Padmé departed for Nal Hutta before the Jedi left for Hosnian Prime. It was a five-hour flight, during which they slept for most of the way.
"How do you know these places so well?" Luke asked his mother.
"I was Queen of Naboo and then a Galactic Senator. I've had to deal with many people, some from Nal Hutta."
"Won't they recognize you?"
"They only remember money," Padmé sighed, and they walked to a bar where the best smugglers and assassins gathered.
"We don't like visitors here," a man said, getting a little too close for the group's liking.
"But these two are quite good," another man said.
Luke had been to places like this before, on Tatooine with Ben Kenobi. He knew what to do.
"Touch them and it'll be the last thing you do," Luke threatened, using the Force.
"We don't want Jedi around here," said a man, undoubtedly the leader of the place.
"I'm not a Jedi," Luke lied.
"I have a deal for you," Padmé said, stepping forward and sitting at the table the man had just left.
"Get out," Leia said, pointing at another man sitting at the table, who moved away in terror.
"Interesting development," the leader said.
"I'll pay you enough for information and for a much bigger job."
"What information are you looking for?" the man asked, taking a seat.
"A Sith, on the moon Zanbar."
"Do you have the means to pay for that information?" the man asked, and Padmé smiled.
"Half first," Padmé smiled, transferring a large amount of credits to the man, "then the other half after the information."
"And what about the other deal?"
"I'm looking for a job?" "First, let's see if you're useful enough for me to trust you."
"Two Sith passed through here some time ago. They allied themselves with Mandalorians, a lethal guard," the man said.
"What else happened? Didn't you join them?" Padmé asked.
"How did you know I'm a Mandalorian?" the man asked, surprised.
"Your armor is from there, but you don't use it because your planet has already been destroyed," Padmé said, pointing to the armor the man sometimes looked at with nostalgia.
"The Sith they're looking for is dangerous. He participated in the assassination of the Duchess of Mandalore, but now he's looking for a Jedi."
"A Jedi? Which one?" Padmé asked, fearing it was Anakin.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," the man replied.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," the man answered.
"Are you sure about this?" "I was there myself when they ordered you to find him. You were almost killed by a Sith more powerful, much more powerful than you can imagine," the man said, recalling the events.
"Why do you want to kill that Jedi?" Leia asked.
"I didn't hear any more. I almost lost my life fleeing that day. I haven't been back to Mandalore since."
"Good," Padmé said, handing him the rest of the money. Luke nodded; he could sense the truth in the man's words.
"What's the other job?" the man asked, impressed by the amount of money he had received just for providing information. "I'll do anything my lady asks," the man said, and Padmé smiled. Sometimes money could buy good allies, though this wasn't her style.
"I need you to destroy a factory on Corellia."
"It will be easy if I gather the necessary equipment," the man said.
"No deaths. I don't want any civilian casualties."
"That will be more difficult, but it can be done."
"Fine, I don't care about the money," Padmé said, showing the man the amount she would give him if he carried out the order.
"I'll do it as soon as possible," the man assured her.
"Good. When it's ready, it will all be yours," Padmé said, leaving the room and handing him a communicator.
"Yes, my lady," the man said with a happy smile on his face.
"Why did you trust him, Mother? How do you know he'll do it? I sensed the truth in his words, but I may have been wrong."
"Did you see what was on the next table?" "—Padmé asked
—There was a little girl—Leia said
—It was his daughter. Where the armor was, his wife was looking on in terror. The man is the leader of the place; he must be strong and talented, no doubt, but there's kindness in his heart. He only wants to protect his family and give them the best.
—This money will help him rebuild the life he left behind on Mandalore
—Not just him, but many there—Padmé explained. If you're a leader, you don't just care about yourself and your family, but about much more.
—That's why they respected him there
—We still have a lot to learn, Luke—Leia said, impressed by how easily Padmé handled situations like this.
—I can see that—Luke said. His parents were truly amazing.
"Why would that Sith want to kill Obi-Wan?" Leia asked.
"The powerful Sith Lord the man is talking about has to be Sidious. If he kills Obi-Wan's father, he'll be truly devastated. It will be another step toward the dark side."
"But Obi-Wan is alive long after Father fell to the dark side. They won't kill him now."
"Things are already changing, Luke," Leia reminded her. "The future may even be different now."
"Leia is right," Padmé said. "We can't allow Obi-Wan's death, and we must be prepared for what's to come."
They informed Ahsoka of their discovery, and she could hardly believe it. Obi-Wan was in danger. If Obi-Wan died, Anakin would be even closer to the dark side.
Ahsoka was lost in thought when a call on Anakin's hotline alerted her. It was the Chancellor calling his master privately. She immediately contacted Padmé and relayed the call. Padmé nearly fell out of her chair when she saw the channel Ahsoka had activated, and Luke and Leia joined her, terrified. This was their chance to find out if their father was now an ally of Palpatine, or if he was still the Jedi everyone claimed he was.
"Anakin, my boy," the Chancellor greeted him kindly.
"Chancellor," Anakin replied, "Your call is unexpected."
"As Chancellor, you know it's difficult for me to find the time, but I worry about my friends. How are you? Are the missions going well?"
"So far, we haven't had any problems, just a Separatist blockade that forced us to take a different route."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you take a detour?" "— asked Palpatine
— If we're on Hosnian Prime, we'll forgo going to Nal Hutta
— Good idea, excellent decision— said Palpatine, and Luke on the other end of the line could feel the darkness within him. He was pleased that they were falling into his trap. — I hope your journey continues safely
— Thank you very much, Chancellor. I only hope we can capture Dooku to end this war
— I hope so too, Anakin— said the Chancellor. — This war has cost us dearly; we've lost too many lives
— We will end this war soon, Chancellor
— I hope so, Anakin. I'm old; I fear I don't have much time left in power— Palpatine lied in a mournful voice
— You still have a long life ahead of you, my friend— said Anakin, feeling his heart sink. Palpatine had helped him throughout his life; he was a dear friend
— It's good to know you have faith in my life expectancy— said Palpatine. — Has Senator Amidala arrived safely? Did someone escort her to Naboo?" "—the chancellor asked, and Padmé, Ahsoka, and the twins' souls froze. They were finished. They never thought this would happen, never thought Palpatine would be so assertive as to ask. I should have known," Luke said, covering his face with both hands, fighting back a scream.
"Senator Amidala," Anakin said, completely bewildered. What was happening to Padmé?
"Senator Amidala is also one of my oldest friends. I've known her since she was a child. I was worried when she said she was going to Naboo to take care of her father, but I was relieved to learn that you allowed her to come with you as long as she was a safe distance away," the chancellor said, probing to see Anakin's reaction to Padmé.
"Of course, I couldn't let her go alone, especially with the Separatists around," Anakin said, anger creeping into his voice but barely concealed.
"Very well, very well, Anakin. I'm very glad," the chancellor said, ending the call with satisfaction. The feelings of those two would be their undoing.
"We're doomed," Padmé said, looking at her children as if her soul had left her body. At least Anakin had kept up the lie.
Anakin didn't understand why Padmé had said that. Where was Padmé, and why was she using him to lie to the chancellor? Why hadn't she told him? What would have happened if he had told Palpatine that he had never been with them? Would he be alright? Had something happened to him?
"Ahsoka!" she shouted, and her voice echoed throughout the camp.
Ahsoka had no time to lose. If Anakin tried hard enough, he would find Luke and Leia's Force marks, possibly even Padmé's. The moment she heard her master's shout, she ran out the opposite exit. Luckily, she found Obi-Wan and told him what was happening.
"I'll distract him. Tell them they have to leave this planet now before he senses their Force marks. I'll try to hide them," said Obi-Wan, knowing that Anakin would most likely try to use the Force to track them.
"That's what I'm doing," Ahsoka said, running off.
"Anakin," said Obi-Wan, sounding agitated, "Where have you been?" he asked, pretending to have been looking for him.
"I'm a little busy right now, Obi-Wan," he replied, annoyed.
"One of the ships has a problem, and I need your help. You've always been better than me with mechanics."
"I'm really busy right now," said Anakin, worried about Padmé.
"I'm really busy at the moment." "It'll only be a few minutes," Obi-Wan requested.
"Fine," Anakin resignedly agreed. He would contact her as soon as he finished what Obi-Wan had asked. He just hoped his wife was alright, but he would know if she wasn't. Even so, he hated it when she lied to him.
"You need to get out of here now," Ahsoka said, arriving at the camp. "Obi-Wan thinks Anakin will try to use the Force to find out where you are," she said, looking at Padmé, "and I'm sure he will. He already did it once to me."
"We'll get ahead of you," Luke said. "Just tell us where your next stop will be."
"We'll circle Kashyyyk until we reach Mandalore," Ahsoka explained. "You can wait for us on Kashyyyk until we pass by."
"See you on Mandalore," Luke said. They would wait on Kashyyyk and then meet up on Mandalore.
"May the Force be with you," Ahsoka said, and they nodded.
The trogut ran back to the camp and found her master battling a ship that Obi-Wan had instructed her to destroy just before he left.
"How did Obi-Wan manage to break this like that?" Anakin asked. "He hasn't even used it."
"I think it was me, Master," Ahsoka said, appearing.
"How did you do it?" Anakin asked, frowning.
"Master Obi-Wan wanted me to fix a problem with his ship, and while I was doing that, he appeared without me noticing, and I unintentionally used the Force," Ahsoka said.
"You blew up half the ship with the Force?" Anakin asked, impressed.
"Apparently so," Ahsoka said, seeing that she had indeed damaged the ship quite badly.
"Never mind. Finish what I started. I have something important to do," Anakin said, getting out of the ship.
"As you command, Master," Ahsoka smiled, tidying up the mess she had made.
Anakin locked himself in his room, too worried and angry with Padmé.
His communicator rang twice, and Padmé hung up. He sighed angrily, tempted to throw the communicator across the room. He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What if she was in danger? Perhaps Leia or Luke knew about her. An idea crossed his mind: What if Padmé had gone with them? He couldn't take that risk. Palpatine had said she'd gone to Naboo to see her father. Was her father alright? What if that was why he wasn't answering? He was tempted to take a ship and divert to Naboo. He couldn't bear to know his wife was suffering and he wasn't by her side. But then his communicator buzzed.
"Padmé, angel, where are you? Why did you tell Palpatine you came with me?" he asked, hurt. "Is your father alright?"
"My father is fine, Ani," Padmé smiled, deeply regretting lying to her. "Just a little sick, he'll recover in a few days."
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell the chancellor that?"
"The chancellor has been very busy lately," Padmé said. "I didn't want my safety to be another problem."
"You should have told me. I would have personally escorted you. Did you arrive safely? Why are you still on your ship?" Anakin asked.
"Oh, Ani, you have nothing to worry about. I arrived safely. I'm flying to the capital city. I need to do some shopping," Padmé lied.
"Are Luke and Leia with you?" Anakin asked.
"No, they stayed at the temple," Padmé said, and Anakin nodded. Padmé was completely sure he didn't believe a word she said.
" "Take good care of yourself, angel," Anakin said, disappointed. He didn't understand why she was lying to him. Why did she prefer to trust Luke and Leia, whom she barely knew? And not him?
"Ani, please take good care of yourself too," Padmé pleaded. "I love you, Ani."
"I love you too, Padmé," Anakin said, looking at her seriously. "Give my regards to Luke and Leia," he said, hanging up. Padmé's heart seemed to break. Leia hugged her when she saw tears fall from her eyes, then when she burst into countless sobs. It was for her own good. He would never let her follow him on a mission, never let her risk herself like that. He preferred that she thought she trusted Luke and Leia more than losing him forever.
Anakin tried to fall asleep, frustrated. Since when were Luke and Leia more trustworthy to Padmé than him? Even so, deep down, he still trusted those two. He felt strange around them; he knew Padmé would be safe with them by her side, but at the same time, he was terrified that something bad might happen to the three of them. Why was he worried about them? Why were those two occupying his thoughts now too? That night, he barely slept.
Padmé hardly slept that night until her communicator crackled. It was the Mandalorian bounty hunter.
"Is it done?" Padmé asked.
"It's done, my lady," the Mandalorian said. "Do you require anything else?"
"Not for now," Padmé replied. "The credits have been transferred to your account. Is the base completely disabled?"
"Not a single droid was left standing," the Mandalorian said, sending images of the destruction. "And there were no civilian casualties."
"Good," Padmé said. "The credits are more than I promised. Take care of your family with them, and those who are important to you."
"Thank you, my lady," the man said, impressed by the woman's kindness. "You're not like those who seek my services on Nal Hutta. You're different."
"Just wait for my call. It won't be the last time," Padmé said.
"From now on, you have my loyalty," he said, and Padmé hung up.
Luke listened to the conversation. He, too, had used the Force to sense the truth in the man's words. He was a good man, but what surprised him was his mother's own kindness. She had managed to win the loyalty of a stranger simply by being kind. She would be his greatest hope.