Chapter 35: The Plan

Vader had left Padmé and the twins inside the command cabin of the shuttle. Most likely to pilot the shuttle himself up to his waiting star destroyer. The twins were vibrating in excitement. They were disappointed that the command cabin had no windows, but they bounced in their seats as the shuttle took off. Padmé tried her best to focus on them, but her mind kept wandering. Luckily it was a short ride. Most likely Vader's ship was waiting in orbit.

Vader returned to the cabin and the children jumped all around him.

"Are we here?" Luke asked. "Are we on your ship? Can see your other ships?"

"Will we get to see the planet? Will be able to see our home?" Leia asked.

A small smile spread across Vader's lips. "Maybe," he said as he placed a hand on top of each child's head in an attempt to calm them. They both grabbed on to his hands as he led them out. Padmé slowly followed behind. She paused once she was in the small hallway. Vader and the twins were almost to the loading ramp, but Padmé quietly turned the other direction. The cockpit door was open and luckily there was no co-pilot inside.

Padmé's eyes quickly darted around the cockpit. Through cockpit windows she could see the hangar of the star destroyer. It was deserted. Only a few droids rolled around. Her eyes quickly fell on the communication's array. She leaned over, which wasn't easy with her round stomach, and pressed a button. A code cylinder popped out of a compartment. She snatched it up and turned sharply around. Then she made her way back down to the hallway and down the ramp.

Vader and the twins were waiting for her.

"Mother," Luke said. "Are you ok?"

"You were taking quite a while," Vader said. His eyes were blue.

"I can only move so fast," Padmé said patting her stomach. Vader's eyes flicked down to her stomach.

"I shall get a hover chair here at once," he said.

"No, I can walk," she said.

He frowned. "The doctor said you needed to be off your feet. You need to take it easy."

She huffed, but didn't argue. It was luckily a short wait until a red royal guard came with a hover chair. She slowly lowered herself down into it and let herself be pushed. Perhaps it was for the best she wasn't walking. It allowed her to get a good look of the path from the hangar to Vader's quarters. The path she would need to take to get herself and her children to freedom. She was amazed at how direct the path was. She wondered if that hangar had been Vader's private hangar. No doubt the Emperor would have his own hangar aboard his own flagship.

A chill washed over her as they came to a familiar long corridor. All too soon they had stopped at a rather nondescript door. Vader walked up and keyed a code into the door panel. The door silently slid open. Vader walked in first, followed by the children, then the guards pushing Padmé's hover chair. They walked into a small short hallway. The door closed behind them and only then did the door in front of them open.

The doors can't open at the same time, Padmé noted. This would be the first obstacle to overcome in an escape. Then she should need to get through the ship to the hangar. Once there she would need to find a ship that could carry her and the twins. Hopefully the code cylinder she had taken from the shuttle earlier would give codes to allow her to depart safely.

Through the doors. Through the ship. To a shuttle. Into space. That was only four things, and yet it seemed as if it were four hundred things. But the biggest problem of all was going to be getting out of here. For she was back. Back in the same rooms she had been brought to all those months ago.

Luke and Leia were happy to be back. They ran around the bare living area, into Padmé's bedroom, and then dashed into their own room. Vader watched it all with a small smile on his face, but then his attention fell on Padmé. His smile fell. He dismissed the guards with a sharp wave of his hand. They silently bowed and left promptly. Vader grasped the handles of the chair and steered into the bedroom.

Once inside, Vader held his hand out. Padmé took it, and he helped her out of the chair. Her free hand came to rest on top of her swollen stomach. Vader's other hand came to rest softly on her lower back as he led her to the bed. Her helped her sit on the bed. He piled up the pillows behind her back and head to make her comfortable. There was a high-pitched screech of children. Both parents paused.

"Maybe you should go check on them," Padmé said softly. Vader looked intently towards the door for a moment, before he looked back down at her.

"They're fine," he said. "Just being children."

He walked over to the viewport and clasped his hands behind his back. As if on cue, the distant stars stretched into long lines as the ship jumped to hyperspace. Imperial Center had been floating off to the lower left. The jump had been straight ahead, but with that vector . . .

"I thought you said we were going to Mustafar," she said.

Vader glanced over his shoulder at her. "We'll be going a roundabout route to throw off any Rebels tracking my movements. Plus, I have a stop to make first."

"Ah," was all she could say. She glanced down at her stomach. At the baby growing inside of her. Her hand came to rest on top of it. Her due date was fast approaching. What life awaited this small one? Padmé hadn't heard Vader approached. She jumped as his gloved hand came to rest on top of hers.

She looked up at him. His eyes were blue and soft. His flesh hand came up and cupped her face. "Everything will be fine," he said softly. His thumb gently rubbed back and forth against her cheek.

"How can you be so certain?" she asked. "I feel like every time things finally go well, something else happens. And . . . And . . ." She paused as she looked at him. "And I'm scared," she admitted.

Vader sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He brought her to him and she rested her head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm here. I won't let anything harm you or the children."

She squeezed her eyes shut and desperately wanted to believe his promise.

She was questioning her decision. Perhaps she should stay. He was trying. Vader. Anakin. Both of them were trying. Shouldn't she try as well? How could she just throw this all away? They could be a family. Vader was right. The only thing that was holding that back was her.

She laid in her bed glancing at the streaks of hyperspace rubbing her stomach. The twins bounced in.

"Mother! Mother!" Leia said with a large smile on her face.

She jumped on the bed and crawled over to her mother. Luke was a bit more subdued. He also got on the bed and snuggled up to his mother opposite of Leia. Padmé wrapped her arms around them both. She kissed their foreheads. Luke kissed her back.

"Mother," Leia said. "Father has a training room here on his ship!" A cold sinking feeling settled in the pit of Padmé's stomach. "He took us in there to train today with battle droids."

"What?" Padmé asked. "Battle droids?" Her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of her babies fighting battle droids.

"They didn't do anything though," Leia said as she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

"They didn't have blasters," Luke explained. "They just walked around."

Padmé tightened her hold on the two of them, but that was short lived. Eventually the twins wiggled free as they grew bored and wanted to go play. She let them as that was what they should be doing. It was late into the night cycle that she saw Vader.

"You should be resting," he said as he started to undress.

"I am in bed almost all day. I assure you I get plenty of sleep."

He pulled off his undershirt leaving his golden skinned chest bare. He unhooked his lightsaber and placed on the nightstand on his side of the bed. When he had first brought her here, he never wore it. He never brought it with him when he spent time with her or the children. But now? It was always near, always within his reach.

"I heard you were using battle droids with the twins today," she said. Her throat was tight.

He sighed as he laid his head down on the pillow. His flesh hand gently grabbed her arm and tugged on it. He wanted her to lay down so he could cuddle. She moved her arm out of reach.

"What were you thinking?" she continued. "Battle droids? Really? They are six years old!"

"Padmé, we have had this conversation before," he murmured. "I will not let the children get hurt."

Out of the corner of her eye she noted his eyes were gold. That night she stayed awake a long time after he had fallen asleep. She had to get the twins and herself off the ship before it got to Mustafar. Vader wasn't relenting about training the twins. She only saw it getting worse from here. Soon she would lose them as she had her husband.

Leave the quarters, go down the hall, go down the turbolift, get to a ship in the hangar, use the access codes she had stolen, and get off the ship. That's all it was between her and freedom. But the hardest part was the first part. She had to leave the quarters. How was she going to do that?

The main entrance was through a small hallway. The two doors could not be opened at the same time. Even if she did worm her way past one door, could she get through the second? There was also probably a good amount of security around those doors as well. Guards watching holocams. It would be for the best not to force the doors open. The best option would be to either get the access code to the door or have someone else open them. But who?

She glanced down at the sleeping man next to her. Anakin had said he had done all he could in arranging the attack on the palace. She had a feeling he wouldn't be surfacing any time soon. That also meant she would be dealing with Vader. He needed to be distracted. He would be the one thing that could ruin the plan at any stage.

For now she moved back to the door problem. Despite having come and gone from these quarters a few times, she hadn't always been awake when she had. She recalled the times she did remember. The time earlier today, the time Vader took her down to see Rion, and . . . And had there been one more time? She had been heavy with a fever the first time he brought her in. The time he brought her to the crystal moon, she had been asleep. When she came back, she had been too injured.

But there seemed to be something slipping her mind. She had left one more time . . . That was right . . . It was after Vader had killed her crew. She had sat at the viewport. She had sat there lost in thought unaware she had become dehydrated and weakened. When Vader returned and saw her state, he rushed her out of the room to the med bay.

He rushed her out . . . in a panic . . . in a distracted state of mind.

How could she get him to do that again? She needed him to panic and to run out of the quarters. But what would get him in such a state of mind?

You, said a voice inside of her. Fake labor pains. Fake your water breaking.

No. That would not do. It couldn't be her. His focus had to be on something else that wasn't her, so she could make her escape. She didn't have much time to plan and execute an escape. Vader may be taking a roundabout route to Mustafar, but eventually they would arrive.

Eventually she slid back down into the bed and let sleep claim her. Her sleep was restless and filled with dreams she didn't remember upon waking. She was left feeling cold on the inside.

She had spent the morning dozing and was woken up by the pounding of small feet. The twins jumped into her bed. Both were full of smiles. She smiled, sat up, and welcomed them with a tight hug and kisses. They both giggled.

"What have you two been up this morning?" she asked.

"We got to watch father fight!" Leia said. Luke nodded.

"Fi-fight?" Padmé asked in a soft voice. "Fight what?"

"Droids," Luke said. "They had spiney staffs that sparked!"

"Father was so cool and amazing!" Leia chimed in.

"Yeah he was so wizard!" Luke added.

"He was fsshooom and then vashzzzm," Leia said as she waved her arms around if wielding a lightsaber herself.

"And then he flipped over them!"

"Yeah!"

"I can't wait to do that!"

"Father said we had to wait until we are bigger and know our lightsaber forms better though."

"But he did said he would show us how to throw things around like he did that one droid!"

"Yeah when it went flying into the wall. And then it crumpled all up in sparks and lights?"

"Imagine if you could do that to all the mean scary people?" Luke asked. Leia nodded. Luke continued, "We would be able to protect mother."

"And the baby! Mother we would protect you!" Leia said as she cuddled against her mother's side. She placed a hand on Padmé's stomach.

"Thank you," Padmé said with a sad smile. "But let's leave the protecting to father, shall we?"

"But what if father isn't there?" Leia asked.

Luke looked up at his mother big round blue eyes. "What if mean bad people come again?" Luke asked in a hushed voice.

What could Padmé say? That there wouldn't be any such incidents? She opened mouth hoping she would find the right words, but never got around to saying anything.

"Your mother is right," came Vader's voice. The twins jumped up to see their father walking in through the door. He had a smile on his face while he held up his lightsaber hilt. "I'll protect you all."

He walked over the bed and clipped his saber hilt to his belt.

"But what about if you're not there?" Leia asked. "Like . . . like before?"

Vader's face crumpled. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed his flesh hand on the top of Leia's head.

"I will try to make sure that will never happen again," he said softly.

"Vader," Padmé hissed softly at him. He couldn't make such promises. He couldn't stay on Mustafar with them. He had to return back to Imperial Center eventually. Vader's gold eyes flashed up at her, and then he was looking back at his children.

"But," he said with a sly smile, "Eventually you two will be able to help me keep everyone safe." Both twin's faces grew with a huge smile. "Once you've gotten further in your training, of course," he added.

"Yes!" Leia said. "And we can get rid of bad guys?"

Vader laughed. "Of course. I'm sure one day you'll help get rid of all the bad guys in the whole galaxy."

"The whole galaxy?" Luke asked. His eyes were large and bright. He leaned forward slightly towards Vader.

"Yes," Vader said. "Wouldn't that be a nice? A peaceful galaxy?" The twins both smiled and nodded.

Vader took the twins to go eat lunch, allowing Padmé to think in quiet. He came back in offering her a plate of food, but she wasn't hungry. Her stomach was in knots. She felt like if she ate anything she would throw up.

She knew exactly what peaceful galaxy Vader was talking about. A galaxy under his rule following his laws. Everything doing exactly what he wanted them to do. And to make sure they stayed that way, he would use the Empire's military and his schemes to invoke fear to keep people in line. What would happen if he had another Force user on his side? What if he had two? Or three? What would he ask her children to do?

Vader returned alone a short time later. He glanced at her untouched food.

"You need to eat," he said softly. He sat down on the edge of the bed right next to her. "You're pale. Should I call the doctor?"

"No," she replied weakly. "It's just indigestion. It happens a lot when you have a baby pressing on you."

He wrapped his arm around her and placed his head against her shoulder. His lips found her neck and left a few small kisses there.

"What do you see?" she asked. Her voice barely a whisper.

"Hmm?"

"For the future of your Empire? With the twins? With the baby? What do you see? What will they become?"

"Wonderful," he said. "Beautiful. Strong." He kissed her neck again. "I can finally see peace coming to the galaxy for good. With my family at my side, my Empire will grow strong. Far stronger than Palpatine's ever would be."

He gave one last kissed before he stood back up. He told her not to hesitate to ask for something different to eat before he left. Her hands tightly gripped the bedsheets. It was as she had feared. Vader would use his children as chess pieces in his game of galactic conquest all while thinking what he was doing was best.

In the morning, the ship had exited hyperspace. A large red planet with thin rings came into out the viewport.

"Geonosis."

Padmé turned to see Vader walk into the room. He looked every bit the Emperor. He wore fancy black clothes, his long black cloak, and his lightsaber. He walked up to the viewport.

"Geonosis?" Padmé asked. "This is your stop? What is here?"

The planet had been reported to be desolate due to being sterilized. Though that wasn't information made public, but it was something Padmé had come across in her years working to undermine the Empire. Vader's ship was turning. The planet slipped away from view, but it let her see what was in orbit around the planet. There were various stations, construction modules, and lots of Imperial ships. But what caught her eye, what took her breath away, was the large unfinished space station.

"What is that?" she whispered.

"The DS-1 Orbital Battle Station," he replied.

A chill ran through her. "The ultimate weapon," she said. Her voice barely audible to even herself. The information that had started it all. She had been trying to find where Vader was building his new super weapon. It was what led to be caught. She couldn't believe how huge it was.

"I have a meeting to attend to," he said. "I will be back later."

And then he was gone. She barely recalled the rest of the day. She felt frozen while time zipped by around her. Soon Vader was back, and it felt like he had only just left.

"Padmé?" he asked. "Have . . . have you eaten anything?"

"No," she said not even looking at him. "Indigestion."

He muttered to himself. She wasn't aware he had called the doctor until the doctor stood at her beside. She gave Padmé a shot, lectured her on eating, and gave her a bottle of liquid medicine to help with indigestion. Padmé thanked her, and tried her best to eat a clear broth soup Vader brought her.

The twins came to see her before they went to bed. They crawled up to her and looked at the battle station.

"Father said we couldn't go with him to go see the space station," Leia said a bit sadly.

Luke added, "He said maybe next time."

"He also said it has a super big laser on it, and that one day we may get to fire it!"

"I wonder what happens if you fire it into a black hole," Luke said.

"Nothing," Leia said. "It's a black hole. It just sucks it up."

"It could explode," Luke argued back.

"Nu uh. Black holes eat anything. Even lasers. Right, mother?"

"Uh huh," Padmé said absentmindedly.

Her mind was stuck on one thing. One day we may get to fire it. One day we may get to fire it. We may. One day her children would fire a super laser and destroy a planet. She gave the children a kiss, and they went off to bed.

The plan came to her over the next few hours. It left a horrible cold feeling inside of her. It wasn't perfect. It was horribly flawed. But it should work. She hoped. If it didn't . . . Needles stabbed her heat. It bled ice cold blood into her stomach. Once she started, there would be no stopping it. No coming back. But she had to do this. It was for the best.