It was a busy day for Padme, her family and her friends. They took turns testifying about the explosion on Polis Masso and the destruction of Mandalore. Padme was disguised in a white hooded robe, and gave her testimony from a secret location. She did not want Hux to find out she was both Mand''alor and Ben's love.
After the Senate ended for the day, they all decided to have dinner. Everyone was busy in conversation, until Padme noticed Ezra's face went pale.
"Oh no!" she gasped to herself.
"Ezra, what's wrong?" Sabine asked. He looked around the table and said,
"Lothal was just destroyed by Starkiller Base." Sabine squeezed his hand. Padme got up and ran away.
"The squadron was not able to take out the oscillator," Luke added solemnly.
Padme made it to her bed just in time. She felt the torture Ben was facing by Hux's hands. He had figured out Ben knew the weakness of the weapon, and revealed it to the Rebels.
"He's going to kill me!" Kylo screamed in agony. He was stripped naked, and Hux and the Stormtroopers took turns punching and kicking him.
"No, he's not!" Padme told him. "Ben, remind Hux about me. If you die, he will never find me. But if he lets you live, you can lead him to me."
"I will not say that to him!"
"Ben, you must. Remember the Force bond. If Hux kills you, then I will die too."
Kylo was devastated that it had come to this. He listened to Padme, and told Hux what she had said. Then there was silence. It was the longest five minutes of Padme's life. But to her relief, he called out to her.
"He spared my life, but not before knocking me unconscious," Kylo groaned.
"Thank the Maker! Where are you now?"
"Lying in a holding cell. I'm undressed and freezing! But are you okay? I hate that you have to feel my pain."
"I am fine. Stay still."
Kylo wondered why she said this. Then he felt her hands, caressing him so that he would warm up.
"If I wasn't bloodied and bruised, I'd be so turned on right now," Kylo sighed, as Padme continued to warm him up.
He felt her touch. She touched every area that had been beaten, and healed him.
"What an amazing woman!" Kylo thought to himself. He closed his eyes and relaxed.
"Are you feeling better?" Padme asked. He hummed, finally feeling at peace.
"Yes. But I need to get some sleep. Uninterrupted sleep." Although he always enjoyed her company, he did need to rest.
"Goodnight," Padme whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek before fading away. Kylo fell asleep quickly, with a big smile on his face.
There were no smiles the next day in the Senate, as least from the Rebels. The Senate voted to not declare war on the First Order. Leia called for a private meeting with the senators and prime ministers from the Outer Rim planets. Sabine was there, representing Mandalore. All were shocked that the vote did not go in their favor. Leia asked them to vote on seceding from the Galactic Senate, and forming their own government. If the Senate was not going to fight the First Order, then the Outer Rim would have to fight the enemy themselves.
The vote passed, and the Outer Rim governed themselves. They still needed a liaison to communicate with the Galactic Senate. Leia was voted unanimously to be the liaison, Which meant she would remain on Hosnian Prime.
"I wish it didn't have to come to this," Leia told her family later that evening. "But we had no choice. We have to fight against Hux and his troops, in spite of fear of our own destruction."
"Once we get the shields down, we can destroy Starkiller Base. But the trick is getting them down," Luke added.
"And your Force bond buddy can't help here?" Han asked Padme.
"He almost died when Hux found out he gave the information to the Rebels," Padme sadly admitted.
"How did he survive?" Luke questioned his niece. Hux was ruthless, the boy should have been dead by now.
"What matters is that he survived," Leia interjected, squeezing Padme's hand in silent support.
"Well, if these shields don't come down, we will all be dead," Han grunted. Padme shot a pained look at Luke. He shook his head, indicating this was not the time to discuss his illness.
Padme saw the time and excused herself. Tomorrow, she and Luke would be leaving to go back out to battle. But first, there was a little boy she wanted to see before she left.
She entered the room where Ezra Bridger and Caleb Syndulla were, pretending to fight using wooden sticks. The boy dropped his stick. Padme smiled. Caleb sensed her presence without even looking.
"Padme!" Caleb shouted happily, as he ran towards her. She hugged him.
"I am sorry I couldn't come by sooner," she said, patting the boy on the head. "It's been a busy time for me."
"I know. You held the Darksaber! Was it cool to hold?"
"Yes, it was. But it was not mine to keep."
"I know. Ezra told me Sabine has it. She is the leader of her people now."
"Yes, Caleb. I see you were practicing with wooden sticks. Were you pretending it was a lightsaber?" The boy nodded his head. Padme went into her knapsack and pulled out Anikin Skywalker's lightsaber.
"Here. I want you to have this," she told him. Caleb did not say a word. He didn't know what to say to Padme.
"It's not mine," he finally managed to say. He didn't want to upset her, but he knew he couldn't take the lightsaber from her.
"Caleb, I'm giving it to you as a gift," she tried again. But he shook his head in disagreement.
Ezra walked over to them. It was time for Padme to know.
"What Caleb is trying to say, without hurting your feelings, is that he can't take the lightsaber. He will eventually have to create own of his own," Ezra explained, giving Caleb a wink.
"Wait? Does this mean..." Padme began to say. But before she could get the words out, Caleb chimed in.
"I'm Ezra's padawan. Just like he was my grandfather's. He's going to train me!" the boy exclaimed with the biggest smile on his face.
"Well, I am glad to hear that." Padme put the lightsaber away.
"Caleb, you need to say goodbye to Padme. She is leaving in the morning," Ezra told him. The boy's eyes began to fill with tears. She knelt down and embraced him.
"Will I ever see you again?" he asked. Padme's heart broke for the boy.
"What does your heart tell you?" she whispered softly, as she held his chin in her hand. Caleb thought for a moment before declaring,
"We will see each other again." They hugged again, and Caleb spoke to her mind.
"If you see Ben, tell him I said hi, and that I'm going to be trained!"
"I will," she promised. They broke the embrace, and the boy skipped away, leaving Padme and Ezra to converse amongst themselves.
"Everyone is fulfilling their destinies. Caleb, Sabine and myself. And we have you to thank for it," Ezra declared.
"Me? What did I do?" Padme wondered.
"You follow the Force, no matter what danger you may face. That is not an easy thing to do."
"Ezra, I am by no means perfect..."
"Of course not. Just look at who your grandfather was!"
"Ouch! That was a low blow!" But Padme did laugh at the joke.
"Padme, none of us are perfect. We do not deserve the destinies we have been given. But when we choose to walk the path we are suppose to walk in, it not only benefits us..." Ezra paused and pointed to Caleb, who was now practicing levitating the wooden sticks. "It benefits the next generation."
"Keep walking your path, Padme," Ezra added, taking her hands into his. "Hard times are ahead for you. But stay focused, for your children and grandchildren's sake."
"I don't think I will have any kids," Padme nervously started to argue. Ezra lifted his hand to silence her.
"Yes, you will. I have seen visions and nightmares about it. And if I am not mistaken, you have as well." Padme bowed her head. She did have nightmares, about what Hux had planned for her and Ben.
"Do not let fear stop you from following the Force. Life is too short, times are too perilous, to hold yourself back," he encouraged the young woman.
"Thank you, Ezra. I guess I needed to hear that," Padme replied, wiping a tear away from her face.
"You need to go. You have an early start tomorrow. Tell Luke that I will not be joining the battle. He will understand." Ezra smiled, before embracing Padme.
"May the Force be with you, Ezra," Padme told him. After breaking the embrace, he gave her a wink before heading back to check up on Caleb. Padme walked out of the room, full of joy seeing Ezra and Caleb together as master and padawan.
