Across the Stars ~Anakin Skywalker~

07

My heart aches with Anakin gone. It never did so before, so why has it decided to start doing it now? Maybe part of me is scared that he'll leave for a mission, but he won't return. I miss him a lot, but at least my handmaiden and best friend, Gian, is always available for me to talk to, and she's a really great listener, which is nice. I walk into the sitting room of my Senatorial apartment and sit down, looking at the floor. Gian soon joins me, as well as one of my newer handmaidens, Zela. "What's on your mind, milady?" Gian asks calmly. "Just the usual," I say quietly. "There's more to it than that today. I can see it in how you're sitting here and staring at the floor. You haven't done this in a long time," she says, and Zela nods in agreement. "I heard from Master Shaak Ti that Anakin was wounded by a piece of shrapnel. She wasn't sure if he'd be okay or not, though," I explain to them. "I'm sure he'll be okay, Duna. You've got to be strong, though," Gian says. "I know, but it's so hard," I say. "I get that, and I know that he's a strong man, so he'll make it through this. He might have a scar, but he'll be fine," Gian replies, gently patting my shoulder. "Thanks guys. I'll do my best to be strong," I say, smiling at both Gian and Zela. I hear something beep, and Gian tells me that there's someone here looking for me. Zela gets up and heads to meet up with them. In the meantime, Gian and I talk for a bit about an upcoming Senate vote until she returns.

When Zela returns, a familiar figure is accompanying her, and I nearly got up and pushed her out of the way so I could embrace my husband, but I held myself back. "Hey sweetheart," he says with his typical smile, pulling me into an embrace. "I wasn't expecting you to come, my beloved. This is such a wonderful surprise," I say. "Well, after I got hurt, I figured you'd be worried about me, so I asked to take some time off from the war to be with you," he replies, sitting down on my couch. "You didn't say that was your reason though, right?" I ask him. "Of course not. I gave the reason that I wasn't able to train as much on the field, so they gave me some time off to work on training," he explains, and I let out a sigh of relief. "So basically, we're only going to be able to spend nights together," I ask. "Why do you say that?" He asks. "Well, I have my duties in the Senate, and you should work on training, that way we don't raise suspicion," I say calmly. "That makes sense," he replies simply. I stand up and head to my bedroom to get ready for an emergency Senate meeting that I just found out about, and Gian and Zela follow me to assist me.

Anakin decided to accompany me to the Senate meeting, and I couldn't say anything to change his mind about it. He explained that he found it strange that the Senate would be called into emergency session so early in the Clone War. That brings me to where I am now, with Anakin standing over my shoulder as we listen to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine proposing for Kamino to supply more clone soldiers as quickly as possible. I stand up as I realize that in order to carry out such a plan, he would need to have emergency powers granted by a Senate vote. "If I may, Chancellor, such an action requires a Senate vote to grant you emergency powers," I say. "Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me," Palpatine replies, and I almost thought I heard a hint of annoyance in his tone, as though he didn't want to acknowledge the fact. He had already managed to find a way around the term limits of his office, and I was beginning to wonder if he was being given too much power, especially since the start of the Clone War. I sneek a sideways glance at Anakin, who meets my eyes for a brief moment before looking away again. Much to my dismay, the Senate seems to want to grant the Chancellor the emergency powers without a vote, and I abruptly leave the Senate floor with barely a second thought.

I know that Anakin is close behind me, but I can't care less if he's there or not. "Duna," he says, trying to get my attention, but I ignore him. "Duna, hold on," he says a little louder, but I continue to ignore him. Just before I get to the exit of the Senate building, I feel him grab my arm with his cybernetic hand, so I turn to face him. "What?" I ask sharply. "I know how much you care about the Constitution, and I agree that the Chancellor has been in office far longer than he theoretically should have been, but I don't know what can be done," he says. "There's something that you should know. Whenever I'm around the Chancellor, I've noticed a sort of weird chill in the air around him, to the point that I can see my own breath, as if it were winter," I say, meeting his eyes again. "The Jedi Council has been sensing a dark shadow around the Chancellor, and I believe that what you just told me is connected to that. Has he ever been completely alone when you feel that chill?" He asks. "He's never alone. He's always got guards around him," I reply. "Let me ask you this. Where does it feel coldest when you're around him?" He asks. "It gets colder the closer I get to him physically," I say. "Hmm... perhaps he's being influenced by a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious," Anakin ponders aloud. "Or maybe Chancellor Palpatine is this Darth Sidious person?" I ask him curiously. "I don't think that he's the Sith Lord, but it isn't impossible. I'll bring it up with Obi-Wan when I see him again," he says. "So Obi-Wan is not only your friend, but also an informant of sorts who updates you on the Council's decisions?" I ask with a knowing smile. "That's one way to phrase it, I guess," he says with a shrug.

A few days later, Anakin informs me that under normal circumstances, the Jedi can see possible future events to a certain extent, but all that they can see now is a dark cloud. Even Master Yoda can't see through the cloud to see potential futures, which I'm told is extremely rare. Anakin says that all of the Jedi are worried, which is also pretty strange, since they say that fear is a path to the Dark Side. I ask Anakin if he's worried too, and he tells me that if he wasn't, he would be lying. "What if this whole war is nothing but a cover for something bigger?" I ask. "How so?" He asks. "You told me that the Jedi believe that the Chancellor is under the influence of Darth Sidious, so what if the war is just a distraction for the Jedi while Sidious makes plans to wipe them out?" I ask. "That's possible," Anakin says thoughtfully. I turn my gaze to the ground, staring at it like it's the most interesting thing in my vicinity. "What's wrong, Duna?" He asks me. "I don't want to talk about the Jedi being wiped out," I reply. "Why not?" He asks. "Because you're a Jedi, Ani! If the Jedi were wiped out, you'd be dead, and then my life would never be the same again," I say, now feeling close to tears. "Don't worry, my love. We'll take things as they come," he says with an infectious confidence. With that, we decide to head to bed.

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Until next time!