Dawn of Darkness

By Padme Solo

Twilight settled on the hills surrounding the city of Theed.  The last traces of sunlight faded into the sky.  There were no clouds, nothing to obstruct the sunset.   It was perfect, at least it should have been perfect.  But it wasn’t.  No, Padme Amidala reflected, it was far from perfect.  The light of the sunset had shone bright red, like the blood being spilled by the Republic’s army.  She didn’t know what had gone wrong, or where it had gone wrong.  One minute the Republic had been saving lives and the next instant it was destroying them.  Not that the Republic was Amidala greatest concern at the moment.  Perhaps it should have been, but it wasn’t. 

She felt tears well up in her eyes.  Anakin.  Damn him!  How could he leave her, betray her, now?  A slight smile fleeted across her face, too worn for her age.  He hadn’t left her, not really, but he was hardly around.  Most of his time was spent with the Chancellor.  Days ago, Obi-Wan had come to her with his concerns.  Anakin was spending too much time away from his training, did she know why?  Then, Padme had been puzzled at his worried expression when she told him that Anakin was spending time with Palpatine.  Now she understood what Obi-Wan had not voiced.  Palpatine was a danger to the Republic, let alone Anakin. 

            She turned from the edge of the balcony and returned to her quarters.  She wished she could stay, stay in the warm interior of the palace, stay in the city of Theed.  In a day, she would have to return to Courscant, the galactic center.  Padme would have to deal with the falling moral standards of the Republic, and with Anakin.  She didn’t know if she could deal with losing him to the devices of Palpatine.  A hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts.

            “Senator Amidala, you need to rest,” Sabe smiled down at her.  Padme returned the smile, Sabe was always here when she returned.  She always had been and probably always would be.

            “Sabe, will he leave us?” her eyes pleaded with Sabe for the answer.

            “I do not know, but all the same you must sleep.  When was the last time you slept the whole night?” she implored, and nodded when she saw Padme’s blank look, “That’s what I thought.  We will worry about our other concerns in the morning.  Tonight, however, you are going to get some sleep.”

            “But Sabe..”

            “No arguing tonight,” she replied as she led Padme to the bed.  When the senator made no actions to take off her robe and get in, Sabe did it for her.  Just as Padme was starting to fade into unconsciousness, she sat bolt upright and turn to the door where Sabe was exiting.

            “Where is Obi-Wan?”

            Confused, Sabe exclaimed, “What?  I mean… excuse me?”

            Padme frowned at her friend, but explained, “Obi-Wan.  I need to tell him something.  It’s urgent!  Please go find him.”

            “I’m sorry, senator,” started Sabe, obviously confused by her counterpart’s behavior, “but Obi-Wan is on Courscant, nowhere near Naboo.”

            If anything, Padme frowned even more and looked slightly puzzled, “Are you sure?  I just talked to him earlier.  Did he already leave?  But how could be there so quickly?”

            “Padme, listen to me, Obi-Wan hasn’t been here in weeks, maybe even months,” Sabe said with genuine concern, but a trace of fear accented her voice, “You, on the other hand, live on Courscant.  I’m sure you’ve seen him much more lately.”

            “Oh…” Padme’s eyes seemed distanced, but a moment later they snapped into focus, “Never mind where he is.  I need to contact him.”

            Sabe contemplated her before nodding and responding to her request, “ I can get you the comm. if you want?”

            “Please,” Padme said as she watched her longtime friend run off to find the nearest comm. unit.  Moments later Sabe returned.  Still uncertain of Amidala’s motive she hastily set it before her, “Thank you, Sabe.”

            “It was no bother, milady,” she answered.  Then it was as if Padme had woken up, even though that could not have been the case.  She looked at Sabe with crystal clear eyes and then at the communicator and back again.  Finally, having found no answer in her mind she queried.

            “What’s this?  Why are you here?”

            Sabe looked a combination of shocked and utterly relieved, “ Thank the stars!  Oh Padme, I was so worried.  You weren’t yourself.  You kept insisting that you need to speak with Obi-Wan, and that he was here.  It seemed you had forgotten that you lived on Courscant!  I was terribly confused.”

            “I wonder why I would do such a thing?  No matter now.  We’ll sort this out in the morning Sabe.  Right now, I could use a good night’s sleep,”  Padme sighed laying back down on the bed.

            Sabe smiled, “I just might take you advice.  Say goodnight to the little ones for me,” she added eyeing Padme full stomach.

            The fingers of dawn broke into the corners of Padme’s room.  The sky outside was changing from a soft pink to a brilliant blue.  Native species’ cries echoed around the palace.  She shifted in her bed to stare out the window.  What a beautiful day, Padme thought smiling.  Abruptly she frowned.  What was it that Sabe had said last night?  Oh, yes, that she had thought Obi-Wan to be on Naboo.  Why would she think the Jedi Master was here?  She shook her head, letting her auburn tresses dissipate around her.  She would talk to Kenobi upon her return, until then she would give the matter no further thought.

            Quickly, she dressed and entered the other room where Sabe had already put the morning meal on the table.  Padme sighed, Sabe was far too good to her.  She took a seat in one of the giant wooden chairs seated around the oval table.

            “I trust you slept well, milady?” Sabe questioned as she reentered the room with steaming tea.

            Padme nodded reaching for the tea, “Very well.  Truthfully, much better than I ever have in the past few months.”

            “Even with Anakin?” Sabe realized her mistake almost immediately after she spoke when Padme bowed her head and turned away, “Forgive me, Padme, I forgot.”

            “No, don’t apologize.  I need to acknowledge this now.  I can’t deny what’s happening forever,” she said lifting her sad eyes to meet Sabe’s.

            “Forgive me for asking, but what is happening.  You haven’t told me,” Sabe’s eyes pleaded with her to share, “I understand we hardly see each other and that it’s formal when we do, but please remember I’m your friend.  I’ve always been and will always be.”

            Padme took Sabe’s hands in her own, “You have no idea that means to me, Sabe.  And I, also, will always be there for you.  But I don’t really know how I can explain.”

            “Don’t worry how it comes out,” Sabe smiled reassuringly, “Just say what’s on your mind.”

            “I’d been noticing for awhile.  Anakin wasn’t around as much and he was never at the Jedi Temple either.  At first, I didn’t give it much thought.  Then one day Obi-Wan came and talked to me.  He asked where Anakin was spending his time.  I was surprised he didn’t know and tried to remember where Anakin had said he was going.  It took awhile, but I finally remembered that he was seeing the Chancellor.  Oh, Sabe, Obi-Wan’s expression was devastated,” Padme lowered her head, “And now I always feel so alone.  He’s never around.  I haven’t even been able to tell him I’m pregnant.  It’s almost like I’m afraid of what he’ll do, that he won’t care.”

            “Oh, Padme,” Sabe got up and moved to embrace Padme.  As soon as she felt Sabe’s arms around her the tears started flowing.  Try as she might to stop them.  Sabe felt helpless.  She could do little more than offer comforting murmurs in Padme’s ear.

            Sabe let her friend cry on her shoulder, doing little to stop her.  She knew Padme had been having a hard time lately.  It had never occurred to her that Anakin was the root of the problem.  From the moment she had met the bright blue eyed blonde boy she had known he was fascinated with Padme.  She remembered her amusement at the expression on his face when he found out that Padme was really the queen.  So much had changed since then, but as far as Sabe had known Anakin had still been utterly in love and probably still fascinated with Padme Amidala.  In her opinion, there was no reason to believe otherwise.

            Padme sniffed again and look up at Sabe, “what time is it?”

            “A little before 10, you have plenty of time before your meeting with the queen,” she answered with a slight smile.

            “Good,” Padme nodded.  She didn’t want to have to think about politics or the state of the republic just now.  Some voice inside of her said she was being selfish, but at the moment Padme didn’t really care.  She turned again to glace at her companion.  Sabe was staring at her with a slight frown on her face, “What?”

            “I was thinking of last night.  Don’t you remember anything?” as before Sabe’s eyes pleaded with her for honesty.

            “I remember standing on the balcony watching the sun set.  I believe I was thinking of the Republic and later of Anakin,” this mention caused the lines in Padme’s worried face to increase slightly, “I remember coming inside and that’s it.”

            Sabe tilted her in thought before responding, “you don’t remember anything of our conversation about Obi-Wan?” Padme shook her head, “that’s odd, but the conversation was odd as well.  Could you have been thinking of time when Obi-Wan had been on Naboo?”

            “I doubt it.  I mean the last time he was here, so was Anakin.  I didn’t mention anything about Anakin did I?” she questioned.

            Sabe shook her head, “No.  All you wanted to know about was Obi-Wan.  Something about having news to tell him.”

            “Peculiar that I don’t remember anything.  I’ll have to find him, Obi-Wan, and ask him about this.  In the mean time, Sabe, I need to get dressed in time to meet with the queen,” Padme stated rising from the table and heading towards the doors to her rooms.

            Sabe had risen as well, “What about the rest of breakfast?  You need to eat more than a few little eggs.”

            “Food will have to wait.  I have a duty to fill,” Padme told Sabe sharply.

            “Alright,” she sighed, “I’ll be in my rooms if you need any help dressing.”

            Padme’s expression softened, “Thank you, for everything.”

            Sabe just gave her the ghost of a smile and drifted into the other rooms.  Padme set about to the annoying task of dressing and doing her hair.  She was extremely grateful that she was no longer the queen.  The dresses had been elegant, and even exquisite at times, but they had weighed her down like a pile of bricks.  It still fascinated her that some of the dresses had almost weighed as much as she had.  Being a senator entailed fancy dresses, but simplistically fancy and definitely not overdone.  It took her moments to find a simple deep red dress.  It was strapless and had a long scarf to go with it.  The cut was modest and didn’t show more than it needed to.  Padme decide a simple braid with red ribbons down her back would do fine.  Her fingers expertly wound the ribbon into her hair and proceeded to braid it.

            Minutes later, she was drifting down the corridors of the palace.  The queen, a delightful young woman by the name of Vivianala, had been recently elected to the throne of Naboo.  She was much older than Amidala herself had been, at age 19.  She had a strong sense of right and was good for her people.  Today, she and the senator of Naboo had a meeting concerning the affairs of the Republic.

            Padme entered the throne room with a sense of nostalgia.  She still remembered the days when she would be the one sitting on the throne at the end of the vast room.

            “Welcome, Senator Amidala.  We are pleased that you could come,” Vivianala said in her strongly accented voice.

            “I am pleased to be here, but please my time is short.  Shall we get down to business?” Padme explained approaching the throne.

            Vivianala nodded, “of course.  I’ve been hearing various accusations that the Republic is increasing the blood shed of the galaxy, it this true?”

            “Sadly, yes.  The Chancellor has had much support in utilizing the army created almost a decade ago.  The clone troops are efficient, no one can argue with that, but many diplomatic opportunities are being turned down and instead the Republic is immediately sending the clone army,” Padme clarified in a sad tone.

            The queen nodded, “Isn’t there a way to start a motion in the senate to stop this?”

            “The senate no longer functions to the will of the senators.  A few years back a bill of such was started.  Hours after the senators had proposed it, they were found dead in their homes.  I do not believe it would be wise to start a resistance now.  Too many innocent lives would be lost,” the senator lowered her eyes.

            “What about Chancellor Palpatine?” the young woman suggested.

            Padme shook her head, “He is clearly in favor of the army.  In fact, over time he has been the first one to suggest its use.”

            “He used to be the Naboo senator.  He couldn’t refuse our requests, could he?  Have you approached him on this matter?” Vivianala searched.

            “I have, a couple of years ago when all this first started to take shape.  He understood my concerns, but in the senate he did nothing to acknowledge them.  I fear that he has become too hungry for power.  Perhaps he has spent too much time in office,” she reflected, “other Chancellors could only stay in office for ten years total, Palpatine has been in office for almost 25 years.”

            The queen bowed her head, “I understand your concerns.  In the meantime let us pray that no further damage is inflicted on the Republic.”

            “Indeed,” Padme gave a small bow and turned to leave.

            “Wait, senator,” Padme raised her eyebrows in question, “are you alright?  You seem a little distant.”

            Padme nodded, “I’m fine.  I suppose work has been taking its toll on me.”

            The sleek golden craft lifted off of the beautiful Naboo terrain.  It carried important cargo heading for Courscant.   Inside, was the senator from Naboo returning to the center of the Republic government to continue her duties. 

The break from the galactic chaos had been extremely helpful.  Padme Amidala felt revived.  There were a few items, however, that still disturbed her.  Anakin, her husband and soulmate, was at the top.  She prayed with all her heart that he would be there at the landing pad when she got to her destination.  In truth, it was not the company that he was keeping that disturbed her most.  She trusted Palpatine as much as any other member of the galactic Republic.  The fact that Anakin had stopped coming home every night to share the bed with her, to keep her company disturbed her far more than anything else.  Where had the loving and doting Anakin gone?

            No matter what, Padme knew, she would always love him dearly.  She could not think of a single situation where she would not love him until the end of time.  A thought fleeted across her mind.  Did he still love her?  And even at that, would he always love her no matter what?  It sacred Padme that she was thinking of such things.  A month ago the thought would never have crossed her mind.  Only in the last few weeks had she noticed that he was distancing himself from her.

            Light years away from the resting senator, in the depths of Courscant, was an entirely different scene.  Anakin Skywalker stood watching his friend and mentor explain the workings of the force.  In the beginning, he had been surprised by the Chancellor’s knowledge of the force.  Palpatine was a politician, not a Jedi.  In time, however, Anakin learned not to question the source of his knowledge.  Many of the things Palpatine knew and taught him, Anakin doubted Obi-Wan even understood, let alone knew.

            It made Anakin furious that Obi-Wan was still holding him back.  Sure, he said that Anakin would face the trials the next month, but that’s what he’d been saying for at least a year.  He wanted some action.  All Obi-Wan ever told him to do was meditate.  There was also the constantly annoying reminder to remember to control his emotions.  It wasn’t that Anakin didn’t love him dearly, just that Anakin was sure his skills far surpassed Kenobi’s.  The idea of telling him that he had been training with Palpatine crossed his mind more than once.  If Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was getting extra training maybe he would realize that he was ready.  In the end, however, Anakin worried that Obi-Wan would be hurt by his lack of confidence in his training.

            “Anakin, you must focus,” Palpatine chided him, snatching him out of his deliberations.

            “Sorry, Chancellor,” Anakin bowed his head, “What was your request?”

            “Ah, it’s alright Padawan,” the use of the learners title couldn’t help but make Anakin flinch slightly, “I was saying… do you see those canisters at the end of the ally?”

            Anakin nodded, “Yes, sir.”

            “Move all of them at once,” Palpatine ordered.

            “All of them?” Anakin stared aghast at the pile of at least fifty durasteel canisters.  He had moved three or fours of them at the same time before, but definitely not all of them, “Are you sure?”

            “Quite positive.  How large or how small an object is, does not determine limits when we use the force.  When you become strong enough you will find lifting this many quite easy,” Palpatine seemed to inwardly smile at this and he quietly added, “Which will be soon, my friend.”

            Anakin still looked doubtful, “If you say so,” he conceded.  He closed his eyes and he could almost ‘see’ the canisters in front of him.  He used the invisible arm of the force to reach out and surround the containers.

            “Good,” whispered Palpatine, “very good.”

            Anakin smiled at the praise, inadvertently losing his grip on the fifty items he was supposed to start lifting.  He frowned as they clattered everywhere when he released his grip.  He hadn’t even been able to lift them before they had crashed back down.

            Palpatine nodded at him, “That’s alright.  You need to focus your energies better.  Dip into your emotions, channel all your feelings into lifting the containers.”

            “But Master Obi-Wan always says I need to control my feelings and isolate them from my actions,” Anakin said puzzled.

            A ghost of a smile appeared on the Chancellor’s face as Anakin spoke.  Yes, that was what Obi-Wan would say.  But controlling emotions was not the point here.  The point was to force as much power into the boy as possible.  To give Anakin a sense of power that would be desired for again.  In effect, to corrupt the boy as much as possible with only one activity.  But Palpatine wasn’t about to tell him that, “To use your emotions will make you stronger, more able to lift.”

            Anakin bowed his head.  It all made sense.  When he was angry or frustrated, filled with emotion, he was definitely more powerful than when he was calm and in control.  But didn’t Jedi seek the calm and control and the Sith the anger?  On the other hand, everything Palpatine had said so far had been true, maybe it was okay to infuse your emotions a little.

            “Shall we try it again?” the older man questioned.

            The younger boy was inclined to agree for a moment, but then he looked at his chrono.  It was almost seven in the evening.  Padme was arriving home from Naboo and he felt it would be selfish not to meet her there.  To get there in time, however, he would have to hurry considering her ship arrived at seven fifteen and he was in the lower levels of the city, “I would love to, Chancellor, but I have to meet Senator Amidala at the landing platform.”

            The craft carrying the Senator from Naboo leapt out of hyperspace minutes from the galactic center.  Padme Amidala had packed what little things she had taken out of her bags.  Now, she made her way to the cockpit of the space ship.  Little was on her mind, except that desperate desire for Anakin to be there.  She walked swiftly though the interior of polished white until she came upon a door of black.  Upon her arrival the panel swooshed open and Padme advanced into the cockpit.

            “Welcome, Senator Amidala,” the female pilot addressed her, “we’re only minutes away from Courscant.”

            Padme gave her a slight smile, “Good.”

            “We have other good news as well,” the male pilot added, “we’re going to be early.”

            “Early?” Padme said before she could think.  What about all those people coming to meet her?  What about Anakin?  Would she arrive long before they even thought to meet her?

            “Don’t worry, milady,” the female informed her, “the arrival time is only a few minutes before scheduled.  And anyways, we informed all the parties that were coming to meet you.  Everyone should be there when we arrive.”

            Anakin Skywalker could seriously not remember another time in his life where he had been in such a hurry.  Sure, before he had to run to save his life, but somehow this was a lot different.  It was almost more than his life that he was running to save.  In the days that Padme had been gone, Anakin realized how much he missed her.  He also realized that he missed just a much when she was here, on Courscant.  After hours of thinking, he determined that it was entirely his fault.  He was the one who wasn’t around and right now he needed to find her and apologize for his earlier behavior.

            It wasn’t like he regretted it, however.  He had learned so much from the Chancellor, that he had no idea where he would be without him.  Palpatine understood that he was being held back.  And he did everything within his power to make sure Anakin was allowed to gain new experience and new skills.  In truth, Anakin was afraid of what life would be like without Palpatine’s guidance.  Now, however, was not the time to contemplate such matters.

            Anakin glanced around and saw the nearest turbo lift closing.  He reached out with the force to stop its doors until he was inside them.  But luck was not on Anakin’s side.  Three floors up, still some 200 stories below his destination, it stopped.  He tried to give it a boost with the force, but the old machinery would have none of it.  Finally, someone was able to work the door open and the disgruntled passengers filed out onto the dirty streets.  It took five minutes for another lift to arrive.  By that time, Anakin was sure he was going to be late.  A glace at his chrono confirmed this.  It was 7:10.  There was no way in Sith hell that he was going to be able to get to the top of the city in five minutes.  Not that Anakin was going to accept defeat.  He hurried to nearest speeder dealer.

            “Hey!” he called at the lowlife dealer, “Can I get you best speeder?”

            The lowlife studied him, “That depends on how many credits you have.”

            “Believe me, I have plenty,” Anakin assured him, “Now can I see your speeder?”

            “Alright,” the being replied, seeming to believe Anakin for the moment, “Right there.”

            Anakin stared at the craft the thing was pointing to, “What a piece of junk,” he muttered.  The speeder must have seen far too many drag races in small confines because there were scratches all along its bright green hull.  Anakin glanced at the speedometer and determined that it probably wouldn’t go any faster than a crawling bantha.  It was, however, a better option than taking a lift that might not even work, “Fine, I’ll take it.  How much?”

            “One thousand credits,” the lowlife stated firmly.

            Anakin baulked.  The being had to be kidding him.  The speeder shouldn’t have been worth anymore than one hundred credits, at most, “Listen buddy, how about 400 credits?”

            The being considered the offer, “600?”

            “500,” Anakin countered shaking his head.  He could not believe he had just offered to pay 500 credits for that piece of junk.

            The dirty little thing nodded, “500 credits it is.  Now give me the credits and take your speeder.”

            Padme watched apprehensively out the windows of the sleek golden star ship lowering onto the landing platform.  As the ship set down, she identified Obi-Wan Kenobi and a number of delegates from the senate.  She did not, however, see Anakin.  Her spirits dropped instantly.  He hadn’t come.  A small voice in her head told her to be rational.  When was the last time Anakin had ever come to meet her anywhere?  But she wouldn’t believe it.  He had to be there.  Maybe they didn’t contact him.  Not contact her husband?  She doubted that.

            With sadness and disappointment in her heart, she exited the senatorial ship.  Immediately the delegates swarmed around her, “Senator Amidala, you have no idea what a pleasure it is to have you with us again.”

            “It’s a pleasure to be here,” she said to the man trying to make her smile look genuine.

            One of the Chancellor’s cronies, as Padme now thought of them, came up to her, “The chancellor expresses the deepest remorse that he was not here to personally see you.  He, however, would like to express his happiness at your safe return.”

            “Tell Chancellor Palpatine that I am grateful for his concerns and that I thank him for the good wishes,” Padme started turning away almost before she was done talking.  Was that where Anakin was?  Holed up with Palpatine.  And neither had the respect or dignity to see her personally.

            “Senator Amidala,” the slight accent in the voice immediately told her to whom it belonged.

            “Master Kenobi,” Padme smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days.

            “It’s good to see you back,” he smiled back, “I trust your vacation was delightful?”

            “Delightful?  I can’t quite say it was delightful.  I did, however, enjoy myself,” she replied laughing.

            “That’s good,” Obi-Wan told her taking her arm and leading her away from the crowd, “I’d like to apologize for my Padawan.  This morning he assured me that he would come to meet you.”

            Padme’s smile disappeared, “You shouldn’t be apologizing.  It’s not you that didn’t show up.  Do you have any idea where Anakin is?”

            Obi-Wan shook his head and dryly replied, “I have no idea.  But then again, it is not like he tells me where he’s going these days.”

            “I will speak to him later, if I see him,” she added with a note of sadness, “But now I have matters to discuss with you.”

            “With me?” he retorted, surprise gracing his features for a second.

            Padme nodded, “I had the strangest experience on Naboo.  Sabe and I decided it would be best to discuss it with you.”

            Obi-Wan looked at her with interest and motioned towards the transport that was stopping at the platform’s edge, “Well then, Senator, let’s go discuss these important matters in somewhere more private.”

            Somewhere, not that far away, a bright green object sped through the Courscant air.  Anakin Skywalker gunned the engine even more.  He was already late and knew that he was only around three-quarters of the way to the landing platform.  A million thoughts about what he was going to tell Padme flew through his mind.  First, he had to apologize for the time he had spent away from her.  He didn’t quite know how he was going to explain that he had been training with Palpatine.  Maybe he would leave the explanation out and just apologize.

            Minutes later, he arrive at landing platform 10098.  Just in time to see a transport leave.  Anakin dumped the speeder at the side and ran towards the remaining people.  His heart sank the moment he realized Padme wasn’t one of them.  He’d failed, again.  Now, he was sure that she had been on the transport that had just left.

            “Jedi Skywalker!” exclaimed one of the senatorial delegates.

            “Has Senator Amidala already left?” Anakin questioned the man as he approached.

            “The senator just left with Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the man explained.

            Anakin bowed his head in defeat, “Do you know where they were going?”

            “I don’t, but ask around.  I’m sure they told someone their destination,” answered the man.  Anakin didn’t like the idea of Padme going off with Obi-Wan.  He wasn’t being the jealous boyfriend, well really husband, but he didn’t like them spending too much time together.  A little voice in his head told him that if he was around more they wouldn’t be spending as much time together.  Anakin chose to ignore it for the moment.  Another humanoid approached, this time the young Senator from Alderaan.

            “Jedi Skywalker, you’re late,” the young man told him, “She was looking around for you earlier.”

            “Oh Sith!  She was?” Anakin panicked for a moment, “What time did the ship arrive?”

            “It was early.  I would guess it came around seven ten,” Bail Organa answered.

            Right when I was getting out of that stupid lift.  There was no way he could have gotten there on time, “Why didn’t they contact me?”

            Bail contemplated this, “I believe they tried to.  Could you have been out of range?”

            Anakin immediately cursed Palpatine.  What was he thinking having Anakin train in the depths of the planet where no communication could enter.  He would have to bring that up with him the next time they met.  The little voice once again interrupted him.  It reminded him that there might not be another time, “Nevermind that.  Do you know where she went?”

            “They didn’t tell anyone.  Just got on the transport and left.  She looked tired, maybe she went home,” he suggested.

            Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi held out his hand to help Padme Amidala down from the transport.  It was obvious she was stressed about numerous things and he felt the sooner they could have a good talk, the better.  He couldn’t help but notice that his Padawan was spending too much time away from his wife.  Padme, however, had put off the topic of Anakin for something else.  This intrigued Obi-Wan.  What was more important than her relationship, or lack thereof, with Anakin?

            They entered the Jedi Temple acknowledging the numerous Jedi Knights and Masters whom they were acquainted with.  Once inside, Obi-Wan led her to the simple quarters which he and Anakin had shared.  Obi-Wan remembered the times well.  Now, Anakin lived with his wife.  It had been a battle with the counsel to allow Anakin and the senator to be married.  Later, Anakin had confided that they had already been married at the time that they asked permission.  Obi-Wan had not been amused.  When Master Yoda asked his opinion, however, he had told him that he believed it would be the less dangerous course of action to allow the two to be married.  And so it had been done.

            “What’s troubling you?” he asked as they entered the simple living room.

            Padme gave a slight snort, “Everything?”

            Obi-Wan nodded, he really didn’t expect her to share all her troubles at once, “You said you wanted to speak to me about something?  Would you like some tea?”

            “Yes to both,” Padme replied, taking a seat on the nearby couch, “It happened last night on Naboo.”

            “What happened?” Kenobi questioned as he drifted into the attached kitchen to prepare their tea.

            “I was standing on the balcony outside my room.  It was evening and I was watching the last of the sunset.  After awhile I went inside, but I was troubled about the Republic and Anakin, so I wasn’t ready to go to bed yet.  I guess Sabe came in and put me to bed, you remember her, right?” Obi-Wan nodded as he returned with their tea.  She continued, “I don’t really know what happened after that.  In the morning Sabe tried to explain.  She said that I was asking for you.”

            “Asking for me?  But you knew I wasn’t anywhere near Naboo,” he stated.

            “I know, but this wasn’t really me.  Sabe told me that I said I had something to tell you.  That when I found out you weren’t on Naboo I asked for a communicator,” Padme paused to take a sip of her tea, “Then I snapped out of it.  I remember almost waking up and finding a communicator sitting on the bed next to me.  It’s all very puzzling.”

            “That certainly is peculiar.  The only explanation I can think of is that you were day dreaming, or something to that effect,” he replied looking extremely puzzled himself.

            Padme reflected, “It was like dreaming.  I distinctly remember waking up, but I couldn’t have because Sabe said I was awake the whole time.”

            “Interesting.  I’ll give this some thought.  In the mean time, let me know if you have any other experiences like it,” Obi-Wan told her.

            “Thank you,” her expression darkened just a hair, “When did you see Anakin today?”

            “This morning, as I said, we actually had training.  Which, might I add, these days is a real achievement.  I must say, however, that he definitely is ready for the trials.  I just worry that his emotions are going to take over someday,” the Jedi explained, “He’s just so impulsive sometimes.”

            Padme grinned, “Don’t I know.  But I love him for it all the same.”

            “But back to business.  You’re troubled because Anakin isn’t around anymore.”

            “You’re a mind reader,” Padme exclaimed with a short laugh.

            Obi-Wan shook his head, “Hardly.  I just happen to be in the same position you are.  Do you trust Anakin with Palpatine, because I certainly don’t.”

            “Really?” she questioned, “I don’t see any reasons to dislike Palpatine personally.  He’s helped the Republic.  Now, however, I don’t see what he’s trying to do by increasing the use of that clone army.”

            “He’s certainly trying to dominate everything.  But for me, I’m more interested in what Anakin is doing with him.  Palpatine’s a politician and as far as I knew Anakin disliked politics,” Obi-Wan added.

            Padme smiled, remembering a time in a field of the lake country of Naboo.  She and Anakin had discussed politics ending in Anakin suggesting that a dictatorship might be a good option.  He had, of course, been teasing her, “True.  I’ll talk to Anakin about what he’s been doing.”

            “I’ll try to bring it up with him, as well.  Though I doubt he’ll be half as responsive to me as to you,” he reflected with a smile.

            Padme smiled faintly back, “We can only hope.”

            “We’ll get Anakin back, I promise,” the Jedi Knight added as they headed towards the door.

            Discouraged and almost sadder than before Padme left the Jedi Temple.  There really was nothing that she could do, but hope that Anakin was around.  Her odd experience on Naboo was another thing entirely.  Because she didn’t remember the incident, it was hard to find or even start to think about the cause.  Padme was glad that she had gotten Obi-Wan involved.  He certainly would know what to do to find an answer.

            She followed the walkway in front of the Temple for several meters.  Then she found a yellow transport stop sign.  Hopefully it would arrive without a wait.  She wasn’t in the mood to walk the mile or so back to the apartment.  As she waited, she studied the sky.  It was artificial, entirely generated by the machinery of the planet.  It still was beautiful, flawless in its coloration.  The simulated sun was low in the sky symbolizing that it was getting to be late evening.  Padme sighed and sat upon the bench positioned near the stop.  A few minutes later the transport arrived and she climbed on board.

            Anakin had discovered the malfunctioning lift earlier.  He had dutifully trooped up the vast staircase to their floor.  After today, he decided that all turbo lifts were the bane of his existence.  He would never take one again.  His legs reminded him that it might not be the case.  Did he really want to walk up 56 floors of stairs each day?  Probably not.  Anakin reached the desk in the corner of their living room and seated himself at it.  It was an antique, from days before durasteel and other synthetics took over.  The desk was pure wood.  Padme used it when she was forced to take work out of the office and take it home. 

            That’s when Anakin realized that she wasn’t here.  He definitely would have encountered her by now.  He conceded to resting his head in his hands on the desk.  Maybe all his problems would disappear.  Anakin remained in the position for minutes, maybe hours, he wasn’t keeping track.  The faint sound of the door to the apartment opening penetrated his ears, but he didn’t not recognize it.

            “You didn’t come.”

            “What?” Anakin’s head snapped up to meet blazing brown eyes.

            Padme’s eyes narrowed even more as she repeated herself, “You didn’t come.”

            Anakin blinked once, twice then realized what she was talking about, “Oh, I know…”

            “You know?” Padme questioned her voice rising with each second.

            “No, no not like that,” he understood her anger at his outright dismissal.

            She placed her hands on her hips and stared him down, “Then like what?”

            “Just let me explain,” he said throwing his hands up in surrender, “For some reason they didn’t contact me about the earlier arrival time, or at least they couldn’t get through.  I did try to get there, however,” Padme did nothing more than raise her eyebrows in a signal for him to continue, “Well you see..”

            “No, I don’t, so keep explaining,” she snapped.

            Anakin flinched a little, but continued, “First the turbo lift wouldn’t work.  I got in and we went three floors up and it stopped.  Then I had to find a different way to get up the landing platform because there was no way in Sith hell I was going to get into another one of those evil things,” he paused for a breath of air, “Anyway, I found this dealer that sold speeders.  Oh Sith!  I left it on the landing pad!  Now I’ve wasted 500 credits on a piece of junk speeder that I’ve now lost.”

            “Poor you,” Padme said sarcastically.

            He paused for a second and looked at her and then kept talking, “I got to the pad the minute your transport left.  I asked around and nobody knew where you had gone, so I came back here.”

            “Interesting.”

            “I tried to find you, I promise I did!” he pleaded.

            Padme tilted her head to the side, “You know what interests me?”

            “No,” Anakin replied puzzled.

            “The fact that you say you weren’t contacted and then say maybe they couldn’t get through,” she paused for effect, “Where would you be that a signal couldn’t get through?”

            Anakin sighed, it had come to this and he hadn’t even apologized yet.  Could he tell her the truth?  No, he couldn’t tell anyone that, but perhaps he could tell her a half truth, “I had some work to do for Palpatine.”

            Padme nodded, of course, he had been with Palpatine, “But you didn’t answer the question, Anakin.  Where were you?”

            “200 floors down,” Anakin spit out extremely quickly.

            “What?  I couldn’t hear that,” Padme responded.

            “200 FLOORS DOWN,” he repeated.

            “Ah,” Padme was puzzled, but she didn’t let it show.  What could he be doing that far down? “What were you doing for Palpatine?  You hate politics.”

            Anakin thought fast, “We were looking for areas in the lower levels that need supplies like food.”

            Her expression immediately softened.  Padme knew that Anakin had to have been doing helpful.  She shouldn’t have doubted him, “Is that where you’ve been all these times?”

            Anakin lowered his head.  He couldn’t bear to lie to her like this while looking into her eyes, “Yes, but today was the last major day.  I’ll be around more often.  And, Padme, I’m so sorry for all those times I was gone.”

            A slight smile fleeted over Padme’s face, but she remembered that she shouldn’t let him off so easily.  If that’s all he had been doing, why hadn’t he told her?  Right now, however, she wasn’t interested in stressing about that too much.  Padme would, however, keep those thoughts in the back of her mind.

            Anakin caught the slight smile, “So you forgive me?”

            Padme responded immediately, “Slightly.”

            “Only slightly?” he countered giving her a big smile.  Her heart involuntarily jumped.  That smile.  Not that smile, he knew she couldn’t say no to that smile.

            “You’re not playing fair,” she protested.

            Anakin glanced around.  His eyes joined the smile, smoldering, holding her in place, “I’m not?”

            Suddenly she found it very hard to speak, “No,” she whispered almost choking on the word.

            Silently Anakin advanced on her.  Soon she found herself backed against the smooth white wall.  Still holding her eyes with his, Anakin placed his hands on the wall on each side of her head.  Padme fought to remain immune to the passion and desire she saw building up in his eyes.  When all else failed she tried to close her eyes against the sensations, but she couldn’t.  She was lost in the pools of bright blue.  There was no pulling away as he lowered his head to hers.  An instant later, their lips met.  Sensations that she had forgotten drowned her body.  There was no questioning the fact that she had missed Anakin, missed this.  All too soon, he pulled away leaving her gasping for breath, “Am I forgiven?”

            Obi-Wan Kenobi frowned as he entered the common areas of the Jedi Temple the next morning.  He had slept little.  Most of the night had been spent thinking of Padme Amidala’s strange behavior and also that of his Padawan.  Around one in the morning, he had decided it was best to go to Master Yoda about both matters.  He really couldn’t think of any rational explanation for Padme’s experience.  She must have been dreaming or something to that effect.  As for Anakin, Obi-Wan could think of many more solutions.  First, however, he had to find out what Anakin was doing with the Chancellor.

            Master Yoda was sitting in his small chair in the viewing room.  The small room was mainly used for meditation, as Yoda was doing now.  Obi-Wan entered  without a word and came to stand near Yoda’s dainty chair.

            “A question you have, Obi-Wan?” the green being spoke turning to face Obi-Wan.

            “Yes Master Yoda.  Actually two questions,” he responded.

            “Then ask them you will,” Yoda told him.

            Kenobi nodded, “The first concerns the Senator from Naboo.  Last night we spoke and she told me of an experience she had on her visit to Naboo.  Senator Amidala said that as she was going to bed she asked her friend, Sabe, if she could get me.  This obviously made no sense.  She then asked for communicator to contact me because she had something extremely important to tell me.  Now, however, the senator doesn’t remember any of it.”

            “Troubling this is.  Say anything else did she?” he questioned Obi-Wan.

            “Not much,” Obi-Wan said shaking his head, “Just that she didn’t remember any of the experience.  She also, however, said it was something like dreaming.  She remembered waking up, even though she was awake already.”

            “Meditate on this I will.  Now, another question you had, Kenobi?” the being asked from its chair.

            “Yes, and this one concerns me more than the other.  It’s Anakin.  He’s been spending a lot of time away from his wife and his home…” Obi-Wan started to explain.

            Yoda frowned and his ears lowered in thought, “Knew this marriage was bad I did.”

            “If you don’t mind my saying, Master Yoda, I don’t think the marriage has anything to do with this.  Anakin is spending too much time away from his training as well.  Not that he isn’t improving, but he’s not putting in enough time and effort,” the Jedi Knight clarified.

            “Disturbing that is.  Questioned Anakin you have?” the Jedi Master wondered.

            “Not yet.  First I asked Padme, Senator Amidala, about where he had been.  Where he’s been worries me more,” Kenobi shared with the green being, “He’s spending all his time away from home and his training with the Chancellor.”

            “Odd that is.  I thought not interested in politics young Skywalker was.  With the Chancellor what business could Anakin have?” the smaller being wondered.

            “I don’t know.  That’s what perturbs me the most.  He’s not interested in Politics or anything else that Palpatine does,” he shook his head, “It just doesn’t make sense.”

            “True that is,” Yoda conceded, “Talk to Skywalker today you will.  Uncover this anomaly we will.  May the force be with you.”

            Anakin Skywalker awoke early in the morning.  His first sleepy sight of the conscious world was the sleeping figure of his wife.  His angel.  Her auburn hair cascaded around her bare shoulders and her face wore an expression of complete calm.  Anakin loved her with all his heart, that was for certain.  It pained him more than anyone could ever know to have to lie to her like this.  But he saw no other way.  He was terrified of losing Palpatine as a mentor and even more terrified of losing everyone when he told them the truth.  Obi-Wan would not continue to train him and he doubted Padme would continue to love him after that deep a lie.  He was content to let his secret go unfound.  He, however, would have to be more careful about his trips to meet the Chancellor.  They would know something was out of the norm if he continued to be gone all the time.  The little voice in his head did not agree.  It told him everyone would find out eventually and sooner was definitely better than later.  He told it to shut up.

            Quickly Anakin slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping beauty.  Once out of the warm covers he hurried to find his tunic and robes.  Soon, he was dressed and ready to face the world.  Anakin moved from the bedroom to the kitchen where he made himself some strong tea, a bad habit he had picked up from Obi-Wan.  They didn’t have much food in the house, so Anakin was forced to be content with a few dry nutrition bars.  Once he had finished breakfast, he returned to the bedroom.  There he gave the young woman a soft kiss on the forehead.  She stirred slightly and Anakin smiled down at her, “Hey.”

            “Hi.  What time is it?” Padme mumbled.

            “Early.  Go back to bed,” he didn’t want to wake her up early.  As far as he was concerned she deserved another day away from the senate.

            She tilted her head as she looked up at him, “Where are you going?”

            Hours later, Padme Amidala woke to an empty bed.  She vaguely remembered waking up in the early morning as Anakin left.  She was happy, no one could dispute that, but she wasn’t satisfied.  Yesterday, she hadn’t really gotten any answers out of Anakin, just kisses.  Padme laughed at herself.  What had she been thinking giving into Anakin’s nonsense?  Not that it was a regrettable action.   Today, however, she was going to find the Chancellor at work and ask him about this little food for the needy operation.  She certainly hoped Anakin was telling the truth in this situation.

            Padme sighed as she climbed out of the massive bed.  Time to get up.  She had meeting in the senate at one in the afternoon and had no intention of waking up only hours before then.  Her stomach churned at the thought of the senate.  Over the years, many of the rebelling factions had been wiped out.  Now, she believed a major uprising was on the way.  The Republic was using force far too often.   Padme believed the only way to hold it together would be to try and use diplomatic solutions, not violence.

            Walking into the closet she slipped on a bathrobe and some warm bedroom shoes.  No need to get formally dressed until later.  As she was walking to the kitchen to find breakfast she realized that she hadn’t told either Anakin or Obi-Wan she was pregnant.  It must have just slipped her mind considering she had just found out a week before.  Somewhere in the back of her head she doubted that.  As before, she believed that she was too afraid of Anakin’s response to tell him.  In Obi-Wan’s case, she might really have spaced it in the many other topics they had been discussing.  Padme sighed, that issue could definitely wait for later.

            Anakin Skywalker was in a good mood when he arrived at the Jedi Temple that morning.  Everything was going his way, well not exactly, but he could pretend.  The first thing he noticed when he entered the building was a feeling of unease coming from his master.  This was not entirely unusual.  Obi-Wan was known for worrying far too much about unimportant issues.  Today it was different, however.  The feeling of unease was almost being broadcast directly to him and not the others around.  All of this intrigued Anakin.  What was Obi-Wan so upset about?

            He made his way down the steps of the main lobby and into one of the training centers used by Padawans and their Masters.  As he had suspected, Obi-Wan was waiting for him there, “Hello, Anakin.”

            Anakin noticed a lack of enthusiasm in his greeting, “Good morning, Master.”

            Obi-Wan nodded, if Anakin was going to play dumb, let him play dumb, “I’ve determined that you’re ready for the trials, Padawan.  I’ve talked to the counsel and they agree.”

            “Thank you, Master,” Anakin gushed.  He certainly hadn’t expected this.  Could the trials be the reason Obi-Wan was so upset?

            “Hardly my doing Anakin,” Obi-Wan stated dryly, “Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed you improving greatly.  Have you been putting more effort into your studies at home?”

            Anakin did not see the trick question.  He had no reason to believe that Obi-Wan knew he had not been at home.  In fact, he was extremely pleased that his training with Palpatine had paid off, “Yes, Master.  I’ve been studying a lot at home, working on perfecting the skills you’ve taught me.”

            Obi-Wan eyed him carefully.  The young man must not have had any idea of the consequence of his answer.  One thing was certain though, Anakin’s skills in using the force had been perfected by a tenfold, “I’m glad you’ve been doing that; however, I don’t think it’s wise to skip training to train on your own.”

            Anakin’s heart stopped and he gulped.  Did Obi-Wan already know about his training with the Chancellor?  He shook his head, no that was impossible.  He was just commenting on the time Anakin had spent away from his official training, “I’m sorry Master.”

            “As you should be.  I do, however, have a matter of greater importance to discuss with you,” Obi-Wan added.

            “Really?  What is it, Master?” Anakin asked his face scrunching in puzzlement.  What else could Obi-Wan be wondering about?

            The Jedi Knight stared directly at his Padawan, “What have you been doing in your meetings with Palpatine?”

            His Padawan stared at him wide-eyed.  Oh Sith!  Obi-Wan knew about his meetings with Palpatine.  But how much did he know?  Was it best to give the same lie he had given Padme or to tell the truth because Obi-Wan already knew it.  Anakin reached out with the force and brushed Obi-Wan’s mind with a subtly that even a Jedi Master would hardly notice.  It was filled with questions and wonder.  His Master definitely didn’t know the truth, only half of it, “I’m helping him with a project.”

            “What kind of project?” Kenobi questioned his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

            “We’re going down to the lower levels of the city and finding area that need supplies, like food and clothes,” Anakin explained carefully.

            “A charity mission?” the Jedi asked.

            Anakin nodded, “Basically.  Palpatine asked if I wanted to help and there was no way I could refuse.  It’s basically over now, so I’ll be around more often again.”

            Obi-Wan nodded.  It made sense except for one little thing.  Why had his force skills improved so much?  Anakin had obviously lied earlier when he had said he’d been working on them at home, “And where did you work on your skills?  Since you obviously were not at home to work on them.”

            Anakin flinched inwardly.  Obi-Wan had caught his earlier lie, “I actually worked on them down there.  It’s helpful to use them to find where beings are and to get through rubble.  Basically everyday application.”

            Kenobi supposed that was possible, however unlikely.  He would let Anakin off the hook for now, “Alright, I believe you for now, Padawan.”

            The senate chamber was empty for the time being.  It wouldn’t be in session for a couple more hours.  Senator Amidala stared down at the vast area.  Truthfully, she had missed it.  The chaos and constant disagreement had somehow found a place in her heart.  Although, she really couldn’t understand why.  She had gotten here early today to finish up work that was days overdue.  Padme also had an ulterior motive.  She needed to talk to Chancellor Palpatine on issues both work related and personal.  She sincerely hoped that the mess about Anakin would be straightened up.

            The corridor surrounding the great area of the senate contained all the offices for the senators.  She was lucky enough to have an outside office with a window looking out over the vast city.  Quickly she walked to her door and entered.  One glace at the holo-message machine told her that she didn’t want to look again.  She had 438 new messages.  And she had only been gone a week!  She shuffled over to her desk and took a seat.  She needed to start work on a new bill for the senate.  It wasn’t a major one, having nothing to do with the clone army and such.  It was, however, important.  Padme was starting a bill for more money for maintenance of the turbo lifts.  After Anakin’s experience with the lower lifts and hers with their apartment lift she had decided something needed to be done.

            Later, maybe a couple of hours, she was ready to submit the bill to committee.  She had no doubt that it would pass.  It was simple enough and requested a small amount of credits.  Considering she had to give the bill to Palpatine, she would take the opportunity to ask about Anakin.  Padme exited her office and walked to the other side of the arena where the Chancellor’s office was.  She tapped the door chime.  Moments later she was rewarded by the door sliding open.

            “Senator Amidala!” Palpatine exclaimed, “what a wonderful surprise.”

            Padme smile warmly, “Thank you Chancellor.”

            “No, thank you, Senator.  What business brings you to my office,” the man asked ushering her into the spacious office.

            “I’ve written up a new bill and needed to submit it,” the senator explained.

            Palpatine paused for a moment, “About what?”

            Padme gave a little laugh, “About the turbo lifts.  Yesterday, both Anakin and I had problems with them.”

            “A good cause.  I trust Anakin was there to meet you yesterday?” the Chancellor asked.  In truth, he knew he had not been.  It had simply been impossible for Anakin to get there because of the earlier arrival time.  But Palpatine certainly wasn’t going to tell her that.

            Padme frowned.  What was the Chancellor up to?  Didn’t he remember that Anakin had been with him? “Actually, he didn’t make it.”

            Palpatine did his best to look remorseful, “What a shame.  I would have hoped he would be there to greet his lovely wife.”

            The young Senator’s eyes narrowed.  What game was he playing?  She wanted answers and she wanted them now, “You didn’t know?  When I talked to him later he said he had been with you.”

            He started.  Had Anakin uncovered their secret?  Or did Padme know more than she was letting on?  Either way, it could be dealt with swiftly enough, “Yes, you’re right.  I had completely forgotten.  How awful of me.”

            Really Chancellor?, “He’s been meeting with you a lot lately,” the young woman added.

            “Yes,” Palpatine confirmed.  What did the Senator know?  There was only one way to find out.  Quickly he reached out with tendrils of force.  Padme had numerous inadvertent blocks to her mind, but they were easily broken.  The young woman’s mind was filled with doubts and fears of deception.  He dug deeper.  Ah yes, here was her pitiful love for Skywalker.  Even further down he found her memories of last night’s conversation with Skywalker.  He had told her that they were helping the poor lowlifes of the lower city.  It was a good deception Palpatine had to admit, “Anakin and I have been looking for areas underneath the main city that need supplies.  We’ve almost finished and are ready to order them.”

            Padme sighed in relief Anakin had told the truth.  Palpatine slowly removed the tendrils from her mind.  Inwardly he was scorning the young senator.  How could she believe a story such as that?  She must be weaker than he had imagined.  Her love for young Skywalker certainly didn’t help her.

            In the Jedi Temple training room, Anakin Skywalker was tired of training.  He’d already done all these exercises with Palpatine and did not revel in having to do them again.  Truthfully, he’d rather have been anywhere but here.  Obi-Wan had him doing each Kata five times.  Five times!  He already had them perfected.  Why did he need to keep doing them?

            “Master?”

            “Yes, Padawan,” Obi-Wan replied from his seated position.

            Anakin gave him a slight glace, “Do I really have to do ALL of these?”

            Obi-Wan gave him a quit whining like a baby look, “Yes, Padawan.”
            “Master, it’s not that I don’t want to do them, but I’ve already perfected all of the Katas,” the Padawan explained, “For force sake, I’m taking the trails next week!”

            The Jedi Knight looked at him mildly, “all the more reason to practice.”

            “But I don’t need anymore practice,” the young man said before he even realize what he was saying.  Instantly, Anakin regretted the words.  He did not, however, take them back.

            “Oh, really?” an amused Obi-Wan countered.

            “Really, Master.  I’m perfect at these, I know it.  I’m probably better than you!” Anakin ranted.

            “Anakin!  Get yourself under control,” the older man admonished.

            “No.”

            “No?” asked Obi-Wan, “What in the blazes is wrong with you today?”

            “I don’t need you help anymore, Kenobi,” Obi-Wan eyes widened at the use of his last name instead of Master or even Obi-Wan.  Anakin was definitely in a volatile mood.

            “And why would what be?” the Knight questioned.

            Anakin was about to respond when he realize what he would be saying.  He couldn’t expose his relationship with Palpatine.  On the other hand, he could certainly cut his ties with Obi-Wan.  That way he could spend all his training time with his real teacher.  It wasn’t that Obi-Wan wasn’t a good Jedi, he just wasn’t very powerful.  Plus he had been holding Anakin back.  That thought made him seethe with anger.  How far he could have gotten if he had not been held back.  How powerful he would be.  It made Anakin want to kill Obi-Wan, “You’ve held me back for too long.”

            Obi-Wan was surprised at the venom in his Padawan’s voice.  Moments ago, the anger had been superficial.  Now it was extremely real, “Anakin, let go of the anger.  It only leads to the dark side.”

            Anakin knew if he relented that he would be forced to continue with Obi-Wan.  He couldn’t let go of the anger now.  It was his lifeline.  He spit, “So be it.”

            “Anakin, don’t be like this,” Obi-Wan pleaded, suddenly wary of the young man standing above him.

            “No,” Anakin replied, his eyes burning with accusations, “You only want me to fail and I promised my Mother I wouldn’t.”

            Anakin Skywalker ran.  His mind gave his feet no direction.  They went where they wanted.  Slowly his anger began to dissipate.  Eventually all that was left was a hollow inner core of emotion.  Anakin was no longer angry.  He was terrified.  Terrified of himself and what he had done.  He hadn’t grown to love Obi-Wan as a father and then turn on him like that, had he?  But he had.  He was worthless, definitely not worthy of being a Jedi Knight.  Slowly, the light in Anakin was dying.  He was becoming an empty shell of self-hatred.

            Padme was almost ready to pack up for the day.  The senate session had been enjoyable, well as enjoyable as listening to a bunch of different people argue could be.  She was ready to go home and hopefully relax with Anakin.  She turned back to her desk to gather the final items she needed when the door opened.   Slowly, she turned around.  Who would be here at this hour?

            A tall dark silhouette was framed by her doorway.  Padme gasped, “Anakin?”

            The figure did not respond, it didn’t even move.  Immediately Padme grew concerned.  Dropping all of her things she hurried over to him.  His bright blue eyes were downcast and his head was bowed in submission, but to what she did not know.  She brought her hands to cup each side of his face, but he flinched away, “don’t touch me.”

            “Why not?” she asked lowing her head to look into his eyes, “What’s wrong, Ani?”

            He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers.  What she saw made her shudder.  They were empty.  Completely empty, glassy.  Even his words as he responded resonated an emptiness, “because you don’t want to.”

            “Why don’t I want to touch you?  What happened?” Padme pleaded with him.

            “I gave in.”

            She stared at him.  What in Sith’s name was he talking about? “Gave into what, Ani?”

            His empty eyes bore into hers, “the dark side.”

            “What?” she asked as she inadvertently took a step back from the man before her.  Anakin instantly saw her movement.  He felt the emptiness increase.  Even Padme was not there for him.

            “The dark side of the force.  Anger, fear, aggression,” Anakin quoted Yoda, “I let my anger rule me.  I gave in.”

            “Oh,” she breathed, “Why?”

            He stared at her, “Obi-Wan.”

            Padme was confused.  What had Obi-Wan ever done to make Anakin that angry.  She knew she shouldn’t care.  That she should be comforting the lost soul in front of her, but she couldn’t.  Suddenly, she was utterly terrified of the man before her, her husband.  Anakin had gotten angry before, probably even tapped into the dark side before, but he had never been this empty, this soulless.  Anakin advanced on her and she continued to retreat.

            “See?  I knew it.  Even you are scared of me,” he whispered in defeat.

            Padme summoned up all her courage, “No, I’m not.”

            Suddenly his eyes flamed with rage, “Don’t lie to me!”

            The picture over her desk went sailing.  Padme only had an instant to realize it wasn’t just flying anywhere.  It was headed straight towards her.  She opened her mouth to scream, but the picture had already impacted her head.  Darkness surrounded her.

            Anakin stared.  And then slowly he started to cry.  Bitter silent tears for Padme and himself.  He loved her damn it!  But there she was.  Her still form sprawled across her office floor.  Look at the mess he had made. 

            The bright light above her slowly came into focus.  Padme Amidala sat up tentatively.  How had she gotten here?  And where was here?  She looked around.  This was her office, but why had she been lying on the floor?  Off to the side she noticed that the picture from above the desk had fallen to the ground.  Had the building shaken?  Unsure, she pushed herself up from the ground and was met with a wave of extreme dizziness.  One thing was for certain, Padme had a roaring headache.  She noticed her things lying scattered on the desk.  She turned in a slow circle noticing the door was open.  Then, all of a sudden, it all came rushing back.

            She staggered under the weight of the memories.  Anakin had been here.  He’d been in a strange mood and he had kept telling her that he had given in.  To what? She silently asked.  Furrowing her brow, she tried to remember.  The dark side.  He kept saying he had given into the dark side.  Then he had advanced on her.  Padme had told him she was not afraid.  Apparently he could see right through her.  Then the picture had come flying.  She glanced at it sitting innocently on the floor.  So that’s how it had gotten there.

            Anakin was lost.  He knew where he was going, but he was lost.  The young man had drawn his cloak around his shoulders and put the hood up to hide his tear stained face from the masses of Courscant.  Exiting the building, he had considered stopping by Palpatine’s office.  His conscience had prevented him.  Wasn’t it Palpatine who had told him that harnessing his emotions would increase his abilities?  The Chancellor had forgotten to add the slight side effect.  Not only did his anger make him more powerful, it made him reckless and destructive.  There was little he could do to rectify the situation, however.  He had already offended his Master and hurt his wife.  What else was left for him to destroy?  The galaxy?

            Anakin dearly wanted to embrace the nothingness.  It was better than the pain that would have shrouded him.  It consumed him, but at least he didn’t have to feel anymore.  He didn’t have to come to terms with the destruction that he had caused.  Perhaps they would even understand.  Probably not.  They were far too concerned with their own personal happiness to consider the fact that Anakin could no longer live peacefully with his actions.  He would have to kill himself, metaphysically.  His body would be here, but his soul would rest.

            Anakin weaved through the crowds, nothing more than a quiet dark figure in a mass of color and noise.  His feet lead him to the base of the apartment, his apartment.  He did not know whether or not he wanted her to be there.  As before, voices in the back of his head argued, but the exterior man did not care.  He had cut his emotions off from his wife.  In truth, he also doubted she would be here.  Why would she come back to him after all he had done?

            Quietly, he opened the door to the apartment.  He was greeted with an indignant beep, “Artoo?”

            “Beep, beep,” was the response the dark figure got as the squat droid entered the living room.

            Anakin stared down at it, “What?”

            The answer he received contained far more beeps and squawks than he could ever interpret on a good day.  And this definitely was not a good day.  He hastily grabbed the translation screen off of the counter.  Once plugged into the small machine, the message Artoo was trying to convey was clear, “Where is Senator Amidala?”

            Anakin bit his lip and responded, “She’s at her office.”

            Another series of beeps was followed by another translation, “Is she working late?”

            He gave a short laugh and answered dryly, “I suppose you could say that.”

            Artoo beeped indignantly, “She said she would come home today.  She promised.”

            “Well she’s not here is she?” the hollow voice responded with a tinge of annoyance, “Is Threepio here?”

            The swat thing considered the question, “I believe he’s in the storage closet.”

            “What in Sith’s name is he doing in there, Artoo?” Anakin responded, slightly miffed.  He knew he hadn’t put the annoying protocol droid in there, but now that he considered the idea, it didn’t seem so bad.

            “I shoved him there.  He was talking too much,” Artoo responded.

            “Well why don’t you go shove yourself in there because I’ve got better things to do than talk to a droid right now,” Anakin snapped.  His anger had reappeared the instant he considered the conversation a waste of time.  In truth, he just didn’t want to have to lie to Artoo as well.  And he needed to rest and consider his next action.

            Padme tried to ignore the strange looks she was getting from people.  The pilot of the transport had asked her if she was okay.  She had been confused by his question, but had replied that she was actually feeling pretty good.  It certainly was nice to have some political training in her pocket.  It made lying to strangers seem that much easier.  Next, however, the lady on the transport had scooted away from her when she sat down, like she had some contagious disease.  Padme was puzzled.  What was wrong with her?  Maybe Obi-Wan could tell her she decided as she exited the transport by the Jedi Temple.

            There weren’t many Jedi in the common area and she was able to make it to Obi-Wan’s quarters without encountering a single person.  Padme tapped the door chime and waited.  Within a few seconds, Obi-Wan was at the door.  His expression rivaled the pilot’s.

            “What?” she asked as she walked past him into the rooms.

            “What happened to you?” he gasped as he studied her.  There was a deep gash in her upper forehead that was still oozing some blood.  Dried streams of blood ran down her face in all directions including up into her hair.  Some had even run down onto her clothing, dying her neckline a vibrant red.  She looked as if she had just been mauled by who knows what.

            The senator tilted her head at him, “What do you mean?”

            Obi-Wan indicated the gash on her head with his finger, “Your head.  What happened to your head?”

            “I have a headache,” she explained moving further into the room and perching on the arm of the sofa, “You can sense that?”

            It was then, Obi-Wan realized that she had no idea what had happened to her.  She must not have discovered that she was bleeding, “Feel your forehead.”

            “What?” she responded puzzled.  Obi-Wan decided this was not the way to go.  He didn’t know how long it would take her to actually understand that she was bleeding, so he did it for her.  He brought his cool hand to touch her feverish brow.  When he lowered it, he extended his hand out to her.

            “Look.”

            Padme stared aghast, “Blood?”

            Obi-Wan nodded, “yes, you’re bleeding.  Did you hit your head on something?”

            “Sort of,” Padme reflected as she remembered the picture frame, “more like it hit me.”

            “What hit you?” Obi-Wan asked concern etched on his face.

            “A picture frame, with a picture in it.  It normally hangs over my desk at work,” She explained slowly, as if she were having to have it explained to her as well.

            Obi-Wan looked down at his bloody hand, “And it just fell on you?”

            Padme looked down, away, anywhere but him, “Not exactly.  Anakin used the force to propel it towards me.”

            “He threw a picture frame at you?” Obi-Wan struggled to grasp the idea.  Suddenly, he remembered the state his Padawan had left in, “Oh Sith!  Did he do anything else to you?”

            She shook her head, “Not really.”

            The young woman wasn’t puzzled by the Jedi’s expression of fear, she understood completely, “Padme, can you please tell me where Anakin went?”

            “I don’t know.  He left me unconscious in my office,” she whispered turning away even further and sinking from the arm of the sofa into the cushions.

            Obi-Wan was shocked.  He understood that Anakin could become dangerous when he was angry, but normally he calmed down after he vented.  If he had just left Padme, things must be even grimmer than Obi-Wan had imagined, “Could you tell me what you do remember?”

            The woman in front of him nodded, “He came to my office, just as I was leaving.  He didn’t say a word or do anything, so I knew something was wrong.  When I touched him he told me not to, that I didn’t want to touch him.  Then he told me that he had given in.  At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about.  When I asked, he said he had given into the dark side.  I guess that sort of scared me.  I stepped away.  Anakin figured I was scared and told me that I was scared of him.  By now, I had realized that he needed help, so I said I wasn’t.  He knew I was lying and told me so.  Then the picture came flying and I don’t remember anything else.”

            “Stay here tonight,” he ordered her and she dutifully nodded, “I’ll go get the spare room ready for you.”

            Padme’s head snapped up, “No!  Please forgive me for sounding rude, but I can’t sleep in Anakin’s old bed.”

            Obi-Wan nodded.  How stupid of him not to think of that, “I understand.  I’ll take the spare room and you can have mine.”

            Later, Padme tossed and turned in her sleep.  The bed was comfortable, but she was uneasy.  She was terrified about the situation involving Anakin.  And it certainly didn’t help that her head was throbbing like mad.  Eventually, however, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

            // Slowly Padme came back to consciousness.  She didn’t recognize where she was.  The view in front of her was terrifying.  Lying on a mound of logs was a black armored body with a dark mask.  Flames were licking its sides.  Padme didn’t know what to think.  She tried to move her head to look at anything but the awful site.  She couldn’t.  Slowly, she became aware of emotions and feelings other than her own.  Great sadness and regret.  Padme didn’t understand.  Who was this in front of her?

            She saw more than felt herself turn away.  Then she looked down, not because she wanted to, but because the body she was in did.  Padme was socked at her appearance.  The body was robed in all black and was most definitely male.  Who was she?  Before she had even had time to contemplate the question, the scene was gone and another had taken its place.

            The black figure was in front of her as before.  This time, however, it was lying on the entranceway to a space craft.  The body she was in was leaning over it.

            “Luke, help me take this mask off,” the dark figure told her.

            Luke.  So that was who she was.  But who was he?  Padme heard a male voice  echo though her lips, “But you’ll die.”

            Looking at the figure in front of her, Padme wondered why the young man would want to save the dark thing.  As she contemplated this, the dark mask rasped again, “Nothing can stop that now.  Just for once… let me look on you with my own eyes.”

            This did nothing to clear up the situation for her.  What was the relationship between this man and the man whose body she was in?  She watched her fingers slowly undo the clasps of the mask and other breathing equipment.  The scarred and ugly face beneath the mask smiled up at her.

            “Now…go, my son,” Padme inwardly gasped as she suddenly understood the relationship between the two dark figures, “Leave me.”

            “No,” her own body’s voice protested, “You’re coming with me.  I can’t leave you here.  I’ve got to save you.”

            Once again, Padme didn’t understand.  Why would the man need saving?  Save for his dark appearance, the black robed figure had seemed in no need of redemption, “You already have, Luke.  You were right about me.  Tell you sister… you were right.”

            The scarred man seemed to give up.  He sighed and lowered his head back down.  The unfocused eyes stared for a moment at the ceiling around them.  Padme became aware of other noises.  Sounds of explosions echoed through the air around her, “Father… I won’t leave you.”

            Then, as suddenly as before, the scene changed.  Once again, she was in a vast room.  This time however she could see the man who she had been inside.  He was young, with a worn face and sandy blonde hair.  Like Anakin’s she reflected.  It didn’t take Padme long to realize that she was trapped inside another figure, once again.  Slowly she moved to her feet and went to stand beside the other figure in the room.  Padme had no idea who she was standing next to.  From the glimpses she had gotten, it was a small figure in a large hooded cape.  When it spoke its voice reminded her of another, but she could not place the origin.

            “If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed,” the hooded figure told the young man.  When the man, she decided that he must be male, finished blue bolts of lightning flew from his hands.  Padme had never seen such a thing before.  Though she did remember a story that Anakin had told her.  He had associated the lightning with the dark side of the force.  Did that mean that the figure she was standing near was a member of the dark side? “Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side.  You have paid the price for your lack of vision.”

            Padme’s suspicions were confirmed with the small man’s words.  She watched in horror as her body did nothing to save the young man.  Was she part of the dark side too?  In an interval between lightning, the young black figure reached weakly towards her, “Father, please.  Help me.”

            Understanding came, followed by fury.  She was the man who she had seen earlier.  She was the boy’s father.  Why in Sith’s name was she doing nothing to stop him from dying?  She saw her vision shift between the evil figure and the son.  Maybe he was starting to have doubts about his lack of intervention.  The evil hooded figure hissed again, “Now, young Skywalker… you will die.”

            Padme awoke gasping.  Her experience from the unconscious world was still fresh in her mind.  Who were the young man named Luke and his father?  And why was she dreaming about them?  The entire experience struck her as extremely odd.  She could see no connection between the characters of her dream and world she lived in.  Even stranger, however, was the fact that she remembered everything from the dream.  Padme did not dream often and when she did, she remembered very little of what happened.  These memories were as clear as day.

            She decided to tell Obi-Wan in the morning and to get more sleep.  Try as she might, however, Padme couldn’t sleep.  He mind raced through the dream over and over again.  After awhile, she determined there was no way she was  going to be able to go back to sleep.  Finally, after some contemplation over how wise it was to wake a Jedi in the middle of the night, she decided to go talk to Obi-Wan at once.

            Quietly, she exited the bedroom and entered the dark common area.  Shadows from the outdoor lights casting over the furniture dotted the room.  As quickly as she could, she made her way to the other door.  At her presence the door slid open.  Padme was extremely glad that Obi-Wan had not locked it.  The Jedi Knight was lying peacefully in his bed.  She hated to wake him, but something inside her told her this was a worthy cause.  Padme shuffled over to Obi-Wan and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.  Instantly, the Jedi was awake.

            “What?” he mumbled squinting against the lights from the window, “Padme, is that you?”

            Padme nodded, then realized that he probably couldn’t see the motion, “Yes, it’s me.”

            Obi-Wan smiled a little in the darkness, “And what has brought you here to wake me from my wonderful dreams?”

            “A dream, actually,” Padme explained sheepishly.

            “A dream?” he asked puzzled, “Was it a nightmare or something?”

            She shook her head, “No, nothing like that.  More just a strange dream.”

            “Do explain it to me,” Obi-Wan advised her.

            Padme thought a moment, no exactly sure where to start, “It was extremely weird.  First I was standing in front of funeral pyre.  There was a body in black armor burning in it. But it wasn’t really me.”

            “Wait, what do you mean?” the Jedi asked troubled already.

            “I was someone else,” she explained, “At the end of that part I looked down and saw the body of a young man, most definitely not me.  Also, I couldn’t move at all during the dream.  I had no control over the bodies I was in.”

            “Bodies?” Obi-Wan asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes bodies.  I’ll explain in a moment,” the young woman continued, “Then I was transported to a different place and a different time.  The man in black was there, but this time he was alive.  I was still the young man.  But he called me son and I called him father.”

“So the young man was the armored man’s son?” he injected for clarity.

“Correct.  Anyways the father was dying and told the son to leave him.  The son wasn’t very happy with this idea and refused to leave without him,” Padme explained, “Then I switched scenes again.  This time I was someone else, though.”

Obi-Wan stared at her, “Who?”

“I was the father this time.  But it was different.  I was standing beside a small man.  I think he was part of the dark side,” she started to continue.

“Part of the dark side?  Why would you say that?” the Jedi asked.

“He told the young man, he was there too, that if he wouldn’t turn, he would be destroyed.”

“But where’s the proof in that?” he questioned.

Padme gave him a slightly annoyed look, “Next, he says that the son’s powers will never compare to the power of the dark side.  I think that’s proof enough.”

Obi-Wan nodded, “I agree with you.”

“Anyways, lightning starts coming out of the small man’s hands and hitting the son.  At first, the father does nothing about it.   I think he was part of the dark side too.  In the end, however, he won’t let his son die,” Padme finished.

“That’s all?” Obi-Wan asked, apparently disturbed by what he had heard, “Is it possible it’s just a figment of your imagination?”

“I considered that my mind made it all up, but I don’t think so.  I don’t, however, know where the memories, or whatever they are, came from,” she confided.

“This certainly is odd.  Maybe you should go back to sleep.  If you don’t have another dream about this, we’ll know its just part of your imagination,” he suggested.

“I can try,” Padme thought a moment, “There was something else disturbing.”

Obi-Wan looked up again, “What?”

“The son’s name.  It was Luke Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t believe he’d heard right, “Skywalker?”

Padme nodded, “That’s what I thought too.  I suppose it could be more evidence for it just being part of my imagination, but I really don’t believe that’s the case.”

“We’ll see.  Now go back to bed,” Obi-Wan ordered kindly.

She nodded, “Thank you for listening.”

            // Immediately Padme was transported back into her world of dreams.  This time, however, she was neither the father nor the son.  It was the same vast room that her last encounter had been in.  At one end, the turbo lift glowed a blinding red and at the other lay the shaft the evil man had fallen down.  Padme noted the view from her position and determined, much to her revulsion, she was probably the man who had tried to murder the boy.

            The dark man, the father, was standing below her staring into the shadows.  Looking for something it seemed.  Padme did not have an extreme amount of time to contemplate this before he spoke, “Sister!  So… you have a twin sister.  Your feelings have now betrayed her, too.  Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me.  Now his failure is complete.  If you will not turn to the dark side perhaps she will.”

            She was shocked.  Obi-Wan.  He had mentioned the name and considering it was not common she believed he only could be referring to Obi-Wan Kenobi.  What was Kenobi’s failure?  She contemplated this as the action continued.

            A voice echoed from the shadows, “NEVER!”

            The young man appeared out of nowhere.  He attacked with ferocity that surprised Padme.  She barely noted that both father and son had lightsabers.  The young man continued to beat his father back farther and farther until he had nowhere to go.  He hacked and stabbed with an uncontrolled fury.  If Padme had not been isolated from the action, she would have been terrified.  As the son backed his father out onto a bridge, the older man stumbled and fell to his knees.  The son was undaunted and continued to attack with a madness.  The darker figure tried to fend off the mad attack, but could not bear the weight of the crashing lightsaber.  The bright green blade of the younger man swooped down and sliced though the wrist of the figure below.  The red saber deactivated and toppled over the edge of the shaft.  The younger man made a move to finish his father off once and for all.

            “Good!  Your hate has made you powerful.  Now fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side,” she felt herself say as she started moving down the great staircase.  The young man seemed to snap back into reality.  He quickly glanced at his hand and then his father’s severed mechanical hand.  She watched in horror as he then cast his own lightsaber aside.

            “Never!  I’ll never turn to the dark side.  You’ve failed, Your Highness.  I am a Jedi, like my father before me,” he stated calmly.

            She felt the body she inhabited sneer in rage, “So be it… Jedi.”

            Then the scene changed again.  This time, Padme was standing in a corridor facing the dark man, the father.  The view out the window was tranquil.  A great forest of towering trees surrounded the building she was in.  From the feel of things, she believed that she was the young man again.  She wondered why she could always vaguely understand what he was feeling, but had got nothing from the other people she had inhabited.  Right now,  the young man had a blanket of calm surrounding him.

            The taller figure spoke first, “The Emperor has been expecting you.”

            She felt herself bow her head and nod, “I know, father.”

            “So, you have accepted the truth,” the father stated, his voice rasping as usual.  Padme had heard the armored man speak many times now, but she still could not get used to the mechanical voice and breathing.  Something about it sent chills down her spine, even if she wasn’t really there.

            The young man paused a moment and then continued, “I’ve accepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father.”

            The statement made Padme’s blood run cold in her veins, no matter that she wasn’t there.  Anakin Skywalker.  The machine of a man in front of her was Anakin Skywalker.  Her head screamed ‘no’.  This was not the Anakin Skywalker she knew, but something about the statement also rang true.  Something told her this most definitely was the Anakin she knew.

            The father, Anakin, turned to his son, “That name no longer has any meaning for me.”

            The son continued, “It is the name of your true self. You've only  forgotten. I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully. That is why you couldn't destroy me. That's why you won't bring me to your Emperor now.”

            Padme watched the reaction of the taller man. How could this creature be Anakin?  After a moment of contemplation the father changed subjects.

“I see you have constructed a new lightsaber,” the dark man ignited the lightsaber and inspected it, “Your skills are complete.  Indeed, you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen.”

Father and son locked gazes for a moment, “Come with me.”

The dark figure that Anakin had become stared back at the younger Skywalker, “Obi-Wan once thought as you do,” Padme inwardly grimaced.  This was the second time Obi-Wan had been brought up by the dark man, “You don’t know the power of the dark side.  I must obey my master.”

“I will not turn… and you will be forced to kill me,” he countered.

“If that is your destiny,” the man in front of her stated calmly.

The young man seemed undisturbed by his father’s words, “Search your feelings, father.  You can’t do this.  I feel the conflict within you.  Let go of your hate.”

Padme watched the young man’s father shift slightly, “It is too late for me, son.  The Emperor will show you the true nature of the force.  He is your master now.”

With that, numerous soldiers dressed in white uniforms, similar to those of the clone army of the republic, entered the room.  Father and son shared one last glance before they led the younger man away.

            Anakin Skywalker woke from his restless sleep.  Try as he might to forget, the events from the previous days still plagued him.  He truly was scared to encounter Padme and decided it would be best to leave the house for the time being.  Maybe, a bit of fresh mechanical air would do him some good.  He dressed in his normal attire, black cloak and all.  When he passed the kitchen, he contemplated grabbing a bite to eat, but decided that he could get something when he went out.

            Artoo was sitting quietly in the corner of the living room.  He had obviously deactivated himself during the night.  Threepio was nowhere to be seen, which didn’t really peeve Anakin.  He exited the apartment and strode to the turbo lift in hopes of it having been fixed.  Luck, however, was not on Anakin’s side these days.  The lift was still marked as broken.  Anakin sighed heavily and turned to the staircase.  A few more times, and he would seriously be sick of stairs for life.

            He purposefully avoided thinking of Padme and the situation he had created.  He also tried not to think of his thoughts from the day before.  Anakin certainly did not want to be hollow and unfeeling.  He hoped the fresh air and different environment would make a change.  Once again, however, Anakin was the dark figure in the light of the street of Courscant.  His shadow of darkness wove in and out of the crowd, never really stopping at any one place.  Eventually, he made his way a few stories down into the depths of the planet.  A cantina with its lights all aglow awaited him.  Anakin contemplated it for a moment before entering.  What was the harm of a few drinks?  Maybe they might even clear his clouded mind.

            The dark figure slipped onto a stool at the bar of the Cantina.  The bartender, a young humanoid male about Anakin’s age, walked over to him.  Anakin, on the other hand, did not even acknowledge the man’s presence.

            The bartender cleared his throat, “Hey, what can I get for you?”

            Bright blue eyes bore holes in the man from beneath the hood, “Whatever.  Just make it strong.”

            “Sure,” the man stuttered as he turned away.  The figure in the black cloak was certainly scary.  He’d seen pretty weird things, after all he was a bartender, but this was downright scary.  The hooded figure seemed like he could see right through him.  Moments later, he had prepared a Corellian Blue Ale for Anakin, “here you go.”

            Padme awoke with a sense of confusion in the morning.  She had dreamed again, that much she knew.  She remembered the experiences as clearly as before, but something was different this time.  They seemed more like memories than dreams.  The elements that composed them were complete, nothing was missing.  It was like she was remembering something that was not her memory, but still a memory.  She would have to share the new occurrences, as she decided to call them, with Obi-Wan at breakfast.

            The synthetic sun was already high above the planet’s horizon.  She dressed quickly in a simple floor-length light blue dress that she always kept in her bag in case of an emergency such as this.  It had no sleeves, the only things that kept it up were delicate dark blue ribbons that crossed across her back.  Her hair was a mess, the blood from the night before had matted it and the back part was frozen in the position she had slept on it.  Padme roughly brushed it out and washed the blood from her face and hair.  The night before she had been too tired and worried to worry about such matters.  After it was brushed, she tied it loosely back with a dark blue ribbon that matched the one on her dress.  After a bit of rummaging in her bags she found the dark blue shoes that matched as well.  The outfit was complete.

            Padme breezed into the kitchen where Obi-Wan was making his morning tea.  He, like her, was already dressed in his customary clothing, “How did you sleep the second time?”

            “The same,” she replied lightly.

            Obi-Wan turned to glance at her, “And what, pray tell, would that mean?”

            “I had the same kind of dreams, but I don’t really think they’re dreams,” Padme explained walking over to join him.

            “Then what do you think they are?” He questioned reaching across her to get the tea bags.

            Padme fiddled with the top of the tea maker, “Memories.  I think I’m having different people’s memories of those situations.”

            “Excuse me,” he said as he brushed her hands away from the top of the tea maker and dropped in the tea bags, “What makes you think they’re memories?”

            “Sorry,” she mumbled and moved out of his way, “Well, for one, I sometimes get emotions along with the visuals and audio.  I can almost feel what the person I’m seeing through is feeling.  And second, everything is too accurate to be a dream.  Things are the same from one occurrence to another in the same room.  Things are never out of place.”

            Obi-Wan nodded and poured the freshly brewed tea into her cup, “I suppose that’s pretty solid evidence.  Either way, I’d like to talk to the council about it.”

            “Of course,” she responded taking the cup of tea he offered her, “Thanks.”

            “No problem, I’m addicted to the stuff,” the Jedi said smiling and pouring himself a cup, “Care to share the subjects of your memories, or whatever they are?”

            “Sure, but can we sit down first?  It’s rather complicated,” Padme explained moving towards the dining area of the small kitchen.

            Obi-Wan followed her to the table and took a seat, “So?”

            “Okay,” she started, “first I’m back in the room where the lightning incident happened.  The father is looking into the shadows.  Then he seems to discover something from his son’s thoughts.  He discovers that he has a twin sister.  Then he says, and I quote, ‘Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me.’  How many other people are there named Obi-Wan?”

            Obi-Wan contemplated this with a look of wonder and concern, “None that I know of.”

            “I know,” Padme continued nodding, “so, I came to the conclusion that he was talking about you.”

            “Me?”

            Padme shrugged as she looked across at him, “Well seriously, who else?”

            “I see your point, continue,” the Jedi Knight acknowledged.

            “After that, the son gets mad.  He starts madly attacking his father with his lightsaber and chops his hand off, which might I add turns out to be mechanical.  Then the little evil man starts coming down the stairs saying how wonderful it is that he’s tapping into his hate,” she paused for a breath, “The son snaps back to reality and says that quote, ‘you’ve failed your highness.’  I’m beginning to think that little man has role of importance in some hierarchy or another.  Anyways, that’s about it in that scene.”

            “Was there another scene?” Obi-Wan questioned sensing that she wasn’t done yet.

            “Oh, yes,” she nodded, “But it’s far more disturbing.”

            He frowned, “How so?”

            “You’ll see,” she told him and took a sip of her tea before continuing, “I’m in this room with a beautiful view.  Absolutely stunning.  It’s the young man and his father again.  The father tells the son the Emperor has been expecting him.  I think that’s the little evil man.  Anyways, the son calls him father and so the father asks him if he’s accepted the truth.  Now, this is what’s disturbing.  The son replies quote, ‘I’ve accepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father.’”

            Obi-Wan stared at her stupefied, “Anakin Skywalker?”

            “Yes that’s what I thought, too,” Padme told him and then a sudden realization dawned on her, “I think this is really true.”

            “Why?  You and Anakin don’t have any children?” he questioned and at her lack of response added, “Do you?”

            “No, not now,” Padme informed him, “but I am pregnant.”

            “What??”

            “I just found out.  I’m sorry I haven’t told you.  Everything has just been so confusing, and even Anakin doesn’t know,” she explained.  Her posture and confidence degraded with every word she spoke.

            “And that’s why you think this could be true,” Obi-Wan stated, “You think that you’re seeing your children’s memories.”

            “Exactly.  I mean,” she paused, “what else?”

            The Jedi nodded, “You could be right.  Everything fits, even Anakin not knowing about the son’s sister.  But here’s my question: how did Anakin get like that?  You said he was wearing black armor.”

            “And a breathing mask.  The father, I guess Anakin really, looks like a walking machine.  He’s a terror to look at,” Padme confirmed.

            “This is all very puzzling.  And if you are seeing the future we must be careful,” Obi-Wan observed, “first we need to talk to the council.”