Chapter 42 - How Liberty Dies
The next morning.
It isn't long before a transmission airs throughout the senate building. All of us are afraid, concerned, and nervous about the safety of the Jedi soldiers who may have been injured in the fire. When the call finally comes, it's like a sigh of relief resounds throughout the building. People begin to speak to each other again, laughing off their concern with shrugs and words of encouragement. The chancellor will know what happened, they tell each other, clapping their friends on the shoulder as they head to the senate room. I follow loosely behind yet other senators, taking it slow as the others rush ahead. Senator Chuchi watches me, her eyes fixed on my belly and my feet. She walks a few feet beside me, ready to duck out and catch me if something happens. I'm thankful for her help, but I'm also not completely incapable of walking on my own. Sometimes I wish I weren't babied so much.
She watches me make it to my senate pod, and then heads to her own. As the other senators settle down in their seats, the chancellor's pod rises from the center of the room. Where the chancellor usually stands, a man in a black robe has taken his place. The senators mumble under their breath, concerned, but the figure simply lifts his hand to silence us.
"Good senators of the Galactic Republic, I stand before you now, the Chancellor Palpatine himself."
His voice is the same, but he seems feeble, older than he was. There's an audible intake of breath as the supposed chancellor adjusts his hood so that his face is plainly seen.
"I know that my current appearance may seem strange, but it is not without purpose. Last night, the Jedi attempted to overthrow me, and take the Galactic Republic under their own control."
Once again, the room filled with gasps. I shake my head, having already been told this information, and look around the room. Senator Organa is strangely absent from his spot, and I haven't seen him for at least a day or two. But he will surely return to hear the chancellor's message.
"The leader of their insurgence, Mace Windu, lead a small group of Jedi rebels to my office, and attempted to kill me. With their Jedi powers, they disfigured my face, and tortured me, until my personal guards came to my aid and destroyed them."
Master Windu, dead. How many more?
"For the safety of all the citizens of Coruscant, a battalion of clones led by the only remaining faithful Jedi contained the rebels within the temple. Refusing to be taken alive, the insurgents set the building ablaze, choosing to die rather than be arrested and tried for their crimes."
"Surely the younglings and padawans were spared," the senator from Kamino asks.
"As many as could be rescued," the chancellor assures us, "they were taken to a safe house I set up in the outer rim. Thanks to my faithful Jedi friend, the Jedi rebellion has been foiled-" The chancellor explains as senator Organa suddenly appears behind me.
He looks tired, worn out. His clothes are dirty and wrinkled, and he's a little out of breath. "What's happened," he asks.
"The Chancellor's been elaborating on a plot by the Jedi to overthrow the senate," I explain, scooching over so that he can join me.
"The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated," Palpatine spits, as the senators break out into applause.
I shake my head. How much blood has been spilled last night, and today?
"The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed," the chancellor laments. "But I assure you. My resolve has never been stronger!"
The senate room resounds with applause, as Bail and I watch.
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the republic will be reorganized into the First Galactic Empire! For a safe, and secure society."
An Empire. A society ruled by the absolute power of one individual, an undemocratically selected Emperor. Complete and utter control by Chancellor Palpatine. A few years ago, he would have never been able to change our constitution like this. But with all those emergency powers, he has the ability, and the support. It shows as well, as the senators whoop and clap, raving over this new order.
I shake my head, ashamed of our senate. "So this is how liberty dies," I mumble. "With thunderous applause."
oOo
Later that day.
The sun is shining bright over what is left of the Coruscant cityscape. The charred black remains of the Jedi temple are nestled between shining white towers, which glint in the midday sun. I take a deep breath, the tears which had been rolling down my cheeks now cold. Wiping them away, I mutter a few words of encouragement, and place a gentle hand on my stomach.
"When you're born, my beautiful baby, there will be no war," I whisper. With a sigh, the lullaby my mother sang to me comes back to my memory in a rush of sudden peacefulness. Running my thumbs across what I imagine to be my child's outstretched hand, I smile as the words flow from my mouth.
"Sleep, precious baby.
In the cool ocean waves
The sunrise waits
For the call of the lark
The sky grows dark
O'hma-D'un now shines bright
She will be your nightlight.
Breathe in the cool night breeze.
Sleep, among the grass so green
Where there is peace, wrapped in
The arms of your loving mother."
The melody seems eerie now, like it clashes against the horror of the last few days. There certainly is not peace, not yet. I haven't seen my child's father since yesterday, and there is so much fear.
The doorbell suddenly rings, and Dormé runs to get it. Upon seeing the person behind the door, she screams, and calls for me. Cautiously, I peek out of the balcony.
"Senator Amidala," Obi Wan calls, his brow drenched with sweat and his eyes wild with terror.
"Obi Wan," I gasp, rushing towards him to envelop him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Where is Anakin," he asks, grabbing my arms and squeezing so tightly I cannot wriggle away.
"I don't know," I lie.
The wild look in his eyes disappears, and he lets go of me. Taking a deep breath, he smiles. "I'm sorry, Padmé. I'm just afraid."
"It's alright," I tell him. "Come with me to the balcony."
He moves his hand to his face, his fingers taking a small bunch of hair from his beard and rolling them between his fingers.
"I'm looking for Anakin," he explains, "something terrible has happened."
"I know. The Jedi uprising."
He shakes his head. "When was the last time you saw him," he asks, his eyes searching mine.
"Yesterday," I say.
"And do you know where he is now?"
"No," I lie again, remembering he told me he was going to Mustafar.
"Padmé," he pleads, "I need your help. He is in grave danger."
"From the Sith," I ask.
"From himself," he clarifies. "Padmé, Anakin has turned to the dark side."
I shake my head, my heart sinking into my stomach. "You're wrong," I protest. "How could you even say that?"
"I have seen a-" he stops, unable to form the words he must say. Taking another breath, he forces the words out, reluctantly. "A security hologram of him killing younglings."
Killing younglings? No. "Not Anakin," I say, my heart beating faster than it ever has before. "He couldn't."
"He was deceived by a lie," Obi Wan says, shaking his head. "We all were."
We all were? He looks into my eyes and nods, indicating that I, too, was deceived.
Obi Wan continues, pacing across the balcony, unable to look af me. "It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything. Including the war. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice."
That's impossible. He wouldn't. "I don't believe you," I tell Obi Wan. "I can't."
"Padmé, I must find him," he says.
Trembling, I look back at him. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" I'm almost too afraid to know the answer.
Obi Wan doesn't nod, he just looks back at me, a fearful expression in his eyes. "He has become a very great threat," he says, trying to justify himself.
No, no. No! "I can't," I stammer, sitting down on the couch, my head in my hands.
"Anakin is the father, isn't he," Obi Wan asks.
I can't answer him. My eyes fill with tears again, and my shoulders begin to tremble. I look down at my hands, the hands which I used to hold my husband, to calm him, to love him. The hands which cradled his head as he cried, which soothed his nightmares. The hands which he loved so dearly.
Obi Wan needs no confirmation, he already knows. Shaking his head, he turns to leave. "I'm so sorry," he says, and I hear a waver in his voice.
As he goes, the tears rush over again, and a loud sob escapes my throat. Trembling, I cradle my forehead in my hands, and screw my eyes shut in an effort to stop the tears. I have to be strong, I have to stop crying, but it's almost impossible. How can I possibly fix this? What will I do?
There's nothing I can do. The world is crumbling down around me and all I can do is watch. I have to find Anakin, I have to sort this out.
I won't have our child live in this galaxy. I can't.