To Change the Galaxy
Chapter 39: Farewell
The more time we spent on our now repaired ship, the more I realized that it really did not have space for all of us. Still, I gamely did my best to catch up with the little Jedi, rescue Moteé and Ellé from constant babysitting duty, and make sure Typho didn't spend too much time standing stiff as a board all by himself. Saché alternated between playing with the children and saving me. The first time Obi-Wan attempted to approach me, I nearly fell over trying to escape him so Saché, wonderful person that she was, began playing interference every time he so much as looked in my direction.
Because Saché was amazing, she didn't ask me any questions about why I was trying to avoid him, even though she did send me odd and annoyed looks every now and again. Eventually, Obi-Wan seemed to give up and instead engaged Typho in conversation. I mainly felt relief. Even though I shouldn't have. Because I knew that Padmé was right. I knew I needed to talk to him. I knew it. But knowing and doing were two very different things and every time I so much as looked at him, I felt like throwing up so I figured maybe the doing had better be saved to a time when I felt less nauseous.
After what felt like lifetimes, Anakin and Padmé rejoined us in the cargo hold.
"Anakin, the twins and I will be going to Tatooine," Padmé announced as they entered. Anakin looked unhappy but said nothing.
"Glad that was decided," I said when no one else looked like they were willing to speak up. "So, uh. Now what?"
Padmé sighed heavily. "Now we make our final preparations for leaving. Saché, you have all the contact information for Uytar and Sern Prime?"
"Yeah," Saché said. "And I already accepted bounties on both planets, so landing shouldn't be a problem."
"Perfect," Padmé said. "Shia, Meral, you'll be coming with Master Skywalker and me. We'll see you safely to the refugee ship." Padmé gave the children a small smile before turning towards Typho. "Captain Typho, Moteé, Ellé, you'll be taking this ship. Anakin changed the transponder code again so hopefully you'll have a little time before the Empire realizes this is the ship spreading the vid. Moteé, Ellé, did you have time to update it?"
"Yes, milady." Moteé sprang to her feet and hurriedly put her arms behind her back, appearing to stand at attention. "Several people uploaded footage of Master Kenobi's and Master Skywalker's speech to the holonet. We managed to save copies before the Empire erased it from existence. We've added the speech into the vid so when we upload the chip, everyone should still see the Jedi Massacre on most of the screens in whatever square we go to, but at least two screens should also show Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker."
"We've also spliced in a code that should allow us to take over the traffic speakers, so they'll hear the speech too," Ellé added, rolling her eyes at Moteé as she slouched even lower onto the cargo box she was seated on.
"Excellent work, ladies," Padmé smiled. "And you said you should be able to insert the chip and then remove it before the vids have finished, correct?"
"Yes," Ellé said. "So we should be able to make our get away before anyone's even realized what's happened."
"What vid?" Typho asked blankly.
"We'll explain later, Captain." Moteé patted his arm in a delightfully condescending way as Typho continued to look a little baffled.
"When the Empire starts to get too close, contact us using Yané's device and let us know. Eirtaé's shipping company has small bases in nearly every system and she thinks she'll be able to use the company to evacuate you," Padmé said.
"If not, I'll figure something out," Saché shrugged. "So, no worries—as long as you keep yourselves alive, we'll find a way to get to you."
"Sabé, Obi-Wan," Padmé looked between us, where we stood on opposite ends of the cargo hold. "You'll be taking Captain Typho's ship. We made up a datapad for you with some basic information as well as the names of a few possible contacts on Alderaan and Chandrila. We haven't been able to openly speak to anyone on either planet as there seems to be a significant number of clones present on both of them. However, we do believe that it's the best option for the children as we know there are multiple people on each planet who are sympathetic to the Jedi, something we can't say about other places. Yané made another communication device that you can use if you have to but we are trying to limit contact in order to preserve the security of the devices. We were also able to make some false ident cards for both of you. We do have ident cards for the children, as well, although you may not need to use them depending on the situation. It's in a pack we made up for you. But I do believe that's it. Does anyone have any questions?"
No one did.
Padmé disappeared back onto Saché's ship to grab the pack for Obi-Wan and me. While she did that, I went back to my room and packed up all my things, even my wig. By the time I returned, Padmé was already back and had given the pack to Obi-Wan.
The cargo hold was oddly hushed as I slowly made my way back inside. The little Jedi had huddled together directly in the middle of the hold and everyone else appeared to be watching them while trying to look like they weren't. Padmé was tightly cradling one of the twins while Anakin absently bounced the other one, his own eyes darting back to the little Jedi every few seconds. I heard a small sniffle but the children were standing so close together I couldn't make out who it was coming from. Zett, who was taller than the rest, appeared to be telling them something quite seriously while the others nodded.
"What's going on?" I asked Saché as quietly as I could.
"They're saying good-bye," Saché whispered back, glancing up from the datapad she had been pretending to study. There was a small pause as her mouth twisted up. "I know we don't have a choice but—this is wrong, Sabé."
I looked back at the children in time to see Zett bend down. When he straightened up again, Meral was in his arms, her head firmly tucked in between his neck and shoulder as her lekku swayed unhappily. The children immediately shifted to close the gap, making their circle even smaller, as they moved so close together it looked like they were trying to become one being.
"Yeah. It is." My throat felt tight. I swallowed, which didn't really help. "All of this is."
Saché fiddled with her datapad before sending me a sideways glance. "It's also probably going to be a while before we're able to talk to each other again, Miss Fugitive."
For a moment I froze. My heart sank like a stone.
"Guess Padmé did say Yané's devices are now for emergency use only, huh?" I strove to sound casual but wasn't sure I managed.
"Yeah. It's honestly a miracle they're working as well as they are. And seeing as we're apparently going to overthrow the government," Saché's voice dripped with disdain, "everyone decided we shouldn't risk our only safe method of communication just because we want to talk to each other, you know?" Saché sent me another look out of the corner of her eye before appearing to return her attention to the datapad.
"Makes sense." And it did. "How many years has it been?" I felt a little shaky as I tried to do the math.
Saché frowned at me.
"Since the Invasion." Since we became handmaidens.
"I don't know. Never really been good with dates," Saché snorted quietly. "But." She paused. "I know it's been over half my life, Sabé. You nerf herders have been around for over half my life. Eirtaé, Rabé, and Yané wanted to meet up with us here but Apailana said it was too dangerous to risk."
"She's probably right," I agreed even as I resisted the urge to go find Yané's device so I could yell at the Queen. "And it's not like this is the end. Padmé and I may be on the run from the law but you all aren't. And it's not like we were on Naboo all that often anyway."
"Don't pretend it's going to be the same, Sabé," Saché bit out. "You may not have been on Naboo but we knew where you were. We knew we could see each other when we needed to. When it was important. And we weren't acting as the most suspected undercover operatives in the Empire while you two were galivanting around the galaxy by yourselves with stupidly large bounties on your head."
"I know." I folded my hands together so they wouldn't shake. "But. It's the galaxy, Saché. The Republic and the Jedi."
"Obviously, Sabé." Saché jabbed at her datapad, scowling. "And it's too late not to get involved now, anyway. Not that we stood a chance to begin with, what with Padmé being, you know. Padmé. Still." Saché glanced at the little Jedi who were still huddled together in the center of the room. "Separating from you two—not being able to talk to you whenever we want, having to pretend we don't support you, that we wouldn't die for you—it's wrong. This is all wrong."
"Oh, come on, Saché—of all of us, I thought I could at least count on you to not make me want to cry." My eyes burned and pressure was building in the back of my throat even as I tried to joke.
Saché finally looked up from the datapad, her eyes wet and angry. "I hate goodbyes. So if I'm going to cry, I'm taking you down with me."
I blinked furiously even as I reached out and pulled her into as tight a hug as I could manage.
"We're going to get through this, Saché." I put all my conviction into my words—trying to make them, through sheer force of will, be true. "We're going to bring down the Empire and restore the Republic. We're going to go back to Sern Prime, Uytar, Chandrila, and Alderaan and we're going to bring the little Jedi home. We're going to be able to see each other again whenever we want and make fun of each other for all the crazy stuff we did while rescuing the galaxy. And even when we're not together and we're not able to talk to each other and when we have to lie through our teeth about what we believe and who we are, it doesn't matter. It's not going to matter, Saché. We're always going to be us and we'll always know it, no matter where we are or how long it's been since we've talked. They can't take that from us. No one can take that from us."
Saché was hugging me back so hard it hurt and I was definitely crying and getting snot on her but it didn't matter. I wanted to stay there forever.
"You need anything, you tell me, Sabé. I don't care how illegal or dangerous or potentially disastrous to the cause, you use Yané's monstrosity and you tell me." Saché's voice was thick with tears but no less fierce for it.
"I promise."
For what felt like lifetimes and also no time at all, we stayed there, hugging each other and, in my case at least, trying to stop crying.
Finally, we slowly pulled apart.
Saché sniffed as she swiped at her eyes. "I do have messages to pass on, by the way. Yané wanted me to tell you that she's giving you and Obi-Wan the newest and best version of the 'SecNaLink' and that, even though it's for emergencies only, you shouldn't hesitate to use it. Rabé says that she'll miss you and that you should be careful. And Eirtaé—" Saché huffed out a small laugh. "Eirtaé says that you better try and use Obi-Wan's plans as much as possible and that if you could, and I quote 'keep the ridiculousness to a minimum, it would probably be for the best'."
I snorted. "Of course she did. Tell them that I will and that I miss them too and that—that I'm sure this will be over and done with before we know it."
Saché raised an eyebrow at me but let it slide.
"You two ready?"
Saché and I jumped, our heads whipping to the side. Padmé, a baby cradled in her arms, stood nearby, with a faint, sad smile on her face.
"Yeah, of course." Saché straightened up and gave us a grin that didn't reach her eyes. "See you later, Sabé, Padmé." She strode forward, into the center of the cargo hold where the children had dispersed, somewhat. "Tobe, Adan, Lelila, Sors, follow me. We're off into the great unknown, brats, and I expect you to be—" Whatever Saché expected faded off into the distance as she disappeared around a corner, four of the little Jedi scrambling after her.
I let out a slow, shaky breath.
"Saché said goodbye?" Padmé asked, rocking her baby slowly back and forth.
Not quite trusting myself to say anything, I nodded.
"She said her goodbyes to me on Naboo. Her, Yané, Eirtaé and Rabé." Padmé had a knowing glint in her eye. "I don't think any of us quite realized, when you left, how long it might be before we would all see each other again."
Not wanting to cry again—I felt like I had been doing nothing but crying lately—I tried to focus on the positives. "It might not be that long. They'll all be able to see each other, after all. And we'll be able to see each other too, right?"
Padmé nodded. "Of course. Only—" Padmé hesitated a little before lowering her voice somewhat and continuing, "I know Anakin is still struggling with the dark side. Everyone does think I need a break before joining the rebellion efforts, but the other reason we're not joining immediately is because Anakin needs time to find his center again. That was how I convinced Master Yoda to tell us places we could safely stay together as a family. Being around us will help him, I'm sure of it. But in the meantime, Master Yoda says it's still dangerous for Anakin, Luke and Leia to stay together. Tatooine is remote and Anakin says that Palpatine—Darth Sidious, I mean," Padmé corrected herself with a scowl, "knows how much he hates the planet, which we're hoping will give us additional cover. But if too many people are traveling on and off planet—"
"Right." My stomach twisted in knots. "Of course, I understand. We wouldn't want to draw too much attention to the place."
"Exactly, but Sabé," Padmé grabbed my hand and gave it a small comforting squeeze, "that doesn't mean you can't come to see us at all. I'm actually counting on it—if you don't, I might go mad stuck on Tatooine instead of helping—well. Regardless, I do expect you to visit me, even if it perhaps can't be as often as we would like."
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths as I tried to put everything in perspective. After all, the Republic had been destroyed and most of the Jedi had been murdered. Not being able to speak as often as I would like to my friends—sisters, a small part of me whispered—wasn't the end of the world.
When I opened my eyes, I smiled at Padmé. "I'll look forward to it." I pulled her into a sideways hug and she used her free arm to return it. "Make sure you're looking after your parents, little one," I told the twin in her other arm as seriously as I could. "They're prone to trouble, those two—you've got to keep a careful eye on them to make sure they don't do anything stupid."
Padmé smiled. "You're talking to the wrong person, Sabé. I think Leia is just as trouble prone as her parents, aren't you, Leia? Aren't you?"
Leia batted her arm out, whapping Padmé across the nose.
A laugh bubbled out of me as Padmé blinked down at her child.
"Exactly right, Leia, love," I grinned at the wiggling bundle. "They get out of hand or starting telling mean lies about you, you do exactly that."
Leia cooed and reached her hand out towards me. I offered her a finger, which she grabbed after a few false starts. I felt something inside me relax as Leia held tight to my finger while waving her other arm around enthusiastically.
After all, as long as there were babies around, the galaxy really couldn't be that dark of a place, could it?
"Seriously, Padmé," I finally said, slowly tearing my attention and finger away from Leia, who made a sound of protest. "Stay safe. And let me know if you or Anakin need anything."
"You too, Sabé." Padmé adjusted Leia, who had begun to fuss. "And," she lowered her voice further, "You will talk to Obi-Wan, won't you? With Anakin and I on Tatooine and Master Yoda in hiding…" Padmé trailed off.
"Yeah," I nodded, even as my stomach started churning again. "Yeah, I will. I'll miss you."
"You too. But, truly, I'm sure it won't be too long before we see one another again." Padmé reached out to give me another hug.
"Are you ready, Padmé?" Anakin approached us slowly, Luke cradled in his arms.
Padmé smiled at him. "Of course."
"Anakin—" Only I didn't know what to say.
"Thank you, Sabé," Anakin said, his blue eyes serious and intent on mine. "For everything you've done for us—Me, Padmé, Obi-Wan, the Jedi—thank you."
"Of course," I shrugged with a frown. "No need to thank me. Anyone would have—"
"No, they wouldn't have," Anakin disagreed. "They didn't."
"Well. Uh. You're welcome?" I hazarded.
Anakin smiled. "Good luck. Stay safe. And I know you're upset with him but—look after Obi-Wan for me, will you?"
My stomach did a small flip at the thought of the conversation I was going to have to have, but I ignored it. "I will. You two look after yourselves. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see each other again."
"It better not be." A scowl crossed Anakin's face. "I hate Tatooine. If we're stuck there for more than—"
Padmé heaved a sigh. "Let's not start this again. Shia, Meral?" Padmé called, turning to the center of the hold. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, Senator Amidala," Shia said, her voice small but steady. "We're ready."
"Well," I said a little helplessly. "Goodbye then."
"Goodbye, Sabé. We'll be in contact once it's safe for you to visit." Padmé smiled at me reassuringly even as she started walking away from me.
"Goodbye, Sabé," Anakin echoed as he trailed after her, Meral and Shia.
Just before they left the cargo hold, though, Anakin stopped in front of Obi-Wan. I looked away, turning my attention instead to Typho, Moteé and Ellé, who stood clumped together a few steps away.
"Good luck with everything," I told them politely. "If it makes you feel any better, the clone troopers didn't cotton on for several planets and, honestly, if Obi-Wan and Anakin hadn't made me fly the ship to pick them up, we probably could've made it to a few more before they caught up with us."
Typho heaved a sigh at me. "Oddly enough, Reccen, that does not make me feel even the slightest bit better. But thank you for the attempt."
"Yeah." I rolled my eyes back at him. "Anything for you, my good Captain. Anything for you." Taking a leaf from Moteé, I patted him on the shoulder as condescendingly as I could. "Good luck you two," I told the handmaidens. "Not that you need it. We're handmaidens. Means we're unstoppable, right?" I chanced a sly look at Captain Typho who had a very long suffering look on his face.
"Right!" Moteé squeaked.
"Good luck to you too, Sabé. Although, I'm sure you need it even less than we do," Ellé smiled back.
"Well, I don't know about that." Personally, I thought I could do with a whole heaping of good luck. "But, well, see you whenever I see you, I guess."
With that and a small wave, I walked towards the remaining little Jedi. As I did, I glanced back at Obi-Wan to see that Padmé and Anakin were gone, Meral and Shia with them.
"Well, guess that just leaves us," I told the children with a smile.
"Guess so," Zett said, as he accepted the fussing baby—Hydaak, I reminded myself—back from Trinna.
"Are we all ready to see our new ship?" Obi-Wan asked as he walked over to us, his eyes darting towards me before refocusing on our children.
They exchanged glances before nodding.
"Well," I said as cheerfully as I could fake while attempting to keep the bile down in my stomach where it belonged. "Then let's go!"
With that, I ignored my racing heart and churning stomach, leading the way to our new ship and, with it, our new mission.
Expected Update Time: March 29th or before hopefully; definitely before April 22. (Happy leap day! I love leap day-it's so much fun, ha!)
