Sorry for the late update... (I should patten that phrase. -_- ) I'm offering a nice long chapter as an apology/peace offering. :) Enjoy!
He sat, staring. Never before had he been struck this speechless, this shocked, this completely bewildered. But here he was, sitting there, not able to say a word.
All he could think was, "What?"
Darth Vader stood before him, not in the suit that had come to define him and his identity to the galaxy, but as he stood before Palpatine when he was first dubbed Lord Vader five years ago. Force, he even felt like he was twenty-two years old again.
Palpatine managed to at least gesture for the prisoners to be brought forth, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Vader. How was this even possible?
As the initial shock began to wear off, however, more interesting ideas began to appear in his thoughts… and more questions.
"Who are you?" he asked the woman who seemed to be leading Vader around.
"Dr. Ryatsi Tunbaoth, Your Imperial Majesty," she said in a trembling voice. "I… I've been taking care of Lord Vader."
Palpatine could sense that she wasn't lying, but it felt more like a twist of the truth. He would know quite a bit about that maneuver. Still, he heard her out. "How did Lord Vader come to look like this?"
This time, he could tell the answer was genuine and honest. "I'm afraid I have no idea, sire. I ran tests on him myself and I haven't found anything that can explain it. But this is Lord Vader, sire; I took a blood sample from him when he was first brought aboard the Executor like this and it confirmed that it's him."
"Why were you not with the rest of Death Squadron on Nihoma?"
"There was… a group, Your Imperial Majesty," Dr. Tunbaoth said hesitantly, not really wanting to admit whatever it was. "A group of Imperials that took care of Lord Vader… I was among them. They were… hesitant to allow Lord Vader to interact with others besides those he was familiar with. He's completely amnesiac as I'm sure Your Imperial Majesty can gather. He has no idea who he is or what he's doing here, and so… we… they thought it best to keep him from the rest of the galaxy until he was properly reeducated."
"And therefore you deemed it worthy to flee from my fleet," Palpatine said, entwining his fingers and watching the doctor squirm.
"I didn't deem it, sire," Dr. Tunbaoth hastily replied. "The others did. They didn't want him… near you."
"I see,"
"Your Imperial Majesty, I beg you, allow me to stay with Lord Vader," Dr. Tunbaoth suddenly said. "He… he doesn't know how to interact with others and he's comfortable with me."
Palpatine waved a dismissive hand. "For the time being you can be his main physician. Now take him to medical quarters and run some more tests on him. I want to know what happened."
The doctor seemed surprised that he allowed her to live so easily, but she bowed and took Vader out of the room nonetheless. Palpatine then regarded the head of the stormtrooper troupe that had brought the two before him. "I want those missing Imperials killed… and their families as well."
The stormtrooper saluted him and exited, and Palpatine leaned back in his throne. Whatever had happened to Vader was certainly surprising, but very useful as well. He finally had his powerful apprentice back in full force… with a few mental difficulties that could be easily adjusted. He would allow the boy to be babied by the doctor until he could speak again, and then Palpatine would mold him to the perfect apprentice… the faithful apprentice.
Oh, Palpatine remembered the days of Skywalker's healthier years, when he was ripe with passion, anger, hatred… it had dulled as he had been deprived of the passion that drove him, but now it would return in full force.
Jifo and Ress finally collapsed after getting out of the city. Taris stood sparkling in the distance as the false dawn began to make itself known in the sky.
"What is it with us and having bad nights?" Jifo muttered, recalling the incident on Nihoma. "Can we just have a peaceful night… you know, a handful of them, without something going wrong?"
Ress chuckled. "You should just be thankful it's lasted this long, sir."
"That's not very helpful," Jifo sighed.
Obi-Wan stirred and moaned again, but the two didn't pay him much mind. He had been in the process of awakening from the stun bolt ever since they had left the outskirts of the city.
Ress and Jifo jumped as a voice suddenly began talking out of Ress' tunic. Jifo raised an eyebrow. "Eh, what exactly is that? Are you carrying a comlink?"
"Yes, sir," Ress answered as he pulled out his comlink. "And I think it's picking up a signal from the fleet."
"Perfect," Jifo clapped his hands together. "What are they saying? Are they ordering our deaths just yet? And what kind of person takes their military comlink to a lovers' dance, anyway?"
"I'm always prepared for everything, sir," Ress replied and then he turned up the volume so the two could listen to the transmission.
"…and their families are to be executed upon sight. Kill anyone who gets in your way."
Jifo and Ress looked at each other. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Raltharen, what are you doing here?"
Carh'la jumped as she heard Jan nearly squeak that question, breathless with horror. Moeema looked over at the kitchen in horror as well. "Oh, no…"
The two women rushed into the kitchen to see a young man with his father's lightly tanned skin, dark brown hair, which was fluffy like Jan's, and his mother's ultramarine blue eyes. He stood tall, young, and lean, one arm perched atop the other, holding a glass of water.
"Mother, what's wrong?" he asked. "I mean, I know you weren't expecting me, but…"
Raltharen trailed away as he noticed Carh'la and Moeema. He slowly put the cup on the counter and then looked back at his mother with dawning comprehension.
"What has father done?" he asked her quietly with a slight tremble to his voice. "Why are you so afraid to look at me?"
"Raltharen, you shouldn't be here," Jan said, looking away.
The tense conversation was interrupted when Carh'la heard the sound of armored boots in the hallway outside. Realization and dread filled her as she made the connection. Moeema, Jan, and Raltharen heard the noises as well. Raltharen stared at his mother, looking genuinely scared.
"Mother…" he muttered.
Carh'la and Moeema looked around wildly for some sort of different exit they could use as Jan couldn't even bear to look at her son. Raltharen, on the other hand, just looked sad and confused. Unshed tears glittered in his eyes, and then he addressed Carh'la and Moeema. "Get my mother out of here, please."
Jan jumped, looking at her son. "What? Ralth, what are you talking about?"
Carh'la and Moeema exchanged grim glances before looking at Raltharen and nodding. "Don't worry; we'll take care of her."
Raltharen nodded in return. Carh'la waited at the edge of the kitchen while Moeema gently grabbed Jan's arm. "Jan, we need to go. Now."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand. Ralth, what are you talking about?" Jan asked, but Carh'la surmised that a part of Jan could tell what was going on since her voice was rising in alarm, forcing Moeema to cup her hand over the woman's mouth.
"Let's go," Carh'la said, leaving the kitchen. Moeema and Jan followed while Raltharen remained.
"Jan, we need to know if there's another exit out of the apartment," Carh'la said in a calm tone. "Can you tell us that?"
Moeema lowered her hand and Jan stuttered, "W-well, yes, there's—there's the emergency escape exit… b-but it's through the window in the back…"
"Show us the way," Carh'la ordered.
Raltharen leaned against the counter of the kitchen, unable to stand properly just yet.
So the rumors were true. His father was a traitor. What had he done? Why did he do it? Raltharen ached to see his father, but he knew now that he wouldn't. Not with stormtroopers banging on the apartment door. That only meant one thing.
Gripping his blaster firmly, Raltharen took his steps slowly out of the kitchen, looking at the surroundings. He had never gotten time to settle into this place; he had been on tour in the Mid Rim when his mother had bought it and moved in.
Taking a shaky but deep breath, Raltharen hoped that whatever his father had turned traitor for, it was a good reason. His father owed him that much, at least.
Moeema was helping Jan out the window when she heard the front door get blasted open. Immediately, she heard blaster fire and things shattering. Carh'la, who had all of the important possessions of the group – such as Obi-Wan's lightsaber and everyone's comlinks – in a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, gripped the window so tightly her knuckles turned white.
A stormtrooper cried out in pain as he was shot. The look on Jan's face made Moeema want to cry out, and she knew Jan was on the verge of doing so, but she pushed the woman onto the ladder outside the window and then looked at Carh'la.
"You go next," Carh'la shook her head.
Moeema nodded solemnly and climbed onto the ladder. As Carh'la began to climb, they heard a young voice cry out in pain, and Moeema literally had to wrestle with Jan to keep her from running back into the apartment.
"It'll be fine, Anakin,"
"I'd much rather fight him…"
"I know you would. Now let me do this."
He moaned groggily as reality began to seep back into his mind. Foggy sounds could be heard, but he couldn't make sense of them yet.
"What's wrong with Anakin?"
"I had to erase his memory. He can't be around Palpatine with his memories; Palpatine will read into his mind like an open book."
Now voices were beginning to make themselves known, but they still didn't make any sense to his addled mind.
"We have to warn them! If they go back to the apartment, it will be a trap."
"Sir, with respect, we can't. We'd have to run through the city carrying Gen. Kenobi everywhere, and that would attract all Imperial attention to us. We would be the trap."
Obi-Wan shifted, his eyes fluttering open. He remained still after doing so. The words, sights, and sensations still weren't quite coming together to form a coherent picture.
"I hate just sitting around,"
"I know, sir. I don't like it much either."
Those voices… they sounded like Jifo and Ress…
Where was Anakin?
"You have your Little One back."
Oh. Right.
"Stang," Obi-Wan cursed softly.
He really hated this situation more and more. And Obi-Wan rarely hated anything.
"Gen. Kenobi?"
Obi-Wan blinked and looked over at a familiar face dressed in formal robes. "Ress…?"
"Sir, do you think you could stand?" Ress asked urgently.
It took Obi-Wan a moment to register the question, and then he answered. "Probably…"
"Good," Ress nodded and slipped an arm around Obi-Wan to help him stand up. After doing so, Ress released his grip and Obi-Wan felt his world spinning. He wobbled on his feet, shifting his stance to ensure he didn't fall. When the nausea began to fade away, Obi-Wan managed a nod to the trooper, which was when he noticed Jifo standing there as well.
"It's good to see you two got out all right," Obi-Wan muttered before asking, "Where are the others?"
"We don't know," Jifo shook his head. "But we suspect they're going to head for the apartment."
"Then let's go," Obi-Wan said quickly. "We don't have time to waste; the Imperials will no doubt show up there eventually."
"That's just the thing, sir," Ress interrupted. "We heard orders being given to the ground forces that we and our relations are to be killed."
Obi-Wan looked at them in horror. "We can't waste any time then, let's find the others and go!"
"Wait!" Jifo steadied Obi-Wan. "Do you have any idea where Anakin is?"
Obi-Wan looked at the Imperial, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a word out.
Padmé trotted alongside Rowan and Ton as the three tried to appear as if they weren't fleeing for their lives from the Imperial forces storming the city.
Rowan sighed heavily. "I haven't seen a single sign of him."
"He has to be here somewhere," Ton insisted. "Lord Vader has many talents, but disappearing off the face of the planet can't be one of them."
Rowan barked a laugh. "I beg to differ,"
Padmé was about to comment when she and the other two heard "Psst!" from a nearby alley.
Padmé, Ton, and Rowan whirled around to see Zhymmia. "Zhymmia! Where are the others?"
"They're a few paces back, but they're okay," Zhymmia replied quickly. "Get in here before the stormtroopers recognize you!"
The trio quickly rushed into the dark alley, disappearing into the shadows. Zhymmia dragged them deeper into the alley until they nearly ran headfirst into Shiine and Kobayashi.
"What about the rest?" Ton demanded.
Zhymmia shook her head breathlessly. "I don't know, captain. Numel and Marrax were in the building with us when stormtroopers took possession of it, but we three managed to sneak out. We couldn't find them."
"Any idea where the others might be?" Rowan asked.
"They had already left the building," Shiine replied. "I don't know where they could be. It's possible they're trying to rendezvous at the apartment. We should probably go there."
Padmé shook her head. "It's too risky; Anakin said that the apartment is probably not the safest places right now."
"Anakin?" Kobayashi sounded surprised. "You were with him? Where is he, then?"
Padmé sighed heavily. "He took off. We've been searching for him. I suppose you wouldn't know where he is since you didn't even know he was with me."
All three Imperials shook their heads. Rowan leaned against the wall, sighing heavily and worriedly. "Do you know if my wife was still in the building?"
"No, we don't," Shiine shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"Quiet!" Ton hissed. The others immediately went silent and Padmé heard stormtroopers marching in their direction.
She dearly wished she had a blaster right now.
"You're not making any sense,"
Ryatsi rolled her eyes. "He doesn't like being in the medical wing. How much simpler can I explain that?"
Ryatsi had been trying to explain to the doctor that Anakin would not want to be poked and prodded by anybody, let alone a complete stranger. Ryatsi had a gut feeling that Anakin seemed to still recognize her somehow seeing as he stuck to her side wherever she went, so it would make things easier if she did the examination the emperor so desired. Unfortunately, the doctor seemed to think that she would tamper with the results, and so he was bent on doing the tests himself.
"I understand that he doesn't like the medical wing," the doctor said, folding his arms in an uncompromising manner. "What I don't understand is why you keep stalling these tests. His Imperial Majesty wants these examinations done, and I will be doing them. This discussion will go no further."
"You're going to terrify him!" Ryatsi argued.
"That will not ruin the test results," the doctor spoke as security guards pulled Ryatsi away from the bed where Anakin sat nervously.
The doctor approached Anakin, pulling out a syringe that would be used to draw some blood. Anakin grew paler by the second even though the doctor was halfway across the room. The moment the doctor was two steps away, Anakin leapt off the bed and kneed the nearest trooper who tried to restrain him.
Ryatsi shoved her way out of the security guards' grip and tried to get near Anakin, but he was too scared. Instead of letting her near him, he simply smacked her down like the rest.
Groaning, Ryatsi revised her previous thought about him recognizing her.
"You did what?"
Jifo gaped at the Jedi. What was he thinking? He delivered Anakin right over to Palpatine? He wiped his memory? They were making progress!
Obi-Wan looked miserable with what he did, leading Jifo to wonder why the hell he had even done it. Shaking his head angrily, Jifo demanded, "What were you thinking?"
Obi-Wan remained silent, just shaking his head in agony as his eyes clouded. Jifo growled, kicking the dirt. They had risked their lives to keep Anakin safe and now the Jedi Master had essentially handed him over to the emperor on a silver platter!
Whirling to face Obi-Wan again, Jifo nearly roared, "What is the matter with you?"
As this was going on, Ress was adjusting his comlink to a coded frequency so he could try to listen in on more conversations between stormtroopers and officers. As he listened while Jifo fumed, Ress said, "Sir, there's a report coming in from the Alkahen District. A squad seems to have found some of our colleagues in an alleyway and is pursuing them."
Immediately forgetting his anger at Obi-Wan, Jifo looked worriedly at Ress as Obi-Wan leapt to his feet. "What?"
"We need to get there before they're captured," Obi-Wan interjected.
"You mean like Anakin?" Jifo snapped.
"Does either of you even know where the Alkahen District is?" Ress asked.
Jifo was silenced by Ress' question and Obi-Wan sighed as they both looked at the clone with a clueless expression.
"Great," Ress stood, pocketing his comlink. "Any suggestions?"
"Well," Obi-Wan crossed his arms. "I suppose we could ask the locals."
"I told you morons this wouldn't end well!" Ryatsi snarled as she tried to stem the bleeding on her lip.
Anakin had managed to wreck the medical wing and injure everyone who was either unfortunate enough or stupid enough to get near him. The doctor had a puncture wound from the very syringe he was going to use on Anakin. Despite her anger, Ryatsi felt unnerved as well; she had seen Anakin panic before, but never to this degree. It was almost as if he could sense the animosity in these Imperials.
Moaning, Ryatsi nearly smacked herself. Of course he could sense the animosity.
"Look, just let him calm down," Ryatsi said to the doctor. "It's not going to do anyone any good to get near him right now."
The doctor glared at her irritably and then faced a stormtrooper. "Stun him,"
The stormtrooper nodded. He wasn't thinking it would be a problem; after all, the only two people who knew who this patient really was were Ryatsi and that blasted, moronic, black hearted, twisted, kriffing—
Ryatsi's thoughts were interrupted when the stormtrooper took aim. Apparently she didn't actually think he would go through with it. Ryatsi had forgotten that these men weren't from Death Squadron; they didn't know Anakin and wouldn't take it easy on him, particularly since they were directly under the emperor's command. Reaching out her arm, she cried out, "Wait!"
She was too late. The stormtrooper fired off a bolt, but it missed—badly. It wasn't the trooper's aim that was faulty; instead, it was Anakin's speed that caused the bad shot. He had sprinted to the other side of the room in a heartbeat, even causing Ryatsi to gasp and take a step back. His expression was terrified now, and Ryatsi knew what that meant.
The power died.
"That's odd," Ress muttered, tapping his comlink.
Obi-Wan looked at the trooper as Jifo nervously asked for directions from a local. "What is it?"
"I was listening in on a transmission from the flagship but it just died. All the channels are dead," Ress reported. "Ground-to-ground transmissions are still functioning however, but I think they're experiencing the same difficulties I am. They can't reach their superiors."
Obi-Wan had stopped listening after Ress' first few words of explanation. He didn't need an explanation after all; not when he was feeling his head pound with uncontrollable fear and a twinge of anger. Oh, Anakin…
"General?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I think Anakin's taking issue to the fleet's treatment of him. It will certainly keep the ground forces in disarray for a while. Let's hope we can find the others in time."
Marrax paced anxiously as the stormtroopers sifted through the crowd, checking identities. He had just been found by Numel after hearing the news of the fleet's presence when the stormtroopers had entered the building.
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," Numel muttered over and over beside Marrax.
"Are you always this obnoxiously blunt?" Marrax snapped out of anxiety. "I know we're in trouble!"
As Marrax continued to pace, Numel stopped dead in his tracks, catching Marrax's attention. "Now what is it?"
"Something's wrong," Numel said.
Marrax rolled his eyes. "Really?"
"No, I mean with the stormtroopers," Numel shook his head irritably. "Look; they're talking to each other; they've stopped their search and they're trying to contact their superiors. I think something's going on with their forces."
"Do you think now could be our chance to get out?" Marrax whispered.
"Well it's now or never," Numel replied, grabbing Marrax by the arm and subtly making his way through the crowd. They paused at the exits; despite the disorder the stormtroopers were in, they were still guarding the door.
"Now what?" Marrax moaned.
"Quiet, I'm thinking," Numel muttered.
Despite the situation, Marrax snorted. "That's new."
Suddenly, there was a yell outside that made everyone in the building jump. The crowd became restless as the stormtroopers tried to figure out what was going on, including the ones guarding the door the two Imperials were standing near.
Numel and Marrax looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They didn't need another moment. The two charged forward and yanked the blaster out of the stormtrooper's hands before throwing his helmet off and smashing his head into the wall. Naturally this caught the people's attention, but the crowd was too thick for the other troopers to see what happened or get to the scene in time to catch the two Imperials as they tore out the door.
Unfortunately, Marrax and Numel quickly discovered that the yell had come from a fight that had already broken out just outside the vicinity of the building. Stormtroopers were firing left and right at the panicked mob, causing Marrax and Numel to leap, twist, and duck out of the way before both were knocked to the ground by the crowd.
Marrax yelled in pain as a foot smacked into his nose, leaving it burning and bleeding. A pair of hands quickly wrenched him to his feet alongside Numel and he whirled around to see Kerrick.
"Come on!" Kerrick hissed, dragging Marrax as Ooke got Numel away from the uproar.
The four stumbled in silence as they drew closer to the main city and farther from the beach. Marrax held his nose as it throbbed painfully and his mind was numb from the insanity of the situation as adrenaline alone kept his legs running as fast as they could. Numel seemed to be in a similar state as he said nothing for a while as well.
Eventually, Kerrick led the three into an alley where they all bent over, panting for breath.
"How did they find us?" Marrax gasped between breaths.
"That doesn't matter anymore," Kerrick shook his head. "What matters is how we're going to get out of here."
"Where are the others?" Numel asked. "I know they got out of the building, but I don't know where they could have gone. Is it possible they went to the apartment to rendezvous?"
Kerrick again shook his head. "No, the apartment's too risky. If the fleet is here coming down hard on Taris it's because they know we're here. The first place they would search is the apartment."
"Great," Numel swore under his breath. "So how are we going to find them?"
"It appears the Imperial forces are in disarray right now," Kerrick noted. "Our best bet is to go outside the city while we can. There's no way we can find the others in this city without any way of communicating with them and while troopers are storming the city looking for us."
"Leave the city?" Ooke looked at Kerrick, appalled. "We can't abandon them!"
"For all we know they could have left as well," Kerrick said. "We don't have much choice in the matter. Now let's go."
Suddenly, a voice interrupted them. "Are you lost?"
Marrax jumped and turned sharply on his heel with the other two to see Obi-Wan standing in the darker part of the alley alongside Ress and Jifo. Marrax breathed a sigh of relief. "It's great to see you guys! How did you find us?"
"The Force," Obi-Wan answered simply as if that made perfect sense to say. Marrax didn't bother asking how the Force found them (he suspected it had to do with Force signature stuff, but he wasn't an expert and quite frankly, he didn't care right now).
"Do you know where the others might be?" Kerrick asked.
"They're in the Alkahen District currently," Obi-Wan answered. "And they're being pursued by stormtroopers, so I advise we hurry in that direction. It's not too far from here."
Obi-Wan turned and ran further into the alley, forcing the three winded Imperials to follow him. Marrax moaned a little as his nose ached more and more, but he ignored the pain to the best of his ability.
The group ran through winding alleys for what seemed an eternity to Marrax. His heart beat harshly in his chest, causing him to gasp sharply for air. He hated this feeling. Every corner they turned made Marrax jump as if stormtroopers were waiting just around the bend, ready to shoot them.
As if his imagination were coming to life, Marrax heard blaster shots ricocheting nearby, making him yelp and whirl in the direction they were coming from. He heard people shuffling and running and Obi-Wan immediately tore in that direction, quickly followed by the others.
Marrax saw six figures turn the corner running towards them and he vaguely recognized Zhymmia's slim frame leading the way. Before he could react, Obi-Wan ran faster than he could watch, brushing past the group and thrusting his hand out. The pursuers, a squad of stormtroopers who had just turned the corner behind the group, suddenly flew into the air before slamming into the hard unforgiving wall behind them, at the very least leaving them dazed. Kerrick, Numel, Ooke, Jifo, Ress, and Marrax grabbed their weapons and shot them.
"Thank you," one of them panted.
Marrax saw Rowan, Kobayashi, Padmé, Shiine, and Capt. Mentzer alongside Zhymmia. "Where are the others?"
"We don't know," Padmé shook her head. "We were searching for Anakin when those stormtroopers arrived."
"We have to get out of the city," Jifo said quickly. "Before the fleet lost contact with the ground forces, an order to execute us and anyone related to us was sent through, and—"
"What?" Rowan looked horrified. Jifo froze after being interrupted, apparently just realizing what he had said.
"Rowan, you can't—Rowan!" Obi-Wan shouted as the commander immediately took off running in the other direction.
"Where's he going?" Marrax looked at the others.
"Where do you think?" Numel snapped. "Great job, Jifo!"
"I—I didn't—"
"There's no time, let's just go before he gets there!" Padmé interrupted.
"Quickly!" Obi-Wan said, leading the way as they chased Rowan. Marrax still wasn't quite sure where Rowan was going until it belatedly smacked his mind sharply.
"Oh, stang," he cursed, picking up his pace as much as he could.
The group ran in silence, partly out of concentration to catch up to Rowan, but mostly because of the fact that they were completely out of breath. Marrax felt his legs trembling despite the adrenaline keeping them moving. He could tell the others were tiring as well, except for Obi-Wan and Ress, who seemed to be like droids, completely set on their goal and not slowing down for anything. Marrax was still worried about where the others were, particularly Anakin, but they had little choice in the matter right now, and all his energy was being spent on simply trying to keep up with Obi-Wan and Ress let alone Rowan.
As the apartment building came into view, Marrax focused more on simply getting to the apartment and took a deep breath, pushing his legs to the breaking point in order to speed up. Numel, being taller, managed to get ahead of Marrax and Capt. Mentzer was just behind him. Ooke, Kerrick, Jifo, Kobayashi, and Shiine followed them with the ladies just behind them.
The moment they entered, Marrax heard blaster fire. Cursing again, he tried to run faster only to have his chest sear in pain and his legs finally give out as he tripped over a dead stormtrooper. His head was pounding and everything was spinning, leaving him lying on the ground sweating and barely able to breathe. He heard Padmé stoop down beside him, but he pushed her off. "Keep going—I'll be fine."
Padmé nodded and ran ahead, leaving Marrax on the ground alone.
Padmé managed to make it into the turbolift just before the doors closed, leaving her and the other Imperials some time to breathe and prepare for what was probably going to be quite a skirmish.
"Why did you have to say that?" Numel snapped at Jifo once more.
"Look, I was just reporting it," Jifo snarled in reply, angry at himself as well as Numel. "I get that it was stupid – I don't need you rubbing it in."
"Enough," Ton interrupted harshly.
Padmé leaned against the turbolift wall, her eyes closed. She had to catch her breath; her gut was stinging with each breath she took. As she stood there in silence, she was asked by Kobayashi, "What happened to Marrax?"
"He fell," Padmé replied without opening her eyes. "He said he was fine."
The turbolift was quiet again when another question was asked. "Wait—where's Obi-Wan?"
"What?" Padmé opened her eyes and looked around the small space. Obi-Wan wasn't among them. "What happened? He was leading the group!"
"He told me to keep going and he went towards an alley," Ress explained. "Apparently he sensed something."
"This isn't the time for him to be running after everything he senses," Ton grumbled.
"He might have sensed Anakin," Padmé said hopefully.
Jifo huffed, his expression dark. "I doubt it."
Padmé looked at him sharply, knowing he was hiding something. "You've seen Anakin, haven't you? What's happened to him?"
Jifo shook his head. "I haven't seen Anakin, actually. I suppose now isn't the time to say anything more."
Padmé was going to question him further, but the lift slowed to a halt and the doors opened to reveal a hall of dead stormtroopers.
"So much for a battle," Kerrick muttered as he and Ress led the group out of the lift. The two proceeded slowly despite the obvious lack of opponents. Shiine and Numel followed them closely with Kobayashi, and then Jifo and Zhymmia. Padmé and Ton took the rear.
As they neared the apartment, Ress and Kerrick both paused before lowering their weapons. "There's no threat here."
"What do you…?" Jifo was about to ask when they all heard wretched sobs emitting from the apartment.
"Oh no," Padmé whispered, running ahead of the rest of them and rushing into the apartment.
The smell of fresh kills wasn't as strong in the apartment as it was in the hall, but there were just as many—if not more—bodies in the den. These kills were older, though not by much. "Someone's been in here already," Padmé said to the others as the entered, but her eyes focused on Rowan, who was on his knees holding a lifeless body.
Dread filling her, Padmé stepped slowly towards Rowan, but the limp figure in his arms wasn't his wife. Instead, it was a very young man who bore Rowan's resemblance. He was too young to be a brother and was too similar to Jan's features to be anything but a son.
"Rowan…" Kerrick began, not really knowing what to say. Rowan acted as if he didn't even hear him. Frankly, Padmé would be surprised if Rowan even knew they were there.
Padmé stood there helplessly watching Rowan cradle his son and sob. The sound was raw and harsh, tearing through her chest and making her eyes sting. Everyone else seemed to be similarly affected and didn't know what to do.
Sighing and shaking his head, Numel muttered, "We were too late…"
Padmé felt a slight twinge of irritation at Numel's bluntness, but she was too preoccupied with Rowan to do anything about it.
However, it finally seemed to annoy the others just enough. The sound of knuckles meeting bone caught Padmé's attention and she turned around to see Zhymmia standing over Numel, looking flushed and angry. "Shut up! Just shut up, you—you—"
Kerrick quickly grabbed Zhymmia and dragged her away from Numel before she punched the man again. "Zhymmia now is not the time!"
As Kerrick struggled with his furious subordinate, Padmé noticed Ress walking to the window alongside Shiine while the others watched the scuffle uncertainly. Padmé approached the two. "What is it?"
"I thought I heard a blaster shot," Shiine muttered.
Padmé immediately grew alert, trying to block out the strangled snarls from Zhymmia. She focused on where Shiine and Ress were watching, but she still couldn't hear anything over the racket the other Imperials were making. Nevertheless, she didn't have to hear the shots; she saw an alley light up as blasters were fired.
Immediately turning around, Padmé announced, "We have to go."
This caught the attention of everyone but Rowan, who still didn't give the impression of knowing they were even there. "What?"
"Sirs, there are more stormtroopers on their way," Ress said as he turned to face the others.
"Hang on," Shiine held up a hand. "I see Kenobi – he's with the others! Rowan, you're wife's with him!"
Padmé looked at Rowan to see if the statement garnered any reaction. Rowan only held his son tighter, trembling as he did so.
As this was going on, Ton was already issuing orders. He had Shiine and Numel, the best shots in the group, lead the way outside the apartment. Jifo and Ooke quickly followed, both having a wealth of knowledge on how to break in or out of locked access ways. Zhymmia and Marrax, both being relatively good shots, went next, accompanied by Ress and Kobayashi. This left Kerrick, Ton, and Padmé in the room with Rowan.
"We need to get him out of here," Ton said; his voice, for the first time in the time that Padmé had known him, was soft and gentle.
Kerrick, who knew Rowan better than Ton and Padmé, was the one to kneel beside him. "Rowan… we have to leave."
Rowan didn't acknowledge him.
"I can't imagine what you're feeling, Rowan," Kerrick shook his head. "But you and I both know that it doesn't matter in this situation; we're soldiers, Rowan. The enemy is coming. We have to go."
Kerrick placed a hand on Rowan's shoulder. "Rowan, we have to go."
"No," Rowan moaned, cradling his son's head to his chest.
"On your feet, commander," Ton ordered.
"No," Rowan repeated; this time, however, his voice held anger.
"Rowan, I understand you're going through a lot right now—" Padmé tried to say.
"Like hell you do," Rowan snapped, clutching his son protectively.
Padmé sighed and looked at Kerrick. Kerrick and Ton both looked at each other and nodded before pulling out their blasters. "Get up, Rowan."
"We can't leave him!" Rowan shook his head.
This time Padmé did hear the blaster fire. Ton said, "There's no time, Rowan. Let's go."
Rowan pulled away just enough to look at his son's pale serene face.
Kerrick bent beside Rowan and placed a hand under his arm to haul him to his feet. Rowan moved a little, but he wouldn't release his son.
A scream was heard outside; a woman's scream.
"Rowan, now!" Kerrick urged.
Closing his eyes tightly, Rowan released his son, who slumped onto the floor. Padmé couldn't bear to look at the sight either, and so she turned away. Ton put his blaster away, but Kerrick had his at the ready as he guided Rowan out of the apartment. Ton followed, leaving Padmé in the room. She slowly turned back to look at the body on the floor.
The man looked like a boy, so young and probably full of life before the stormtroopers had come. Just like Anakin. Just like her.
Force, when had everything fallen to pieces so horribly?
Biting her lip and taking a deep breath, Padmé left the room.
Geez, it's been so long the new layout to this site is weirding me out O.o
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