Ahsoka barely knew Organa. All that she knew that he had shared and supported many of Padmé's ideas in the senate. "Are you sure? Why him? There were other senators in alliance with her, right?"
Vader shrugged. "Perhaps. But I am pretty sure he was the one she trusted enough to tell him something as important." Ahsoka nodded. Vader knew his wife better than she did, it was wise to rely on his assumptions.
"I can look after the twins, if you want to go talk to him." Vader shook his head. "Padmé told him because she trusts him. I would be very disappointed if he betrayed her as easily."
"Does he know that you are Darth Vader? What if you go without the mask?", she suggested. It seemed reasonable to her. Anakin Skywalker was a well known and trusted Jedi. Vader sighed.
"Padmé surely asked him to tell no one. He doesn't even know about our marriage, he has no reason to tell me. Blowing my cover is to big of a risk." Ahsoka bit her lip. There had to be some sort of solution.
"We could ask the twins. They might remember who visited them before.", she mumbled in thoughts. Vader's eyes widened. "You're a genius! Whoever knew about them, looked after them."
Ahsoka turned around. Leia wasn't crying anymore, instead she drooled all over her clothes. Ahsoka couldn't stop a small chuckle that left her throat. "They're the key to everything, aren't they?", she smiled as she strolled to them.
"Has anyone ever visited your house?", she asked softly, facing both of them. Luke nodded and Leia called out, "Jedi!" Ahsoka grinned into herself, proud that her plan worked. "What did the Jedi look like?", she continued.
Ahsoka realized that this wouldn't help them. If they couldn't even contact Organa, there was no way for them to talk to a jedi. "Hair red.", Leia answered. "And in his face!", Luke added. "He talked strange.", his sister continued.
"Obi Wan Kenobi.", Vader growled in the corner. Leia turned around to him. "Yes, daddy. He.", she babbled. Vader froze as he heard her. He was left speechless. His daughter had given him a loving nickname.
Ahsoka smiled at her master. "They like you, master.", she said as her smile turned into a grin. Vader looked at his hands. "Why would they?", he murmured so silent, she could barely hear it.
"Why wouldn't they? I told you Anakin Skywalker was an amazing dad." He gave her the weak smile she had gotten used to. "We can't contact Obi Wan, can we?", she said. Vader shrugged. "We'll find a way."
Padmé didn't struggle as they put the collar around her neck. She knew there was no sense in doing so. She was surrounded by the ones that called themselves guards. All of them were a lot taller and stronger than her.
Escape wasn't an option at the moment. The fat Twi'Lek stood in front of her with a smirk. "You are going to be number 583.", he mumbled and she cringed as a wave of his filthy scent reached her.
She was a number now, no longer a being with a name. "Let's see if it works, shall we?", he said as he pressed some buttons on the data pad he was holding.
Padmé's body jerked in pain and she dropped to her knees. The zap she had received was still reverberating through her bones. She spat some blood on the ground in front of her, as she noticed that she had bitten her tongue.
"How did that feel?", the Twi'Lek snorted. She looked up to him in disgust. "Die!", she managed to say. He kicked her face forcefully so she was lying in the mud completely.
She couldn't move before another shock flashed through her insides. She cried out in agony. "Don't worry, beautiful. Everyone is tamed eventually." He made a big step over her unmoved body, as if it was a pile of filth and walked away.
Padmé worked to get up again. Now her simple brown clothes were full of moist dirt and sticking to her skin. She was panting and touching the collar around her neck to study it. She couldn't even tell what part of it was the opening.
She grunted in frustration and stumbled forward. The shock left her muscles tense and hard to control. She returned to the tent she had been left in the day before. Now that she had too been collared, she fitted in perfectly.
She sat down without words. There was nothing inside but the slaves. She fought to hold back the tears. Her husband, her children, everything had been taken from her. Now, her freedom was gone too.
Obi Wan was determined to find Ahsoka. As long as he hadn't seen her corpse with his own eyes, he would be trying to save her life. He didn't care if he was signing his own death sentence by moving through the galaxy.
He had been hiding long enough. If he could save lives in the process of dying, his own was an acceptable sacrifice. Death had always been relative to a jedi. It only meant that he would become a part of the force itself.
If Ahsoka was alive, Vader was looking for her too. Obi Wan had to find a way to learn what the sith already knew. If they had the same hints to find her, Obi Wan had a chance to outrun Vader and save the togruta.
But how could he figure out what Vader already knew. There was no way Obi Wan could get to her faster than Vader while he had such a head start. To start a fair race, he first had to catch up to Vader.
He rethought his strategy. For now, his target wasn't finding Ahsoka. He wouldn't take all the steps at once. For now, he was looking for Vader himself. Obi Wan rose and ran to his starfighter.
He didn't know where Vader was at the moment, but he wouldn't be too hard to find. If he wasn't on the Executor right now, he would come there eventually. All Obi Wan had to do now, was find out where the star destroyer was.
"That's not a toy!", Vader called out, startled. Luke was currently playing with the jedi lightsaber, Vader kept hidden. Vader didn't know how he got it out of the drawer, but that wasn't the problem.
Luke was looking right into its opening, and his chubby finger was dangerously close to the activation button. "Luke, don't!", he said loudly. Getting to his son as fast as he could.
Luke didn't understand what terrified his father like that and didn't stop what he was doing. Vader lifted his hand and reached out for the weapon. It flew to his hand, just as Luke had pressed the button.
The blue blade appeared while it was in the air. Vader caught it, to deactivate it immediately. Luke looked at him in wonder. "Pretty.", he said and smiled. Vader looked at him, panting, calming down slowly.
"You can't play with this, Luke. You'll hurt yourself.", Vader explained and clipped the handle to his belt, next to the other one. He couldn't leave it lying around. He was just glad he had noticed what Luke was doing in time.
Even though this had been way too much of a close call. Ahsoka appeared in the door frame. "What happened, I heard a lightsaber?", she said, carrying Leia on her arms. "Luke found my old one.", he explained and picked up his son.
"Watch your owns.", he added. "Your old one?", Ahsoka asked. He nodded. "The blue one.", he answered casually, not considering the topic a significant one. Ahsoka's mouth opened. "You still have the blue one? Why?", she called out.
He shrugged. "Obi Wan tried to take it from me, but I got it back. I've just kept it." "And you haven't bloodied it? You've just got a new one instead?" Vader nodded. He didn't understand why she cared so much.
"Don't you realize what that means? There hasn't been a single moment in which you have been a complete sith. Not even at the beginning. Why else would you want to keep a pure crystal?"
What she said made sense to Vader, but it sounded weird anyway. "Ahsoka...", he started. "I have killed all the younglings with my own hands. And most of the jedi too. How am I not a sith?" Ahsoka looked to the floor, reminded of the past.
"I said you weren't sith completely, that doesn't mean that you weren't a sith at all. Because you were, no doubt. But that's the past, master. Put it behind you." Vader pulled a grimace.
"I can't put murder behind me, Ahsoka." She frowned. Vader looked at the twins who were staring at both of them full of fascination. "We shouldn't talk about these things when they hear us.", Vader said quietly.
Padmé giggled as Anakin pulled her close to his chest. She put her arms around his neck and smiled at him. She stretched onto her tiptoes so she could kiss his lips softly. He smiled before he joined and returned the kiss.
She buried a hand in his hair before their lips separated once again. Anakin smiled at her with an incredible warmth. Padmé laid her head on his chest. "I hate when you're off planet, Ani.", she mumbled. He chuckled and put a hand on her hair.
"I don't like leaving you here either. We spent too little time together.", he told her gently. "But could it ever be enough?" Padmé asked while she pushed him down onto a sofa. He shook his head with determination. "Never."
He smirked as he pulled her onto his lap. She leaned onto him. "I worry for your safety, when you're out in the field fighting. Couldn't you stay on Coruscant more often?" He had started to stroke her back frequently.
"Freeing planets and saving lives is satisfying work. And who doesn't like a droid army from time to time?" She looked up to him sarcastically. "Your wife, who imagines you being shot in the middle of crossfire.", she grumbled before resting her head on his chest again.
"I got rid of a battalion singlehandedly when I was nine. Don't worry about droids.", he said with a soothing voice. "Promise me, that you will always come back!", Padmé demanded. She sat up so her face was opposite to his. "I swear.", he announced before kissing her.
Padmé woke up slowly. The other slaves had started to move and talk, so she woke up as well. The dreams she had about Anakin had only gotten more intense since her enslavement.
They had turned into simple flashbacks, that were surprisingly accurate. When she was sleeping she completely forgot that what she was seeing was the past, her memory returned when she woke up.
Every morning she realized once again that the man she had just kissed was dead, and their children were gone too. Padmé pulled out the necklace from under her clothes. It was now pinched by the slave collar.
She stroked it and kissed it carefully once before dropping it behind her clothes again. A black haired Mirialan yawned next to Padmé. "You're new, aren't you.", she said while stretching her arms.
Padmé nodded. "How long have you been here?", she asked. She knew she wouldn't like the answer. The Mirialan shrugged. "A few weeks. No one stays here for long. Most get shipped away after a couple days."
Padmé frowned. She had hoped Obi Wan might come to take the children again, and find her, but he wouldn't if she was brought off planet. "I'm Nuha Kaleki by the way.", the Mirialan introduced herself.
"I'm Padmé Amidala.", Padmé replied. "Wait. I think I've heard the name Amidala before.", Nuha said. Padmé bit her lip. She should have used the name Naberrie. "I got the name when I was fourteen.", Padmé explained.
"Does that mean you married with fourteen?" Nuha looked a little shocked. "No of course not.", Padmé assured. "I was pronounced queen of naboo back then." Nuha stared at her in surprise.
"Right! You were a senator, weren't you? Yes, I remember! Senator Amidala of Naboo." Padmé nodded a little ashamed. She was uncomfortable being treated like someone special.
"I thought you were killed, like so many of the other senators.", Nuha added. "I fled.", Padmé said, feeling like a coward. "Smart.", Nuha approved. "Don't tell anyone who you are, alright?", she then advised.
"I won't tell anyone, but others might rat you out to the slavers. And the empire would probably pay a good price for you.", she explained.