Chapter 92

Vader's Flag Ship Exactor - Month Twenty Seven, Day Sixteen PEF

Afternoon

Their arrival at Gwori held some fanfare and with Padmé locked in their suite, Vader met with the station head, his thoughts still on the... discussion he'd had with his wife. Her adamant refusal to see him as her husband stung, as did her blind idealism. The very thought that he'd been selfish in pursuing this path made him scoff and was barely worth noting; everything had been done to ensure her survival.

Just as now, with the Force Adept, Ventress was currently choosing her vessel and on the brink of embarking on an assignment that would take her away for weeks, if not months. The longer she was gone, the safer Padmé would be, for Vader held no illusions about the Adept's intentions. If given the chance, Ventress would put a lightsaber through Padmé without a second thought. At the moment, her servitude to him, her fear of him was all that held her back.

Vader intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

With Padmé's rise to his challenge earlier, he was anticipating returning to his quarters. Would she follow through? He suspected she would. For all she claimed not to care for him, she did still want him. He was not above using that as a way to continue to tie her to him while he worked on breaking down her resolve. For he would break it down; at some point Padmé would need to accept that the new galactic order was here to stay. He would not permit her to return to her Rebel activities. Especially not before she went public with a statement in support of the Emperor.

"Artoo, you have to help me get into his office," Padmé paced the room, practically running from one side to the other and still on edge from her encounter with Vader. While she had no qualms about using him to ease her own loneliness, and was under no illusions anymore as to going back to the way things were, his threat, his promise was both thrilling and terrifying. How had they come to this? How had they come to the point where their physical relationship was nothing but one more weapon in their arsenal to use one another for their own end?

The droid toodled a query.

Padmé rounded on him. "No! I won't; there is no way in any of the nine hells that I will ever make that announcement. You know that, Artoo. He knew it once upon a time, when he was Anakin, but he's not Anakin. You saw him just now. He's willing to do anything to get his way; he admitted to atrocities that Anakin would never have done in my name. He's the man who helped kill the democracy I cared so much about and brought about this era of oppression for me. If I'm the reason he did that... I can't stay here. I don't want a war for the rest of my life. If Obi-Wan has Luke and Leia, maybe there's something in his office that I can find which he missed, some clue he hasn't recognized."

Artoo's query was stronger, more convinced, but there was still some hesitation in his tone.

Walking straight to the door to Vader's office, Padmé placed one hand on it as she looked at the droid. "Because I know he's not on the ship right now. If there's any chance of getting in there and getting what I need, it's now, before he comes back and makes good on his threat. If there isn't anything to find, so be it, but I need to try, Artoo."

The mournful sound from Artoo had her shaking her head. "I know you care about him, but Vader is not Anakin. Anakin would never have physically coerced me; he wouldn't have had to. Is the way he was just treating me how you remember your Master before his rise as the Emperor's right hand?"

"I do hate to interrupt, Mistress, but if you do find something on Master Luke and Mistress Leia, what do you plan to do about it?"

"I'm leaving."

"Mistress Padmé!

"Don't worry, Threepio, you're coming with me. You both will. You deserve better than what he'll give you." Artoo made a sound of protest, but Padmé was firm. "I have to leave Artoo, but I can't go without at least a look at his files. Please; he won't be gone long and I need to see what's been sent to him."

Artoo swiveled his head to Threepio.

"Do not look at me," huffed the protocol droid. "Where Mistress Padmé goes, I will follow. I do wish you would join us, Artoo. It was not the same without you."

A few moments of hesitation had Padmé holding her breath, only to let it out in relief as Artoo made for the door to Vader's office and extended his (data probe) to the port. A few twirls of it and the door's lock turned green, sliding open without a sound. Patting the droid on the head, Padmé stepped past him and into Vader's office. It was tidy, except for a slew of datadics on his desk. Starting there, she slid into his chair and started putting them into the recorder one after another. Reports on supply lines, troop movements, notes on supplies and rendezvous and a pair of half finished reports on their trips to Naboo and Aleraan.

One entry on the fourth datadisc, dated for three days before the day's current date caught her eye. Galactic Holonews? Vader wasn't one to watch the news. She click on it and the holo of the anchor sprang to life.

"Naboo is in deep mourning today for the loss of Queen Apailana and her entire ruling council when the structural integrity of the session hall's roof failed and several metric tonnes of durasteel and stone came crashing down into the room, during the evening session. With rubble still being cleared and an examination of the structure still pending, it is unclear if this was a calculated attack against the sovereignty of Naboo. Regrettably, the bodies of the Queen Apailana, her head of security, three handmaidens and six ministers have already been recovered and confirmed dead. The sole survivor of Queen Apailana's cabinet, one of her handmaidens who was visiting family on an approved leave, could not be reached for comment."

The holo stopped, at an end.

Padmé closed her eyes, swallowing hard as she said a silent farewell to the young woman who had reigned for such a short period of time. Vader keeping the disc meant something she didn't examine too closely at the moment, not at all surprised if he had played a part in the monarch's death. Taking the dics, she slid it to the side and continued her search. She would mourn later and keep the disc, along with his notes about his meeting on Naboo with the monarch. She skimmed it briefly, not finding anything in particular that stood out in that moment, but certain she would find proof of his involvement later.

Several more discs joined it, containing reports on twins that matched their children's description and particulars. Those that were visibly not Luke and Leia, she would leave behind. A brief report on Obi-Wan's sighting on Naboo and the confirmation of seeing him with children was added and, after a moment, she picked up the disc with the partial report for his time on Alderaan with Bail. Slipping the datadisc in about Vader's trip to Alderaan, she intended to skim it the same way she had about the report on Naboo, thinking that perhaps he had missed something about Obi-Wan on Alderaan the same way he had missed something about him on Naboo.

What she wasn't expecting to see was her daughter's name in print.

"Bail and Breha have adopted a precocious little girl and named her Leia." reading the note, Padmé swallowed hard. Could it be? Vader's notes continued and she scanned them eagerly, her heart climbing into her throat. "The little girl is very attached to her adopted father. Bail and Breha have no other children; I do not believe Leia Organa is mine. She looks nothing like Padmé and Padmé is certain the twins are together."

Staring at the entry, Padmé pulled it out and fumbled for the entry about Obi-Wan and the sighting. She plugged it in and scanned the note for the section she was looking for. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, former Jedi General and was seen in the market on Naboo in the presence of several children, leaving with a sandy haired boy of approximately two to four years of age, supplies for at least two children having been seen in his possession. All attempts to track the wanted man have been unsuccessful."

Padmé's hands started to shake as she pulled the report out and slipped the one about Alderaan in again. She reread Vader's last line. "I do not believe Leia Organa is mine. She looks nothing like Padmé and Padmé is certain the twins are together."

"But they're not," she breathed, leaning back in the chair before her eyes shot to the open door. "They're not. Bail, you son of a bantha, I'm going to murder you; you separated my children!"

Artoo toodled an inquiry and Padmé's head snapped up. "It's okay, Artoo; can you wipe the recorder's records so he can't see what I was looking at?"

He approached the desk and did as she asked. Padmé patted his domed head. "Once you're in, you're all in, huh?" The sound of the artificial sigh that was Artoo's agreement had her sliding from the chair to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you, Artoo. I know you brought me back before with the best of intentions, but you know I can't stay here anymore, right?"

A whistled agreement and he was interfacing with Vader's desk. She could see him downloading data and then red lights started appearing.

"Artoo, what are you doing?"

"He is scrambling the database, Mistress," Threepio told her, tottering into the room with a make-shift pack in hand. "You will need these."

"I don't need much, Threepio, just the two of you." Glancing at Artoo again, Padmé considered what he was doing. "Can you clear the hall for me, Artoo? Reassign the guards and unlock the service corridor accesses? Once we're in there, I can - wait."

Leaving the droids in the office, Padmé darted back into the living area. Collecting the holo of the twins, her coded map and another small bag, she rejoined them. "I had a couple of things I'm not leaving behind. Artoo, can you do it?"

He whistled his agreement but added a caution.

"That will be long enough. I just need to get to the service corridors. Once we're there, I can lead us to the hangar deck without needing to use the main corridors or turbolifts. It will mean climbing some ladders and a few tight squeezes for you, Artoo, but it will get us to the ship storage. Once we're off the Exactor, we can figure out where we need to go."

"That is not very reassuring, Mistress."

"Just move quickly, Threepio." Turning her attention to the astromech, she cocked her head. "How's it coming, Artoo?"

The droid was already at work at the terminal and Padmé waited as patiently as she could. It took several long moment before the astromech beeped a caution.

"How long?"

He whistled a number and Padmé shook her head. "And Vader? Do you know where he is?"

Artoo plugged back into the terminal and several images flashed to life both on the holo and on the walls around Vader's desk. Vader on the deck of the platform, speaking with several dignitaries who were bowing and fawning over him. Asajj was visible in another feed, inspecting a shuttle that looked more like a small war ship. Clearly her choice of shuttle. Padmé scanned several more of the security feeds as Artoo flipped them back and forth, one static feed showing the troopers in front of the suite. Several other corridors, including the areas near the hangar bay, the ship storage and the area before the turbolifts were clear.

"Wait! Go back to that one, Artoo."

The bridge flashed into the centre view. "No no, not that one. The one in the hangar bay; do you have a feed from outside?"

Artoo showed several images before finally tapping into the feed of a security camera. Padmé's breath caught in her throat as the reality of what that meant hit her; the Exactor was docked for the first time since she had been on board. It was docked, which meant it wouldn't be able to follow quickly if she was able to steal a ship and get away. Her gaze traveled back over to where Asajj had disappeared into the cockpit of her chosen ship and could been seen through the viewport inspecting the controls. Vader was still outside, laughing at something the dignitary had said and offering a clear counter argument.

Good.

They were still occupied.

"They're docked, Artoo; how long as they supposed to be here?"

Padmé had to stop herself from trying to rush the droid, despite the urgency to be gone before Vader returned, and tried to hang onto the elation that he'd finally chosen to help her at long last . Her patience was rewarded and Artoo gave her a timeframe; the Exactor was taking on supplies, reinforcements and equipment. It would be several hours, if not the next day, before she was back in space.

Perfect.

Movement from the video feed of the troopers posted at her door drew her attention. They seemed to be arguing, one gesturing to her door, the other making a stabbing motion at his wrist. "What did you tell them Artoo?"

He whistled and then chittered, his version of a laugh.

"You told them that?" Padmé almost burst out laughing. "I think rearranging their orders would have been enough, but I suppose you know them better than I do."

"I am certain telling them to leave on Vader's orders would have been enough, Artoo," scolded Threepio. "Inferring that Master Vader wished them to be gone at a certain time to loudly enjoy Mistress Padmé's favors is vulgar and uncalled for."

"But effective," Padmé pointed to where the guards were leaving. "How long, Artoo?"

He tweeted and she smiled again. "More than enough time. Come on; as soon as that turbolift closes, we need to go."

"Are you certain you have enough, Mistress?" Ever the worrier, Threepio tittered his concern. "I packed you several meals, however, there is a stew in the-"

"I'm certain, Threepio." Reaching out, she patted his arm. "Come on; let's get out of here before Vader comes back."

"Are you certain of this, Mistress? If we leave, you will be placing yourself in grave danger."

"I'm in danger here, Threepio; I can't stay."

"Perhaps if you explained to the Master-"

Artoo came, unexpectedly, to Padmé's rescue, scolding his counterpart with a series of bleeps, electronic whistles, raspberries, and ending with a sound that was clearly insulting.

"Well! I never!"

The door to the hallway slid open and Padmé glanced at the monitor which showed the turbolift door now closed. Artoo stayed where he was for a long moment and then twittered a clear "all clear" as he unhooked from the dataport. Leading the way, Padmé stepped into the corridor. Their first stop would be the small auxiliary armory two floors down; she needed a weapon and there was no guarantee there would be one on whatever ship she was able to commandeer. Ideally, she hoped to take the Angel, so the droids would have space to charge and there would be room for her to do more than stay in the pilot seat.

"Artoo, were you able to see what ships are currently on the deck?"

He whistled back, a firm affirmative, which was followed by a caution she didn't fully understand.

Stopping to briefly read the translation, she headed directly for the passage entry to the utility corridors. "If they're cycling them to do maintenance, that works in our favor. Any chance you saw the roster and know when they'll be servicing the Angel of Iego?"

His response was lack luster.

"Three days is too long. We'll find something else, even if we have to take it from the base." Swiftly slipping around the corner of the hallway that held the turbolift off the level and, in a tucked away corner, the access to the back hallways, Padmé headed straight for the small alcove. "Quickly. Get inside and head to the left; you want the second access, just behind the turbolift shaft."

Threepio and Artoo slipped into the alcove and Padmé stepped in behind them, closing the panel securely.

Taking the lead, she checked for any indication that the back corridors were in use. Casting a glance at the droids, she stepped forward without consulting her map. Having memorized the directions, she was confident as to where shew was going for the first several decks. Once they reached the deck she needed, she'd have Artoo plug in and check on the maintenance and troop movements.

Their trek was slow, Artoo using his jets to descend the ladders while Padmé had to wait patiently for Threepio to navigate the unfamiliar rungs. Corridor after corridor, deck after deck, it took over an hour for her to lead the droids to the place where they could really plan their escape.

The next steps, commandeering a ship and actually getting off the Exactor would be the most difficult; if she was successful, she'd be free of the ship, but was also under no illusion that she would be safe. Vader would hunt her.

She would just have to be careful there was no way to track her.

No trackers on the droids, which she would need to disable as soon as they jumped to hyperspace. No trackers on the ship, which she would have Artoo search to be certain. No trackers in her body, something she wouldn't have put past Vader as a way to ensure she couldn't disappear again. No trackers in any of the equipment or clothing in her possession.

Of course, it would mean needing credits, but she'd deal with that issue when it happened. For now, the priority was to get them to the flight desk and find a suitable ship for the three of them.

Whatever came after that, she would handle as it hit her.

Asajj climbed out of the small, deadly looking fighter shuttle after examining every inch of the internal controls. It would do what she needed it to and it was big enough she wouldn't be stuck in the cockpit all the time. The added bonus of armor plating and weapons didn't outweigh the convenience of the fact she could fly without an additional droid.

In short, it was very much like her last fighter, but with considerable upgrades for long trips.

"This one," she nodded to the technician standing by. "Fuel it, prepare it. I want to be out of the ship yard before dark."

"Are you sure, Mistress Ventress?" the technician glanced at his datapad. "We still have several ships that meet the requirements noted by Lord Vader."

"I'm sure; prep it for flight and let me know when it's ready."

"Are you certain I can't convince you to look at any more of the vessels?"

"Do you have a quota, Technician," she glanced at his name plate, "Mills?"

"Orders, Mistress."

Asajj sighed and gave her head a shake, casting a veiled and irritated look at Vader's back several feet away. "Very well. I will not change my mind. Prep this ship but show me the others. I will come back and collect it when we're done."

Mills looked relieved enough to faint, mopping the sweaty from his face with a dirty rag and leaving it streaked. "Thank you, Mistress."

Following along behind the tech, Asajj resigned herself to the inspection of several other craft over the course of the afternoon. She didn't have to, she knew, but she also knew if she decided too quickly, Vader would make the tech pay the price. For all his annoying hovering, the human knew his craft and she had no quarrel with him. Vader deserved her anger and her frustration, so that's where she directed it. Pushing it down, harnessing it, she adverted her eyes and got to the task at hand.

Later.

She would be able to deal with him later.

Now wasn't the time. If she was lucky, her missions would take her away for several months, potentially years, as she looked for Kenobi and the Vader Twins. It would give her a chance to build her strength and hone her skills further, to make herself a better match for his technique. For she was under no illusion that her return with new of Kenobi's location would trigger the end of her usefulness.

Which would mean her death - if she didn't have the skill to escape.

For now, Asajj continued to bide her time, doing as was expected; soon, very soon, she would be free to pursue her own objective, she simply had to be patient. So patient she was, following the tech from ship to ship over the next several hours even as her gaze kept going back to her choice. They were nearing the last craft, a pitiful thing with no armor plating and a single weapon visible on the front, when Vader's voice cut into her apathy.

"See something you like, Ventress?"

"Yes, Master." Asajj pointed at her choice, which the fuel lines could be seen connected to the underside of both stubby wings. "It will suit my purposes for my extended missions."

"Excellent." He turned to the tech at her side. "Once the ship is fueled, cross check for system errors, Technician Mills, and I want every inch of that ship's hull checked for irregularities. My apprentice will be in deep space for weeks at a time; the ship cannot fail."

Not until I've served my purpose, Ventress thought wryly.

"Y-yes Lord, Vader!" Mills bowed deeply. "The fueling is underway. But..."

"But?"

"The ship is a prototype, my Lord, perhaps something-"

"No."

Mills swallowed hard at her instant denial, his eyes darting between Vader and herself. "I will take my chances in your prototype, Technician Mills. I am certain you would not have put it on display if you were not confident in its capabilities."

"Of course, Lady Ventress." Mills twisted his hands together. "I'll have it ready for you before night fall."

"Dismissed."

The tech was off like a shot, darting towards the ship and leaving Asajj with her Master.

"Thank you, Master."

"If you're going to be successful and bring me Kenobi's location, it would hardly be in my best interest to send you away in a piece of junk." He turned towards the Exactor, docked at the far end of the yard. "Be ready to leave on schedule."

"Yes, Master."

Asajj watched as Vader walked away, her lips thinning in displeasure and contempt she could barely hide as he disappeared across the walkways. Head and shoulders above most of the humans on the docks, and visible around the droids, there was no way to lose sight of him. Turning away, she headed back to where her chosen ship was sitting, technicians converging on it from various parts of the docks.

Finding a vantage point, she settled herself in an out of the way location to watch them work. They would be at it for several hours and the longer she could stay off the Exactor , preferably until she found Kenobi and then disappeared, she would. Packed and ready to go, she had no reason to return.

Biding her time, she settled in to wait.

Padmé was about to step out into the corridor when the sound of boots on the durasteel floors caught her ears and she scrambled backwards. Careful not to let the wall panel slam, she placed her ear to the wall, cracked to prevent a telltale nose and permit the sound to travel through to her. Unable to see through the crack, she quieted her breathing and closed her eyes, listening carefully.

Marching boots moved past her hiding place in an even rhythm and Padmé counted the steps as they moved by, listening and waiting as the sounds got louder and louder. For over a minute, the steps continued and Padmé waited, counting the moments in her mind, even as she chafed at the delay.

The longer the steps continued, the more agitation she fought down. Any moment, Vader could discover her missing, raise the alarm and begin the search. Any moment, the orderly march could turn into a search.

Turning her head, she looked at Threepio and Artoo and lifted her finger to her mouth as the marching steps continued. Threepio placed his hand on Artoo's head and inclined his head, but made no sound. Padmé smiled at him in thanks and continued to wait.

The sound of marching steps continued to pass and eventually began to dwindle. It took several more minutes for the sound of the steps began to dwindle. Waiting until there was no sound at all, Padmé eased the portal open and hazarded a look.

The corridor was empty, with no sign of the column of troopers that had marched by.

Drawing back, she turned to the droids. "There's no one out there. Artoo, can you check and see what ships are on the deck?"

Artoo whistled softly and rolled over to the data port by the door, plugging in without hesitation and Padmé couldn't help but smile. The droid was finally on her side; she could see it, feel it.

"Thanks, Artoo." Keeping her voice low, despite the fact the corridor was empty, Padmé looked back to the corridor. "Look for something big enough for all of us; something that has charging ports for you, will you?"

He inquired softly as he ran through the data.

"While nice, it's not necessary, I can sleep in the pilot's seat as long as we all have space."

Another inquiry.

Padmé chuckled softly. "We'll have to abandon any ship we get as soon as possible, Artoo. We just need something that can get us off the ship and into hyperspace. Gwori is close to the core and Cosuscant; there are a lot of worlds between here and there. Somewhere, we'll be able to find a ship."

"Must we change ships, Mistress?" Threepio inquired sadly. "Surely we could reach Senator Organa or Senator Mon Mothma for assistance is we are so close?"

"How about we get off the ship first, Threepio?"

Artoo cut in with a bleep.

"That will work, Artoo. Is it still flight worthy?"

He gave a complex answer, most of which Padmé missed. Still she caught most of it; or rather, enough of it.

"Good. That will get us far enough, Artoo. As long as it's able to stand the rigors of a hyperspace jump or two; we won't need it beyond that." Pausing she considered the droid for a moment. "Do you know where Vader is, Artoo?"

Artoo whistled as the data port glowed, searching for the data and then unplugged from the wall after a moment, and headed for the wall, chittering urgently.

"Coming here?"

Artoo's response spurred Padmé to her feet. With a quick glance into the corridor and was out through the wall, heading straight for the flight deck. "Come on, Threepio. Vader's headed back this way, we don't have much time."

"Coming, Mistress."

With the droids on her heels, Padmé headed for the deck at a quick clip, just shy of a run, she focused on keeping her pace even. Trying not to draw attention to herself, she kept her gaze on the doors, eyes darting back and forth as subtly as possible to keep an eye out all around her. Artoo remained quiet, as did Threepio, the only sound the humming of the power through the couplings and their feet on the deck. Where ever the column of soldiers had been going, they'd disappeared from the flight deck.

Slipping through the doors, Padmé scanned the deck for the ship she was looking for. The droids appeared at her side as she was looking and then frowned. "I don't see it, Artoo."

He toodled and set off across the deck, leading the way around the parts and supplies, keeping to a path that shielded them from the eyes of any technicians who happened to glance up from their work. In the corner, tucked away, was the ship Asajj had been using previously. The side panels were open, wires and hoses protruding, and Padmé looked at Artoo dubiously. "Are you sure it will fly, Artoo?"

There was no doubting Artoo's confidence as he headed towards the vessel. Padmé follow with Threepio on her heels, her trepidation growing the closer she got. The ship was a mess, clearly having been stripped from the inside out, only the hull looking like it was intact and even that looked as if there were certain areas that were flawed. Without hesitation, Artoo went to work, selecting the cables and starting to reattach them. A skematic popped up of the panel he was working on and he toodled an instruction.

"Very well. Why you could not choose a ship that was already intact is beyond me."

Threepio moved to assist the astromech and Padmé, with a shake of her head and a glance around the nearest series of stacked crates, spread her arms wide. "What can I do, Artoo?"

He whistled a series of simple instructions and Padmé headed for the cockpit of the small ship. The inside was the same as the outside, with just enough room for two or three people to be comfortable outside the cockpit. There was a charging station, a single bunk and a holding cell. The console itself was intact, except for one panel to the left, which had been removed and something was clearly missing from the console. The internal comm. light flashed, still obviously powered, and she flipped it.

Artoo's whistles and beeps sounded in the interior of the ship and Padmé toggled the comm. for a response. "The panel on the left is open and something is missing. It looks otherwise intact from the inside."

A series of instructions for powering up the vessel in a way that would draw minimal attention to the supposed derelict. Padmé had him repeat the instructions twice to be sure she caught them correctly before acknowledging the transmission. "I'll let you know when I'm done, Artoo."

He toodled and the comm. shut off.

Padmé turned from the console and hit the deck, going down on her knees as she pried off the service panel in front of the pilot's chair. Inside she found exactly what Artoo told her she would; a series of wires and connections that hadn't been moved, but with throttlers attached on the cables to prevent a start up. Slowly, she detached each one, placing them to the side. The small clamps had flashing lights and ties, which shut off the moment they were removed from the connections. Moving from console to console, she examined the internal wiring and removed the throttlers where she found them. Once completed, she settled in the pilot's chair and examined the board. Artoo had been very specific, that the main power converters had to come on last, but to do that, they had to get every other system, except the engines, up and running.

If they didn't, Padmé was certain, despite the fact that Artoo hadn't said it, that their trip would be over very, very quickly and in the most final of ways.

Starting with the life support system first, Padmé used the auxiliary backup to route the power, surprised to find it was indeed intact and operational. As she worked on the inside, investigating each system, what she found was surprising. The security features within the ship were completely disconnected, as were the charging stations for both the droids and whatever arsenal had once been within it. Easy fixes that could be done on the move. Additionally, the minor features within the ship were disconnected or removed, like the small medical droid that should have been installed above the charging port.

The major systems were slow to come back online. Shields and weaponry were toast, even Padmé could see that they were not going to be something Artoo could get back online anytime soon. The ship needed an overhaul, based on the auxiliary diagnostics board. Slowly, as she watched, the core systems came back online. The hyperdrive went from disconnected to active. The main engines flickered from inactive to standing by; the main flight controls, which had failed to register upon activation of the system, reappeared and went from red to green.

Together, Artoo and Threepio were reconnecting the systems they would need to flee and little else.

Shields and weapons were a concern, but Padmé trusted the droid. If the ship was what he thought was best, even with all the issues, she would let him make that choice. The comm. system was still down, but Padmé was certain it would be active by the time they needed to depart. With the systems slowly booting, she moved around the small cabin that had belonged to her once... friend and began to curiously open drawers and cupboards.

Most of the cabin was bare, clearly Asajj hadn't planned to be on mission at the time the vehicle was decommissioned. Or, if she had, she'd been back to empty it out. Which was more likely. Digging through every space she could find, Padmé came up with a pair of broken handcuffs, a stun baton, a discharged power cell, torn items of cloth that appeared to have once been a cape or cloak and several small, empty containers.

Asajj had cleaned out the craft of everything truly useful, as far as she could tell, but there were uses for that she had left behind.

Piling the items into one of the storage drawers, Padmé went back to the main console to check on the progress of the droids. They'd been on the deck for a little over half an hour and her eyebrows rose and she saw the work that the droids had done in that short period of time. There were still no shields or weapons, but Artoo and Threepio had rerouted power around those primary systems. Where the board had been primarily red when they'd started, it was now half green; the half that mattered to get them off the ship, into hyperspace and away from Vader once and for all.

She would confront Bail first; not on Coruscant, as the droids had suggested, but somewhere near enough they could both reach it relatively easily. Possibly Polis Massa. While the base had been destroyed, it had been a research facility. All they needed was a place to meet; a place where she could confront him on his complete and total betrayal. A place where she could confront him about Leia and Luke and demand to know where Obi-Wan was; if anyone would know, it would Bail, especially if they'd separated her children and each had one.

Infuriated at the thought that Luke and Leia were being deprived of one another's company, Padmé forced herself to breathe and acknowledge the tactic for what it was. She had been so certain they'd been kept together. So certain, Mon Mothma and Bail had done nothing to dissuade her of the notion. It had been smart, calculated and ruthless; something Vader would have done if it was in his best interest and as a way to control her. But no, both Mon Mothma and Bail had been her friends and they'd still done it.

Closing her eyes, Padmé struggled to breathe through the poisonous thoughts that were threatening to blind her judgement. Forcing the thoughts of Bail and Mon Mothma's betrayal, and now potentially Obi-Wan's, away, she focused. If she wanted to be able to escape before Vader's return, she would need to keep her wits about her. Focusing on the here and now, Padmé turned her attention back to the tasks at hand.

Using the auxiliary ties to the systems, she resumed the diversion of power to each system, using the shunt as a way to bring them online without turning on the engines. The ship hummed softly as the various systems came to life, quiet and unnoticed in the back corner of the hangar bay. Padmé cued the comm. to the droid. "How are we looking Artoo?"

He whistled an optimistic reply and gave her an estimate of a quarter hour before they could leave.

"And Vader?"

Artoo whistled again and this time it was followed by a series of amused chitters.

"You did what?" Padmé struggled to hold back a laugh. "And it worked?"

The sound of Artoo's electronic laughter reassured her that it did. Vader was not going to be happy, but he also wouldn't turn away from the situation Artoo had set in motion by subtly broadcasting the arrival of Vader and his current flagship. Planetary dignitaries, according to the droid, had already landed, along with many fans of the handsome Sith, though the Governor had initially tried to prevent it. Speeches in the courtyard, the audience numbers swelled by the attendance of these women and men, had hindered the Dark Lord's return. As the face of the Empires, he was forced to receive the various ministers who hadn't initially been privy to his attendance. Checking to see if they had a holo feed, Padmé flipped it on.

The images were grainy and fuzzy, the signal leaving much to be desired, but there was a clear, if incomplete, picture of Vader standing with a trio of minor diplomats and planetary representatives, accepting something from them as they extolled the virtues and greatness of the Empire. The view panned to the crowd, roaring with approval and chanting Vader's name.

She'd never been so glad for such blatant sycophantic behavior in her life.

Flicking off the holo feed, she turned back to her task and adjusted the power ratios within the converters leading to the primary systems. A quarter hour and she'd be in space, away from Vader, and taking the first real steps back to her children since this nightmare had begun.