Note from the Author:
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To show how much you guys have helped me, here is another chapter. It's shorter because I wanted to get it up fast, but hopefully I'll have longer ones soon. Enjoy!
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{trinity6diversia}
Chapter Five
It was an urgent com signal from R2 that brought Anakin out of his meditation and back to the cockpit. The droid was still at the controls, and when Anakin walked in, he acknowledged his presence with a beep, but did not move.
"What is it buddy?" asked Anakin, leaning on the dash and looking out at the pulsating hyperspace surrounding the skiff. They were moving so fast that everything was left a blur, but to Anakin, this was strangely relaxing. R2 responded to the question with a string of beeps and whirs, which Anakin could translate without assistance from the onboard computer.
"Coming up on Alderaan. Good job, Artoo."
The droid pulled away from the controls as Anakin sat down in the pilot's seat, pushing buttons as he did so to prep the vessel for coming out of hyperspace. This was his favorite part of any trip, mostly because there was a lot of stuff that needed done, but also because coming out of hyperspace in general was quite thrilling.
"Thirty seconds to resume normal speed," Anakin said, glancing back at R2 in time to see the droid plug into the navicomputer. "Prepare to engage stabilizers. Fifteen seconds. Slack off on the engines. Ten, nine, eight…"
A flashing red light on the dash, in addition to a measured beeping, took over the countdown as Anakin's hand curled around the stabilizing clutch. And then the ship was coming out of hyperspace and for a few seconds, one of Anakin's hand was flying over buttons on the control panel while his other was keeping the ship steady. All of this was done in a matter of seconds, and at the end, no one would have noticed a difference.
"Well done, Artoo," grinned Anakin, wrapping his hands around the curved steering bar. It had taken him many years to perfect the art of coming out of hyperspace, but now that he had it, it would never leave. He was a pro.
And then the door to the cockpit opened, and Padmé entered.
"Where are we?" she asked, standing behind Anakin as he steered the ship towards the planet ahead of them.
"Alderaan," he answered.
"But Alderaan isn't that far from Coruscant. Why did it take so long?" She sounded exhausted.
"I had to use a slower setting on the hyperspace formula and couldn't revert until I was away from the planet," answered Anakin. "It's complicated. Once we're out of the Deep Core, I can use a faster hyperspace formula."
Padmé didn't answer, but Anakin didn't have time to ask her if she was alright. They were being hailed by the air crew on the planet below.
"Nubian yacht, you are in our sights. What is your destination?"
"This is General Anakin Skywalker. We are making for the royal palace on summons from Senator Organa. Requesting permission to land."
"What is your transfer code?"
Anakin gave it, then there was a brief moment of silence while the ground crew sent through their request.
"Permission to land on Platform 2-B. Have a great day, General Skywalker."
Without a word, Anakin steered the ship in the direction of the far mountains, and the royal palace which nestled between the peaks.
"The Galactic Intercessor is waiting for us here," said Padmé after a moment. "They send everything straight to Chancellor Palpatine. We'll have to take a moment for them."
"Any special requests?" asked Anakin, trying to hide the distain in his voice.
"Only the usual," she answered, then slipped out of the cockpit to change her clothes. As she did so, Anakin carefully lowered the ship onto the designated platform, trying not to notice the throngs of cameramen and reporters running towards the ship. Thankfully, security officials stopped them before they got too close.
After locking down the ship and running through the post-flight checklist, Anakin stood up and straightened his tunic, then took a deep breath and left the cockpit. R2 stayed, to make sure nothing happened while they were gone.
Padmé arrived in the main hold of the ship just as Anakin did. She was wearing a teal gown with gold and navy blue embroidery. The inside was lined in gold silk, which showed when she walked, as was the high collar. She wore her wedding ring, sparkling on her finger, and a thin circlet of silver on her brow. Her hair was pulled up in an intricate design.
"You look beautiful," said Anakin, forcing himself to smile. "I don't think anyone can honestly see me as your husband. You're like… a Nubian star skiff… and I'm a Jedi relic with wings."
"And a new paint job," smiled Padmé, reaching up to straighten Anakin's tunic on his shoulders, silently making plans to get him a new wardrobe when the situation allowed. She brushed his hair out of his eyes and back from his face, remembering how his hair had been combed back for their wedding, and how dashing he'd looked with it like that. She smiled, then reached up and kissed him on the cheek, ignoring the stubble that was starting to grow there.
"You are very handsome, my husband," she whispered.
Anakin put out his arm for her to take, and she took it, entwining her fingers with his as they turned towards the boarding ramp, which lowered as if on request. Anakin was too lazy to push the button; where there was the Force, there wasn't a need for work.
"How did you manage to get done up so fast?" he asked as they walked down the ramp towards the waiting reporters.
"Just like you manage to pull out of hyperspace so fast," she smiled. "Practice."
Anakin grinned, and the cameras flashed, and within half an hour, the picture of Anakin and Padmé Skywalker, smiling as they walked arm in arm, was on every holonet cast on Coruscant. It was the perfect deception, believed by everyone.
And then they were safe within the palace, away from the cameras and the reporters, and Senator Organa was waiting for them.
"Is this going to be an epidemic?" asked Anakin, then, grimacing as he glanced back at the throngs outside the shielded doors.
"Wherever you go, the reporters will follow," answered Senator Organa, but he did not look amused by this.
"Is there any way to shake them?" asked Padmé with a sigh, and Anakin looked at her in time to see a wave of hopelessness pass over her face before she carefully hid it. He reached over and put a hand on her back, and for a moment, she looked at him, and their eyes spoke together when no words were forthcoming.
"I'm afraid not," answered Senator Organa. "They are everywhere. They know your ship, your route, your lives, for the entirety of your honeymoon."
"When don't they know what we're doing?" asked Anakin.
"Hyperspace," was the answer. "They can't follow you as long as you stay in hyperspace."
"Tempting," grimaced Anakin, glancing at Padmé, feeling in the Force the headache that was threatening to overwhelm her. "But impossible."
"Maybe…"
Anakin looked at the Senator, who raised his eyebrow in response. There was an unspoken communication between them in that moment, and a wave of hope started to grow within Anakin. He sent Padmé with one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting to the apartments prepared for them, and as soon as she was gone, turned to Senator Organa.
"She's exhausted," he said then, the calm no longer in his voice. "She's been hounded by the paparazzi for fourteen years. Isn't there a time when they can leave her be?"
"What about you, General Skywalker?" asked the Senator. "You've been hounded too, for nearly as long. The Hero with no Fear. You're an idol to them."
"This isn't about me," said Anakin quickly. "This is about Padmé."
"You are part of it."
"Not nearly." He took a deep breath. "I need to get her out of her. Away from them."
"The Senate and the Jedi Council will not approve," cautioned Senator Organa. "This honeymoon is meant as a tour, of sorts. To show the galaxy their newest hope."
"Why not put us in cages on display? What happened to being humans with a right to do as we please?"
"That was gone when you said I do."
"No it wasn't. There's some things they can make us do, but just as many we do on our own. I'm done with this. If I'm called a traitor to the Republic, so be it. But I'm not going to stand here while the paparazzi hounds us and Chancellor Palpatine watches our life play out on his personal holocast. We are not players in this game of his."
"If you disappear, you'll have a price on your head," cautioned the Senator.
"Maybe," answered Anakin. "Or maybe not." He paused. "Will you help us?"
A sly, wily grin spread over Senator Organa's face.
"Let's go kick some Republic ass."