Chapter 21 – The Trap
Coruscant
"Ready to go?"
Padmé nodded without looking up at him. Obi-Wan pursed his lips and turned away from Padmé to see Anakin watching them from a few feet away, a neutral expression belying the internal tumult he must be experiencing. While Padmé had agreed to go with Obi-Wan to Mustafar, it seemed she hadn't forgiven Anakin for what he had done.
Obi-Wan had spent the night meditating on the patio as he contemplated everything that had happened last night. He had been as perturbed and frightened as Padmé had been when Anakin's eyes had shifted yellow. He had never seen his friend look like that before. Anakin had tried explaining to him that it was a consequence of Shmi's actions, not of his own, but Obi-Wan was concerned nonetheless. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to send Anakin to Sidious as bait, especially not when he was in such a volatile and compromised state. There was nothing he could do, however. Anakin had committed himself to this, and Obi-Wan hadn't even bothered trying to change his friend's mind.
As he turned around and escorted Padmé out the front door toward the elevator, therefore, Obi-Wan got the funny feeling that he could very well be saying goodbye to Anakin – or at least the Anakin he knew – forever. Stopping in the doorway, he looked back at Anakin who had closed his eyes and was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Good luck, old friend," Obi-Wan said to him.
Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan and nodded. "Keep her safe," he said.
Obi-Wan looked at Anakin for a moment longer before walking away, the door closing shut behind him. Following after Padmé, Obi-Wan stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything. No doubt, she was angry at him as well, but fortunately he wasn't the target of her wrath. At least not yet, that is.
The silence was oppressive as the pair made their way to Obi-Wan's speeder and drove off toward the hangar where Padmé kept her ship. All the while, Obi-Wan couldn't help but sneak furtive glances at Padmé's pregnant belly. The revelation that Anakin was going to be a father had yet to fully sink in for him. It was all so surreal. In a way, that meant that he was going to be an uncle. Now that was something Obi-Wan had never expected to happen.
The awkward, yet mercifully painless silence was finally broken, however, when they arrived at the landing pad and were greeted by Padmé's head of security, Captain Typho.
"What is he doing here?" Obi-Wan hissed to Padmé as he parked the speeder.
"I told him to prepare my ship," Padmé said coldly. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Oh," Obi-Wan said, feeling somewhat foolish. "Well, can you get him to leave?"
Padmé didn't reply, electing instead to smile at Typho as he approached. "Morning, Captain," she greeted as she struggled to get out of the speeder.
"Let me help you, my lady," Typho offered at once. Walking around the speeder, Typho held the door open and extended his hand to Padmé.
"Thank you," Padmé said as she rose to her feet with the Captain's assistance.
"Master Kenobi, this is a surprise," Typho said, looking up from Padmé toward him.
Obi-Wan smiled woodenly as he stepped out of the speeder as well and shut the door behind him.
"Obi-Wan is going to accompany me," Padmé interjected on his behalf.
"For what purpose?" Typho asked suspiciously.
"For her protection," Obi-Wan said at once.
"Protection?" Typho repeated incredulously. "But I am the head of security! Why was I not made aware of this arrangement?"
Obi-Wan faltered and looked to Padmé for help. "This is a personal matter, Captain," she said shortly. "I appreciate your concern, but it is unwarranted."
Typho frowned and placed his hands on his hips. "At least tell me where you are going, my lady," he requested.
Padmé hesitated for a moment. "You're just going to have to trust me on this," she said finally.
"But the Queen –"
"Doesn't need to know about this," Padmé interrupted. "I'm fine, Captain, really. You don't need to worry about me."
"My job is to worry about you," Typho quipped with a faint smile.
"And you perform that job admirably," Padmé said, reciprocating the smile.
"You don't have to worry about her safety," Obi-Wan contributed. "She will be safe with me."
Typho glanced at him and nodded. "Very well," he said a bit begrudgingly. "At least allow me to assist you with your luggage, my lady."
Half an hour later, Typho finally left them after they had finished loading Padmé's bags onto the ship. Threepio, whom they had decided to bring along, had been unable to lift the heavy luggage, much to Obi-Wan's chagrin. In light of Threepio's seemingly perpetual uselessness, Obi-Wan had simply had the droid deactivated and stored on the ship.
"Why do you need so many clothes?" Obi-Wan asked through gritted teeth as he carried the last cumbersome suitcase to the top of the ramp.
"You refused to tell me how long I would have to be away for," Padmé told him with a frown. Conceding the point, Obi-Wan shrugged as he lugged the bag down the hall toward the main hold as Padmé followed behind him. Dropping the bag down next to its identical counterparts, Obi-Wan exhaled loudly as he wiped his brow with the back of hand.
"Well, that's finally done," he said. "Shall we get going?"
"Why did you do it?"
"Pardon?" Obi-Wan asked as he turned around to face her, caught off guard by this abrupt interrogation.
"I would have thought you of all people would have some scruples," she said icily. "You know as well as I do how terrible Anakin's mother is. Why join her?"
Obi-Wan opened his mouth, but no explanation came to him. He knew nothing he said would mollify Padmé regardless. Instead, he decided to deflect. "Do you know why Anakin did it?" he asked.
Padmé's brow twitched, having not expected her question to be met with another question. "No," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I don't."
"He did it for you," Obi-Wan told her.
"For me?" Padmé repeated skeptically, her eyebrows shooting upward.
"You're the most important person to him in the entire galaxy," Obi-Wan said. "His mother, while despicable, is at least understanding. She wants Anakin to be happy, and even though she doesn't trust you, she therefore endorses his relationship with you. The Jedi could never offer him that."
"She doesn't trust me?" Padmé asked nervously.
"Don't take it personally, she doesn't trust anyone but Anakin," Obi-Wan grumbled as he began walking toward the cockpit.
"So you mean to tell me Shmi knows about our marriage as well?" Padmé asked as she followed him.
"Er, not exactly, no," Obi-Wan said as he passed through a sliding door into the cockpit. "She knows about your relationship, but not your marriage."
"What?" Padmé asked, thoroughly perplexed.
"Anakin only accepted Shmi's demand that he join her on the condition that he be allowed to be with you," Obi-Wan explained as he sat down in the pilot's seat. "Shmi folded, but only after getting Anakin to promise not to marry you right away. She was concerned he was moving too fast with you."
"So he defied her?" Padmé asked, groaning slightly as she fell down into the copilot's chair beside him.
"He did," Obi-Wan affirmed as he began the ignition process.
Padmé was silent for a moment as she assimilated this information. "I can't condone what he did," she said finally. "What either of you did, for that matter. You understand that, don't you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head and turned away from the control panel to look at her in the eye. "What Anakin and I did isn't wrong," he said definitively. "We have not betrayed the Jedi nor the Republic."
"Is that what you tell yourself?" Padmé asked bitingly.
Obi-Wan frowned and looked away out the front window. "If all goes to plan, Sidious will be defeated within the next few days and the galaxy will finally be free of the scourge that is the Sith," he said. "We will bring peace to the galaxy. Isn't that what you want?"
"Obi-Wan, you can't be this naïve!" Padmé said. "The woman you have aligned yourself with is evil!"
"Perhaps, but not in the same way Sidious is," Obi-Wan countered.
"And that's relevant how?"
"Because Shmi's evil is not intrinsic like Sidious' is," Obi-Wan explained. "Shmi is a damaged person, but she is still a person. Sidious is a monster, pure and simple."
"The lesser of two evils is still evil, Obi-Wan!"
Obi-Wan groaned and craned his neck upward. Arguing against Padmé was like fighting against a brick wall; it was clear that she wasn't going to budge an inch on this. Returning his attention to the control panel, he rechecked the settings assiduously, more so to give him something to do rather than because they actually needed to be checked. All the while, he could feel Padmé's judgmental eyes on him, causing him immense discomfort.
"She's not all bad," he said eventually as he leaned back in his seat, satisfied that they were ready to take off. "Whenever she's talking to Anakin, she's downright pleasant. It's with other people where you see the demon within."
Padmé didn't respond to this, which suited Obi-Wan fine. Beginning the ignition sequence, Obi-Wan piloted the starfighter off of the landing pad and into Coruscant's busy sky. Upon ascending past the traffic and into the upper atmosphere, Padmé finally spoke. "What happened to her?" she asked him. "When I first met her on Tatooine, she was so hospitable and kind."
Obi-Wan sighed as he glanced at her momentarily before returning his attention to the front window. "She's a single-minded person, much like Anakin is," he said, thinking of how best to explain the enigma that was Shmi Skywalker. "She only ever cared about two people: Anakin and Qui-Gon. I think losing both of them for so long damaged her beyond repair."
Once again, the two fell into silence. As Obi-Wan finagled with the hyperdrive coordinates, he contemplated the veracity of what he had told Padmé. Sure, Shmi was a damaged person, but was it true that she was so far gone that she could never be redeemed? Was it possible for Shmi to be salvaged from the fiend that was Elegius? If anyone would be able to do this, it would be Anakin, but Obi-Wan was pessimistic. After all, Anakin had had three years to help her, but it seemed she had only gotten worse, not better, in that time span. The vicissitudes of her temperaments had grown more volatile and her proclivity to violence had increased. If Anakin couldn't save her, no one could.
Anakin moped around in the apartment for a few hours after Obi-Wan and Padmé had left. He wasn't scheduled to meet with the Chancellor for a little while and he wanted to give Obi-Wan enough time to leave Coruscant before he went to the Senate. Even so, Anakin was growing antsy cooped up in Padmé's apartment like this.
His anxiety about meeting face to face with Sidious intermingled with his depression induced by Padmé's negative reaction to his confession. He had suspected she would have been appalled, but he had been crushed nonetheless. While she had fortunately agreed to allow Obi-Wan to take her to Mustafar, their fight was far from resolved. Would she ever forgive him? He hoped so. After all, it wasn't as if he personally had done anything wrong. Her objection was with Shmi, not with him. Perhaps if his mom ceased being a psychopath, he would be forgiven.
Anakin shook his head and snorted humorlessly. That wasn't likely to happen, but he could at least dream. A small part of him held out hope that his true mother would return once Sidious was defeated, but logic insisted otherwise. Anakin was never one to listen to logic, however.
Deciding that he had procrastinated long enough, Anakin ceased pacing and took a deep breath. Marching toward the front door, Anakin felt his throat constricting with fearful anticipation. Despite his mother's assurances, Anakin couldn't help but feel as if he was walking into a trap. From what little he knew of Sidious, he knew that the Sith was as cunning as he was sadistic. Was it possible Sidious already knew of Anakin's allegiance to Elegius? If so, what would the nature of this meeting truly be? Would Sidious simply kill him or would he try to convince Anakin to change sides? And what should Anakin do if Sidious attempted this latter possibility? If he refused, Sidious would likely torture him or worse. He could pretend to accept, but he doubted Sidious would be fooled if he tried this.
Endless possible outcomes continued to swirl around Anakin's mind as he drove toward the Senate building. In a daze, Anakin found himself alighting from his speeder all too soon. How had he made it here so quickly? Of all the times for traffic to be lenient.
Anakin was having a very difficult time breathing as he made his way toward the elevator. He maintained an air of calm as Obi-Wan was so adept at doing, yet internally he was quaking with fear. With each floor the elevator passed, Anakin grew more and more sure that this meeting was not going to go the way he hoped it would. What if he died today? He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Padmé on such poor terms if that did indeed happen.
With that ominous thought, the doors to the elevator slid open. Straightening his robes, Anakin strode forth toward the Chancellor's office. Identifying himself to the receptionist, Anakin was permitted entry. Walking through the double doors and past a pair of grandiose golden statues, Anakin caught his breath when he saw Palpatine waiting for him at his desk.
"Ah, Anakin," he said genially. "Welcome."
Descending a brief flight of red-carpeted stairs, Anakin bowed stiffly before the Chancellor. "Thank you, your Excellency," he said woodenly.
Palpatine smiled thinly at him and placed his hands down on the table in front of him. "You must be wondering why I called you back here so abruptly," he said, no longer making eye contact as he peered down at his spindly fingers.
"I was," Anakin said cautiously.
Palpatine looked up from the table languidly and smirked. "I have been monitoring you closely over the past few years," he said. "Very closely."
"Is that so?" Anakin asked, instantly on guard. "What for?"
"Don't play dumb, Skywalker," he said, his voice suddenly sounding caustic and guttural, nothing like the euphonious drawl of Palpatine.
Anakin dropped the façade of ignorance as well. "What do you want from me?" he asked boldly.
Palpatine shook his head as he stood upright. "From you? Nothing," he said. "But I would appreciate an explanation."
"An explanation?" Anakin repeated, furrowing his brow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"The Republic and the Jedi have done nothing but help you, and yet you chose to betray them." Palpatine said. "Why? Why would you forfeit everything?"
Anakin swallowed hard as fear permeated his confusion. It sounded as if Palpatine knew the truth, but why was he framing it in this way? He was still talking as if he was the Chancellor, not a Sith Lord. "You don't care about the Republic nor the Jedi," Anakin said, pointing a finger at Palpatine.
Palpatine scoffed at this. "You are accusing the Chancellor or not caring about his own Republic?" Sidious asked incredulously.
"You're not the Chancellor, you're a Sith!" Anakin exploded, anger bubbling to the surface in response to Palpatine's intentionally obtuse behavior.
"Is that what she told you?" Palpatine asked. "That I am a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious?"
"That's what you are," Anakin said, dropping his accusatory finger and wrapping his hand around his lightsaber. "You can drop the act, Sidious. I know who you are."
"She has corrupted you, my boy," Palpatine said. "The only Sith is Elegius. You have allowed her to ensnare you with her lies."
"My mother is not a Sith!" Anakin bellowed.
"Young fool," Palpatine lamented. "She has manipulated you. Can't you see that?"
"You're the one who manipulates," Anakin said. "You're the master at that."
"The world of politics can be fickle, I concede as much," Palpatine said with a blasé shrug. "That being said, my sins are hardly comparable to those of Elegius."
"Stop lying!" Anakin roared, drawing his father's lightsaber and activating it. Intuitively, he knew it was pointless to threaten Palpatine, but he was too angry to think straight.
"Do you intend to kill me?" Palpatine asked.
"I would certainly like to," Anakin growled.
Palpatine shook his head once again, a smug smirk on his lips as he eyed Anakin's green blade without a hint of apprehension. "Darth Sidious is a figment of your imagination, my child," he said in a low voice. "He was concocted by your mother to justify her ruthless ambition."
"You lie," Anakin said through gritted teeth.
"I will give you this one opportunity at redemption," Palpatine said, placing his hands casually behind his back. "Pledge yourself back to the Republic. Help us defeat Elegius once and for all. Only then will this horrible war come to an end. I beg you to see reason, Anakin."
"The war will only end when you are dead," Anakin said viciously. "My mother will destroy you, Sidious. You don't stand a chance."
Palpatine sighed and slouched his shoulders. "So be it," he said heavily.
Just then, the doors to Palpatine's office flew open. Lightsaber still in hand, Anakin spun around to see half a dozen Jedi Masters striding toward him, Windu himself leading the charge. Upon seeing Anakin's active lightsaber, the Master Jedi stopped and held up his mechanical hand to his colleagues.
"What are you doing here?" Anakin asked to Windu.
"Drop your weapon, Skywalker," Windu ordered.
"You don't understand –"
"Drop it. Now."
Anakin hesitated as his eyes scanned the other Jedi Masters standing behind Windu. They were all eyeing him with suspicion – contempt even. What was going on? "This isn't what it looks like," Anakin said as he deactivated his lightsaber and dropped it to the ground. "Master Windu, I can explain."
"Anakin Skywalker, you are under arrest for treason and conspiracy against the Chancellor of the Republic," Windu intoned.
"What!?"
Windu flourished his hand, summoning Anakin's discarded lightsaber to his hand. "Shackle him," he ordered.
As a pair of Jedi approached him, Anakin took a step back and held his hands up. "You're making a mistake! He's the Sith! He's Sidious!"
"There's no point in resisting, Skywalker," Windu said coldly.
"You're not listening to me!"
Behind him, he heard Palpatine chuckle. "We're listening to you," he said. "But unlike you, we are not gullible fools. The Chancellor of the Republic a Sith Lord? It's preposterous!"
Anakin shook his head vigorously as he spun around to face Palpatine. "You lying snake!" he yelled. As he attempted to lunge at Palpatine who was still standing behind his desk, Anakin was restrained by the two Jedi at his sides who grabbed either one of his arms. "Let me go!" he shrieked. "Get your hands off me!"
The sound of several lightsabers being activated behind him caused Anakin to cease struggling. Breathing heavily, Anakin glared back at Palpatine furiously. "You won't get away with this," he threatened.
"I already have," Palpatine said, his dark eyes glinting with a sinister element. Palpatine met Anakin's gaze for a moment longer before looking up toward Windu who was standing atop the stairs. "Take him away," he said with a wave of his hand.
Mustafar
Shmi massaged her temples wearily as she slouched back in her seat at the head of the conference table. The room was mercifully empty, having threatened the slimy Separatist leaders with death if they encroached on her much-needed privacy.
She had lost her temper with Maul. It had been a mistake, she knew it, but even so the outburst had been somewhat cathartic for her. Maul had grown too comfortable with questioning her over the years. It was important for her to remind him of his place.
That being said, losing her cool like that had revealed her vulnerability. Maul had exposed her greatest fear: that she and Sidious were more alike than they were different. The closer Shmi got to her ultimate encounter with Sidious, the more tangible and salient that fear became. What if Maul was right? What if the ends didn't truly justify the means? What if her lust for power had corrupted her just like it had Sidious?
Maul's torture had been cut short when she'd collapsed. For the first time in over ten years, the darkness had overwhelmed her. This time, however, she hadn't had Plagueis to rescue her. She had managed to extricate herself from the darkness on her own, but she couldn't deny that she had been shaken by the ordeal.
I don't have to fight you, Shmi Skywalker.
In time you will fight for me.
That had been what Sidious had told her all those years ago on Jakku, and those were the words which continued to reverberate in her mind. Was it possible that Plagueis had misinterpreted Sidious' intentions all along? Could it be that she had been his true target and not Anakin? Was it possible that by turning to the dark side and succumbing to her passions she had in fact aided Sidious more than she had hurt him?
That couldn't possibly be true. If Sidious' plans revolved around her turning to the dark side, he must have made a terrible miscalculation. She wasn't going to use her powers to help him. She was going to use them to destroy him! But what if Sidious knew something she didn't? What if he was using her to achieve his ambitions without her even knowing it?
Shmi was disrupted from her ruminations when the door to the conference room slid open. Looking up sharply, Shmi wrapped her hand around the Darksaber in fury. "I told you to stay away!" she bellowed.
Entering the room, however, was not a Separatist, but Maul. He looked a little worse for wear, his black robes were hanging loosely around his limbs and his pale-yellow eyes were bloodshot as if he had been awake for days on end. Hobbling forward, Maul grasped the back of the chair on the opposite end of the table before speaking. "They're here," he said hoarsely.
"They?" Shmi repeated, blinking in confusion.
"Kenobi and the Senator," Maul clarified.
"Oh!" Shmi exclaimed, having forgotten all about Obi-Wan's impending arrival. "I'll be right there," she added, jumping to her feet. As she marched toward the exit, Maul shied away from her in fright, causing her to hesitate. "I'm… I'm sorry for torturing you," she said woodenly as she came to a stop a few feet in front of him.
Maul stared at her silently for a few moments before nodding. "I understand," he said, bowing his head. "Fear will cause us to do terrible things."
Shmi narrowed her eyes at Maul, unsure whether to interpret this as a slight against her or not. "Stay here," she ordered, deciding to disregard the comment. "I will be back." With that, she turned away from Maul and strode out of the conference room to greet her two guests.
Coruscant
"You're making a mistake, Windu. You need to listen to me!"
Windu said nothing, electing instead to scowl at Anakin from behind the bars as a pair of Jedi Temple Guards thrust Anakin into a cell. As the door closed behind him, Anakin grabbed onto the bars and pressed his forehead against the cool metal.
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
"We heard the whole conversation, Skywalker," Windu said icily. "You confessed to conspiracy."
"Against the Sith, not the Republic!"
"You honestly think I will believe that Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord?" Windu asked, arching his eyebrow dismissively.
"Yes!" Anakin exclaimed.
Windu shook his head and took a step toward him. "I was a fool for ever allowing Jinn to permit you into the Order," he said. "And I was a fool to ever trust your mother."
"My mother is ten times the Jedi you'll ever be," Anakin spat acrimoniously.
"Shmi Skywalker is the Sith we have been looking for for over two decades," Windu said, turning away now as he began to pace in front of Anakin's cell. "She created the persona of Sidious to detract attention from herself. I can't believe it took me so long to realize it."
"She's not a Sith! Palpatine is!"
"I knew it. Deep down, I think I always knew it," Windu mused, ignoring Anakin's protestations. "But I was too weak. Too attached. I knew it was her on Geonosis, but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that my own Padawan would turn against me. That she would slice off my own hand!"
"You're not going to get away with this," Anakin said, gripping the bars so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "When my mother finds out what you did, she will destroy you and Sidious."
"She will try, but we will be ready for her," Windu said ominously. With that, Windu spared him no last look as he spun around and strode away, leaving Anakin alone in his cell.
Grinding his teeth, Anakin pushed away from the bars of his cell. Backtracking, Anakin took a deep breath as he willed himself to remain calm. He had to keep faith that his mother would come to rescue him. He had no doubt that she would be capable of this considering how furious she would be. When Shmi was angry, the magnitude of her raw power was unprecedented. The only question, however, was whether or not she would be consumed by her fury. Could this ordeal be the push which sent her over the edge in to full-fledged, irreversible darkness?
Dropping to the ground, Anakin exhaled loudly as he dug his fingernails into his temples. Back pressed against the back wall, Anakin sprawled his legs outward as he attempted to focus on the tranquil hum of the Force rather than the incessant swirl of doubts and fears revolving around his conscience. He had to remain optimistic and not dwell on the potential ramifications of his mother coming to rescue him. He would deal with that problem if it arose. For now, he needed to get out of this alive.
Mustafar
Standing on the landing platform, Shmi clasped her hands together behind her back as she waited for Obi-Wan to disembark. Quirking an eyebrow, she noted that this was the same ship she had seen thirteen years ago on Tatooine. This was the ship which had taken Anakin away from her for a whole decade. The lustrous material of the sleek vessel reflected the red of the lava below whilst steam billowed upward, obfuscating the ramp which was slowly unfurling.
Holding a hand up to her eyes, Shmi looked through the cloud of exhaust to see two figures begin to descend, one after the other. Satisfied, Shmi lowered her hand and tilted her chin upward, waiting for them to come to her.
Reaching the bottom of the ramp, Obi-Wan stopped when he saw her. He looked nervous, which wasn't too surprising. Obi-Wan was still uncomfortable around her, even after three years of admittedly tenuous comradeship.
"Welcome to Mustafar," she greeted. "Come," she added, beckoning him forward.
Obi-Wan swallowed nervously and stepped aside. Shmi frowned, displeased by this blatant disregard of her order. Shmi's irritation faded into shock, however, when she saw Padmé standing behind him at the bottom of the ramp. Hands rested defensively over her swollen midsection, Padmé met her incredulous gaze with a fearful, yet nonetheless determined expression.
"Hello Shmi," she said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the engines.
Shmi's wide eyes narrowed as she took two brisk steps toward Padmé. As she did this, Obi-Wan stepped in front of Padmé and held his hands up protectively.
"You will not hurt her," Obi-Wan said forcefully. "I guaranteed Anakin that I would keep her safe."
"You're pregnant," Shmi said, ignoring Obi-Wan's unnecessary proclamation.
"I am," Padmé affirmed, quivering with fear as she cowered behind Obi-Wan.
"With… Anakin's child?" Shmi asked.
"Yes," Padmé said, furrowing her brow with indignation at the implicit accusation. "Anakin is the father."
Shmi blinked a few times as she absorbed this incomprehensible information. Anakin was going to be a father? She was going to be a grandmother? This was surreal to her. Never before had she even considered such a possibility.
"Give me your word that you won't hurt her," Obi-Wan said suddenly.
Shmi tore her eyes away from Padmé's belly to meet Obi-Wan's steely eyes. "She's carrying my grandchild, Kenobi," she said. "Why would I ever hurt her?"
Obi-Wan was silent for a moment before he nodded. "Good," he said as he stepped aside. "Forgive me, but I had to make sure. Anakin tasked me with defending her, and I would rather die than break my word to him."
"That's quite noble of you, Kenobi, but thoroughly unnecessary," Shmi said, rolling her eyes at Obi-Wan's highfalutin declaration. "Padmé, walk with me, would you?"
Clearly surprised by this request, Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan before nodding cautiously. Stepping past Obi-Wan, Padmé fell into step with Shmi as they made their way off the landing platform. Obi-Wan followed behind closely as they walked toward the facility.
Watching Padmé out of the corner of her eye, Shmi felt a surge of protectiveness and perhaps even affection develop toward the diminutive woman. It was true, she had held a grudge against Padmé for a long time, but that unfounded yet nevertheless irrepressible rancor had disappeared in an instant now that she was carrying her grandchild. She saw Padmé in an entirely different light now. No longer was she the despicable harlot who had cajoled her son into loving her. That wretched woman had always been a figment of her imagination, and while Shmi had always known that to be true, she hadn't been able to admit it until now.
She hadn't resented Padmé for anything she had done. Instead, she had resented her for what she represented. Her relationship with Anakin was indicative that her little Ani had grown up. In her delusion, Shmi had chosen to blame Padmé for that rather than accept the actual reason for why she had been robbed of a massive chunk of her son's childhood. That was entirely her fault, not Padmé's. It had been her decision to join Plagueis and abandon her son and husband.
At the thought of Qui-Gon, Shmi felt her eyes begin to water up, although to be fair, that could also have been a consequence of the ubiquitous black smoke generated by the stream of lava below. Qui-Gon would have been elated to learn that he was going to be a grandfather. It was a shame he would never be able to meet his grandchild.
It was more than a shame. It was an atrocity. It was this grievous injustice that the Jedi and Sidious had jointly inflicted upon her which drove her. Above all else, she would get her revenge. Qui-Gon's death would not be in vain.
"You will be safe here, Padmé," Shmi told her once they had entered the facility and the blast doors closed behind them.
Padmé nodded, shivering slightly due the abrupt shift of temperature. Looking around the austere hallway, Padmé rubbed her arms and looked at anything but Shmi. It was clear she didn't feel comfortable in her presence, much like Obi-Wan. This would have to be rectified in time. She couldn't allow the mother of her grandchild to fear her.
"Follow me," Shmi ordered stiffly, spinning around once more and marching away toward the conference room. Upon entering the room, Maul leapt from his chair to his feet. His yellow eyes darted behind Shmi to see Obi-Wan and then finally Padmé. She saw his gaze drift south and his eyes narrow, but Maul made no comment.
"Maul here will protect you while you are here on Mustafar," Shmi said, turning around to face Obi-Wan and Padmé.
"I don't need his protection," Padmé said at once, eyeing Maul with contempt. "Obi-Wan is more than capable."
"You can trust him, Padmé," Obi-Wan said. "Maul is a friend."
"He is the primary enemy of the Republic," Padmé countered.
"Sidious is the real enemy," Shmi said quickly, holding up a cautionary hand to prevent Maul from speaking. "We are the true loyalists here."
Padmé gave Shmi a skeptical look. "You mean to say the leader of the Separatists is really a supporter of the Republic?"
Shmi frowned and looked away so as to prevent Padmé from seeing her irritation. Political conversations such as this one were anathema to Shmi. For her, all that mattered was if one supported Sidious or not. Every other factor was immaterial. The Republic and the Confederacy were entirely irrelevant to her, but Padmé of course didn't see things that way.
"We are the harbingers of peace," Shmi compromised, looking back at Padmé with forced calm. "All Sidious wants is chaos and war. We intend to stop him."
"By destroying the Republic in the process?" Padmé asked bitingly.
Shmi bit her tongue hard, refusing to let her temper get the better of her. "We will do what has to be done," she said vaguely. "No more questions," she added authoritatively when Padmé opened her mouth to object. "I did not bring you here to quarrel."
Just then, a vibrating sound emanating from Maul's robes distracted both Shmi and Padmé, mercifully staving off the impending conflagration between the two fiery women. "Sorry," Maul mumbled to Shmi as he reached into his pocket and produced his comlink. "What is it?" he asked irritably as he activated the device.
"My lord, Lord Sidious demands you make contact with him at once," the voice said.
"Sidious?" Maul said, eyes wide. "Did he say what for?"
"No, my lord," the voice said. "He said it was urgent."
Maul fumbled with his collar and nodded. "Very well," he said in a high voice. "I will do so at once." Deactivating the comlink, Maul thrust it back into his pocket as he looked up at Shmi. "What do I do?" he asked nervously.
Shmi didn't answer at once, forehead scrunched as she contemplated what it could be that Sidious wanted. She had expected Anakin to be the one to make contact, not Sidious. Could it be that something had gone wrong on Coruscant?
"Use the holoprojector," Shmi said, gesturing to the device in the center of the conference table. "You two, come over here," she added to Obi-Wan and Padmé. Walking to the opposite flank of the table and out of sight of the holoprojector's camera, Shmi pulled out a chair for Padmé and stood beside Obi-Wan once she had sat down.
From the opposite end of the table, Maul finagled with the holoprojector for a moment before standing back upright. At once, the device burst to life, revealing the blue-tinged, veiled hologram of Sidious himself.
"Master," Maul said, genuflecting before the larger-than-life hologram. "I didn't expect –"
Maul's groveling was interrupted when he was abruptly lifted into the air by his throat. "Enough of the games, Maul," Sidious said in his repulsively raspy voice. "Relay this message to your true master. The Jedi have imprisoned her son on my orders. Tell her that I will have him executed in one standard day if she does not surrender herself to me. That is all."
With that, Sidious' hologram flickered out and Maul collapsed back down to the ground. Sputtering, Maul struggled to his feet with the assistance of the table.
"He knows," Maul said in a hoarse voice. "He's known all along. We were fools to ever think we could deceive him."
Shmi felt frozen with fear as she gaped back at Maul silently. Anakin was in grave peril, much like Qui-Gon had been ten years ago. This time, however, Sidious would not win. This time, he would pay.
"Assemble the fleet," she ordered, fists clenched into fists as a raw, unmitigated rage exploded within her. "We're going to Coruscant."
"But we're not strong enough!" Maul protested. "The fleet will be eviscerated!"
"Don't argue with me!" Shmi bellowed viciously, causing Obi-Wan to jump and Padmé to shrink away with fear. "My son is not going to die!"
Knowing better than to question her, Maul nodded and rushed out of the room. Pressing her hands against her forehead, Shmi paced away from the shaken Padmé and disconcerted Obi-Wan. A dull cackle reverberated in her skull, jeering her for her foolishness. How could she have allowed this to happen? How could she have underestimated Sidious like this? Plagueis would never been duped like this. If her father had been by her side, Anakin wouldn't be in terrible danger right now.
"Shmi?"
"You stay here," Shmi commanded, spinning back around toward Obi-Wan. "Stay with Padmé. Make sure she's safe. I'm going to Coruscant to end this."
"And if you don't succeed?" Padmé asked quietly, her brown eyes wide with apprehension.
Shmi contemplated Padmé for a moment before shaking her head. Without offering a response, Shmi marched out of the room after Maul.
One day later
In orbit above Coruscant
Shmi held her chin up high as she admired the sight before her. As the flagship approached, the radiant ecumenopolis came into view in the panoramic front window, causing luminous streaks of artificial light to dapple across the curved plexiglass. The sight truly was a spectacle to behold, and for Shmi it was as poignant as it was awesome. Shmi hadn't been to Coruscant in three years, and she hadn't been there openly for well over ten. After today, she would no longer have to live in hiding. Finally, she was returning home.
Standing behind her on the bridge of the Invisible Hand was Maul who was attempting to assuage a deeply anxious and confused General Grievous. As head of the Separatist Fleet, Grievous didn't understand why he had been ordered to amalgamate the previously-dispersed armada on such short notice.
"This is suicide!" the cyborg protested, his mechanical limbs creaking as he let out a hacking cough. "Why now? What has changed?"
"You have your orders, General," Maul said dryly. "It is not your place to question them."
"Does Lord Sidious know about this?" Grievous asked.
Shmi heard Maul chuckle humorlessly. "Oh yes, he knows all about this," he said with a hint of sardonic wit.
Shmi smirked, appreciating Maul's attempt at levity. Turning around away from the window, she looked at the hulking form of Grievous. "Rest easy, General," she said encouragingly. "The Force is with us today. Victory is at hand."
Grievous narrowed his yellow eyes at her. "What do you know of the Force?" he asked.
Shmi's mouth twitched in amusement. Grievous of course didn't know who she was, having only admitted her onto his ship at Maul's express order. It was ironic for him to ask her this. She was the physical embodiment of the Force, after all. Her knowledge of the Force was as intrinsic as it was absolute.
"Your job will be to preoccupy the Republic Fleet while Maul and I jettison to the surface," Shmi instructed, ignoring Grievous' inquiry.
"Who are you to give me orders?" Grievous asked indignantly.
"You will listen to her, Grievous," Maul growled. "Consider her orders as mine."
Grievous looked as if he wanted to protest, but the expression on Maul's face evidently encouraged him to reconsider. "Very well, my lord," he grumbled.
"Good," Maul said, satisfied with Grievous' compliance.
"Are you sure you won't need my help?" Shmi asked Maul.
"I'll be fine," Maul dismissed. "Besides, I will have Savage and Ventress to help me."
Shmi pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She was trusting Maul with infiltrating the Jedi Temple so as to rescue Anakin. Maul and Ventress were formidable warriors, and Savage was capable as well, but even so Shmi couldn't help but be apprehensive. The Jedi Temple would be well defended, far more so than even the Senate building would be.
"You better succeed, Maul," Shmi threatened. "I am trusting you with my son's life."
"I will not fail you," Maul insisted. "You should be more worried about yourself."
Shmi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I have nothing to fear from Sidious," she said confidently. "He is no match for me."
"Are you sure of that?" Maul asked skeptically.
"I am," Shmi said, turning around to look out the window once more. While she had lied to Maul often over the past three years, her confidence wasn't a façade this time. She had never felt more sure of herself than she did right now. The raw power coursing through her was unprecedented, yet at the same time she felt absolutely in control of herself. Sidious didn't know what was about to hit him.
That being said, a lingering sense of trepidation continued to plague her conscience. Once again, the fear that she was playing directly into Sidious' hand reemerged. How could she not fear this? It seemed as if Sidious had known everything all along. Wouldn't it therefore be logical to assume that Sidious would be prepared for her as well?
Perhaps he thought he was prepared, but Shmi could guarantee that Sidious was underestimating her. All her life, she had been underestimated. By Plagueis when she had been first conceived, then by the Jedi, and then by Dooku. Sidious would be the last decrepit man to make that mistake. After today, Elegius would have proven herself to the galaxy. Henceforth, she would never be underestimated ever again.
"Are you ready, Maul?" she asked while continuing to stare determinedly out the window.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she heard him say.
"Good," Shmi said with a thin smile. Craning her head back to look at Maul, she gave him a reassuring nod. "It's time to get our revenge, my friend," she said. "Decades of injustice come to an end today."
Maul met her gaze and reciprocated her nod. "Revenge," he repeated in a steely voice.
Shmi's smile broadened as she returned her attention to the ever-growing planet below them. "Let's kill the son of a bitch," she said to herself.
The final showdown had arrived. For the first time in twenty-three years, she was going to face Sidious. And this time, he would be the one to suffer.
An hour later, Shmi jettisoned from the Invisible Hand in a tiny escape pod which couldn't be detected by radar. Maul, Savage, and Ventress followed behind soon after, and the four of them rendezvoused at Qui-Gon's apartment once they had all made it to the surface without incident. From there, they had taken Obi-Wan's speeder into the epicenter of the city. All the while, the sights and sounds of the ensuing battle raged above them.
"Remember the plan," Shmi said once again, relaying the ad hoc strategy they had developed for the umpteenth time. "Once you get Anakin out, get off the planet as soon as you can. The Jedi should have some fighters in their hangar which you can commandeer."
"We know," Maul said from the back seat with a hint of exasperation.
"Are you sure that –"
"Your son will be fine, Elegius," Maul interrupted. "The Jedi are not prepared for us. They will be too preoccupied with the battle to stop us."
Shmi pursed her lips anxiously and nodded. "Alright," she said.
"Don't worry, Elegius," Savage said unexpectedly. The burly zabrak who was driving the speeder glanced at her momentarily before returning his attention to the bizarrely empty air lanes. "My brother and I will not fail you."
"Hey!" a voice from the back protested.
"Nor will Ventress," Savage added hastily.
Shmi smiled thinly, surprised yet pleased by Savage's unprompted declaration of loyalty. "Thank you," she said faintly, craning her head upward at the sound of an especially powerful explosion. "I owe you everything for this," she added.
"You will owe us nothing if you kill Sidious," Savage said with a growl. "You will kill him, won't you?"
"Oh yes," Shmi said with a smirk. "I will."
As the speeder descended toward the Senate building, they were stopped at the gates by a pair of blaster-wielding clone troopers. "Turn around at once," the clone instructed. "The Senate is on lock down."
"You will allow us entry," Shmi said forcefully, pushing Savage's broad chest out of the way so that she could look the trooper directly in the eyes. "I need to see the Chancellor."
The clone stared at her silently for a moment before lowering his weapon. "Very well," he said in a dazed voice. "You may enter."
"Thank you," Shmi said, alighting the speeder and placing her hands on her weapons. "See you on the other side," she said to her zabrak companions. With that, she produced her lightsabers and began to jog toward the Senate building, leaving a pair of deeply confused clones behind her.
Donning her hood, Shmi lowered her head as she entered the extravagant building. Armed clones dominated the premises, providing heightened security in light of the battle. Marching purposefully toward the elevators, Shmi waved her hand whenever a clone trooper so much as looked her way, causing them to stiffen and spin around abruptly, oftentimes into a wall or a fellow clone. Shmi would have found the sight amusing under normal circumstances, but this was not the time for comedy.
Reaching the elevator, Shmi mashed the button agitatedly. Tapping her foot against the ground as she waited impatiently, she kept her shields high. She didn't want Sidious to know that she was coming for him. Her arrival ought to be a complete surprise to him, yet she doubted it would be. Sidious seemed to be omniscient. He had known all about her machinations up to this point, and it was entirely probable that she was walking into a trap by attempting to confront him.
Shmi didn't care, however. Stepping into elevator which had finally arrived, Shmi couldn't help but smile as the doors closed behind her. The prospect of killing Sidious was engrossing, rendering the possibility of a trap thoroughly disinteresting to Shmi. She knew she was more powerful than Sidious. She was more powerful than anyone. Whatever Sidious had planned, Shmi was confident she would be more than capable to counter him. The prospect of revenge against him – revenge for raping and torturing her, revenge for having her husband killed, revenge for imprisoning and threatening her son – was intoxicating.
As the elevator came to a stop on the top floor, Shmi marched out before the doors had even fully opened. Lightsabers in hand – the Darksaber in the left and her old Jedi blade in the right – she strode forth down the red carpeted hallway toward the Chancellor's office. With a casual flick of her wrist, she dismissed the two clones stationed by the front door and walked in.
There he was. Seated behind his desk, Sidious looked up and grinned as she approached. "Darth Elegius," he said, standing up as she descended the short flight of stairs toward him. "We meet again, at last."
Stopping a few feet in front of his desk, Shmi activated the two lightsabers in her hand. "And for the last time," she said in a low voice.
Sidious' smile broadened, his thin facing stretching grotesquely as his dark eyes glinted. "Very true," he said as he reached into his pocket and produced his own lightsaber. "Because after tonight, you will be dead and all my plans will have come to fruition."
"Oh, I don't think so," Shmi said, gripping the two hilts in her hand so hard she may have left an indent in the metal.
Sidious' smile faded into a snarl. Activating his red blade, Sidious gave a guttural growl before abruptly lunging at her over the desk. Shmi raised her two blades to meet his, and with that the battle begun. The two proteges of Plagueis clashed in the office of the Chancellor, the seat of utmost power in the entire galaxy. The fate of Force rested upon their three blades: black, blue, and red.
The ultimate duel had finally begun.
Anakin was pacing back and forth in his cell, struggling to keep his looming sense of dread at bay, when he heard sounds of a commotion in the hallway. Squinting his eyes in the darkness to see what was happening, the door to the prison was suddenly thrust open, inundating Anakin's dilated retinas with blinding white light. Holding his hand up to his eyes, Anakin stumbled backward.
"Come on, let's go!" Anakin heard a familiar voice call out.
Acclimating himself to the light, Anakin took a step toward the bars of his cell to look at what was happening.
"Mom?" he called out cautiously. Had Shmi come to rescue him?
"Close enough."
Stepping into the hallway was a familiar face indeed: Darth Maul. Striding toward his cell, Maul was followed by his brother Savage and by Ventress.
"Maul!" Anakin exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"We've come to rescue you, of course," Maul said. "Stand back."
Complying, Anakin pressed his back against the wall as Maul produced his lightsaber. Activating the shaky red blade which his mother had bequeathed to him, Maul sliced at the control panel, causing the bars to his cell to rise up vertically.
"Come on," Maul said gruffly. "We don't have much time."
"What's going on? Where's my mom?"
"She's fighting Sidious in the Senate," Savage informed him. "We promised to get you to safety."
"But we have to help her!" Anakin protested.
"We are operating on her direct orders, Anakin," Ventress said. "We don't have time to argue. We have to go now."
Anakin hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fine," he said.
"Good," Maul said. Reaching into his black robes, Maul fumbled around for a moment before producing a second hilt "I believe this belongs to you," he said, handing his father's lightsaber to him.
Anakin's eyes widened. "Thank you so much," he said, accepting the offering with alacrity. He had feared that he would never find his father's lightsaber again after the Jedi had taken it from him. He truly was in Maul's debt.
"Let's go," Maul said once Anakin had reattached the trusty green lightsaber to his belt.
The Chancellor's office was thoroughly thrashed as Sidious and Shmi blades slashed without regard for the ostentatious décor. Sidious' red blade whirled with exceptional speed, but Shmi was more than capable of keeping up with him. Having retreated back up the stairs, Shmi retook the initiative by launching an offensive of her own. Shmi pummeled Sidious with ruthless and rapid blows from her two blades, and soon Sidious' face was glistening with sweat from overexertion.
"You're no match for me," Shmi growled as she leaned into their interlocked blades.
Sneering, Sidious pulled back and swiped down at her legs. Parrying the ill-advised swing with the Darksaber, Shmi struck down at Sidious' shoulder with her blue blade. Narrowly avoiding the overhead strike, Sidious spun out of the way and resumed backing away from her toward the entrance of the office.
"Your faith in your abilities has made you arrogant, Elegius," Sidious taunted, his knees bent slightly as he held his red blade in front of his face.
"My powers are greater than you can even dream of," she shot back, pairing her verbal assault with a physical offensive as she hacked at Sidious' head with her black blade. Ducking under the swing, Sidious counterattacked and began pushing Shmi back. Stumbling back toward the stairs, Shmi lost her balance for a moment, prompting her to leap away from Sidious, backflipping so that she landed back on her feet behind the desk.
Sidious loomed over her from the top of the stairs, his black eyes meeting her own fiery ones. The power emanating through the Force from the two of them was no doubt unprecedented. The darkness wailed and swirled around the office, with the two of them located in the eye of this tempestuous maelstrom of power. Yet not for one instant did Shmi feel as if she wasn't in control over it. In that moment, the two of them had both reached the zenith of their powers, and Shmi's potential far outmatched that of Sidious'.
"Plagueis was a fool to abandon you so early," Sidious said unexpectedly. "I saw your potential long before he realized it."
"Is that why you did it?" Shmi asked, her voice full of vitriol. "Is that why you raped me?"
Sidious scowled and lowered his lightsaber. Instead of answering, he raised his left hand and sent a wave of blue lightning toward her. Shmi was ready however, using the Darksaber to absorb the salvo.
"I chose you, Skywalker," Sidious said, ceasing the ineffectual lightning. "I thought your son would be the tool I needed. Too bad he was a disappointment."
"That's because you failed," Shmi said, walking around the desk slowly as she began to approach Sidious. "You did not conceive my son."
"Is that so?" Sidious asked, eyes narrowed as he took a step back.
"You killed my son's true father," Shmi said bitterly. "You had my husband murdered."
"Jinn?" Sidious asked, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline in surprise.
"You'll pay for what you did!" Shmi bellowed. Leaping up the stairs in one jump, Shmi resumed her assault. Sidious contorted out of the way and began retreating toward the window. Powers reinvigorated at the thought of her late husband, Shmi's blades gyrated and whirred with deadly, nearly mechanical precision and brutality.
Unable to keep up, Sidious bared his teeth as he fled toward the window. Slashing his red blade behind him, the massive window smashed into millions of shards. The howling wind threatened to knock both of them off balance, but Shmi persevered through it. Eyes narrowed as she walked through the gale, Shmi held her two blades up high before resuming her assault against her cornered foe.
Unable to retreat any farther, Sidious made a final stand by the window, but his defense was futile in the face of her tenacity. With one last swift slice, Shmi cut straight through the hilt of Sidious' lightsaber. The two halves of the weapon flew out of Sidious' hand and plunged out of the window toward the ground below.
"It's all over, Sidious!" Shmi yelled over the roaring wind, her silver hair billowing behind her as she pointed her blue blade at Sidious' heaving chest.
"No, no!" Sidious pleaded as he tripped and fell to the ground at the edge of the window frame, his hands held up in front of him. As Shmi raised her lightsaber over her head once again, Sidious unleashed a new wave of lightning in a desperate attempt to save himself. Caught off guard, Shmi was only barely able to block the fusillade of crackling electricity extruded from Sidious' fingertips.
Pressing her two blades downward, Shmi redirected the lightning back toward Sidious's face. A fetid stench bombarded her nostrils as the flesh on Sidious' face seemed to melt, prompting Shmi to cringe in revulsion. Shmi hadn't even realized she had been screaming until Sidious finally stopped the lightning, the back of his head collapsing into the wall with a dull thud.
Trembling with disgust and exertion, Shmi lowered her blades as she stared down at the pitiful sight below her. "You sicken me, Sidious," she said, scrunching her nose. "You did everything in your power to ruin my life. It's about time you faced retribution for your sins."
"You're not going to kill me," Sidious said in a raspy voice. "You can't."
"Watch me," Shmi said. Clipping the superfluous Darksaber to her belt, Shmi reared her blue lightsaber back over her head with her right hand. Sidious had disarmed her of this blade so easily all those years ago on Jakku. Now after everything that had happened to her since, it was only fitting that she defeat him with this very blade.
Pausing for the briefest of moments, Shmi stared down at Sidious' mangled face in triumph. With a roar, she brought the blade down to Sidious' throat…
A flash of purple crossed her vision, followed immediately thereafter by a searing pain in her arm. Shrieking, Shmi stumbled backward and saw in horror that her hand was gone. Her lightsaber soared out the window, her severed hand still attached to the hilt as it plummeted out of sight. Falling on her back by the precipice of the open window, Shmi looked up to see her old master Mace Windu standing over her, his purple blade held with two hands in front of him.
"No! Master, no!" she yelled as Windu raised the distinct purple blade over his head to strike her down just like how she had tried to strike Sidious down moments ago.
"Goodbye, Shmi," Windu said, his voice barely audible over the tempestuous wind.
With that, the Jedi Master swung down at his former Padawan.