AUTHOR'S NOTE: Omg we made it, guys. Revenge of the Sith. Thank you all for sticking through this entire story! And a special thank you to everyone who leaves comments, whether it was just one or one for each chapter, or even just a couple. I may not be able to reply to all of them, but you have no idea how happy it makes me! Comments are the most powerful motivator for a writer to continue, so please never be afraid to leave one! Thank you all for the shared love for Obidala!
What seemed to be the entire Confederate Navy was coming down on the scant defenses of Coruscant. The sky was a light show of the battle, massive dreadnoughts drifting through the skies, Coruscant fighters engaging in dogfights with droid fighters. Coruscant was not prepared. As a fiery dawn was breaking and the battle raged on, the news broke on the HoloNet:
The Supreme Chancellor had been kidnapped.
It was unthinkable that Count Dooku, or even the erratic General Grievous, would be so brazen.
The citizens of Coruscant could do nothing but contend with the fallout of the war in the skies, buildings were struck with debris, occasional turbolaser fire hitting from the stratosphere in wayward shots, but there was no direct attack on the city planet. Just the small strike force that had taken the Chancellor.
Padme had tried to leave, to go help somewhere, even if she didn't even know where, but Obi-Wan convinced her to stay. The attack wasn't on the planet, she was safest where she was. And for his part, he could do nothing. He had no ship to jump in, he didn't even have a side in this battle, though Padme knew he was itching to do something.
She could see that look, a pained hardness in his face, when the HoloNet announced that some Jedi were being recalled from their distant campaigns in the Outer Rim. He did not need to say it for her to know that he felt he should have been there. Generals and their clone troopers were coming to save the day, and they arrived as quickly as possible, one battalion at a time. Then there was the comment, a rumor, a remark in the HoloNet that General Skywalker himself was there, leading the rescue mission for the Supreme Chancellor.
Padme couldn't believe he was being sent on this alone, but Obi-Wan seemed to have more confidence in his former padawan.
"The moment you believe he won't be enough, he has already taken steps to prove you wrong…" Though he too was concerned, he almost smiled as he said it.
Anakin had become the solo beacon in the war of what the Republic stood for, a daring general, a powerful Jedi warrior, young and handsome with a slave-to-fame reputation. He was their only hope to bring Chancellor Palpatine back alive.
And he did.
The battle over Coruscant was long and destructive, leaving a few buildings and districts on the city-planet in flame and ruins. All anyone could talk about afterward was how Anakin Skywalker singlehandedly rescued the Chancellor, and achieved an impossible crash landing of the remaining half of Count Dooku's massive cruiser, the Invisible Hand, so that he and the aged chancellor were able to walk away almost without a scratch. General Grievous fled with what was left of his fleet.
Padme was fortunate that the district where she lived was more or less untouched by the battle, but the spires of smoke that rose into the atmosphere could be seen in every direction. Along with the rest of the inhabitants of the capital, she was struck with the sensation of being violated by this attack. She too had fallen under that false sense of security, that no enemy would dare attack the capital, since no one had in a thousand years. Many, including her, had felt the icy reality that their leader, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, could have died today, and the Republic would have fallen to shambles.
Palpatine was alive and well, and Anakin Skywalker was the hero of the Republic more than ever. It wasn't until that evening, the skies filled with smoke and ash, that the news broke that during his daring rescue, Anakin had defeated and killed Count Dooku.
Even Padme felt that surge of hope at the news that perhaps the end of the war really was in sight. Now was the time to see if Palpatine truly intended on giving the power back to the people, as he had promised time and time again. Somewhere inside her, she held on tightly to a scrap of trust for her old advisor, a foolish belief that maybe he was the dependable man she took him for when she was a young queen.
That trust was finally irreparably broken mere days later with the passing of the "Sector Governance Decree" where the Chancellor appointed governors to systems, crossing the line from leader to dictator. A governor was placed in every system, who would answer directly to him.
Within days, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Fang Zar, and a handful of other Loyalist politicians had gathered in secret in Bail's office. They decided that things had finally turned a corner, and they could no longer sit back and only act on half measures. Their most daring act up until now—Padme's decision to present Obi-Wan's data disk to the Senate—had no obvious results and the Senate meeting was postponed further due to the attack. They needed to act as a whole if anything was to be done about the usurpation of power.
Together, they drafted a petition and gathered enough signatures from the Senate to form the Delegation of the 2000. As a committee, they would openly challenge the Chancellor.
Padme was sure to lead a few of the members of the committee to his office only days after his rescue, to discuss the end of the war. He looked tired, but undaunted by the pack of senators that he was faced with.
Standing behind Palpatine' tall-backed chair, wrapped in his dark cloak and silent as a statue, was Anakin. It was highly unusual that a Jedi should be present at a meeting like this. His hair had grown so much longer than the last time she saw him, it was a mane over his neck, swooped handsomely over his forehead. She didn't know his hair had such a wave to it. There was a rather jarring scar along his eye, however, that reminded her of how much time, and how much war was between them now. His obedient stance made him look like some kind of guard beast at Palpatine's elbow. The great hero of the war, a lap dog.
Looping in her mind was the knowledge that it was his battalion that had decimated Renoss, and that he had arrested his own master. She was not so sure this was the same boy she knew before, if she had ever truly known him. She could not bear to look at him during this meeting, though she was sure she felt his eyes flicker over her from time to time as she spoke with Palpatine. There was never a time in their history together that she didn't know when he was looking at her.
"I understand your reservations completely, Senator, and I assure you the appointment of governors will in no way compete with the duties of the Senate…" Palpatine spoke so genially, in the way that comforted her in the past.
"May I take it, then, that there will be no further amendments to the constitution?" She was pushing for a direct answer.
"I want this terrible conflict to end just as much as you do, my lady..." he did not say yes or no. "And when it does, I guarantee an immediate return to democracy."
"You are pursuing a diplomatic solution to the war then?"
Her lack of submission chipped away at the familial warmth, leaving something much colder. "You must trust me to do the right thing, Senator. That is why I am here."
"But surely—" Fang Zar tried to add his own protests, but a sharp look and tone from the Chancellor immediately silenced him.
"I have said I will do what is right," Palpatine did not need to raise his voice. "That should be enough for your… committee."
The disdain that dripped from the Chancellor's lips was unsettling. The man she had trusted throughout her career was looking at her, for even just a glance, as something to be crushed under a shoe.
"One final question, Chancellor…" she never diverted her gaze from him, even as she watched the forced politeness utterly peel away from his features. "When can we expect the next Senate meeting? The issues that are in dire need of debate are stacking up, including some kind of response to the Renoss incident…"
"You will be informed of the next Senate meeting."
He clipped his words so short, she knew she was getting under his skin. This was as good a time as any to conclude the conversation, before she crossed the line from persistent to antagonistic.
She rose from her seat, maintaining a fearless stare and a polite tone. "On behalf of the Delegation of Two-Thousand: I thank you, Chancellor."
"I thank you for bringing this to my attention, Senator…" He touched the petition on the viewscreen on his desk, which they had put in front of him.
The senators made a cold farewell to the Chancellor and filed out of the room, and that was when she made the mistake of glancing to Anakin. Their gazes met, the blue of his eyes hitting her like a flash of lightning. She could not walk out of that vast office fast enough.
All she wanted to do was return home, where Obi-Wan waited for her. But she had to go to her senatorial office and finish her preliminary readings of bills that had been sent to all the senators for the next Senate meeting— A meeting that was not even scheduled.
She and the other Senators went their separate ways to their own offices in the massive Republic Executive Building. C-3PO was waiting dutifully for her in her office. The moment she sat down behind her large desk in the rather empty office, she had to fight the urge to call Obi-Wan, just to see a comforting face. But paranoia crept in, and she would not risk her calls being monitored.
To focus her mind, she got to work. She sent Threepio outside of the office to vet any callers who might come and disturb her. After nearly two hours of quiet work, it was her protocol droid's electronic voice that disturbed her thoughts. She couldn't hear his words, but the droid was expressing a positive reaction to someone.
The door opened and C-3PO shuffled in energetically. "Oh, my lady! You will not be able to guess who is here to see you!"
And strolling in from behind the gold droid was a tall, cloaked figure.
"It's Master Anakin!" Threepio faced the Jedi. "It is wonderful to see you again! The Maker!"
Anakin hardly acknowledged the droid. He only looked at her, and she could not read his face. Anakin, who had always worn his feelings on his sleeve, was unreadable.
"Anakin…" She managed a smile, even if he didn't. "Welcome home… It's so good to see you—"
Two fully armored clone troopers marched in from behind, stopping at attention one step behind on each side of him, their blaster rifles in both hands, but not aimed. Her smile vanished.
"What is the meaning of this?" She spoke in her indignant politician voice to conceal the fear that iced over her.
"Senator Amidala…" Anakin spoke to her like she was a stranger. "Your presentation at the last senate meeting raised some questions about the source of that data disk… and your own loyalty to the Republic."
Her heart was in her stomach. "It was my duty to share that information. Whoever gave me that disk—"
Anakin raised a hand, the gloved finger that pointed at her was barely visible beneath the sleeve of his dark cloak. "I know who gave it to you…"
"Are you here to arrest me?" She spoke plainly, not confirming or denying, ready for anything.
"No. I've come to escort you back to your apartment for a search. Republic Intelligence has reason to believe that I'll find Obi-Wan Kenobi there."
"That is ridiculous," she said sharply. Run, Obi-Wan… Please, run… "I will not not have the Jedi or soldiers in my private space."
"The Chancellor's orders were clear." He turned his shoulder towards her, clearing the way for the door. "This way, Senator."
Orders. Obi-Wan was right about how uncharacteristic it seemed for Anakin to follow orders so blindly. She held his gaze, hoping he could see her pleading. His breathing hitched, which proved to her that he wasn't as indifferent as he wanted her to believe, he wasn't complete stone. Maybe this was still Anakin, after all. Her fear was joined by confusion, but she held her head high. Walking past him, she heard C-3PO's voice chime in, flustered.
"Ah, my lady? Shall I come, too?"
"I will escort Senator Amidala in my own transport…" Anakin said, finally looking at the droid. "Threepio, you can follow us in her personal speeder to make sure it returns home to her."
"Well I… I am not completely accustomed to flying, you know… Though I have been practicing…" C-3PO stammered.
"I'm sure you can manage."
"Ah… yes… Master Anakin…."
Padme walked without a falter in her step, her mind racing, trying to find ways to warn Obi-Wan. Anakin walked alongside her, towering over her, the dark colors of his robes and attire making him seem like a massive dark specter in the corner of her eye. He moved fluidly, boots thudding in rhythm with the two clones who walked silently behind. They were like a well-oiled machine.
It was pure luck that Bail Organa happened to be passing by in the corridor. His eyes were unblinking with poorly concealed alarm as he looked from Padme to her guards and then to Anakin.
"Senator Amidala…" he greeted cordially, but not without bewilderment.
"Senator," Anakin greeted with a nod. "If you'll excuse us, we must be on our way…"
Anakin made it sound like they were heading to a nice dinner. Padme wanted to say something to Bail, anything innocuous to conceal her fear, but nothing came out.
"Of course. Senator Amidala… Master Skywalker…" he nodded to each of them, and glanced warily at the faceless clones before he continued on his way.
They went to the hangar where Threepio found her personal speeder and climbed stiffly inside. Anakin led Padme to his own transport, a large, enclosed military speeder bus. They stepped inside and Anakin waited for her to sit in the co-pilot's seat before he took the controls. The clones strapped themselves in the compartment behind them. Not a word was spoken as he flew them out into the main traffic, ascending higher above it to the air space that was designated for Republic and Jedi authorities in this time of war.
They didn't speak, but she could feel Anakin's gaze constantly diverting from the window to her. There were only a few precious minutes in the flight time between the Senate building and her home.
"Anakin…" she finally broke the harsh silence, though softly, hoping the clones wouldn't be able to eavesdrop. "You don't truly believe I would betray the Republic, do you?"
"That remains to be seen…" He was staring hard out the window.
"Don't do that. Don't pretend as though you don't know me at all…"
He turned his head away from her as he checked the air traffic, skillfully bringing the speeder down to a lower altitude where the traffic was denser, bringing them nearer to her apartment.
"The only thing I know… is my duty…"
She almost couldn't hear him, he spoke so quietly. And the words themselves, the way that he forced himself to not look at her… He wasn't alright, she could tell. If the clones weren't there, she could have spoken more openly with him.
"Anakin…" She hoped if he would only look at her, she could reason with him, or at least appeal to the compassionate Jedi that she thought she knew.
But he had closed her out. He put on the façade of a machine, deaf to her voice, but she could tell by his erratic breathing, the tremble around his mouth, and the flaring of his nose that he was anything but calm.
