Anakin was enjoying the peace that flying gave him. It made him feel free. The majority of his life had been spent feeling trapped: by slavery, by rules and stupid codes, and worst of all- by a ridiculous life support suit. It was so relieving to finally be rid of that horrible black suit; he had spent too many years in it to not despise it with a passion. Leaning forward, he adjusted the controls, going into light speed. As soon as the transition was complete, he stretched himself out in the pilot's seat, carefully putting his feet on a place on the control panel where it wouldn't disturb anything. Taking a deep breath of sweet, fresh air and reveling in the sense of freedom he felt, Anakin closed his eyes, reaching out into the Force.

To his alarm, he sensed a faint signal of alarm coming from Padme's Force signature. His eyes opened, darting over to his comlink on the chair beside him. It was flashing.

He snatched it up. "Padme? Is that you?"

"Well, well, is it not the famous General Skywalker?"

"Who the kriff are you?!" Anakin growled. "Where's Padme?!"

The sneering voice continued nonchalantly, as if he hadn't even spoken. "What a pleasure to hear from you. In fact," the voice mused, "you were exactly the person I was looking for! What a coincidence!"

"I want to know," Anakin snarled, "who the kriff you are, and where the kriff Padme-"

The voice interrupted. "Yes, quite an honor, General Skywalker. I am quite honored. So much so that I am shaking in my boots with fear and reverence," the voice said mockingly. "Scary, scary General Skywalker! The Hero With No Fear! Oh dear! I'm about to faint!"

"I hope you realize exactly how kriffing stupid you sound. You sound like you have the intelligence level of a shaak. And a shaak, in case you don't know . . . well, saying it has a low intelligence level is an understatement. "

"Oh yeah?" the voice shouted, suddenly very angry . "Well, I hope you realize exactly how ugly you are!" The voice paused, most likely thinking up a good roast. "In fact, you're as ugly as a . . . warthog!"

"Hate to break it to you, man, but . . . " Anakin sighed dramatically. "You look like Jabba the Hutt. Well, that's what I can tell from your voice. It rumbles just like his. Very attractive. I hope dearly that the voice you're using is a classic prank-call voice, and not your actual voice. And that you don't have all the qualities of Jabba the Hutt. Unfortunately, the odds are not looking good to me."

The voice sputtered, furious. "W-Well . . . y-you! Um, you . . . you're voice sounds like a warthog's voice, too!"

"Huh." Anakin pretended to think. "Last time I checked, warthogs didn't speak. Do you know something I don't, or are you just incredibly idiotic? Oh, wait! Maybe you're talking about the one in the Lion King!"

There was more sputtering from the other end. "That's . . . that's not the point! We're getting off topic! The point is, I'm stealing your wife!"

Anakin's jesting and playful mood immediately evaporated. His eyes blazing with barely controlled anger, he swung his feet off the control panel and set them none too gently on the floor, knocking his cloak off the chair beside him in the process. "Let me remind you," he growled, "that you were the one who got off topic with your juvenile and stupid antics. Now, why don't I ask you again, hmm? Where. Is. Padme?"

The sputtering was replaced by a malicious laugh. "Hmm, now, that's not really your concern anymore, is it?" There was a dramatic pause. "Oh, wait! It never was! Why? Oh! Maybe because you were her second choice! Maybe because she was in love with me from the start, and that's why it took her so long to "admit" to her love for you! Because it was non-existent!"

"Padme loves me," Anakin said in an even tone. "I know she does. If this is the argument you're using to try and upset or blackmail me, I'm going to laugh. It's quite a pathetic argument. If you're aiming to upset or blackmail me, I suggest you use a stronger argument- but that's only my opinion. Do whatever you want.

"Another thing," Anakin said in a harder tone. "Why don't you stop dreaming up fantasies and consider the fact that maybe you made up her supposed love for you? Why don't you get your big head out of the clouds and realize that daydreams are almost never true? What will it take for you to understand that?"

"I don't have a big head!" the voice shouted, enraged. "Besides, you have an ever bigger head!" (Lamest roast I could think of)

Anakin sighed. "Your attempts to insult me are so bad that I almost feel sorry for you. Do you want lessons? 100 credits per hour!"

There was more stuttering at the other end. "That's not the point either! Anyway, I'm much more handsome than you will ever be! I don't even know how Padme can look at you without barfing with me to look at! Watch out, Anakin Skywalker! Padme Amidala will be mine very soon!"

The comlink beeped as the man hung up. Anakin tossed it onto the chair beside him, grabbing the controls, his eyes flashing gold. "Not if I can help it. First, I just have to deal with a rebellious Sith Lord and a few hundred stormtroopers and Kaminoans."

Padme was searching her apartment at the 500 Republica frantically for her missing comlink. "Where did it go?!" she exclaimed in frustration. "It was right on the table beside my bed! How could it be missing?"

Leia came from the kitchen with an irritated expression. "I searched everywhere. It's nowhere to be found. What could have happened?"

Padme flung herself on the couch. "I'm not sure. Today was so busy and chaotic . . . I can't remember anything in particular." Her mind flashed back to the events of that morning. "Wait . . . "

*Flashback*

Maximilian stood beside her, looking concerned. "I'm so sorry, Miss Padme." He looked upset, wringing his hands as he darted terrified glances over to where Leia stood. "Oh . . . d-did the kiss upset you?"

"W-Was it really that bad? Oh, I-I'm so sorry, Miss. It's just . . . " he looked shyly at her , "y-you're so beautiful, and so smart, and so kind, and such a strong, confident woman . . . I couldn't help it. I-I feel this spark, this connection with you, that I-I've never felt with anyone else. It's like the Force is calling out to me, telling me that you're the one," he stammered. "I don't know how to explain it."

"You don't know how to explain it because it doesn't exist," Leia snapped, cutting her eyes at him. He had his hands behind his back, nervous twisting them, or so she had thought. But really . . . he was twisting his hands back to grab her comlink, which was situated on the couch behind him! Then he had tucked it into the back of his tunic . . .

*End of Flashback*

Padme jumped up. "Maximilian took it! But . . . why? Did he think it was his? But then why did he take it so discreetly?"

"Who? The guy Maxiass?"

Padme rolled her eyes jokingly. "Yes."

"I thought I saw his hands moving behind his back, but I was too focused on killing him with my eyes to pay attention. Too bad it didn't work." Leia paused. "But why would he think it was his? He didn't take his out, did he?"

"No."

"So he would have no reason to think that your comlink was his! Combined with the inconspicuous way he took yours . . . I think something suspicious is going on."

Leia pulled her comlink off of her belt. "Luke?"

"Hey, what's up, sis? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, but . . . Luke, the bastard who came over took Padme's comlink."

"Really?" Luke asked, shocked. "Why?"

"We don't know," Leia replied, her voice wary. "He just took it. Inconspicuously, I might add. It's strange."

"Oh, it's strange all right." Luke paused. "I'm going to investigate."

Leaving the entrance of 500 Republica with ten guards on the alert, Luke swiftly headed for the ISB Central Office. Luckily, the Legislative District was situated only a block or two away, so it would only take a few minutes to walk there, minus the traffic caused by the thousands of people wandering the streets of the Core of Coruscant. Luke sighed, slightly annoyance. Many people were only there to gawk at the magnificence of the buildings or stalk random famous people. His expression darkened as the stalker came to mind. He would find out who that bastard was and kill him.

Luke lifted the hood of his cloak to cover his head, quickening his pace. It would be best to keep his identity unknown. He didn't particularly want to draw attention to himself. Who knows what creepy people with nothing to do with their lives would follow him if they knew his identity. He was still single. Probably for life, but no other female on the planet except Leia and Padme seemed to accept that fact. Damn his good-looking father.

A loud giggle distracted him. It was coming from a young girl of only about sixteen, surrounded by a group of friends who looked just as drunk as she did. She hiccuped loudly, and then giggled again. "Oh my gosh!" she cried. "That guy is so hot! I'm going to go ask him out!"

The girls around her giggled, sneaking glances at one of the poor guards who had gone to pick up some food for their dinner. He was younger than the others, with light brown hair and a smile that had been replaced by a look of almost terror. Laden with packages and boxes, he looked like he was trying to use them as a shield. Luke, amused, but feeling pity for the guy, headed in their direction.

The girl swayed on her feet, then staggered towards the guy, sloshing her drink onto the pavement. "Hey, mister! Want to . . . ?!" Suddenly, she turned to the side, and threw up on the floor. The guard recoiled, trying but failing to escape, as he was now surrounded by an amused crowd. Luke strode up, taking the man by the shoulders and steering him out of the circle. A woman began to complain, annoyed that her entertainment was being taken away, but one glance from Luke silenced her. The guard breathed a relieved thank you to him as soon as he was free of the crowd, and hurried back to 500 Republica as fast as he could go.

The crowd began to break up, and Luke headed back to the girl, clutching her stomach and mumbling to herself. He waved a hand in front of her face. "I will go home and be a good child."

She looked up, her eyes glazed. "I will go home and be a good child."

"I will never drink alcohol again."

"I will never drink alcohol again."

"I will go home and rethink my life."

"I will go home and rethink my life."

Satisfied, Luke strode away, once again heading for the ISB Central Office. In just a few minutes, he was there, standing in front of an massive complex the size of several city blocks. The stormtroopers that had once guarded the entrance were gone, replaced by Coruscant officials. These officials had once been Imperial stormtroopers, guarding what had once been the headquarters of the Imperial Security Bureau. Now that the power of the Empire was not on Coruscant (it would remain to be seen how much longer that would last; hopefully forever, if Anakin could completely vanquish its power), it was no longer a secret police organization dedicated to rooting out enemies of the Empire and maintaining stability throughout Imperial territories, but merely a place where all the records of the people on and living in Coruscant could be located. It was not available to common people, nor just anyone, but Luke was fairly sure that he would be allowed to investigate within. The ISB Central Office, he knew, would hold the information he wanted about Maximilian.

He lowered his hood, revealing his identity to the officials. Seeing him, they nodded, and stepped aside to let him pass. Luke stepped through the grand entrance, noting that the decorations still consisted of the former Emperor Palpatine's favorite color. a deep, blood red. It was everywhere: on the plush carpet, painted on the wall, on the glinting jewels lining the ceiling. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. After this was all over, he was going to have to redecorate.

Luke made his way to the main control center of the computer terminal, where a huge screen was situated, before which a woman was standing

"Hello," the woman said pleasantly, but guarded. "And who might you be? What are you doing in the ISB Central Office?" She looked calm enough, but Luke noticed the guards lining the walls nearby her. He imagined there were a lot of people who, if they somehow managed to make it past the front guards, had tried to get information they wanted but were not allowed by force in the past. He felt pity for the woman. Who knew what she'd been through before.

"Luke Skywalker," Luke replied. He unclipped his lightsaber and showed it to her. Knowing that a lightsaber could only be acquired by Sith or Jedi, and believing that the only existing humanoid in the galaxy currently who fell under that category was indeed Luke Skywalker, she accepted it, looking over him carefully. He sure as heck looked like him. Checking his lightsaber to make sure it was indeed the lightsaber that he owned, she handed it back to him, her expression slightly relieved that she wasn't dealing with any more violent pychopaths.

"I would like to look up a man around his mid-twenties named Maximilian, from the planet Corellia. He lives in this district, near 500 Republica. Brown hair, green eyes, about five feet nine inches tall."

She nodded, gesturing at him to come over and stand in front of the screen. He complied, eager to find out more about the suspicious man.

Putting some input into the database, she pursed her lips, reading the results. "Maximilian is a very outdated name, apparently. Even considering the very few number of people who can afford to live in the Core of Coruscant. There are seven men with the name you're looking for that live in this district. However, none of them are in their twenties. Three of them are not even human. I assume you are looking for a human, correct?"

Luke nodded. "Yes."

"Are you quite sure that the man you're looking for is human?"

"He does not act like one, but yes."

"Well, none of the men fit your description. Out of the four humans named Maximilian currently in this district, one is a child of seven, one is a child of ten, one is a man of fifty-two, and the last is a man of seventy-six. Is is possible that the man is of those ages?"

Luke wanted to say that the man looked seven or seventy to him, but as this was not a time to joke, he refrained from saying it, instead saying grimly, "are you sure?"

"Very sure, Mr. Skywalker. Everyone who resides in Coruscant even for an hour is recorded wherever they go. I'm sure you know this. Unless prevented from an authoritative figure, a person is recorded whenever and wherever they step foot or land their speeder anywhere. Did this man enter 500 Republica?"

"Yes."

"Then his entrance and information required to enter should be recorded."

With a sinking feeling, Luke realized that he had never had the man put down his information before coming in. He should have let 500 Republica take care of it.

"I-I see. Thank you very much."

There was something very suspicious about this whole matter. And they were nowhere closer to an answer than they had been before. He hoped desperately that the bastard would appear again so he could not only wring his neck for kissing his married mother but choke the information out of him.