Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

88.

'I have barely even held them, and now you're asking me to choose who I want to part with?'

Obi-wan winced at the crack in Sol's voice. In the kitchen and dining space of the Lars' farm, there was a gathering of Jedi, a droid, and the moisture farmers who had been pulled into their chaos. Sol was sat with Leia wrapped in a bundle, while Luke was held by Beru. The two women were sat on the edges of the dining space benches and R2 stood in-between them with his extendable arm out of his front panel. He occupied himself by waving the silver arm around above Luke, who absently watched it move with his bright blue eyes. It bewildered R2 to see such a small human in the arms of another and was even more shaken to see the eyes of his old master in the newborn.

'If he has already threatened Padme, and that what she says is true, then it's too dangerous to have all three of you together,' Revan tried to reason, knowing that their request was beyond reasonable asking.

'But... they're so young,' Sol whispered as she looked down at Leia. The baby girl was enjoying a snooze and leaned her tiny head against her mother's chest. Sol's previous thought about not being able to part from the twins now that they had arrived hadn't strayed, but she was being told that it wasn't the reality.

R2's surprise arrival had been met with joy at first. Sol and Obi-wan grinned and put their hands on his domed head when his stabilising jets brought him down the many stairs into the complex. But the transmission he carried from Padme Amidala had erased any form of rejoicing from the two. While the room was silent, R2 projected the hologram of the Naboo senator, who was dressed in a dark purple gown, onto the kitchen floor.

'Vader suspects that I am behind the rebellion, and I assume that was his original objective when he arrived in my office,' Padme's hologram informed with her hands clasped in front of her. 'But then he demanded I tell him about your whereabouts. I feared he was about to unleash his rage, but something stopped him. He went into a trans-like state and before I knew it, he returned to his ship and left the planet before Captain Typho could come to my rescue. I think he must have felt something in the Force. I don't know about your Jedi abilities, but I think he may have sensed your presence, Sol, and perhaps the children's, as well.

If you receive this, I hope that you are okay, and that if the twins have arrived, that they are healthy and full of all the good that you and Anakin have.

Please, don't underestimate Vader. He's changed, well beyond what I had thought. I pray to the high heavens that you are all safe and that he never finds you.

Don't give up, Sol. The Empire is flawed, and I believe there is still good just waiting to prevail.'

Sol noticed the stiff posture of the senator and the formal language she used that was reserved for politics. They had been a part for so long that Padme had slipped back into addressing Sol with formalities and seriousness. Sol remembered how Padme used to treat her as a refuge to act herself and be the free-willed woman that she was besides being a Galactic senator. It saddened Sol to see Padme serious and somewhat frightened from her encounter, but it brought an urgency to the farm that may have gone amiss if her transmission had been any different.

Darth Vader had sensed Sol and the twins. He had sensed them from the few seconds where Sol had lost the ability to suppress their signatures without the help of Obi-wan's power. Even from Naboo, where Vader had gone to interrogate Padme, he had sensed their presence on Tatooine. Whether it was enough time for him to locate where their flames were coming from, Sol didn't know, but he must have been intrigued by the two extra Force signatures that simmered next to hers.

From the transmission, Ahsoka and Revan brought forward the discussion that had been brewing since their arrival. They had travelled to Tatooine not only to see the children, but to inform Sol and Obi-wan of how they could continue hiding for Darth Vader. It was first met with astoundment, and Sol wanted to burst into tears at hearing of what she would need to do to ensure Luke and Leia's safety.