Chapter 20: Prepared

Sidious, Daala, Kratas, and Traya stood on the bridge of the flagship of Sidious's fleet. The Eclipse. They were ready to launch their attack, simple coordinating hyperspace routes and they would be off, and Coruscant would be taken. This was a massive fleet. Twenty Imperial class star destroyers including the Eclipse, ten Victory class star destroyers, ten Acclamator class frigates and fifteen Tartan patrol cruisers. A massive fleet to take a massive planet, though it would no doubt have a space force to be reckoned with but Sidious was confident. His apprentice Aurra Sing who would be tucked safely away aboard the Gorgon during the battle was skilled in slight battle meditation.

She was nowhere near as powerful as she could be but it would be good enough. Or so he hoped, and so did Traya for if Sidious died to soon then she could not find out where Padmé was, no she had to wait until she obtained the information and then kill him and his pitiful bounty hunter apprentice.

XxX

"Anakin?" Padmé's hologram cried off the desk in his quarters aboard the newly named Executor II, the former Guardian. "Thank the Force! I thought you were dead, your fleet, the Executor, it was all over the HoloNet!"

"I'm alright," Anakin said. "But Qui-gon, Yoda, and Xen died at the hands of that Sith Lord and his master."

"What master?"

"Darth Traya."

"You found her? Is she dead, did you kill her I mean?"

"No, she's not dead and she was with us the whole time, she was Kreia."

"The old witch woman?"

"Yes, I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for a Force imaging trick. But Padmé… there's something else. The Emperor is back. He's coming to attack Coruscant."

"WHAT!" Padmé cried so loud that the audio speakers on the desk nearly exploded. "He's back!"

"Yes, he transferred his consciousness into a clone of himself before he died."

"I'm coming, I want to kill him myself!"

"No Padmé, I lost Qui-gon, Yoda, and Xen, and almost Mara, all my friends, I am not going to lose my wife."

"But Anakin…"

"Shh, I'm going to come visit you after the battle is over." Anakin said.

"Alright." Padmé replied grudgingly. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

Padmé cut the connection abruptly, Anakin felt a twinge of guilt. After what Sidious had done to Sola Padmé should have the right to kill him. Or at least help, but alas Sabé could not take care of the children alone. They didn't have a father with them, they needed a mother. Anakin was jogged out of his guilty thoughts when there was a double knock on his door. He opened it with a wave of his hand and Piett strode in, hands clasped behind his back.

"We are now on standby milord. Everything is prepared and he can go on the defensive in a moment's notice. Chancellor Mothma is safely tucked away in her bunker on Coruscant."

"Very good Admiral, everything is proceeding nicely. I will be on the bridge within the hour. I need to think."

"As you wish milord."

Piett turned on the ball of his right heel and strode out of the room, the door slammed shut behind him, leaving Anakin in quite solitude. Just like Mon Mothma actually.

XxX

Mon Mothma's bunker was well hidden. There was only one way to get into it and that was through the basement of the former Imperial palace and that would be hard in itself, not only because the basement was a massive complex of plumbing parts, storage rooms, and power generators but because half a legion of guards were placed in strategic positions all around, none bunched up in a certain area to give a clue as to where the entrance to her bunker might be however.

Even if they did find the entrance to the bunker they would have to make it through a winding maze of hallways and tunnels sealed in places with blast doors. If they somehow managed to get through even that there were three rooms full of auto turrets and sealed with experimental metal blast doors, made of a new compact metal.

If they managed to get through those three rooms there was still the common room Mon Mothma stayed in, if indeed they did get into there she could simply run into her sleeping area and seal a few blast doors. In her sleeping quarters were five brand new prototype HK-500 assassin/ bodyguard droids, modeled after a line of HK-50 assassin droids in history texts. Mon Mothma sat alone in her common room on a white sofa watching the HoloNet eagerly and waiting for any sign of an attack fleet.

Sorry this chapter is so short.

Next Chapter: Peace is a Lie, There is Only Chaos