Chapter 22
Sneaking Around

Vader scowled darkly as he scuttled along behind the white-clad Senator as she scampered through the dark underground tunnels of some Geonosian facility. Of all things she had to wear, she wore bright, sparkling white. At least it wasn't a frilly, billowing dress. She had just a shred enough of sense for that. But still…it was white!

Biting back a curse as he nearly tripped over a barely-seen stone in the tunnel he pressed on after her. Geonosis was a miserable planet. It rivaled Tatooine in its hellishness. There was sand as far as the eye could see, orange-red in color, with red-hued spires of sandstone. That at least was a change from the white-gold of Tatooine sand and the dull tan of its sandstone. And here there was only one sun. But aside from that, there really wasn't any difference.

Padmé was undeterred by the barren landscape. She pressed on, full of foolish confidence in her negotiating abilities, and led him right down into these dark tunnels without a second thought. Weary and unwilling to argue, he followed in the vain hope of protecting her from the enemies all around them, and from her own naïve self.

A warning from the Force hit Vader like an icy gust of wind and he lunged forward, grabbed the Senator, and hauled her into a bend in the tunnel. She started to protest and he clamped one hand over her mouth to silence her. Shifting his position so that his dark Jedi robes concealed her against the dark stone tunnel, he waited tensely for the danger to appear and then hopefully pass. They didn't have long to wait.

Mere moments after he had pulled her aside, a horde of insect-like Geonosians marched by. Padmé saw this and immediately stopped fighting him and even huddled underneath him to keep from giving their position away. For the moment, the Force was with them and they were not spotted. Vader kept her shielded until he could no longer hear the Geonosians before he let her go... Reluctantly.

He was left deeply shaken, not by the close call, but by his prolonged close proximity to Padmé. He'd never really been close to girls before, and his Mom didn't count. Now all that he could think about was how nice she smelled, how nice it had felt to touch her. And worse, all he wanted to do was do that again.

Thoughts like that were dangerous, forbidden. The Count had beaten it into him early on. Attachments, connections to others, made you weak, vulnerable, exploitable. Family, friends, love, he was not allowed those things anymore. And it was similar with the Jedi. Attachment was forbidden. Friends were okay, but no marriage, and duty to the Order came before anything else.

Well, there was one exception to the no-marriage rule that he was aware of. Jedi Master and Council Member Ki-Adi-Mundi was married, to several different women in fact. But his species, Cereans, was threatened. The birthrate was too low and their numbers were shrinking. To keep his race going, the Jedi allowed him to procreate. There were probably a few other exceptions like Master Mundi, but they were rare.

Vader was jolted from his musing by Padmé vanishing around a bend of the tunnel. Gulping back a river of curses he strode after her, feeling his tumultuous mood grow darker. He was supposed to be her protector, yet she refused to let him lead the way and keep her safe.

A little way deeper into the underground complex, they had to duck aside to avoid being spotted again. And this time, they darted down a side tunnel that turned out to not be a tunnel at all. It was a walkway, a bridge that was retracted at the moment, that oversaw a vast chamber.

It was a droid factory. Down below them they could see a maze of conveyor belts and manufacturing machines. The noise of crashing metal and moving parts was so loud it was nearly deafening. And all around was bright sparks and molten metal. Any observer could not help but be impressed by the sight, and most would also be unnerved.

"Battle droids." Padmé spat out the words like a curse.

"I see that." Vader shrugged, leaning in a bit closer so that she could hear him better.

"These are the same model as the ones that invaded Naboo ten years ago." She elaborated. Apparently this was significant to her.

"And that means…?" Vader trailed off curiously.

"This design is exclusive to the Trade Federation, the group that invaded Naboo. They aren't the exclusive manufacturers of the droids, but they sell the design to other groups and reserve the right to call them up in an 'emergency'. Judging by the rate of manufacture, they're building up a new, larger army this time. The big questions are why and what for?" Padmé scowled, trying to puzzle through the possible motives.

"The 'what for' is easy," Vader snorted. "Battle droids are designed for one purpose, war."

"But what war?" Padmé snapped, frustrated. "There's no war anywhere."

"Well, not yet. Maybe they're going to start one." Vader suggested.

Padmé looked horrified. "There's no reason for them to!"

"Was there any reason for the Trade Federation to invade Naboo?" Vader asked.

"It was due to a dispute over taxes." She mumbled.

"That's a really stupid reason to invade an entire planet." He commented.

"It was." She sighed. "But the main Separatist Movement is non-violent."

"They're non-violent?" He repeated, pointedly glancing out at the bustling droid factory.

"Yes, they are. That's why this factory makes no sense." Padmé scowled.

Vader about to reply when things really went wrong. To avoid being seen, they'd closed the door behind them, and the retracted bridge left only a small ledge for them to stand on. Without warning the ledge vanished, fully retracting into the wall, and sending them tumbling down to the factory floor. He barely managed to slow her fall enough to keep her from getting hurt.

The instant they hit the ground he grabbed her and yanked her into the nearest large shadow. All his senses were alert as he scanned the busy factory floor for threats and escape routes. There were machine-tender droids and Geonosians all over the place seeing to the assembly line and quality control. If any one of those saw them, they were finished. They had to get out of there as soon as possible. Sooner even.

"Keep quiet and follow me," he hissed into her ear.

Before she could reply, he spied an opening that would take them to a safer hiding spot that was near an apparent exit. He took her by her upper arm and practically dragged her across the stony floor, forcing her to keep low. Only when they were safe in a space underneath a conveyor did he loosen his grip on her.

"A little warning next time would be nice." The Senator grumbled into his ear.

"Sorry," he shrugged, not at all apologetic.

She huffed but kept silent. Vader kept his focus on their escape. He had to be careful though. He sensed that there was danger here, a more distant dark presence that had little to do with their immediate danger. Vader wasn't sure what that elusive thing was that he sensed at the edge of his perception, but he got the feeling that he should be especially cautious in using the Force. He'd worry about the vague threat later, when it was safer.

A few more scampers across the open floor and they were nearly free. They only had to make it out the wide door ten meters away. The problem: it was the most open part of the entire factory complex. This was going to be the trickiest, riskiest part. But if they made it, maybe he could convince her to leave. The Jedi rescue force had to be close now. They would save Obi-Wan.

But then, things went wrong again. Disastrously wrong. A small flood of Geonosians, probably a new shift of workers, marched in and one sharp eyed being saw them. The alarm went up and suddenly the two of them were faced with an angry swarm of natives.

With a liberal amount of cursing, Vader snapped on his blue blade and tried to mow his way through the Geonosians. If they went fast enough and shocked their opponents enough there was a chance, however small, that they would escape. It wasn't to be.

There were simply too many Geonosians. They, individually, were no match for a lightsaber. But they were in a massive group and rolled over him like a wave. He and Padmé were separated early on, and it was a battle to keep her in sight. At one point, he almost reached her, but then a Geonosian managed a lucky strike on his head and things got fuzzy.

The noise, which had been so loud before, abruptly receded to a distant, indistinct rumble. He couldn't see all that well, colors and shapes had an odd tendency to run together. The whole situation became surreal, dream-like, and things cut in and out. Or at least that's how he remembered it later.

Somehow, someway, a survival instinct kicked in. He got out of there and shook whatever pursuers he'd acquired. And some time later, he came back to normal function and found himself safe, alone, and still armed with his lightsaber. But Padmé was nowhere to be seen…