The Rise And Fall Of Darth Vader (7 page)

As much as Anakin wanted to apprehend the people who had tried to kill Padmé, he knew that Obi-Wan would not readily approve the idea of using Padmé 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 Padmé 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 assassin 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 assassin appeared to be a fair-skinned female human, she was actually a Clawdite shapeshifter 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 Padmé “
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 assassin’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 assassin could no longer harm Padmé. 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.

Because Senator Amidala was still in danger, the Jedi Council instructed Obi-Wan to track down the elusive bounty hunter while Anakin escorted Padmé back to Naboo. To prevent anyone from knowing Padmé‘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 Padmé‘s safety, but he was also secretly delighted that his mission - his first official assignment 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 for me 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. Padmé 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, Padmé 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 Padmé everywhere on Naboo, and soon met her family. At first, Padmé 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 relationship with Anakin was anything other than professional.

But as the days passed, 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 Padmé‘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 Padmé 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 Padmé 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. Padmé‘s acceptance and return of his kiss had been his greatest moment of joy, and to be so suddenly rejected left him feeling devastated, embarrassed, 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 passed after that moment by the lake, every moment spent with Padmé, he felt more tortured, as if his heart had become an open wound. Unable to wish his feelings away, he confronted Padmé, 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 relationship, 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 Padmé 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 relinquishing 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 Padmé.

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 Padmé‘s approach from behind.

“You had another nightmare last night,” she said.

“Jedi don’t have nightmares,” he replied tersely.

“I heard you.”

Anakin didn’t doubt that she had. The nightmare had been the worst one yet. He opened his eyes and said, “I saw my mother.” Turning to face Padmé, he fought to keep his voice from trembling. “She’s suffering, Padmé. I saw her as I see you now.” He let out a long sigh, barely releasing the pressure that was building up within him. He feared that last night’s dream was not a premonition, but a vision of events that had already transpired. “She’s in pain,” he continued. “I know I’m disobeying my mandate to protect you, Senator, but I have to go. I have to help her!”

“I’ll go with you,” Padmé said.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin said. “I don’t have a choice.”

He hadn’t expected the possibility that she might go with him to Tatooine.
I can continue to watch her. Obi-Wan wouldn’t approve, but… it’s not his decision.

* * *

Without notifying Obi-Wan or the Jedi Council of his plans, Anakin, Padmé, and R2-D2 left Naboo in a slim H-type Nubian yacht. The fragrant scents of Padmé‘s lush, fertile homeworld were still fresh in Anakin’s nostrils when he sighted the scorched, barren sand planet.

Descending through the atmosphere, they flew to the Mos Espa spaceport. After landing and securing the ship in one of the deep, open pits that served as landing bays, Anakin hired a droid-powered rickshaw to carry him and Padmé to Watto’s junk shop. R2-D2 motored along behind them.

Anakin wasn’t sure how he’d react when he saw Watto again. Although his former master had been kinder than other slave owners, Anakin had always resented the fact that Watto refused to free his mother. Watto isn’t entirely to blame, Anakin mused, wondering just how hard Qui-Gon had tried to liberate Shmi. Slavery is allowed here, and Watto is just a businessman.

Soon they reached Watto’s shop, where they found the old Toydarian seated out front. Not surprisingly, Watto did not recognize the tall young Jedi who stood before him, but when Anakin said he was looking for Shmi Skywalker, Watto made the connection.

“Ani?” Watto gasped in disbelief. “Little Ani? Nahhh!” His eyes went wide, then he flapped his wings and shouted, “You are Ani! It is you! You sure sprouted, huh?”

Watto then informed Anakin that he’d sold Shmi years earlier to a moisture farmer named Lars, and that he’d heard Lars had freed and married Shmi. Fortunately, Watto’s records provided the location of the moisture farm, which was near a small community called Anchorhead.

After returning to their starship and blasting out of the landing bay, Anakin, Padmé, and R2-D2 soared high over the northern Dune Sea. It was only a matter of minutes before they touched down at the edge of the farm, which consisted of moisture-collecting vaporators spread out around a small, domed structure. The dome was an entrance to an underground homestead and an adjoining courtyard that rested in an open pit. R2-D2 stayed with the ship while Anakin and Padmé walked toward the dome. Once there, they were greeted by a fully plated protocol droid.

“Oh!” exclaimed the droid when he noticed the two humans approaching. The droid had been making a minor adjustment to a binocular Treadwell droid, but now turned to face Anakin and Padmé. “Um, uh, hello. How might I be of service? I am C…”

“Threepio?” Anakin said, wondering if his mother had been responsible for putting the metal coverings on the droid’s body.

Confused, C-3PO tilted his head slightly. “Oh, um…” Then it hit him. “The maker! Oh, Master Ani! I knew you would return. I knew it! And Miss Padmé. Oh, my.”

C-3PO led them down a flight of steps to the courtyard, where a surprised young man and woman emerged through an arched doorway. The couple wore drab desert robes that were common on the sand planet. The man was sturdily built, with strong farmer’s hands.

C-3PO said, “Master Owen, might I present two most important visitors.”

“I’m Anakin Sky walker,” Anakin said.

“Owen Lars,” Owen said, sounding slightly unnerved. Gesturing to the woman beside him, he said, “Uh, this is my girlfriend, Beru.”

Beru smiled shyly, and exchanged greetings with Padmé.

Keeping his eyes on Anakin, Owen continued, “I guess I’m your stepbrother. I had a feeling you might show up someday.”

Anxious and impatient, Anakin scanned the courtyard and said, “Is my mother here?”

“No, she’s not,” answered a deep voice from behind. Anakin and Padmé turned to see an older man whose grizzled features betrayed that he was obviously Owen’s father. He was seated in a hovering mechno-chair, and his robe was pulled back to reveal that his right leg was a bandaged stump. “Cliegg Lars,” he introduced himself as his chair carried him slowly forward. “Shmi is my wife. We should go inside. We have a lot to talk about.”

* * *

A few minutes later, in the hollowed-out dining chamber, Anakin and Padmé were seated at a rectangular table with Cliegg and Owen. “It was just before dawn,” Cliegg recounted. “They came out of nowhere. A hunting party of Tusken Raiders.”

Anakin felt his stomach clench.

As Beru set a tray of beverages on the table, Cliegg continued, “Your mother had gone out early, like she always did, to pick mushrooms that grow on the vaporators. From the tracks, she was about halfway home when they took her. Those Tuskens walk like men, but they’re vicious, mindless monsters. Thirty of us went out after her. Four of us came back. I’d be with them, but after I lost my leg… I just couldn’t ride anymore… until I heal.”

Anakin lowered his gaze to the untouched beverages on the table. His facial muscles twitched nervously as he thought,
If only she ‘d left Tatooine with me. If only I hadn’t left her behind…
Anakin hadn’t had much time to develop an opinion about Cliegg Lars. Initially, he had felt some sense of gratitude to the man who’d helped liberate his mother from Watto. But because Cliegg had taken his wife to live in this desolate area where Tuskens roamed, Anakin couldn’t help feeling a bitter anger.
If only you hadn ‘t brought her here!