"Now, you two. I think it is time for bed. It has been a very fun and busy last few days, and you need to sleep." Padmé told her children.
"But we want to spend more time with daddy, before he goes away." Leia replied, hoping it would help her cause of wanting to stay up for longer.
"I will not be gone for long sweetheart, I promise you. I would miss you, Luke and your mother too much to be gone long." Anakin told her, kissing her forehead softly.
"Besides sweety, your father is going to bed because he has to be up early, I am going to sleep. There is no one left to play with until tomorrow." Padmé told her daughter, hoping to convince her.
"Yeah Leia, we can play again tomorrow." Luke said encouragingly, as his mother smiled at his comment.
"Exactly Luke. And your father will be back before you know it." Padmé told them.
"Can you put us to bed, daddy?" Luke asked his father.
"Of course." Anakin replied, as he picked each of his children up in his strong arms and headed out of the room towards their chambers.
"I will come and kiss you goodnight in a moment." Padmé told her children, as she saw Obi-Wan approaching.
"Anakin told me he is departing for Coruscant in the morning." Obi-Wan said, once the children had left the room with their father.
"Yes, he is." Padmé replied. "He needs to go to access some high security information that apparently will give them a lead into who was responsible for the attack at the Senate." she added. "I think he is hoping he will not be gone long, that he can acquire the information and then return." Padmé explained, trying to reassure herself as much as Obi-Wan.
"I have no doubt Anakin is eager to return. He loves you all very much Padmé." Obi-Wan said with a smile.
"Yes. He misses the twins so much when he is gone. I cannot believe how quickly they have developed such a strong bond. It is more than I could have ever hoped for." Padmé stated happily.
"Indeed. You are all very lucky to have one another. But you all deserve every bit of happiness Padmé." Obi-Wan replied.
"Thank you Obi-Wan, for everything. And I consider you a part of this family too." She told the Jedi Master sincerely.
"That means more than I can say Padmé." The Jedi stated humbly. "Please tell Anakin, I wish him the best on his mission and that I will see him upon his return, where we can begin to make further plans." Obi-Wan added.
"I will. Goodnight Obi-Wan, sleep well." Padmé told him, as they parted ways and Padmé headed to meet her husband and children.
When she entered Leia's room she heard what she assumed was Anakin finishing a bedtime story to the twins as her husband said, "And then the beautiful Senator took the hand of the Jedi and the holy man watched as they exchanged vows. The Senator's veil blew in the soft wind as the sunset on Lake Varykino. It was the end of best day of the young Jedi's life, but it was the start of the best adventure of his life."
Padmé stood in the doorway and smiled as she said softly, "And what an adventure it has been."
Anakin turned around to face his wife, as Luke and Leia both looked up at their mother with a smile. "Okay you two, troublemakers. Time for bed now that the story is over." Anakin said, as he tucked Leia into bed and kissed her goodnight.
Anakin led Luke out of the room as Padmé kissed her daughter goodnight, before following her husband into Luke's room. "Goodnight my boy. Be good and look after your mother and sister okay." Anakin said to his son. "Yes, daddy." Luke replied as his father ran his human hand through his sandy blonde hair. Padmé smiled, before she wished her son goodnight and walked back to their chambers with her husband.
"Do you know how long you will be gone?" Padmé asked him, reminding herself of all the times she would ask him the same question during the Clone Wars before he would leave on a mission.
"No." Anakin replied. "But I can promise you I will return as soon as possible. I cannot stand being apart from you and the twins, and least of all now that you are pregnant again Padmé, and I promise you that you will not go through this pregnancy alone, like you did during the Clone Wars." Anakin swore, also remembering back to that time.
Anakin got into bed as his wife disappeared into the fresher to prepare for bed. He sat up against the bed with his arms behind his head, feeling very at peace with his wife's soothing presence nearby. He opened one eye when he heard the fresher door open and could not resist the bright smile that came across his face upon seeing her. Wordlessly, he reached out and took her hand, guiding her into bed where she snuggled up next to him, her head resting on his bare chest.
As he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, he said to her softly, "You know you still make me feel like you did all those years ago Padmé. Your presence is intoxicating to me. You are in my very soul. I don't know how I lived without you for 8 years," he admitted.
Padmé looked up into his piercing blue eyes and kissed his chest softly. "No neither do I. But I guess in a way, neither of us did. You spent eight years living in darkness as Darth Vader, and I too lived my life as the black widow, because neither of us could live as ourselves without the other." She told him.
"You are right my love." Anakin told his wife, kissing the top of her head. "I was in the depths of darkness, and the only thing that could bring me back to the light was you, you and our beautiful children."
"And you will never have to go through that again, Ani. We are here with you now, and you are coming back to the light." Padmé told him, resting her head back on her husband's chest as he pulled her as close to him as he could.
They remained silent for a few moments, before Padmé asked her husband, "Will you have to see the Emperor while you are on Coruscant?"
Anakin paused before saying, "I am not sure. It depends what I am able to ascertain from the investigation. If there are some fruitful developments, I would prefer to tell him now, as it will buy me more time if he feels he is being kept appraised of my activities."
"I just hate the thought of you being near that awful man, Ani. I am so scared of him hurting you." Padmé confided sadly.
Anakin ran his hand through her hair to comfort her and said, "Don't worry about me, Angel. I will be fine. There is no guarantee I will even have to see him. I just need to show my face on Coruscant so they believe I am engaging fully in the investigation, then I can return back here to you and our children. That is all I want." He told her softly.
"Just come back to us quickly Anakin. I have always hated seeing you leave." Padmé admitted. "You would think after the number of times we have done it; it would get easier." She added.
Anakin shook his head and replied, "Padmé, the sacrifices you made for the Republic, for me, for our relationship, were far beyond what anyone could have ever asked of you. I know it was never fair to ask you to wait for me, when I went away on missions across the Galaxy, unsure when I would return or even when I would be able to contact you. But you did it anyway, and how many times you did that does not at all mitigate how difficult it was for you every time we had to say goodbye."
Padmé was moved by her husband's words and simply snuggled into his strong, warm body more. Anakin kissed the top of his wife's head again and whispered to her, "Let's go to sleep, Angel. I will wake you before I depart in the morning." Padmé nodded her head, as she closed her eyes and basked in the comfort of her husband's presence, before falling into a deep slumber.
Early the next morning, Anakin awoke, and reluctantly prepared to depart for Coruscant. He got changed quickly, as to not disturb his still sleeping wife. It pained him to leave her and the twins behind here, but he knew that if he were to continue to convince the Emperor of his loyalty, he could not arouse his suspicions. He put his boots on and attached his lightsaber to the hilt of his belt, as well as gathering his mask and armour. Once he was ready, he approached his wife's side of the bed and knelt down next to her. "I will see you soon, Angel. I love you." Anakin told her as he kissed her softly on the lips. Padmé stirred slightly and reached out a hand to caress his cheek. "Be careful, Ani." She whispered to him. He kissed her hand, basking in her glowing presence one last time, before he stood and left the room, heading for the hangar bay. He knew if he did not leave right now, then he never would.
When Lord Vader arrived on Coruscant, he was on a mission. He had informed his commanders of his imminent arrival and to have all information ready at their disposal, hoping the investigation would be concluded and an assailant discovered.
"Lord Vader, Sir." A trooper greeted him with a salute as he disembarked his ship, and hastily tried to keep up with his commander's long and fast strides.
"Report, trooper." Vader said shortly.
"We have the encoded information prepared in Meeting Room 1 Sir. We just need your security clearance to be able to access the information." The trooper told him, trying not to appear breathless.
"Alright." Vader stated, as him and the trooper made their way towards the meeting room, where he hoped his clearance would bring a swift end to the investigation.
Several moments later, Vader and the trooper entered the Meeting room, and were greeted by several of the troopers Vader had placed in charge of the investigation, including the Commander who had reported to him directly. "I am sure you are all aware of the sensitivity of the information that my security clearance may unveil. I do not need to remind any of you the importance of complete confidentiality. Should I find that any of you have breached that oath, you will meet your end at my hand, I can assure you." Vader boomed, ensuring he had the attention of all in the room.
"Yes, Lord Vader." They all replied in unison, a clear attempt to hide any traces of fear in their voices.
Vader walked over to the data terminal and entered his authorisation chip and code. Immediately, the encoded information began to become unscrambled and Vader said, "I want the name of the individual whose account was responsible for purchasing the explosives in an hour's time. Do not fail me." With his instruction clear, Vader turned and left the meeting room, content that his officers would stop at no ends to acquire the necessary information. Once Anakin had left the room, he found himself trying to calm the raging emotions once again swirling around inside of him. He had found it increasingly challenging to continue his appearance as Vader, and he could feel the temptations of the dark side attempting to pull him closer again. He closed his eyes and immediately tried to reach into the light side of the force, beckoning thoughts of his wife and children to his mind. But he continually found himself being assaulted by thoughts of the dark side, and the emotions it conveyed, anger, hatred, pain.
"No, I will not give in." Anakin said determinedly, as he paced up and down the dark corridor, feeling the conflict building within him. He knew a lot of it had to do with the demons he faced on Coruscant. On this planet, in the office of the then Chancellor Palpatine, he pledged himself to the dark side and the teachings of his master in order to save Padmé. On this planet, he had stormed the Jedi temple, and killed at those inside of it, even the younglings. He would never forget the looks of fear on their little faces as he cut them down. He did all of those unforgiveable things, in the name of one man. And that man had lied to him, and subjected him to years of torture, making him believe he had killed his beloved wife and his children. Anger swelled within Anakin as his hatred for the Emperor overwhelmed him. "Ahhh," Anakin shouted in frustration as he slammed his durasteel hand into the nearby wall, crushing the concrete as the sound of the metal hitting the wall echoed down the corridor.
His torrid emotions were interrupted by the signalling of his comm device. He groaned inwardly at the disruption but realised if it was Padmé he wanted to make sure she was alright. "Vader." He said simply into the device.
"Lord Vader, I trust I did not wake you." Tarkin said at the other end of the comm.
"What do you want, Tarkin?" Vader demanded coldly.
"I just wanted to enquire as to how your review of the Death Star schematics are going. I believe it was a task assigned to you by the Emperor." Tarkin stated slyly.
Vader clenched his fists at Tarkin's comment and replied, "In case it had escaped your notice, Governor, I have been occupied with the investigation into the Senate attack."
"Oh yes, the unfortunate assassination attempt on the Senator from Naboo." Tarkin acknowledged. "It appears that that planet has a habit of electing Senator's who have a death wish." He added. "Although from what I understand the Senator was most fortunate that you arrived in time to save her."
"You are walking a dangerous line Tarkin. You are diverting my attention away from important matters. What do you want before I terminate this call?" Vader threatened.
"You are aware, Vader, that this project is of the highest importance to the Emperor, and therefore, I would have assumed it would also be to yourself. I am aware that the Emperor has commanded your input on the matter, so I expect to hear from you soon." Tarkin stated arrogantly.
"I will review the schematics once I have completed my duties in this investigation. Wait for me to contact you, Governor." Vader snapped, ending the call, furious at the disrespect Tarkin dared to show him.
Pacing like a caged animal stalking its prey, Vader saw a lone trooper, who bravely approached the dark lord, despite having seen the destruction he had just caused. "Lord Vader, Sir. We have a name." he reported swiftly.
Anakin immediately tried to quash his raging anger as he turned to the trooper and nodded. He then started down the corridor, back towards the meeting room, as the trooper again struggled to keep up with his pace.
"What do you have to report, Commander?" Vader demanded as he entered the meeting room, causing all heads to turn in his direction.
"We have a name from the account who purchased the explosive My Lord. Ennis Mure." The Commander reported, handing Lord Vader a report, that had just been completed.
Vader heard the name said aloud, and immediately found it curious that he had not heard of the man before. Surely, if an individual had accrued that significant amount of wealth and had acquired the equipment for the explosives, Vader would know of him. "Where is he? I want him detained and prepared for my interrogation." Vader ordered.
The trooper paused, clearly waiting to relay more information to his commander. "That's the thing, Sir. You see he …"
"What is it, Commander?" Vader interrupted impatiently.
"He is dead, Sir." The trooper stated. "His records show that he very recently died of an undisclosed accident. He wasn't young, but his medical records show he experienced no health problems and was in keen health for a man in his fifties." he added.
Vader paused upon hearing this information. How curious that his only lead, the man he believed was responsible for attempting to murder his wife was now dead, or a supposed 'accident'. His eyes narrowed in suspicion under his mask as more questions formed in his mind. "Very well, trooper. I shall report this to the Emperor and see whether he deems any further investigation necessary." Vader stated, knowing he could not prolong the inevitable need to report this to his master. "You are dismissed. I will contact you with further orders." He added, before turning on his heel and leaving the room, his long black cloak flowing behind him.
When Anakin reached the Emperor's office, he stopped in front of his guards and boomed, "Tell the Emperor I wish to see him." The guard nodded, before entering the office to inform his master. He returned a moment later and bowed in respect to the Sith Lord, before permitting him to enter. Anakin paused for a moment, ensuring he had erected strong mental barriers in his mind, keeping his family protected from the monster that awaited. As he strode into his master's office, his boots echoed on the hard floor, announcing his presence to the older man.
