Chapter 53
Anakin found himself restless in the night. He had so much going on in his mind that sleep was evasive and sporadic. The confrontation with his former master weighed heavily upon him; not because he had any doubts about his course of action, but rather because the thought of facing Palpatine again bothered him tremendously. How will I keep my anger under control when I confront him? How can I keep my hatred for him from betraying me? He wrestled with these thoughts as he lay with his wife nestled up against him. The thought of Palpatine harming his family filled Anakin with rage. But this rage is different, this rage is not borne of the dark side, this is merely me protecting my family.
Anakin was close to sleep when he felt a tremor in the Force; no, it was not a tremor, it was an invasion. Sidious is trying to contact me…he wants to see my thoughts. Anakin slammed up his mental guards at once, preventing the evil Sith Lord from accessing his inner thoughts. You will not win this time, Sidious, he told him. You have no idea what you have unleashed upon yourself with your lies and your betrayal, old man, he told his former master. I have been remade, I am whole and fully human now…your feeble skills are no match for me now old man. So prepare yourself, because you won't even see it coming. He ended the psychic communication abruptly, pushing all thoughts of the Sith from his mind as he put an arm around his wife and drifted off to sleep.
Somewhere on the other side of the galaxy, the galactic Emperor sat bolt upright in his throne, as though starting from a nightmare. His withered, empty heart was pounding so violently in his chest that he feared it would burst; his pasty skin was bathed in sweat.
"Sire, are you alright?" one of the royal guards asked as they tentatively approached the throne.
Palpatine stared ahead of him, his yellow eyes looking at nothing in particular as he tried to control the shaking he felt in his ancient limbs. He felt something in the Force, he heard the challenge of his former apprentice, and, for the first time in a very long time, he was afraid. Anakin Skywalker is alive….and he means to kill me…Palpatine thought, trembling in mortal fear. He knows my weaknesses, he knows everything about me…how will I possibly defeat him?
"Sire?"
Palpatine finally turned his attention to the guard. "I want an entire squadron of clones sent to each quadrant in the galaxy," he said. "Anakin Skywalker is alive, and I want him and that bitch he's married to delivered to me personally," he said, trying to sound masterful. He was grateful that the deep hood he wore prevented the guard from seeing his eyes, for he was certain that the red robed sentinel would be shocked to see the fear in them. "Now!" he barked.
"At once!"
"Can I have more pancakes please, Mommy?" Luke asked as the family sat around the breakfast table the next morning.
"Of course," Padmé replied, placing two more on her son's plate. "How's that?"
"Good," he said with a smile. "Thank you."
Padmé leaned over and kissed Luke on the cheek. "You're welcome," she said. She looked up at Anakin who sat on the other side of Luke. "More, Ani?" she offered.
Anakin was lost in thought, however, and did not hear his wife's question.
"Anakin?"
Finally Anakin shook himself from his thoughts and looked at his wife. "Sorry angel, what did you say?"
Padmé frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem light years away this morning."
Anakin sighed. "I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking," he replied.
Padmé watched his face for a moment. "Palpatine?" she asked simply.
Anakin nodded. "He's trying to find us, Padmé," he told her. "He's determined to find us. I won't let that happen."
Padmé nodded, believing and trusting in her husband completely, but still feeling a chill go down her spine at the very thought of that monster finding her precious children.
"Good morning all," Obi-Wan said as he entered the room. He immediately sensed the tension in the room and looked at Anakin, concerned. "Something wrong?" he asked as he sat down.
"Daddy's worried about the emperor," Leia informed him.
Obi-Wan was surprised by the child's insight and looked from her to Anakin.
Anakin nodded. "Yes, that's right," he said. "But don't you worry about him, Leia, or you either Luke. I have everything under control."
"We know, Daddy," Luke replied. "You are the best Jedi in the galaxy; Obi-Wan told us so."
Anakin smiled, and looked up at Obi-Wan. "He did, did he?"
Obi-Wan shrugged. "Well, you did have a good teacher," he said with a smile.
Anakin laughed. "Yes, the very best."
"Perhaps one day you two will become Jedi," Obi-Wan said to Luke and Leia. "I'm certain you would both make fine Jedi Knights."
"You're assuming of course that the Order can be restored," Anakin said.
"It will be," Obi-Wan replied. "It is part of the prophecy, Anakin," he explained. "You will destroy the Sith and restore balance to the Force."
"What is the Sith?" Luke asked, looking at his father.
Anakin looked at his young son, trying to formulate the words he needed to explain such a thing to him. "The Sith are the opposite of the Jedi," he said at last. "They use the Dark Side of the Force, while we Jedi use the Light. They are evil, Luke, nothing but evil."
Luke nodded. "That old man with the yellow eyes, he's evil," he said matter-of-factly.
Padmé and Anakin looked at one another, unsettled by their son's remark.
"You've seen this man, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked.
Luke nodded. "Yes, both me and Leia have," he replied. "We've had dreams about him hurting Daddy. But not like he is now, when he was wearing the mask. He used to hurt Daddy when he wore the mask."
Obi-Wan looked at Anakin. "Is that true?" he asked.
Anakin nodded. "Yes, Palpatine is a sadist of the first order," he said bitterly. "He enjoyed seeing his slave suffer both physically and psychologically, starting with the butchery I suffered at the hands of his droids. He would punish me for the smallest infraction, the most innocuous remark."
Padmé frowned, sickened by the thought of Palpatine causing Anakin pain and taking pleasure from it. She remembered the occasion when she and the twins were still on board Vader's ship when Palpatine had used Sith lightning to inflict punishment on his servant. No more, she thought, never again.
"I expect Master Yoda and Master Nejaa will arrive later on today," Obi-Wan said. "We will need to make a plan, Anakin. Especially now that the emperor knows you are alive."
Anakin nodded. "Yes, very true," he said, looking at Padmé, sensing her unease. "It will be over soon, Padmé, I promise you. And then there will be no more need for hiding."
Padmé smiled, putting her hand on his. "I know, Ani," she said. "I have total faith in you."
Dormé entered the room at this point, having been outside picking berries from the garden behind the house.
"Good morning everyone," she said, feeling terribly self conscious in Obi-Wan's presence. "I have fresh berries here if anyone would like some with their pancakes," she told them as she took the basket over to the sink.
"That sounds delightful," Obi-Wan said, standing up. "Let me help you wash them."
Anakin and Padmé exchange a look at Obi-Wan's gallant gesture.
Leia watched Obi-Wan and Dormé and then turned to her parents triumphantly. "See?" she said with a smile. "I told ya."
It was evening by the time the Tantive IV landed on Delaya carrying its most significant passengers. Yoda was impressed by the beauty of the planet, which reminded him a lot of Kashyyyk in its verdant splendor.
"Master Yoda, welcome to Delaya," Obi-Wan said as he greeted the small party outside. "Please come inside. The twins are having their bath," he added with a smile.
"Most anxious I am to meet the Skywalker twins," Yoda said as he, Nejaa and Bail followed Obi-Wan into the house.
"Well if this is anything like their usual bath time, it could be a while before you do so, Yoda," Nejaa remarked with a smile.
Organa chuckled as he followed the three Jedi into the house.
Dormé made the newcomers feel welcome and offered them freshly made wild berry muffins and tea. She excused herself to go upstairs and let Anakin and Padmé know that their guests had arrived.
Yoda watched Obi-Wan closely as Dormé left the room. Most interesting, he reflected. Obi-Wan turned around and looked at the diminutive Jedi Master. "What is interesting?" he asked.
Yoda smiled. "You tell me," he said.
"Master Yoda, it's good to see you again."
Yoda looked over to the foot of the stairs where Anakin stood, shirtless and rather wet from bathing his twins.
"Who had the bath, Anakin," Nejaa asked. "You or the twins?"
Anakin smiled. "Well, they do get a little carried away sometimes," he explained.
"And you do nothing to discourage them," Padmé said, coming behind him.
"Senator Amidala," Yoda said, waddling over to her. "Most happy to see you again, I am," he said with a warm smile.
Padmé smiled back. "It is good to see you too, Master Yoda." She looked up at Nejaa. "And you as well, Master Nejaa." Last she turned to Organa. "Again you have our thanks, Bail. I don't know what we'd have done without all your help."
Bail smiled. "I've been happy to do what I can, Padmé," he replied. "I have a feeling that the galaxy is about to change for the better, and I for one am honored to be a part of it."
"You're right about that, Bail," Anakin said. "The galaxy is about to change. I mean to see to that personally."
Yoda had not taken his eyes from Anakin since he had entered the room. As they had suspected, Yoda had sensed the change in Anakin, but to see it first hand was something else. The Chosen One he is at last, he reflected.
"Master Nejaa!" Luke exclaimed as he came down the steps in his pajamas, followed by his sister.
Anakin turned and took his children by the hands, the fatherly pride fairly emanating from him. "Master Yoda, I'd like you to meet our children, Luke and Leia. Children, this is Master Yoda, the wisest of all the Jedi Masters."
Luke and Leia looked at the diminutive being before them. He was not at all what they expected, but neither of them questioned for a moment that he was truly a powerful Jedi.
"Good to meet you, it is," Yoda said to the children. "Strong you are with the Force, like your father."
"You're small," Leia said, much to the embarrassment of Anakin and Padmé.
Yoda's smile only grew at the child's candor. "Yes, so I am," he agreed. "But size makes no difference when one has the Force as his ally. Teach you, we will," he said, nodding his head slowly. "The Jedi Order, the future you are."
Anakin stood behind his children, a hand on each of them. He looked down at Yoda. "They are the reason I have been redeemed, Master Yoda," he said. "They and my wife. They were my life line through all of this."
Yoda continued to nod. "Yes, so I see," he replied. "Great love you have for them, and they for you. Perhaps it is time to rethink some of our ways, don't you think, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan nodded with a smile. "Yes, I think so, Master. It seems we have underestimated the importance of family all this time."
"We have indeed," Master Nejaa said, looking at Anakin with a smile. "The Chosen One has taught us just how important a family is, for I know without his family Darth Vader never would have returned to the Light."
"But he did return," Padmé spoke up at this point, coming over to Anakin's side and holding his hand. "He is gone, irrevocably and completely."
"Yes, he is," Yoda agreed. "And now the Sith he will destroy," he added, "and fulfill the destiny he was born to."
Anakin nodded, squeezing his wife's hand warmly. "Thank you, Master Yoda," he said. "Thank you for believing in me, for not giving up on me. Your faith in me means more to me than I can say."
Yoda looked up at Anakin appraisingly. "I have always had faith in you, Anakin," he replied. "It was you who lacked faith in yourself. Now, much planning we have to do," he said, turning to the others. "Time is short, for the emperor knows of your redemption."
"Yes, he does," Anakin replied. "Come children," he said, holding his hands out to the twins. "Time for bed."
Luke and Leia, who were fascinated by the old Jedi Master, took their father's hands reluctantly and went up to bed with he and their mother.
