Oh, Possibilities
By infinitykat
Part Eleven: Half The Man
"Well, your mother likes my smile
And your father likes my lifestyle
Should I ask them what I asked you
To get the answer, to get the answer" – "If It Were Up To Me" by Rooney
A/N: Passed the 10-chapter mark! I am slowly chipping away at the writer's block. Here goes…Enjoy!!!
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X9-S7 slowly reached for the transmission button, dreading the reaction of its master to the bad news.
"Lord Noiremort," X9 said in a loud, clear voice, "Something happened to X7-K5."
Seemingly in a flash, X9's master was at its shoulder, looking at the screen in front of it.
"What is it?" Noiremort hissed. X9-S7 hesitated.
"X7-K5 has been deactivated, M'Lord. This is the last of the camera transmission," X9 replied, and pushed a red re-play button. The image of an advancing human girl came up on the screen. She pushed out her hand and the camera flew back and all that could be seen was the ceiling before the transmission went out all together.
"Damn!" Noiremort said under her breath. "An undercover Jedi, eh? Two can play at that game. Just need the right situation…" She looked down at X9-S7. "As for you…" Noiremort nodded at the droid sitting next to X9. "Deactivate X9-S7."
"My Lord!" X9 gasped, and then was silent. It slumped in its chair and all the lights adorning its hull when out. Lord Noiremort turned to leave.
"M'Lord," called the droid that pressed X9's button, "What do you want us to do with X9-S7?" Noiremort turned to regard the droid in annoyance for a moment.
"The trash compactor, of course."
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Judith nervously twisted a finger in her hair. The silence in the hallway outside the Jedi council chamber was excruciating. The only sound was Anakin's footsteps as he paced back and forth over and over again. Judith's eyes followed him, and the action slightly distracted her.
But only slightly. Suddenly, Anakin stopped pacing and watched the door. It slid open and Luke and Leia skipped out together.
"Hey," Anakin whispered, and the twins ran to him and hugged his legs. He crouched to be eye-level with them.
"They were nice to me," Luke told his father. Anakin smiled.
"Good," he replied, looking over at Judith. He nodded. Judith took a deep breath.
"I guess this is it," she said, and picked up her guitar.
"Good luck!" Anakin called as she walked toward her fate.
Let's take a moment to evaluate this situation. On Judith's planet, for ten years before she was born, at the least, many had known the story of this galaxy. There are so many toys, books, posters, and even coffee mugs plastered with the images of the heroes and villains that live everyday lives in their reality. People have fallen in love with the different characters and even go as far as believing they have personal relationships with them. Or at least wish they did. How do you act with this frame of reference in this situation?
As the doors slid open, Judith took another deep breath. The floor-to-ceiling windows behind the legendary Jedi masters bathed them in an amber glow that reflected off the skyscrapers outside. The first impression they gave was of golden gods sitting on top of the world.
Judith swallowed and entered.
Silence.
Standing in the center of the room, she set down her guitar.
Silence.
She bowed, hoping that was the proper deference the Jedi required. It was.
"How feel you?" Master Yoda asked pensively. Judith felt a little relieved.
"Nervous," she said shakily at length.
"Afraid are you," Yoda replied.
"A little. My customs are probably different from yours. I don't wish to offend in any way," Judith said truthfully, and was slightly surprised that her emotion came out so easily. After all, she was standing in front of a real, live Yoda.
"Not at all," Master Windu assured her. Judith repressed the urge to yell, "Shaft!"
"Now," said he, "Clear your mind." Windu held up a metal square on a stick. "Focus on this and let all other thoughts fall away. Then tell me what you see." Judith nodded and breathed in, letting her eyes go out of focus and then in focus on the metal square. She concentrated, only seeing the square.
Suddenly, an image loomed out of the blankness of her mind.
"A…spaceship," she said.
"A cup."
"I forget what it's called…a hovercraft thing?"
"A ball."
Suddenly, all her thoughts were turned on again. Master Windu nodded to Yoda.
"What is that?" Yoda asked, pointing at Judith's guitar case.
"It's my guitar," Judith replied, "It's a musical instrument from my home planet." Yoda studied the guitar case and Judith for a moment.
"Play us something, you will," he said in his croaky voice, "Clear your mind for us." Judith nodded and bent down to open the case. She pulled her guitar strap over her head and stood for a moment, feeling the strings with her fingers and clearing her mind.
Judith felt the music come out.
"Yesterday," she sang,
"All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go, I don't know
She wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday
Yesterday love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Yesterday is part of me
Why she had to go, I don't know
She wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday
Yesterday…love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a play to hide away
Oh I believe in yesterday
Hmmm," Judith finished. Windu and Yoda looked at each other.
"What significance does this have?" Windu asked Judith.
"Well," she said, thinking, "It could be…" Her eyes went wide. "Anakin."
"Skywalker?" Windu asked incredulously. Judith nodded.
"I think this song could be speaking for him, in a way. What might happen after the decision made today," Judith explained, and when she saw that none of the Jedi disputed the theory, she continued. "It could signify the danger in a certain path of judgment. If you break the bond he has made with the Senator, you might break Anakin," Judith said, and thinking of Vader, added, "And bring out major resentment."
Windu looked at Yoda again. Yoda nodded.
"You are to take a blood test to record your midi-chlorian count. Skywalker will show the way after we meet with him," Windu told her.
"Yes sir," Judith replied and bowed. She quickly put her guitar back in the case and walked out, her mind buzzing.
Mace ran a hand over his forehead as the doors slid closed behind Judith.
"I must confess we did not consider this," he told Yoda.
"The girl has definite Seeing powers," Ki-Adi-Mundi offered, "But she speaks as though she knows what has been going on for the last fifteen years." Yoda nodded.
"The young one is right," the diminutive master said, "We must reconsider our decision."
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"No turning back now," sighed Padmé. She sat in front of her vanity, staring into the mirror while Sabé fixed her hair. Dormé was making the bed behind them and smirked at Padmé's words.
Padmé had just met with the Loyalist Committee and accepted her role as chancellor for the building stage of the New Republic. They were thrilled, of course, and Padmé was feeling slightly better about it now that she had agreed to it. She hoped that she could really improve upon the democratic process and bring a new era of peace to the Republic.
"Personally, I think this the best idea the Loyalist Committee has had in a while," Sabé replied, expertly twisting a loose lock of hair back in place.
"Really?" Padmé asked, looking up at her friend. Sabé shook her head and her brown eyes, very much like her mistress's, widened.
"Oh yes," Sabé replied, "You are one of the few personally affected by some of the kinks in the Republic's constitution. So, obviously, you'd be the most knowledgeable in straightening them out."
Padmé smiled, taking Sabé's words to heart. Sabé finished repairing Padmé's hair and replaced the silver band at the back of her head, attaching with it sheer fabric that flowed over the hair going down Padmé's back.
"There," she said, "Finished."
Padmé stood and hugged her friend.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, "You always know how to make me feel better." Padmé sighed and tried not to look sad.
"Are you worried about what the council is going to decided?" Dormé asked quietly, interpreting Padmé's look correctly. Padmé sat down hard on her bed.
"I don't know anymore," she confessed. "I just don't know if I'll be able to live with what they decide, whatever it is." Padmé impulsively reached for her necklace and tugged on the japor trinket, feeling deep down in her soul that it gave her comfort.
Dormé and Sabé looked at each other, and then sat down on either side of Padmé, hugging her. Padmé looked at them both and rested her head on Dormé's shoulder, Sabé's head on her's, and Dormé's head on Padmé's head.
The three women just sat for a few minutes, embracing each other in a way they had not done since they were teenagers.
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…Waiting to find a way back to you, 'cause that's where I'm home.
Anakin closed the door behind him softly so it would be a surprise. His heart flew on wings. He moved to a chair in the corner to undress, then stopped. His angel laid asleep, one hand clutching the pillow, and the other hanging over the edge of the bed. Below, on the floor, were several scattered used tissues.
Something clamped his heart and kept it on the ground. She had sobbed herself to sleep. Now wanting all the more to make it better, Anakin quickly undressed and went to the bed and softly sat down.
Anakin pulled down the covers that were wrapped around her and scooped Padmé up, holding her to himself. She stirred, moving her hand over his bare chest and back. Padmé then looped her arms around Anakin's neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
"It's you," she mumbled. Anakin smirked and kissed her head.
"It's me," he replied. Padmé ran a finger to the edge of his shoulder and back again.
"What did they say about Luke and Leia?" Padmé asked quietly.
"I think they're going to take Luke in, but Leia's not as Force powerful. I don't know about her. They're both asleep in their room," Anakin said softly, stroking her hair.
"And Judith?" she asked, the last avoidance of the question she almost was afraid to ask.
"Staying in my quarters at the Temple," he replied. In silence, he waited for the final question.
It was almost inaudible. "Are you allowed to love me?" Anakin tilted her chin up so he could look directly at her.
"Even if I wasn't," he said, his eyes intense, "I would have still come tonight." A few tears that had been welling up in Padmé's eyes escaped and trickled down her angelic face. Anakin softly wiped them away.
"Oh Ani!" Padmé whispered. Anakin closed the space between them with a passionate kiss.
There was no doubt between them at all that they would be together eternally.
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…to be continued!
Post Note: Well, that felt long enough, didn't it? I'll try to lay off the sappiness for a while now. "Yesterday" by the Beatles was used. A quote from "One Of These Days" by Michelle Branch was also used. :D
Influences:
"Oh it's you
The light changes when you're in the room…" –"It's You" by Michelle Branch
"frame of reference" - Thanks to my English teacher for that phrase.
"I must confess, I had not considered it." – Nicholas Nickleby, Nicholas Nickleby