Saga ~ Wait For Me ~ Revenge of the Sith AU written by Jedi_Riniel

Hello!
Thank you for your interest in my story, Wait For Me.
I have been working on this epic for nearly a year and a half, and it's only about one-third of the way completed. I have been posting it on fanfiction.net, but was encouraged by a fan (and friend) to post it on The Saga Boards. There are about twenty chapters completed, and I will try and post the others as soon as I am able. Please feel free to review - I appreciate your feedback!


"Please...wait for me."
A simple request, made by a man who loved her enough to sell his soul to darkness. And if she had heeded his plea, what then? Would their fate still be filled with sorrow, or would the light blaze a new path?

W A I T F O R M E

Prologue

I must be completely out of my mind.
I told Captain Typho to belay my request to prep the skiff for takeoff and confined myself to my apartment as the Republic crumbled to dust around me. I did not have the energy to change out of the utility suit I had planned to wear during my desperate dash across space to find my Ani, and for the thousandth time
I asked myself the question ? the one that haunted me since he had appeared on the veranda in the dark hours before dawn.
?Please, wait for me.?
Wait? What for?
He had scared me, with what he said, and how he acted.
Like he was not?himself.
Then those blue eyes would change, and light up from the inside like they used to, and he began spewing those impossible promises that I find so endearing.
?Things will be different, I promise.?
Everything is different.
I watched a man ? someone who I thought was a good man ? declare himself the sovereign of the democracy I had spent most of my adult life serving, and my fellow Senators had applauded.
Applauded the birth of an empire.
It made me nauseous ? more so than the morning sickness that had plagued me in the early months of my pregnancy. When I lived in fear that my husband was dead, somewhere in the farthest corners of the galaxy, fighting a war that was a mistake ? and which I now believed to be an orchestrated event, upon hearing
Obi-Wan?s revelation.
?Palpatine is the Sith Lord we?ve been looking for.?
But you had worse news for me, didn?t you, Obi-Wan?
I sit on the edge of our bed, hunched over, rocking back and forth, arms wrapped around my body as I struggle to block it out, to make some sense of it all.
?Padmé?Anakin has turned to the dark side.?
I still see him ? my brave, strong, handsome Jedi protector ? with that strange expression in his sky-colored eyes, murmuring words of assurance before he left on his ?mission.?
The mission he said would end the war.
Wars always end in death.
I feel my body shivering, and my teeth chatter, so I curl up on the bed, grabbing one of his old cloaks.
The coarse fabric wraps me in his scent, and for a moment, I am calm.
There is a fluttering of movement under my ribs.
?Anakin is the father, isn?t he??
But you are still looking for him. Prepared to kill him for his crimes.
If I weren?t in this situation, maybe none of this would be happening.
Ani would not have had that stupid dream?
I don?t really mean it, though.
But even Ani doesn?t know how complicated things have truly become.
I could not bear to tell him, to fire another laser blast that would surely knock him off of his feet ? and his fragile grip on sanity.
I am carrying twins.
Two tiny lives sheltered inside me, sharing our genes ? children of a forbidden passion, but they will be loved ? that is one promise I fully intend to keep. But their father?
He is not ready.
And I realize I don?t know what to do. That?s why I decided to stay here.
He told me to wait.
And for once, I am listening.
What will that mean for me, for him, and the beginnings of our family in a universe turned upside down and plunged into darkness?
I don?t know.
I don?t know.


Interlude One
I Am the Darkness

I am not here.
I feel the metal platform beneath the soles of my boots.
The hot wind against my face,

 

Wow Riniel Wow! Wonderful work...really thrilling stuff! Padme and Anakin simply must be together - but please don't cut down Obi Wan!

Looking forward to reading more...

 

YEA!!!! I'm so happy you posted this gem of a story here!!!!

UP!

searth

PS - only comment I have at the moment before I run out the door..spacing and alignment after skimming over it. for some reason(or maybe I'm just blind which is a definite possibility), it seems like the paragraphs and conversations are smushed a bit together. I liked how it was spaced on the other site. but that's just my 2 cents. other than that I'm in love with your Anakin/Vader

 

This needs to go UP!

 

I searched for this at ff.net and all I can say is wow!

Truly excellent!

 

Thank you so much, everyone, for your replies and your comments! I truly appreciate it.
On with the story...


Interlude Three
Angel Among the Stars

This is not happening.
My husband and his teacher; his mentor; the man he once told me was like a father ? circle one another like planets orbiting a star. Deadly bars of blue light are grasped with the ease of master swordsmen in each of their hands, and the hum of the blades permeates the air.
I must do something. I must stop this catastrophic ordeal before it throws my overturned world even further off its axis.
But I am no Jedi.
I cannot wield the Force as these two beacons of power do so effortlessly.
And the tiny shards of hope shifting inside acutely remind me that I have others to protect. Others who cannot defend themselves.
I will die before anything happens to my babies.

My blaster is useless in this fight ? even if I could somehow reach the impossible conclusion of whom to shoot first. Facing an opponent with the preternatural ability to anticipate an attack
leaves the chance of success slim, at best.
The weapon I can wield here, and have some likelihood of success?is my voice.
The voice of Padmé Amidala is one of strength and reason in the Galactic Senate.
The voice of Padmé Amidala is the melody that can soothe the tempestuous heart of one man.
The silver pistol taps idly against the soft folds of my gown as I eye the battleground critically. The burnished gold locks of my husband constantly face me; as he sizes up his adversary,
he operates under the assumption that I require protection.
How he can believe that the Jedi Master could attack me is beyond my comprehension.
Something has changed in him ? I see it clearly now.
The shadow lurking behind his beautiful eyes has seeped out of his pores and cloaked him, hiding the one I love from view.
This is why he will not look at me.
Because I am not fooled by this strange, jagged reflection.

My palm rests on my womb; the little stars move about nervously, but my touch reassures them and they settle. I draw strength from the warmth and the promise of fulfilled dreams under my fingers, even as my pulse beats a rapid tattoo in fear against my throat.
I push the fear aside; I cannot let the terror of an uncertain future rule over me any longer.
My heart stretches out ? as it did in the waning light of dawn ? to brush against the one who shares it, whose own essence is twined inexorably with mine.
Anakin?listen to me.
My limited understanding of the energy field that binds the galaxy together and is harnessed by the living power conduit that is my husband prevents me from discerning if he hears my unspoken plea. But I watch his every movement ? my interpretation of his body language affords some measure of certainty.
The muscles on his back shift the thin fabric of his robe as he stalks the veranda like a predator. My hand presses more urgently onto my stomach; the physical reminder of a part of Anakin living inside me sustaining me, even as the hand loosely holding a blaster shakes involuntarily.
This is not my Ani.
There is nothing about this?stranger that I recognize.
He is completely focused on the battle, on the inevitable conflict that will end in either his death or the death of his best friend, and he welcomes it. His entire body exudes the confidence and bloodlust of a carnivore on the hunt. A hunt it knows it can win.
Hopelessness closes around me; I feel as if I?ve fallen into a frozen river, the icy current dragging me down in blind numbness.
You?ve changed.

The thought surfaces unbidden, and the cruel fist of reality drives a hammer through carefully constructed illusions of peace and security for us ? for our family.
Illusions are never made to last.
The shattered remnants shimmer behind my eyes like shards of mirrors, mocking me as they reflect all of the moments that were out of place, when I should have seen that I was allowing myself to become a pawn in a maze of deceit.
He created them. Perhaps he eve

 

Chapter Four
Consequences of Rage

Anakin?s world had gone black.
The ire he felt for the man standing across from him bubbled up like boiling liquid in his chest, and he was consumed. With the echo of his vicious promise still ringing in the Force, Anakin launched himself at the Jedi Master with renewed ferocity, the wind singing eerily in his ears. His only thought, his sole focus, was how much he wanted to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi. It drove him through every thrust of his lightsaber, every rush of adrenaline that surged into his muscles. The fear that had tormented him with premonitions of his beloved?s death shrank from his rage.
The rage was his world.
Something flickered on the edge of his awareness, like the first hesitant star rising in early twilight. It was so small ? utterly insignificant compared to the roiling inferno that he dismissed it easily.
Anakin.
Carrying across the black abyss, the voice called in a pure tone that penetrated every cell of his body until it became a low thrum resonating in his bone marrow. He felt it tug at something deep inside him ? something that the blackness now concealed and held at bay. Like the breeze that rustled the folds of his robe, it neither demanded nor threatened; yet he found he could not ignore it.
The thickening darkness parted around Anakin, and he stumbled slightly, his limbs forgetting to move as all previous thought fled. Concentrating on the tremor that was flavored with a presence he knew intimately, but could not believe that it was possible, he sought the source of the call.
Delicate threads, gossamer and shimmering like starlight and too numerous to count, linked his bruised, deadened heart to the only woman he could ever love. He stared in amazement at this rare vision in the Force ? a representation of the bond he had felt with Padmé the first time he had set eyes on her. The threads wove around their hearts, and began trembling in perfect harmony with every beat.

Don?t leave me.
Her words came to him with crystalline clarity, reaching out as she had only hours ago, using the threads connecting them as a channel. He did not know how, nor did he care.
With the assurance of one trained in the ways of the Force, he touched her essence with his, determined to offer the same consolation as before ? the kind only he could give.
The universe exploded.
Anakin felt as if he had brushed against a supernova; the blackness was burned away in blinding light, and he threw up an arm to shield his eyes from the glare. Never had he felt such raw power, so all-consuming that the dark taint in his soul screeched in fear, but he sensed a feeling of wholeness, and it was beautiful.
Padmé was all around him; her presence flowed around him and through him like water, and she glowed like a star beside him. There were echoes, as well ? tiny lights flitting about like the bioluminescent insects on Naboo. They orbited around Padmé, and then all was white. It blazed around him, the flames licking at the stains of death and betrayal that he wore, and he was afraid.
He was afraid that if the flames were allowed to cleanse him, there would be nothing left.

Abruptly, he severed the link, and gasped as the shadows floated about him instantly.
Relief followed the shadows, and he felt a burst of self-loathing mixed with apprehension that he had become something that preferred the darkness. But he needed to see her.
Slowly, Anakin turned, focusing on the small form of his wife. Their eyes met?and he blinked in surprise when her face turned white and she skittered away from him, pressing herself against a carved pillar. His heart twisted painfully at the naked fear in her dark eyes.
Whatever he may look like, she had to know it was him. She had to.
?Padmé?? He asked softly, tenderly, approaching her with careful slowness.?What?s wrong??

She stared up at him like she did not know him, her eyes so wide that they consumed her pale face. One slender arm was curled around their unborn children, and she whispered weakly, ?Who are y

 

Please PM me when you update this.

EG

 

OMG!! This is sooo hot. You have got to PM me on this too. I like this very much. Good work!!

 

Chapter Five
Bittersweet Grace

Multicolored stars wheeled like a kaleidoscope inside Anakin?s eyelids, and he blinked furiously to clear his blurred vision. His ears felt like they had been stuffed with cloth, and something warm trickled down the side of his forehead. He swiped at it with his gloved fingertips and brought it before his still-hazy eyes. The black leather glistened in the wan daylight, and the unmistakable sickly-sweet odor of blood wafted to his nostrils. He coughed sharply through a burning throat ? not because of the aroma ? but because the air was thick with dust and smoke.
Anakin desperately tried to collect his scattered thoughts, blown about like dry leaves in the wind, mentally retracing the steps that had led to this moment. He remembered looking past the blue-white glare of his lightsaber and into the bearded face of his former Master, the roar of his anger drowning out the frail entreaty of his sorrow. He remembered the chill that had invaded his bones when his reason for being aimed at blaster at him, her large dark eyes swimming with tears born of sadness and horror.
His stomach clenched at the thought of how he had almost given in to the dark pull of fury and lashed out at her. His angel ? the woman for whom his heart continued to beat, the air filling his lungs, the mother of his children ?
Padmé!

He remembered it all.
The gunship cutting through the fog, the burnt ellipse in Padmé?s shoulder, and?and?
With a jolt, Anakin blinked away the last traces of dust and salt water clinging to his lashes and looked down. She was lying against him, her head pillowed on his broad shoulder, his left arm still locked securely around her slender frame. Her perfect face was powdered with fine grey dust, frosting her glossy brown curls like snow, but her expression was peaceful. Anakin was reminded vividly of an old tale his mother used to weave by his bedside, in what seemed like another lifetime, about a beautiful lady asleep in the snow, waiting to be awoken by one who was worthy?
He tenderly brushed the powder from Padmé?s delicate features, but his brows were drawn together in intense concentration, creating deep furrows on his forehead. Try as he might, Anakin could not recall what had happened after his wife had been hurt. His gaze flitted to the swell of her belly, and he quickly laid a palm against the bulge, frightened for their twins. Something traumatic had occurred ? that much was certain. He would survey the damage to the city after he was convinced that his family was safe. Anakin reached into the Force to search out the undeveloped minds of his children?There was nothing.

Confused, he tried again, stifling his growing worry for his loved ones, extending his consciousness outward, and waiting for the Force to answer.
But there was only a vast vacuum of emptiness.
The Force was?gone.
Anakin?s lips parted in dismay, staring blankly at his own hand, resting upon the greatest treasure he had ever received. What happened?
He stumbled to his feet, cradling Padmé in his arms, and wandered blindly through the clouds of smoke and fog until he recognized the curved, plush divan that resided in their apartment. The piece of furniture seemed relatively untouched, yet Anakin glanced around warily, listening for falling debris in a potentially unstable building. He could not sense any danger, and it made him feel thoroughly disconcerted ? because he could not sense anything.
Anakin placed Padmé gently on the cushions, wondering anxiously if he should even risk leaving her side when he was not aware of their surroundings, or what had happened to their home.
If he could just remember?
He needed to have a look around. Maybe it would spark in his mind and his memory would surface. He bent down and pressed a soft kiss on Padmé?s cheek, relieved when he felt warmth emanating from her skin. ?I?ll be back,? he murmured, and turned to face the billowing dust before he allowed his concern to change his mind.

Anakin strode in the general direction of

 

... I am positively speechless.

*waits for brain to kick back into gear* Wow, how original. How intense, how absolutely beautiful, how - simple! I guess it's true what they say about the best solutions... LOL! Ok, so this applies to the previous chapter - but it's somthing that must be said: "OMG, you killed - the Force!" Seriously, that's genius!

Could you please PM me when you update, if it isn't too much trouble?

 

What an incredible story! The emotions in this are breathtaking and heartbreaking.

 

I would like to say a BIG "thank you" to my reviewers! You are all so encouraging to me!


Chapter Six
Nothing is Whole, Nothing is Broken

Padmé listened as her husband?s grief-stricken sobs slowly dissolved into the soft pattern of rainfall, offering mute comfort through the palm that soothingly stroked his head, and her body, which he clung to with desperate strength. She stifled a wince as his fingers dug painfully into her waist, but her hand never paused from its tender consolation. She felt the hot tears that scalded her skin, chilled by the water falling from a slate-colored sky. Anakin?s shoulders heaved as each harsh cry left him breathless, and her heart bled for him. He folded his long limbs tightly in an effort to move closer, and the thick veil of her hair covered their faces. The rain left beads of icy moisture on her neck, and his breath warmed her throat as he buried his face into her collarbone.
The minutes began to lengthen until it seemed like the young man cradled in her arms would weep for an eternity. She had never known that one person could hold so many tears. Padmé remembered her mother once telling her that the heart stores tears in a glass bottle, and when it feels sadness, or sometimes joy, the bottle spills over.
The glass bottle in Anakin?s heart must have emptied.
His intense grasp on her gradually started to loosen, but she kept her slender arms coiled around his taut frame, patiently waiting for the rigidity to leave his muscles. The sobs were no longer ripped from him, but he trembled against her like a leaf in the wind, and she could hear his teeth chattering. She knew that it was not from the chill haunting the air.
Padmé put aside her sore muscles, the shivers that skittered across her skin, the damp, heavy fabric weighing her down, and her worry for the tiny dreamers sleeping in her womb.
Anakin needed her.

She threaded her fingers through the tangled, coppery locks and gently rubbed the sensitive skin on the back of his neck. It was a trick she had learned for calming the intensity that always smoldered in Anakin?s turbulent cobalt orbs. And the rain washed her mind into the current of the past, recalling another time when a restless, angry young man sought solace from her.
"I?I killed them. I killed them all. They?re dead ? every single one of them. And not just the men?but the women, and the children, too. They?re like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!?
?To be angry is to be human.?
?I?m a Jedi. I know I?m better than this.?
He had tried to hold it inside, to stem the flow of bitter tears flooding his blazing, furious eyes ? while she had lowered herself beside him on the gritty floor of the Lars garage.
Padmé had gently offered commiseration, though to this day she still did not know why. All she had known was that this larger-than-life, golden-haired, passionate enigma was treading a dangerous path, breaking every rule imposed upon him and following the whims of his heart. When that heart had led him to exact vengeance on the creatures that had tortured and killed his mother, the pacifist in Padmé cried for resolution. To see Anakin take responsibility for his deplorable actions, and transform through this trial into the great Jedi, the great man, that she and so many others knew he could become. But the other part of her ? the part that lay beneath the cool, rational persona of former Queen and Senator of the Galactic Republic ? the part that was simply Padmé Naberrie, felt sympathy and even?pity for this fiery Padawan, whose disquieting blue gaze dared her to approach?and yet begged for comfort at the same time.

When he had felt the tender brush of her hand, the walls of his fury collapsed as if made of sand, and she saw a grieving little boy who had lost the only real family that he had ever known. And the unspoken promise she had made to herself regarding his heart and hers turned to ash and was carried away by a warm breeze. She had listened to him weep on that sand-sprinkled floo

 

wow

 

All I have to say is "WOW!"

I just finished a marathon read and am now completely drawn in. Please add me to your PM list for this story, I don't want to miss a thing!

 

Lovely update! Apt advice from Gui-Gon. I wonder what heaps of trouble will follow. Though I suppose they'll be alright - for a while.

 

Chapter Seven
Dissonant Repose

Anakin?s retreat from the cockpit and Obi-Wan?s interrogative presence echoed dully through the corridors of the skiff.
He went the long way to the conference room, staring at his feet as the corridor looped around the cargo hold before reaching the main intersection at the center of the ship. He halted, dragging in deep breaths of filtered air as he struggled to suppress the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Snatches of his tense conversation with his former Master floated above the steady rumble of the hyperdrive engine, ringing in his ears.
??from this moment on, your wife and children will be fugitives from the Empire.?
??weigh the consequences of every decision??
??how much you value your family.?
Anakin clenched a fist; his temper boiling to the surface as it had when Obi-Wan had first delivered that blatantly insightful remark.
The Jedi Master had no idea how deep Anakin?s feelings were for his family. He valued them more than his loyalty, his integrity, his conscience, his honor?and his life.
His love for Padmé had kept him tethered to sanity while leading the raid on the Jedi Temple. He would go to the fringes of depravity and ruthlessness and throw himself into the black abyss for her.
And he had proved it.

Yet the currents of the Force had shifted, at his bidding, and altered the motion of the future.
He would probably never know if his choice to become a Sith would have saved his wife from death, and spared him the agony of existing while the knowledge that he had failed her tormented him until his last breath.
Now he was cut off from the Force, and he could not see the future even if he wished ? but neither could he influence events as he desired. He was as powerless and as?ordinary as any man.
The thought was equally terrifying and liberating.
Anakin no longer possessed the ability to perceive the Force as threads of energy linking the universe together, or to take those threads and manipulate them at will. He could not peer into its mysteries for hidden truths to guide his choices or grant him a measure of wisdom.
His own voice, sharp and laced with anger, reverberated in his head with stunning clarity. ?Are you saying that I?m not strong enough to protect them??
?No, Anakin. You have more than enough strength. I?m saying that the safety of Padmé and your children depends greatly on your wisdom.?

Anakin blinked, the nature of that observation washing over him like a wave of icy water, instantly cooling his unruly temper. In the span of a few hours, he had become the sole line of defense for the three dearest people in his life, and his one-time instructor had said that his wisdom governed their safety.
He was not wise ? more often than not Anakin sought Padmé?s counsel on nearly every issue. Or when they were apart he asked the advice of one of the Masters on the Jedi Council?and Chancellor Palpatine.
No, that was not entirely accurate.
When he could not ask Padmé, either because of distance or his own pride, Anakin simply reacted on whatever impulse he deemed correct ? usually with disastrous results. He was not wise. He did not weigh his decisions. Reckless, headstrong, impulsive.
These descriptions had peppered Obi-Wan?s lectures quite frequently.
The Council denied him the rank of Master because of his ?obstinate and reckless behavior?, though he never failed to accomplish a mission. He was christened the Chosen One and yet the leaders of the Order rarely sent him into battle without the tutelage and watchful eye of Obi-Wan.

The Masters were so concerned about preparing him to bring balance to the Force that they had not seen he was suffocating under their influence. They coached him to use the knowledge he had been given ? but refused to allow circumstances to test that knowledge. Anakin had known the reason from the moment he had set foot in the Jedi Temple.
They were all afraid.
As a ten year-old apprentice, Anakin could use the Force in ways that some Padawans had yet to lear

 

Once more brilliant!

In the space of one shuddering breath, Anakin realized that if he stayed in the darkness, he would lose her. So glad he finally got that through that thick skull of his. I guess there's hope for the future.

He raised a hand to gesture ? and halted in mid-wave, feeling utterly foolish. Poor Obi-Wan, I felt as sad reading this line, as this one: ?I?m so scared, Ani. I?m so scared for the twins. What if something happened to our babies?? What if??? The words disappeared into a stifled sob, and Anakin heard his heart crack as Padmé averted her gaze, vainly attempting to remain calm.

I also love the further insights into C3PO, R2D2 and Commander Cody. Can't wait for more.

 

Great update!!!!
Thanks for the PM!

 

Chapter Eight
Paradigm Shift: Prelude

A soft two-tone chime stirred Anakin from a blissfully dreamless sleep, and he blinked gritty eyes in disorientation. The chime rang again, and he slowly untangled his limbs from Padmé and clambered to his feet, tucking the quilt carefully around her. Satisfied that she did not awaken, he plodded over to the door and released the electronic lock, yawning mightily. With a barely audible hiss the door slid aside, and he squinted into the brightly lit corridor as a lively chirrup echoed through the vacant ship. ?Shh,? Anakin shushed, waving hastily at Artoo to quiet down as he threw an anxious look over his shoulder at the motionless figure on the bed. He stepped out into the hall, the metallic floor cold under his bare feet, and muttered to the little astromech droid, ?Are we there??

Artoo replied in a subdued series of tweets, his domed head rotating in the direction of the suite door. Anakin noticed the motion and wondered once again how someone could see a droid as nothing more than a utility, like a moisture vaporator. ?She?ll be fine, Artoo,? he soothed, touching the blue and silver dome with his gloved hand. ?Head back to the cockpit and plot a course for the settlement; tell Obi-Wan that I?ll be there after he speaks to their Port Control.?
Artoo whistled a short burst of notes, drawing out the last one questioningly. ?Obi-Wan?s not in the cockpit? Where did he go??
Artoo beeped ? the equivalent of a shrug. Anakin sighed wearily, running a hand through his disheveled hair. In all likelihood his old Master had bedded down in one of the crew quarters to get some much needed rest. The prospect of searching him out while things were so tense between them, however, was not an idea that Anakin wanted to entertain. ?Okay,? he said nonchalantly, as though it didn?t really matter to him, ?why don?t you check the crew quarters for Obi-Wan and I?ll plot a course to Polis Massa.?

Artoo trilled in response and began rolling down the corridor, intent on his task to find Obi-Wan. Anakin stared after him, shaking his head good-naturedly, and then crept back into the master suite. He brought up the lights and sat on the edge of the mattress beside his sleeping wife. ?Padmé,? he murmured, stroking the back of his fingers along her cheek. Her eyes fluttered behind their lids, and he smoothed her curls away from her face. ?Padmé,? he called again, ?we?re here.?
Padmé heard someone calling to her, but the desire to stay immersed in her dreams was too strong to resist. A gentle hand rubbed her shoulder, and then a warm palm caressed her neck, urging her to awaken with tentative sweetness. Her mouth bowed into a sleepy smile as she whispered throatily, ?I?m awake.?
Soft breath wafted across her face. ?Then open your eyes,? Anakin teased before giving her a brief kiss, wisps of his hair brushing against her forehead. She blinked groggily, and her husband?s handsome face swam hazily into view, flashing her a reassuring grin. Padmé lingered in the peacefulness between asleep and awake until the ache in her shoulder and the drone of spacecraft engines brought her to full consciousness.
?Have we arrived?? She asked, shifting her body on the mattress and using an arm to prop herself up. A movement that she immediately regretted, as the dull ache of her injury blossomed into a searing pain that scorched her raw nerves. She gasped sharply and fell back against the pillows with a whimpering cry. Anakin leapt to his feet, hovering over her anxiously, his eyes two large azure pools burning in his white face.
?Are you all right?? He pressed his flesh hand to her cheek urgently, the fear that he had buried in the recesses of his thoughts exploding to the surface.

Padmé drew in several deep breaths, her muscles shaking in the aftereffects of the sudden pain. When she was convinced that her voice would not reflect the agony she still felt, Padmé raised her eyes and assured her worried husband, ?I?m all right, Ani. I just forgot about my shoulder and it surprised me, that?s all

 

Well done. can't wait for more.

 

Sorry about the break in postings; for some reason I was having trouble uploading the text.
Anyways, let's continue on our journey!


Chapter Nine
Paradigm Shift: Intermezzo

Padmé wondered if Ani was all right.
The look on his face as she had been carted away by the med droids had plunged into her heart like a blade. He had scarcely left her side all during their flight, and she wanted to reassure him that she was healthy. The med droids assisted her in undressing, placing her soiled clothing in the waste container, and she shivered in the cooler air before a pristine white medical gown was draped around her body.
?Now, Milady,? MD-02 said in its comforting motherly voice, ?We will assess your injuries and begin treatment before conducting some tests on your babies.? During their initial questions, Padmé had informed the droids that she was carrying twins. The other med droid ? MD-05, she believed ? helped her sit down on the cot and exposed her wounded shoulder. Noting the bandaging Anakin had wrapped around the burned skin, MD-05 stated in a warm masculine tone, ?Field dressing has been applied to the wound, along with a kolto patch. Have you taken any painkillers, Milady??

?No,? Padmé shook her head. ?I know the risks of those drugs harming my babies.? MD-05 pulled out of pair of surgical scissors and snipped through the gauze, and then slowly peeled it away. Padmé felt as if her shoulder was being rubbed with sand, and she pressed her lips tightly together to keep from moaning.
MD-05 studied the wound for a moment, voicing an analysis. ?Long-range blaster round into the left shoulder, most likely from a military-issue weapon. The bolt missed the clavicle and main arteries, and exited through the scapula, fracturing the bone.? Padmé grimaced. A flesh wound healed easier and faster than skeletal damage. No wonder she was in so much pain. ?Milady, I am going to give you a mild anesthetic to numb your shoulder and upper back, and then I will inject a chemical directly into the bone that will accelerate the regeneration process. It will not affect your offspring,? MD-05 added after seeing her worried expression. ?After that, we will repair the trauma to your skin and muscles.?
That said, MD-02 floated over to the cot, carrying a tray stocked with needles, swabs, and various other instruments. MD-05 picked up a smaller needle filled with a clear fluid and disappeared from her field of vision, until its voice came from behind her. ?I am going to administer the anesthetic now, Milady.?
Padmé squeezed her eyes shut as several jabs of the needle went into her back, shoulder, and part of her neck. Almost instantaneously, a strange tingling sensation consumed her entire shoulder, and no matter how much she concentrated, it refused to respond.

?Do you feel this, Milady?? MD-05 asked. She couldn?t feel anything on that part of her body ? it was like it wasn?t there. She shook her head, stray ringlets of her dark hair hanging in front of her eyes.
MD-02 then handed across the cot to MD-05 a long hollow needle containing a milky white substance, and Padmé felt her heart leap into her throat. The needle had to be as long as her forearm, and she knew that it was going to be pushed in all the way to her bone.
Padmé gripped her gown in both fists and tried to take deep breaths, desperately wishing that Anakin were here with her. He would tell her in his deep, calming voice that everything would be all right, and then he would take her hand and rub the pad of his thumb over the skin. She imagined that he was there, right beside her, and the white-knuckled hands clenching her white gown loosened. She felt a slight pressure on her back, and she focused her mind on Ani?s face ? a face that she had memorized in great detail so that while he was away fighting in the war, she could pretend that he was with her.
?All finished, Milady.?

Padmé opened her eyes with surprise. MD-05 drifted around the cot and hovered by her knees, holding a large jar of pale, viscous fluid. ?This is bacta, Milady. It is

 

Chapter Ten
Paradigm Shift: Finale

Senator Amidala had a gift for secrecy.
Cody supposed that all Galactic Senators maintained strict confidentiality, given the nature of politics ? but this particular Senator jealously guarded her private life. More troopers had poured into the apartment over the past six hours, scouring rooms from top to bottom and finding nothing that would allow Cody to pinpoint Amidala?s current location.
He had no doubt now that she was in the company of a Jedi.
That made her an enemy of the state, if she was indeed conspiring with a fugitive. On the other hand, if she had been taken by force, Amidala would be placed under house arrest and removed from her position in the Senate until evidence was found to support that claim.
At least that was what the official report would say.
Cody had his orders from the Emperor himself. When Senator Amidala was found, she would be brought to Palpatine, period. Obi-Wan Kenobi would make that trip as well, if Cody could figure out a way to capture him without literally losing his head. But he still had questions ? questions that he kept locked inside his mind. Like where was Skywalker?s body.

The young Jedi?s lightsaber felt heavy hanging from Cody?s ammo belt as he paced the main floor of the suite. The dust and fog had cleared during the rainstorm, and the extent of structural damage to the circular room was immense, like a bomb had been detonated. Cody glanced outside, watching a pair of troopers load the final corpse into a gunship under a pale violet sky. It was nearly sunset according to the planetary chronometer, but the atmosphere was shrouded in thick clouds. Thin traces of golden yellow peeked around the edges of the densely packed clouds, colored crimson by the fading glow of the sun, but would swiftly disappear as a gust of wind carried the storms across Galactic City.

Cody turned away and strode down the far hallway toward the Senator?s study. Inside, an Intelligence officer sat at the desk, hacking into the files stored on Amidala?s datapad. So far, there had been no mention of anything that might lead them to her. The Senatorial encryptions had been easy enough to break, as Intelligence had been given the master code, but all those files were simply documentation of Amidala?s work in the Senate. Notes on proposed amendments, records of past rulings, and various other political agendas filled the screen. There was no reference to friends or family ? and no evidence of personal holo messages being sent or received from the terminal. The woman either lived for her work?or she had something to hide. Cody gambled on the latter ? his observations of Senator Amidala and perusing her biography confirmed that she was dedicated to her causes, but she was also a young woman who had never entered into a serious romantic relationship. And if the gossip around Five Hundred Republica could be trusted; she had frequent visits from one Anakin Skywalker, including the early morning or late in the evening ? which could place them in a very scandalous liaison.
No evidence had been found to support that theory, so Cody dismissed it as juvenile hearsay.

?Sir, I may have found something.? The Intelligence trooper?s voice disturbed Cody?s line of thinking, but he recovered quickly and circled around the desk to peer at the display screen. ?I was unable to find a record of the Senator?s affiliations ? family and so forth ? but then it occurred to me that every Senator has a means to travel off-planet. So I checked the purchase records and found?? He pointed at an entry with flourish.
Cody leaned in, eyes narrowing as he read, ?45 gallons of ion fuel for a Naboo Star Skiff. And??
?And I looked into the private landing pad registrar and learned that Senator Amidala has a registered claim on Pad 452A.? The trooper looked up at him triumphantly.
Cody?s patience was wearing thin. ?Come to the point, trooper,? he commanded roughly.
?Sir,? the trooper?s tone was incredulous, ?In locating the skiff we can determine whether or not Amidala

 

This is excellent. Keep it up!

 

Okay, let's get the "official" stuff out of the way before the story continues.

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Interlude Four
Redefinition

I am a father.
Just saying the phrase out loud causes my thoughts to blur into a pleasant haze, forgetting that I should be asleep. But every time I try to succumb to my exhaustion, the smallest, seemingly insignificant detail will explode inside my mind ? and I am left with no other choice than to lie awake and bask in the happiness warming my heart.

Padmé moves slightly, burrowing deeper into my arms, her cheek pillowed on my chest. I glance down at her dark head ? a faint, silvery glow outlining the woven pattern of the loose braid she?d pulled her tangled curls into to keep the thick ringlets from falling in her eyes. It winds down the nape of her neck and over the arm I wrapped around her slender shoulders ? a cord of the finest silk laying against my skin, and my angel alive and safe, sleeping beside me.
I wonder for a fleeting instant if this is a dream, and the desire for rest flees. I would rather exist in a dream than face a reality without her in my life.
Then her breath warms the hollow of my throat, the steady rhythm of her heart beating in harmony with mine, and I know that this is real?and I am overwhelmed.
After all that I have done, and planned to do ? I have been given everything that I have ever wanted.

I wanted to become a Jedi, and fight against the injustices surrounding me as a slave child on Tatooine.
I wanted Padmé to love me ? to hold my heart in her soft hands and shield it from my inner demons.
I wanted us to raise a family, and live in a place where nothing could touch us?but love.
There were other things that I thought I had wanted, but they evaporated like a chill fog defeated by the strong, bright rays of a rising sun. Those dark ambitions that had surfaced from the shadow of Vader have burned away in the steady gleam of the spark inside my heart.
She fuels it merely with her presence, entwined so intricately with mine, and the tender echoes of her essence swirls around with such comfortable familiarity that I wonder if she has always been there ? I just could not see her.
And I am certain that she is what I have been missing all of my life ? half of my heart, and my soul. I felt it the second her luminous brown gaze touched mine in that junk shop, and as a nine year-old boy, I could not understand the emotions that awoke within me.

?Are you an angel??
If she would only speak to me, I thought, then perhaps I would be able to control the feelings burgeoning inside my chest, causing my body to tremble and my heart to thunder rapidly in my eardrums.
Yet when I heard her voice, something leapt within me ? took flight and soared away from the thin white clouds garnishing the cerulean sky.
I was scared.
What does a young boy who dreams about Pod races and spends his free time building a protocol droid know about the passion between a woman and a man? I didn?t even think of girls in that way yet.
Naturally I was incapable of defining exactly what happened to me as I talked with an angel.
I think she felt it, too. Maybe not as strongly as I did, or in the same way ? but now that I know her and share part of her soul? She was self-conscious and rather fidgety for a fourteen year-old ruler of a planet. She had said things to humor me, or fill the silence that unnerved her as I stared avidly, trying to memorize every curve of her face.

And the words burst out of me before I could stifle them.
?I?m going to marry you.?
It was foolish, and my angel reacted, as I would expect any girl on the threshold of womanhood to do when confronted with the outrageous statement of a small boy. She laughed.
I remember raising my chin defiantly as her tinkling giggles sparkled in the air, and she tried to work around my certainty with logic. I was only a little boy, after all? And although I did no