DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.
The Imperial Lambda-class shuttle shot through the heavy morning traffic, defying countless laws and paying little attention to the comings and goings of those around it. The Clone who was driving stared intently ahead, his hands deftly controlling the shuttle. His dark eyes behind his helmet were darting cautiously around him, searching for any signs of pursuit or trouble. He was absolutely silent as he concentrated, absorbed by his task.
The room behind the cockpit was a lined with harnessed seats. It was bare other than a large steel box at the back of the shuttle. Sitting on one of the chairs closest to the cockpit was Padme, her hands still cuffed in front of her and the collar still heavy around her neck. Obi Wan was crouched in front of her and the pair was speaking softly to each other. Ferus and Pieter waited patiently until Obi Wan sat back on the chair directly opposite Padme. He sighed as his eyes continued to study Padme, still unconvinced that she was as fine as she'd told him.
Ferus walked over to his old friend and sat down. He too studied Padme. She didn't look any worse than the last time he'd seen her. Sure she was slightly skinnier than she had been but there were no marks on her body to indicate that she'd been tortured or wounded.
"Honestly Ben, I'm fine!" Padme insisted. She glanced from Obi Wan to Ferus sitting next to him and then over to Pieter who was still near the rear door. "Thank you for rescuing me, all of you."
Obi Wan nodded silently. Ferus leant forward.
"Padme, what happened exactly?"
Padme looked back to him and sighed. She adjusted her hands in her lap before taking a deep breath and started to explain how she had been captured. She told them about finding the men holding her children and how they'd put them to sleep with a single touch. She told them about being knocked unconscious only to come too in Anakin's lap on board a Separatist spacecraft. After she told them about being kept separate from Anakin for nearly the whole trip back to Coruscant there was silence.
"Why did they leave you alone?" Pieter asked softly.
Padme shrugged, tugging again at the cuffs. Pieter noticed and walked over to her as she spoke again.
"I have no idea. The first day I was there, I was knocked unconscious again but this time from the collar. It just started tightening for no reason and I couldn't breathe. Eventually I just passed out. When I woke up the collar was loose again and I was lying on my bed. After that I didn't see anyone until nearly three months later. I spent every moment in that cell trying to figure out why I was being left alone. The only thing I could come up with was that Anakin was complying with them and just the threat of harming me was enough to keep Anakin in line."
Pieter was fiddling with the locks on the cuffs. He had his tongue poking out from between his lips as he worked.
"So this had nothing to do with you par se?" Obi Wan questioned.
"I don't think so," she said with a shake of her head. She glanced down to Pieter as he sighed and released her hands. The cuffs were still locked tight.
"I can't open them. I think they might have a Force release lock," Pieter said.
Ferus stood and dropped down in front of Padme. He raised his hand to hover over the lock and closed his eyes. Instantly they flew back open and he frowned.
"The dark side surrounds these cuffs. There's no way to open them without it."
Obi Wan stood up, rolling his eyes. "So single-minded."
He pulled his lightsaber from his belt and told Padme to stay still. She held her hands out for him and with one swipe, the lightsaber broke apart. The cuffs were still locked around her wrists but they were no longer connected. Padme smiled gratefully at Obi Wan as he sat back down. He just nodded and fell silent for a moment.
"Padme," she looked up to Obi Wan. He looked deep in thought. "Do you know what they really want with Anakin?"
She swallowed and nodded. "Palpatine wants to use him as a weapon. He wants to use Anakin to destroy the Resistance and to be his personal guardian. He won't let him go after the Resistance has been dismantled. He's..."
She faltered as she remembered Anakin's whispered words to her during their one night together. He'd looked so haunted and scared as he'd held her tightly against his scarred chest. She'd clung to him just as tightly, afraid to let him go. Padme took another deep breath and pushed the memory away.
"Palpatine's been training him for the past three months."
Ferus' eyes widened and Pieter swore. Obi Wan just nodded and closed his eyes as though he'd already guessed that much.
"That's worse than we imagined," Ferus murmured.
"Ben, we need to ditch this shuttle. We're too obvious."
Everyone looked around in surprise, having forgotten about Rex sitting at the controls out the front. Rex hadn't turned away from the windshield but had simply shouted over his shoulder. Obi Wan stood up and joined him in the cockpit. They talked quietly for a minute and then Obi Wan came back.
"We've got a tail," he explained. "Strap yourselves in so Rex can lose him and find us somewhere to get rid of the shuttle."
Padme sat back further in her seat and lowered the harness over her shoulders until it clicked into place. Pieter sat down beside her and locked himself into his own harness. The cabin fell into silence as the three men and Padme felt the whole shuttle lose altitude and bank harshly to the left.
Rex cursed softly to himself as he spotted the much more nimble speeder follow him. He'd noticed it tailing them a couple of moments ago but it wasn't until he was sure that they were being followed that he called upon Obi Wan.
He'd told the Jedi who had watched the speeder duck and weave between the traffic. Strangely enough it wasn't gaining on them, even though it was obvious that it could have caught up without any troubles. It was staying back, just keeping them in its sights.
After Obi Wan had left, Rex's mind started turning over possible places to land the shuttle. He didn't want to do it in the lower levels; it would be too close to where they were staying. But then at the same time, he couldn't afford to ditch it too far away from them either. Padme's face would be fresh in the minds of the people after the broadcasting of her trial and there was too much chance that she would be recognised.
At that moment he flew over a run down area, one that had once been a residential area. It was in ruins, having been destroyed by order of the Empire. While Order 66 was being executed, known Jedi supporters and strong Republicans had been killed as well and their houses burnt down. They were made examples to any who would challenge newly instated Emperor Palpatine's rule.
Rex knew the area well. When he'd been in the Clone army, serving under Generals Skywalker and Kenobi, they had taken him and his fellow captain Cody with them. There had been a small diner own by a Besalisk named Dexter Jettster along this street. Dex, as Obi Wan referred to him, was a good friend and Rex had accompanied the Jedi countless times on their visits.
Impulsively, Rex suddenly dropped the shuttle and landed it in the burnt out shell of a housing block. He powered the shuttle down before joining his friends in the cabin. All four of them were standing already, waiting.
Pieter and Rex took up positions on either side of the door before Ferus lowered it. The ramp extended and, working in flawless teamwork, Rex and Pieter disappeared outside. Obi Wan stood beside Padme, his hands buried in the opposite sleeve. Ferus had given Padme his cloak, wrapping it over her shoulders and around her body. He'd thrown the hood over her head to give her a measure of cover.
Moments later Rex returned and gave the all-clear. Ferus went first, body relaxed but eyes alert. Padme followed after him with Obi Wan bringing up the rear. The small group made their way through the deserted area. Nothing moved on the ground aside from the five shadows.
Rex could see the speeder hovering around the landed shuttle. He ignored it and led the group towards where he remembered Dex's Diner to be. On one of Kenobi's visits to the diner, Rex had spotted a young thief running away from a stall vender who was shouting threats at the youth.
The thief had ducked down the alley beside the diner and Rex had glanced around the corner in time to see the boy lift up a steam grate and drop down inside it. At the time, Rex had chuckled and returned to his post outside the diner, but now he was planning to use the memory to their advantage.
"Dex's Diner," Obi Wan suddenly said.
He'd realised where they were only moments before the diner had come into view. He didn't know where Rex was leading them but he trusted the Clone. He had to know something that Obi Wan didn't.
Suddenly sirens pierced the air. The group all glanced back at their abandoned shuttle and saw that it was surrounded by police cruisers and droids. There was policemen there too and a squad of Clones. The group were approaching the shuttle cautiously, blasters held ready. Two droids run up the ramp and entered the cabin.
Obi Wan turned away, knowing they wouldn't find anything. It wouldn't be long before they split up and started searching the surrounding area for them.
"Let's get out of here," he whispered.
Rex nodded and started walking down what once would have been an alleyway between two main streets. About a third of the way down the alley Rex stopped and bent down. Pieter stood behind him, scanning for trouble. Ferus, Padme and Obi Wan joined the pair around a manhole.
"I saw a thief disappear down this grate once," Rex was saying. "I figure it has to lead somewhere or the boy wouldn't have been heading here with such determination."
"Good work Rex," Obi Wan said.
He raised a hand and used the Force to lift the cover away. It offered a little resistance after having been sealed for so long but Obi Wan just applied a little more force and it came away. He placed it on the ground beside the hole.
Shouted orders started up and then running footsteps began approaching their position. Rex wasted no time. He jumped down into the hole.
It wasn't a long fall. It didn't even jar his ankles or knees when he landed. He flicked the lights on his helmet on and quickly glanced up and down the tunnel he had landed in. It was taller than he was and just as round. Water dripped off the roof and formed a little trickling stream under his feet. It disappeared into darkness on either side of him.
"All clear!" he called up.
Next thing he knew, Ferus was landing beside him, agile as a cat. Then Padme was lowered in and Rex caught her and lowered her to the ground. When everyone was in the tunnel, Obi Wan slid the cover back over the grate. By the lights on Rex's helmet and the two glowing lightsabers, the five started moving deeper into the tunnel and away from their pursuers.