Chapter 15
Anakin had barely entered the Council chamber when every single Jedi in it sensed the truth about the Chancellor. The sense of betrayal, disappointment and yet serenity about having been right and knowing he had made the right choice.
"True, it is then."
Anakin sighed. "Yes, Master Yoda."
His emotions were open for everyone to read, and anyone who knew him would have expected defeat and anger to roll off him in waves strong enough to flood the chamber. Much to the amazement of everyone who was present, this was not the case. There was concern tinted with genuine fear, but not for himself, but for the Jedi for –
Only three of the seven Masters who were present knew about his attachment, and for the others it was yet another surprise about the Chosen One.
"Mind your feelings, young Skywalker." Obi Wan said with a smirk he could not suppress. "They are open for everyone to read."
"I know, Master." Anakin replied and nodded respectfully. "I do this so that everyone knows that I have nothing to hide. Not any more. I speak the truth."
"You do." Yoda said, "To our notice, Skywalker brought the chancellor's identity. Broken the Code he has, allowed him it has to sense the Sith, more than us."
Windu rose to his feet. "We will deal with Skywalker's... transgressions once we have made contact with the rest of the Council and decided what to do about Palp..."
The hologram in the middle of the chamber showed a visibly distraught Jedi who was manning the communications room.
"Master Windu, our long-range communications are jammed. I can only barely reach anyone in the Senate district. Our HoloNet access is down too. We have lost contact to everything off Coruscant."
Anakin, who had been looking at his feet trying to decide what to say snapped his head up and looked at Windu.
"Master, I..." he paused, not for effect but because he was trying to pin down exactly what he sensed. "I have a very bad feeling about this...DOWN!"
He had stared outwards and seen the first gunship approach the High Council Tower, and by the time it's pilot opened fire, he was down on the ground. He felt the bolts race over him, followed by the splintered remnants of the holoprojector in the centre of the room.
The first salvo done with, he jumped to his feet, drew his lightsabre and began to deflect some of the fire back at it's source. Obi Wan joined him as behind them Yoda and Windu shephered the rest of the of the Council out of the line of fire.
"Anakin!" Obi Wan yelled as he sent another bolt flying back to the gunship. "Master Kcaj is dead."
Anakin didn't even flinch. He closed his eye for a second and then resumed fighting with even more fervour. He and Obi Wan sensed that that chamber was empty, even the body of the dead Master had been taken by someone, so they slowly retreated towards the door, continuing to deflect bolts even as the doors closed. The first thing Anakin did after shutting off his lightsabre was pulling out his comm unit and calling his wife, totally ignoring that The council members had gone ahead. Even as he mad his way down, he cursed himself for his stupidity. Of course Jedi and Senate frequencies would be jammed when Palpatine tried to usurp the Republic.
Hopefully one of the commercial frequencies would still work.
"Ahsoka, come in!"
"Ma...fight.."
Her voice dissolved into static before coming back, scratchy but far more understandable.
"Master, what's going on? We have gunships everywhere, there are reports that the Order is trying to overthr-"
"No time for explanations. Take my wife and the droids and bring them to the Temple, and FAST! The Chancellor is the Sith!"
Much to Ahsoka's credit she didn't say that she had no wish to go to the Temple. Instead she returned military leader mode.
"Yes, Master."
"And be careful. We're under attack here already, but you won't be safe there for long."
"We'll be there."
He reached the communications centre. Inside Windu was recording a continually broadcast warning signal. Jamming or not, it would go out, if only to help keep the fighting from spreading into the city. Yoda was nowhere to be seen, likely somewhere directing the other Jedi in defence of the Temple, as was the rest of the Council. Only Obi Wan still near. "She won't be much safer here either, Anakin."
"I know, brother. But at least I'll be able to do something about it. If that... thing wants my family, he will have to go through me first."
"He brought some help, Anakin."
"I know." he replied with a weary nod. "Those were the markings of the 501st."
To her credit, Senator Amidala-Skywalker was already packing before her husband had called. The broadcast had been enough of an incentive. She knew that she would likely not see these rooms again for a long time, one way or another, but she also knew that she needed to be as mobile as she could in her present condition. She had bypassed the more ornate parts of her wardrobe already, and now she was only adding the box that contained Anakin's Padawan braid in stasis, the Lightsabre he'd given her and the chips with the proofs of ownership of her non-movable property. She thought that she would leave behind almost eighty percent of her belongings, but the world was falling apart around her. She
Ahsoka didn't have that problem. Her things fitted into a single backpack even smaller than the bag Padmé had packed.
"Ready?" the Togruta asked, her head-tails twitching.
"Yes. You know where my speeder is. It's fast, and-"
She was interrupted when the door to her apartment blew inwards and eight clone troopers with 501st markings stormed in.
"You are under-"
Clearly they had expected her to be alone, and not expected her and her guest being not exactly unprepared. Padmé took cover inside the alcove that led to her bedroom, while Ahsoka cowered behind the couch. She drew her Naboo blaster pistol.
"Under what authority are you here?"
"In the name of the Republic, you are under arrest for treason, Senator."
"Treason? What-"
From where she was she could see Ahsoka shaking her head. Obviously she didn't believe that they were here to arrest her anymore than Padmé did.
She stretched out three fingers of her right hand, and retracted the first.
Their first bolts hit the lead two troopers squarely in the chests. Ahsoka's modified DC-17 easily burned through the Phase II armour, but Padmé's pistol took two shots. The others retreated back into the corridor and fired in, making both women keep their head's down.
"Senator, I don't have a shot!"
In a flash of inspiration, Padmé grabbed the lightsabre from her bag and tossed it to Ahsoka. "Will that help?"
The former Jedi caught the weapon in her right hand. Almost without thinking she holstered her blaster and grabbed the sabre with both hands. She hadn't handled a sabre in actual combat since leaving the order, always preferring her blaster the few times she'd been under attack. Even when training with the Palladins she had declined to construct a replacement for the one she'd lost, thinking that this weapon was a symbol for the life she'd left behind. At the same time she realized that this was her only chance of getting the Senator and herself out of the room alive. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, stood up, ignoring the blaster bolts around her and pressed the button.
She may have fought side by side with some of those clones before, but she would not let herself be killed, more importantly she had a promise to keep.
"Come on!" she yelled. The clones fired.
Slowly but surely Ahsoka worked her way towards the door, deflecting bolt after bolt even as the apartment was blown to bits around her. One after another the clones fell prey to the bolts she reflected, until only three were left when she reached the door. "I'm sorry." she said, jumped through the doorway and killed the remaining clones with a few expert strokes.
When she had checked that there were no more clones nearby, she motioned for the senator and the Droids who had hidden in the kitchen area to follow. She had point and led the group to the back landing pad where they had parked upon arriving from Corellia.
They managed to reach a service lift without being seen.
Once inside, Ahsoka turned her head just in time to see Padmé crumple against the railing of the carriage. "Senator.."
Padmé only waved it away. "Just some back pain, Ahsoka, nothing to worry about."
Shrugging, Ahsoka turned back. "If you say so... R2?"
The droid beeped in expectations of orders. "Try and get into the Republic transmissions that aren't jammed. Try to monitor what's going on at the temple."
An affirmative beep came back. "And try to get through to Master Skywalker."
"He will try to get you to call him Anakin, you know that, right?" Padmé said with an indulgent smile.
Ahsoka shrugged. "Old habits die hard, I guess."
"So I've seen."
"Hmm."
The lift halted on a level of the building that would allow them a straight shot to the speeder. Ahsoka was first through the door, sabre and pistol at the ready, but no blaster bolts came out of the shadows.
Ahsoka hesitantly made a few steps into the darkened corridor before looking over her shoulder.
"Let me guess, you have a bad feeling about this, this is way too easy?"
"How do you know?"
Padmé shrugged. "Nothing, it's just what Anie would say."
Humour was a coping mechanism that she'd yet had to see on the Senator, and it seemed to be working. If inane did the trick for her and kept her focused on getting to the temple and not her contractions, because Ahsoka was sure that was what her occasional winces and frowny faces were, then so much the better. At least her shooting skills hadn't been impaired so far. Though credits to her for being able to hide it as well as she did.
Ahsoka had helped deliver two babies during her time with the Paladins, and she fervently hoped that numbers three and four had a little more patience, but then considering their father was the king of impatience...
No. 'Trust in the Force you must. Rewarded you will be'
That little green Jedi seemed to know something to say about everything.
It had been too easy. They reached the platform and Padmé was making her way to the speeder when a group of clones, again from the 501st, came running through the door.
"There the are! Blast them!"
"RUN!" Ahsoka yelled, "I'll cover you!"
The yell of pain coming from the Senator froze her blood in her veins. She retreated towards where Padmé had fallen.
"Are you hit?" she asked, still deflecting blaster bolts.
"No, I just fell!"
Ahsoka chanced a look back. The droids were already in the speeder. 3PO was exclaiming that they were all doomed, but R2 had taken the initiative and already started the engines. She took one hand from the grip of the sabre and helped Padmé back to her feet. Of course she chose that moment to have another contraction.
"Can you tell your children to wait until we're in the temple?"
"With their Father?"
"Let's hope they take more after you, Senator."
"Force Ahsoka, call me Padmé."
With the Senator now in cover behind the fuel pump that served any ships docked here, Ahsoka considered her next move. They needed a small window in which to take off, and...
There was only one way, and whatever past she may have shared with the 501st, they had turned themselves into the enemy.
She reached out into the Force and again created a pocket of air in front of herself, even as she dodged the blaster bolts. Unlike on Corellia, she didn't just push it ahead of herself but angled it's path so that it lifted the good dozen of clones off their feat. She made a parting motion with her hands as if trying to swim and the pocket parted, tossing the clones left and right off the platform and into the seemingly endless abyss of Coruscant's streets. She didn't even wait until their screams had faded before she had helped Padmé to her feet and rushed her, as well as she could at least, into the speeder.
Once Padmé was placed and secured in the back, fuzzed over by 3PO, Ahsoka jumped into the pilot's seat. R2 beeped that he had checked everything and all systems were green. "Thanks buddy."
She took a few moments, flipped the switch and made the speeder jump into the air and forward, diving down into the depths of Coruscant. The clones that came out the door at that moment could do nothing but look after them. Except, that is, to call in air support.
The first notion of this that Ahsoka had was a slight tremor in the Force, followed a split second later by blue laser bolts. Ahsoka flew the speeder to it's limits and dove beneath the traffic lane, the few civillian craft that were still flying scattering before her like a herd of bantha younglings. The fighters were faster, and armed, but Ahsoka had one advantage, her craft was smaller, and she could fly a lot closer to the buildings, she had the advantage in an atmosphere. In fact, she figured that the only thing even better suited in her situation would have been a scout bike.
"Hold on!"
She pulled the controls back, and the speeder shot upwards almost vertically, and by it's response time it was obvious that Anakin had modified at some point, because she remembered this model being far more sluggish.
The clone pilots in the two V-Wings were surprised by her sudden move as they shot straight past her. Not wasting the opportunity, she tilted the speeder on one side flew between two freight haulers with inches to spare on either side and left the main lane, taking massively illegal short cut through what was a shopping mall.
"Keep a look out for them, R2."
An affirmative beep followed. The speeder left the mall and turned down the main street that led directly to the temple district. When they were not immediately attacked, Ahsoka chanced a look back to the Senator. Her face was contorted with pain as another contraction hit.
"How far apart?"
"Aw...maybe a minute or so."
Good. That meant that it wasn't that close to go-time yet and they might make it to the temple.
Whatever optimism she may have felt was gone the instant the Temple district came in view. It was like a re-creation of the sacking of Coruscant, minus the towers being blown off. Gunships circled the entire structure, and what seemed like the entirety of the 501st was assaulting the main entrance.
But the clones didn't have it all going their way. Several burnt-out gunships were lying about in front of the temple, and even at this distance Ahsoka could see the flashes of blaster fire and lightsabres near the main entrance, shielded from the gunships by the overhang.
Next she was taught a lesson in keeping her attention on the task at hand, because one of the two V-Wings appeared behind her and while she managed to avoid getting them all killed, one of the three engines was hit and set on fire. Ahsoka realized that she had only one chance. She firewalled what engines she had left and headed straight for the Temple. She would never know why the fighter hadn't closed in and finished her off, but she wasn't about to complain.
When he re-told the story later, Anakin would always omit the sheer, complete and existential horror he felt at seeing his wife's speeder come in for a crash landing, and it was in this moment, surrounded by dead and dying clones from their last attempt to storm the main entrance that he realized just why the Jedi Order had forsaken attachment. All he wanted to do was -
Much to his surprise it was Master Kolar who did what Anakin wanted to do. The Zabrak Master reached out into the Force and while he couldn't entirely stop the speeder's velocity as it crashed, he managed to cushion it enough so that what would certainly have been fatal to a bump when it crashed near the pillars covering the main entrance. Anakin came back to his senses and as Kolar and the few Jedi assigned to the main entrance covered him, he rushed over to it.
Both Ahsoka and his wife were conscious and seemed to be unharmed, as were the droids, but judging by the way the damaged engine smoked, they wouldn't stay for long. Forsaking subtlety for speed, he used the force to rip the door casing off the vehicle and threw it down to where a crashed gunship was burning merrily away.
"Snips?"
"I'm fine!" she said, and promptly jumped out to join the defence of the main entrance. If Kolar was surprised to see the former Padawan just appear out of the blue he didn't show it, but she was given odd looks by some of the other Jedi.
Anakin meanwhile dragged his wife out of the speeder even as R2 raced over to the entrance, followed by 3PO who had somehow managed to hold onto their bags. The ten metres between the speeder and the entrance that followed were the most terrifying of his life, but when they reached the relative protection of the Jedi and the perimeter formed by dead clones.
He half-carried her, thinking she was still dazed from the near-crash, when her knees buckled and she groaned.
"Anglel, are you hurt?"
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. When the contraction had passed, she said: "No, but our children have inherited your sense of timing and drama."
It took Anakin a few moments to understand what she was trying to say. "What? NOW? Are you certain?"
By that time they had reached the area in the main hall where Master Che had set up a dressing station for the wounded, and she couldn't help a fascinated stare when Anakin Skywalker's wife gave him the look. His wife. And, by the looks of things, about to bring another...no, two Skywalkers into the world. For all that had happened today already, she couldn't help but wonder of that was something the universe could survive.
tbc
Before anyone complains, Anakin was tempted, for about as long as Data was in First Contact, i.e. for a few seconds at best. You may have noticed, but since they have turned into badguys, the marksmanship of the clones is now proportional to their distance to a main character. Like the exploding consoles I put into my Trek writing it's part of the universe and amuses me at the same time.
Also, Chapter 18 will be the last one. I'm working on the sequel, which I'll start posting here once I've build up a decent buffer of chapters.
I also may have missed some of your lovely reviews, sorry for that. Still, keep them coming, because these fuel me in writing the sequel. I also always appreciate advice, even if it isn't always taken.