Chapter 24 - Droid Factory
We break through the cloud barrier of Geonosis, and I scan the surface for openings, or maybe a safe place to hide.
"See those columns of steam straight ahead," I point out to Anakin. He turns his head to look, and glances quickly at me. "They're exhaust vents of some type."
He nods. "That'll do."
We touch down inside the steam cloud, on top of some sort of metal grate. I quickly wrap my shawl around my shoulders again, and all but scold Anakin.
"Look," I tell him, "whatever happens out there, follow my lead. I'm not interested in getting into a war here. As a member of the senate, maybe I can find a diplomatic solution to this mess."
He follows me, a little hurt and angry, but submissive nonetheless. "Don't worry," he calls. "I've given up trying to argue with you."
We pass over the catwalk of metal grates, and Anakin somehow jimmies the thick metal hatch to the building open. I duck low to pass under it, and we step into a darkened hallway lined with arches. They're decorated with lifelike carvings of Geonosians, the insect-like people that inhabit the planet. It's silent, at first, when suddenly, we notice a sort of clicking noise from behind us. Anakin reaches out to stop me, placing a wary hand on my thigh.
"Wait," he says, reaching for his lightsaber.
We turn to see a large gathering of Geonosians, clicking and snapping eagerly, ready to attack. They jump up, and Anakin moves to push me away, while he fights them back. I make a beeline for the door, barely dodging the Geonosians in my way.
Suddenly, I notice that there isn't a floor in front of me, and I stop. I lean over the edge, looking out over what waits for me below.
It's a droid factory, sprawling and enormous, hissing and squeaking as machines weld and whack together the parts that make up a standard-issue battle droid.
"Shit," I mutter to myself just before the solid and bulky body of my protector bumps into me, sending me off the edge and plummeting to my imminent doom. My heart leaps up into my throat as gravity grips into me, and I hear myself scream.
"Padme!" Anakin reaches out for me, but I'm already gone.
I land, hard, on the metal of the assembly line. My knees buckle, and I feel my hip bone crushed into the thick iron.
That's going to leave a mark.
I watch as he jumps down after me, trying to catch up with me, but I'm already gone. On either side of me are small plates of hot glowing metal, and as I turn the corner, I'm greeted by three enormous presses. I watch in horror as they slam onto the hot metal, flattening it.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!"
I duck beneath the presses, narrowly avoiding a painful, and swift death, before making it to the other side with a gasp. I barely have time to catch my breath before a Geonosian lands in front of me, clicking and spitting wildly. He grabs me by the hands, and I try to fight him off, reaching for anything to hold onto so I can get the upper hand. I haven't fought in so long, it's hard to remember what I used to do when I got cornered like this.
The insect-like figure grunts, and I feel myself floating again, but this time, I'm met with a hard wooden surface. I look up, dazed, and take in my new surroundings. On all sides I'm trapped by a thick wooden prison, with ten-foot walls and a large open top.
Maybe I can climb out.
I dig my fingernails into the thick wooden bark, and try to pull myself up. Quickly, my foot loses its hold and I slide back down to the bottom.
No, no, no!
I reach up again, scrambling for any semblance of a way out, but slide right back down again. Looks like I'm stuck.
Suddenly, I'm greeted by an eerily familiar noise. It's the sound of a valve, opening and closing at regular intervals, and then the sound of hot liquid filling a wooden vessel.
Oh fuck.
I swallow hard, and reach, scratch for anything, any foothold, any way out. Each time, I slide again down to the bottom of the vat again, only earning more and more splinters. I hear the valve opening and closing, opening and closing, until finally, it appears above me.
I'm going to die.
I want to scream, to tell the lifeless, unseeing machine that I'm here, that it will kill me if it opens, but I can't speak.
Everything happens in slow motion. The valve eases open, and I watch in horror as the red glow of hot metal appears in the back of the spout. My heart drops into my stomach, and I reach, one final attempt at escaping. Then the valve closes, and suddenly, I'm falling. The vat is dropped to the ground, taking me with it. It hits the hard ground with a crash, and toppled over, causing me to roll out of it, onto the ground.
I breathe a sigh of relief as I realize that I'm safe, that I made it. I almost kiss the ground, the feeling of safety and gladness surging through me like the blood courses through my veins. It's then that I hear the clicking, snapping sound of the Geonosians.
I'm completely surrounded.
oOo
I'm led to a cell, where I have to wait for a couple hours before we're taken to our executions. There wasn't even a trial, all they did was grab us and then immediately decide to execute us. If the senate knew about this, they would be very unhappy.
The Geonosian throws me back against the hard rock wall, and my hip and shoulder make contact, hard. Looks like I'll have another bruise. Anakin is thrown into the cell beside mine, but he looks oddly serene.
"This was a mistake," I mutter. "We should have let the council so this."
"Maybe," Anakin muses, "but now we know about the cruel justice system on this stinking planet."
I almost laugh.
"Do you think we can get out," Anakin asks.
"I think this might be the end for us," I tell him.
"Well, if that's the way it's going to be, I'm going to die well-rested." He stands up, only to curl up on the center of the floor, and go to sleep.
Maybe he has the right idea.
oOo
I don't sleep, instead watching him sleep. I haven't seen him look so peaceful, so calm in ten years. I want nothing more than let him rest his head in my lap, and just care for him, like an injured bird, a downed soul which should be on the wind.
A few hours later, the Geonosians return, with handcuffs and a beautifully engraved carriage. Anakin awakes, not groggy or tired, just well rested. However, the handcuffs sour his mood. The Geonosians practically throw us into the carriage, and chain us to the beast they use to pull it. Our chains are pulled taut, so I can't move my hands from their place on the flat surface of the carriage. Anakin looks over at me, nervously. I don't even realize that I'm shaking, anxiously. I never got to tell him my feelings, and now we're about to be led to our deaths. I should have taken the risk back on Naboo. At least we would have had a few days of bliss before we died.
Anakin almost reaches out to me. "Don't be afraid," he says, since he cannot comfort me with his hands.
"I'm not afraid to die," I tell him. "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life." Heat rushes to my face as I realize what I just told him. Fuck, why can't I control myself?
He stares at me in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"
It's now or never. I take a deep breath, in anticipation of what I'm about to say.
"I love you."
He's taken aback. "You love me," he asks. It's silent as I nod back at him, and he begins shaking his head. "I thought that we had decided not to fall in love. That we would be forced to live a lie, and that it would destroy our lives."
"I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway." He looks at me wantonly, and I feel my body pulling itself to him, like a magnetic attraction. "I truly... Deeply... Love you. And before we die, I want you to know."
He leans in, almost unconsciously, and our lip meet for only the second time. A warm feeling twists inside my stomach, urging the rest of my body to beg for more, to bring him closer to me. I want him, I want all of him, before I die.
Before either of us can break away, the carriage begins to move, and we are pulled apart. We pass through the towering arch, and enter the arena, where four tall posts wait in the center. On the walls of the arena are several doors, each one leading to a different hold. Whatever is held in those doors must be quite dangerous, judging by the marks on the pillars.
As we near the columns, Anakin begins to hyperventilate, and whispers to me.
"Obi Wan is here," he mutters.
I look over at the first column, and there he is, master Obi Wan Kenobi, tied up much like we're about to be.
Maybe it was his expression of hope that prompted it, maybe it was instinct, but I suddenly remember that I have a metal tooth guard in my belt. I fumble for the small device, and slip it into my mouth, over my incisors. I conceal it with my lips, as the Geonosian guard ties me to the pole with the chain.
Maybe we can get out of this.
The sound of a familiar Geonosian voice comes over the loudspeakers. I've never heard Poggle the Lesser speak without a translator, but I can tell what he's saying.
"Let the executions begin!"