I awake the next morning and roll onto my side only to find myself alone in the bed. I smile as I recall the incredible birthday celebration Padmé shared the previous night. She never ceases to amaze me, that lady…
"Good morning."
I look over and see her emerge from the 'fresher, dressed and looking prim and proper once again.
"Good morning," I reply with a smile. "You're up early."
"Early?" she replies, looking at her wrist chrono, "Ani, it's almost midday."
"What?" I exclaim, jumping out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I just figured you needed your rest after last night," she teases.
I look at her and can't help but laugh. "I suppose I did," I reply. "That was a very nice birthday present."
She smiles. "I'm glad you liked it. I know I certainly did."
"I rather had that impression," I grin. "I suppose I should get dressed now. We ought to be arriving at Coruscant soon."
"Yes, I imagine so," she relies. "I can't wait to see Luke and Leia," she adds with a smile.
"Me too," I agree. "I'll be right back."
Shortly after Padmé and I head for the bridge, and learn that the ship is about to make its reversion to sublight. We have arrived at Coruscant.
"A message has come in from the surface," Richardson reports. He turns to me. "From Luke Skywalker."
Padmé looks up at me, her excitement evident.
"What did he say?" she asks.
"They are ready to come on board as soon as we give them the word," Richardson continues.
"Give the word," Piett commands. "Hangar 2 is free."
"Very good, sir," Richardson replies, transmitting the message at once.
"We'll meet them," I tell Piett. "We're both rather anxious to see our children."
Piett smiles. "Yes, I'm sure you must be. I'm looking forward to meeting them myself. I'm sure they must be remarkable individuals having the two of you as their parents."
Padmé and I step onto the turbolift alone. Piett's words have struck a chord within me, and I wonder if they have had the same effect on my wife.
"Do you think Luke and Leia turned out so well because of us or because of who raised them?" I ask her.
She looks up at me, startled by the question. "I was just wondering the same thing," she answers quietly. "I don't know…what do you think?"
I sigh. "I wish I could take credit for them, but I think a large part of who they are is because of their upbringing. And, sad to say, I had nothing to do with that."
"Nor I," she replies. "But there's so much of us in them, Ani. In both of them. I see so much of you in Leia, and Lukes' abilities to use the Force are obviously from you."
I nod. "And Leia's political acumen is definitely not from my genes," I tell her with a smile. "I see a lot of you in Luke too. He has your disposition, your wisdom."
She smiles. "I suppose it's both then," she comments. "Environment and genetics. After all, we are all a product of our environment to a certain extent, aren't we?"
"Yes," I reply. "I've always thought so." I often think that the fact that I didn't have a father caused me to search for one in every man who crossed my path. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, even Palpatine.
"I only wish…" she stops.
"What do you wish, Padmé?" I ask her.
She looks up at me. "I just feel like we missed out on so much, Ani. We missed their infancy, their entire childhood."
I look down at my boots, guilt filling me. "I know, Padmé," I tell her softly. "And I feel responsible for that. I don't know what I can do to…"
"I'm not looking for an apology, Ani," she says gently, putting her hand on my arm. "I'm just being sentimental."
I smile at her. "You know, Padmé, we could have another child."
She lifts her eyebrows in astonishment at my suggestion. "Are you serious?" she asks. "Anakin, I'm 49 years old!"
I shrug. "So? It's not so unusual for a woman to have a child later in life, is it?"
She smiles. "Later in life? That's a nice way to put it."
"Well, I just meant that..."
"It's okay, Anakin," she replies. "I know what you meant. I just don't know about that, Ani."
"Well, at least think about it, Padmé," I tell her. "Will you do that much?"
"I suppose I can do that much," she replies, but I can tell that she is uncomfortable with the entire topic. Perhaps it was a mistake to even bring it up; but we are still young, and perhaps having another child would help heal the wounds of the past. But if it something that makes Padmé uneasy, then I will drop it.
We reach the hangar bay and find a small group of men waiting to receive the shuttle from the planet surface.
"Why are they here?" Padmé asks me.
"Just to ensure that the shuttle lands safely," I assure her. "Don't worry, Padmé," I tell her. "There is no deception among these men. I would know if there were."
She nods, accepting what I have said, and turns back to watch as the shuttle enters the hangar. Its landing is without incident, and within a few moments we hear the doors opening and the ramp lowering. Padmé cannot hold herself back from running over to greet our children. Very soon Luke, Leia and Han appear, and I see our children run forward to meet their mother. Although they have only been apart a few days, it is obvious from the warmth of the reunion that even that short time has been difficult to endure after a life time apart. I reach them, and join in the happy moment.
"I can't believe that you are finally here!" Padmé says, taking each of our children by the hand. "This night mare is finally coming to an end."
"Well, let's not be too hasty to decide that," I tell her. "We still have two huge hurdles to over come."
"When are you meeting with the admiralty?" Leia asks me.
"Once we rendezvous with the fleet," I tell her. "We're heading there now."
"How will you explain your diversion to Coruscant?" Han asks.
"I'll think of something," I tell him, hoping that I manage to pull it off without raising too many questions. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet."
We make our way to the bridge, getting more than a few astonished looks from the crewmen along the way.
"The fleet is on alert," Luke tells me as we walk along. "And will be ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble."
"Good," I reply with a nod. "Let's hope we won't need them, but it's good to know they're ready to lend a hand if need be."
"Do you anticipate a fight?" Han asks. "I got the impression that there were only a handful of ships left."
"39 to be exact," I tell him. "And though I have managed to garner the support of most of them, there is at least one that may be a source of trouble."
"Kastellan," Padmé tells them. "The commander of the intimidator."
"Isn't that the ship you started out on?" asks Leia.
I nod. "Yes, before the Aggressor and then here."
"You've managed to get around in the past week haven't you?" Han observes.
"Nothing like spreading the joy," I tell him with a smile.
Han laughs. "Hey Anakin, I've missed you."
"We all have, Dad," Leia adds, putting her arm around my waist. "I can't tell you how good it is to see you out of that awful Vader costume too."
"Unfortunately I have to resume my charade very soon," I tell her, putting my arm around her shoulders. "I can't very well show up on the Intimidator like this."
"True," she replies. "But that will only be for the meeting, right?"
I sigh. "Well sweetheart it will be necessary to keep up the ruse for a while longer even after I assume the title of emperor. I have to ensure that I have the complete loyalty of all the admiralty before I begin to make radical changes. There would just be too many questions."
"But surely they will see that the Empire cannot go on the way it is," puts in Padmé. "Their fleet has been decimated, they have no leadership other than you; surely they will see that you are the only hope they have in establishing any sort of stable existence in the galaxy."
"One would hope so, Padmé," I tell her. "But you've seen the sort of men I'm dealing with. Some are so petty and narrow minded that they cannot conceive of a galaxy where worlds co-exist peacefully, where brute force is not the means by which ends are met. These are the ones we have to convince, and I'm not even sure we can."
"What then?" asks Han, cutting to the chase as always. "What's the plan?"
"What does a government do when there are dissidents who won't accept a new regime?" Leia asks rhetorically. "What did Palpatine do to the Alliance for two decades?"
Han frowns. "Palpatine was a dictator, Leia. You surely don't mean to suggest that your father use the same methods as him?"
"Of course not," she replies impatiently. "But neither can he sit by and let them oppose his authority without doing something to stop them. The laws of the New Republic will have to dictate what that something is."
"Ah, Anakin."
I look up to see Piett approaching us.
"I see your children made it on board safe and sound," he says, looking at them with a smile. "Oh, I thought you said you had only one son," he adds.
"I do," I tell him. "Well, for now at least.This is my daughter's fiancé, Han Solo. My son, Luke, my daughter Leia. Children, this is Firmus Piett."
"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Piett replies, shaking hands with each of them in turn. "I've been looking forward to it."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," Luke replies. "My father has spoken highly of you. We were very surprised to learn that you had survived Endor. Surprised but glad."
"As I was surprised to find that your father survived as well," Piett counters. "Largely thanks to you, I understand, Luke."
Luke shrugs. "Well, I suppose I had a small part in it."
"A small part?" I repeat. "Son, if it weren't for you, I would have perished on the Death Star."
"I can say the same thing about you, Dad," Luke returns with a smile.
"True," I counter with a nod, smiling at my son. "Well, let's get down to it. We have a lot of work to do before my big performance."
"Indeed we do," agrees Piett. "Right this way."
