Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or anything Star Wars related.

CH. 6

"LAW OF THE EMPIRE"

Padme wept for what felt like hours. It was true…Anakin had changed. Now that her tears had finally stopped, she was lost. She felt a great void inside of her. He had been claimed by the dark side and she was helpless to do anything about it. No, she told herself. I can bring him back. I can show him what he's doing is wrong. He will see…

Back in Coruscant she had actually been frightened of her husband. Never before had she been scared of him – she had no reason to be -- but when she saw the fury in his face and the yellow glow of his eyes that night, she was terrified. He no longer looked like her Ani.

She had isolated herself from everybody else since her return to the safe haven of the Jedi. A part of her blamed them for everything that had happened. They were always bringing his spirits down, she thought. He always felt suffocated by their rules and the way he was constantly lectured. Why couldn't they have just let him be? Why did he get treated differently from the others – because he was their so-called 'Chosen One'?

Her heart ached even more as she continued to run the scenario over in her head. No, I know it isn't their fault. Anakin was different…he started training much later than Jedi normally do. It only makes sense it would take him longer to achieve what those that had been training their entire lives had achieved, but he was always so impatient.

She knew he had always resented the Master's for their decisions regarding his position within the Order. He felt they were overlooking his potential and refused to give him a fair chance to prove himself. He often spoke of times when they had held him back, had dampened his ambition and left him feeling completely frustrated. He spent many hours locked away in his quarters when he couldn't get out of the Temple to visit her.

The Temple.

Padme's frown deepened at the thought of the inferno that had enveloped the old Jedi Temple and reduced it to a pile of smoldering rubble. What tore at her even more was the fact that she had learned Anakin was responsible for it. Obi-Wan told her the truth after they left Coruscant…Anakin meant to make the Jedi extinct. She denied it at first, but realization hit her hard when she had time to think everything over. The last time she saw him, the way Anakin spoke of the Jedi Order, it was as if he thought they were all evil.

She clung to the pillow on the bed the Jedi had accommodated her with and tears once again burned in her eyes…

"Too much hope you place in young Skywalker, perhaps, hmm?"

Yoda sat across from the blue life form that sat directly in front of him with his legs crossed.

"He is only confused," it told him. "His emotions have gotten the best of him, but it isn't too late for him to return to the light. He is the 'Chosen One'."

"Much evil, I sense from him."

"He can still extinguish the rages that consume him, Master."

"Meditate on this, I will," Yoda replied.

The small Jedi glanced back over his shoulder when he heard soft footsteps approaching the door to his chambers.

"Obi-Wan is coming to seek your guidance, I am sure," the life form said, a warm smile covering his face. "I should be going. May the Force be with you, Master."

A moment later, the doors to the room slid open and Obi-Wan entered, finding Yoda sitting alone as he appeared to be lost in concentration.

"Come for the wisdom of this old Jedi, have you?"

Obi-Wan cracked a sheepish grin. "You know me too well, Master Yoda."

Darkness surrounded him. All he could see was the pitch black of nothingness. There were no walls, no ground, no sky…just a deep abyss. In the distance he could hear her voice. She was calling out to him, calling for help.

"Anakin!"

His legs grew heavy as he continued to run…or float, he wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure if he was moving at all, but he knew he had to keep trying. When he opened his mouth to call out to her, no words came. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find his voice and was unable to speak.

"Anakin, please! Help me!"

He wanted nothing more than to scream her name. He needed to find her before it was too late. He had to save her.

Then there was a deafening sound as her cries of agony filled his ears. Finally, he managed to choke out what he had been trying to say for so long. "Padme!"

"Anakin! Anakin, please!"

"Padme, I'm coming! Where are you!"

He frantically searched the darkness, but her voice only seemed to be disappearing in the distance as he pressed on. Then there was one last cry of pain followed by a dead silence…

He quickly halted his pursuit and intently listened to his surroundings. There was nothing. Only an eerie calm that chilled him to his bones.

"Padme," he whispered.

Darth Vader bolted upright in his bed. His heavy panting was the only sound in the room as beads of sweat ran down his drenched body. A nightmare, he thought.

Tossing the sheets that covered his tall frame aside, Vader swung his legs over the edge of his bed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then he studied his new prosthetic hand as he flexed his finger. The events from the dream refused to leave his troubled mind. Why am I thinking about her? She betrayed me -- she is dead to me, just like the Jedi…just like Obi-Wan. I don't care if she dies anymore!

He hastily got to his feet and moved towards the fresher adjoined with his room.

Why should these visions of her suffering mean anything to me now? Why should they bother me? I failed my mother by not saving her in time, but she loved me unconditionally…Padme doesn't. She was almost eager to abandon me as soon as the first chance arose. She never loved me! She used me – they all used me!

The mirror in the fresher shattered as pure energy poured out of Vader.

They will all pay, he told himself. My new empire will take care of that…

Obi-Wan Kenobi looked around at the survivors that hadn't been eradicated by Chancellor Palpatine's new law against the Jedi as he pulled the hood to his robes up over his auburn hair. During his discussion with Master Yoda they had brought up the subject of supplies. Their food had significantly diminished and they would soon be in need of more. With more and more Jedi's arriving every day, things to eat and drink were getting scarce. It was a blessing that so many more had lived through Order 66 then they had initially thought, but they would need supplies to live on and as the numbers grew, so did the consumption of food.

Obi-Wan had volunteered to pick up what he could and bring it back to their refuge. It would not be wise for too many Jedi to go out since they were now viewed as despicable traitors to the Republic by the general public. He was sure there were bounties on the heads of the remaining Jedi due to Palpatine's law and they couldn't afford any more casualties. It seemed that he stood in the last sanctuary the galaxy held for his kind.

Making his way through the crowd, he spotted Senator Amidala approaching him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To gather supplies," he replied, surprised to detect no anger in her tone. "We are running low on food. All we have left are a few cases of rations."

The Senator's eyes were red – from sleep deprivation or crying, he couldn't tell. Possibly both, he thought.

"I'm going with you."

"Are you sure you shouldn't stay here and rest?" Obi-Wan hesitantly questioned. "We have all been neglecting our usual sleeping habits. Perhaps it would be best to take some time to recover from the strain you have been under."

Padme furrowed her eyebrow when she spoke. "And you haven't been stressed out yourself? There are a lot of mouths to feed here, Obi-Wan, you could use some help getting everything back."

He glanced around at the Jedi gathered around. She was right. He did only have two hands, after all. "Very well. You will need something to disguise your identity."

Padme pulled her own hood up and over her head, concealing her face. "Shall we?"

Twenty minutes later they walked down the streets towards the nearest market. Citizens flooded the city and traffic was busy high above them.

"With the way things are going on out here, you wouldn't even think the recent events have taken place," Padme commented, glancing around at their seemingly normal surroundings.

"Yes, well the Empire will soon suck the life out of this place if it remains in power."

They both walked in silence as they continued on their way. Just when they were almost to the market they were heading for, Obi-Wan stopped dead in his tracks. Padme curiously stopped beside him. "What is it?"

"It appears I am famous," he answered.

Padme followed his gaze until she spotted what he was referring to. On a banner that shown high above the city, a picture and a name ran across the glowing screen. She gasped when she saw it…

WANTED: Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi