Chapter 18 – Supremacy

"The children," Padmé said. "Where are they?"

She held Anakin's arm, squeezing it tightly. It was wrong of her. He needed his mobility. But she couldn't bear to let him go.

"They should be in the nursery," Anakin said.

He led the way, red lightsaber humming in his free hand. They encountered no resistance. The Jedi Temple was eerily quiet.

"Anakin," Padmé said. "What happened?"

He shook his head. His face was lined with anguish, with suffering. He had done it for her. And he hated himself for that.

They emerged from the bowels of the Temple to reach the ground layer. Scores of bodies were strewn on the marble floors. Clones stepped over their fallen brothers, while Anakin refused to look at the felled Jedi. He moved quickly, dragging Padmé along with him.

"You had to do it," Padmé said. "You did what was right."

"No," Anakin said. "It wasn't right. But it was necessary."

Padmé stopped him, pulling roughly on his arm. He gasped.

"That's the Jedi talking," Padmé said. "You are not a Jedi anymore. These are not your brethren. They are your enemy."

He stared at her, blinking.

"Remorse is not the way of the Sith," she continued. "Compunction. Hesitation. They are weaknesses. Let them go."

"Don't you lecture me," Anakin said, pointing a finger at her. "I rescued you! Aren't you grateful?"

"You did not rescue me. Sidious did. You are nothing but the tool he used to do it."

She knew that would touch a nerve with him. Of all the accusations, that was the very worst in Anakin's mind. "I am not a tool!" he exploded. "I killed dozens! Masters! Knights! Padawans! I killed them all! I am more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"

Padmé didn't want to hurt him. But she had to make him understand. With a violent jerk, she pulled herself away from him and unleashed a short pulse of electricity. It caught him by surprise, striking him square in the chest and immobilized him. Grabbing his shoulders, Padmé kneed him in the gut. He grunted, falling to his knees by her feet. His lightsaber clattered to the floor and Padmé summoned it. Activating the blade, she held it to his throat with one hand, cupped his cheek with the other.

"You are being a fool," she said.

Anakin's eyes were wide with fear. "Padmé –"

"Silence," she snapped. "You are untrained. Unbalanced. I am neither. I am more powerful than you. I am smarter than you. I am the one in charge. Not you. Me. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Good." Padmé sheathed the blade, and, giving his cheek a gentle caress, leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Glad we got that squared way."

He stood shakily. Padmé returned the lightsaber to him.

"The nursery," she demanded. "Take me there."

He looked at her differently now. She was no longer the damsel in distress. Anakin wouldn't like that. He preferred to be the hero. But he couldn't be. Not this time. He did stupid things when he tried to be the hero, He became easy to manipulate. Padmé couldn't let that happen. She would have to do his thinking for him.

But that was manipulation in its own right, wasn't it? She was fashioning him as her own tool. Anakin didn't want to be anyone's tool. He deserved better than that. But she had to control him! It was in his own best interest. Palpatine would corrupt him if Padmé did not intervene.

But he was already corrupted. This man was no longer Anakin Skywalker, her husband. He was different, darker. By his own admission, he had killed Padawans. Children. Had he been lying about that? No. She felt the truth in his words, and even more tellingly, she saw it in his face. He had committed unspeakable acts to rescue her. And what had she done? Forced him to his knees and humiliated him in front of his own troops.

What sort of monster was she?

Stop this. Palpatine was the monster. Not her. She loved Anakin. It was as simple as that.

Right?

The nursery was on the second floor. She and Anakin took the turbolift up. He eyed her furtively, angrily. His fingers toyed with the hem of his sleeves. He was never very good at hiding his emotions.

"Anakin," she said. "I'm sorry."

Anakin was silent.

"All that matters to me is you and our children," Padmé said. "You have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"And I don't?"

"No. Not in the slightest."

The turbolift doors opened. Anakin exited, and Padmé had to hurry to catch up.

"Sidious is my master, not yours," she said. She tried to take his hand, but he swiped it away. "You don't know him like I do."

"And I don't know you at all."

Padmé was stunned. "Anakin," she breathed. "You don't mean that."

"Actually, I do," he said, spinning on her. "Our whole marriage was a lie. You realize that, don't you?"

"It wasn't a lie," she said. "Not all of it."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"I loved you. I always loved you. You know that. The other stuff… none of it matters! It doesn't change how I feel about you! It doesn't change what we brought into this world. Our children, Anakin! What about them?"

"Ours?" Anakin said. "How exactly are they ours? You didn't even let me get a say in naming them!"

Padmé winced. "Anakin –"

"I saved you. Me! Not Palpatine. I am not a tool. I am not a slave! I am your husband. Your partner. Your equal."

She shook her head. "I won't lose you," she said. "Please, Anakin. Understand!" She placed her hands on his face. In passion, and in profound confusion, she tried to kiss him. He pulled away. Padmé wanted to yell at him, to force him to understand, but before she could, the turbolift returned. Ahsoka arrived, followed by Captain Rex and a few other Arc Troopers.

"General Skywalker, sir," Rex said. "The Temple has been secured. The last pockets of resistance in the hangers were eliminated."

"Did any escape?" Padmé asked.

"One Padawan was confirmed to have escaped," Rex said. "But that is the only reported case."

"Good," Padmé said.

"What about the Younglings?" Ahsoka asked, desperate. "Surely you didn't kill them, too?"

Silence.

"To the nursery," Anakin said. He turned on his heel, hiding his face from Ahsoka, and marched away. Padmé ran after him.

"Anakin," she said in a hushed voice. "We are on the same team."

"I love you, Padmé," Anakin said. "And I love our children."

"Then know that I am only doing this to protect our family."

"From Sidious?"

"Exactly."

Anakin stopped at the end of the hall. A glass door led to the nursery.

"That's the thing, Padmé," he said. "I don't know if you're any better."

He entered the nursery. Padmé was unable to follow him, paralyzed by his words.

"Padmé, this has to stop," Ahsoka said, rushing to her down the hall. There were tears in her eyes. "They killed younglings! And what are they going to do in the nursery? Kill infants?"

"If they have orders to do so, yes," Padmé said flatly. She didn't look at Ahsoka. She looked instead to the nursery door which had sealed shut behind Anakin.

"You have to stop them!" Ahsoka cried.

"Why?"

"They're children! Babies! They're innocent!"

"I care about my children," Padmé said. "No one else's."

With that, she left the distraught Ahsoka. In the nursery, there were two rows with a half dozen cribs each. Anakin stood over one of them, staring. His eyes were distant. Padmé came to his side.

"He's beautiful," Anakin said.

Luke blinked at them with cloudy blue eyes. Padmé smiled at her son.

"Go on," she said. "Pick him up."

Anakin did.

"Where's Leia?" Padmé asked.

"Over here," Anakin said, gesturing to the next crib over.

Padmé went to pick her up. Her throat clamped shut and she felt herself shaking. It was not the emotion of being reunited with her children which had this effect, although that was of course extremely stirring. It was rather the warmth she felt, imbued within her at her daughter's touch. She felt her skin against her own, the pitter-patter of her heart, the pounding of blood. She felt her life, her vibrancy, her vitality.

Tears streamed down Padmé's cheeks.

"Rex!" Ahsoka screamed. "Rex, no! Stop!"

"We have our orders, Commander Tano."

"Anakin! Do something!"

Padmé looked up. Clones had filed into the nursery. Each assumed positions in front of a crib, weapons raised. She heard the whir of the blasters' charge.

"Wait," Anakin said.

Rex raised a hand, temporarily halting his soldiers.

"General?" he said.

"Don't."

"We have our orders," Rex said. "The Jedi are enemies of the state. They are to be terminated by order of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."

Anakin faltered.

"Padmé!" Ahsoka begged.

Keep your eyes closed, Paddy.

"Please!

One… two… three…

"Fire!"

Padmé did nothing.

Δ Δ Δ

They walked along the main hall. Padmé's ears were ringing. Anakin's face was pale. They each clutched a child, yearning for their warmth, for their light, where otherwise there was none to be had.

What had become of them? Ten infants had just been murdered in front of them. They had had the power to stop it. And yet they didn't. They had been unable.

The Jedi were the enemy. This was all necessary, just.

No.

Nothing about it was just.

Now she understood what Anakin had meant. Padmé had never experienced violence like that before. She had always closed her eyes, counted in her head, kept the darkness at bay. The only incident that could compare was Dooku's brutal death. She had been responsible for that. The sound of his neck snapping continued to haunt her.

She abhorred violence. It sickened her. Yet here she was, in the midst of this horrific carnage.

This was Palpatine's doing. He was responsible for this bloodshed. But was she not at least partly to blame? She had wanted this to happen. She had wanted Anakin to debase himself for her, to turn against the Jedi and destroy them. And then she wanted to use him to turn on Palpatine, to kill him. Violence upon violence. Something which she claimed to hate.

But what was the alternative? Strength must be met with strength. That was what her master had taught her.

That was the problem, wasn't it? She was still thinking like him. It was his voice she heard in her head.

But right now, it was another voice that she heard. An angry voice.

"Skywalker!"

Padmé stopped, a stab of fear deep in her core. It was Windu. He stood at the end of the hall with his purple lightsaber in hand.

"Blast him!" Rex said, but Anakin belayed the order.

"No," he said. "Don't bother."

"What are you going to do?" Padmé asked.

Anakin arched a brow. "What am I going to do? I thought you were in charge."

Padmé bit back her frustration. "Give Luke to Ahsoka," she said. "Rex, you take Leia. I want you to take them to my sister's apartment. Ahsoka will know how to get there."

Rex saluted. "Yes, sir," he said. He took Leia into his arms. Her daughter squirmed against his armor.

"We'll take him together," Padmé said to Anakin. "You don't stand a chance on your own."

"Such faith," Anakin said.

"Stop acting sore," Padmé scolded. "You need my help."

"But you don't even have a weapon," Anakin said, drawing his own.

"I don't need one," Padmé said. That wasn't strictly true. But even if she had a lightsaber, she wouldn't know what to do with it. She could take a blaster from one of the clones, but that wouldn't pose a threat to Windu. She had to trust the Force. It was her weapon.

"I doubted your devotion to the Order," Windu said, approaching. "But this? I never would have believed you capable."

"You always underestimated me, Master," Anakin said.

Windu came to a stop a dozen feet away. He looked at Padmé.

"Is this what you wanted? Senseless violence. Wanton murder?"

Padmé did not speak, for she had nothing to say. How could she possibly defend herself in the midst of this atrocity? Bending her knees, she raised her hands in preparation.

"Surrender, Windu," Anakin said. He too assumed a belligerent posture, lightsaber raised over his shoulder. "The Order is finished."

"Not yet."

Windu did not strike. He stood motionless, serene in posture. Padmé looked at Anakin. His jaw was tight, his grip on the lightsaber even tighter. Nobody made a move. The seconds ticked on, parallel to the beating of her heart. Padmé realized she was entirely out of her depths. These two men were warriors in every sense of the word. They had trained for combat their entire lives. Padmé had never so much as been in a fight.

And so when Anakin charged, she was frozen. What should she do? What could she do? Before she could think of an answer, Windu thrust out a hand and Padmé was lifted off her feet.

"Padmé!"

She crashed into the base of a column. She was momentarily blinded when her head whipped back, and when her vision returned, it was blurry and stained by tears of pain. Two bright blades of purple and red clashed in the distance. She propped herself up, rubbing the back of her head tenderly. Anakin was on the defensive. He was flailing, barely able to keep up. Windu must have purposely targeted her first because he knew the effect it would have on Anakin to see her hurt.

But she wasn't hurt. Not badly, at least. She got up and labored toward the battle.

"Hey!" she called. Windu, foolishly, was distracted, giving Anakin a brief reprieve. He kicked Windu in the chest. The Jedi staggered away. Padmé's hands flew out, a wave of lightning unleashed from her fingertips. Yet Windu was less disoriented than she thought. He deflected the lightning with his blade, redirecting it to Anakin who went soaring backward. He too collided into a column, but unlike her, he fell to the ground limp like a rag doll, unconscious.

"Anakin!" she cried.

But there was no time to see if he was alright. Windu was charging her, lightsaber held over his head. Padmé panicked. She tried to retreat but tripped. Hands raised defensively, she pushed him away with the Force before he could slice her in two. Windu was unfazed. He landed elegantly on his feet, about three meters away.

"Is that the best you can do?" he taunted.

Padmé scooted away, eyes wide with terror. Windu approached, slowly, menacingly. He raised his blade, but before he could swing, a voice called out, orotund in the grand hall.

"Master Windu."

Padmé couldn't help it. She felt relief. Her master was here for her. Just like he promised.

Windu turned around. "Chancellor Palpatine?" he said, confused. "Why are you here?"

By way of answering, Palpatine drew his lightsabers. "Why, I'm afraid you are mistaken. I am no longer Chancellor, but Emperor. Although you may know me by my true title."

"Sidious," Windu snarled.

Padmé struggled to her feet for a second time. Her master looked beyond Windu and smiled at her.

"Padmé," he said. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Yes, Master. Thank you, Master."

"Take Anakin and leave," Palpatine instructed. "I will deal with this."

"Yes, Master."

She limped to Anakin. He wasn't unconscious like she had initially feared, but he was clearly dazed, possibly concussed.

"Anakin," she said, kneeling by his side. "Anakin, we have to go."

"But Windu –"

"He's here. Palpatine."

Anakin's bleary eyes widened.

"You won't get away with this," Windu said.

"Oh, but I will," Palpatine said. "Within the hour, I will address the Senate to inform them of the Order's treachery."

"What treachery?"

"Imprisoning a pregnant senator for voicing her opposition to the way you were conducting the war?" Palpatine clucked his tongue. "Shameful, Master Windu. Not to mention, a gross violation of the War Powers Act. The Senate will not abide such abuse."

"The Senate will not condone your power grab," Windu said. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You will not say anything, Master Windu," Palpatine said, "because you will be dead."

Their blades clashed. The Masters of the Jedi and Sith dueled. Padmé wished to watch, in awe of their prodigious skill. But instead she turned her back on them.

"Come on," she said to Anakin. "I'll help you."

Anakin draped his arm around her back. Her knees buckled when she helped him stand. He leaned heavily against her, blood trickling from his temple onto her shoulder.

"Let's go," she said between gritted teeth.

Beyond, the battle for the Force raged. Padmé and Anakin – powerless, beleaguered, defeated – hobbled away.