Chapter 10
The palace hangar bay had altered drastically in appearance from only a few hours ago. Several power generators now lined the most intact wall, while strategically placed portable lights lit the entire floor. Although huge chunks of the roof were still missing, most of the debris and scrap had been piled in a slip usually reserved for docking larger ships. Ground troops were even now using cargo loaders to push the remaining rubble into that same large mound.
Anakin scanned the various clusters of busy officers for any sign of Padmé. He knew she would be here, in the thick of things. Finally he spotted the object of his search seated amidst military personnel at what looked like a flight control station.
Quickly he made his way across the deck, dodging busy work droids and newly arrived loyalist work crews. As he got closer, he could see that Padmé and those around her were focused on a large transparent topographic map. He was far from an expert on Naboo geography, but he guessed that the pale blue sections indicated the landmasses of the planet. The red flashing sections were self-explanatory.
Padmé was concentrating intensely, speaking into her headset comlink every few seconds before pressing a small pointer to the screen. Each touch created a tiny bead of red light at her chosen location. Republic officers in drab gray uniforms peered over her shoulders, analyzing the information that was slowly being revealed.
With so many troops around it was clear he couldn't simply drag her out of the chair and into his arms. He opted for sliding in behind the officers, quietly perusing the map while waiting for a viable opportunity to interrupt. He'd only been there a few moments when one of the men recognized him.
"Commander Skywalker! Good to see you, sir!"
The second she heard his name Padmé stood, sliding off her headset and handing it to the person on her right. Her tired eyes met Anakin's as she gave the officer instructions. "Please, take over for me Captain. I have some business to attend to." Anakin missed the officer's reply as he watched his lady make her way through the group.
"Anakin!" Padmé uttered his name with all the reverence of a prayer as she stopped in front of him. She looked him over head-to-toe as if to reassure herself that he really wasn't missing any limbs.
The urge to sweep her into his arms was almost overwhelming, but Anakin held his ground, doing his best to project an air of detached professionalism under so many watchful pairs of eyes.
Padmé, too, wore her best neutral Senatorial expression, but worry was evident in her voice. "You're hurt?" She nodded towards his crudely bandaged hand.
"Just a scratch." He tried to appear indifferent but Padmé would have none of it.
"This light isn't good here, but I think it definitely needs medical attention." Her expression was shuttered, but Anakin could see the strain etched on her pale features as she struggled to keep up the pretense of polite concern.
Padmé reached for his sleeve, tugging on it briefly before turning towards the far side of the hangar. "Come with me."
He followed quickly as they went through one of the side doors, entering the deserted hallway they'd been in only hours before. The generators were working here, too, and in the dim emergency lighting he could see well enough to recognize the doorways that led into the various private hangars. Padmé pulled him towards the one that housed his starfighter. He scrambled for the key card, laughing awkwardly as he dropped it in his haste. He muttered something about Jedi reflexes, but a second later he had the door open and they rushed inside.
The instant it shut behind them he pulled Padmé into his embrace, feeling her own arms wrap around his waist with surprising strength. He hugged her tightly, loosening his grip only when he heard her whimper. He was instantly contrite. How could he have forgotten her injured shoulder? He tried to pull back to check on her injury, but she held him fast, clinging frantically as she raised her face for his kiss.
It was beyond his power to deny her and he gratefully met her lips with his own. Passion sparked between them, as always, but it was overshadowed by their desperate need to give and receive reassurance. Each drew what they needed from the other: strength, hope and resolve. Gradually the urgency spent itself, leaving tender, clinging kisses in its wake.
Long moments passed before their lips parted and Padmé pressed her face into Anakin's chest. Protectively he rested his chin on her head.
Padmé was first to speak. Even in the tomblike silence of the hangar bay her voice was so low he almost missed it. "You had me worried, leaving with Dooku like that."
"I'm sorry." He dropped a kiss on the crown of her head to reinforce his words. "I had to get him away from you and I couldn't think of any other way."
"I forgive you." She pulled back swiftly looking up at him as if privy to a great revelation. "We found Jamillia! And Dormé's husband and sister!" Her eyes sparkled with a renewed hope that almost drove the shadows out. Almost.
"Obi-Wan told me." He smiled, leaning down enough from his considerable height to press his forehead against hers. "That means Naboo will rebuild?"
"Oh I think you can count on that." Her lower lip trembled slightly. "Anakin!" Tears welled suddenly in her eyes. "My family's house is in the old sector of the city, the one that was leveled by the bombs."
"And your parents?" Fear crept into his voice.
"They're fine." She reassured him quickly. "Father had just taken everyone up to the mountains to celebrate Ryoo and Pooja's fall retreat from school. I spoke to them briefly on the comlink not long before you came to find me. There wasn't any bombing where they are." She dropped her head again, clearly relieved, but Anakin could feel her conflicting emotions. "I know I have so much to be thankful for, and I truly am grateful, but it's just… that was my home…where I grew up. It had been my family's home for generations…"
Anakin hugged her again, sensing her need for stability and comfort. "Oh Padmé, I'm so sorry." He knew she wasn't minimizing the losses others had suffered, losses to life or the richness of her planet's history, but he understood her need to acknowledge her own very personal loss. She needed this moment to deal with her own pain before she could return to the spotlight to lead the mourning of her entire world.
Dawn would come soon enough and with it the responsibilities of her leadership role.
He knew their different obligations would not allow him to stand beside her as Naboo struggled to rebuild, but he could give her a small gift now: private time to deal with her grief so she could appear strong for her people in the days to come.
"Arfour?" He spoke into the darkness. Moments later an answering bleep sounded far across the room. "Fire up the flight systems and transmit a take-off clearance request for Commander Skywalker to do a brief reconnaissance of the area." The droid's short whistle affirmed his order.
Padmé pulled back, clearly confused. "You're leaving now?"
"Trust me." He whispered before pulling her towards his starfighter. Lights across the sleek silver and blue hull blinked on and off as the little astromech ran the preflight systems check.
The cockpit opened as they approached. Anakin lifted Padmé up to the wing before swinging easily up behind her. He lowered himself into the pilot's chair, sliding it back as far as it would go.
"Come on." He motioned to Padmé, indicating that she should join him. She hesitated. There wasn't much room in a single-person fighter. "Come on! I promise we'll fit fine." He couldn't resist a rakish grin as she raised an aristocratic eyebrow.
She climbed down in front of him, squeezing into the small space on the seat between his knees. He did his best to ignore his body's reaction to her close proximity, taking several deep breaths to slow his quickening heart as he adjusted his headset. Clearance approval flashed in bright gold letters across his flight monitor.
The ship's canopy slid closed, locking with a click as he reached around Padmé to flip the switch that would override Arfour's autopilot. Cool pressurized air filled the small compartment.
"This is Commander Skywalker, ready for take-off." As he punched the ignition switch the sublight engines fired with barely a shudder. Grasping the control stick with his mechanical hand, he rested his injured human hand across Padmé's abdomen. The combination of the two loves of his life – Padmé and flying – was dizzying. Under better circumstances he was sure he'd feel elated.
"I wonder why we've never done this before." He muttered to himself.
"Clearance confirmed, Commander." An electronically filtered voice came back through his headset. "Sorry for the delay. We're a little low on power sources down here so we've shunted generator one to your hydraulic doors." The huge durasteel panels were already sliding apart to reveal the busy hangar bay. "You may exit when ready."
Padmé was afraid. Anakin could sense the fear radiating from her; feel the trembling in her slight frame. Nothing they had faced the entire day brought as much trepidation as the thought of facing the damage the Separatists had inflicted on Naboo.
"Ready?" His question was a whisper of warmth at her ear.
Padmé nodded.
With a squeeze of the throttle and a deft flick of his wrist the starfighter shot up and forward before turning sharply to blast out of the hangar bay.
Moments later they were soaring over Theed.
The tri-lunar light was brilliant, but its pale iridescence lent a desolate air to the ruins of the city, painting everything in shades of gray.
It was clear to see that the palace had been hit hard, with most of the rock of the outer structures blasted away. The entry colonnade was in ruin; the stone arch and the huge statues of Naboo philosophers no longer stood guard over the entrance.
As they passed into the city Padmé could see the crumbled walls of the Hall of Perri-Teeka and the nearby collapsing Rotunda built by the Earl of Vis. She was surprised to see one of the oldest structures, Guido's Tower, still standing mostly intact. The Parnelli Museum of Art was another story; it was leveled to the ground.
So much of her planet's history, represented in these familiar landmarks, had been taken in the blink of an eye. From this point forward Naboo would be a very different place from the peaceful world she once ruled; from the home she had loved her entire life.
The residential districts were next and were by far the saddest areas. Padmé could just make out the tiny forms of citizens rummaging through all that was left of their dwellings and their lives. Some of the houses were flattened, but most retained at least some semblance of their basic structure. A number were on fire, serving as bright tragic beacons through the colorless night.
As they circled slowly over the older areas Padmé released a shuddering breath. She could barely make out the plot of land where her family's house had stood for so many generations. Just as she'd been told, the area was nothing but scorched earth and rock. She willed herself to cry, praying the tears would dull the anguish that knifed through her. It didn't work. The tears would not come.
"Odd." The word slipped unbidden through dry lips. She was surprised to find her voice steady and strong even as her heart was breaking.
"Hmm?" Anakin's prompting was gentle.
"I've spent the last year and a half digging through ruins just like this on other worlds; relocating homeless, helping them pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. I cried so many times for their lost and dead. Why are there no tears now, when I need them?"
She felt Anakin's deep sigh behind her. "I think sometimes sorrow can go too deep for tears."
Padmé felt suddenly as if all warmth had left her blood despite the controlled temperature of the cockpit. For the first time in her life she understood how someone could want to die of sorrow.
Anakin must have felt her shiver, because he tightened his arm around her and kissed her hair tenderly.
She leaned back against him, seeking the warmth of his body, finding solace in his strength. "Take me back."
He was silent, but immediately turned the throttle control and angled them back towards the palace.
Feeling empty inside Padmé said a silent prayer of thanks for the lives of her family that had been spared. Then she gave one for Anakin, and for the Queen, and for the others they had saved today. Then she prayed for the strength and the will to rebuild.
The last thing she saw before they turned into the hangar bay was Virdugo Plunge, the largest waterfall in the city. It, alone, appeared unchanged by the devastation around it; the dark green waters of the Solleu River sparkled in the moonlight, continuing to spill over the edge of the cliff face as they had for thousands of years. Water. For the Naboo it was a timeless symbol of renewal and hope.
For the first time that night Padmé felt certain Naboo would survive.
The landing went smoothly. Anakin settled the small fighter to the deck as the shield doors closed on the private bay.
Normally he would have stopped in the main hangar and allowed the R4 unit to guide the ship back into the bay after a good once-over. Tonight he preferred to dock it himself to take advantage of the few extra moments of privacy it would afford for him and Padmé.
For reasons he preferred not to explore, he was less than anxious to join in the clean-up efforts. It seemed prudent to put off returning until the last possible second.
He flicked several switches and the ship started its power-down sequence. Padmé sat unmoving in front of him, in no hurry to leave the quiet, intimate cocoon of the starfighter. They both knew there was work to be done, but he could tell his wife shared his reluctance to return to the tasks at hand.
"This will probably be the last of our time alone together for a very long time." Her voice was low, listless. He had to admit that fact was weighing heavily on him as well.
Had it been only three short days ago that they'd begun their idyllic holiday? Only last night that they'd shared passion while enjoying the cleansing rain? At the time it had felt like a beginning. Now it seemed a lifetime ago and he was filled with the strangest sense of loss.
"Anakin, tell me everything is going to get better." She leaned back against him. "I want to believe it, but I seem to have misplaced my optimism."
He kissed the crown of her head softly before shifting her slight form across his lap and wrapping both arms around her. Eyes closed, she snuggled against his chest and mumbled something he didn't hear.
"What?" He prodded.
She turned her face up to his. "I just said that I understand now why you hate the Tuskens. I don't think I really did before."
Anakin couldn't think of anything to say in reply. Padmé reached up, touching his cheek gently with her hand. "So many times today if I had possessed the power to kill those who did this to my homeworld I would have done it. Right or wrong, it wouldn't have mattered." She shook her head. "All that power you have… it must be a terrible burden sometimes…"
"Sometimes." Dooku's face flashed across his mind but he said nothing more.
They stayed like that for a while longer, until Padmé's com-link buzzed insistently. She pulled it from her belt.
"This is the Senator." Brisk efficiency was back in her demeanor.
"Senator Amidala," the disembodied voice started, "Captain Treyar needs you at the command center immediately. There are two outlying locations with survivors. We have dispatched crews to help, but there will be decisions to make."
"I'll be right there." Her reply was clipped as she signed off.
Anakin had already pressed the release for the cockpit canopy. It was rising slowly. He took advantage of the delay to drop a kiss on Padmé's unsuspecting mouth. She responded to the caress by returning one of her own, then unenthusiastically climbed down from the cockpit.
After flipping the last few switches in the docking cycle, Anakin gave instructions to Arfour and joined Padmé on the ground.
She eyed his bandaged hand. "I know you keep saying its nothing, but I want you to promise me you'll see a medic for a bacta glove before you return to duty."
Anakin laughed softly. The momentary weakness Padmé allowed herself had once more been replaced with senatorial resolve.
"I will." He replied. Her expression remained dubious. "I promise!"
She stared at him intently, as if trying to memorize his face. "I really do have to go," she murmured, her gaze never wavering.
"Yes, you do." He acknowledged, taking a step towards her.
"You heard the com-center. They need me there as soon as possible." Still she didn't move.
"That's what they said." Another step brought him closer.
"Why am I not gone yet?"
"Perhaps you're waiting for your husband to kiss you before you go." Two steps this time. He was less than an arms length away.
"Yes, perhaps I am." The words had barely left her mouth when Anakin swept her into his embrace. He pulled her tightly to him, so that there wasn't an inch of their bodies that didn't touch. Padmé responded with equal fervor, burying her hands in his hair as their lips met and clung.
Their kiss went on and on until Anakin groaned softly and pulled away. He carefully and methodically set her at arms length, brushing imaginary dust off her tunic, before turning his back to her and taking several deep breaths. He ran his cloth-wrapped hand through his hair in an effort to still its trembling.
"If you don't go now I promise you won't return to your post 'as soon as possible.'" He didn't look at her, clinging to his resolve by a thread.
"Oh Anakin…" He could sense her uncertainty and knew she wanted to stay as much as he didn't want her to leave. He felt her take a step towards him.
"Don't come any closer unless you mean to be here a while." His tone was serious. "I meant what I said. If you need me to be noble and send you back to the command center, you'll just be disappointed. Letting you go again will take strength this Jedi doesn't have."
Time slowed to a crawl as he waited in agony for her to leave. Her softly spoken reply stole what was left of his breath.
"Then I guess I'll just have to come up with a good excuse for my delay." Her boots echoed with deliberate taps on the duracrete floor as she drew closer.
Anakin stood frozen, almost afraid to believe what he'd just heard. Then he felt her press against him from behind, her slim arms encircling his waist, and he was lost.
He turned swiftly, pulling her into his arms and urgently locking his lips to hers in one fluid motion. War and death. Time and duty. It all ceased to matter.
It was well over an hour before either of them returned to their posts.