Rebel Pilot: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 16

The silence was deafening.

Getting out of the Imperial Palace had been entirely dead silent, none of them ready to actually talk yet. But they'd all quietly assumed that upon getting onto the stolen ship headed back towards the Rebel Base, they would actually talk.

They were wrong.

It was fifteen minutes into the flight that Han finally broke the silence. "Okay, so are we going to talk? About the new time traveler?"

"Oh, yes. My name is Senator Padmé Amidala, and, hang on, time travel?" Padmé tilted her head in mild curiosity. It was times like these Anakin remembered his wife was a politician. "That would certainly explain why I appear to have blinked out of one space and into the next. But I would like maybe an explanation as to what is happening?"

"What is happening? That's the question, Amidala," Han agreed.

"I don't even know where to begin," Obi-Wan admitted.

"I'm about as new to this as you are," Ahsoka said to Padmé. "All I know is we're about twenty years in the future and just assassinated the Sith emperor, which was Palpatine."

Padmé looked more shocked about this than the time travel, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh my. Palpatine?"

"It's okay, Padmé. You can scream. No one will judge you here," Anakin said with a smirk on his face.

Padmé shot Anakin a look. "That's quite alright, General Skywalker. Now are you guys saying that the Chancellor was a—"

"Oh, you can cut it with the 'General Skywalkers,'" Obi-Wan added. He pointed at Luke and Leia. "Those are yours and Anakin's children. So, we know you're married. It's fine. I'm still offended that I wasn't Anakin's best man, but it's fine."

Padmé's eyes widened even more. "Oh. Alright."

"HANG ON," Ahsoka interrupted. "MARRIED?! You guys didn't mention that part! I mean I ASSUMED Padmé was the mother, because that made sense given your guys' total lack of subtlety, but apparently you guys had already discussed this without me and didn't see fit to tell me that they somehow had time to get MARRIED?! "

"After the first battle of Geonosis," Anakin said tiredly, not seeking to have this particular conversation again. "I didn't know you at the time, so you can't complain about not coming to the wedding, but yes, we did get married."

Padmé's eyes darted between everyone on the ship. "And we're just talking about this? Like, everything's fine? No problems?" She laughed nervously.

"Padmé, we already knew," Obi-Wan said gently. "Or at least, to some extent. The marriage part we didn't quite get. But you two weren't exactly... subtle."

"You mean Anakin wasn't subtle." Padmé gave her husband a look.

"No offense, Senator Amidala, but you weren't that much better," Ahsoka told her. Padmé had no response to that.

"Oh, by the way guys? Word of advice? Only marry a politician if you really love her. Like, to the level that I love Padmé. Because you know how they say you can never win an argument with your wife? It's, like, twenty times worse when she's a senator."

"He's just salty because I'm always right," Padmé whispered conspiratorially.

Leia cleared her throat. "Can we get back to filling in Mother? Can I call you Mother? You've been my idol, like, my whole life, and I didn't even know you were my mother, and of course I still love Breha Organa..." Leia looked down, no doubt remembering the destruction of Alderaan. "But you're my mom, so like, can I call you that?"