Chapter 13: The Search for Clues

"Dangerous and disturbing this is." Master Yoda stated as he slowly walked, aided by his gimmerstick, down the hall of the Senate building alongside Obi-Wan. He had sensed great pain emanating from Skywalker, and the call from Obi-Wan made his heart sink. Once his fears had been confirmed, the diminutive Jedi had rushed from the Jedi Temple to aid in the investigation to Padmé's disappearance.

"Yes, master. First we sensed a dark Force presence and then Padmé mysteriously disappears. This cannot be a coincidence, it must be connected." Obi-Wan replied as he and Master Yoda made their way to Senator Amidala's office.

"Perhaps, but do not assume anything. Clear our minds must be, if we are to discover the true villains behind this plot. We must not let the dark side of the Force cloud our judgment." Master Yoda replied.

"Yes, master." Obi-Wan conceded. "However, it does seem peculiar that you sensed the dark presence and a little less than a month after that Senator Amidala was kidnapped. Anakin felt the presence today as well, I cannot help but feel there is a connection.

"Yes, yes." Master Yoda agreed. "A connection we will need to explore further, I think."

Masters Yoda and Kenobi had reached Senator Amidala's office and Obi-Wan let the diminutive Jedi enter before him. As they both entered the ransacked room, their eyes fell on the lone figure that was feverishly rewiring a datapad that had been smashed in the raid. Anakin's face was strained and his eyes were desperate as his hands worked to repair the broken datapad.

"Any luck?" Obi-Wan called out from across the room.

So engrossed in what he was doing, Anakin jumped in surprise at the sound of Obi-Wan's voice. Usually his Jedi abilities would tell him when someone was near, but his worry for Padmé had him preoccupied. Still fiddling with some loose wiring, Anakin turned towards Obi-Wan and Yoda and sadly shook his head as he said, "No, there is no sign of her."

"Received any threats?" Master Yoda questioned, just as Obi-Wan had earlier.

"No, master. Padmé and I do have enemies because of our connections with the fall of the Empire, but we have received no threats recently." Anakin said with slight desperation as he tried to pry two wires apart.

"Hmm. Any thoughts as to who could have done this?" Master Yoda asked.

"No, master. It could be anyone…. Ouch!" Anakin finished with a yell as he slit his hand open on the wiring of the datapad he was fixing.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked indicating the datapad.

Anakin ignored the cut on his hand that was bleeding slightly as he continued with his repairs. He kept his eyes down on the datapad when he answered Obi-Wan. "Padmé's appointment log. I will search the entire galaxy for her if I have to, but that will take too long. I thought that finding out whom she met today would be a good starting point. Maybe there will be something peculiar that will stand out?" Anakin sighed in despair as he continued to fiddle with the device in his hands.

"Good, good. A wise decision this is." Master Yoda praised Anakin.

"Yes Anakin, at this point it is best to gather information. We may be able to piece together clues to find her. I will help you with these other datapads." Obi-Wan stated as he made his way to a nearby one on the floor.

"Don't bother." Anakin stated flatly. "They are only files Padmé uses at work. It is data on various planets, systems, and government dealings. It will not help us find her."

"On the contrary, it will provide us with some insight into what she was doing. It may shed light on what happened this day."

Anakin rolled his eyes as he finished connecting another wire and heard the datapad hum lightly as it turned on. "I doubt that. Usually it is just the same correspondence back and forth to Naboo. I doubt it will reveal anything."

"Overlook nothing, we should." Master Yoda stated as he picked up a datapad to peruse as well. A few feet ahead of him, Anakin quickly pulled up Padmé's calendar on his datapad and was scouring the information.

"What did you find?" Obi-Wan asked after a few minutes of silence.

"She spent most of her time in her office today going through files. She did have a conference call with Queen Apailana on Naboo and meetings with the Senators from Chandrila and Corellia."

"What was her last meeting of the day?" Obi-Wan prodded.

"A meeting with the Supreme Chancellor, but that meeting ended well before I felt her Force presence disappear. She must have been kidnapped afterwards." Anakin's brow furrowed in worry as he finished his sentence, his search seemed hopeless.

"Is there anything that looks suspicious?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing that all the meetings Anakin had mentioned had been with former rebel leaders and friends of the Senator.

"No." Anakin shrugged. "She had a committee meeting about social issues in the Coco-district, but that should not have amounted to much. From what she has told me there is a lot of talk in that committee, but very little action."

"Perhaps, but we should still look into it. It could be a clue." Obi-Wan added as he continued to repair the datapad in his hands.

"With child, she is." Master Yoda said with mild surprise as he looked down at the datapad he had picked up. He had not been told about this development. "Sent a letter to Naboo about it, she did."

"She what?" Anakin asked perplexed as he stood up and walked over to where Master Yoda was standing. He still held her appointment log in his hand.

"Announced her resignation." Master Yoda replied as he handed the datapad he was looking at to Anakin.

Anakin looked down as the text on the screen and his eyes widened in surprise. "I told her she did not have to do this. I told her we would find a solution."

"Anakin, does anyone else know about Padmé's pregnancy besides us?" Obi-Wan interjected.

Anakin shrugged, "Her parents."

"The Queen of Naboo." Master Yoda added.

"And maybe more if Padmé told them today." Obi-Wan surmised.

Anakin sighed in a mixture of frustration and despair, "Yes, but how is that going to help us find her."

"You said you have received no threats, and that no one knew about her pregnancy. Someone might have found out recently and took the opportunity to strike against you."

"Yes, but who would that be?" Anakin asked.

Master Yoda had a solemn expression on his face as he replied, "Investigate, we must. Dangerous this is."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Not only to you and Padmé, but to the child as well."

"Yes, yes." Master Yoda agreed, his long ears drooping slightly in worry. "Search the Force, I will. Obi-Wan and you, question the Senate you should." The elder Jedi then slowly made his way towards the door to return to the Jedi Temple.

"But where should we begin?" Anakin called out desperately. There were thousands of Senators and it would take too long to question all of them. Every second that past put Padmé and his child in graver danger.

"Follow what leads you do have." Master Yoda called backwards before he exited the room. Anakin turned towards Obi-Wan and gave his friend an annoyed look in response to the elder Jedi's cryptic reply.

"I do not have time for his riddles, I must find Padmé." Anakin said tensely as he threw the two datapads in his hands on the floor.

The datapad with Padmé's letter of resignation hit the floor with a loud thud and shut itself off. However, her appointment long was suspended in midair as Obi-Wan had his hand held out in its direction. Using the Force, he called it over to him. "Anakin, I know this is frustrating, but getting angry is not going to help you find her." Obi-Wan warned. "We need to think about this calmly and rationally. Think about what you said earlier, we need a starting point. Since we have no leads at the moment, we should begin by questioning the people she was around today. An answer may present itself."

Anakin took a deep breath to calm himself before replying, "You are right."

"Yes, now we can do this two ways." Obi-Wan stated, his tone becoming more serious. "I can accompany you in your meetings, or we can split Padmé's appointment log in two and we can both question a different set of people."

"Let us split the list, it will save on time," Anakin stated. He was trying to hold back his agitation and fear, but the worry was evident in his eyes. His usually bright blue eyes were shadowed with the anguish he felt from his wife's abduction.

"Very well. I will question the members of the committee you mentioned she attended. I suggest you start scheduling meetings with the other Senators." Obi-Wan stated calmly.

Anakin nodded and a look of determination crossed his face as he exited Padmé's office with Obi-Wan. They both had their tasks and he was eager to complete his. His love, his life, his family depended on him, and he was not about to let them down.