Chapter 13

The moment Dooku and Anakin reached the cockpit, their ship made an attempted landing. The two braced themselves and grabbed a hold of the ship.

Dust detached itself from nowhere, it seemed and the entire ship was like a sandstorm. It was impossible to see so the use of the force was all Anakin had to guide him to the controls and manually shut down the ship.

With one more jerk, the ship stopped and the dust began to settle.

Anakin looked around. The cockpit chair was empty and Aric sat huddled underneath the control station.

He bent down and looked him in the eye. "You alright?"

Aric nodded slowly with wide eyes. "Next time, you land."

Anakin smiled faintly. "Deal."

"Oh, no," Dooku cried as Anakin pulled Aric up to his feet. "No, next time. There will be no next time. No more crashing when I'm part of the cargo."

Padme's appearance did more then surprise the senate. It terrified them. The thought of the dead returning had more than one senator wondering about any possible vendettas that could come against them. Padme quickly put that fear to rest.

"I am one of ten that have returned," she told them. "Most of them being Jedi."

But that did not calm them down. If anything, they became even more riled up.

"Jedi were hard enough to control!" the senator from Tatooine cried out. "We don't need more of them."

Padme frowned at them and raised her hand. "I'm afraid you have made a grave mistake. The Jedi are not yours to control. They are keepers of the peace, not soldiers. You cannot order them around as if they are."

The senate didn't seem to like that either, but neither Leia nor Padme would give in.

"We all knew this would have to happen," Leia pleaded with them. "The citizens of the republic do not feel protected or even cared for. This is not how a republic should be! We have to help them. That is our duty!"

Murmurs continued to escalate throughout the senate. Suddenly a voice from the other side spoke up.

"I am Bail Organa," a voice came up.

Padme smiled. "It is good to see you again."

"You too, Senator Amidala," Bail replied. Then he addressed the senate. "Many of you know that I too have returned from the force. Both Senator Amidala and I were here when the last Republic fell. We've seen this before. And we cannot allow it to happen again."

"We have to believe we can do this," Padme agreed. "Democracy is the only government that can withstand this galaxy. Its people must be consulted. We must have them talking through you!"

At first the speech did not seem to affect them, but slowly people began to shout their approval. Then the senate was on their feet, applauding them.

"We want to vote for a chancellor!" One of the senator's called out. "One to over see this change and communication with the Jedi."

Echoes of agreement filled the senate. Padme nodded and gave Bail a thankful look.

"I nominate Senator Padme Amidala," Bail called out.

"I second that," Leia agreed.

Padme stood stunned. She looked at her daughter in surprise. Leia smiled at her warmly.

"Tatooine will agree to this," one senator spoke up.

"As will Coruscant."

Slowly one by one, each planet voted and the vote was unanimous. Padme still stood in shock. For a moment, she considered refusing the offer, but she knew the republic needed her to serve. She couldn't stop the last fall. Perhaps she could stop this one.

She swallowed and said very calmly. "I accept the responsibility of being your Chancellor."

(I promise to update later on today. I'm sorry to have neglected you, but I've been sick… and… I have another chapter that needed this one to come first. HINT: Padme and Anakin meet in the next one.)