Chapter 23 – The Ghost

Mustafar

Anakin's robes were drenched in blood of all shades and the command room was overwhelmed by the stench of death. Stepping over the charred remains of a battle droid, Anakin clenched his jaw and held his breath as he made his way toward the holoprojector inlaid into the circular control panel in the center of the room. Activating the device and inserting the necessary information, Anakin crossed his arms in front of him as he waited to establish contact.

"It is done," he said once his mother's hologram appeared in front of him. "The Confederacy has been destroyed."

"Well done, my son," Shmi said. "You have brought peace to the galaxy."

The corner of Anakin's mouth twitched, but he didn't smile fully. "There's more," he said. "Maul is dead."

Shmi tilted her chin up and arched an eyebrow in surprise. "You killed him?" she asked.

"No, he was dead when I arrived," Anakin said.

"How?" Shmi asked.

"I don't know," Anakin admitted. "Savage said he thought Ventress did it, but I'm not so sure."

"Why not?"

"He was killed by a blaster, not by a lightsaber," Anakin explained. "Is it possible the droids turned against him?"

"Not likely," Shmi mused, her gaze drifting away as she considered this development.

"One more thing," Anakin said, prompting Shmi to look back at him sharply. "Padmé. She's gone."

Shmi's eyes widened, and Anakin was surprised to register concern in his mother's expression. Was it possible she was worried for Padmé? But he thought she despised her? "What do you mean she's gone?" she asked.

"Obi-Wan betrayed me," Anakin growled, red hot rage welling up within him once more. "He took her from me."

Shmi contemplated Anakin's taut face for a moment before speaking. "We will find him, do not worry," she said. "He will not get away with this injustice."

"But where would he have taken her? And why?"

Shmi looked away once again, her forehead scrunched in concentration. "He took her home," she finally said, more to herself than to him.

"Home?" Anakin asked. "To Naboo?"

"No, not Naboo," Shmi said shaking her head. "I know where he is. I'll send the coordinates to you in a bit. Go there as soon as you can, I'll follow you there when I'm able."

"You don't have to –"

"Don't argue with me, Anakin. I have to go now. Good luck."

With that, Shmi's hologram disappeared, leaving Anakin alone in the midst of the massacre. Bemused, Anakin frowned as he looked away from the holoprojector. He didn't understand his mother's behavior, but he knew better than to question her. She clearly knew what she was doing.

Coruscant

Shmi didn't know what she was doing.

After Anakin had departed for Mustafar, Shmi contacted the Vice Chair of the Senate Mas Amedda and forced him to convene an emergency session of Senate. There she had announced Palpatine's death and the end of the war. She knew the transition of power was going to be rocky, and it was probable that very few senators would support her unconstitutional power grab. The senators were irrelevant for the moment, however. All that mattered was the clone army which conveniently was listening to her commands. Even with the clones' loyalty, however, Shmi had no idea how to maintain her flimsy grip over the Republic. Plagueis had told her to forge a new order, but she didn't know how to do that. She couldn't help but doubt herself at this point. What if she had misinterpreted her father? What if he hadn't meant for her to assume power over the Republic at all?

Having been fitted with a bronze-plated mechanical hand in the morning, Shmi made her way to the Jedi Temple to assess the damage the clones had caused. As if in a dream, Shmi lugubriously meandered down the red-carpeted halls of the Temple which she had called home for the first three decades of her life. Bodies were strewn about all over the complex, young and old. Despite her course, phlegmatic exterior, Shmi found herself beginning to tear up at the sight of the dozens of murdered younglings. Shmi may have despised the Jedi Order, but that didn't mean she had wanted all of them to die. This had been Sidious' doing. Never would she have done something so cruel and heartless. But it needed to happen in some form or another. The Jedi had to be defeated. It was convenient that Sidious had done it for her, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

Unable to bear it any longer, Shmi left the Jedi Temple for the Senate which was swarmed with troops. There she had been contacted by her son who had informed her that the Confederate leadership had been taken care of. Her relief that Anakin had succeeded and was safe had been cut short, however, when he told her that Padmé had disappeared.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Shmi asked, seated in Amedda's office in the Senate. She had evicted the Vice Chair from his office and removed him from his post. She didn't want any of Sidious' sycophants to remain in power, and besides, Amedda had a nice office. It wasn't nearly as opulent as Sidious' had been, but this one would do until that one had been repaired and renovated to her liking.

"Obi-Wan betrayed me," Anakin's hologram said, his face contorted with fury. "He took her from me."

Shmi narrowed her eyes, seeing much of herself in her young son. Although his hologram was tinged with blue, she could tell that his eyes were burning a fierce yellow, most likely unbeknownst to Anakin himself. It was clear that Obi-Wan's alleged betrayal had pushed Anakin over the edge into the darkness for the first time.

"We will find him, do not worry," she said. "He will not get away with this injustice."

"But where would he have taken her?" Anakin asked. "And why?"

Shmi looked away and considered the words her father had told her back when she had been in limbo.

Return home, and you may find the answers you seek.

Return home. Shmi hadn't known what that meant at the time, but now she had a suspicion. She didn't have a home, she never had. The closest thing to a home she'd ever had were the ones with Qui-Gon on Coruscant and with Anakin on Tatooine, but she wouldn't have considered those as her home anymore. No, home was wherever her family was, and ever since Qui-Gon died, she hadn't thought she would ever have a home again.

But something was calling to her. She couldn't quite identify it, but she knew it was where she was meant to be. She knew it was where Plagueis wanted her to. Why, she had no idea, but the call was unmistakable.

"He took her home," she whispered to herself. Why had Obi-Wan brought Padmé there? Was it possible he too had been called there? If so, by who? Could it be that Plagueis had done it? It certainly made sense if that was the case. After all, Plagueis was the only one who knew about that particular location.

"Home? To Naboo?"

Shmi returned her attention to Anakin who was giving her an incredulous look. "No, not Naboo," she said with a shake of her head. "I know where he is. I'll send the coordinates to you in a bit. Go there as soon as you can. I'll follow you when I'm able."

"You don't have to –"

"Don't argue with me, Anakin. I have to go now. Good luck."

Anakin looked as if he had more to say, but Shmi didn't give him the opportunity, turning off the holoprojector with a snap of her fingers. Standing up from Amedda's desk, Shmi produced her comlink from her pocket and activated it.

"Yes, my lady?" a voice answered at once.

"Commander Cody, assemble a task force for me at once," she ordered, opening the door to the office with a wave of her hand. "I need to leave the capital as soon as possible."

"Where to, my lady?" the expeditious clone commander asked.

"Polis Massa," she said. "I need to go home."

Polis Massa

"How are you doing?" Obi-Wan asked as he wheeled Padmé into the elevator of the hangar on Polis Massa.

"I'm fine," Padmé said, although the faintness of her voice was deeply disquieting.

"How are the contractions?" Obi-Wan asked, pushing past his juvenile discomfort for the subject.

"Pretty bad," Padmé admitted as the elevator began ascending.

Obi-Wan swallowed nervously at this. "Don't worry, we're almost there," Obi-Wan said. "Just hold on a little longer."

"That's good, because I think my water broke an hour ago."

"What!?" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were busy piloting the ship," Padmé said nonchalantly. "I didn't want to worry you."

Obi-Wan shook his head in disbelief as the elevator came to a stop on the ground level. Would the wonders with Padmé never cease? He was still struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that she had literally killed a man while in labor. And not just any man; she had killed Darth Maul himself with nothing but a blaster! She was an impressive woman, to say the least. Not unlike Satine, in fact.

"You should have told me," Obi-Wan insisted as the elevator came to a stop.

Padmé didn't respond, electing instead to focus on her breathing. As the doors opened, Obi-Wan pushed the wheel-chair out of the elevator and into a pristine white hallway. Taking a turn, they encountered Senator Organa rushing toward them. When he saw Padmé, the senator did a double take.

"Padmé?" he said incredulously.

"Hello, Bail," Padmé said, giving him a strained smile. "Mind showing us where the medical facility is?"

Organa blinked a few times in surprise before responding. "Of course," he stammered. "Follow me."

A few minutes later, Obi-Wan finally bid Padmé adieu when they reached the medical facility. A trio of white medical droids floated toward them and took Padmé with them into the ward. Obi-Wan sighed in relief as he watched Padmé get wheeled away beyond a pair of sliding doors and out of sight.

"What was she doing with you?" Organa asked, standing next to him in the hallway.

Obi-Wan hesitated, not sure how to respond. "That's a story for another time," he said finally, deciding it wise not to unveil Padmé's secret to Organa. Organa frowned, but he didn't pursue the issue any further. "Where is Master Yoda? Is he here?" Obi-Wan asked, studiously diverting the conversation.

"Yes, he is," Organa said, nodding his head. "He would very much like to see you."

"Take me to him," Obi-Wan enjoined.

Organa nodded again and gestured for Obi-Wan to follow him down the hallway. Walking slowly, the pair plodded in silence for a few moments before Organa spoke again.

"I will have you know that we are not alone here," he said ominously.

"How do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked, perturbed by the Senator's tone.

"I'm not sure," Organa said, pursing his lips as they took another turn down an interchangeable white hallway. "Master Yoda was vague about it when he told me."

"That is his style," Obi-Wan grumbled. One could say many things about the sagacious Grand Master, but explicit was not one of them. "What exactly did he say?"

"That an old ghost lived here," Organa told him.

Obi-Wan frowned and glanced at the concerned Senator. An old ghost? What did that mean? "Has he spoken to this ghost?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Not that I know of," Organa told him. "For what it's worth, I'd rather he not."

Unsure how to interpret this, Obi-Wan said nothing. Organa seemed more than content to marinate in the silence as well, and the two said nothing more as they continued onward down the sterile hallway. Obi-Wan's thoughts drifted away from the disconcerting issues of the present to the even more troubling questions of the immediate future.

Was what Maul had told them really true? To be fair, Maul wasn't the most reliable source of information given the circumstances, but Obi-Wan couldn't think of a reason for him to lie. It was entirely plausible that Shmi had decided to usurp the Republic after having killed Sidious. What didn't make sense, however, was that Anakin would join her. What really had happened on Coruscant? Had Anakin truly turned to the dark side at his mother's behest? Would he have really done that knowing that he was about to be a father?

Obi-Wan's worrisome thoughts were cut short when Organa led him into a room at the end of the hallway. A window pane encircled the entire room, providing a view of the floating, barren asteroids around them. Seated in front of the window directly across the room from them was Yoda, his legs crossed and his eyes most likely closed as he meditated with remarkable calm. Yoda always managed to maintain an air of tranquility even amidst times of tumult or disarray. Now was evidently no exception, despite the catastrophic severity of the circumstance.

"Master Yoda," Organa said, striding forth toward the Grand Master. "Master Kenobi has arrived."

Yoda's triangular ear twitched yet he made no movement toward the voice. Obi-Wan watched cautiously from a few feet behind Organa, waiting for Yoda to address him. "Recognize you, I did not," he said finally. "Clouded by fear, you are, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan flinched, caught off guard by this assessment. "Are you not afraid, Master?" he asked in a strained voice.

Yoda chuckled softly as he used he summoned his cane from across the room. Using the stick to prop himself back upright, he turned around to face him. "Afraid, we must not be," he pontificated. "To the dark side, fear will only lead."

Uncharacteristic anger sparked within him at these empty words. "The Republic has fallen and all of the Jedi are dead!" he exclaimed, arms gesticulating wildly at his sides. "Elegius had them killed! And Anakin helped her do it!"

"Know this, do you?" Yoda asked.

"Well, not for sure, but –"

"Misconstrued, your interpretation is," Yoda said, grunting a bit as he began to walk toward him and Organa. "Betray the Jedi, young Skywalker did not."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow and tilted his head curiously. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"Join his mother willingly, he would not have had he known her plans," Yoda said, avoiding the question as he walked past Organa toward the door.

Dumbfounded, Obi-Wan's mouth fell open. "How do you know about that?" he asked incredulously.

Once again, Yoda did not answer him. "Follow," he said instead, continuing on past Obi-Wan and out of the room. Sparing a glance toward the similarly confused Organa, Obi-Wan spun around and hurried after the diminutive Grand Master.

"Master, how long have you known?" Obi-Wan asked once he had caught up with Yoda.

"Not long," Yoda said vaguely.

"But –"

"Irrelevant, this is," Yoda dismissed with a shake of his head. "More pressing concerns, we have."

Surpassing Yoda with his longer strides, he turned around and stopped in the middle of the hallway. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Yoda stopped walking and craned his neck up to look at him. "Here, he is," Yoda said. "Confront him, you must."

"Who is here?"

"Skywalker," Yoda said.

"Shmi?" Obi-Wan asked, eyes widening in shock.

"No," Yoda said, lowering his head as he pushed past Obi-Wan to continue walking. "Anakin."

"Anakin is here now?" Obi-Wan asked, following the Grand Master as they made a turn down another corridor.

"Confused, young Skywalker is," Yoda said. "Tell him the truth, you must."

Obi-Wan swallowed hard, dreading the prospect of confronting Anakin. "But Master, why don't you do it?" he suggested.

"Trust you more, he does," Yoda said.

Obi-Wan frowned, but he had to concede the point. "Very well," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "I will talk to him."

Upon disengaging from the hyperdrive ring, Anakin flew his Jedi Fighter toward the asteroid field that was Polis Massa. He encountered no resistance as he approached and landed in the surprisingly sleek hangar on the largest asteroid in the field.

At once, he could sense that Obi-Wan was here. His incipient fury toward Obi-Wan had tempered somewhat during his brief journey from Mustafar to Polis Massa. The more he thought about things, the less everything made sense. Why would Obi-Wan have abducted Padmé? He had initially assumed that Obi-Wan had found out that Elegius had seized power in Coruscant and figured Anakin had joined up with her. How would he have found out about that, though? He had been on Mustafar the whole time. Had the Jedi contacted him somehow? But surely the Jedi knew what had happened by now. His mother must have informed them that Palpatine was indeed Sidious and that she had defeated him.

Right?

Anakin had thought that had happened because that's what he would have done, but was it possible that his mother hadn't come to terms with the Jedi? Was it possible that upon defeating Sidious, she had turned her attention toward defeating the Order? But why would she do that? And why wouldn't she have told him if that was indeed the case?

This entire affair was thoroughly befuddling and incomprehensible to Anakin. He had never been adept at understanding such intricate machinations like Sidious or Elegius were able. Anakin had always been a tactical thinker rather than a strategic one. As a consequence, he decided to push aside his concerns and focus solely on finding his wife. Surely Obi-Wan wouldn't have done anything to hurt her, but Anakin couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Given the severity of the situation, he would have to assume the worst until proven otherwise, and that meant that he had to consider Obi-Wan as his enemy.

Drawing his father's weapon, Anakin activated the emerald blade as he marched across the hangar toward the elevator. Doubt and disconcertion ebbed away as he picked up on Obi-Wan's Force presence. He had been here very, very recently. Kenobi was close, and that meant Padmé was as well. Following the scent, Anakin felt a steely resolve coursing through him. Once again, there was that formidable power he had felt on Mustafar. It was an intoxicating sensation. Was this how his mother felt all the time? Indomitable and invincible? No wonder she was so confident in herself.

When the doors to the elevator opened, Anakin took two steps out into the luminous white hallway when he stopped. Emerging from around a corner at the end of the hall was the very man he sought to find: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened as they drifted down toward his activated lightsaber. Swallowing nervously, Obi-Wan reached to his belt and produced his own blade and ignited it.

"Where is she?" Anakin asked, his voice elevated because Obi-Wan was still several dozen meters away from him.

Blue lightsaber in hand, Obi-Wan began to walk toward him slowly. "Padmé is safe," he said vaguely. "Or at least she was, until you arrived."

Incensed by the accusation, Anakin slashed his lightsaber against the floor, blemishing the previously spotless white hall as embers flew upward and perforated the opposite wall with burn marks. Deterred by this violent outburst, Obi-Wan ceased walking toward him and raised his lightsaber. Anakin reciprocated the gesture, clenching the hilt of his father's lightsaber with both hands as he brought it up over his shoulders.

"Why are you doing this?" Anakin asked through gritted teeth. "Why did you betray me?"

Bewildered by this question, Obi-Wan lowered his blade and tilted his head. "Betray you? Anakin you're the one who betrayed me!"

"You kidnapped my wife!" Anakin roared.

"You helped Elegius overthrow the Republic!" Obi-Wan countered with equal vociferousness.

"We didn't overthrow the Republic," Anakin corrected. "She'll return power to the Senate once this is all over."

"Once this is over?" Obi-Wan repeated incredulously. "And when will that be? After every last Jedi has been killed? After every threat has been exterminated?"

Anakin blinked in confusion as he processed this bizarre question. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes and arched an eyebrow. "You don't know?" he asked.

"Know what?"

Obi-Wan's creased forehead smoothed as he slackened his belligerent posture. Deactivating his lightsaber, he reattached it to his belt with a heavy sigh. "She's manipulated you, Anakin," he said. "She didn't tell you the truth so that you would side with her."

"What truth?" Anakin asked, thoroughly bemused by this point.

"The Jedi have been destroyed," Obi-Wan told him plaintively. "Elegius ordered the clones to turn on them. As far as we know, Yoda and I are the only ones left alive."

Anakin's eyes widened as he lowered his lightsaber, the tip of the green blade grazing the floor with a dull hiss. "You're lying," Anakin said hoarsely.

"I wish I was," Obi-Wan said morosely.

Anakin gaped at Obi-Wan for a moment longer before looking away, angry tears welling up in his eyes. His mother had lied to him? She hadn't told him about her true plans so that he would continue to be useful to her. And he had fallen for it! He had killed the Separatists just like she asked. Now nobody could oppose her will – the Jedi, Maul, and the entire Confederacy were now gone.

"I don't believe you," he said, shaking his head as he returned his gaze to Obi-Wan. "I can't."

"I'm sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "But you knew this was a possibility. You knew she was capable of this."

Anakin felt the strength which had been coursing through his veins mere moments ago dissipate, rendering his limbs heavy and his heart even more so. Hands trembling, Anakin looked down at his father's lightsaber and was struck by a wave of nausea.

"I – I let her do it," he stammered. "I helped her do it. I killed so many people, Obi-Wan. I lost count…"

"Who did you kill?" Obi-Wan asked cautiously when Anakin trailed off.

Anakin deactivated his father's lightsaber and raised the hilt upward as he inspected it with almost macabre fascination. How could he have used this weapon – his father's weapon – for such evil purposes? What would Qui-Gon have thought if he learned his son had murdered countless people with his blade?

"The Separatists," Anakin said, his voice husky as he tightened his grip on the hilt so much so that his wrist began to tremble. "She told me to do it, and I did it. I didn't even think, I just… did it."

"You were deceived, Anakin," Obi-Wan said firmly. "This is not your fault."

"It is," Anakin said at once, looking up from his lightsaber sharply. "I let her do it. I let her get away with it."

"You couldn't have known –"

"I knew," Anakin interrupted. "I've always known. But I pretended not to. Some part of me must have wanted this. Some part of me wanted her to get away with it."

"That's not true –"

"I felt it, Obi-Wan," Anakin said. "I felt the darkness. And I wasn't afraid of it like I should have been. I… I let it consume me."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow and took a tentative step toward him. "Well that explains your eyes," he said. When Anakin frowned, Obi-Wan elaborated. "They were yellow when you arrived."

Anakin flinched and looked away, his disgust with himself amplified further still. "I'm just like her, aren't I?" Anakin said bitterly. "I'm a monster just like my mother."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to contradict him, but evidently thought better of it. Perhaps he realized the truth of Anakin's assessment. Or perhaps he had known all along but hadn't wanted to admit it.

"You should go be with your wife," Obi-Wan said after a brief silence. "I had to bring her here because she went into labor."

That got Anakin's attention, rousing him abruptly from his dreary ruminations. "She's in labor?" he repeated, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Come with me," Obi-Wan said, stepping aside to allow Anakin to walk next to him. Hesitating only for a brief moment, Anakin reattached his father's lightsaber to his belt and nodded.

"Is she alright?" Anakin asked when they began walking down the hall.

"Seems like it," Obi-Wan said. "Remarkably so considering the circumstances."

"She's strong," Anakin mused, his limbs feeling tight and jittery as they took a turn toward what he assumed was the medical ward.

"Believe me, I know," Obi-Wan said. "You probably don't know this, but she killed Maul when we were trying to leave."

"What!?" Anakin exclaimed, stopping abruptly and spinning to face Obi-Wan directly. "She killed Maul? How? And why?"

"He was threatening her," Obi-Wan said, smiling slightly at Anakin's reaction. "He told us what happened on Coruscant and told us that we couldn't leave. He wanted to use her as a hostage to get what he wanted from Elegius."

Anakin clenched his jaw and balled up his fists, the deeply-familiar rage returning with a vengeance. Looking away quickly, Anakin closed his eyes and took a deep breath to stabilize himself. "What happened next?" he asked through gritted teeth, eyes still shut as he fought off the darkness within him.

"Maul and I both drew our lightsabers, but Padmé was quicker than either of us," he heard Obi-Wan say. "She had a concealed blaster on her somewhere and shot him with it."

That sounded plenty plausible to Anakin who was well aware of that Padmé's numerous outfits and gowns were designed as much for defense as they were for fashion. Ever since being Queen of Naboo, Padmé never left her home without some sort of weapon. While Anakin had insisted that he was more than able to protect her, he was now glad for what he had previously dismissed as paranoia.

"I can't believe Maul would do that," Anakin said as they resumed walking. "I thought he was our friend."

"He was afraid," Obi-Wan said. "He knew Elegius would kill him if he didn't have any form of leverage. It doesn't excuse what he did, but it does explain it."

"I guess," Anakin grumbled, calming down as the darkness receded gradually. Unclenching his fists, Anakin exhaled out his mouth and sagged his head a bit. He needed to expunge this darkness within him which he had so foolishly allowed to impair his soul. Was that even possible, though? The Jedi used to say that once one turned to the dark side, there could be no return. His mother disagreed with that, saying that it was possible to channel both the light and the dark, but where was the evidence for that? From what he could tell, Shmi was nothing but dark now. Would that have been his fate as well had he continued to follow her advice? He had been so close to falling over the precipice into the inescapable chasm that was the dark side. When Obi-Wan had confronted him just minutes earlier, Anakin had been ready to kill him. And he would have killed him just like he had killed Savage had Obi-Wan not told him the truth.

It all made sense to him now why he had sensed his mother's fear of herself. Anakin felt that same fear. They were both terribly afraid of their powers and what they could be used for. The only difference was Shmi had succumbed to her powers whereas Anakin – for the moment at least – had managed to resist them. Why had his mother not been as strong as he had been? Why had she been unable to stave off the darkness or control it like she claimed she could? Was it his fault? After all, he should have known what she was struggling with. He had sensed it! He should have helped her! Instead, he had pretended as if he hadn't known anything and let her commit an atrocity because of it.

Upon arriving at the medical ward, Obi-Wan led him through a set of sliding glass doors. Entering the facility, Anakin's attention was drawn toward a large glass window on his right. On the other side was an operating room, a trio of white-plated medical droids hovering a few feet off the air as they performed their tasks assiduously.

"Come on," Obi-Wan said to him. "You should be in there."

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation, Anakin merely nodded in response. Following Obi-Wan toward the door, they walked into the operating room and at once Anakin saw her. Padmé was lying on the bed surrounded by the three medical droids, her back propped up by a pair of white cushions. She looked thoroughly exhausted; a glistening sheen of sweat as well as prominent dark rings under her eyes evincing her fatigued state. Despite this, her eyes were twinkling and her mouth was curled upward in a radiant smile as she beamed down at a small bundle in her arms…

Anakin froze in the doorway, a wave of emotion crashing over him at the sight before him. As Obi-Wan stepped aside, Padmé looked up to see him standing there.

"Anakin," she said, clearly surprised to see him there.

Regaining control over his limbs, Anakin took a wobbly step toward her, his eyes fixated on the child in her arms. "Is it…"

"A boy," Padmé said, following his gaze down toward their baby boy. "I thought we should name him Luke."

"Luke," Anakin repeated dazedly as he reached Padmé's bedside. As he stared down at the face of his son for the first time, Anakin was struck with a ray of brilliant, untainted light. The unadulterated purity of his son permeated his core, gnawing away at the lingering darkness which plagued him. Relinquishing the fury which he hadn't even realized was still present within him, Anakin's mouth quivered before breaking out into a smile.

Without a word, Padmé picked Luke up and offered him to his father. Arms trembling slightly, Anakin reached down and received the bundle of blankets with exceptional care. Warmth – of both the physical and spiritual sense – percolated through his fingers and up his forearms as he raised Luke up toward his chest.

"He's not crying," Anakin observed, his eyes wide and unblinking as he stared down at his son with the utmost fascination. "Is that normal?"

"I think so," Padmé said. "It's a good thing, too. I don't think I could handle it if he started crying as well."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, looking up from Luke sharply.

Padmé smiled thinly at him, her eyes sparkling in the bright fluorescent lights of the operating room. "I was carrying twins," she told him. "A boy and a girl."

Stunned, Anakin's mouth fell open. "A girl?" he repeated incredulously. "But where –"

Anakin was interrupted by a soft hissing sound, indicating that the door to the operating room had opened. Turning around, Anakin was surprised to see Master Yoda walk in, knobby walking stick in hand. When their eyes met, Yoda paused and gave him an inquisitive look.

"Returned to the light, have you, young Skywalker?" the Grand Master asked.

Unsure of how to respond, Anakin stared back at Yoda with his mouth hanging open dumbly. "I… I don't know," he managed to say finally.

"Where is my daughter?" Padmé asked, saving Anakin from his humiliation. "He said that –"

"In danger, we are," Yoda interrupted brusquely, dismissing Padmé's question.

"Danger? What sort of danger?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Arrived, Elegius has," Yoda said bluntly.

Anakin's eyes widened, a jolt of fear rippling through him as he remembered the circumstances of his arrival here. His mother had told him she was going to follow him here. How could he have forgotten?

Determination eclipsed his instinctive fear as Anakin leaned back to hand Luke off to Padmé. "I will face her," he said strongly as he stood back upright and faced Yoda with his hands crossed over his chest. "It's time this came to an end."

"Face her, you need not," Yoda said.

"I have to!" Anakin insisted. "I'm the only one who can convince her to stop."

"No," Yoda said again with a shake of his head. "There is another."

Shmi wielded the Darksaber in her mechanical hand as she led a contingent of clones down the hangar, the sound of their synchronized steps echoing in the high-ceilinged room. The confluence of unmitigated resolve with tenacious fury enhanced her powers so much so the very fabric of the Force seemed to be revolving around her, desperate to serve her will.

She had become what Plagueis had wanted her to become: ultimately invincible. She knew that she was fulfilling her father's will. By coming back to Polis Massa, she would exterminate the last of the Jedi and restore peace to the galaxy. Once Kenobi was dead, she would have a blank slate with which to found a new order. An order unimpaired by dogma or greed; an order dedicated to both the light and the dark; an order to bring balance to the Force and justice to the galaxy.

She was the Chosen One. Until now, she hadn't really believed it. It all made sense to her now, however. Her purpose was well-defined and her resolve was consequently firmer than ever. Never again would she be crippled by self-doubt or hampered by tenuous alliances of convenience. Sidious had been defeated, Maul had been killed, and now Kenobi and the rest of the Jedi were to be annihilated. Nobody else could stand in her way. She would rule the galaxy with Anakin and her newborn grandchild at her side.

A sudden ripple in the Force caused Shmi to stumble. Regaining her footing, Shmi came to a stop and held up her gloved left hand. The clones behind her all halted at once, settling into formation a few feet behind her. Shmi lowered her hand slowly and peered ahead where she saw an elevator. She sensed something, yet she couldn't describe what…

The doors to the elevator slid open and the jarring sound of a baby's cry pierced the air. Flinching, Shmi took a step back and narrowed her eyes. Emerging from the elevator was a tall, veiled figure, a bawling baby nestled in his arms. The hooded man took a few laborious steps toward her before stopping about three meters away.

All was still. Behind her, she heard the clones training their blasters on the mysterious figure in front of her, but she didn't feel threatened by him. On the contrary, she felt oddly secure in his presence. It was almost like…

Shmi's expression hardened as she activated the Darksaber in her right hand. At the sound of the weapon, the baby in the man's arms proceeded to cry even louder than before, the shrill sound amplified in the vast hangar.

"Who are you?" Shmi demanded, brandishing the black blade in front of her.

The man didn't respond, his head drooped as he cooed something to the baby in his arms. At his gentle behest, the child ceased crying and made a soft gurgling sound, much like a laugh. Although his face was tenebrous on account to the hood, Shmi could make out the distinctive outline of a smile emerge on the man's lips. Looking up from the pacified baby, the man's eyes met hers.

"I am Darth Elegius, Supreme Leader of the Galactic Republic," she pronounced in a loud, authoritative voice. "I demand you identify yourself at once."

The man chuckled feebly at her grandiloquence and shook his head. Incensed by his flippancy, Shmi slashed her blade through the air. "Who are you?" she yelled, the steeliness of her voice belying her growing sense of unease. Why was this man not afraid of her?

Transferring the baby to the crevice of his right arm, the man raised a quivering left arm up to his head. His pale, trembling hand grabbed the top of his hood and pushed it away. As the veil descended, Shmi gasped in shock as she felt as she was greeted by an aged, yet still deeply familiar countenance.

"Hello, my love," the white-haired man said.

It was Qui-Gon Jinn.