A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews! With that being said, please enjoy this next chapter!
Anyone seeing Sidious would have a slight tremble about them, and Padmé was no exception. Rarely had she seen the beast since he took over the galaxy when she was just a fresh eighteen year old senator from Naboo, and every one of those times it hadn't been a private audience, but a very public affair. Now, both she and Vader were heading to the underbelly of the Senate to speak with him for the first time as a married couple, and he had just recently told her his true name.
"Remember, stay about three feet behind me and to the left, and whatever you do, don't rise until he commands us to", Vader cautioned.
"Are you sure this is a good idea with the baby and all?", Padmé asked nervously.
"It isn't like we can avoid it, but I've masked any presence that he might be able to detect. Everything will be fine", Vader said. He then turned back to her and looked at her with a very serious expression. "If for some reason he is displeased with me, he will punish me. It is very important that you remain stoic and don't cry out or try and help me. Promise me this, Padmé."
That caused her to swallow in horror. Her husband had literally just asked her not to show emotion if that evil beast decided to torture him. "Ani, you can't be serious", she whispered. Surely, that had to be a joke.
"It's not a joke, Padmé", Vader said with a tight tone. "Promise me."
Padmé could barely nod. "I promise", she whispered. What the hell had they gotten themselves into.
"I'll cloak your mind as best as I can but try and remain as disciplined as possible. The barriers I helped you create the other day should work just fine, but better to err on the side of caution", he said as he placed his hand at the small of her back, gently moving her closer to the doors of the Sidious' chambers.
"I understand", she replied. Here goes everything, she thought. This would be the first major test of their marriage, one that Padmé had long expected, but now that the moment was near, she was terrified.
Vader pushed open the doors and at a slow pace began marching towards the Sidious' throne. Padmé did her best to stay three feet and to the left of her husband, keeping her eyes slightly down at the floor, not daring to look at the Sidious unless commanded to. She focused on taking deep breaths to calm her nerves and reminded herself that the Sidious had known about them for some time and had even blessed their marriage. Surely, this couldn't go that bad.
Padmé stopped once Vader did and slowly took a knee, bowing her head as he, both waiting for their ruler to speak.
"Rise Lord and Lady Vader", Sidious commanded.
"Yes master", Vader replied as the two stood to their feet. Padmé kept her eyes to the floor, not daring to offend the despot. She was terrified, absolutely terrified.
"It's good to see the both of you have returned from your honeymoon", Sidious said. "I trust it was productive." Something in his voice unnerved Padmé even more, but she kept her thoughts to herself, not moving, not even blinking.
"It was, indeed, master", Vader replied. "Your allowing us to do so was a great honor that was bestowed upon us."
A great honor that a husband and wife got to go on a damned honeymoon? Seriously, what the shit. There were so many things wrong with that statement, and Padmé fought to keep her thoughts as neutral as possible, but it was difficult.
"Of course", Sidious replied in a soft tone. "And what of you, Lady Vader? How is it being married to my apprentice? You may look at me when spoken to."
Padmé bit the inside of her mouth before looking at up at Sidious with the most diplomatic smile she could muster. "Lord Vader is a proper husband, your highness. I am honored to be called his wife", she said.
"Good, good", Sidious replied. "That's wonderful news. I would imagine that he's a little rough around the edges, isn't he?"
This was a test; it was a gods damned test. "He is, but he's a Sith Lord, and I understand and accept it completely", she replied, keeping her eyes locked onto the madman, praying that he would accept the answer.
"Is that true, Lord Vader? Surely, you would have some gentleness with your wife", Sidious said with false concern.
"She is accustomed to my way of life, master. She understands the ways of a Sith, even if there is love between us", Vader said evenly. "She would be wise to remember it as well." Damn, he really was selling it, not that she could blame him. Their lives were in the balance.
"Well, don't be too hard on her, she is a fragile woman after all", Sidious cackled, showing some of his true colors.
"Indeed master", Vader replied.
The damned ruse would normally have pissed Padmé off at this point, but she wisely kept her temper in check. One wrong thought could get them punished, painfully. She had to protect her husband and her baby.
"Lady Vader are you excited with your new role in the Empire?", Sidious asked.
"I am, your highness. I am still attempting to figure out what that role with specifically entail, and what my status as a senator will be, but whatever the Empire needs, I will be a humble servant", Padmé replied with a slight bow of her head.
Sidious looked amused with the response. "Very good answer. All will be revealed about your role in due time once the details have been flushed out", Sidious said. "For now, I merely command you to be a doting wife to your husband and continue to see to your wifely duties. It's important for a newly married couple to start a family, wouldn't you agree, Lady Vader?"
Padmé forced herself to smile just a bit wider. "I certainly agree, your majesty. I am excited to start a family with Lord Vader", she said. Damn, he really wants them to have children. Whatever the hell Vader was thinking of doing he only had a little under eight short months to figure it out.
"Excellent, my dear", Sidious said approvingly. "Now, if you'll please excuse your husband and I, we have a few matters to discuss. You may wait for him outside if you wish."
Stark terror ran through Padmé's mind. Surely, he wasn't about to torture Vader. Oh gods, please anything but that. "Yes, your majesty", she replied with another bow of her head before she turned to walk out at an even pace, not too slow, but not too quickly. Once she was outside of the throne room, she leaned against the wall and placed a hand on her chest, closing her eyes and trying to listen for Vader's screams. Several minutes passed by and she heard nothing, which didn't necessarily mean anything, but she imagined she would've heard something if he was being tortured.
After another several very long minutes, the doors swung open and Vader excited, motioning for her to follow him.
"Ani are you alright?", she whispered.
"I'm fine, he just wanted to discuss the situation with Kenobi", he replied. "I'm to kill him soon, but I don't have any fucking idea where to find him. It would be almost better if he did try and come to Coruscant, the fool. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go hunting for him, which who in the hell knows how long that will take."
Interesting, Sidious must really have it in for Kenobi for escaping from when Vader spared his life after Jinn intervened. Not that she could blame him, she still wouldn't mind seeing the Jedi killed after what he had subjected her to on Dantooine, that and what he did to her husband.
"What will you do?", she asked.
Vader ran a gloved hand under his hood, presumably to rub his face. "I'm not certain. Possibly have intelligence start combing reports for any potential sightings of Jedi or Rebel ships. That's at least all I have to start with anyway", he said.
Padmé could tell there was tremendous frustration from Vader's aura, more than she had felt in some time. This really would be a daunting task for him, and she was worried what the repercussions would be if he failed to make good on his word.
"What happens if you're unable to kill him?", she asked sullenly, partly knowing the answer.
Vader let loose a growl that nearly startled her. "Then I can expect to be tortured for a very long time", he replied bitterly. "I'd rather not have that happen, as I imagine you wouldn't either, so I'll just have to find the damned man and deliver his head."
His head? That seemed a little melodramatic, but this was Sidious that they were talking about. The evilest man in existence. There would have to be some damned ridiculous requirement that Vader would have to abide by in order to please his master. Deplorable, absolutely deplorable.
"Well, if I need to join you if you do go searching for him, I will", Padmé said as they stalked through the darkened corridors of the lower halls of the Senate. A memory of Vader nearly killing Rush came to mind, right after he had been mercilessly tortured by the evil Sidious. She never forgot how chilling it was to see his eyes glowing like they were on fire as he attempted to murder her ex-boyfriend for merely talking to her. Looking back on things, she regretted that she stopped him. It would've saved them all a lot of grief.
"I'll take you, I promise", Vader said. "You're not getting a vacation from me anytime soon."
That made Padmé smile. "You might change your tune after a few months of being around me while I'm pregnant", she said with a chuckle.
"Never", Vader promised. "I'm sure you'll be a delightful woman the entire time." There was a slight inflection at the last that made Padmé frown.
"Was there a little bit of sarcasm in that statement?", she asked.
"Me? Be sarcastic with you?", he asked. "Never would I do such a thing."
That earned him a hard jab to the ribs with her elbow. The man was infuriating at times, but he was her man, so she knew what she was getting herself into, so she wouldn't complain too much. Maybe just a little.
"So, are there still going to be Stormtroopers at your penthouse today?", she inquired. She wanted some feeling of safety after Vader's vision. That insane Jedi frightened her terribly.
"Yes, they should be arriving as we speak", Vader replied. "They'll be stationed around the perimeter with a small contingent on the rooftop to act as spotters for incoming craft. It'll be very difficult for Kenobi to gain access without anyone knowing about it. You and Dormé should be safe if I'm not there, but if he does show up, I'll get an alert and immediately head back."
"Good, that makes me feel a little better", Padmé mumbled. It actually made her feel a lot better, the more countermeasures she could have against the Jedi, the better. Over the last several months she had been mentally assaulted by rush, nearly raped by his thugs, had to watch Vader's ex-lover die, and then be tortured by Kenobi for the mere crime of loving Vader. Enough was enough, she needed some damn calmness in her life otherwise she would start losing her shit.
"Anything for you, Padmé", Vader said endearingly. "You're the most important person in my life, next to my mother. Your safety is paramount."
Padmé smiled again as they kept walking through the labyrinth that was the Senate.
…
Obi-Wan was tired and irritable. He had to make five jumps total before being able to finally make a jump to Coruscant and he was nearly there. It appeared that he had thrown off the damned Rebellion and would be able to approach the Imperial held planet unhindered. The Rebellion wouldn't be foolish enough to try and intercept him once he exited hyperspace, that would mean their deaths for certain. He had spent time ensuring that the transponders on the freighter were Imperial friendly so there would be no confusion with the checkpoints he would have to go to in order to gain access to the planet. Security was no doubt tightened after his initial run to the system when he determined that Mothma had been murdered.
Once he landed, he would find a damned speeder and find a building to post up on to begin surveilling Vader's estate. That would be the easy part, the difficult part would be waiting for Vader to leave alone, and that might take some time now that the two evil doers were married. They would likely be inseparable for some time, but that didn't matter to Obi-Wan. He had time and patience, he would see it through to the bitter end, regardless of the costs.
An indicator began beeping alerting him that he was close to exiting hyperspace. He grabbed the controls and disengaged the hyperdrive, the planet instantly filling up the viewports of his cockpit. The damned planet had been the capital for the Republic for over a thousand generations, with the Jedi acting as peacekeepers, and now it was an Imperial stronghold, with even the majority of the populace supporting the Empire. It was pure hell.
"Freighter two seven one nine, this is space control, please transmit your transponder codes and flight plan."
Here goes nothing. "Space control, this is freighter two seven one nine, transmitting transponder codes now", he said as he flipped a few switches, sending the transmission.
He held his breath for a few terse seconds, waiting for a reply. After nearly a minute, he started to get a feeling of dread in his stomach that he hadn't reprogramed the transponders correctly and would have to flee the system.
"Freighter two seven one nine, you are cleared to proceed."
"Much appreciated, space control", Obi-Wan replied, feeling a small victory, the first out of many for this mission. He piloted the craft into a lane of ships awaiting to enter the atmosphere.
The number of ships required to import food and other supplies to the planet was staggering. It was a never ending convoy that was needed to support the trillions of beings on the planet, must of them on the upper levels, but a good portion who lived in the lower levels that were in hellish conditions. Obi-Wan had only been to the lower levels of the city once as a padawan and it had been a dangerous adventure, one that he would never quite forget.
As his turn came up to enter the atmosphere, he found a spaceport that was reasonably close to Vader's estate and requested permission to dock, which was granted. There was no turning back now, he was absolutely committed to seeing his plan through.
Once he landed the docking master came up to him. A Mon Calamarian in tight overalls. "How long will you be docked?", the being asked.
"At least two weeks, what's the going rate?", Obi-Wan asked.
"Ten credits a day, so that's one hundred and forty credits upfront. If you depart sooner, we'll refund you the balance."
Obi-Wan counted out the credits and dropped them into the docking master's hand. "I'll be back if needed", he commented as he took off. He needed to rent a speeder and begin his surveillance as soon as possible. If there was an opportunity for him to exact his revenge sooner rather than later, he wanted to get it over with. There wasn't any sense in taking his time to get familiar with too many of the intricacies of the estate, he would just kill the women, wait for Vader, and finish him. Done.
After renting a speeder he flew in the air close to the estate and swore. There were a contingent of Stormtroopers that weren't there the last time. Why in the hell were they there now? Surely, Vader wouldn't have another attempt on his life, that would make no sense. Was it because of the wedding with potential reporters? Damn. Either way, his task just became more difficult. He would have to contend with the Stormtroopers and then deal with the women, but he wouldn't have much time as the troopers would likely call for support if he didn't eliminate them as quickly as possible.
This would take a lot longer than he thought.
There was a building about a kilometer away from Vader's estate that had parking on the rooftop for speeders. Kenobi picked that as his perch. He paid for a long term spot and parked the speeder facing Vader's estate. He took out a pair of binos and began surveying the area. It appeared that the Stormtroopers were around the entire perimeter with a small group of them on the rooftop. Damn, he wouldn't be able to kill them all without them sounding an alarm. Shit.
Obi-Wan knew he would have to alter his plan considerably. It was possible that he might have to contend with the Stormtroopers and then the women before he made his escape. He could send a message to Vader taunting him to look for him and let the chase begin, but he knew he would need allies to set a trap for him just like on Dantooine. That would be difficult given his fugitive status from the Republic. If there were some Rebel cells that he could contact to provide some support, that would be the most preferrable course of action. Dammit, he really wanted to have it all end here, but he would surely be killed if he stayed after the Stormtroopers sounded the alarm.
Unless he hid inside of the massive penthouse, waiting for Vader to stalk through it to surprise him. Yes, that was a strong possibility, he would just need to act quickly once he killed the women, then and only then would he be able to find a secured location within the residence to hide. It was possible, entirely possible. To hell with running, he was here to kill Vader, not to lead him on a wild chase across the galaxy.
Obi-Wan continued to study the penthouse, trying to get as many details as possible so he knew where to strike and when. He would have to figure out guard rotations and possibly any blind spots he could use to sneak in. That would be helpful.
He tore open a ration bar with his mechanical hand and started munching. It would certainly be a while.
After several hours of surveilling, he began to get tired, but he perked up when he saw Vader's speeder park on the landing pad. Lord and Lady Vader both got out and walked through the double doors to the penthouse looking tired, but happy with one another. How two evil people could look so happy was a conundrum to him. It made no sense for darkness to allow people like them to have moments of happiness. He had always been aligned with the light, but had been taught to suppress his emotions, so he never was truly happy so to speak. But he figured the darkness allowed all forms of emotions to come into play.
His gaze wondered back to the rooftop and he was surprised when he saw Lady Vader's handmaiden walk out to speak with the Stormtroopers. So, she was living with them still. Excellent, he could ensure that she would die as well, truly driving Vader made. He wouldn't be surprised if the handmaiden was some form of concubine to the Sith Lord, it would only make sense. There would be no other reason for him to keep her around.
He pushed those thoughts from his mind and continued to plan his attack.
…
Vader was exhausted from the long day at the Senate, especially with his meeting with Sidious. Damn the man for commanding him to bring him Kenobi's head. It would be next to impossible to track the Jedi down in a galaxy of almost infinite trillions of beings spread across millions of systems. He had no intelligence, no data, no sightings of enemy fleets. There was no information to act on.
Before he left, he had instructed intelligence to begin their work. A slight feeling of nostalgia creeped up at the thought of how Lieutenant Alysia had been so damned good at tracking down the Rebel fleet, but she was dead and so was his unborn son. He had made peace with the event and now he and Padmé were expecting a child of their own, which was a blessing. He would be a father, he wasn't sure if he would be a good father, but he would try the best as he could.
He could tell that Padmé had been extremely nervous about hiding the pregnancy from Sidious, and she had every right to be. There would only be a few months where he would be able to cloak the pregnancy before she started to considerably show. It would be impossible to hide the fact then. He was now on a timetable to kill Sidious and that terrified him. He would have to carefully plan his attack. Maybe he truly would need the support of the Jedi like Master Jinn had offered, as much as it made him sick to think of it. He despised the damned Jedi more than he did Sidious, but he wanted to protect his unborn child more than he wanted to kill the Jedi. Maybe it would be appropriate to bury the hatchet so to speak and enter into an alliance with the Jedi for the sole purpose of eliminating Sidious. He had no clue what that would do to the grand scheme of how the galaxy would look, or if the Empire would survive, but dammit his child would come before that.
Padmé was feeling tired so she went to lay down and get some rest. At first, he felt inclined to join her, but he realized he had to get some work done. He went to the second floor where his office was and began to read through reports. The super dreadnaught was nearing completion and it would be christened as the Executor, a fitting name for the new flagship of the Empire. It would be a pleasure to be aboard the ship as he hunted down whatever Rebel fleets that may still exist. Nothing they had would be able to stand toe to toe with the ship or its accompaniment of Star Destroyers, that was for certain.
He signed off on several requests for additional personnel to be recruited to man the vessel as the completement would be nearly two hundred thousand crew members and Stormtroopers, a massive undertaking in itself. The hundreds of fighters would be manned by some of the best pilots in the fleet and the squadrons of Star Destroyers would be captained by the best fleet officers the Empire had. It would truly be a symbol of the might of the Empire, but Vader couldn't lose perspective. A machine of war was just that, a machine. The Force was the true power in the galaxy, and he had an excellent command of it.
That reminded him, he needed to check the status of Sidious' pet project, the orbital battle station that could destroy a planet. The abomination disgusted Vader, he didn't believe that the battle station would do any good, especially if it was used to target worlds that were under the Empire's influence. It would cause nothing but mass defections and embolden the galaxy to join the Rebellion. Thankfully, construction was barely beginning, and the details of the weapons systems hadn't even been resolved yet, making the project useless at this point. Perhaps if he killed Sidious, he could scrap the project entirely, having command over his own damned military.
Suddenly, his comms chirped. What in the fresh hell was this?
"Vader", he barked into the comms.
"Milord, it's Admiral Piett, I need to inform you that we've had a sighting of a Rebel fleet near the Hapes cluster. Apparently, they got too close to the cluster and the Hapes consortium passed along the information to us as they don't want their presence lurking around their worlds."
What an interesting development. Could Kenobi be with them? It was possible, but not certain. He could be on a planet dug in and hiding.
"Send some scout ships to verify the intelligence reports. I'm not going to authorize a fleet action until we're certain that the ships are still there. The Hapes consortium is still on shaky terms with the Empire, and I don't want to cause an incident, am I understood?", Vader asked.
"Perfectly, Milord", Piett said.
Vader cut the transmission. Interesting development indeed. They might be able to do something about this Rebel fleet if the reports were in fact correct, but it was possible that whoever was in charge of the fleet decided to move on as this was the first sighting that anyone had of it. They were becoming more disciplined on hiding themselves and it was infuriating.
Vader reviewed several more reports, including a request to establish a new training program for elite Stormtroopers aptly named as Death Troopers. He read through the requirements to enter the training pipeline and the training program itself. It was rigorous and demanding, just the type of soldiers he would need. He approved the request and transmitted it to the officer, demanding that they start immediately. He would have the first selection of the Death Troopers, of that he was certain. He needed them to accomplish his plan.
After reading through several more reports, he became fed up with the work. He was tired and needed rest. He crept upstairs and opened the door to his bedchambers to find Padmé fast asleep under the covers, which made him smile. She needed her rest, and he would see that she got it. Not wanting to disturb her, he quietly laid down on one of his couches, taking the moment to close his eyes and fall asleep. Something told him he would need as much rest as possible.
…
Qui-Gon was perturbed beyond all belief. His miscalculation of his pupil's skills had allowed him to escape. There wasn't any way to take it back, so he knew that he would need to try and devise a plot to prevent him from exacting his vengeance, but he didn't know how. Bail had forbidden him from traveling to Coruscant and while he respected the command, he didn't agree with it. He would have to commandeer a vessel and head off to the planet by himself, which would be a challenge amongst itself.
Sighing, he put he laid down on his bed to mediate. He found himself in a trance and a vision quickly came to him. He was in a large estate, one that he didn't recognize, but out of the window, he could see the Coruscant skyline. How he missed his home at the Jedi temple that had been long since burned to ashes.
He wondered around the house and was shocked when he entered the foyer. Padmé Amidala and another woman laid dead on the floor, horribly mangled from being crushed to death. Damn, Obi-Wan had done it, he had killed the women and was likely waiting for Vader to show up. The front doors were kicked open and he saw Vader enter, pausing to stair at his dead wife. He screamed in pain and outrage and collapsed to the floor, completely unable to cope with the loss of his wife. This was horrifying to watch, and Qui-Gon had no idea how he should react. The man was devastated from the loss, and Obi-Wan would likely enter the room to finish the job off.
Suddenly, he was pulled from his trance and was breathing heavily. This was not right, the women were innocent, Obi-Wan would have no right to take their lives. It made him angry, and he didn't get angry, which baffled him. This was ridiculous.
Getting up from his bed, he began pacing back and forth trying to formulate some plan of making this stop before it came to fruition. There would be difficulties in exacting his plan, but he was certain he had to do something, anything to prevent it from happening. That's what he cared about the most and he would see it through to the very end. Damn Obi-Wan for placing him in this position.
Perhaps a better point of contact would be someone at the Jedi council, maybe even Yoda, but transmissions to the new Jedi temple were off limits o prevent the Empire from tracking the communications. He was truly cut off and without support. Damn, why had he been unable to stop Obi-Wan? He should have incarcerated him, regardless of the fact that he had lost his arm. There would be only one way to go about this and it would be a simple thing of getting some of the Rebels to sympathize with the matter and allow him to leave onboard a freighter. This was what he needed to do to protect Anakin's or Vader's family.
…
Obi-Wan stared through the binos, completely exhausted. Vader hadn't left the estate and neither had anyone else for that matter. Another difficulty he would face would be the damned man if he chose not to leave. It wouldn't be the best idea for him to sneak in and attempt to fight Vader while he had his wits about him, that would make things entirely too difficult. He had no idea what strategy he should use and it infuriated him. Why was this so gods damned difficult?
He watched the shift change of the Stormtroopers and it was rapid, not slow. He would have to contend with them no matter what, and it would easy, but he had to devise a plan and do it quickly. '
Maybe he could use the Force against them like he would do with Padmé. He could push the troopers off the estate and into the abys below. That would have to suffice. There would be no other way, he knew that if he did this, there would be the opportune moment.
…
Vader woke to his comms chirping. Dammit, he didn't want Padmé to wake up. He quickly got up from the couch and stepped outside.
"Vader", he said quietly.
"Milord, it's Admiral Piett again. We just now received a communication from the Hapes consortium that the fleet has been spotted again. I believe that this is actionable intelligence, and we require your presence in order to finalize our strategy. If you could please come down to intelligence, that would make things much easier to finalize our plans to attack the fleet", Piett said.
"And this can't wait until the morning?", Vader asked.
"Apologies, Milord, but we need to act quickly if we're to strike", Piett said.
Vader let out a frustrated groan. "Fine, I'll be there momentarily", he said. He was still dressed from the previous day, so he merely leapt down the stairs and jogged to his speeder. After getting inside, he engaged the controls and sped off into the night.
He flew to the subterranean military complex and parked his speeder. Walking briskly to the entrance, the guards opened the door for him immediately. He took a lift down to the floor where command and intelligence was and entered the strategic center.
"Well, Admiral, what do you have?", Vader asked impatiently.
Piett looked at him with a grimace. "Milord, we have about seventy capital ships and frigates trolling outside the Hapes cluster at this very moment. We could take the second fleet and immediately jump to the system. There is a chance that they will be gone before we arrive, but it's the best opportunity that we have at the moment."
"I agree", Vader said begrudgingly. "However, I will not join you on this one, Admiral. You will be given full command of the second fleet given your station. I trust your judgment."
Piett visibly balked. "Milord, I would have figured that given the importance of this mission that you would join us", he said, not quite believing his ears.
"I made you an Admiral for a reason, Piett", Vader growled. "I have a lot more matters that I need to attend to, this one will be your responsibility. If they're still present, engage them until you smash them into oblivion. If they're not, try and gather intelligence on where they jumped to. If you have no leads, then return to Coruscant. Understood?"
This wasn't the first time he gave command to a subordinate to attack a Rebel fleet, nor would it be the last. He ran the entire kriffing military and had to use his time wisely. Delegation was merely a part of leadership.
"Understood, Milord", Piett said as he straightened up. "I will report as soon as we know something."
"Good, if that will be all, I'll return to my estate", Vader said.
Piett nodded and Vader spun on his heels and left. This could've waited until the kriffing morning.
…
Kenobi lurched in his speeder once he saw Vader leave in the middle of the night. This was his chance! He engaged the speeder and darted over to the penthouse as cautiously as he could. He landed on the speeder pad and was immediately approached by two Stormtroopers. He waived his hand, and they were thrown off the building. He got out of the speeder and quietly jogged to the corner of the estate and peered around the corner. There were still two Stormtroopers guarding the door.
Bracing himself, he reached out with the Force and began to crush the troopers. Gurgles escaped from their mouths and blood spilled out of their armor slowly as he focused his energy killing them. It was a slow and painful process, he tried to speed it up, but he couldn't. For some reason, it was more difficult to do this with a live person than with droids. He didn't manage to entirely crush them but felt through the Force that they were dying. He let them fall to the ground and opened the door, knowing that the troopers on the rooftop would likely have already begun to sound the alarm.
Damn, he did this too soon. He would have to find out where the women slept. He bolted up the stairs to the third floor, figuring that's where the bedchambers would be. He heard a Stormtrooper enter the estate below who began shouting for support. He didn't have much kriffing time at all. When he reached the third floor, he noticed a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. He carefully crept to them and gently put his hand on the doorknob, turning it. He opened it and his suspicions were confirmed. These were Lord Vader's bedchambers. He closed the door behind him and looked at the bed. Sleeping peacefully was Padmé. He walked over to her, his hands visibly shaking.
Could he really do this to a woman that he had cared about? This wasn't war, it was murder. Kriff, he had to make a decision quickly so he could confront the blasted Stormtroopers.
"Padmé", he said loudly. "Wake up."
"I'm still tired, Ani. The baby's making me groggy", she said sleepily.
Pregnant? He would be killing an unborn child! Well, one that would be trained as a Sith, so maybe this was a mercy.
"I'm not Vader, Padmé. You need to wake up now", he said hurriedly.
Padmé shot up in the bed and turned to look at him, her mouth opened wide. "Obi-Wan", she said with fear in her voice. "Obi-Wan, please, don't hurt me, I'm with child."
Her pleas wouldn't work, not this time. "I realize that, but you're now the enemy. You're Lady Vader, and that means you cannot be a part of the genocidal Empire", he said. "Stand up, I won't kill a woman who's in bed."
"Obi-Wan", Padmé said as she stood. "Anakin is not what you think. He has a plan to help stabilize the galaxy, not destroy it. You're making me an enemy when you don't have to." What she was saying didn't matter, he didn't believe a word that she said.
"No, that's not true. He slaughtered us when he attacked our fleet. That's not stabilization. That was murder", he said. "I'm not going to debate this with you, I don't have the time. I'm sorry, but it has to end now."
"Obi-Wan, please!", Padmé cried. "I'm carrying a fucking child!"
"A child that will be raised as a Sith!", Obi-Wan shouted.
"No, you don't under –"
She didn't get to finish. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force and slowly began to crush her. But it wasn't working the way he intended, it was slower, he was unable to simply kill her. He noted her nose starting to bleed, maybe he was damaging her brain. That might be enough.
"No!", a woman's voice screeched.
Obi-Wan barely had time to turn around before he was rushed from behind, tackled to the ground. Shit, it was the handmaiden. He struggled to get to his lightsaber, but she kept striking him on the side of his head. She then took out a knife and plunged it into his back. He screamed and through the woman off of him with the Force. He got up and snapped his lightsaber to life. The woman had a blaster pistol tucked into her nightgown. She took it out and began firing rapidly at him. He chuckled as he deflected the bolts with relative ease.
The handmaiden kept firing, undeterred by the lack of effectiveness to her attack. He slowly advanced on her, his mind was locked into the thought that this was a game. The Stormtroopers would be here any second, and he would cut through them as well, then he would finish the job with Padmé. This would still work, it had to.
"You bastard!", the handmaiden screeched. "You murderous bastard!"
"The only murderers present are you and the married couple. That and the Stormtroopers", Obi-Wan snarled. He continued his advance and when he was a few feet from her he prepared to slice into her, but she kicked his knee hard, sending him reeling back. Dam, he was getting overconfident. This woman should be able to inflict that kind of punishment on him.
Growing tired of this, he blocked another bolt and stabbed her with his lightsaber in her right shoulder, withdrawing it quickly. The woman screeched and her blaster fell, she held her shoulder in agonizing pain and Obi-Wan figured that she would die from blood loss if the wound wasn't completely cauterized. If not, he would kill her later. He turned his attention back to an unconscious Padmé laying on the floor.
Perhaps crushing her would be out of the option, perhaps a better solution would be to simply cut her head off. He walked up to her slowly and raised his blade, ready to deliver the killing blow. With great force he slashed down.
…
Vader received an emergency call from the Stormtroopers when he was nearly back to his estate. A Jedi had broken in. Fucking Kenobi! He gunned the speeder as quickly as it would go and flew it directly to his estate, dodging the early morning traffic with ease. He had to get to Padmé, he had to protect her, he would be lost without her.
As he approached his estate, he saw the unfamiliar speeder parked on the pad and Stormtroopers filing in. He sensed that Kenobi was in his bedchambers. Fuck! He flew his speeder to the window above his bed and engaged the over mode on his craft. He opened the door and knew that it was a several thousand foot drop if he missed, but he didn't have any fucking time left.
Concentrating with the Force, he leapt as hard as he could threw the window, crashing threw it while snapping his lightsabers to life. He saw Kenobi about to deliver a death blow to Padmé. He used his lefthanded lightsaber to block the blow. Kenobi looked up at him in surprise, but Vader kicked him in the chest sending him sprawling away from Padmé.
He saw Dormé withering on the floor from a stab wound, but he couldn't do anything about that right now, nor could he help Padmé who appeared unconscious.
"You dare try and kill my wife!", he roared as he kept slashing at Kenobi. The Jedi knew he was in trouble and slowly backed out of the room and into the hallway as Vader kept up his attack relentlessly.
Vader saw Kenobi raise his hand to try and shove him away. Vader held his hand up to counter the push, locking the both of them in a deadlock, but Vader was stronger than this murderous Jedi. He kept pushing and pushing until Kenobi was shoved back down the hallway. The Stormtroopers were almost to the third floor having cleared the second floor.
"I'll handle this", he hissed to the Stormtroopers. He leapt towards Kenobi who was trying to get up and slashed down with both lightsabers. Kenobi barely blocked both of them, holding Vader back with all his might, but Vader pressed down harder until the lightsabers were mere inches from Kenobi's face.
Vader was momentarily stunned when Kenobi kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back two paces. Kenobi leapt up and began his own attack, forcing Vader on the offensive. Vader was stunned that the Jedi was able to be so quick especially given his mechanical arm, but he figured he must've been training. Vader blocked blow after blow, defending himself against the monstrous Jedi.
Then, Vader snapped and went on the defensive again slashing with one saber and stabbing with the other. Kenobi had to jump back to avoid getting impaled.
"You think you can assassinate my wife!", Vader roared. "My family!"
"Your family is evil!", Kenobi countered.
Vader roared in rage, completely unhinged and continued his onslaught against the Jedi. Forcing him further down the hallway. He could tell that Kenobi was losing strength rapidly, and he wanted to make sure the Jedi was broken down completely so he could slice him up as brutally as possible.
"You're the reason why I nearly eradicated the Jedi", Vader hissed. "Your hypocrisy is unmatched by anyone. I'm trying to bring peace to the galaxy and you hypocritical bastards are murdering people in the sake of what you call justice!"
"We don't murder, we fight for right!", Kenobi barely managed to get out before he blocked another blow.
"Yet here you are, trying to murder my family", Vader growled.
"It's not murder when it's combat against an enemy", Kenobi said, exhaustedly.
Vader continued wildly slashing and stabbing. Kenobi was barely able to block the attacks with a single lightsaber. Vader would normally have felt joy in such combat, but he had his injured and pregnant wife in his bedchambers. He had to finish this so he could tend to her.
Seeing an opportunity, he viciously slashed at Kenobi's legs, severing them above the knees. Kenobi screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Vader took the opportunity to slash his left arm off, sending it and the lightsaber flying.
Vader stepped on Kenobi's chest. "Any last words, Jedi?"
"Only that I hope your unborn child is dead along with your wife", Kenobi spate. "She should have been mine!"
"But she isn't and never will be!", Vader screamed. He stepped back and picked Kenobi's torso up with the Force and placed both lightsabers at his neck, quickly severing the head. He allowed the torso to fall to the floor and spun around, sprinting back to his bedchambers as he deactivated his lightsabers. He threw them to the floor as he entered the room and saw a wounded Dormé desperately trying to tend to Padmé.
"Dormé", Vader said, breathlessly. "Step back, let me look at her."
He centered himself in the Force as quickly as possible, but it was difficult, the rage he felt still remained. Please calm down, he thought.
Vader reached out with the Force and tried to determine the extent of Padmé's injuries. She had cracked ribs, a brain injury, and her throat was bruised. Damn that bastard! His hand wondered to her belly, and he still felt the still barely developed child alive! The pregnancy was saved, he just had to save Padmé's life now.
Calming himself as much as possible, he stripped off his gloves and placed his hands on her head and chest, desperately trying to heal her with the Force. This wouldn't end like it did with Alysia, he had to touch the light as much as possible in order to heal her.
Slowly, he felt himself become at peace and he closed his eyes as the blue energy emitted from his hands. He slowly felt her, felt her injured ribs and throat begin to heal. Her bruised organs regenerated. Vader then focused on her brain, slowing the bleeding, repairing the complex tissues. But he could only do so much. He cried out as he felt her pulse weakening and put every ounce of energy he had into his attempt to heal her.
Suddenly, he stopped the bleeding in the brain and the tissues began to regenerate, repairing the axons in her brain. He felt her through the Force and realized he had healed her body, but he prayed that her mind would be free from damage from the extreme trauma.
This was horrific. His beautiful wife and unborn child. He came so close to losing them.
Vader fell back, completely spent.
"What are your orders, sir?", a Stormtrooper asked.
"Get both the women to the hospital, now", he choked out. "Someone get my speeder down to the pad. I'm coming with you, someone fucking help me up."
Two Stormtroopers picked up each woman and began rushing them downstairs, while another two pulled the Sith Lord up. He called his lightsabers to him and began walking down the stairs as quickly as he could.
"What about the Jedi's body, sir?"
"Leave it", Vader barked. "I'll deal with it later."
They reached the outside of the estate where they all piled in a large, armored transport that rocketed them to the Senate hospital. It was closer than the palace hospital, which was good, Vader didn't want records of Padmé's pregnancy where Sidious could access them.
After only several minutes, they reached the emergency entrance and Vader picked up his wife from the Stormtroopers on and quickly carried her inside.
"Help, right now!", he roared.
Several medical staffers and a doctor rushed up with a gurney.
"She has a brain injury along with injuries to her neck and organs. She's pregnant", Vader said, trying to keep his voice under control.
"We'll take care of her, Milord", the doctor said as they began rushing Padmé to the operating room.
Vader stood motionless. He watched the Stormtroopers rush Dormé in where another team of medical staffers put her in a gurney as well. He was shaken, he almost lost his family, but Padmé's fate still remained to be seen. This wasn't fair, none of this was fair.
He felt defeated, like his very soul had been ripped from his mind. He numbly walked towards the operating rooms where he looked through the window and saw the doctors rapidly triage his wife. They were shouting and about to give her a blood transfusion to replace what she had lost. There wasn't anything he could do; he had healed her to the best of his abilities.
Dammit.
…
After two hours, Vader paced around the corridor of the operating area, exhausted, but unable to sit down. He needed news about Padmé's condition. He could rest until he had news. Their bond was weak, but still there. He couldn't feel any emotions, she must be in some type of coma, he realized. Fuck. What would he do if she couldn't wake up? What would happen to the child? He didn't just marry her to lose her so quickly.
Walking back and forth he tried to clear his mind but was unable to. He was in too much pain, too much grief.
Another doctor walked out of the operating room Dormé was in and Vader sucked in a breath. Was his friend alright? He hadn't been able to heal her, and was concerned, not as much as about Padmé, but he was still concerned.
"Milord, Miss Dormé will be fine. We've repaired most of the stab wound and she's under sedation", the doctor said.
Vader nodded. "Very well. Thank you", he replied. That was some good news, but what about his wife? He should've heard something by now, some bit of information.
He continued his pacing, reaching out to Padmé's mind as much as possible, sending soothing thoughts and pleas that she would heal. There was no response from her, it was like she couldn't answer.
With a growl he punched the wall, denting the metal. He was incensed, enraged that this could've happened. If only he told Piett to contact him in the morning, or just tell him over the comms, this wouldn't have happened. It was his fault for leaving her, none of this would've happened if he hadn't left her.
…
Another two hours passed, and Vader was utterly exhausted. There was still no news, which worried him considerably. There should've been some news by now, something that would tell him what was going on with her condition. He reached out to her mind again and sucked in a breath, there was a spark. A faint spark, but still a spark.
Could this mean her brain wasn't too severely damaged? He reached out with the Force and her injuries were still healing. There were no bleeds in her body, and she felt stable. He grimaced as he focused on the baby and could still feel the life developing.
Unable to take it anymore he leaned against the wall and slowly fell to the ground, placing his arms around his knees. He didn't care if anyone saw him like this, that was the furthest thing from his mind. His only priority was his wife and unborn child.
He silently vowed to himself that he would slaughter each and every Jedi he could, regardless of the outcome. Jinn had begged for him to spare Kenobi's life. He shouldn't have listed, shouldn't have felt weakened by the man apologizing to him. If he had killed Jinn and Kenobi this wouldn't have happened. It was his fault. Everything about this was his fault.
Finally, a doctor came out and walked up to Vader. He pushed his hood back and looked up at the doctor with bleary eyes.
"Well?", he rasped. Wanting to hear the news, but not wanting to at the same time.
"She's stable", the doctor said. "The pregnancy has been saved, but she is in a minor coma. Her head injury had been severe, but it looked like much of the damage had been repaired before she was brought in. I assume you had something to do with that, Milord."
"What about her recovery? When will she wake up?", Vader asked.
The doctor looked uneasy.
"Just tell me, damn you", Vader pleaded.
"We aren't certain when she'll wake up. As far as her recovery goes, it'll just depend on how her brain heals. There may be some memory lost, but there may not be, we don't know at this point. Again, her vitals are stable, so it's just a waiting game at this point. What we do know is that there won't be a turn for the worst. She's young and health, and again, much of the damage had been repaired before she was brought in. Milord, we have no expectations that she will die, none at all", the doctor promised. "What she needs is simply time, that's what is important right now, time."
Vader nodded. Time. Time was the only precious resource that he ever had. It was everything.
"I want to see her", Vader said as he stood.
"Yes, Milord", the doctor said as he motioned him to follow.
Vader walked in the room. "Can I have some privacy? I'll only be a few minutes."
The medical team nodded and walked out.
Vader turned his attention to Padmé and bent down to softly kiss her forehead. "I'm sorry, Angel. I'm sorry that this happened. This is my responsibility, no one else. I'm going to care for you regardless of what happens. Our baby is unharmed, it will need you. Please get better."
He placed his hand on her head and reached out with the light one more time, desperate to heal her more. The blue energy appeared, and Vader focused on her brain. The doctor was right, the tissues had been repaired. He focused beyond the tissues, to the inner workings of her brain and used everything he could to try and heal her. Through their bond, he felt the spark intensify, but there were still no emotions. He tried as hard as he could, but that was the most he could do.
Feeling defeated, he dropped his hand. He looked at her with a great sadness in his heart.
Holding her hand, he bent down to gently kiss her lips. "Wake up soon for me, Angel. I need you."
With that, he gently placed her hand on her stomach and walked out, wiping tears from his eyes. He walked out of the hospital and signaled a Stormtrooper.
"I need to get back to my estate", he said hoarsely.
"Yes, Milord. We'll leave immediately", the trooper replied.
He loaded up in the transport and they flew back to his home. He noticed his speeder was parked on the pad. He had something that he needed to take care of.
After exiting the transport, he went inside and up to the third floor, where Stormtroopers were guarding the dead body of Kenobi.
"I'm going to take his head. Dispose of the rest of his body. Don't burn it, he doesn't deserve the honor. Just throw him in the waste collector. Have someone repair the window to my bedchambers and clean it up. Clean up the entire estate. Understood?"
"Yes, Milord", the troopers replied.
Vader grabbed Kenobi's head by its hair and proceeded downstairs again. He stalked to his speeder and got in, slamming the door shut. He tossed Kenobi's head on the seat next to him and engaged the speeder, driving hazardously to the Senate. He landed on the pad and stalked in, down to the bowels of the building. It was nearly morning time; Sidious was sure to be there. Hell, he was always there.
He marched into the throne room where Sidious was seated. Instead of bowing, he tossed Kenobi's head towards Sidious where it rolled to a stop.
"Kenobi is dead, master", Vader said with contempt.
Sidious' face was surprised. "That was unexpectedly fast, Lord Vader. What happened?"
Vader paused before answering. "While I was speaking with Admiral Piett, he infiltrated my estate and began attacking the Stormtrooper guard. He managed to wound the handmaiden and caused significant brain damage to my wife. The damage has been repaired, but she remains in a coma. They're unsure when she'll wake up." He knew Sidious didn't care about that, but he told him anyway.
"That's most unfortunate, Lord Vader. I should punish you for allowing something to happen to your wife, but I won't. You've been punished enough for your failure in protecting her. But you did manage to bring me Kenobi's head. For that, you will be rewarded with my gratitude", Sidious said.
Gratitude, like Vader wanted Sidious' fucking gratitude.
"Thank you, master", he replied.
"Go now, go be with your wife", Sidious sneered.
"Yes, master", Vader said.
He turned and walked out of the throne room. He took his speeder the short distance to the hospital and climbed out. He marched in and asked the attendant at the front desk if Padmé was still in the operating suite, but she had been moved to a recovery room. Vader proceeded down the hall and found the room.
Padmé was lying unconscious. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and hung his head. He did deserve to be punished. He deserved every punishment that could be inflicted upon him.
Sighing in frustration he leaned back and closed his eyes. He was mentally and physically drained, but he couldn't sleep. He wouldn't sleep until he knew that she would be alright. Reaching out with the Force again to feel their bond, the spark was still there. It was slowly growing brighter, and he could feel something else. It was fear. Even in her coma, she was feeling fear from what Kenobi had done to her. The bastard was still tormenting her mind even in her unconscious state. How he wished that he had tortured the bastard more, but Padmé had needed his help.
"Ani", Dormé asked from the door.
He looked up at her with a blank expression. "Come in, Dormé."
She walked in nervously, still dressed in her hospital gown.
"Ani, I'm so sorry. I tried to intervene, but I didn't get to her in time before that man started to hurt her. I tried to fight him off as best as I could. I'm so sorry", she said with tears running down her face.
Damn, Dormé went up against a Jedi in an attempt to save Padmé's life. That was beyond bravery for a non-Force user.
Vader rose and embraced his friend. "You did everything you could", he said as his voice broke. "This is my fault for not killing him. This is my fault for not being there. No one else. You did what you could, and I am grateful for it."
Dormé began sobbing and the two remained in their embrace as they both were terrified for what would happen to Padmé. To the child. It was a nightmare, simply a nightmare.
When they pulled back, Dormé looked weak.
"Why don't you go get some more rest. I'll still be here with Padmé. If something changes, I'll let you know", Vader said.
Dormé silently nodded and left the room, leaving Vader alone again. Damn the Force for allowing this to happen to his wife. Damn the Jedi.
He collapsed back down in the chair and just waited. That was all he could do.
A/N: If you liked the chapter, please consider dropping a review and following!