Empire Day ✓

Chapter 22 - Jedi Trances

The next morning as Anakin fired up the Silver Streak, Padmé showed Luke how to program the navacomputer for Polis Massa. "These coordinates have to be manually inserted, as the medical center is not listed on any of the charts, Luke. We start with the quadrant, and then the three numbers that follow indicate the exact location."

Luke looked on the device with wonder. "So it figures out where it is and takes us there directly?"

Anakin laughed. He tapped in a few commands, and a holographic projection of the universe appeared in the cockpit. He pointed to threads that seemed to be lined up haphazardly throughout the galaxy. "No, Luke, we'd fly right through a star or get too close to a supernova. There are hyperspace lanes mapped throughout the galaxy. The navacomputer will determine which lanes to take, switching us as we reach junctions."

Anakin lifted the Silver Streak into space.

"Oh, I see. What if you don't have a navacomputer?"

"You would have an astromech droid then. They can usually plot hyperspace travel one route at a time," Anakin said. "Unless it was Artoo. He was faster than most navacomputers during the war. I wonder what ever happened to him."

"Bail has him and Threepio. They are serving on his consular ship, the Tantive IV," a voice from the turbo lift said.

The family turned to see not only Obi-Wan standing at the entrance to the turbo lift but Master Yoda as well with a small bag in his hand. "Decided have I. Coming with you, we are."

Padmé said, "The procedures could take weeks, Master Yoda."

"Hmm, and weeks sedated for a Jedi not good."

"While Master Yoda and I are not full Jedi healers, we can keep Anakin in a trance instead of sedation. One of us will be with him the entire time, while the other protects Luke." Obi-Wan gave a tense smile.

Anakin asked, "Really? You don't have to."

Yoda said, "Yes, we must. Our brother you are."

"Anakin, does the Emperor know where you are going? Is there any chance—" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin cut him off. "There is always a chance, but I'm not so foolish to ignore precautions. Before we left, my aide procured decoys for Padmé and Luke. To the average observer, they never left Naboo. And I created a false memory to convince Sidious that I was headed to Ryloth to follow up a lead. The only person who knows the truth is my aide, and I would trust him with my life."

Obi-Wan sat in a command seat behind Padmé. 

Since Luke was in the communications seat behind Anakin, Master Yoda was left standing. Padmé corrected this lack of protocol. "Luke, give your seat to Master Yoda. You can sit with me."

The boy hopped out of the seat and climbed into his mother's lap. As the adults discussed their plans for the Emperor and his father's upcoming procedures, Luke he and snuggled against his mother. Padmé smoothed his hair, singing to him softly while the Jedi discussed their strategy.