A big thank you to MoAngel for getting me off my lazy chair. Hopefully I can be bothered finishing this and posting it too! :)
Chapter 43:
They had spent most of the week in the meeting room going over and over the same problem. The holograms hadn't changed, they'd received no new information and they were no closer to saving Luke. All five of them were exhausted, running on minimal sleep and sheer determination.
"We've considered that already Ferus. They would have moved him by now, there's no way the Emperor would be that stupid," Ahsoka muttered, impatience coating her words.
Ferus turned to the Togrutan, his deflated demeanour disappearing momentarily as frustration took over. His eyes were red from lack of sleep and his hair was dishevelled but he looked no worse than anyone else at the table.
"At least I'm still offering something. What have you given us except your negative opinion on everything?"
"I'm not negative, I'm realistic."
Anakin watched their bickering in silence. He was leaning back in his chair, Leia curled up against his chest. She was breathing deeply in sleep, his shirt gripped tightly in one of her hands. He, in turn, had an arm wrapped around her, holding her tiny body close to him. Padme sat to his left, her eyes flicking between Ahsoka and Ferus. She was leaning as far forward as her huge belly would allow with one hand resting on Anakin's knee in an attempt to stop it from shaking. All week, Anakin had been standing behind Padme, refusing his friend's offers to sit, afraid of what would happen if he did, but yesterday, after much coaxing from Padme he had finally built up the courage to take the seat beside his wife. When nothing had happened, besides the tensing of every muscle in his body, Anakin had relaxed slightly but he hadn't been able to stop the nervous jiggling of his leg. The look on his face had been somewhere between relief and pride and it broke Padme's heart. For the millionth time she wondered what the Emperor had done to him and how deep it ran.
Today Leia had refused to leave Anakin's side so they had brought her with them. Within minutes, the toddler had tired of their technical talk and fallen asleep against her father's chest. Her presence calmed Anakin almost as much as Padme's did but he could still feel a gaping hole in his chest from the absence of his son. He'd stayed silent for the first few days when Ferus, Ahsoka and Obi Wan had started tossing around ideas of where Luke was and how they could rescue him, but now, with Leia in his arms and Padme at his side, he knew he needed to start joining in. Padme had thrown in her two cents when she could but mostly she acted as mediator when arguments broke out. He could feel her frustration flowing into the Force, mingling with everyone else's.
"Why don't we send in a small group to check the holding cells again, just in case? Pieter and I could be in and out without anyone noticing and if he's not there then we can cross the Neimoidian's off the list," Ferus tried again.
"And what happens if you get caught?"
Ferus cut Ahsoka off. "We won't."
The pair glowered at each other.
"I have an idea."
The words were softly spoken but immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room. Anakin swallowed as all eyes fell on him, his leg bouncing despite Padme's attempts to calm him. He adjusted Leia in his lap so he could sit up straighter.
"Use me."
Anakin had been expecting Padme's immediate outburst. He didn't even turn to look at her. He kept his eyes on his three friends across the table, watching closely for their reactions. Ferus' jaw dropped in surprise, finally speechless. Ahsoka's eyes had narrowed and she was shaking her head fiercely. Obi Wan had only sighed. All week he had been taking everything in, silently absorbing every fact and possibility but never once coming up with a theory of his own. Anakin had him figured out by the second day. Obi Wan was a master strategist and if he was keeping quiet then it was because he had come to a conclusion no one would like. It hadn't taken Anakin long to figure out what that conclusion was.
Focusing solely on Obi Wan, Anakin spoke with growing confidence. "My Master wants me, or more pointedly, my power. He has no guarantee that Luke will be as strong with the Force as I am and while he may be able to turn Luke Sith, he still won't have the power he truly wants. Maybe we can make a deal with my Master? Me for Luke, or something like that."
Obi Wan held his old padawan's gaze, ignoring Anakin's reference to the Emperor as his Master. Using the Force he felt out Anakin's emotions. They were all over the place – agony at the thought of leaving Padme and Leia again, fear of what the Emperor would do to him if he did go back, determination to rescue his son. But there was something else there too, something that ran deeper than that small spark of vengeance. Obi Wan couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, or even if it was a good or bad thing. The unknown didn't sit well with Obi Wan but his old padawan had guessed correctly. He did think this was their best, and ultimately, only solution.
Slowly he nodded.
Padme stood up suddenly, her hands slamming down on the tabletop. "No! You can't put him back into that situation Obi Wan. I want my son back too but I'm not going to risk my husband a second time to do that."
Anakin leant forward and placed his free hand over Padme's. She turned to him, her brown eyes watering. There was a plea in the earnest look she gave him. His heart stuttered and for a moment his resolve wavered. But then he felt Leia move in his arms. He couldn't allow her to grow up without knowing her brother. And there was no way he would leave his son to the fate he had only just escaped.
"Padme, we can't be selfish. This is bigger than you and I. Luke, our son, needs us now more than ever. He's only four."
"But Ani, he won't just have you, he'll have your power. We can't just hand him the most powerful tool in the galaxy. Luke wouldn't want that."
Anakin frowned. "Are you suggesting we let my Master raise our son?"
"No, never! And he's not your Master," Padme sighed, dropping back into her chair. "Anakin, I don't think you realise how strong a hold the Emperor still has over you. You sleep on the floor beside the bed and can't even look at a weapon without retching. You can barely meet my gaze and do whatever you've been told to, no questions asked."
Anakin's face went bright red and he lowered his eyes, ashamed. He hated hearing how weak he was and the resigned tone in Padme's voice. She wasn't holding anything against him, only stating facts. Somehow, that was worse.
Padme's finger slid under Anakin's chin and lifted his head. "This is not who you are. The Emperor kidnapped my husband and gave me back a shadow of who you used to be. If he can do that in only three months, imagine what he could do in a year, a lifetime?"
Anakin didn't know what to say. He couldn't help his behaviour, not when his muscles still remembered the hours, days, of torture. He could still feel his Master's presence in his mind, latched deep into his subconscious and that alone scared him more than he cared to admit.
The silence in the room was overwhelming. Ferus, Obi Wan and Ahsoka watched the couple, sensing that this moment was crucial and that they should not interrupt. Nobody seemed to notice that Leia had awakened and was gazing curiously between her parents.
"I'm sorry Padme but I have to do this. I have to save Luke."
A tear rolled down Padme's cheek as the pair stared at each other.
Anakin started slightly when he felt Leia's little hand take his own. She smiled timidly up at him. Her smile melted Anakin's heart and he grinned back. Leia turned to Padme and reached for her hand too. Padme placed it in her daughter's waiting hand, wiping her eyes with her other. Leia held both of their hands in hers then a determined look took over her features. The look was so similar to Anakin's Padme laughed. Leia put her parents' hands on Padme's swollen stomach and held them there. Then she glanced between them.
"Luke needs his family."
Anakin's smile widened and he placed a gentle kiss on Leia's forehead. He lifted his eyes to see Padme already watching him. She looked so tired.
"Please Angel, trust me?"
At Anakin's words, Padme broke down. She nodded her head, pulling both Anakin and Leia against her. She kissed Leia as Anakin had before placing her lips on her husband's. A sigh escaped Anakin's lips as she kissed him hard, holding his head still between her thin fingers. When she pulled back, she placed her forehead against his and breathed him in.
"I do Ani. I just can't lose anyone else."
"You won't, I promise."
The Emperor was not in a good mood. Not only had he lost his pet to those Rebel scum but it seemed the kid could still defy his conditioning even after all he'd been through. All of his hard work, out the window. He slammed his new artificial arm down onto the desk he sat behind, the Dark side pulsing with his anger. The senator across from him cowered away, frightened of inciting the Emperor's wrath. Palpatine was paying him no attention. He'd forgotten he even had an audience.
A hard precise rapping filled the room and Palpatine looked up as the door opened. The senator spun in his chair, thankful someone had dared to draw the Emperor's attention. They'd been halfway through a conversation when the Emperor had drifted off and the tension in the room had skyrocketed. The senator had fallen silent, unsure if he should continue or not. He knew why the Emperor was so tetchy, everyone did, and while Skywalker's escape served to fill some with hope, it only made life harder for others.
A Mandalorian bounty hunter strode into the room, seemingly unconcerned or unaware of the room's mood. The newcomer bowed respectfully before dropping into the spare chair on the senator's right. Not a word was said but some of the tension eased out of the air. The Mandalorian turned its helmeted head in the senator's direction. The man was trembling, sweat running down his back as he glanced between bounty hunter and Emperor.
"Beat it." The voice that came from the helmet was distorted and held no emotion.
The senator glanced once at the Emperor before hurrying out of the room.
Palpatine waited until the door was closed before motioning for the Mandalorian to speak. The bounty hunter pulled off its helmet and a thick mass of dark hair fell down her back. Her face was young and pretty but marred by a deep scar that ran underneath her left eye, her bright blue eyes emotionless and hard.
"Aleema my dear," Palpatine smiled. "I trust you bring good news?"
The girl, who was only just coming out of her teens, nodded. A smirk touched her lips as she threw one of her long toned legs over the armrest so she was sitting almost sideways in the chair.
"The brat is just like his father, isn't he?" she laughed.
Palpatine pursed his lips. "The Skywalker gene is a strong one, that's true. It's just a shame he couldn't pass on his connection with the Force to his children."
"Well technically he did, it was just evenly divided between the twins," Aleema pointed out.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes at the young bounty hunters impertinence. He had called her here today, not to talk about the young Skywalker, but to determine her other knowledge. She had been building a name for herself, this young Aleema, even before he'd become the Emperor. She'd had a rough childhood, both parents killed in front of her by a troupe of clones. This had been years before Order 66 but she'd never forgotten that it was the Jedi Order who were ultimately in control of the clones at the time. Her hatred of them had grown and it wasn't long before she'd been recruited by the Bounty Hunter's Guild, where she was quick to rise through their ranks. Her speciality was disguise and deception but she was more well-known for her creative ways of killing. Aleema was not just skilled with a blaster, but with anything she could get her hands on. She'd once killed a guy with nothing more than the comm. unit she had with her at the time.
"What of the location? You have the coordinates I gave you?"
Aleema pulled her leg down off the chair and turned to face the Emperor, a malicious grin spreading across her face. Her hard eyes shone with something akin to anticipation.
"I had no trouble finding it. I'm gathering my team as we speak. We'll be gone before sundown."
Some of the Emperor's tension finally dissipated as he sank back into his chair. He kept his eyes on the bounty hunter. "Remember I want Skywalker alive, everyone else is all yours."