Chapter 20
Naboo
Padmé wished that she could return to the planet with Luke and Leia, for she was tired of living on the star destroyer. She had not seen or heard from Anakin, and had no idea how his mission was going. She had considered contacting him herself, but didn't know how he would feel about being questioned by her. Things were still very strained between them, despite the progress they had made.
Luke and Leia had finally fallen asleep, and Padmé made herself a cup of tea. She was about to sit down with her cup of tea when the door chime sounded. She set her cup down on the table and walked to the door. She was expecting to see Anakin, but saw Obi-Wan instead. She grew fearful at once.
"Obi-Wan what's wrong?" Padmé asked. "Has Anakin been hurt?"
"No, nothing of the kind," Obi-Wan said, as he stepped inside. "I just wanted to let you know that we're on our way to Scariff," he said.
"Why?" Padmé asked. "What's on Scariff?"
"The plans to the super weapon," Obi-Wan said. "We're going there to destroy them."
"That's wonderful," Padmé said. "That went really well," she said. "I'm surprised Krennic was so cooperative."
Obi-Wan frowned as he remembered the sight of Krennic lying on the floor, gasping for air.
"What? What happened?" she said. "I can tell my your face that something happened."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Krennic is our prisoner, Padmé," he said. "It was the inventor of the super weapon that told us where the plans were."
"Okay that's great," she said. "So why do I feel like you're not telling me everything?"
"You're right, there is more you should know," Obi-Wan said. "Krennic questioned Anakin's authority, and Anakin reacted...badly."
Padmé felt her insides turn to ice. "Oh my God," she said. "What do you mean, he reacted badly?"
"He force choked him," Obi-Wan said. "He lost his temper and nearly killed Krennic. I'm sorry to have to tell you this Padmé, but I think you need to know," he said.
Padmé sat down on the sofa and covered her face as she broke down, unable to hold back any longer.
Obi-Wan felt terrible, and wondered briefly if he shouldn't have told her. But she would have found out eventually. And, in his opinion, she had a right to know. He came and at down beside her. "I'm sorry," he said again.
"Why, Obi-Wan?" she asked. "I thought he'd abandoned the dark side! Why did he do this?"
"He doesn't know himself, Padmé," he said. "He needs us to support him as he struggles with this, and I know it's difficult. But we're his support system, Padmé. He needs us more than ever. I'm not sure he will make it without our love and encouragement."
"I know," she said. "But I'm not sure how, Obi-Wan. I love him, there's no question. I've always loved him. But just when I think he's closer to coming back to me, he does something like this. I don't know how to feel, what to do! I want to be with him, but I'm afraid of the darkness in him. It's so unpredictable, so volatile...how do I reconcile this?"
"Just be patient, Padmé," he said. "That's all I can suggest. Be patient with him and don't let the darkness take him from you again."
Padmé looked at him, her face streaked with tears. "I'm doing my best," she said. "That's all I can do."
"The same can be said for Anakin," Obi-Wan reminded her. "He's doing his best."
Padmé nodded. Are you doing your best, Anakin? Are you?
Scariff
Anakin and Galen Erso entered the vast facility with very little problem, considering that Galen had clearance. Anakin wore the uniform of one of Galen's engineers, and used the Force to manipulate the minds of anyone who gave them a second look. Anakin told himself not to kill anyone along the way, still feeling guilty for having nearly killed Orson Krennic.
"May I help you?" the officer at the data vault asked as Erso and Anakin appeared.
"You may leave," Anakin said, using the Force to manipulate the man's mind. "You didn't see us, we were never here."
The man left at once, not realizing that his mind had been manipulated.
"Nicely done," Galen said as he went around the desk.
"Thanks," Anakin said as he headed to the computer screen to search for the file. "What am I looking for?" he asked.
"The project is called Stardust," Galen said as he accessed the schematics bank.
Anakin nodded and started searching through the files. "Stardust?" he said. "Why Stardust?"
Galen smiled. "It's my daughter's nickname," he said.
Anakin looked up at him briefly. "You have a daughter?" he said. "How old?"
"Jyn is 5," Galen said.
Anakin nodded. "I have twins," he said. "A son and a daughter, almost 3," he said.
"Lovely," Galen said.
"Found it," Anakin said. "Data tower two."
Galen activated the mechanism to withdraw the file from the data bank, and withdrew the disc from the enormous tower. "Got it," he said.
Anakin watched as the disc made its way to Galen's hands. As soon as he had it in his hands, Anakin heard the sound of a large number of footsteps approaching quickly. He pulled his lightsaber off of his belt and prepared himself. Soon a group of storm troopers appeared in the vault, blasters firing. Anakin deflected the blasts with his lightsaber, and sent the storm troopers flying across the room. But they kept coming, and Anakin realized that there was no way he could avoid killing. And so he did, force choking some, smashing others against bulkheads. Galen stood back and watched, horrified by the spectacle.
"Let's get out of here," Anakin said once the storm troopers had been stopped. "And make it quick, more will be coming."
The two men made their way through the complex, alarms blaring as they did so. Anakin dispatched dozens more storm troopers along the way, acting on instinct to escape the facility.
"Let's go," Anakin said as they reached the shuttle.
Galen strapped himself in as Anakin lifted the shuttle from the landing platform. "Looks like we have company," Anakin said as they flew through towards the sky. Several TIE fighters were flying directly at them. "Obi-Wan, we need help," he said into the comm.
"I thought you might," Obi-Wan said. And within moments the TIE fighters were blasted into oblivion by the laser weapons of the Devastator that was sitting in orbit above the planet. "Pity about that energy shield," he said.
Anakin smiled. "Yeah, real pity," he said.
Star Destroyer
It was very late at night when Anakin and Galen returned to the ship. The ship left Scariff immediately, and headed back to Eadu. Galen's wife and daughter were still at the facility on Eadu, and they were on their way to collect them.
"So what do you think the fall out will be of our actions here today?" Galen asked as they walked out of the hangar bay.
"I don't know," Anakin said. "And quite frankly, I don't care," he said. "This is the Chancellor's problem, not mine."
Galen was rather surprised to hear Anakin say this. Clearly he had changed a great deal from the man he'd been when he was Darth Vader. "I suppose so," he said.
"I'm sure the Chancellor will be very grateful to you, and offer you a position in the New Republic government," he said.
"And what will you do, Anakin?" Galen asked.
In truth, Anakin didn't know. His original plan had been to raise his children with Padmé, but he wasn't sure now if that was something Padmé wanted. "I'm not sure," Anakin said. "Really not sure."
Galen smiled. "Well you're a talented man," he said. "I'm sure you'll land on your feet."
Anakin smiled. "I hope so," he said. "You can use these quarters," he said as they arrived at the guest quarters wing. "Good night, Galen," he said. "Nice working with you."
"Thank you, Anakin," he said. "Same here."
Anakin walked away from the door where he'd left Galen, and headed to the quarters where his wife and children were. He'd wanted to share his wife's bed for weeks, but was still unsure how she would feel about it. Maybe it's time to test the waters, he thought as he entered the quarters were Padmé and the children slept. He slipped silently into Padmé's room, and stood in the room for a few, indecisive moments. After a moment he got undressed, then slipped into the bed with Padmé. He spooned up behind her and was soon fast asleep.
Padmé woke up early as was her habit. She was surprised to see that Anakin was in the bed with her. She had mixed feelings seeing him there. On the one hand, it felt wonderful to have him next to her. She'd almost forgotten how good his body felt, the warm of his skin next to hers. But still, she wasn't sure that she could jump back into a relationship with him given what she knew about him. It was tortuous, and Padmé hated that she could not reconcile the situation. She'd always been a decisive woman; so why don't I know what to do?
Anakin was awoken by her movements, and opened her eyes. He smiled at her when he saw that she was watching him.
"Good morning," he said.
"Good morning," she said. "When did you get back?"
"Late last night," he said. "I hope you don't mind me crashing here," he said. "I came to see you, and when I saw you sleeping, I couldn't resist."
Padmé smiled. "Why would I mind?" she asked automatically.
"I don't know," he said. "Things have been kind of tense between us," he said.
"I love you, Ani," she said. "You know that."
Anakin nodded. "I love you too," he said. He reached his hand out to stroke her cheek. "It's wonderful being in bed with you again," he said.
Padmé recognized the look in his eyes, and felt a rush of excitement. It had been nearly three years since they'd been intimate, and his physical magnetism was something she'd never been able to resist.
"I know," she said, all defenses starting to dissolve under his touch. "It's been so long, Anakin," she said.
"Very long," he said, and moved closer to her, capturing her mouth with his. Padmé knew there was no way she could stop what was happening, and at this point, she didn't want to even try. Anakin's hands moved under her nightie and caressed her body, making her gasp with pleasure. She pulled the nightie off and tossed it on the floor, and closed her eyes as his hands moved over her, leaving heat in their wake. "Ani," she sighed. "I need you, Padmé," he mouthed against her ear, "so much," he whispered as his lips grazed over her neck...Anakin made love to her with the pent up passion of three years without her, making his need for her verging on desperation...
Lying face to face, Anakin took Padmé's face in his hands. "That was incredible," he said, kissing her softly.
Padmé smiled. "It was," she said. She turned her head as she heard the sounds of one of the children in the next room. "Someone is awake," she said. "Go back to sleep, Ani," she said, kissing him. "You didn't get much sleep."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can help with the kids."
"I'm sure," she said, getting out of bed and putting on her robe. "But thanks."
Anakin watched her leave and then rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.
"Good morning!" Padmé said as she picked up Leia and kissed her cheek. "Did you have a nice sleep?"
Leia nodded.
"Okay, let's go potty," Padmé said, bringing her daughter into the fresher. Luke woke up shortly afterwards, and after both children had used the fresher, Padmé brought them into the dining area for breakfast. As the twins ate their breakfast, Padmé sat deep in thought. The previous night with Anakin had been wonderful. He had always been an exciting lover. But she worried that she had complicated things by allowing things to go so far. She was still very confused, and resuming a physical relationship with a man she was still getting to know again was not a good way to clarify things.
"Daddy!" Luke exclaimed when he saw Anakin emerge from the bedroom. Anakin smiled at his children, and came over to give them both kisses.
"What's for breakfast?" he asked as he sat beside Leia.
"Eggs," Leia said. "Want some, Daddy?" she asked, offering him a spoonful.
Anakin laughed. "That's okay, sweetie. I can get some of my own." He stood up and went to the food replicator, noting as he did so how quiet Padmé was. He passed behind her on his way back to the table and kissed her cheek . "Last night was incredible," he whispered in her ear.
Padmé simply smiled and sipped her tea. Anakin sat down with his plate and looked at her. He knew that something was amiss simply by her body language, and felt sure he knew what it was.
"Something wrong?" Anakin asked, looking directly at his wife.
Padmé looked at him, not surprised by his question. She'd never been good at hiding her feeling from him. She only hoped he'd be understanding when she explained how she felt to him.
"Threepio would you bring the children into the living room?" Padmé asked as Luke and Leia finished their meal.
"Come along now," Threepio said, taking a hand of each twin. Once they had left the room, Padmé looked back at Anakin.
"I think last night was wonderful," she said. "But I also think it was a mistake."
Anakin put his fork down and looked at her. "A mistake?" he asked. "Since when is making love a mistake?"
"Since we're not exactly getting along," she said. "Since we still have a lot of issues we need to get through."
Anakin nodded, her words making him lose his appetite. "Which issues would you be referring to?" he asked.
Padmé could hear the underlying anger in his words, but she pressed on. "I know what happened to Krennic," she said. "I know you nearly killed him."
Anakin frowned. "I didn't kill him," he said. "I could have, but I didn't."
"I know, but just the fact that you attacked him like you did...Anakin don't you see? The darkness still controls you," she said. "Just as it controlled you the night you killed all those younglings in the Jedi temple."
"So that's what this is about," he said. "You can't get past that, can you? You can't see that I've changed. I went after Krennic for you, Padmé. And this is the thanks I get? You reject me?"
"Please calm down," she said. "I'm sorry if that makes you upset, but..."
"Upset? Is that what you think?" he asked. "What reason would I have to be upset?"
"Anakin please," she said.
"I'm sorry I made love to you last night," he said, pushing his plate away from him and standing up. "It won't happen again," he added, and then left.