8
Anakin powered on the holoprojector within the confines of his room on Balmorra. The others were outside, going about their daily sparring practice. He watched as the signal relayed across the galaxy, directing itself toward Coruscant. After a few moments of silence, the image of Padme's apartment exploded into reality. He instantly saw the gleaming cranium of C-3P0 peering at him.
"Why Master Anakin! How good it is to see you again!" The droid called, tapping the holo cam's lense with his golden finger.
Anakin nodded to the droid. "Where's Padme, Threepio?"
The droid scoffed. If rudeness could be conveyed by a droid's actions, this was a prime example. "Let me go find her, Master."
Before the droid could turn around, in the background, Padme ran to her front door. It hissed open, revealing a sight that chilled Anakin's heart. It was him. The mirror image of Anakin Skywalker embraced Padme, and kissed her deeply. After a moment of hellos, Padme padded off out of the camera range.
Ollo used the chance to walk toward the confused C-3P0, and with a quick flip of a button, he shut the golden droid down completely. He then made his way quickly to the holoprojector, and with an evil smile and a wink, shut it off.
Anakin stared in disbelief. His clone had entered his home! Padme never knew that he wasn't her true husband. His veins ran cold, and his heart beat out of step. Finally the screams that had not been able to come from his mouth did. They escaped in a roar of anger and pain. Anakin's fist slammed against the holoprojector, crushing it's metallic frame into smoking debris.
Obi-Wan stood on the back lawn that was guarded by a high fence, giving Luke and Leia advice on how to properly defend against Afe's attacks. He heard the screams resonate from the hovel, and turned to see what the problem was. The force quickly informed him of Anakin's anger, but before he could traverse across the lawn to the doorway, Anakin kicked open the door, cleanly knocking it off it's hinges.
"We have to go to Coruscant. Now!" Anakin yelled, buckling his utility belt with shaky hands.
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked, quickly bracing the young man's shoulder with his hand.
Anakin quickly recounted the story to everyone, jogging back and forth through the house, gathering up supplies.
"Anakin, we can't go back to Coruscant. The Council has plainly instructed us–."
"I am going. You all can stay here if you'd like, but I am not going to sit here while my clone invades everything that I love! I'll return shortly."
Both Afe and Obi-Wan stepped in front of his path.
"No," Obi-Wan stated firmly. "You are not going. We will contact the Council immediately, but you cannot go back."
A fire burned in Anakin's eyes as he stared down his former Master.
"Are you going to stop me Master?" He said with clenched teeth. He spoke threateningly.
Obi-Wan had seen this many times before in Anakin's behavior, and had decided that it was always best to stand his ground.
"Yes I will, Anakin." He crossed his arms.
Anakin's eyes darted angrily between Afe and Obi-Wan. After a few moments of pure silence, with his two children staring at him dumbly in the distance, Anakin's feelings got the better of him. It started with a single tear, followed by the contraction of every muscle in his face.
He backed against the wall, sobbing.
"I can't let him do this!"
"Yes you can, Anakin." Afe, said, grasping his face with her hands. "And you will. But we can assure you that his wrongs will not go unpunished."
"Afe," Obi-Wan said with his arms still crossed. "Fix the holoprojector if possible, and inform the Council." He kneeled down to the shaking man. "I'll deal with him."
From inside Padme's apartment, everything sat in stone silence. It was interrupted by the hiss of a single light saber blade. The front door opened, revealing not a tall proud Jedi, but a crouched green Whill grasping his green saber.
Yoda slowly crept through the silent apartment, keeping his guard up. He passed through the foyer into the main bedroom, searching around for any physical or mental disturbances. After some time, he switched off his green blade and frowned. The clone had escaped.
He sensed that Padme had not been kidnapped, but was busy elsewhere with her political engagements. With a sigh, pulled his gimer stick from his belt and made his way out of the apartment. It was important that he notified Amidala quickly.
Anakin watched the holonet news on Coruscant report several mysterious murders around the Planet. It seemed that a Jedi had committed each of them. Each homicide had a throng of witnesses, all of which reported seeing the well-known Anakin Skywalker at the scene of the crime. He once again stared in disbelief as his own life was being brought down around his feet by an impostor.
The holonet buzzed with breaking news reports about Anakin Skywalker possibly being the murderer. The Universe that so loved him was slowly but surely turning their back. He watched as the Jedi Council proclaimed that it was most definitely not Skywalker, for he was on official Jedi business, but rather a Sith clone.
"At least they believe the Jedi Council," Obi-Wan stated, watching the screen intently.
"For now, but if these murders keep happening, no one will be able to save me. The force itself can't save me anymore." Anakin dropped his head into his hands.
Ollo stood in the center of the transport station on Coruscant, watching as a group of political officials stepped off a skiff. Without missing a beat, he moved to them in broad daylight, igniting his light saber. In a blink of an eye, with thousands of witnesses, he cut each of them down. Only one escaped and began running toward the nearest exit. Ollo could have killed him easily had it been necessary, but for now it served as another eye-witness to Anakin's murders.
"Tell everyone that Anakin Skywalker gave you mercy!" He shouted to the panicking crowd as he boarded a small speeder, and disappeared into the clouds.
The Planet of Coruscant was now too aware of his actions. With the death of the political figures, the Council would become involved. It was time to spread his murders throughout the galaxy.
Padme watched as countless members of the Senate surrounded her podium maliciously.
Mas Amedda, the former Senate chair took a stand. "We have called you here, Supreme Chancellor, to ask questions pertaining to the rogue Jedi known as Anakin Skywalker."
She stood like a stone, not giving Amedda the time of day.
"As the record shows, you are his wife in legal marriage, no?"
"I am," She replied with as much anger as she could muster.
"Then do you have any information as to his whereabouts?"
"I do not."
Mas Amedda scoffed, bracing his arms on the floating podium in front of Amidala.
"So you, our Supreme Chancellor, are telling us that you do not know the whereabouts of your own husband?"
That was the final straw. She leaned in just as close, narrowing her eyes, compressing them into bullets that could have killed. "You know that all Jedi information is classified, Amedda. I have been informed and given official reports by the Council that this murderer is not my husband!"
She keyed the datapad before her, sending out the report to the thousands of podiums in the Senate hall.
Mas Amedda didn't even look at it. "Why should we believe the Jedi in times like these?" Thunderous applause rose throughout the Senate ranks. "When a Jedi himself is being accused of murdering ten political officials!"
"The Jedi have always been protectors of the innocent, Amedda, and I take enormous offense at your lack of faith!"
"Let me rephrase, Supreme Chancellor. Why should we believe you?"
Tears began to form in Padme's eyes. "Because I am your leader!"
Once again Amedda scoffed. "Palpatine was our leader as well. We all know how trust worthy he was in the end. The fact remains, Chancellor, that you cannot be trusted."
Padme lost it. All sense of royalty and beauty was lost. She lifted her thin gown and climbed to the top of her podium. "This is a malicious attack against me! It is unjust and an obvious retaliation for my vote to remove you years ago! Take it back."
Amedda smiled thinly. "Or what?"
In her mind, she was screaming: I'll kill you, you son of a bitch, that's what!
After a moment, she calmed herself, and stepped down from the top of the podium.
"I ask each and every one of you personally, not as Senators, but as friends to trust me. Give the Jedi Council time to fix this problem. Read over the official report on your datapads. I assure you that the murderer is not my husband. If it turns out otherwise I will not only give up my seat as the Supreme Chancellor..." She paused, wiping a tear from her face. "I will give you my very life."
Amedda smiled once again. "That is exactly what we will take if we find anything further pointing the crimes to your husband. We will hold you personally responsible for every life lost, Amidala."
Padme leaned forward, squeezing the podium till her knuckles went white. "It's Supreme Chancellor Amidala, and don't you ever, ever forget that."
( I'm not sure if this chapter is confusing or not to others, considering that I understand completely what is going on. If anyone has trouble discerning what just happened, please inform me, and comment on how I can clarify anything. The events jump a little bit, timewise, but I hope that you can follow. If it's not as complicated as I think, I believe this is a really good chapter. I'll leave it up to you, though).