Star Wars: Destiny of the Force Chapter 2

Storm troopers continued their walk down the hall of the passenger spacecraft, checking each passenger for identification and credentials. One storm trooper advanced towards a figure whose face was hidden in a cloak, cradling something in his arms. As he got closer, he saw that it was a small child, whose arms were cinched around the man's neck.

"Identification and credentials." The clone ordered and the man looked at him silently, one brow raising at the trooper. "Let me see your identification." The clone ordered again, his voice more authoritative and clearly annoyed.

"You don't need to see my identification." The man replied, giving a slight flick with his hand. The storm trooper was silent for a moment, staring at him before nodding.

"I don't need to see your identification."

"You have already seen mine and my daughter's identification and all is clear." The man shrouded in his cloak continued.

"I've seen you and your daughter's identification and all is clear."

"We can go about our business."

"You can go about your business. Move out." The storm trooper ordered and the man walked smoothly by, only shifting the little girl to where her cheek was resting on his shoulder.

"Come on Leia." Anakin Skywalker remarked gently to the sleeping girl. "Let's get this over with."

This Intel had better been worth it and correct, Anakin mused dryly. Or else he was going to be pissed for coming all this way for absolutely nothing. Normally he would have just used his own fighter to get to the planet, but with entering the Elrood so close to the newest holiday called Empire Day, it would have drawn too much attention to fly in a decommissioned Clone Wars fighter plane, especially one that was a Jedi Interceptor Plane.

Besides, that plane barely had enough room to fit him and Leia. And he wasn't about to leave her in the care of any rebel that said they could do it again. Not unless he knew them and knew he could trust them with her life.

He was still angry over that last debacle when the coward who had been watching Leia while he was out on a mission had run at the first sight of storm troopers at a park, leaving Leia there alone on the swings. He had just barely arrived to save her from being taken by the storm troopers. He had gotten her to the bunker and after comforting her and promising her that the bad men in white helmets weren't going to take her, and probably telling her one too many bedtime stories of the princess that fell in love with the knight, had put her to bed. He had then cursed out the cowardly rat that had nearly gotten his daughter taken by the Empire so badly the man was still avoiding him.

As any smart man would.

He pulled his hood closer to him, hiding his face further as they exited the ship and entered the terminal, which was as spotless as people had claimed it was. Leia was beginning to wake up and the two year old blinked, looking around innocently as her hand traveled to her mouth and she began to gnaw on it. He smiled. She was starting to grow like a weed and was as innocent as ever, normally following him around the compounds of the steadily growing Rebellion forming, a little shadow as some of the men had kindly stated. She brought cheer to the men and women of the rebellion, that much was clear. He thought of his son, and wondered how he was doing. From what he had seen on those holoscreens, the little boy was doing perfectly fine, and looked like he was going to share many characteristics to him.

He was safe...for the time being...

He glanced at Leia. Just as she would be.

"Pretty neat, right?" He asked and the little girl glanced in his direction and giggled, her hand finding purchase in his hair and gave it a slight tug. He winced, but smiled nonetheless. He heard some nearby women cooing at the sight but kept walking. He didn't want to attract too much attention.

"Dada, up!" Leia commented, looking around at the different levels of the city.

"That's right, Squirt. We're going up a few levels. There should be something to eat around there." He remarked dryly. He shifted her again as she babbled nonsense, like any other two year old would do to her father. It helped him blend too. For a little while he continued through each level, occasionally asking if they had seen the one he was looking for, which led him nowhere. Finally, when Leia was growing fussy and angry at not having any food, he found a diner that wasn't a complete scum-filled place to eat and sat Leia down in the booth before sitting next to her, blocking her in so she couldn't scamper away.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, trying to relieve the stress and the growing headache. There was no guarantee that Ahsoka was even in this district, or she could have left the planet after the Intel was found. Or she could have been discovered to be an ex-padawan and some storm trooper…

He shook his head not wanting to think that he had lost the young Togruta as well. They had lost so many of the Jedi Order, and few Younglings had managed to escape the temple on Coruscant. He himself had only managed to save a small handful, telling them to conceal their sabers and to cut off their braids as well as to hide in the shadows of Coruscant until he could find a way to get them safely off the planet. Of that handful only 5 had managed to get to him. He didn't know what had happened to the others…and a part of him wondered if he wanted to at all.

"Oh she is so precious."

He jerked up, looking up to see a waitress standing there, cooing at Leia, who was now hiding her face into Anakin's arm. He offered a genuine smile before she went down to business and asking for his and Leia's order.

"Alright, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Actually…yes." Anakin remarked. It was a long shot but worth it. "See, I was supposed to meet a friend, however she didn't show up at the place we were supposed to meet up at. I don't live here so I don't know where she lives, and I was wondering if you had seen her around?" He asked.

He lifted up a holodisc that blinked on and showed a slightly older Ahsoka, thankfully with her lightsaber's put away. That would cause too many questions to be asked. When he saw hesitance he glanced at Leia. "Want her to meet this little squirt." He explained and the woman's expression softened before she looked closer at the holodisc. The waitress stared for several moments before her expression lit up.

"Oh that's Ahaarsha Miri. At least I think so. Togruta's are a bit hard to decipher if they have the same skin tone. She lives nearby, gets breakfast here every now and then." She explained. Anakin barely held back the look of relief on his face. She may still be alive.

He barely touched his food when it arrived, while Leia made short work of making a complete mess on her and her clothes with her food. He glanced out the window. Nearly an hour later they were out again, wandering around. Leia was a bit more alert now and was her general chipper self, toddling after Anakin the best she could.

"Aw cwean." Leia chirped as he and her walked down the pathway, her clutching the end of his cloak tightly. He nodded absently glancing around as though he would spot Ahsoka right then and there. It had been nearly 30 minutes since dinner and an extra 15 of cleaning Leia to the best of his ability. Now he was looking for the Togruta named Ahaarsha, who was possibly Ahsoka. Which was proving to be a bit difficult. Suddenly there was a familiar feeling of him being followed. He paused momentarily, and Leia glanced at her father confused.

"Leia, hide behind the cloak." He ordered gently and the little girl did so, thinking it was a new game. Then he bent down and grabbed her, picking her up but kept her hidden in his cloak. They continued walking merging into the crowd, but Anakin still sensed it. It seemed the hunter had become the hunted. Leia however seemed to not mind, still babbling to Anakin, though now he wasn't replying. Suddenly he went into an alley way quickly, earning a delighted squeal from Leia, as this was an game to her.

It wasn't for Anakin however, who slid to a stop when a figure jumped down and aimed a blade at his neck.

"You've been asking around for me, it seems."

"It would seem." Anakin remarked dryly. "Granted Snips, you would think you would have been a bit sneakier. A few years of retirement already affecting your abilities?"
The figure jumped back in surprise, removing the hood revealing that it was in fact Ahsoka Tano. The young Togruta blinked several times. She had changed. Her outfit was mature now more reminiscent of a woman her age. Her head-tails likewise had grown. Now she was staring at him as though she had seen a ghost.

"Master?"

"Hey, Ahsoka." Anakin replied with a smile that didn't even show half of the amount of relief that he felt. "I'm glad you're alright too. Now could you kindly remove the knife from my throat?"

She did so…before hugging him tightly.

"Thank the Force, you're alive!" She exclaimed.

"Squishy!"

She moved away, blinking as the little girl who poked her head out of the opening of the hood, pressing against Anakin's cheek as she glared at her.

"Master…did you…is that why you're here? Is she…you know…sensitive?"

"Well yes…yes she's sensitive to the Force." Anakin began and then chuckled. "But that would make sense as well…she's my daughter and all."

"…Huh?"

"This is Leia." Anakin began setting the little girl down who hid shyly behind Anakin's leg, peering up at Ahsoka. "Leia Skywalker."

---

"I can't believe it…"

"I know. It's strange."

"No, I mean I really can't believe it. How can you have a daughter?" Ahsoka asked as they settled into the small apartment that Ahsoka was renting. "Especially one that is already two years old? I know I wasn't there for the last few months of the Clone Wars, but when did you find the time to manage to have and culture a relationship and well…conceive…and still have a relationship to the point of where the mother would trust that you would keep her safe? I mean I know Jedi aren't…" She trailed off and he could see pain in her expression. "Weren't…abstinent but still…"

"Well…you see…" Anakin began rubbing the back of his head. "I may have…bent…that rule a bit.
Or broke it entirely. It all depended on a certain point of view.

"What are you talking about?"

"Dada…tiwed…" Leia interrupted, yawning as she toddled to him, arms raised, clearly wanting to be held. Their conversation now halted, Anakin bent down and picked her up, letting her settle on his chest.

"Stowy." She mumbled, muffled by her fist, which was jammed in her mouth. He smiled.

"I know, I know. You refuse to go to bed if you don't get one, Squirt." He lamented, but she merely shifted, curling closer around his chest, relaxing against the sound of his heartbeat. "Hhmmm…how about one with the princess and the knight when villains took the princess hostage and the knight went to save her?"

A slight shift in her head gave hint to the fact that Leia agreed to the story and he began. Ahsoka listened carefully. It was clear that in reality this tale was when Grievous had taken Padmé hostage to try and save the battleship Malevolence. But it seemed the relationship between the knight and the princess in the story was different. It wasn't a senator and a Jedi who felt like it was obligation to protect a member of the senate to preserve the peace. No…it sounded more like a man who had loved a woman and would risk his very person to rescue her.

Then it clicked.

In reality it should have clicked years ago as she thought about the relationship between her master and Senator Amidala; the moments that she had caught between the pair conversing. It wasn't just a relationship of good friends…no…it was a relationship of two people who loved one another. When she glanced at Anakin's face and saw he was no longer looking at his daughter, but at her, she realized he must have told that particular story for a reason. Finally Leia had fallen asleep, curled to her father in such a familiar fashion that something told her that it was a repeating occurrence.

"…Senator Amidala…she…how long were you two…"

"We married when I was 19 and she was 24." He responded quietly placing his robe over Leia. "I was still a Padawan at the time."

Ahsoka almost had to collect her jaw from the floor.

The entire time of the war…he had been married.

"Doesn't she…I mean I've seen the Senate meetings on holoscreens, Anakin. I've seen the holodiscs. She has a son and he always follows her around. Who…"

"That…would be my son…Luke." He replied, the response feeling as though a stone was in his throat. "You better get comfortable…this is going to be a long story."

---

"There has been a decline in spice production from…"

"It's the attacks on the Imperial ships from those…those terrorists. I think…"

"Agreed it must be all because of that terrorist Skywalker."

Padmé felt her hands tightening into the fabric of her dress as she sat among the Senate, listening to the chatter. Finally, much to her relief, the Imperial Senate meeting was adjourned for the day. It was exhausting listening to the Senators fighting and arguing about such meaningless things. That's all they were now. There was no freedom or democracy, no room to debate actual law that would better the galaxy, no matter what the others thought. There were a few senators that knew the truth. And she was one of them.

And it didn't help that Anakin's name was being thrown around as though it was nothing more than filth. Some of those senators he had saved, and they had turned on him so quickly. Now he was nothing more than 'that terrorist Skywalker'. And it twisted her heart every time she heard such a thing being said, but was never able to speak out against it. That would lead to too many questions and no one other than Senator Organa and his wife knew how close she truly was to Anakin.

And maybe…

"Mama!"

She turned and her spirits lifted as she saw her little Luke toddling as quickly as he could to her, Ellé and Sabé trailing behind him. She knelt down and embraced him tightly, kissing his temple gently. He nuzzled her neck, clutching the fabric of her dress tightly in his little hands.

"Hello my little star. Were you good for Ellé and Sabé?" She asked, pushing his bangs back. The little boy beamed before nodding and Padme's heart twisted again. He looked so much like Anakin.

"Mhm Mama! Miss you!" He protested, pouting and she chuckled.

"I'm sorry." She said standing and holding his hand. He followed her quickly, sucking on his other thumb as he clutched her hand tightly as to not get lost in the crowds. Still as she watched him from her peripherals, she could see his eyes darting from side to side, looking at all the Senators. Thankfully he was still young enough to not know that some of the stares weren't out of kindness or how cute he was. Some of them were directed at her, and the fact that she was a mother with no father to show. The rumors had been interesting to listen to, some speculating she had been a lover to a Separatist and that was why she had been pushing so hard for peace. Others had said that he was a clone and had died in the war.
Honestly, the latter of the two had made little sense, as Luke looked nothing like a son of a clone. But rumors were rumors.

"There you are, Padmé!" She heard and turned to see Bail Organa. She paused and turned, smiling at her friend. Luke hid behind her skirts, giggling as he peered up. Bail smiled and bent down, and Luke pressed his face further into her skirt. "And there is little Luke. As always, with you Padmé. I sometimes think he's like your little shadow."

"That wouldn't be too far from the truth." She commented, ruffling Luke's hair again. "Say hello, Luke."

"Hi." He repeated, giggling as he did so. Bail Organa smiled and glanced at Breha who was smiling fondly at the child. She bent down to Luke's level and Luke poked his head out, smiling cheekily at Breha. Her smile was enough to get him to leave the safety of his mother's skirt and toddled over, talking to her in a language that many wouldn't quite understand. But for those who had watched Luke grow, they knew pretty well.

"So you liked the design of those cruisers, hm?" Breha commented with a smile and the little boy nodded, nibbling on his fingers.

"He's growing so much." Bail remarked and Padmé nodded in agreement.

"He's actually starting to sleep in his own room now." Padmé commented proudly. He had been rather stubborn about that for a while and there had been multiple times that she had awoken to him curled up to her, sucking on his thumb. While a part of her knew she'd had to keep telling him that this wasn't his big boy bed and he needed to sleep there, a small part of her was comforted by it. She wasn't alone. Suddenly Luke stopped talking and went still, before running behind Breha and hiding behind her.

"Luke? What's…" Padmé began and turned. She felt her heart jump a few beats as a single figure, surrounded by his personal guards made his way down the hall. Everyone split into either direction, looking down or away as they bowed and curtsied to him. Padmé turned as Breha stood, Luke clutching her skirt tightly as he peered around them to look.

"Emperor Palpatine. What an honor." Padmé quickly said, curtsying slightly as did Breha while Bail bowed slightly. The Emperor merely smiled, but seemed to be preoccupied with looking past her. Padmé followed his gaze and felt her heart crawl into her throat as she saw he was looking at Luke, who was still hiding behind Breha's skirt, one tiny fist clutching the fabric tightly. It was obvious to the Organa's and to Padmé that Luke was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, as unlike before where he had hid his face to be cheeky and act innocent to gain attention, Luke was now hiding for the mere fact he didn't want to be seen.

"It seems your son is growing stronger and stronger each day." The Emperor commented and Padmé heard a slight whimper come from Luke, and she wanted nothing more than to take him into her arms and shield him. "I'm sure his father would have been very proud."

"Yes Emperor…I'm sure he would be." Padmé responded, her voice sounding strange in her pounding head. The Emperor smiled and with a slight bow and then continued on his way. Not a second passed that the Emperor had turned the corner before Luke practically ran to his mother, on the verge of tears. She picked him up, not caring if she got her clothes dirty from his boots.

"Scawy." Luke sniffled as he clung to her.

"I know." She whispered softly, rubbing his back as he began to cry. "I know baby boy. You're alright."

---

Padmé sighed as she looked out into the city from the balcony of the flat in Coruscant she owned. The city held practically no warmth now. There was no sense of peace, even with the added amount of storm troopers that had been brought there to 'protect' the Emperor. She had nearly laughed at that. It wasn't a measure of security but a measure of a show of hand…just how much power the Emperor had.

She rubbed her forearms, casting a glance at the darkened area of the city. Where the Jedi Temple had once stood, now nothing more than a grave and an old testament of the old Republic and the bodies of however many Jedi and younglings that had fallen there. No one had gone to collect them, as they were considered traitors…and even so, they had been Jedi built to follow the strict code. They had no family to speak of.

Except for Anakin.

She remembered those nights when Anakin had left the temple and had come here, sneaking in using his 'Jedi tricks' as he had teased when he had probably stated it was business with her and had entered calmly…or climbed the wall. He had always seemed to love the theatrics. She remembered feeling that cold of the city and the machines vanishing the moment he entered her room. That missing piece in her heart always seemed to vanish. And there were other memories in this room, others she would always keep to herself in the back of her mind, lest she wanted to scar the mind of her son.

She sighed and went back into her room and spotted a small lump under her sheets. Sighing she sat down next to it and moved the covers to see Luke hidden under there, clutching a small plush animal to him, sucking on his thumb. He looked at her with glassy eyes.

"Luke…" She began softly.

"Stay hewe?" He asked hopefully, sniffling lightly. This time, unlike many other times where she had protested, picking him up to bring him to his room, she didn't. Instead she got under the covers and began to read as Luke curled up next to her, sucking his thumb. Within moments he was asleep, clearly exhausted. Today, the Emperor had scared him badly, that much was clear. How she didn't know, maybe he had thrown as much energy as he could towards Luke to scare him, as any child, especially Luke, would have felt the evil oozing off of him. She didn't know, but she didn't have the heart to tell him no that he couldn't sleepover here with her this time. Besides the fact, she would likely have to go to his room anyway late at night to deal with the nightmares.

If she would have, she would have punched the damn man for scaring her son so much. But that would have earned a likely death sentence, and an immediate sentence at best. And then Anakin would have no way to gain Intel from the emperor; Luke would be without a mother, Luke would have likely either been orphaned and then raised by who knew or taken in by the Organa's, and everything would end badly. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She couldn't think about that. It wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it happen.

She tucked Luke in a bit tighter next to her side as she squirmed down to his level. He stretched a bit, but remained in the confines of his dreams. Gently she pushed a hand through Luke's light hair. It wasn't a shade of hers or her family, so she likened it was from Anakin's family and the Tattoine blood in him showing itself. She smiled gently and she wondered about her other child…the one who was with 'that terrorist Skywalker' that everyone. Her little Leia.

She wondered if she was actually eating her veggies that Anakin himself despised so much, or was he letting it slide because if she didn't eat them, that meant he didn't have to either. She wondered if Anakin was telling her stories, and what kinds. She wondered if she had been as quick in learning how to walk and talk as Luke had been or if she was still crawling and barely able to speak more than a handful of words.

Most of all, she wondered if the both of them were safe and, at the very least, marginally happy.

She kissed Luke's forehead as she settled into sleep. Into dreams where her family wasn't torn and they were all safe and happy.

If only the dream was real.