Chapter 5: Thrawn and Palpatine
Anakin Skywalker woke up, opening his eyes to complete darkness. Initially, he thought he must be in his bed at home. However, the bed he was in was too comfortable. Also, the smell was too pleasant. Knowing he couldn't be in his own room helped jog his memory. He was on a Naboo blockade runner, flying through hyperspace. He had helped the ship get past a fleet of dreadnaughts that had been orbiting Tatooine. They made it past them and jumped to hyperspace, and were now on their way to Alderaan to meet with Bail Organna and Sheev Palpatine with the hope they might be able to form an alliance with the two and liberate Naboo from the Neimoidian Federation.
As he thought about his current situation, the events of the past few days ran through his mind. He was in orbit around Tatooine, test flying a fighter he had personally constructed when he came across a battle. Two dreadnaughts had caught a Naboo cruiser and were reeling it in through a tractor beam. He came to their assistance, and utilizing his superior piloting skills, he found a way to take out both dreadnaughts and free the cruiser.
After saving the cruiser, they radioed him that they needed even more help. After landing on the planet, he found out the cruiser contained a small party that had fled the occupation of Naboo. The party was led by Queen Padme Amidala, a beautiful blonde woman who was just a few years older than Anakin. She was the one who explained to him they were on his planet to find a pilot who could discreetly fly them to Coruscant so they could avoid any Neimoidian forces who might try and assassinate her.
Before they could hire a ship, they first needed to earn money on Tatooine to do so. Needing a base of operations for that, Anakin invited all of them back to the homestead he shared with Owen, his stepbrother, and Beru, the man's wife. Besides the queen, they ended up housing four other people: Captain Tarsals, the Gungan head of security for Padme, Captain Olie, her personal pilot, Princess Soala, the queen's younger sister, and a Jedi Knight. There was also the astromech droid R2-D2.
In the process of trying to earn the money that was needed, they learned that Sheev Palpatine had a secret clone army they could utilize to liberate Naboo. Bail Organna had agreed to host a summit for them so they might discuss the strategy for conquering the planet. While Anakin had come along primarily to use his Force powers to help them past the dreadnaughts, he was hoping there would be a role for him in liberating Naboo. Back on Tatooine, the Jedi Knight had been teaching him to harness the enormous potential he had in the Force. He was hoping to participate in the invasion of Naboo both to make use of what he had learned, and to further understand what the true extent of his powers were.
Checking the time, Anakin could see it was close to the time they were supposed to be arriving at Alderaan. He thought it might be nice to go to the cockpit so he could get a glimpse of the planet. Exiting the bedroom, he stepped out and almost ran right into C-3PO.
"Threepio, what are you doing here?" Years ago, he had built the protocol droid as a wedding present for Owen and Beru. The programming he bought and installed ended up giving the droid an annoying personality all three of them despised. They shut him down after just a few days. When the royals arrived, Anakin activated it for them, so they would have a servant, as he figured they were accustomed to. The droid served them well, but Anakin figured once they left Owen would shut it down again.
"I was told to board the ship under the orders of Master Owen," Threepio replied, puzzled that Anakin would be questioning his presence on the ship. "Is there a problem with my presence here, Master Anakin."
"No, there's no problem whatsoever." Anakin had to speak with clenched teeth as he was seething with anger. He knew Owen had been angry with him leaving, but he didn't think his brother was so mad as to stick him with the protocol droid they both hated.
Anakin did his best to hide his anger from the droid as he walked past him and made his way to the cockpit. He reached it to find it empty except for Captain Olie, who was sitting in the pilot's chair. He kept his eyes on the control panel as Anakin approached him.
"You can sit in the co-pilot's seat, if you want," Olie said to him. Anakin took the seat the pilot offered. "When we exit hyperspace, you can fly this if you want. I know you'll be able to handle it."
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll decline," Anakin replied. "I just came out here to see the planet when we exit hyperspace."
"This is your first trip to another planet, isn't it?" Olie asked.
"Yes, it is. Thanks for letting me sit here so that I might be able to enjoy this moment."
"It's not a problem. I've gone to countless systems, and this never gets old for me. It's one of the reasons I always wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to see the galaxy, and I figured this was the best way to do it." Olie scanned the control panel to check their progress. "It looks like we have just a minute until we should be exiting hyperspace."
After waiting the requisite minute, Olie pulled the lever to command the ship to leave hyperspace. The blue illumination in front of them disappeared and was replaced by the blackness of space. In the distance, Anakin could see a faint blue-green dot, which he guessed was the planet Alderaan. It grew large quick, as the ship was flying fast. As they approached the planet, he could make out the oceans and the continents. The space traffic around it was sparse. Despite that, Anakin ended up paying more attention to the other ships. He knew their arrival was supposed to be discreet, but he still couldn't help but wonder what the other ships would think when they saw the Naboo cruiser.
"None of those ships are going to think anything of us," Olie explained. "Nobody pays much attention to space traffic."
Anakin figured he had to trust the man. He turned his attention back to the planet to see they were close enough for Anakin to make out the cities that dotted the landscape. They didn't seem to be heading towards any of them, instead, Olie had the ship pointed directly at a wooded area.
When they entered the planet's atmosphere, Anakin still couldn't make out where they might be headed. He pushed his curiosity aside so he could just enjoy the view. In his entire life, he had never seen anything other than endless desert. It was quite the treat to be watching as they flew over a lush forest.
As they flew over the forest, they passed several lakes and rivers. Most of them were small. Anakin became intrigued when he could see a rather large lake coming up on the horizon. He leaned forward to try and get a better view. Olie slowed the ship down. Initially, Anakin thought he was doing it so Anakin could get a good view of the lake. However, as they neared it, he could see the oval shaped lake contained a resort. There were two large buildings, one on each side. He guessed this must be the location of the summit.
Olie had the cruiser circle the lake before he brought it down on the landing pad atop one of the buildings. After they landed, a small group emerged from the building. Anakin guessed it was the welcoming party. They were all dressed regally, but also uniformly, except for one. The people who were dressed uniformly all had on loose fitting clothes and wore their hair simply. Anakin got the sense they were just servants. The one person not dressed in the servant uniform was a young woman wearing a tight, form fitting dress with a long train. It looked like the kind of dress he had seen in Padme's closet on the ship. She was wearing her black hair up in a very complicated style. Everything about her suggested she was a royal or a dignitary.
Padme had them gather together before they went down as a single group. Everyone walked together, with Padme taking the lead. As they approached the Alderanians, Anakin could see the woman he identified as the dignitary was even more beautiful up close. When Padme was just a few steps away from her, the woman bowed.
"It is my pleasure to greet you and welcome you to Alderaan," the woman said when she was done with her bow. "I am Sheltay Retrac, an aide to Bail Organa, our noble king. He is not here presently, but will arrive shortly. He sent me ahead to welcome you and tend to your needs until he can make it himself. I know you had a very harrowing journey reaching us, and we wish to do everything we can to assure that you are as comfortable as possible during your stay with us."
"I thank you for the hospitality, but I think everyone in my party has more important things on our mind than our own comfort," Padme replied. Despite that, we will be doing our best to enjoy our time here. You have a lovely planet, and I am glad to finally be here to see it, even though I wish it was under better circumstances."
"You must not remember it, but you were actually here once, as a two-year old child," Sheltay said. "It was right around the time your sister, Soala, was due to be born. Because of that, your mother did not accompany you and your father. My mother was Bail's governess, and she had the duty of watching you during that visit." Sheltay smiled in amusement as she remembered something. "There was a moment where you fell and scraped yourself pretty badly, and my mother was sick with fear your father would be enormously angry and take it out on her. Instead, he was incredibly pleasant, as he realized a child your age was going to have scrapes like the ones you sustained."
Padme appeared taken aback by the story Sheltay told her. "I don't have any recollection of any of that. I am surprised you can remember it, as you must not have been much older than I was."
"I was three at the time, but I have always had a remarkable memory."
"If you can remember details like that from when you were three, then your mind is quite impressive."
"I think we've talked enough about the two of us," Sheltay replied. "Perhaps everyone in your group would like to be taken to their rooms to have a rest. I have an army of servants ready to show everyone to their rooms, as well as carry any luggage you have."
...
Anakin had a servant show him to his room. It was an uncomfortable walk, as the servant had appeared to turn his nose up at the dilapidated suitcase Anakin handed him. He could tell the servant believed Anakin didn't belong there at the royal resort.
When they reached his room, the servant explained some things as he put the suitcase on the bed for him. Anakin was hoping he would leave him quickly, as he didn't want to put up with the arrogant man any longer. Instead, to his great irritation, the servant volunteered to help him unpack. He opened the suitcase before Anakin could tell him not to. He was furious over the invasion of privacy but didn't feel he could admonish the royal servant.
Anakin's anger was further intensified as the servant looked over the contents of the suitcase and turned his nose up at them. "You're going to need something to wear when you meet with the king later." He closed the suitcase up as he walked over to Anakin and pulled something out of his pocket. "Hold still," he said as he used the device to scan Anakin's body. "You're rather large, so we don't have anything on hand for you to wear. Don't worry, though, we have a very talented seamstress at our employ, and she will make a fitting outfit for you. After she finishes that I will have her construct an entire wardrobe for your stay."
"Do I get any say in what I get?" Anakin asked as the servant hurried out. The silence from him was all the answer Anakin got.
After the servant left, Anakin went ahead and unpacked the meager belongings from his suitcase. He was afraid if he didn't, another servant would come by when he was gone and throw away the whole suitcase. It only took him a matter of seconds. With nothing left to do and apparently a lot of time to wait, he started looking around the room. There were amenities in it he couldn't identify. He thought about examining them but refrained as he didn't want to mess anything up and earn the wrath of the servant who had to clean it.
When the servant returned with his clothes, he was quite pleased with the result. They made a military dress uniform for him, and it looked quite impressive. The servant left quickly, which Anakin didn't mind. Things changed as he tried to get dressed. He got the pants and boots on okay but had trouble with the jacket. It had a row of clasps to it that he just could not figure out. He got mad at the servant for not anticipating the problem and showing him how to do them. He struggled with it forever, and still couldn't get a single one clasped. It was getting close to the time for them to meet with Bail Organa and Sheev Palpatine, and he didn't know what to do. He figured there had to be a way for him to call a servant so they could come and help him.
Being ignorant of the most basic of protocols, Anakin could do nothing more than search around the room for a button that would connect him with a servant. He had no idea where it might be, so all he could do was randomly search around for it. For the first time in his life, he wished he had Threepio around. Perhaps the protocol droid's programming contained the information he needed on how to do up the jacket, or how to contact a servant.
As he was searching around, he heard a buzzer sound. He tried to figure out what it was and how he might have activated it. As it continued, he soon understood the sound indicated someone was trying to contact him.
"Uh, hello," he said. Once again, being ignorant, he had no idea how to reply to the person who was trying to contact him.
"Anakin, it's Padme." He felt an instant sense of relief over hearing her voice. "I'm right outside. I can let myself in, I just wanted to make sure it was okay."
"Uh, yeah, that's fine." Anakin hoped she was able to hear him. He got his answer when the door slid open and Padme walked in. She was wearing a very formal gown, one of the dresses he had made fun of her for stocking on her panic ship. The dress was silver, and the material shone so brightly it gave the appearance of polished metal. The bottom half of the dress poofed out so much that she had to push it in so she could fit through the door. Once she was through, though, it sprung back to its original position. In contrast to the bottom half of the dress, the top half consisted of minimal material. It was low cut and clung to her torso, accentuating and showing off her cleavage. Her arms and shoulders were bare, although it was hard to tell with her shoulders because her long hair was completely covering them. Her blond hair was poofed out, matching the appearance of the bottom half of her dress. She had also added something to it that made it glisten and shine as it reflected the light.
He was stunned by how beautiful she appeared and couldn't help but stare. A voice inside his head was telling him not to stare, as it was making him look bad, but he couldn't force himself to look away. She noticed him staring, understood why, and blushed with embarrassment.
"I just came down here to check on you." She stared at his undershirt as she spoke. "I was informed the seamstress needed to construct an outfit for you." As she talked, she looked around. "I just came down to see if you were okay with it."
"Well, if I wasn't okay with it, it would be too late to change things now." As he looked at her, he kept thinking about how nice she looked all made up and dressed elegantly. "I think I owe you an apology for making fun of all the clothes you had on your ship. I'm sorry for the jokes I made. I was completely ignorant of why you would need them. It seems I am ignorant of a great many things."
"Don't beat yourself up so much, Anakin." Padme's voice was extremely sympathetic. "I'm a royal, and there's a great many things I am ignorant of." Anakin could tell she was saying that just to be nice and make him feel better.
After looking all around the room, she finally spotted what she was looking for. In his frustration, Anakin had taken off the jacket, thrown it to the ground, then kicked it under an armchair. Padme finally spotted it and walked over to pick it up off the ground. She did her best to try and brush off all the lint it had picked up from the carpet.
Seeing her with the jacket, a thought occurred to Anakin. "Did you figure out I was going to have trouble with that?"
"Yes, but it's not because I think poorly of you." Padme sounded much more defensive than Anakin felt she needed to. "My father used to let me do up his jackets for him, so I know how difficult they can be. If you come over here, I can help you with this."
Anakin walked over to her, took the jacket, and put it on. As he did that, Padme stepped up onto the armchair. "You're so tall, I have to stand on the chair to reach your chest." As she did up the clasps for him, her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
"This is how I had to do it with my father, standing on the armchair I mean. That wasn't because he was so tall, it was because I was so short then." She quickly wiped a tear away from her eye.
When they had connected before, while playing cards, she had been thinking about her parents. He had read her thoughts and learned much about her personal history, such as how old she had been when her parents died. She was but a young child, left to navigate the world on her own.
After finishing with the clasps on the jacket, Padme looked up into Anakin's eyes. He could read that she was thinking about her parents, and what they would be thinking about the attempt she wanted to make to liberate her planet.
"I think your father would be proud of what you are doing."
"I would certainly hope so," she began. "I failed to prevent my world from being conquered in the first place, the least I can do is find a way to take it back."
"I think we have all the people assembled here we need to do that." Anakin did his best to sound confident, but his true feelings betrayed him. He was racked with doubt, and he knew Padme was sensing it.
"Well, it's probably time for us to go and find out if that is true." Trying to be playful to change her mood, Anakin put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the chair. The squeal turned into a hearty laugh as he placed her on the ground. Anakin marveled at how light she was. She felt fragile to him, and it scared him to think what could happen to her.
Through their connection, Anakin could feel the moment of levity changed her mood just a little bit. He wished he could do more so she could push away the sorrow she was feeling.
After walking out of the room, Anakin wondered how he was supposed to close the door. Padme reached out and pressed the button to close it for him.
"Threepio is with you, isn't he?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Because I might take him back from you. I could use a protocol droid to explain things to me."
"I really don't think he would accept that."
"What do you mean? He's a droid, he has to do whatever he is told."
"I think he would find a way to get out of it, even if he had to kill himself."
"He would really do that? He thinks that bad of me?"
"He called you the most boorish oaf in the entire galaxy."
"The entire galaxy? This is the first time he's ever been beyond Tatooine."
"It's a reasonable inference." Padme had to suppress a smile. Anakin didn't mind the teasing, as it helped lighten Padme's mood. "Hold out your elbow," she said. He did as she requested, and she grabbed a hold of his arm. "I hope you don't mind being my escort?"
"Of course not. It will be an honor to walk in with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy on my arm."
As Anakin didn't know where to go, Padme had to lead the way. She led him to a large foyer, where there were an army of servants waiting for them. Padme simply nodded to one of them, and they ran off.
"That servant is going to fetch Bail and Sheev. They will be here shortly." When Padme looked around, Anakin did as well. He could see that Captain Olie, Lieutenant Tarsals, and Obi-wan were all there. The three of them fell in behind Padme and Anakin.
"Do you really want me up front with you?" Anakin asked.
"Of course," Padme replied while giving Anakin a big smile. "You're the hero of the moment, you deserve this position."
It finally dawned on Anakin they were missing someone from their group. "Where's your sister?" he asked Padme.
"I thought it would be best for her to stay in her room," she replied. "It's too dangerous for us to be together at all. If there are assassins who know about this meeting, and they were to attack us, our planet would lose its final two royals. I have actually arranged for her to be sent away from here."
As Anakin peered down the hall, he could see the group of dignitaries that was coming to greet them. His attention was immediately caught by the extremely tall alien walking in the center of the group. He guessed this was the Kaminoan representative who had come to explain the abilities of the clone army to them.
After staring at the Kaminoan long enough, he diverted his attention to the two men leading the group. One of the men was dressed in regal attire. He had olive skin, jet black hair, and appeared to be middle-aged. Anakin guessed he was Bail Organa, the king of Alderaan. The other man looked to be much older, at least twenty to thirty years older than Bail. He had silvery hair that looked thin and ratty. He was wearing a rather large, plain black robe. Anakin could tell he was not one who worried much about his appearance. Anakin guessed he was Senator Sheev Palpatine. The group behind them were composed mostly of aides dressed like Bail Organa, although there were also a few soldiers covered from head to toe in battle armor. Anakin couldn't help but wonder if those soldiers were the clones.
Bringing up the rear of the group was the blue-skinned alien Jango Fett had told them about. While he was in the back of the sea of people, his distinct skin color and red eyes made him easy to pick out. He walked with an air of authority that made it clear he had been born to be in the military. It would remain to be seen if he was truly the tactical genius Jango claimed, but from the look of him, Anakin was inclined to believe it.
When Organa and Palpatine reached Anakin and Padme, they halted for introductions. An Alderanian servant stepped into the space between them. "Bail Organa, the king of the Alderaan, is pleased to welcome all guests to his lake resort." With the opening remarks completed, Bail nodded to the servant who quickly took his leave. Anakin couldn't quite understand why there appeared to be so much pomp and ceremony for a discreet meeting where they had extremely important business to attend to. He wished they could set all these formalities aside and get right to the heart of everything. He also wished someone had bothered to explain to him all the rituals that were going to take place so he would know what to expect.
"It is my pleasure to welcome you to Alderaan, Queen Amidala," Bail did his best to sound pleasant, but there was a heaviness in his voice because of the situation they were facing. "I have been following the plight of your planet and people ever since I heard of its invasion. I invited you here to offer you any assistance I can. I was told of your situation by Sheev Palpatine, the distinguished senator from Kamino. The second I found out I could do something to help you, I jumped at the chance. Despite my willingness to help, this is not really my summit. Senator Palpatine is here and is anxious to put together a plan to liberate your planet."
"Thank you for allowing us to take refuge here in our desperate hour of need," Padme said in reply. Despite not being connected to her, Anakin could feel just how tense she was. "Senator Palpatine, I can't express the relief I have that you are coming to the aid of my people. For years, you have been showing an immense amount of courage and foresight by trying to warn everyone about the dangers the Separatist warlords have presented. You have been proven correct, and I am overjoyed that you have lost none of that courage."
After finishing with Palpatine, she turned her attention to Bail Organa. "Bail, I am pleased to meet you for the first time. I have to admit, given your reputation as a pacifist, I was shocked to see you were willing to host this summit, given that we are looking to do battle and potentially start a war that could engulf the entire galaxy."
The expressions of Palpatine and Organa changed remarkably when Padme broached the unspeakable subject. They both adopted expressions of seriousness, although, the seriousness came with a sense of determination. Bail spoke up to state his thoughts. "As you know, for years, I have been leading the cause for restraint against the warlords, as I had believed a diplomatic solution could be obtained. The invasion of your planet was a revelation to me. It is clear there is nothing that will stop the ambitions of these warlords other than a response in force."
"I am glad you have come to see the light, King Organa," Padme said. "While I am anxious to liberate my planet, I have serious reservations about what we are doing. I think it is clear to all of us that if our actions were to instigate a galactic war, we could find ourselves branded war criminals rather than heroes."
Anakin flinched as he hadn't realized he would face such branding. While his flinch was obvious to himself, he was hopeful that no one else had noticed it. It seemed like that was the case, as all eyes were on Senator Palpatine.
"I would not worry about being branded war criminals by our own government," he said. "I have been in the Senate a long time. It is full of craven and cowardly politicians. They all understand war is necessary and inevitable but are too cowardly to admit it. I have always cherished democracy, so it pains me to have to admit that a small group, such as the three of us here, must make a momentous decision for the multitude. There are times where the brave must make the decisions for the cowardly."
Anakin had to do his best to suppress smirking. Palpatine had just said everything he had been thinking ever since he learned of Padme's plight. It was amazing to think a leader such as Palpatine could exist in a body of such pathetic politicians. He was marveling so much at Palpatine, he almost missed Bail's words.
"The galaxy has reached a point where it is going to find itself controlled by the decisions of a small handful of people one way or another. The warlords have decided they intend to take control of the entire galaxy unless someone stands up to them."
"It is really not all the warlords as much as it is just one," Palpatine added. "Hego Damask is the one who has been the grand manipulator behind all this. I have been reluctant to say so until now, but he is the one pulling the strings behind all this. He is the one who convinced the Neimoidians to invade Naboo. That is why we need to attack him here and now. Give him a defeat that will cause some of the Separatists to question their alliance with him."
"I am glad that unpleasantness is out of the way." A wave of relief came over Padme as she spoke. "Now, perhaps we can start determining what military assets we have at our disposal for the liberation of my planet." She paused for a moment to glance at the tall Kaminoan and the line of troops in the back. "We are here because of your clone army, Senator Palpatine. I think I speak for everyone who came with me when I say we are anxious to see what they are like."
Palpatine was all smiles as he turned around to look at the troops in their army. "Take your helmets off," he said to them. The four troops obeyed the politician, removing their helmets to reveal their faces. They were all identical to each other as well as identical to the face of Jango Fett. They appeared younger than Jango, but there was no mistaking the resemblance.
"I can guess you were all skeptical as to whether or not the clones were real," Palpatine said as he looked over the Naboo group. "I hope you are relieved to see that yes they do exist. I have brought one of the architects of the army, Nala Se, here to explain the abilities of the clones and the numbers that we have at our disposal. While their numbers might be small, I believe we will be able to put together a plan that allows us to liberate your planet with the low number of troops we have at our disposal. My tactician has been working on a plan."
Upon being mentioned, the blue-skinned alien moved from the back to stand next to Palpatine. Instead of looking at him, Palpatine stared directly at Anakin. "You must be the remarkable pilot that came to the aid of the queen when she was in desperate need of assistance above Tatooine."
"Um, uh, yes, that is me," Anakin stammered.
"I apologize for not introducing all of you to Anakin Skywalker," Padme said. Her voice was gushing with the admiration she had for him. The admiration also showed on her face as she looked up at him. "Not only is he an adept pilot who took out two capital ships all by himself, but he is remarkably strong in the Force. While it was his piloting abilities that saved us when we arrived on Tatooine, it was his abilities in the Force that allowed us to escape the planet."
"Yes, I heard the rumors about what he did, and I found them unbelievable." Everyone was surprised to hear the blue-skinned alien speak perfect basic with a strong tone of authority. They knew he was from the Unknown Regions, yet despite that, he had picked up the language foreign to him.
With all eyes on him, the alien stepped forward, staring hard at Anakin. "I would like to speak with you about what you did to escape Tatooine. If you could repeat it, I think we just might be able to put together a plan for breaking the blockade and landing the clone troopers on Naboo."
"You must be the brilliant tactician we have heard so much about," Padme said. "I can't express how pleased I am to have you aiding us."
"The pleasure is all mine, Queen Amidala." The alien made the most perfect bow Anakin had ever seen. He held it for a long time before finally standing up straight again.
"You don't have to be so formal with me," Padme replied. "Especially when we skipped the formality of introductions."
"My apologies for the oversight, Your Highness." The alien acted flustered. It was a sign he was trying to take all the blame for the break of protocol. "I have worked with Senator Palpatine a long time. I often found it pointless to give my name, as Mitth'raw'nuruodo is quite a mouthful and hard for everyone here to remember. I eventually found a way to shorten it to something that is much easier for your kind to say and remember. From here on out, you may call me Thrawn."
"Well, if introductions are out of the way, we should get to the heart of the matter. Bail has a conference room ready for Nala to give her presentation and explain the clone army to all of you. While we are doing that, Thrawn can speak privately with Anakin and your Jedi."
...
When the foyer emptied out, Obi-Wan and Thrawn went over to speak with Anakin. Thrawn nodded to Anakin before turning his attention to Obi-Wan.
"You must be the Jedi of the group," Thrawn said. To Anakin, he sounded much more collegial and less authoritative than he had before.
"Yes, I am. I apologize that I cannot give you my name, but my Order requires us to be anonymous."
"Yes, during my time in this region I have picked up on many of the customs of the various groups that are non-existent in my portion of the galaxy. My species, the Chiss, has a warrior caste which practices anonymity in the same manner yours does. However, they do it for much different reasons than your order does."
"I've never heard of the Chiss before, have they had much contact with the Republic?" Anakin asked.
"No, they have not, which is why I was sent here. The only contact we have with the Republic is through the trade we do with smuggler groups. The leadership of my species has been looking at making official contact, so I was sent here on a fact-finding mission. Traveling was difficult, as I had to employ some rather unsavory smugglers to transport me. The journey was difficult, but it ended up working out for the best. I was with a small group of smugglers right as they found themselves going to war with the Hutts. I led their meager forces to a victory over the mercenaries employed by the Hutts, and in doing so caught the attention of Senator Palpatine. He brought me into his employ as he knew I would be a valuable asset in the war he believed was coming."
"Yes, we heard about your tactical brilliance from Jango Fett," Obi-Wan said. "It appears you are in charge of constructing a plan for utilizing our meager assets to liberate Naboo."
"Yes, I am. This is what I wanted to discuss with you. Jedi, you had a good look at the blockade around the planet both when you arrived and when you fled. Anakin, you were able to use the Force to simply push away the dreadnaughts trying to block your path when you left Tatooine. My question for the two of you is, I have a plan that starts with the Naboo cruiser returning to the planet and landing a small strike team on the surface. It is a team that will include the two of you, and I intend for it to get past the blockade by Anakin simply moving ships out of the way for you to speed through. Is this plausible?"
"I believe so," Obi-Wan answered. "I saw the density of the ships around the planet. If Anakin can move six ships around, like he did outside Tatooine, it will be enough to get us through and to the surface."
"I am glad to hear that," Thrawn replied.
"Did you really need to bring us out here just to discuss that?" Anakin asked.
"In fact, I did not," Thrawn replied. "Palpatine wanted me to talk with you privately to discuss something a little more delicate. The truth is, he is not as adamant about liberating Naboo as may appear. The clone army is an asset that is not easily replaceable, thus he wants more assurance that the invasion can succeed. The strike team is going to have its work cut out for it, and much of its success will rely on the abilities of the two of you, especially you, Anakin. We are truly counting on you to be worth more in a fight than even the most powerful of Jedi."
Thrawn's words did not elicit the slightest hint of fear in Anakin. He knew what he was capable of, and he relished the opportunity to do it. His boldness had freed his friends from slavery, and he knew a similar amount of boldness right now would free Naboo.
"I don't think that will be a problem," Anakin said.
"I'm glad you feel that way, but the Senator is not willing to go off your word alone. He would prefer a demonstration of what you can do." Thrawn turned his attention from Anakin to Obi-Wan. "Jedi, the Senator would like you to put together some exercises that would allow Anakin to display his abilities for everyone. Once the events of the day are over, would you be able to assist me in that."
"Yes, I would," Obi-Wan replied.
"Good, once Nala is done with her presentation, I will give mine explaining what I have put together so far. I will tell everyone that in order to complete my plans for the strike team, I will need several demonstrations of what Anakin can do. I will claim ignorance of Jedi powers as the reason for needing a demonstration. Once Anakin proves to the Senator how powerful he is, he will not hesitate to agree to the invasion."
"I'm just curious," Obi-Wan began. "There must be Force users in your region of the galaxy. Are you aware of them?"
"We are aware of Force users," Thrawn replied. "There are children who are able to utilize the Force. We make use of their ability as pilots, but no matter what we do, our Force-users are never able to keep their abilities beyond childhood."
"It makes sense," Obi-Wan said. "Without proper training, they lose the ability to harness the Force."
"It appears that Anakin is a truly remarkable exception, then." Anakin did his best to keep from beaming with pride over Thrawn's words.
...
The doors to the conference hall opened as Nala finished her presentation on the clones. Thrawn, Obi-Wan, and Anakin filed inside. There was an empty seat at the table next to Padme, and she motioned to Anakin to take it. When he sat, he simply nodded to her to indicate everything was okay. The Jedi took a seat across from them, while Thrawn stood at the front of the room. He waited until everyone was quiet to begin.
"I should not have to tell anyone here that our resources are limited. In order to overcome that, I have put together a plan that utilizes every asset at our disposal. While we can't amass the size of forces our opponent has, what we can do is better utilize what we do have and exploit the innate weaknesses of our opponent. To begin, I thought we might peruse some Neimoidian art. I know it might seem an odd way to start, but just bear with me, I will explain everything."
As the shades covered the windows and the lights dimmed, several holographic images of art appeared hovering over the center of the table. Thrawn cycled through them, describing each one in detail. When he was done describing them individually, he explained the overall theme of the art. "All the art I have shown you is lacking in originality. Nothing the Neimoidians do breaks the mold. Doing something like that requires risk, and taking risk requires courage, something the entire race is decidedly lacking. What this means for us, is if we can make the Neimoidians feel the proper amount of fear, they will flee. That is a trait we are going to use deception to exploit. The most difficult task we face is breaking the blockade. We have a strong clone army that can defeat their droid army if it can just make it to the surface of the planet and land safely. Thanks to Bail's generosity, we have enough freighters for their transport, but we don't have any warships to break the blockade. That does not matter, as we will use deception to make the Neimoidians believe we have more powerful assets at our disposal than we really do."
Thrawn stared directly at Anakin as he spoke. "While we don't have warships, we do have a very powerful Force user. For anyone who doesn't know, Anakin was able to manipulate several dreadnaughts and move them out of the path of Queen Amidala's Naboo cruiser when she escaped Tattooine. While his power won't be enough to break the entire blockade, all we require of him is to get one ship through. He will take the Naboo blockade runner with Captain Olie, Lieutenant Tarsals, and the Jedi. They will lead a contingent of Alderanian special forces supplemented by clone troopers. All Anakin will have to do is move enough ships out of the way to get their single ship through. It will be a display of Jedi power the Neimoidians will remember. It will still be on their minds five days later, when our fleet arrives. Bail Organa has been gracious enough to provide us with a fleet of tow ships. The tow ships will have their tractor beams modified so they can either pull in a ship or push it away. Their job will be to maneuver ships in the same way as the Anakin did. This will cause the Neimoidians to believe they are facing off against a fleet full of Jedi. They will panic, and immediately jump to hyperspace to save their own skin. Once the ships are gone, our transports will be able to reach the surface of the planet."
Thrawn paused for a moment to see if there were any questions then. When there appeared to be none, he continued. "When our ships head to the surface, the Neimoidians will be able to triangulate their destination and rush forces to the landing spot. The droid armies are centrally coordinated from Theed. This coordination is both a curse and a blessing. It is a curse, because the central coordination and the ability of the droids to act like a singular herd allows them to converge quickly on any given location. It is a blessing, because it means that if we can knock out this central control, all droid forces on Naboo will be shut down. I know some of you might have been thinking we would need a million troops to defeat the entirety of the droid army, but all we have to do is land enough troops to take Theed."
"As I mentioned a moment ago, landing the troops on the surface will be difficult given the ability of the droids to swarm to their landing location before they even reach it. The purpose of the strike team will be to converge on the landing area themselves and eliminate the droids swarming there. The strike team will not be landing with enough numbers to do this themselves. This should not be a problem, as we expect they will find a vibrant resistance army on the planet. The Naboo have always had contingency plans in place for foreign occupation. They stocked secret hideaways and instructed their troops to flee to them in the event of invasion. We have been monitoring Federation communications coming from Naboo, and they have revealed this resistance has been extremely active. The strike team should find all the troops they need to clear a landing spot for the clone troops. Once the clones land, the army can advance on to Theed. The Federation will move to have all their droids converge on the capital, thus the clones will have to move fast to seize the Neimoidians central control before the droids can reach the city. While I missed Nala's presentation, I talked with her previously about the abilities of the clone troops. I have no doubt they will give us the swift victory we require."
Thrawn made a full scan of the table before he finished. "I hope this plan meets your approval, Queen Amidala. If you have any objections, we can either discuss them now, or set a time to discuss them in private later."
"I think everything sounds great," Padme replied. She sounded confident, but her voice did not convey what she was truly thinking. While she approved of the plan, she knew it was a large gamble. They were making a lot of assumptions that everything would go as planned. If just one aspect failed, the whole mission would fail.
"That is the basics of the mission, but there are still many fine details to put together." Thrawn looked around to make sure everyone was still paying attention to him. "I would like to put together a detailed battle plan for the strike team, but I need more information in order to do so. Being ignorant of the powers of Force users, I have requested a demonstration of the unique abilities Anakin possesses. The Jedi will be helping me set them up, and Anakin will run through them tomorrow afternoon. Any one who wishes to observe them with me is welcome. Once I have an assessment of his abilities, I will be able to put together a detailed plan for the strike team."
"It appears everything is on track." Bail sounded enthusiastic as he spoke. "If this planning meeting is over, then I think we can move on to dinner.
The walls of the conference room moved aside to reveal it was part of a large, grand hall. The table was at one end, and there was a large open floor at the other that a small orchestra was occupying. They began playing, serenading the dignitaries with music as the servants brought in dinner.
Sheltay Retrac was seated near Padme and Anakin. When the servants started bringing in the food, she leaned over to speak to the queen. "The entrée for tonight is a traditional Alderanian dish. I remembered when you were here as a young child, you did not like it at all. I hope you don't mind, but I instructed the chef to make something from Naboo for you. You will still have a small portion of the Alderanian dish, so you can see if your tastes have changed over the years."
"Your memory must truly be remarkable if you can recall something such as that," Padme replied.
The meal ended up being an elaborate seven course meal. Anakin was thankful that each course came out slowly. While he was so hungry, he felt like wolfing everything down, he knew he had to be mindful of his table manners. He did his best to eat slow.
When the entrée came out, Anakin saw that Sheltary Retrac had been correct. Anakin was watching as she took one bite of the Alderanian dish, and immediately acted like she wanted to spit it out. She swallowed, doing her best not to turn her nose up. She moved it to the side of her plate to hide it as she ate the Naboo dish instead.
After everyone had finished with desert, the band stopped playing. The platform they were on floated back. Anakin expected them to step off, but they stayed right where they were. They seemed to be waiting to start up again.
Everyone at the table quieted down as Bail Organa walked over to occupy the spot where the band had been just a moment earlier. A few people were still talking, so Bail raised his arms up to make sure they understood they were to silence themselves. They stopped talking immediately when they saw that.
"I want to start out by saying I am very pleased with the way this meeting went. I think we have devised a mission plan for conquering Naboo. To that, we owe our gratitude to Captain Thrawn, so let's all give him a hand." The alien nodded to everyone as they gave him a polite applause. When it was over, Bail turned his attention to Padme. "Queen Amidala, I hope that you are pleased with the decision Senator Palpatine made to recruit me to this mission. I was honored that he selected me, and I worked hard to try and prove to you that he made the right choice. I fear darkness could soon fall over this galaxy, and I hope this may be the beginning of not just an alliance, but a friendship in which we aide each other and help each other through any hardship that may befall us. Padme, I don't know how to explain how amazed I am of the heroism you showed in escaping your planet, making your way here, and risking everything to try and conquer it back from its occupiers. You are a credit to your people, and an inspiration to everyone in this galaxy who believes in freedom and liberty."
A spontaneous applause broke out, one which Bail quickly joined. Padme seemed a bit embarrassed over it, but everyone kept it up for a long time. When Bail stopped clapping, everyone soon followed.
"While my focus has been on the mission at hand, I have not forgotten the need for hospitality. While we face a situation of extreme gravitas, that does not mean we cannot take a moment to put everything aside and try and enjoy ourselves. I know you have been through much, Queen Amidala, and you deserve at least one night where you can set aside your problems. That is why I have put together a formal ball, starting now. I have invited some of the most trusted noble families of Alderaan. They are waiting outside. Now, if you will join me for the first dance, we can get this started."
Anakin glanced over to Padme. She was enthusiastic as she walked over to where Bail was standing. Anakin thought she might have been reluctant about celebrating at a time like this, but from the way she was acting, she seemed to agree with Bail. She needed a moment to set aside and forget everything.
When Padme reached Bail, she put her hand on his shoulder as he put his hand on her waist. They clasped their free hands together as they looked into each other's eyes. They held the pose until the band started playing. After the introductory notes were done, they started dancing. At that moment, the servants threw open the doors of the hall. The Alderanian nobles who had been waiting outside entered the room and immediately joined Bail and Padme on the dance floor.
While several other people got up from the table to dance, Anakin stayed seated. The dances appeared to have steps to them, and since Anakin didn't know any of them, he thought it best to stay off the dance floor. He had a good time just watching the others dance.
...
After a few songs had played, Anakin felt he was being watched. He turned around to see Soala standing in the doorway. Since she was dressed casually, Anakin figured she wasn't there to attend the ball. He felt bad she was being left out of everything and thought she might want to talk to someone.
"I didn't think your sister would let you come down here," Anakin said when he reached her.
"She didn't exactly give me permission," Soala admitted. She looked around Anakin to locate her sister, then shifted so that Padme wouldn't be able to see her through Anakin.
"If you need me to shield you, you could have just asked."
"I don't need you to shield me." Anakin knew Soala's defiance was a lie. "I'm not afraid of her." Soala was doing her best to make sure Anakin was blocking Padme's view of her, betraying what she was saying.
"Did you come down here just to watch everyone else?"
"I came down here to say good-bye." Soala sighed as she replied.
"Good-bye? Where are you going?"
"Someplace where no assassin can find me. That is the most I can tell you, because apparently, I can't be trusted with the location of my sanctuary. I might betray myself, or something." She shook her head as she sighed again. "My sister is being paranoid. She's really going too far this time. She's been doing this for years. Sending me away to one place after another so we can never be taken out together, in the way our parents were. I should have known the two of us being caught together in the invasion would do this to her. I was only home for a week vacation, but it turned out to be the wrong week."
"I feel sometimes like I barely know my own planet. The people certainly don't know me. Well, everyone in the military does, as my portrait is hanging in every military office. The regular citizens, they don't know me at all. During my last summer holiday from boarding school, Padme permitted me to spend a whole two weeks on the planet. Almost every night, I snuck out, and found some club to go to, or some party to attend. No one recognized me at all. For the first few nights, it was amazing. I got to party like a regular schlub. Eventually, though, it got on my nerves. No one knew who I was because I had never done anything. My sister made endless personal appearances, but I never did, as I was never even on the planet."
Soala paused for a moment as she got choked up. "Once again, I'm being sent away. You know, if you guys succeed, our history is going to remember you for liberating the planet. And all those history books, if they mention me at all, they will have to admit I was on holiday, lounging on a beach while everyone else was fighting and dying."
Once again, she looked past Anakin to glare at her sister. The look of disgust on her face was palpable. Anakin feared Padme would feel it, and he turned around to look at her and see if that was true. She was finished dancing with Bail and was talking with him. She seemed to feel Anakin looking at her. She met his gaze and smiled at him. She said something to Bail before she started to make her way over to Anakin.
Fearing for Soala, Anakin turned around to tell her to leave, only to find she had already disappeared on her own. "What are you doing over here?" he heard Padme ask him. "You're not trying to run away, are you?"
"Of course not," Anakin replied as he turned back around to talk to her. "I just thought, uh, I saw Obi-Wan walk by. It just turned out to be a waiter."
"I think he's busy getting everything ready for your exercises tomorrow. Do you know what they are going to have you do?"
"No. Probably exercises I'm not familiar with, so I don't know how exactly I am supposed to perform them."
A look of amusement came over Padme's face. "I know a way you can get some practice at doing things you've never done before."
Anakin sighed as he looked over Padme's head at all the people out on the dance floor. "You want me to dance with you, don't you?"
"Yes," she said as she held out her hand for him to take. Anakin took a suspicious glance at it.
"I thought men were supposed to ask the women to dance?"
"Normally that would be right, but I am a queen, and I can do. . .I mean, I can demand that anyone do whatever I want." She spoke in a haughty tone, but it was all in good fun. She continued to hold her hand up, waiting for Anakin to take it. "Don't you want to dance with me?" she asked when he failed to take it.
"Um, I don't know the steps to any of these dances."
"Don't worry, I will show you what to do."
Anakin took Padme's hand and let her lead him out on to the dance floor. As they walked past the other dancers, Anakin looked at what they were doing. "I don't think this is going to work."
"Stop worrying," Padme was getting exasperated with Anakin. "I will show you what to do in my mind, and you will be reading it."
The two of them stopped and Padme maneuvered Anakin so that she was across from him. They each had their arms stretched out in front of them as they clasped hands. "Just look in to my eyes," she said.
Anakin stared into Padme's eyes, and soon felt emotions that he knew were not his own. They were connected once again. Padme smiled at him as an image appeared in his mind of what the first move was. It was his job to lead, so he needed to start. He made the move as he took a deep breath, and Padme followed his lead.
They danced with ease as Padme showed Anakin exactly what he needed to do. It was more than just Anakin following Padme's instructions. The connection was so strong between them, she almost seemed able to control his body.
...
The two of them stayed out on the dance floor for a long time. Other couples came and went, but the two of them never took a break. They hardly noticed that not only did the dance floor clear out, but the hall emptied out as well. By the time the band was done playing, they were nearly alone in the hall. There were just a few Alderanian diplomats left along with the servants cleaning up the place. The two of them needed a moment to compose themselves as they both felt exhausted and fatigued. Padme was even sweating, something a royal woman was never supposed to do in public.
"It looks like we should be leaving," Padme said as she looked around.
"Do you want me to walk you to your room?" Anakin asked.
"I'm staying in the building on the other side of the lake."
"Why did they put you all the way over there?"
"Because I requested it. If anyone were to find out we were here and attack this place, they would concentrate all their forces on this building. Being across the lake, I would have a chance to escape."
"And you would just leave us all here to die." Anakin tried to keep a serious expression, but he couldn't do it. He burst out laughing.
"I'm pretty sure if anyone attacked this place, you would be able to fight them off and save everyone."
"And yet, you chose not to stay here under my protection." A mischievous thought occurred to Anakin. "Perhaps you thought you would not be able to control yourself sleeping in such proximity to me."
Padme rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "In case you forgot, I controlled myself very well sleeping just one floor up from you back on Tatooine."
"You controlled yourself? That's not the way I remember it. You had to get out of bed several nights to see me."
Padme's eyes rolled back into her head so far Anakin wondered if they would be able to find their way out. "You're greatly misreading what that was all about."
"Am I really?" Anakin arched his eyebrows as he talked.
"You know, I was going to ask you to walk me to the ferry, but now, I'm not so sure."
"Please, let me escort you," Anakin presented his arm for her to take. After taking his arm, they walked outside to the deck that bordered the lake.
"The air feels great out here," Padme commented. A cool breeze was sweeping over the lake and hitting them. Given how hot she had gotten while dancing, Padme appreciated the breeze cooling her down. She tilted her head back to let the breeze run over her face. It did much to cool her down.
Looking over at Anakin, she noticed he was sweating as well. She reached up and brushed away a bead of sweat, connecting with him as she did. He could feel she wanted to kiss him but feared someone would see them. In their shared mind, she apologized to him.
Wanting to take in more of the breeze, she walked the two of them over to the ledge. She leaned on the banister while she looked out at the lake. The banister was too low for Anakin to lean over, so he simply stood and looked out at the lake. "It's really beautiful how the moonlight is reflecting off the water. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Have you ever seen a body of water like this?" Padme asked.
"No."
"What is the largest body of water you've ever seen."
"I don't know, probably a bathtub full of water."
"A bathtub of water?" Padme couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Didn't they have pools on Tatooine."
Anakin gave her a look that indicated she should have known better. "I know you didn't get to see much on my planet, but you've should have known the place didn't contain luxuries like that."
Padme felt bad about seeming out-of-touch. She looked away from him and went back to staring over the water. As she did so, a thought occurred to her. "So, if there were no pools on Tatooine, did you ever go swimming."
"No, I never went swimming."
"So, you never got to learn, then."
"I thought that was kind of implied when I said I had never swum before." Anakin wondered why Padme was pressing the issue so much. It didn't take him long to come up with an answer. "I'm not going to be expected to swim on Naboo, am I?"
"From what I know of the plans, no," Padme replied. "My planet contains a lot of swamps, but none that you will have to swim through. You might have to wade through deep water, however."
"That, I can do. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if Obi-Wan wants me to swim tomorrow."
"If you want, I could teach you to swim. You'll be free in the morning, it would be good for you to make use of the time."
It took Anakin a moment to realize she was serious. When he did, he needed to think up a quick excuse for declining the offer. "I would love for you to teach me, but I don't have a swimsuit."
"I am sure the Alderanians can supply you with one. I'll arrange for it myself when I reach my suite."
"Okay, what about you? Do you have a swimsuit with you?" From the look on Padme's face, Anakin could tell she didn't want to answer. "You have a swimsuit packed on your ship, don't you? The panic ship, the one that was supposed to be stocked only with items you need to survive."
"You know what, this meeting here should have made you realize that I require all kinds of outfits, even in a situation like what I am facing now. When we first met, you questioned why I needed all those dresses, but you just saw why I needed them. Things like a swimsuit are no different. Besides, the thing barely takes up any space."
"Oh, really." Anakin smiled from ear-to-ear as he arched his eyebrows at Padme.
"You're really getting the wrong idea," Padme rolled her eyes as she replied.
"Okay, I'll accept your offer. If for no other reason than to see you in this swimsuit."
"You really know how to make this difficult." She shook her head as she talked. "Come on, let's go."
She led him to the end of the deck where the droid ferry stood. After stepping on it, she told him what time he should come over to her room the next day.
"Where is your suite?" he asked.
"Don't worry, when the time comes, you'll know how to find it." The ferry took off. As she floated away from him, she had a sly, mischievous smile on her face. Anakin had no idea what that was about.
He stayed on the deck until she was out of sight. As he made his way back to his room, he felt elated. He was lost in his thoughts when he entered his room. It barely registered when he heard someone greet him. "Welcome back, Master Anakin."
"Threepio?" Anakin was so startled he screamed the droid's name.
"I hope I didn't scare you. Is everything okay?" Anakin had to turn his head away as he laughed. He couldn't believe Padme had unloaded the droid on him. Now he understood why she was smiling when she departed. He shook his head as he understood her cryptic words to him.
"Threepio, you know where Padme's suite is, don't you?"
"Yes, I was just over there serving her."
"Great, cuz you're taking me over to her place tomorrow morning."
"Oh, am I going to be working for her again?" The excitement Threepio was feeling came through loud and clear.
Anakin replied as he made his way to his bedroom. "If I have a say, yes, you will."
...
The next morning, Threepio was extremely nice and attended to Anakin's every need. He figured the droid was doing it out of fear that if he misbehaved, he wouldn't get sent back to Padme.
He was in the middle of breakfast when an Alderanian servant delivered the swimsuit Padme had requested for him. After showering, he put it on and found it fit perfectly. He grabbed one of his own tank tops, so he wouldn't have to walk around shirtless. When he was ready, he had Threepio escort him to the landing for the ferry. Anakin figured it was still on the other side. Threepio approached the console to call it back over but didn't have to as it appeared in the middle of the lake. Princess Soala was on it.
"Hi, Anakin," she yelled to him. "My sister told me she was teaching you to swim this morning."
"What were you doing over there? Were you saying your final good-bye to Padme?"
"Kind of," Soala answered. "She wanted us to have breakfast, to talk a little before I left."
"I hope that went well."
"It didn't. I couldn't exactly stay silent about how I feel being sent away. She didn't listen to me." She stepped off the ferry and joined him on the dock.
"If I agreed with her, I would say it, but-" Anakin couldn't quite bring himself to vocalize a criticism of Padme. Soala apparently didn't need to hear it. She gave him a tight hug, pressing her cheek against his chest.
"Good luck," she said when she broke the embrace. "You guys are really going to need all the help you can get. That's what stings so much about being sent away. You need as many people helping out as you can, and yet, Padme won't let me do anything."
Anakin could have been misreading the situation, but he could have sworn Soala was trying to say she wished she could join them on their mission to Naboo. She started to walk away, and he felt the need to say something.
"You know, I could try and say something to your sister on your behalf."
"Please don't do that," Soala replied as she turned around. "I like you, and you've been really good for her. Because of you that stick up-" Soala abruptly stopped as she noticed Threepio was standing right there. She thought better of saying something so disparaging in front of the droid. "Have a good time swimming," she said as she hurried away.
Anakin and Threepio boarded the ferry and rode it to the other side. Upon reaching it, Threepio led them through the building to Padme's room. He knew the code. When the door slid open, Threepio walked inside, but Anakin stayed out in the hall, too tentative to enter. He was scared about walking in on her unexpectedly. He leaned inside and called out her name several times. When he heard nothing, he walked inside.
"I do not see Queen Amidala around," Threepio said. "Perhaps she has left for the morning."
"She wouldn't do that to me," Anakin said. "Why don't you make yourself useful and start tidying up the place."
"Gladly." While the place looked perfect to Anakin, he knew the prissy droid would find more than enough wrong with it.
With the droid now occupied, Anakin started conducting his own search for Padme. The apartment seemed empty, so he glanced out to the deck. He didn't see her out there either.
The realization came to him that he could try and establish their connection. He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, and immediately was able to feel the touch of Padme's mind.
Where are you? he thought, knowing she would read it.
I'm swimming. Anakin walked out on the deck and looked out to the water. He could see her head bobbing in the water.
The water feels great. You're going to love it.
Anakin kept his eyes on Padme as she swam towards him. She swam until the water was only waist deep for her. When she stood and emerged from the water, Anakin could see she was wearing a bikini. It was navy blue with white polka dots and decorated with frills. While it was far from skimpy, it showed off her svelte figure.
She gave Anakin a big smile as she walked out of the water. As she walked, she rung the water out of her blonde hair. "I was half-expecting you to stand me up on this."
"I would never do that," Anakin said as he gave Padme a mischievous smile.
"So, are you ready to get started?"
"Sure." As Anakin removed his shirt, Padme did her best to act like she wasn't staring, but she gave a subtle reaction that made it clear she liked what she saw.
"Come on, take my hand," Padme said. Anakin took it as she led him to the edge of the lake.
Padme could feel Anakin getting apprehensive the moment his feet touched the water. Along with the apprehension, there was another feeling. She had trouble making it out. She had to look over at him and read his face. She could see the signs of elation on it. He seemed to be trying to hide it, but it was there. He was excited by the prospect of getting to swim for the first time. He was getting excited like a little child would, and was embarrassed about it. She was feeling it now. He was a grown man embarrassed over feeling like a child for a moment.
Sharing in Anakin's excitement, Padme led him out deeper into the water. Given that she was a good head shorter than him, she lost her footing before he did. She had to let go of his hand. She treaded water by simply kicking her feet, maneuvering herself in front of Anakin so they were facing each other.
"Can you feel what I'm doing?" she asked him. Anakin nodded his head as he looked downright fearful. Padme had to keep from laughing. The man had faced great danger in his life, he was training to face great danger, and yet, he was horribly scared over a little water.
"I want you to step out, so you are no longer able to stand. Just stay afloat by copying what I am doing. Just like the way we danced last night. You just have to read my mind and do what I am telling you to do."
"How about instead of stepping out, I just kick my feet out and tread water here?" Anakin asked.
"Okay." Padme didn't like the idea of him having the safety net of being able to stand. She couldn't help but thinking he was acting like a scared child. She kept thinking over and over that he was being ridiculous. She was hoping he would read her mind and learn what she was thinking.
She could feel the disturbance of the water as Anakin started kicking his legs and floating. She felt elated as she was thrilled he was doing something. The thrill left her quickly as Anakin gave up early and stuck his feet back on the ground.
"Okay, let's do this my way," she said to him sternly. "The only way you are going to learn is if you are out deep and can no longer stand. So, just do what I told you earlier, start walking out until you can no longer feel the ground, then start treading water and don't stop."
Anakin started stepping out until he had to struggle to keep his head above water while his feet were touching the ground. "Start treading water," Padme had to command. He did as she told him, but only kicked intermittently in order to keep himself afloat. He kept stopping and letting himself fall back down until he felt bottom, then he pushed himself up again.
"I don't want you to rely on being able to touch the ground from time to time." Padme realized she was going to have to take some action. "Take my hand." He was hesitant but obeyed. "Okay, I'm going to gently pull you forward so you can't stand in the water." She swam back and tried to pull him forward, thinking he would let her. Instead, he stood his ground, and walked back until he was standing with his head above water. She tried to pull him to stop, but instead, he pulled her all the way into his body. She had to hold her hands against his massive chest in order to avoid crashing into him. Her heart skipped several beats and her breathing became labored as she was overcome with passion for him. Anakin was feeling the same thing. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her as close as he could. He bent his head down to try and kiss her, but she rebuffed him by turning her head away.
No Anakin, not out here. Someone might see us. He let go of her, and she swam back and away from him.
"Let's pick up where we left off." She held her hand out for him to take again.
"Don't worry about that. I can come out on my own." He pushed himself ahead. He was now out where he could no longer stand. He was kicking his legs to tread water and was just doing an okay job of it. Padme treaded water across from him, offering him words of encouragement.
"You're doing great, just keep it up." Despite Padme's words, Anakin was not comfortable. He kept fearing that his legs would give out, and he would fall beneath the surface, unable to get his head above it. Having Padme out with him didn't offer him much comfort, as he knew she wouldn't exactly be able to pull him up by herself.
Overcome with fear, Anakin's Force reflexes took over as he pushed away all the water around him. Padme let out a yelp as the two of them fell to the ground. Once they overcame their initial shock, they looked around at the water whirlpool they were in the center of. Through the Force, Anakin was pushing away the water all around them to create a dry pocket for the two of them.
Padme looked around in wonder, marveling at what Anakin was doing. She could see the fish swimming through the water. Some of them were getting close to the edge of the whirlpool, and she feared they might try and jump out.
As Padme looked around, she soon spotted an Iko fish. It was a large fish with many fins with scales that were a multitude of pastel colors. They were fish that were only found on Alderaan and were well known throughout the galaxy for their beauty. In times past, they were popular pets, until it was learned they did not live long off their home planet. No matter how much people tried to recreate their habitat on Alderaan, they could never quite get it right. They were abandoned as pets shortly after Padme had been born. When she was young, she had desperately wanted one. Her parents did their best to explain to her why she could not have one, but she could never quite accept it.
Having the fish in front of her right now seemed like restitution for not getting it as a pet. She was finally getting the sight she had always desired as a child. The Iko fish was hovering in the water, slowly advancing towards the edge of the whirlpool. Padme held out her finger to the water's edge, and the fish came up and kissed the tip of it.
Padme pulled her hand back quickly out of surprise. She giggled as she stared at the fish, watching as it swam away. She was thinking of her parents, as the fish seemed to be a sign from them. She wasn't sure why, but she got the impression her parents had been speaking to her through the fish. She felt it was a sign they approved of what she was doing to try and liberate their planet.
Through the connection she had with Anakin, he was able to feel everything she had just experienced, and she knew he had felt it. As she turned around to face him, the thought occurred to her that perhaps she should push away some of the other fears she was having. At the bottom of the whirlpool, they were out of sight, and free to do whatever they wanted out of sight of any prying eyes.
"Thank you for this." Trembling, she reached out and placed her hands on Anakin's chest. A shared surge of passion ran through both their bodies when she touched him. She swallowed hard as she looked up at Anakin, running her hands along his chest to reach his neck.
Through the connection, Anakin could feel exactly what Padme wanted. She was confident no one could see them. Given her previous fears, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked.
"Yes." Her voice was soft, but sultry as she spoke. She pulled his head down so that their lips could meet. They were both trembling as they opened their mouths to kiss deeply.
They broke the kiss briefly as Anakin wrapped his arms around Padme and lifted her up. The feeling of their bare, wet skin pressed together gave them each an ecstatic sensation. When their lips met again, they went at it with even more passion.
With the feeling of ecstasy taking over, Anakin lost the concentration in the Force that was creating the whirlpool. The water crashed down around them, and Anakin's Force reflexes took over once again. He created a large and powerful wave that swept them up and pushed them through the water. It deposited them on the shore of the lake. Padme was laughing as she laid on the shore with Anakin on top of her. He was still using the Force to create waves that showered them with water.
As he looked up at Padme, Anakin marveled at how he had gotten there. He was staring at what had to be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, and she was looking back at him with an expression that left no question what she wanted.
"There could be people watching us now," he tried to tell her.
"I don't care," she said as she grabbed his head and pulled it towards her once again. They kissed for what felt like an eternity. While they were kissing, Anakin flipped them around, so he was on top.
Padme broke the kiss as she wanted to tell Anakin what she was feeling. "I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do."
"Nobody," Anakin said in reply, staring down at her.
"No, nobody." The water was still being propelled by the Force and hitting them with waves. Anakin leaned down and started kissing her again.
"Oh my, what's wrong with the water," the prissy voice of Threepio took Padme and Anakin out of the moment they were feeling. They had to stop kissing as they looked up at him. "This is a lake, the water should be calm. Why is it creating waves like that?"
The waves ended as Anakin stopped controlling the water with the Force. "It was just me using my Force powers, Threepio. It's nothing to be worried about."
"Oh, that is delightful to know." The droid continued staring at the water, even though the waves had stopped. "You didn't have to stop the waves on my account."
"It's okay, the moment's passed." Anakin looked down at Padme to see she agreed.
"I think that's enough for this morning," she said as she stood. She rung the water out of her hair as she walked away. "You can escort Anakin back to his room."
"I will do that Mistress Padme," Threepio replied. "Do you want me to come back to serve you when you are done."
"No, stay with Anakin."
Threepio waited until Padme was out of sight before he turned to Anakin. "I thought I was supposed to serve her from here on out."
"Trust me, Threepio," Anakin began. "You're not the only one suffering from horrendous disappointment right now."