A few moments later, Padme stirred awake. At first, she did not know where she was. But then the memories flooded her mind. Leia was her mother. Han Solo, her father. Padme Amidala, her mother's mother. Shmi Skywalker, her grandfather's mother. Anikin Skywalker, her grandfather.

"Oh Leia, why did you not tell me sooner?" Padme thought to herself, as she sat up in the bed. She was in a holding cell. She looked around and saw that the door was open, and that her grandfather's lightsaber was nearby.

"No. This is a trap by Vader. If I run out with the lightsaber, and try to escape, he will kill me!"

Her thoughts were interrupted when the lone Stormtrooper guarding her came into her cell. He closed the door behind him. He slowly approached Padme. She sensed something strange about the guard. She quickly read his mind and saw...

"What is a pretty young thing like you doing here on the Destroyer?" the soldier asked, his blaster pointed at Padme.

"No!" she barked at him. She extended her hand and the lightsaber came to her.

"You would try to kill me?" Padme knew his intentions towards her, even if he had not been eyeing her up and down.

"I know what you want to do to me!" Padme screamed at him.

"What are you going to do about it? Try to escape? If you try, the Emperor will catch you and put you immediately to death. Now put down the lightsaber, and I will show you a good time."

"No!" Padme yelled, as she knocked the trooper's blaster out of his hand, and Force pushed him to the floor. She ran out of the cell, and he chased her, screaming many obscenities at her.

The chase lasted only a minute, as Padme found herself trapped in a corner, with no way out. She turned around and saw the Stormtrooper stalk towards her. She bravely turned on the lightsaber, anticipating that he would shoot her.

"It's too bad," the Stormtrooper said, as he drew closer to the girl. "I would have blown your mind in bed. But now I guess I will have to...blown you mind."

Padme shook in terror as he aimed his blaster at her. She prepared herself for his attack, but was stunned when she saw his weapon fly backwards and out of his hands.

"What in the world..." the soldier uttered in disbelief, as he turned around. He saw where his blaster was, and trembled. It was being held in the Emperor's hands!

"Emperor! I'm glad you found us!" the Stormtrooper said, as Vader approached him. "This prisoner tried to escape. She threatened me with the lightsaber."

Padme's eyes bulged. How could she explain what the Stroomtrooper tried to do to her? Especially when all he did was talk and aim a blaster at her? She tried to calm herself in the Force, but she could feel Vader's anger. Oh no, this was it. She was going to die.

"Everything you have said is true," Vader growled, quickly glancing at Padme. She shook her head in fear. To her amazement, she saw Vader grab the soldier by the neck.

"However, the girl was not running to escape the ship, was she?" Vader hissed angrily, as he tightened the grip. Padme gasped when she saw the soldier collapse to the floor, dead.

A group of Stormtroopers came near Vader. He turned to face them, his anger still flowing through his veins.

"Here is the rogue soldier. He will not be harming any more prisoners," Vader explained. "Strip him of his armor. When we fly over the Sarlacc Pit, throw his body in it!"

The dead Stormtrooper was dragged away. Padme turned off her lightsaber and slumped to the floor. Her head was between her knees. She could not take it anymore. She tried to calm herself down. But the more she tried, the more the tears came down her face.

"Padme," she heard Vader call her name. She looked up and saw him kneeling before her. She prepared herself to die by his hands. But his hands did not go to her neck. Instead, they went to her face. She stared as he gently wiped her tears away, until she stopped crying.

"I did not know it was him," Vader said, as he held Padme's face in his hand. "Did he..."

"No," Padme responded, surprised by his concern. "But he wanted to. I could see it in his mind, even before he spoke."

"He hurt a lot of the prisoners we seized. Some were so traumatized, they..." His voice trailed off, not wanting to scare her any further.

"Come with me," he said, as he rose to his feet. "I suspect you have never left the planet. Come, you get to see what the galaxy looks like."

Then to Padme's shock, Vader offered his hand to her. She reluctantly took it, and he helped her stand to her feet. With his other hand, he took the lightsaber from her. He let her go, and motioned for her to follow him. Padme had no words to say, but Vader knew her thoughts. As they approached the main area of the ship, he said to her,

"You're welcome."

Padme could only shake her head. This was truly becoming one of the more memorable birthdays of her life. She marveled at all the activity that was going on, Vader led her to a big window, with a ledge to lean on.

"Hold onto the ledge," he commanded her. "We are about to take off." He gave the order to his crew to lift off. Padme held on tight as she felt the Star Destroyer lift off of the ground.

Vader walked away. He wanted to give Padme privacy. He suspected she was trying to contact her mother via the Force. Which she did.

"Leia?" Padme called out in her mind, as the ship began to sail in the skies over Tatooine.

"Padem!" Leia responded joyfully. "Thank the Maker you are alive! Did Vader hurt you?"

"No, I am fine. He just protected me from a Stormtrooper. He tried to..." Padme stopped, realizing she would scare her mother further if she told her what the soldier tried to do to her.

"But I'm okay. Vader took care of him," she added.

"Padme, by very careful with Vader. He cannot be trusted."

"At least he hasn't lied to me!" Padme snapped, remembering the reason why she was Vader's prisoner. She immediately regretted lashing out at Leia, and apologized.

"I'm sorry too, sweetheart. You are right. I should have told you the truth earlier," Leia wistfully admitted.

"Leia, it's beautiful!" Padme exclaimed in delight.

"What is beautiful?"

"Being out in space." Padme gazed as Tatooine slowly faded from her view. But then her heart was saddened, and she said,

"I wish you were here with me to see it." The tears rolled down Padme's face.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. We will see each other again, I promise."

"You can't make that promise, Leia. Vader is not going to let me go without a fight."

"I know. But I will not stop until you are back in my arms, Padme Shmi. I love you. May the Force be with you."

Just like that, her mother's voice was gone. Padme took a moment to relax. She did not understand why this was happening to her.