lazypadawan | The Mercy Seat Part Fifteen (Reply)

Part Fifteen

The veranda's proximity alarm chimed, and Padmé frowned with consternation. Had Anakin returned so soon? Mustafar wasn't close enough to Coruscant to make this short of a trip. Padmé had checked the star charts herself. "Miss Padmé, a Jedi Starfighter has docked at the veranda," Threepio announced. "But it's not Master Anakin's."

"Then who could it be?" Frowning, she rushed down to the veranda, reassuring Typho on the way there he wouldn't be needed. There was a small Jedi Starfighter docked, its pilot now just climbing out of the cockpit. Relief and surprise washed over Padmé as she recognized the man in rumpled Jedi robes. "Obi-Wan!" she gasped.

The Jedi Master stepped onto the veranda. He too seemed relieved, though he nonetheless seemed about 10 years older. He was greatly distressed.

"Thank goodness you're safe," Padmé said, taking him by the arm. "When I heard about the Temple I feared the worst."

"We have no time for our sorrows, Padmé," Obi-Wan said. "I've come to ask about Anakin. Is he here?"

"No." Padmé glanced away. Already she didn't like where this was going.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Yesterday." She started to pace nervously.

"Do you know where he is now?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No," she lied, her eyes on the marble floor.

"Padmé, I need your help," Obi-Wan persisted. "He's in grave danger."

"From the Sith?" She continued to pace, terrified, yet hopeful that his enemy was a known enemy.

"From himself." Obi-Wan stood next to her, looking right into her eyes. "Anakin has turned to the Dark Side."

The accusation landed with a blow and her reaction was to push back.

"You're wrong!" Padmé cried out. "How can you say that?"

Obi-Wan turned away, disgust and horror on his face. "I've seen a security hologram of him...killing younglings."

Anakin murder...children? No, he wouldn't turn on his own like that. "Not Anakin! He can't," she defended. If no one else believed in Anakin, she would. How could his own master, his closest friend say these things?

"He was deceived by a lie. We all were. When Count Dooku died, Anakin became the Emperor's new apprentice."

"I don't believe you," Padmé insisted, sitting down on the couch, her head spinning. "I can't."

Obi-Wan sat beside her. "I must find him."

Why would you want to find him unless...."You're going to kill him, aren't you?"

"He has become a very grave threat," Obi-Wan said.

"I can't," Padmé said, her tears starting to fall. But Obi-Wan did not press her any further. He rose from the couch and walked back toward his ship. Then he stopped and turned.

"Anakin's the father isn't he?" he asked. Padmé couldn't look at Obi-Wan. He knew about her and Anakin after all, and he now knows about their child. But he was going to kill Anakin anyway. And she would not betray her husband.

"I'm so sorry," he said mournfully before getting into the ship.

She watched the ship pull away and vanish into the constant traffic, tears spilling from her eyes. Pulling the silver chain around her neck, she brought out from beneath her dress the japor snippet Anakin gave to her so long ago. She clutched the small piece in her palm, sobbing.

Then, she remembered the times when things seemed hopeless in the past. She never sat around wallowing in despair. She always took action. When they wouldn't help her against the Trade Federation, she formed her own alliance and retook the planet without Republic help. When Obi-Wan was imprisoned on Geonosis, it was her idea to rescue him. Things didn't go as planned on Geonosis, but even her and Anakin's capture bought time for Obi-Wan.

"I have to go to him," she whispered aloud. "It's our only chance." She sniffled and wiped at her face. Threepio wandered onto the veranda with Ellé.

"Has our Jedi guest departed so soon?" Threepio asked.

"Yes," Padmé said, knowing it was obvious she'd been crying. She rose to her feet.

"Are you all right, milady?" Ellé asked.

"I have an emergency," Padmé said, her voice hoarse from crying. She turned on her comlink and called Captain Typho. "Prepare my ship for immediate departure."