Synopsis: Tarkin's men attempt to force the location of the twins out of Padme. Vader returns after sensing a disturbance in the Force, and, enraged, murders the stormtroopers. Learning who executed the orders, Vader flees with the near-dead handmaiden, being gravely injured himself in the process. Meanwhile, Tarkin informs Sidious of the botched assassination attempt. Vader and Padme arrive at Naboo. Vader is angered by his master's involvement, but still refuses to turn to the light. Padme murmurs something in her sleep that makes Vader question her identity. He locks her in the ship and returns to the mausoleum to find a startling discovery.
TW: Suicide & hanging.
"Sir, Lord Vader was spotted heading back to his quarters. We have approximately six minutes until he returns," one of Tarkin's spies reported to him. Tarkin nodded, watching the Sith Lord heading slowly back to his room on the monitors. He had eyes on all cameras leading from Vader's quarters and several hallways throughout the Mustafar base. Several spies kept a lookout for the covert mission. They had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to extract the twins' location from Padme before staging her suicide. She had been tortured for twenty minutes now while Vader was meditating.
"What is the status of the twins' coordinates?" Tarkin asked his men inside Vader's quarters. Over the hologram he could hear the muffled screams of Padme Amidala.
"Unsuccessful thus far, sir."
"Enhance your interrogation technique. You have six minutes before Lord Vader returns. Extract the location if possible, but she must be killed before he arrives. That is priority number one of your mission. It must look like a suicide," Tarkin ordered.
"Yes, sir," the captain said, returning his attention to Padme, whose head was dunked into a bucket of water. She thought her lungs would burst, the pain of not being able to breath becoming unbearable. Just as she felt the life slipping out of her, the captain pulled her head out roughly by the hair. She gasped raggedly, her lungs filling with air as she panted hard, coughing bits of water out onto the floor.
"I'll give you one more chance to tell us where they are," he growled.
"Go to hell," Padme rasped. The stormtrooper snarled and struck her hard across the face. Padme let out a yelp of pain before he wrapped his fingers around her throat, angrily pressing the life out of her.
"Where are they?!" he snarled. Padme only smiled defiantly despite the pain. I meant it when I said I'd die before they fell into the Empire's hands, she thought proudly. The storm trooper banged her head against the ground in his rage before finally letting go, accepting that he would not get the information out of her no matter what.
"Kill this stubborn bitch," he growled to his men. One of them pinned her down while the other wrapped a heavy noose around her neck. So, this is it, Padme thought sadly. I'm sorry Anakin. I'm sorry Luke, and Leia. I love you all.
"Boss, there's a problem," the second stormtrooper piped up. The captain looked at him angrily.
"What? We don't have any time," he snapped. The second stormtrooper only pointed upwards. The captain's head followed, only to realize the beam had been cut out of the ceiling. The captain looked back down to see it laying on the floor beside them. He looked around frantically for somewhere to hang her from, but could not find anything. The Sith Lord had made any possibility of hanging impossible.
"Shit," he cursed. Suddenly Tarkin's voice came over the intercom.
"Hang her now and get out, Lord Vader is running now, less than two minutes from coming back at this rate. Don't forget to unsolder the door," he ordered.
"Sir, Lord Vader cut the beam out of the ceiling, there's nowhere we can hang her from. There's not enough time to cover up now," the stormtrooper said in a panic. Fear was creeping up his spine, the thought of Vader's rage filling him with panic.
"What? You didn't notice that before you started?!" Tarkin asked in astonishment. They had carefully planned every detail in staging her suicide, including the knowledge of the support beam in Vader's quarters. Sidious's manipulations of Vader's mind had backfired, and by planting those images of her hanging, he had unwittingly destroyed any possibility of it.
"He must know about the assassination," the captain stuttered in a panic.
"Strangle her then, I don't care! Just get it done and get it done now!"
"There's not enough time," the captain argued angrily.
"Vader is sprinting, he will be there in less than thirty seconds," Tarkin's spy reported over the intercom.
"Do it now!" Tarkin snarled. The captain complied, wrapping the noose around a door handle and pulling it taught. Padme flailed helplessly, her body already exhausted from the torture. Her fingernails gripped into the rope, dug into his armor futilely fighting hard to breathe, but the stormtrooper captain pulled tighter. Her face began to turn purple as she gasped for air.
"C'mon, just a little more," the captain grunted. Suddenly, there was a bang at the door of someone trying to get in. A chill ran up the captain's spine, realizing the Sith Lord had arrived much sooner than expected. Knowing this, he knew his death was imminent. The mission was failed- at least, in part, making it look like a suicide. Vader would know whose men were sent, and he would know it was not a suicide. All for this stupid bitch and her spawn, the captain seethed. He still had time to kill her, and pulled as tightly as he could.
Padme felt as though her eyes were going to pop out of her head. She felt the life being drained out of her, her consciousness slowly fading to blackness. I'm going to die now, she thought. I'm sorry, Ani. Padme's life went to black, and her struggling body fell limp. The captain continued holding the noose tight against her neck. He vengefully wanted her dead above all else for the botched mission costing him his life.
Another bang on the door.
"Sir, we have to go," one of the troopers muttered in a panic.
"No, lieutenant, we're beyond saving ourselves now. We have a mission to complete. It'll take him at least a minute to cut through that door-" suddenly, the captain was interrupted by the heavy implosion of the doorway. The heavy metal slabs flung themselves into the room, crushing one trooper with a scream, the other crashing into the wall. One trooper aimed his blaster at Vader who sliced him quickly in half with his saber. The torso of the trooper fell to the ground, and for a few seconds he tried to get back up, not realizing in his shock that he'd been served a fatal blow.
"Kill him," the captain ordered. Vader locked eyes on the captain immediately, storming over to him. The remaining troopers flung themselves at Vader, who knocked them against the walls with ease, crushing them and sending them splattering like mosquitos on a hot summer day. It was like watching a masked Moses parting the red sea before him, and red the sea truly was. Blood splattered in every direction, but Vader's eyes remained fixed on the handmaiden, leaving death and destruction behind every frantic step. The captain raised his blaster to the Sith Lord, who promptly cast him aside into the wall, breaking his spine with a yelp. Vader rushed to Padme and tore the noose of her neck immediately.
"No, no! Sabe!" he snarled. Tarkin watched the smoke and debris flying out of Vader's quarters with a frown on his face.
"Captain? Are you there?" Tarkin called. No response was given.
"Send in the reinforcements. Kill the woman if she is not dead already. Shoot her for all I care, you fools have ruined it," he ordered one of his captains.
"But sir… Lord Vader will execute us."
"Are you disobeying my orders?" Tarkin snarled at him. The stormtrooper swallowed hard, but nodded and stalked off to gather his troop, knowing certain death awaited him. Meanwhile Tarkin snarled angrily, turning his back and heading to the throne room to inform the Emperor of his failure.
Vader frantically tried to bring life back into Padme's bloodied face, doing chest compressions and gently pressing her face. He put his mask close to her mouth, and could hear the faint sound of her breathing. She's still alive, he thought with relief. Still, she was only barely alive. Vader was filled with pure rage. Why are Imperial troops executing her? Who would do such a thing? he thought angrily, though he had his suspicions. The groans of the crippled captain interrupted his thoughts, and Vader turned viciously to get his answers. The captain saw him stalking forwards, and futilely tried to crawl away. Vader kicked him hard in the face with his heavy boot, sending the captain's teeth flying across the floor. He let out a scream. Vader knelt to the floor and dragged the trooper's face towards his.
"Who gave you the order?!" Vader snarled.
"I cannot tell you, thir- ahhh," the captain screamed as Vader cracked his skull under the power of the Force. His "s'' sounds turned to "th" from the crumpled ruins of his mouth.
"You will tell me who gave you the order," Vader commanded. The dying man struggled slightly before he choked out between pained groans.
"Lord… Thidious…" he murmured. Vader let out an enraged snarl before crushing the captain's head. The room was silent now with the exception of Padme's ragged breathing. Vader rushed back to her side and picked her up. My master betrayed me, he thought bitterly. My master lied to me. Vader looked down at the broken body of Padme's doppelganger. He felt nauseous. This is my fault, I brought her into this, I caused this, I could not protect her. He blamed himself miserably. Vader stormed off to the hangar. I'm taking you back to Naboo, I promise, he vowed. Vader couldn't even bring himself to think about what to do about his master. What he felt was an emotion far beyond anger.
Suddenly the blast from a laser shot clean through Vader's shoulder. He let out a surprised yell of pain, nearly dropping Padme to the floor. Luckily the blast had missed her. Vader put the handmaiden down and turned around quickly, saber thrumming angrily, greeted by several more blasts from a platoon of stormtroopers clad in black that he deflected in the nick of time. Reinforcements, Vader noted with disdain. Several more blasts followed, all aimed at Padme. Vader deflected each one, sending several back into the platoon where they greeted the stormtroopers with immediate death. Vader reached for the remaining troopers in the Force, thrashing their bodies with ease against the wall. It looked like a splatter painting. They were all dead. He was breathing hard now, and blood trickled down his suit, splattering on the floor. I'm wounded badly, he thought. Vader felt lightheaded. I need to get her out of here. More assassins would be sent shortly if he didn't.
With the stormtroopers off his back for enough time to get to the hangar, Vader painfully picked Padme's unconscious body up. He struggled on his left side, tendon and muscle being blown to shreds. Panting heavily, he staggered towards his TIE. It was incredibly small, not made for travel of any length whatsoever, but he knew it was the fastest ship in the fleet, and had an adequate medical store on board. Vader hauled himself and Padme into the cockpit. I'm going to pass out, he thought suddenly. He was losing blood quickly. Need to get to Naboo... Vader entered the coordinates for Padme's home planet and fired up the hyperdrive. He noticed out of the corners of his fading vision several storm troopers were sprinting towards his ship, but it was too late. The TIE blasted out into space. Within seconds they were out of view from Mustafar- not that Vader could tell though, as he passed out soon after. In an unconscious heap, the Sith Lord hurtled towards Naboo, the incapacitated handmaiden laying across his chest, blissfully unaware that she was now safe from the Empire, both their lives hanging by a thread.
xxx
"What do you mean Lord Vader escaped with her?!" Sidious snarled, standing up out of his throne in complete outrage.
"I mean Lord Vader was last seen escaping in his TIE with her," Tarkin murmured sheepishly. Sidious screamed, crumpling the rock monuments to dust before Tarkin in his rage. Tarkin swallowed nervously. "I-I ordered my captain to execute her by whatever means necessary. There is a high likelihood she was deceased before he even entered his chambers-"
"Likelihood, do you believe that a guess is competent enough? You're worthless," he screeched as he continued berating his general, "Do you realize our entire Empire is hinged on Skywalker? Without disposing of Padme Amidala, turning him to me would have been impossible. Do you realize the gravity of this failure, you imbecile? As soon as she discloses her identity, he will turn and bring an end to us. To add to this utter miscarriage of your duty, my apprentice knows we've plotted against his wishes for the handmaiden. Do you understand what he'll do when he discovers I ordered the execution of his wife? Do you understand? Do you?!"
"Yes, my Lord," Tarkin whispered in embarrassment. "I will send one thousand of my most experienced assassins to rid you of Queen Amidala. I will not fail you again, Sir."
"You already have! Even if you succeed in executing her, you have destroyed the trust I have cultivated so tirelessly with my apprentice. It's gone. It's over. This Empire's days are numbered due to your stupidity."
"Yes, my Lord," Tarkin murmured uneasily. "Is there anything I can do? To resolve this?"
"Get. Out," Sidious seethed. Tarkin nodded, and quickly scurried out of the throne room, happy to leave with his life- for now.
xxx
The Naboo afternoon dappled in through the cockpit of the TIE. Vader could see exotic leaves slow dancing in the light breeze above them. It was warm, uncomfortably warm almost. Sweat coated Vader's body. Despite this, he felt a cool draft on his torso. What happened? he thought groggily. Suddenly, he remembered.
"Sabe!?" he rasped in a panic, sitting upright quickly. A pain shot through him like electricity, forcing a grunt of agony from his mouth. The handmaiden leapt up immediately, pushing him back down gently onto the reclined seat of the cockpit with her fingertips.
"Don't get up, you'll tear open your stitches. Rest," she said quickly. Vader obeyed, not that his pained body had any choice. He looked down at his chest, the burnt flesh fully exposed to the air, a simple cotton gauze soaked in browned blood plastered on his shoulder.
"You've been unconscious for two days," she rasped. Her face was swollen and bruised, an ugly green-black sore roped itself across her neck. Vader's breath hitched at the sight of her, and anger seared itself through his veins. At the hands of my master no less.
"Your face..." he breathed in shock. Padme forced a small smile in an effort to comfort him. In truth, her body was completely searing with pain. She took his hand to comfort him and felt him trembling with anger.
"It looks worse than it is. I'm alright," she murmured. "Your wound is much more severe… You should've heard the scream I made when I woke up covered in your blood. I thought for sure there was no way you were still alive, but luckily there's medical supplies on board. It's not perfect, but you're alive," the handmaiden explained. She had been completely horrified, and fought tooth and nail to stop his bleeding despite her own pained body. Vader watched her in awe.
"You tended my wound for two days," he rasped.
"Yes."
"Why? Why didn't you escape? You could have left anytime here… Why are you still here?" he asked in astonishment. Padme squeezed his hand gently.
"Because you're not a bad person, Anakin. I couldn't leave you to die like that. I would never."
"They almost killed you... I thought you were dead in that bedchamber. It's… It's all my fault… If I hadn't imprisoned you, none of this would have happened. I should have protected you," he rasped. His voice choked with emotion.
"Sidious did this to me, not you," she snapped angrily. "They did everything they could to get the location of the twins. You… You would never do something like this," she pointed out. Vader sighed sadly. Oh, but I would, he thought bitterly. Just not to you. Still, she was right, and the thought of his master's betrayal filled him with a hate unlike any other. Now that he knew Sidious was behind the order, he thought of those premonitions into the future: Padme's death, Sabe's impending suicide- it made him question his master. What else has he lied about? What else has he filled my head with?
"He… Planned this. He put those images of you hanging in my head," Vader rasped painfully.
"He planned everything, Anakin! He planned to murder the Jedi years before Order 66. He manipulated you into joining him. I know you never would have joined the dark side out of your own volition. He tried to kill me, and he wants the location of the twins so he can kill them too and keep you loyal to him! He knows you're not evil and that you would turn to the light again," Padme ranted passionately. Vader looked on at her silently, knowing everything she said was the truth. A deep sadness filled him. He knew in his heart that she was right.
"When Padme told me of her pregnancy, I had these intense… dreams, of her dying. Of her screaming. Of her last breath. Every night, several times a night. I tried… everything to rid myself of them. Nothing worked. Nothing. It drove me mad. He promised me he would teach me how to save her, but he didn't. He only told me I killed her, and that he couldn't save her. He lied," Vader snarled heartbrokenly.
"You didn't kill her, Anakin," she murmured. Vader's mask stared squarely at her for several seconds before he bowed his head in shame.
"I… I don't know," he murmured.
"You didn't. You couldn't have. He lied to you," she argued gently. Tears streamed down Vader's face. I didn't kill her. I know I couldn't have, he thought deep inside to himself. Vader sighed deeply. It was like lancing an abscess of pain that had been welling since the loss of Padme. It wasn't my fault.
"I did everything my master asked, everything to save her and our unborn children- and everything my master has done has resulted in their loss," he concluded emptily. His shoulders shook violently as he sobbed. Padme gently stroked his hand in an effort to comfort him. Why did I do this? What have I done? How can I live with myself now? Vader wondered listlessly.
"Come back to the light, Anakin. Please," she pleaded.
"I can't," he choked.
"You can, I promise."
"No, you don't understand. I'm beyond redemption… The things I've done, they're monstrous. Evil. Unforgivable. I deserve death… I just want to be with Padme now," he choked out quietly. It broke Padme's heart. You are with me, right now. She thought about telling him her identity.
"What if… What if Padme was alive? You wouldn't turn back? Be with her and your children?" she asked tentatively. Vader watched her tensely in silence for several seconds.
"No," he finally murmured. Padme felt her heart break.
"Why not?" she whispered, her voice strained as she tried to hold back her tears. Vader felt himself annoyed by this. Why does she care so much about turning me back to the light?
"Because it is too late… Go. I am grateful for you saving my life, but you must go now. I've said too much. I've caused enough suffering for you and it's time we part," he ordered. Padme's eyes widened with shock. I can't leave you, Ani. Not like this. Not when you're this close to returning to me, she protested internally. She thought of telling him, but something in her held her back. What if I tell him and he still doesn't turn? she thought. Just a little longer.
"I can't," she blurted.
"Why not?" he demanded. Padme stalled for a moment. Because I'm your wife, I'm alive, you will return to the light if I can keep you away from Sidious, and I love you.
"B-because of your wound, it's still not healed enough for you to do anything," she stammered.
"I'll survive," Vader rasped.
"Maybe, but I want to be sure."
"You're not safe here with me. My master could have sent more assassins here by now."
"If he sent assassins, I'm not safe anywhere on Naboo," she argued. Vader sighed. She had a point, and wasn't lying to him about that. He finally conceded. In reality, Vader found it hard to finally part with her. If tonight was the last time he'd ever see his wife's face again, he couldn't refuse. The sun was now setting anyways, and he doubted she had anywhere to sleep other than the mausoleum.
"Alright," Vader murmured. He tried to stand up from the cot bed which made Padme leap up in protest, pushing him back down gently with her hand- only this time, Vader fought her.
"What are you doing? You need to lay down!"
"You need to sleep. Night is falling. I'll take the floor," he argued. Padme's brow furrowed in disapproval.
"I'll be the one taking the floor. You're injured. I won't allow it."
"I wasn't offering. I was demanding."
"I'm refusing. Lay back down-"
"Who do you think you are dealing with?" Vader snarled. He tried to take a step away when searing pain shot through his shoulder and backside. He gasped briefly and collapsed back into the small bed. Padme finished pushing him into the bed and quickly lifted his bandage to inspect the damage.
"See? You ripped your stitches," Padme scolded.
"I'm fine," Vader growled petulantly.
"You're not. I'm going to re-stitch it, and then I'm going to take the floor, and that's final," she snapped. Vader only sighed irritably in response, but deep down he was grateful for her. He rolled on his side to expose the wound penetrating his back. Padme sat on the bed behind him. He could feel her small hands gently lifting the bandage, her body pressed against his. He couldn't help but feel at home, closing his eyes and pretending she was Padme. But she's not Padme, he reminded himself.
Padme looked down at his scarred flesh with sadness. My poor Ani, she thought woefully as her fingers traced over the scarred, burnt remnants of his skin. It covered every naked inch of him she had seen so far, and dared not to explore any more than necessary. She knew he probably didn't want anyone to see what had become of him, especially not her. Padme carefully removed the broken stitches and began to re-stitch the gaping wound. It would take hours, and she was growing sleepy. Vader himself felt himself drifting off to sleep despite being unconscious for so long and despite the pain. The feel of her hands on his skin calmed him, her touch a soothing oasis in the sea of misery Vader had lived since Padme's loss.
"This might take awhile," she yawned.
"When you've finished, I demand you wake me so you can have the cot to rest in."
"Alright, sure" Padme sighed frivolously. Vader knew she would not, but was too tired to argue with her any longer.
"Thank you," Vader whispered before drifting off to sleep under her gentle touch.
xxx
Vader awoke to a warm sensation pressed against his back. It was soothing, a feeling he hadn't felt since-
Since Padme was alive.
He snapped awake suddenly, but was careful not to rip open his stitches again. The handmaiden's arm hung loosely over his torso, her form wrapped snug against his. She had her face buried in the back of him, her long curls tickling his naked skin. Their legs were intertwined, her fingers laced together with his. The strange handmaiden from Naboo was cuddling him, a Sith Lord, and next in line for the throne of the Empire. She must've fallen asleep while stitching me, he thought. This is wrong. Despite his mind telling him to move out of her grasp, his body did not want to tear away from her. She felt just like Padme, and this broke Vader's heart. She's not Padme! he scolded himself angrily.
Even though she looked and felt like Padme, he could not accept this kind of affection, no matter how unintended. He had a wife, and this woman was not her to him. Slowly, Vader forced himself to begin tearing away from the handmaiden. He lifted her arm, gently trying to move her off of him so he could take the floor. Vader pulled her arm off him which caused her to stir. Vader stopped himself, hoping not to wake her. Instead, the handmaiden wrapped her arm back around his torso and buried herself deeper into his backside.
"Ani…" she murmured groggily in a voice he hadn't heard in months. Vader's heart stopped.
Ani.
Ani.
Ani.
Only Padme had ever called him that. The woman clinging to his back didn't say it in Sabe's deep voice, but in Padme's girlish one. This woman was not a handmaiden.
Padme.
Vader's heart skipped several beats. His palms sweat. His breath hitched, and he felt like he couldn't breath. He wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to cheer and laugh. For several minutes he laid there motionlessly, letting himself feel her touch. He thought he must have dreamt it. There's no way, he thought. Suddenly her reluctance to leave him, her gentle kindness, her persistence in turning him back to the light- it all made sense. Still, Vader was reluctant to get his hopes up.
I must know.
Vader slowly removed her arm from him, allowing himself freedom to get up. He turned and quickly pulled a single hair from her head. Padme squirmed, but eventually mumbled unintelligibly before curling back into sleep. He waited a minute in hopes she would say more, but she only snored softly.
I must know now.
Vader quietly stood himself up, being extra careful in regards to his wound. The pain was intense, but his burning desire for an answer to his question pained him more. Is she Padme? Vader opened a cabinet where a small medical scanner droid resided. He grabbed it and locked the doors before leaving the ship, keeping the handmaiden trapped for when he would return. Vader stalked off into the night, heading straight for the place where he and the handmaiden had first met.
Why did she hide herself from me like this? Why didn't she tell me who she truly is? he thought, a mix of confusion, hurt, and anger filling him. Another emotion he had not felt in a long time dominated him, one his master would spit upon: hope. The pain in his shoulder was growing, but at this point he didn't care if he made the wound worse.
I must know. I must.
An hour of trekking brought him to the familiar sight. The mausoleum was empty, his shoes echoing ominously throughout the rock halls. Vader eventually came to the tomb, still remaining as he had left it, a slab of stone covering what he thought was his wife's corpse. Vader booted up the droid, which beeped into life.
"Medical Scanner Model No. 83669 at your service sir," it said robotically. Vader lifted the stone slab off of the coffin, the familiar stench of death filling his nose. The dust settled, the body he had once mourned over staring silently into nothingness above.
"Pull up the medical file of Queen Padme Amidala of Naboo," Vader rasped. The droid beeped for several seconds before it spoke again.
"Access for the medical record of Queen Padme Amidala of Naboo is prohibited to immediate family members" it beeped.
"I am Anakin Skywalker, husband of Padme Amidala. Test me if you are uncertain," he ordered. The droid nodded and produced a small needle.
"This will only hurt for a second," it said. It drew a small blood sample from him, and after a few minutes, the droid beeped again.
"Access granted. What can I do for you sir?"
"I need a DNA analysis of this body, and of this hair sample. I must know if the body inside belongs to Padme."
"Will do, sir." The droid carefully took a tissue sample of the corpse. Vader handed the hair sample to the droid. He waited impatiently, stalking back and forth nervously around the tomb for the results. What seemed like hours passed. What if it's her? he wondered. It has to be, it has to.
"Results are in. There is a match."
"And?"
"The DNA from the body in the tomb does not match with that of Queen Amidala, but the hair sample is a match" the droid murmured. Vader's heart skipped a beat, his breathing stopped. His body was filled with every emotion he could think of: confusion, betrayal, sadness, relief.
Above all: joy.
Padme's alive.
I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far! Thank you so much for reading. I've also been meaning to ask if any of you know of a good website to post fan fiction/other writing works where it doesn't get deleted after a year. Thanks to any recommendations & next chapter will be out Tuesday :)