Chapter 17 – A Spark of Hope

With long leaps, Anakin flew through the tunnels under the surface of Coruscant, which Sidious had not yet discovered. He had to reach the temple as quickly as possible. He fervently hoped Padmé was okay. It had been terrible for him to leave his wife, who was previously held captive, alone in the criminal underworld. His heart clenched painfully. Once this was all over, he would only devote himself to her. He would return to her. Of that he was sure.

Instead of walking back to the temple across the skyscrapers, the young Jedi preferred to take the path he had come. Would have been too stupid to open the gates especially for me. Especially with all the clones hanging out in front of the temple, Anakin thought. He was moving fast but had no idea when the exit would come. Hopefully soon.

Suddenly he thought he saw a light in the distance. Confused, he stopped and took a closer look. Indeed. It was the exit. And it was open! He quickly sprinted on. And after a quarter of an hour he stopped panting when he finally passed the exit. Satisfied, Anakin leaned against a wall, unaware that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were facing and eyeing him.

It was only after his former master cleared his throat that Anakin looked up and noticed the two of them, "Oh. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka. What are you doing here?"

Obi-Wan just gave him a disapproving look. "Anakin you know exactly why we're here."

"What were you thinking, Master? Just run off with Padmé?" Ahsoka added.

Anakin looked up indignantly. If looks could kill. "Now I'll tell you something," Anakin hissed. His voice was deeper than usual. "If Windu hadn't blamed Padmé, she and I'd probably be in our apartment and perfectly happy right now!" Hatred welled up in Anakin. Hatred for Mace Windu , for the Jedi who supported him, and for Obi-Wan for betraying him. Furious, he turned on his heel and charged for the turbolift. Not even the guards could stop him.

But Obi-Wan and Ahsoka acted quickly and just made it onto the elevator without being crushed by the heavy doors. "Anakin ...," his old master tried. Obi-Wan's voice sounded desperate. Will Anakin totally slip away from me now?

"No! I don't want to hear anything from you! I don't care what you have to say!"

The Jedi Master sighed. Anakin was as stubborn as ever. "Please," Ahsoka finally objected. "Listen to it at least once ... after that you can decide."

On the one hand, Anakin was excited to see what his Master would serve him. On the other hand, he was still terribly angry. If only Padmé were here ... What would she have done in his place? Surely, she would have listened to Obi-Wan. Inwardly he sighed and finally gave in, "It's fine. But let's go to a quiet place."

The Togruta nodded in agreement. "We can retreat to Obi-Wan's quarters," she said, grinning.

"Let's go then," Anakin muttered as he opened the elevator, quickening his steps. Ahsoka scuttled after him.

"Hey," Obi-Wan called, still standing in the turbolift. "Who allowed you to go to my quarters?"

"You have nothing to hide. Right?" The young Jedi eyed him sharply.

Startled, Kenobi raised his hands. "For God's sake, Anakin! What do you think I'm capable of?"

"Quite a lot," he hissed.

Arriving in Obi- Wan's quarters, they were still arguing. Anakin wouldn't listen to him and Obi-Wan tried to tell him that he meant no harm, to no avail. Defiantly, the brown-haired Jedi folded his arms across his chest and glared at Obi-Wan. "I will never forgive you for that!"

"Please Anakin," Kenobi whispered, collapsing on his bed in disappointment. "I can't do any more than ask you. But you just won't meet me. Do you even understand how I feel?" He said the last words so shattered that even Anakin became suspicious.

"Obi-Wan, is there something you're not telling me?" The harshness in his voice was too sharp. Anakin, don't be mean to him. He only cares about you. He would never want to hurt you, Padmé's soft voice whispered in his head.

"Qui-Gon Jinn."

"Excuse me what?" Now the chosen one was confused after all. Qui-Gon Jinn. He was like a father to me. He trusted me. He saw great potential. Obi-Wan never wanted to train me. He only did it because he promised Qui-Gon he would.

"I hear him," Obi-Wan murmured monotonously. "Not always, but sometimes. His voice."

Ahsoka looked around with great interest. "I thought he was dead," she said, uttering the phrase Anakin had wanted to say.

"Actually yes, but Plo Koon suspects that he is speaking to me through the Force."

Obi-Wan's face was so wracked with pain that Anakin couldn't help but sit down next to him, comforting him. I'm going too far. I am exaggerating. "When he speaks to you, he probably wants to tell you something important. Listen to your gut and wait for the right moment. Then everything will fall into place, and you will begin to understand." Qui-Gon connects us both. Over time, Obi-Wan came to know and like me. We are brothers. Good brothers. I judge him wrongfully. Padme was right ...

Confused, Obi-Wan stared at his former Padawan. He had never said anything so wise. So his education hadn't been useless after all. He looked up happily. "Thank you," he whispered. Anakin's words were the only thing that was really right. "Do you forgive me?" he asked small.

Anakin nodded. "Yes ... I forgive you."

"Oh how cute! Group hug," Ahsoka exclaimed, hugging the two happily. The Jedi joined in, smiling. If only Padmé could see that.

After they broke apart, Obi-Wan began, "I promise I won't speak out against you again. It was wrong and I know it now."

"It's okay. The main thing is that you remain loyal to me from now on." Anakin smiled and winked.

"If you like, I could brief you on what's going on in the High Council from now on."

"Oh, Obi-Wan. I didn't know you were a spy." But in the end the Chosen-One agreed. A spy in the Council was irresistible.

oOo

Padmé crept through the crowded concrete streets. People of different species were everywhere. It was very loud. Roars could be heard from all sides. Padmé was very annoyed by this environment. But the young senator didn't let that show. Just keep going straight! She couldn't stand out! A solution was needed quickly, so Padmé sat down in a barely manned bar and ordered a coffee.

Reassured, she leaned back and enjoyed the – not so bad – drink. Padmé sighed and rested her arm on the table in front of her. Although their separation laid a maximum of five hours in the past, the young senator already missed her husband. How he always cared for her. Padmé smirked at the thought of his worried face. But she was snapped out of her thoughts when suddenly a man sat down at her table. Startled, she winced.

"I know who you are," he whispered. The man was no taller than herself, but exuded great confidence. The close-cropped blonde hair was hardly noticeable next to a tattoo of a dragon that adorned his neck.

Automatically Padmé had to swallow. Was he an agent of the Empire? Would he reveal her? Or was he just making a stupid joke? But the way he looked, he must have meant the remark seriously. "Oh yes?" Padmé was surprised at how fearless her voice sounded. Although she was exactly the opposite. She stared at the stranger with sparkling eyes.

The man could see her eyes twinkle through the hood of her loose cloak. Nevertheless, he nodded. "You are Senator Amidala , am I right?" Silence. Padmé didn't dare to move. Suddenly the man made a dismissive gesture towards her. "Forget it! It doesn't really matter," he whispered, leaning slightly over the table to get a closer look. Anakin would have made a point here and probably started threatening him. But Padmé allowed it. Slowly and unobtrusively, her hand slipped into her coat. "What is someone as important as you doing here?"

"What authorizes a person like you to even address me?"

He laughed. A strange soft laugh. But then he suddenly became serious, as if he had woken up from a beautiful dream. He stared at her for a long time. His eyes were like a glimpse into another world. A sad ruined world. Then he cleared his throat. Suddenly Padmé felt the need to know more about him. "My name is Let Ipak", he finally said. His voice was rougher than before and there was a hint of pain. "I'm looking for my wife ..." he whispered softly, bowing his head. "... and for my children," he finally finished the sentence and looked up again. "When I saw you, I thought that maybe we can still change the world. That we can still save it from going down with Palpatine."

Padmé eyed him, puzzled. "Why are you looking for your family, if I may ask?"

"After the fall of the Republic, chaos broke out here. Believers, philosophers, everyone took to the streets and tried to stop the Empire. They became more and more. At the time, my wife had been shopping with the children quite normally. Since then, there's been no sign of life from her. I'm afraid they may have arrested her." Shaken, he picked up the glass of kongnac that the waitress had brought over.

The senator put her hand on his arm gently. "Alcohol doesn't solve your problems either. It just makes you forget them for a while."

Angrily, Let pulled his arm away and cursed, "What are you doing here? Didn't expect you to be alive. Everyone knows how close you are to the Jedi."

"Indeed," Padmé countered. "Where do you think I came from? Where do you think I've been until now?"

After a short silence, Let's eyes widened and he stared at Padmé as if she was his last hope. "Does that mean that you've stayed in the Jedi temple until now?"

A curt nod was the answer. "Then it's true. They really exist, don't they?"

Confusion. "What does really exist?"

"Well, the tunnels leading out of the temple?"

Padmé don't say anything now You hardly know anything about him. Who knows who he really is. So she pressed her lips into a tight line. But that was also an answer.

"Please," Let Ipak breathed. "Tell me your story. Why are you here?"

Padme sighed. Oh Anakin. "I'm on the run from Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi under Windu's command. I'm being accused of being a spy for Palpatine. With the help of another Jedi, I managed to escape because nobody would've listened to me anyway, if I'd stayed there."

"Then we're probably pursuing the same goals."

"Oh yeah? Are we?"

"Of course! We both want to lead a normal life and live in harmony. If we work together, we could make our dream come true!" Padmé thought about that for a moment. The offer sounded tempting. Because she knew he was right. A small grin crept onto her face and she slid the blaster hidden in her hand back to her belt. "Partner?" Let Ipak asked and offered her a friendly hand.

Padmé stood and sealed the pact.