"Luke? Is that really you?" Padme gasped in shock.
"Padme!" Leia screamed with joy. "We are coming as fast as we can!" There was silence for a minute before Luke said,
"Padme, you won't be able to communicate with Han, since he is not Force sensitive. But he wants you to know that he loves you, sweetheart."
"He said those exact words himself," Leia added.
Padme thought for a moment, then said with a smile,
"I know." There was silence again.
"Hello?" Padme cried, afraid that the connection was lost.
"Sorry, Padme. We all busted out laughing when you said that. Chewy said you are definitely Han's daughter," Luke explained to her.
"Oh," was all Padme could say. "How far away are you?"
"Well if R2D2 can get the hyperdrive fixed, you will see us in a few minutes." They were planning on sneaking into the Star Destroyer to rescue Padme.
"Really? But how are you going to avoid being detected..." The last word slowly spilled out of her mouth. She thought to herself, "On no!"
"Don't come any closer!" Padme warned them. "The ship has a tracking beam in the rear!"
"In the rear? Since when?" Leia asked, not being as knowledgeable about ship as Han. "Honey, are you sure?"
"As sure as when I felt Vader's presence this morning."
"Chewy, tell R2D2 to stop the repair of the ...agh!"
Padme was about to ask what happened, but she already knew. The Millennium Falcon was now in sight, and approaching quickly.
"No!" the girl screamed in her mind. She had to do something, but what? Then she visualized the station where the tracking beams were being controlled. Two officers were raising the handles. One handle controlled the tracking beam at the front end of the ship, the other the rear end. Padme reached out with both hands, as if she was there, at the station. She held them steady.
At the station, the two men were in awe, and then terrified, as their hands were not allowed to move the handles to activate the tracking beams. A quick flash sped past the Star Destroyer. It was the Millennium Falcon, and Padme was both relieved and saddened about it.
Down at the station, the two officers were approached by Vader. He questioned them as to why the beams were not activated.
"Emperor, we don't know. We tried to activate but..." one of them stammered, shaking in fear.
"But it was as though something was on our hands, stopping us from moving the handle," the other exclaimed. Vader motioned for the Stormtroopers to seize the officers. He knew what happened.
"Bring the girl down her," he barked. His teeth were clenched in frustration. Padme had to now be taught a lesson.
"Padme, what happened?" Leia asked. "We should have been pulled into the tracking beam!"
She did not want to answer her mother, but she did not have to. Luke spoke for her, with pride in his tone,
"She used the Force to stop the tracking beams from activating. If she did not do this, we would have been caught."
"Be careful!" Leia pleaded with her. "If Vader finds out what you did..."
The door opened, and two Stormtroopers entered. They had their blasters pointed at Padme.
"The Emperor wants to see you downstairs in the main area of the ship," one of the soldiers demanded.
"He already knows," Padme thought in dejection. She was forced by the Stormtroopers out of Vader's quarters and down to the main area of the ship. For her family's sake, she did not continue to communicate with them. Although she could hear Leia panic hysterically and Luke doing his best to calm her down.
Padme was brought before Vader. She tried to remain calm as she avoided his gaze. Then she saw them, the two officers who were suppose to activate the tracking beams. They were detained by Stormtroopers, who forced them to kneel before Vader.
"Captains, I gave you clear instructions to activate the tracking beams," Vader said with malice in his tone. Then Padme saw it light up. Vader's lightsaber. The eyes of the two men were full of fear.
The Emperor turned around and extended his hand towards Padme. She tried taking a step back, but she was frozen in place. There was nothing she could do to help the poor men. They were going to die, and it was her fault.
She went to confess what she did, but it was too late. Vader commanded that the captain hold on their right hands. As soon as they did, Vader quickly used his weapon to cut off both of their hands. Padme did her best to not scream out in horror.
"The next time you disobey a direct order, you will lose more than your hands! Take them to the medical ward immediately!" Vader growled. As they were escorted away, he turned to face Padme.
"Carry on," he commanded the rest of his crew. He unfroze Padme, and dragged her back with him to his private quarters.
He said nothing as they made their way past various officers and Stormtroopers. Padme knew the quiet would not last long. When they arrived back, Vader showed her forward, and she tumbled to the ground.
"Get up!" he screamed angrily. She rose to her feet.
"How dare you interfere with the operations of my ship!" Vader hissed, his fist clenched tightly.
"I was not going to let you harm them," Padme whispered. doing her best to not be afraid. But she was, and Vader knew it.
"You meant to say 'I was not going to let you harm my family', correct?" Vader responded.
"No, that's not true!"
"Don't lie to me, Padme! I saw the entire conversation, or rather heated argument, between you and Leia. She told you she was your mother, and Han Solo was your father, right?"
Padme did not want to respond back. Although she already knew that Vader knew, hearing him say the words out loud caused her to tremble.
"Your lack of protest gives me the confirmation I need. But since your mother has a history of lying, especially to me, I ordered the doctor to give you the midichlorian and DNA test," Vader smoothly explained.
"Then what happens?" Padme asked. She did not want to know, but she needed to prepare herself.
"What do you think happens?"
"I don't know..."
"You are a smart girl. Strong in the Force. But you are becoming too much of a danger to everyone."
"So you are going to kill me?"
"No. You will remain as my prisoner. Locked away in my castle. Away from your home, and especially away from your family!"
"No! You can't do this! This is not right!"
"I can and I will. But since you are afraid of being alone, you will have someone with you, at all times. Would you like to guess who that person is, Padme?"
She shook her head in disbelief. This truly was becoming the worst day ever for her!
"You are staring at him," Vader added, an evil smirk hidden from view.