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

Chapter 7

Padmé had no idea why the lightsaber cutting through the door had been blue. Surely it wouldn't have been Anakin- that made absolutely no sense. But only a Jedi could wield a blue lightsaber; Sith wielded red.

She waited tensely as the clashing and humming of lightsabers sounded outside, and she tried unsuccessfully to keep the babies quiet. They wailed at the top of their little lungs, as if they understood the danger they were in.

Padmé tried not to worry too much. Anakin hopefully knew what he was doing, and he had defeated powerful warriors like Count Dooku in the past. But the hallway soon fell silent. Hopefully it was only because Anakin and the intruder had gone to fight somewhere else, as opposed to a much worse alternative.

Just when Padmé thought she couldn't handle the waiting anymore, the smoking door flew open and Anakin burst in, gasping and sweating.

"Where's the attacker?" Padmé asked anxiously.

"Gone. She got away." He walked up to the twins, who were still screaming, and stared at them intently.

"She had a blue lightsaber, didn't she? Indicating she's a Jedi?"

"Yes, but she was surrounded by the Dark Side. It's possible that she's not a Sith but a rogue Jedi."

"Where did she come from?"

"I think... Palpatine sent her."

Padmé glanced up at Anakin sharply. "Are you sure?"

"She said we need to watch out for the Emperor. That he doesn't take too kindly to 'traitorous, ungrateful pupils' or 'rebellious, insurrectionist Senators,' and that we need to watch our backs."

Padmé frowned slightly. This wasn't adding up in her mind. She still wasn't fully convinced that the warrior was sent from Palpatine; Anakin's argument lacked concrete evidence.

But then again, Palpatine had every right to be angry with them. He had spent years mentoring Anakin, investing in him- and if Palpatine really had expected Anakin to defend him from Windu, he would undoubtedly be upset. Padmé also figured that the Emperor would have noticed her absence in the Senate by now. The more she thought about it, the more details came to mind. She remembered arguing with Palpatine a few years ago about needing extra security after the bounty hunter attack. She thought about how when she, Organa and Mothma had presented Palpatine with the Delegation of 2,000, a petition to return Palpatine back to his pre-war powers. He had basically laughed in their faces.

She realized she must have done an excellent job of painting herself as an insurrectionist.

"Did she say anything else?" she asked Anakin.

"No, she escaped after that."

"Do you think Palpatine is... really... angry enough to hunt us down like this?"

Anakin shrugged. His gaze had not moved from the babies, who had finally stopped crying, probably because they could now hear their parents' voices. "He has to be," he said. "I certainly did betray him... and I see no other explanation."

"There could be a thousand explanations."

"Like what?" Anakin glanced up and stared at Padmé with his sharp blue eyes.

Padmé paused a minute to think. "Like.... The rogue Jedi could be lying about what Palpatine said."

"I don't think so. I left him to die, and you tried to remove him from power, right? That would make us a traitor and an insurrectionist, in his eyes."

"But is that strong enough motivation for him to send someone to attack us?"

"Now that he has a brand-new Empire, yes."