Weeeeee, I'm so happy autumn is finally here! Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons! Sadly this is probably the WORST fall I've ever had, hence why the updates are sluggish. :( Oh, well; I hope you guys are still reading and enjoying the story. I know I need some more happy stuff in my life!

Ryatsi had heard that the reports from Taris claimed there were no traitorous Imperials found. She had also heard that only the upper city had been searched, and the garrison that was on the planet requested some help combing the rest of the planet. She hoped the others had gotten off in time; it sounded like that was the case, but after everything that had been going on she didn't dare assume anything. She had assumed they were safe on Taris; look how well that had turned out.

Anakin shifted slightly, letting out a deep breath. Ryatsi watched him as he slept; it was still relatively early in the morning, and their first night in the palace had been rough. Anakin had continually woken up with a yell, startling Ryatsi awake. She then had to reassure him and attempt to put him back to sleep until he would wake up once more an hour later. Ryatsi groaned, leaning her head back against the wall as she rubbed her eyes thinking about it. She wasn't sure what was bothering Anakin; she knew the palace was terrifying, but he shouldn't know that. He had no memories of the palace, after all. She supposed maybe repressed memories warned him, just as they had peeked out when he had first gone amnesiac. Force that seemed so long ago now…

Feeling tears sting her eyes, Ryatsi shook her head and looked out the window. She had never wanted anything this insane, worrying, stressful, heart wrenching, and just messed up. She had originally become a doctor to follow in her father's footsteps; he had been a wonderful doctor, and had worked extremely hard to treat people from all over. He had started a charity that traveled across her home world, Bestine IV, and was well known for it. His charity had started hospitals everywhere, and they came in handy during many occasions, especially the Clone War. Ryatsi herself was part of the charity by the time the war began; she was a resident in one of the hospitals.

Ryatsi remembered the war; she had been in favor of the Separatists because of the corruption she saw in the Republic. When the war had ended, Ryatsi was struck with a sense of hopelessness, but then she heard that the Republic had been reorganized into an Empire of action that would get things done. She had been hopeful, and had even joined the navy as a medical officer. She had believed in the Empire.

She had the feeling she really needed to choose her sides better than this. Ryatsi had already placed her faith in two wrong systems… was she being foolish again in hoping that she could keep Anakin safe?

For just an instant a small part of her wondered if she could just get out. A small part of her whispered she might be able to just get reassigned and then, when her duty rotation was up, she would just request to be discharged. All she wanted to do was be a healer – she didn't want to get in the middle of the most dangerous game of fate in the Empire!

Ryatsi furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth, squeezing her fists so tightly it hurt. What a stupid notion to have – escaping the insanity while Anakin was left vulnerable to Palpatine. No, even if she hadn't been the one to run into Obi-Wan on Taris, she still would have volunteered to look after Anakin.

Shuddering, Ryatsi suddenly felt incredibly alone. She was alone in this palace, alone in this endeavor to keep Anakin safe. She was the only person on this planet who knew the truth about Darth Vader, who knew that he needed to be protected, and she was the only person in the universe crazy enough to volunteer to lie to Palpatine's face in order to keep Anakin safe. She wondered if she would be allowed to contact her father; the transmission would no doubt be monitored, but she had no intention on telling him any of her plans anyway… she just needed company. Anakin, as wonderful as he was, did not serve as good company; he was too busy fighting his own unseen demons that he didn't even understand. She supposed that was more terrifying than what she was enduring, but for once she was going to indulge in her weakness and just admit she needed help.

Grabbing her comlink, Ryatsi watched Anakin as she patched in the frequency for her father.

Waiting impatiently, Ryatsi felt her stomach knot as her father didn't answer the call. Did Palpatine kill him? Was his lack of concern over her watching Anakin really false after all? She had thought it odd that he had allowed her to be with Anakin, but she had also just assumed it was because he had little patience for teaching Anakin to read, write, and speak again.

Growing worried, Ryatsi tried reaching her father again, and, much to her relief, he answered this time.

"Ryatsi?"

Ryatsi choked up just hearing his voice. She did her best to compose herself so she could say something to him, but the pure joy at simply knowing he was alive overwhelmed her.

"Ryatsi, are you there?"

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, Ryatsi shakily answered, "Yes, I'm here. It's good to hear your voice."

She heard her father exhale softly, something he always did when he smiled. "It has been a while hasn't it? Look, I'm in the middle of a shift, but I can call you when I'm done and we can catch up."

"When do you get off?"

"Tomorrow morning,"

Ryatsi laughed. "A twenty-four hour shift, Dad? I thought you said you were done with those."

"Well I just need to make sure things get done around here."

Ryatsi paused, simply standing there before glancing at Anakin as he slept. Her loneliness began to return and an overwhelming feeling of foreboding washed over her. She trembled a little before closing her eyes and saying, "I love you, Dad."

Her father chuckled. "I love you too, Tsi. What are you getting all dramatic about, honey? You're normally not—oh, that's my pager. I have to go."

"Okay," Ryatsi quickly said, her voice trembling. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," her father replied before cutting the connection.

Ryatsi stared at her comlink for a while before sighing and collapsing in the nearest chair. What a lonely existence she lived now. She hoped she didn't just put her father in danger by contacting him.

Anakin stirred, making Ryatsi jump. He began to moan and shift, and so she rose and went to him, putting a reassuring hand on his forehead.

As she comforted him and watched him return to a more peaceful sleep, Ryatsi wondered for the millionth time how long this would be able to last. Palpatine didn't strike her as the most patient man in the galaxy; he would want results from her soon. What was she to do? She couldn't deliberately stall Anakin's progress, could she? Ryatsi was trying her best to do just that right now; she kept Anakin away from everyone else so they couldn't speak to him or influence him. He barely heard two words from her unless she was trying to calm him, and he was never around anyone else. If she could keep that routine going he would never be able to speak… right?

Ryatsi felt an uneasy reassurance at this thought until a memory surface and destroyed the idea: Anakin had learned to speak by reading Kerrick's mind. It didn't matter if someone was speaking around him so long as someone was simply there.

"Sithspit," she swore, her hand dropping to her side in frustration and fear. What was she going to do?

Anakin abruptly awoke with a jolt, startling Ryatsi. He sat up and looked around the room quietly before shaking his head and moaning.

"It's okay," she cooed in the calmest voice she could muster. Anakin only stared straight ahead, his eyes fixed on some random spot on the wall. His brow suddenly furrowed, and Ryatsi saw him trying to form a word. She immediately shook him. "Hey. Hey."

Anakin jumped and looked at her, suddenly looking confused and lost once more. Ryatsi felt sick. She was just making it worse… and yet that somehow made it better. What a miserable situation.

The foreboding she had felt when she was speaking to her father returned, and Ryatsi could only watch Anakin look around the room as if he didn't even know how he got there.

Time seemed to be crawling by. His eyes burned from exhaustion. His neck was aching from the uncomfortable position. He needed sleep.

The second timer on the chronometer continued to click away the time. The gentle humming of the hyperdrive only seemed to be an annoying rattle in the back of his mind.

Obi-Wan sighed and opened his eyes.

He supposed he got about five hours of sleep if he added all the different naps together. It wasn't nearly enough to make up for two days without rest, but he supposed it was a start. If he wasn't so nervous he might actually be able to sleep properly, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Looking at the countdown chronometer, he saw that they still had about three hours before they reached Nihoma. So he had three hours to meditate… or brood about their situation. Either one was a possibility at this point.

He wished he could contact Anakin. Their bond had slowly been mending over the short time they had been together, and he could probably contact Anakin through it. However, that would prove deadly for himself and Anakin since Palpatine would sense it. Obi-Wan felt uneasy as if he could sense Imperials chasing him, and he felt completely helpless at the same time because he knew Anakin and Ryatsi were at the mercy of Palpatine.

Obi-Wan worried about Anakin, but he also worried excessively about Ryatsi. Once Anakin grew competent enough to retrain, Ryatsi was irrelevant. Obi-Wan prayed they'd be ready to fight Palpatine before that day came.

Sighing heavily, Obi-Wan shook his head to rid his mind of those thoughts. They were constantly hammering into his head and simply brooding about it would do him no good. Instead he thought about how they were going to regroup the Imperials who had helped Anakin.

Kobayashi would most certainly be the easiest one to find. How the young man would be able to get his family, the royal family of Nihoma, into hiding was probably an enormous and impossible feat that was worrying him. He would linger on Nihoma and try to sort things out. Obi-Wan and Padmé could contact the king and queen to find him.

That did raise the question on how they would get in contact with the monarchs. Obi-Wan understood that the Imperials would probably be welcomed into the palace because they were well known by the monarchs, but Padmé had been a handmaiden of a senator, and Obi-Wan had never met the king and queen. He had briefly run into the prince when he had been fighting Anakin over Noriyuki, but he wasn't sure that would be enough. He supposed he'd have to put his negotiating skills to the test.

Smiling, Obi-Wan realized he hadn't had to think about negotiating since the war.

Obi-Wan sensed someone approaching and he turned to see Padmé entering the cockpit. He glanced briefly at the chronometer and was surprised to find that his musings had kept him busy for an hour.

"Looks like we're almost there," Padmé commented with a tired smile.

"Yes, it does," Obi-Wan replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Relatively. You look like you didn't."

"I'll sleep well when we get this sorted."

"I know what you mean," Padmé gazed off into hyperspace, her eyes clouding in thought.

"Are the younglings still asleep?" Obi-Wan asked.

Padmé nodded. "Yes. I'm not going to wake them until we get there."

"So what brilliant plans did they come up with?" Obi-Wan smiled as he queried.

Padmé chuckled. "Well, Leia said we could disguise ourselves as statues of ancient warriors—because obviously a castle has to have those—and sneak to the tower and get Anakin. She forgot a plan to escape the palace, though, so Luke said we could parachute out the window."

Obi-Wan laughed. "My, they are resourceful, aren't they?"

"They obviously have their father's insane way of planning."

"Anakin never planned anything more than five minutes in advance," Obi-Wan commented.

"True,"

The two sat in contemplative silence for the remainder of the trip. The console beeped to signal their exit from hyperspace, and Obi-Wan offered to pilot while Padmé woke the twins. Padmé left the cockpit just as the ship halted in front of Nihoma.

He was almost there. It was on the verge of making sense. He was almost there.

He had promised himself he would find out what little one meant. He had promised himself he would make sense of everything.

The nice lady gave him a smile as she approached. She was carrying some food, and he was ecstatic to see her and the delicious smelling breakfast she brought.

"Here you are," she said in a cheerful voice before sitting beside him and handing him a plate.

He smiled in delight and began to eat happily. As he stared at the food, odd images appeared in his mind, and instead of shying away from them as he had been, he let them play out.

He and some other people were standing in a large room with many steel counters. He could feel heat radiating from certain areas, and the others called them stoves. A woman with tan skin, long thick black hair tied in a bun, and kind, beautiful brown eyes was smiling at him. She looked so familiar…

"All right, Little One," she said, clapping her hands to get his attention. "You said you wanted to know where all the food at mealtime came from, so here it is. Kerrick said you ate here once, so I don't see how it's that much of a mystery."

"Well…" he said. "I know it comes from here… but how does it turn so good? I mean… look!"

He ran over to one spot and opened a door to reveal a cold space with a bunch of food stored in it. He pointed to some raw meat. "See? That doesn't taste good… but it comes out tasting good."

"You mean how is it cooked?" the woman clarified. "Well that takes a bit of skill, Little One, but—"

"Cooked? What's cooked? I want to cooked!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"No, dear, you really shouldn't cook," the woman hastily said, but her companion waved a dismissive hand.

He was a man with similarly tanned skin, slicked back black hair, strong features, and a very tall build. He said in a different accent than hers, "Aw, don't listen to her, Little One. You can cook if you want to. I'll help you; I'm a pretty decent cook myself."

The woman snorted in laughter. "You, Numel? You're capable of cooking?"

"Oi!" he snapped at her, making her laugh harder.

He watched the two of them banter briefly before growing bored with it. He grabbed some of the raw meat and ran over to a stove, examining the contraption. Running his hand across the knobs and buttons, he could see the mechanics behind it and happily plopped the meat on top and turned on the heat. Bouncing on his heels he turned around and said, "Look! I'm cooked!"

The two stopped arguing immediately and threw a bewildered look in his direction. The woman quickly noticed what he had done and ran over. "No, Little One, turn it off!"

She began to rush over, so he wanted to make sure he cooked it really fast before she got there. Growing impatient he turned the heat on as high as he could. A strange smell began to come from the meat and just as the woman arrived the meat erupted in flames.

The room exploded into chaos. The man yelled out and ran to grab something while the woman yelled and turned the heat off before jumping away from the flames. He stared at the flames for the longest time, mesmerized and terrified at the same time. Suddenly his skin began to crawl and he started to panic when the woman grabbed him and pulled him away from it.

"Little One, you'll get hurt!" she said as the man returned with something and put the fire out.

"Okay, you were right," the man panted. "Teaching Little One to cook probably isn't the best idea."

Little One… so it was a name? It was his name? He wanted to ask the nice lady, but he didn't know how.

When he turned to look at her, he saw her just staring at her food sadly. Did she burn her food too? Why was she sad?

Suddenly he felt the presence in his mind return. Dropping his utensil with a loud crash, he jumped to his feet and yelled out. He didn't want that in his head!

The nice lady jumped to her feet and went to him. She tried to calm him, but he wasn't listening. All he could hear was a distinct suck-hiss, and Lord Vader being rumbled in that awful voice over and over…

He yelled repeatedly, trying to get the voice out. The nice lady looked haggard, and he felt sorry for her, but he wouldn't stop until—

He paused for a moment. The last time this had happened he had put all his energy into throwing the voice out, and it had worked. Doing just that, he found himself successful once again. Maybe that was all he had to do! The nice lady watched him worriedly, looking tired.

Although she looked horrible, he felt wonderful. He had found out his name was Little One, and he had found a way to get rid of the voice.

Noriyuki looked very different from when he last remembered seeing it. He wasn't sure I that was because of the construction being done to repair buildings from damage caused by the dragons or because he had at least been more relaxed last time he was here. The magic of the city seemed to be working on the twins, though.

"It's so big!" Luke gaped.

"It's so pretty!" Leia gasped.

Padmé led the twins by the hand, telling them about different places as they passed them. Obi-Wan led the way as they approached the center of the city. Using the Force he extended his senses. Most people in the area seemed to be calm and going about their usual lives; if anyone was still shaken by the dragon incident they weren't showing it. However, he quickly began to sense tension up ahead. He quickened his pace to get ahead of the Padmé and the twins, and he understood the tension once he realized where it originated.

The palace was directly ahead of him, and fear was heavy in the air like a wet blanket. Kobayashi had obviously informed his parents what was happening. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and approached the main gate that led to the main courtyard where all the palatial buildings were. A guard immediately stepped in his way.

"Sorry, sir, but there's no admittance here," he informed Obi-Wan.

Padmé and the twins had just arrived behind Obi-Wan, and he casually waved his hand to the guard. "You will let us pass."

The guard stood there for a moment, and for a split instant Obi-Wan was afraid the man was too strong for the Force's sly influence, but he relaxed his muscles and said, "Of course I'll let you pass."

The guard opened the gate and escorted the group inside. Luke and Leia were excited as could be and began to bounce on their heels, pointing out different structures. Padmé quickly hushed them, however, and Obi-Wan knew why; the other guards wouldn't be as obliging as this one alone, and Obi-Wan was not going to get into a fight with two five-year-old children in the vicinity.

As they entered the palace, Obi-Wan could sense the familiar presence of Kobayashi. The young man was close. For once there was good news; they didn't have to worry about going out of their way to find the man.

Padmé caught up to Obi-Wan, holding her children close to her. "One guard may fall to your persuasion, but are we really expecting to just waltz into the throne room?"

As if on cue, other guards immediately appeared and stopped them, demanding what was going on to their guide. The man looked uncertain, as if he didn't quite know why he was leading them.

Suddenly a voice said, "Stop. Leave them alone; they're welcome here."

The guards turned in unison to the source of the voice, and Obi-Wan saw Kobayashi. The young Imperial walked toward them slowly, his hand still raised from his previous command. He stared at them in shock before smiling. "You Jedi are a sneaky sort; you had this planned out, didn't you?"

"I've had plans work out better than this," Obi-Wan shrugged nonchalantly, happy that things finally seemed to be going their way. "But I am guilty as charged."

"You could have told us before we all left Taris, you know," Kobayashi said hastily as they rushed to the throne room.

"You weren't very inclined to listen to me at the time," Obi-Wan replied, and Kobayashi flinched. The Jedi was right, after all.

"What about your family?" Padmé quickly asked.

Kobayashi sighed and shook his head. He had been trying for the past two days to tell his family that they were in danger, but they wouldn't listen. Their duty came before their safety; as the rulers of Nihoma they couldn't just abandon their subjects. "It's no use; they won't leave. They at least are sending Sano to the mountain retreat to wait things out."

"Sano?"

"My brother," Kobayashi explained. "The crown prince,"

As they continued, he then asked, "Are those two… are they your children, Padmé?"

Padmé smiled. "Yes. Luke, Leia, meet Kobayashi Beillane."

Luke and Leia smiled and waved ecstatically, but they were too busy trying to keep up to their mother to say anything. Kobayashi smiled in return. He could see the resemblance between them and their parents. The boy in particular bore a striking resemblance to his father. Kobayashi's smile vanished and his stomach churned as he thought about Anakin. He looked at Obi-Wan. "How long do you think Anakin'll hold up?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know."

Two guards up ahead opened the doors for them and they quickly entered the more private throne room. There were only two throne rooms in the palace; one for grand occasions or for dignitaries, and the other for more private audiences, as in this case. The room, like the others in the palace, had wood floors. The walls were red. The room was box-shaped. The center of the room was a large stage-like platform. It had gold carpeting. The platform was attached to the back wall with two separate doorways for the king and queen to come and go. Instead of doors, though, the doorways had red curtains covering them. Two red cushions sat side by side on the floor of the platform and served as seats for his mother and father. The platform itself had four wooden pillars and an ornately carved wooden roof. The roof started as a point in the center and then curved downwards before tilting upwards in the corners. Golden dragons stood on the corners of the roof. A small decorative wooden fence about ankle-height was built all the way around the platform. Standing in front of the platform, it rose to about mid-calf height.

In front of the main platform was a smaller one. Like the ornate one, it was rectangular, had a carpet—though this one was blue—and had a small decorative wooden fence going around it. The wooden fence stopped to leave a small opening where a person could step onto the platform. The opening was actually in the right corner of the platform since the door leading into the throne room was on the right wall. There were no cushions on the platform floor. Kobayashi stood on this platform, and the others followed his lead.

Facing his parents, Kobayashi felt exposed and he didn't know what to say. His father sat directly in front of him, looking at him shrewdly with his brow furrowed. Kobayashi could read the man's mind now. He was wondering why Kobayashi was bringing random strangers into the throne room; were they friends of his? If they were, why was he making himself known to them? That would compromise his position. Kobayashi's mother, on the other hand, looked curious but cautious.

"Father, mother, may I present Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, and Miss Amidala's two children." Kobayashi said, getting on his knees and bowing in the proper Nihoman way. Obi-Wan did so as well, and Padmé guided her children to bow too.

Kobayashi heard the rustling of his father's clothes as the man motioned for them to sit upright. Kobayashi did so, and his father looked less than pleased.

"I welcome you all," he said in a cold tone. "Any friends of Kobayashi are friends to Nihoma. However, this is a bad time to visit. I advise you leave immediately."

"We intend to leave immediately, Your Majesty," Obi-Wan replied. "However…"

Here Obi-Wan faltered, not quite knowing how to phrase his next sentence, so Kobayashi stepped in for him. "I'm going with them."

His parents jumped, startled, and his mother immediately said, "Kobayashi, don't be foolish. You'll be killed if they find you."

"I'm a sitting target here, Mother," Kobayashi answered.

"You're going to the mountain retreat with your brother," his father immediately reminded Kobayashi of their original plan. "That's more than safe."

"Father, I'll only bring trouble to Nihoma," Kobayashi explained urgently. "I respect you as my father and my king greatly, but if I have to disobey your wishes to do this, I will. Nihoma is not safe so long as I'm here, and I have to find the others."

"The others? Your fellow Imperials? They're grown men and women, Koby; they can take care of themselves!" His mother stressed.

"I'm aware of that. However, we have a plan, and if it works, we won't have to hide anymore."

This new idea seemed to make his parents even more nervous. His father paled slightly as he asked, "What sort of plan?"

"I can't tell you," Kobayashi shook his head. "I'm sorry. But we have to leave now."

His mother stood. "Kobayashi, you can't leave. You won't be safe out there!"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, he won't be much safer here as he pointed out earlier," Obi-Wan said calmly. "I assure you we will do everything in our power to keep your son safe. May I also add that your son is a highly trained Imperial officer; he knows how to defend himself."

Kobayashi smiled and stood. "See Mother? There's nothing to worry about."

His mother's expression showed that she disagreed with that statement entirely, but as her husband stood to protest she placed a hand on his shoulder. In a stately and strong voice that she seemed to be using to convince herself that she felt strongly about this, his mother said, "Be gone, then, Prince Kobayashi. Leave with haste before you bring any unwanted guests."

Protocol dictated no show of affection between the monarchs in the public eye (though his mother had made an exception when she first saw him after he had run away), and Kobayashi was so engrained with this that though he wanted to run to his parents and hug them tightly, he simply bowed once more. "I thank you, Mother."

Kobayashi motioned for the others to stand and bow, and then they left in quite a hurry. As they were exiting the palace through a less known path, Kobayashi asked, "So what is the plan? I know we're supposed to regroup and get Anakin out of Palpatine's clutches, but how are we going to go about doing that?"

"We'll have to employ some help," Obi-Wan hinted, and Kobayashi wasn't quite sure he wanted to know what that meant. "But first we have to find the others; do you know where they'll be?"

Blowing out a sigh, Kobayashi said, "Well we'll have to move quickly; I only know where they live, not where they're likely to hide. Moeema is the closest; she's on Hynah. Then we could get to Shiine on New Coronet from there."

Obi-Wan didn't look very happy with the order Kobayashi had chosen, and he could guess why; Moeema would need quite a bit of convincing before she calmed enough to talk to Kenobi after what had happened on Taris.

Luke and Leia were pestering their mother with questions as to what was happening, but Padmé kept telling them she would explain later. He supposed it would be quite a bit later; the flight to Moeema's home would only take about three hours if they plotted the course correctly.

Hope kindled in his heart as Kobayashi caught sight of the space port where the ship awaited them. They had been so close to losing on Taris, but now they were finally planning a counterstrike. They would get Anakin back, and they would get things sorted.

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