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Rest

Chapter 16

After cloaking their ship to enter the planet's atmosphere without detection, Anakin and Obi-Wan arrived on a landing pad near Mustafar's Klegger Corp Mining Facility. Upon exiting their ship, the two Jedi headed towards the nearest building, abandoned by the mining facility, which was known to the Jedi as a secret Separatist base.

"It's rather hot on this planet," Anakin stated the obvious, as the exited the ship.

Obi-Wan, sweating already, laughed, "Yes, yes it is." They continued towards the Separatist hideout. "When we get to Dooku, we take him out."

Anakin nodded in agreement. They were just outside the building. "This is where the fun begins."

Lightsabers ignited, they entered.

Once navigated to the main room, the two Jedi found themselves intruding on a meeting where sat a panel of Separatist political representatives, including Viceroy Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, and Archduke Poggle the Lesser. With their entrance, all of the group turned around, including the speaker, Count Dooku. Dooku's hand moved to his lightsaber at his belt.

"Anakin, it looks like we're interrupting something…" began Obi-Wan.

Count Dooku spoke aloud, "By all means, Masters Skywalker and Kenobi, please join us." Lightsaber in hand, he ignited it.

"I don't know, Count, doesn't look like our kind of party," remarked Anakin.

"Perhaps you'd like to take this outside?" Dooku inquired.

"Certainly," spoke Obi-Wan.

The politicians ran to cover as Dooku advanced on the Jedi.

Lightsabers flashing, Anakin and Obi-Wan managed to defend themselves against a flurry of strikes while walking backwards to bring the fight against Dooku outside.

Count Dooku was relentless against the Jedi, attacking in a whirlwind of movement against the two. He progressed forward on the Jedi, with both Anakin and Obi-Wan continuing backwards through pathways and bridges over the flowing river of lava beneath them.

Anakin swiped his lightsaber across at Dooku, who defended himself back and motioned using his other arm to push Obi-Wan over a ledge into the lava. Obi-Wan Force-jumped at the same time to land on a beam of metal piping high over the lava and steadied himself.

Dooku jumped onto the piping, following Obi-Wan to duel him on the beam. Anakin looked for a space to join and defend Obi-Wan; he found a lava collector droid hovering around and leapt onto it, steering it with the Force and bringing him closer to the balancing game and duel between Obi-Wan and Dooku.

Shortly after the time Anakin arrived next to the two, Obi-Wan had jumped off the pipe to a lower platform next to a geyser gushing lava. Dooku landed next to him, twisting his body around to strike full-force at Obi-Wan. Anakin hopped from the droid to the platform, and engaged in battle again together with Obi-Wan against Dooku, their lightsabers hissing as they met with the lightsaber of the Sith.

Lava from the geyser began raining down onto the platform, and the three watched in awe as a giant pile of lava fell onto the pipes and platforms where they had just stood. They ran for cover under the roof of an adjoining platform.

Once the geyser slowed, the platform they were standing on began to shift under their feet; the exploded lava from the geyser had destroyed the support to the structure beneath them, and now each of the three clung on to the rivets grounded in the platform to prevent themselves from being thrown into the lava below as the entire structure fell roof-first into the lava river.

Now they were grasping their bodies for dear life onto the vertically-oriented platform beam, and began trying to lightsaber battle while drifting through the river of lava on the broken structure. Anakin and Obi-Wan were hanging on the beam below Dooku, who was trying to fight the Jedi by swinging his lightsaber at them below.

Suddenly, they realized the lava river was about to spill off into a giant fall into a basin hundreds of feet below them. Obi-Wan looked into the river below, and pushed his body off the beam to land onto a hovering mining platform. Anakin followed suit, landing again on a lava collector droid, and Count Dooku joined them on his own lava collector droid at the last minute before the platform structure fell over the lava fall.

Each one controlled the direction of their hovering platform around on the lava river by means of the Force. Anakin and Obi-Wan moved their platforms to surround Dooku, but did not manage to get close enough to him to fight him with their lightsabers.

Dooku suddenly jumped off the droid onto the same moving platform as Obi-Wan and engaged him in a duel. The two battled, sabers meeting in a flash of light.

Anakin watched on as he could not get close enough to the two to be of any help.

All at once, the platform passed by a gravel river bank. Obi-Wan Force-jumped from the platform to the bank, but was too slow for Dooku, who at the same moment of Obi-Wan's jump, used the Force to lift a broken, abandoned droid from the ground to crash into Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan was hit in the head by the droid, and fell, knocked unconscious onto the ground.

-break -

The next morning went by smoothly. Padme received many supplies from Sola in the form of baby-hand-me-downs, of which she sorted through in the morning and set aside to take back later to Varykino.

After lunch, Darred, Sola, and Padme sat in the living room and were watching the news on holovid. The latest report on the Galactic Republic was being advertised, and the most recent defeat of General Grievous was suddenly displayed…

"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and 'The Hero with No Fear' Knight Anakin Skywalker have reportedly took down the Separatist General on the planet of Utapau. General Grievous had been hosting Separatist representatives on the lower levels of the planet after holding native Utapauians hostage under droid army control. No news on what this win means for the war against the Separatist systems."

Padme, for a moment, couldn't speak. She wasn't prepared to hear about Anakin.

Sola broke her out of her reverie. "Padme! That's great news, isn't it?"

Padme nodded in response. She wondered where Anakin was now – is he on his way to Naboo? There was an underlying bad feeling that this news brought to Padme that she couldn't place. As if something bad were to unfold from not knowing Anakin's whereabouts…

Sola looked at her sister's frown, "Padme, shouldn't you be happy? Doesn't this mean Anakin will be here soon?"

Padme considered and spoke, "I hope so, Sola. I haven't heard from him yet on our comlink, and if this just hit the news it must have happened a Standard day or so ago. They might… try to send him on another mission before he'll come to Naboo. I don't know."

Darred considered, "Well, it seems like the reporters for the Republic don't know what's next, based on how the segment ended."

"Darred," Sola scolded.

"He's right," Padme agreed, appreciating Darred's honesty. She rested her head back and rubbed her tired eyes with her hands. "I have a bad feeling about this now. What if Anakin is sent to battle the next biggest general or whoever and doesn't arrive to Naboo in time…" her hands moved from her face to caress her middle, her eyes distant.

Sola realized she needed to stop Padme before she started catastrophizing, like she did right before she had to tell her parents about the baby. "Padme. It's going to be fine. Even if he's not here when you give birth or afterwards. We can help and everything will be ok… He'll return, you know that."

Padme nodded. "Right. I know he will," she murmured, and she did believe it to be true. She knew he would return to her, no matter the cost. "Sola, I'm going to go have a nap. Please wake me up if there's any other news, alright?"

"Okay Padme," said Sola. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Sola," she said as she left the room.

-break -

Dooku smiled menacingly. He leapt from the platform onto the bank, intending to finish off the unconscious Obi-Wan using his lightsaber.

"HEY!" Anakin called, hovering at base of the bank on his lava droid. Count Dooku turned around from his position high up on the gravel to look down at the Jedi Knight below.

"Young Skywalker. Don't try it," threatened Count Dooku in an intimidating voice from the bank above.

In a surge of adrenaline, Anakin Force-jumped up high from his position over the lava, flipping in the air above and behind Dooku, spearing him in the back with his lightsaber.

However, in the midst of the Force-flip, Dooku raised his lightsaber and cut through Anakin's left arm and both legs, amputating them from his body. Anakin's mechanical right hand was the one that held the lightsaber that was driven through Dooku's back, killing him at once. Dooku's corpse collapsed and fell to the side.

Anakin's body fell to the ground and rolled from the higher part of the gravel pile down to the banks of the lava below. Fighting to stay conscious, he used his mechno-arm to slow himself from rolling down by digging his hand as much as he could into the ground. He could feel the heat of the lava dangerously circulating around the stumps of his severed thighs, and moments later, the flames licking up around his lower body and charring his skin.

-break -

Padme woke suddenly from Sola shaking her awake. "Padme! Padme, there's more on the news, come see. Chancellor Palpatine is dead."

"What?" asked Padme in utter disbelief.

"Come." Sola helped her out of the bed to go back to the living room.

Padme rushed as well as she could to see the news. Her parents had arrived, and were sitting with Darred intently watching the news on the holovid. Padme took a seat next to her father.

"…Masters of the Jedi Council, along with leaders of the Galactic Republic, are informing all planetary systems that the elected Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Senate was actually a Sith Lord under the name of Darth Sidious. His skills in the Force allowed him to manipulate the choices of others, and he was a key underlying mastermind behind the scenes of the Separatist movement. Jedi discoveries during the recovery of Utapau from the Separatist sieges resulted in information that led the Jedi on Coruscant to search for a traitor in the Republic's system, which was traced back to the Chancellor. These findings were supported along with many other encrypted documents under Palpatine's dominion, and authorities quickly began to close in on the Chancellor to bring him into disciplinary custody.

"In a brief battle at his office on Coruscant, Palpatine was brought to justice by Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, and Kit Fisto. During the arrest, Chancellor Palpatine, or rather Darth Sidious, reportedly fought back and was brought to a deathly end by Master Windu, the only surviving Jedi from the altercation. Masters Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, and Kit Fisto, may the Force be with you.

(A brief moment of silence followed on the screen.)

"In the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, Senator Mon Mothma has been emergency elected into power, and many politicians supporting Separatists ideals have been taken into protective custody after recognizing they had been under the mind control of the Sith Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. More information on these victims to come.

"Celebrations throughout the galaxy have begun as the war appears to be coming to an end, now that many Separatist droid armies are coming under control of the Jedi and peacekeeping authorities of the Republic. Many planets are deeming this date to be significant as the return of true democracy in the Galactic Senate."

Padme's mouth fell agape for entire news cast.

"That's incredible! The war is nearly over!" enthused Jobal.

Padme couldn't speak for her shock. Palpatine a Sith Lord? How long had he been pulling the strings, controlling everything in reach? She ran through all her memories of her work with him, all the times she couldn't place what it was that felt off about his work, his presence. This made everything about the problems in the senate come into sense.

"This is incredible. It oddly makes so much sense about everything, all the leaders he was manipulating…" muttered Padme. "Now I feel like we – the other senators and I – have been so… betrayed. Is it really true?"

Darred nodded and spoke, "They're supposed to have a more in-depth report later tonight, explaining more about it."

Jobal followed up, "It's amazing to think, maybe a lot of the war had to do with Palpatine searching for power? It's shameful to know he's from Naboo."

Ruwee considered, "Yes, awful really. I wonder what this means for our planet, and the implications on the Republic's democratic system for the future... I'm sure many other aspects of inter-planetary politics will be under review now…"

Padme nodded; she was still taking it all in, amazed at the news, which was now playing on repeat on the holochannel for new listeners to hear.

"…No news yet on Separatist Leader Count Dooku, who has reported ties to the late Sith Chancellor. Jedi are tracking his whereabouts as we speak to bring him to justice…"

Without warning, Padme was hit with an overwhelming sense of dread about Anakin. Her entire body reacted; she couldn't breathe, her heart pulsated strongly in her chest, and with the little room it had left to move, her baby stretched itself around frantically in her abdomen. Everything felt very far away…

"Padme, Padme, what's wrong? You're white as a ghost," Sola stood up and moved towards her sister.

Ruwee's arms were around Padme right away. "I've got you, Padme. Let's lie back." He helped her recline against the sofa.

Padme's head spun. She squinted her eyes shut and tried to shake her head out of it, but the sensation of dizzying alarm about Anakin did not leave.

Sola knelt on the ground in front of her sister, holding on to her now clammy hands. "Deep breaths, Padme. Deep breaths." A look of concern was shared between the family members.

"I'll go get her something to drink," Darred went to the kitchen.

Padme stayed reclined like that for a few more moments, her breathing beginning to calm. Jobal, next to Sola, asked, "What is it Padme, what's wrong? Are you having contractions?"

Padme shook her head, her eyes slightly opening up again as Darred returned with some juice and crackers. She took a drink, and some of the dizzying sensation left her. She took a deep breath, and more of the colour returned to her face. However, the knowledge she sensed did not leave her.

"Something is wrong with Anakin. I can feel it."

-break -

Anakin fought to pull his body away from the lava by alternating using his mechanical arm and digging his chin into the gravel. His thighs were in flames, and now the material of his vest caught fire. He was in complete agony and could not even call upon the Force to help him. He laid there, almost preparing to die, but he knew he couldn't; he had to get back to her. He had to fight to live for her and their child.

Soon the flames engulfed much more of his skin, winding up around his chest and back. He cried out in anguish, and the last thing he remembered seeing before losing consciousness was that of Obi-Wan's figure rushing towards him.