Chapter 12
Silence fell upon the hall; the Solos couldn't believe what they just heard. The woman in front of them said she was their Grandmother! It took them a few minutes to process this life changing moment. They looked at Padme and noticed the resemblance between her and their mother. Many questions were soon running through their minds, and the three wondered what to say first.
"I'm sure you're curious and wish to know how I'm involved in all this," Padme said gently.
Nodding slowly, the siblings looked at each other, a little unsure of what to do next.
"I know this may not seem real, but it is. This woman is indeed your grandmother. So please, don't be scared," Ahsoka said as she and Chewbacca came alongside Padme.
"(Please just hear what she has to say, that's all we ask. And it would give you a chance to learn more about your family)," Chewie asked in Wookiee, trying to sound gentle as he could.
The three looked at each other at first, then huddled together and spoke quietly for a bit before separating. "Okay, we will hear her out," Jaina responded.
"Good to know. Chewbacca and I are going to check on the other Jedi in the Medical Bay if you need us," Ahsoka said.
Once alone with their grandmother, the siblings wondered who was going to speak first. Anakin was about say something when he realized that Padme didn't know who they were. "I'm-" he started to say, but was stopped.
"I know, you're Anakin, he's Jacen and she's Jaina," Padme said. then walked over to hug her youngest grandson. It felt strange at first, but a familiar presence was soon felt as Anakin accepted it and he held his grandmother gently. This brought a smile to Padme's face, and some tears as well.
After a few moments, Padme let go of Anakin and went over to Jacen and Jaina and hugged both of them together. At first the two were unsure what to do, but Anakin simply nodded to them with a look that said. "It's okay, don't be afraid." Seeing this, both accepted it and hugged her back.
After this, Padme sat down at the nearest table as she waited for them to speak. "So from what we've been told, you were brought here to help us stop the Yuuzhan Vong?" Jacen asked first.
"That is correct, but I was also given a second chance at life. So I could be with you, my family."
That response was not quite what the three expected, and they remained silent.
"You see, unlike the others, I passed away long ago. When the Observers decided to include me in this mission, they used their powers to bring me back to life," Padme said before continuing. "When I learned this, it was quite a lot for me to take in. But thanks to Ahsoka, I was able to come to terms with it."
'That's two we owe her now!' the Solos all thought as they sat down with Padme.
"So were you told about our mother and Uncle Luke before coming here?" Jaina questioned.
"Yes, I was told about the roles they played in defeating the Empire. But certain details were left out, although Chewbacca did say he was there at the Battle of Endor when Palpatine died."
Judging from the way Padme referred to the Emperor by his name got their attention.
"Did you know him?" Anakin asked, looking concerned.
"Sadly...yes, before he became the Emperor. Palpatine was the senator of our home world of Naboo during the later years of the Galactic Republic," Padme answered with a look of sadness.
This was a great shock for the three to learn that the Emperor had a connection to their Grandmother. They then sat at the table with Padme as she began her tale.
"He served during a hard period that started long ago on Naboo. An organization called the Trade Federation sent a fleet of ships to blockade it. This was due to the Republic passing a resolution that allowed the government to gain credits through major hyperspace lanes that the Federation did business in, without having to pay taxes."
"Because of the blockade, Naboo was cut off from the rest of the galaxy. In response to this, I contacted the Supreme Chancellor, Finis Valorum. He said he would send help to negotiate a peaceful means of ending the blockade."
"You spoke to the Republic's leader. How were you able to do this?" Jacen wondered.
"I was the Queen of Naboo at the time, and before you ask, I'm not a member of a royal family. On my planet the rulers are elected to lead the people."
Learning that their Grandmother was a former Queen was interesting to know. The Solos wondered how their mother would react to this.
"The Chancellor sent two members of the Jedi Order to facilitate the negotiations, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
While they didn't show it, this was another shock for the three, hearing that not only was Uncle Luke's first mentor involved in this affair, but also his Master as well. This also puzzled them because they had been told that Master Yoda had been the one who taught Obi-Wan. They wondered why the late master didn't tell Luke about Qui-Gon when he was on Dagobah.
"As soon as they arrived, the Federation tried to kill Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They were able to survive this attack and escaped from their Command Ship and make it down to the planet. Around this time, the Federation's Droid Armies landed and began their invasion of the planet."
"Did you fight back against them?" Jaina asked.
"No. All we had at the time in the way of defenses were the Royal security forces, and they were outnumbered. All I could do was watch as the Federation took over the capital city of Theed."
"What happened after that?" her granddaughter said next.
"The leader of the Federation, Nute Gunray, arrived and wanted me to sign a treaty which would have legalized the invasion. I told him no, and in response he ordered the droids to take me, my handmaidens and guards away."
"I take it then that Master Qui-Gon and Obi Wan arrived to rescue you and your party?" Anakin wondered, to which Padme say yes to him.
"They helped us get off planet and past the blockade. But our ship was damaged during the escape and so we had to land someplace to make repairs."
"And where did you make it too?" Jacen asked curiously.
"Tatooine. We landed outside the spaceport of Mos Espa. Disguising myself as a handmaiden, I joined Qui-Gon, a Gungan called Jar-Jar, who had followed Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan from Naboo, and a astromech droid R2-D2."
"We made our way into town where we visited a junk shop owned by a Toydarian named Watto. It was in this shop where we met your grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. He was a child, a slave who worked for Watto."
This part the three already knew, as their mother had told them this years ago when they were old enough. But hearing it from someone who was there in person was a different experience.
"What was he like?" the three asked at the same time.
"He was kind, gentle, very knowledgeable about ships and droids," Padme replied as she thought back to that first encounter.
The Solos took in this with interest. They had always wondered what their grandfather had been like in his youth, and how he could go from someone so innocent to one of the most feared beings in the galaxy.
Padme continued as she spoke of how they couldn't get the parts to repair their ship,due their money not being accepted. Then due to a sandstorm, the four couldn't return to their ship. Luckily, Anakin came to the rescue as he took them to his home where they meet his mother Shmi Skywalker, and a protocol droid he had been building called C-3P0.
"Wait a minute!, Are you telling me that our Grandfather built Threepio as a kid on Tatooine, and that Artoo was in your service?" Jaina shouted after learning this.
Padme was surprised by Jaina's reaction, as it seemed that she knew the droids. "How do you about Threepio and Artoo?"
"They're part of our family. Threepio has been in our parents care since the days of the Rebellion. Same with Artoo, who has been by Uncle Luke's side," Anakin repiled.
The knowledge that her old droids were still active and with her children made Padme smile. It reminded her of when Threepio had been her droid when she was a Senator, and Artoo was by Anakin's side during the Clone Wars.
"If Threepio was built by our grandfather, and Artoo was with you, how come they never told us?" Anakin wondered.
"I'm sure we can ask them when we see them again," Jacen replied.
"Speaking of which, we need to contact Mom and Dad. They need to know how our mission went," Jania added as she changed the subject.
"Do you know where they are?" Padme asked the three, who guessed that they would be on Courscant, but then again they could be somewhere else
"Wait, there is a way. Dad told me about a secure communication line he installed in the Falcon, during his smugglers days. He gave me the code for it in case of a emergency," Jaina said, remembering this as she headed for the bridge with her family following behind.
(Mos Eisley)
After spending 30 minutes listening to Han and Riku talk about all things mechanical, Leia decided to head out into town with Artoo to get their supplies and the ones the Darklighters asked for. The two used the landspeeder to visit many shops and even stopped by a outdoor restaurant so Leia could eat. While enjoying her food, some Jawa's came up to her and asked Leia if ether Artoo or the Landspeeder were for sale.
She said no repeatedly using the voice synthesizer in the mask, but the Jawa's were stubborn as they insisted, until a hooded stranger came up to the them and told the scavengers to leave, to which they obliged after this alien gave them some credits.
Surprised by this gesture, Leia saw that her rescuer kept their face hidden by a cloak. "Why did you help me?" Leia asked through the synthesizer.
"Let's just say that I've got my reasons," the stranger spoke in a cautious way, then turned to leave. Leia was puzzled by this for a bit, but then finished up her lunch, and she and Artoo got back into the speeder.
Across from where the Leia's interaction with the Jawa's had happened, two individuals who looked like they were minding their own business had noticed the commotion.
One was a tall reptilian humanoid who had orange skin with black stripes. He wore a hunter's vest with cutoff pants.
The second was a smaller fish-like alien wearing a special device that allowed him to breath in hostile worlds like this. He had a mix of blue and violet skin which was covered by a dark red jumpsuit.
These two were Strafe and Kleen, local members of the Peace Brigade who had come to Tatooine to take a break from aiding the Yuuzhan Vong. But their needed rest ended when they received word about someone using Jedi-like powers in Mos Eisley. This led the two to begin searching the vast spaceport for many days.
It looked like this had been a wild-bantha chase until Kleen noticed something when the Jawa's had been bothering someone wearing a mask. "Hey Strafe, you see that astromech over there?" the fish man said, pointing over across the way.
"Yeah what about it, that one looks like any other droid?" his companion asked with a hiss
"Dosen't it look like the one owned by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker?" he replied, then pulled out a datapad as he showed a image of the legendary hero standing with Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca and two droids, one of whom had the same colors and markings as the across the way.
"Hmm...you know I think that might be him and if so that means somewhere here on Tatooine is the leader of the Jedi Knights," the Transdoshan said with a wicked grin.
"And maybe his nephew Jacen Solo is here as well. He's the one that Tsavong Lah wants. Can you imagine the reward we could get for capturing them?" Kleen stated.
"Now, now...let's not get ahead of ourselves, first we need to find out if Skywalker is here," Strafe whispered quietly then saw the droid and its companion going towards a speeder. "Go put a tracker on that speeder. We'll follow it and see if it lead's us to him."
"What about the other job, the one we have been looking for?"
"Forget about that...we wasted too much time searching the Jedi!" he snarled at the fish man, who then crept over and placed the tracker underneath the landspeeder. After walking away as it took off, Kleen and Strafe looked at the receiver, the two saw the device was working which made them both grin like Hutts.
(Darklighter Homestead)
Inside the Falcon, Luke and Mara were meditating through the Force. After they felt the disturbance earlier, both decided to try and reach out to see if they could understand what had caused it. They had been like this for over an hour and had no luck.
As they continued, a beeping sound was heard, which brought the two back as they got up to look around for the source of it.
After searching for a bit, they found the sound was coming from the communication panel in the main hold. Inspecting it, Luke saw it was a message that required a password to access it
"Hmm, this must be part of the system that Han step up," Luke said.
"Do you think something happened to him or Leia in Mos Eisley?" Mara questioned.
"I guess there's only way to find out." Inputting the access code which Han had told him about, Luke waited to hear the reply.
"Hello, Dad, are you there?" a voice said over the speaker.
Luke recognized the voice and pressed the receiver button to respond. "Jania, it's Uncle Luke, and Aunt Mara."
"I'm glad to hear your voices again, but I was wondering if my Mom and Dad are with you?" Jaina asked.
"Yes, but they went to get some supplies," Luke replied as he told her about what happened on Courscant and then making their way to Tatooine.
Once he was done, a new voice spoke. "Uncle Luke, it's Anakin. I wanted to let you know that our mission was a success. We destroyed the Voxyn nest and queen," his nephew said.
"I'm glad to hear you succeeded, but where are you now?" Mara asked.
"Um, well that's a bit hard to say, but let's just say we're okay for now," Anakin answered, which made the two wonder what he meant by that.
"Aunt Mara, with Courscant now in the Yuuzhan Vong's control, what do we do now?" Jacen asked as he spoke next.
"We're going to discuss that with your parents when they get back. Til then stay where you are and be safe. We will contact you again soon," she replied.
"Okay, we will be waiting," Jacen said as he signed off. Once this ended the two looked at each other with a smile knowing their niece and nephews were safe.
What nether of them knew was that Padme had listened to the conversation and smiled at hearing the voice of her son for the first time.
'I'll meet you soon Luke!' She thought to herself.