Sweat ran down her neck and back, adhering her tunic to her skin. She was not unfamiliar with the sensation—she had gotten used to the feeling when she first began to train as an assassin, but it certainly had been a long time since she had pushed herself hard enough to get this way.
Yoda was a tough teacher. He delivered his instruction calmly, of course, but for whatever reason, it always seemed harder to complete than any other instruction she'd ever been given before. Now, I see why Ani always complained about Yoda's classes at the Temple, she thought with wry amusement. The only thing familiar about the situation was Obi-Wan, who was, as always, her sparring partner.
It did unnerve her, however, that Yoda had requested that her children watch today. Outside in the sunshine and fresh air, they were off to the side, sitting on a picnic blanket under some shade trees with her mother, who frequently had to pull them back down to keep them from 'joining in' with mama and Uncle Ben. Padme knew Yoda's motivation behind having them there—one day, Yoda hoped to have the Skywalker siblings trained to be Jedi, and as they weren't living in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant where they could be fully immersed in the ways of the Force, Yoda would improvise here on Gandle Ott instead by showing them a glimpse of what their training would someday be like.
It made Padme very uncomfortable to even think of her children undergoing Jedi training. She wanted them to be safe. To live a full life free of the danger Jedi found ever present. To train as a Jedi would mean that someday they would be facing the perils of the galaxy, and she couldn't lose them. She had already lost so much; the idea of losing them too nearly killed her.
"Look not with your eyes," Yoda calmly said, "Before he makes them, sense his movements. Let your instincts guide you." Instincts? What instincts? Padme frowned, about to open her mouth…
Whack!
Obi-Wan's wooden rod suddenly slapped the side of her leg. She hissed out a curse at the sharp stinging sensation, careful not to let the twins overhear, and stopped momentarily. "Rely on sight, you do. Your downfall, it will be." Yoda said patiently as Padme leaned over and rubbed the tender spot. She was sure Obi-Wan had left a bruise with that one.
"I'm not a Jedi, Master Yoda. I don't have any use of the Force. How can you expect me to rely on instinct in a battle without the Force?" She pointed out, turning to him with a skeptical look.
"Wrong, you are." Yoda looked her straight in the eye, his voice firmer this time. It was in moments like this that she saw Yoda for what he was: The Jedi Grandmaster. Centuries of wisdom seemed to echo through his eyes as he spoke. "A Force-sensitive you may not be, but the Force surrounds all life. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Aid you, it will. Guide you, it can, but only if you trust and call upon it."
Padme couldn't help but frown doubtfully. Anakin had once told her that sometimes he could have sworn that she was receiving guidance from the Force because she seemed to know exactly what to say at the exact right time to say it. Since she knew for certain that she wasn't Force-sensitive, she had chalked it up to a talent for delivering inspiring speeches.
But lightsaber battles were not the same thing as inspiring speeches.
She didn't see how she could have called upon the Force without a conscious connection to it.
Yoda sensed her disbelief. "Believe me, you do not," he said, reaching into his robe, "Test it out, you will." He pulled out a long strip of black cloth, floating it over to her. His meaning was clear.
"You want me to go up against Obi-Wan with a blindfold on?" She asked incredulously, but she grasped the floating cloth from in front of her nonetheless.
"Trust in yourself," Yoda urged, "Trust the Force."
Padme glanced at Obi-Wan, looking for backup. Obi-Wan shrugged and arched his eyebrows. "If Yoda says it's possible, then it's possible, albeit unconventional."
"Unconventional, am I?" Yoda mused, a smile twisting his lips. "Yes, I suppose so." Clearly, she wasn't going to win this argument. If Anakin were here, Padme just knew he would be laughing at her current...predicament. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Padme tied the blindfold over her eyes, her vision going completely black.
As she moved back into a defensive position, she felt as if all of the training she had been given over the last two years amounted to nothing in this situation. Sure, she had worked on honing her other senses as well as sight, but sight was still a major part of a normal assassin's routine. Even though she wasn't a Jedi, she did use a Jedi's weapon. The Chosen One's weapon at that. She supposed that made her anything but a normal assassin. "Proceed." Yoda instructed, and…
Smack!
This time Obi-Wan hit her upper arm.
"Hey!" She hissed, taking a wobbly step back.
"Stretch out with your feelings. Concentrate not on sight, but instincts." Yoda patiently reminded her. A memory flashed in her mind of Anakin mimicking Yoda's oft-repeated advice, "Do or do not. There is no try."
Padme sighed in exasperation, but she squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to imagine her other senses stretching out towards Obi-Wan…
Whap!
Damn! Missed. She raised her stick too late, and Obi-Wan hit her other leg.
Whump!
She attacked in the wrong direction. Took a hit square across her back.
Zing!
It hit her elbow.
Thud!
Right ankle next.
Obi-Wan pummeled her from every angle. She lost track of how many times she was hit, but it felt like her entire body would be covered in bruises in the morning. Too bad they didn't have a bacta tank handy. More and more, she tried to tap into her instincts, but all she became was more and more frustrated than she'd felt in a long time, until she was wildly lashing out with her sparring stick swinging in circles. Finally, her stick connected with Obi-Wan's with a satisfying CRACK. "Ha!" Padme couldn't help but gasp out in triumph, "I finally…"
And then suddenly, she felt her legs being swept out from under her, and she landed on her back so hard the breath was knocked out of her lungs.
"Gloating is the path to failure." Yoda calmly said, as she lay there gasping for breath. Oh yeah. Ani would definitely be laughing right now, she thought with a wry grimace. She reached up slowly, taking her blindfold off to peer up into the deep blue sky above them. "Overconfident, you should not be."
She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to sit up to look at Yoda and Obi-Wan standing over her. She was tempted to deny that she had been overconfident since she was getting her butt kicked, but Yoda had a point. "I'm sorry, Master." She said on a sigh instead, as Obi-Wan reached a hand out to pull her up. She took it gratefully, her sore muscles protesting with the movement. Once she was on her feet again, she brushed the dirt and grass off of her simple tunic and trousers. "I don't think I could ever tap into the Force."
"Patience, Senator." She winced at the old title. "With much practice and faith, complete this task, you can."
She still didn't see how. She had never associated herself with the Force, other than being married to the Chosen One and giving birth to his children. But, as she opened her mouth to explain that further, a little voice interrupted. "I twy!"
The group turned to find Luke suddenly there, Jobal hurrying over with Leia on her heels. "I'm sorry," Jobal said, "I turned around for one second…"
"I twy." Luke insisted excitedly, reaching for Padme's sparring stick. Again, the idea of Luke or Leia taking up a sparring rod to begin learning how to use a lightsaber entered Padme's mind, and she recoiled, immediately pulling the rod out of Luke's reach. He frowned, tears starting to come to his eyes. "Shaw, Mama!"
"No, Luke," Padme started, her mouth going dry, but Yoda stepped forward.
"Not today, Luke." Yoda said, making Luke look at him. Padme wondered if he was communicating the message with the Force to help Luke understand, because she saw some of the tension leave her son's little body. Leia joined her brother's side, looking curiously at Yoda. "Patience, young one. Your time will come." He glanced at Padme when he said this, and she scowled but didn't put up an argument. If it made Luke temporarily happy, she wouldn't press the issue. For now. Yoda looked back at her twins. "Both of your times will come."
"I think," Obi-Wan slowly said, sensing Padme's rising distress, "That we should wrap things up for today."
Yoda nodded. If he noticed Padme's soured mood, he didn't show it. "Continue another day, we will. Come, children. Look for Bob the frog, we shall."
"Bob!" Luke chortled, excited at the prospect of finding the elusive frog, and toddled after Yoda, Leia trailing behind him.
"Are you alright?" Jobal asked Padme once the children were out of earshot. Padme met her mother's eyes—her poor mother had lost so much herself in the last two years. Padme knew that Jobal worried about her daughter's recent life choices, but as always, her mother had remained supportive.
Still, Padme was careful to never tell her the details of what she did for the Rebellion, and she wondered if Jobal would be quite so supportive if she knew just how dangerous her life had become. "I'm fine, Mom." She forced a smile for her mother, a smile she knew immediately her mother didn't buy. "Go take a rest. Yoda can handle the twins for now."
Her mother hesitated, but Padme could see the exhaustion in her mother's face. "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure. I've got Obi-Wan here with me." She motioned to Obi-Wan absently.
Relenting, her mother nodded and retreated back towards the house. Padme watched her go, wishing she could choose a life that her mother wouldn't worry so much over. Had things gone to plan and the Empire hadn't taken over, perhaps she and Anakin and their family would have settled on Naboo, living a quiet life.
Varykino. They would have probably settled there at the Lake House retreat. Anakin had always loved it there. Padme continued to stare after her mother, lost in thoughts of what had been, what would now never be.
"You may have to confront him someday, you know." Obi-Wan's voice interrupted her train of thought before she could get too wrapped up in it. She blinked, coming fully back to reality and turned back to him. He was watching her gravely. She didn't have to ask to know who he was talking about.
Darth Vader.
"We're married. We've fought before, you know, and it's not like I haven't seen him fight before. Remember Geonosis?" She reminded him sourly with a wry twist of her lips.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, that's not the same thing. He was always exceptionally gifted with his lightsaber skills. Even from a young age, he excelled at it. That, combined with his unparalleled connection to the Force, and the Dark Side of the Force at that…" Obi-Wan shivered. "If what Yoda says is possible is actually possible, I strongly recommend that you master whatever Force connection you can achieve. If you face him…" He looked her straight in the eye, the truth of his words searing into her. "You're going to need every available resource to defeat him. Trust me. I know."
She heard the unspoken message in his voice: Even then, all of her resources might not be enough. She had never asked for the details of what happened on Mustafar after she collapsed, and she doubted she ever would ask for them, but she did know that it had been a tense, hostile battle, a hard fought one which had endangered Obi-Wan's life greatly. Even after all the training she'd done with Obi-Wan, she had yet to defeat him. In a duel, she knew Anakin would've spared her. Vader, however, would destroy her.
If she couldn't defeat Obi-Wan, could she ever have a hope of defeating Darth Vader if the time came? She wasn't sure she really wanted to explore that possibility. The implication was chilling. Instead, she turned away, back towards the house, a distant look in her eyes.
"I understand." She said hollowly.
Across the Galaxy...
He hated Tatooine. He had almost been tempted to send one of his officers to find Boba and bring the boy up to meet him on the Executor, but he needed Boba to be willing to listen to him. Dragging him off planet against his will likely would only irritate him, and Vader wasn't in the mood to deal with an irritated bounty hunter.
Vader strode through the sandy streets of Mos Eisley with purpose, his black cloak billowing out behind him in the hot breeze, as he approached the Cantina confidently. Registering the looks he received as he walked, he chose to ignore those around him who cast him those fearful and curious stares. He reached out through the Force to touch the minds of those inside of the building as he approached. As expected from the Mos Eisley Cantina, it was full of beings who had nothing good up their sleeves. Unbidden, the phrase "A wretched hive of scum and villainy" entered into his mind, and he scowled. It's exactly the kind of thing his old master would have called this place.
But, as he entered the Cantina, the deceptively upbeat music stopped, conversation dying as everyone stopped what they were doing to simply stare at the Dark Lord of the Sith. Grimly, Vader smiled behind his mask—now he was the worst of the villains in that room. He paused to consider that for a moment and wasn't sure if that made him uncomfortable, or if that made him thrilled. Brushing the thoughts aside, he panned the room in an arc, staring back at all of them, and though they couldn't see the expression on his face, the mask was terrifying enough. They soon reluctantly went back to their business, many, if not all of them, keeping a close watch on him out of the corner of their eye.
As if any of them could stop him should he decide to destroy them all. The thought was actually laughable.
"Lord Vader." A voice, familiar because it was the voice of all clones, said from a darkened alcove to his right. Vader approached the table, seeing the lone figure dressed in dark green Mandalorian armor staring back at him. Vader did not bother to sit. He found it diminished the perception of his power to lower himself to the level of those who were obviously beneath him. So, instead he continued to stand and crossed his massive arms over his chest. "Fett." His baritone voice rumbled. "Thank you for joining me."
"Not that I had a choice." If he was bitter about it, he didn't show it.
Vader inclined his head slightly. "You're correct." He, of course, hadn't meant the pleasantry literally. Actually, in truth, he was slightly disappointed that Fett hadn't given him a reason to storm Jabba's palace. "I have an assignment for you."
Wearing the Mandalorian helmet, Vader couldn't see the boy's expression, but he felt his faint amusement through the Force, sparking Vader's annoyance. "And you want to discuss this assignment here?" The incredulity in his response was both insulting and mocking. Vader stifled the urge to strangle the boy.
Vader rolled his eyes instead. Of course not. He wasn't stupid. He'd just needed a place to meet the boy, away from Jabba and his cronies. "Follow me." He said instead, turning around abruptly to walk back out of the Cantina, not bothering to wait to see if his order was followed. His orders were always obeyed. He quickened his stride, but he sensed Boba scramble as casually as he could after him.
The twin suns of Tatooine were just setting in the horizon. The space port was still busy, but not obnoxiously so. Even as evening approached and the planet began to cool, it was still sweltering hot. Ridiculously so. Sweat was dripping down between Vader's shoulder blades. It was moments like this that he dearly wished his suit was a different color or had a stronger internal cooling mechanism.
"This assignment is from the Emperor himself, Fett." He said once he was sure they were away from the prying ears of Mos Eisley's citizens. Turning off the main street, Vader headed back towards the space port, back to where his personal shuttle waited for him.
"The Emperor, huh?" Boba Fett mused. "What's the job?"
Again, he reached out with the Force and searched those around him, sensing for minds alerted to their presence. Naturally, that was basically everyone they passed, but none of them were in hearing range. Still, as a precaution, Vader sent out impulses from the Force to confound those they passed and prevent them from trying to overhear. Glancing behind him at Fett as they walked, Vader still lowered his voice anyway. "Our quarry is a Jedi," he said, "And an assassin."
He felt Fett's surprise at hearing that he was to help capture a Jedi. "I thought the Jedi were dead."
"Not all of them." Vader scowled, "And, more Force-sensitive children are born every day across the galaxy. Besides, it is not the Jedi that I have the most interest in." Surprisingly. The Jedi he felt confident he could track down himself. But, the Jedi wasn't Vader's focus. No. This mysterious woman was.
"The assassin?" Fett asked, and now the surprise was really in his voice. "What's so special about an assassin anyway? Assassins are a credit a dozen in this sector."
Actually, he himself hadn't figured out the answer to that, but he fully intended to. "This assassin seems to be hunting down specific high ranking Imperials for their targets." He said instead, ignoring the question. "I have a trap in mind, but I need someone else to help implement it, someone experienced in capturing hard to find prey." And Boba Fett, despite still being in his teens, had an impressive track record.
Boba was silent for a moment. "And what about Jabba? I'm still under his employ, remember? I can't just go running off…"
"This is an order from the emperor." Vader emphasized. "If Jabba has an issue with this, he can take it up with me. You will be paid handsomely for your services."
That's all any bounty hunter needed to hear. "What's your plan?" Satisfied, Vader grinned.
Over the last few weeks, he had found himself watching the mining footage over and over again, almost drawn to it against his will. He had committed every discernable detail of the woman to memory. Despite himself, he was fascinated by her. In a personal fashion he had never expected, this woman assassin seemed to draw him. He was...intrigued. He had vowed to find her, and he would find her, and he would capture her. And when he did, he fully intended to find out just what made her tick. At the thought, something deep inside of him stirred. He frowned, concentrating on it. Interesting. A…disturbance, in the Force, whispered to him. Almost as if this assassin meant a great deal more to the Force...to him...than just as a mere curiosity.
But what? How?
Shaking the thought away to consider for another time, he smiled smugly and told Boba Fett of his plan.
"This is what we're going to do..."
So, a bit of a set-up chapter, but those are needed every once in a while. Next chapter will be pretty exciting, so stay tuned!
The songs for this chapter are Training Po by Han Zimmer and Enter Lord Vader by John Williams
Review!
Love,
Sarah
