Chapter 28 – Aura of Mystery

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars or any of the characters in it, though we wish we did. xD

Author's Note: In which Padme talks to Siri and Palpatine... :P

If there's a fic you'd like us to write, I have a SW fic request form which you can fill out. We'll gift write all the requests we get… eventually. :D The link is as follows, but with no spaces: forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6

We also made a tribute for Anakin on our new YT channel. Check it out if you're interested. :P Again, no spaces in the link: youtu . be / T9hdVkokQa4

~ Amina Gila

Padme watches as Anakin leaves, and though she's desperate to call out to him, to beg him to reconsider, she won't. It's best for now that she let him go. Something is wrong. The more she pushed for answers, the more she could see the hunted look in his eyes. Slowly, she follows, watching as he walks away from the ship without looking back. Ahsoka rushes over to him, saying something that she can't hear, but the Torgruta's concern is nearly palpable. Ahsoka glances up briefly at her, and Padme sees a flash of apprehension flicker through the girl's eyes.

Whatever is happening with Anakin, Ahsoka clearly knows. Padme tries not to let it grate on her. She should know; she's Anakin's fiancé! But she can't rush to judge. For now, she needs to keep her mind open to every possibility and start searching for answers. She's so busy watching them that she doesn't even notice Count Dooku approaching. He stops a few feet away and says something to which Ahsoka shakes her head. Barriss, Padme notes, is lingering a distance away, unmoving, as if she doesn't even care.

While she can't see Anakin's face, she can tell that he's still in tears. She didn't want to cause him such pain, but what could she do? Abandon her position as Senator to run away with him? She would be miserable – probably – and that would cause problems between them which she doesn't know how she'd fix.

Padme isn't sure if it's envy or surprise which flares to life – maybe both – when Dooku gently puts a hand on Anakin's shoulder and leads him away towards the shuttle he must have arrived on. The interaction lasted only seconds, but it's left Padme reeling. She had wondered if, perhaps, Dooku was harming Anakin in some way, but clearly that's not the case. If anything, it seems as though Dooku is protecting Anakin as best he can – hopefully, because if he's not, Padme will personally murder him – which means that… someone else is responsible.

She blinks away her confusion when Jedi Master Siri Tachi approaches her starship. "Senator, we should be leaving for Coruscant now. I don't believe Jabba will be lenient enough to let us linger."

Padme sighs but nods. "I'll fire up the engines," she tells the Jedi, letting her come aboard and close the boarding ramp. She retreats to the cockpit and takes off, flying away from Tatooine and feeling as if her heart was broken. Siri, when she sits down, doesn't say anything, though Padme knows that she's curious.

She – she has to talk about this to someone. There's no way that she can investigate this alone, and speed is of essence. Who knows what Anakin has and will continue to suffer while she tries to find a way to save him? She misses him already.

"What happened?" Siri asks quietly once they've made the jump to hyperspace. "He was… hurting badly, and no one can fake something like that."

Padme winces, suddenly regretting everything which she said to him. She wishes there had been another way to convince him to stay, but she had needed answers. She'd known, of course, that he cares for her. Sometimes, love isn't enough. She needed to know where his loyalties are. Even now, she doesn't have an answer to that.

"We talked," Padme explains to the Jedi Master. "No matter what the Jedi may believe, Anakin is not lost or forever ensnared in the Dark Side. He cares about me deeply, regardless of what he's going through."

Siri looks thoughtful, though she doesn't reply immediately. "Are you certain of that though?" she queries. "Are you certain that Anakin would lay down his weapons and agree not to bring any harm to the Republic?"

Padme wishes that she could agree, but instead, she takes the time to think about the question as well as what she's pieced together about Anakin. "I think that someone is hurting him," she admits, "And I think that if he was freed from that influence that he would be completely harmless." She remembers what he said about what he wants. I want everyone to be safe. I want to have a family. And she wants that too. If only he could have told her more, but he didn't. It's up to her now to put together the truth so she can free him.

"More than likely, Dooku's master is behind it," Siri concludes slowly, brow furrowed in thought. "What I don't understand is why the Chancellor allowed Anakin to spend time with Dooku. If Anakin knows the Sith Master behind the war, which I expect he does, based on what you have said, then we need to trace his steps to learn the Sith's identity."

I never asked for his help. Padme remembers the anger in the words, the resentment, and she can't help but wonder: what does Palpatine really know about Anakin's situation? She feels bad for questioning it a moment later. He has no reason to lie about something like this, and she could tell that he was hurting over the betrayal as much as she is. "I spoke with him, and he told me that Dooku took an interest in Anakin from the beginning. He told the Chancellor that it would be dangerous for Anakin to remain untrained," she explains.

Siri frowns. "There are many untrained Force sensitives. I don't know why Palpatine went along with it… or even why he was close enough with Dooku to allow such a thing."

Those are the same reservations and doubts which Padme has had, but she trusts the Chancellor. He's the one who guided her at the beginning of her political career, and if she begins to doubt him, she won't be trusting anyone. "Anakin has always been special," Padme relates, a hint of fondness in her tone. "His gifts showed even when he was still on Tatooine as a child, when we first met. I can't really blame the Chancellor for wanting to keep Anakin safe and able to protect himself. He wouldn't have wanted him to fall victim to those who would seek to use his power for their own benefit."

There's a pause of silence. "But he did," the Jedi Master states flatly.

"Yes, well, it's not as if anyone knew that Dooku couldn't be trusted," Padme points out.

"No, you're right," Siri agrees, shaking her head. "It's revolting that Dooku would take advantage of the Chancellor's trust like that."

Padme hums her agreement. "He even turned Anakin against Palpatine," she comments. "When I was talking to Anakin, he seemed… unusually hostile when I mentioned the Chancellor."

Siri grimaces. "We'd better not tell him that though. It will hurt him, and anyways, we're just speculating. There's no need to cause a commotion over speculation. What we need to do is find a way to trace who the Sith Master might be."

"I know," Padme declares after a minute of thought. "Shmi. She's living at Palpatine's estate on Naboo, and I'm certain she ought to have some idea of what Anakin has been doing, since she's lived with him this whole time. When we reach Coruscant, I can ask the Chancellor for her comm frequency, and we can speak with her."

"That's a brilliant idea, Senator, though we must proceed with caution and under the assumption that Shmi is going along with Anakin's actions, at least those she knows of," warns Siri. "If she didn't, I'm certain she would have raised her concerns with Palpatine."

She nods. "I agree."

They fall into a companionable silence for a time, and Padme finds that she's profoundly grateful to have met Siri. She doesn't know any other Jedi who would have agreed to calmly discuss the situation without deciding that killing Anakin is the best, and only, option. "If – if we were somehow able to capture Anakin, what would be done with him?" she queries, suddenly afraid to know the answer. She doesn't exactly doubt that he was speaking the truth, but the knowledge that the Jedi might simply execute him is almost too much for her.

Siri is quiet, a strange solemnity entering her blue eyes. "He would be imprisoned at the Temple and interrogated. If he was cooperative, then he would likely be kept there until and if he was no longer a threat," she explains, "But more likely than not, he wouldn't cooperate. I imagine that the Council might vote that executing him is safer than keeping someone as unstable as him alive."

Padme nearly flinches. The confirmation of Anakin's words is troubling. She'd never thought that the Order might go so far as execution simply because he's a Sith. He was right. The Republic wouldn't be safe for him. Yes, they might be able to work something out, but it's probably far less painful for him to remain with Dooku. "That's… wrong," she decides.

Siri shrugs. "Perhaps," she concedes, "But Senator, Anakin is the strongest Force sensitive, and he's likely a Sith. He was able to defeat me when I don't think he was even trying. We have to take actions to protect ourselves and others, even if that means his death."

"I refuse to accept that it's the only way," Padme counters adamantly. "I understand what you're saying, but Anakin doesn't want war with you. If you choose to treat him as an enemy, he will be forced to respond in kind. But the choice will have been the Jedi's, not his. That doesn't make him a bad person." If she loses faith in Anakin's goodness, then she'll lose faith in herself as well. Of everything in the galaxy which might change, Padme doesn't think that her love for Anakin will be one of them.

Siri is quiet, absorbing her words, and they sit together, reflecting on the most recent developments. Whatever happens next, Padme knows that it won't be good. The Hutt's alliance with the Separatists is a huge blow to the Republic, and the Force alone knows what will happen next.

**w**

By the time that Padme arrives at the Chancellor's office with Siri, Yoda, Windu, and Ferus Olin, Siri's former Padawan, are already there. They give their report uninterrupted, and Padme can practically feel the mood plummeting. This early into the war, it's almost impossible to tell what the ramifications of the recent incident will be, but she knows that it won't be good.

"We ran into Skywalker and Padawan Tano on Teth," Siri says when Padme hesitates to add more. "They took Rotta from us back to Tatooine. He spoke with the Senator there briefly." Her voice is neutral, leaving Padme to wonder how she really feels about everything which has transpired. She's obviously not exactly… sympathetic towards Anakin, but she's not calling for his head either, which is a good start.

"What did he say to you, my dear?" queries the Chancellor gently, a hint of anxiousness betrayed in his tone.

Giving in to the inevitable, Padme summarizes her encounter with Anakin. "I demanded that he tell me the truth, and he told me that he's working with Dooku, because otherwise the Jedi would kill him, simply for being a Sith. He doesn't want to fight," she states with conviction.

"Is he right?" Palpatine questions, giving the Jedi a hard look. "Would you kill him simply for being a Sith?"

"He's dangerous, probably too dangerous to be kept alive, if his skills far surpass those of Master Tachi," Windu answers emotionlessly.

Padme can almost sense the Chancellor's anger, and she shares it. "Then it is because if you that we have lost a valuable supporter." She doesn't even bother trying to keep the anger from her tone. "Any one of you Jedi could be dangerous, but that doesn't mean that we need to watch you for fear you would turn against us. Anakin isn't dangerous! Of course, he can be, but showed no open hostility towards the Republic until the truth was revealed. I would call that actions of someone who feels he has no other choice."

Windu appears completely unmoved by her lecture which borders more on a rant than she wants to admit. "We will be allocating resources to find him nevertheless," he responds. "Skywalker cannot remain free."

Padme gapes at him. "Do you have any idea how badly off the Republic is now that we've lost much of our ability to move freely in the Outer Rim? We need to focus on our war efforts, not locating one lone Sith who is not even fighting us by choice!"

"If find him we do, then answers we can get," Yoda interjects. Fair, but they still don't have the resources to scour the galaxy for one person. If they do, they ought to be tracking down Dooku.

"Unfortunately, the Hutt's alliance with Count Dooku is the most important issue on which we need to focus," announces Palpatine, resting his hands on the desk as he looks at the assembled. "I understand your concerns regarding Anakin, but there is currently little that can be done about him."

Padme agrees, but looking at Yoda, Windu, and Ferus, it's clear that they don't. Siri's face is mostly blank and based on their conversation on the way to Coruscant, she has some doubts about the appropriate course of action. "We will order that all Republic forces be on high alert," Windu informs them. "Skywalker must be found."

"A Sith he has confessed to being," Yoda adds. "Dangerous is the path he is on. Into great danger he has led Padawan Tano."

Padme catches Palpatine's glance, and they turn in sync towards the Grandmaster. Ferus had reported that Ahsoka has succumbed to the Dark Side and was using it during their duel on Teth. "He called her his apprentice," Ferus points out. "For all we know, she may be a Sith too."

"As well as Barriss Offee," Siri contributes quietly. "She felt darker in the Force than Dooku."

Padme feels a chill run through her. What is Dooku after? What is Anakin after? What are they doing? "Broken the Rule of Two has been," Yoda says gravely, ears twitching. "More than two Sith we now have to face. In peril the galaxy is. Act with caution we must."

"Did you hear anything about Knight Kenobi?" Windu inquires.

Somehow, Padme doesn't think that she should repeat exactly what Anakin told her about him. "Anakin mentioned that he is with him," she answers, "So he is still alive."

"But we cannot trust that he's not being tortured or worse," Ferus points out.

Siri twitches slightly, and Padme sees a hint of worry flash across the Jedi Master's face. Padme doubts she has anything to worry about, but she isn't going to say so. Some things, she thinks, are better left unsaid. Besides, she doubts that Windu and Yoda will even believe her. Ferus probably won't either, based on his current attitude.

"Let us focus on the most important matters at hand," Palpatine suggests. "Our efforts must be focused on attempting to secure all Republic systems, especially those in the Outer Rim which are far more vulnerable to Separatist invasion now that we have lost our ability to travel freely through Hutt space."

"Naboo is especially vulnerable, being as its near Tatooine and Geonosis," Padme notes quietly. "It's likely that the Separatists will try to recapture Geonosis from us. Even if we've currently gained control of the planet, that could easily change." In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if the Separatists are already preparing an invasion force, being as they can go to the airspace above Tatooine and jump to Geonosis which is only a short distance away.

"Perhaps it would be advisable to seek a way of getting in contact with some of the kidnapped Jedi," suggests the Chancellor, "Or even Anakin. They might be willing to give the Republic intelligence from Dooku, thereby aiding the war effort and allowing us to defeat the Separatists."

"We cannot trust anything they say," Ferus objects. "They'll likely lead us right into a trap."

Windu glances at him before nodding. "Olin is right," he agrees. "Skywalker is a Sith, and Padawan Tano has likely joined him. We have nothing to indicate whether Knight Kenobi can be trusted, if we even could get in contact with him."

"That may be so, but I think it is a risk worth taking," Padme argues. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

"Hmm… discuss this the Jedi Council will. Make a decision lightly we cannot," Yoda declares, tapping his stick for emphasis.

After exchanging a few more words, the Jedi rise and exit Palpatine's office, leaving Padme behind. Once the door closes, she lets herself relax. "I will do everything in my power to save Anakin, Your Excellency," she promises.

He smiles genially. "I know, my dear. I know."

"Would you have Shmi's comm frequency with you?" she questions. "I want to talk to her about Anakin. Perhaps she has some insight which might help us locate Anakin, or at least figure out a way to get him away from Dooku."

Padme knows she's not imagining the relief and approval on the Chancellor's face. "Of course," he murmurs, picking up his comm and sending the frequency to her comm via a text message. "I do hope you discover something, but I would not be too confident. This would not be the first time I wondered if Shmi might be keeping information hidden with respect to Anakin's actions."

That even Palpatine is concerned about whether or not Shmi is keeping secrets makes Padme worried. This is one call she wants Siri to help her with. Even if they don't get anything of importance, if they can only determine that she is, in fact, hiding something which is crucial to the Republic, they will be able to interrogate her in person, preferably by bringing her to Coruscant.

"Thank you, Chancellor," Padme tells him, smiling as she stands to leave. "I hope we are not disappointed." With those words, she, too, leaves his office.