Hey guys, I know its been quite some time since I updated this story, and I'm very sorry about that. But on the plus side, it's given me some time to improve some of the scenes for later in the story, and I can't wait for you guys to see it!

Padmé and Anakin remained silent for most of the trip. They didn't exchange any conversations, they had to stay quiet since she wasn't supposed to be on the vessel in the first place, and with no cargo to transport, anything that was said would echo all throughout the cargo hold, and very likely be heard by anyone in the passengers area.

Both sat there bandaged, bruised and silent. They could ignore the pain. They've both endured much worse. After all, it was wartime.

After what felt like hours, the time finally came to get off the ship. Fora came in to tell Anakin that the coast is clear, but was suddenly alarmed when she saw Padmé and the scattered pieces of clone armor. "Who is that?" she asked.

"I had no choice, w-"

"She wasn't assigned to the mission, nor were you supposed to take prisoners," she interrupted.

"She is not a prisoner, she's a Nabooan," Anakin explained. "She's on our side."

"We're wasting time, you need to get off. Now." Fora shoved both of them out of the ship. "Now I have to clean up your mess," she said referring to the pieces of scattered armor.

They strolled around the dock for a little while looking for a way off the Mandalorian docking platform. Something Anakin said clicked in Padmé's mind.

"How did you guess I was from Naboo?" she asked.

"Huh?" he replied, snapping his focus towards her.

"That woman back on the ship. The one who assumed I was a prisoner? You told her 'She's not a prisoner, she's a Nabooan. She's on our side'," she said. "How did you guess that?"

Anakin paused for a second, lost for words. "Oh. Um, people with a purple eye color usually are from Naboo, or come from Nabooan lineage. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out."

She looked at him reluctantly.

Both ran up to the droid selling transport tickets not far from them. Anakin was about to ask when the next one for coruscant was, but Padmé beat him to the line and asked "When's the next one leaving for Naboo?" The droid told her seven hours.

"That's too long, is there anything sooner?" she asked.

"Sorry," the droid replied.

Anakin came up behind her. "What about Corusant? What time is that one coming?" he asked.

"Forty-five minutes," said the droid. Padmé grew an annoyed expression.

"Anakin I have to go to Naboo," she whispered rather loudly.

"We'll take two passes for the next shuttle to Corusant," Anakin said. The droid printed two tickets from a slot in his outer thorax shell and handed them to Anakin. He paid the droid with some credits buried deep in his cloak.

"Anakin, I have to get to Naboo," Padmé told him. "I need to go home."

"And you will. But we both have to give a debriefing to the counsel," he explained.

This was all it took to silence her. Padmé knew exactly who he was referring to. She has never stood in front of the Jedi counsel before, and she was dreading the evaluation.

The blazing Mandalorian star that heated the planet was becoming overwhelming for Padmé. The fact that she was wearing a black jumpsuit and in bare feet wasn't exactly easing the discomfort. Sweat was beginning to become absorbed by her black body suit, which was baggy in many areas. She walked towards a shady area to rest until the passenger shuttle arrived. Anakin followed closely behind to join her. She leaned against the wall and felt her back rub against the cool, shaded metal as she sled down into a sitting position. She had to move her injured arm since it just started to her more as she inadvertantly sandwiched it between her knees and her stomach. Anakin didn't sit next to her, but he briefly looked at her as she slid towards the ground. he leaned mostly on his uninjured foot while he stood. Both stayed in the shade for the duration it took for the shuttle to arrived.

Both of them boarded with ease. They showed their tickets to the stewardess droid and took their seats. No mind tricks necessary. Anakin wanted to get close to her, just on the off chance she managed to bolt away from him, but wasn't sure if he should on the account of seeming too suspicious. He kept a safe distance from her on the shuttle sitting in the seat across the aisle from where she was.

The ride to Corusant was about what Anakin expected but with one exception. The vehicle was packed with no empty seats, and the atmosphere was littered with words being exchanged between passengers, but Padmé was surprisingly silent. Although he didn't know why, Anakin could sense she was feeling uneasy, and it wasn't because they were traveling through hyperspace.

... Anxiety? Anakin thought to himself. But why? She managed to slip by enemy lines undetected, and if it weren't for her, he would probably still be stuck on Kamino. Both have accomplished so much for the Republic today. Granted, both of them were injured, but it's a small price to pay considering how many people have already died from this war. She should be proud, not nervous. Without realising it, he was looking at her the whole time he was thinking about this. When she snapped her head towards him, Anakin quickly turned away, but there was no way he could recover by saying he wasn't looking at her.

"You're nervous," he managed to tell her through the boisterous background noise. "Why are you so anxious to get home?"

"I'm not anxious," she defended a little too quickly. "I'm expected back, and I can't keep them waiting."

Anakin wanted to believe her, but he knew there was something she wasn't telling him.

"Them?"

Padmé stayed silent. She kept a straight face, but she was slowly turning red as Anakin continued questioning her.

"Padmé, you're going to have to explain sooner or later, but you can trust me. After all, you did just that with me back there," Anakin said while being very careful with his words.

"Why should I trust you, Anakin? Why? Because you're a- ... politically powerful person?" She said saving herself just in time. If the word 'Jedi' did manage to slip out, it would have meant trouble for both of them.

"No, because- look, we can't talk about this right now. Just... stay close when we get there, alright?"

Padmé made no comment and stayed silent for the rest of the trip to Coruscant.

When the shuttle landed, Padmé didn't bother to try to run off. Although she could out run him, it wouldn't do her any good. She knew that there wasn't any way she was getting out of this. Her heart thudded harder and louder as they left the docking bay and entered the capital building. She heard Anakin put one finger to his right ear and talk to someone who wasn't there.

"We've arrived, Master." Anakin spoke, "when is the debriefing?"

" 'We'?" Obi-Wan said over the communicator. "Anakin, wh-"

"Don't worry Master, I can explain everything. When is the debriefing?"

"As soon as you arrive to to the main tower. And who is this girl you brought with you?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin looked confused for a moment, but quickly caught the silhouette of his master standing in one of the large windows above the docking bay. He couldn't decipher his facial expression, but he had a strong feeling that is wasn't an amused one.

"I assure you master, I can explain everything," Anakin repeated. "We will be in front of the counsel in fifteen minutes."

"Very well. I'll alert them that you're coming." Obi-Wan responded.

"Thank you, Master."

Anakin and Padmé slowly made their way through the main capital building to the tallest tower within it. When they approached the door to the meeting room of the Jedi counsel, Obi-Wan was standing beside it. Anakin couldn't tell whether his master was proud or disappointed that she was with him. He could only imagine what the counsel's reaction would be.

"Anakin, before I let either of you in there, I must ask, did you acquire what you were supposed to?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin said nothing and only gave the memory chip of the tactical droid to him. Judging by his expression, Anakin knew Obi-Wan was not expecting the memory chip of a discontinued droid model containing such sensitive information. Nonetheless, he still took the chip and put it in a hidden pocket within his robes. "The council will see you both now," Obi-Wan told them. Anakin stepped into the counsel chamber with confidence, but Padmé's heart was racing faster than ever. She should feel her palms sweating, and she knew it wasn't from the temperature of the oversized black bodysuit she wore at that time. The made their way to the center of the room, nearly blinded by the vibrant sunset. The surrounding orange and silver throne-like seats were all occupied by high council members. Not one hologram was in place of anybody.

"Would you consider your mission a success, Skywalker?" said the slightly muffled but shrill voice of Plo Koon.

"I- excuse me, Masters. We acquired as much information as we could about our enemy, including their battle tactics and some bases and allies. I was hoping to gather knowledge of who the host for their clone army is, but I wasn't able to escape without any intel of who they might be or even some DNA. Aside from that, we both succeeded in hacking into the central computer for the base and picked up as much data as the chip would carry. It's a small sliver of the power of the overall information stored into the computer, but it should provide at least a small handful of opportunities that would turn the war in favor of the republic."

The counsel remained silent for a few moments as they contemplated what Anakin had just said.

"And you, Nabooan?" a calming female voice said. It was Luminara Unduli. Her shearing ocean-blue eyes staring directly into Padmé's. "How did your mission intersect with Skywalker's?"

Padmé was placed a little on the spot when she was asked this. "Uh, w-well you see, Anakin saw the tracking device on the armor that I was wearing while I was undercover in the base. He was disguised as an officer for the enemy, so I thought he had caught on to my act. Out of impulse I ran. As I ran, I also started... shooting... at him with a laser carbine I stole from the same clone I stole the armor from. I only hit Anakin in the foot, but since he couldn't walk at that time, I took advantage of the opportunity I had and rendered him unconscious. I dragged him to a droid repair room hoping to keep him silent because I thought he was an enemy." She knew if a Republic citizen committed foul play against a Jedi, whether a Youngling, Padawan, or Master, it was a crime eligible for the death penalty. She was hoping she wouldn't have to bring it up, but if she didn't, she could be charged with perjury. " But somehow, Anakin saw through my act and we both realized we were on the same side. We decided to help each other complete our missions because neither of us could complete our missions without something the other had." Padmé finished.

"Skywalker, Is what she just said true?" Luminary asked him.

"Yes, Master Unduli, every word." Anakin confirmed.

Hardly a moment of silence passed through the chamber when a deep voice spoke, "Thank you, Anakin, that'll be all for now. You will be called back for further questioning momentarily. Miss Lars will stay for now." Mace Windu's voice never failed to leave anybody nervous.

Padmé shot a quick glance at Anakin as he was making his leave. He caught her terrified gaze and mouthed 'You're doing great' to her. When the humming of the closing doors stopped, Padmé brought her attention back to the debriefing. She made eye contact with Windu and immediately put down all of the fear she was housing in her chest, for it had been replaced with slight anger and immense confusion. "How did you know my name was-"

"You aren't as subtle as you think you are when it comes to espionage, Miss Lars," Mace told her. "That isn't your real name is it?"

"No," she was clenching her fist. She wanted all of this to be over with. What did they want from her?

"Well what is it? Your face isn't recognized in any of the criminal records, nor a member of the Separatists or the enemy. Tell us, what is your name?" Mace repeated himself.

Clearly, she wasn't going to fool anybody in the room. Nor could she think of a safer place to reveal herself, either. She dropped the sassy persona she created for herself and puffed her chest. "I am Padmé Naberrie Amidala," she told them. "I'm sure you all have heard of that name, and I will agree to continue with this debriefing in exchange that I see the information extracted from the prior mission. It only seems to be fair." No one on the council seemed to disagree with these terms and so the debriefing resumed.

"Under who's authority were you sent on the mission?" Shaak Ti asked her.

"My own, Master Jedi. I would rather die on the mission for my people than risk any one of my warriors, the mission was far too risky and important, and I had been trained in combat from a young age."

"How were you able to get into the base?"

"During the battle of Geonosis, I incapacitated one of the clones. I stole his armor and weapons and snuck onto the enemy ship when they were retreating. I enabled the signal after the ship departed in hopes of the Republic finding it," Padmé answered. She was feeling much more confident now. She stood still and silent waiting for another question to be given to her, but no one spoke. Finally a raspy voice broke the silence.

"For your time, we thank you," Master Yoda said. "Show you the chip, we shall, after Skywalker is questioned."

"Before I leave there is one more request I have," Padmé started. "I wish for the word of my true identity to remain in this room. Please let anyone who knows me as Padmé Lars still know me by that name. I know it's dishonest, but it's for the best."

Yoda stroked his chin in deep thought for a few seconds. "Hmm. Very well. Safe, your secret is with us, Your Highness."