pause, he answered, "Yes, let me contact the commanders on their frequency. I'll explain it to them and then I'll get back to you."

Anakin stepped over and said into the comm, "Contact us on my link, Senator. We're on our way to the Temple."

"Affirmative, I will contact you on your comm link, Anakin," Bail said, signing off.

Anakin turned to the ladies. "You two come with me. It's not safe to leave you here without knowing the status of the clone army. I'll feel better if I can protect you, at least." The three of them left the office, heading for the senate garage and Anakin's speeder.