Padmé would keep the chancellor occupied, Satine would return to Mandalore with a military escort now that she was part of the Republic, Leia, Ahsoka, Luke, and Anakin would go to Mustafar in search of some of the Emperor's secrets or any clue that would allow them to destroy him, Obi-Wan and Han would go to Kamino. Obi-Wan already knew the place and was sure he could deal with the Kaminoans more peacefully than Anakin could. Then, in two days, they would meet again on Coruscant, find Padmé, and go to Tatooine to speak with Jabba.
The farewell was bittersweet. He knew they would see each other again soon, but for Anakin, it was too difficult to leave Padmé. She was pregnant, and she had begged him to let her go with him this time, but he couldn't put her at risk.
"Promise me you'll be okay," Padmé said, clinging to his neck, tears welling in her eyes. "Promise me, Ani," she begged.
"I promise," Anakin replied, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. He would miss her terribly.
"I love you," Padmé said.
"I love you too, angel. You're everything to me. They are," he smiled, caressing Padmé's still-flat stomach.
"It's not fair," Padmé complained. "They're going with you."
"And they're staying with you too," Anakin smiled, laughing at Padmé's sigh.
"Promise you'll take care of them if anything happens to them," Padmé said, and Anakin promised a thousand times over that he would protect his children. He hadn't agreed with them going, but they insisted.
Anakin walked toward the exit, and Padmé ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck once more. They kissed passionately until Anakin broke the kiss. He had to be able to leave her arms one more time; then, when this war was over, they would never be apart again. Padmé choked back a sob as she watched him board his ship. She had already said goodbye to Luke and Leia, who were excitedly waiting on the ship with Ahsoka, but for her, it was awful to let them go.
"They'll be alright," Satine said, stroking Padmé's shoulder.
"You too?" Padmé asked, noticing the tears on Satine's face.
"It's always been hard to see him leave," Satine said, watching Obi-Wan and Anakin board their respective ships without looking back.
What they didn't know was that the two men were looking back every second, wishing they could leave everything behind and stay with them forever.
"How is it so easy for you?" Obi-Wan asked, reluctantly boarding the Millennium Falcon, since Han had refused to use any other ship.
"My path has never been in one place," Han replied, though deep down he knew it was becoming increasingly difficult to be separated from Leia.
"Anakin didn't let you go with her, did he?" Obi-Wan teased, and Han rolled his eyes, piloting the Millennium Falcon at high speed.
"I hate flying."
"I thought all Jedi loved to fly," Han said, confused.
"Only the Skywalkers and Ahsoka do, I can assure you," Obi-Wan said, feeling sick from the speed.
"I'll keep that in mind," Han said.
Anakin and Ahsoka piloted the ship toward Mustafar. Everyone was silent, and Anakin glanced sideways at his children talking.
"Do you miss Han?" Luke asked, hugging Leia.
"I'll see him soon," Leia lied, smiling as Luke hugged her back.
"You don't have to pretend with me. Dad's on the verge of tears for leaving Mom," Luke said to cheer her up, and Anakin stifled a laugh.
"I just hope he's okay," Leia sighed.
"He will be," Luke smiled. "In a way, he always is."
In six hours, they arrived at Mustafar. The place was as desolate as Anakin remembered it. Ahsoka wrinkled her nose, annoyed by the smell of sulfur. They disembarked the ship in silence, and suddenly Leia's head began to throb. An image immediately flashed into her mind: Vader. Ever since the day he entered her father's memory, she had had visions of Vader's past, and now they were clearer than ever.
"Leia, what's wrong?" Luke asked, supporting her as she struggled to walk.
"Leia," Anakin said, rushing to his daughter's aid, "we need to get back to the ship." He carried her.
"No, I need to stay," Leia said, clinging to her father's neck.
And then the memories flowed like water. He saw the moment Padmé arrived on Mustafar, how she kissed Anakin, he saw Obi-Wan appear, how his father knocked his mother unconscious, and finally the terrifying battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin, finally the fatal outcome that explained why Vader wore that suit: his father's legs and arm had been amputated, and he had been left to burn. That was how Vader was created. Even though at that moment his father was the villain, the way they left him there, mutilated and slowly burning, was the cruelest thing he had ever seen. How could the man who loved him like a brother do that to him?
"Dad," Leia said, clinging to his neck, and Anakin took her in, looking worried.
"What happened?" Anakin asked.
"It's nothing, it's over now," Leia said, remaining silent. No one could get her to speak, but Luke was her twin; he knew Leia had seen something, something important.
"Leia, will you tell me what happened?" Luke asked.
"I can't," Leia said, and Luke could have sworn there were tears in her eyes.
After trying to get Leia to reveal what had happened, they decided to continue, but everyone was uneasy. Something bad had happened, and Leia wouldn't say what it was.
"Maybe we should go to the palace area," Luke said calmly, and Leia looked directly at him.
"Maybe we should go to the palace grounds," Luke said calmly, and Leia looked at him directly.
"Leia, I think, is the best way to get a word out." "There isn't a palace yet, Luke, and there never will be," she said, and Luke remembered.
"Palace?" Ahsoka asked. "Who builds a palace in this furnace?" the trogut asked, and both Leia and Luke looked at Anakin. "Oh, I get it now."
"Did Vader have a palace on Mustafar?"
"A horrible fortress that even the Emperor feared to enter," Leia said, the images of her father burning alive churning her stomach.
"I'm supposed to die here," Anakin commented. "It makes sense that he'd build a palace here." He joked, and everyone laughed except Leia, who still felt like crying at the sight.
Suddenly, they noticed unusual activity at a factory that should have been abandoned. They had to investigate very carefully, otherwise they would be discovered, and Palpatine would find out everything.
"Stay here," Anakin said, watching his children. "Ahsoka and I will go investigate."
"We're in this together, Dad," Luke said.
"I won't let you take any chances," Anakin said, unwilling to budge.
"Trust us, Dad. If you won't let us go with you, we'll go anyway. You can protect us better if we're by your side," Leia smiled defiantly.
"You're just like Padmé," Anakin said, raising an eyebrow.
"Never try to argue with her," Luke suggested.
"You can say that again," Anakin smiled, remembering his beloved wife.
When they arrived at the abandoned factory, Anakin could see hundreds of battle droids working on the creation of enormous star cruisers. They couldn't take them on; there were too many.
"Master, what will we do?" Ahsoka asked, seeing that there was no way to fight them all.
"We can't stay, we have to run," Anakin cursed, hating to have to say it.
"Dad!" Leia cried as a battle droid fired at her, but she managed to block the attack with a lightsaber.
"Damn it," Anakin said. "They've been discovered. Palpatine will find out everything."
They were immediately surrounded by hundreds of battle droids. Anakin hid his two children behind him, ignoring their protests. Their chances of getting out alive were slim. They wouldn't be able to reach the ship quickly enough to try and disable any possible control vessels either.
The droids began attacking them, and they blocked each attack as best they could. Anakin and Ahsoka destroyed as many droids as they could, and Luke and Leia used the Force to push them back. Then, destroyer droids arrived. Anakin quickly showed his children how to destroy them, but they were surrounded in a matter of minutes.
"We won't make it," Anakin said, too worried about his children to worry about himself.
"We won't make it," They continued fighting until they couldn't fight anymore. Anakin couldn't let them hurt his children; it was an impossible option. But suddenly, all the droids deactivated.
"What happened?" Leia asked, confused.
"There's no time. We have to get out of here," Anakin said, running toward the ship.
"Master, look," Ahsoka said, pointing at a figure wielding a purple lightsaber. "Master Windu?" Ahsoka asked, but the figure began to run in another direction. More battle droids were approaching in the distance; they had to get out of there.
"It wasn't Windu," Anakin said as they boarded the ship.
"Are you sure?" Ahsoka asked. "It's the only lightsaber of that color I've ever seen," she remarked.
"His lightsaber is different," Anakin said, having trained with Master Windu a few times.
"Who was it then?" Ahsoka wondered.
Leia watched Luke. He had changed since seeing the strange figure, but it was impossible for Luke to know who it was.
"What's wrong, Luke?" Leia whispered.
"It's nothing," Luke said, more serious than usual. "Let me see that wound," he said, examining a small cut on Leia's shoulder.
In the Senate, Padmé announced Mandalore's return to the Republic.
"I'm afraid, Senator Amidala, that's not your decision," objected one senator. "That's the Duchess's job, and her death was reported some time ago; a replacement hasn't even been chosen yet."
"You can't do this, Senator Amidala," said another senator. "The Duchess was completely against joining the Republic."
"She herself will say so, Senators," Padmé said firmly, smiling at the Chancellor, who was looking at her with visible satisfaction. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Duchess of Mandalore," she said as Satine advanced to the center of the Senate. Many surprised voices and some applause were heard.
"Mandalore will join the Republic," said the Duchess. "I will do whatever is necessary for my people," she began, and many applauded.
The speech lasted several minutes, and every word pleased the chancellor. Mandalore was one of the key locations needed to deploy armies to all the systems; its ceasing to be a neutral point was one of the best things that could have happened.
Padmé met with him after the speech, and he invited her into his office. Satine said goodbye to them as she left for the Jedi Temple, where she would be sent with a military escort to Mandalore. The chancellor thanked Padmé for everything she had accomplished and personally arranged for a ship to take her to his apartment.
Obi-Wan and Han had arrived on Kamino. While Obi-Wan distracted the Kaminoans, he sent Han on a mission only a smuggler could pull off. He needed to know how the clones, even their closest allies, could betray them. The twins had mentioned that the clones were enemies and had participated in the Jedi Purge, but how could that be possible when they had fought battles side by side? He refused to believe the clones would betray them willingly. When Han signaled that he had the information, they returned to Coruscant.
At the end of the day, they had all accomplished their mission, but it didn't bring them happiness. On the contrary, it only made them realize that defeating the future empire was far more complex than they had imagined.