Chapter X – The oasis in the desert
The four Jedi ships flew rapidly into space moving erratically between each other. As they exited Coruscant, they were met with heavy fire from two Imperial battle cruisers. Obi wan covered Shaak ti's cruiser and Anakin covered Kit's cruiser. Throughout the battle, there was heavy fire and seemingly on Shaak – ti's cruiser. Obi wan could provide only so much protection but it would not be enough. Imperial fighters were released and immediately went to work on the Jedi cruisers. Anakin struggled to shoot down the fighters. He decided to draw their fire away from the cruiser. He quickly out maneuvered them and was able to shoot down four of them. Obi wan was taking on heavy damage but was able to bring down three fighters. One imperial cruiser began concentrating fire power on Shaak – ti's ship as she struggled to keep ahead of the line of fire. Kit sustained damage but still was able to destroy one battle cruiser. The dauntless, decloaked as it arrived in position. Anakin immediately sensed his twin aboard the vessel and sent a message through the force to Obi wan, He is on that star destroyer. We should leave now if we are to make it out. We have lingered far too long. Shaak – ti's ship had taken a lot of damage and would not survive another hit. Kit flew his ship beside Shaak-ti's ship in order to shield her getaway into hyperspace. He sent a message to Anakin and Obi wan, I think its time you two returned to the cruiser. There is nothing more you two can do. Besides now is the best time to make it into hyperspace.
Anakin replied, We should stay behind and see that you make it out too.
No go ahead, Kit said.
You'll not make it Kit. It's suic – Obi wan warned.
Kit replied with a half hearted smile, I know Obi wan. Go now both of you. May the force be with you.
Anakin and Obi wan regrettably returned to the cruiser and prepared for light speed. Shaak-ti entered the coordinates as Anakin returned to the cockpit. Just then, there was a loud explosion from the side of the ship. Anakin looked at Shaak ti whose eyes widened. Kit's ship was destroyed. It was now or never. They had to leave or be killed.
Patruus remained still as he gazed out at the empty space were Jedi cruiser had been for the jump to hyperspace. His rage swelled in him and Admiral Toslic approached from behind.
"Lord Patruus?" Admiral Toslic stammered, "I –I don't know what to say. I ah I am terribly sorry for my failure."
He felt a sudden pressure in his chest. He didn't know what it was. He clutched his chest as he tried to begin his next sentence. He looked at Captain Prevos standing over a control panel and watching in horror. The pressure increased and numbness seemed to run through him. His knees buckled as he identified the problem. Lord Patruus had his beating heart in a vice grip and was tightening his hold. He uttered only, "Please… be… mercy…my lord!" before he collapsed lifelessly.
Patruus turned around slowly and looked at the dead admiral and said coldly, "Mercy has been granted, for if I were the emperor, it would have been much much worse."
He stepped over the body and calmly walked toward captain Prevos, "Find that ship! Use what ever available resources you have. I want Anakin and Padme Skywalker and not excuses." He stepped back and pointed a finger, "Admiral." He added lightly. Admiral Prevos shuddered at the sound of his dreaded new title. He swallowed his fear and began putting together a research team to locate Mrs. Skywalker.
Anakin sat motionless in the cockpit as another wave of grief washed over him. Shaak – ti decided to have Obi wan take over as co-pilot so she could meditate. The Jedi on the ship barely shared any words since the Kit's ship was destroyed. The need to ensure their survival was a priority. Everyone busied themselves about the ship or in their quarters. When Obi wan finally sat at the controls of the ship, he glanced at Anakin. Often enough, whenever Anakin was troubled he would always resort to repairing or tinkering with machines. Anakin would allow his mind to drift toward Padme to help soothe him. But these times have proven difficult. Anakin thoughts not only dwelled on Padme's safety but also on his anger and his hate toward his brother. He knew Patruus ordered the ships to be destroyed. Anakin's thoughts were constantly bent on stopping Patruus from killing anymore Jedi and finding Padme. Obi wan sensed Anakin's inner feelings and said, "Anakin you harbor great anger and hatred toward your brother within you. You must remain in control of your feelings –"
"I know. I am no longer a padawan learner master. I don't need another lecture." Anakin finally looked at Obi wan, "And do not refer to him as my brother. He is evil and full of malice. I want nothing to do with him other than to—" Anakin held back the rest of his sentence. He straightened in his seat and sighed.
"Other than to – what?" Obi wan asked.
"Nothing." Anakin looked away.
"Other than to stand over his dead body?" Obi wan looked at him knowingly.
Anakin's silence was more like the calm before the storm.
"Justice and revenge are not the same. Revenge is only about self gratification. Anakin, you must repress this desire for vengeance, for revenge is a thing of the sith."
"Does it really matter at this point? Master, we have been through this! What is the point of me controlling my emotions and pretending like I feel nothing! Whether Patruus lives or dies, my fate as a Jedi will still be at the mercy of the council. I have violated the Jedi code. I can still be expelled from the order or what's left of it! It doesn't matter whether I am allowed to remain a Jedi or not. Just a handful of Jedi have survived. There is barely an order to report to! I hate Patruus! And I want him dead!" The scanners began blinking and beeping. "We are approaching Tattooine." Anakin stood up and turned toward the cockpit door. "I will prepare to leave." He took a deep breath and left.
Obi wan sighed and rubbed his forehead.
A knock on Padme's door snapped her out of her day dream.
"Padme? It's me, Beru."
"Come in, Beru." Padme sat up and rested a hand on her stomach.
Beru entered bearing a small tray of food and glass of blue milk. "I am sorry if we upset you." She placed the tray on the bedside table and sat next to her on the bed.
"It's alright Beru."
"I just don't want to see you in anymore pain than you are already in." Beru looked at her with deep concern.
"I won't be."
"What makes you think Anakin made it?"
"Beru, Owen left with his father to find Shmi when she taken by the
tuskan raiders, right?"
"Yes."
"And you remained behind?"
"Yes."
"Did you worry that he may not return?"
"No." Beru spoke after a moment of deep thought. "My thoughts were with Shmi. I knew that Owen—"
"Would be alright. You had faith." Padme finished as she nodded her head. She looked at her hands and slightly smiled. "That's how I feel about Anakin."
"Padme, Owen joining a rescue mission to search for a loved one is not the same as what Anakin has gone through."
"It is in principal. I know in my heart that Anakin survived and that he will come. Logic says he couldn't have made it out of that death trap. My heart says everything will be alright. Everything will be in its place. I don't know how that can be. I have no idea what has happened or will happen to make it so, but my heart and soul says this. I decided not to fight it, not find reason behind it. I have found peace in trusting my heart. I know he is out there somewhere fighting his way back to me. And so I must also fight my way to him using my faith and my hope." She looked at the box where the padawan braid was kept and said, "I am not in denial Beru. I feel it in my veins. He will return to me."
"Oh my." Beru took a moment to consider this and softly said, "I know love can give us the power to do the imaginable. I guess it could even give you the power to feel him from any distance great or small."
Beru took hold of Padme's hand and smiled.
Anakin stood beside the starfighter and was preparing to leave for Tattooine. Thoughts of Padme entered his mind at pace he'd never felt before. He smiled to himself knowing that he was closer to her than ever before. Obi wan entered the shuttle bay from behind and said,
"We will continue on to Alderaan. There we'll meet and discuss our next course of action."
"Yes master." Anakin spoke blankly.
"Anakin, after you have made certain of Padme's safety, meet us on Alderaan at Senator Organa's palace. There is an underground refuge there for us. All surviving Jedi will convene there. Be there in three days."
"Yes master."
"When I land, I will try to get a secure channel and contact you." Obi wan stepped closer and placed a hand on each of Anakin's shoulders. He looked him in the eyes and said, "Please. Be mindful of your feelings. As I said before, the sith will use that against you."
Anakin nodded.
"Give Padme my best wishes." Obi smiled slightly.
"May the force be with you master."
Obi wan sighed, "May the force be with you too."
Anakin turned and walked quickly to ship and got in. He closed the hatched and gently piloted the ship out of the shuttle bay and towards Tattooine surface.
A soft tone sounded off at the door of Darth Patruus's office interrupting his focus on reading a document sent from a Coruscant official. "Come in!" He looked up the from document at the officer walking towards his desk. "hmmm. Captain Narsmet, I trust you have some good news to report?"
"Yes my lord." Captain Narsmet nervously stood before Patruus stiff as a board almost afraid to speak. He desperately wanted to leave his presence. The thought of being next in line for the position of admiral made him weak in the knees. He prayed Admiral Toslic would not disappoint the dark lord sitting before him.
"Well? Go on."
"I-in locating the starfighter you required, we have plotted a trajectory using its last known coordinates. We have discovered a small number of systems near the outer rim that the starfighter could have gone to. We are presently conducting a meticulous search of each system in that vector my lord."
Patruus's eyes narrowed, "Anything else."
"My lord one of the planets near the vector is Tattooine. It is rumored to once have been the home of Anakin Skywalker."
"You think he might still have friends there." Patruus leaned back in his seat appearing to be considering the idea.
"Yes my lord. We would like to search there as well."
"Tattooine and Naboo are near the outer rim are they not?"
"Yes my lord."
"Hmm." Patruus thought to himself, Tattooine would be the last place he'd want to put her since he hates it there. It would be clever to hide her there. Although hiding her in plain site, like Naboo, would also prove to be a clever choice. We would not consider looking in obvious places. Patruus walked around the desk and stood towering over the shaking captain. He pointed a finger, "Send a probe to Naboo and to Tattooine. If you receive news of the whereabouts of either Skywalkers, report to first before any action is taken."
"Yes my lord."
"You may go."
The captain quickly snapped his heels together and left the room.
Patruus smiled to himself as he leaned against edge of the desk, it won't be long now my dear Padme.
Anakin landed his ship on the Lars farm. He raised the hatch and stepped out of the fighter. The familiar diminishing heat of the setting suns smothered him. He pulled his hood over his head and sneered at the desert sands the stretched out as far as the eye could see. The wind gently blew grains sand around; he wrapped his cloak around himself in an effort to keep them off his clothes. He approached the door of the subterranean dessert igloo and knocked on the door.
After a few moments, Owen opened the door and was dumbfounded at the site before him. He blinked a couple of times to check his reality.
"Anakin?"
"Yes Owen, it's me. How are you?" Anakin said stepping down into the house.
"I-I." was all Owen could manage to get out.
"What is it?" Anakin turned around to face him. He was caught off guard by Owen sudden embrace. "What's going on?"
"You-you survived."
"Of course, I did." Anakin sighed seemingly pre-occupied, "What have you heard?"
"We thought you and all the Jedi were killed. Padme saw the reports on the holonet and she read the galactic journals. She was distraught. She was barely eating, or moving. Now she's—"
Anakin stepped back and looked around the room, "Where is she?"
"She's in her room."
"What's wrong with her?"
"We thought she was going mad. After all stress she was under, she suddenly had a turn around and started talking like you were alive."
"Take me to her."
Owen quickly led Anakin through the house toward Padme's room. Beru stepped out of the kitchen to see Anakin passing through the halls and dropped a plate. She covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes bulged.
"Anakin!"
"Hi Beru. Yes, I'm alive. No, I am not a ghost." He spoke with out turning around.
Owen stopped at the door to Padme's room. "She's inside resting. She's been in there since this morning."
"Alright." Anakin slowly opened the door and stepped in.
Padme lay on her back in a deep sleep with her hand placed over her belly. Her brown tendrils frame her tired worried face and she deeply inhaled and exhaled. Anakin removed his cloak and sat at the edge of the bed. She was weeping in her sleep. He pushed back a lock of hair behind her ear and brushed the tears away from her cheeks. He finally rested his hand on her stomach and smiled at the sudden movement of his unborn child beneath his hand. He leaned in and kissed her. Anakin straightened, seeing Padme slowly stir out of her slumber.
She opened her eyes slowly and blinked to focus them on the person sitting beside her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She furled her brow and opened her mouth. But no words would emerge. She swallowed and stared at him in disbelief. Anakin sitting before her was like a vision. Many mornings and nights she woke up from her dreams and nightmare praying that she'd see him just she was seeing him now. She wanted to touch him but was feared the realization that he was a figment of her imagination. With tears of anxiety and ultimately joy, she thought to herself, have I gone mad? Is – Is this real?
"No you are not mad. I am really here." He held her hand to his cheek and leaned in to her touch. He savored her touch and inhaled, as if it were medicine for his soul. It was like a drink of water for a desert wanderer. "Remember? Nothing can keep us apart."
Padme sat up and threw her arms around him. He held her so close and buried his head in her hair and breathed it in. "I've missed you so much my love."
"Ani, when I thought you were dead, I thought I would have died too. But something inside me told me you were alright, that you would come back to me."
"Our love is what helped me. It gave me the strength to make it back to you. Our love." Anakin stroked Padme's cheek and kissed her passionately.