Chapter 4 - What ELSE Can Go Wrong?
Captain Daynar felt the concussion wave strike the port side solar panels of his fighter, just as he swung past the shuttle, and its captive ship; he jerked the controls of his small fighter hard, fighting to stabilize the small vessel as the wave's blast sent it rolling hard to its starboard side.
"What the hell was that?" he shouted over his cockpit transmitter, glancing back over his shoulder toward the shuttle again, watching as the heavily armored shuttle began to roll freely through space.
He stared, in stunned disbelief, as the bulk of the command shuttle's docking ring disintegrated, sending a huge array of shrapnel cascading out into space in a full three hundred sixty degree arc away from it, as the force of the violent blast pushed the two ships away from each other.
"The emergency charges must have detonated," he said, reaching for the com switch on his control yoke; he stopped, though, as he suddenly caught sight of the huge plume of blue-white plasma that erupted from the Destiny II's engines; he jerked his controls hard, swinging his ship around in a tight arc, as he watched the sleek, silver ship suddenly rocket away from the shuttle and head toward the planet's atmosphere below.
"All craft, stop that vessel," he shouted, powering up the weapon systems of his sleek, small fighter as he punched the throttle and fell in behind the Destiny as it banked sharply toward the planet's upper atmosphere. "Shuttle Azzmar, come in," he shouted, glancing down at his small tactical display as he watched the heavily armored shuttle continue to roll away into space. He quickly checked the shuttle's energy readouts; it appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be drifting, dead in space.
"Something's happened to the Azzmar," he shouted again, his hollow voice ringing through his wingmen's cockpits as they fell in beside him and pursued the fleeing vessel as it surged ahead of them.
"Full power, and bring all weapons to bear on that ship," he said, reaching down and activating his targeting computer, as the three small ships bolted after it, like angry hornets, as it began to skip along the upper edges of Tatooine's atmosphere. "Engines only, I want them taken alive!"
Artoo Deetoo engaged the strong magnets in his motor pods, and the electrostatic crackle filled the air around him as they pulled him tight to the decking where he sat near the co-pilot's station. He swung his sensor dome quickly back toward the pilot's seat; his main emergency light swung across the shuttle's wide, dark command console, and he stopped, voicing a long string of whistles and clicks as he brought the bright beam of light to bear on Anakin.
"Take her down into the atmosphere, Artoo," Anakin said, squinting in the bright beam of light as he glanced back at his little droid. "Let's put as much distance between them and us as we can," he said, clinging tightly to the armrests of his seat; he squeezed his eyes shut as the shuttle rolled again, the restraints digging into his shoulders as it did so.
Padmé swallowed hard, squeezing her own eyes shut tightly as she clung tightly to Luke and Leia, her head starting to swim as the shuttle rolled over again. "They can't take much more of this. How much longer?"
He looked out of the cockpit window in front of him; he closed his eyes, just for a moment, and then opened them again, as he struggled to focus on the three small fighters amid the rotating field of stars. "Just a few more seconds," Anakin said, swallowing hard as he fought back the urge to gag as his own stomach screamed at him; his eyes continued to scan the star field in front of him, as Luke and Leia's frightened cries, and Threepio's as well, filled the cabin around them.
"Aaaah!" Threepio cried, waving his arms frantically as he banged into the port side bulkhead again. "This is madness! I'm not built for this sort of thing!" he exclaimed, his anxious, panicked voice growing louder with each of the ship's somersaults.
"Threepio, PLEASE!" Padmé shouted angrily, glancing over at the frantic droid beside her as she heard him cry out again, even louder than the children.
"Threepio, maybe you should take a nap for a little while," Anakin sighed, as he wrapped his hands tightly around the controls in front of him. "You want to help him with that?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at his wife.
"I'd be happy to," Padmé nodded, on the edge of exasperation; she shifted Leia higher in her arms as the ship righted itself again and, as quickly as she could, she reached over and probed the back of her droid's neck, as he continued to cry out and wave his arms excitedly. Her fingers found the small switch, as she probed the small indentation just above his shoulders, and she pressed it quickly, watching with a sense of profound relief as Threepio's eyes went dark and he collapsed into the seat beside her.
"Thank you for that," she sighed, savoring the silence as, closing her eyes, she flung her arm tightly around Leia again, just as the ship began to roll over once more. "I was about to suggest we just blow him out of the airlock," she laughed, softly, doing her best to keep her emotions under control.
Anakin closed his eyes, laughing quietly to himself, as he heard her unusually snarky comment. He knew she was struggling, and to be honest, so was he; the brief moment of levity seemed to calm them both, at least for a moment.
"Artoo, bring the engines and systems back online," Anakin said, snapping his head around toward the little droid beside him, as his thoughts shifted back to their immediate predicament. He knew that Padmé and his children had taken about all that they could. "Fire the main engines and transfer thruster control to the pilot's station," he said, watching the three fighters as they continued to chase the Destiny into Tatooine's upper atmosphere.
Artoo's obedient reply echoing in her ears, Padmé closed her eyes and grit her teeth hard, holding onto Luke and Leia as tightly as she could, as she heard the ship's engines suddenly blaze to life.
The inertial dampers hadn't fully engaged, as the Azzmar's engines sent the massive shuttle lurching forward toward the planet's surface; Anakin held onto the control yoke as tightly as he could, as he fought to stop the shuttle's angry roll along her starboard axis; Padmé opened her eyes, watching as her husband struggled with the controls.
"Why are we still rolling like this?" she asked; she swallowed hard, the bile rising in her throat, as she saw the star field, and Tatooine's orange-gold surface, continue to roll over and over in front of her.
"We're losing plasma in the starboard engine," Anakin growled through his teeth, pulling back on the damaged engine's throttle as he fought to stop the ship's roll. "It must have been damaged when the docking ring charges blew," he said, reaching over and silencing the alarm bell that rang through the cockpit around them.
"Some of the control circuits must have been damaged, too," he said, shaking his head as he twisted the yoke in his hands, as hard as he could, trying to level the shuttle's flight path. "The ship's not responding to the controls like it should," he said, extending his right hand toward the engine control pad beside him. "It's like we're flying with a dead gondark on our back."
"Hang on, I'm going to try to compensate," he said, his fingers flying across the large, flashing control pad, as he quickly adjusted the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters.
"Artoo, deploy the starboard side drag flaps, now," Anakin exclaimed, glancing over at the little droid beside him as he fought to level the ship. "Let's see if we can pull her out of this spin."
Padmé immediately turned her attention to her daughter, as she heard her anxious cries grow louder. "It's okay, Leia," she whispered, as quietly and reassuringly as she could, as she held onto her children with all of her might. She closed her eyes, reaching into the Force, using its energy to steady the three of them, as best she could, in her seat.
Padmé felt the ship shudder violently as the drag flags extended themselves; she glanced over at Artoo as their little droid's long string of whistles and clicks filled the shuttle's cabin once again. "I think it's working, Ani," she said, nodding her head slowly as she looked back up at the wide, square cockpit window; she could see the stars, and the planet ahead of them, begin to slow their angry spin as the ship began to level out.
"It's definitely working," she sighed, with more than a hint of relief in her voice, as she glanced back over at Anakin and watched him work the throttle controls quickly as he tried to stabilize the huge, crippled shuttle.
"What a piece of Imperial junk," Anakin growled, fighting the wildly trembling yoke as hard as he could. "What good are emergency docking charges if it blows the ship to hell and back when you use them?" he sighed, shaking his head as he quickly surveyed the ship's engine status readouts.
"We're going to have to shut down the starboard engine once we hit the atmosphere, Artoo," he said, as his droid worked at the command station beside him. "If that raw plasma leaks out on reentry, it'll blow the whole back quarter of the ship off."
Their attention was drawn away from the immediate crisis, at least for a moment, as the ship's intercom system suddenly sprang to life. They both turned their eyes to the center of the shuttle's command console, and Padmé narrowed hers and turned her head, just a bit, as the bright red indicator near its center began to flash, filling the cockpit with an eerie, flashing crimson light.
They both looked at each other for a long moment, as they heard the incoming message echo through the cabin around them. "Shuttle Azzmar, come in. Request permission to open fire and disable unknown vessel. Please acknowledge."
"Don't answer that," Anakin sighed sarcastically, shaking his head slowly as he smiled weakly at her for a moment, and then turned the shuttle hard, pushing the large, bulky ship into a sharp angle descent toward Tatooine's atmosphere.
"Like we were going to?" Padmé asked, as she closed her eyes and hugged Luke and Leia as tightly as she could. She felt herself begin to laugh, or least she thought she was laughing.
To be honest, she wasn't really sure if she was laughing, or crying, or both, and she didn't really care anymore. Her emotions were a jumbled mess at the moment, and it was taking every ounce of strength that she had to keep them under control. She knew that Anakin had sensed it, and she'd felt his reassuring tremor in her heart, as her troubled eyes had met his. Even now, while he was doing everything in his power to literally save their lives, she knew that he was trying to reassure her, to let her know that everything was going to be all right.
She opened her eyes and gazed at him again, as she felt Luke's small arms tighten around her neck. "Everybody hang on tight," Anakin said, reaching over and pushing the shuttle's engines to their limits. "This is going to be a pretty quick trip, so it's liable to get a little bumpy."
"Captain Daynar," the cockpit's speaker system echoed, as Daynar glanced over at his wingman beside him. "The Azzmar has powered up again, but she's still not responding to our hails. She appears to be damaged, sir," he said. "She's trailing plasma from her starboard engine."
"Where the devil is she going, then?" Daynar said, watching the shuttle's indicator on his head's up display as it banked sharply away from them; he didn't like this, he thought, as he craned his neck from his seat, looking back through the canopy glass over his shoulder. He could see the sun glint brightly off of the Azzmar's three, large wings as she turned and headed toward the surface.
"All wings, lock weapons on target vessel, engines only," he said, turning his full attention to the sleek, silver ship in front of them again; he could see the brilliant stream of golden plasma that rolled from its underbelly as it skipped along the surface of the planet's atmosphere.
"Yes, sir," Daynar heard his wingmen reply, in orderly, military fashion; he reached down and adjusted his targeting computer, his eyes never moving from the screen, as he watched the Destiny II swing slowly toward the flashing red sights on his heads up display.
"I've got a lock," he said, as he saw the targeting crosshairs suddenly light up brightly as the smooth, high pitched tone filled his cockpit, just as he started to squeeze the trigger.
Daynar froze, as he suddenly heard his comlink crackle loudly, and then blaze to life. "Don't fire!" he heard a panicked voice scream to him. "Captain! I repeat, don't fire! This is Janden! For God's sake, don't fire!"
"Janden?" Captain Daynar exclaimed, as he quickly released his finger from the trigger on his control yoke. "Where are you?"
"I'm here, on this ship!" Janden screamed frantically. "The ship's locked on some kind of autopilot, I'm trying to disengage it. The lieutenant and three of our troopers are dead," he said, as Daynar jerked his head around and looked through his canopy window once again; he could see the Azzmar, just barely, skimming along the bright, orange horizon, as it began to disappear into the hazy atmosphere below.
"Bravo three, break off pursuit and try to track the Azzmar," the captain shouted, motioning through his canopy window to the ship that tracked along his port side. "Pursue and disable them if you can. Go!"
"I'll try, sir," the pilot called, his hollow voice echoing through the ship's com system as he swung his fighter hard and headed off in pursuit of the shuttle. "They're moving fast. If they make it into the atmosphere, we'll lose them."
"What the hell happened, Janden?" Daynar exclaimed, glancing down at his tactical display again and watching as the Azzmar's signal tracked farther and farther away from them.
"I don't know, sir," Janden exclaimed groggily, as Daynar looked back at the ship in front of him, as it suddenly lurched hard to its port side, as the wounded, dazed corporal finally managed to disengage the remote autopilot."But I think they were Jedi, judging from the lieutenant's wounds."
"Jedi?" Daynar replied, bringing his fighter alongside the mysterious ship as it began to climb up out of the upper atmosphere and slow significantly. "Are you sure? Did you get a good look at them?"
The captain banged his fist soundly in frustration on the console beside him as he heard Janden's shaken, panicked voice come back to him."No, sir," Janden replied. "I… I never got a chance to see any of them. They ambushed me, just as I was entering the ship. I found the lieutenant and the others when I finally came to. I… I don't know why they didn't kill me, too."
Captain Daynar listened intently, as he heard his cockpit speaker blaze to life again. "Captain, this is Bravo Three," he heard the pilot call. "The Azzmar has just disappeared from my scope, sir. They've made it into the atmosphere," he said."We've lost them."
"Bravo Two, open a channel to the Sepulcher, code red," Daynar snapped, as he swung his fighter around in a steep, tight arc. "Notify Commander Ozzel immediately to send out an intercept team," he said, looking back toward the planet's surface below him. "Advise him that I think we've just lost a shuttle to a Jedi Knight."
Anakin was an exceptional pilot; indeed, since the first time he'd strapped himself into a racing pod at the age of eight years, his skills had grown consistently. Yet now, as he struggled to bring the massive, crippled shuttle through the dense atmosphere of his home planet, he wished that Padmé were in the copilot seat to help him. The vessel didn't really lend itself well to a single pilot, much less so when it was only using one engine; Padmé's own skills were exceptional, and he could have used them now. Indeed, there were times, when he'd seen her at the controls, when he had watched the grace and finesse with which she commanded a ship, that he realized, with a sense of deep satisfaction and pride, that her skills in some ways exceeded his own. Yet he knew that what she was doing now was far more important, as she watched over and comforted their two small, frightened children.
He glanced over at Artoo, as the little droid suddenly began to whistle and beep excitedly. "What now, Artoo?" he asked, turning his attention quickly back to the shuttle's controls as it bucked wildly again; he was coming in hot, way too fast for a ship of this size. "No more bad news, okay?"
"What's he saying?" Padmé asked, as she heard Artoo's anxious, excited electronic whistles and clicks as he swung his sensors back toward Anakin again.
"I don't know, I can't look right now," Anakin said, shaking his head firmly as he wrestled with the controls as the shuttle bounced violently through the atmosphere.
"Get the translator," he said, glancing over at the small display that now bounced around the cockpit wildly since he'd dropped it a few moments before. "See what he's trying to tell us."
Anakin lips curled into the hint of a smile, as he glanced over and saw the tiny display suddenly stop in mid spin, then rocket toward Padmé's palm as she lifted her right hand from Luke's back and reached toward it. He turned his attention back toward the cockpit window again, as he watched the searing hot plasma whip over the craft's shields as they began to break through the planet's atmosphere.
"He says he's lost control of the Destiny," Padmé said, shaking her head and frowning deeply as she looked back up at him from the small display in her hand. "He says the signal was broken on the other end."
"She must've broken up in the atmosphere," Anakin sighed, as he pulled back on the shuttle's controls and began to level their descent; Tatooine's barren, sandy landscape loomed brightly below them, and he breathed a collective sigh of relief as he felt the ship begin to smooth out dramatically as he pulled back on the throttle controls and slow their approach.
"I don't think so, Ani," Padmé said, shaking her head as she watched him look back at her. "He says he was still reading telemetry from her. Somebody disengaged the autopilot from her console."
They both looked at each other for a long moment. "The pilot," they both said, in perfect unison, as they quickly came to the same, uncomfortable conclusion.
"Great," Anakin said, nodding as he reached over and tapped the controls beside him. "Then it's a fair bet the Empire's going to know we're here," he sighed, as he engaged the landing flaps and activated the gear proximity sensors.
Padmé watched, as Anakin reached down and begin to dig, somewhat frantically, through his pockets. "Here, hang onto this," he said, quickly pulling his encryption key from his pocket and holding it up over his shoulder. "I'm going to see if I can find a good place to set this thing down," he said, as he felt Padmé take the small key from him. "We're going to need to contact Andar as soon as we land."
Padmé looked at the small encryption key in her fingers for a moment. "They're going to be looking for us, Ani," she said, squeezing the key in her fist as she tightened her grip on her children, rocking them gently, as they both clung tightly to her. "Are you sure bringing him into this is a good idea?"
"We were going to have too, anyway," Anakin sighed, turning the controls smoothly as he brought them closer to the planet's sandy surface. "Besides they're looking for this shuttle. We've got to ditch this thing as fast as we can," he said, glancing back at Padmé again. "And we're going to need his help."
"What?" Threepio said, as his optical sensors suddenly began to glow; he looked around, somewhat confused, as he struggled to get his bearings as his systems, and his visual circuits, began to function again.
"What happened?" he said, cocking his head and looking up at Padmé, as he saw her gazing back at him. He surveyed her quickly, instantly noticing the change in her appearance.
"How long was I out, Miss Padmé?" he asked, waving his arms somewhat frantically as he caught sight of her lightsaber, as it swung gracefully at her side. "Is everything all right? I must have taken quite a jolt. The last thing I remember, you were sitting there with Master Luke and Mistress Leia, dressed in…"
"Threepio," Padmé said, placing her fingers gently on the small rectangular orifice on his smooth metal face, "You're fine. I'll explain later. But there's something I need you to do right now," she said, as she held Anakin's encryption key up in front of him.
"Of course, my lady," Threepio said, reaching up and taking the key from her with his metal fingers. "Anything that I can do to help is, of course, my…"
"Thank you, Threepio," Padmé said, smiling back at him in the cockpit's dim light as she interrupted him again. "I need you to get on the com system and contact Andar Gandh," she said, nodding her head slowly as she took a step back and watched Threepio rise, as quickly as he could, to his feet. "Give him our coordinates, and tell him we're going to track northeast from here on foot toward his compound, but we need him to come and pick us up as quickly as possible. Understand?"
"Of course, Miss Padmé," Threepio said, watching her as she smiled at him, one more time, and then turned and headed toward the small doorway that led to the shuttle's rear cargo hold.
"And when you finish, shut the com station off and come join us," she said, placing her hand on the bulkhead as she turned to look at him once again, watching him as he shuffled up to the communications terminal on the aft bulkhead of the cockpit. "We need to get going. We'll be in the cargo hold."
"Yes, Miss Padmé," Threepio said, turning his attention to the console in front of him. Padmé watched him, quietly, as he slipped Anakin's encryption key into the slot on the front of the console and began to bring the transmitter online.
Threepio glanced up, pausing for just a moment, as he watched Padmé turn and disappear quickly through the small doorway. "Oh, dear," he sighed, turning his sensors back to the console again as he engaged Anakin's encryption key and fed the signal through it. "I knew coming here was a bad idea."
Anakin turned around slowly, as he heard the sound of her boots approaching; he returned her smile, as she walked up close beside him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
"So how's the ship? Any luck?" Padmé asked, turning her attention to Artoo, as he sat quietly at the cargo hold's data terminal.
"It's a miracle we were able to even land this piece of junk," Anakin snorted, nodding at Artoo as he withdrew his data probe from the terminal and spun to face them. "The entire plasma control circuit is gone," he sighed, looking back at Padmé as Artoo rolled up beside them and whistled, quite sadly.
"In short," Anakin sighed, shaking his head slowly as she looked up at him, "this ship's not going anywhere. And for a shuttle, it has remarkably very little that we can make use of for much of anything. I found a few flares, an an emergency ration kit," he sighed, nodding toward their duffle near the main hatch, "so at least we have some food and water, but out here," he said, shaking his head as he looked out at the rapidly darkening desert, "it won't last long."
"Great," Padmé sighed, nodding her head as she looked out of the open cargo bay at the endless dunes of sand that stretched out into the distance. "So what do we do if Threepio can't raise Andar?" she said, turning her worried eyes back to her husband again.
"I'm still working on that," Anakin sighed, looking back out across the barren landscape; it was late evening, and the suns were setting fast.
"How are they?" Padmé asked quietly, placing her other hand gently on Luke's back, as she watched Anakin hold them both securely in his arms; they both clung to their father tightly, their small arms wrapped securely around Anakin's neck, their heads resting on his shoulder. They were quiet now, and Padmé took a long, deep breath, sighing deeply as she shifted her thoughts away from their current predicament and focused intently on their familiar, soothing tremors.
"They're a little shaken up, but I think they're both fine, Mom," Anakin said softly, turning toward Padmé as she reached up and brushed Luke's fine, sandy brown hair from his eyes. "I think they're almost asleep now," he whispered.
"Leia is," Padmé said, nodding as she glanced at her sleeping daughter. "I can feel it," she said, turning her attention back to Luke again. "But our little boy's not," she whispered with a smile, as Tatooine's slowly setting suns cast a soft, golden glow through the open cargo hold.
Anakin smiled, as he watched Padmé raise up on her toes, and kiss him tenderly on his small cheek. "Are you okay, Angel?" he asked softly, as he saw the concerned, worried look on her face as she gazed quietly at her son.
"I'm just worried about them," she said quietly, looking back into Anakin's calm, blue eyes as she placed her hands gently on both of her children. "They were both so scared."
"And to be honest, so am I," she sighed, looking out of the open cargo hold again, as she felt another hot gust of wind blow through the hold around them. Anakin watched her, as she shook her head slowly for a long moment, and then looked back up at him again. "How do we keep getting ourselves into these situations, Ani?" she sighed, a sarcastic, worried grin spreading across her lovely face as she gazed up at him.
"Here," Anakin said, turning Leia toward her, as he sensed her worry and concern. "I think Mommy needs a hug," he said, grinning softly at her as he watched her scoop Leia's small, sleeping body gently from his arm.
"Mommy sure does," Padmé said quietly, closing her eyes and hugging Leia tightly as she wrapped her small arms tightly around her neck. Anakin watched her quietly, for a long moment, as she gently stroked Leia's thick, dark hair and cuddled her close to her chest.
"Well, I've got one for you too," he said, gazing fondly at her as she opened her eyes and smiled, somewhat weakly, at him. "Just as soon as we can get a minute to breathe so I can give it to you."
"I need it," she said, nodding her head slowly as she closed her eyes again and leaned against him. They both stood there quietly for a long moment, holding their children tightly in their arms, as they looked out of the shuttle's cargo hold across the golden, barren landscape.
"Threepio needs to hurry," Anakin sighed, placing his free arm tightly around Padmé's shoulders as he pulled her close to him. "We can't stay here much longer, and we need to get moving if we're going to find shelter in these mountains tonight."
Padmé nodded her head slowly, as she remembered how cold it had been that night, when she and Anakin had gone into that Tusken camp looking for his mother. "Will it be that cold here?" she asked, glancing up at him as she felt the warm evening air that flowed into the cockpit through the open loading ramp.
"Yeah," Anakin said, nodding his head slowly as he looked out across the barren, empty desert. "It'll start dropping, big time, in about an hour," he said, turning his eyes toward her again. "The atmosphere's just too thin to keep the heat in, for long. We need to find shelter long before that happens."
"What'll we do if we can't make it, or if Andar doesn't get here in time?" she asked quietly, turning her worried, troubled face back to his again.
"He'll get here," Anakin said reassuringly, as he squeezed her shoulder tightly. "Don't worry, we'll be out of here in…"
Padmé froze, as she and Anakin both whipped their heads back around and looked out across the golden brown landscape; her breath caught in her throat, and a cold, familiar wave of fear shot through her, as she suddenly heard the haunting, blood-chilling sound echo across the barren landscape.
She'd first heard the sound before, on that dark, cold night long ago; it was distant, much more so that it had been that evening, yet it conjured up a fear, and memories of pain and anguish that she thought she had forgotten, as she heard the ungodly howl travel across the empty, lonely desert, and then fade slowly off into the distance.
Her heart began to pound in her chest, as she looked out across the endless sand; the larger, golden sun began to slip below the horizon, and the dark purple clouds whipped across the sky, driven by Tatooine's endless, eternal wind, as the setting sun painted the desert with an eerie twilight.
It would have been a beautiful sight, if it had been anywhere else, at any other time; yet now, as she sensed the anxiety in Anakin's heart, as she felt his hand tighten around her shoulders, it was a terrifying image indeed, as she felt the tiny grains of sand bite into her skin as the rapidly cooling desert wind whipped through the cargo hold around them, tossing her long, brown hair briskly around her shoulders.
"Oh, God, Anakin," she whispered, holding her daughter as tightly as she could, as she looked up at him. "What are we going to do?"
"Whatever we have too," Anakin said quietly, as the wind tossed his long, disheveled hair in front of his face; he felt Padmé jump again, and he instinctively hugged her, and Luke, as tightly as he could as he looked out across the barren desert, as the raider's ungodly howl echoed across the sand again.
Shanda jerked her head up, as she heard the latch on the heavy door ratchet loudly. She turned to the two small, frighten children who huddled beside her in the damp, dark cell, raising her hand and motioning for them to stay still, as they heard the loud, angry voices echo from the hall behind the door, as it opened with a loud, angry creak.
She felt her heart begin to race, as she watched the two large, burly guards drag Obi-Wan through the doorway, quite roughly; she blinked her eyes, as she stood up slowly, watching the three shadowy figures silhouetted against the bright light that shone from the hallway behind them.
"All right, back you go," she heard one of the guard's deep, angry voices laugh, watching with a growing sense of despair as they hurled her master into the cell and onto the hard stone floor. She took an anxious step toward him, as she heard his pain-filled groan as he struck the hard floor, but she froze as she watched one of the guards take a couple of steps toward her and the children.
"Here ya go, missy," the guard chuckled, as he tossed her a handful of dirty towels and rags. He watched with a grin as she leapt forward, catching them before they hit the grimy, damp floor, and then glared back up at him angrily.
"You might want to take a look at your friend here," he chuckled, gesturing toward Obi-Wan as he lay, writhing in pain, on the floor beside him. "Wouldn't want him to bleed to death before they get a chance to turn him over."
Shanda glared at him silently, as she watched him turn to his companion and slap him on the shoulder as they both continued to laugh. She fought back the rage that welled up inside her, glancing back at her wounded master, as the two guards turned and, giving her and the children one last amused glance, walked back through the heavy cell door and slammed it shut behind them.
"Master Obi-Wan," she cried, as she rushed quickly across the cell and dropped to her knees by his side. She placed the bundle of rags that the guard had given her in her lap, and, taking hold of his shoulders, she reached into the Force and pulled him over toward her, as gently but quickly as she could, so that she could see his face.
"Oh, no," she whispered, a sense of despair welling up inside her heart along with the tears that filled her eyes, as she saw Obi-Wan's badly beaten face, as he flopped limply onto his back with a painful moan. "Master Obi-Wan, please," she pleaded, as she reached down and began to sort frantically through the matted knot of rags in her lap for a reasonably clean one. "Talk to me, please."
Shanda turned and motioned frantically for the children to join her, as she pulled a large piece of cloth from the jumbled pile in her lap and quickly ripped it in half. "Sanjii, here take this," she said, handing part of the rag in her hand to the frightened, dark haired little girl closest to her. "Take this and rinse it out, as best you can," she said, gesturing toward the stream of water that trickled in from the grate at the top of the wall across from them. "And hurry, okay?"
"Yes, Shanda," Sanjii replied, nodding her head obediently, as she turned and ran across the cell as quickly as she could.
"Tear this into strips, Marcus," Shanda said, handing the other half to the little boy beside her, as he gazed, frightened and worried, at Obi-Wan's bloody, swollen face. Shanda looked at him; she could sense the fear that flowed through his young heart, as she reached out to him through the Force.
"Marcus," she said softly, as she reached over and squeezed his shoulder; she nodded her head reassuringly, as she smiled, as best she could, back at him. "Focus, Marcus. I need your help," she said, glancing back at Obi-Wan as she watched him try to open his left eye and groan again with pain; his right one was swollen completely shut. "He needs your help."
Marcus took the rag from her, and she turned her attention quickly back to Obi-Wan again, as the lad began to tear the cloth into strips as she had requested. "Just lie still, Master," she said, placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing him gently back down on the floor, as he tried to sit up. "Don't move."
"Oooohhh," Obi-Wan moaned, as he let his muscles go limp again; he grimaced, just a bit, as he felt Shanda slip her hand behind his head and lift it up, very carefully, as she placed a couple of the soiled, grimy rags under it. "I… I don't feel so good."
"You don't look so good, either," Shanda replied, making no effort to hide the worry in her voice as she turned and watched Sanjii run back toward her, carrying the now dripping wet rag that Shanda had given her in her outstretched hands.
"Here, Shanda," Sanjii said, her voice trembling as she knelt beside her and placed the wet cloth in her hands. "This is as clean as I could get it," she said, as she reached up and pushed a loch of her coal-black hair back behind her ear.
"Thank you, Sanjii," Shanda replied, taking the cloth from her and wringing it out several times. "That's good enough," she said, as she reached down to the belt at her waist; she rummaged through one of the pouches for a moment, until she quickly produced several small vials of ointment and a small antiseptic spray.
"Here, hold these," she said, placing the small items in Sanjii's outstretched palms, and then turning her attention to her master again. "This may hurt a little bit, Master," Shanda said, apologetically, as she picked up the damp towel and leaned a bit closer to his bruised, bloody face.
She recoiled, just a bit, as she felt the strong wave of pain that surged through his body as she began to gently clean the gaping cut just above his swollen right eye. "I'm so sorry, Master," she said, as she felt that wave of despair and hopelessness dog her again.
Obi-Wan took a deep, painful breath; he reached down deeply into the Force, fighting to push back the pain that coursed through his body as he opened his left eye, as wide as he could, and looked up at his young padawan.
"It's alright, Shanda," he said, as reassuringly as he could, as he reached up and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly as he managed a painful smile. He paused for a moment, taking another long, deep breath, as he fought to clear his pain-clouded mind. "I didn't mean… to frighten you. Go ahead."
"Are you hurt anywhere else, Master Obi-Wan?" Shanda asked, as she leaned close to him, dabbing gingerly at the blood and dirt that covered his face as she began to clean his wounds. "I mean, other than this?" she sighed, as she carefully cleaned the huge gash above his eye.
"It might be easier to tell you… where it doesn't hurt," Obi-Wan groaned, doing his best to manage a smile as he looked up at her. "My legs feel all right," he said, grimacing again as Shanda continued to mop the blood and dirt from his face. "The rest of me isn't doing so well."
"We can see that," Shanda sighed, turning and handing the blood soaked rag back to Sanjii again. "Can you rinse this out for me again, Sanjii?" she asked, as she took one of the vials of ointment the young padawan offered her.
Obi-Wan smiled, as best he could, as he watched the little girl leap to her feet and run back across the dim, dirty cell. "You've got some good help," he said, closing his eyes again as Shanda took one of the strips of cloth from young Marcus and opened the small vial of ointment. "You might want to keep these two around," he said, grimacing again as she leaned close and began to apply the clear, thick medication to the gash above his eye. "They'll… they'll make good padawans someday."
"I can't have two padawans, Master, you know that," Shanda sighed, as she carefully tended his wounds. "Besides, I'm still your padawan," she said, smiling back at him as he opened his eye and looked up at her. "And I probably will be for a long, long time."
"Yes, you're definitely my padawan, alright, and I'm sorry about that," Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head weakly as he watched Shanda take the long strip of cloth that Marcus had given her and fold it lengthwise, very carefully. "And it seems you're doing the same thing Anakin always did, getting me out of trouble," he sighed, as he watched her smile back at him.
"Uncle Anakin made me promise I'd take good care of you," Shanda sighed, as she lifted Obi-Wan's head very gently, tucking the strip of cloth under it quickly, and then bound it carefully around his forehead. "I'm afraid he wouldn't be very happy with me right now," she sighed, as she carefully adjusted the makeshift bandage, making sure it completely covered the gaping, angry wound.
She stopped, looking back at Obi-Wan's face as she felt his hand on her arm again. "Anakin would be very proud of you," he said quietly, as he smiled back at her. "Just as I am."
Shanda smiled, as they looked at each other for a moment, and then she turned her attention back to Sanjii, as she returned and handed the freshly rinsed cloth to her again. "Why did they do this to you, Master?" she asked, as she took the cloth and wrung it out again, and then went back to work as she cleaned the blood and dirt from his face and beard. "What is it that they want?"
"I'm not completely sure," Obi-Wan sighed, closing his eye again as Shanda began to carefully clean the other one. "He's a bounty hunter, an overly arrogant one. His… His name is Micah Ellisar, I was able to learn that much," he said, looking up at his padawan again as she worked. "I… I think he plans to turn me over to Vader for… the bounty on my head," he sighed. "That's why they ambushed us."
"But why's he doing this to you?" Shanda asked, a puzzled, angry tone in her voice as she stopped and leaned back a bit, surveying the maze of bruises and cuts on her master's face. "It doesn't make any sense. Why doesn't he just turn you over? Why would he risk killing you by beating you like this? Vader wants you alive, everyone knows that."
"I'm not sure. It might have been because I was a little… less than cooperative," Obi-Wan sighed, smiling up at her weakly as she looked at him, puzzled and confused. "He's not just an arrogant bastard, he's an intelligent one," he sighed, as Shanda turned and took the small vial of antiseptic spray from Sanjii's outstretched palm.
"Doesn't sound much like a bounty hunter, then," Shanda snorted, shaking her head as she leaned close to him again. "I need to treat these scrapes and scratches, Master," she said. This may sting a little."
"No, it'll sting a lot," Obi-Wan groaned, closing his eyes as he nodded his head slowly. "Go ahead," he said, and he took a deep breath, holding it, as Shanda carefully sprayed the stinging, biting spray onto each of the cuts that adorned his bearded face.
"I still don't understand," Shanda sighed, as she carefully examined Obi-Wan's face, making sure she hadn't missed any of his wounds. "If he's just a bounty hunter, all he'd care about is turning you over for the reward, and be done with you. I don't know why he's doing this."
"I know, and it puzzles me, too," Obi-Wan said, opening his eye and looking up at her; he took another breath and grimaced, as he raised himself, slowly and painfully, up on his elbows.
"Be careful, Master," Shanda said, shaking her head firmly as she tried to stop him. "You need to lie still. Don't try to…"
"Shanda," Obi-Wan said again, sighing deeply as he took several deep breaths, reaching into the Force as he pushed back the pain that dogged him. "I think there may be much more here than meets the eye."
Shanda knelt there beside him, watching quietly as Obi-Wan frowned off into space for a few moments; he looked deeply thoughtful for a long time, then sighed deeply and turned his eyes back toward her. "Do you know the disc I always carry with me, the encryption key we use to communicate with the Council?"
"Yes," Shanda replied, with a nod of her head.
"He knew right where it was," Obi-Wan replied quietly, his eyes instantly conveying his own trepidation. "And he's taken it."
Shanda frowned, in disbelief, as she sat quietly at his side for a long moment. "Why would he take your encryption key?" she asked, her voice soft and trembling, as she glanced over at the two young padawans that knelt beside her. "Are you sure he took it on purpose, that he wasn't just searching for…"
"Oh, he took it on purpose, all right," Obi-Wan groaned, reaching up and touching his swollen eye gingerly as he spoke. "He wasn't just rummaging through my things, he knew what he was after, and he knew right where to look," he snorted, cringing as he touched the bandage that covered the nasty gash on his forehead.
"But, that would mean that he'd have to have known where it was, and the only way he could know that…" Shanda stopped, shaking her head in disbelief as Obi-Wan looked up at her and nodded his own. She didn't need to finish her thought – she knew that he was thinking the same thing, no matter how unbelievable it might seem.
"Someone told him where to find it, and who, and for what reason, I can't say," he said, looking back at his padawan again as she listened intently. "There's something going on here, something much more serious than you and I being turned over for a bounty."
"But what are we going to do?" Shanda asked, a worried, anxious look spreading across her face as she glanced around the dark, empty cell. "We don't have our weapons, no one knows we're here," she said, a tone of frustration growing in her voice. "For that matter, we don't even know where we are. How are we going to get out of here, much less figure out what's going on?"
"I'm working on that," Obi-Wan sighed, as he surveyed the cell around them; Shanda was right. There wasn't much to work with here, not even anything that lent itself readily to being manipulated by the Force. The walls were thick, exceptionally so, and the heavy iron and wood door was far too strong to even attempt to force it.
"Micah obviously knows a thing or two about Jedi," he said, turning his attention back to Shanda again. "He hasn't made the usual mistakes. That's why we've got to be extremely careful. I don't think he knows about the children, yet, and I'm not sure he suspects you, either," he said, as Shanda listened intently. "I don't want to tip our hand, so don't give him any information that he doesn't need, alright?"
"Yes, Master," Shanda replied, nodding her head shakily as she watched him smile weakly at her.
"Until then, we'll do what my old master suggested to myself and Anakin, shortly after I'd first met your uncle," he sighed. "We shall be patient. We'll deal with the situation at hand, and wait on the Force to guide us."
"Please, Master," Shanda begged, placing her hand firmly on his shoulder, as he groaned loudly and tried to sit up. "Just lie still for a minute, at least give the pain medication in that spray a little while to work."
"Not a bad idea," he groaned, leaning back on his elbows again, as he felt his body cry out in pain; he could feel the blood rushing through his face, as he took several more deep breaths, and then looked carefully around the room again.
"Have we got anything to eat?" he asked, looking back at Shanda and the children again.
"Eat?" Shanda asked, a somewhat bewildered look on her face as she sat back on the floor beside him. "Master, how can you think of food at a time like this?"
"First order of business," Obi-Wan sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Survival. Do we have anything?"
Shanda nodded at Sanjii, and they both watched as the little padawan jumped to her feet and ran to the wall behind them, picking up several small metal pails. "Some kind of bread, and a few jars of water," Shanda replied, as they watched Sanjii bring them over and sit them down next to them. "They brought it in a while ago, but we were afraid to eat it."
"Well, there's no sense in him trying to poison us, now," Obi-Wan said, as he reached into the small pail and pulled out a couple of pieces, handing them to the children. "Here, you two," he said, as the children took the bread from him, and began to eat hungrily. "You, too," he said, reaching back into the pail and handing a piece to Shanda.
Shanda sank her teeth into the hard, small loaf of bread; she closed her eyes and pulled, hard, as she tore off a piece and began to chew, slowly. "It's not too bad," she said, shrugging her shoulders as she looked back at her master with a weak smile.
"Well, it'll help you keep you strength up," he said, pausing as he took a bite of the piece that Shanda handed to him. "And we need to be ready for whatever opportunity presents itself," he sighed, chewing slowly and painfully, as they all sat quietly in the dim, quiet cell, as Tatooine's evening sun began to slip below the horizon.
Commander Ozzel stood silently on the Sepulcher's command deck, listening intently, as Captain Daynar's image flickered on the small holographic projector in front of him.
"We've located the ship, sir," Daynar said, his brilliant white trooper's uniform tinted blue-green by the holograph's image converter. "Mark one eight seven, quadrant fourteen, near the southern tip of an area the locals call the Jundland wastes."
Lieutenant Needa stood quietly, his hands folded behind his back, as he saw the angry, irritated expression on his commanding officer's face. "Have you found any trace of who was in the shuttle?"
"Negative, sir," Daynar replied. "The ship's transponder is missing, as are some of the emergency supplies," he continued, as his image flickered again. "We found tracks, there appear to be at least two of them, and possibly a couple of droids."
"That would corroborate Corporal Janden's report," Needa said, as he and his commanding officer exchanged a quick glance. "He said that Leiutenant Krantz reported that there were several droids aboard that vessel, just before they lost contact with him."
"Can you tell which way they went?" Ozzel asked, his tone dark and brooding, as he turned his attention back to the holograph again.
"We have a general idea of direction, sir," Daynar replied, gesturing with his hand behind him. "But the wind here has obscured almost all of their tracks, except for a few close to the ship," he said, as Ozzel frowned angrily.
"Take a squadron of eight, and follow those tracks, best guess estimate," Ozzel snapped, watching as Daynar nodded his head obediently. "Have the rest of the search party recover that shuttle, and I want those individuals captured. Is that understood?"
"Understood clearly, sir," Daynar replied, and Ozzel watched as his image flickered, and then disappeared.
"You were unable to retrieve any information from the vessel we captured?" Ozzel asked, snapping his attention back to his first officer again.
"Negative, sir," Needa replied, watching as his frustrated commander slammed his fist down hard on the console in front of him. "The computer system was wiped clean when we found it. Whoever they were, they covered their tracks well."
"Impound that ship, use the fleet hangar at Mos Eisley," Ozzel growled, turning his angry face back to Lieutenant Needa again. "I want hourly reports, and have the rest of the landing party join the search as soon as they've recovered the shuttle," he said, glancing back out of the command deck windows; he stood quietly for a moment, his face dark and angry, as he looked at the brilliant, golden planet that loomed below them.
"No one kills one of my command crews, steals a shuttle, and escapes on my watch," Ozzel growled angrily. "Double the patrols," he said, as he stormed across the command deck angrily, the sound of his boots echoing off the bulkheads around as he walked. "If a single ship tries to enter or leave this system, I want to know about it."
"Understood, sir," Needa said, taking a long, nervous breath as he watched his commander storm away. He watched him for a long moment, and then turned his attention back to the bridge crew again. "You heard the commander," Needa said, nodding toward the officer who manned the com station beside him. "Get to work."
Beru shivered, as she sat on the small table out back of their home; she wrapped her arms around herself a little tighter, pulling the afghan she'd retrieved from Shanda's bed up over her shoulders, as she gazed up at the crystal clear night sky.
Shanda loved to sit out here on nights like this; she would sit for hours, sometimes, just gazing up at the bright, twinkling stars. She had spent most of her young life on Coruscant, and the massive city planet's ever-present veil of light obscured all but the brightest of the stars in its hazy golden-black night sky. Tatooine's cool nights, however, offered an unobstructed window to the heavens above, and Shanda had been fascinated with it, every since that first night when she had come here with Obi-Wan, a confused, frightened young padawan with no place to call home.
Beru reached up and wiped away the tear that stood on her cheek, as she heard the sound of the door behind her; she glanced back over her shoulder, smiling weakly as she watched her husband Owen close the door behind him, and then walk slowly over to join her.
"You okay?" Owen asked, as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"As okay as I can be, I guess," Beru sighed softly; she closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest as he placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"I can't help but feel that this is all my fault, somehow," she said softly, turning her troubled, tear-stained face up to him.
"Don't say that," Owen replied, shaking his head firmly as he rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "None of this is your fault."
"Yes it is, Owen," Beru sighed; she looked down at her hands again, as she toyed with the fringe that lined the edge of Shanda's colorful afghan. "I never should have let her go on this one, I had a bad feeling about it the moment that they left," she said, as she looked out at the barren, sandy landscape that stretched before her.
"And now I've drug poor Anakin and Padmé into this," she said softly, as her eyes began to well up with tears again. "They're out there, somewhere, and they've got those babies with them," she said, shaking her head as her voice began to tremble. "If anything happens to them, I don't… I don't know…"
Owen held his wife as tightly as he could, as she buried her face in his chest and began to sob softly. "Everything's going to be all right, Beru," he said softly, as he kissed her gently on the crown of her head. "Tayja said that Andar is out looking for them right now. They'll be fine, I promise."
Owen looked back out at the barren, cold sand that stretched out endlessly in front of them; he sighed, as his eyes scanned the horizon for a long moment. He hoped, with all of his heart, that he was right.
Padmé looked back at the small fire that blazed a short distance in front of her, watching as another cloud of golden embers danced into the cool night air, as Anakin tossed another handful of dry limbs and scrub grass into the flames.
"There," he sighed, as he stood up, being careful not to hit his head on the rocky overhang under which they'd taken shelter. "There's not much to burn around here," he said, as he walked over and knelt beside her, smiling reassuringly as she cradled their two children in her lap. "But that should be enough to keep us warm until Andar gets here."
"I don't know how you even found that much," Padmé sighed, as she shifted Luke and Leia in her arms; she grimaced, just a bit, as they both wiggled and shifted restlessly in her lap.
Anakin stood up, as he watched her struggling with their two nervous, fidgety children. "Here," he said, kneeling down beside her and taking Leia in his arms as she held her small arms out to him, "Why don't you come and sit with me, sweetie? Mommy's got her hands full," he said, as he turned around and sat down beside Padmé, looking back at his daughter as she snuggled down in his lap.
Padme grinned, as she watched him grimace painfully and quickly reach down beside him. "Ow," he said, frowning painfully as he reached underneath him and pulled out the sharp, jagged stone he'd accidentally sat down on. "That didn't feel too good," he groaned, as he rubbed his backside tenderly; he looked back up at Padmé, grinning slyly as he saw her laughing at him.
"Oh, sure, it's funny when I do it," he smirked, watching as she leaned back against the hard, stone wall, still laughing. "It wasn't funny when you did it a few minutes ago."
"That's because I'm more delicate than you are," she giggled, as she glanced over at him, her eyes twinkling in the soft glow of the dancing firelight.
"Oh, is that what you call it," he chuckled, reaching over and picking up the thick, multi-colored blanket that lay on the ground beside him.
"Has Artoo picked up anything at all?" Padmé asked, laying her head gently on his shoulder as he tossed their blanket over them, tucking it securely around Leia's small shoulders.
"Not yet," Anakin sighed, as he leaned his head back against the rock and closed his eyes; the little niche they had found in the rocks wasn't much, but at least it offered some shelter from the relentless night wind, making the heat from their small, modest fire that much more effective. "He's up on the ridge above us, though, and he's using every trick he knows," he sighed.
"He'll let us know if anything happens, good or bad," Anakin said, taking another long, deep breath and exhaling slowly.
Padmé turned her attention to her son, as she heard him yawn deeply. "Are you warm enough, sweetheart?" she asked softly, as she tucked the blanket securely around his small shoulders; she smiled at him, as he turned his small, sleepy face up to her.
"Uh-huh," Luke said softly, closing his eyes again and snuggling close to her chest, as she leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead.
Padmé turned her attention to Threepio, as she suddenly heard his voice. "Don't worry, Miss Padmé," he interjected, from the place where he sat a short distance from them, the flickering firelight reflecting brightly off his shiny coverings. "Artoo's quite resourceful. I'm sure he'll make contact any time now."
"Threepio's right," Anakin replied, nodding his head firmly, as Padmé looked back toward him again. His eyes were still closed, his head resting on the rocks behind them, as he spoke. "Artoo's never let us down before, and he's not about to do it now."
Padmé smiled, as she felt the calm, reassuring tremor that traveled to her through the Force; her own doubts and worries began to fade as she sensed Anakin's calm, peaceful tremor. She glanced at Leia; she was almost asleep, snuggled close to her father's chest, as he gently stroked her long, dark hair as she rested in his strong arms.
She sighed again, wrapping her arms around Luke a little tighter, as she laid her head gently on Anakin's shoulder again. "You know, this could actually be nice, if we weren't stranded in the middle of nowhere," she smiled, closing her own eyes as she felt the small fire's warmth begin to cut away at least some of the night air's chill.
She sat there quietly for a moment, and then opened her eyes slowly, watching quietly as the fire in front of them danced and crackled brightly. "How do we get ourselves into these messes, Ani?" she sighed, finally, shaking her head slowly as she looked back up at him. She felt herself begin to laugh, very softly, as she saw the bright smile that spread across his face.
"I have no idea," Anakin chuckled, as he opened his eyes and grinned back at her; they looked at each other quietly for a long moment, and he watched as Padmé closed her eyes, still laughing softly, and laid her head back on his shoulder again.
She looked back up at him again, as she suddenly felt him begin to laugh harder. "The thing I want to know is," he laughed, "is why we can't seem to keep a ship?"
"That's two we've lost now," he laughed, an amused, frustrated smile on his face as he watched her begin to laugh as hard as he was. "This is getting expensive, and Artoo and I almost had that one fixed, too."
"Maybe we need to choose another name," Padmé laughed, as she snuggled close beside him and laid her head back down on his shoulder.
"Maybe we just need to give up and stay home," Anakin chuckled, as he felt her giggle and rub her cheek on his shoulder affectionately.
"I'm okay with that," she sighed, nodding her head. "Naboo's a big planet, I'm sure there's enough for two Jedi to do there," she laughed, as she closed her eyes and took another deep, contented breath. They sat there for a long moment, laughing quietly, as the soft crackles and pops of their fire filled the air around them.
"We do seem to find ways to get into trouble, though, don't we?" he sighed, as he watched the flames from their fire dance for a moment in front of them. "I don't know, sometimes I don't understand, myself," he said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the stone wall again.
"Master Obi-Wan always said I had a gift for getting into trouble," he sighed. "He said I used to go looking for it. I'm beginning to think he was right."
Anakin looked back at Padmé, as he heard her soft voice again. "That was a long time ago," she said quietly, slipping her arm around his and taking his hand tightly in hers as she snuggled close beside him. "You've changed a lot since then," she said, as she rubbed her cheek gently against his shoulder again. "We both have."
Padme sat there quietly for a long moment; she laced her fingers tightly in his, gently stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, as she listened to the fire crackle softly.
"I love you, Ani," she said finally, very softly.
Their eyes met, as they both looked back at each other for a long moment in the soft, flickering firelight. "I love you too, Padmé," Anakin whispered. "Don't worry," he said softly, shaking his head slowly as he smiled back at her reassuringly. "Everything's going to work out fine," he sighed, as he watched her lay her head back on his shoulder again. "I promise."
"Try to get some sleep," he said, closing his eyes and resting his head gently against hers. He reached into the Force, tuning his senses as tightly to his wife and children as he could.
He would let them sleep for the moment – yet he had no intention of doing so himself.
"Father," the tall, slender girl said, as she followed closely on the round, gray-haired man's heels as he made his way quickly down the narrow hallway. "Listen to me, please," she pleaded, waving her hands anxiously as she watched him put his arm through the sleeve of his jacket and hoist it onto his stout shoulders.
"Tayja, I told you already, I have to go," Andar replied, stopping in his tracks as he turned and looked at his daughter, a look of stern determination on his usually pleasant face. "This is important. You know that."
"But it's too dangerous," Tayja replied, shaking her head firmly as she started after him as he turned and continued down the hallway again. "At least take Devan with you," she said, glancing back at the tall, blond haired young man who followed close behind her.
"You said it yourself, this is too dangerous, with all the sand people out there," Andar said, as he took hold of the door and flung it open wide; the cold evening air struck his stout face, and he pulled his jacket tight around him as he stepped out into the cold night air, and then turned to face his daughter and son-in-law again.
"Enough misfortune has fallen on us the last couple of days," he said, his expression softening as he reached over and squeezed his daughter's shoulder tightly. "Stay and look after the remaining children," he said, watching as she closed her eyes and shook her head with frustration. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either of you, or to your sisters."
"And you think we could live with ourselves if something happened to you?" Tayja snapped, her bright, brown eyes flashing in the courtyard lights that shown down on them as she folded her arms tightly across her chest.
"Tayja's right, Father," Devan interjected, as he unfolded his jacket and put his arm through the sleeve. "I'm coming with you, and that's final."
"You two are impossible, you know that full well, don't you?" Andar said, waving his arms in frustration as he watched Devan lean down and kiss Tayja as he pulled his jacket up onto his shoulders. "They're Jedi Knights, by all that's holy," he said, watching as Devan took the blaster pistol she offered him and tucked it into his pocket. "I'll be fine, as soon as I find them."
"He's a Jedi Knight, but she's still a padawan, and she's a mother, with two frightened children out there," Devan said, shaking his head firmly as he spoke. "Not what I'd call optimal circumstances, even for a Jedi, and, as you said, you've got to find them first," he said, tossing his father-in-law a sly grin as he strode past him and headed toward the large, enclosed speeder that sat a short distance from them. "And that's just what we're going to do."
"But, I'd feel much better if you'd just stay here with the girls, and…" Andar argued, following close behind Devan as he continued to try to reason with him.
"Stop arguing, Father, and just go," Tayja called, as she watched her father turn and shake his head, sighing deeply.
"And be careful," she called, a look of deep worry on her face as she watched Devan turn and smile back at her.
Andar sighed, waving his hand in resigned frustration as he followed Devan to the waiting speeder. "We will, don't worry," Devan called, as he reached down and touched the access button on the speeder's door, watching as it opened quickly with a loud hiss.
"Contact Owen Lars, and let him know that we're on our way to find them," Andar called, realizing that arguing with his daughter was, as usual, a waste of time and energy. "I'm sure that poor Beru is worried sick," he said, as his thoughts drifted to Obi-Wan and Shanda again. "Offer her as much encouragement as you can, but don't give her any unnecessary details, understand?"
"I will, Father," she said, nodding her head firmly. "And don't worry," she said, raising her hand and cutting him short as she saw him open his mouth again to speak. "I'll use the encrypted channel. Just go."
Tayja wrapped her arms tightly around herself, as she watched her husband and father climb into the waiting speeder; Devan fired the speeder's engines, and, as the wind tossed her hair wildly around her shoulders, she watched with a growing sense of apprehension as they sped off into the cold Tatooine night.
"Have you found anything yet, Dad?" Devan asked, glancing over at his father-in-law and watching him as he studied the small display that he held in his thick, calloused fingers. He looked back out toward the endless horizon that stretched before them, as they zipped along over the barren sands, the cold night air whipping through the open cockpit around them.
It could have been worse, he thought to himself, as he surveyed the barren sand; Tatooine's largest moon was in full bloom tonight, and its light bathed the landscape in a silver-blue glow. If there were any sand people or banthas about, at least they should be able to see them before it was too late.
"Well?" he asked, turning his attention back to his father-in-law again. "Anything at all?"
"I think so," Andar said, nodding his head firmly as he saw the bright yellow indicator flash on the display in his hands again. "It's an emergency beacon, and it's extremely weak, but it's on the same frequency that their distress call came in on," he said, narrowing his eyes as he held the small indicator up, orienting it with its internal compass, as his eyes scanned the horizon.
"There," Andar said, pointing over the speeder's windscreen toward the large, rocky outcropping that loomed just at the sandy horizon. "Forty degrees, that way, toward those rocks," he said, nodding his head again firmly as he looked over at Devan again.
"And step on it, boy," he said, watching as Devan pushed the speeder's throttle to its limits, as they topped another dune and headed down the smoothly slopping sand toward the next one. "Maybe it's just my nerves, but blast it, I've got a bad feeling about all this."
"I've got something sir," the transport pilot said, glancing over his shoulder toward the crew cabin behind him, his hollow, tinny voice resonating through the voicebox of his helmet as the Imperial troop transport skimmed along over the empty sand.
"What is it, pilot?" Captain Daynar said, stepping up quickly and taking hold of the transport railing just above his head, the hilt of his blaster rifle held tightly in the other.
"A small transport of some kind," the pilot replied, gesturing toward the tactical radar display beside him. "Moving fast, one hundred seventy three degrees ahead of us, thirteen kilometers," he said, looking back up at his captain again.
"Plot an intercept course," Daynar replied, nodding his helmeted head firmly as he watched the pilot steer the transport on a direct intercept course toward the indicator that flashed on the radar beside them.
"Remember, I want them taken alive if possible," Captain Daynar barked, his hollow voice echoing through the crew cabin as he turned to the troopers behind him. He turned his eyes back toward the transport's window again, watching the sand as it whipped along below them; he wanted them, whoever they were. And he was bound and determined to find them.
"So," Micah sighed, eyeing the transmitter's holoprojector warily as the blue-green image stabilized above it, "I assume your search for this Skywalker chap is going according to plan?"
"Unfortunately, no," came the reply, in a tone that caused the usually calm bounty hunter to drop his boots to the floor, rather quickly. "There's been a problem."
"Problem?" Elisar frowned, shaking his head. "What kind of problem?"
"It appears that Skywalker's ship was indeed intercepted, but he managed to commandeer an Imperial shuttle and escape to the surface," the mysterious figure replied; she was silent for a moment. "Don't look so surprised, I told you not to underestimate these two. You're going to have to earn your extra pay, Elisar."
"By cleaning up your mess," the silver haired bounty hunter growled, leaning closer to the transmitter. "And just how am I supposed to go looking for this Skywalker? I've already got my hands full here."
"Fortunately for you, all that's required is that you stay where you are and keep Kenobi under control," came the reply, again, as cool as the eyes that gazed back at him. "The situation has changed, Lord Vader advises that the Emperor is sending someone special to handle this."
"Now, listen here," Micah shot back, quite angrily. "If you think for a moment that you'll be cutting into my fee by sending in someone else, then you've…"
"Don't be a greedy fool, Elisar," she shot back, quite sternly. "You'll still receive your precious reward. But this is beyond your capabilities, now," she replied, eyeing him warily as she spoke. "I told you, Skywalker is dangerous. When he's been neutralized, you'll be contacted. When they do, you're to deliver Kenobi and the children to the flagship when instructed, and not before. Is that understood?"
"Fine," Micah snorted, leaning back in his chair again and reaching toward the transmitter's actuation switch as he eyed the mysterious figure angrily. "Just make sure they have my money when I get there," he growled, and, without another word, he switched the transmitter off.
Anakin opened his eyes; he'd been dozing, albeit very lightly, and he had awakened instantly as he suddenly heard Artoo's excited whistle echo loudly off the rocky walls around them. He sat up quickly, glancing over at Threepio as he did so, just as his droid's yellow eyes suddenly flashed brightly.
"What'd he say, Threepio?" Anakin asked, reaching over and placing his right hand reassuringly on Padmé's leg as he sensed her alarm; she'd instantly sensed his own concern, and it'd pulled her from the deep slumber she'd been enjoying up until this moment.
"What is it, Ani?" Padmé asked, sleepily, as she took a deep breath and blinked her eyes hard, several times. "What's going on?" she said, as her free hand drifted instinctively to the weapon that hung on her left hip.
"Artoo says that there's a small transport approaching from the northeast," Threepio replied, quite excitedly, as he stood up and began to shuffle toward them, as best he could over the uneven, rocky terrain.
"Stay with the children, Threepio," Anakin said, as he and Padmé quickly placed Luke and Leia's small, sleeping forms gently on the ground behind the large boulder near the fire; he stood up, as quickly as he could, and then took Padmé's hand and helped her up beside him.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," he said, as he and Padmé started to run toward the narrow path that led to where Artoo waited above them. Threepio watched, as Anakin paused only for an instant, stretching out his hand toward the field range glasses that lay on the ground near their things.
"But, Master Ani," Threepio replied, his electronic voice laced with worry as he watched the glasses leap into the air and fly into Anakin's outstretched hand. "What should I do if…"
"Just stay put, Threepio," Padmé said, cutting him off as she stopped and looked back at him; Threepio stood silently, as he watched her point the hilt of her lightsaber directly toward him. "You keep an eye on my children," she said, a fierce, determined look on her usually calm, peaceful face. "That's your number one job right now. Understood?"
Threepio stood silently for a long moment, as he saw the fierce, determined fire that flashed in Padmé's eyes. "Understood clearly, my lady," he finally replied obediently, as he watched the two Jedi turn and bolt up the narrow path to the cliff above.
"Can you see anything?" Padmé asked, as she crouched on the rocky hilltop beside Anakin. She narrowed her eyes, looking out across the moonlit, silver-tinted landscape; she could make out the dust trail that billowed from behind the small vehicle as it sped across the barren landscape toward them.
"Gimme just a sec," Anakin said, as he adjusted the range on the field glasses he held up to his eyes. Padmé watched him, quite apprehensively, as he swung the glasses quickly across the landscape and attempted to track the quickly moving vessel.
Padmé rolled the hilt of her weapon over nervously in her hand, as she watched Anakin track the vessel across the landscape. "Well?" she asked, trying as hard as she could to mask the apprehension in her voice. "Can you make out who it is?"
Padmé felt a welcome sense of relief, as she suddenly saw the smile that spread quickly across her husband's face. "Yeah," he said, as he suddenly saw the silver-haired, portly gentleman that sat in the passenger's seat of the small speeder.
"It's Andar," he said, looking back at Padmé with a grin and watching as she closed her eyes and took a long, relieved breath, as Artoo's excited, relieved whistle chimed in with her in perfect harmony. "He'll be here in a few minutes."
"By all the gods, I'm so pleased to see you both!" Andar exclaimed, making no effort to hide the elation in his voice as the two dark-clad individuals trotted up to his speeder as it came slowly to a halt.
"No more than we are to see you, my friend," Anakin grinned, taking Andar's hand and shaking it firmly as the portly old gentleman stood up in his seat, the dust slowly settling around the speeder as it dropped onto its parking supports.
Anakin glanced over at Padmé as she stepped up beside him, then nodded respectfully to the young man who did the same, as he climbed out of the driver's seat. He turned his eyes back to Andar again, as he made his way quickly around the front of the speeder to join them. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get here," he sighed, quite apologetically, patting Padmé's back soundly as she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "It took us a bit to triangulate your position, given how weak that transponder signal was."
"Please, don't apologize," she smiled, the relief as evident on her own face as it was on his. "We're just so thankful you were able to come and find us."
"Anakin, Padmé," Andar said, gesturing toward the young man who stood beside him, "I'd like you to meet my son-in-law, Devan," he said, watching as Devan extended his hand to the young Jedi Knight. "This is the young man who's won the hand of my lovely Tayja."
"Hello," Devan said, taking Anakin's hand and shaking it firmly. "I've heard a lot about you both," he said, as he took Padmé's hand and squeezed it gently in return. "I'm glad we found you both before the sand people did," he sighed, releasing Padmé's hand and quickly surveying the rocky terrain around them.
"The sand people use these natural paths through these hills all the time," he said, looking back at Anakin and watching as he nodded his head firmly in agreement. "It's a miracle you haven't run into any of them yet."
"We were thinking the same thing," Anakin replied. "I don't really want to press our luck, either," he said, turning his attention back to Andar again. "I think I'd feel a lot better if we all got out of here, as quickly as we could."
"I heartily agree with you," Andar replied, nodding his his head firmly. "Where are the little ones?" he asked, glancing back over toward the rocky outcropping just behind them.
"They're asleep, over there, with Threepio," Padmé said, gesturing toward their silver-clad droid that stood a short distance from them.
"Well, let's get them loaded up, and be on our way out of here, before our luck runs out," Andar replied, patting Anakin securely on the shoulder as they started toward the small, secluded area where they'd taken shelter. "You and Devan can load up the droids," he said, slapping the speeder's rear deck firmly as they walked around it. "There's some heavy straps in the utility tray, shouldn't be much of a task to get them secured, and I'll help your lovely wife tend to the little ones and get the rest of your things."
"Sounds good," Anakin nodded; they'd barely taken a couple of steps when Artoo suddenly let fly with a long string of excited whistles and clicks. He and Padmé exchanged a nervous glance; whatever it was he was trying to tell them, they both knew it wasn't good.
"Oh, my! Master Ani," Threepio exclaimed, as the group trotted up to join them, "Artoo says that there are several life forms approaching from the northeast!"
"Stormtroopers," Padmé sighed, as she and Anakin exchanged a long glance. "It has to be. There were no sand people anywhere between us and that ship."
"Andar," Anakin said, turning a serious expression to their friend and his son-in-law, as he and Padmé both drew their lightsabers from their belts. "You and Devan get the kids and the droids loaded up, as quickly and quietly as you can," he said, squeezing Andar's shoulder firmly, as Andar nodded in reply. "Padmé and I will take care of this."
"Do be careful, you two," Andar called, watching as the two of them started to trot away from them, up toward the narrow path that led up into the hills away from them. He took a deep breath, sighing deeply as Padmé turned back to him.
"We will, just be ready to leave as soon as we get back, okay?" she called.
"Of course," Andar replied, and watching the two Jedi for another moment or two, he took hold of Devan's arm and tugged him toward the spot where Luke and Leia lay, sleeping quietly. "Come on, lad," he said. "Let's get these two young ones ready to get to safety, as quickly as we can."
Anakin glanced over to Padmé, as she knelt beside him on the jagged, rocky outcropping, gazing down at the narrow pathway below them. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he said, watching the small squad of stormtroopers as they made their way toward them, the searchlights on their weapons swaying wildly from one side of the path to the other. "But weren't these guys supposed to be fighting with us when all this started?"
He watched her, and he couldn't help but grin as he saw her bounce her lightsaber, then squeeze it tightly in her fist. "I was just thinking the same thing," she said, very quietly, as her eyes found his again in the darkness.
"We need to take these guys out, as quietly as possible," Anakin said softly, watching Padmé as she nodded her head, slowly. "The pilot usually stays in the ship, so we need to make sure that he, or whoever else might be there, doesn't get a chance to call in reinforcements."
He raised his finger to his lips, and she watched him as he stood up, just high enough to see clearly over the rocky outcropping behind the small squad that steadily approached them. "The ship's back there, about a hundred yards behind them, to the west," he said, turning his eyes to his wife once more. "See it?"
Anakin watched quietly, as Padmé stood up, glanced in the direction he'd indicated, and then knelt quickly back beside him. "Yes," she nodded, firmly. "I see it."
"I'll take care of this bunch," he nodded, as he reached over and took Padmé's free hand tightly in his. "You go take care of the ship. But be careful," he said, making little effort to mask the concern that tugged at his heart as he considered what he was sending her into. "There may be more than just the pilot, so use the Force. Trust your feelings," he said, managing a weak smile as she squeezed his hand in return. "And be sure you come back to me," he whispered, very quietly. "Okay?"
Padmé took a deep breath, then sighed deeply as she gazed fondly back at him; she leaned forward, closing her eyes as she kissed him, passionately, for a long moment. "You be sure you do the same," she whispered in reply, her eyes searching his as she caressed his cheek.
"You are my source of strength," she whispered, her eyes searching his, as she remembered that moment, long ago, when she'd said those same words to him, just before they stepped off their ship to go and search for Obi-Wan on Geonosis.
She smiled, as she heard Anakin's soft reply, as he leaned closer to her. "Let me be yours," he whispered, echoing the words she'd said to him that day, closing his eyes as he kissed her once more, long and tenderly.
Their lips parted, and they held each other's gaze for a long, silent moment. "I'll meet you back here," Padmé nodded, watching Anakin as he did the same in reply. "Call me if you need me," she said, bouncing her saber in her hand once more as she watched her husband draw his second weapon from its holster, and then glance down at the squad as they approached.
Anakin turned his eyes back to her once more. "Go," he nodded firmly, and, as Padmé turned and bolted, as silently as a shadow, down the path behind them toward the ship that lay in the distance, he took a long deep breath, and then leapt off of the small ledge and down toward the squad below them, the brilliant white blades of his weapons blazing to life as he jumped.
She came, quite literally, from out of nowhere; the pilot and his companion jumped back, surprised and bewildered, as the slender, agile young Jedi suddenly leapt in front of them, placing herself directly between them and their transport.
"What the…" T-1437 exclaimed; he could barely see her, from the glow of the lightsaber blade that suddenly blazed to life in her gloved hands. He glanced over at his companion, taking a step or two back as they both switched the safeties off their weapons, their powercells whining to life as they did so.
"Hello, boys," Padmé said, holding her weapon tightly in her hands, its cobalt-blue blade casting an eerie blue glow over her face as she swung it up in front of her. "I'll give you one chance to drop those weapons and surrender," she said, watching the two white-clad soldiers as they looked at each other for a moment. Her eyes flicked from one to the other quickly, watching them intently as they sized her up.
"Imperial troops don't surrender," T-2113 exclaimed, his voice hollow and tinny in his helmet as he raised his weapon to his shoulder and aimed it quickly at Padmé. "Get on the ship," he said, turning his attention to his companion for a brief moment. "Call for reinforcements, I'll deal with this one."
T-1437 nodded, then turned and took a step toward the ship. He stopped, raising his own weapon as Padmé stepped directly in front of him, blocking his path to the ship. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she said, spinning her blade quickly in front of her. "Please," she said, as she considered that she was, in all likelihood, about to relieve two human beings of their lives. "I really don't want to have to do this."
Padmé had little time to reflect on this conundrum, as T-1437 pulled the trigger of his weapon; she swung her lightsaber up quickly, deflecting the brilliant orange bolt away from her and harmlessly into the sand near her boots. As he fired once, twice more, she threw herself backwards away from his laser blasts and rolled once across the sand; with a quick, smooth motion, she tossed her cloak from her shoulders as she leapt to her feet, bringing the blade of her weapon up just in time to catch the next brilliant orange blast from his blaster. She turned it harmlessly aside into the sand, sending a plume of molten, glowing silica into the air between them, and, as he rushed her, she swung her weapon around smoothly, as T-1437 cried out in anger.
An eerie silence filled the cold night air, as Padmé's brilliant blue blade passed neatly just below the ill-fated soldier's face plate, sending his helmet, with his head still inside it, falling to the cold sand. She never looked back at him, nor did she watch as his body slumped to the ground; she spun quickly, turning her blade toward his companion as he screamed angrily and fired at her from his place in the sand, over and over again. She moved her weapon smoothly in front of her, the Force guiding her hands, as the shimmering cobalt shaft of energy turned the angry orange bolts from his weapon back toward him. T-2113's cries fell silent, as the first blast took his weapon cleanly from his gloved hand, and, a split second later, the next took his life… just as cleanly.
It had all transpired in an instant, yet to her, it had seemed an eternity. Padmé stood silently for a moment; the air was still again, except for the soft hum of her lightsaber, as she quickly surveyed the two fallen troopers that lay at her feet. She glanced back at her weapon again, narrowing her eyes in the brilliant blue glow; she swallowed hard and closed her eyes, as, with a quick touch of her thumb on the igniter switch, her blade fell silent with a smooth rush, as it disappeared back into the smooth, harmless-looking cylinder.
She reached into the Force, as deeply as she could, as she tried to calm the mix of emotions she felt welling up inside her. She glanced back at the two lifeless bodies that lay at her feet once more and, knowing what had to be done, she turned and ran up the ramp into the small transport.
She dropped quickly into the pilot's seat and, her fingers flying over the controls, she brought the ship's main plasma injectors online. "Five minutes, at the most," she sighed, reaching up and brushing her long brown hair behind her ear as she locked the injectors at full power, forcing them into overload. She stood up and, quickly igniting the blade of her weapon, she drove its shimmering blue tip cleanly through the control panel and, surveying the smoking, sparking console for just a second or two, she turned and bolted back down the ramp, past her fallen adversaries, and back up the path to where Anakin waited for her.
She had only made it halfway up when she saw Anakin running to meet her, his weapons still glowing brightly in his hands, just like her own. "We've got to get out of here," Padmé panted, quickly extinguishing her weapon as she ran up to him. "The engines are on overload, and they're going to go critical in less than five minutes."
"Come on," Anakin nodded, as he nudged her up the path toward the waiting speeder. "Andar's waiting for us at the top of the ridge," he said, as they both ran quickly up the rocky path, side by side, past the still, lifeless bodies of the stormtroopers Anakin had dispatched only moments before. "Let's put some distance between us and that reactor before it goes up."
"Thank the maker!" Threepio cried, waving his arms frantically from his place on the rear of the speeder, as he saw Anakin and Padmé both top the hill, running quickly toward them. "Bless my circuits, I'm so pleased to see you both unharmed," he said, his electronic eyes shining brightly as he watched the two of them leap effortlessly onto the back of the waiting, idling transport.
"I'll second that sentiment," Andar sighed, quite visibly relieved, as he watched the two Jedi return their weapons to their belts. "Are you two all right?"
"No time," Anakin panted, shaking his head firmly as he and Padmé dropped down quickly into the back seat of the speeder, on either side of Luke and Leia. "The reactor on that transport is going to blow in less than four minutes," he said, as Andar and Devan exchanged a worried glance. "How much distance can we put between us and it before it does?"
"Let's find out," Devan said, turning his determined face back to the path ahead of them as he took hold of the speeder's throttle. "Everybody hold tight," he said, as he shoved the control yoke forward as far as it would go and, with a burst of plasma and leaving a huge plume of sand and dust in their wake, they sped off down the path toward the open sand that waited below.
Padmé clutched Leia's small body close to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as the concussion wave struck the speeder. "It's okay, Leia," she whispered, as her daughter cried out in fear as the speeder rocked wildly across the barren sand, as Devan fought to keep it under control.
"We're okay," Devan called, his own voice trembling as he managed to reign the careening vehicle back in, just as it threatened to overturn itself. "Is everybody all right back there?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder toward the back seat.
"I think so," Anakin sighed, glancing over at Padmé and watching as she nodded her head, visibly shaken, as she clutched his crying little daughter tightly in her lap. "Geez," he said, looking back at the huge orange plume that rose into the dark Tatooine sky behind them. "I'd forgotten how big the reactors in those clone transports were."
"Do you think that blast will bring in any more troops, Anakin?" Andar asked, as he and the young Jedi exchanged a troubled glance.
"Probably so," Anakin said, nodding his head slowly. "But we left the transponder behind," he said, as he and Padmé looked at each other quietly for a moment. "We've got a head start on them, and there's not much for them to follow. With a little luck," he sighed, reaching up and running his fingers through his hair as he held Luke tightly with the other, "we'll be long gone before they get here."
"How far are we from your compound?" Padmé asked, turning her attention away from her daughter for just a moment.
"About forty five minutes," Devan called, over the sound of the wind that whipped through the cockpit around them. "Maybe a little less, I'm not entirely sure. I haven't come out this far before, but it shouldn't take us too long to get back."
"Don't worry, my dear," Andar said, smiling at her reassuringly as he placed his arm on the back of his seat. "We'll have you and your little ones safe indoors in no time."
"I hope so," Padmé sighed, closing her eyes again as she laid her head gently on Leia's. "I don't know how much more of this they can take," she said, glancing back over at Anakin again as the two of them exchanged a quiet look. "And I'm not so sure about their mother right now, either," she whispered, very softly, as she reached out to him with her feelings.
Andar watched them, as they held tightly to their children as they zipped across the barren, moonlit sand. He couldn't even begin to imagine what they'd been through, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He knew full well that their lives must have been turned upside down by this whole nasty affair, and had been, since he had first met them and taken in the handful of children that Anakin and Obi-Wan had saved that terrible night so long ago. He started to speak, yet he stopped, as he thought better of it; he sighed, quite deeply, as he turned back around in his seat as Devan steered them across the barren Jundland wastes, toward the safe haven of his compound that waited for them in the distance.
He knew that what he had to tell them when they got there was only going to make things much, much worse.
For the most part, the remainder of the trip back had been a quiet one, thankfully, and Padmé gazed out at the bright, welcoming lights of Andar's compound with a profound sense of relief, as Devan steered the speeder quickly through the narrow pass and toward the front gates.
She had only seen it once, and it had been quite some time since that day, yet she was instantly reminded of why Anakin and Obi-Wan had chosen this place to conceal the children. It was a massive structure, nestled cleanly and inconspicuously in the center of a small valley, and the compound's walled perimeter exuded a sense of strength and security, something that gave her tired, worried heart more than just a little comfort, as she glanced down at her frightened little daughter. All she wanted to do right now was hide herself and her family, to withdraw as far away from the troops, the sand people, and the cold night air as they could.
She looked back up at the massive, rocky hills that rose into the clear Tatooine sky all around the compound, as Devan steered them through the gate at its entrance; the entire place seemed to offer a significant hope that, at least for a short while, they might be able to do that.
The speeder's engines began to wind down, as Devan pulled back on the throttle and guided them toward the brightly lit front entrance of the house. Padmé looked back over at Anakin, as she suddenly heard Luke's small voice, for the first time since they'd hidden themselves in the rocks, as he sat quietly in his father's lap. "Is Mommy okay?" he asked, very softly, as he looked up at his father, clinging tightly to Anakin's strong arms.
She felt the sting of a tear deep behind her eyes, as she shifted her eyes from Anakin, to Luke, and back again several times, as they both gazed quietly at her, a look of deep concern in on both of their faces.
"Mommy's just tired, baby," she whispered, nodding her head slowly and smiling weakly at him, as she reached over and brushed her fingers gently through Luke's shaggy blond hair. "And I know you are too, aren't you, sweetheart?" she asked, her face brightening as she watched him close his eyes and yawn, very deeply.
"Uh,huh," he said, nodding his head slowly as he gazed back up at her from the security of his father's arms. Padmé shifted her gaze back to her husband, as she felt his hand fall gently on hers as she laid it on the padded seat beside him.
She didn't have to say anything; her heart did all the talking, told him everything she needed him to know in that one instant, as she gazed up at him through a haze of tears that she fought desperately to control. She was exhausted, mentally, emotionally, and physically, yet she wasn't really sure what it was that gnawed at her, that unsettled her so deeply, as she glanced over toward the front of the compound, watching as Andar's daughter opened the massive, heavy doors and ran out to meet them.
Anakin knew, instinctively, that it wasn't just exhaustion, or what they'd been through this evening that was troubling her. He squeezed her hand, very gently, as he watched her smile silently at him once again, as the speeder came to a smooth stop in front of the main steps.
"Come on, squirt," Anakin sighed, looking at his son with a grin as he hefted him into his arms and stood up, watching quietly as Andar's daughter rushed up to greet Padmé and Leia. "I think you've had enough cold air for one night," he said, sitting down on the side of the speeder and, swinging his legs over it, dropped down quickly onto the cold sand, bouncing Luke roughly in his arms. He smiled back at him, reaching up under the blanket he was wrapped in and tussling his hair playfully. "Don't you think?"
"Well, he seems to be none the worse for wear," Devan sighed, stepping up to Anakin's side as he watched Luke laugh and push his father's hand away playfully.
"Oh, nothing bothers this one for very long," Anakin chuckled, as he bounced Luke in his arms again. "He's tough," he said, looking back at his son with a grin. "Aren't you, buddy?"
"Why don't you take him on inside with the others, Anakin, and I'll take care of the droids," Devan said, glancing over and watching as Andar and Tayja helped Padmé and Leia out of the speeder. "I'll take the speeder around back and have them unloaded in a couple of minutes, and then I'll join you."
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Anakin asked, as he glanced over at his droids. "Threepio's not so bad, but Artoo's pretty heavy," he said, smiling as he heard the string of somewhat disgusted whistles and clicks that emanated from his little astrodroid.
"Don't worry, I can use the lift in the main garage," Devan replied, nodding his head as he hopped back into the speeder's front seat. "I'll send them in soon as I get them unloaded."
"Give him a hand with Artoo, Threepio," Anakin said, walking quickly around the back of the speeder as Devan started it up again. "We'll be inside. You see if Padmé needs any help when you get in, okay?"
"Of course, Master Ani," Threepio replied obediently. "I'll be quite happy to, since I'm afraid I'm rather tired of being strapped to this transport like a useless piece of luggage."
"And you come find me, Artoo," Anakin called over his shoulder, as he headed up the stairs behind Padmé and the others. "I'm going to need your help in a little while."
Artoo whistled loudly in reply, as Devan throttled up the speeder and began to take them around back to the garage. He swung his dome back toward his metal friend, as he lay there on his back, the heavy straps still binding him securely to the transport's rear deck.
Threepio watched silently, as Anakin and the others disappeared into the front door of Andar's estate. He looked up, somewhat startled, as he heard a strange howl, far off in the distance.
"Oh, my," he sighed, looking back at his little blue friend. "I'd forgotten how much I disliked this dreadful planet," he said, shaking his head slowly as they disappeared around the corner and into the garage.
"You don't know how relieved we are to see you," Tayja said, returning Padmé's smile as they walked through the doorway and into the brightly lit, ornate hallway. "When we got your droid's distress call, we were afraid things had gone from bad to worse."
"Well, they had, for a while there," Padmé sighed, lowering Leia down to the floor in front of her. "It's okay, sweetheart," she said, crouching down and caressing her daughter's cheek gently as she whimpered again, and reached out her arms toward her. "We're safe now," she said, smiling at her reassuringly. She stood back up, somewhat slowly, as Leia wrapped her arms around her leg and held her tightly.
"Somebody doesn't want her mother to wander off," Tayja grinned, as she stepped behind Padmé and helped her slip off her cloak.
"Yes, she's a little clingy right now," Padmé sighed, looking back at Tayja with a tired smile as she watched her fold her cloak neatly over her arm. "She's frightened, and she's just tired, they both are," she said, glancing back over her shoulder and watching as Anakin and Luke stepped through the door behind them. "They've been through a lot since we left home."
"Well, we've already got a guest room prepared for you," Tayja replied, as Andar pushed the heavy door closed behind them, the sound echoing off the stone walls around them. "Perhaps a hot bath and a little something warm to drink or eat will be just what they need to feel a little more at home," she said, watching as Padmé reached down and hoisted Leia back up into her arms again.
"That sounds wonderful," Padmé said, smiling gratefully at her new hostess. "You don't know how much we appreciate this, Tayja, and everything you've all done," she said, a deeply thankful expression on her tired, yet lovely face, as Leia snuggled her head against her shoulder. "I don't know what we'd have done if we hadn't been able to find you."
"Well, that's all ancient history now," Andar piped up, slipping his arms out of his coat and tossing it onto one of the hooks that hung near the doorway. "The good thing is, you're safe now, and will be for as long as necessary," he said, as he stepped behind Anakin and began to help him slip off his cloak.
"The perimeter wall is fortified, with computer controlled laser cannons minding the area a full three hundred sixty degrees," he said, tossing Padmé a reassuring nod. "You're as safe here as you are at home, I assure you," he said, reaching up and patting young Luke's shoulder, as he grinned out at Andar's portly, friendly face.
"Anakin," Tayja said, walking up to him and holding her hands out to Luke, "Why don't you let me take him, and I'll go help Padmé get the children settled," she said. "I'm sure that there's quite a bit you and Father need to talk about," she said, as she and her father exchanged a glance.
"That's not a bad idea," Anakin said, looking back at Luke. "You want to go with her, and Mommy, and go get cleaned up?"
Padmé watched, as Luke nodded his head and went, quite willingly, into Tayja's outstretched arms. "We won't be long," Anakin said, as Padmé nodded her head firmly. "I'll try to get in touch with Owen, too, and let them know we're all right."
"Good," Padmé replied, as Tayja walked over to join her, smiling at Luke as he grinned back at her, quite sheepishly. "They've got enough to worry about with Shanda, I don't want them worrying about us, too."
"Don't be long, okay?" Padmé called over her shoulder, as she and Tayja started to walk slowly down the long, ornate hallway.
"I won't, I promise," Anakin replied quietly, as their eyes met in the soft light of the lanterns that lined the hallway; he heard the quiet, silent message that she willed to him, as clearly as if she'd spoken it aloud.
I need you.
He watched her, for a long moment, as Tayja led her and their children down the hallway, making pleasant conversation as they went. "Thank you, Andar," Anakin said quietly after a long pause, as they watched the girls disappear around the corner.
"For what, my boy?" Andar asked, looking at Anakin curiously as he stood there quietly beside him, watching the young Jedi as he gazed quietly and thoughtfully down the hallway where his wife and children had gone only a moment before.
"Your kindness," Anakin replied, looking back at him gratefully. "And your family's."
"The Jedi owe you a lot," Anakin sighed, nodding his head slowly, as he watched Andar wave his hand and shake his head firmly. "And now I do, too."
"You owe me nothing, my boy," Andar replied, placing his hand on Anakin's shoulder, as the two of them began to walk slowly toward the small hallway adjacent to the main one. "Just consider the things that we've been able to do a small repayment of the debt owed by the entire galaxy," he said, looking back at Anakin. "Ben tries to thank me every time he sees me, and I keep telling him the same thing," he chuckled, as he pushed the door open as they reached it.
"Speaking of Obi-Wan," Anakin sighed, as his thoughts shifted to more troubling matters, "What can you tell me about the last time you saw them?"
"Much," Andar said, as they stepped through the doorway; he closed the door behind him, and then gestured down the long hall ahead of them. "Let's go down to my study," he said, as they began to walk quickly toward the door at the far end. "There's a lot I need to share with you."
"This pilot they were going to meet," Anakin said, studying the image of the tall, slender, bearded man intently as he sat on the corner of Andar's large wooden desk. "What'd you say his name was?"
"His name's Antilles," Andar replied, leaning back in his chair as he propped his boots up on the edge of his desk. "Jagged Antilles, to be precise," he said, turning his round race back to Anakin as the young Jedi regarded him with keen interest. "He's a likable fellow, a family man, much like yourself," he said with a smile, as Anakin turned his eyes back to the image on the small datapad in his hands again. "Corellian chap. Owns and operates a small spaceport and fueling depot called Gus Treta, not far from here, actually."
"Do you trust him?" Anakin asked, turning his eyes back to his stout friend again.
"Implicitly, and so does Mon Mothma," Andar replied, nodding his head firmly. "He's as upright a fellow as you'd ever find, very dependable, and very sympathetic to this little rebellion that Senator Mothma's been fostering," he said, as Anakin nodded his head slowly, listening intently. "Has a lovely young wife, Zena, I believe, is her name, and a young lad about the same age as your two," he said, picking up the small bowl full of fruit near him and offering it to Anakin.
"He's helped us on several occasions," Andar continued, placing the bowl back down on the table as Anakin took a handful of the small, date-like fruits he'd offered him. "We've never had a bit of trouble, and, short of Senator Mothma and the Jedi, like yourself, he's probably the only other person in the galaxy who knows where most of these children are hiding."
"And he says that Obi-Wan and Shanda never made it to the rendezvous point?" Anakin asked, placing the small datapad on the desk beside him and popping a couple of the small, sweet fruits into his mouth.
"Never did, which alarmed him right off," Andar replied, nodding firmly. "Ben and Shanda have never been late, not more than a moment or two, and when they didn't show after an hour he called me, and we tried to backtrack and find them," he said, turning his worried face back to Anakin again. "We couldn't find any trace of them, and that's when Owen and Beru decided that we needed to call you."
"Did Obi-Wan say anything about taking a different route, anything at all that might help us figure out where he was going?" Anakin asked; he sighed, quite deeply, as he watched Andar shake his head, forlornly.
"Not a word," Andar sighed. "We checked everything, and we couldn't find any trace or hint that they were doing anything different. Shanda's usually pretty good about telling Beru where they'll be, and when they'll return, even though she's not supposed to," he said, as Anakin nodded his head. "Beru would have known if they were deviating from the plan in any way."
"So, all we can assume," Anakin sighed, shaking his head as he folded his arms thoughtfully across his chest, "is that it was a routine dropoff that went bad."
Anakin frowned, as he suddenly sensed Padmé's familiar tremor in his heart; she was calling him again. "We'll have to talk more about this in the morning, Andar," Anakin said, hopping up from the desk and looking back at his stout friend. "It's been a hard day, and Padmé probably needs my help with the kids," he said, watching as Andar nodding his head in agreement.
"I understand completely, my boy," Andar said, standing up from behind his desk. "Not to mention, she's been through quite a lot herself," he said, a knowing smile on his round, pleasant face. "I'd wager she's probably needs a little more than help with the children, from that look she gave you earlier," he said, watching as Anakin smiled curiously at him.
"Oh, I'm no Jedi," Andar chuckled, patting Anakin soundly on the back. "But I've been around long enough to learn a few thing about what a woman's saying, even when she's not speaking," he said, as he watched Anakin begin to walk slowly toward the door.
"Anakin," Andar called, somewhat reluctantly, just as Anakin reached the door and began to open it, "There's something else you need to know about Ben."
"What's that?" Anakin asked, turning and looking back at him as he pushed the door closed again.
"Some of what I'm about to share is rumor, things my associates have been hearing through the local underground," Andar said, his expression growing deeply serious as he spoke. "But some isn't. What I do know is that there's a rumor circulating that there's a very high profile bounty hunter who's been asking a lot of questions, recently," he said, swallowing hard as Anakin walked over slowly to stand a short distance from him. "And some of those have been about Ben."
"Bounty hunter?" Anakin asked; he could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck, as he instantly sensed the worry and concern in Andar's heart, and his voice. "What kind of bounty hunter, one of the locals?"
"No, not one of the locals, someone different," Andar sighed, watching as the tall, young Jedi Knight listened intently. "Fellow's name is Elisar, and he's got quite a reputation. From what I've been told, he's a cold blooded bastard, very dangerous," Andar said; he paused for a moment, then continued. "And there are rumors that he might have… Imperial ties."
"Imperial ties?" Anakin asked, incredulously. "You mean… he's working for the Emperor?"
"Indirectly, yes," Andar said, nodding his head firmly. "Rumors are he's been hired by the Empire to help hunt Ben down," he said, watching as Anakin sat back down, very slowly, on the edge of the desk where he'd been sitting only a moment before. "I'm sure you're aware of the sizable bounty the Empire's placed on his head. We've heard no news directly, but it's become fairly well known underground that Vader wants him, and wants him badly."
"This complicates things," Anakin sighed, shaking his head as he stared thoughtfully off into space for a moment. "I was hoping to avoid any more Imperial problems."
"That may prove difficult," Andar sighed, sitting down beside him on the wide, heavy desk. "The Empire has had a presence here for the past six months, maybe longer," he said, watching the young Jedi Knight as he nodded his head and sighed deeply. "And rumors are, they've all be looking for Ben."
"Figures," Anakin sighed again. "If this is true, and this Elisar is the one that has them," he said, looking back to Andar once more, "any idea where we might find him?"
"Difficult to say for sure," Andar sighed, folding his own arms tight across his broad, round chest. "Could be anywhere," Andar said, thick fingers rubbing his portly chin as he frowned thoughtfully. "I'm sad to say I've heard no such news, but it's possible that someone else might have."
"Who?" Anakin asked, curiously, has he folded his arms across his chest.
"The word is that Elisar was nosing around recently, out near your old homestead," Andar replied; he reached over and placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It might be a good time to look up your old employer. He's one of the biggest gossipmongers in Mos Espa," he nodded. "If anything's to be learned, he'd probably be a good place to start."
"Agreed," Anakin sighed, nodding his head slowly. "Not my first choice, given the scum that hangs around that place," he said, standing up slowly and placing his hand on his forehead, as he hung his head quietly for a long moment. "But, as bad as I hate it, you may be right."
"Let's keep all of this between you and me for tonight," Anakin said, looking back at Andar again. "Padmé's been through enough today, I don't want her to find out about this until tomorrow, after she's had time to rest, okay?"
"I agree wholeheartedly," Andar said, nodding firmly as he looked up at the tall, young Jedi Knight. "When the morning does arrive, what do you think we should do, Master Jedi?" Andar asked finally, smiling respectfully at Anakin as he turned and looked back at him again.
"We'll figure that out tomorrow," Anakin sighed, doing his best to return his friend's smile. "Right now, though, the Force is telling me we have other matters to attend to," he said, as he turned and started toward the door again. "And I've got one that can't wait any longer," he said, pausing and looking back at his friend as he slowly opened the door.
"Thanks for everything, Andar," Anakin said, with a nod and a thankful smile. "We'll talk more at first light tomorrow," he said. "Good night."
"Good night, my friend," Andar sighed, watching, with a profound sense of admiration, as the young Jedi stepped out into the hallway and closed the door quietly behind him. He looked up, at the small, neatly carved plaque that hung on the nearby wall above his bookshelf.
It had been passed down to him by his father, and from his father's father before, and he intended to pass it one day to his own daughters, or perhaps to his son-in-law. The words leapt out at him, clearer than ever, as his thoughts shifted to the burden that must be resting on the shoulders of the young Jedi who had left his presence only a moment before.
Wisdom is a thing that is earned, by way of one's heart and one's actions, not a thing that is granted simply by the passage of time.
He knew now, as clearly as ever, how true those words were. Yet he wondered, sighing deeply, as to the fairness of the world itself, in choosing to place so heavy a burden on such young shoulders.
But he couldn't imagine any others that could bear that burden any better.
Anakin placed his hand on the heavy, wooden door; its smooth, richly polished surface shone brightly in the soft, yellow glow of the lanterns that lined the hallway, and he paused, cringing slightly, as the door's squeaky hinges echoed through the corridor and the room behind it as he pushed it open and stepped quietly into the room.
He raised his fingers to his lips, as he glanced back at his little astrodroid, who followed close behind him; Artoo stopped for just a moment, as he shifted his actuator motors into low gear, and then, rolling as quietly as he could, he worked his way past Anakin as he held the door open for him, and rolled quietly to the corner of the softly lit room.
Anakin smiled, as the soft, melodic sound of Padmé's singing met his ears; he pushed the door closed slowly behind him and leaned back against it for a long moment, watching her as she glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him, and then turned her attention back to their children again.
They were almost asleep, and he closed his eyes for a moment, allowing their peaceful tremors to flow through him; he'd felt them the moment he walked into the room, and he took a deep breath and sighed, with a great sense of relief, as he stretched out his feelings toward his children. The calm, peaceful tremor was a welcome sensation indeed, one that he'd not sensed since they'd left their home on Naboo hours earlier, and he leaned back against the heavy door, folding his arms across his chest, watching and listening quietly as the words of Padmé's lullaby filled his ears, and his heart, with a welcome, familiar peace, just as the soft, flickering glow of candlelight filled the room around them.
Padmé smiled, as she watched him walk slowly over to the bed and sit down in front of her. She turned her attention back to Luke again, as she continued to sing softly, watching as her son's eyelids fluttered slowly, as she gently rubbed his back.
She stopped singing, as Luke's eyes suddenly sprang open wide. "Daddy?" Luke said, raising up on his elbows and looking up at his father, a sleepy, worried expression on his small face.
"I'm right here, Luke," Anakin nodded, as he reached over and brushed his hand over Luke's sandy blonde hair, tussling it gently. "Mommy and I are both right here, we're not going anywhere, I promise," he said, as he leaned down and kissed his son gently on the cheek.
"Wuz… Artoo?" Luke asked, sleepily, as he lifted his small head as high as he could, looking around the large, round room.
"He's right over there," Anakin said, pointing toward the corner of the room near the door, watching with a grin as Luke followed his hand with his bright, but sleepy, eyes. "Aren't you, Artoo?"
Anakin and Padmé both exchanged a smile, as they saw the wide grin, and the look of relief, that spread across their son's face as he saw Artoo and heard his soft whistle in reply to Anakin's voice.
"Come on, lay down and close those eyes," Anakin whispered, as he tucked him back into the bed. "You're gonna wake your sister, and that wouldn't be good."
Padmé smiled, as she watched Luke grin up at his father, and then flop his head back down on the pillow beside Leia's. "Shhhh," she shushed softly, gazing quietly at them as she reached over and took Anakin's hand tightly in hers. "Mommy and Daddy are right here, baby," she whispered. "Go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay," Luke said, nodding his head as he snuggled into the pillow. "Nite," he sighed, closing his eyes and lying quietly beside Leia as Padmé gently tucked the blanket around his small shoulders. "Luvoo."
"We love you too, Luke," Anakin said, as he and Padmé both exchanged a long, quiet glance. "Very much."
They both sat there quietly for a long time, just holding tightly to each other's hand, watching as Luke sighed once or twice more, and then drifted peacefully off to sleep.
"He sensed you the minute you were coming down the hall," Padmé sighed softly, gazing at her son fondly as she squeezed Anakin's hand tightly. "I felt it," she said, looking back up at Anakin with a slightly troubled smile.
"I told him you weren't far away, and that you'd be here as soon as you could, but it wasn't good enough," she said, laughing softly as she gazed deeply into her husband's eyes. "He's just like his mother," she smiled, squeezing his hand tightly again. "He can't go to sleep until he knows you're here."
"Well, I'm just glad they're both finally asleep," he sighed, nodding his head slowly as he looked back at the twins again. "How's Leia?" he asked, his expression growing a bit more concerned as he remembered how frightened she had been earlier.
"She's fine, now," Padmé said, reaching over and tucking the blanket securely around her daughter as she spoke. "I had to rock her for a little while, but she finally calmed down," she said, watching Anakin as she reached over and placed his hand softly on his daughter's shoulder. "I didn't mind, either," she sighed. "I think I needed it as bad as she did."
"Did you get her to eat anything?" he asked, turning his worried face back to Padmé's again.
"A little," Padmé nodded; she smiled, as she sensed the strong, soothing wave of love and devotion that traveled to her from his heart, as he gazed quietly at their children. "They're fine, baby," she said softly, watching him as he looked back at her again. "They just need a good night's sleep," she sighed, a tired, weary smile spreading across her face as she looked back at them. "They'll be their usual rambunctious selves by morning."
"How about you?" Anakin asked, sitting up and sliding closer to her on the bed, as he took both of her hands tightly in his. "I heard what you told me, earlier," he said softly, gazing quietly at her in the soft light. "Are you okay?"
She took a long, deep breath, and sighed deeply; Anakin watched her, as she gazed down at their children again. "I'm not sure," she finally said, shaking her head slowly as she turned her tired, glistening eyes back up to him. "The only thing I am sure of is that I need you," she whispered, a tired, worried expression on her face as she forced a weak smile and squeezed his hands tightly.
"Well, I'm not leaving this room again tonight," he said, very softly, as he reached over and caressed her cheek gently. "I promise."
"Good," she sighed, closing her eyes as she reached up and pressed his hand tight against her cheek. She sat there quietly for a long time, clinging tightly to his hand, until she felt him begin to stand up slowly.
"Did you talk to Owen and Beru?" Padmé asked, as she watched him stand up beside the bed and gaze back at Luke and Leia again.
"Yeah, I did," he replied, nodding his head firmly as he helped her up. "Beru was relieved, to say the least," he sighed, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she pulled him close and hugged him tightly. "I told them we'd be fine, and that we'd let them know as soon as we found out something."
"Okay," Padmé sighed, quite weakly, as she pressed her cheek close to his chest. Anakin laid his head on hers, gently stroking her long, brown hair as she clung tightly to him.
He could tell that she was troubled; he'd sensed it, when they were in Andar's speeder earlier. To be completely truthful, he didn't really understand how she was still going. This day had been a nightmare for both of them, and he could tell, instinctively, how tired she was, both physically and emotionally. "Come on," he said softly, slipping his hand under her chin and lifting her tired, troubled face toward his.
"Let's get cleaned up and get to bed," he said, as he gently caressed her cheek, watching as she closed her eyes and nodded her head in whole-hearted agreement. "We've got to get up early, and we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Maybe we can talk a little more once we get in bed, what do you think?" he asked, smiling softly at her as she gazed up at him fondly. Padmé smiled back at him, as she heard the unspoken message that his heart sent to hers, as he gazed deeply into her eyes for a long moment.
"Please," she whispered, nodding her head slowly as her tear-filled eyes searched his. She could see the concern on his face, feel it in his heart, as he placed his hands on her cheeks and, very tenderly, pressed his lips gently to hers. They stood there quietly in the soft, flickering candlelight for a long time, holding tightly to each other, until their lips finally parted.
Anakin watched her quietly, as she turned and picked up the small bag that rested on the edge of the bed where Luke and Leia slept. "Keep an eye on things, Artoo," he said, quite firmly, glancing back at their children again as he followed Padmé toward the dressing room. "You let us know if you hear the slightest noise, okay?" he said, pulling his shirt up and over his head, and tossing it onto the chair near him as he looked back across the room at their little droid.
Artoo whistled softly in reply, as he watched Anakin place his arm around Padmé's shoulder as they walked through the doorway and closed the door behind them. He swung his dome back toward the children as he brought every sensor he had online, and settled himself in for the night.
It hadn't taken them long to get ready for bed, and Anakin rubbed his hair with the towel in his hand, as he walked over to the small bed at the far side of the room, where Luke and Leia lay sleeping, quite peacefully, under Artoo's watchful eyes. He draped the towel over his shoulder, as he reached down and tightened the drawstring of his pajamas, and then knelt down slowly beside them.
"They're both just fine, Daddy," Padmé said, gazing at him with a tired smile, as she watched him lean over and kiss them both gently on the cheek. "They both know that Daddy's here to watch over them," she said, gazing at him fondly as he stood up and walked slowly over toward the bed where she lay, snuggled against her pillow under the soft, thick bedclothes.
"Well, I still want to check on them," Anakin sighed, sitting down on the bed beside her, still scrubbing his hair briskly with the towel in his hand.
"It's dry enough," she said, reaching up and taking the towel from his hand and tossing it onto the foot of the bed. "Besides, the air's warm enough, you're not going to catch cold," she said, snatching back the covers and patting the soft bed beside her. "Get in here."
"Yes, ma'am," Anakin sighed; he reached over to the control panel near the bed, turning off all but the small lamp near the bed, and then slid, somewhat stiffly, under the covers beside her.
"Oohhh," he groaned, as quietly as he could, as he flopped back against the pillow behind him. "I don't know what hurts worse," he said, grimacing painfully as he raised his arm and placed it around Padmé's shoulders as she snuggled close to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. "My arms or my legs."
"Well, you carried them both for a long, long time," Padmé said softly, as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, pressing her body as close to Anakin's as she could. She could feel the torrent of emotions that raged inside of her, as she reached over and pulled the thick blanket up over them, and then lay quietly at his side.
"You're such a good father," she whispered, trying hard to keep her emotions under control as she held him tightly.
Padmé looked up at him, through the soft waves of thick, brown hair that hung over her eyes, as she felt him take a long, deep breath. "I hope so," he whispered, as he squeezed her shoulders tightly. "I try to be, anyway."
"You're more than a good father," she whispered, closing her eyes as she laid her head down gently on his chest again, immersing herself in the warm, comforting sensation of her skin against his. "You're a good man, the most loving, caring, wonderful man I've ever known," she said, squeezing her eyes shut as she hugged him, as tightly as she could; she could feel the tears stinging her eyes as the raging torrent of emotions began to overpower her.
"I love you so much," she whispered, her voice barely audible, as she felt the first tear begin to trickle slowly down her cheek as her body began to tremble.
Anakin had known that, when the time was right, she would open up to him, talk to him, tell him what it was that had been troubling her so much tonight, and he knew that, finally, that moment had come. He instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around her, as he felt her heart cry out to his, silently, but clearly. "Padmé," he whispered, stroking her long, thick hair gently as he felt her begin to sob softly in his arms. "What is it?" he asked, his own heart aching as he clung to her in the soft candlelight. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, Ani," Padmé sobbed, as she finally let go of the emotions that had tormented her since this awful, harrowing event had begun. "I can't get that image out of my mind…"
"What image, Angel?" Anakin asked, rolling over onto his side and cradling her close to him, as she buried her face in his chest.
"Those troopers," she said, turning her tear streaked face up close to his, as she gazed into his loving blue eyes. "I killed those two troopers, Ani," she sobbed, shaking her head as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "I've never killed anyone or anything in my life, other than a droid, before tonight," she said, her voice trembling as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, her sobs beginning to come even harder.
"You did what you had too, Padmé," Anakin said softly, lifting her face to his again, very gently. "You didn't have any choice," he said, gently wiping away some of the tears that stood on her cheeks. "Those troopers would have killed you, if you'd given them any chance at all."
"But I didn't even hesitate," Padmé said, shaking her head slowly, as another tear trickled slowly down her cheek.
"If you had hesitated, it could have cost you your life," Anakin whispered, as he gazed into her eyes, gently caressing her cheek as she listened quietly to him, still sobbing softly. "You did exactly what you should have, just what the Force was telling you to do, nothing more," he said, smiling reassuringly at her.
"Taking a life is hard, no matter why you have to do it," Anakin said, closing his eyes as he pulled her close to his chest, holding her as tightly as he could. "You just have to trust that what the Force is guiding you to do is the right thing, at that moment."
"I just never knew this was going to be so hard," Padmé whispered, her sobs still coming softly and freely, as she clung tightly to him, as tightly as she ever had.
"Neither did I," Anakin sighed, gently stroking her long, brown hair as he clung just as tightly to her. "This has been the hardest day of my life," he whispered, turning his eyes toward hers as she looked up at him quietly.
"We both knew that this was going to be hard, when we chose this path, two years ago," he whispered, as their eyes locked in the soft glow of the lantern near their bed. "But I don't think I ever realized how hard it was going to be," he said, as his own eyes began to shine as brightly as hers.
"What was so hard for you?" Padmé whispered, her eyes searching his, as she reached up and placed her hand gently on his cheek.
"Watching you run down that hill, toward that ship, knowing that I had to let you go," he said softly, his own voice trembling as he spoke. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I knew I had to do it."
"Why?" she asked, gazing deeply into his troubled, loving eyes as she spoke; they were as deep as the ocean, and she could feel his love washing over her, just like waves that lapped against the shore.
"Because I trust you, and I believe in you, and everything you've become," he said. "You're a Jedi now, Padmé," he said, caressing her cheek gently as he smiled proudly at her. "We're walking a path that no Jedi have ever walked before, and it's not going to be an easy one," he said, shaking his head slowly, as he glanced back over at their sleeping children again. "But I know we can walk it, as long as we have each other to hold onto," he said, turning his eyes back to hers again.
"Why do we have to do everything the hard way?" Padmé half laughed, half cried, as Anakin smiled back at her and gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Well, we started off that way, a long time ago," he chuckled, gazing fondly at her as she looked back at him. "Seems a shame to mess up something that seems to work so well, now, doesn't it?"
They laughed quietly together, as they lay snuggled close in the soft light, gazing into each other's eyes. "Can we do something, just for tonight?" Padmé finally asked, very softly, as she brought her face closer to his.
"Anything you want," Anakin whispered, nodding his head firmly. "Just name it."
"I don't want to be a Jedi anymore, not tonight," she said, shaking her head slowly. "Just for tonight, all I want to be is yours," she whispered, as she lost herself in his warm, deep blue eyes. "No lightsabers, no Force, no Imperial troops chasing us, no anything," she said, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she shook her head firmly. "Just you and me," she said, opening her eyes and gazing up at him fondly again. Can we do that?"
Anakin wrapped his arms tightly around her, rolling up on his elbow as he pulled her close amid the soft pillows and bedclothes. "I can't think of anything else I'd rather do," he whispered, gently brushing his fingers through her thick, wavy hair as he smiled down at her.
Padmé sighed, deeply and contentedly, as Anakin pressed his lips gently to hers; she took in everything about him, his scent, the taste of his lips, the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips, with a rapturous hunger, as she moved her lips passionately over his own. "Anakin," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as he moved his soft, passionate kisses down to the nape of her neck, "I love you so much."
Padmé giggled, as quietly as she could, as she heard his playful, muffled voice in reply. "I luff you, too," he said, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pressed her body close to his.
Anakin glanced over toward the lamp near the bed, as he saw it begin to fade slowly. He looked up at her, very suddenly, and the two of them smiled brightly in the pale light as their eyes met, and he caught sight of her outstretched hand.
"Hey," he said, grinning slyly at her as she smiled sheepishly at him. "I thought you said no Force, not tonight."
"I cheated," Padmé chuckled, pulling his head back down toward her neck again. "Go back to what you were doing," she laughed, squeezing her eyes shut, as she felt him begin to kiss her again, more passionately than he had been a moment before.
They both laughed softly, falling with helpless, blissful abandon into each others arms as, with a contented sigh, Padmé reached into the Force, for the last time tonight, and turned out the light.