The Power to Save Her
Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
Important Note: I will not follow comics/legends characters or concepts closely, if at all. My knowledge is strictly on the that of the movies and a more mainstream knowledge of Star Wars. Though I may reference events and things outside of the movies, I do not claim to know the material on a deeper level.
Vader contemplated his time on Kamino while they traveled through hyperspace in the shuttle. The blue lights through the cockpit window danced around the inside of the ship, reflecting on his black armor. Padmé was sleeping on a row of seats while Vader piloted the vessel. The medics were somewhere in the back, sleeping very lightly. All was quiet, except for the hum of the ship and his own mechanical breathing.
Before meditating that night on Kamino, he'd decided to walk the dilapidated facility.
Very few Kaminoans still lived there but the ones that did, were loyal to the Empire because they had to be. He'd spoken with many of the experts there about the condition of Padmé but all they'd been concerned about was the quality of their cloned organs and the payment of which they would receive. With clear greed in their eyes, they asked about him and whether he'd want improvements and he'd almost immediately denied their inquiries. Though with what Padmé had said in mind, he shifted his stance and allowed some genetic sampling to be done. In the event of him wanting to improve his body, he'd have something ready.
He doubted it would ever happen.
After speaking with the Kaminoans, he found the hyperbaric chamber on his ship. After meditating on the tumultuous planet, he knew that the presence had been definitely that of his old master. Kenobi was dead in the physical realm, but somehow sentient while one with the Force. Something about the presence had been probing, almost testing the waters of his mind, but Vader being guarded, had not allowed such access.
He'd pushed away the presence, while strangely regretting doing so at once. He had nothing to say to his old master but at the same time, every wrong he committed against his one-time friend came to mind. He shook himself. Kenobi was dead. Surely, he was beyond demanding an apology, but Vader felt a hint of shame all the same.
At first, he thought it was due to the fact he hadn't told Padmé what had become of Kenobi, but he knew that wasn't it. This guilt hadn't been there until after Cloud City, and especially became pronounced when he'd sensed his old master nearby. He knew something in him was changing, his conscious returning to remind him that he'd done evil things.
He hadn't bothered to tell Padmé that he'd barely slept in the past week, the ghosts of his past screaming as he cut them down in thousands of violent ways. He'd not told her that his waking life had been a living hell with the memories and his dreams a timeless pit where people he didn't even remember killing haunted him with their agonized faces.
Her presence soothed him, and with her could he keep the darkness at bay. The dark side had shielded him from much of his guilt but now that he was beginning to reject some aspects of it, the remorse could no longer be denied. In his meditation, instead of focusing on the power of the dark side of the Force and ways he could focus his mind on defeating the Emperor, he tapped into Jedi training of calming his mind.
This and Padmé kept the nightmares at bay because the dark side was no longer strong enough, nor an option after what he'd done on Cloud City. Though he was using methods he would've detested months ago, he still felt the pull of the darkness as his guilt plagued him. It whispered promises of power, of strength to rid him of these feelings, but Vader knew the call too well. This didn't mean he rid the dark side entirely, but he did acknowledge its dangers as well as its powers.
For this reason, he didn't fully let go the anger he had for what his master had done to him. He believed Kenobi's ghost stayed away because of this. He dared not bring up what he'd done to Kenobi to Padmé because he knew she'd make him accountable.
Once spoken, he'd be forced to take responsibility for killing his brother.
Leia was eating her meal in the mess hall thinking about what had happened over the past week and a half. Han almost being killed was on top of her mind, a fact which made her feel sick. He'd shaken it off casually when she tried talking to him about it, but she could see that he was still shaken up by the event of his torture. She could see the haunted look in his eyes. Luke was likewise quiet about what had happened with Vader, which made her more furious at that monster.
Her inability to focus on her work brought her here earlier but now she didn't even feel like eating. Deciding that it'd be healthier not to think about Vader, she instead refocused on Padmé Amidala and what Mon Mothma had told them of her.
Leia had known of her, as her father, Bail Organa, had listed her as one of his friends during the days of the Republic. Though she'd never noticed it before, her father had grown quieter if she asked too many questions about this particular person. Leia frowned. The question was why?
In the hallway outside the mess hall, Mon Mothma was walking and talking with Admiral Ackbar.
Leia felt an idea spark and she stood. All records of senators in the past had been destroyed by the Empire's hand, due to their dangerous ideas, according to them. Erasing history was one of the many ways the Empire pushed their propaganda. All that was left of them was in the minds of people who used to serve in that senate, and Leia was determined to find more information of this woman.
"Mon Mothma?", she called out, leaving her food behind. The woman paused her conversation with the admiral to turn to her. "I had a question regarding Padmé Amidala."
Admiral Ackbar dismissed himself, claiming that he had a mission to plan. Mon Mothma and Leia watched him go and Leia turned her attention back to the middle-aged woman.
"What would you like to know?", she asked, gently.
"You mentioned that you saw her funeral, and I wanted to know… how did she die?", Leia asked, this question having nagged her after having first discovered the identity of this woman.
"Official record states she was collateral during the uprising of the Empire," replied the Alliance leader. "But nothing conclusive actually came of her report… which makes for a convenient death."
"You have suspicions?"
"I do. It was widely known she was an opposer of the Emperor's later policies, which led me to believe her death was no accident.", Mothma replied, looking disturbed. "Thought she was dead for years, along with her child."
"Her child?", Leia asked, feeling something tug at her.
"It was no secret that she was pregnant," the woman replied, not noticing Leia's deep focus. "Though as to who was the father, no one seemed to know."
"But?", Leia prompted, seeing the woman's pensive look.
"But given the latest information from your astromech droid, I'd wager that the child lived."
Leia instantly knew of whom she spoke.
"Luke?", Leia asked incredulously, though knowing it rang true all the same. "You believe that she was with Anakin Skywalker?"
"Why else would a droid owned by Anakin Skywalker be in possessions of her holos?", countered Mon Mothma with an arch of her brow.
"It could be a coincidence.", Leia replied, though her heart wasn't in those words. "Is there circumstantial evidence other than this?"
"The Jedi were forbidden from any attachments according to their code.", she explained, watching as Leia's eyebrows rose. "Which makes her reasons for keeping the father's identity a secret understandable. There's that and the fact that the two were good friends."
"Does Luke know?", she asked.
"I did not want to say so until I knew for certain.", she replied though grew a little tired. "And I have no wish of complicating matters should we fail to retrieve her."
"Luke deserves to know.", Leia stated, a little heatedly.
"You'll have no quarrel from me, but Leia, do remember, I myself am not certain of their connection. I've no wish to give a false hope."
Leia considered this for a moment before shaking her head.
"Hiding this from him would be wrong, but I will make sure he knows it's only speculation."
"One thing concerns me about all this.", the Alliance leader continued, voice lower.
"What's that?", Leia asked, feeling some foreboding.
"If what Luke said is true, that Vader cares for her, how much harder will it be to free her from his clutches?"
Being reminded of this fact only doubled the questions in Leia's mind. She was determined to piece this all together, though the only way to confirm this was to get Artoo to cooperate. She set a course to find both Luke and Artoo.
Padmé descended the landing platform behind Vader, dressed in fine clothes befitting her status as Vader's wife. It wasn't too dissimilar to what she'd worn in the past, which comforted her a little bit, despite the fact that it drew more eyes. She tugged the blue covering over her head still seeing the curious looks of fellow Imperial officers. Some who knew her were shocked at her appearance.
It was widely known that she had helped the Rebels escape their grasp, and yet, she still lived. On top of this, she was able to walk with their superior as if nothing ever happened. She could see the poorly disguised confusion on some of their faces and noticed the tenseness of Anakin's shoulders.
Just ignore them, she projected, knowing her husband would hear that thought.
Piett was waiting for them, his expression not at all concerned or surprised, due to his knowledge of these things already. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he was at attention. Vader and Padmé arrived before him and he offered a greeting.
"Lord Vader…", he spoke, clearly not knowing how to address her. Padmé for her part didn't know either, since neither she nor Anakin had decided.
"Padmé Amidala.", she replied, formally introducing herself, and denouncing her previous alias.
"Lady Amidala.", amended Piett. Padmé opened her mouth to permit him to drop the formality, but Anakin spoke.
"What news on the Rebellion?"
"There have been multiple sightings by various pirates," Piett replied, though his tone revealed what he thought of these claims. "Though I suspect they're only interested in the fleet clearing their competition."
"That is unfortunate Piett.", was all the Sith said.
They moved on from the hanger and in the direction of the bridge. Padmé still kept her head down though she noticed their looks as the two men in front of her spoke. She was also aware of the growing discomfort from her recent operation, though she concealed it as they walked. The pain spread through her abdomen, but her breathing was kept steady.
Finally, they made it to the bridge, much to her relief. That was short lived however, as she found herself growing more and more aware of some heated looks sent her way. Deciding she had enough of this, being used to such vitriol in the Senate, she raised her head higher.
With resoluteness, she turned a gaze directly on an officer who had been staring, and as soon as they locked eyes, the officer turned away. Padmé heard Piett and Anakin cease their conversation and she turned to find that Vader was staring down that same officer in the crew pit. Silently, she pleaded with him to let it go, even giving the slightest shake of her head, and then he turned away, much to her relief.
Now that she wasn't Piett's aide anymore, she found herself at a loss. Before she'd distracted herself with the duties and tasks on the bridge, but now she had nothing to occupy her time besides being some mysterious lady with one of the most notorious men in the galaxy. They'd made no formal announcement, and no one dared to ask but the dots were certainly being connected, however strange the result were to them.
Not wishing to undermine the respect Anakin had with these men, but unwilling to be the silent wife of a captor, she decided upon something in the middle. She would not show any shame for her actions and if confronted, will not deny her sympathies with the Rebel Alliance. Anakin may wish her to deny this side of herself, but she would not back down, though she imagined none of these men would be suicidal enough to confront her with the Sith present.
At this moment in time she felt a bit woozy from all the marching around, especially in wake of the recent surgery. Normally it would take several weeks to recover from such an injury, and she was starting to see why. She kept her face calm, though Vader could feel her strain in the Force. Not for the first time, she was annoyed with herself for being so weak. She resolved not to get injured again so she could finally feel normal again.
She could see Anakin wrap things up with Piett and approach her from the corner of her eye. Silently, he offered his hand and she gratefully clasped his forearm. They left the bridge as one hearing the audible hush fall over the crew. That is until Piett sternly reprimanded them to get back to work. The blast doors behind them closed and she reveled in the fact that it was just them walking side by side, openly for the first time in their history.
The only difference was nobody knew Vader was Anakin Skywalker, except Luke.
She looked up at Anakin, knowing this was a huge leap for him, being so open, and allowed a hint of pride to overcome her. She would give him credit where it was due, and he'd kept his word of not hiding her away, despite his apparent fear. He clearly struggled with jealousy, though she reminded herself to bide her time. Change wouldn't happen all at once, though she was content that he was making an effort at all.
Despite her physical pain, she allowed a hint of a smile to grace her mouth.
Leia found Luke tinkering with Artoo, though she could see the faraway look in his eyes. Upon her arrival, his expression changed, though she could see the meager smile didn't reach his eyes. She'd seen this expression quite a lot after the events of Cloud City. He was going through something she didn't understand, but she wouldn't push him until he was ready to talk.
"What is it Leia?", he asked, clearly noticing her hesitation by the doorway.
"Luke… there's something I need to talk to you about.", she began, not sure how to reveal what she believed to be true. She took a deep breath in, about to speak, when both their comm units alerted them to an emergency meeting.
Both she and Luke gave each other confused looks before racing out of the room towards their station for whatever this emergency was. Their summons brought them to the room where missions were assigned. In the gathering crowd, they could see the Alliance leaders filing to the center. There was a moment of quiet before a planet was displayed on the holoprojector.
"We've just received a distress call from our operations on Naboo.", Ackbar announced, seeing many in the room stiffen at the mention and sight of the heavily occupied Imperial world. "We need a special team to report there and assist in the unit in way we can."
"What's happened?", called out Leia.
"There's been an uprising on Naboo.", replied Madine, voice grim. "Though we don't know for what reason, we do know the Empire will send in more resources that could compromise our team there."
"We will need two teams to on standby if they are discovered.", Ackbar added, eyeing the group of specially trained rebels.
Luke and Leia were one of the first to volunteer and then several others quickly joined the aerial and ground assault teams. High command gave out coordinates and instructions, as well as passwords and special comms to communicate with the Naboo Rebel team. Shortly after instruction, the teams left to prepare. Luke and Leia turned to join in the preparations but were halted.
Once again, they were held back by the leaders of high command.
"We have a special task for the both of you.", Mon Mothma claimed.
Both Padmé and Vader were in his quarters when a chime alerted them to a presence outside their door. The Sith raised his hand to unlatch the door with the Force and Piett was on the other side. They'd only seen him an hour ago, quite calm and focused, but now the man's face was pale, expressing a disturbed light in his eyes.
"Lord Vader.", he greeted openly beginning to walk towards the pair of them. "The Emperor wishes me to relay a message."
The silence was palpable.
"The Emperor… spoke with you?", asked the Sith with something strange in his voice. Piett looked anything but happy with this notion but nodded.
"Yes, and he has ordered us to Naboo, for a recent insurrection."
Padmé froze, as did her husband.
"What is the cause of such insurrection?", Anakin asked calmly, though she knew he was as surprised as she was.
"No confirmation on it yet, but it seems the grave of an important queen was defiled.", Piett relayed, glancing over to Padmé. "They blame the Empire."
"What does the Emperor require of us?", Vader asked, knowing the Imperial Navy had much better use than crowd control.
"He made no mention of his wishes other than the fleets' presence over Naboo.", Piett replied, clearly not wanting to be in the middle of all this.
"Very good. Set our course for Naboo.", replied her husband, not willing to openly defy the Emperor.
Then the Sith dismissed the Admiral, still very shaken by the event, and Piett left to obey. Vader turned away from the door, shoulders rigid. Once they were alone, Padmé turned to the agitated man.
"Anakin, what's the Emperor planning?", her voice coming out a little shaky.
"I don't know.", was all he said.
"He's going to use this crisis for greater gain.", Padmé stated worriedly, then she felt sick. People very important to her came to mind. "My family, they're on Naboo still."
"We'll get them out."
"How?", she asked, feeling hysteria rise up. "We knew Palpatine would try to manipulate this! How could I have been so stupid?"
"None of this is your fault.", replied the Sith, for once being the calm one.
"They're in danger because of me.", she replied, growing angry with herself.
"We don't know that.", retorted Vader, placing hands on her shoulders. "We must learn exactly what is happening to decide how much the Emperor already knows."
"I want to be optimistic, but there's a reason he didn't contact you directly about this.", Padmé replied, a thick feeling in the back of her throat. She tried turning from Vader, but he kept her still with his hands. Then he brought a finger to her chin, raising her gaze.
"The Emperor has a higher purpose to this, but it is not to hurt your family.", he insisted. "He wants your homeland to see what truly became of you. With you by my side. The Empire's side."
"I'm not though.", she insisted sharply.
"Your implicit stance will discourage the Rebellion," Vader replied, not arguing. "But it will be the part he wants you to play."
"I will not support the Empire.", she asserted, furrowing her brows. "I've already shown my disloyalty to your men."
"Which can be forgiven in the eyes of the Emperor.", Vader sighed, seeming to know his master well. "You said yourself that he would use political tactics against me, as well as you. This is one of them."
There was some silence then and eventually Padmé gave him a weak smile.
"You've grown wiser.", was all she said, relaxing her shoulders under his hands.
"And you've grown rasher, against all odds.", Vader replied, voice even, but she could tell he wasn't serious.
"I think you forget my past ventures.", she responded, thinking back to the Naboo blockade and the battle on Geonosis. "I've always been this way."
"Yes, I suppose you have.", Vader sighed through the respirator, though motioned towards the door. "Come, we must make preparations."
A/N: Oh, I'm evil, aren't I? Cliffhangers galore in my stories but it does lead into action, which I'm sure you'll appreciate.
Special shoutout to RyanSquad, ThimbleKisses, MMM73181, and Jeda31, for reviewing the last chapter! I appreciate your continued feedback! And a big thank you to those who've favorited and followed my story! And wow! This story has gotten over 5,000 views, for which I want to give a huge thank you for taking the time to read! Without you guys, I wouldn't have gotten this far! If you have any thoughts, please don't be too shy to share them! :)