A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. School has gotten in the way if my writing and I've just gone back after 2 weeks of holidays . I wish I had more time to write. I will have time after my assessment period is over and done with and that's in like 2-3 weeks . Anyway, enough of my babbling. Enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen: Debate
Padmé stood on the balcony watching the sun set behind the buildings when Anakin's arms wrapped around her like a security blanket.
"You OK?" he asked in her ear.
She giggled.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that the know thing with Ahsoka and Sola as gotten me thinking."
"About what?" he asked.
"What if our future revolves around keeping our marriage safe with Ahsoka's help?"
Anakin thought for a moment.
"What about Sola? Doesn't she have at least some involvement in this now?"
Padmé nodded and then shook her head.
"Is that a yes or a no or both?" Anakin teased before receiving an elbowing to the ribs from Padmé.
He ignored the pain that the bruise had now left.
"No." Padmé said, struggling not to laugh at her husband's stupidity.
Before Anakin could speak up to say anything, an unexpected voice spoke up.
"You I'd hate to break up your love-y dove-y conversation but we need to decide what to do next."
Anakin and Padmé spun around to see Ahsoka leaning up again the doorframe with her arms crossed.
"Hey Ahsoka." Anakin said with a smile spreading across his face at the sight of his Padawan.
"Hi. I think a strategy would be useful." Ahsoka said with a grin on her face.
He broke his grasp on Padmé's waist before heading toward the door. Glancing back over his shoulder, Anakin gave Padmé a smile before heading back toward the door.
Ahsoka turned to give Padmé at smile before following Anakin through the door. Padmé followed suite and closed the door behind her.
In the living room, Anakin, Ahsoka and Sola sat talking quietly amongst themselves.
"OK. Let's get on with it." Padmé said once she was seated beside Sola.
"So what's the plan master?" Ahsoka asked Anakin.
"The plan is Padmé and Sola with accompany the Queen to negotiate the case to the Senate while we look for a way to stop Ventress." Anakin said explaining the plan that had just come to his mind.
"That's it?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yeah, pretty much."Anakin said feeling a little nervous about Ahsoka's intense reaction to his sudden plan.
"Come on, Ani. Think of a proper plan!" whined Padmé. She was getting really tired of her husband's sudden and ridiculous plans.
Anakin looked over at his wife who now a sour look of disgust on her face. "What's up with you?" he asked.
"I'm sick and tired of your sudden plans. It great for a little while but now-" She trailed off before stopping.
Ahsoka nodded in agreement.
"Anakin, Padmé's right. Your sudden plans are getting pretty dangerous and stupid."
Anakin's eyes narrowed on Ahsoka.
Ahsoka looked uncomfortably at Padmé who looked just as uncomfortable as she did.
"Snips, since when have you hated my plans?" Anakin asked his voice full of mockery.
"Since the moment I met you." Ahsoka said.
Anakin's eyes turned to Padmé. "What about you?"
"Since you started coming up these plans." Padmé said crossing her arms.
"Right." Anakin said with a slight of his head. He hated being outnumbered.
Ahsoka yawned. "We all need rest if we are going to continue conjuring up a plan for after the debate."
Padmé and Sola looked at each other. They had forgotten all about the debate in the Senate.
"Oh yeah, we forgot about the debate tomorrow." Sola said with a hint of terror in her voice.
Sola had never been good at public speaking and she wasn't about to get any better at it.
"Don't tell me that my wife's sister is afraid of public speaking." Anakin teased.
"Master be nice!" Ahsoka hissed as she elbowed Anakin in the ribs.
"Oh come on! Why must you all do that to me?" Anakin yelped as he rubbed his chest with his left hand which from the shoulder up was mechanical.
Anakin had sustained his Cyborg arm when Count Dooku had cut off his organic left arm when he and Obi-Wan had tried to stop him from escaping. Obi-Wan had been severely injured when Dooku had aimed blows to his legs leaving deep and painful sabre cuts behind. Dooku had been about to deliver the killer blow when Anakin had jumped in to protect his master from death. After a fierce fight, that involved Anakin cutting the power so that it confused Dooku. He had thought wrong and it had only made Dooku fight harder than ever before. He had then made the unexpected strike and cut off Anakin's arm. Anakin fell to the ground in agony next to Obi-Wan. Just before Dooku could deliver another attempted killer blow, Master Yoda challenged Dooku to a duel that ended in Dooku's escape. Padmé and a squad of Clones hurried to the scene and tended to the two injured Jedi. Padmé rushed to Anakin's side that's when he had asked her to marry him. Sure Obi-Wan, Yoda and the squad of Clones were there he had to quickly whisper to his proposal to her. One she happily agreed to.
They married after the Battle of Geonosis in the privacy of the same lake retreat they had fallen in love on. A week later, Anakin was granted the rank of Jedi Knight and was immediately shipped off to Christophsis after that. Anakin was a little disappointed that he didn't get to spend any more time with Padmé and he would've declined the offer if Padmé had encouraged him to go.
That's when he had met Ahsoka and their friendship had gone from there.
"Simple Master. You're easy to annoy." Ahsoka said smugly.
"Ha-ha!" Anakin said sarcastically.
One by one everyone headed to bed but they had to get up extra early in the morning to prepare for the debate.
The next morning was interesting since it was Ahsoka's birthday.
"Happy birthday Ahsoka!" said Padmé when she entered the living room.
"Ah! Thanks." Ahsoka said in a grim voice.
"You OK? You're not yourself." Padmé asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that you're the only one that I've told that it's my birthday." Ahsoka said quietly.
Padmé nodded just as Sola and Anakin walked in.
When Anakin entered he saw the grim expression on Ahsoka's face he thought something was seriously wrong.
"What's wrong, Snips?" he asked.
"Nothing." Ahsoka said, avoiding Anakin's eyes.
Anakin wanted to say more but Padmé shook her head to indicating for him to let it go.
The morning went quicker than anyone could have ever imagined.
"We need to hurry. The Senate is in session in 15 minutes." Padmé said as she, Anakin, Sola and Ahsoka finished planning the address that Sola and Padmé would give when the Senate was in session.
"Come on what are we waiting for?" Ahsoka demanded.
Anakin looked up at his Padawan with grave concern. "Snips, we aren't allowed in the Senate. Only politics are."
Ahsoka let the issue slide but she would find a way to bring the subject up later.
"It's time to go." Sola said rising from her place on the sofa. She had been sitting beside Anakin while Ahsoka had been sitting beside Padmé while giving him awkward looks.
She never thought she would see Anakin and Sola working together. Even Padmé was surprised.
Padmé and Anakin rose at the same time before Ahsoka jumped to her feet eager to get the moment over and done with.
Anakin and Sola exited the apartment and walked down the corridor before Padmé and Ahsoka exited. It was easier this way so it didn't look suspicious.
"I wish I could enter the Senate." Ahsoka grumbled.
"It's nothing special, Ahsoka. It's hundreds of pods suspended in mid air by power engines." Padmé said as she and Ahsoka walked a fair distance behind Anakin and Sola.
Ahsoka grunted.
Padmé sighed. "There's a viewing room, so you will be able to see and hear what's happening."
Ahsoka straightened up. "That's good enough for me."
Padmé laughed and shook her head. "You truly are Anakin's Padawan."
Anakin turned his head to look over his shoulder. "I heard that!" he called.
Padmé and Ahsoka laughed.
Finally they reached the Senate building. Ahsoka and Anakin bid goodbye to Sola and Padmé while Anakin and Padmé exchanged meaningful glances before they departed.
To Ahsoka, if there was no one around there would have been a gushy moment between the secretly married couple but luckily there wasn't.
"If there were more people standing around, that would look really suspicious, Anakin." Ahsoka muttered as she and Anakin walked toward the viewing room.
"Well put Ahsoka." Anakin said with a slight grin spreading his face.
"Ha-ha." Ahsoka said making her voice fill with mockery.
The duo walked into the viewing room and shut the door behind them. Ahsoka bolted the door so they wouldn't get interrupted. The Senate meeting was due to start and second and before Ahsoka knew it, she was face to face with the movement of the Senate Pods.
"Come to order!" ordered Mas Amedda. "Order!"
The Senate immediately fell silent.
"The first order of business is the crisis on Naboo."
In the viewing room, Anakin and Ahsoka leaned closer to the viewing window.
"Representing the planet is Senator Amidala of Naboo and Ambassador Naberrie to speak on the Queen's behalf." Palpatine announced.
Anakin and Ahsoka looked at each other before turning back just in time to see the Naboo pod move forward. Anakin's heart skipped a beat when Padmé's voice broke free of the silence.
Ahsoka held her breath for a couple of seconds before allowing her eyes to grow large as the Naboo pod stopped a few metres away from the Chancellor's.
"Thank you, Chancellor. Earlier this week, the queen and some of her staff were held captive by a female assassin known to you all as Asajj Ventress." Padmé said with the upmost confidence.
There were murmurs throughout the Senate.
"Two Jedi of whom shall remain nameless came to their rescue only to have the assassin escape. Luckily there were no causalities except for the assailant's Droid Army."
Ahsoka's face fell when Padmé had stated, 'Two Jedi of whom shall remain nameless'. "Why can't we be mentioned in the Senate?" she asked Anakin.
"Personal reasons. You know why of course. Plus if there are any traitors within the Senate the safety of anyone is recommended." Anakin explained as he kept his eyes on the pod that had his wife and sister-in-law onboard.
Ahsoka didn't even attempt to nod. She merely turned back and kept her eyes on the pod.
Sola was about ready to speak. Before Padmé announced her, Sola looked in the direction of the viewing room in which Anakin and Ahsoka were hiding.
"Chancellor and all other respectable Senators, I'm speaking on behalf of Queen Neeyutnee and the rest of the Queen's staff. Naboo is known to be one of the most peaceful planets in the universe. It has had it fair share of warfare and almost assassinations." She tried to Padmé when she said this.
"Senator Amidala and I have spoken about the matter with the same Jedi that helped in the rescue of whom shall remain nameless and the Queen would like to enter a plea for the capture of-"
The murmurs of the other Senators grew louder than ever before.
"This is the Senate, Ambassador Naberrie NOT the Jedi Council!" Senator Clovis roared from somewhere in the room.
In the viewing room, Anakin and Ahsoka looked at each other in horror.
"Clovis? I thought he got arrested and thrown in prison." Ahsoka said.
"So did I. Schmuck." Anakin hissed.
"Order! Order!" Amedda cried again.
Ahsoka and Anakin turned their attention back to the window.
"Please allow Ambassador Naberrie to finish, Clovis!" hissed Captain Typho.
Clovis suddenly fell silent.
"As a representative of Naboo and the Queen, I propose that more security be put in place to assure that no threat to Naboo is evident again.
"Ambassador Naberrie, are you not aware of the previous threats that you planet has endured?" asked Clovis, breaking the silence.
Sola knew that Padmé had a romantic relationship with Clovis many years ago and hated him just as much as Anakin did.
She continued to speak nonetheless. "Chancellor, with your permission we need to have extra security enforced around the planet. You of all people would understand."
Palpatine thought for a moment before speaking up. "We will continue this dispute later. Now we should continue with the other pleas."
Back in the viewing room, Anakin and Ahsoka sighed with relief but they weren't satisfied: they hadn't gotten an answer.
"It is done." Anakin said.
Ahsoka nodded and went to unbolt the door.
"Where are we going?" Ahsoka asked glumly.
"The apartment." Anakin said as he and Ahsoka exited.
They walked silently back to the apartment without a single word being spoken between them.
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