If things had felt wrong before, it was nothing to what Neva felt now. Not only did she feel hollow without knowing the fate of her Jedi, but their Galaxy had also just been abruptly and drastically changed.

She had anticipated that something was going to happen during the special session of Congress Chancellor Palpatine had called, otherwise she never would have joined the Senator. Neva rarely accompanied Padmé to the Senate; usually it was either Moteé, Ellé or Dormé who joined her. But today, she had the feeling that she needed to be there. Plus she needed something to occupy her thoughts other than tormenting herself about the danger her Jedi was in. Well, she sure got the distraction she had craved.

To ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society... While she hadn't been sitting in the Naboo Senate Pod, she had been standing just outside, and had heard every horrible, heartbreaking word, and had felt the thunderous approval from other Senators through the floor as the volume of the applause reached deafening heights.

The Chancellor—no, Emperor now—had destroyed the Democracy she had cherished in one deadly, deftly worded blow. As she listened, Neva had felt another piece of her heart shatter. In the Naboo Pod Padmé and Senator Organa mourned as the Republic they served crumbled around them. The cracks had been appearing for years, since the outset of the Clone Wars. But none of them had expected this. They all knew that the executive powers the Chancellor had been granted were going to his head, but they all had still believed that once the War was over, he could be persuaded to reverse the changes, bringing back the Democracy they all believed in.

That hope had just been crushed before their eyes.

Neva could almost feel the despair pouring off Padmé as she exited the Pod when the Chancellor had dismissed the Senate. She had barely been able to keep her own composure intact, fighting off tears as they traversed the halls of the Senate Building, keeping interactions with other Senators as minimal as possible as they tried to escape to the sanctuary of Padmé's apartments to grieve in peace.

Indeed, when they had reached the privacy of their transport, Padmé had reached out, entrapping Neva's hand in an iron grip as she began to weep silently, unable to hold in her despair any longer. It was as though all the fight had gone out of the Senator. Neva knew that that fight would not be gone for long, but right now, in that moment, the Former Queen grieved for everything she had worked so hard to preserve. Even Moteé, who sat on the other side of the Senator, had tears in her eyes. Neva found she couldn't hold back her own, either, her grip on Padmé's hand just as tight, as her own grief for the death of the Republic came, manifesting in tears that streamed down her cheeks.

It was evening when the Session had let out, so it was dark by the time they made it home. Once back to the apartment complex, Padmé and Moteé disappeared into the Senator's private chambers, but not before Padmé had gathered Neva, Moteé, Threepio and Ellé, who had stayed behind from the Senate, together for some final instructions. Her other two Handmaidens had returned to Naboo on Padmé's instructions shortly after the Battle over Coruscant had ended. The Senator's face was defiant as she spoke, her eyes lighting up with the fire that had been absent in the immediate wake of Palpatine's Declarations.

"No one is to be admitted. I will not be receiving visitors in the near future, not until the waters churned up by this fiasco had calmed a bit." She paused then, as if gauging the loyalty of those present. The Senator truly had nothing to fear on that front. Her voice lowered slightly, "That being said, should any Jedi, like Anakin, Master Kenobi or anyone else, arrive looking for aid, don't hesitate. There is something wrong here. I can't believe the Jedi are behind any plot as Palpatine claims." Her words echoed Neva's thoughts. It had been all but an inner adage for Neva ever since they left for the Senate Building that morning; something is terribly wrong.

But Palpatine's words echoed in Neva's ears, haunting her as Padmé disappeared with her handmaidens. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. Even if her Jedi had escaped, Neva feared what would happen. She could not fathom a Galaxy without the Jedi, and certainly not one without her Jedi. Any collaborators will suffer the same fate. A spike of fear shot through her again. They were all in danger, especially considering what Padmé had just declared. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that she didn't care.

This was wrong. All of it was wrong. The Jedi could never be the villains Palpatine—she could not even bear to think of him as 'Emperor'—was claiming them to be.

No. The Jedi were not the villains here. Neva was beginning to suspect the true villain was far closer to home.

***

Neva entered the apartment only to hear quiet voices on the Veranda. In an effort to distract herself, she had spent a fair portion of the morning out running errands for the Senator. As she drew closer, she immediately recognized Padmé's voice. It only took her a heartbeat more to recognize the other.

"Ben," she whispered. It took all her willpower not to rush forward. Not knowing if he had survived the so-called 'Jedi Rebellion' had caused the ache in her heart to press down on her harder than ever, refusing to abate. Just hearing his voice was enough to allow her to breathe freely again. It was enough that, instead of running into his arms, she was able pause just shy of the Veranda to avoid interrupting the obviously intent conversation.

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Padmé's voice betrayed how horrified she was at whatever it was that Obi-wan was suggesting.

"He has become a very real threat." His voice betrayed his pain. Neva knew instinctively from the tone that he was not undertaking what they were discussing lightly.

"I can't." Neva barely heard Padmé's response it was so quiet. From where she was standing, she could faintly hear him get slowly to his feet. Her heart jumped to her throat. He was leaving—she rounded the corner in an instant. He had paused near the fountain in the centre of the Veranda, looking sadly back at Padmé, who was still seated.

"Anakin's the father, isn't he," his tone meant it was not a question; somehow he knew. Padmé could only look down, heavy with resignation. Neva was stopped in her tracks. While she had known herself, and had seen their closeness with her own eyes, this was the closest to an admission she had yet encountered. Padmé had been so careful not to reveal anything to anyone but those closest to her about not only the father, but also the pregnancy itself. Things had to be very serious indeed for the Senator not to mount any sort of deflection. It was then that Obi-wan noticed her.

"Neva," his voice was little more than a sigh. A mixture of relief and sadness suffused his features as their eyes met, and this time Neva couldn't restrain herself. She knew they had agreed to forget their feelings, but that agreement had yet to stop her from loving him. She threw all caution to the wind. After all, their world was crumbling around them. What was there to be gained from denying their feelings now?

"Obi-wan," was all she managed as she rushed forward, not hesitating until she felt his arms close around her. She gasped as unbidden tears tried to escape her eyes, but she blinked them back, burying her face into his shoulder. Behind them, Padmé looked on in a mixture of confusion and shock. Evidently she had believed Neva when the former Princess maintained Obi-wan was a friend only. At one point the Senator even tried to ask what was going on, but her questions fell on deaf ears. After a moment, Obi-wan pulled back, though they still clung to each other.

"Word had been trickling since yesterday that the Jedi had openly rebelled, that most have been killed. Then Palpatine declared you all traitors, and that the Republic is now an Empire. I didn't know—I was so afraid that—" This time her tears did begin to fall, but he gently brushed them away, cupping her cheek. "What is happening, Obi-wan," she glanced over at Padmé for an instant. The Senator looked devastated, though Neva couldn't quite discern why. Then a horrible idea entered her mind. She looked back to Obi-wan, searching his eyes for answers. She reflexively raised a hand to her mouth in fear. They had been so certain he was on Palpatine's side...

"Is it Anakin? Is he—did they—" She couldn't manage to get the words out, but Obi-wan shook his head before she had to, taking her hand in his. His grip was almost uncomfortably tight, and his eyes were pools of grief. The terrible weight of anxiety once again began to press down on Neva's chest when he hesitated. The look in Anakin's eyes the other night came back to her then. Somehow she knew what Obi-wan was going to say.

"Anakin has betrayed us. Chancellor Palpatine is Darth Sidious, a Sith Lord. We were all blind, all of us. Somehow he recruited Anakin." Obi-wan's voice broke. She heard Padmé trying to hold back a sob behind her. Neva's hands fisted in Obi-wan's robes, struggling to keep what little composure she had left.

"What are you saying? Anakin turned to the Dark Side? He's a Sith?" She could barely choke out the words. None of this seemed real. It couldn't be real.

Yet, she knew it was the truth. Anakin was different; she had seen it herself. Obi-wan nodded sadly.

"He led the attack on the Temple himself. There was—there was no one left alive." He sounded so detached, so emotionless that Neva started. It was so at odds with the expression of grief in his eyes. Neva couldn't hide the horror that she felt. So many Jedi, so many younglings had been in the Temple, believing they were safe...

"He's the one Padmé meant. He's the one you need to find—and kill." He could only nod again, his warring emotions leaving him unable to speak. If anything, that was what worried Neva the most. She had never seen him broadcast his feelings like this; he was always so calm and collected, even under duress. Even when she had been shot his emotions hadn't been this out of control. She threw her arms around him again. A small wave of relief flowed through her as he slowly embraced her back, his hand tangling in her hair.

"Please, Obi-wan. Don't do this. You can't," she whispered, her anxiety coloring her voice. Obi-wan pulled away again.

"I have to. He's dangerous, Neva. He's not Anakin anymore."

"I don't care!" Her voice was beginning to rise. Behind them, Padmé rose to her feet, watching intently. "I don't care! You told me once that he's your brother, your family! There has to be another way. Talk to him! Help him understand what's at stake, what he's done. But you can't kill him! If you go after him, even if you succeed in killing him, it will destroy you!" This time she angrily fought back at the tears that threatened to run down her face. It was then that she saw something in his eyes, something deeper than despair. Her own eyes widened in renewed horror.

"You don't think you can. You don't think you can beat him. You don't expect to return." Obi-wan looked at her plaintively.

"I don't have a choice, Neva. If it takes everything I have, I have to try and stop him." Neva's legs threatened to go out from under her as he spoke. She didn't allow herself to stop though. She had to make him understand. Her thoughts were racing.

"What about Padmé, and their baby? What will become of them if you fail? If you succeed? That child is going to need you, your knowledge, your protection." He pulled away, moving toward his fighter. Neva was desperate. "Ben, please!" She could no longer hold back a sob from escaping her lips. He paused when she uttered her old name for him, though he didn't turn.

"What about me?" Her voice had dropped to little more than a whisper. He sighed, his shoulders falling at the pain in her voice. She pressed on, "I don't know what I'd do without you." He looked back to her, his eyes full of sorrow, but it didn't stop her. The floodgates had opened. "I know we agreed to put whatever it was we had behind us, but I can't. I love you, Obi-wan Kenobi, Jedi or not." He closed his eyes for a moment, visibly struggling with himself. Neva took a tentative step toward him. She didn't really have to, though. In the moment it took her to step forward, he was once again at her side, pulling her into his embrace. She inhaled deeply as she pressed closer to him, ignoring the lingering acrid odour from the burning Temple and focusing instead on his familiar scent.

"I know, Neva. I know," his voice was low and quiet, soothing her frazzled nerves as he stoked her hair. "Neither can I." She pulled back, looking to see if there was any uncertainty in what he said. All she saw were her own feelings reflected back at her through his eyes. He pulled away after a moment, hesitating to let go of her hand as he began to walk toward his ship. She followed, not allowing the contact to be broken just yet. Before he got in though, he turned back to her, glancing back for an instant to where Padmé had stood only a moment before. She had gone, retreated further into the apartments. When he spoke, his words came out hushed and quick.

"You have to get off the Capital. It's not safe here anymore. Go to Senator Organa. Tell him I sent you. He will take you with him to Alderaan. From there you can either return to Naboo or—" She didn't let him finish.

"No, I'm waiting for you."

"Neva please—"

"I'm not going—"

"Palpatine knows about Padmé, he has to. It has to be how he turned Anakin, by promising something, or threatening. You are in danger here, just as she is." Neva frowned, glancing back toward where Padmé had been standing.

"She'll never agree to leave. Not now. Not without knowing—"

"I'm not worried about Padmé. She's strong and can take care of herself. And Palpatine won't make a move against her, not if he wants to keep Anakin's loyalty. I want you to be safe. I need to know you're safe." There was a fragility about him as he all but choked out those last words. Part of her wanted to argue, to remind him that she could take care of herself too, but Neva couldn't refuse him. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Leaning forward, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips, sealing her unspoken promise. He didn't let her pull away too soon, pulling her back in to place a far more urgent kiss on her lips.

It had to end, though. All too soon, he pulled away for a final time, pulling his hood up to shield his face as he moved to climb aboard his fighter. Reluctantly, Neva let go of his hand. As the fighter came to life, Neva's voice was almost lost in the dull roar of the engine. But that didn't stop Obi-wan from hearing her.

"Come back to me, Ben. You have to come back." A faint smile came to his lips as he nodded once.

Then he was gone, and she was left alone on the Veranda.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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