Part 4 (1/2)
It was Padme's idea to use herself as bait to lure the mysterious a.s.sa.s.sin into the hands of the Jedi.
Hearing her plan, Anakin said, ”It's a bad ... I mean, it's not a good idea, Senator.” Beside him, R2-D2 beeped in what may have been an agreement. Although Anakin had been secretly happy to have had this moment alone with Padme in her apartment, he almost wished Obi-Wan were with them right now, instead of meeting with the Jedi Council, so that he could discourage Padme, too.
Padme said, ”Moving me to a different suite will only delay another attack.”
”But what you're suggesting is far too dangerous. You could get hurt.”
”That is a possibility,” Padme said. ”But if we prepare for an attack here in this suite, and really cover every angle, then we would have an advantage over the a.s.sa.s.sin, wouldn't we? And Artoo can help . . .”
Looking away from Padme, Anakin shook his head and said, ”It would still be too risky. For all we know, there may be a whole army of a.s.sa.s.sins.”
Padme stepped closer to Anakin, forcing him to turn back to her and meet her gaze. She said, ”I have no interest in dying, Anakin, but I don't want any more innocent people to lose their lives because someone wants me dead. If you can understand that, then you'll help me do this.”
As much as Anakin wanted to apprehend the people who had tried to kill Padme, he knew that Obi-Wan would not readily approve the idea of using Padme as bait. Despite his better judgment, Anakin said, All right, Senator. I'll help you.”
Obi-Wan didn't learn about the plan until later that evening, when Padme was already asleep. Despite their preparations and the watchful presence of R2-D2, Obi-Wan and Anakin had to move fast to intercept the pair of kouhuns - small, deadly arthropods - that invaded the sleeping Senator's apartment and stealthily slithered their way onto her bed. The Jedi had to move even faster to catch up with the a.s.sa.s.sin who'd unleashed the kouhuns.
Traveling by airspeeder and instinct, the Jedi pursued their quarry for more than 100 kilometers through the skies and streets of Galactic City before their hunt ended in a crowded nightclub. Although the a.s.sa.s.sin appeared to be a fair-skinned female human, she was actually a Clawdite shapes.h.i.+fter who wore a dark elastic bodysuit that remained taut when she changed forms. Inside the nightclub, her attempt to shoot Obi-Wan in the back had resulted in the Jedi using his lightsaber to literally disarm her. The Clawdite was still in shock as Obi-Wan carried her through an exit that led to an alley outside the club. Anakin walked alongside them, and the look of simmering rage in his eyes was all the power he needed to encourage the local denizens to clear the alley.
The Clawdite moaned as Obi-Wan eased her trembling body onto the alley floor. Anakin hoped she would stay conscious long enough to provide some answers. Obi-Wan looked into the Clawdite's eyes and said, ”Do you know who it was you were trying to kill?”
”It was a senator from Naboo,” the Clawdite muttered.
”And who hired you?”
The muscles in her face spasmed as she tried to maintain a human visage. She muttered, ”It was just a job.”
Kneeling beside the Clawdite, Anakin felt his anger rise at this creature who considered killing Padme ”just a job.” It took all of his self-control to maintain a calm, gentle tone as he leaned forward and asked, ”Who hired you? Tell us.”
The Clawdite's eyes rolled toward Anakin. When she didn't answer immediately, Anakin roared, ”Tell us now!”
The Clawdite gulped, then said, ”It was a bounty hunter called...”
Her statement was interrupted by a small projectile that made a ftzzz sound as it streaked down and embedded itself in her neck. Anakin and Obi-Wan turned their heads fast and traced the projectile's trajectory to a high upper roof, where an armored man wearing a jetpack suddenly launched into the sky and disappeared.
The two Jedi looked back to the Clawdite, whose flesh turned dark green as her features contorted back to their natural configuration. ”Wee shahnit... sleemo,” she gasped before her head tilted back.
Being fluent in Huttese, Anakin understood the a.s.sa.s.sin's last words: bounty hunter slimeball. And with great bitterness, he wished she had given them a name instead.
Obi-Wan reached to the dead Clawdite's neck and removed the projectile, a nasty little item that had stabilizing fins for long-range shooting and an injector-needle tip. ”Toxic dart,” Obi-Wan observed.
Anakin felt some relief that at least one a.s.sa.s.sin could no longer harm Padme. Looking at the Clawdite's corpse, he thought, You got what you deserved.
And then he trembled. He knew it wasn't the way of the Jedi to think anyone deserved to die.
But he'd thought it just the same.
CHAPTER 7.
Because Senator Amidala was still in danger, the Jedi Council instructed Obi-Wan to track down the elusive bounty hunter while Anakin escorted Padme back to Naboo. To prevent anyone from knowing Padme's whereabouts, she and Anakin disguised themselves as refugees and left with R2-D2 aboard a starfreighter for the Naboo system. Anakin remained extremely concerned for Padme's safety, but he was also secretly delighted that his mission - his first official a.s.signment without his Master - would allow him to spend more time with the young woman he had adored since childhood.
Is it possible she has feelings forme too? he couldn't stop wondering.
Inside the Naboo-bound starfreighter, they kept to themselves among the emigrants in the steerage hold. Anakin chanced a nap during the long flight, but was visited by another nightmare. In his sleep, he muttered, ”No, no, Mom, no ...,” then woke with a start. Padme hovered near, looking at him. Somewhat confused, he returned her gaze and said, ”What?”
”You seemed to be having a nightmare.”
Anakin didn't comment. But later, while sharing a meal of mush and bread, Padme persisted. ”You were dreaming about your mother earlier, weren't you?”
”Yes,” Anakin admitted. ”I left Tatooine so long ago, my memory of her is fading. I don't want to lose it Recently, I've been seeing her in my dreams ... vivid dreams .. . scary dreams. I worry about her.”
Just then, R2-D2 moved over to them and emitted an electronic whistle. The starfreighter had arrived in the Naboo system.
Anakin accompanied Padme everywhere on Naboo, and soon met her family. At first, Padme treated her Jedi guardian like a slightly unwelcome shadow that followed her every movement. She seemed as determined to withhold personal information as he was to discover it, and denied to her own sister that her relations.h.i.+p with Anakin was anything other than professional.
But as the days pa.s.sed, she became more relaxed in the presence of the young man who was constantly at her side, and their conversations changed from her devotion to politics and his concerns regarding security to more intimate subjects. As for Anakin, he learned about Padme's cherished memories of children she'd known as a relief worker, and her favorite places on Naboo.
Because Anakin had grown up under the sweltering suns of Tatooine, he'd felt cold on most of the worlds he'd visited, but with Padme on Naboo, he felt - for the first time in his life - truly comfortable. And happy.
They were standing on the garden terrace at a lodge that overlooked a lake, and Padme was wearing a gown that revealed the fair skin of her back and arms when Anakin cautiously leaned close to her face and kissed her. She did not resist, but several seconds after their lips met, she pulled away from him and said, ”No.” She looked away, fixing her eyes on the lake before them.
”I shouldn't have done that,” she said.
Anakin had been aching to kiss her since their reunion on Coruscant, but he'd never planned on it, let alone imagined that he ever actually would. Padme's acceptance and return of his kiss had been his greatest moment of joy, and to be so suddenly rejected left him feeling devastated, embarra.s.sed, and confused. He followed her gaze to the tranquil waters and said, ”I'm sorry.”
I'm sorry you don't feel the same way for me that I do for you.
Anakin tried to pretend the kiss had never happened. But with every minute that pa.s.sed after that moment by the lake, every moment spent with Padme, he felt more tortured, as if his heart had become an open wound. Unable to wish his feelings away, he confronted Padme, who reminded him that Jedi were not allowed to marry and that she was a Senator who had more important things to do than fall in love. When Anakin suggested that they might maintain a secret relations.h.i.+p, she told him that she refused to live a lie.
Anakin began wondering about his place in the Jedi order. The more he thought about all the rules to follow and the time devoted to meditation and training, the more he questioned the logic of so much personal sacrifice. Is it so wrong that I care for Padme as much as I do ? Or that I still miss my mother and worry about her? For the first time since he'd become a Jedi, he found himself seriously considering the possibility of relinquis.h.i.+ng his lightsaber, leaving the order, and becoming a citizen of the galaxy.
He tried to imagine himself in another career. He was confident that he could find work as a pilot or a mechanic. But would doing that sort of work make me happy? The answer came immediately to Anakin: the only thing that would make him happy was to be with Padme.
But what if I stopped being a Jedi and she still didn 't see any chance of a future with me? What then? It was all too overwhelming to contemplate.
While Anakin's waking moments had become emotionally painful, sleeping was even worse. One morning, he was standing on a balcony at the lodge, meditating with his eyes closed, when he sensed Padme's approach from behind.
”You had another nightmare last night,” she said.