Padme woke to a hushed and frenzied scramble outside her room Urgent whispers could just barely be heard and the air was filled with shock and tension. This was unnerving enough. But what really shook Padme was this hiss of a hight saber being ignited.
At this, she scrambled out of bed, yanked open a drawer in her bedside table, and pulled out a blaster. Careful to make as little noise as possibly, Padme softly ran to the door and put her ear to it, listening intently. Taking a deep breath, and without a second thought, she wrenched the door open, holding her blaster ready.
Instead of seeing a Sith Lord, his red light saber blazing and casting shadows around the room, or a hooded man, his eyes gleaming, ready to capture her, she saw Luke. The green glow of his light saber lit up the room. He and Leia were staring through the glass of the huge living room windows into the night, as if they were looking for something. . .or someone. Much of the city was asleep. It was very quiet. Only the occasional quiet hum of a speeder landing in the distance broke the silence. A full moon hung high in the sky, a stark contrast to the endless twilight expanse of the galaxy(it took me ten minutes to think up that phrase XD I was trying to figure out the perfect way to describe the sky). Its silvery light shone through the clear covering of the speeder landing pad, making the room almost bright with its glow. Leia was clutching a blaster, and in her left hand was a comm. Five rebels crouched behind them, their blasters ready as well.
Padme's entrance startled them. Obviously already wary and alert, they jerked their heads in her direction. Seeing her, however, the twins sighed in relief. Padme did the same.
"Thank goodness that it's only you guys! I was expecting a Sith Lord at worst!" She crossed the room to stand by her children, lowering her blaster as she did so.
Leia smiled grimly, still keeping her blaster at a ready position. "Not quite that bad. But Luke caught that," she made a disgusted face, "stalker in the midst of spying on us."
Padme was shocked. "W-What? So I was right!"
Leia nodded, still grim. "Yes. I won't be surprised if he's been spying on you the past few days, since you came back from the Force. Luke was keeping watch here, when the Force screamed danger. I felt it too. When he investigated, he saw a pair of binoculars aimed at him. A man was secretly watching him from some shubbery beside the apartment complex."
Padme gasped. All that time she had been outside. . .on her balcony. . .looking through the windows. . .he had been watching her. She had felt a weird tingling feeling down her spine, like she was being watched. Apparently her suspicions were correct.
It was very cold. Trees bent under the weight of the furious wind. It whipped branches to and fro, causing leaves to fall like rain. The darkness was overwhelming. Only the light of the full moon seemed to be able to penetrate the thick blanket of darkness. None of this, however, fazed a man in the midst of it all. He was in a dark cloak, with a hood puled over his head. The cold air did not seem to bother him. He was focused on something else. A tall apartment building, the richest of them all, where only the most important and wealthy people stayed. 500 Republica. He was tucked into the shadows, just so that it would be nearly impossible to see him. His black cloak blended in with the darkness around him.
Through his binoculars, he could see the usual: Jedi Skywalker Junior in front of Padme's bedroom door, along with five rebels just inside her apartment entrance. He was sure that Ms. Skywalker Junior would be outside Padme's apartment somewhere, waiting for him, with more rebels. He sighed.
"This is going to be harder than I expected, my love," he purred. "But have no fear. The time will soon come where you will be in my arms."
Suddenly, something broke his thoughts. Jedi Skywalker Junior had just ignited his light saber. He was beckoning stood behind him. They were all looking at him.
In a flash, the hooded man stood and crept away, deeper and deeper into the shadows. He was sure that ms. Skywalker Junior would be along soon, and he would rather not bump into any of them now. Quickly rushing father and father away, he didn't stop until he was far away from the apartment and the Skywalker twins.
He smirked. "Maybe not today. But soon, my love."
Leia was kneeling in front of the elevator, alert. Her eyes were bright, and at that moment, she seemed immune to sleepiness and fatigue. The rebels behind her were very disciplined, and they were doing a very good job of being alert. However, you could still tell that the day was catching up to them, and that they needed rest. Leia smiled at them encouragingly.
"Thank you for coming with Luke and I to protect our mother. It was very kind of you to come of your own free will. You are very courageous, and I am glad that you are all here with me. Good job, and keep up the good work!"
They all gave her tired, but warm smiles. "Thank you, princess," one said, speaking for all of them. "We are glad that we could help."
"You definitely have."
They settled down, trying the their best not to grow drowsy, while Leia listened carefully, while watching the shadows intently. She realized that if the stalker was to come try to get Padme, there was a high chance that he would come through them. The rebels were tired and worn out from that day's hard work. She would have to stay awake, and be alert. Her father was counting on her to keep her mother safe.
She hoped that Luke was thinking the same thing, and that he wouldn't fall asleep either. If either of them was just a little less careful, it could end in a lot of damage. She hoped that Luke would be able to warn her as soon as possible, so that she could go help him. Unfortunately, she wasn't as trained in the Force as Luke was, but their Force-bond was pretty strong. She was glad for it.
She settled into peaceful thinking. It was very quiet.
Suddenly, the Force seemed to scream danger at her. Chills ran down her spine, and she had a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Clutching her blaster tightly, she quickly stood, the rebels following suite.
"What it is, Princess Leia?" one asked urgently.
"I-I don't know yet. Wait."
And then it came at her. With the force of a bullet. She staggered back and it seemed to slam into her from all sides. She clutched her head.
"Leia! A man is spying on us at this very minute! He's hiding in some bushes by the apartment, with some binoculars aimed our way! I think he might have already escaped! Hurry!"
She dashed down the hallway, with the rebels at her heels. Fumbling with the keys, which she took from her pocket, she opened the door and sprinted in, her blaster raised. She saw Luke and the other rebels in front of the window, tense. Luke turned.
"He escaped. We need to send the two rebels below to see if they can find him."
Leia nodded and withdrew the comlink. Pressing the red button, she said urgently, "Someone spotted. Probably wearing a black cloak. He used to be in the shrubbery by the apartment complex. Search for him."
The comm beeped. "Yes, Princess. At it."
Luke looked grim. "Let's just hope he doesn't escape."
Meanwhile, the hooded man had found a different hiding place. In 500 Republica's main speeder landing pad, where many people put their speeders if they were bigger than normal, or if they just didn't want them in their apartments. It was a great hiding place. There was always people there. At night, there were a few, so movement wouldn't be suspicious. The speeders were huge, and had a lot of hiding places in and between them. The Skywalker twins wouldn't ever think that he'd be there, and even if they did, they would never notice or find him.
He was crouched in between a bright yellow speeder, and a red one. There was a tiny probe droid in the palm of his hand. Using a small hand remote, about as big as a comlink, he had the probe droid rise a couple inches in the air, off of his hand. Slowly, it rose and flew silently over to Padme's window, about fifty feet away. It was still very dark, and the probe droid was so small, it could barely be seen. If you saw it, it just looked like a fly. It swooped towards her huge glass windows and hovered there for a few minutes. Then, just as quickly, it sped back towards the hooded man, landing back onto his hand.
He pressed a button on the remote, and a small holographic image was projected out of the tiny probe droid. It was of Padme, tossing and turning restlessly in her bed. After staring at the image for a while, he pressed another button, and a holographic video appeared. It was of the Skywalker twins, speaking in hushed whispers.
"How are we going to catch this man? Father says that he is a skilled assassin. It's going to be very difficult to get ahold of him." This was Jedi Skywalker Junior.
"If we don't, Mom will continued to be tormented by anxiety. Besides, we can't risk anything. We're the only Force users in the galaxy besides Father and Maul, Luke. This shouldn't be hard."
The man turned the video off. He smirked evilly. "Oh, Ms. Skywalker Junior, I'm afraid that it will be very hard. Why? I will make it very hard for you."
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