Ha! Finished this way faster than I thought I would! Thanks so much for all the reviews! :)

Padmé walked as calmly as she could. Obi-Wan was just beside her, and she couldn't show any kind of nervousness with him around. She wanted to tell him about the escape plan, but considering how things had been going lately, he was more likely to get upset than to help. She wasn't sure where Siri was, but that was probably for the best.

The senate session had just ended and the two were heading out. Pausing, Padmé blew out a fake sigh of exasperation. "I left something in my office. Go ahead and take the next taxi. I'll meet you back home."

Obi-Wan stopped as well and raised an eyebrow in her direction. She knew she shouldn't be lying to him outright; he was very good at picking up on it. Nevertheless, apart from making him even more suspicious by stating she had private business to attend to, this was the best she could do. If he was in a good mood, he'd just confront her about it at home.

He gave her a hard look. He knew she was lying. "Padmé."

"Just go, Obi-Wan," she said softly, with a healthy amount of pleading in her tone. "I'll explain later."

Obi-Wan faced her fully. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing that has to do with Vader, I promise." She answered honestly. Hopefully that would detract him enough. "All you'll do is get in the way." Before he could reply, she quickly added, "And where's Siri?"

Obi-Wan was silent.

"So you can keep secrets but I can't?" Padmé noted.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know where she is, Padmé."

"You might want to find her, then," Padmé replied as she brushed passed him. He didn't follow; her statement was enough. Good. She didn't like excluding him and Siri from this (heavens, Siri would be all over this plan… if only Padmé knew where she was… she hadn't been answering her comlink), but it made things work a lot smoother and faster if she just went to the meeting spot as promised without arguing with her brother and sister-in-law the entire way.

She quickly reached the apartment complex and stood in the lounge, checking her chronometer. It was exactly 1730. Footsteps caught her attention, and she glanced up to see Éothen approaching her. He was dressed simply, but the outfit certainly wouldn't pass for any sort of combat gear.

"Senator," he nodded in acknowledgment. "Ready for a drink?"

Drink? Padmé eyed him for a few seconds before nodding slowly, waiting to see what would happen next. Éothen approached her and motioned for her to follow him. The two exited the building and took a taxi far deep into the city, lower than the sunlight could even reach. Once they arrived, Padmé glanced around and examined the surroundings. This was the underbelly of the city; it was so dark the street lights were on, and the towering buildings above served as walls and ceilings in certain areas. People packed the streets, and the smell made her insides churn a little. Puddles of water and heaven knew what else were everywhere, and in some areas it was flooded from all the rain.

"Where are we?" she asked Éothen softly.

"K'shadd District, Level 294," he replied. "We're here to meet a friend of mine. I hear you have a useful friend as well, senator. Do you know Almusian Brek?"

Padmé glanced at him, surprised. "How do you know about Al?"

"My mother met him," he answered with a simple shrug. "He's a smuggler, right? Is he on Imperial Center with you? It would make things go a lot more quickly."

Padmé felt her throat tighten a little, but there was little point in turning back now. She nodded.

"Tell him to meet us at the Drunken Dewback Cantina," Éothen instructed. "Preferably now."

"You said you were going to prepare for this," Padmé reminded him. "Aren't we going to do this tonight?"

"Of course we are," he nodded with conviction. "I've got stuff laid out. I just need the manpower; I'd have gotten someone else, but it's far easier and safer to get someone you know."

Padmé sighed and pulled out her comlink. She would be safer too if Al were around, honestly; she didn't see much reason to mistrust Éothen, but they had just met.

Blast, that just occurred to her.

Shaking her head, she activated the comlink. "Al?"

"Padmé, is that you? What's up?"

"Do you know where the Drunken Dewback Cantina is?"

Al laughed. "The better question is who in my profession doesn't?"

Padmé glanced at Éothen, starting to grow curious as to why he'd chosen that place. "Well meet me there as soon as possible."

"Is everything okay?" Al's tone immediately grew concerned.

"Everything's… stuff's about to happen, and I need your help. Hurry."

"On my way." He immediately said.

Padmé cut the connection and smiled at Éothen. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."

The two walked for a short amount of time before entering a large establishment. It was fairly clean, much to Padmé's surprise and relief. She was glad she was wearing a cloak over her outfit, though; she didn't think it would go well for someone of her stature to be caught down here. Éothen guided her through the crowd back to a private room. Once they passed the bouncers she saw a room with a sabacc table, several sofas, and a small stage for entertainers. The room was empty save for a Human female sitting on the sofa, her arms crossed. She had light brown skin, thick dark brown hair that was tied from her face, narrow sharp blue eyes, a small nose, and an intricate blue tattoo around her right eye. She was of average height. Her toned muscles were apparent in the neon light.

"Amidala?" she asked as she stood.

Padmé glanced at Éothen questioningly before returning her gaze to the woman. "Yes."

"Senator, this is the second-in-command of my unit, Erwyna," Éothen introduced her. "She came to Imperial Center with me. She'll be helping us out tonight."

Padmé was suddenly grateful Al was going to be there. These people didn't seem to be untrustworthy, but she was quickly being outnumbered by strangers on a top secret mission and it was starting to make her a little nervous. She shook her head to rid her mind of the thoughts; there was little point in worrying about it at this point, anyway. "Nice to meet you."

Erwyna offered a curt nod and then looked at Éothen. "Did you get the resources we need?"

"Her smuggler friend is coming."

"Her smuggler friend is here."

Everyone whirled around to see Al standing in the doorway, his hand resting on his blaster. He was eying Éothen carefully. His usual jovial and easygoing expression was stony.

"Who the blazes are you?" he asked Éothen.

"It's okay, Al," Padmé hastily stepped forward. "This is Éothen, and that's Erwyna. They're from Salkende. They're going to help us bust Mon and Bail out of prison."

Al's eyes narrowed, and his blaster hand stiffened. He fingered the handle of his weapon and started to slowly pull it out of its holster. "Salkende refused to help us."

"My mother refused to help," Éothen corrected him, remaining calm. "As did Senator Tlenden. I am not them. I'm a soldier."

"Special Forces, to be exact," Erwyna added, sitting on the sofa once more to ease the tension in the room.

Al finally started to relax, releasing his blaster. He instead leaned against the door frame and folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Some help you'll be with your arm in a sling."

"My arm won't be a problem," Éothen replied. "Will you help us?"

Al glanced at Padmé briefly and the two locked eyes. She nodded. Sighing, he stood straight and entered the room, finally at ease. "What's the job?"

"We need a slicer," Erwyna explained.

Al frowned. "You know, just because I'm a criminal doesn't mean I can do every crime in existence. I'm a smuggler, not a slicer."

"But you are a criminal," Erwyna noted. "And an intelligent one, I should think."

Al stiffened, getting annoyed. "Yes."

"Then you should have made plenty of contacts on Imperial Center, right?"

Al sighed. "I'll see if I can get someone."

Erwyna nodded. "Great. While he's doing that, let's go over the information."

Éothen walked towards her and sat on a sofa beside hers. Padmé sat across from both of them. Erwyna slid a holoprojector onto the table between all of them and inserted a data chip, activating it. A holographic image of the Imperial Judiciary Detention Facility appeared, slowly rotating so they could all examine it.

"Senators Mothma and Organa are about five hundred levels above us," Erwyna explained. "The facility sits atop this building structure. It's got thirty different levels. Entering the perimeter requires passcodes and walking through scanners and security. Once you enter the perimeter, the area outside the facility is guarded by droids. Once we enter the main building itself, there's a security station, and then the entrance to authorized personnel only.

"By the time we put this plan in motion it'll be lockdown for the night. The prisoners will all be back in their cells. The cells are located in a main room in the center of the facility; a guard post is in the middle, and you need a skiff to get to any of the cells.

"I've got uniforms to get us in, but we'll need a slicer to put our credentials in there so the droids don't fry us before we even get inside. I've got the necessary passcodes. Once we get inside I can loop the security feed and we can take out the post guard—quietly. Then we can enter the facility unchecked. Once we reach the guard post we can do the same thing, and then we release all the prisoners."

"Release all of them?" Padmé repeated.

"We don't want them to know who we're there for," Éothen told her. "If we send the skiffs to random cells and then released everyone, the whole place would break into chaos. We could get the senators and escape."

"We can easily access the prisoner records from the guard post; we'll know exactly where they are," Erwyna continued. "Then we get the blazes out of there during the insanity; the best place to go is the VIP visitor area – they've got an emergency escape pad there. Most of the guards will be rushing to the main prison area and there aren't any scheduled VIP visits, so it won't be heavily guarded. Brek can fly in and pick us up there."

Al finished speaking to his contact at that moment and he said, "Great; so my ship gets to be identified."

"Unless you can find another one in that time," Erwyna shrugged.

"I can hijack somebody's speeder," Al said. "My contact's on her way; she'll be here in about ten minutes."

"Good," Erwyna nodded and then stood, grabbing a bag. She pulled black clothing out and tossed it to the three other people in the room. Padmé caught it quickly, glancing at it. "Put those on; they're a mesh designed to help keep you alive in case you get shot."

"That's always important," Al noted as he examined the clothes. "Any suggestions on where I get dressed? I don't fancy stripping in front of you."

Éothen and Padmé laughed. Erwyna rolled her eyes and motioned to a side room. Al was about to enter when he looked at Padmé and smiled. "You first."

Padmé shrugged. "Fine by me."

Entering the room she quickly closed the door and tossed her cloak onto some furniture. She felt her nerves start to tingle as she put the body suit on. She'd been in fights before, but never really an operation. She was both excited and nervous; she couldn't wait to get Mon and Bail out of there, but at the same time she knew how big of a risk this was. It wasn't like she had much of a choice, though; she would not leave them there to rot… or worse. Besides, Éothen and Erwyna were the elite among the soldiers of Salkende, and the planet itself was known for having amazing warriors. They'd obviously done operations like this before considering how quickly they threw together a plan. She wished Siri could help, though; between the two, Padmé knew that Siri was far more likely and willing to pull a stunt like this than Obi-Wan.

Padmé grabbed her comlink and tried to call Siri once more but again got no answer. She began to grow worried; maybe it was a good thing she sent Obi-Wan to find her. She hoped everything was all right.

A knock at the door caught her attention. "Hey, you decent?"

Padmé smiled. It was Al. "Yes, come on in."

The door opened and Al entered, but he quickly closed it behind him before Padmé had a chance to leave. Padmé raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"So, you and I haven't worked together as much as I have with Obi-Wan and Siri," Al said, giving Padmé a stern look. "But I just wanted to share something with you."

Padmé crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side. Al was right in that they hadn't worked together much. It was starting to show, too; his behavior was different than she'd seen, and she was quickly realizing it was because she'd not really been with him on any kind of mission. The most they'd interacted with each other was during business transactions when Kuna was alive, and the occasional friendly conversation… that and when he burst into her apartment to warn them about Athia. Padmé still felt a cold shiver go down her spine as she thought about that poor spy. Come to think of it, if they had the chance she was going to try and find her in the prison registry as well.

In either case, Al was still patiently waiting. His green eyes glittered and he was stroking his chin similarly to Obi-Wan, though somehow with less poise. Padmé eventually indicated for him to continue. "Go ahead."

Al cleared his throat and straightened his posture. Was this his I'm getting serious pose, or was he joking with her? Padmé recalled many times that Siri would make fun of Al's false bravado, but she and Obi-Wan never doubted his intelligence or ability. They'd simply said he was quite the goofball. She was starting to see it, even in this serious situation.

"Siri once said my brain is like a computer because of how good I am at math." Al began. Padmé grew even more confused. What in the blazes was he getting at? "So let me be the logical computer here and say that none of this makes any sense. My brain's coming up with a logarithm that is telling me this is an insane idea."

Padmé couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't know math equations could say that."

"You don't seem to have the word intervention in your vocabulary," Al continued, unperturbed. "So let me enlighten you: This. Is. Crazy."

Padmé sighed. "Al—"

"You don't even know these people!" Al interrupted. Or he just hadn't noticed she was talking. "How do you know they're actually what they say they are? Where are Obi-Wan and Siri? How do we know this plan is even going to work? Five people breaking into a maximum security prison? Are you kidding me right now?"

"I first met Éothen with Senator Tlenden. They know each other." Padmé explained to reassure him. He did seem to get upset rather easily when it came to the Empire. To be honest, though, he hadn't met these people before… then again, Padmé hadn't met Erwyna until just a few minutes ago. She shook her head. This was their only option. It had to work. "Why would he have any reason to harm me? He shouldn't even be helping me."

"Exactly." Al pointed at her, his eyes narrowing. "Padmé, why is he helping you?"

Here she paused, reviewing her conversations with the man. He'd immediately come to her defense when she'd first met him. She knew honor was important to the people of Salkende, and Éothen was no exception. "I get the feeling it's his honor. Even Tlenden doesn't like the Empire, but Éothen is willing to do something about it."

"You get the feeling? So you don't even know why he's doing this?" Al questioned.

Padmé exhaled sharply from her nose and closed her eyes, growing a little annoyed. They couldn't be getting into this right now. "Al, what exactly do you propose as an alternative?"

Al lowered his hand and shrugged. "We could always wait for the Rebels—"

"And wait a week?" she immediately cut him off. "They'll be dead by then! We don't have a choice, and I feel confident in working with Éothen."

Al watched her for a while longer before sighing heavily and relenting. "Well, I hope your confidence is well placed or we'll be joining Mothma and Organa in our own cells."

Obi-Wan once again tried contacting Siri and Al via their comlinks. Neither was answering. He felt his gut clench and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Terrific. So now not only was Padmé doing heaven knew what, but Siri and Al were missing without a trace as well. This was just not his day.

He felt like he'd searched half of Imperial Center to no avail. Honestly the only thing he could do was return to the apartment and hope for the best, and he hated that. Obi-Wan wasn't nearly as impatient or reckless as his wife and sister, but even he didn't fancy sitting around while they could potentially be getting themselves killed. He didn't dare use the Force to try and find his wife – he wouldn't even know how to, anyway, and just thinking about doing so made him feel exposed. He didn't know where Vader was, and he did not want to run into him or attract his attention.

Blasted Sith. What the blazes was Obi-Wan going to do about him and Padmé? Had anything even happened? From what he'd gathered it seemed more like Vader was playing her, which wasn't surprising in the least. The man was a trained killer – of course he'd know how to fool people into trusting him. What blew Obi-Wan's mind was how Padmé had actually fallen for it when her original plan had been to play him. What had happened at Varykino?

And where in the blazes was Siri?!

Obi-Wan finally reached the apartment and sat on the sofa before rising once more and pacing restlessly. He had to trust them. He had to trust both of them. Whatever they were doing… he had to have faith that they'd know better than to get themselves hurt or into any kind of trouble. He was fairly certain he'd made his point quite clear that they had to maintain the status quo until their protector arrived.

Their protector. A Jedi. Shaking his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Why was it that everything seemed to be getting worse even when it was supposed to be getting better? Someone who was sent by the Rebels to protect Padmé was a good thing, but… did he have to be a Jedi? Obi-Wan figured the man knew how to stay hidden even in plain sight if he'd survived this long, but if Vader sensed anything… it would be the end for all of them.

Blast it Siri was right about him; he did worry too much. But considering the fact that the others were all missing and he was the only one in the apartment where they all should be, could anyone really blame him for worrying?

He needed a drink.

Al's friend showed up sooner than he'd predicted. A dark green skinned Twi'lek entered the room and immediately fixed her brown eyes on Al. "Is this where we're setting up shop?"

Al nodded. "Yeah, you'll be here. All you got to do is access the personnel records." He glanced at Erwyna. "Right?"

"No, she's coming," Erwyna corrected him and handed the Twi'lek a bodysuit.

The Twi'lek raised a painted eyebrow to Al. "You didn't tell me I'd be going into the field."

Al smiled and shrugged, his sabacc face on. "Hey, life happens. Plans change."

"Mm-hmm," she grunted. "And prices double."

Al sighed heavily.

"What's your name?" Padmé asked to end the argument.

"Okima'yak," she answered. "And what'll I call you? Pretty face?"

"I'm Sønn," Éothen said, making Padmé briefly give him a confused look. Motioning to Erwyna, he said, "This is Turva, and the other one is Ven. You already know Almusian."

Ven? Padmé grew confused, but Al put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, Ven and I go way back. She used to help me with some smuggling jobs. We were all hired for this one, but I figured we could use your help, Okima."

The Twi'lek shrugged. "Pay's good enough. What precisely do you need from me?"

As Erwyna began to explain the plan once more, Al pulled Padmé to the side. Then he whispered, "The senate is your playground, Padmé, but crime is mine. Now listen up: I may not know this Éothen guy too well, but he's got some smarts, I'll give him that. Your nickname is so you aren't affiliated with this incident; you never give away personal information that can get you killed, even to partners in crime… heck, especially to partners in crime. Okima is an associate, not a friend; she'll gladly sell you out to the Empire if they offer enough. Follow whatever code name he gave you. Got it?"

Padmé nodded. Before she could say anything else, Al continued.

"Now, when the firing starts, just duck for cover. Your best option is to—"

She interrupted softly with mild amusement, touched by his concern. "I've been in fights before. I had to fight to retake my capital city from a mercenary army when I was fourteen."

Al blinked. "Oh. Well. Okay."

Smiling, she pat him on the arm and returned to the conversation between the Salkendens and the slicer.

"So, we need a situation for this to work, you know," Okima'yak said, propping her foot up against the table and leaning on her knee. "You can't just stroll in for the heck of it, even if your record checks out."

"We were debating what would be best," Erwyna explained. "And what would work best for you."

"Inspection will attract too much attention," the slicer sighed, shaking her head as she popped something into her mouth. "What are our disguises?"

Éothen pointed at Erwyna. "She's an officer. The rest of us are stormtroopers."

"Good thinking," Okima'yak laughed. "We'd be dead before we started if they could tell we weren't Humans." Chewing on something loudly, she clapped her hands together. "Well, let's see… it'd be strange to have new guards coming in at night, but… when does the shift change?"

Erwyna checked her chronometer. "In about twenty minutes."

"Sounds like I've got my work cut out for me, then." The Twi'lek stood straight once more, crossing her arms. "Okay, here's the deal: we'll be coming in for the night shift. I can put our records into the system, and if you've got passcodes you can handle the rest. I can slice through any door your codes can't, but it'll take time. What's our limit?"

"When we take out the guards at the security post they'll miss their check-in," Erwyna said and then shrugged. "I'd say ten minutes at the most."

"Ten minutes?" Padmé repeated, a little startled.

"Funny thing about illegal operations: they tend to move really fast." The slicer remarked and then glanced at Al. "You said she's worked with you before?"

"Normally our jobs weren't quite so… suicidal." Al replied, glancing pointedly at Padmé.

"If you're going to get those records up, you'd better do it fast," Éothen interrupted the conversation. "Also, you'll need a spike to corrupt the data in the guard post so they don't know who we're searching for. And you'll have to cut off all the security feeds when we release the prisoners."

The Twi'lek nodded. "Got it. It'll take a little bit to get our profiles in there – about fifteen minutes."

Padmé blew out a sigh. She was getting nervous already. The slicer sat on a sofa and pulled out her equipment, checking it over. Then she went over to a HoloNet console in the corner and got to work. Padmé wrung her hands a little and then began to pace the room. Éothen handed her the stormtrooper armor. Just holding it made her feel all the queasier, both from anxiety and repulsion. She really didn't want to wear this, but she knew why he'd done so – the Twi'lek slicer may not have recognized her, but the Imperials would easily realize she was a senator and discover her true identity.

"I'm going to get a vehicle," Al muttered, and then he put his hand on Padmé's shoulder. "Good luck."

Padmé gulped and nodded.

Rahm Kota stretched alongside his Padawan. The two had just finished sparring and were getting ready for some dinner. It had been a few days since they'd started lingering in the Mid Rim, and Kota was beginning to wonder if the Empire was taking the hint. He pondered attacking another base, another system, but at this point it would start to become wasteful; he had to maintain supplies.

Galen smiled. "You think they actually made something decent tonight?"

Rahm laughed. "I doubt it. We're out of frozen food; just protein packs now."

"You'd figure the Empire could attack us sooner," Galen muttered. "That way we can go home and eat real food."

Rahm clapped his hand on his Padawan's shoulder and was about to reply when a sudden headache made him wince. His gut clenched, and all the hair on his body stood up; the Force was screaming a warning at him. Galen sensed it too.

"Do you—?"

Galen's statement was cut off when the ship lurched. Metal screamed in protest and several crates and pieces of machinery went flying. Rahm and Galen both tumbled to the ground and quickly dodged the debris. Alarms blared loudly. Using the Force to summon his lightsaber, Rahm leapt to his feet. Galen quickly followed suit.

"Padawan, you could have whined about them after dinner," Rahm quipped. "At least we could have—"

"General!" one of his captains shouted through the comlink. "General, it's Death Squadron!"

Galen and Rahm stiffened and then exchanged looks. That was Darth Vader's fleet.

Rahm nodded to his Padawan, and he rushed out of the room. He quickly made his way to the bridge to assess the situation. Death Squadron had seven ships in its fleet, with an S-class Star Destroyer, the Executor, as the flagship. That was no doubt where the Sith apprentice was.

"Raise shields and direct all firepower to the flagship," Rahm instructed. He wanted to at least get the first shots in. He'd leave the rest to the admiral; he was getting on the nearest boarding ship and—

The ship shook once more, nearly knocking everyone to the ground. TIE fighters exited the destroyers like insects from a hive. Rahm rubbed the back of his head where he'd just slammed it into a console.

"Sir! We've got marines incoming!"

Rahm immediately looked at the console to see where they'd been boarded. Then he drew on the Force to ready him for the fight to come. He called out to his Padawan through the Force, and Galen responded. They'd hit the hangar where he was preparing to leave, so he was already busy. Rahm nodded and opened his eyes. He hastily left the room, tossing a command to the admiral as he departed. "Bridge is yours, admiral."

Time to get to work.

The gate leading into the prison area was just a handful of steps ahead. Padmé took a deep calming breath. She could do this. She had to do this.

"I lead." Erwyna whispered to the group.

One of the other two nodded. "Better you than me," the filtered voice of a stormtrooper replied through the helmet. Padmé was fairly certain it was the slicer; she doubted Éothen would say that.

Straightening her uniform and putting her hat on, Erwyna marched purposefully towards the large gate. Padmé fell in step with the other two as they walked behind her. Two stormtroopers flanked the gate, and the wall surrounding it had manned turrets, though only the two nearest to the gate were facing outward; the rest were concerned with prisoners inside the perimeter.

Without saying a word, Erwyna flashed an ID card to the stormtroopers. One of them examined it and stepped aside so she could insert a code cylinder into a lock. After doing so there was a half a second pause where nothing happened and Padmé glanced at everyone nervously, but eventually the gate opened. The stormtroopers allowed them to pass.

Thank heaven, she thought to herself, doing her best to keep up with the others. She'd been in battles before, but she'd never done an undercover operation like this. She wasn't sure she preferred it. At least less people were getting shot in this scenario… but that was going to change when they released all the prisoners. She recalled her mission with Vader on CC4 – even that had been more in her control than this. She'd been able to use her words, her clout… here she was a faceless stormtrooper in the heart of enemy territory surrounded by trained killers.

Blast, thinking about CC4 made her think about Vader. She didn't even want to guess how he'd react to her doing this.

The large droids stomped around the area, sometimes pausing to look at them. Padmé wondered why they would do that if they were allowed access already. Whatever the reason, the droids resumed their patrol.

"What was that for?" she whispered softly.

"Droids scan faces and armor," one of the other two in stormtrooper armor replied quietly. "If the scan doesn't match personnel records they kill you on sight."

If it was possible, her throat, chest, and stomach tightened further. Lovely. Looks like Okima'yak did her job well, then.

The walk through the outdoor part of the perimeter was brief, but it felt like an eternity to Padmé. As she glanced at the towering building in front of her, she briefly thought of her family. She hoped she'd get to see them again.

Erwyna used her code cylinder to enter the main facility. There were stormtroopers flanking the door, but inside there were only two guards behind a desk. One of her disguised partners, probably Éothen judging by the fact that he held one of his arms closer to his body, stepped ahead of Erwyna, but before entering the threshold of the security check-in he tossed something. Then Erwyna immediately pulled her blaster and fired two shots. The blaster barely made any sound, and Padmé noticed that she'd put a silencer on it. Éothen rushed ahead and leapt over the desk to catch the two guards so they wouldn't collapse loudly to the ground. He yanked off their gloves and started to examine their wrists.

Padmé glanced around a little frantically, ensuring that no one was coming. She looked up and saw a security camera and was about to point it out when she noticed it had some strange device on it.

"Camera kisser," Erwyna whispered. "Loops whatever the last image was so they don't see anything new. Shouldn't have audio, but we can't be sure, so keep your voice down."

A soft hiss emitted from behind the security desk and everyone turned their attention to Éothen.

"They've got vitals implants," he muttered. "Our ten minute window just got really reduced."

"Vitals implants?" Padmé questioned, slowly pulling her blaster from its holster.

"They put them in the wrist. The implants monitor their vitals; set off an alarm if they stop transmitting healthy data." Éothen explained. "We need to go. Now."

Erwyna and Okima'yak were already at the turbolift accessing it with the code cylinder. "Get in."

Padmé and Éothen hastily followed them inside and they rushed towards the proper level. Padmé noticed another camera, and it didn't have a device on it. She turned her head to face Erwyna in a silent question, but the woman was paying her no mind. She assumed they hadn't looped the feed of an empty turbolift so security wouldn't suspect something; there'd be no reason for a lift to be traveling of its own accord. Still, if Éothen was right about those vitals transmitters, the security would quickly find out something was wrong and probably put the place into lockdown. They'd shut down the lifts. Their cover would be blown before they ever reached the station.

This wasn't good.

Kota deflected yet another blaster bolt as he immersed himself fully into the Force. Closing his eyes, he let his instincts guide him, releasing his tension and exhaustion. They'd been fighting for at least ten minutes, and though that didn't sound like a long time it was taxing in constant combat. He called upon his reserve strength and let the Force bolster him. Opening his eyes once more, he tossed a crate towards some more marines and glanced briefly at his Padawan.

Galen was holding his own, and his youthful energy was helping him move quickly amidst the chaos. He utilized Niman just as he said he would, and Rahm was happy to see that he was managing just fine with it. He hastily cut down some more marines and was even happier to notice that they had a brief reprieve.

Or so he thought.

"Do you sense that?" Galen asked, and a millisecond later, it hit Kota. Everything turned to ice, and the Force grew strangely muted as if the chilling effect muffled it. An odd void filled the area, but amid the bizarre feeling was a power so strong it was like feeling the rumble of an earthquake.

"The cold…" he muttered, turning to face the entrance of the hangar.

A dark figure stood in the doorway, motionless. Shortly after he'd laid his eyes on it, a red lightsaber activated, illuminating the figure. It showed a young man who looked close to Galen's age. His gaze was as cold as the feeling in the Force. This… wasn't what Rahm had expected.

"Darth Vader," he acknowledged with a smirk. "I expected someone with your reputation to be a bit… older."

He waited to see how the apprentice reacted to the quip. Most Sith were known for their short tempers, especially apprentices, but this one barely flinched. Vader simply began to walk forward, unperturbed. His gaze never faltered, but Rahm suddenly realized with a lurch that Vader had never been looking at him in the first place.

He'd been looking at Galen.

Quickly raising his blade, Kota took a few hasty steps towards his Padawan to protect him when Vader suddenly charged forward. He reached Galen before Rahm could, but his Padawan held his own, blocking the charge. Both Jedi were tired from their constant fighting against the marines, but Galen barely showed it. More troops entered the hangar, and Rahm's soldiers quickly arrived as well, holding them off. That simply left the Sith.

As Galen and Vader held a lightsaber lock, Rahm aimed his blade for the apprentice's neck. Vader quickly leapt to the side, so quickly that Galen almost lost his footing from the sudden loss of counterbalance. Vader aimed his blade towards the boy's back, but Rahm used the Force to push him away so Galen wouldn't get hurt. The two stood alongside each other, prepared for Vader's next attack, which came far sooner than Rahm would have liked. This time Vader hit Rahm first, and the sheer amount of strength in the blow temporarily startled the seasoned Jedi. The apprentice was tougher than he thought.

Not tough enough, though.

Gathering the Force around him, Rahm augmented his strength and shoved Vader back, but instead of being caught off balance, Vader crouched and aimed a sweeping slash at Rahm's knees. He leapt to avoid the slash, and as he did so Galen aimed a chop at Vader's head. Vader glanced at Galen and the boy went flying across the hangar and right into a soldier.

Taking the temporary distraction as an opportunity, Rahm kicked, landing a solid blow on Vader's face. He grunted and fell, but as soon as he landed he arched his back and leapt to his feet once more, using the Force to shove Rahm away from him. Rahm slid back only a few centimeters due to the Sith's distraction, but it was enough for him to not land a killing blow as Vader regained his footing. The two went at it again and Galen quickly rejoined the fray.

The two Jedi pressed the attack, forcing Vader to defend himself for a time. His defense was impeccable, but Rham started to notice holes. When he aimed for one, though, the apprentice's reaction timing was too fast to land a blow. Rahm took a step back as Galen shoved ahead. He let his Padawan fight for a few seconds, both so he could catch his breath but more importantly so he could study the Sith's fighting style. The Sith Order stemmed from the Jedi Order in the distant past, so they used the same lightsaber styles, though they tended to add their own absurd flairs to them. Vader's style was strange, though – he seemed to switch depending on the circumstances… or he'd somehow made a hybrid of several disciplines. It wasn't quite like Niman, which was the style dedicated to joining all the others together. Instead, it seemed more like he'd go from a sturdy Djem So on the offensive to Soresu when Galen and Rahm both came at him together. He favored Djem So, however, and it made sense – it blended well with his physique. The style was designed to take the defensive capabilities of Soresu and add them to deflecting an opponent's energy back on him. It was more aggressive.

There was something strange about the Sith's fighting. Rahm couldn't pinpoint it amidst the chaos of battle, though, and by this point it had been almost five seconds since he'd reentered the fight. Considering how well Vader was faring, it wasn't a good idea to leave Galen alone to handle him for that long. Quickly rushing forward, Rahm raised his blade when Galen left him an opening and blocked Vader's retaliation. The apprentice quickly switched back to Soresu as Rahm and Galen attacked in unison. The more they did so, the more confused Rahm became – Soresu was an almost passive form. Why would a Sith utilize it? This had to be a ploy somehow.

Vader held on to his defense for a solid minute. Galen simply kept attacking, but Rahm would always pick out the openings. Nevertheless, Vader's reaction timing was far faster than either of them, and he'd always have a parry at the ready. After a minute, though, even he seemed to tire, and he gathered a large amount of energy around him and sent it hurling at them. Rahm and Galen both flipped backwards to use the energy for their landing, but Galen didn't take into account the sheer amount of soldiers flooding the hangar; he almost landed on them and quickly had to change his strategy. As he did whatever he needed to in order to recover from almost crashing right into half a dozen soldiers, Rahm quickly rushed ahead once more and fought the apprentice one on one. Vader's Djem So came forward again, and Rahm for a brief moment felt his strength falter as Vader reflected it right back at him. In that moment the Sith finally landed a blow, smarting Rahm on his right upper arm.

Yelling out, Kota took a step back to recover from the injury. The Sith hadn't gotten him too deeply – the blade had barely touched muscle. It was enough for a slight deficiency in the arm and a heck of a lot of pain, but nothing disabling. In the brief moment it took Rahm to recover from the wound, Galen charged forward. Since Vader had the upper hand in that moment, he simply grabbed Galen with the Force, holding him in midair. Galen threw several crates at Vader, causing Rahm to dodge them as well (blast it he had to teach that boy to not include his own men in his insane attacks). Vader released his grip on Galen temporarily but then used his energy to throw the crates at both Jedi, slamming Rahm right on his injured arm. Groaning, Kota remained on the ground for a few seconds longer than he should have while Galen was about to leap to his feet once more. Again Vader snatched Galen into the air, and Rahm could feel the weight of the Force descend upon his Padawan as if the roof in the hangar were collapsing. Galen was pressed against a wall and his activated blade slowly began to move towards his own neck. Galen grasped the Force ferociously, fighting Vader back. Rahm gripped his arm and winced a bit at the power struggle, but he knew his Padawan was far stronger in the Force than he – the boy would prevail.

As he regained his footing, though, he suddenly noticed something – the lightsaber was still going to his Padawan's neck.

Vader's eyes narrowed and he pushed his hand forward, bidding the Force to obey him. Galen yelled out – he was putting so much energy and strength against the Sith's ploy that it was beginning to crush his arm.

Rahm lunged forward. Vader immediately released his Padawan and whirled around to deflect the blow, but Rahm's energy caught him off guard and he took several steps back, a little unbalanced. Rahm continued to attack, preventing Vader from regaining his footing, and that was everything in Djem So – if he could keep the apprentice tripping he'd win the fight. Then he could tend to his Padawan.

Vader eventually just let his legs give out under him and rolled backwards to finally stand and steady himself away from Kota. It was at that point that Rahm finally realize what had been bothering him since the start of this fight.

He sensed nothing from the apprentice.

It wasn't as if he couldn't sense the man's power – far from it. His cold presence froze the room so much Rahm was surprised frost wasn't coming from his mouth, and his strength made the air tremble. But Rahm didn't sense any rage from him. He didn't sense any emotion from him. As the two reengaged and eventually held each other in a lightsaber block, Rahm said, "Interesting… I sense no anger in you. You are no Sith, Darth Vader. Your Master must not be very happy about that."

And in a heartbeat everything changed.

The coldness in the Force turned hot as magma and Vader's irises grew yellow. His face contorted in rage and he screamed out as he shoved forward with feral strength. Rahm stumbled a little, but he smiled too – if the apprentice was angry, he was bound to make mistakes. Kota had the upper hand now.

Vader's ferocity made him move all the faster and made his blows slam into Rahm all the more, but he also became sloppier. Though Rahm didn't have as many opportunities to retaliate, the ones he did have were foolish mistakes that he could easily take advantage of. One such occasion let him sink his lightsaber right into the apprentice's shin. Vader groaned and shoved Rahm away with a Force push, but Galen finally reentered the fray and prevented the Sith from recovering. Galen swung for his neck as he stumbled slightly, but he blocked it and kneed Galen in the groin. As Rahm charged ahead, Vader turned his reddish eyes to him and extended a hand, pinching his fingers together. Rahm felt the Force tighten around his throat, and he focused all his energy on releasing the tension there. Galen helped by distracting Vader as he nearly gutted the Sith.

Rahm's vision grew a little fuzzy but he finally freed himself from the choke hold. Vader and Galen were at it and Rahm noticed, to his displeasure, that his Padawan had reverted to Shii Cho – he was too injured to maintain Niman. It only lasted for a few moments though, especially after Rahm backed him up. The two had Vader backed into a corner and Galen used his prowess with the Force to send several large pieces of machinery towards the Sith, who couldn't leap above due to scaffolding. One of the pieces hit the Sith soundly on the head, knocking him to the ground, and another was about to bury him, but threw his hand out and sent everything and everyone within three meters flying across the hangar. Rahm and Galen easily landed on their feet and charged once more, but this time a nearby fighter suddenly began to float towards them. Rahm hastily turned his attention to the fighter, but Galen latched onto the Force and directed it towards Vader. Rahm quickly snapped his attention towards the corner where the Sith was and saw that there were three of his own soldiers there as well. Quickly focusing he flung the poor troops out of the way before the fighter could kill them.

"Watch out for your own, Padawan," he advised breathlessly, and Galen offered a feeble apology.

A yell sounded across the hangar and the screech of metal deafened everyone. All the firefights temporarily paused as everybody tried to figure out what the noise was and they all witnessed the fighter tear itself in half, and the two pieces flew to opposite ends of the hangar. Soldiers dove for cover and Rahm quickly sensed danger above him. Looking up he saw Vader in midair from a strong leap, his lightsaber held ready to slice them in half. He didn't have to warn Galen – the boy sensed it a millisecond later and they both dodged the attack.

Vader easily landed on his feet, but he was besieged by both Jedi. Rahm's arm ached a little, but he pushed passed the pain. Vader seemed to be doing the same for his leg, but if Rahm could land a blow in the same spot it would succeed in doing more damage than an entirely different lightsaber wound. The room still sizzled with the Sith's anger, and so Rahm centered himself and found his opportunity. Just as Galen and Vader were both trying to slice each other, Rahm slipped his leg between the two and slammed his heel against Vader's shin, hitting the wound. Groaning, the Sith's leg collapsed from under him and Galen landed a blow on his shoulder. Vader quickly rolled away from the two, but he was slow to rise. Rahm took the opportunity to finish the match so they could return their attention to the rest of the fleet, but he once again felt the Force wrap around his neck – and Galen did too. Both Jedi gasped for air and paused. Rahm's exhaustion was starting to get the best of him, and it took him longer to fend off the attack. Galen, on the other hand, simply sent another piece of debris towards Vader, making the Sith break concentration from the two of them.

The Sith apprentice dodged the debris, but it cost him some pain in his new shoulder wound. He winced but held his blade steady. He also seemed to be calming once more; the room was beginning to cool, and the volcanic eruption seemed to recede back into him. No, they couldn't have that – he had to make sure the wretch stayed angry.

"You're not a very impressive fighter either, are you?" Rahm accused, though it wasn't very threatening since he was rasping. The Sith flinched and seemed annoyed by the remark, but not nearly as much as before. Rahm began to wonder what it was that set him off earlier but he didn't have time to ponder upon it; the taunt still elicited an aggressive attack from the apprentice, and the three were locked together in combat once more.

Padmé had thought maybe they were in the clear when the turbolift reached its destination undeterred, but as soon as the doors opened the prison alarm started to blare loudly. She felt her breath get knocked out of her as if someone punched her in the gut, and her adrenaline immediately surged. Erwyna rushed ahead, the three following her closely.

They didn't run into any resistance until they reached a different hallway that led to some stairs. Erwyna hastily dispatched the two stormtroopers ahead of them and used her code cylinder once more since there was a hatch that blocked the stairway.

"You figure they have vitals transmitters as well?" the slicer asked.

"Doesn't matter – the cameras caught us anyway." Éothen answered, and Padmé turned to find the camera. Éothen shot one just as she found another and destroyed it.

"Blast it, the cylinder isn't working," Erwyna snapped with a curse. "They must have locked down the entire system."

"Move," the slicer said as she shoved passed her, pulling out some equipment and cutting open the panel. "Cover me."

As soon as she'd spoken more stormtroopers appeared at the end of the hallway. Padmé looked around for cover and saw a few chairs; those wouldn't work. Éothen quickly dispatched most of them, but she picked off the last few alongside Erwyna.

"Got it!" the slicer yelled. As the hatch door opened Erwyna quickly rushed ahead and fired as soon as guards came into view. Éothen also led the way and the two cleared the room above while Padmé covered the rear and the slicer rushed upstairs. Once Padmé climbed the stairs she was greatly relieved to see that they were in the control room. Looking out the windows she saw the ray shielded cells stretch above and below their level. Most of them were occupied. Prisoners were glancing around, wondering what had set off the prison alarm.

"All right, two senators, coming up!" the slicer said as she started searching through the records. Éothen and Erwyna flanked the hatch.

"Ven, keep an eye out for enemy skiffs," Éothen ordered. Padmé jumped, remembering her code name, and she acknowledged him, holding her blaster at the ready.

"Found Organa," the slicer said. "Cell CO22. Mothma…" she paused for a moment as she searched and then shook her head. "Mothma's dead. I'm releasing the prisoners."

"What?" Padmé whirled around to look at her and then rushed to the console, looking at the information. It stated that Mothma had been executed after interrogation. Her killer had been…

No…

Blaster fire made her snap back to the situation as Éothen and Erwyna shot nonstop. "Open the kriffing cells!"

The slicer pressed a command button and all the ray shields dropped. Then she rushed outside and programmed some of the skiffs to head towards certain cell blocks. Prisoners all started screaming and clambering to get to the skiffs. Éothen and Erwyna continued to fire, and Erwyna tossed a grenade down the stairs and slammed the hatch closed. "Let's go!"

As the explosion from the grenade rocked the control room, the four rushed onto a skiff and the slicer steered it in the right direction. Prisoners began to reach for the skiff and were ready to shove them off when Erwyna shot them. Éothen and Padmé quickly helped Bail climb in and the slicer pulled away, returning to the control station.

"I hope the VIP lounge is close!" the slicer yelled over the din.

"Doesn't matter – they got a lot more to worry about now!" Éothen replied.

Skiffs all reached the control station at the same time and guards started to fight with the prisoners. Some prisoners were killed immediately, but others took down the guards and stole their weapons. Okima'yak shut down the security cameras in the entire prison. Éothen grabbed Bail by the arm and dragged him towards the stairs. Erwyna led the way, blasting anyone who was ahead of her, prisoner and guard alike. The din almost deafened Padmé, but she could still make out when someone was directing their attention at her or those with her. She killed a few Imperials as they ran to the VIP lounge. As Erwyna had stated in the plan, most of the guards were heading towards the prisoner area and the hallways were practically deserted – now that the Imperials were effectively blind they could only focus on where the most action was, so the four would hopefully make a quick getaway, assuming Al hadn't caught any attention.

The VIP lounge was sealed off by a ray shield, but the slicer quickly got to work on it. As Éothen and Erwyna covered her, Bail gawked at everyone.

"How did—what's—" he tried to ask when Padmé shook her head.

"Not here. Not now." She cut him off.

"Got the shields," Okima'yak told them and the four hastily entered the lounge.

As promised, here was a landing pad at the other end of the room, open to the rest of the city. The four rushed towards the pad, but they didn't see a speeder anywhere. For a terrifying second Padmé wondered if Al had been killed or captured, but then either Okima'yak or Éothen pointed and yelled over the deafening alarm.

A yellow closed landspeeder hastily flew towards them and abruptly stopped at the landing pad. Al opened a door and slammed the side of the speeder, urging them to hurry up. Everyone tumbled in and the speeder made a hasty getaway.

"Did we pick up any tails?" Éothen asked sharply as he took his helmet off.

Padmé glanced around but she saw nothing. "Looks like we're clear!"

"We aren't clear until we can get the hell out of this sector!" Al retorted, jerking the landspeeder between buildings and through tunnels. Erwyna shoved Bail under the seats and told everyone to shed their armor, strap in, and look casual. Padmé snorted; as if they could look casual after that insanity. And Mon… she…

Padmé shook her head, feeling dizzy and sick all at once. The adrenaline was still surging through her blood, but now that she didn't have to react to immediate danger everything was starting to get hectic in her mind. Too many scenarios and thoughts were going on, and she was getting a migraine. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself as best she could, and she took off the armor, leaving only the bodysuit. Bail couldn't see her from where Erwyna had shoved him, which was probably for the best.

Eventually, Al's driving steadied to a reasonable speed and he followed the air traffic for a few tense minutes before diving to the lower sectors. Once he finally landed everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Let's go back to the cantina. I need a drink after that." Okima'yak grumbled.

"You guys go drink," Al motioned for them to get out. "I have a senator to smuggle off-world."

Padmé bent down and helped Bail out from under the seat. As soon as he laid eyes on her he opened his mouth in astonishment but said nothing.

"We should get him a change of clothes," she noted after giving him a reassuring smile.

"Already got one; picked it up on the way to the prison," Al replied, tossing some clothes towards Bail. "He can dress while I drive. Okima'yak, I'll meet you at our usual alcove tomorrow morning for the payoff."

"I can cover the payoff," Padmé offered; Al had been forced into this – he shouldn't have to pay as well.

Al shook his head. "No. I hired her. See you then?"

Okima'yak nodded. "Yup."

Éothen, Erwyna, Okima'ya, and Padmé disembarked. Padmé watched in slight dejection as Al and Bail flew away. She wasn't sure if the Zabrak was angry at the situation, her, or even angry at all. She hadn't quite figured out how to read him yet. But one thing was for sure: the guy was a miracle worker and kriffing amazing at his job.

Come to think of it, they'd all done pretty kriffing well. Smiling and laughing in satisfaction as they returned to the private booth in the cantina, she nodded to the others. "A job well done, then."

They all laughed. "Guess so."

"Hopefully this'll blow over," Erwyna sighed, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "They'll be too busy cleaning up the mess to worry about us for a while, but—"

"Yeah, yeah, lay low." Okima'yak rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you guys act as if I've never done this before. Seriously, though, let's get some drinks."

Éothen laughed. "I could use one after that, but I should be heading out."

Erwyna agreed with Éothen, so the slicer turned to Padmé. She considered the offer briefly but shook her head. Obi-Wan would probably be a wreck by this point, and she was curious (and hopeful) as to whether he'd found Siri.

And she had a lot to sort through in her own mind.

"You people are no fun," the slicer grumbled. "Nice working with you."

After the Twi'lek returned to her street clothes and left, Erwyna and Éothen let Padmé change next. The few moments alone gave her time to catch her breath and consider what had just happened, and she felt both enormously relieved and enormously anxious that it was done; Bail was out of prison, but she wasn't sure at what cost. And Mon… Vader…

Padmé grew dizzy and then shuddered, stumbling out of the room. She quickly regained her composure as she caught sight of Erwyna and Éothen. The Togruta allowed his second-in-command to change next, and after she'd left he gave Padmé a gentle smile. "You alright?"

Padmé sighed, steadying herself as best she could. "Yeah."

"You were amazing." He told her, his smile growing. "I looked up your record after we first met – when I saw you'd fought to reclaim your capital I realized you were far better than most politicians. You were actually willing to do something. I'm glad we could work together on this."

Despite her own inner turmoil, receiving the compliment did brighten her mood. It was nice to get some acknowledgement and realize that she had actually done some good. Not to mention his charming smile by itself was enough to make her feel a little better.

"Hey, if it isn't asking too much, maybe we could actually talk over something less hostile," Éothen laughed. "Like lunch?"

Padmé leaned against the wall and smiled, half dazed from exhaustion, leftover adrenaline, and happiness. "After all this, that sounds amazing. We can meet at my office at noon tomorrow."

Éothen nodded. "I'll see you then, milady."

She acknowledged him in return and shakily left the cantina. Her head was filled with words and noises that couldn't form any coherent pictures or sentences, and she blindly walked to a taxi and managed to get a ride home.

This was getting insane.

"Galen!" Rahm yelled as he ducked from another piece of what was left of a fighter flying across the room.

Rahm had been slammed into a wall, hitting his injured arm and his head. In the few moments of haziness that followed the Sith and his Padawan had taken it upon themselves to thoroughly demolish the hangar. Vader had no qualms with collateral casualties, but Galen had to be more cautious and he was starting to lose his composure. Both were ridiculously strong in the Force and the amount of damage they were causing was enough to tear the entire hangar to pieces.

Galen was about to take what was left of the fighter and fling it at Vader when the Sith made a precise shot with a small rod – the shot flew true, and just as Rahm yelled out in warning it pierced right through Galen's gut. Screaming out, Galen hung helplessly on the wall, pinned by the rod. Rahm quickly threw himself back into the fight to prevent Vader from finishing off his wounded Padawan. Vader was slowing from his injuries, but not nearly as much as Rahm was, and Galen's new wound on top of his nearly crushed arm would make him practically useless for the rest of the fight. However, Vader was still agitated, and that mixed with his exhaustion was enough for the seasoned Jedi to finally land a finishing blow. Vader gasped and squeezed his eyes shut as Kota's blade pierced his lower left abdomen, but he then glared intently at Rahm's hand and the Jedi felt his fingers stiffen and his thumb slowly reached for the deactivation button on his hilt. Gasping, Rahm pulled away from Vader, making the Sith cry out in pain once more as the blade exited the wound. Vader collapsed to the floor. Temporarily leaving the apprentice, Rahm glanced at his own Padawan, who was moaning in pain and trying to relieve the pressure on the penetration point. He sent some energy to his Padawan to try and help him, and he winced as he heard the boy cry out once again. Protective anger overcame him and he turned sharply back to the apprentice to finish the duel.

Just in time to see the blade make contact with his neck.

Galen shouted out in horror as he watched his Master get decapitated. The Sith filth did the move hastily with his uninjured arm, half crouching after the attack. He then turned his eyes, icy blue, on Galen. His face was contorted in pain, but it held the same strange calmness he had seen on it when the battle had first begun. It didn't matter – Rahm Kota was dead. He was—that murglak—

Focus. Focus. Galen squeezed his eyes shut, trying to purge his mind of the image of his dead teacher while also trying to ignore the unbearable pain in his gut. Activating his lightsaber he yelled out as he sliced the pole just beyond the entrance wound. Collapsing to the ground, he screamed once more as the pain nearly blinded him. He sensed danger in the Force and quickly averted being crushed by the fighter debris, but any movement made his injury hurt a hundredfold. He couldn't fight. There was no way he could use his lightsaber.

Stretching out into the Force, Galen grasped it with all his might. He tried to quiet his mind, but it was nearly impossible to do over all the images of himself bleeding out and his Master lying dead on the floor.

There is no death; there is the Force.

Taking a deep breath, Galen opened his eyes and dared to look in the direction of his Master's corpse. Vader was slowly standing and about to throw some more objects at him. Galen couldn't move; he felt his strength giving out. He had to dedicate it all to the Force now. As the crates flew towards him he deflected them with the Force and redirected them at the Sith apprentice; the monster was as injured as he was, so he would have as difficult a time dealing with it as Galen.

How had this all gone so wrong so quickly?

Focus, dammit!

Galen jumped as he sensed danger once more. Not only had Vader caught the crates, but he added several of Galen's troops to the mix, flinging all of them back at the Jedi Padawan.

Wincing, Galen caught everything, but his focus was entirely on them and he couldn't spare a moment to see where the Sith was. The Force cried out in pain and sorrow, whether it was his own or others' he wasn't sure, but it was mixing too much and he couldn't make sense of it. Dropping the soldiers roughly he gasped, clutching his injury once more with his good arm. It was a miracle he'd lasted this long, but he wasn't going to stop yet. He had to defeat Vader. His Master was dead, and vengeance wouldn't bring him back, but if Vader remained alive all the men in the fleet would die. Galen couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

The Force warned him once more that danger was on its way. Vader's attacks were slowing considerably due to his own injuries, but he still had enough energy in him to throw half the contents of the hangar at Galen. Finally growing tired of the pointless tossing back and forth, Galen grabbed the items and used his power to crush them in midair and then toss them towards the Imperials and out of the hangar. He tried to stand but he moaned and collapsed once more. He reached out into the Force and tried to mimic the Sith's earlier maneuver, willing the Sith's neck to narrow so no air could pass. Vader coughed harshly, and Galen almost had him in his grasp, but the Sith stretched his own hand out towards Galen. Expecting the retaliation, Galen focused his energy around his neck to prevent the choke, but instead the Sith aimed elsewhere.

He used the Force to yank the pole out of Galen's gut.

Screaming, the Padawan immediately released all hold of the Force altogether and curled inward. Blood quickly poured out of his gut and all over the floor. Bathed in the warm liquid, his insides burning, Galen was blind to everything and desperately clawed at the Force to try and get his bearings once more.

It didn't matter; Vader wasn't able to fight anymore. It was a draw… or at least it would have been if the Sith hadn't removed the pole from Galen's abdomen. He felt his energy drain and his breath grew ragged as he watched most of his body's blood exit through his stomach. Trying to cover the wound he only felt the blood trickle over his fingers. The strange sensation of his own life fading between his fingertips captured his attention for a moment before he felt the Force surround him like a blanket. Closing his eyes, he tried his best to calm himself, to not think about what was going to happen next, and he let the Force take him home.

It began to rain as Obi-Wan gazed out the large window in the den. He was constantly tightening and relaxing his right fist as he propped one arm atop the other and closed his eyes. Doing his best to stay calm, he took another deep breath and listened to the rain. He'd tried contacting Padmé, Al, and Siri numerous times to no avail. By this point he was beginning to debate searching the city again, but he didn't even know where to start; he had no luck finding Siri, and heaven knew where Padmé or Al were.

As he felt his stomach churn with anxiety, he suddenly felt warmth envelope him and his eyes immediately popped open. Siri was coming. Turning to the door he nearly ran over as it opened to reveal his wife. She removed her hood and Obi-Wan immediately demanded, "Where in the blazes have you been?"

Siri looked unusually pale, and she didn't grow annoyed at Obi-Wan's scolding tone. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I…" she said, looking uncertain as to how to continue… or too dazed to speak coherently. Shaking her head, she walked over to the sofa and removed her wet cloak, sitting down. Obi-Wan followed her and sat just beside her, placing his hand on her leg in an attempt to help ground her. She blew out a sigh and put her face in her hands. "It's… where's Padmé?"

Obi-Wan looked out the window once more. "I don't know. She had to go do something that she wouldn't tell me about. Al won't answer his comlink, either."

"I know," Siri replied. "I tried to call him."

"Why? Siri, what's the matter?" he asked, growing more concerned by the second.

Siri looked as if she was about to answer when she paused and glanced at the door. Obi-Wan was about to ask when he heard someone coming. The door opened and Padmé entered, looking just as wet and tired as Siri. Obi-Wan immediately stood, but Siri remained on the sofa. He glanced at her again, worried by her behavior, but he still had to get his main curiosity out of the way. "Padmé, where did you go?"

Padmé took a deep breath, hanging up her cloak. "I see you found Siri."

"Answer the question." He ordered, starting to get annoyed; why was no one being straightforward?

"I went on an excursion with the son of the future warlord of Salkende," Padmé answered. "You remember how you told me Adelig had a son who'd been injured while you were there? I met him."

Such a statement would merit immense relief normally, but Obi-Wan could tell she was avoiding something. He crossed his arms. "What did you two do?"

"Why are you always so suspicious?" Padmé rebutted, growing irritated.

"I'm not always suspicious," Obi-Wan shook his head, wondering why she was still avoiding the matter. "I can tell you're hiding something from me."

Padmé looked away for a moment before making some sort of decision with herself. "We got Bail out of prison."

Siri shot to her feet. Obi-Wan gaped at Padmé. "You what?!"

"Éothen—Adelig's son—he's with Salkende's Special Forces. He and his second-in-command made a plan, and Al and a partner of his helped us go through with it." Padmé hastily explained. "Everything went about as smoothly as it could, but—"

"As smoothly as it could?" Obi-Wan repeated, interrupting her. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe this. Even Siri wouldn't do something this insane!

"Mon Mothma is dead." Padmé snapped, her eyes hard.

The room grew silent as the words registered in the couple's mind. Siri spoke first. "What happened?"

Padmé looked away once more. "Darth Vader killed her."

Obi-Wan tensed but he didn't say anything. One of their leaders was dead, and the culprit was the man Padmé was falling for. Multiple lectures that essentially said I told you so briefly went through his mind, but he pushed them aside. This situation didn't require a lecture; Padmé was smart enough to pick it up on her own. But what were they going to do? With Mothma dead the Alliance took an enormous blow… and how much did Padmé risk in doing this? Was she identified at the prison? If she was it was only a matter of hours before Intelligence would come and break down their door.

Blast it; this was what he got for letting her sort out her own problems. This was what he got for trusting her to know what was right and wrong.

"I presume Al is getting Organa off-world?" Obi-Wan asked quietly, trying to keep his temper in check. He wasn't necessarily mad at Padmé – more disappointed and angry at himself for letting her do this. The more he thought about it, though, his anger at her increased – she should know better.

Padmé nodded in reply. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a calming breath. "You should have gone with him."

"How would I have explained my absence?" Padmé asked, folding her arms. Her tone held an intonation that rankled Obi-Wan, as if she were lecturing him on how to properly be cautious. He took another calming breath.

"You wouldn't have to – I'm sure once they recognize you from security feeds or witness accounts the Empire will be more than happy to give an excuse for your absence after they arrest you." He replied curtly, opening his eyes and glaring at her. They were in enough hot water, and now she had to get herself into this situation and—why couldn't things just go right for once?

"I was disguised." Padmé shook her head. "Obi, it's fine. No one knew it was me. I promise."

"Except for Éothen, his associate, and Al's associate," Obi-Wan noted pointedly, his voice getting louder. "Padmé, why can't you just think things through?"

"Would you rather Bail end up like Mon?" Padmé snapped, taking a sharp step towards him.

"Your judgment is getting worse by the day." Obi-Wan retorted harshly, also stepping towards her as his temper began to bubble beyond his typical control. "I can't even trust you on your own at this point."

"This was a matter of necessity—"

"You said that about Naboo as well—"

"I'm pregnant!" Siri shouted, causing both to turn and face her. She took a few deep breaths and then said, "I'm pregnant. And Force sensitive. Obi-Wan is also a Force user. Padmé's stupid and makes rasher decisions than I thought. Now that we've all got the obvious secrets out in the open, you mind telling me what's really eating at the two of you?"

Obi-Wan's insides went cold. Then electricity shot through him. She was… Siri was…? And she… how… but…

He couldn't come up with any coherent thoughts. He felt excitement, dread, terror, happiness, and astonishment rip through him, and he eventually shakily sat on the sofa once more.

The only one who seemed capable of talking at this point was Siri, and so she once again asked, "What is wrong with you two? You've been at it ever since we got back to Imperial Center. I thought it was some stupid little problem but now it's even seeping into this argument, something far more important than I thought we'd have to worry about—Mon Mothma is dead, Bail Organa is with Al going to the Rebels, and you, Padmé, just did something that I'm actually a little envious of but have to side with Obi, but you two are still fuming over your secret feud! Now just spit it out—what in the blazes is going on?"

Before he knew what he was doing, Obi-Wan said, "Padmé's in love with Darth Vader."

Siri's mouth went slack. "You're what?!"

Padmé shook her head. "Now is not the time to be talking about my relationship—we've got bigger problems to worry about—like you two—you're pregnant?! You're Force sensitive?!"

Obi-Wan put his face in his hands and tried to regain his composure. In his stead, Siri continued the conversation. "Adelig told him how she smuggled him away from the Jedi Temple as a toddler; he was an initiate. How in the blazes are you—what compelled you to look at that—that thing—"

"Vader is a Human being," Padmé suddenly interrupted with such gusto that even Obi-Wan looked up at her. "Don't—don't you dare say otherwise."

Siri stared at Padmé in horror and confusion. She shook her head. "I can't believe we're having this conversation. You seriously love that monster?"

"I didn't say that—"

Here Obi-Wan interrupted. "You didn't have to, Padmé."

"Well it's over," she snapped, glaring at him. "He killed Mon."

The finality of her words left a heavy silence in the room. Eventually Padmé couldn't stand to be there anymore, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stormed to her bedroom. Obi-Wan remained still, trying to process everything that was happening. He was tempted to follow Padmé, if not to tell her off then at least to try and comfort her somehow, but he didn't know what to say or do. It was probably for the best that they just remain apart for a while… though last time he thought she could be alone she broke into an Imperial prison. And Siri…

Turning to his wife, he whispered, "You're pregnant?"

Siri, who had been looking where Padmé had been standing, slowly turned to him. Her dark blue eyes were filled with so many emotions. "Yes. I've been feeling… off for a few days. I kept wondering what it was, and when I thought about when it started… I just wanted to check. Turns out I was right."

"But… you said you were Force sensitive?" he added, reeling from too much information at once.

Siri shrugged. "I don't know… but I figured if you are, and you and I get the same feelings that nobody else seems to get… at first I thought maybe it was because you could use the Force, that somehow it spilled into my head since we were married… but you didn't sense anything about the baby and I did… women don't find out they're pregnant this early. I could tell, though. I…" Siri shook her head and then suddenly hugged herself, closing her eyes. Her voice trembled as she said, "Obi… what are we going to do… I… this galaxy is a mess. How can we bring up a child in this insanity?"

Her emotions were spilling out of her, and she was visibly shaking. Obi-Wan found his calm as he watched her, and he slowly walked towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him, crying quietly, and he wiped the tears away with a small smile. "Well… I suppose we'll just have to clean it up before the baby's born."

Siri let out a broken chuckle and he pulled her to him, holding her as she cried. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, holding on to the little bit of hope left in him that somehow this would all work out.