In the Aftermath

Justice for the Fallen

A senator, a Jedi, and a clone trooper meet up in an abandoned warehouse under the cover of night...

Padmé silently began to wonder when her life suddenly turned into the opening of a bad joke.  Anakin was by her side, tapping his foot and fidgeting with his robotic hand.  Captain Rex had assured him that he would meet with them tonight, and despite not even being late yet, it was clear that Anakin was beginning to worry for his soldier.  It had been as secure a call as Anakin could manage without arousing the suspicions of any of the Jedi, and Rex did have a large amount of accumulated leave time, so it hopefully didn't seem too concerning that Anakin had recalled him to Coruscant.  Still, there was no telling how many of their lines Palpatine could have already tapped.  Padmé grabbed Anakin's hand, the two staring into each other's eyes.

"We're going to get through this."

He gave a half smile at her words, and Padmé appreciated the sentiment.  It wasn't hard to fake the confidence, as she fully believed that if anyone could save the galaxy it would be them.  But, there was always the lingering feeling of doubt that haunted Padmé since her return from the future.  Even now, she still feels profoundly in over her head.  Another look at her husband reminds her that at least she has Anakin to help lift her up just a bit higher. 

"General Skywalker?"

Padmé took a deep breath and nodded as Anakin left their hiding place to greet Captain Rex.  Padmé watched him relax for a second at Anakin's arrival, before straightening back up out of respect.

"General Skywalker, I have put in for my leave as you requested."

"Very good.  Now, you're absolutely sure you weren't followed here, and that no one knows we're meeting?"

Rex had a flash of worry cross his face, though it hardly lasted as he assured Anakin that they were indeed the only two who knew of the circumstances surrounding his spontaneous return to the planet.

"Well," Anakin motioned for Padmé to approach, "the three of us, to be exact."

Had this not been such a serious moment, Padmé might have had a laugh at the utter bafflement expressed by Rex. 

"Good evening, Captain Rex," she cordially addressed.  "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us under such unusual conditions."

"Umm, of course...Senator."  Rex turned to Anakin, "Sir, why is there a senator here?"

Padmé did most of the talking, seeing as it was her story to tell.  She left out the more personal details, such as the true identities of Luke and Leia, but decided to keep in the tragic fate of Darth Vader.  She was hesitant to reveal Anakin's future prior to the meeting, but he had given her his blessing.  Transparency would be pivotal in gaining the captain's support, even if it meant possibly losing respect in his soldier's eyes.  Padmé had paused just after the revelation, and she attempted to gauge Rex's attitude towards the her tale as a whole.  Unfortunately, he kept a rather strong Sabacc face throughout, or maybe it was just the reaction of a military man. 

"So," Rex finally asked, "you believe that the republic is in danger of becoming an empire, the entire war is just some farce to push it toward that fate, and that General Skywalker will one day become the leader of this empire?  Am I correct, Senator?"

Padmé slowly nodded, "Well, there's one more thing.  Anakin does indeed go on to become the second in command of the empire, however-"

This was the real moment of truth.  The clones were born to be loyal to the republic, and that included answering to the chancellor.  The question was, which was seen as more important for them?  Could a clone be able to turn against the chancellor in order to preserve the republic?