Chapter 51

Star Destroyer Executor

Engineers, Piett thought irritably as he made his way back to the bridge. Don't they realize I have more important matters to deal with right now? He resented having been pulled from the bridge at such a critical time, but as commander of the vessel, he had to investigate any and all problems that arose, no matter how inconsequential they seemed to him. He knew that Ferreus would have simply killed the three men who were involved in the incident and moved on; that was why Piett had decided to deal with the situation himself. Ferreus was clearly a madman, and had no business being in command.

He's on my bridge, Piett noted as he entered the bridge. At once he knew that something was wrong. The men looked up at him as he walked onto the bridge, their faces clearly showing their horror.

"Is there something I can…?" Piett stopped as he saw the dead body of his first officer and good friend, Captain Reyal, lying on the floor of the bridge, his face distorted and blue from lack of oxygen. It took all of Piett's years of training and personal fortitude not to lose his composure.

"You can have this body removed," Ferreus said. "Such incompetence will not be tolerated."

"Incompetence, my lord?" Piett asked numbly as two crewmen lifted the body of Reyal from the floor.

"The Corellian freighter," Ferreus said. "Your dear captain here informed me that it had disappeared. You'll be happy to know that I have hired some professionals to help with the search, Piett, since clearly you aren't up to the task."

"What professionals do you mean, my lord?"

"Bounty hunters," Ferreus replied, taking credit for the idea that had actually been his master's. "They will find our little princess, make no mistake about that. I expect them to arrive within the hour. Be sure they are given a proper welcome when they do."

Piett merely nodded as Ferreus left the bridge once again.

"Sir, Captain Reyal did nothing wrong," one of the junior officers told Piett once the mad Sith lord was out of earshot. "And yet he…"

Piett nodded. "I know," he said, the anger and grief filling him. "He's gone too far this time, Jonas. We cannot simply stand by and allow him to kill everyone on this ship whenever he has a temper tantrum."

"What are you suggesting, sir?" Jonas asked.

Piett looked at the young officer. "I think you know, Captain."

Jonas nodded, the very thought of what Piett was suggesting making his palms sweat: mutiny.

Millennium Falcon

Leia was growing tired of waiting. They had been sitting inside the cave for more than ten hours now as Han and Chewbacca tried desperately to fix the temperamental hyperdrive. Her mind kept wandering back to the stolen moment she and Han had shared. She couldn't help but wonder what, if anything would develop from this. Had he kissed her simply on impulse, due to their close quarters and the direness of their situation? Or did he have true feelings for her? Han was not an easy man to read, for Leia had tried to do so. He shielded his feelings very well, only letting people know what he wanted them to know.

Leia's thoughts were interrupted by something outside the ship, a fluttering of wings and she stood up to get a better look. Suddenly a huge mouth attached itself to the view screen, causing Leia to scream and jump back. She ran back to the hold where Han was.

"There's something out there!" she told him frantically.

Han stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, lifting his goggles from his eyes. "Where?"

"Outside in the cave," she said. Just then the sound of something attacking the hull of the ship was heard.

"There it is!" Threepio cried. "Listen, listen!"

"I'm going out there," Han said, standing up at once.

"Are you crazy?" Leia replied.

"I just got this bucket back together," Han reminded her. "I'm not gonna let something tear it apart!" he added, grabbing an oxygen mask.

"Well then I'm going with you!" Leia declared, following Han, oxygen mask in hand.

The air was thick with moisture when Han, Leia and Chewbacca stepped off of the landing ramp. Not only that, there was a peculiar smell in the air, an organic smell, which was strange considering they were standing on solid rock. Or were they?

"I have a bad feeling about this," Leia said as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

They soon found the source of the disturbance: mynocks.

Han took aim and blasted it, killing the large winged creature instantly. "Just what I thought," he said. "Mynocks. Chewie check the rest of the ship and make sure there's no more attached; they're chewing on the power cables."

"Mynocks," Leia muttered in horror.

"Go on inside," Han told her, "we'll clean 'em off if there are any more."

Leia started on her way back, only too happy to do so when a flock of mynocks swooped down among them, squawking angrily at their intrusion.

Han took out his blaster to scare them off. As he fired at the flying beasts, the asteroid started to shake violently.

"Wait a minute," he said as he began to realize what was going on. Taking his blaster, he pointed it directly at the floor of the asteroid. He fired, and immediately the asteroid started to quake fiercely, threatening to send Han, Leia and Chewbacca off their feet as they struggled to board the freighter.

"Fire up Chewie, let's get out of here!" Han shouted as they made their way to the cockpit.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to me when I have a bad feeling!" Leia told him as they took off. Ahead of them through the view screen they could see two rows of enormous teeth closing rapidly.

"The cave is collapsing!" Threepio cried in terror.

"This is no cave," Han replied as they burst out of the mouth of an enormous space slug and right back into the Imperial fleet.

"Didn't we just leave this party?" Han muttered.

"All the coordinates are set," Leia informed him after checking the navicomputer. "It's now or never."

"Punch it!" Han told Chewie, expecting the stars to coalesce and blur into one enormous stream of white light. But they did not. In fact, nothing happened.

"That's not fair!" Han cried. "The transfer circuits are all working, it's not my fault!"

"No lightspeed?" Leia asked, already knowing the answer.

He turned and looked at her, his face clearly showing how baffled he was. "It's not my fault!"
"Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield," Threepio informed Han. "One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for!"

Han acknowledged this dire announcement with a nod of his head, as he formulated a plan. "Turn her around," he said at last. Chewbacca roared in protest, insinuating quite strongly that Han had lost his mind. "I said turn her around!" Han repeated, getting up. "I'm gonna throw all power in the front shield!"
"You're going to attack them?" Leia asked incredulously.

"Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer..." Threepio began to say but he was cut off by Leia.

"Shut up!" she merely said, knowing that is exactly what Han would say if he had the time to say it.

The Falcon banked, and made a steep twisting turn so that it was heading directly towards the Star Destroyer Avenger.

On the bridge of the Avenger, the officers and men were incredulous at the seemingly suicidal move.

"They're moving to attack position!" Captain Needa said in astonishment. "Shields up!"

Just then the Falcon flew right above the ship, close enough to cause the officers to duck involuntarily.

"Track them," Needa commanded. "They may come around for another pass."

"Captain Needa," one of the junior officers addressed him, "the ship no longer appears on any of our scopes."

Needa frowned. "They can't have disappeared!" he stated emphatically. "No ship that small has a cloaking device!"
"Well there's no trace of them sir!"

"Sir, Lord Ferreus is hailing us," the communications officer announced. "He demands an update on the pursuit of the freighter."

Needa's face blanched as he turned to his second in command. "Get a shuttle ready," he said grimly. "I shall assume full responsibility and apologize to Lord Ferreus. Meanwhile, continue to scan the area."

"Yes, Captain Needa."

Dagobah

Anakin spent the day observing his son's training and doing his best to avoid his wife. Each time he looked at her he was reminded of their night together, and it only served to augment the frustration he already felt. The situation was not made any better by the fact that it was nearly impossible to avoid her, for there were not a lot of places to go.

He half wondered if his explanation for why he had taken her from the institution had affected her at all. He had not given her a chance to reply, as he had left to go to take a shower, and when he had come out, she was gone. If she won't believe me then there isn't much I can do, he reasoned. She knows how I feel; now it is up to her to decide how she feels.

Padmé had spent the day considering what Anakin had told her. His candor had not surprised her, for he had always been most forthright with her. No, it was his words that had surprised her. I would rather have you remember everything and be the woman I love even if it means losing you than have you remain in that hell Palo created for you. You probably don't believe me, but that's the truth… How could she reconcile the man who had attacked her, the man who had terrorized the galaxy for twenty years with such selflessness? The possibility that she had been too harsh in her judgment of him started to creep into her mind. The fact that both Luke and Leia accepted and loved their father despite knowing all about his nefarious past was powerful evidence that Anakin had changed, that he was worthy of forgiveness and a second chance. So why am I so afraid to give him one?

Night had fallen, and after a long day of vigorous and physically demanding training, Luke was already sleeping soundly in his tent. Anakin was sitting by the fire, deep in thought when Padmé found him.

"Luke has gone to bed?" she asked him.

Anakin looked up at her and nodded.

"Yoda too?"

"I think so," he replied.

Padmé couldn't help but notice how guarded he was with her. Not that I can blame him, she thought. I haven't exactly been congenial with him lately.

"May I join you?" she asked.

Anakin looked up at her again, surprised by her question. "Of course," he said.

Padmé sat down beside him, trying to formulate the words she needed to say.

"I have been thinking all day about what you said earlier," she told him.

"Oh?" he asked, knowing very well what it was she was referring to.

Padmé nodded. "Yes," she replied. "I have to admit that I was rather surprised by what you said."

Anakin turned and looked at her. "Why? If you know me at all you'd realize that is exactly what I would do. I'd die for you, Padmé; if you remember me as you say you do, then you'd know that."

Padmé did not know how to reply, and stared into the fire for a moment. "I know you would," she said at last, not looking at him. "I know that you sacrificed everything for me. And I know that were it not for you that I would have spent the rest of my life in that horrible place."

Anakin turned to her. "Would you have preferred never knowing the truth?" he asked her pointedly. "Would it be easier not knowing what happened? What I did and what I became?"

"That's hardly a fair question," she said, becoming uncomfortable.

"Why?" he replied, sensing her uneasiness but deciding to lay it all on the line anyways. "Life is uncomfortable sometimes, Padmé, it gets messy sometimes. I think my question is a valid one. Knowing what you know now, would you rather have stayed under the care of that bastard Palo and never remember your past, including the painful parts of it?"

The mention of Palo brought a knot to Padmé's stomach as her anger for what he did to her filled her. "I will never forgive him for what he did to me," she said quietly. "Never."

"And what about me, Padmé?" he asked pointedly. "Are he and I equal in your eyes? Will you ever forgive me for what I did to you? Or am I to be damned for the rest of my life by the sins of my past? "

"You are not equal with Palo, Anakin," she replied at once. "Surely you know that!"

"I don't know anything anymore, Padmé," he told her, looking back into the fire. "Not a bloody thing."

Padmé remained silent for a moment. He had built his defenses well, and she knew that it would take more than a little coaxing to get him to lower them. But Padmé Skywalker was a determined woman. When she set her mind to do something, she usually got results.

"You know everything about me, Anakin," she reminded him. "You know me better than I know myself."

"I thought I did," he said, picking up a small piece of twig and tossing it into the fire. "But now I'm not so sure."

"Anakin, stop it," she said at last, growing frustrated with his stubbornness. "Please just stop this."

"What am I doing now that you object to?" he asked, not looking at her.

"You've built this wall around yourself and you won't let me in," she told him. "How can we ever resolve this if you won't let me in?"

"What is there to resolve?" he asked. "You've already decided I am unworthy of forgiveness, you've made that pretty clear."

"I'm angry, and I'm hurt," she retorted. "Surely you can see why I'd feel that way!"
"Yes, I know why you feel that way," he replied. "And you have every right to feel that way. What I did was horrible, unconscionable. I have lived with the consequences of what I did every day since Mustafar. If I must spent the rest of my life paying for that day, then so be it. I can only take your rejection so many times, Padmé. They may call me the Chosen One, but I'm only human."

A constriction in her throat prevented Padmé from replying. She had been so concerned with her own anger, her own pain that she had not considered his. What happened on Mustafar had been a moment of madness, a terrible mistake; she knew that now. No, it did not excuse what he did, nothing could do that. But hadn't he suffered as much as she had because of that day? The physical torment alone he suffered as a result of his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi had been unimaginable; the emotional suffering at least ten times as agonizing. They may call me the Chosen One, but I'm only human. Somehow this very simple fact had been forgotten in all the upheaval. Anakin Skywalker may be the greatest Jedi who ever lived, the Chosen One, the Hero with No fear; but he was also a man; a man who had suffered more pain than anyone she knew, whose soul had been wounded by fear and by loss, by betrayal and suffering. He was her Ani.

"Ani," she said at last, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Anakin was surprised by the change in her tone, and turned to her. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he felt a small part of his defenses fall away. Her emotions were confusing him; they were too intense, too jumbled to read.

"I'm sorry, Padmé," he said one more time. "I don't know what else I can say."

Padmé nodded. "I know," she said as the tears spilled out of her eyes. "I know you are, Ani." Tentatively she reached a hand out to him and gently stroked his hair. He watched her, not saying a word, not daring to hope that the look in her eyes meant what he thought it did.

"I love you, Anakin," she said at last. "I have always loved you, and always will. I want things to be the way they were between us, before the war and Palpatine destroyed us. Do you think we could try again?"

For a moment, Anakin thought he was dreaming. How many times in the past few days had he dreamed of her saying these words to him? But this was no dream, this was real. His angel loved him, she wanted him, and she forgave him.

"My angel," he simply said in reply as he smiled at her, and then pulled her into his arms. "My angel."

Padmé wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "I've missed you so much!" she told him tearfully.

Anakin closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of her hair against his face. "I've been lost without you, Padmé," he told her.