"What language is that written in?"asked Anakin as they neared town. They had landed in an open field with tall grass that became less as they neared the town.

"It looks like an old Outer Rim dialect," said Padmé, surveying the sign closely. "At one time, the entire Outer Rim was separate from the Republic, and that's what they spoke. I learned some back home."

"What does the sign say?" asked Anakin.

"Nothing I recognize," said Padmé. "It's probably the name of the town."

The settlement was nothing like Anakin had seen before. It looked something like Coruscant, but not as massive and on one level. It had a few trees reminiscent of Naboo, but still different. The inhabitants looked humanoid, but they were speaking the Outer Rim dialect.

Someone came up to them and asked, "Quelle heure est-il?"

Anakin thought they'd asked something about the color teal, but Padmé cut off his smart-ass response.

"Je ne sais pas," she said.

"Merci," said the stranger and left. Anakin stared at Padmé.

"June say pah?"

"It means 'I don't know'," she explained through chuckles. "He asked what time it is."

Anakin was a bit irritated that Padmé had an edge on him in this city (knowing the language), but decided not to push it. Padmé knew him too well for that to work.

"Oh come on," she said. "I only understand a few words of Huttese, if it makes you feel any better. Besides" –she changed her tone- "if we can't find what we need before dark, we'll have to stay here overnight."

"So?" snapped Anakin, letting his temper get the best of him and completely missing his wife's drift. Padmé rolled her eyes.

"We haven't exactly had a honeymoon- as of yet," she said.

Anakin smiled down at her and said, "I like the way you're thinking." He put an arm around her and gently kissed her forehead.

They were beginning to see more and more junk dealers as they walked farther into the city. Anakin sighed as he once again was forced to push aside pleasant thoughts and use knowledge he'd acquired as a slave.

"Go to a smaller one, they're more selective with the junk they carry," he said.

"Selective with junk…" mumbled Padmé. Anakin smiled as they entered. It was fairly dark inside. It reminded Anakin of Watto's junk shop too much for comfort. He tensed up, thinking of the long, hot days he'd spent fixing machinery. Padmé didn't need the power of the Force to sense that Anakin was on a painful trip down memory lane and gave his hand a squeeze. A humanoid walked over to them counting money from his sale.

"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?" he said.

"Sure… do you have a welder?" said Anakin. The owner glared at him.

"Nous ne parlons pas Basic ici," he said icily.

Padmé quickly translated, and the owner glared at Anakin once more before leading them back to the selection.

"What was that about?" whispered Anakin.

"They're proud to speak the Old Outer Rim dialect," said Padmé. "He was insulted that you use Basic and not that. Just let me translate."

Anakin really wanted to get out alive, so he said nothing. The owner mentioned it as they were leaving, though.

"Il ne sait pas O.O.R?" he said.

"What does that mean?" said Anakin.

"He asked if you speak the Old Outer Rim," said Padmé. "Si, il ne le sait pas."

The owner sniffed and waved them out. They left quickly to avoid more trouble.

"Do you want to try to make it back to the ship?" asked Padmé. The sky was a stunning blood red. Anakin just smiled evilly.

"All right… yes, I understand… see you in the morning," said Obi-Wan into the comlink. He turned to Aleia and explained, "They found the welder but decided it was too dark to return so they're staying the night in the settlement."

Aleia spat out her drink; "What? You're letting them?"

"It's dark and we don't know the planet," replied Obi-Wan naively.

"Did they say how many rooms they're getting?" asked Aleia.

Obi-Wan didn't reply at first.

"Aleia, I'm beginning to think you don't trust Anakin and Padmé," he said in slight disbelief. Aleia of all people would usually support anyone who went against the grain.

"Would you have trusted us at that age and circumstance?" said Aleia, clearing everything up for Obi-Wan.

"Oh shit."

"To think: you're trying to clean up my mouth," she smirked. "Well, just watch them when they come back; if he looks happy then you're screwed."

"What have I done with this 'blind eye' thing?" said Obi-Wan with his head in his hands.

"Congratulations, you've done more damage than even me with one phrase, and that's saying something!" said Aleia and patted him on the back.

Obi-Wan looked up and said, "You're not helping."

"Relax, they'll never see each other after this mission," said Aleia.

"If this mission ever ends," said Obi-Wan. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Too true," said Aleia and kissed him.

"This is out of hand," said Obi-Wan.

"Does it matter?" said Aleia. By that time she'd worked her way onto his lap and into his arms and pinned him against the wall.

The welder purchased and other things taken care of, Anakin and Padmé started back to the ship first thing in the morning. Anakin had his arm around Padmé and she leaned her head on his shoulder. They didn't speak much, but occasionally started giggling for no apparent reason. They approached the ship slightly apprehensively; how much would Obi-Wan and Aleia guess?

Obi-Wan was fixing something near the entry ramp that had rusted down. Anakin and Padmé, in two shadows now, hoped they didn't seem too suspicious. Aleia was messing with something in the cockpit. She glared at them through the front window.

"She knows," mumbled Anakin after Obi-Wan was out of hearing range.

"Don't be stupid," said Padmé. "She always looks at you like that."

"I don't care; she knows," said Anakin tensely.

"Well, if you wouldn't act so tense then she wouldn't suspect anything," said Padmé.

"You even said you wouldn't want to get on her bad side," snapped Anakin.

"Heal, Ani," said Padmé as she grabbed his braid.

"Shut up," said Anakin grinning.

Aleia came around the corner tossing a wrench between her hands. Padmé let go of the braid quickly.

"The Council contacted us while you were away," said Aleia non-pulsed. "We told them of Senator Amidala's disguise and they approve. She has been relieved of her duties in the Senate until the employer of the assassins are caught."

"That could be a while, I have a lot of enemies," said Padmé calmly.

"They know," said Aleia, returning her smile. "We have a mission on Cloud City; we got reports of corruption or something like that."

"Is she going as Senator Amidala or your mysterious apprentice?" asked Anakin.

"Mysterious apprentice," said Aleia with the annoyed tone that seemed to add, "you ass-hole," to the end of her statement. "They said you may reveal yourself if necessary, but that's not likely."

Padmé nodded and left for her room. Not being a Jedi, she didn't sense the tension and hard feelings in the room between Anakin and Aleia, although she could guess. Anakin thought it best not to follow Padmé since he was already on thin ice, so he sat down and dug some small silver spheres out of his pocket and began using the Force to manipulate them. It was usually a relaxing exercise, but Aleia ruined that by popping her hand open and igniting a flame in her palm. Anakin let the spheres drop.

"Do you really have to keep trying to intimidate me?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Oh, definitely," she said with a smirk. Obi-Wan called to her from the entry way and she turned to go help him. The flame went out as she dropped her hand.

Anakin made the spheres float once more but it didn't do much. He would much rather have left with Padmé, but under the given time, his master regretting his earlier statement, Anakin forced himself to look away.

If I can't have fun, I'll just make sure they don't have any either, he thought and set off for the cockpit.

Padmé slept fitfully that night. Her dreams were haunted with Anakin's slaughter of the Tusken Raiders; only all of the slain had her face. The Anakin in the dreams didn't seem to notice; he was too consumed with his anger against them.
Padmé awoke time after time in a cold sweat. She had started doubting her logic; she had married a Jedi. As if it wasn't bad enough, Anakin possibly held the fate of the galaxy in his hands, not to mention the likelihood of what would happen in the Senate if they found out. Padmé knew he wasn't the type who could be controlled by anyone, and a gut feeling told her that the galaxy could either capitalize on that or…

"You're being ridiculous," Padmé told herself. She rolled off her low sleep couch and onto the floor. She stared up at the ceiling of the small room trying to clear her mind, but it only confused her more. She grabbed the "Jedi" robe and headed out toward the sound of voices. It sounded like Anakin and Aleia were finally having it out. Anakin made a lot of headstrong people angry with him, so Padmé wasn't surprised until there was a loud clang of a tool hitting the dash. Hoping to be able to eavesdrop, she tiptoed to the side of the open door.

"What's wrong with you?" said Aleia. "I'm not blind; I see what's going on even if Obi-Wan doesn't."

"You should talk," Anakin shot back coldly.

"If she were a Jedi, it would be different, but she's a politician," Aleia defended.

"A damn good one at that," Anakin snapped, his voice rising. "Why should it
matter?"

There was no reply at first.

"You're impossible."

"You too."

Aleia stormed past Padmé without noticing her. She was so angry with Anakin that nothing would distract her. Anakin walked over to the doorway, but he didn't see Padmé either. He stared after Aleia, blue eyes blazing with anger. She heard him slump back into a seat. Padmé, slightly scared for her life, turned to go back to her room.

"You don't have to leave," Anakin said from within. Padmé smiled and reminded herself that she'd never be able to hide from him. She entered to find him slumped in the pilot's seat.

"You don't have to defend me next time," Padmé said as she sat down on his lap and put her arms around him.

"Yes, I do," Anakin replied firmly.

She took his meaning, but asked, "Do you think they'll separate us on Naboo or
Coruscant, wherever I end up?"

"I don't know," said Anakin, looking away. "I don't know anything."

"Yes you do," said Padmé. "You're just going through a rough time."

Anakin leaned her head against her and stared out the window sadly, feeling like a lost little boy.

"Aleia, I'm behind you, but please let me deal with it."

"You have no idea of what they're into!"

"I know enough, and that should be enough for you."

"Ben, I think they're married."

"What?"

"If not, then they've at least-"

"ALEIA!"

"If she were a Jedi, too, I wouldn't care, but she's a Senator! That's just inviting trouble, for the Order and the Senate."

"What am I supposed to do at this point? I can't exactly lead by example."

"We're friends who just happen to-"

"Drop it."

"Ben-"

"Believe me, Anakin gets bored with everything in time."

"He's thought of her every day for ten years, and what about her feelings?"

"Just trust me."

"Oh no. Fasten your seatbelts, boys and girls; we're all gonna die."

A strange spacecraft landed on Cloud City late that night. A dark robed figure disembarked and bypassed security by merely eyeing the guards. The floating city was really quite a site and mechanical wonder, but this visitor was in no mood to notice. The Cloud City administrator met him at the entrance to the city.

"They aren't here yet," said the administrator. "You said they'd be here by now! That bounty hunter is getting restless!"

"Relax, the Council sent them, they'll be here," said the dark stranger, giving off a contagious sense of security.

"This is out of hand," sighed the administrator. "This could destroy the entire settlement if it backfires."

"If my information holds, we can all benefit," said the mysterious stranger calmly.

"But I guarantee they'll be here."

"Hope you're not too attached to the one you're giving to us," said the administrator slyly.

"What were you planning, administrator?" asked the stranger, suddenly icy.

"I'm sure we can negotiate everything," the administrator said quickly.

"Maybe I should tell the bounty hunter to go somewhere else and pay someone else."

"I won't kill her…"

"From commanding personnel of a potential house of tortures, that statement has absolutely no value."

An armor-clad bounty hunter joined the two and was accompanied by a small boy of about ten. The administrator looked as though his pulse rate doubled.

"Boba, is this your friend who will take care of the Senator?" asked the dark stranger.

"Yep," said the boy. Boba had never been one for small talk.

"See? It all works out," said the tense administrator. "You get your Jedi, Boba gets his Senator, and I get my revenge."

Anakin brought the ship out of hyper drive. The floating city looked a bit like a mechanical flower in the clouds, reflecting the early light. It was possible to see the massive, rosy gas planet below in the gaps between clouds. The ship was cleared for landing and Anakin set them down on the landing platform. The group walked off the platform and found the lax security unnerving. Everything was bright and seemingly happy, but all four were thinking the same thing: I have a bad feeling about this. The administrator met them in the hallway.

"Ah, you must be the Jedi," he said, looking relieved.

"You were expecting us?" said Obi-Wan. In his experience, being expected when you landed without prior notice was never good.

"The stars told us of you're coming presence," the administrator said matter-of-factly.

Anakin groaned but the rest looked at the administrator strangely.

"Haven't you ever heard of Astrology?" the administrator said.

"Can't say I have," said Aleia suspiciously.

"It's like fortune telling," said Anakin. "Astrology is a leap of faith that one can tell the future by the position of the stars. They live by it on Tatooine."

"It sounds so derogatory when you put it that way," said the administrator. "We've seen it proven true here enough to believe. Now I imagine you all must be tired
from you're voyage."

"Not rea-"

"I thought so."

He led them to the apartment complexes in the other end of the city. There were all sorts of life forms on the way there carrying various tools and parts through the white, sparkling clean hallways. Even Anakin hadn't seen some of the creatures before, and just about everything came and went from Watto's junk shop. There was something that seemed oddly false about the whole operation.

I don't like this, they all thought simultaneously.

The apartments were sparkling white like everything else. There was a long wrap around couch facing a window that took up the entire wall, along with a few chairs, a low coffee table and a counter along the window with a few stools at it. The furniture was all leather and the view was better than the one seen when landing the ship. No one was really in the mood to enjoy it, though.

"I feel like I haven't slept in a week," said Padmé rubbing her eyes after the administrator had left. She and Aleia flopped onto the couch while Anakin and Obi-Wan remained standing.

"What I wouldn't give to see this place covered in mud," said Aleia dreamily.

"Doesn't this seem a bit clean for a mining colony?" said Anakin to Obi-Wan. His master nodded.

"Aleia, don't you sense that something isn't quite right?" said Obi-Wan.

"Nothing ever feels right here; it's run by fugitives and conmen," said Aleia. "All the creeps that didn't make their fortune selling death sticks come here to work in the mines."

"That's comforting," said Anakin.

"Don't worry, I got connections here," said Aleia through a yawn.

"By 'connections', you don't by chance mean 'assassins who want you dead', do you?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Padmé, help, they're ganging up on me!"

Padmé didn't answer; she was already asleep.

"I think that's a hint," said Obi-Wan through a yawn. He started towards one of the three adjoining rooms. Aleia gave Obi-Wan a sad puppy face and tried to look loveable, but he shut the door without a look backward. Aleia glared at the door and took the second room, leaving Padmé asleep on the couch and Anakin leaning on the couch behind her. He unfolded a blanket he'd been leaning on and laid it across his sleeping wife. Anakin bent down and kissed her before taking the last room.

Padmé woke up sometime during the night. She took a moment to remember where she was. She opened her eyes at the sound of footsteps to see Anakin, shirtless, leaning on the counter and looking out the window, his golden arm glistening in the moonlight. He sensed that Padmé was awake and started over to her. Padmé sat up slightly and could instantly tell as Anakin sat down that something was really bothering him.

"Dream?" she asked simply.

He nodded as he sank into a deep meditation, presumably to sort out his troubled visions. Padmé had always thought that Jedi meditation was best a solitary exercise, but apparently Anakin found her presence soothing. Having seen him in the midst of a dream, Padmé knew he needed whatever her presence gave him. Padmé laid her head on head down on his lap and closed her eyes again. She was almost back to sleep when Anakin tried to explain himself.

"It's my mother's death again," he said softly.

Padmé looked up at him with compassion; he dreamed of the last trip to Tatooine often and he'd told Padmé about it before.

"I heard Master Qui-Gon more clearly this time," he said. "He's trying to tell me something."

"Ani, Qui-Gon's dead," said Padmé gently.

"I know, that's what's troubling me," he replied. Anakin sank back into his thoughts (though not as deeply) and began running his fingers through Padmé's hair. The touch of his mechanical hand was slightly unsettling. Anakin's thoughts were apparently (and appropriately) very consuming, for he became rougher and rougher with Padmé's hair, until she sat up and gave Anakin a fixed "don't lie to me; something else is bothering you" look that he knew not to argue with.

"I don't know why I can't move on," he said.

"Are you able to forgive yourself?" asked Padmé.

"What? How can I? Master Obi-Wan–"

"-Might have done the same thing at that point in his training."

Anakin gave her a doubtful look, so she tried again.

"Thing about it. You hadn't eaten or slept since we'd left Naboo; you already disliked the Tuskens; you're mother had just died; and you were and still are in
training."

Anakin wasn't moved; he was staring straight ahead, eyes dynamic. It always scared Padmé when he looked like that, for it was usually a sign his mind was not his own- in this instance, it was in a bad way. Padmé leaned her head on Anakin's bare shoulder and put her arms around him, hoping her husband would relax. He put his arms around her and started stroking her body. With Anakin's attention, Padmé made one last attempt.

"I know how hard it is to forgive one's self," she said cautiously.

"Go on," said Anakin, half listening.

"I couldn't believe how many had died in the Battle of Theed, all because of my decision. You don't learn a lot about war on a planet like Naboo, so I didn't know what to expect. Master Qui-Gon hit me especially hard; I felt like I'd signed his death certificate myself…"

Padmé stopped dramatically and took a nervous breath. She looked up quickly at Anakin to see if it was working; she was telling the truth, but ulterior motive.

"I still dream about it sometimes," she whispered.

Anakin kissed her softly in comfort, finally himself.

"Forgive and forget," he mumbled.

"Not forget," said Padmé quickly.

Anakin stared at her.

"You have to learn from your mistakes," she explained.

Anakin smiled and shook his head.

"All right, I'm a fortune cookie," laughed Padmé.

"What the hell is that?" asked Anakin.

"They make them on Naboo. They hire the people who can't get jobs anywhere else to write fortunes or proverbs and put them in the cookies. It's like astrology and mining colonies."

Anakin chuckled. They heard Aleia stirring in her room and sensed the danger of being caught together. After one last, long kiss, Anakin went back to his room, leaving Padmé feeling quite alone.

"Where's the Senator? They're all Jedi!" said Boba.

"Relax, little Boba, my information says she'll be here," said the dark stranger.

"Well it's wrong! She's not here."

"Fine, you can have one of my Jedi."

"My father would be amused."

"Who wouldn't want a Jedi?" asked the clueless administrator.

"No one wants one now," said Boba. "There's no price on their heads."

"I thought you said there'd only be two other Jedi besides mine," said the administrator. "How much trouble can this city get into for the betrayal of four
Jedi?"

The stranger had known who was who all along, but acted as though he'd had a sudden revelation, and said, "Either Madre has truly taken an apprentice," he stopped to laugh, "or we have the Senator."

"Isn't that against some Jedi rule to impersonate one?" asked the administrator.

"You obviously don't know you're prey very well," said the dark stranger.