AN: Sorry. Sorry. Sorry for the long wait. Life got really busy for a while. Good news it's calmed down now. Hopefully this will mean more regular updates again. Thanks for the patience and understanding. I do keep a tumblr, username: SilveredDaye, where I try to keep updates and post WIPs and stuff.
Chapter 24: The Call
Padmé paced back in forth in her room. It had been three days since Anakin had left. Ever since then she was constantly fighting back her emotions, especially her anxiety. She had better control around the twins, but when left alone her heart beat would start to rise. Her thoughts would spin crazily out of control. She sat down on the edge of the round bed and took a few deep calming breaths.
Over the past three days she had tried to create a sense of normalcy for the children, but that didn't mean she had ignored what had happened. She had talked to the twins over what happened. They hadn't understood everything that had been said, but they knew it was scary and Vader, their father, was the one causing it.
It had been a tough conversation to introduce the idea to Luke and Leia to be nice to Vader the next time they saw him. Padmé knew that Luke would be able to easily reaccept Vader, as long as Vader was in his role of father and not Emperor. It was Leia Padmé still worried over. She had become very quiet around Padmé. Padmé had tried talking to her daughter privately. She wanted to help Leia work through her emotions and thoughts. The last thing Padmé needed to happen is for Leia to yell at Vader, causing Vader to react.
What would Vader do next? Anakin had warned her that Vader would keep going until he got what he wanted. Vader wanted a family. A family that accepted him. Completely and willingly. The words of her own bargain with Vader echoed in her head. Could she fake being a family with Vader? Could the twins? Could Leia?
She heard small footsteps running down the hall to her room. Both twins ran into the room and jumped on to her bed. She couldn't help but smile to see them both happy. At least they could still be happy with everything they had seen. The joy of children was a very hard thing to keep locked down forever.
"It's time!" Luke said as he jumped on the bed. "It's time!"
Leia jumped too, but she didn't say anything.
"Yes, yes," Padmé said as she pushed herself up. The twins jumped down to the floor. "Let's go."
Padmé still didn't know the name of the place Anakin had brought them. She didn't know where it was either. The sky was always covered in white clouds. She could never make out the stars. She had never heard of a planet or moon like where they were. It was as if it was a giant geode. The surface was made completely out of white crystal with some milky white water pooling in the low areas in lakes.
She led the twins through white doomed rooms until they reached the door that led into the gardens. The atmosphere here was not breathable, at least Padmé assumed. But there was a large clear dome over the gardens, allowing them to go outside. One red Royal Guard stood at the door with two normal stormtroopers. The children clutched to Padmé's skirt and hid behind her. They didn't like the guards. She nodded to the red guard, who said nothing but keyed the door panel. The door opened to the gardens. The two troopers went first and Padmé and the twins followed. The red guard came last. The guards would stay by the door allowing the family some privacy.
The garden was just clusters of crystals. The twins loved to run around and climb on the towers. As soon as the guards were out of sight, they squealed and dashed off to a nearby group of crystals and started to climb them. Padmé let the twins play for a while before she called them over.
"How would you two like to play a game?" she asked them. Though she kept her voice and face sweet, her insides were churning. The two smiled and nodded at her. "Do you know how to play hide and seek?" she asked. They both shared a look and again nodded at her.
"Are you going to be the one seeking?" Luke asked.
"Yes," Padmé said. "But also the guards are too." The two children frowned at each other and looked worriedly up at Padmé. "Don't be worried," she said softly. "I know you two are excellent hiders. You won't let those mean guards find you." Luke eagerly accepted the challenge. He nodded with a determined smile. Leia was still unsure. "Oh and one more thing, you can't come out of hiding until I say the code word."
"What's the code word?" Luke asked eagerly.
"I don't know, what should it be?" Padmé asked.
Luke thought for a minute. "Skyhopper!" he shouted. Padmé smiled earnestly this time.
"Skyhopper it is," she agree. "I'm going to go tell the guards we're starting now. You two go find a good hiding spot. And don't get tricked! Only come out when the code word is said."
Luke grasped his sister's hand, and the two went off into the maze of crystals. Padmé let her fake smile drop. She gave the twins some time to find a good spot. She took a deep breath. Then another. She grabbed her skirts in both hands and started to call out for the twins.
"Luke! Leia! Where are you! Come out!" she shouted making sure she added a desperate tone to her voice. "Luke! Leia! Please!" She kept shouting as she made her way back towards the building and the guards. The guards stiffened as they heard her shouting. She looked over at them trying to portray the look of a worried mother. "Guards!" she shouted. "I can't find the children!"
The two stormtroopers looked back at the Royal Guard. They were clearly talking through their helms, but Padmé was not privy to what was being said. Then the two troopers nodded as they headed out into the gardens. The Royal Guard approached Padmé.
"We'll find the children, your highness," the Royal Guard said.
"Thank you!" she said. "And please be gentle! They're just children! They're just playing!" The guard nodded at her as he too walked into the crystals.
Padmé waited until the red faded out of sight. Then she made a sharp turn back to the building. She made her way back to the door leading inside and entered the code she had been painfully learning each time the guards entered it. The door swished open. She didn't head back into her quarters. The gardens were a closed off space. There were two other doors that led back inside, but they were both well locked. But they didn't have guards stationed at them. Only this door.
They weren't guarding the gardens, they were actually watching the service door. Near the door leading outside was another door. It was inconspicuous. It almost blended in with the wall. But it was there. Padmé had paid very close attention to the building when she was outside in the gardens with the twins. The outside size did not match up with the inside size. Parts of the house were blocked off. Padmé assumed these were the service quarters.
She walked over to the door and quickly found a latch that hid the keypad. She tried the same code the guard had used on the garden door. It luckily opened the service door. Padmé sent a prayer to her gods as she walked into the thin quiet hallway. The first door was a linen closet. The next door a storage room of household items. Padmé kept moving. Kept searching. She was running out of time.
Finally she found what she was looking for. It appeared to be a mechanical room. Large pipes and furnaces filled the room. But her eyes were on the desk stuffed into a corner and the com device sitting on it. Padmé smiled as she grabbed the device, stuffed it into her skirt, and made her way back out into the hallway. She grabbed her skirts and ran down the hallway.
She hesitated before the service door again. If the guards had returned to their post or if new guards were there, she would be questioned as to why she was in the service hallway. Possibly searched and the hidden com found. But there was a possibility there wouldn't be any guards waiting outside. They were still in the garden looking for the children. Padmé took a deep breath. It was a risk she was going to have to take. She pressed the door control panel, the door opened, and she stepped through.
The door to the gardens was as she had left it. No guards. She smiled, but wasted no time in returning to the gardens. She could hear the shouts of the guards as they called out to the children. Padmé ran out into the crystals.
"Luke! Leia! Skyhopper!" she shouted. "Let's go play skyhopper!" She made her way through the crystals shouting. "Skyhopper! Luke! Leia!" Padmé shouted again. She had made it to the far wall of the dome that protected the gardens.
"Your highness!" one of the stormtroopers yelled as he ran over. "Your highness! We found the children."
"Oh! Thank goodness!" she said as she placed a hand over her heart. "Where are they? Are they safe? Are they hurt?"
"No ma'am," the trooper reported. "They've been brought inside. I'll accompany you back in."
Padmé smiled and nodded and let the guard lead her back inside. She was brought to a large sitting room. The twins sat on the couch. Both were frowning and looking grumpy. The red Royal Guard stood nearby. His helm pointed at the children. It only moved when Padmé entered the room.
"Luke! Leia!" Padmé said making sure she sounded very relieved to see them. She rushed over to them and kneeled in front of them.
"Mother!" Luke said happily as hugged Padmé around her neck. Leia leaned over and clung onto Padmé's arm.
"I couldn't find you!" she said.
"That's because we hid really really good!" Luke said proudly. "Not even the guards found us!"
"Your highness," the Royal guard said in an annoyed tone. "A word please."
Padmé slowly stood up. The twins looked between her and the guard. They were worried. Padmé smiled at them warmly, before she walked over to him.
"Your highness, for the time being you and the children are not allowed back in to the garden," he said.
"I understand," Padmé said softly. She kept her eyes down at the ground hopefully portraying a soft meek woman. She looked back at the red helmet. "But thank you, so much for finding them for me."
"Of course your highness," the guard said.
Padmé nodded at the guard, called the children, and the three left the guards behind. Luckily the guards never followed them into the bedrooms. Padmé was thankful for the privacy. Especially later that night when she pulled out the stolen com unit. She looked down at it. Again her heart rate was up as her anxiety grew stronger.
Who was she was going to call? She couldn't call her crew. They were all dead or captured. She couldn't call Bail. A cold thought washed through her at the thought of leaning on him again. There were still a few of Bail's close contacts such as Captain Antilles. There were others as well. Mon Mothma. And . . . Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Vader's words haunted her. "Obi-Wan planned on training Luke to use the Force, so the boy could become a weapon."
But then again could she trust Vader? Could she trust anyone? Her heart pounded in her chest. Her insides churned. She put a hand to her lower belly as strong cramps started. Her mind spun. It felt like hours later when she finally decided on a course of action. She entered the memorized frequency. Then waited for an answer. Her hands were sweaty, but clutched the com tightly.
"Who is this?" came a voice from the com. A voice Padmé had not heard in a long time, but still instantly recognized.
"Obi-Wan?" Padmé asked. Her voice was shaky.
"Padmé?" Obi-Wan asked back. There was a clear note of disbelief.
"Obi-Wan! Yes this is Padmé!"
"Padmé, thank the Force," he said. "We had feared the worst when it was reported the Helios Eclipse was captured and shot down."
"Vader has me," Padmé replied.
"Padmé . . ." Obi-Wan said but it sounded more like 'I'm sorry.' "Padmé, listen. The Organas-"
"Have also been taken by Vader," Padmé said softly. "Vader has them. The twins. Vader has us all. I'm sorry Obi-Wan. I . . . I . . ." A small sob formed in her throat. "He threatened Naboo," she cried. "He was going to bomb Theed if I didn't tell him where the children were. I'm so sorry Obi-Wan."
"It's ok Padmé," Obi-Wan said softly. "Are you safe? Are the twins? They're both there?"
"Yes, we're fine. We're no longer on the Devastator. We were kept there until three days ago. There was an argument . . . Vader left us here on some planet or moon. Can you track this call? Can you find us?"
"Vader isn't with you?" he asked.
"No, but he will be back soon, but I don't know when."
"And the Organas?"
"It's just me and the twins. Everyone else is back on the Devastator. The Organas. The Lars. Even Rion. He used them all against me. Rion and Bail . . . they . . ."
"It's ok Padmé. This isn't your fault," Obi-Wan said soothingly.
"Yes it is!" she cried back. "You have no idea what he has done! What he has already put the children through!"
"We'll stop him," Obi-Wan said determinedly.
"Obi-Wan. Please you'll have to work fast. I don't know when he'll come back, but I feel like this is our only chance. He said he would take us to his palace on Imperial Center. I fear if he gets us there, there will be no way to escape."
"Yes, it would be much harder," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "Padmé, I've got a successful track on your location. Please stay strong. Hopefully we can get to you soon."
"Please, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope right now," Padmé pleaded.
"May the Force be with you," he said. Then the line went dead. Padmé clutched the com to her chest. Her heart still pounded in her chest. Painful cramps still stabbed at her. There was only one thought in her mind that repeated over and over and over.
What had she done?