Resilience, a Star Wars story.
Padmé Amidala almost collapsed into her Coruscant apartment. Sighing contently, she fell onto her couch.
"What took so long?" asked Anakin Skywalker, Padmé's husband and Jedi Knight.
"Senate meetings ran long. We're trying to find common ground on the issue of producing more clones for the war," Padmé replied.
"At least we can spend some time with each other now."
"Finally! Let me get out of these awful Senate clothes first."
Padmé got up and walked into her room. She changed out of the high heels and long dress she wore, and removed her large headdress. Padmé put on some maroon denim pants and a maroon shirt. She then slipped on her favorite red double strap sandals and walked back into the main area of the apartment.
"Wow, you look amazing." Anakin said, smiling.
Padmé blushed. "Thanks! I love these shoes, my feet feel so much better in these than in heels! Plus, I can show off the white nail polish!"
Padmé sat down next to Anakin and snuggled up to him. Almost immediately, her comlink started to blip. Padmé rolled her eyes and answered the comm.
"Hello?"
"Senator Amidala!" Chancellor Palpatine's voice came through loudly, clearly in distress. "I'm sorry to bother you but I have an important mission. The Separatists are trying to sway the planet of Gystia to their cause!"
"Gystia? We need the trade routes that go through their planet! If they go to the Separatists, we won't be able to aid planets in need!"
"I know. That is why you must go there immediately. I've sent for a gunship to take you. General Skywalker will be assigned to protect you with a small team of clone troopers. It's up to you to convince King Xixin to stay with the Republic!"
"Very well. I'll leave right away." The comlink signal went out. Anakin answered his own transmission from the Jedi Council and the two boarded the gunship, Anakin a few minutes later so it wouldn't look like they were together.
The gunship took off.
"So, what's the plan?" Anakin asked.
"We'll simply land, go into King Xixin's palace, and I'll try to convince him to stay." Padmé replied.
"It'll be that easy?" asked Captain Rex, Anakin's first-in-command clone.
"Hopefully," Padmé replied. "King Xixin has been loyal to the Republic for decades. I think we can persuade him to stay with us."
Some time passed.
"Approaching Xixin Palace," the clone pilot said over the intercom.
"Here we g-" Padmé started.
Suddenly, the gunship's alarm blared and they felt a hard impact on the side of the ship.
"We've been hit! I'll try to land it!" the pilot yelled.
The alarm blared as the gunship plummeted towards the ground. It slammed into the ground hard, falling sideways and destroying a wing of the ship.
When the dust settled, Anakin looked around. "Is everyone okay?" he asked.
Most of the clones were unscathed, but a few were killed in the crash.
Everyone seemed to be fine until a quiet "Owwwww," was heard. Anakin looked to Padmé, who was wincing and looked to be holding her right foot.
"Padmé? What's wrong?" Anakin asked, panicked.
"My ankle," Padmé said, breathing heavily. "It's bad."
"Kix!" Anakin shouted.
The clone medic moved over to where Padmé was.
"Take a look at her ankle," Anakin directed.
Padmé lifted her right leg and rested her foot in front of Kix. Kix slowly slid off Padmé's red sandal and pulled out his mobile x-ray machine. Scanning over Padmé's foot and leg, the damage was clear.
"Senator, you've broken your ankle." Kix stated. "I can splint it for now, but you need to get that treated at a medical outpost.
Padmé nodded. "Okay. We still need to carry out the mission, so let's get it splinted and keep going."
"With all due respect, Senator, you're in no condition to be moving around, much less negotiating against Separatists," Anakin said.
"We don't have a choice, General. We need Gystia to stay with the Republic!"
"If I may," Kix interjected. "General Skywalker could weld a pair of makeshift crutches using blaster rifles that the Senator could use."
"I don't think-" Anakin started.
"Perfect! Thank you, Kix." Padmé said, smiling at Anakin tauntingly.
Kix stepped out of the gunship to grab sticks to make a splint. Producing a bandage from his medpack, he began to splint Padmé's ankle.
Padmé winced, clearly in a lot of pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she muttered under her breath.
After Kix was done, Anakin took the blaster rifles of the dead troopers and welded them together to make crutches for Padmé.
The team exited the gunship with Anakin carrying Padmé. Once they were out, he handed Padmé her new crutches. Padmé hobbled forward on the crutches, putting no weight on her broken ankle. "These are perfect!" Padmé said.
As they made their journey to the palace, Rex spotted Separatist battle droids and an AAT. "General! They must have been the ones to shoot us down!"
Anakin rushed the droids head on.
"Uhh, they're not supposed to be alive!" one droid said to another.
Anakin tore through the droids and destroyed the AAT with ease. Rex and the clones picked off a few as well.
With the path finally clear, the team made their way to Xixin Palace. They reached King Xixin's throne room, where he was conversing with Separatist Senator Quan Squin. Anakin and the clones entered first as a precaution to protect Padmé.
"General Skywalker! I was under the impression Senator Amidala would be coming," King Xixin said.
"I'm here!" Padmé said. The clones parted to let Padmé hobble towards Xixin on her crutches.
"Senator Amidala? What happened to your foot?" Xixin asked, looking at Padmé's crutches and bandaged foot.
"Our ship was shot down by Senator Squin's battle droids. I broke my ankle in the crash," Padmé replied.
"Senator Squin, is this true?" Xixin asked.
"Well, I was not personally made aware of Senator Amidala's injury," Squin replied.
"But you ordered them to be shot down?" Xixin probed.
"I can answer that," Anakin interrupted. "The battle droids who attacked us on our way here said we weren't supposed to be alive." Anakin pulled out the head of a battle droid.
"Senator Squin! I never permitted a Separatist occupation!" Xixin shouted.
"There were more than droids, Great King," Anakin said. "They had tanks as well."
"Enough! Squin, we have no business here. I'm staying with the Republic. The resilience and honesty they showed today was incredible."
Squin left sulking.
"Senator Amidala, It'd be my pleasure to have my best doctors treat your ankle. Thank you so much for your commitment," Xixin said.
"Of course! We're glad you wish to stay with the Republic," Padmé replied happily.
Xixin had his doctors give Padmé a cast and proper crutches for her ankle. She was instructed to stay off it for six weeks and see a doctor on Coruscant afterward.
A Jedi cruiser came to pick up the team. Upon return to Coruscant, Anakin offered to assist Padmé in getting home on crutches. As soon as she stepped in the door, Padmé hobbled to her couch and rested her crutches against it. She sat down, elevating her broken ankle on a table in front of the couch.
"Well, that was quite the adventure," she said, giggling.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Anakin said somberly.
"What? Ani, it was a freak accident. Noone could have prevented that," Padmé said, looking at her cast.
"I will protect you, my lady."
Padmé laughed. "Don't worry! This injury just lets me spend more time with you!" she said smiling.
