When the ship touched down on the red dry rock known as Geonosis, we prepared ourselves for what was to come. After all, who knows where they were holding Obi-Wan?... Or what we would find therein...
Snatching her ivory shawl from the back of the seat, Padme draped it over her shoulders as she spoke, "Look, whatever happens out there, you two follow my lead. I'm not interested in getting into a war here. As a member of the Senate, maybe I can find a diplomatic solution to this mess,"
Nodding in agreement with this, I fell into step beside her.
"That's probably for the better. Anakin's version of negotiating...leaves something to be desired," I joked, earning an eye-roll from him, before continuing, "No, in all seriousness, Ani, don't do anything reckless. We need to get Obi-Wan out of there with as minimal bloodshed as possible,"
Padme arched an eyebrow at this, that no-nonsense expression of hers glued in place.
"I mean, no bloodshed at all...preferably." I corrected myself as I followed Padme out the door.
Following behind, Anakin shrugged on his cloak before mumbling petulantly, "Don't worry. I've given up trying to argue with you."
The tension between us was so thick, you could cut it with a lightsaber. It had been that way since Naboo but I had tried to dismiss it in the aftermath of his mother's death. Nevertheless, the tension had returned and I wondered if we would ever truly get past this. If our relationship would ever be the same as it once was... I feared not.
I kept my hand on the cool steel hilt of my lightsaber as the three of us entered the factory. I'd had hopes it would be a quick rescue, in and out before anyone was the wiser. But as we were nearly attacked by a horde of Geonosians that Anakin and I were forced to fight off, we realized it wasn't so. Unfortunately, the factory was far more expansive and complex than that. Thousands of droids - unfinished and otherwise - were lined up on conveyor belts that reached high up into the cave ceiling. Everywhere you looked, there were machines creating more machines.
As we attempted to get away, the small ramp we stood on began to recede and Padme's booted feet slipped off the edge. I just had time to grab her hand before we both were pulled down onto one of the conveyor belts with Anakin shouting our names in the distance.
Padme and I dodged machinery and Geonosians as long as we could but since my lightsaber had gotten lost in the fall, eventually a pack of them overpowered the two of us. Slapping our wrists in binders, we were brought into a large chamber filled with Separatist leaders - Senators, bankers, commerce dignitaries - as well as Count Dooku, the former Jedi Master. My dark brown eyes narrowed as they landed on him, trying to suss out his exact loyalties. Although, being where he was seated, it wasn't hard to figure out. Just then, another figure was brought in - a few scratches on his face but none the worse for wear.
"Anakin..." I breathed out in relief and he silently nodded to me in response, about to speak before his reply was cut off by Poggle, the Archduke of Geonosis.
"You have been charged and found guilty of espionage," he chittered and clucked away in Geonosian, "Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?"
Padme bristled at the verdict, shooting back in a formal yet stern tone, "You are committing an act of war, Archduke. I hope you are prepared for the consequences,"
"We build weapons, Senator... that is our business! Of course we're prepared!"
One of the leaders of the Trade Federation in the audience, Nute Gunray, cried out in agitation then, "Get on with it! Carry out the sentence. I want to see her suffer."
"Your other Jedi friend is waiting for you, Senator. Take them to the arena!"
With a last sweeping gesture of his hand, Poggle passed our death sentence and I felt my stomach drop as the full realization of this news weighed on me. Four Geonosian guards shuffled us out of the chamber before shoving us unceremoniously into adjoining cells. My knees hit the hard-packed dirt painfully as the iron bars slammed closed behind me with a resounding clang. A groan escaped my mouth and I ran a hand absentmindedly through my dark tresses before assuming a sitting position with my back pressed against the darkened cell wall.
What had we gotten ourselves into? Who would even know we were here? For all the Jedi knew, we were still back on Naboo guarding the Senator. Who would come for us now? A sigh escaped my mouth and I let my eyes slide shut as my ruminations took over my mind.
We were truly going to die today. As much as battle, meditation, and training prepares you, in the end I don't believe anyone is completely ready to die. In that moment, all of my dreams and thoughts flitted through my mind - secret desires and wants, expectations of what my life would have been like. I couldn't even process that it was all going to be over in a matter of mere hours. I felt a ripple of peace in the Force then and knew Anakin was sending it my way, his own way of calming me even though he wasn't physically beside me.
The ghost of a smile traced the edges of my lips but melted away in seconds, the anxiety unrelenting all the same. And what about that? What about Anakin? I loved him that day on Naboo - I love him still if I'm being honest with myself. And not once did I ever tell him that...maybe I should have. After all, if we were going to die today then it would never destroy our lives - these secret desires sheltered in the confines of our beating hearts.
I should have told him... Another sigh slipped from between my lips unbidden just before the rattling of keys and the rusted squeak of the cell door made my eyes fly open. A guard had come for me, directing his staff right between my shoulder blades as he hustled me out of the cell. Anakin and Padme fell in step beside me with their own guards behind them before the Senator was pushed into a cart and Anakin and I into a separate one. Padme's cart immediately glided out of the tunnel, the Separatists eager to show off their prize.
My eyes met Anakin's in the dim tunnel, bright sunlight peeking out just ahead on the vast arena floor. And as I stood there beside my best friend, I knew it was time to unburden my heart.
If only to say it once.