Chapter Five

Anakin stepped aside as the door to the temporary control center swung open and let Padme pass through it first. She had woken as he had dressed and decided to come with him. Part of Anakin was happy that she would be with him. Another part would have preferred instead that she not be present and not be forced to witness the most unpleasant aspects of war. He knew, however, that she already carried the knowledge of more than one first hand conflict.

He guided her through the maze of consoles and busily working clone troopers to reach the center of the large room. The giant holodisplay was already active. He stared at it for a moment, and then called the captain over to his side.

Anakin pointed to the advancing onslaught of droids. "Bring one division of troopers up on their left side. Don't allow the droids to gain the higher ground. Pull a second division out and use them to reinforce the first group and push the droids back. Hold everything else back for the moment."

He stepped back to stand by Padme, and folded his arms across his chest. Padme was looking at him with curiosity.

He answered her unasked question simply. "Something about this Separatist attack feels wrong. I don't want to commit the main force of my troops yet."

She gave him a grim half-nod in response and turned back to the holodisplay of the unfolding situation. They stayed that way for the next hour; Padme watching the battle in grim silence and occasionally asking him quiet questions while Anakin surveyed the ever changing surface of the battle field and called out quick orders.

Another trooped strode up behind Anakin and handed him a datapad. "The troopers are fighting at a very successful rate today, sir. The two divisions are effectively pushing the droid army back while inflicting heavy casualties on the droids."

Anakin nodded, his face the serene mask of a Jedi, but the look in his eyes was troubled. Padme followed him out of the command center without hesitation. She resisted the urge to catch his hand in hers, and instead asked quietly, "What are you thinking, Anakin?"

He stopped walking and looked at her for a moment. Then he caught her arm and gently pulled her aside to a small, dark alleyway where they could be overseen or overheard. "We should be winning this battle," he explained in a low voice, "But not this easily. The Separatists usually make us pay for every square centimeter that we take from them, and I'm afraid that there is some larger plan at work here. I need to go find out what it is," he said firmly.

"I'm going with you," she responded instantly.

Anakin shook his head almost immediately. "This is too dangerous." He took a step closer to her and reached out a hand to touch her face, almost as if he believed that she wasn't really there. "You almost died yesterday, Padme," he whispered softly, anguish clearly evident in his voice. "I almost lost you. I can't risk loosing you again, Angel."

She closed the distance between them, reaching up to grasp the hand that touched her face and encircling it in her own, placing their joined hands over her heart. "I know, Anakin," she said softly, "but is there any place on this planet that I'll be safer than with you?"

He looked down and grimaced. He wanted her with him. He always did, even when he was in the midst of the worst battle, and there were very few people who he would truly trust to protect her completely. He certainly didn't trust anyone here on this planet that fully.

If he left her there then he would worry about her lack of adequate protection. If she went with him, he would be constantly worried about protecting her from the retreating droid army. Senator Amidala would be a very important prize for the Separatists. He could feel the anger and frustration surging through him. It wasn't fair of her to put him in this situation. He loved her so much. She was his life. He started to jerk his hand away from hers in a gesture of angered frustration. Maybe the Council was right. These emotions seemed to cloud his mind and he couldn't seem to think clearly.

Then he felt Padme's thumb caress down along the line of his hand and he heard her ask, "Ani?" Her voice was quiet and soothing to him.

He looked up, bringing a smile to his lips for her, and exhaling all of his anger and frustration away in one deep sigh. He breathed calmly back in, centering himself in the Force and in her presence.

He raised their joined hands towards him and placed a kiss on top of both of her hands as they encircled his. "Come on," he said quickly, "we have a transport to catch and we have to make a few preparations before we leave."

They stood together, once again in a swaying airborne troop transport. This time, however, Anakin was not holding onto Padme. Instead she was leaning against the only solid portion of the side wall of the transport as Anakin knelt before her. She heard a snap and then felt something tighten around her leg. She looked down at Anakin and found herself staring into his brilliant blue eyes as he flashed her a wild grin.

"That should do it, milady."

She shot Anakin a small glare for his mocking formality and asked, "Tell me why I have to ware this body armor, again? I'm a Senator, not a clone trooper."

Anakin's grin grew wickedly mischievous as he stood up in front of her, leaning very close to her. "I know you're not a trooper," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. "I wouldn't have married a trooper." Anakin pushed sharply against the wall behind her and was suddenly standing several feet away from him, leaving her almost breathless at the sudden loss of contact. "But the Separatists don't care if you're a Senator. They will still shoot at you, either way, and this way, at least you'll have a little bit more protection."

"Anakin-" She was cut off by the voice of the pilot from the cockpit.

"Sir, there's an urgent incoming message for you. It's coming from the main command base."
Anakin was instantly serious and focused. "Patch it through," he said quickly. He snatched a headset from a near by holder and listened.

"This is central command base. Repeat, CENTRAL command base. We are under attack by a large force of droids. Their exact numbers are unknown, but they appear to outnumber us by about 3 to 1. Our defenses are holding, but we are under heavy attack."

Anakin resisted the urge to curse and asked, "Where in Hoth did they come from, Lieutenant? Intelligence reported no large Separatist forces in the area."

"Unknown, sir. Our sensors did not show them until they were attacking us and our scouts have not reported in since they were sent out last evening."

Anakin cursed inwardly. This was not good. "Hold them off, Lieutenant," he ordered. "I'll send in reinforcements as soon as they're available."

"Aye, sir."

The connection clicked off and Anakin turned to the pilot. "What's the status of the first battle?"

"Still in progress, sir. The droid army is being eliminated and pushed back. Estimated remaining battle time is 3.84 hours."

"In coming!" The copilot's voice was sharp and guttural, but not panicked as he called out his warning. Anakin reacted with Jedi speed and pulled Padme to him, grabbing for a solid hand hold at the same time. In the next instant the ship shuddered with the impact. The second and third impacts followed rapidly, hitting with even greater impact as the pilot tried to evade the incoming fire. The fourth impact slammed into the transport in a direct hit, sending a showering of sparks and a roiling explosion back from the cockpit and threw Anakin and Padme into the air.