Star Wars: Balance of the Force (Anakin Skywalker Redemption)

3 - New friends

Padmé rubbed her temples as she read through Ahsoka's report. It was a condensed recap of all the files she had copied from the Imperial base, and it was more than concerning.

The Executor, the new Imperial Dreadnought was almost completed, and a scouting report from Master Plo had confirmed it was indeed docked at the Fondor Shipyards. The stats were utterly outrageous, and Padmé could barely believe it was real. It required a crew of almost three hundred thousand, could fit six years worth of consumables, more guns, turbo-lasers and cannons than a set of Imperial Destroyers and managed to have a Class 1 hyperdrive. It was a moving fortress.

If that came after them... The Rebels didn't stand a chance.

A generous gift from Bail Organa, the Guardian was a battle star cruiser which had been stripped back and rebuilt with enough living space, storage space, manoeuvrability, and fire power to act as the Rebellion's mobile base of operations. Even so, if the specs she was looking at were correct, the Executor was almost ten times its size.

Anakin would have loved it.

Of course he would have, he was, as Obi-Wan always boasted, the best starpilot in the galaxy. He would have loved the opportunity to fly it, though, she supposed, he wouldn't get very far on his own if it really needed... goodness, a hundred people to simply keep all the systems running. It would not stop him from trying.

She smiled at the thought of him boasting about it, telling her how she did it all on his own. Then he'd probably make some grand promise and...

The idea faded. Anakin was gone.

Sucking in a breath, Padmé kept reading, before her traitorous mind could think about him anymore.

Whoever this 'Lord Vader' was, he was clearly dangerous, but even more so because of how little they had heard about him. Ahsoka had promised to investigate, but it concerned Padmé to think they may have a hidden enemy on their tail.

She read about the imprisoned Jedi with a heavy heart, knowing that for now, there would be little the Rebellion could do to help. She'd heard all about the Citadel mission from Anakin, and their harrowing escape. Reading about it again from Ahsoka reminded her of how dangerous it had truly been. 

When Anakin had first told her about their plan to infiltrate the Citadel, even he had been concerned that it might be the first mission he may not walk away from. It had terrified her, but there was little she could do to stop him. He had his battles and she had hers. Their lives had always been so different, yet it was those moments together that always brought her the most joy.

Cursing her wandering mind, she read about the Inquisitors, and how they had taken Ahsoka's lightsabers. Who were they? What purpose did they serve in the Empire? And why had they wielded lightsabers themselves? Too many questions with too few answers.

A little chime sounded and Padmé looked up to the door, buzzing them open from her desk. At the door stood Leia and Luke, Ezac behind them.

He smiled awkwardly, 'Sorry if this is a bad time, they wanted to see you.'

'No, it's alright,' Padmé stood, closing her report and coming around the desk to greet them with a hug.

Ezac pardoned himself and the doors closed again.

'What is it?' Padmé frowned as they went to sit at the couches along the back of the office space. Bail had designed the space with her in mind, and she was always grateful for his thoughtfulness.

They exchanged a look, and Padmé saw their wordless exchange, the language only they seemed to understand. Neither Obi-Wan or Ahsoka seemed to understand the connection the twins shared, or the strange way they communicated.