Chapter 82
Refinery Planet - Month Twenty Five, Day Twenty eight PEF
Padmé followed Anakin through the small buildings on the moving refinery with trepidation. Her palms were sweating, her whole body was shaking, vibrating, with the knowledge that her children might be through any door they saw. They were so close. If the data Anakin's informant had provided was accurate, this was probably the closest she'd ever been and, while she'd been searching for them for so long, Padmé was starting to realize that a part of her had come to believe she'd never be able to find them.
She simply hadn't had the resources.
Anakin finally stopped at a building that looked just like any other. He checked the datapad with the information he'd been given and then tucked it away. His gaze met hers as he turned to look at her. "Ready?"
"Never more so."
He hesitated. "It... might not be them, Padmé."
"But it could be, too. We won't know if we just stand here."
He nodded and turned back to the door. Padmé watched him examine the door and realized after a moment there were no toggles or bells, no buttons or control panels to announce themselves. From the side, she saw his lips quirk into a hastily disappearing half-smile as he shook his head and lifted his hand to knock. "How primitive."
The inappropriate nervous giggle that welled in her throat was quelled just as quickly as it formed and Padmé twisted her and together in her sleeves as she waited for the door to be answered. They waited for two minutes before Anakin looked at her. "Maybe they're not home?"
"Maybe they didn't hear me," he returned easily and switched hands, rapping his leather encased metal knuckles against the portal. It took another minute before the sound of metal scraping on metal from the other side sounded and the door opened a series of inches.
"Yes?"
"I'm told you have two human children at this address who are not yours."
"We have a lot of children who are not ours," replied a nasally voice and Padmé found she couldn't place it; the inflections the creature was using were unfamiliar and new. Whatever the caretaker's race, she fet a sudden gnawing of unease in her gut. Chill bumps rose on her skin as it continued. "There are many unwanted and orphaned children; be more specific."
Anakin's hand touched the door, flattening out so it was fully touching, and Padmé found, in the new position, she couldn't see his face.
"I suggest that you let us meet them," there was something in his tone that was almost caressing and Padmé realized he was using the Force to try and persuade the caretaker to let them in. It was a dangerous move, with Jedi still being hunted, if the caretaker realized what was happening. Still, Anakin seemed determined as he continued and Padmé conceded that if it brought their children into her arms, it was worth the risk. "We are looking for specific children and will not take much of your time."
Please, please let this work, she prayed silently. This was the closest she'd ever been to potentially finding Luke and Leia and if they were turned away on the cusp, Padmé wouldn't be held responsible for her actions. Caretaker or not, this alien wasn't going to stand between her and her children.
Whatever Anakin was doing seemed to have persuaded the creature and the door opened further. "The children are sleeping; do not disturb them."
"We'll be quiet."
There was a pause, as if their host was assessing them. And then-
"This way."
Anakin glanced back at her with a blank expression and motioned for her to follow him. They entered the dimly lit dwelling and were brought to a staircase which extended both up and down. It wasn't until they reached the stairs that Padmé got a good look at their host... and her gut clenched.
The creature had pale skin with black hair and appeared to be human. The strange slits on its face, which appeared to be bulging with something, gave her pauze in identifying it as human. Its eyes were almost amber and mesmerizing, as if trying to convince her of its harmless nature.
All the same, the hair on the back of her neck rose as its eyes met hers and her instincts were shouting at her to flee. Looking at the caretaker, she couldn't figure out why her reaction was so visceral. Her hand grasped Anakin's elbow and squeezed, drawing his gaze around to hers. They shared a look and he nodded almost imperceptibly.
He felt it too.
After a long moment, the caretaker stepped onto the stairs and headed down. "This way."
Following cautiously, Anakin stepped ahead of her, reaching down to squeeze her hand and, as he let go, tap the small blaster she'd hidden in her sleeve. If nothing else, they'd be ready should something go sideways and his warning was clear; their mission couldn't distract them from the potential danger lurking in their unexpected host.
The warning well received, Padmé slipped her hands back into her sleeves, closing her fingers around the stock of the small blaster before following Anakin and their host down the stairs. The darkness was lit faintly by recessed lighting fixtures that only seemed to be on partial power... or running out of power. Shadows flickered before her as they descended Anakin staying between her and their host the whole way.
After a minute of descending, the landing came into view around Anakin's broad shoulders, no better lit than the staircase they'd just descended. It was quiet, only the sound of their footsteps echoing back to her. Without waiting for her to step off the last steps, their host led them down a passage to the left, two other similar passage, right and behind her, as badly lit as the rest of the place.
Light sensitive? Padmé considered this as they passed several closed doors, the whole thing reminding her of a prison, and she shuddered involuntarily, for the first time finding herself hoping the children here weren't hers. The thought of Luke and Leia being raised by this emotionless and creepy individual in their equally creepy home made her heart squeeze painfully.
The rooms they'd passed through had no toys, no signs that children lived here at all. At best, this orphanage seems to be overtaxed and underfunded. Like most of their kind. It didn't make the idea that her children might have spent the first two years of their lives here any easier.
They finally stopped before a door that looked like any other and their host opened it; Padmé was relieve to see it wasn't locked. At least the children, hers or not, were not being treated like prisoners. Anakin glanced her way. "Stay here."
"But-!"
Anakin's look was full of grim warning before he stepped into the room.
Padmé spared a glance at their host, her fingers circling more tightly around the blaster stock. It was watching her with its amber gaze, half lidded and assessing; like a predator evaluating its prey. It was a feeling she well remembered from her time in the Geonosian arena when facing the Nexu. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as its amber gaze caught and held hers as if trying to convince her that her instincts were wrong. Padmé had lived too long and through too many hardships to disregard her gut. Taking a step back, she kept her hand in her sleeve, but pulled the blaster from its pocket.
Her line of sight to the creature was broken when Anakin stepped out of the room. "It's not them."
With a cry of disbelief, Padmé was around him and in the room a heartbeat later, his Jedi reflexes no match for her desperation.
Two small bodies, both with dirty, pale hair, lay on makeshift bunks near the door. She went to her knees, reaching trembling hands towards them as their little chests rose and fell in sleep. Even as she did, catching a glimpse of both their faces, Padmé knew Anakin was right. The children were the right age, the right profile, the right everything... except the little girl's skin was tinted green... and the boy's red. In a holo, those were details which had failed to come through.
Her breath choked back, nearly suffocating her, relief and regret tearing through her in equal measure. Luke and Leia weren't being subjected to this establishment... but Luke and Leia were still lost.
Pushing to her feet, Padmé fled the room, darting past Anakin and their host, running up the stairs and for the door as the despair threatened to choke her again. Anakin was close on her heels, catching her on the upper landing and stopping her as she made for the door. "I know." He told her softly.
It was all it took for the reminder that this wasn't his first disappointment, and Padmé buried her face against his chest with a great, heaving sob.
"I am sorry to see your wife so upset."
Padmé stiffened, biting her lip and choking back her disappointment as the words of their host, its voice, kicked her self preservation instincts back into overdrive. "We need to leave."
Anakin's arms tightened around her, showing he'd heard her barely whispered comment. He didn't address her when he spoke, though. "Thank you for your time; I hope you find their parents."
Their host remained surprisingly silent as they took their leave, Anakin following her out of the building and not allowing her to speak with the creature. Which suited Padmé just fine; she had no desire to converse with a creature that seemed to view them as some kind of prey. Or snack. What of the children in its home?
They were several blocks away before she spoke up. "The children aren't safe under that creatures care."
"Not here." He cast a look at her over his shoulder. " We can talk when we get back to the ship."
With a hard swallow, Padmé held her tongue. The unspoken message was clear; for all they'd left the house behind, they weren't out of danger yet. Readjusting her grip on the blaster, she scanned their surroundings, knowing Anakin was doing the same, but not just with his eyes. His senses would be alert for danger too. It was remarkably like the other times they'd been on missions together and, despite the circumstance, she found a grudging smile crossing her lips.
"Something funny?"
"Memories," was all she gave him in return, keeping her gaze beyond him. They could talk about that when they got back to this ship too.
They were just nearing the spaceport when Anakin suddenly whirled, "Behind you!"
Pame spun, the blaster coming out of her sleeve just as a creature that looked like the host at the orphanage, was sent forcibly back by the wave of Anakin's hand. The creature braced itself, coming up on the balls of its feet, one hand planted on the ground for balance, its amber eyes flashing hungrily as they fixated beyond her, on Anakin. Padmé suddenly understood and shot off a bolt only to have it dodged as the creature jumped away, behind a nearby building.
"Force eaters!"
"Among other things," Anakin agreed, almost lazily, "Get to the ship."
"It's not after me!"
"It will be if it gets through me," Anakin unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. "Go, Padmé!"
"I can help, Anakin!"
"Get the ship in the air and come get me," he told her grimly, turning to face the creature as it stepped out from behind the building, a pair of proboscis that hadn't been previously visible extending from the pouches on its face. "Go!"
Padmé went.
The sound of a lightsaber igniting, followed by the familiar buzz of an energy staff, made her run harder. In her mind's eye, she could see Anakin facing off against the creature, his lightsaber blazing with a brilliant blue light, weaving before him in a defensive pattern. Even though she well knew his prowess with a lightsaber, Anakin had asked for her to help him in this and she wasn't about to fail.
Darting quickly across the area and into the spaceport, she sprinted for the ship, cursing each delay, each corner that looked identical to the last, each door that didn't open fast enough.
Squeezing through door after door, she finally reached the ship and, instead of waiting for the ramp to descend, took the emergency ladder straight into the bowels. The hatch took some doing and in her mind's eye she could see Anakin whirling across the field of battle, facing down an enemy that wanted him as dead as any droid had during the war. The hatch caught and stuck, grinding to a halt. Gritting her teeth, Padmé put all of her strength into the turning of the handles.
They creaked and groaned, the gears finally giving way.
Scrambling up the ladder, Padmé was quickly in the ship's small entry bay; she'd give Anakin hell later for not up-keeping the hatch. Securing it back in place, she sprinted for the cockpit, not feeling the burn in her lunges or the ragged edge to her breathing.
"Mistress Padmé! Mistress Padmé!"
She crashed into a wall as Threepio appeared before her suddenly, forcing her to stop lest she topple them both.
"But-!"
"Move, Threepio!" Her snapped command shut him up and, without regard for whatever he was trying to tell her, Padmé flung herself around the golden obstacle, slamming into the opposite wall as she made the entrance of the cockpit. Her hands danced with furious intent over the console as she brought the ship out of hibernation, silently cursing the speed of the ship's systems even as she was counting the time in her head. Anakin needed her. Now.
"Artoo!"
The little droid toodled an inquiry from somewhere behind her, his response muffled.
"Get up here, Artoo!" Without looking away fro the consoles, she stretched for the release on the grav locks holding the ship to the platform. Every second the ship took to prime was a second more that Anakin had to fight the Force eater. She'd heard stories of them and suddenly wished that they'd remained there. Jedi or Force adepts were their favorite prey and their abilities supposedly rivaled those they liked to hunt.
Artoo zipped into the cockpit and went straight to the dataport, the systems she hadn't yet brought online spooling up quickly.
"By-pass what you have to, Artoo, but get me those thrusters!"
There was no acknowledgement from the astromech, however, the indicator light for the thrusters began to blink from reg to orange, speeding up as other sub-systems flashed offline. Confident Artoo was doing what she'd asked, Padmé spooled up the override for the landing ramp, knowing she'd have to lower it in flight, one eye on the thruster indicator light.
Not bothering with the crash webbing, Padmé put her hands on the controls and launched the ship from the landing pad. She banked sharply, nearly unseating herself even as she heard Threepio let out a dismayed wail, his metallic body hitting a wall somewhere in the hall behind her. Paying him no attention, Padmé turned the ship in the direction where she'd left Anakin and stabbed the controls to lower the ramp, feeling a stab of nostalgia as she pictured the last time she'd seen this maneuver done. Back when she'd been a girl of fourteen, Jedi had been sent to protect her and their unscheduled stop had brought her in contact with a boy who would change the face and shape of the Galaxy.
An alarm blared, indicating an error with the ramp and Padmé cursed. "Artoo, take over!"
She didn't wait for the droid to acknowledge her before she was careening back into the hall, headed for the manual controls for the ramp. She wouldn't be able to see what was happening, but the astromech had been with Anakin through many a difficult situation and she trusted the droid to take care of them both. The controls were tucked into a corner she was forced to squeeze into, focused solely on the manual controls along the far side of the alcove. Wedging herself in, Padmé grasped the controls and began to push.
The intercom on the ship blazed to live and Anakin's voice came across it.
"Open the ramp, Padmé." He sounded slightly breathless, almost exhilarated. Some things just didn't change; Anakin had always thrived on dangerous situations.
"I'm trying! The controls are stuck!" The sound of a lightsaber and a force staff striking one another hummed in the background of his transmission and she heard him grunt. "Anakin!"
"Get that door open!"
Unwilling to risk a loss of his concentration, Padmé, tucked her legs against the wall and used her whole weight against the lever. There was a whining grinding noise and she gritted her teeth, not letting up on the pressure against the lever. Had she not been wedged into the small space, she would have stumbled forward as the controls suddenly began to move smoothly, jamming her fingers against the wall as it slammed into the open position. The pain didn't register even as the wind began to whip through the halls of the small ship. "It's open, Anakin!"
"I see it!"
A flurry of lightsaber sounds echoed around her as she struggled to extricate herself from the small space. Then, wind and silence. No!
The lever at the far wall suddenly flipped back, slammed into the closed and locked position as the ramp retracted with a crunching sound. Anakin was suddenly there, pulling her from her prison even as he raised his voice to be heard in the cockpit.
"Artoo; go!"
The ship rocketed towards space as Anakin steadied her, his hands on her waist. His hair was windswept, his expression holding a thrill for her she hadn't felt in a long time. He was breathing slightly more rapidly, as if he'd been given a good workout, a faint sheen of perspiration on his skin even as his eye practically glowed a blue-white color. It was all she saw before his mouth was on hers, the conquer returning to his conquest. A celebration of having escaped death and reveling in his continued survival.
Padmé didn't fight him. Relief brought her to him willingly, her hands sliding into his hair as she arched into his body, kissing him back just as passionately.
Almost as quickly as the kiss had started, it ended, with Anakin straightening on a ragged breath. "If you always kiss me like that when I return from danger, I just might have to take you out more often."
"Why did you stay?" Slapping her hands against his chest, Padmé glared at him. "He could have killed you, Anakin!"
"At least he wouldn't have gotten you." Anakin's eyes flashed with heat and determination. "I couldn't bear it if you were taken from me again; if something happened to you."
The unspoken agony of their separation, when he'd believed her dead, was heavy in his words, and Padmé had no response. He meant it; she could see it, feel it. She'd just had her own scare, realizing that she didn't want to lose him again either and that was part of the problem. Her anger dissipate as quickly as it had come. "Ani... I don't want to lose you either."
Anakin's touch was gentle as he cupped her face with a cocky, yet gentle, smile. "I can handle one Anzati, my love."
Anzati.
Padmé shivered and not just from his touch; the name of the race of Force Eaters conjured stories in her mind of what they were capable of. Legends and myths, mostly, but none of them good. Especially when it came to Force users. "Will it come after us?"
"Not likely; they chose this place for a reason." Anakin leaned down and kissed her again, this time gently, before letting her go. "Come on; we need to give Artoo a heading."
