Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 4

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was supposed to be a routine check-up with Bail's friend from work, just enough time for a cup of tea and friendly conversation.

Senator Agost Bernatto, a somewhat new representative from Ryloth still fresh to the whole 'politician' concept, was a kind red-skinned Twi-lek man a few years younger than Deidre's father. They'd been colleagues ever since the fall of the Republic, especially after the untimely death of Ryloth's previous senator. 

Since Deidre could remember, Agost had been one of Senator Organa's greatest supporters in the new Empirical Senate and a second father figure in her young life. Birthdays and holidays were always spent with him and his wife, Trinlee, along with his daughter, Spindelle, who was a few years younger than Deidre and one of the teen's closest companions. If it hadn't been for the obvious difference in species, the universe would've thought the Organas and Bernattos were actual blood-relatives.

With the chaos of politics and paperwork, both men knew early on in their careers that time away from their jobs was a necessity if they wanted to keep their sanity. So, in order to remain sane, their friendship grew into that of a brotherhood and their families had been inseparable ever since.

The routine elevator ride was spent in silence, the quiet being interrupted only by the occasional ding sounds that passed with each floor gone by as Deidre stood by her father's side. Although her mother commonly attended their time with the Bernattos as well, times at the palace were beginning to grow tense as the Empire raised taxes and caused countless other problems for Alderaan. Her presence was needed back home as much as possible; Deidre didn't exactly complain.

The duo were only a couple floors from their destination when the fifteen-year-old felt it. It wasn't something that happened often, only once or twice within her life. But each time, the feeling was followed by a catastrophic event. Bail liked to call it 'future vision', or say that she was gifted by the gods with a super power no one else possessed. 

To Deidre, it wasn't a blessing at all.

It was a curse.

In an instant, she felt a punch to her gut and gasped in pain as the corners of her vision began to go black. She didn't remember passing out, or her father catching her before she could hit to the ground; all she could recall was the usual 'ding' that went off in the elevator as they reached Agost's penthouse apartment and the doors slid open, revealing a nightmare neither one of them had ever had the misfortune to even consider.

The Bernattos' apartment used to be a comforting place, an elegantly decorated home with beautiful artifacts from Ryloth, furniture the shade of the planet's surface and made for comfort, along with drapes and carpets the color of blood-red sunsets. Deidre had spent hundreds of sleepovers in their living room, building blanket-castles with Spindelle and making up stories as day turned to night and night turned to day. The Bernattos' penthouse was always a welcoming place for Deidre when she needed a break from her own life.

But the scene before them was anything but welcoming.

Every artifact on display was shattered on the floor, remnants of glass pots and clay dolls were scattered along the ground. The drapes had been ripped to shreds, the couches and chairs were torn and spitting out puffs of stuffing. The sound of a breeze could be heard throughout the complex, meaning that somewhere in the premises was a broken window. Holes had been blasted through walls, still smoking as if they'd been made only minutes prior. 

But the most disturbing was the bodies.

Twi-lek servants were splayed throughout the apartment; blood gushed from their mouths, eyes, and noses. Deidre could feel the vomit crawling its way up her throat as she began recognizing the victims one by one and she gripped her father's hand tightly.

"Stay here," Bail told her, grabbing his blaster from his hidden pocket and stepping out of the elevator, then turned around and pressed the button to the first floor. "Get help as fast as you can. Don't come back up here, no matter what. I'll come back down once the coast is clear." Deidre's eyes widened.

"No, father, don't-"

The doors closed before she could protest further and Bail disappeared from view.

___

Anakin had just gotten dressed when Leia suddenly rushed into his room. Padme was still in bed, though she was supposed to make breakfast in a few minutes, and sat straight up at the sight of her panicked daughter. Sweat dripped from the girl's face as if she'd just ran a marathon, but her face was white from fear and her hands shook at her sides. Leia's eyes were as wide as saucers and she grabbed her father's robotic hand. 

"Leia, what's wrong-" Anakin began to ask, but didn't need to further the question as he felt an invisible object slam against his back, as if he'd fallen from a great height....

Kalani.

She was on watch duty.

The pieces clicked together and he grabbed his lightsaber before dashing out of the bedroom in front of his daughter, trying to reach Kalani's mind as he sprinted through the under-ground house but feeling nothing from her end, as if her consciousness had just disappeared. 

"Anakin!" Padme called out, but he was already out the door before his wife could even climb out of bed, his blue lightsaber glowing across the sand with each quick step he took. His eyes scanned the horizon til he found the tall pillar of metal they used to keep watch over the farm; he could feel his heart stop in his chest when he saw that there was no sign of the girl, just the rifle and scope she'd used laying at the base of the tower and a narrow trail in the sand leading away from the moisture farm.

"No..." He murmured under his breath and ran faster til he reached the base of the vantage point and picked up the scope. "No...no..." Anakin gasped and held the scope to his eye, following the trail in the ground til it disappeared behind the large dunes that surrounded his home. As if he'd just been stabbed in the back, the man could physically feel his heart being crushed in his chest and the air leave his lungs.

She was gone.

But it wasn't long before he realized what he'd have to do, what he'd have to repeat, to get her back.

And what he'd have to tear down to bring her home.

Without even explaining it to his family beforehand, Anakin leaped onto his speeder and began to follow the tracks the sand people had left in their wake.