Author Note: I'm delving into Rebels territory here, I believe. I haven't seen Rebels. I haven't seen the Clone Wars. I'm sure I've got things WRONG in spots. Forgive me. It's an AU. (And I don't think I will watch those shows. Life is super busy and I am just not making time.)
Imperial Holonet Station
Imperial City
Imperial Center
Relinka Spetzv, dressed in unaccustomed black, with her hair a sober dark hue, her eyes artfully reddened via eye irritant, faced the camera.
"Citizens of the galaxy," she said with a dramatic shake in her voice, "today is truly a sorrowful day. Today, we laid to rest our great and noble Emperor, Sheev Palpatine. We will shortly show excerpts of the Emperor's funeral ceremony, but for now, we have an important news bulletin. You will see, in a moment, the holos of three individuals who are believed to have carried out the cruel, wicked, traitorous assassination of our beloved monarch. Their true names are unknown, as well as how they gained access to a most elite celebration at the palace. It is vital that anyone with information as to the identity and location of these individuals contact the Imperial Security Bureau immediately. They are suspected Rebels, and extremely dangerous. If you have any direct contact with them, do not attempt to interact with them directly. Alert Imperial security forces immediately."
Relinka waited a minute as the holos showed on screen, then turned to her co-host Cray Shifton, who was also dressed in sober hues, "Cray?"
Shifton nodded to the holocam and began his spiel about the Emperor's funeral, even as Relinka slipped out of the studio and into the nearest refresher.
She quickly scrubbed the irritant out of her eyes and scowled at her hair. Black. So boring.
But she likely had more serious problems to worry about than hair color. She had not been devoted to Emperor Palpatine; the truth was, he creeped her out. But life on Imperial Center had been moderately stable during his reign. Now Imperial Grand Vizier Sate Pestage was the nominal temporary head of the government, but Security Chief Ysanne Isard and Ars Dangor were hovering in the wings. As for the admirals of the Imperial Navy? No one knew quite what they would do, whom they would support. And what was Vader up to? Relinka had made it a life goal to avoid the black cyborg and had welcomed his disappearance from Imperial life, even if it meant he had rebelled against the Emperor. She didn't much care what was happening on the Outer Rim. But with Palpatine dead, would Vader rain death down on Imperial City in the process of taking over the planet?
She didn't know.
With a sigh, she reached into a small, concealed pocket in her outfit and pulled out a small flask of Shesharilian vodka. On a day like this, a girl needed her a little muscle relaxer.
/-
Ysanne Isard's office
Isard's mansion
Imperial City
Imperial Center
Ysanne Isard was pacing, her rage so intense it required physical expression.
"Those Hands," she spit out, "when I catch them ..."
"If you catch them," Ars Dangor responded.
The Imperial Advisor was standing at a window, his hands clasped behind him, but now he turned to face Isard.
"If we don't find the assassins soon, we may wish to find prisoners who can be made up to look like them and publicly execute them. It will not be good for public morale if the search goes on too long. And even if they are on planet, there are billions of sentients here ..."
She spun on her heel and glared, "We will find them, Dangor. And we will execute them publicly, painfully, and with maximum humiliation. Is that clear?"
Dangor gazed at her, his face blank, then nodded, "Of course."
She gestured irritably for him to leave, and he did so, thinking furiously.
Isard was clearly unstable. Dangor had idolized and served Emperor Palpatine, but the man was dead. It was regrettable – no, not regrettable – devastating. But in these uncertain times, it was vital to keep a clear head and a cool eye.
He'd have to develop some new allies in case Isard proved a broken reed.
/-
Shuttle Bay #4
The Chimaera
In Orbit around Tatooine
Two weeks later
"Lord Vader, Padme Dalam welcome to the Chimaera," Admiral Thrawn said courteously, with a slight bow.
"Admiral Thrawn," Vader said coldly, "before we begin any discussion of future joint military and diplomatic efforts, I warn you that any attempt to capture or harm my family or me will result in your destruction. I trust that is clear?"
Padme observed a captain behind the admiral grow noticeably pale, but the Chiss kept his face studiously neutral as he gazed up into the black mask for a long moment.
"Certainly, Lord Vader," he finally said. "Our past interactions have had their share of complications, and neither of us trusts the other. However, I appreciate your willingness to meet me here. Given the recent assassination of the Emperor and your wife's knowledge of the needs of the Chiss Ascendancy, I believe we can work in a mutually beneficial manner."
Vader's vocoder spit out a noise that might have been a grunt, even as Padme stepped forward with a diplomatic smile.
"Admiral Thrawn, I'm Padme Dalam."
"Your Highness," the Chiss said deliberately.
She chuckled aloud, "The days of my queenship are long past, Admiral. Those were interesting days, but this day is equally interesting, is it not? Have you made contact with Jabba the Hutt, Admiral?"
The blue lips turned up slightly, "Thus far, all interactions have been through intermediaries. He displays a curious combination of arrogance and concern at the presence of the Chimaera, and now the Devastator, in Tatooine's orbit."
"The Hutts tend toward arrogance," Vader rumbled, even as the small group walked out of the landing bay and toward and elevator.
"I find them a somewhat challenging species," Thrawn admitted, "as their artistic endeavors are most limited ..."
"The Hutts," Vader interrupted firmly, "have the artistic sense of a garbage dwelling mound mite."
Thrawn chuckled, "Indeed, I fear you are correct, Lord Vader."
"So, Admiral Thrawn," Padme said courteously as they stepped onto an elevator, "have you studied the artistic traditions of Nabooian royalty?"
The Chiss turned to face the small woman, and this time his smile seemed more genuine, "Indeed I have."
"Then we will have something to chat about once we finish with the military talk," she responded lightly.
/-
An unknown rendezvous point
Deep space
Ahsoka Tano took a deep breath as the door slid open between the Ghost and the dilapidated YT-1300 freighter with the rather grandiose name of the Millennium Falcon.
The man waiting for her behind the door was old. Incredibly old. Had she aged so much?
"My dear Ahsoka," Kenobi said unnervingly, "you are as radiant as you've ever been, though a good deal taller. I'm afraid life has worn me out. Six or seven years on Tatooine did dastardly things to my complexion."
She winced (was she shielding her thoughts so poorly?), smiled rather tremulously, then stepped forward to envelop the old man in a hug, "I've missed you, Obi-Wan."
"And I've missed you too."
There was a long moment between the old friends and colleagues, and then Kenobi stepped away from Tano.
"Perhaps we can come into the Ghost? I have a couple of people I want to introduce to you," he said.
Ahsoka nodded even as her eyebrows lifted curiously. She recognized one of the young people at Kenobi's heels – the princess of Alderaan, Leia Organa. Beside her was as young man, with dark blond hair, and a face that reminded her of ...
But no, she would not think of him.
Ahsoka led the small group into a nearby room and gestured to the group to sit down, even as she lowered herself onto a comfortable, if rather elderly, seat.
Kenobi and the young people also sat down, and for a moment there was silence.
Finally, Obi-Wan leaned forward, his hands clasped, and stared straight into Ahsoka's blue eyes, "Ahsoka, this is ... this is hard to ask, but do you ... do you know what happened to Anakin?"
The Togruta bit her lip, hard, then nodded, "Darth Vader and I met, and fought, on Malachor, yes. I know – that he is my former master."
Her eyes grew bright with tears, and she swallowed convulsively, "I tried to bring him back ..."
"He is back now," Kenobi said gently, "or at least he is moving back into the Light every day."
The female nodded, her montrals swinging, "I have sensed a great shift in toward the Light, not just because of Palpatine's most welcome death. But what happened?"
Obi-Wan sighed even as he ran his hand over his beard, "Padme happened."
Tano's eyes widened, "Padme? The Senator?"
"Indeed," the old man replied, then stood up as if he couldn't manage sitting.
"Anakin and Padme were married, Ahsoka, secretly, at the very beginning of the Clone Wars."
She stood up as well, her face frozen in shock, "Married? I ... always knew they cared for one another ..."
"Married, yes. And then Anakin had dreams of Padme's death in childbirth, and Palpatine preyed on his fears, and Anakin turned to the Dark Side and became Vader ..."
"Childbirth!" Ahsoka squeaked. "There was a child?"
"Two children, and they are here beside us. Ahsoka, Princess Leia Organa and Luke Dalam, the twin children of Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, and Padme Naberrie Skywalker, now known as Padme Dalam."
She gaped incredulously, even as both twins stood up and stepped forward, extending hands of friendship.
When she could speak, she spoke through tears, "Luke, you are the very image of Anakin, and Leia, of Padme. This is truly ..."
"Amazing?" Leia asked with a smile. "It is indeed, Lady Tano. Or Fulcrum, as you are known in the Alliance."
The former padawan narrowed her eyes and nodded, "Bail told you?"
"Yes."
Luke spoke briskly now, "We have limited time and would like to discuss strategy. My mother has long held out for a slow march towards the Core with more focus on the Outer and Mid Rim worlds where the Empire's grip is looser. But with Palpatine's death, there is a power vacuum. Perhaps the time has come to take Imperial Center ..."
Ahsoka's eyes had been switching between the faces of the twins, but now she shifted her gaze to Kenobi.
"And do you think ...?"
The old Jedi nodded, "Yes, I believe the time has indeed come to destroy the Empire from its center."
/-
Padme's suite
The Devastator
8 hours later
Vader courteously rung the door chime on his wife's quarters and waited patiently.
He sensed her approach and a moment later the door slid open to reveal her lovely, if exasperated, face.
"Anakin, I told you to just come in when you want!" she said indignantly.
"And you, my love, should always check before you open the door. Did you?"
"Of course I did," she stated with an irascible glance towards a holoterminal which currently showed the view outside her door. "Do come in. I'm almost done with breakfast and then we can talk Thrawn."
"Must we?" her husband inquired in a voice that was quite piteous through the vocoder.
"Interesting individual," Padme returned with a thoughtful look on her face, even as she wandered out into the kitchen.
"He's brilliant!" she called back. "With a very different view of the galaxy than most individuals. I haven't figured him out completely yet."
She rejoined Vader in the main living area. He was looking around with contentment. What had once been a banal, if well furnished, apartment now had various decorations and even a few holos of various Naberrie and Organa and Dalam family members on display. It was a peaceful place.
"Would you like some blue milk pudding, Anakin?" Padme inquired deliberately. "Luke's gotten me all excited about it. It's very good."
He stared at his wife in dismay, "I ... I cannot eat normally ..."
"I know you can't eat quite normally yet, Ani," she responded drily. "I've been talking to the Kaminoans frequently and I'm aware that shaak steaks aren't on the menu for you yet. But you can see, you can hear, you can breathe quite well without that wretched mask. And Sheko Ta says you can have blue milk. So take that off and eat some blue milk pudding. Now."
He hesitated, the desire to see his wife with his own eyes warring with his shame at his appearance.
"I am ... am a monster, Padme," he finally said.
She stepped closer to him and lifted her face, "No, Anakin. When you were young and whole and strong and you murdered the younglings in the Jedi Temple, and choked me on Mustafar, you were a monster. Now you are my beloved Ani, back from the dead. Stop hiding."
There was another long pause, and then Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, reached up to lift his mask off his head.
/-
The Ghost
"Commander Rex!" Kenobi said with a mixture of delight and surprise. "This is truly amazing."
The old clone held out his hand, "General, it's a delight to see you. I am so glad you survived the Purge."
"Indeed," Kenobi said, his eyes distant as he remembered that terrible day.
"Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, please meet Hera Syndulla, the leader of this cell."
"Madama Syndulla," Leia said, stepping forward toward the Twi'lek woman, "my father Bail has spoken of you. This is an honor. I am somewhat aware of your father's fight to free Ryloth and we believe the time is truly near when Ryloth will be free ..."
She broke off as her brother suddenly paled in horror and began making gagging noises.
"Luke, Luke!" she said worriedly. "What's wrong?"
Her brother's blue eyes were wide with horror, "Leia ... they ... they are kissing. They were just eating blue milk pudding and Father was all happy about that and I understand that, 'cause blue milk pudding is great, but now they are kissing! Oh no, I ... how do I shield from this? Leia, you gotta help me."
Kenobi and Ahsoka and Rex all withdrew into the corridor as Leia assisted her horrified twin.
"He could use a good kiss," Obi-Wan said firmly.