Who Are You?

The Best Defense

Rage may corrupt a Jedi, but Padmé couldn't care less, for she's not a Jedi. Immediately, she shook off Luke's hand, and locked eyes with the Emperor. 

"How could you?! I trusted you-we ALL trusted you, and you went and did this?!"

Palpatine seemed to find the situation far more humorous than Padmé could tolerate.  His disgusting yellow teeth were still present in a grin, that only seemed to grow the more Padmé expressed her outrage.  She was getting nowhere, the evildoer didn't care about her feelings.  Clearly she needed a new way of expressing her infuriation.  Words could only get one so far after all, so Padmé decided to take a page out of Anakin's book.

"You destroyed my republic, plunged my galaxy into Hell, and stole my family!  The worst mistake of my career, no my life, was associating with the likes of you, Sheev Palpatine!"

No one expected to see the ignited crimson, and not even Vader could have predicted that Padmé would be the one wielding his saber.  Seizing her moment, she rushed at the Emperor with the "borrowed" sword.  Unfortunately, Padmé had never actually been trained to hold a lightsaber properly, much less effectively use such a weapon.  Her attempted blow was clumsy and extremely unbalanced, but for a non force user, the fact that the saber even activated was impressive in of itself.  Though it had little effect, seeing as a complementary green light had effortlessly blocked her red.  With unmatched irritation, Padmé glared upward into the lenses of her husband's mask.

"Move, Anakin!"  She growled, pressing against the hilt of her lightsaber with every ounce of her strength.  Her feet slid slightly as she fought desperately against Vader, still he didn't even budge.  "Anakin!"

The Emperor had stopped smiling, instead choosing to bask in the opposing colors.  Padmé didn't care, she just wanted to see his head role right into the worst prison the galaxy could offer, if only her husband would just step aside!

"How can you protect him like this?"  She shouted, while something other than anger seeping into her voice.  "He's just been using you, and you know it!  He's done nothing but take advantage of us at every point, all so he could climb to the top on our backs!  Doesn't it bother you?  And he's still taking from us!  He wants our son now, he just wants another Skywalker to raise him up a little longer.  When he's finished with Luke, who's next on his never ending list?"

She didn't mean to slip up, her mind had been relatively focused on her emotions up until this point, but one stray thought had wedged its way into her anxiety ridden hypothetical future.

What if he takes Leia?

Suddenly, Padmé's lightsaber deactivated. The Emperor's smile wasn't just back, his entire face seemed to be encompassed by the grin. His yellow eyes gleamed with a new sense of enlightenment, as if he had just won the ultimate prize.

"You will not touch her!" Padmé screamed, knowing full well his intentions.

Vader seemed confused, at least Padmé assumed that much, but now was not the time to tell him about their daughter. Desperately, Padmé tried to reactivate the saber, only to have it flung from her grip by an almost giddy Emperor. It landed towards the elevator, to far for her to even attempt to reach. But it didn't matter, seeing as she too was cast aside effortlessly. Landing hard on the floor, she could hear Palpatine's cheerful gloating despite the slight ringing in her ears.

"I don't know why I bother to keep you around for protection, Lord Vader. I seem to have dealt with the separatist quite well by myself."

Luke didn't take too lightly to his mother being tossed carelessly across the room and insulted. Without thinking, he summoned his father's discarded lightsaber and ignited the blade. The red light reflected menacingly in his eyes, as he too charged at the Emperor. Deja vu seemed to strike the four when green once again blocked red. Padmé quickly rose to her feet, when her heart sank back towards the ground. There was her family, father and son, staring each other down.

"That's it, use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the hate flow through you."

Confliction crossed Luke's face, as he seemed to realize what was happening.

"I will not turn.  You're wrong about me, and it will be your last mistake!"

Luke took another swing at the Emperor, only to be unsurprisingly intercepted by Vader. The boiling point was nearly reached, and by now, it was obvious Luke was considering changing targets. Vader seemed to sense this shift in his son, and readied himself accordingly. The Emperor seemed rather calm for someone so close to the action.  In fact, if anything, he projected an almost annoyed aura.

"If you're pinning your hopes on your rebel friends, then it's you who are sorely mistaken."

A pause swept over both Luke and Padmé. Having been brought up to speed on the plan before they surrendered, Padmé knew just how important the element of surprise was.

"What EXACTLY do you mean?" Padmé tentatively asked, as she approached the throne.  Fighting against the nausea as Palpatine shot her another all knowing smile, she defiantly stood by her son. 

"I meant what I said," the Emperor nonchalantly replied.  "If the young Jedi's actions are fueled by his belief in the rebel alliance ships, I was simply trying to inform him of the absurdity.  After all, why put your faith in the dead?"

The Emperor gestured towards the window, which clearly showed hundreds of rebel ships encroaching on the Death Star.  They all seemed ready to attack, no matter who was currently onboard. However, instead of inspiring any kind of fear or intimidation, the Emperor seemed almost excited by their appearance.  Luke wasn't amused.

"I don't see how you're so confident right now, your majesty.  From what I can tell, we're all in serious danger, and that includes you."

"Heh heh, my dear boy," the Emperor leaned forward in his throne, "you honestly didn't think we were unprotected?"

Legions of TIE Fighters suddenly arose from within the station.  Fireworks soon erupted across space, as the rebels fought desperately to keep off the now advancing imperial ships.  Luke's face fell as he rushed towards the window, his mother trailing closely behind.  They watched helplessly as a few of the ships that managed to break through the blockade and attempted to rush the Death Star themselves, only to explode upon impact of the invisible shield.

"No!"  Luke cried out at the loss of his comrades. 

Padmé tried hide her own outrage as she held his shoulder.  If the shield is still active, than Leia and the others haven't completed their mission!  Please let them be alright...

"Not only are the shields in working order, but the engineers were also successful on another front."

There was a point, not too long into the Clone Wars, when a new type of weapon was suggested to the senate. It was barely even a concept at that point, and no one was quite sure who even first pitched it. Nevertheless, the "weapon" bounced around between senators as gossip for quite some time before it reached Padmé's ears. She and her friends initially dismissed such talk, even threw in a few light jokes, until the day of the vote. And, as the brilliant green beam shot through the galaxy and disintegrated the head rebel ship, Padmé wished for the days when a planet destroying space station were only just a mocked rumor.