The Mandalorian Jedi

Chapter Thirty One

The temple was empty as I walked through it to where our ships were kept. It would have been peaceful if not for the bodies flung across the floor at awkward angles every few metres. Naakla trotted alongside me, her entire posture curled in on itself. I wondered what she must have been feeling in that moment. Probably something incredibly similar to me. Whatever Ka'ra had been to her I had no doubt it hurt just as much as my loss of Anakin and Norah.

The ships were unguarded when we arrived. A couple of clone troopers lay in the middle of the room with lightsaber cuts across their chests. A ship was missing too and I could only pray whoever it was had succeeded in their escape. It took me a moment to find the R2 units huddled in the corner of the room. Only one remained powered up and it was not particularly happy about the idea of an escape. It took a good amount of convincing to get the thing moving but we got there in the end. Nothing stopped us as we made our way out of the hangar and up into the abyss of space and then into the vast expanse of hyperspace.

The silence of it all was deafening. The light spiralling outside was sickening. None of it felt right. I couldn't help but wonder how many Jedi were in the same position, running for their lives and leaving everything behind. Maybe, just maybe 'shoka would be among them. Or maybe she was out there somewhere, a hole in her chest put there by Rex just like thousands of others.

The base on Polis Massa was empty as I landed my ship and slowly got out. Naakla stayed close at my heels as I walked towards the entrance. My hand instinctively moved to my saber but I was able to relax slightly as a droid appeared in front of me
"Welcome Master Rhea of the Jedi. I am glad you are safe. Please, follow me Master Jedi."
"I'm not a Master. Is anyone here?
"I am afraid not. Come in. You must see a medical droid immediately." I didn't have any energy left to argue so I let the droid guide me through the halls. It didn't talk anymore which was something of a relief. Right now silence seemed like a pretty good option. Pretend every is okay until it is, right?

I will never understand how the person who invented medical droids thought it would be a good idea to make them look as creepy as possible. They're like gods damned kriffing skeletons. I suppose you end up so distracted by estimating how likely one is to kill you the whole being shot thing doesn't seem like such a big deal. It was finished soon enough and then nothing. I could do nothing but wait and hope to the gods someone had survived.

Bail and Yoda were the first back and my sigh of relief was louder than those disappointed ones Obi-Wan did all the time,
"Obi?"
"He isn't back yet?" Not a good sign. Bail looked down at the floor and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "All we can do now is wait."
"Wait for long we must not. Find us here Palpatine will."

More nothing. For hours, just nothing and then something, lots of things. His hologram flickered to life in front of Bail and I. We both jerked upright in our seats,
"We are not far away. Padme needs medical attention."
"Is she alright?"
"I believe so. The child is coming."
"Are you alright?" The silence was enough. I tried not to think about what it meant,
"I will tell you everything soon Rhea. Padme is our priority." I nodded and the hologram disappeared. Bail left to tell Master Yoda and I stayed there, my eyes fixed on where Obi-Wan's image had just been. I was failing at the whole not thinking thing. Was Anakin alright? Why did I care if he was alright? He's my brother, why wouldn't I care? No. No he's not my brother. My brother is dead. Anakin is dead. He's dead.

Telling that to myself over and over didn't make me believe it any more.

I followed alongside 3PO and R2 as Obi-Wan carried Padme to the medical centre. The medical droids took her into a med bay and began their examinations of her. I tried to use the force to see what was wrong but there was nothing, she seemed healthy, or as healthy as anyone who is on the verge of giving birth after losing everything can be and yet I could feel her slipping away ever so slowly. I knew Obi-Wan felt it to. He kept glancing over at me and every time our eyes met the dread got worse. I told myself she was going to be fine, she was going to pull through. I told Obi-Wan, Yoda and Bail too. We all nodded and smiled. It got harder to pretend when a droid came out to tell us she was most definitely dying.

It was too much. Too kriffing much. How? How could so many people be gone in such a small space of time? How could that be possible? I didn't try and hold myself upright anymore. I just sank to the floor with my knees to my chest and stifled the growing urge to scream as loudly as I possibly could. Praying wasn't really my thing but I did anyway. I prayed to every damn god I could remember. I wasn't going to lose another friend. I wasn't going to let my last happy memory of us be lying on the floor of her apartments thinking of baby names and making stupid plans on how to trick the council into letting Anakin and I stay Jedi after the baby was born. Or babies according to the droids. I could not let the rough sketches of a nursery be the last thing left of her in this universe.

"Rhea?" I looked up to see Obi-Wan crouching beside me, "She needs us now."
"She can't die Obi. I can't lose her."
"You can Rhea and you must. For Padme you must, these children, they are the future. They are Anakin's legacy, they are Padme's and it is our responsibility to give them a life they deserve. You cannot lose yourself to the past, we have a future to fight for."
"You killed him? Anakin?" He nodded. "How?"
"We fought. I was better. I left him on the bank, he was uh, he was burning. Screaming. But whatever might have been left... Palpatine killed him long before I did."
"Good. He's not in pain anymore."
"No. No he isn't."

It's a strange thing to feel, relief at the death of your best friend. I suppose the idea that he was gone from this world was better than the idea of a world in which he lived in pain every day.

I let Obi pull me off the ground and guide me into the med bay. She was already screaming when we entered. I stood on one side, Obi stood on the other and as I offered my hand she took it. With each contraction her screams echoed around the room and her nails dug deeper into my hand. The boy came first, his screams drowning out the calming voice of the droid delivering him. Obi-Wan took him in his arms and bent to show him to Padme. Her smile is something I will always remember. She only said one thing, a name. Luke. It had been the third name on the list we had made. The one we had kept returning to over and over again. It didn't take long for the girl to come, screaming just as loudly as her brother. Padme let go of my hand so I could take the baby in my arms. The blood from where her nails had broken through the skin of my hand stained the soft white of the blanket. Padme smiled again and then looked up into my eyes,
"Leia. She is Leia. Take care of them for me. They must be kept safe. Promise me."
"They will be protected. I promise." She smiled through her tears and reached her hand out. I took it in mine again and she sighed. I could feel her energy draining, her life force flickering slowly flickering away but she managed to hold on just a little longer. Her eyes moved between the two of us as we spoke,
"There is good in him. I know it. There is still..." She trailed off as her eyes closed and her hand slipped from mine. The blood from the cuts were smeared across both our palms and she was gone. I couldn't hear the screams of the babies anymore. I just saw her. There was a rushing in my ears as I stared. I couldn't stop. She was gone. She hadn't even known Anakin was gone too. Or maybe she knew, even then, that he was still out there. Being born as she died.