Chapter 9 - Duty

A groggy Anakin Skywalker trudged into the dining room. He rubbed his eyes and struggled to remember the events of the previous day. The entire Naberrie family was already seated and enjoying a breakfast meal.

"Anakin, how kind of you to join us," Sola joked. Her children, Ryoo and Pooja, ran to their Uncle Anakin. The seven and five-year-old girls hugged his legs, giggling all the while.

"Did you bring Artoo?" Ryoo asked, glancing up at her tree-sized uncle. Pooja gave him a wide-eyed stare.

Despite his fatigue and uneasiness, Anakin could not help but smile looking at his nieces. He bent down and gave them each a hug. "Yes, he's in Padmé's room, why don't you go wake him up?"

They ran off, squealing in delight, forgetting all about their half-eaten breakfast.

Padmé broke the light-hearted moment. "Anakin, did you complete your mission?"

The Jedi Master quickly snapped back to reality. Suddenly he recalled everything; the Chancellor's Mansion, the fight with Maul, and the data pad. "Yes…well, mostly. I got the data pad, but it only contained part of the information we need. The Separatist headquarters is located on Mustafar. Obi-Wan and Siri are headed there now. I must join them, there's no telling what kind of trouble -"

Anakin stopped at the sound of his wife's shriek. He knew from experience that she was good at masking pain, but this was clearly too horrible to conceal. She grimaced and grasped the table with one hand, and her plump stomach with the other.

"Padmé!" The Naberries rushed to her aid. Anakin tried to maintain a level head but he couldn't. He also sprang to his wife's side and grasped her hand.

"That felt like a contraction," managed Padmé, breathing heavily.

Anakin rubbed her palm with his thumb. "Is there a med center near here? Or I can call a Jedi Healer here right away."

"She shouldn't be moved very far right now," Jobal said. "Sola, you must call for Dr. Neros right away." She turned to Anakin, "She is the family physician. She doesn't live far."

"But we agreed that the Healers at the Temple could best deliver our children," protested Anakin.

Ruwee had been looking on in horror as the situation unfolded. He had already had two grandchildren delivered but the tension of the situation still unnerved him. "Son, there's no time to bring the Jedi here! Besides, someone could follow them and bring danger on us all. Dr. Neros will be able to help.

Anakin conceded. He wasn't thinking straight. He was only thinking about Padmé's safety.

Obi-Wan and Siri's ship darted towards the crumbling surface of Mustafar. Lava surged in thick waves, and there were only a few mining shelters and a small place to land the ship. The sound of erupting volcanoes was deafening. No one tried to fire at the Jedi, which made them uneasy. Palpatine's files had clearly shown these coordinates to be a Separatist base. The question was, where were the Separatist leaders now?

There was only one footpath through the hot lava to the largest building, so Obi-Wan and Siri had no choice but to follow it.

"They might be luring us into a trap! Be careful." Obi-Wan shouted over the rushing springs of fiery liquid.

"I'm ready for anything. Either way, we'll have no choice but to confront them," Siri yelled back steadily.

They arrived at the entrance, and cut through the keypad-locked door with their lightsabers. They were met by a barrage of droideka fire. One by one they blocked and cut their way through the fire, making the hallway a light show of blue and violet. Finally, they were at another set of durasteel doors. Before they had a chance to cut them open, the doors slid open by themselves. Staring back at them was Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. Surrounding him were various other Separatist leaders, including the Geonosian Poggle the Lesser.

"Jedi!" Gunray exclaimed. "We were not expecting Jedi."

"Well who else would you expect, considering you partnered with a Sith Lord?" Siri retorted. Obi-Wan cast her a disapproving glance. There was no use riling them up any more than necessary.

"Lord Sidious promised us peace! Surely Jedi would not dispute a man's dying wishes." Nute Gunray argued, trying to mask his fear. It was not working.

"That man was a Sith Lord! He never wanted peace, he wanted power!" Siri shouted, earning another of Obi-Wan's famous glances.

Obi-Wan knew that Siri's fiery remarks stemmed from her desire for justice. Still, he had to step in before her righteous anger jeopardized the mission.

"Would you rather be arrested by the Jedi for conspiring with a Sith Lord or tell us how to shut down you droid armies?" Obi-Wan's fixed gaze and immovable stance commanded the room.

Despite his cowardice, Nute Gunray was the only leader with the courage to speak. "But surely -"

"Choose, or we'll choose for you. Lord Sidious can no longer protect you." Siri demanded, spitting out Palpatine's Sith title like a disease. She was all business now. Obi-Wan admired her for her ability to instantly switch between wise, contemplative, and fierce.

"We want peace, too, as much as you do." Obi-Wan offered.

Nute Gunray looked around. The other leaders were frozen in place. "All right," he conceded. "But we cannot shut down the droid armies from here. Lord Sidious placed a security measure. Should he die, he did not want the armies controlled from this base. You must go to Geonosis."

Obi-Wan wondered what the site of the first Clone Wars battle had to do with this. He remembered that day vividly and did not wish to relive it by visiting again. But it was his duty. Siri's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"You will all come with us. I never want to see this planet again."

"How far apart are your contractions now, dear?" Dr. Nova Neros walked into Padmé's bedroom. She was a middle-aged human with dark grey, curly hair and amber eyes. Most would call her the motherly type, but she also was a bit of a scatterbrain, for a doctor.

"They are getting closer together, approximately once every nine minutes," Anakin answered.

Dr. Neros smirked, and through her pain, Padmé managed a laugh. Anakin had been monitoring and reporting his wife's progress for the past few hours with Jedi-like precision.

"What?" he said, wondering what was so funny. "Okay, you got me. I rounded up. It's actually eight minutes and forty-five point three seconds." He reached over and squeezed Padmé's hand. He couldn't bear to see her like this. The dream still played itself over and over in his mind's eye. He concentrated on helping Dr. Neros because that's all he could do to help save his wife.

Just then, Anakin's comlink sounded. "Anakin…Anakin…do you copy?" It was Obi-Wan. "You must meet us….Geonosis…Separtists….space station….Sidious." They lost connection. Transmission was faulty, but Anakin sensed a great deal of distress in his voice.

Panic filled Anakin's being. The situation sounded grave. He did not want to fail his friend and Master. He did not want to leave Master Tachi to die. But they were not his wife. They were not his babies.

"Ani, what's going on? Obi-Wan sounded in trouble." Padmé breathed through the pain.

"Padmé. My love, I will not leave you. I will stay with you and watch my children be born. It is my duty as a father. You and the children need me now."

"But what kind of galaxy will they live in if evil wins?" Now Padmé squeezed her husband's hand. "You must go." She let out a small cry as the next contraction began.

A small tear slid down Anakin's face. He could not leave her without knowing that she would be all right. But he had to. He knew she was right. It was his duty as a Jedi. He kissed her forehead as the tear splashed onto her hair. He walked out the door, and did not look back.

A/N: What did you think? I hope you enjoyed! Let me know in a review (: