The Bittersweet Mission

Catching Up

     "This was a bad idea, Myn."

     Anakin looks up at his wife, softening his gaze when he sees what she's holding. "I thought you wanted to go shopping. You said you wanted to be prepared."

     Her forehead creases as her lips form a slight frown. "I did, and I do. I just don't know if we really should be spending all our money now."

     "Shiemma, if you want them that much, just get them. You'll spend all afternoon regretting it if not."

     Padmé's frown slowly but surely transforms into a light smile, and she has turned back to the store counter soon enough, creating a small pile of various items. Some items worthy of notice were perhaps the three brightly colored baby outfits, the glowing star mobile, or even a set of two rattles (that Anakin thought were already slightly annoying).

     Obi-Wan approaches her husband from behind and places a hand on his shoulder. His touch, however, is unnecessary; Anakin could sense him coming moments before.

      He feels a gentle nudge at his conscience, and he allows Obi-Wan to speak to him.

     Ahsoka is outside with the Senator again.

     That's alright, he responds. For now. They know they can't go very far.

     Has Padmé made up her mind yet?

     Yes... I think she's just finishing up. We should be able to leave in just a few minutes.

     The older man sighs aloud, and a smirk works its way onto the face of the younger one.

     Feeling tired Master?

     If only you knew, Anakin...

     Are we all ready for the festival tonight?

     As ready as we'll ever be.

     And you finished informing Bonteri, Satine, and Korkie about the updated pickup plan?

     Of course, that's why our young Senator is here, then Obi-Wan added, I sent a coded message to Satine about an hour ago.

      Let's hope everything goes in our favor.

     Let's just hope we make it through today.

*****

     As the three Jedi and the Senator of Naboo finished shopping, they headed back to the apartment where they were staying to get dressed for the event. Going out that morning to walk around was a nice distraction from what was to come, but it was also a good way to scope out the area for the night.

     Ahsoka was feeling much better than the evening before, though she couldn't help but wince a little when climbing up stairs or stepping out of the transport vehicle that took them across the town. 

     Anakin and Obi-Wan were both feeling a bit frazzled by the nervous energy that seemed to surround the whole day, but Padmé was quite excited to attend another event with her husband where she didn't have to put up a facade, or at least not as much of a facade as usual.

    It was a very different mission compared to what most of them had experience with, but not one of them could deny the fact that it was going better than expected. They hadn't found anything to be too out of the ordinary so far, and they had not yet needed to retrieve their lightsabers from R2. That was a pretty good sign.

    So, they weren't sure how to feel about the next event. It was possible that something could go spectacularly wrong, as this was going to be a big night, or it was possible that they would be able to proceed with caution. Yet surely they all should have realized that missions rarely go as planned when Anakin Skywalker is involved.

     As the afternoon approached, each of them took their time getting dressed and practicing the right mindset that was needed to go undercover as a couple and their servants who supported the Sith.

    The two men took considerably less time preparing themselves, and they eventually made their way out of their rooms to the living space to wait for the two young women.

     However, Padmé did not take as much time to prepare as she usually would for an event like this. From what they knew of the couple they were portraying, it was common for the woman to leave her hair in styles that hung down. For Padmé, this cut her time to get ready in half, and she was then able to help Ahsoka add on the headpiece that matched her festival outfit. 

     When they exited the room at last, Anakin and Obi-Wan stood as they sensed them approach.

     Anakin looked at his wife who was wearing a lovely gold and white loose gown and smiled. "You look beautiful, Angel."

     As Padmé smiled back, Obi-Wan coughed slightly, and Ahsoka turned her face away in attempt to prevent herself from laughing.

     "And you look very handsome," Padmé remarked in return, walking over to take her husband's arm.

     Anakin wore a dashing suit that was a dark contrast to her gown, and though Obi-Wan's own suit was more tailored for a manservant, it did look good on him as well.

     Obi-Wan and Ahsoka fell in line behind the couple, and they all headed out to the apartment elevator. They would be walking to the festival this evening, as it was taking place all across the town. 

     To their surprise, people were already out and about. Storefronts were open to serve all the customers into the late hours for the occasion, street vendors were setting up to sell food and handcrafted items, and a few notes of music were beginning to fill the air as a band practiced somewhere out of sight.

     Together, Padmé and Anakin led them forward through the streets, and they carefully circled the area while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. 

     A lot of people began to show up in fashionable outfits, crowding the streets as the main events would soon start. 

     The four of them hadn't really planned to engage in many of the activities, but Padmé and Ahsoka were curious to watch a few of the dances and see the parade. They all figured they would stay for just an hour or two to make an appearance, even though the event was planned to last well into the night. They had all agreed that staying after dark might introduce new risks that could compromise their mission.

     Still, they shouldn't have been so shocked when they had to toss their plans out the window a few minutes later when they stumbled right into a few recognizable figures.