Chapter 13 - Confrontations
DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P
Author's Note: In which Anakin and Vader are confronted by a certain, angry Senator... ;)
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~ Amina Gila
Anakin waits until they're inside the office of the former Supreme Chancellor before throwing his arms around Vader and embracing him fiercely, uncaring as to the fact that Rex is watching. It doesn't matter to him; he knows the clone will never betray him. "I can't believe we did it," he breathes, pulling away from Vader and grinning up at him.
Vader chuckles, laying a hand on Anakin's shoulder. His exhilaration and excitement are far more controlled – he's not practically bouncing off the walls like Anakin is – but he's still happy. Very much so. In this moment, Anakin doesn't care that the office is saturated with Palpatine's Force signature, even if the ex-Chancellor is now dead.
"Captain Rex, I would like a report as to what happened when former Chancellor Palpatine was killed in the Works," Vader tells him.
"Right away, my Lord," the clone answers, nodding and exiting the office, leaving them alone. There are clones from the 501st guarding outside in place of the Coruscanti guard, many of whom were likely killed since their absence is glaringly obvious.
"We should tell him about you," Anakin comments, bringing himself back under control. He is well aware of the immense burden of their position. Vader is the Emperor in name – Anakin is his son, officially, so does that make him the Crown Prince or what? – and the entire galaxy is now depending on them. That is a burden which Anakin doesn't really want, but it's one which he's willing to accept. For now, their first acts will be to ensure the reintegration of the former Separatist systems into the new Galactic Empire. They have to move with caution so as not to make them feel pressured, but it should be easier given that Vader was a leader of the Separatist Alliance not long ago.
"We will," Vader promises, "Once everything settles down." He strides to the Chancellor's desk, gloved fingers tracing over the surface. He seems almost hesitant to touch anything, much less sit down, but he does. The chair creaks slightly under his weight, but it holds, and Anakin can't help but admire how intimidating Vader appears, even sitting. He looks every inch the Emperor he is.
"What are you doing?" Anakin questions as Vader begins tapping on the computer console, typing something into it.
"Splicing into Palpatine's personal files," Vader answers without looking at him. "I Forced Tarkin to talk, and he told me about the Death Star plans. If I can find the copy, I can destroy it."
Anakin leans on the edge of the desk, watching over Vader's shoulder. "You mentioned the Death Star before. What is it?"
Vader's fingers still, and one respirator cycle passes before he looks up. "It slipped my mind that you did not already know," he admits. "Theoretically, the Death Star is a moon-sized battle station which has the ability to destroy an entire planet with one shot. Kyber crystals are used refract and intensify the energy, piercing to the planet's core and detonating it. When – when I blocked away the visions the Son showed you, I saw something… vague about it. I believe it would have been successful."
Anakin shudders. "Force, that's awful," he breathes. And to think that Palpatine was involved in something like that. Even though a screwed-up part of him aches to see his mentor again, to talk to him about these confusing times, he knows that it's only a result of the trust that Palpatine knowingly cultivated to make Anakin his apprentice. The galaxy is a far better place without him in it. "Can I help you?"
"Not with this, but you can contact Sobeck and tell him to shut down the power at the Citadel," Vader answers, beginning to type again, information flashing across the screen faster than Anakin can interpret it.
"They'll escape," he says, feeling stupid for it a moment later. Of course, they'll escape. If the power is off, they'll be able to walk right out, find a shuttle, and leave. Vader knows that.
There's a flicker of mirth. "Yes," Vader agrees. "There is no reason to keep them imprisoned any longer now that we have obtained our goal."
Anakin hums. "The Jedi will try to stop us."
"They can try," Vader answers, dark amusement curling in his Force signature. "We have the Empire and the clones on our side. Once I have finished this, we will go to the Temple ourselves and have an audience with the Jedi Council. They will comply or they will be detained. The choice is theirs."
"You want to walk into the Temple?" Anakin asks incredulously.
Vader tilts his helmet to look at him. "Are you afraid?"
"No! Well… maybe a little. There are thousands of Jedi there. What makes you think they won't simply kill us?" Sometimes, he doesn't understand Vader's reasoning. It seems as if it would be far safer to order the Jedi to come here.
"They may try," Vader admits, "But if they do, we will fight them. It will be self-defense. And going there shows that we do not fear them." He has a point.
"I'll contact Sobeck then." And he will resolutely not think about how that means Obi-Wan and Ahsoka will be returning to Coruscant in the near future. He's not ready for that. He isn't ready to face them, but then again, he probably never will be. Not for a while, and he doesn't have that kind of time. Unfortunately. Anakin makes the call, and the commander of the Citadel is obviously surprised by the order, but he complies.
It takes about an hour before Vader fully unencrypts Palpatine's personal files, including those for the Death Star, which includes some information about its current location. Apparently, the initial phases of construction have already begun. Vader's anger is obvious as he pushes a button to summon Rex into the office. The captain – as well as clones from the 501st – have been guarding the Senate. There are more of them here than usual to restore order in the event of some type of chaos.
"My Lord?" Rex questions, stepping inside the door and waiting.
"Palpatine was involved in constructing a massive battle station of unimaginable power," Vader tells him. "I will send you the information. I want it destroyed. See to it, Captain. You may put whoever you feel is capable in charge of the mission."
Rex nods. "Right away. I also have the report for you." He approaches, setting a datapad down on the desk before leaving the office once more.
Once he's gone, and once Anakin has sent the relevant information to Rex, the two of them take great pleasure in erasing the files from memory. They're completely gone now, much to the relief of both of them. If someone wants something like that in the future, it will have to be redesigned entirely. Many of Palpatine's personal files will, if revealed to the public, uncover evidence of his misconduct and treasonous activities. Of course, they have to be sorted first… which won't be an easy task.
"We'll need someone to help us," Anakin complains. The mere thought of having to sort and scan through so much is making his head hurt.
"Indeed," Vader agrees grudgingly. "Perhaps a trustworthy Senator or two would be willing to deal with these revelations."
Anakin stills. "Padme?" he suggests softly.
One of Vader's hands clenches, but he doesn't otherwise react. "Possibly." He's silent for a respirator cycle before continuing, "We should review Rex's report."
They do, and the report is far worse than Anakin had ever anticipated. Palpatine took down an entire Star Destroyer with him, which included thousands of clones. That doesn't even count the massive amounts of property damage, estimated to be several billion credits at least. Thousands of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands more injured. And that was in the Works, the less populated part of Coruscant. If the attack had occurred elsewhere, Anakin would guess that up to a million injuries could have been caused. The thought makes him sick. It's as if Palpatine knew he was going to die, so he was determined to kill and destroy as much as he could before he did.
The office door opens again, and Rex looks inside. "Senator Amidala is here requesting an audience, my Lord," he reports.
Vader somehow becomes more motionless than he already was, and Anakin can feel the emotions – longing, pain, grief, guilt, anger, hatred, and more – sweeping through the elder. He braces himself against the storm, laying a hand on Vader's shoulder as he shifts to stand slightly behind Vader's right side as a show of solidarity and support.
"Send her in," Vader instructs.
She's going to hate me, Anakin thinks, but he doesn't say it. He doesn't say it because it would be cruel. Padme knows him. She doesn't know Vader, and he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that she will loathe him. It will hurt him; it will hurt him so much, and Anakin has no idea how to ease that pain. All he can do is stand at Vader's side and offer his silent support.
The office door opens again, and Padme breezes in, expression – and Force signature – filled with a fiery, passionate anger. She's furious, maybe even more so, because she realizes that she can't undo what they've done. The Senate supported them, and now that Vader is Emperor, there is little she can do except speak out. Politically, she could still cause them a massive headache, though, and while Anakin hopes that she'll be reasonable, he isn't too hopeful.
"Senator Amidala," Vader greets her, and Anakin's hand tightens on his shoulder. The vocoder keeps his tone flat, inflectionless, likely hiding the way his voice stumbles on the name. Though he betrays nothing, his agony is silent and acutely painful, echoing through the bond more intensely than he can even shield.
"I'm here," Anakin sends to him, wrapping him with affection and support. "I'm here."
Padme's dark eyes flicker between them, disdain and disbelief obvious. "Darth Vader," she returns coolly. "You might have convinced the Senate to agree with you, but there are many of us who will not bow to your tyranny."
"Have care how you speak to your Emperor," Vader intones, a seething anger twisting under the surface, but it's all directed inwards. He is controlled, having been a Sith for so long, and Anakin knows that he will not lash out and hurt Padme. He still cares about her, even now, and he cares about Anakin. Vader will not hurt Padme.
She raises her chin. "I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be," Vader says darkly.
Anakin interrupts the conversation before it can get out of hand. It's best to get this over with. "You requested an audience, my Lady," he says. "What did you want?"
"I want to know how you can go along with something like this," she replies instantly, practically glaring at him. "You swore to protect the Republic, and you've destroyed it instead!"
"The Republic destroyed itself," Anakin counters. "We only kept it from shattering. Palpatine sped up the process. He would have seized ultimate control."
"And you killed him and took his place. How is that any better?" she demands scornfully.
"We don't want what he wanted," he answers. "We don't want ultimate control. We want what is best for the galaxy. The Sith are gone. We finally have a chance to bring peace and justice to the galaxy. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
She jerks back. "Don't presume to know what I want when you have destroyed everything I've been fighting for. The Republic is gone because of you!"
Anakin flinches, but he won't back down. He can't. He and Vader have to stand strong together. "No," Vader interrupts coldly, "The Republic is gone because of corruption. Do you not remember what happened to Naboo during the Trade Federation blockade? The Republic did nothing for you then. It will do nothing for the small worlds who require aid unless it is profitable. There is too much corruption. You have seen how much the Republic was collapsing. What we did was a controlled destruction. We can rebuild it in the way it needs to be build."
"The galaxy does not need an Empire," Padme maintains firmly.
"Were you not a queen, Senator Amidala? Are there not monarchies in the galaxy? Does Alderaan not have a Queen? There is little difference between a monarchy on one planet, or an Empire encompassing all systems."
"I was elected," she retorts, not even addressing the other point about Alderaan. Probably because there's nothing which she can say to argue Vader's point.
"Padme, we aren't doing this for power," Anakin implores, silently begging her to understand. "You can't be so blinded by ideals that you can't see how many advantages this has. It doesn't have to be for forever. We need to do this to reunite the galaxy. The Separatists won't fight us, especially not when they see that we're helping them. Like this? Vader and I can make a difference. We can fix things. You can help us if you want."
"You're delusional if you think I'll ever support a tyrannical Empire," she replies lowly. "There are other, better, democratic ways. How are you any better than Palpatine if you carried through with his plans?" she challenges.
Vader jolts to his feet suddenly, slamming his hands down on the desk, though not hard enough to actually damage it. "Does the survival of the Jedi mean nothing to you?" he asks acerbically. "Is your life so meaningless to you? Palpatine would never have allowed you to speak in such a manner to him. He would have killed you. Slowly and painfully. The fact that you are still breathing is a miracle."
Padme lets out a frustrated breath, not showing even the slightest hints of fear at Vader's obvious anger. Instead, she looks back at Anakin, eyes narrowed. "Why are you going along with this, Anakin? You know it's wrong." Her voice is more controlled and less angry now. She's obviously trying to calm herself and be more patient.
"I think," he replies quietly, "That you don't want to admit we're right. Sometimes, drastic action is needed to save something that is inherently good. If we aren't willing to do what it takes to restore the galaxy, we will lose it." That much, he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Padme seems taken aback by his words, staring at him speechlessly. "I don't know how you can trust him so much. Is it – is it true? Is he really your father?"
He knows why she's asking. It's never really been a secret between them that Anakin has wanted a parent in his life, and Obi-Wan has never been willing to actually step into that role, denying it at every turn. Still, Anakin wants him to be his father. He sees him that way, despite everything. Anakin looks at Vader, and their eyes meet through the lenses of Vader's mask. Maybe Anakin can't see his face, but he doesn't need to. This is a pivotal deciding moment for them both. Vader claimed Anakin as a son; Anakin has not said, yet, that Vader is his father.
He already knows his answer. It's strange to say this about anyone other than Obi-Wan, but –
"Yes," he answers, not even the slightest hint of doubt in his voice, "Yes, Vader is my father."
A myriad of emotions flash across Padme's face, not least of which is a grudging understanding, and her gaze swings to Vader. "I don't know why Anakin trusts you. I don't see anything about you that is even remotely trustworthy, but if you hurt him, you will regret it."
Vader's fists clench, and his respirator cycles twice. The only thing Anakin can feel from him now is a profound, aching loss which even overshadows his vicious self-hate. "I expect nothing less," he intones at last, lowering himself into his chair again, "And while you are here, I have a proposal for you."
Padme frowns. "Go on."
"I would like to request your assistance," Vader explains. "Anakin and I have gotten into Palpatine's personal files. We require someone who can go through the massive amount of information to determine what all he was involved in. There are Senators who knew of his… treasonous activities and who even participated in them. We must root them out as fast as we can. His supports may well be planning a coup to undermine me. Now is the time for action."
"Okay," Padme agrees, surprisingly. "I can help with that. Send me the files. I'll have my aides work on them. I know a few other trustworthy Senators who can help as well."
"Good." Vader sounds pleased, but that's only a front. "Send me their names, so I can determine if they should really be involved in this project. Palpatine had allies everywhere."
She seems almost suspicious now. "And how you know who they are?"
"The Force," the Sith Lord answers.
It's the truth from a certain point of view. Obi-Wan would be proud, Anakin thinks with something close to amusement.
"Of course," she murmurs skeptically.
There's an awkward heartbeat of silence before Vader says, "If that is all, you are dismissed."
If Padme dislikes how he dismissed her, she says nothing, only nodding and leaving the room. Anakin waits until he can feel her Force signature receding down the hallway before turning to Vader. "What happened between you and her?"
"That," Vader tells him, "Is a story for later. Now, we must focus on cementing our power. It is time to pay a visit to the Jedi Council."
Anakin really, really isn't sure this is a good idea, but he bolsters his courage and gives Vader a firm nod. Whether for better or worse, they're in this together to the end.
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