"We will give her the best possible care, My Lord", the droid replied, as another droid approached him to help with the tests.
Anakin took several steps back from his wife as the droid's started conducting an initial diagnosis. Padmé was still unresponsive, and he could not help but scold himself for being so busy on calls that he had failed to notice her condition. I just hope I found her in time, he thought to himself as his heart ached from seeing his wife lying unconscious before him. He paced up and down the medical suite impatiently as the droid continued to attend to his wife. It took every ounce of his self-control to not allow his emotions to overwhelm him. He knew if he let his anger control him, he could easily destroy this facility, and that would risk Padmé's life, and he could not do that. Anakin was broken from his distractions as the medical droid said, "My Lord".
"What is it, what has happened to her?", he asked, approaching the bed again.
"It appears that she has experienced a delayed onset traumatic brain injury. It has caused her to experience concussion and it will have presented itself as an extremely strong headache. I fear that with that and combined with stress following your admittance to this facility not long ago that her body was overwhelmed", he reported.
"So, what can be done? Why was she discharged if she had experienced such an injury?", he asked curiously.
"Delayed onset head trauma is common following a casualty's involvement in an explosion. It is likely that the Senator did not present any symptoms consistent with any head trauma, and as I understand it, her other injuries had healed rapidly, hence her being permitted to be discharged", the droid explained.
"When will she be awake?", Anakin asked concerned.
"That we cannot say My Lord. The brain scan we have done shows lower than normal activity of all brain cortexes. I think what is going to be wise is to submit the Senator into a state of suspended animation, to allow her brain to properly recover. It is possible that if her brain awakes too fast, further damage may be caused, or she may not even regain consciousness at all. This is the best option for the Senator", he added.
"Suspended animation. You mean you're going to put her in a stasis chamber?", he asked, having heard about the process.
"Yes, My Lord. Following the injuries, you sustained several years ago we have had a chamber located here in case you ever required one. It is fully operational", the droid replied.
"How long will she be in there for?", he asked, gently running his gloved hand through her soft brown hair.
"I cannot say My Lord. Several days perhaps. Truthfully, it depends on the Senator's recovery. We will have 24-hour monitoring placed on her, but right now we have to let her body recover from the trauma it has experienced".
Anakin could feel every fibre in his being burn, hating to see his wife like this. He would give anything to swap with her right now, just to know that his angel was unharmed. But he knew there was nothing he could do other than trust the doctors. He sighed heavily before replying, "Very well, do so immediately. I want hourly updates on her progress, and I want to know immediately if anything changes, no matter how small", he informed the droid.
"Yes, Lord Vader", the droid replied, before signalling for two other droids to set up the chamber.
All Anakin wanted to do was stay by his wife's side. But he knew that right now, as much as it pained him, that staying there would not do anything to change Padmé's status. He ran a hand through his hair as he turned and left the medical facility.
When he entered the kitchen, he found C3PO who asked him, "Ahh Master Anakin, I have been unable to locate Miss Padmé, I …".
"There is no need, I found her Threepio", he replied sombrely.
"Where is she Master?", the droid asked curiously.
"She is in the medical bay. I found her collapsed in the corridor heading towards the medical wing. She must have attempted to go there whilst I was in meetings. She had suffered from a traumatic brain injury, brought on after her discharge. She is being placed in suspended animation", he added, the words hurting as they left him.
"I am sorry Master Anakin. I should have insisted that Miss Padmé visit the medical wing as soon as she first presented symptoms", the droid responded remorsefully.
"No, Threepio. Do not be sorry. This is my fault. All my fault", Anakin stated.
"I am certain that Miss Padmé will recover swiftly Master. She is an extraordinarily strong young woman and is under the very best care in your facility", the droid added, trying to inspire some positivity.
"I have asked the medical droid to give me hourly updates on her progress and to inform me immediately if anything changes. I am concerned that I may be called into a session with the Emperor. I am asking you Threepio to be there with her when I cannot be", he asked the droid, hating the thought of leaving Padmé here alone.
"Of course, Master. I will do all I can for Miss Padmé", he replied. "Do you know when you will be requested by the Emperor", he asked.
"I am not sure. But I have not had contact with him since immediately after the explosion. I have spoken to all my squad commanders and assigned them an array of tasks. But I do not know when the Emperor will demand an update on my progress", he replied.
"Might I make a suggestion Master", the droid asked.
"Yes", Anakin stated.
"I am aware you are most conscious to remain here with Miss Padmé. But it appears that she will be in stasis for at least the next two days. Perhaps if you were to go and see the Emperor of your own volition, then you would be able to appease him and return in time to see Miss Padmé", the droid said.
Anakin paused for a moment, thinking on what the protocol droid had just suggested. If he were to go and see the Emperor, he could get information from his troopers regarding the status of the investigation, as well as highlighting the next steps he was taking with liaising with the media and some senators. It would buy him enough time whereby he could be here with Padmé. "That could work", he replied simply. "I need to go and contact my commanding officers who are in charge of the investigation. It would be prudent that I do not interrupt the Emperor without some information to report to him", he added, knowing his master would not stand for his time to be wasted.
"Of course, Master Anakin", the droid replied. Anakin turned and departed the kitchen, knowing he needed to retrieve his mask and suit, before making any calls.
As he put on the mask of Darth Vader, he decided that he would depart immediately for the Senate, so that he could meet with his commanders in person, before meeting the Emperor. As he walked towards his hangar bay, he felt his mind shift to become the Dark Lord, Vader.
When his shuttle landed at the Senate, he was greeted by one of his commanders who said, "My Lord, we were not anticipating your arrival here at the Senate".
"I have come for a report on what information you have established so far in the investigation, and I wish to report it to the Emperor myself", Vader stated, as he strode out of the hangar bay, the trooper next to him having to increase his pace and gait to keep up with him.
"I am afraid we have been unable to ascertain anything concrete My Lord", his commander reported. "We know that the assassin died instantly in the attack, but we need more time to determine whether the assassin acted alone or on behalf of another individual or organisation", he continued.
"Do you have an ID for the assassin?", Vader asked.
"Yes, Sir. His name was Zed Dunn. Little is known about him. We believe he is an underling from here on Coruscant", the trooper stated.
Anakin paused for a moment before saying, "This man did not work alone. Senator Soruna was a key benefactor for an increase in state benefits for the underworlds. He was acting on the orders of someone higher", he deduced. Anakin knew that this had been a calculated attempt on Padmé's life. This man from the streets of Coruscant had simply been picked to pull the trigger because he was disposable.
"We are looking into it, Sir", the trooper responded.
"I want you to make immediate contact with several bounty hunters who may have been responsible for the attack. I want Fett, Wessel, Deathstick and any others of significance. If a hit were ordered on the Senator, one of them would have known about it. Get it done trooper, I want to meet with them as soon as possible", Vader ordered.
"Yes Sir, right away. Any other orders Sir?", he asked.
"No. I am going to report to the Emperor. I want to know as soon as those bounty hunter scum are here", he stated dispassionately.
"Of course, My Lord", the trooper stated, saluting to his commander before turning and departing.
The Emperor remained sitting in this large chair at his desk, as a tall and gaunt man walked towards him slowly. "You requested my presence My Lord", the man stated, stopping at the bottom of the steps that ascended to the Emperor's desk.
"Yes, I did", he stated simply. "The mission failed", he continued, "Your man was supposed to terminate the Senator while she was on her own, not blow up the entire lower grounds of the Senate", he added bitterly.
"My Lord, I apologise. But with the Senator under protection we did not see any opportunities for such a strike. The assassin was ordered to do what was necessary to eliminate the Senator", the man replied, trying to contain the anxiety in his voice.
"This incident has ruined my future plans for the Senate. No one feels safe here, and I have had to temporarily disband the Senate, until people are confident a full investigation has been undertaken", the Emperor spat angrily. "Not only that, but your man nearly killed my apprentice Vader in the process, and the Senator is still alive", he added.
"I am sorry My Lord. We did not anticipate that Lord Vader would return in time to get to the Senator. When you informed us that he had been sent off-world, she remained protected by troopers, so we had to formulate a plan to isolate her", the man pleaded.
"It matters not now. I have had to develop a new plan. My apprentice has been assigned to investigate the attack, and I see no reason why he will ever discover the origin of the request", the Emperor stated.
"Of course, not My Lord. I would never tell, I will take it to my grave", the man stated desperately.
"Indeed, you will", the Emperor replied, as he saw his guard approach the man from behind and killed him with one strike of his vibroblade.
Anakin walked towards the Emperor's senate chambers, apprehensive to get this meeting over with so he could return to Padmé. He knew his master would not be pleased that he had come unannounced, but he hoped that he would be able to offset the inconvenience with enough information and promise of an investigation to keep his anger at bay. When he arrived at his chambers, he was as usual greeted by a red guard who said, "Lord Vader, we were not expecting you here today. The Emperor is in a meeting".
"Tell the Emperor I am here", Vader ordered. He noted that only one guard was on the door, as the guard turned and entered his office, closing the large doors behind him.
"My Lord, Darth Vader is here to see you", the guard reported.
"This is unexpected", the Emperor stated. "Dispose of that", the ordered one guard as he glanced at the body of the man before him.
"Yes, My Lord", the guard stated as he picked up the body and departed out the back door of the Emperor's office.
"Tell Lord Vader to come in", he instructed. The guard returned to his post outside the office and opened the door for Vader who walked down the long pathway towards the bottom of the steps to greet his master.
"My Master", Vader said, as he knelt on one knee in front of his master.
"Lord Vader. Your visit is unexpected. I trust everything is going as I instructed", the Emperor stated, as he remained sitting in his chair.
"Yes, My Master. I just wanted to keep you appraised of all that is happening", he replied.
"Indeed. Please, tell me", the Emperor stated simply.
"We have a positive identification for the assassin. He was an underling from the planet. But I have reason to believe he was not the one responsible for orchestrating the attack on the Senator. I have instructed my commander to assemble several bounty hunters who may have been made aware of the target on the Senator, to facilitate my investigation", Vader reported.
"Interesting. So, you do not believe this man was working alone?", the Emperor asked.
"No. I believe that the individual or group responsible were aware that I was off world, and utilised the opportunity to strike", Vader stated.
"Indeed, the Senator is most fortunate that you are so committed in your efforts to protect her, my young apprentice", the Emperor replied slyly.
"I was simply performing my duty that you assigned to me my master", Vader replied.
"And in doing so, I was made aware you sustained some severe injuries my friend", Sidious retorted.
"Yes, Master. But I have received medical treatment", Vader responded, not wanting to appear at all weak in front of his master.
"Well, it appears that you were willing to go to extreme lengths to save the Senator from Naboo, Vader. Perhaps it was too much for you to fail again in protecting the Senator from Naboo, after what happened to Padmé", he stated bitterly.
"No, my master. I simply performed the task you assigned me which was to protect the Senator", Vader replied, trying his hardest to compose himself and maintain a neutral tone.
"Do not lie to me Vader", the Emperor accused, standing from his chair, and approaching his apprentice.
"Don't think I do not know that she reminds you of the old Senator from Naboo. That your real desire to save her stemmed from your past failures", her retorted.
Vader immediately fell to his knees as he felt his master penetrate his mind. "I can see it in your mind Vader. I can see you are still thinking of her. After all this time you still cannot stop yourself from thinking about that woman. That woman who lied to you and betrayed you. After all this time that woman is still your weakness", he spat. "Do you not remember that you killed her Vader? You stood there and strangled the life out of her while she carried a child", he stated evilly.
He entered his apprentices mind and burned his mind with images of Mustafar, knowing how they would torture him. Anakin remained kneeling on the floor desperately trying to block the torturous images from his mind, but his attempts were feeble against the onslaught from his master. "She has always been your weakness Vader. She will always be the reason you cannot achieve ultimate power. She was just a pretty piece of flesh. You may have been a fool for it at the time, but she is dead. Never forget that my apprentice", the Emperor stated. Once he had finished speaking, he ended his assault on Vader's mind and returned to his chair.
"Continue your investigation Vader. I want to be kept appraised on your progress. I am unsure when the Senate will be able to reconvene, but I want it to be as soon as possible. I have already had to push back my plans. I know the governors are worried this will impact the development of the Death Star. I want you to ensure it does not. I have ordered my aid to work alongside some of your troopers to liaise with the media, because we know how bad your politics is Vader, I don't want you dealing with that", the Emperor ordered.
Vader stood from his knees and replied, "Yes Master".
"Now leave, my servant", Sidious commanded, waving him away with his hand.
Vader nodded subtly before turning and leaving the Emperors Senate chambers, the vivid images burning his mind incessantly. Once he was out of sight down a long dark corridor, Anakin fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the images he had just seen. He took a minute to calm his soaring emotions, as he realised that despite the torture he had endured he had appeased his master in meeting him and would now be able to continue the investigation but be with Padmé. He rose to his feet and walked down the corridor, back towards the main Senate offices.
"Lord Vader", one of his troopers said, approaching him quickly.
"Yes, trooper", Vader replied, showing no sign of weakness following his encounter with his master.
"We contacted several bounty hunters and we are fortunate that several were already here on Coruscant and have agreed to meet with you. We have placed them in Meeting Room 1, Sir", he informed his commander.
"I shall meet with them now and see what these bounty hunter scum know", Vader replied, as he walked with the trooper towards the meeting room. As Vader walked into the room, he felt the tone immediately change, as all conversations ceased, and they turned to face the mighty Sith Lord.
"You requested our presence Lord Vader", the bounty hunter Bane stated as the Dark Lord stood tall in front of the bounty hunters and folded his arms over his chest.
"I want to know if any of you were made aware of a bounty placed on Senator Soruna of Naboo", Vader replied simply, not wanting to waste his words on the hunters. He never understood why these beings could not pick a side and had little respect for anyone who had no loyalties and simply worked for money. But right now, he needed their help to establish who had tried to kill Padmé.
"I was not aware of any such target request Lord Vader", Wessel replied.
"Neither was I", Bane stated simply, knowing that any attempts to lie to Darth Vader were useless anyway.
"Fett", Vader said, looking to the Mandalorian bounty hunter.
"The first I heard of the Senator was when we were made aware of an attack at the Senate. I never heard of any Senator being a hit", he reported.
"Leave us", Vader asked, looking to the other hunters, as they and his troopers exited the room, leaving just Vader and Fett.
"I have been made aware that the assassin was an underling from Coruscant. I have no reason to think such a being masterminded a plot that nearly succeeded in killing the Senator and myself", he told Fett, hoping to extract some insight from him.
"If the assassin was merely an underling then it was probably because the person pulling the strings who called the order wanted to remain unknown. Us bounty hunters, we do not care if someone knows we did it. We simply work for the highest bidder, we have no loyalties", he stated.
"I have reason to believe that the individual behind this did want to remain anonymous", Vader told Fett. "It is only a matter of time before I discover who", he continued. "If you hear anything Fett, any information that proves fruitful will be rewarded", Vader told him.
"Yes, Lord Vader", Fett replied and nodded, before he exited the room.
Vader exited the room and once again joined his Commander outside, wanting to delineate his plan to him. "Commander, I will be in contact regarding the ongoing investigation. I trust you will continue to follow your own leads as am I through a variety of channels. I do not care how, but we must apprehend and eliminate the responsible individual so we can restore peace and security to the Senate. The Emperor had engaged an aid to liaise with the media, so that is no longer your concern. Our focus is this investigation and I must continue to communicate with the governors to ensure that work for the death star remains on schedule".
"Yes, Lord Vader. I will be in contact with any information I gather. Otherwise, we will wait on your orders Sir", the trooper stated.