CHAPTER XXXVI
Run
Jaina stumbled forwards, barely aware of her surroundings. Her hands felt the smooth sides of the passage's walls, guiding her down the steps until it leveled out and she could run freely without fear of tripping down a flight of stairs. Bail ran behind her, trying to keep up with the desperate pace she was setting, calling her name and demanding to know if she was all right. Jaina couldn't answer; her throat was constricted, she couldn't vocalize a sound, let alone words.
The sound of her boots pattering on the floor made a dulled, rapid pattering noise as she attempted to run, lurching along the passage as fast as she could, trying to blot out the growing pain in her chest. She tried to get control of the whirling thoughts in her mind, but only one thought stayed clear: her mother was in danger, so much danger that there was a possibility that she could die.
If Leia died right here, right now on Alderaan, Jaina would die with her.
Palpatine evidently knew the best way to get rid of an interfering Jedi from the future: kill the Jedi's mother.
Leia was on the Tantive IV. Jaina didn't even know where she was; somewhere in the palace, but she could not even begin to try to figure out a route from her current position to the ship when she was trapped in a dark, secret passageway. Yet, if she didn't get to her infant mother before the clones did, Leia would most likely die. Jaina could feel it in her gut – she would not be in this much pain, sensing the twins' anguish through her connection to them in the Force, if that possibility was not adamantly true.
"Jaina!" Bail called. "Wait!"
Jaina barely heard him. She continued along at her pace, her thoughts focused on one thing only: getting to the Tantive IV. She rounded a tight corner in the passage and tripped on her own feet, falling forwards and skidding along the floor on her knees for a few feet. Wincing in pain, Jaina clasped a hand to her forehead, trying to concentrate on forcing the pain away. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily, and reached out to the Force.
It was as if a window in her mind had suddenly burst open – she felt the presences of Leia and Luke as clearly as if she was beside them. Indeed, for a brief moment, she could see them, lying helpless in their cradles in Padmé's room. For the smallest of moments, Jaina thought she could hear them crying, accompanied by the sound of the clone troopers attempting to break into the room. She felt a panicked plea for help calling out to her and then the window closed and the twins' minds drew away.
"What's wrong with her? What happened?"
"I don't know, she just turned around the corner—"
"Let me by, Anakin!"
"No, wait! Just hold on a second—!"
"Bail, do you know what happened?"
Voices. They made Jaina's head hurt; she knew who was talking, but she couldn't distinguish one friend's voice from another. She clenched her teeth and gathered her strength, pulling herself upright. Her eyes were still held tightly shut.
"Bail…" She breathed deeply, but even that action was painful. "What… quickest way to Tantive IV?!" She gasped the words out and lurched to the side, colliding with a wall.
"Jaina," Bail said as calmly as he could, "there is a legion of clone troopers out there. If can't get back to the Tantive IV—"
"Where?!" Jaina choked out, cutting him off. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around the tight passage at the faces of her companions. Every one of them looked confused and concerned. Jaina locked eyes with Kyp; there was a look of dawning comprehension of his face.
"Jaina," he breathed. "Tell me that's not happening. Please."
She clenched her fists and wiped sweat off her brow. "…It… is."
"Shavit," Kyp swore under his breath. He turned to Bail and spoke quickly. "Senator, is there another exit out of the passage? One close to where the Tantive IV is docked?"
"Yes," Bail said. "There a hidden door about five hundred meters down from where we are. It leads out into the galleries on the first floor of the palace. It's close to the docking bay."
"Right," Kyp said. He stepped over to Jaina and put one of her arms over his shoulders; he began to half-carry, half-lead her down the passage. "We have to get back to the Tantive IV."
"But what's wrong with her?" Anakin exclaimed.
Before anyone could say anything else, Jaina had already made up her mind. Reaching out with the Force, she cleared her thoughts and focused on her sole objective: to rescue her infant mother and uncle. Shrugging off Kyp's support, she sprinted off down the tight corridor, fumbling with her lightsaber in an attempt to unclip it from her belt. The others watched her go for a moment, blankly astonished by her sudden newfound strength, and then shouted her name and chased after her.
Jaina barely noticed them.
She skidded to a halt at the exact spot Bail had mentioned. There was a hidden door in the wall; she could just make out the activation button. She was just about to palm it open when Padmé ran towards her and caught her arm.
"Jaina," she said rapidly, "what are you doing?!"
"Luke and Leia are in danger," Jaina hissed. It was all she had the breath to say. The pain was bubbling up inside her now and it was taking all her concentration and strength to keep it at bay. She saw Padmé's face pale in the dark of the passage before she palmed the door open.
Light flooded the passage; Jaina winced and stumbled out into the gallery. She ignited her lightsaber and ran. Dimly, she heard the others call her name, but she didn't turn and acknowledge them. There were clones on this level. They saw her running; they heard the humming of her lightsaber and opened fire.
Jaina disappeared into barrage of blaster fire.
"Jaina!" Padmé yelled, starting forwards and detaching a small, compact blaster from her belt. The clones heard her shout, and half of them turned towards the small opening in the wall.
"There they are!"
"Fire!"
Padmé threw herself to one side as the blaster bolts flew towards them. Anakin and Kyp, who had been standing directly behind her, withdrew to either side of the door. The blaster bolts flew through the opening and hit the narrow passageway's wall. Anakin hissed, igniting his lightsaber and leaping around the door, battering away blaster bolts. He saw Padmé dart across the floor of the gallery, jumping behind a tall column just in time to avoid being hit.
"Padmé!" His yell was strangled, engulfed by the sound of blaster fire. He darted forwards, only to have to jump back as a blaster bolt impacted the floor where he had been standing moments before.
"Anakin!"
Suddenly, everything was all lightsabers and blaster fire. Every clone in the gallery opened fire on them; the barrage was endless. Bolts flew in every direction, flying towards them, bouncing off a lightsaber blade, and then returning. Anakin dove at the floor, rolled over to avoid getting hit and then sprang to his feet once more. He looked around wildly; he couldn't see Padmé or Jaina. They had disappeared.
"Ouch!"
Anakin stumbled forwards, looking down at his leg where a blast had grazed the skin. He winced, trying to ignore the pain, and limped towards where the others were engaged in a furious fight to prevent being slaughtered by blaster bolts.
"Anakin," Bail shouted, "we can't stay! We're not going to make it through!"
Already, they were being forced to retreat backwards into the passage. Anakin caught sight of Yoda, his green lightsaber swinging rapidly to deflect the bolts aimed at him; then he saw the rest of the gallery. It was filled with clones, and more were arriving each second. There was only one way out – back into the passage.
But Padmé was still out there.
"I can't!" he shouted back. "I have to find Padmé!"
"Anakin," Obi-Wan yelled, "now!"
In a confused tangle of minutes where he lost track of what was happening, Anakin suddenly found himself back inside the passageway. Bail palmed the door closed, locking and sealing it. Anakin leaned against the wall, staring at the door in horror.
"Padmé's still out there," he hissed.
"So is Jaina," Kyp growled, "in case you've forgotten." He was panting and looked thoroughly worn out.
Anakin clenched his fists. "Let me back out there!"
"You'll die!" Bail snapped. "Even for a Jedi such as yourself, you would never be able to make it through when you're wounded like that!"
Anakin glared at him for a moment, knowing that what the Senator said was true, but he wanted to prove him wrong anyhow. Instead of speaking, Anakin examined at the wound on his leg. It was ugly and bleeding profusely, but it was not deep. At any rate, there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment.
"One choice, we have," Yoda said. The Jedi Master, too, looked tired. "Continue on, we must."
"And what about Padmé?" Anakin hissed.
"They're all right for now," Obi-Wan said quietly. "I believe we distracted the clones long enough for them to slip away."
"How do you know that?" Anakin snapped.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Anakin," he said firmly, "Jaina and Padmé can both take care of themselves. Besides, I'm sure if something… bad… had happened to them, you would have sensed it. Correct?"
Anakin growled, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he carefully put his weight back on to his injured leg, wincing, and limped off down the passage. "Come on," he said, his voice low. "The sooner we get out of this thing, the better. How much farther to go, Bail?"
"Not far," the Senator replied, speeding up his space. He took the lead, and began to run down the dark passageway, the others not far behind him.
When Padmé reached the end of the gallery, she glanced over her shoulder and felt a slight panic as she saw Anakin dive out of the way of the blaster bolts the clones were firing. Lightsabers ignited, batting away the worst of the barrage, but soon her friends were engulfed in light and sound. There was no going back from here; now that she was out of the passage, Padmé would have to go on to the Tantive IV – there was no way she would be able to reach the passage again.
Anakin will be fine, she told herself firmly as she gripped her blaster and ran out of the gallery. The next hall was empty; it wasn't too far from here to the docking bay. Padmé took a deep breath and began to sprint down the hall. She was almost at the end when she heard the sound of thundering feet drawing nearer and nearer every second. Skidding to a halt, she turned and dove behind the nearest column, crouching low to the floor as what must have been a full regiment of clones marched through the hall, heading towards the gallery at top speed.
Padmé waited for them to pass, her heart beating frantically in her chest, her hand gripping her blaster even tighter. Oh, please, Anakin, she prayed softly to herself, get out of there. She shouldn't have left him there; he was stubborn, he would insist on fighting until the end until he found her. He could end up getting himself killed – and yet, Padmé knew that she had had to leave. She had made that split second decision, because after hearing Jaina's frantic words, she knew in her heart that her children were in terrible danger. She could sense it.
She waited, barely daring to breath, keeping as still as possible. Her muscles were cramped, but she didn't dare move from her spot. No one had noticed her yet. If she moved, they would see her –
A small movement caught her eye. Padmé spared a quick glance to her left and saw Jaina, her face pale, crouching behind a nearby large, decorative statue. The Jedi's lightsaber was inactive, though she clutched it tightly in her hand. She was trembling, her eyes shut, her mouth moving rapidly as she spoke silently to herself. Jaina's eyes snapped open for a moment and she looked wildly around at Padmé. She nodded briefly in the direction of a small archway close to where they were.
Padmé glanced at the regiment of clone troopers marching down the hall. They were distracted, thinking only of their assault on the gallery… if they moved fast enough, perhaps the clones would not notice. Padmé caught Jaina's eye and nodded. Biting her lower lip, the Senator cast one more look at the marching clones before she darted, crouching close to the ground, to the next column and hid in its shadow. Up ahead, Jaina darted into the darkness beyond the arch, disappearing from view. Padmé took a deep breath and lunged several feet down the hall to the next column.
Please, she thought, keeping low to the ground, please, just go on… Don't look around.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as the clones continued their endless march. Padmé glanced around at the archway one more time – she was only a few feet away. She could make it. Steeling herself, she slowly turned her back to the column and darted across to the archway. She ducked through into the dark corridor and immediately felt someone grab her hand and pull her aside, out of view from the hall.
Padmé forced herself not to yell in surprise.
"Jaina?" she breathed.
"…let's go," the Jedi whispered back, stumbling forwards as she moved down the corridor. Padmé followed as quickly as possible. They were so close to the docking bay now; they could make it in time.
The corridor was deserted, and soon they came to a flight of stairs. Jaina was still in the lead; she grasped hold of the railing and used it to aid her ascent. She was breathing hard, her face covered with sweat and contorted with pain. Padmé could not understand the reason behind her sudden ailment – what could have possibly caused it? Did it have something to do with time travel?
Or had something happened back in Breha's apartment?
Suddenly, the Jedi let out a gasp and collapsed on the stairs.
"Jaina!"
Padmé rushed forwards and caught hold of her friend's arm. She knelt on the stairs next to her, anxiously peering at her face. Her eyes were closed.
"Jaina!" Padmé called worriedly. "Jaina, can you hear me?"
The Jedi's lips were moving slowly. Her breath was uneven. "…it's getting worse," she mumbled. "Leia… Luke—"
Padmé froze, feeling her throat constrict with fear.
"You know what's happening to them?" she asked.
Jaina's eyes opened. "…hurry," she murmured, grabbing the railing and pulling herself upright. Then she continued on, using the rail as support, running to the top of the stairs as fast as she could. Padmé ran along beside her, her thoughts anxiously going over every possible scenario in her mind. Her children were in danger, and somehow they were linked to Jaina. How, she didn't know – yet. Through some trick of the Force, the twins were as much a part of Jaina as she was of them. Padmé had seen it before on the Tantive IV, right after they had been born.
And unless some outer force was influencing Jaina, that link was somehow slowly torturing her to death. Padmé pursed her lips as she ran; what did it mean? She couldn't think clearly. There was something she was missing, some fact she had overlooked.
At the moment, however, that did not matter. All that mattered now were her children. Jaina said they were in danger, and Padmé did not doubt it.
How much time had gone by, Padmé could not even begin to hazard a guess. The two women ran – Jaina lurching along at as rapid a pace she could manage, Padmé helping her – running towards the docking bay. When they plunged through the final doorway, neither of them even stopped to consider the forces they would have to face guarding the Tantive IV. Padmé merely tightened her grip on her blaster and Jaina ignited her lightsaber.
Together, they entered the docking bay.
To their surprise, there was no one there. The ships lay silently, as if they were abandoned.
Padmé drew up short. "What's going on?"
"There!" Jaina hissed, pointing at the lowered ramp of the Tantive IV. She ran off towards the ship, her lightsaber casting a violet glow around her. Padmé sprinted after her; they arrived at the base of the ramp at the same time, and darted up it into the ship.
It was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
"What's going on?" Padmé breathed, looking around. We can't have been too late! she thought desperately. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the sound of blaster fired echoed down from one of the corridors. Padmé glanced wildly at Jaina, who barely looked at her as she darted off down the hall again.
After several twists and turns in the corridors, it became obvious what exactly was happening: the clones had boarded the Tantive IV, and now Captain Antilles and his crew were doing their best to keep them at bay. At each junction, stray bolts ricocheted off the walls from the battles raging in the halls. Jaina deflected a few out of the way, but never broke her stride as she continued running. Padmé knew exactly where they were going – her quarters were not too far away now, and the twins…
She forced herself not to think about the possibilities.
At that moment, Padmé and Jaina simultaneously skidded to a stop in front of the door to Padmé and Anakin's room. Jaina hurriedly palmed the door open and threw herself through the doorway, her lightsaber raised.
A blaster bolt flew by her head; Padmé ducked to avoid being hit as she, too, entered the room.
One look was all she needed – and it was all the time she had for.
There were three clones in the room, and another one lying dead on the floor. Bail's aide, Sheltay Retrac, was standing in front of the twins' cradles, a blaster in one hand. She had a cut lip, but she stared down at her attackers with her head held high. The bodies of two of the crew lay limply on the floor at her feet, having given their lives in an attempt to protect her and the twins.
Padmé raised her blaster and fired at the backs of the clone troopers just as Jaina lunged at them. Time seemed to speed up; Padmé could barely catch what had happened before there was a flash of violet light and the clones fell dead on the floor. Jaina drew back, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and deactivated her lightsaber. Padmé slowly lowered her hand and looked at Sheltay.
"Luke?" she asked. "Leia?"
Bail's aide set her blaster aside. "They're safe," she said, stepping away from the cradles.
Padmé dropped her blaster and rushed forwards, relief washing over her as she reached her son and daughter. Neither of them were crying, much to her surprise. Luke looked up at her calmly, his blue eyes bright with some sort of understanding. He briefly brushed her hand with his and then fell back asleep. Padmé picked up Leia, who uttered a soft cry, and held her daughter close.
Turning around, Padmé looked at Jaina, who was straightening. Colour was returning to her face and she looked stronger than she had been several moments before.
"Are you all right?" Padmé asked.
"Yes," Jaina said, her eyes briefly glancing at Luke and Leia. "I'm fine now." She gripped her lightsaber hilt tightly. "Listen, Padmé," she said, "there are still clones onboard. How many, I don't know, but you have to stay here with the twins, just incase any of them come back. I have to go help the crew. And after that—" Jaina took a deep breath – "I'm going back to find Kyp and the others."
"What?" Padmé exclaimed. "But you can't! You'll get caught –"
"We didn't get caught coming here," Jaina interrupted, her voice flat. "I have to do this, Padmé. I have to get back to them." She made to leave the room, but Padmé caught her arm.
"Jaina," Padmé said, "don't do this. They're coming back; they'll meet up with us."
Jaina shook her head. "Luke and Leia are safe," she said. "And I'm fine now. I have to make sure Anakin is as well." She turned and made to leave the room. She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder. "Stay on board, Padmé," she said. "Please." She smiled tightly before disappearing around the corner.
Padmé held her daughter tight, staring at the spot Jaina had just left. She frowned, her thoughts whirling as her mind tried to process the reasons Jaina was acting the way she was. Her overwhelming anxiety for the twins had gone past normal concern, which Padmé had found very odd. Jaina had formed a strong bond with the twins after their birth, one that was very close to the bond Padmé herself had with the children. On top of that, Jaina had somehow sensed through the Force that the twins were in life-threatening danger when Anakin himself hadn't sensed it.
What was going on? The mystery behind the strange Jedi had just become deeper, yet Padmé felt that she was closer to finding out the truth than ever before. She briefly absentmindedly recalled the conversation she had had with Jaina about her home and family.
"Oh," Padmé breathed.
"What is it?" Sheltay asked.
Padmé glanced down at her infant daughter, who was now sleeping soundly in her arms, and looked at Sheltay.
"I think," Padmé said slowly, "everything is starting to make sense now."
Time travel.
Fifty years from the future.
Jedi Knight.
An inconceivably strong bond with the twins. A physical similarity to Padmé herself, a similar personality to Anakin's—
How did she not see it before? Padmé could only feel shock, accompanied by a strange sense of wonder. She swallowed hard.
Oh, great spirits… She's my granddaughter.