Hey all! I've noticed there's been some confusion about people's ages, so I'll just say it here. Obi is 25, Siri is 23, Padmé is 20. I've hinted at Vader's age but haven't said it in the story. And if anybody's curious, Al is 29. ;)

Padmé sighed heavily as she swam in a large circle. It hadn't been too long since she had started her strange circuit, but it already felt like an eternity; swimming in street clothes was exhausting. Despite this, though, she was still full of energy, angry at herself and Vader for the abrupt end to their earlier conversation. She felt like she was finally starting to see something apart from a murderer in him, like it was starting to make sense as to why he was the way he was. He was born into an Imperial family, raised by the Empire, had nothing but the Empire—it was no wonder he lived, breathed, ate, slept, and existed everything Imperial. She still didn't know how he had known the emperor for so long, but she presumed it was because of his family… but then he had said his family was gone, and he had no need for them, and… the more she tried to piece it together the patchier it looked.

Suddenly losing her energy, Padmé stopped. She felt emotionally drained; the past few days had been an insane amount of dips, turns, dives, ups, downs… it was like being stuck in a fighter in the middle of a space battle. Sometimes it seemed like she was making headway, and sometimes it felt like she'd taken a hundred steps back. Padmé had faced many challenges in her life, but she wasn't sure her sanity could take this one much longer. She was just so kriffing confused. At the beginning of this vacation she hadn't wanted to get anywhere near Vader; it had been a sort of resignation that had filled her, like she knew she had to do this but still didn't want to. Now, she wasn't sure how she felt about interacting with him, but she definitely knew she just wanted things to make sense. She wanted to have a normal conversation with the guy. And she wasn't sure if she wanted this so badly simply because he had been so impossible or because she herself was somehow slipping up, like he was managing to trick her into being desperate enough that she would somehow reveal something.

Did Vader even care about getting information at this point? He hadn't really pressed too much about it… then again, their earlier argument had brought that topic up. He still seemed like he had the intention of figuring out if she was a Rebel, but it just didn't seem to be a priority. She figured Vader would have jumped at the chance to be alone with her and interrogate her; his shameless interrogation at their first dinner indicated he wasn't afraid to be direct. So why was he suddenly acting so odd?

Padmé briefly thought of the argument that had been returning over the past few days: Vader acted differently when away from Imperial Center. She was starting to grow sick of that argument; if this was his different behavior, was this his genuine behavior? It had seemed so at first, but she wasn't so sure… or maybe his different behavior was just his normal disinterested behavior. Maybe he really did look at this as a vacation from his duty and so he just didn't want to be around her. But then… why was…

She shook her head vigorously, growing more frustrated by the minute. That man made absolutely no sense.

Some bubbles a distance from her caught her attention, and immediately after she had noticed it, Vader's head popped out of the water, making her jump with a yelp.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked.

"What—you—do you mind?" Padmé said irritably.

Vader blinked. "Mind what?"

"You could warn me when you're about to randomly appear out of nowhere," Padmé grumbled, and then she did a double take, registering his words. "Why'd I stop? You were watching me?"

Vader nodded. "I didn't expect you to practice."

"Are you incapable of just facing me and having a normal conversation?" Padmé asked, growing more annoyed by the moment.

"Isn't that what we're doing now?"

Padmé took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You seem to be doing relatively well swimming around the boat, but now you should expand your abilities." Vader stated, ignoring her reaction… or just not noticing it. She didn't know. "Can you dive?"

"Yes," Padmé said slowly, dreading whatever new training exercise the Sith Lord was concocting.

"Perfect," Vader nodded. "Follow me."

Without another word, the Imperial disappeared under the water. Padmé was tempted to remain where she was, but it would do her no good, especially if she did want to interact with Vader. Sighing heavily once more, she took a deep breath, held it, and plunged into the lake. The sunlight lit the water greatly, and she saw some fish swimming far in the distance. The boat was bouncing lazily in the water. Turning her head, Padmé caught sight of Vader, who was floating a little bit below her, watching her expectantly. Padmé swam to him, and he began to dive deeper. She followed him for a while, but her chest began to burn as she ran out of oxygen. She paused and swam upward; she wasn't going to risk drowning just because he wanted her to practice.

Padmé reached the top and gasped for air, allowing her lungs to fill as much as possible. Vader surfaced a few seconds later.

"You took too long looking at everything in the water," he said. "You have to scan quickly, senator, and only for immediate threats. Don't look at the boat or the fish; they're not important."

Padmé didn't have enough energy to argue the point. Instead, she just asked, "So what's important today, milord?"

"Following me."

The Sith Lord dove once more. Padmé groaned and took another deep breath, plunging into the water. This time she only kept her eyes on him, and the two swam so deep and far she wasn't sure if he was trying to find the bottom of the lake or the core of the planet. The water began to grow murky, and her muscles strained in protest. She felt her chest tighten once more, but then she noticed Vader disappear behind a ridge. Pushing herself harder, she swam around it as well and saw a large opening in the rock. Entering it, Padmé caught a glimpse of Vader's boots above her, and she swam upward. It grew increasingly dark, and she felt her nerves tingle as fear crept into her. She should go back. She was running out of oxygen again, and it was getting hard to see.

Padmé turned around, but everything was pitch black. She was lost.

She felt her heart rate spike and she whirled left right, up down, anywhere to figure out how the blazes she could get out of this cave. She felt something grab her shoulder and she jumped, letting out some air. She then felt herself be pulled upward harshly, and a few seconds later her head was above water. The air was cold, very moist, and stuffy. Padmé coughed a little and rubbed her eyes, but even after clearing them of excess water she still couldn't see a thing.

"Where—what—"

"You hesitated. That can get you killed."

"Lord Vader?" Padmé turned towards his voice. "Where are we?"

"No idea. But it's a good spot to get some air before we find our way back."

"No idea?!" Padmé spluttered. "You led me here!"

Then she abruptly remembered he had also just saved her skin… again.

"T-thank you," she mumbled with far less gusto than her previous statement.

She heard the soft lapping of the water as Vader simply swam in place to stay afloat. "For what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Padmé rolled her eyes. "For saving me from drowning, maybe? Or did you just grab me for the sake of telling me I was doing it wrong?"

"Well you were."

"Blast it, if I could see you I would smack you." Padmé grumbled under her breath.

"You're in the wrong. You don't do the hitting."

It felt like the air and water just chilled considerably. What was he implying?

"Catch your breath. Let's go."

Padmé heard him inhale sharply through his nose and then she heard water crash around her, pushing her from the right; that must be where he had surfaced. Shaking her head, she held her own breath, though when she went underwater this time, she was considerably more nervous, both from his remark and the fact that she still couldn't see a thing. Despite this, she swam downward, knowing that there had to be an exit somewhere. Eventually her hand scraped a rock as she tried to feel down, and she saw some light to her right. Turning, she swam towards it and was elated to see that she had found the exit. Swimming up to the water's surface as hard as she could, Padmé laughed after she reached her goal.

"Better."

Vader's nonchalant comment on her swimming expertise didn't stop her mirth. Instead, she just shook her head and began to search for the boat, more than happy to end the training excursion there.

"Where are you going?"

Padmé looked at Vader, who was watching her intently. "I'm going back to the boat. I think that's enough training for one day, thanks."

Vader looked at the water and then at her once more. In a quiet voice, he asked, "No more training at all?"

He suddenly looked like a dejected puppy to Padmé, but she wouldn't be swayed… entirely. "Certainly not for now. I'm definitely done swimming, thanks."

"There are other ways of training," Vader quickly began before Padmé interrupted him.

"We've done your version of relaxing. Now we're doing mine."

"But you said swimming was relaxing."

"That wasn't swimming. That was nearly drowning multiple times."

"You only almost drowned once."

Padmé laughed loudly; hearing someone state so calmly how she had almost just died was somehow more hilarious than unnerving. Maybe it was just because she was too tired to be concerned at this point. Or it was because Vader was actually using it as an excuse to say that they needed to almost die again. In either case, she finally reached the boat and struggled to clamber in. Eventually she succeeded and slipped into the driver's seat, ready to leave the irritating Sith Lord behind.

Vader swam directly in the path of the boat. "I'm driving."

"Milord, you're going to get run over," Padmé remarked, ignoring his statement.

"I'm driving."

It wasn't stated vehemently. It wasn't even irritably. It was an order, and it left no room for argument. But Padmé wanted to argue. Just as she was about to do so, though, she remembered the two times she had already pushed the Sith Lord too far and bit back her retort. She nodded and shifted to the passenger seat. Vader then swam to the boat and climbed in.

"You can act like quite the five-year-old, you know," Padmé said before she could stop herself.

Vader said nothing. Instead of antagonizing him further, Padmé looked at their surroundings in an attempt to get her bearings. She hadn't even realized where they had stopped. They were a fair distance from the villa's island, and, even better, they were relatively close to a local village that she used to visit. It had been a very long time since she had been there, so they weren't likely to recognize her, and no one knew what Darth Vader looked like apart from military personnel. It would be the perfect place to dry off and get some food.

Pointing towards the island where the village was, she said, "Go there."

Surprisingly, Vader didn't question her command. Instead, he immediately activated the engine and began to drive the boat in that direction. The two were silent, one from exhaustion and hunger, and the other from, well, heaven knew what. Thankfully by the time they reached the island they were mostly dry. The two climbed out of the boat and onto the dock. Vader blinked a few times, looking disoriented.

"You alright?" Padmé asked as he continued to look around in confusion. His behavior was starting to make her a little worried; had he overworked himself?

Vader looked at her. "Where are we?"

"Isola," Padmé answered. "They've got the greatest little restaurant here. We can have lunch. Aren't you hungry in the slightest? I'm starving."

Vader shrugged, making Padmé sigh in exasperation. Instead of saying anything, she just motioned for him to follow her, and the two entered the small village. The lake tore into the island, creating a lagoon around which the village was situated. The restaurant in question was relatively close to the docks, and the people were just as friendly as Padmé remembered them when she was a child. Smiling, she accepted their warm greetings and took a seat across from Vader. After the waiter got them some water, the two were left alone to consult the small menu.

Well, it was probably a good time to make amends since they'd both had time to catch their breath. After all, their previous argument still hadn't quite been resolved; just ignored.

"Milord," Padmé began carefully. "I'm sorry for my remark earlier. I seem to be saying a lot of thoughtless things lately… but I hope that doesn't deter you from spending time with me."

Vader glanced at her and then returned his gaze to the menu.

Padmé wanted to hit her head on the table. She felt like she was back in the lake swimming in circles around the boat. She was expending so much effort but going nowhere.

"Lord Vader," she said softly to get his attention. "What do you think of me?"

Vader's gaze returned to her and he watched her silently. Padmé felt like he was questioning her motive, and so she elaborated. "I mean, your interactions are just so confusing. One moment we're both agreeing on something and the next you're getting offended. One moment we can have a conversation, and the next you don't want to speak at all."

"Isn't that how people act?" Vader asked.

"Well, yes and no," Padmé answered slowly. Something about his wording seemed really odd. "I understand that you're an introvert and don't always want to talk, but you're more than that, you have these quasi mood swings and it's just… confusing. So is it because you think little of me and don't want to be near me, or what? What do you think of me?"

Vader's eyes darted from one spot to another. He was searching for the right words. Blast it, Padmé was beginning to read him. Eventually, he slowly said, "I think you're a very intelligent and cunning senator."

Padmé accepted the remark with a nod. If he really did think this, then was his behavior all calculated accordingly? Was he only acting the way he did to throw her off balance? Then she remembered something he had said earlier in the day. "But you also think I'm weird."

Vader blinked. Then he blinked again. He didn't know what she was talking about. Then she saw his mouth open ever so slightly, close again, and his brow twitched. He remembered.

Good grief, she really was beginning to read him. She'd been stuck around him too long.

Vader gave a small nod.

"Care to explain that?" Padmé prompted.

"I'm… not used to you."

"That's a reason to call me weird? Do you do that with everyone you meet?"

"Others are different."

"Why?"

"They're military personnel, or Intelligence agents. They're… not you."

"What makes me so different?" Padmé asked. A small part of her whispered that this would be a good way to probe what he knew about her Rebel activities, but she didn't care. She was sick of playing nexu and womprat. She just wanted to know for the sake of getting to know him. The answer to the question who is Darth Vader was more important now than how much does he know.

"You just… don't make sense." Vader sighed, looking elsewhere. "Everyone else works with me to achieve something. You…"

Padmé waited patiently as he tried to find the right words, but he couldn't seem to do so. Smiling, she tried helping him. "I'm not working with you on a mission?"

Vader looked at her and gave an uncertain shrug.

"Have you never interacted with people outside of work?" Padmé asked. "Is there no one you confide in, talk to, train with…?"

Vader shook his head.

Blast it, no wonder he was so kriffing lonely. At least Padmé could relate to that, though she was luckier since she had Obi-Wan and Siri. Remembering how well they had connected over this topic, Padmé decided to try again. "So you feel isolated. I understand. When I'm done with my work in the senate I just go home and look over more work. Worrying about senate debates all the time isn't healthy… but I still do it. And then, despite everything you've done, you feel like you've accomplished nothing. Like it's never good enough, never important enough… just plain never enough."

She was being sincere in her words, and apparently Vader could tell. Either that or it touched him so deeply he didn't realize he was practically gaping at her. Padmé hoped he wasn't going to abruptly try to leave again like he always did before. Come to think of it, that really was a habit of his, like some sort of knee jerk reaction: when something caught him off guard, he ran from it. That was certainly an odd trait to have for someone with so many requirements and duties.

"What do you do when you're scared or lonely, milord?" Padmé asked.

Vader's grip on the menu tightened until his knuckles turned white. He closed his eyes and took a very long, deep breath before relaxing entirely. His neutral look was back. "I'm never scared or lonely, so I can't answer your question."

Padmé laughed at that obvious lie. "Oh, please; everyone gets scared or lonely at some point, and considering how you've been reacting to my remarks on the matter I can bet you've felt those emotions. If you haven't, then why do you get upset when I suggest you're lonely?"

"I overreacted earlier," Vader conceded calmly. "I tend to disapprove of people who are foolish enough to think they know more than they actually do."

Padmé flinched at the insult. Then she grew annoyed. "Well if you could just tell me about yourself I wouldn't have to make assumptions."

She felt like she'd made that point a million times by now.

"I…" Vader shifted in his seat uncomfortably, looking at the table. "I don't know how."

"You don't know how?" Padmé repeated, confused. "You don't know how to tell me about yourself?"

Vader nodded.

It was beyond strange to think that he didn't know how to talk about himself. She supposed maybe he didn't know where to start, but she had given him plenty of opportunities to answer her questions, which would then help her learn more about him. Or maybe he was just saying he didn't want to open up to her. But that didn't quite mix with not knowing how to do so. Was she missing something?

"Just answer my questions," she eventually said. "That's all you have to do."

Vader looked at her, saying nothing.

"You said you were shy on Imperial Center," Padmé began slowly. "Was that true? Be honest."

Vader watched her for a long time. She wasn't sure he'd actually answer her or not, but she was holding her breath in anticipation at the concept that she might finally get some answers from him.

Vader shook his head. So he had been lying about that. Then he furrowed his brow as if confused by his own answer, and he dove back behind his menu. Padmé stared at the menu, completely baffled by his behavior.

"So being near Obi-Wan and Siri didn't bother you," Padmé continued as if he hadn't just made that odd reaction. "Everything you said at the dinner was genuine. You weren't nervous or anything."

When Vader didn't react, Padmé reached over and took the menu from him so he couldn't hide behind it. He sighed, lowering his hands to the table and staring at them.

"Be straight with me, milord, once and for all," Padmé said sternly. "You've been going back and forth about a few things. This morning you said the only reason you mentioned liking parks was because the 'fresh air was good for you,' but a few days ago you just implied that you genuinely liked parks, and things were only trivial sometimes when you were nervous and didn't know what to say. But you claim that you were lying when you said you were shy, so… what is it? Trivial? Not trivial? Do you like anything? What do you like?"

"Everyone lies," Vader suddenly remarked, and his gaze turned to her, his eyes hard and cold. "As a senator you should know to trust no one."

"So I can't trust you," Padmé stated, leaning back in her seat. This conversation really was going nowhere—in fact, it seemed like it was making their interaction worse.

Vader flinched. "Well—no—I—"

"I'll trust you if you're honest with me," Padmé interrupted, folding her arms.

Vader seemed to be pondering something and his hands squeezed each other. He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. Padmé wasn't sure if he was saying he wouldn't be honest with her, or if something was wrong. She reached forward, touching his hands lightly, momentarily forgetting how much he avoided such actions. "What's wrong?"

Vader hissed, pulling his hands from her, making her jump. "Why can't you just realize that I don't need to talk about myself—it's not—it's—just stop it."

"Is it about not needing to, or not wanting to?" Padmé pressed.

Vader shot to his feet. "People have wants, not me."

Padmé would have normally tried to appease him at this point and coax him to calm down. But she wasn't quite thinking straight. Instead, she was staring at him, bemused and shocked at his behavior and his wording. "What are you saying?"

Vader stiffened, furrowing his brow further and breathing deeply. He closed his eyes again, and turned as if to leave when he stopped. Apparently he remembered that they weren't at the villa; he couldn't just run from this conversation. In a few seconds he relaxed his muscles and let out a breath he'd been holding. Opening his eyes, he gave her a calm look. "We can talk about other matters, senator. There are far more important things than me."

Where had this come from? As Vader sat once more, slowly picking up his menu, Padmé gawked at him. He really didhave actual, legitimate mood swings. Before anything else could be said, though, the waiter returned, and Padmé had to scramble to order something. The brief reprieve from their discussion gave her time to reassemble her thoughts, and in a moment of clarity, she simply said, "But you are important."

Vader looked at her.

"You're just as important as anybody else, as anything else," Padmé continued. "You're more important than other things, milord."

Vader stared at her, his mouth slightly open, speechless.

And then it just hit her. It hit her, right then and there. Padmé felt her eyes sting, her chest and throat tighten. All the stress of everything was crashing on her again, ten times worse than before; she'd had no outlet, she'd had no support since she'd gotten here, she'd tried again and again and made mistakes again and again and despite telling him that he was important it seemed like she was insignificant in comparison to everything that was happening, and normally that didn't bother her but—

A small sob escaped her and Padmé covered her mouth, lowering her head in an attempt to hide her face. She couldn't be doing this right here and now. She couldn't. But she hadn't been able to vent, to let it out, to do anything; after she'd found out about Sabé's death she'd been planning, arranging, acting, and even after Obi-Wan and Siri had offered their support it still hadn't been a moment of release; it had been an extra boost, and a helpful one, but it hadn't been a release. She needed a release.

Padmé curled in on herself further as more sobs began to come out. She wanted to pull her hair out, bite her hand, do something to make herself stop, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop it; as soon as one sob came a whole bunch of them cascaded out until she was practically on the floor in a fetal position.

As she cried, Padmé heard a chair shift and then heard footsteps. A pair of black boots appeared in her tear-clouded vision. And then she felt it: a soft cloth touched her face, pushing slightly against her cheek and wiping the tears away.

"Stop crying. It doesn't do anything apart from make you look weak."

Padmé hiccupped. She felt anger pierce into her, but she felt more sobs escape as a result. She couldn't keep doing this; she didn't have the energy to deal with this guy.

"Stop crying."

Padmé sank further into herself. She wanted to get away from him. She wanted to get away from everything.

"Is… everything alright?"

The waiter had returned. She had to pull herself together.

"Everything's fine. Get back to work." She heard Vader say.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'll just get back to work."

She didn't want to move, yet she wanted to swim all the way to Theed and to her family. She wanted to stop crying, yet she didn't want to—it was at least getting it out. She wanted Vader to get away from her, yet she wanted him to comfort her.

Damn it she just wanted this to stop.

"Senator. Senator, stop crying."

Shut the hell up she wanted to say. This is your fault. And it was. Sabé was dead because of him, she couldn't be with Siri and Obi-Wan because of him.

Yet she couldn't make herself angry at him. Something about how empty he seemed just made him too pitiful to be hated. And she hated herself for feeling that way. So she cried all the more.

"Padmé."

She paused in the middle of a sob, slowly looking up. Vader was crouching in front of her, hiding her from the view of anybody who might be passing by. He was watching her intently, even sternly, like a parent scolding a child. But he had… he had said her name.

"Go to the boat." He whispered.

Padmé hiccupped again, closing her eyes and gasping for air. She shook her head.

"Go to the boat, Padmé. No one will see you."

He did have some logic in that argument. It was better if she fell apart away from the entire town. Padmé stood shakily, keeping her head bowed. She saw Vader rise alongside her. He took a few steps back to let her pass, and she did so wordlessly, suddenly feeling grateful that he would help her get her butt in gear and go somewhere private. But she still couldn't stifle all the sobs as she went. For some reason, though, no one seemed to notice; it was almost as if they didn't see her.

Eventually she reached the boat and just sat there, finally making no effort to hold it back. Her body shook, she felt sick, and she just wanted to go home. She wished Obi-Wan and Siri were there; they would both just hold her. Obi-Wan would say nothing but he would be a stabilizing rock for her, and Siri would make some remark that would make her laugh. Blast it, she missed them so much. The fact that she hadn't heard from them at all was another reason she was finally at her wit's end; if anything had happened to them, she wouldn't know what to do, she wouldn't know how to cope.

In that moment she just wanted to find Obi-Wan and Siri and bring them home. She didn't care about the Empire or the Alliance. She wanted to protect her family, to be with them, to love them, to be loved by them… she didn't want this war in her life anymore. She didn't want any of it.

She felt the boat rock and heard someone climb into it. Opening her eyes, Padmé turned her face and saw Vader sitting there. He placed a handkerchief on her lap, alongside the food they had ordered. He looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but instead he turned his attention to the controls and drove the boat away from the dock. Padmé picked up the handkerchief, both shocked and touched by his behavior. She didn't know what to say, and she wasn't quite sure she could open her mouth without a sob escaping, so she just buried her face in the handkerchief. It smelled of the lake water and the smallest hint of some sort of cologne. The scents blended and helped calm her as she tried to get a hold of her emotions. She wanted to talk about what was wrong, but Vader was the last person who needed to hear her concerns about the Alliance and whether Obi-Wan and Siri were okay.

The boat ride was an eternity. It certainly felt like it. But she supposed she needed an eternity to get a hold of herself. She was finally starting to get some semblance of composure when she peeked out over the handkerchief and noticed that they had just passed the villa. She didn't say anything, still unsure if she could use her voice yet, but she looked at Vader. He was leaning back in the seat, barely touching the controls. He was just cruising. He knew he had missed the villa. After watching him drive for a while, Padmé noticed he missed it again. He was waiting for her to calm down. He was giving her time to calm down.

He was being kriffing considerate.

If anything could shock her out of her emotional chaos, it was definitely that concept. Padmé felt her tears dry and her sobs disappear, and she finally wiped her face one last time and cleared her throat.

Despite the loud noise of the boat's motor, Vader seemed to hear her, and he turned the boat towards the villa's dock. When they pulled in, it was on Padmé's side so she could climb out first. Taking advantage of the kind action, Padmé stood and stepped onto the dock, the last of her tears finally gone. She took a deep breath, raising her face towards the sun and closing her eyes.

Vader stepped onto the dock just behind her. She heard him standing there, waiting for her to do something, though what he was expecting, she wasn't sure. Maybe just to move out of his way. But there was plenty of room the dock; he could easily get around her.

She decided to take the initiative. "Thank you."

Vader said nothing, so Padmé turned to look him in the eye. He was watching her calmly, but something about his expression, his eyes, seemed different. It didn't feel like a bad kind of different, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Vader gave a small nod. "You'll learn eventually."

Padmé let out a pitiful, tired laugh. "I'll learn? Learn what? Learn to stop having emotions?"

Vader nodded.

Padmé froze. She'd meant it as an offhand joke, but his eyes were burning into her as if he were trying to relay some big secret to her. Without another word, Vader walked by her and up the stairs to the balcony, leaving her alone on the dock.

"How could she have been captured—what are we going to do—there's no way we'll be able to join up, and—shavit what are we going to do?!"

Al watched silently as Siri paced restlessly in the room. Senator Tlenden had guided them through his office building (which had been surprisingly large; Al hadn't noticed the size of the place when they first entered because it had been too dark), which was attached to official residences by a narrow hallway. The guest quarters they were provided were quite roomy and cozy, filled with furs, plushy furniture, dark wood, useful amenities like HoloNet receivers, and a large fireplace. At the moment nothing was being utilized; Siri was too busy stomping a trench into the ground with the amount she was pacing while Obi-Wan stood in place in the center of the action and Al leaned against the wall, avoiding the argument altogether.

Honestly, he didn't know what to think of any of this. It felt like they had already lost, like they were floating in cold, empty space without any hope of being rescued. Between losing both their bases, losing most of their supplies and troops, and then on top of it losing a founder and spy, it felt like the battle was over before it ever began.

Almusian tried not to let things bother him in his life; after becoming a criminal he decided he needed to take a more nonchalant approach to everything. But it had never quite worked; he'd still get upset about something, terrified of something else, or completely hopeless. He didn't have Siri's fire, he didn't have Obi-Wan's keen wisdom… but he did have his intellect. His cold hard logic was sometimes a little too blunt for his own liking, but it still throbbed angrily in his mind, telling him that the odds of the Alliance surviving at this point were very small.

"We have to talk to Adelig," Siri suddenly said.

"No," Obi-Wan immediately shook his head. "Tlenden was quite clear about that. The last thing we need to do is be rude to our host."

"Why can't he realize that we can help him as much as he can help us?" Siri asked in frustration. "We can help him end his war, we can help him rebuild, and in turn he can help us fight the Empire."

"The Galactic Empire is a far bigger problem than Tlenden believes Salkende can handle." Obi-Wan explained.

Siri let out a groan. "Well we have to change that view. Why does he think Salkende can't handle it? You heard him boasting about their warriors."

"They're struggling to win a planetary war, Siri."

"They're not 'struggling' at all! They've basically won it!"

"Yes, but they've been fighting for twenty years," Obi-Wan stressed. "You heard Tlenden: he said the Ønske Clan was practically destroyed, and they're the ones who are supposed to be in charge."

"They will be destroyed if they keep this up," Siri shook her head. "If they remain isolationist like this it's going to come back and bite them, I guarantee it."

"Well until that day comes, I think they're probably going to remain isolationist." Obi-Wan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Obi-Wan, who else can we go to?" Siri asked desperately. "There's no one else! We don't know of any other systems that can aid us, any other that will aid us!"

Almusian felt his gut clench. He couldn't hear this anymore. He didn't want to hear it anymore. Pushing himself off the wall, he exited the room and wandered the halls aimlessly.

Siri was right. They had no one else to turn to. The Alliance always tried to keep tabs on possible allies, and from what Al had gathered from Athia before her capture, Tlenden was not only their best option, but their only one. Corellia wasn't going to get anywhere near the Alliance after Bel Iblis disappeared, Chandrila would now be unable and unwilling to aid after Mothma's capture… the only large power on their side now was Alderaan, and the planet wasn't exactly known for its military expertise. Organa funded the Alliance, which in itself was extremely important, but even if they had the funds they didn't have the resources to use them.

Al paused in front of a window, looking outside. Now that the sun had finally come out he could get a good view of the city. Fjesky wasn't particularly large in comparison to other cities Al had visited, but it was very densely packed. The city was right beside a fjord, and grassland surrounded its borders. None of the buildings stood particularly tall except for a handful of skyscrapers towards the back of the city, closest to the fjord. The low lying buildings were longhouses made of a mix of synthetic and natural materials, and their angled rooves had turf on top of them. Many longhouses connected to each other in certain parts of the city, while the buildings farther out from the skyscrapers, presumably the neighborhoods, typically stood on their own.

Of the skyscrapers, the most prominent stood in the center. It was extremely tall and its shape resembled a triangle with its edges smoothed out. The building rather resembled the palace in Aldera where Bail Organa lived. The enormous iconic shape, however, only stood as a wall and entranceway to the enormous complex of longhouses attached to it. It had to be the warlord's headquarters; none of the other buildings compared to it.

Al glanced at the streets, which were covered with so much snow the people trudging through them were knee deep in it. A breeze stirred up the powdery snow, making it blow everywhere and temporarily making the street and its inhabitants vanish. When the snow settled, it was as if Al had suddenly changed streets or lost time somehow; the new scene was so vastly different from the old calm one that he didn't know how it could have changed in the span of a few seconds. People were rushing everywhere, dressed far differently from the other locals. Al tensed, his hand slipping to where his gun holster should be when he remembered he had left it on the Invariant Beauty so people wouldn't get nervous. Blast it.

The new arrivals who seemed to have urgent business were dressed in some sort of uniform; it had to be one, at least, since they all wore it with very little variation. They all wore dark brown heavy boots lined with fur, grey pants, long dark brown vests made from fur and some durable looking material that reached all the way to their knees, white or grey tunics under the vests, and dark brown gloves that went up to their elbows. They also wore stout rectangular shaped hats that had different markings on them. Their faces were painted with red, blue, green, or brown paint. Many of the people were the same species as Tlenden and Åkjem—they were called Edlesk—but a large number were from other species as well, namely Bith, Twi'leks, and Sullustans.

An Edlesk male ran faster than the others and towards the Tlenden's building. Al crept down the hall so he could listen as the man rushed inside the foyer.

He heard Åkjem speaking, but it was in the same foreign dialect she had initially used on them. Peeking around the corner, he saw her conversing with the man before he heard movement behind him. Diving for cover behind some furniture, Al watched Tlenden pass where he had just been standing. The senator entered the foyer and spoke crisply with the newcomer before the two left the building.

Looking out a nearby window, Al watched the two enter the street and meet up with the frantic newcomers. The exchanged words and then walked towards the skyscrapers.

Entering the foyer, Al caught Åkjem's attention. "Hey, what's going on outside?"

"One of our warriors was injured in battle," Åkjem explained. "He's just arrived."

"Big fuss for just one guy." Al muttered, watching the similarly clothed people—he presumed they were soldiers after what Åkjem had just said—follow Tlenden. Åkjem didn't make any comment, so he figured she wouldn't tell him much else. Sighing, he left the foyer, returning to the guest quarters; there wasn't much else he could do. At least he had gotten a nice distraction from the larger problem at hand.

When he reentered the guest room, he noticed Obi-Wan and Siri standing at the window. "You saw the commotion, too?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Siri asked.

Al shrugged. "Something about some soldier getting hurt. It's probably a high up officer."

The three stood silently for a short period of time. Obi-Wan eventually turned away from the window and walked towards Almusian.

"So, did you guys decide anything?" Al asked hesitantly.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Not really. Siri still thinks we should try to speak to Adelig."

"Yeah, I'm scrapping that plan," Siri said from her spot, causing the men to look at her. "Remember how Tlenden said Adelig has a son? I think that's our injured hero out there."

"You see him?"

"No, but it would explain the fuss."

"So this means the war's getting worse for them?" Al asked. "Why do we always ally with the losing side, anyway?"

"They're not losing yet." Obi-Wan reminded him.

"Yeah, but if their heir dies they're toast," Al shook his head. "That's how their logic works here: no clan means no anything."

Obi-Wan sat heavily on a couch. "We'll have to go."

"Go where, though?" Al asked. "To Naboo?"

Obi-Wan was silent for a long time, garnering worried looks from both Al and Siri. Why was he hesitating?

"We need to make contact with Senator Organa," Obi-Wan finally said.

"Bail? What?" Siri immediately walked from the window and stood directly in front of him. "We can't call him over the holo, it's too risky!"

"I know," Obi-Wan said, looking at her pointedly.

Al was beginning to piece his meaning together when Siri immediately caught it. "We're going to Alderaan? What about Padmé?"

"Padmé would do the same thing," Obi-Wan sighed. "She's safe right now."

"Safe? She's stuck with Darth Vader—how the hell is that safe?!" Siri snapped.

"Because she's hopefully keeping him busy," Obi-Wan replied, his voice tightening. Al knew Siri better than Obi-Wan, but he could tell when the man was beginning to lose his patience. "Siri, she knew what she was getting into—this was all her idea, after all. We can't afford to waste any time going all the way to Naboo; we can still make contact with her, but we must go to Alderaan and figure out what in the blazes is happening."

Siri looked like she wanted to argue further, but she just blew out a frustrated breath instead. She seemed to understand his logic, even if she didn't like it. Al knew he sure as hell didn't like it; to be honest he had been worrying too much about the situation at hand to give much concern to Padmé, but now that Siri mentioned her, he was beginning to get nervous. It had been four days since Padmé and Darth Vader had left for Naboo. Al had never seen the Sith Lord in action, but he knew his reputation well enough to be scared out of his wits at the idea that Padmé was alone with him.

"Then we need to leave. Now." Siri finally said.

Obi-Wan nodded and stood. "Yes, we should leave. But we should speak to Tlenden first."

"Why?"

"To see what's wrong," Obi-Wan answered. "And if there's anything we can do about it."

"He already said he wouldn't help us."

"This isn't about him helping us; it's about us helping him."

Al nodded. "Trying to establish some good graces, eh?"

"We don't have time for that," Siri argued.

"We can still make contact with Padmé before we leave," Obi-Wan assured her. Then he looked at Almusian. "Al, do you think you can reach Naboo all the way from here?"

"Holo communications can reach anywhere in the galaxy, Obi-Wan," Al answered, a little confused as to why Obi-Wan wouldn't know that.

Obi-Wan smiled wryly. "Yes, well, with the state your ship is in I wasn't sure of that."

Al immediately grew annoyed. "Hey, she got us here, didn't she?"

"After a side tour to Nar Shaddaa.

"She'll reach Naboo just fine."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "I'll take your word for it."

At that, Obi-Wan stood and began to head towards the exit. Siri followed him silently, but Al grew confused. "Wait, we're going to the ship now?"

"We're going to Tlenden now." Obi-Wan answered from the doorway. "Let's see how we can help."

How's the pacing of the story going? Hopefully it doesn't feel too sluggish?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!