Chapter 49
Gallinore
Anakin headed downstairs, buttoning his tunic as he did so. The fact that the officer was alone troubled him. Is this Palpatine's idea of an ambush? He thought. Is there a ship in orbit right now?
The house was quiet as Anakin entered the large sitting room. He walked over to the large picture window and looked out at the moon's reflection on the lake. Folding his arms over his chest, Anakin reached his mind out to try to get some sense of what was happening out there. He didn't sense malevolence, nor any disruption in the Force that would indicate Palpatine's presence nearby. Anakin frowned, not understanding what was going on; and then he heard the front door open. He turned to face whatever it was that had managed to find him here, and was shocked to see Firmus Piett lead into the room in binders.
"Piett??" Anakin said, "What the hell are you doing here??"
Piett of course had no idea that the handsome young man who stood before him, shirt open and hair tousled from sleep, was the same man he had called Darth Vader. He glanced at the guard beside him, who shoved him forward towards Anakin.
"I…I'm afraid I don't understand," Piett began. "I came to Gallinore to speak to Darth Vader," he said.
Anakin frowned. "Why?"
Piett hesitated to say why, but reasoned that he had little choice at this point but to cooperate. "To warn him," Piett said. "And to offer my services to him."
Anakin lifted his eyebrows in
surprise upon hearing this. "You're an Imperial officer," he
pointed out. "And Vader is a traitor to the Empire. What makes you
think he'd trust you?"
"I've left the Empire," Piett
replied, and Anakin could sense the truth behind the words. "I've
seen how cruel and sadistic the emperor is. I want no part of
serving him any more."
Anakin looked at the guards and nodded. At once they removed the binders from Piett's wrists.
"You don't recognize me, do you Firmus?" Anakin asked a rather amused expression on his face.
Piett looked closer at his face. "You do look familiar," he said. "I have seen you before, but …" he stopped as he remembered where he'd seen Anakin. "You're…you're Anakin Skywalker," he said, his eyes growing larger.
"I am," Anakin replied. "But for the past four years I've been known by a different name," he said. "Darth Vader."
Piett was too shocked to say anything for a moment, for it seemed impossible that this young man before him could possibly be the same masked menace he'd served for four years. "You…you…you're Darth Vader??" he asked at last, the incredulity clear in his voice.
"I was," Anakin replied. "I'm only able to live without the mask and suit because of the medical intervention," he said.
"Remarkable," Piett said. "Is that why you left the Empire? Because of this miraculous change?"
"No," Anakin replied. "I left the Empire months ago, only no one knew it. When I found my wife, the woman Palpatine told me was dead, I left. I realized that nothing meant more to me than her and our children, and decided that I couldn't serve an Empire that was headed by a monster like him."
Piett nodded, and was about to comment when the arrival of Padmé prevented him.
"Anakin? Is everything okay?" she asked, judging that it must be since the guards had stood down.
"Yes, it's okay Angel," Anakin replied, holding his hand out to her.
Piett watched as the same beautiful woman whose image he'd seen on board the Exactor. The love the couple had for each other was plain to see, and it reaffirmed Piett's belief that he had made the right decision.
"Padmé this is Firmus Piett," Anakin explained to his wife. "He was an officer on board my ship. Piett, my wife, Padmé."
Piett bowed respectfully. "An honor, Milady," he said.
"What brings you to Gallinore?" Padmé asked. "How did you even know we were here?"
Piett glanced at Anakin, who was also eager to know how he'd known.
"As I was just about to explain to your husband, the emperor has recently been on board the Exactor," Piett replied. "He knows you're alive, Milady; he knows you're Black Widow. He went to the Pydyr moon and had his men exhume the grave of your comrade, and when he found no second body there, his suspicions were confirmed."
Padmé looked up at Anakin in alarm. "He knows??" she asked.
Anakin nodded. "Yes, he knows," he said putting an arm around her reassuringly. "But there's no way he can find us, Padmé; I promise you he'll die before he ever comes near you or the children."
"The emperor is mad," Piett stated. "When he found out that you were alive, Milady, he lost all sense of reason, all shred of sanity. "He considers you an enemy now, sir," he continued, looking at Anakin. "He believes you've joined the Rebel Alliance. He is going to push hard to finish the Death Star so he can use it to crush the Rebellion."
Anakin frowned; knowing Palpatine, the Death Star would be finished in a matter of weeks.
"That's why I came," Piett continued. "I wanted to warn you sir," he said. "I…I've left the Empire too. I refuse to serve Palpatine any longer, and wanted to help you in your new mission in any way I can."
Anakin nodded. "You never said how you found us," he pointed out.
"I intercepted a message sent by your realtors," Piett replied. "The emperor had me scouring your personal records for any clue as to where you might be, but I found nothing."
"I made sure I left no clues," Anakin pointed out.
"Yes, and you did an excellent job," Piett replied. "But someone at the realtor's office sent you a message, someone who obviously didn't see the news item on the holonet announcing your death. I knew that if Palpatine saw that message, it would lead him to you. So, I deleted it," he reported with a hint of a smile.
"You didn't tell Palpatine?" Padmé asked.
"No Milady," he replied. "He knows nothing of it. I used the information to find you myself," he told her.
Anakin and Padmé looked at one another, each of them astonished by the man's loyalty.
"I always knew you were a decent man, Piett," Anakin said. "Thank you," he said, extending a hand to him.
Piett smiled. "It is my honor to serve you, sir," he said, shaking Anakin's hand. "In whatever way I can."
"We are indebted to you, Firmus," Padmé said, smiling at him. "I hope you'll stay here with us."
"Well, actually, I do have a request to make, if I may," Piett replied.
"Name it," Anakin said at once.
"After I left the ship, I contacted my wife on Axxila," Piett explained. "I was afraid for her safety, having witnessed the emperor's madness first hand," he added. "I told her to come to Gallinore, to wait for me in the capital. I don't like the thought of her being in some hotel room alone," he went on. "She's almost seven months pregnant now and…"
"Say no more," Anakin said, holding a hand up. "I will have some of my men take you to her right away."
Piett smiled. "Thank you sir," he said.
"Bring her here," Padmé said. "We have plenty of room. Is this your first child?"
"Yes milady," Piett replied
with a smile. "We're delighted."
Anakin smiled.
"There's nothing like being a father, Piett," he told him.
"You have children yourselves, don't you," Piett replied.
"Four year old twins," Anakin replied. "With another on the way," he added, smiling at Padmé.
Piett smiled. "Congratulations," he said. "My wife will have good company, then."
"I'm looking forward to meeting her," Padmé said.
"She will be very happy to have a kindred soul to keep her company," Piett replied. "I'll return in the morning with her, if that's acceptable."
"It is," Anakin replied. He nodded to the guards who escorted Piett out of the room.
"Can you believe this?" Anakin asked, turning to Padmé.
"It just goes to show that there are good people on both sides of this conflict," she commented.
"Yes, there are indeed," he agreed. "Come on, you need your rest," he said, leading her towards the door. "Let's get back to sleep."
Death Star
"Where is General Tagge?" Palpatine demanded. "I've been here nearly twenty-four hours now, and I have still not seen him!"
"Well, sire," Admiral Motti
replied, as they did an inspection together, "he is still on leave.
His wife had a baby recently and…"
"I don't give a damn
about his blasted offspring," Palpatine snapped. "This station
is his first priority."
"Yes sir," Motti replied, hoping that he'd be soon replacing Tagge. "Should I …contact him?"
Palpatine frowned. "You can tell him not to bother returning," he replied sourly. "I'm reducing him in rank. You're in command of this station now, Motti."
Motti smiled broadly. "Thank
you, sire!" he replied. "I assure you that you won't be
disappointed," he gushed. "I'm fully dedicated to this station
and its completion."
Palpatine's frown deepened, Motti's
boot licking irritating him.
"May I show you the latest developments in the weapons array?" Motti offered. "We're almost ready to bring them online."
"Yes, by all means," Palpatine
replied. "I want this station ready to annihilate the Rebels as
soon as possible."
Motti smiled. "It will be sire, I
assure you," he said confidently.
Palpatine made no reply and simply followed Motti into a nearby lift.
Gallinore
Padmé opened her eyes as the morning sun began to illuminate the room. She could hear the twins' voices outside in the corridor, as well as Beata's. Padmé smiled as she realized that Beata was bringing Luke and Leia downstairs, giving her and Anakin a rare opportunity to stay in bed a little longer.
Rolling onto her side, Padmé looked at Anakin, who was still sound asleep. She smiled as she noted that he'd kicked off the covers, something he did most nights. Padmé had always loved watching him sleep, loved simply admiring the beauty and perfection of him.
One long arm rested behind his head, the other lay across his body, with his hand resting on his abdomen. Padmé's eyes travelled over the peaceful features of his face, noting how his hair was getting thicker and longer each day. She's always loved his mouth, the sight of his smile making her weak in the knees on a regular basis. Her eyes moved next to his broad shoulders, the well defined muscles of his torso. Padmé found herself starting to get excited as she examined Anakin's body as he slept, her eyes moving lower to the sleep pants he was wearing. She smiled as she had an idea, and moved closer to him.
A little while later….
"Good morning," Padmé said, smiling at him.
"Good morning," Anakin replied. "That was quite a wake up call."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she replied as she moved up over him, lying on top of him.
Anakin wrapped his arms around her. "You're amazing, do you know that?" he asked her with a smile.
"I know," she replied, moving down to kiss him.
