Here's chapter two! Starting to kick this thing up into high gear!
I own none of this.
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Padme Skywalker opened her eyes slowly as the scent of nuna eggs and sausage floated through the room. She smiled as she sat up in her bed, taking note of Anakin's absence. She stretched, looking out the window to see the sun shining. To her, it seemed to be the perfect morning... and then Luke and Leia ran into the room.
"Mama! You're up!" Luke exclaimed, jumping up onto the bed. Padme sighed, pulling Leia up next to her.
"Good morning, my Darlings. Did Daddy make breakfast for you two?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her children, pulling them close.
"Uh huh. He made breakfast for you too." Luke said, looking up at his mother with big blue eyes.
"I see. And, did Daddy tell you to come get me?" Padme raised her eyebrows. Luke and Leia looked at each other, Leia biting her lip and Luke frowning.
"Well," Leia started. Padme contained her amusement. "Not exactly."
Padme smiled.
"But he did say your breakfast is ready! We just didn't want it to get cold before you had a chance to eat it!" Leia continued, innocently.
"Well, I thank you for the consideration. Why don't you two head back down there and I'll be around in a bit?" Padme reasoned, shooing Luke and Leia out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Padme sighed, shaking her head. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a robe to go over her nightgown. Her closet here was substantially smaller than the one she had on Coruscant, and the various outfits that filled the closet were definitely not as elegant as the ones she would wear in the Senate. She did not have many clothes, since they had to leave in such a hurry. A few simple pant and tunic outfits, a single party dress, and two or three nightgowns were all that had filled the closet. Padme was fine with it. It was better that way anyway, if they ever had to high-tail it off of Iego, they wouldn't want to have to lug all of their belongings off planet. Padme shook the thought out of her head, tightening the belt on the robe. She turned out of the closet and continued downstairs into the kitchen. Their she was met with Anakin standing over the small stove. A smile flashed across Padme's face as she wrapped her arms around her husband.
"Good morning, Angel." Anakin said softly, his body vibrating against Padme's petit hands.
"Good morning, Ani. I hear you made some breakfast?" she chuckled. Anakin turned around, surprised, and then rolled his eyes.
"I told them not to wake you!" he groaned, looking past Padme and into the living room where Luke and Leia sat watching some random holovid they had picked out.
"No, they didn't wake me at all. It was more your cooking that got me up." Padme replied, peeking around Anakin's shoulder to see what he was making. Anakin smiled.
"Yours is in the oven." he moved out of the way to pull the small plate out of the oven. "I also made some caf. Obi-Wan went for a walk, and I figured he'd be wanting some when he gets back."
"Of course." Padme sat down with her nuna eggs, sausage, and a small biscuit while Anakin finished making some extra for Obi-Wan. He then sat down next to Padme, grabbing hold of his datapad to check the news.
Anakin sighed, seeing that the only news he'd be reading today was on how wonderful Emperor Palpatine is and how great their new battle station was coming along. Anakin shook his head.
"Have you heard anything about Bail lately?" he asked, looking over at Padme. She raised an eyebrow.
"Not really. He hasn't been saying much in the Senate. But then again, when do any senators get a say in the Senate?" she replied, coolly.
"And what of the rebellion?" Anakin persisted.
"There is no rebellion, Ani. Just a few groups of people who think they're in a place where they could take on the entire Empire." she said, frowning. "I told Bail to lay low, and he starts a rebel cell. He's just as bad as you are at following directions."
Anakin grimaced. He knew Padme didn't enjoy talking about the rebellion, and, well, it made him sad. It was as if she had lost her spark. It made Anakin angry sometimes. But it wasn't Padme who made him angry, it was Palpatine, and in many cases, he himself. He and Palpatine had taken everything from them. For Padme, it was the Senate and Democracy. For Obi-Wan, it was the Jedi. For Luke and Leia, though they didn't know it, it was their future. And for Anakin, it was his own freedom. As much as Anakin enjoyed being a family man, he truly missed action. In hiding, there's no reckless piloting, no lightsaber duels, no chances to live on the edge.
A tug at his elbow pulled him out of his thoughts. Anakin looked over to see Luke standing beside him.
"What's up, Luke?" Anakin smiled, setting Luke on his lap.
"Can we go outside?" he asked, bouncing up and down on Anakin's knee. Anakin looked over at Padme, who smiled and nodded. Anakin looked back down at Luke.
"I don't see why not." Anakin replied, swinging Luke around, putting him back on the ground. "Go on and get some shoes on. I'll be right there." Luke nodded, grinning as he ran out of the kitchen.
"What about you, Leia? Do you want to go outside with Luke and Daddy?" Padme called into the living room. Leia looked over to her mother, pursing her lips contemplatively.
"Nah," she said after a moment, looking back to the holovid. Anakin shrugged as Padme chuckled to herself.
"Her loss," Aankin said simply, walking out of the kitchen and to the small had already managed to put his shoes on and was now standing at the front door.
"Come on!" Luke exclaimed, as Anakin pulled his boots on. Anakin chuckled.
"You know you have my lack of patience, right?"
"You never let me forget," his son grumbled, pulling at the door handle. Anakin finally walked over and opened the door.
Luke broke into a run and rushed out into the front lawn. Anakin followed, watching as Luke ran around the small garden Obi-Wan kept. Before Anakin could stop him, Luke ran up and hit him on the leg, yelling "Tag!" as he passed. Anakin grinned, shaking his head, breaking into a jog.
"Shouldn't have done that, kid!"
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"What about that one?" Luke asked, pointing over to a large ship landing in one of the small spaceports. The father/son duo laid in the grass, watching ships come and go, still catching their breath after an intense game of tag. Anakin huffed.
"That's gotta be a scavenger ship. See the arms that come off the sides? Those are for picking at space junk. It's definitely Trandoshian." he replied, resting his head on the grass, closing his eyes.
Luke nodded, not willing to admit that he didn't understand what his father was talking about. Besides, another ship had caught his attention. It was very large, and it had a funny triangle shape to it. Luke allowed and awestruck "woah" to escape his lips.
"Dad! Daddy! Look at that one! What kind of ship is that one!" Luke cried, shaking Anakin's shoulder. Anakin opened his eyes, expecting to be met with a beautiful Corellian ship owned my some famous person who needed to fuel up. He found the opposite.
Above them, a smaller model of the Imperial Star Cruiser sat over Cliffhold. Anakin's eyes widened in fear. He could feel a lump forming in his throat. He could barely breath. Darkness. Hate. Revenge. Someone evil was here. And they were coming for him. There was no hiding from this person.
"Kriff." he said aloud. Luke gasped.
"Daddy! Mama hates it when you say that word!" Luke exclaimed. But Anakin didn't hear him.
"Kriff," he said again. "Kriff, Luke get inside now."
Luke still sat, confused. Anakin huffed, jumping up and grabbing Luke. He ran into the house. Obi-Wan was sitting at the table drinking a cup of caf, Leia hadn't moved an inch, and Padme was working on the breakfast dishes. Padme and Obi-Wan looked up, wondering what was going on.
"They're here. They've found us. They're here." Anakin said, panic lining his words. Padme dropped the plate she was cleaning, and Obi-Wan blinked.
"No." Padme shook her head.
"Padme, take the children to the hiding place." Obi-Wan said calmly, standing up.
"No!" Padme exclaimed, terrified as tears brimmed her eyes. Anakin stepped over to his wife, embracing her.
"Padme, it's okay. Don't panic. Just like we practiced it, remember." Anakin coaxed, Padme grasping him tighter and tighter.
"No, Ani, not again. I can't have you taken away from me again." she whimpered.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered, "there is little time."
"Think of Luke and Leia, Angel. I need you to be brave for them. I want you to take them downstairs into the cellar. You remember the code to get inside the safe room, don't you?"
Padme sniffed and nodded.
"Good. Go on down there. I won't be too long." Anakin said. He pulled her into a passionate kiss, then let her go. Luke and Leia followed her down into the cellar, where they disappeared behind a wall. He looked back over to Obi-Wan.
"This isn't going to be good. Whoever this guy is, he's Force Sensitive. Much more powerful than those Inquisitors we've been hearing about." Anakin said, solemnly.
"Then we'll have to be ready." Obi-Wan replied. He walked over to a small drawer and pulled their lightsabers out, tossing one to Anakin. Anakin looked down thoughtfully.
"Maybe you should go down there with Padme and the kids. It's me they want. They don't even know you're here with us." he said. "I need someone to take care of them."
Tears threatened to fall from Anakin's eyes. Obi-Wan smiled sadly.
"If I stay, we can overpower whoever this is and then get out of here, with all of us still together. I say it's worth a shot." he said, firmly.
Before Anakin could reply, there was loud banging on the front door. The two men looked up in alarm, igniting their lightsabers. The door was blown off its hinges as a number of stormtroopers piled into the entryway.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were surrounded. They continued to deflect blaster bolts, taking stormtroopers out one by one. But it seemed that with every trooper cut down, three more appeared.
"Enough!" a loud voice boomed from down the hall. It was female, and her words were venomous. The loud click-clack of boots could be heard approaching them.
The dust finally settled in the room where Anakin and Obi-Wan could see, their lightsabers still raised. Though Anakin soon found that he had dropped his. No. She was a tall woman. But the fact that she was a woman didn't surprise Anakin, nor the fact that she was a Togrutan Imperial Officer in an anti-alien army. No, what surprised Anakin Skywalker the most was that he was looking into the dulled eyes of his old padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano.
"Wha-?" Anakin wasn't even able to get the word out, as he soon found he couldn't breath. It took a moment for it to register in his mind: Ahsoka had pulled him into a Force choke.
"Finally." she hissed. "Six years of scouring this wretched galaxy have paid off." She slammed Anakin to the ground and looked back at the multiple storm troopers behind her.
"We have finally found Anakin Skywalker." Ahsoka smiled, maliciously. "And Obi-Wan Kenobi! My, this is unexpected. But don't get me wrong, the surprise is quite pleasant."
"I wish we could say the same." Obi-Wan replied, frowning. "What do you think you're doing, Ahsoka?"
"Admiral Tano!" she snapped. "You will address me as Admiral Tano."
"Bu-but how!" Anakin cried, still on the ground. Ahsoka grimaced.
"The Dark Side is quite powerful. You knew this, Skywalker. You were so close to embracing it completely. But you walked away. I stand by my words from that night. You're nothing but a sniveling coward. I only wish Lord Sidious didn't want you alive so I could kill you myself." she replied, coldly. She used the Force to call Anakin's lightsaber to her as he tried to reach it. Anakin winced as he noticed her new prosthetic hands.
"So, shall we be doing this the easy way or the hard way?" she clucked.
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"I want the house scanned." Ahsoka said to one stormtrooper standing beside her. "By the looks of it, these two aren't the only ones living here. We might find the old Senator from Naboo hiding somewhere."
"Yes, sir!" the trooper replied, running out of the house to get the scanning equipment. Ahsoka turned back to Anakin and Obi-Wan thoughtfully.
The two men were now cuffed and kneeling before her, two stormtroopers with blasters set at stun were pointed at their heads. Ahsoka smiled, feeling Anakin's anxiety. I'm on to you. You can't all hide from me.
"Aren't I right, Skywalker? Surely Padme's around here somewhere. I know you wouldn't leave any system without her." she said, mockingly. Anakin frowned.
"Don't even speak her name!" he yelled, earning him a smack on the head with a blaster. She chuckled.
"Of course. You know, you always did defend that little nuna hen. You would worship the ground she walked on. I'm sure she has something to do with how utterly weak you are."
Anakin simply glared at her in reply. Ahsoka let out a "hmph", and turned to a stormtrooper.
"Admiral, we found three lifeforms downstairs, hidden behind a hollow wall of some sort." he reported. Ahsoka ignored a loud "No!" from Anakin.
"Very good. Tear the wall down. I'll be there momentarily. You two!" she called to the troopers behind Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"I want them knocked out and put on my ship. I want to be off this rock by noon, so make it snappy." she turned away and began walking down the stairs.
The troopers nodded. Obi-Wan was down in one shot, unconscious. Anakin, however, continued to try to stand up, even after two shots.
"No! Stop! Ahsoka!" he cried. Ahsoka turned around, pulling Anakin into another Force Choke.
"Did I not make myself clear?" she replied. "It's Admiral."
With a flick of her wrist, Anakin was thrown into a wall, finally knocking him unconscious. The two stormtroopers proceeded to carry them out to the cruiser as Admiral Tano descended the stairs to meet the rest of the Skywalker family.
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