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padmeonpaper2009-05-26 01:38 pm
padme_kenobi) wrote in padmeonpaper2009-05-26 01:38 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: "To Ignite the Stars" (Star Wars, Obi-Wan/Padmé, 49/?)
Title: Intrusion
Author:padme_kenobi
Previous Chapters: Can be read here.
Characters/Pairings: Obi-Wan/Padmé, Luke, Leia, Mon Mothma
Word Count: 3,594
Rating: PG
Summary: The Empire’s envoy would find them, and surely they would imprison her family … Luke and Leia, as Force-sensitives, would be taken to Vader, and perhaps to Palpatine himself, with her unborn child sharing that fate as soon as he or she arrived … and Obi-Wan — oh, what would they do to her husband?
Author's Notes: Another short-ish chapter - or, at least, shorter than what you guys arespoiled by accustomed to - and another cliffhanger, heh. Don't shoot me, as there will eventually be a resolution to all this. Promise. ;) I meant to put this up earlier today, as I also meant to answer comments on the last post, but my personal life has sort of gone 'splodey over the past weekend or so and I didn't get a chance until just now. Chapter 50 is almost done, and should follow within the next few days, as will replies to your awesome reviews. :)
She felt her knees go weak, with fear as well as fatigue, and had Obi-Wan not been supporting her, Padmé knew she would have fallen to the floor. The Empire’s envoy would find them, and surely they would imprison her family … Luke and Leia, as Force-sensitives, would be taken to Vader, and perhaps to Palpatine himself, with her unborn child sharing that fate as soon as he or she arrived … and Obi-Wan — oh, what would they do to her husband? Mon and Lily would be arrested as well, accused of collaborating with the enemy, perhaps even executed … a fate they did not deserve given the kindness they had extended to the Kenobis.
“What are we going to do?” Fear squeezed her voice to barely a whisper.
“I’ve booked you passage on a refugee transport,” replied Mon, not pausing in the packing. “You’ll all travel under assumed names to Alderaan, where Bail and Breha will shelter you until the baby is born. I spoke with him just a few moments ago over our private channel and he has agreed to all of this.”
“How long do we have until the envoy arrives?” Obi-Wan asked sharply. His grip on his wife’s shoulder had tightened considerably. “And you said the Empire is sending them to all of Padmé’s associates — doesn’t that include Bail?”
“It does, but as the refugee transport will take approximately two days to reach the planet, we’re hoping that the envoys will be there and gone by the time you arrive,” Mon explained. “If not, we have a contingency plan. But Bail and I both suspect that the Empire is pursuing this only as a first option. Depending upon the results of the questioning, they will then follow up on the most reliable leads. The most important thing is that you are not physically present in this residence or on the planet when the official comes to speak to me. We have a much greater chance of keeping our cover intact that way.”
“But it’s still dangerous!” Padmé whispered. “If any sign of our presence remains — if they discover you’ve been hiding us — they’ll kill you!”
Mon smiled. “Well, that’s why we’re going to make very sure that they remain none the wiser. Resisting the interrogation isn’t what concerns me, Padmé. What concerns me is that you and Obi-Wan and the children remain safe. I would give my life for that, and I would do so without any regrets.”
What did we do to deserve such wonderful friends? Padmé wondered, feeling her eyes fill with tears. The fear was still there, ever-present, gnawing at her, but her heart swelled in gratitude, and she asked herself again how Mon could possibly give so freely of herself in order to defend those close to her, and their cause.
“Will the envoy arrive before our ship departs?” Obi-Wan asked again. “Your plan is well-conceived, but there is great risk. For suspicion to be removed entirely from you, no trace of us must remain. How much time?”
“Three hours,” Mon said. At the look on the Jedi’s face, she added quickly, “I know, I’m not very pleased with it either, but unfortunately that was all the lead time we had. Bail didn’t even receive notice of the envoy’s visit until an hour ago, and he immediately contacted me. I had to call in a few favours to secure you a booking with no questions asked so quickly.”
“But that appears to indicate that the Empire is hoping to catch you off-balance,” Obi-Wan pointed out, guiding Padmé to a chair in the corner of the bedroom. “If they haven’t notified you that they’re going to visit, it seems clear that they have good reason to suspect you may be harbouring fugitives. I can sense hostile intent in the Force, but that will provide us with moments only. How do you know we have three hours?”
Mon zipped a suitcase and heaved it to the floor. “I’m getting to that. Barely a moment after I’d made the booking, the envoy did contact me and said he’d be docking in three hours. I agree with you that they might suspect something, but if they do, that’s hardly within our power to control. We’re simply going to have to move as quickly as we can and hope he doesn’t show up before that time.”
“Hope,” muttered Obi-Wan. “Frankly, I’d prefer to stake something as important as our lives on better evidence.”
“As would I, but that’s all we have,” Mon said firmly. “Now, I suggest we leave behind the worry that it won’t be enough, and focus instead on making sure that it is. We have one hour to prepare and to erase all evidence of your presence here, and another hour to get you to the spaceport and on the ship. Let’s use that time wisely.”
Padmé gripped the arms of the chair, trying to push up despite the numbing exhaustion that had claimed her again. “I’ll get Luke and Leia ready.”
“No, darling, you will not,” Obi-Wan interjected, this time escorting her to the bed. “You take a nap, and I’ll help the twins.”
She continued to protest, even as a huge yawn threatened to escape. “Obi-Wan, no, it’s far too much work and you only have an hour —”
“I also have help,” he pointed out. “Your only priority should be to rest, Padmé. You’ll need all your strength.”
“I —”
But he’d already flipped aside the covers and guided her to sit down, and that bed did look awfully inviting … surely it would be all right to lie down for a moment … yes, just a moment, and then she would get back up and help Obi-Wan whether he wanted it or not. It wasn’t fair that all the work should fall to him simply because she was pregnant … no, certainly not …
And so firm was this thought in her mind, so absolute the plan, that Padmé barely noticed as her husband draped the blankets over her and kissed her cheek.
Barely a moment later, she was asleep.
***
“Daddy, why do we have to go?”
“I told you, Luke; there is someone coming to visit Mon who cannot know that we’re here, and we need to be on the starship before they arrive. Now, I need to wake your mother.”
“But Daddy, why? I like it here!”
“I know, son. So do I. But this person would want to do very bad things to us and to Mon if they knew we were living with her. They might even separate us, force us to live in very small, very dark rooms where we couldn’t see or hear each other. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“But can’t we just hide? Like when Leia an’ I play hide and seek. Maybe the bad man couldn’t find us then!”
“No, I think he would.”
A sniffle. “It’s not fair.”
“It isn’t, little one. But life isn’t fair.”
“I wanna stay with Lily. And I don’t wanna go on a ship.” This was stated vehemently, even more so than the questions and protests.
It caught Obi-Wan’s attention. “Why not, Luke?”
A hesitation. “I … I gotta bad feeling.”
“Yes, I know. But we don’t have a choice.”
“Daddy, I wanna stay!”
“We can’t, Luke. I’m sorry.”
“Please?”
“No.”
Luke sniffled, and Padmé could tell even though the dense fog of sleep that her son had begun to cry. She had no idea why he was suddenly so scared — usually the twins had gone along with all the changes and moves, from one planet to another, with little fuss or complaint. Perhaps it was different now that they were getting a little older? They had Lily here too, and Luke might be reluctant to leave her due to the bond. But it was an unfortunate fact of their lives now that they would occasionally be forced to exchange one planet and life for another, usually due to an outside circumstance over which no one, aside from the Empire, had any control. He would understand when he was older, but until then, they would sometimes have to uproot him without his or his sister’s consent. If only it could be otherwise.
These thoughts crawled slowly through Padmé’s mind, and Obi-Wan was already shaking her shoulder before she had finished processing them.
“Darling? Darling, I’m sorry, but it’s time to get up.”
No … the bed was so comfortable, so warm … she couldn’t … surely her husband would give her just a little more time … he said she needed the rest, after all.
“Padmé, I’ve given you an extra fifteen minutes. We’ve really got to leave now.”
“No,” she groaned.
“We don’t have a choice, I’m sorry,” he told her.
“I can’t,” Padmé whispered as a new feeling quite suddenly asserted itself. Bile had crept up her throat so fiercely that for a moment she was afraid she might vomit right in bed, and she had to swallow very hard. “Obi-Wan … I don’t … I can’t …”
“Yes, you can.” Her husband was unrelenting. “We’re in danger here. We’ve got to get to the ship.”
“No —”
Abruptly she shifted, and Padmé realized he was boosting her up, trying to pull her to a sitting position. She let herself go limp, allowing him to cradle her in his arms, hoping his touch would relieve her churning stomach.
“Come on, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said softly, the sound of his voice provided comfort too. “We’re in danger here, we can’t stay. And Luke and Leia need you. The twins need you, darling. And so do I.”
His tone had grown pleading, and she realized suddenly that she might be scaring him. But she couldn’t actually tell him what was wrong, since she knew he would become more frightened and might even insist that they waste additional time — time they did not have — on attempting to discover the cause of her current difficulties.
We can’t, Padmé thought. No matter what, the most important thing is that we get on that ship and that the twins and the baby are safe.
So with tremendous effort she opened her eyes, resisting the urge to shut them immediately as the sunlight of a bright afternoon hit her. Slowly Padmé pushed herself upright, away from her husband’s arms, and swallowed again as she turned to face him. Instead of the relieved smile she’d expected, his frown had deepened.
“I think I’ll get Dr. Ti-Lek,” Obi-Wan said nervously.
Padmé caught his wrist. “No. Darling, you said it yourself, we don’t have time for that now. We’re already behind schedule. And I’ll be fine. I promise you.”
“You don’t look fine, Padmé,” he countered. “In fact, you look worse than you did an hour ago. I really don’t like this.”
“That doesn’t matter.” She swallowed hard as her stomach lurched again. “We really have to get going. Here, help me put on my shoes.”
Obi-Wan did so, but he didn’t stop gazing at her, his blue eyes turbulent. This continued as the couple made their way into the hall and toward the stairs, when a troubling new symptom of the bizarre illness made itself suddenly known to Padmé.
She halted in the midst of gripping the railing. “Um, I’ll be right back.”
Obi-Wan blinked. “Where are you going? The twins are already downstairs.”
“I know, but — I just need to use the fresher.”
“Darling, it won’t be very long until we’re on the ship; can’t that wait?”
A closed door was the only answer Obi-Wan received.
By the time Padmé felt she could comfortably leave the toilet, fifteen precious minutes had elapsed, and everyone was growing nervous about the impending arrival of the Imperial official. The communiqué had said three hours, but suppose he decided to turn up early in the hopes of surprising Mon? There had already been too many delays, and both she and Obi-Wan felt that they were flirting with disaster. The excess tension in the air transmitted easily to the twins, particularly Luke, who had been sobbing for the last ten minutes. Obi-Wan wished he had the time to adequately help his son, but his concern was firmly rooted elsewhere.
The object of that concern made her way tentatively down the back steps, one arm clutching her expansive belly, her objective the rented speeder hovering above the grass just a short distance away. Padmé seemed to be turning faintly green, though it was difficult to tell since she was so pale to begin with. At the bottom stair she stumbled, nearly falling, and he hurried to offer assistance.
“Darling —” Obi-Wan began.
“Don’t. Say. It,” Padmé whispered through clenched teeth. Her grip on his arm was viselike. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look …” But he trailed off as once again she jerked to a halt, swallowed convulsively several times and without further ceremony, leaned over and was violently sick. Obi-Wan quickly dropped to his knees and helped her down, pulling her to his side and brushing her hair back from her face.
“That does it, I’m getting the doctor,” Mon decided, and she marched back to her home from her post by the speeder. Padmé waved her hand frantically, but her friend did not relent. “Padmé, you look like death, you’re sweating like a shaak and you narrowly missed dousing my diecro bushes with your breakfast. I’d say something is wrong, however much you might attempt to deny it.”
And with that, she disappeared inside.
“I’m sorry, Obi-Wan, I’m so sorry,” Padmé murmured. “We’re — we’re going to be — caught, and it’s — it’s all my — fault …”
“Shhh,” he soothed, kissing the top of her head gently. “Just don’t think about it right now. The most important thing is getting you better.”
“I won’t sacrifice you and the twins!” she cried.
“You won’t need to. We’ll leave safely, I promise.”
“How? Look, if Dr. Ti-Lek says I’m not well enough to travel —” She retched again, and Obi-Wan tried to send her soothing waves through the Force. “If she says I’m not well enough to travel, you go on without me. Take Luke and Leia — take them to Alderaan, make sure they’re safe —”
“Absolutely not,” Obi-Wan interrupted instantly. “Either we all go, or we all stay. I won’t sacrifice you to … to him.”
“And I won’t let you allow your bond to unduly influence your decision-making,” Padmé proclaimed.
He could feel himself flushing. “This is not about the bond,” Obi-Wan began hotly. “This is about the family that you and I have worked so hard to build. You’ve taught me that family is important when I was ready to forsake it all. I won’t permit that lesson to go unheeded. The fact that we are together is our strength.”
She opened her mouth to counter his statement, but instead a different voice rang out behind them. “Senator Kenobi, Mon tells me that you’re feeling unwell. What appears to be the problem?”
Obi-Wan helped his wife over to the stairs, where Dr. Ti-Lek was standing. Padmé waved him toward the twins, who were now watching wide-eyed and frightened from the speeder, and he hesitated for just a moment before hurrying down the path. Looking back, he could see Dr. Ti-Lek and Padmé with their heads together, voices low in conversation.
“Daddy!” Luke cried, stretching small arms pleadingly towards his father. Obi-Wan unhesitatingly unbuckled him and lifted him into his arms, where the boy clung on seemingly for dear life.
“Is Mommy okay?” Leia wanted to know.
“She isn’t feeling all that well at the moment,” Obi-Wan said, not seeing any point in a lie. “But Dr. Ti-Lek is going to look at her and make her better, I promise you.”
The little girl fiddled with something in her palm, and her father realized she was clutching the japor snippet necklace. “Are we still going?”
“I hope so, young one.” He ruffled her hair affectionately. “Did your mother give you that?”
“Yeah!” Leia nodded, a small smile blossoming on her face. “She said someone real special gave it to her years an’ years ago. She said it would bring me good fortune.”
Obi-Wan smiled back, but could not match his daughter’s level of glee and curiosity. “She’s right,” he said a little sadly. “Keep that safe, darling, all right?”
“I will,” she promised solemnly.
“Mommy!” exclaimed Luke, and Obi-Wan turned to see Padmé and Dr. Ti-Lek making their way down the path.
“Well?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, her symptoms could be indicative of many different problems, some more serious than others,” the doctor said. “I gave her a full examination, but without conducting further tests, it’s difficult to determine the exact nature of her condition. Given your time constraints, I’d say it would be best to continue with the original plan, and have the medical staff on Alderaan run the appropriate scans once you reach that planet.”
Obi-Wan had to work to keep his mouth from dropping open in shock. “What? But — but did she tell you how ill she just was? Did she mention all of her symptoms? How could those not be indicative of something more serious?”
“The problem, Master Kenobi, is that there isn’t one single condition that causes those symptoms,” Dr. Ti-Lek said patiently. “It could be a minor intestinal virus or she could be going into labour —”
“Labour?” he blurted out.
“— but without testing, I can’t possibly make a final determination. And those tests would take far too long; by the time I was able to complete them you would all be in the hands of the Empire, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good, would it?”
“If Padmé is having the baby, we are not going anywhere,” Obi-Wan declared.
“Darling, please.” Padmé’s hand came to rest gently on her husband’s arm. “Be rational. Dr. Ti-Lek isn’t saying that the baby will be born now. In fact, she examined me and she says that I show none of the signs of early labour. We need to put our worries aside and get going.”
“But there’s a risk, isn’t there?” Obi-Wan shifted his son to his other hip so that he could wrap an arm around his wife.
“Well, of course there’s a risk,” replied Dr. Ti-Lek. “But there is a risk to everything we do, Master Kenobi. When you and your family are on the starship and it prepares to jump into hyperspace, there’s a risk that the hyperdrive may explode. A bit of faulty wiring is all it takes, after all. But you have judged the risk that the Empire will find you to be greater, and thus you are fleeing the planet without regard for the risk presented by the hyperdrive. This situation is similar, and you must treat it as such.”
“Besides,” said Mon, who had come up behind the little group, “if you don’t, I may very well stuff you in the back of that speeder and make sure you all get on that ship.”
Obi-Wan snorted. “Oh, and how precisely do you plan to do that?”
Mon’s smile suddenly looked very unpleasant. “Believe me, you do not wish to find out.”
***
In the end he conceded, knowing that there really was very little time in which to make a decision either way. Padmé did appear better, and Obi-Wan realized that the worst part of being potentially captured by the Empire was not the danger to himself and his family, but rather the fact that if they were found to be living on Chandrila, their presence would implicate Mon, Lily and Dr. Ti-Lek, who would almost certainly be executed without trial as enemy collaborators. He couldn’t abide the idea that beings who had shown the Kenobis such unconditional hospitality should suffer this fate, and so finally, after many tearful promises and even more tearful goodbyes, he started the speeder and put it in gear.
“Mon, won’t you please reconsider?” Padmé begged from the passenger seat, extending her hand toward her friend. “There’s room … you and Lily could still come along …”
“I’m sorry, Padmé, but it’s just not possible.” Mon shook her head regretfully. “The Imperial envoy will be here in a half hour, and if I run, Palpatine will have all the evidence he needs to consider me guilty. I need to stay and answer their questions.”
“Lily, then. Send Lily along with us. You and she would see each other again once you rendezvous with us on Alderaan in a few months!”
“No, it would only raise further suspicions. If I’ve sent my daughter away, there’s obviously something in which I don’t want her to be implicated, and they’ll stop at nothing to find out what that is. We need to stay together, and you both need to get going. We’ll see you very soon, I promise.”
“And if we don’t?” Padmé couldn’t keep the quiver from her tone.
“If we don’t, then at least I’ll know you’re safe,” said Mon with certainty. “Now, you must go. Give my warmest regards to Bail and Breha, all right?”
“Oh, Mon, how can I ever thank you —”
“You don’t need to thank me. It’s been my pleasure, every moment of it. Go!”
Obi-Wan stamped on the accelerator before either woman could say another word and the speeder shot forward, away from the only safe haven the Kenobi family had known for the last five months.
Away from that haven, and toward a greater, unknown danger.
Author:
padme_kenobiPrevious Chapters: Can be read here.
Characters/Pairings: Obi-Wan/Padmé, Luke, Leia, Mon Mothma
Word Count: 3,594
Rating: PG
Summary: The Empire’s envoy would find them, and surely they would imprison her family … Luke and Leia, as Force-sensitives, would be taken to Vader, and perhaps to Palpatine himself, with her unborn child sharing that fate as soon as he or she arrived … and Obi-Wan — oh, what would they do to her husband?
Author's Notes: Another short-ish chapter - or, at least, shorter than what you guys are
She felt her knees go weak, with fear as well as fatigue, and had Obi-Wan not been supporting her, Padmé knew she would have fallen to the floor. The Empire’s envoy would find them, and surely they would imprison her family … Luke and Leia, as Force-sensitives, would be taken to Vader, and perhaps to Palpatine himself, with her unborn child sharing that fate as soon as he or she arrived … and Obi-Wan — oh, what would they do to her husband? Mon and Lily would be arrested as well, accused of collaborating with the enemy, perhaps even executed … a fate they did not deserve given the kindness they had extended to the Kenobis.
“What are we going to do?” Fear squeezed her voice to barely a whisper.
“I’ve booked you passage on a refugee transport,” replied Mon, not pausing in the packing. “You’ll all travel under assumed names to Alderaan, where Bail and Breha will shelter you until the baby is born. I spoke with him just a few moments ago over our private channel and he has agreed to all of this.”
“How long do we have until the envoy arrives?” Obi-Wan asked sharply. His grip on his wife’s shoulder had tightened considerably. “And you said the Empire is sending them to all of Padmé’s associates — doesn’t that include Bail?”
“It does, but as the refugee transport will take approximately two days to reach the planet, we’re hoping that the envoys will be there and gone by the time you arrive,” Mon explained. “If not, we have a contingency plan. But Bail and I both suspect that the Empire is pursuing this only as a first option. Depending upon the results of the questioning, they will then follow up on the most reliable leads. The most important thing is that you are not physically present in this residence or on the planet when the official comes to speak to me. We have a much greater chance of keeping our cover intact that way.”
“But it’s still dangerous!” Padmé whispered. “If any sign of our presence remains — if they discover you’ve been hiding us — they’ll kill you!”
Mon smiled. “Well, that’s why we’re going to make very sure that they remain none the wiser. Resisting the interrogation isn’t what concerns me, Padmé. What concerns me is that you and Obi-Wan and the children remain safe. I would give my life for that, and I would do so without any regrets.”
What did we do to deserve such wonderful friends? Padmé wondered, feeling her eyes fill with tears. The fear was still there, ever-present, gnawing at her, but her heart swelled in gratitude, and she asked herself again how Mon could possibly give so freely of herself in order to defend those close to her, and their cause.
“Will the envoy arrive before our ship departs?” Obi-Wan asked again. “Your plan is well-conceived, but there is great risk. For suspicion to be removed entirely from you, no trace of us must remain. How much time?”
“Three hours,” Mon said. At the look on the Jedi’s face, she added quickly, “I know, I’m not very pleased with it either, but unfortunately that was all the lead time we had. Bail didn’t even receive notice of the envoy’s visit until an hour ago, and he immediately contacted me. I had to call in a few favours to secure you a booking with no questions asked so quickly.”
“But that appears to indicate that the Empire is hoping to catch you off-balance,” Obi-Wan pointed out, guiding Padmé to a chair in the corner of the bedroom. “If they haven’t notified you that they’re going to visit, it seems clear that they have good reason to suspect you may be harbouring fugitives. I can sense hostile intent in the Force, but that will provide us with moments only. How do you know we have three hours?”
Mon zipped a suitcase and heaved it to the floor. “I’m getting to that. Barely a moment after I’d made the booking, the envoy did contact me and said he’d be docking in three hours. I agree with you that they might suspect something, but if they do, that’s hardly within our power to control. We’re simply going to have to move as quickly as we can and hope he doesn’t show up before that time.”
“Hope,” muttered Obi-Wan. “Frankly, I’d prefer to stake something as important as our lives on better evidence.”
“As would I, but that’s all we have,” Mon said firmly. “Now, I suggest we leave behind the worry that it won’t be enough, and focus instead on making sure that it is. We have one hour to prepare and to erase all evidence of your presence here, and another hour to get you to the spaceport and on the ship. Let’s use that time wisely.”
Padmé gripped the arms of the chair, trying to push up despite the numbing exhaustion that had claimed her again. “I’ll get Luke and Leia ready.”
“No, darling, you will not,” Obi-Wan interjected, this time escorting her to the bed. “You take a nap, and I’ll help the twins.”
She continued to protest, even as a huge yawn threatened to escape. “Obi-Wan, no, it’s far too much work and you only have an hour —”
“I also have help,” he pointed out. “Your only priority should be to rest, Padmé. You’ll need all your strength.”
“I —”
But he’d already flipped aside the covers and guided her to sit down, and that bed did look awfully inviting … surely it would be all right to lie down for a moment … yes, just a moment, and then she would get back up and help Obi-Wan whether he wanted it or not. It wasn’t fair that all the work should fall to him simply because she was pregnant … no, certainly not …
And so firm was this thought in her mind, so absolute the plan, that Padmé barely noticed as her husband draped the blankets over her and kissed her cheek.
Barely a moment later, she was asleep.
***
“Daddy, why do we have to go?”
“I told you, Luke; there is someone coming to visit Mon who cannot know that we’re here, and we need to be on the starship before they arrive. Now, I need to wake your mother.”
“But Daddy, why? I like it here!”
“I know, son. So do I. But this person would want to do very bad things to us and to Mon if they knew we were living with her. They might even separate us, force us to live in very small, very dark rooms where we couldn’t see or hear each other. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“But can’t we just hide? Like when Leia an’ I play hide and seek. Maybe the bad man couldn’t find us then!”
“No, I think he would.”
A sniffle. “It’s not fair.”
“It isn’t, little one. But life isn’t fair.”
“I wanna stay with Lily. And I don’t wanna go on a ship.” This was stated vehemently, even more so than the questions and protests.
It caught Obi-Wan’s attention. “Why not, Luke?”
A hesitation. “I … I gotta bad feeling.”
“Yes, I know. But we don’t have a choice.”
“Daddy, I wanna stay!”
“We can’t, Luke. I’m sorry.”
“Please?”
“No.”
Luke sniffled, and Padmé could tell even though the dense fog of sleep that her son had begun to cry. She had no idea why he was suddenly so scared — usually the twins had gone along with all the changes and moves, from one planet to another, with little fuss or complaint. Perhaps it was different now that they were getting a little older? They had Lily here too, and Luke might be reluctant to leave her due to the bond. But it was an unfortunate fact of their lives now that they would occasionally be forced to exchange one planet and life for another, usually due to an outside circumstance over which no one, aside from the Empire, had any control. He would understand when he was older, but until then, they would sometimes have to uproot him without his or his sister’s consent. If only it could be otherwise.
These thoughts crawled slowly through Padmé’s mind, and Obi-Wan was already shaking her shoulder before she had finished processing them.
“Darling? Darling, I’m sorry, but it’s time to get up.”
No … the bed was so comfortable, so warm … she couldn’t … surely her husband would give her just a little more time … he said she needed the rest, after all.
“Padmé, I’ve given you an extra fifteen minutes. We’ve really got to leave now.”
“No,” she groaned.
“We don’t have a choice, I’m sorry,” he told her.
“I can’t,” Padmé whispered as a new feeling quite suddenly asserted itself. Bile had crept up her throat so fiercely that for a moment she was afraid she might vomit right in bed, and she had to swallow very hard. “Obi-Wan … I don’t … I can’t …”
“Yes, you can.” Her husband was unrelenting. “We’re in danger here. We’ve got to get to the ship.”
“No —”
Abruptly she shifted, and Padmé realized he was boosting her up, trying to pull her to a sitting position. She let herself go limp, allowing him to cradle her in his arms, hoping his touch would relieve her churning stomach.
“Come on, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said softly, the sound of his voice provided comfort too. “We’re in danger here, we can’t stay. And Luke and Leia need you. The twins need you, darling. And so do I.”
His tone had grown pleading, and she realized suddenly that she might be scaring him. But she couldn’t actually tell him what was wrong, since she knew he would become more frightened and might even insist that they waste additional time — time they did not have — on attempting to discover the cause of her current difficulties.
We can’t, Padmé thought. No matter what, the most important thing is that we get on that ship and that the twins and the baby are safe.
So with tremendous effort she opened her eyes, resisting the urge to shut them immediately as the sunlight of a bright afternoon hit her. Slowly Padmé pushed herself upright, away from her husband’s arms, and swallowed again as she turned to face him. Instead of the relieved smile she’d expected, his frown had deepened.
“I think I’ll get Dr. Ti-Lek,” Obi-Wan said nervously.
Padmé caught his wrist. “No. Darling, you said it yourself, we don’t have time for that now. We’re already behind schedule. And I’ll be fine. I promise you.”
“You don’t look fine, Padmé,” he countered. “In fact, you look worse than you did an hour ago. I really don’t like this.”
“That doesn’t matter.” She swallowed hard as her stomach lurched again. “We really have to get going. Here, help me put on my shoes.”
Obi-Wan did so, but he didn’t stop gazing at her, his blue eyes turbulent. This continued as the couple made their way into the hall and toward the stairs, when a troubling new symptom of the bizarre illness made itself suddenly known to Padmé.
She halted in the midst of gripping the railing. “Um, I’ll be right back.”
Obi-Wan blinked. “Where are you going? The twins are already downstairs.”
“I know, but — I just need to use the fresher.”
“Darling, it won’t be very long until we’re on the ship; can’t that wait?”
A closed door was the only answer Obi-Wan received.
By the time Padmé felt she could comfortably leave the toilet, fifteen precious minutes had elapsed, and everyone was growing nervous about the impending arrival of the Imperial official. The communiqué had said three hours, but suppose he decided to turn up early in the hopes of surprising Mon? There had already been too many delays, and both she and Obi-Wan felt that they were flirting with disaster. The excess tension in the air transmitted easily to the twins, particularly Luke, who had been sobbing for the last ten minutes. Obi-Wan wished he had the time to adequately help his son, but his concern was firmly rooted elsewhere.
The object of that concern made her way tentatively down the back steps, one arm clutching her expansive belly, her objective the rented speeder hovering above the grass just a short distance away. Padmé seemed to be turning faintly green, though it was difficult to tell since she was so pale to begin with. At the bottom stair she stumbled, nearly falling, and he hurried to offer assistance.
“Darling —” Obi-Wan began.
“Don’t. Say. It,” Padmé whispered through clenched teeth. Her grip on his arm was viselike. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look …” But he trailed off as once again she jerked to a halt, swallowed convulsively several times and without further ceremony, leaned over and was violently sick. Obi-Wan quickly dropped to his knees and helped her down, pulling her to his side and brushing her hair back from her face.
“That does it, I’m getting the doctor,” Mon decided, and she marched back to her home from her post by the speeder. Padmé waved her hand frantically, but her friend did not relent. “Padmé, you look like death, you’re sweating like a shaak and you narrowly missed dousing my diecro bushes with your breakfast. I’d say something is wrong, however much you might attempt to deny it.”
And with that, she disappeared inside.
“I’m sorry, Obi-Wan, I’m so sorry,” Padmé murmured. “We’re — we’re going to be — caught, and it’s — it’s all my — fault …”
“Shhh,” he soothed, kissing the top of her head gently. “Just don’t think about it right now. The most important thing is getting you better.”
“I won’t sacrifice you and the twins!” she cried.
“You won’t need to. We’ll leave safely, I promise.”
“How? Look, if Dr. Ti-Lek says I’m not well enough to travel —” She retched again, and Obi-Wan tried to send her soothing waves through the Force. “If she says I’m not well enough to travel, you go on without me. Take Luke and Leia — take them to Alderaan, make sure they’re safe —”
“Absolutely not,” Obi-Wan interrupted instantly. “Either we all go, or we all stay. I won’t sacrifice you to … to him.”
“And I won’t let you allow your bond to unduly influence your decision-making,” Padmé proclaimed.
He could feel himself flushing. “This is not about the bond,” Obi-Wan began hotly. “This is about the family that you and I have worked so hard to build. You’ve taught me that family is important when I was ready to forsake it all. I won’t permit that lesson to go unheeded. The fact that we are together is our strength.”
She opened her mouth to counter his statement, but instead a different voice rang out behind them. “Senator Kenobi, Mon tells me that you’re feeling unwell. What appears to be the problem?”
Obi-Wan helped his wife over to the stairs, where Dr. Ti-Lek was standing. Padmé waved him toward the twins, who were now watching wide-eyed and frightened from the speeder, and he hesitated for just a moment before hurrying down the path. Looking back, he could see Dr. Ti-Lek and Padmé with their heads together, voices low in conversation.
“Daddy!” Luke cried, stretching small arms pleadingly towards his father. Obi-Wan unhesitatingly unbuckled him and lifted him into his arms, where the boy clung on seemingly for dear life.
“Is Mommy okay?” Leia wanted to know.
“She isn’t feeling all that well at the moment,” Obi-Wan said, not seeing any point in a lie. “But Dr. Ti-Lek is going to look at her and make her better, I promise you.”
The little girl fiddled with something in her palm, and her father realized she was clutching the japor snippet necklace. “Are we still going?”
“I hope so, young one.” He ruffled her hair affectionately. “Did your mother give you that?”
“Yeah!” Leia nodded, a small smile blossoming on her face. “She said someone real special gave it to her years an’ years ago. She said it would bring me good fortune.”
Obi-Wan smiled back, but could not match his daughter’s level of glee and curiosity. “She’s right,” he said a little sadly. “Keep that safe, darling, all right?”
“I will,” she promised solemnly.
“Mommy!” exclaimed Luke, and Obi-Wan turned to see Padmé and Dr. Ti-Lek making their way down the path.
“Well?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, her symptoms could be indicative of many different problems, some more serious than others,” the doctor said. “I gave her a full examination, but without conducting further tests, it’s difficult to determine the exact nature of her condition. Given your time constraints, I’d say it would be best to continue with the original plan, and have the medical staff on Alderaan run the appropriate scans once you reach that planet.”
Obi-Wan had to work to keep his mouth from dropping open in shock. “What? But — but did she tell you how ill she just was? Did she mention all of her symptoms? How could those not be indicative of something more serious?”
“The problem, Master Kenobi, is that there isn’t one single condition that causes those symptoms,” Dr. Ti-Lek said patiently. “It could be a minor intestinal virus or she could be going into labour —”
“Labour?” he blurted out.
“— but without testing, I can’t possibly make a final determination. And those tests would take far too long; by the time I was able to complete them you would all be in the hands of the Empire, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good, would it?”
“If Padmé is having the baby, we are not going anywhere,” Obi-Wan declared.
“Darling, please.” Padmé’s hand came to rest gently on her husband’s arm. “Be rational. Dr. Ti-Lek isn’t saying that the baby will be born now. In fact, she examined me and she says that I show none of the signs of early labour. We need to put our worries aside and get going.”
“But there’s a risk, isn’t there?” Obi-Wan shifted his son to his other hip so that he could wrap an arm around his wife.
“Well, of course there’s a risk,” replied Dr. Ti-Lek. “But there is a risk to everything we do, Master Kenobi. When you and your family are on the starship and it prepares to jump into hyperspace, there’s a risk that the hyperdrive may explode. A bit of faulty wiring is all it takes, after all. But you have judged the risk that the Empire will find you to be greater, and thus you are fleeing the planet without regard for the risk presented by the hyperdrive. This situation is similar, and you must treat it as such.”
“Besides,” said Mon, who had come up behind the little group, “if you don’t, I may very well stuff you in the back of that speeder and make sure you all get on that ship.”
Obi-Wan snorted. “Oh, and how precisely do you plan to do that?”
Mon’s smile suddenly looked very unpleasant. “Believe me, you do not wish to find out.”
***
In the end he conceded, knowing that there really was very little time in which to make a decision either way. Padmé did appear better, and Obi-Wan realized that the worst part of being potentially captured by the Empire was not the danger to himself and his family, but rather the fact that if they were found to be living on Chandrila, their presence would implicate Mon, Lily and Dr. Ti-Lek, who would almost certainly be executed without trial as enemy collaborators. He couldn’t abide the idea that beings who had shown the Kenobis such unconditional hospitality should suffer this fate, and so finally, after many tearful promises and even more tearful goodbyes, he started the speeder and put it in gear.
“Mon, won’t you please reconsider?” Padmé begged from the passenger seat, extending her hand toward her friend. “There’s room … you and Lily could still come along …”
“I’m sorry, Padmé, but it’s just not possible.” Mon shook her head regretfully. “The Imperial envoy will be here in a half hour, and if I run, Palpatine will have all the evidence he needs to consider me guilty. I need to stay and answer their questions.”
“Lily, then. Send Lily along with us. You and she would see each other again once you rendezvous with us on Alderaan in a few months!”
“No, it would only raise further suspicions. If I’ve sent my daughter away, there’s obviously something in which I don’t want her to be implicated, and they’ll stop at nothing to find out what that is. We need to stay together, and you both need to get going. We’ll see you very soon, I promise.”
“And if we don’t?” Padmé couldn’t keep the quiver from her tone.
“If we don’t, then at least I’ll know you’re safe,” said Mon with certainty. “Now, you must go. Give my warmest regards to Bail and Breha, all right?”
“Oh, Mon, how can I ever thank you —”
“You don’t need to thank me. It’s been my pleasure, every moment of it. Go!”
Obi-Wan stamped on the accelerator before either woman could say another word and the speeder shot forward, away from the only safe haven the Kenobi family had known for the last five months.
Away from that haven, and toward a greater, unknown danger.