Who Are You?

Not the Same

"These were the rebels who surrendered to us.  I highly believe there are more skulking about, so I request permission to search the area."

Padmé was shaken out of her reverie by the new voice. She hadn't even noticed the man up until this point, though to be fair, she was rather preoccupied earlier. She watched as he diligently handed over Luke's lightsaber, claiming it was the only thing they were armed with.

Or maybe you were just to lazy to look in the same bush we were found in... Padmé silently scoffed, trying to hold back an eye roll.  Luke stood quietly beside her, watching as his father inspected the weapon.  Anakin seemed to be focused solely on it, however, Padmé couldn't shake the feeling that he was still staring at her from behind those darkened lenses.  Oh how she was loathing that mask more and more as time went on. 

"Good work, Commander."

His voice was unlike anything Padmé could have pictured, yet another lost feature she was forced to expect at this point. Its low baritone pitch left the impression of someone you'd never want to encounter on a bad day, or any day.  Padmé just barely suppressed a shiver from running down her spine.  She quietly wondered how Luke managed to keep himself so calm in Vader's presence...wait.

Anakin!  His name is Anakin, not Vader!  Padmé shouted at herself, terribly disappointed, though not quite as much as she was with her husband when he granted the Commander permission to make prisoners of their companions. The thought of her friends, and even Han to some degree, captured by the empire was unsettling.

Finally, the Commander and the two troopers withdrew, no doubt headed back to the surface to try and locate the other resistance members. Padmé tried to stay tall as the silence gnawed at her growing anxiety, while the robotic breathing only added to the tension that seemed to encase the three of them. In a lot of ways, this was not what Padmé had expected their first family reunion to be. Maybe her original ideas of Anakin immediately renouncing all evil and welcoming them with open arms were unrealistic, but she hadn't even considered such a cold reception. Luke watched his father closely, though he didn't seem ready to end the quiet. 

"The Emperor has been expecting you."

As she let the statement linger for a moment, Padmé couldn't help but be reminded of Anakin's habit of filling the air.  He would generally speak his mind at every opportunity, yet when even he couldn't find something new to add, he would fall back on stating the obvious. It seemed as though the apple didn't fall too far from the tree, as Luke decided to join in.

"I know, Father."

Padmé knew her husband just had to be beaming at the title...well, at the very least the air around him grew a degree less cold.  Luke seemed to notice the shift as well, grow a tad more confident in his own stance. Padmé even found herself losing up ever so slightly. Though, the new position was hard to hold when she once more felt his invisible stare. He continued to pay her no heed outwardly, opting to instead confront his insecurities regarding Luke.

"So, you have accepted the truth."

"I've accepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father." Luke stood firm, but Padmé knew his feelings ran further than just that. Unfortunately, his father didn't seem to believe so, leading him to the beginnings of a rash rebuttal. Turning towards Luke, he took up an almost scolding tone.

"That name no longer holds any meaning-" He stopped mid sentence. Padmé too was at a loss for words as she stared up into the reflective voids before her. Anakin had completely bypassed Luke, and had settled in front of Padmé. Clearly, he was just as shocked act the action as everyone else. Well, Luke obviously wasn't AS surprised as his parents, and Padmé could see her son was merely staring silently with interest. It was up to Padmé to prevent another round of awkward silence.