Chapter 15

What in the world am I going to do? How can I keep 2 people hidden from Palpatine? There is no telling what he would do to me if he found them. Of all the most awful luck. Well she will just have to get rid of the baby. I will look into who I can trust or who I can kill without it being noticed by the Empire. These were the thoughts running through Vader's mind as he thought on the coming baby.

Oh how I will love having this one in my arms every day of its life. This one I will not give away. Though I actually had no choice last time. I won't let him become paranoid like last time. He sees that I did not die last time though he did all he could to make it happen. This child will know who its parents are and it will be loved. These were Padme's thoughts as she thought on the coming baby.

Padme was happily walking through her garden. She looked at each flower as though she had never seen them before. If it were possible this pregnancy was making her happier than she had ever been in her life. The last pregnancy had been filled with fear from the very beginning. Fear of being caught, fear of what it would do to Anakin, and fear of just being a parent. This time she was ready for anything. Vader would feel her happiness and all would go well this time she was sure of it. The first two months of the pregnancy had been tired filled and sick days though not too sick just enough to keep her from eating a half a shaak. She felt like she could easily eat her weight in shaak meat but she did refrain from such ghastly displays of hunger. Everything seemed to be going well. It was soon time for a nap though tiredness seemed to envelope her like a sleep cloud made just for her. She returned to the house and lay down.

But all did not go well for Padme. A very sharp stabbing pain that ripped though her lower abdomen awakened her. She jolted upright from the suddenness of it but never even made it to a full sitting position. She screamed with the pain and slammed back down on the bed. Jennifer came running in but rushed right back out and called a med droid to come help Padme. There was nothing to be done though and Padme lost the baby.

Words could not describe the feeling of emptiness that filled her shattered heart. She was not prepared for such a devastating blow and there was no around to help her over this emptiness. Her world became dark and a cloud of blackness filled her heart soul and mind. She could not get out of bed she just stared listlessly into the walls surrounding her bed. Jennifer buried the small bundle in the garden. Padme never acknowledged that it was gone she just laid in bed.

Vader was busy on the bridge of the Executor. Things were running smoothly and all was going according to plan. This new job the Emperor had given him seemed to be just the opposite of their normal routine. The emperor wanted this world to come into the Empire but not by force. This time he wanted Vader to help the people. The planet of Honoghr was dying and the Emperor saw it as a way to continue expanding his universe but this time he would show an act of kindness. But What Vader did not know was that the Emperor truly wanted to make them slaves to him forever. They would do want ever he wanted so that he could "heal" their land. Vader was curious about this act of "Generosity" but the Emperor assured him that not all worlds must be taken by force. Vader laughed but he left to do the bidding of his Master.

It was while departing for the planet that Vader felt a massive ripple of sadness flow through the force to him. He knew there was only one person capable of sending such a shockwave towards him and it would have to have been something major that happened to make the affects expand out towards him from that guarded place where she was held. The grief and despair hit him and enveloped him like it had her. Though he did not know why, he knew he had to get to his room and call home. Something horrible had happened there.

"Captain, you have the bridge. Don't let anything go wrong."

It was all he said before he left at hopefully natural pace. He got to his room, opened the safe, and pulled on the false wall that only he knew how to get to and quickly commed Padme. To his shock and fright, it was not Padme who answered but Jennifer.

"Jennifer, I thought I told you not to answer this comlink."

Jennifer froze in fear but suddenly the fear of his chocking hold on her throat scared into talking fast.

"My Lord, I would never presume to disobey you but for the fact that Lady Padme can't answer right now."

"Why Jennifer? What has happened to Padme?" He practically screamed at her into the com.

"My Lord, she has lost the baby and she has not left her bed since. She barely eats, just soup sometimes, but most times she just lies in the bed staring at the wall. You really should come home, sir, of course when you deem it necessary." She said the last sentence meekly hoping he did not think she was giving him orders. She had nothing to fear because after that she heard nothing more from him.

Vader sat in his room for quite sometime not moving or really not even thinking. He knew how much Padme looked forward to this child. He was happy for it just because it made her happy but in truth he was glad the little one was gone. It would have been risky and harder to hide this one from the Emperor. Vader had no idea if the Emperor knew about the twins but to add one that he would actually know would be awfully hard to hide after a while. At least this is what Vader told himself, because he never really knew his full potential or his full force capabilities. Palpatine held him back hoping he would never truly discover what he could really be.

Vader commed Jennifer back and told her to care for Padme and let him know if things changed but he needed to go on with this mission. So he went to carry out Palpatines orders. Vader did find himself grieving over his lost child though in ways he never expected. Dreams filled his mind of a child with no face calling to him to help him but always the child faded away or died before Vader could even get to it. These dreams left him feeling dazed and helpless. Calls home brought no good news anymore. Padme was not getting any better and a few times the med droid had to intravenously feed her because she had dehydrated herself. Vader felt at a loss about what to do because if he left his post early Palpatine would be angry and all would be lost because he would discover the truth about Padme. Death would not come quick enough for either of them. So he stayed though his heart was not in the work.

Finally after 6 long miserable months, Vader's immediate work was done on this forsaken planet. By now Vader had acquired a Noghri bodyguard. Depending on how well he worked for Vader, He would consider getting one for Padme. Of course that depended on whether Padme got better or not. Vader got back to his ship and set course for home immediately. Nothing would keep him away from her any longer.