Chapter 3 An Unlikely Suspect
Anakin reached out to Bail Organa and found his life Force, still present but severely weakened; a quick assessment of his damaged body revealed extensive injuries to his back and neck caused by the flying debris when the platform exploded, with most of the fragments still lodged there. The Chancellor was unconscious and bleeding profusely. "Obi-Wan?" "I am here; we have just heard there was trouble. How bad is it?" "The Chancellor is down; I need your help." "Is everyone else alright?" "Yes, for the most part; it is the Chancellor I am concerned about." "Then you know what to do." "Yes, thank you, my brother." Anakin felt Obi-Wan opening up, allowing Anakin to draw Force strength from him.
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Breha Organa's first thought was to reach her husband; without concern for her own safety, she made her way down swiftly to what was left of the platform. Anakin was already kneeling beside him and she rushed forward only to be held back by Anakin's wife, "What are you doing? I must…." Breha began.
"No, Milady; Anakin must be able to concentrate." Padme explained.
"What happened, Padme?" Breha asked, fighting tears.
"The whole corner of the platform exploded; Anakin warned us, or it might have been much worse." Padme answered.
"How much worse? My husband could be dead!" Breha exclaimed.
"No, he's not, but if Anakin had not warned us, he could have been; we could all be dead." Padme told her.
Breha sighed and slumped against her, "You are right, of course." She admitted, "I do not understand; who would want to do this?"
"I don't know; but I'm sure the Jedi will get to the bottom of it." Padme replied, putting an arm around her.
"Mama? Papa is not…he is not…." Gemma asked tearfully as she joined them.
"No, my darling; Master Skywalker is helping him." Breha assured her and then looked at her with reproach, "You should have stayed with the other children; why did you not?"
"I was worried about Papa; please do not be angry." Gemma answered.
"I am not angry; but it was not safe for you to come here by yourself." Breha reprimanded.
"I know, Mama; I'm sorry." Gemma replied as she stared at the ground.
"It is alright; and do not worry, Papa will be alright too." Breha said, putting a comforting arm around her, "We must believe that he will be."
Gemma nodded, "Yes, Mama." She answered solemnly.
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Boba Fett fought through the crowd moving to get away from the site of the explosion; it was difficult, but he persisted and finally made it to the nearly deserted stands. With a sense of urgency, he made his way up to the platform. As he rushed to join his surrogate family, he nearly collided with Zak, bringing the Skywalker children to their parents, "Oops, sorry, Zak; I heard the explosion, I just wanted to make sure everything was alright." Boba explained.
"It's not alright, Boba; how could it be?" Zak told him.
"Well, I mean….nevermind. Excuse me, will you." Boba replied as he pushed past him.
Zak shook his head and then turned put Livie down before turning to help the other children move between the stands and the platform.
Boba pushed his way through the Clone guard that had gathered to protect those on the platform from another attack. Catching sight of his stepmother, he quickly moved to her side, "Breh? I heard it, and I came as quickly as I… He started and then noticed Bail, "as I…oh, the Maker! He's not…?"
Breha collapsed against him, "No, at least not….Oh, Boba, how could this happen?" She sobbed.
Boba held her tightly, "I don't know; but I swear, when I find out who did this…." He trailed off, "Where is Gemma?"
Breha looked around, "She was right here." She told him, "Gemma?"
"It's alright, your Majesty; she's with Lady Skywalker." One of the guards informed her.
"Thank the Maker; I have been so worried about….that I forgot about her." Breha said, "What kind of mother does that make me?"
"You are a very good mother." Boba answered, "Why don't we find a place for you to sit down, alright?"
"No, I cannot leave; I must stay with him." Breha insisted.
"Alright, but there's no reason why you can't sit down, is there?" Boba asked, "Look, there's a chair right over there; I'll just go get it and bring it back."
Breha nodded, but continued to cling to him, "Mother, either let me go, or come with me." He said.
"Mother? Bail always likes it when you call me that." Breha replied and then buried her head in her hands and began to cry.
"It will be alright; you know how strong he is." Boba assured her and then turned to one of the guards, "Could you bring that chair here? The queen needs to sit down."
"Yes, of course; one of us should have been more considerate." The guard answered before moving quickly to retrieve the chair.
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Carrying Livie once again, Zak touched Padme's shoulder, "Lady Padme?"
She turned to look at him, "Zak? You should not have brought them here." She said.
"Well, they wanted to be sure you were alright; we were very careful." Zak assured her, as Livie struggled in his arms.
Padme shook her head, "Alright, I guess there's nothing you can do about it now." She said, reaching out and taking her youngest child.
"How is the Chancellor?" Ferri asked.
"I don't know; but Anakin is with him, so I'm sure that will help." Padme answered, "How did Anakin know this was going to happen?"
"It was Ferri; he picked up part of a conversation, and we knew there would be trouble. Then we could feel danger behind us, and Ferri spotted a sniper on one of the terraces." Zak explained and then sighed and shook his head, "All we could do was try to warn as many as we could; but it wasn't enough."
"You did your best; and you took care of my babies." Padme told them as she looked up at each of them, "You could not have done any more."
Moments later, a medical transport arrived, relieving Anakin and taking charge of the injured Chancellor. He waited until Bail was secured into the medical capsule before joining his family and the two Padawans, "Why are you here?" He demanded.
"Master, your children wanted to be with you." Ferri answered.
Anakin sighed wearily, "Yes, of course; I'm sorry, Padawan." He replied, "I want you to take Lady Padme and the children back to the Temple; I am going to go with the Chancellor."
"I want to go with you, Anakin." Padme protested.
The Jedi master shook his head, "Take the children to the Temple first; then have Ferri bring you over to the medical center, alright?" He suggested.
Reluctantly, Padme nodded, realizing it would be better if she stayed with the children until they were safely at the Temple. She reached up and kissed him lightly, "I'll see you later then." She said.
"Yes." He assured her and then turned to his apprentice, "Ferri, you and Zak be mindful and take care of them."
"Yes, Master." Ferri answered, "Maybe someone should check that terrace."
"It's already being done." One of the Clones informed him.
"Good; make sure you inform the Jedi Council if anything is found there." Anakin instructed, "And be sure that no one else comes up on this platform until it's checked thoroughly; I want to know why that explosion was so violent."
"Yes, Master Skywalker." The Clone replied.
"Master Skywalker, we are ready to leave; if you are coming with us, we must go now." The transport pilot announced.
"Alright; I have to go. Take care of them and be mindful." Anakin repeated, "May the Force be with you."
"Yes, Master; and may it be with you." Ferri answered.
Anakin nodded, kissed Padme one last time and climbed into the transport.
They watched as the transport, carrying the Chancellor, his family and Anakin, lifted up and headed for the medical center before starting for the Temple. Zak took Livie as Ferri helped the children cross between the platform back to the stands before holding a hand out to Padme. Only when all of them were together again did Zak lead them back down to the ground and head in the direction of the Temple. With the other four children holding hands, Padme following Zak and Ferri guarding their backs, they started for the Jedi home. Before they had gone halfway, they were met by Mace and Ki-Adi Mundi who escorted them the remaining distance. Once Padme assured herself that the children were settled in the nursery, she and Ferri set off for the medical center.
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The trip to the medical center was a tense one; Boba sat with one arm around Gemma and the other around his stepmother on one side of the medical capsule holding the Chancellor. Anakin sat on the other side with one hand on the Chancellor's arm, eyes closed in meditation, united with his Jedi brother as together they sent their Force strength to the wounded official. At the head of the capsule, an emergency med droid monitored the Chancellor's condition. Although the trip to the center took only minutes, it seemed much longer before the transport touched down and was met immediately with a team to bring Bail inside. Anakin remained at his side and entered the treatment room with him. Bail's family watched from the viewing window as he was prepared for examination. Minutes later, the med droid emerged, "The Chancellor's condition has been stabilized and we are ready to begin extraction of the shrapnel. You may stay; however, I would not recommend it. There is a waiting area down the hall; you may wait there if you prefer." It told them.
"Thank you. Boba, please take Gemma down there." Breha said firmly.
"You should come too; you don't need to see what they are going to do." Boba replied.
"I cannot leave him; I just cannot." Breha insisted.
"He is in good hands; and Master Skywalker is with him. Please, Breh." Boba answered.
"Please, Mama." Gemma added.
With one last look at her husband, Breha sighed and nodded, "Alright; but you will notify us as soon as you are finished." She stated.
"You can be assured that I will. His chances are very good, your Majesty." The droid assured her.
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"Commander, I think you should take a look at this." The Clone announced when he returned to the platform.
The commander took one look at what his subordinate had found and asked, "Where did you find this?"
"It was still on the balcony, Sir; why would he leave it there?" The Clone wondered.
"Probably because it would have been too conspicuous to carry it." The commander surmised, "I will contact the Vice Chancellor to see how she wishes to handle this. I am leaving you in charge here; be sure that no one with the exception of the Jedi is allowed up here."
"Yes, sir." The Clone replied.
The Commander nodded before moving to a secluded area and making contact with Mon Mothma.
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"Are you absolutely certain about this, Commander?" The Vice Chancellor asked when the commander had explained everything to her.
"Yes, Vice Chancellor; I've seen it myself, there is no doubt." The commander insisted.
"You had better be right; there can be no mistake here." Mon Mothma replied.
"I don't know how there could be, Madam." The commander assured her.
Mon Mothma sighed and shook her head, "Bail and Breha are my friends; I cannot imagine how they are going to take this." She said.
"How do you wish to proceed?" The commander asked.
"I will handle it from here; I want you to stay to assure the platform remains secure until the Jedi have a chance to have a look around." The Vice Chancellor instructed.
"Yes, Madam. Do you have enough manpower to handle the arrest?" The commander asked.
"Yes; keep me informed if you learn anything further." Mon answered.
"Yes, Madam." The commander replied.
Mon Mothma sighed heavily and shook her head sadly as the commander's image faded, then turned to her own commander, "It appears we have our assassin; come with me." She ordered.
The commander nodded and followed her to the waiting area. Upon seeing her, Breha stood up and moved to embrace her, "We have not heard anything yet; but it has not been very long, so I am sure there is nothing to worry about." She said.
Vice Chancellor Mothma returned the embrace briefly and then turned to Boba still sitting with Gemma, "Boba Fett, stand up." She instructed.
"Why? What is this about, Mon?" Breha asked as Boba complied.
The Vice Chancellor stared at the young man now standing before her, "I am afraid you have been found out; you are under arrest for the assassination attempt on Chancellor Bail Organa." She informed him and then turned to her commander, "You will take him into custody now."