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Tears silently ran down her cheeks. She couldn't keep her eyes off Anakin's defeated body. She could see that there was nothing left inside, no hope, no fight, nothing. It scared her because she had never seen him this low. Not once in all her years as his padawan had Ahsoka seen Anakin lose his spirit.
He was currently kneeling behind the Emperor, his head hung and his shoulders slumped. After he had released the blaster, Anakin had returned back to his position behind the Emperor and hadn't moved since. She knew he was currently in tune with the Force because every time she sent him any comfort through their old bond he always pushed it away.
A painful slap forced her head to the side, leaving a sting behind. Gritting her teeth but otherwise refusing to react, Ahsoka finally turned her attention away from her old Master. She glared up at the Emperor. She hadn't seen Emperor Palpatine for eight years and time hadn't been kind to him. He had visibly aged but she could still see the power and determination that had always been the man's strength. His face was more aged and his hair had thinned out more but there was no frailty about him. He stood tall, his eyes betraying the arrogance inside.
"How did you escape Order 66?" he was demanding.
Ahsoka held his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away. Her mouth stayed firmly shut. She felt Rex shift uncomfortably beside her.
Minutes passed.
"Ahsoka..." Rex mumbled under his breath.
Sighing internally, she looked away. She knew that he was only reminding her not to get them killed prematurely but she hated this plan. Everything about it was just so... risky.
"I wasn't in the Galaxy at the time. I didn't even know about Order 66 until two years after it occurred," she revealed.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes at her, feeling the Force for any sign of a lie. Not detecting any, he pressed on.
"Where were you then?"
"A small planet just outside of the Outer Rim." She refused to reveal its name.
Emperor Palpatine ignored the oversight of the name but Ahsoka could see his brilliant mind was working hard. She knew that if this plan didn't succeed then it was likely her new home world would be destroyed before long. But then if this plan didn't work, nowhere would survive much longer anyway. The Galaxy was struggling under the oppression.
"And how did you break your training?" Palpatine turned to Rex.
Ahsoka glanced over to her old friend. He had never spoken to her of his past and she had never asked.
Rex shrugged casually. "I had help from a friend."
The Clone beside Rex slammed the butt of his blaster into Rex's temple. Rex went down with a groan, his vision swimming and head instantly pounding. He had fallen sideways, landing awkwardly on his shoulder, unable to use his bound hands to soften the blow. When his vision had cleared a little, Rex managed to manoeuvre himself back onto his knees. He sent the Clone a scathing glance.
"Remember what's at stake here Clone," Palpatine hissed. He hated that the Clone looked so calm despite his situation. He could also sense that something wasn't quite adding up. Something didn't feel right.
Rex tried to ignore the thumping headache as he answered the Emperor.
"I was stationed on Tattooine at the time Order 66 went out. We had been keeping an eye on the Hutt family until Jedi backup could arrive. The Hutt's had been kidnapping Force sensitive children and selling them into slavery for the highest bidder and we were assigned to make sure none of the children they currently had left the planet. The Jedi arrived the day we got the Order. Bridges, another Clone in my troop, and I had gone to the rendezvous point to collect the Jedi, leaving the others at base. It was just sheer luck that I had taken my helmet off to greet the Jedi and so I didn't hear the Order come through. Bridges did though. He immediately shot down the padawan but the Jedi was fast enough to stop himself from being killed. He killed Bridges before I'd even realised what was going on. I was starting to feel the urge to pull my blaster out and finish what Bridges' had started but the Jedi was already on top of me. He had disarmed me and had me pinned under his lightsaber. I still didn't know what was going on or why Bridges had killed the padawan. When I couldn't answer the Jedi's questions he knocked me out and tied me up.
"When I awoke, the Jedi looked like he'd gone a few rounds with a gundark. He was bleeding heavily from a blaster wound to his side. He told me my troop was dead and that they had tried to kill him too. He asked if I wanted to kill him and I told him that honestly the urge was there but I didn't know why. Then he left me there. I stayed in the tent for a day before he returned. He looked even worse. I could see that his wound had become infected despite his best attempts to fix himself up. We only had a limited supply of bacta cream, which he'd already used up. He knew he was dying but he filled me in on what had happened and why I felt the way I did. Hearing what had happened throughout the galaxy disgusted me because despite everything the Jedi had taken care of us and some of them were our friends. I didn't want the Jedi to die even if my body was telling me otherwise. That night, the Jedi released me. I didn't kill him; he died from the blaster wound. I stayed in hiding on Tattooine for a year after Order 66 was issued. I gave the Jedi a proper burial and stayed out of sight from any Imperial Clones. I guess because I didn't actually hear the Order, my need to kill the Jedi wasn't as strong as anyone else's."
The Emperor thought this through in silence for a minute.
"What about the Resistance?" Palpatine asked. "What are your positions in its ranks?"
Ahsoka saw Anakin stiffen very slightly. She felt out with the Force around him but again he pushed her away before she could even detect his emotions.
"We don't have ranks within the Resistance. If you want to join you can but everyone has to pull their own weight."
"And your leaders? I know my pet here was one of them but surely he didn't run it alone?"
Ahsoka was genuinely surprised that he hadn't asked Anakin already. She glanced over to her old Master to see he had finally lifted his head a little. His eyes caught hers for the briefest of moments but then he dropped his head again. In that look, Ahsoka had seen the weight of the galaxy resting on him. She couldn't add to his distress.
Ahsoka raised her head to meet the Emperor's gaze again. Her face was set, her jaw clenched stubbornly. She was silent.
Suddenly a piercing cry escaped her lips as something was pressed into her back. It sent waved of muscle-seizing agony through her. As suddenly as it came, the spike was removed and as all her muscles relaxed at once, Ahsoka sagged forward. She drew in deep heaving breaths as she tried to re-oxygenate her muscles. Slowly she lifted herself back up and glared at the Emperor again. Seconds later, the spike was back.
This time, the Clone held it there slightly longer. Ahsoka's body twitched and twisted as she tried to escape its wrath but she couldn't control her body. When the spike was removed again, Ahsoka found herself on the ground, her legs pulled into her chest. Her shoulders were burning from her arms being bound behind her back for so long. Rex was being held down as he swore and struggled to get to Ahsoka.
Forcing herself to regain control of her body, Ahsoka opened herself to the Force and let it strengthen her. She got herself back up again, still breathing heavily.
"Why don't you just kill us already?" she asked. Her voice didn't sound as strong as she'd hoped.
The Emperor laughed. "I am going to make examples of you. You two will be a message to your fellow Resistance members."
He turned away and Ahsoka watched as Anakin stood quickly and turned too. He trailed closely behind Palpatine as he started out of the room.
"Bring those two," Palpatine called over his shoulder.
A Clone stepped up to Ahsoka and grabbed her upper arm. He pulled her to her feet and shoved her roughly forward. Ahsoka caught her footing and chose to follow the Emperor without a fuss. She could hear Rex walking behind her, followed closely by the half dozen Clones in the room.
It had been part of their plan – that Anakin sense Padme as they were leaving the Senate building. He had been shielding Padme's Force presence along with his own so that the two could get close enough to such a well-guarded area without being caught. It wasn't long after they had found a secluded area that was close to the landing pad that Palpatine and Anakin, along with a small number of guards, had exited the building.
Obi Wan had timed it perfectly. He had waited until they were about to step into the transporter before momentarily lowering the shield covering Padme's Force presence. He didn't keep it down for long – indeed he was putting it back up almost as soon as he put it down but he knew that would be long enough.
He kept his eyes on Anakin's hunched form and noticed it stiffen. He felt Anakin's incredible Force signature probing the area but passed right over the pair of them. A small smile graced his face as he realised there were still something things he could do that Anakin didn't pick up on.
Beside him, Padme hadn't moved as she saw Anakin. Her eyes were bright and wet as tears threatened. She hated how defeated he looked, how repressed he was. Fury like she had never experienced suddenly rocked her. How she hated the Emperor! No one should be allowed to get away with what he had done to her beloved!
Her fists clenched at her side, she felt Obi Wan place a calming hand on her shoulder and send her comforting waves through the Force. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remember why they were here. But as the transporter pulled away that didn't stop the tear from rolling slowly down her cheek.
Only when Obi Wan announced that they were far enough away did the pair come out of hiding. Padme had composed herself again, pushing away any unnecessary emotions and all thoughts of her husband. She knew she couldn't think of him without becoming emotional so it was just easier not to think about him.
Walking casually, so as not to raise suspicion, Obi Wan led her over to the side entrance from the Senate. As they already knew, two Clones stood guard, blasters in front of their chests. Padme knew they had been sighted and that the guards were watching them closely but so far they hadn't left their posts.
As they drew nearer, the Clones adjusted their stance so they were more alert. When they were within earshot, the Clone on the right side of the door stepped forward.
"Halt! What is your business at the Emperor's personal entrance?" he demanded.
Obi Wan turned to Padme and directed her carefully to the side of the building.
"Just wait here my dear," he muttered.
Then he turned and slowly approached the Clone. His hood was down, letting his light hair sway gently in the breeze. His hands were raised in a non-threatening manner.
"I believe we are lost sir," he said.
The Clone glanced over to his partner. In that split second, Obi Wan reacted. Despite his obvious age, the man was as agile as he had been in his youth. He used the Force to pull the blasters out of the Clone's hands, discarding them behind him on the landing pad.
More out of surprise than lack of training, the two Clones weren't quite fast enough to stop Obi Wan from throwing them together and then back into the Senate. Already unconscious before they hit the wall, the two Clones slumped to the ground like rag dolls.
Motioning over his shoulder for Padme to join him, Obi Wan casually entered the Senate building. Using Padme's knowledge of the building, the pair made their way through the winding corridors towards the guardroom. For their part of the plan to work, they needed to know they weren't going to have countless Clone troopers swarming in on them before they had achieved their objective. Obi Wan managed to keep them unseen as they snuck their way through the Senate.
The door to the guardroom was open, as was standard. They needed to know that they would be able to exit immediately should an emergency arise. And that was exactly what Padme and Obi Wan didn't want to happen.
They weren't fooling themselves. They knew there was more than one guardroom in the whole of the Senate building but this was the closest, the one with the quickest response time. This was the one that they needed to ensure wouldn't be on them before they were ready.
As they watched a pair of Clones leaving the room, Obi Wan pulled a small canister off his belt with one hand while the other lifted a small sphere off. Sending out his senses, he checked that there was no one coming before proceeding. Obi Wan pressed the small red button on the sphere before quickly levitating it over to rest against the doorjamb. Even as it rolled to a stop Obi Wan was already throwing the canister into the room, using the Force to guide it.
Seconds after the canister disappeared, shouts started coming from the room. Smoke began billowing out of the open door. Then Obi Wan pulled Padme further into their hiding spot as the sphere suddenly exploded. The sound was shockingly loud in the small space. Obi Wan's ears were ringing but he was otherwise unaffected. He quickly checked that Padme was alright before checking out the damage. The entire wall had collapsed. The rubble was stacked to the roof, which had partially caved in. There was no way the Clones would be able to get out of that room in a hurry – especially not when that canister had been filled with a sleeping agent.
Time was of the essence now as Padme and Obi Wan made their way back to the landing platform. As they ran, they could hear the sound of running footsteps coming towards them. Obi Wan drew his lightsaber and before the two Clones could realise what had happened he had cut them down. Hoping that there hadn't been any other Clones that had heard the explosion, Obi Wan and Padme started running faster back to the platform.
Obi Wan could feel they were running out of time. He could feel the ominous Force presence drawing nearer and knew that Palpatine would be there before they reached the platform. Grabbing Padme's hand, Obi Wan used the Force to help them go faster.
Only minutes later, the pair dashed past the two unconscious guards and out into the late afternoon sunshine. The transporter was already there.
Obi Wan pulled them to a halt. He placed himself slightly in front of Padme. He ignited his lightsaber.
Standing in front of the transporter doors was Anakin and Palpatine, Ahsoka and Rex kneeling in front of them.
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