Balance and Victory: A Star Wars Alternate Universe [COMPLETED!]

Chapter 5

This was probably the first time Anakin had so much time and money to spend on purchasing a ship- and it was fun. He spent the entire afternoon driving around town, going into every shop that seemed remotely interesting. Every shop, from the small and specialized ones to the large and mainstream ones, was unique and intriguing. He felt a pang of regret that he had spent so much time locked up in the Jedi Temple, never going out to the city to get to know the area or the local people.

Hopefully all that would change now.

He couldn't find a ship that fit all of his high standards; nothing he could find was anything like his old favorite Eta-2 Interceptor which had sadly been destroyed aboard General Grievous' cruiser. Besides, he needed a ship with enough room to transport Padmé and the droids, and it needed to have its own hyperdrive. His favorite ships tended to be tiny, fast, one-man starfighters that needed hyperspace rings.

But after several hours of searching, he finally found something acceptable. It was similar to a Z-95 Headhunter, but bigger- it had a two-person cockpit as well as a small cabin, and it had its own hyperdrive. Sadly there was no Astromech socket, and the speed wasn't great. But he liked that it was a very common model, so it couldn't be identified easily- and it had a set of laser cannons. It would work well for getting Padmé off the planet.

The next step was to buy tools and rent a space to work in, but that didn't take nearly as long.

Anakin was deeply embedded in removing the console pieces and looking at the electronics inside when he heard a faint buzzing sound. Somewhat concerned, he examined the parts closely to see if any of them were lighting up or vibrating. Maybe he had set off an alarm by accident. But none of the parts appeared to be disturbed.

Then he remembered he had left his comlink on the shelf nearby. Smiling slightly at his own absentmindedness, he picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Ani, it's me." Padmé's voice came out through the device. "I'm back at the apartment. Where are you?"

He had forgotten about the lapse of time; it had to be late into the evening by now. "Oh, sorry.... You're not going to like this, but I'm working in a rental space in lower Coruscant."

"Lower Coruscant?" Padmé gave a long, deep sigh. "What in the galaxy are you doing down there?"

While the wealthy, the politicians, and formerly the Jedi lived in the upper levels of Coruscant, the lower levels (which were closer to the surface of the planet) were not so affluent. The people there were more like those on Tatooine- petty criminals, homeless bums, drinkers, dealers, and bounty hunters. It wasn't exactly a pleasant place.

"I'm down here because I can't rent a space in upper Coruscant for this purpose. If you want to do illegal things, you have to do them in lower Coruscant."

"Just be careful down there. Don't let the ship get stolen."

"It's a fairly common ship. I doubt anyone will be too interested in stealing it."

"Right... Anakin, when will you be back?"

"I don't know. It's going to be really tricky to not mess up the hyperdrive computer... why do you ask?"

"It's just that, I really want to leave soon." Her voice broke off, as if she might cry.

"What's wrong?"

"The Republic... it's... we're an Empire now. As of today."

"Are you serious?"

"It happened in an emergency meeting. And everyone was standing up, and cheering... I still can't believe it really happened."