Who Are You?

Toppling an Empire

With the utter slaughter of rebellion ships playing out in front of their very eyes, Padmé felt her resolve begin to waver. Since first awakening in the sand on Tatooine, and meeting a man who claimed to possess the surname of her husband, Padmé has been at a loss as to the true purpose of her arrival. Master Yoda had claimed it was the Force that brought her to the future due to her connection with Anakin, while Obi-Wan guessed she was to aid Luke in the inevitable battle against his corrupted father.  All in all, what had she actually accomplished?  Luke and his friends seemed competent enough to take down Jabba and succeed in their rescue mission without her interference.  Worse, her presence had caused a rift between the group, with Luke unable to explain her importance to him without revealing sensitive information.  She was unable to craft any real relationship with Leia, and practically abandoned her when she went off to confront Vader with Luke. 

Vader was yet another failure it appeared.  By all accounts, the man behind the mask was gone, and it was almost foolish for Padmé to believe any different.  He hardly spoke to her at all, electing to ignore her for his own sanity, only to lash out with an unfamiliar violence when she dared to call him a slave. A slave to a master hellbent on replacing him. When she learned of the fall of the republic, Padmé couldn't bring herself to imagine what kind of wicked creature could rise up and conquer an entire galaxy that reveled in its democracy. And she never would've believed that they had been a friend. Sheev Palpatine, her most trusted advisor from her time as Queen, the man she championed as the chancellor the galaxy needed, was nothing more than a charlatan. A charlatan possessing a silver tongue powerful enough to charm his way into absolute power, and the abilities to make it happen. Palpatine caused this awful future, and Padmé had been duped into helping him.

Well...it's time to take responsibility for my mistakes! Padmé's brown eyes narrowed dangerously as her face morphed into the epitome of seriousness. She slowly removed her hand from Luke's shoulder, though he was too engrossed in the destruction going on outside to really notice. The Emperor had noticed the action, however, and began to taunt her.

"Senator, I'm surprised you're not more impressed by the Death Star's capabilities. Just imagine, had the senate authorized the creation of such a weapon, then the Clone Wars may not have needlessly dragged on as long as they had. Think of all the lives that could have been saved, it's truly amazing, the effect of a little enforcement-"

"Shut up."

Padmé's voice was level, no louder than necessary, but did catch everyone's attention. Luke broke his gaze away from the window and Vader looked a bit less battle ready. Even the Emperor, who had probably never been given and order since taking office as the Supreme Chancellor, was stunned to say the least. As Padmé turned around, a new sense of authority seemed to engulf her. Her steeled eyes pierced through Palpatine's, who was now curious to see where she was going with this. In truth, she had considered her options wisely. She had tried this Anakin's way, and with her failure to fight effectively against her husband, as well as how easily she was subdued, Padmé knew it was time to switch tactics. It was time to do this her own way.

"You speak as though your victory is set in stone. But how can you be so sure?"

Palpatine raised an eyebrow, while Padmé continued.

"When I, a dead woman, walked into your throne room, you seemed less than surprised. It's no secret that the Force brought me to the future, but did you ever stop to question why?"

Luke and Vader were watching Padmé intently, obviously now asking themselves.  A knowing look encompassed Padmé's face, leaving the entire room waiting with bated breath to learn her revelation.

"All logic pointed to several plausible reasons, aid in the battle against you and the empire, rescue Anakin from the dark side, but none of these were 'long term' solutions.  Sure, such actions would benefit this timeline, and could be viewed as an undertaking for someone so connected to the major players.  However, and this was what was really throwing a wrench into any ideas, why would the Force choose me?  I don't even survive this long, I have no real bearings in this time.  What could I possibly bring to the table that Luke doesn't already have covered?"

One consequence of growing up a politician, Padmé could never seem to get to her point fast enough.  Always adding filler and background information in an attempt to intrigue the opposition to get them to listen.  A tactic that has served her well throughout the years, and one that appeared to affect even the Emperor himself.  Palpatine, though he didn't show it as much as Luke and Vader, was beyond interested by now.  And why shouldn't he be?  Padmé knew he had no idea why she was here, and he's wanted to learn why ever since she arrived.  Well, unfortunately for him, she was about to end this man's whole career.

"I'm the only one who can take you down before your rise, Palpatine!"

There was no audible gasp, just a confused silence that filled the room.

"I'm the only one who now knows of your plans, the atrocities you have-or rather are going to-commit, and when I am inevitably sent back to my time I can guarantee that I will spend the remainder of my life preventing you from becoming an Emperor!  Take a good look around 'Your majesty' because when I go, I'll be sure to never let today happen!"

The silence remained for another moment, before a light chuckle broke through, slowly morphing into a twisted laughter.  Clasping his hands together, the still laughing Emperor glared down at Padmé from his seat on his throne.

"Well done Senator!  I always knew you were a smart one, one of the smartest representatives who ever served.  It was a true shame when the Galaxy lost you.  Then again, you always did possess a few little problems I had always wanted to address."

Padmé blinked, but quickly hardened herself once more.  "Oh?  What 'problems' did you notice exactly?"

"You poor judgement in character for one," Palpatine gestured to himself, "you also let your emotions guide your more misguided decisions, such as that whole Senator Farr mess.  But, it seems to me your greatest downfall has always been your naivety."

Now, that did manage to shake Padmé, but she refused to let it show.  Palpatine smiled as he continued.

"Oh yes, you naive beliefs have also caused you trouble.  Take your time here for example.  You naively believed Lord Vader would turn on me as well as the dark side, you believe your son will not fall under my control, and," he suddenly stretched out his hand, closing off Padmé's airway.  "You believed I would let you live!"