Well, here we go. Chapter five. I'm happy with it. I noticed in the original fic that I didn't include our favorite droid duo, so I decided to add that in. One thing about Artoo that I've found through writing this, it was so hard to write him as an "it", because he has such a personality and he feels so deeply for Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the others. It was much easier to write him in as a "he".
Okay, maybe you didn't find that as interesting as I did, but oh well.
Alright, I'll let you read the chapter now.
Please don't forget to review. I appreciate all of you! Happy reading!
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If asked, See-Threepio would straight up tell you that Iego was "no place for droids". But that would quickly be followed by a chirp from Artoo-Detoo that meant "you say that about every planet we visit."
But in this case, See-Threepio was correct. See, once the Empire established its grip on the galaxy, Iego quickly became home for smugglers, star pilots, and refugees looking to escape the Imperial presence. And many of the aforementioned would see two high quality droids as an opportunity to make a quick credit. This was why it was quite beside the golden protocol droid to be out and about in the city of Cliffhold without Master Anakin or Mistress Padme by his side to protect him from those ne'er-do-wells.
And he wouldn't let Artoo forget it.
"Artoo, Artoo! Wait for me! You're going to fast!" Threepio cried as he fell behind the blue and silver domed astromech.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR SLOW TOTTLING ALONG. WE MUST HURRY IF WE ARE TO HELP MASTER AND FAMILY." Artoo blipped shortly, maintaining his speed.
But Threepio didn't hear. He was too busy jumping at the slightest noise.
Finally, after further "tottling", the two droids reached the small communication center. It was a small, rotund hut with a a small blast door hiding the comm station inside. And on that blast door was a rather large sign reading "NO DROIDS".
"Well, who's to say we didn't try, Artoo. Come along, I'm sure we can figure out another way to get to Master Ani." Threepio said, almost shrugging. He turned around and began walking off. He stopped, though, noticing his counterpart was not following him. "Artoo?"
"YOUR WAY OF TRYING AND MY WAY OF TRYING ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS, THREEPIO. COME ON. KEEP WATCH WHILE I GET THE DOOR OPEN." Artoo chirped flatly. He plugged into the small port, working on getting the door unlocked. With two clicks and hiss, the door slid open.
"SO FAR SO GOOD." Artoo beeped to himself as he rolled into the small hut. Inside it sat a burly Klatooinian, staring with glazed eyes at the large screen before him. At the noise of Artoo's entrance, the Klatooinian stood up, but then stumbled. It was obvious to Artoo that the alien was drunk. Artoo simply bleeped as he knocked himself against the larger man's side, causing him to simply fall to the ground, unconscious.
"Artoo?" Threepio peeked his head inside.
"YOU CAN COME IN NOW." he replied with a sing-song whir. Threepio stepped over the Klatooinian and shut the door. Artoo always knew the best way to shut Threepio up was by proving him wrong, and the fact that it was fun to do was a plus for the little astromech.
"SEE? PERFECTLY SAFE." the droid quipped.
"Hush up. Hurry. You do remember Senator Organa's code frequency, right?" Threepio changed the subject.
"OF COURSE. I'M A DROID. I REMEMBER EVERYTHING." Artoo tweeted sharply, plugging into the comm station.
The two droids waited silently as they waited for someone to pick up on the other end. Soon enough, the image of a young woman appeared on the screen.
"This is Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan's office. I'm afraid he is currently out, but I can take a message." she chirped, most likely assuming Artoo was a senator's droid.
"I'D LIKE TO LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR SENATOR ORGANA."
"And who is this?" she replied, continuing to assume the aforementioned.
"THE ASTROMECH OF ANI, BEN, AND FAMILY."
"I see." the woman nodded, raising an eyebrow. "And what is the message?"
"WOULD YOU MIND IF I KIDNAPPED YOU AND TOOK YOU TO MEET SOMEONE OF IMPERIAL STATURE?" Artoo tweeted.
"I'm available. When?" she asked, suddenly hushed.
"24 STANDARD HOURS AGO."
"Where?"
"I SUPPOSE CORUSCANT WOULD BE A NICE PLACE TO DO SO."
"I see. Where are you now?"
"WHERE ANGELS ROAM THE EARTH."
"Very well. We'll be in touch." she said. "Thank you." she hung up.
"Well, what now?" Threepio huffed.
"WE WAIT." Artoo replied, making it quite obvious that if he could, he'd be smiling.
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"Dad? Daddy!" Leia Skywalker tapped her father's shoulder, waking him up.
"Hm?" he opened his eyes to see the large brown ones staring back at him. Anakin looked around to find that at some point, Luke had moved to the floor. "What is it, Princess? Is something wrong?"
"Are we in trouble? Did I do something to make the Emperor mad?" she asked. Anakin smiled. His daughter was much smarter and more perceptive than most six year olds. It was part of who she was in the Force. It was also a frustration, as it was very hard to hide anything from the child.
"No, sweetheart. You didn't do anything." he replied sadly.
"Then what is going on?"
"I already told Luke-" Anakin started.
"I know what you told Luke. But let's face it, Luke believes everything he hears." she interrupted matter-of-factly.
"Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow. Leia simply nodded.
"So what's happening?" she pushed. Anakin sighed.
"Well, Leia. Believe it or not, but there are people in this galaxy who don't like mommy, Uncle Ben, or I."
"That's no surprise." Leia rolled her eyes. Anakin chuckled, and continued.
"But there is one man who really doesn't like mommy, Uncle Ben, or I."
"Who is it?" Leia persisted.
The two of them paused as the ship let out a loud groan. The others around them began to stir, Luke and Padme began opening their eyes. Leia looked back at her father, as if she were interrogating him. And in some respects, she was.
"Who is it?" Leia asked again.
"He's a bad man, Leia. A very bad man."
"Is that who we're going to see?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Why are you afraid, Daddy? In all your stories, you were never afraid." she continued as Anakin sat up and put the small girl on his lap. The ship groaned again. It was now obvious to Anakin that they were landing on Coruscant. By now, Padme had sat down at Anakin's feet, holding Luke in her arms. At hearing her daughter's question, she reached up and grabbed a hold of Anakin's hand, giving him an encouraging look.
"Truth is, sweetheart, I've always been afraid. In all of those stories, I was always scared for my life. Not just my life, though. Obi-Wan's, and Mommy's, and many others." Anakin paused, having to remind himself that he was trying to explain this to six year olds. He sighed.
"This man is incredibly dangerous." he continued, "If he's given the opportunity, he will hurt you."
He ignored the look of fear shared between the siblings. He looked up to see Obi-Wan standing by him, a hand on his shoulder. The ship shuddered for a third time. He knew Ahsoka, Admiral Tano, was on her way.
"But my duty is to my family. I won't let him touch you. Not one of you."
Anakin pulled his entire family, including Obi-Wan, into a tight hug. It was then that he realized there were tears in his eyes. He knew for a fact that he had never been so afraid in his entire life. He knew he might not make it through the next week. Kriff, he probably wasn't going to make it through the day. But that's not what he was afraid of. He was afraid that by his actions- his stupid, naive, selfish actions- he had signed the death sentence for his family. He was afraid that there would be even more blood on his hands. But it would be worse, because it would be the blood of those he loves most. The blood of those that he could not lose. He could hear the thunder rumble above the Tusken camp on the night his mother died. A storm was coming.
His thoughts were interrupted by the hiss of the door sliding open. He let go of his family and looked coldly at his old apprentice. She simply smirked in return.
"The Supreme Emperor Palpatine will see you now."