Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center
Coruscant
4 days later
"Admiral Tarkin," Padme said with a courteous nod.
"Senator Amidala," Wilhuff Tarkin returned politely.
"This is absurd," Anakin Skywalker huffed. "It's obvious that Kenobi is guilty."
"Jedi Skywalker," Padme replied with a bite in her tone, "in the Republic, an accused party is innocent until proven guilty. You may remember that the Admiral and I previously played prosecutor and defense for Ahsoka Tano, who proved to be innocent of murder in spite of much evidence to the contrary."
Tarkin smiled unpleasantly and shook his head, "You are, of course, correct, Senator, but Jedi Skywalker has a legitimate point. Kenobi murdered the Chancellor in front of eight reliable individuals, some Jedi, some Senators. There is no question that he is the assassin."
Padme sighed and gestured toward a nearby seat, "Please, Admiral, shall we sit?"
She took a seat across from Tarkin and grabbed her holopad, opening a file and glancing over her notes. Anakin took a position at the head of the table, but remained standing in a vigilant position.
"I believe I may have an insanity defense here, Admiral Tarkin," Padme commented.
"Pah!" Tarkin sneered. "Kenobi is only pretending to be insane."
Padme frowned slightly, "He claims that a being from the future visited him and told him that Palpatine was evil and had to be destroyed."
She glanced up at Tarkin and shrugged, "That sounds like a valid insanity defense to me."
"He murdered the Chancellor in cold blood, Senator Amidala," Anakin stated indignantly. "How can you possibly suggest that he should go free? You politicians are ridiculous at times!"
"General Skywalker," Padme replied patiently, looking directly into the face of her beloved husband, "certainly I would not suggest that Kenobi be set free. If he is insane, he will be confined to a facility for treatment. He will not be allowed to harm anyone else, I assure you."
"Absurd," Tarkin snapped. "He is no more insane than I am."
"I want to talk to Kenobi," Padme said firmly.
Tarkin sighed and rolled his eyes, "Very well. It is your right to speak with the accused, but I would not get your hopes up. A legitimate psychologist, appointed by the Senate, will interview the man to determine his sanity."
"It is not safe for you to speak to Kenobi alone, Senator," Anakin said firmly. "He is clearly dangerous. I should come with you to guard you."
"I expect that the Admiral doesn't want you to visit the prisoner, Jedi Skywalker," she retorted. "After all, Kenobi was once your master."
"He murdered one of my closest friends," Anakin snarled angrily, making the table shake slightly with the Force. "Chancellor Palpatine was a beloved mentor. Kenobi is my enemy now, not my ally or colleague. He is a disgrace to the Jedi Order!"
"Nevertheless," Padme began, but was quickly interrupted by Tarkin.
"I believe Jedi Skywalker should accompany you, Senator," he said smoothly. "Kenobi is dangerous and if he is, as you say, insane, he might harm you."
Padme bit her lip and made a show of thinking about Tarkin's words before conceding.
"Very well. But Skywalker, I expect you to control yourself. "
Anakin glanced down and fingered his lightsaber hilt.
"I will control myself, Senator," Anakin replied coldly.
/
High Security Cell AA23
30 minutes later
The door to Obi-Wan's cell slid open, and a moment later, Senator Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker stepped into the room, escorted by four clone troopers in their distinctive armor.
"Oh no," Obi-Wan whispered in dismay. Why were they here? Padme and Anakin should be staying well out of this!
"Jedi Kenobi," Padme said with a regal nod, even as she lifted a hand and smoothly covered her face with a mask that had previously been concealed in her full sleeves. Kenobi frowned in bewilderment, even as he heard Anakin's voice in his head.
"Obi-Wan, hold your breath!"
Kenobi, eyes widening slightly, did so, and thirty seconds later the four clone troopers collapsed on the floor, obviously the victim of some kind of knockout gas.
Anakin rushed forward and carefully cut Obi-Wan's chains free with his saber even as masks floated onto both men's faces to protect them from the gas.
"Are you crazy?" Kenobi demanded. "I wanted you and Padme out of this!"
"You don't really think I'd let you take the fall for preventing me from Falling, did you?" Anakin riposted.
Padme, meanwhile, had grabbed the code cylinder from the highest ranking clone and opened the door into the outer corridor.
"This way," Padme muttered through her filtration mask.
"We can't kill all the guards! They are innocent!" Kenobi hissed.
"We won't have to," Padme hissed back, turning right to penetrate deeper into the prison block. Thankfully, the corridor was clear of guards, at least for now. Only a few meters away was a grate, and Anakin rushed forward to carefully cut the grate open with his saber.
"Get in there, Kenobi," Anakin said with a grin.
"What is it?" his master demanded, looking down uneasily.
"Garbage chute!"
/
The Concordia
Diplomatic Docking Bay #36
Coruscant
30 minutes later
"Obi-Wan!" Satine cried out, throwing her arms around her love.
"I'll get us out of here," Anakin yelled, rushing into the cockpit. Within seconds, the yacht's engines were starting.
"Satine," Kenobi murmured into her blonde hair.
"Yes?"
"I stink horribly."
She laughed a little and moved back, "True. But seeing you safe is worth it. Obviously the garbage chute escape plan was successful."
"So far," Kenobi muttered with a glance toward the windows. "I'm assuming the planetary defense systems will lock down once they realize I have escaped."
"Padme told the security people that she intended to speak at length to you," Satine stated confidently. "Even if they do try to stop us, we have Anakin Skywalker at the helm. Do you want a sonic shower?"
Obi-Wan shook his head even as the ship lurched and he fell into a nearby seat, pulling Satine down next to him, "No. With Anakin at the helm, we need to be strapped in tightly, my love."
/
Bail Organa's Senatorial offices
2 hours later
A green light flashed on Senator Organa's priority com and Bail passed a weary hand across his face. Life had been crazy the last few days, ever since the formerly calm, collected, and righteous Jedi Kenobi had murdered Chancellor Palpatine in front of Bail's shocked eyes.
Now, incredibly enough, Kenobi had escaped from his maximum security cell, presumably with the assistance of Jedi Skywalker. His dear friend and senator, Padme Amidala, was either a willing participant in the escape or a hostage, neither of which was a cheerful thought.
What was the galaxy coming to?
The green light continued to flash insistently, and Bail reached over to accept the message. An image formed instantly on his com, and he choked back a cry of surprise.
Padme!
"Bail, I hope you are alone watching this. If not, please wait until your audience has departed to watch the rest of this recorded message."
Bail waited impatiently as Padme gazed into the holocam for another 10 seconds, then opened her mouth to continue, "By now, you have probably heard that Skywalker helped Kenobi to escape with me in tow. To be clear, I helped plan the escape. I am also Anakin Skywalker's lawfully wedded wife, Bail. We were married 3 years ago."
Bail felt his jaw gape open at this, but forced himself to focus on her continuing flow of words.
"At the end of this message, I will be showing you a recording from the Sundari Royal Palace in Mandalore, where Darth Maul and Savage Opress were killed in combat and Duchess Satine was rescued. You will find the recording astonishing, but Duchess Satine fervently assures me that there have been no alterations to the file. This really did happen. There are two primary points of note. The first is that Sheev Palpatine was actually the Sith Lord we have been searching for all these years. He is the true leader of the Separatists and has been waging war in an attempt to destroy the Republic and crown himself Emperor. Palpatine has, obviously, been dealt with now due to the noble efforts of Jedi Kenobi. The second issue is one that I am entrusting to you. The clone soldiers have a chip in their heads, every single one of them, which forces them to obey certain commands. One of those commands is to turn on the Jedi, to murder them in cold blood. This was how Palpatine intended to destroy the Jedi Order. Given that Kenobi killed Palpatine, and Anakin broke him out of prison, the Jedi will be a suspect group for some time. I am entrusting you with this knowledge, Bail. You need to work with Mon Mothma and other reliable senators to help the clones, who are a danger to themselves and others with the chips in their heads. I am not sure when or if I will ever return to Coruscant, my dear friend. May the Force be with you."
/
The Concordia
In hyperspace
2 hours later
"Where are we going?" Kenobi inquired.
He had cleaned himself and changed his clothes, as had Padme and Anakin, and now he and the others were nestled into comfortable couches in the main common areas. Padme and Anakin were curled up near each other, the man holding his wife's hand as if he never wanted to let go.
"Obana," Satine said gravely.
"Obana?"
"It's a system not far from Tatooine," Anakin explained, grimacing slightly as he said the name of that thoroughly hated planet. "It has a complicated asteroid belt nearby so it isn't commonly visited. There are a few small cities and towns, and sufficient medical care that Padme can safely deliver the babies, but we won't likely run into Jedi or Senators or bounty hunters there."
Kenobi frowned, "So we're just going to, what, hide for a while?"
"A long while," Satine said firmly. "Maybe for the rest of our lives."
Kenobi's eyes bugged out in shock and he looked around at the Skywalkers' faces. Surely ...
"You can't be serious!" he sputtered. "We can't just abandon the galaxy!"
"You killed Palpatine," Padme said flatly, leaning forward, "and thus you've saved Anakin from falling. We broke you out because ..."
"Because you are idiots," Kenobi huffed angrily. "I fully intended to accept my fate."
"We weren't willing to let you accept that particular fate," Anakin stated sternly. "You saved not just my life, but my soul. You saved my children from a horrible father and you almost certainly saved Padme from dying in childbirth. You also apparently saved billions of lives from being lost across the galaxy. Besides, I need you, Obi-Wan. I'm obviously not as stable as I would hope. I need you to help me stay on the right path."
"And I need you too, Obi," Satine murmured. "I'm giving up my position as a leader of Mandalore. It is time for others to rise in the galactic scene. I want to be with you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I want to marry you and to have your children."
He turned now to face her and a moment later she was in his arms and kissing him passionately.
He returned the kiss with fervor, even as he heard the Skywalkers giggling in the background.
/
Jabba the Hutt's Palace
Tatooine
18 years later
"In here, your Highness," sneered the Twi'lek guard, shoving a blaster in her back for good measure.
Princess Winter Organa swallowed hard and hesitated, only to be pushed through the door into the grimy room. She sucked in a hard breath. No, no ...
"Dress her," the male growled to a blue haired human woman of some 60 standard years. "His Excellency wants her in the Throne Room in less than an hour."
The door slid shut behind the princess and the other woman began rooting through the garish, immodest clothing hanging on various and sundry racks, "I have just the thing ..."
The door slid open again and Jabba's minion turned in shock. A moment later, the woman had her hand against her throat and was thrown against a wall, where she wobbled briefly and collapsed.
Winter Organa turned toward the door fearfully. She has been on a diplomatic mission to assist refugees on nearby Siskeen, where a meetle infestation was causing a famine. An interdictor had pulled her ship out of space near Tatooine and she had been captured, apparently by underlings of Jabba the Hutt. Winter knew she was a valuable hostage because of her relation to Chancellor Bail Organa, but apparently her youth and beauty had enflamed the lust of the blobby Hutt. It was so disgusting.
A blond male stepped through the door, his blue lightsaber humming. He glanced around the room, did a quick check of the fallen bluehead, and then straightened to gaze directly at Princess Winter Organa.
"I'm Luke Skywalker," he said with a gentle smile, "and I'm here to rescue you!"
/
Author Note: I could do a lot more with this timeline but I'm not going to! Many thanks to my husband the editor, who is now working from home due to the coronavirus quarantine. These are desperate, strange times. Stay safe, everyone!