Padmé gulped as she realized who was waiting behind the doors. Her hands were cuffed before her while she observed how the little display in the elevator kept track of how it was ascending.
Ahsoka had come to the interrogation cell earlier, quiet and filled with sorrow. Padmé's worried question if Ahsoka had reached the rebels was answered with a mere nod, before Ahsoka had lead her out of the room.
"I will do my best to shield your mind from him.", Ahsoka suddenly said. "He will only know your thoughts if he really tries to break through. He won't sense your lies right away." Padmé sighed. "I should have died on Naboo.", she murmured.
"Anakin would have went insane.", Ahsoka countered. Padmé squeezed her eyes shut, remembering what her death had done to him before. "I will die anyway. It's just that I should have died before betraying the rebels."
"We're here.", Ahsoka announced quietly as the elevator stopped. "Keep calm. Your mind is harder to read when it's tranquil." Padmé nodded and took a deep breath. As the door opened, Padmé immediately felt a lot colder.
Between Maul and Safye, Sidious was sitting on his throne, his old body bowed. "You can't imagine how glad I was to hear of your survival, my dear senator.", he grinned. Padmé said nothing in response.
Under the Emperor's hood she could make out the outlines of the face, she had once known as Palpatine. As the former senator of Naboo, he had been an important mentor and friend to her.
She turned her head away in disgust. "My condolences for your late husband.", he continued. Padmé cramped but said nothing, while her thoughts raced to find out what the wisest thing to say was.
"If you hadn't poisoned his mind, Obi Wan wouldn't have had to kill him.", she spat. Sidious cackled. Apparently, pretending to be unknowing was the right choice. "It was Kenobi who was killed by Vader, not the other way."
As a politician, faking emotions was Padmé easiest exercise. Her eyes widened and her breath fastened. "You're lying.", she whiffed. "You always were. You're a liar." Sidious smirk only grew. "You wound me.", he said maliciously.
"Now, tell me where he is.", he demanded. Padmé froze. Had she been so easy to read? Or had Sidious already known? "Burned, in a lake of lava on Mustafar.", Padmé replied.
"You disappoint me senator. I do remember you as a rather smart woman." Padmé fought to keep an emotionless expression. "It surprises me, that he hasn't sought you out by now. Almost a week has passed since the bombing."
Padmé looked up to him. "Vader died there. Where my husband died two years before.", she said, putting anger into her voice. "You will learn that my patience has its end.", Sidious snarled. "How did your offspring survive?"
Padmé whimpered. "The rebels just brought them to me, said they should be with their mother. I don't know how they got them out in time." Sidious cackled and Ahsoka tensed next to Padmé.
"You're hiding your lies well." "I'm not force sensitive and I'm not lying!", Padmé countered. "Even if that's true, and he hasn't looked for you yet, I'm sure he will come here, when learning of your whereabouts." Padmé didn't speak.
"Master?", Ahsoka suddenly spoke up. "If you believe Vader survived, why did you seek new apprentices?" Sidious leant forward a little. "He might be dead, or he might be a traitor. Either way, I need loyal servants."
"Shall we dispatch some troops to look for him, master?", Maul asked. "No.", Sidious replied. "If he is alive, he will soon come here. Until then, the senator will be our guest." Padmé refused to look up, and didn't speak a word.
"Maybe, you won't be waiting very long. A group of rebel fighters on their way here is already being dealt with." Padmé's eyes widened. If they were evacuating, they wouldn't be in spare of a convoy. Something was going wrong.
"A convoy has made contact. They say they're jedi." Obi Wan threw a glance to Ackbar. "How far is the evacuation?", Obi Wan asked. "The transports are ready, and we have half as many fighters to accompany them."
"Can I answer them?", he then asked. Ackbar nodded. "Of course." Obi Wan strolled to the communicator. "This is Obi Wan Kenobi." , he began. "Master Kenobi! What do we do?", Shaak Ti asked. Obi Wan frowned.
"What do you mean, we proceed as planned. And, are you ready for this kind of mission?" "I'm fine. And I don't think the initial plan will work. There's a blockade." Obi Wan's eyes widened.
"What?! Where are you?" "In orbit above the base.", Shaak Ti replied. "Destroyers are approaching. Soldier transports by the look of it. I guess it is an invasion." Obi Wan bent forwards to support himself with his arms on the holo table.
There was no escape if the empire was this close. "The transports will never make it through a blockade like that.", Mon Mothma said. "But they didn't come with gunships.", Obi Wan countered.
"They won't bomb the base from orbit, they will send their clones.", he continued. "We have no chance against such an army.", Ackbar said. "We could land, to reinforce you. We're a few dozen jedi, we could make a difference."
"Anakin and Ahsoka would have to face three sith, one of which is the Emperor, completely on their own.", Obi Wan called out. "This whole operation was insane. Our objective must be reduction of casualty and retreat."
"You can't evacuate anymore anyway. Imagine killing the Emperor. All your past struggles would serve a cause.", Obi Wan rushed.
"The risk is too great. We need to protect the rebellion as a whole." "By killing the Emperor you could end the war!", Obi Wan countered. Ackbar thought for a few seconds.
"A few should go to the death star as support, but we need most down here.", he concluded. Obi Wan sighed. "Fair enough. I pray it will suffice." "Understood.", Shaak Ti confirmed.
"We will reinforce both battles. Although it will take us a long time to break through the blockade." Obi Wan began stroking his beard slowly. Despite Anakin's extraordinary skills a few jedi against a fully manned battle station were poor odds.
"Sir. The rebels are advancing faster than intended.", an officer reported. "Send more TIE fighters immediately.", Sidious commanded. The officer stiffened even more. "All fighters at our dispose were already sent, Sir."
Sidious snarled. "How can this handful be all?" "This station isn't operational yet. We didn't expect an attack so soon.", the officer stammered.
"Ever since the day we started this project, I have been instructing you to be on alert at all time. This station is to vital to be compromised.", the Emperor growled. "Safye.", Sidious suddenly said. The Iktotchi stepped forward.
"Take a private fighter and take out those rebels at once.", he instructed. Safye bowed before leaving the throne room. Ahsoka looked after her for a few heartbeats. She didn't know Safye was a pilot.
"What if they manage to enter?", Ahsoka asked. Sidious made a throwing away gesture. "Then you will eliminate them.", he stated. Ahsoka nodded before looking over to Padmé.
Padmé made sure no one was looking at her, before she moved her lips as if she were to say "Anakin". Then she raised her brows in a questioning expression. Ahsoka nodded, then shrugged.
She didn't know, but who else would dare an attack like this? Padmé's eyes swung to the big circular window behind the throne, probably hoping to get a look on the fighters. Ahsoka felt how fear and worry bubbled up in Padmé.
Sidious turned to the officer once more. "See to it, that the two infants are secured. Even better than the other one. No one may reach them." Ahsoka saw how Padmé tensed.
Sidious wouldn't dare to harm the twins. He needed them to realize his insane vision of reviving the sith.
The rebels were gaining an advantage. Slowly, but surely, they eliminated the TIEs, without casualties. Just when the number of rebels surpassed the number of TIEs, another TIE came rushing from the death star.
This one was a more advanced model than the others. With dark eyes, Anakin recognized one of his own designs. Somebody had realized one of his sketches.
Anakin spent a few moments studying the fighter, ensuring that no changes had been made. After he was certain, he spoke into the com channel. "This one uses seismic charges. Be careful!"
Before Anakin had an idea, what to do next, the TIEs changed their strategy. Whoever had arrived, was a commander, and he knew what he was doing. In the next moment, Anakin felt something.
He could have sworn that he sensed another force user. And it wasn't Ahsoka. In the next moment, all TIEs but the new one stirred upwards. Anakin knew what would happen know.
He had worked on seismic bombs that would adhere on the hull of other ships. If one of the rebels was hit, there was no way to stop his death. The TIE discarded a little, blinking device, confirming Anakin's worries.
"Stay away from that, at all costs!", Anakin ordered. "How bad can it be?", Gold 2 asked. "Look at how tiny it is." Gold 2 didn't move away fast enough and the charge locked to his hull. "What? Is this a tracker or something?"
"Everyone, move above or below Gold 2. Then, you'll try to shoot it off, but you only have five seconds." "Shoot at me?!", Gold 2 cried. "But my shields..." "Deactivate them.", Anakin barked. "Why is this such a big deal?", Gold 2 asked.
In the following moment, a painful silence cut through the scene. "Too late! Dodge now!", Anakin called. Most of the rebels made it out of the way of the blue disc of destruction that spread around Gold 2, accompanied by an earsplitting noise.
Three other rebels were gripped by it as well. The debris of the four fighter's spun around in open space, leaving only six of the rebels and eight of the TIEs behind. "What was that?", Red 4 asked, the horror audible in his voice.
"A seismic charge.", Anakin repeated. "And there are plenty left.", he added. "How do you know about the arsenal of that TIE?", another one asked. "I'm rather familiar with this model.", Anakin explained.
"What now? We lost four pilots and they gained that super weapon. The odds weren't on our side before, but now it's ten times worse." "Like I said, I'm familiar with this model, I also know how to take it out.", Anakin ensured.
"The shield and the hull are rather resistant to the firepower of these X-wings. The only vulnerable spot is the cockpit.", he continued. "But how can we hit the cockpit if the shields are too strong?", Red 4 asked.
"The shields are deactivated in the moment he fires. We have to attack in that exact second. Red 6, move away!", Anakin hurried to say before the rebel was blasted with some green lasers.
"Don't forget that the other TIEs are still here as well.", Anakin warned. "Yeah. Sorry.", Red 6 apologized sheepishly. "Gold 2 was a good pilot, a good man. You should have warned him.", Gold 4 snarled.
"Which I did.", Anakin said, slightly angry. "He was both foolish, and responsible for his own life. This isn't a game." "You're a jedi, how can you be so cold?", Gold 4 asked. "I'm feeling guilty for too much already.", Anakin murmured.
"Alright, concentrate. I will take on their new commander, you worry about the rest of them.", Anakin resumed. "But how?", Red 4 countered. "The new one didn't fall for our tactics." Anakin sighed once, then was silent for a few seconds.
"Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct.", Anakin finally quoted his old master. This was one of Obi Wan's favorite wisdoms, one that Anakin had always held for mindless preachings.
"We're not jedi!", Gold 4 called out. "We can't do your force stuff." "Instinct isn't the force!", Anakin replied. "Now get to it, trust your training." Before he could hear another complaint he tuned off his com channel.
Anakin turned hie fighter to face the leading TIE, and felt how rage boiled up inside of its pilot. There was no question, this was one of Sidious' apprentices.
Of course Padmé had expected Anakin to come for her. But she had also expected him to be reinforced. From what she had listened to, Anakin had come alone, with only a few rebels as a strike team.
How was he planning to defeat the Emperor and Maul on his own? With Safye gone, and Ahsoka here, it would be an even fight, if there hadn't been the hundreds of stormtroopers on this station.
Or the assault on the rebel base, which had to be on their minds as well. If Ahsoka was worrying as much as Padmé was, she was hiding it well.
Padmé had begun toying with the end of her sleeve, in a desperate attempt to calm her down. Everything would turn out fine in the end, she just knew it. Or at least that was what she would tell herself.