Author Note: Hi guys, sorry it took me so long to post again, but I haven't been very well the past week and have been in bed for a few days. However, I'm better now, but I won't be posting for two weeks because I am going on holiday to Dorset (yay! To my favourite place!) so I won't be able to post again until after the 28th. Sorry, but at least I gave you notice this time!
Anyways, hope you like this chapter. It's a cliff hanger, which I know is really mean of me, but it just seemed natural to end it here. Otherwise it wouldn't be right.
A few hours later, all eight ships emerged from hyperspace and the Jedi Starfighters dumped their hyperdrive rings, leaving them floating in space, ready for the journey home.
A bleeping on Luke's radar warned of incoming ships, and sure enough when he looked up, he saw a squadron of TIE fighters, the stormtroopers new and improved ships, flying directly towards them.
"Looks like we got company," he warned the others and watched as the X-wings and Jedi Starfighters switched to attack mode. He saw that the turrets of the Falcon had also started moving around as the Princes manned the guns.
Only Padme's ship remained unchanged, which Luke found not only odd, but worrying. All ships had a special attack mode built in, which involved the ship changing in some way.
Why isn't she getting ready to attack? What's wrong? he thought anxiously as he glanced at her ship. Then heavy laser fire filled the air and he had to set all his focus on the incoming threats.
The fight was on!
The air was soon filled with laser fire from both sides. Luke and Anakin worked in perfect harmony, picking off fighters from each other's tails with ease.
Obi-Wan was chasing a group that had spilt off to one side, Serena and Scotty had headed right into the middle of the squadron and Leia, who had about four on her tail, was weaving in and out of a nearby asteroid field, disposing of each ship, one by one.
The Falcon wasn't as agile as the little fighters, but it was doing well as it dodged the fire and sent out an even deadlier assault from the twin turret cannons.
Only Padme's ship was missing and Anakin was getting worried. He, like Luke, had noticed that she hadn't done anything to prepare for the attack and had now completely dissapeared. He tried her radio and found a faint trace, so she was still in the area, but where?
"Dad, look out! You've got one on your tail!" Luke warned over the radio. Luke was too far away and couldn't get to his Dad.
Anakin started to put all his flight skills into practice, but the clones were wise to his moves now, and nothing he did seemed to shake off the clone. A warning light flashed and Anakin knew the clone had him locked on target. Any second now he would be blown from the sky...
And then something silver streaked past like a bullet. Two missiles were fired from somewhere trailing blue smoke, and then the clone was gone. Nothing remained of it except a few floating bits of metal.
As fast as it appeared, the silver ship dissapeared again, using the sun to hide it because the suns rays were reflecting off it's shining silver sides, blinding anyone who looked at it.
However, Anakin knew who it was that had just saved his life.
"Thanks Padme," he said into the radio. There was silence for a moment, then at last
"No problem. Anytime."
(-o-)
From her position infront of the sun, Padme was able to see everything, whilst no-one could see her. Using her special missiles she was able to lock onto any target and no matter where it went, or what it did, the clone would not be able to avoid the missile. All those that got too close found themselves becoming the victim of the laser cannons in her wings, and pretty soon, Anakin and the others were herding the clones towards her.
The clones didn't know she was there until it was too late.
Within a few minutes, only one clone remained, streaking back towards the moon that they had come from.
"Let it go," Obi-Wan ordered. "He can lead us to their base. Padme?"
"Yes Obi-Wan?"
"I want you to tail it. Your invisible in this bright sun so it won't realise it's being followed. Land as close to the base as you can and then set your tracker. We can use that to find you."
"Right you are," Padme replied, and for the second time that day, Padme's silver ship streaked past the others and followed in hot pursuit of the fleeing clone.
"Now we sit and wait," Obi-Wan sighed, shutting his attack mode off so that his ship returned to normal flight mode. The others did the same and from the way the turrets were now motionless, it was clear that the Princes had got the idea.
(-o-o-)
The surface of the moon was rocky and covered in huge mountains and deep canyons, with dangerous rocks over hanging everywhere. Padme had to navigate carefully through this treacherous place. Anakin would have no trouble, nor would Luke, for they were two of the best pilots she had ever known, closely followed by Scotty and Han. As she flew, she felt a sudden surge of jealous anger as her wing clipped a rock and almost sent her spinning out of control.
Patience she told herself, using the force to calm her down and guide her movements. For a moment she thought she'd lost the clone, but then as she turned a corner , she found him again.
He was landing on a tiny platform suspended out from the side of a huge mountain. There was no way all of them would be able to land on it, but still, she had a job to do. Hovering in the sunlight, she waited until the clone had run into the heart of the mountain via a large cave, before she landed. Flicking on the tracker, she climbed out of the cockpit and pulled out her saber, just in case.
When she heard voices, she knew that more clones were coming, probably with armed reinforcements.
"Take off, hover in the sunlight above this platform. Don't move unless it is absolutely vital," she told her little astrodroid. It beeped in understanding and then began to carry out her orders whilst she crept over to the side of the platform and hid amongst some large boulders. From her view, she saw at least fifty clones march out onto the platform.
Ok, this isn't going to work. She thought, pulling out her commtalk.
"Obi-Wan?" she whispered into the tiny device. "Obi-Wan, you won't be able to land. I'm sending my ship to a better landing spot, and I'm setting my personal tracker on the platform so that you know where to head for."
"Understood Padme. But what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know yet," she replied truthfully, signing out and putting it back in her belt. Then she pulled out her own tracker and set it on a nearby boulder, well out of sight of the clones.
"You, freeze!" a voice said behind her and she felt the end of a rifle pushed into her back. Raising her hands slowly above her head, she turned to see a group of clones surrounding her.
"Get up!" it ordered, so she slowly stood up, vivid memories of her last capture running through her mind.
"Get her out of here!"
Padme was marched off the platform, into the cave that the pilot had run in earlier. She felt a mixture of dissapointment, grief, shame and guilt at her failure and hoped that the others would get there soon to resuce her.
