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astudyinimagination · 6 years ago

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The Gentleness That Comes not from the Absence of Violence, pt. II

Hi, guys!

NaNo is moving too fast for me to keep up with it and I could use some Validation (TM), so here’s the next part of my Padmé Lives AU. :D

Padmé returns to the land of the living from a brush with death, and starts to navigate her new life as a first-time single mother in hiding with twins, not to mention relationship issues and developing PTSD.

She rises slowly to consciousness, and there’s a light behind her eyelids strong enough to make her feel uncomfortable without also making her feel she has to wake up sooner than she wants to. She drifts for a while, returning to the waking world gradually, and there’s a strange weight on her face when she does. She panics for a moment, but Obi-Wan is right there, assuring her that everything is all right, she is fine… and his blue eyes are bright with tears. He’s been crying. Poor Obi-Wan. Maybe he should have told Anakin he could cry. Maybe that would have helped.

“Padmé? Thank the Force you’re still with us.” He gives her a weak grin. “It would have been a tragedy if I’d had to raise these twins by myself.”

Padmé rasps a faint chuckle, and realizes that she’s wearing an oxygen mask. Oh. So that’s how close she’d been to dying.

Then she realizes what’s missing. “Where are the twins?” Her voice continues to rasp, painfully.

“The meddroids have them — cleaning up and feeding and testing and putting to sleep. I’m told it’s standard procedure, even if the birth is a perfectly normal one.”

And this one was not. “Oh.”

Obi-Wan takes her right hand in both his hands and opens his mouth to speak, but Padmé frowns at what she feels. “How did you hurt your hand?” Then she remembers: he had held her hand throughout the contractions, and she blushes. “I’m sorry.”

Obi-Wan blushes, too. “It’s nothing, Padmé, really. It will heal quickly.”

She gives a minute nod. The silence begins to drag out uncomfortably, so she asks, “How long was I out?”

His lips compress into a thin line before he answers. “Nearly three hours. You flatlined. Bail claimed he was next of kin and told them to get you breathing again.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Bail did that? And they went with it?”

Obi-Wan shrugs. “We’re far enough out here that they barely know the Clone Wars is — ” he stops, pain and grief flashing across his face for a moment, then continues — “was happening, let alone that you two are esteemed Senators from different planets.”

“Where is here?”

“Polis Massa. Archeological base on an asteroid field, Subterrel sector.”

“That’s… pretty far.”

“Yes.”

They lapse into silence again. There’s too much between them now to converse easily; their friendship will never be the same again, if they even stay friends.

But there’s one thing Padmé still doesn’t know, and she needs to. “What happened, Obi-Wan? To Anakin? Where is he?”

The grief returns to the Jedi’s face in full force, and Padmé feels a pang of sympathy for him. Perhaps Obi-Wan didn’t do the best job of it, but he did raise Anakin, and he loves him, she knows that.

Apparently, she knew that when Anakin didn’t.

“He…. he’s dead, Padmé. I’m sorry.”

“No…” Anakin couldn’t be dead, he couldn’t, Padmé isn’t Force-sensitive but she would have felt that, she knows she would have, she would know…

“I saw him.”

“How…?” Her voice cracks.

He shakes his head, and she recognizes the look in his eyes — it’s a look she’s seen more times than she can count: what those eyes have seen is too horrible to give voice to.

She doesn’t know what to say, or how to feel. Anakin is dead. But he couldn’t be. I’d know.

Just like you knew about what he’d become?

She can’t hold back a whimper, and Obi-Wan’s face twists again. “I still love him,” she whispers.

“I know,” he whispers back. Does Obi-Wan still love Anakin? Does Anakin’s betrayal of him run deeper than his betrayal of Padmé? Can you quantify something like that?

Into the silence, Padmé speaks again. “Obi-Wan… would you take this mask off, please? I can breathe on my own.”

“Oh.” He suddenly looks awkward. “I should probably go ask…”

“Please?” She gives him her best pitiful eyes, which she has to imagine are only enhanced right now by her appearance — she’s sure she looks like a fright.

He sighs and moves forward to carefully disengage the apparatus, and Padmé sighs in relief at fresh air filling her lungs. Well, as fresh as air can be in a medcenter that’s on an atmosphereless asteroid.

“Thank you.”

Obi-Wan smiles weakly. “Let’s just hope the meddroids are — ”

Bail bursts into the room. “Obi-Wan, I need to — Padmé!” He rushes to her side, and she struggles to sit up. “You’re awake!”

“I’m fine,” Padmé rasps, unconvincing to her own ears. “I think I owe you my life.”

Bail blushes and looks down. “Yes, about that… I’m sorry, Padmé, but I couldn’t just — ”

It’s Obi-Wan’s turn to interrupt. “Senator, you needed to speak with me? Beg pardon, but you looked rather urgent just now.”

“Yes…” Bail looks awkwardly between Obi-Wan and Padmé. “It’s… it’s Master Yoda.”

Padmé manages to support her weight on her elbows. “Master Yoda is still alive?”

Bail nods. “He… I’m sorry, Padmé… He wants to have the twins separated. For their own safety.”

Padmé’s vision darkens for a moment, and then she slips into an icy calm, the internal body armor she needed as Queen and continues to use as a Senator. “I see.” Both men just visibly flinch. Good. “Bail? Would you be so good as to take me to him? I’m afraid you’ll have to help me walk.”

Bail hesitates, then bends down. “I can carry you, it will save time.”

Obi-Wan steps forward. “I can — ”

“Obi-Wan, if you’ll forgive my saying so, you hardly look like you can carry yourself,” Bail says dryly but not unkindly.

Deciding to forgo whatever dignity she’d find in hobbling along while leaning on Bail’s arm, Padmé reaches up for him, and he lifts her easily into his arms.

Obi-Wan clears his throat, and Padmé turns towards him. “May I… may I come with you?”

It’s going to get ugly, Padmé know it’s going to get ugly, but she can see that he already knows that, and he wants to come anyway. She nods. “Of course.”

He bows his head in return, and Bail sets off. They’re met with a few stares from passers-by in the corridor, and one of the meddroids who has been taking care of Padmé notices her out of bed and begins to make a fuss. Almost immediately, she hears Obi-Wan using the tone he employs for soothing tempers — they don’t call him The Negotiator for nothing — and she tunes out. The droid is a distraction, and she needs to focus.

But her heart rises into her throat when Bail carries her into the nursery center, and there are two human babies side by side in their own medical cradles, snuggled into blankets and fast asleep, her babies…

And there is Yoda standing in front of the cradles, watching them.

The diminutive Jedi Master turns towards them as they enter, blinking placidly. Padmé has to fight for calm as she murmurs to her friend, “Thank you, Bail. Would you please set me down?”

He grimaces in concern but complies, keeping an arm around Padmé’s shoulders to help her stay upright, and she gives him a glance of gratitude.

“Senator,” Yoda says in greeting. “Glad I am to see you still alive. Concerned, we all were, to lose you.”

“Thank you, Master Yoda,” Padmé says evenly with a tilt of her head. “But I wonder why you need me at all if you wish to split up my children.”

Bail’s arm tenses beneath her, and she can feel rather than see Obi-Wan’s shock.

Yoda is hardly fazed. “For their own safety, it would be. On them, everything depends.”

Padmé frowns. “I don’t understand.”

“Shielded from the Emperor, they must be, until old enough, they are, to stand against him.”

“I agree completely, but they will not be standing against him on your terms, Master Jedi. They are my children, not yours.”

“My judgment, you must trust, Senator.” Padmé could almost laugh aloud — so this is where Qui-Gon had gotten it from! “Strong are your children with the Force. To the Jedi, would they be entrusted.”

It’s true — under Republic law, the Jedi had the right to take Force-sensitive children into the Order, and Padmé feels a sudden rush of shame for never thinking to question that law until she had discovered her pregnancy. She’d known there was an even chance that her child would be Force-sensitive thanks to Anakin, and she had, in her off hours, been preparing to fight for custody of the baby once they were born. Selfish, and blind, of her, not to give that law so much as a second thought until she was in the position of the people being harmed by it.

“Under Republic law, you’re right,” says Padmé, an edge to her voice. “But the Republic no longer exists, thanks to Palpatine. Who, by the way, now has unrestricted access to the system you put in place to find Force-sensitive children.” She hears Obi-Wan’s sharp intake of breath, and Yoda’s eyes widen — neither of them had thought of this yet. Her voice cracks as she continues. “How many children are now in mortal danger because of it?”

“And there’s no way to stop it,” Obi-Wan murmurs in horror. “Every medcenter in the Republic — the Empire — has the technology to test for midi-chlorians, and all healers and meddroids know they have to run those tests.”

Padmé looks over her shoulder at him. “I’m sorry,” she says softly, sincerely. Then she turns back to Yoda, slipping back into her political persona. “There are thousands of children out there at risk as of the moment Palpatine declared all Jedi enemies of the state. I recommend that you focus your efforts on helping them, and leave the responsibility of protecting my children, who are at far less risk, to me.”

The Jedi’s large ears droop. “Lost, those younglings may already be.”

Padmé shakes her head. “They remain your responsibility.”

“As do your younglings.”

Padmé bursts out laughing. She can see the men around her looking at her in concern — her laugh sounds high and bitter and tinged with hysteria to her own ears — but she can’t help it. Still laughing, she looks Yoda in the eye. “Forgive me, Master Jedi, but it’s really rather amusing. It’s astonishing, frankly, the depth of your presumption regarding the welfare of my children or anyone’s children, really.” The laughter fades, and her voice hardens. “You have no right to Luke and Leia or to any other child in this galaxy, anymore. The best you can do, at this point, is save as many children as you can from a man who already knows they exist. I will keep my babies, and raise them, and you will have absolutely no say in how I do that.”

Yoda’s shoulders hunch, and Padmé almost pities him, burdened as he is by responsibility and… guilt. Guilt is the emotion she’d picked up from him at the start of this conversation that she couldn’t identify until now.

Anakin made his own choices, but she doesn’t doubt for one moment that Yoda and the Jedi Order helped him towards those choices. And she will not allow that same person to have a hand in the raising of her children.

“Skywalker’s stubbornness, you share. Need my help, you may, before long — my comm channel, I shall leave you. Right are you about one thing: protect the younglings I should, if possible it is.”

Senator and Jedi Master exchange bows, and Obi-Wan steps forward. “Shall we brainstorm, then, Master?”

Yoda snorts and jabs his cane at his colleague. “Brainstorm, I shall. Sleep, should you, for no sleep have had you in too long.”

Obi-Wan hesitates, glancing at Padmé, then gestures for Yoda to follow him out into the hall. The door shuts behind them, and Padmé breathes a sigh of relief.

Bail also sighs, shaking his head. “Padmé…”

She arches an eyebrow. “Did I say anything wrong, Bail?”

“No…” He sighs again. “No. But you’re going to have to spend a lot of time in bed to recover from all the energy you expended just now.”

“It was worth it.” She can, however, feel her legs weakening further, her heart beating rapidly, her body chilled now that it is no longer warmed by adrenaline. “I want to see them first, though.”

He nods, and leads her to the cradles. She leans down and stares back and forth between her babies — her babies, her own children — red and clean and tiny… and so beautiful they take her breath away. She presses her hand to the transparisteel of Luke’s cradle, and he stirs without waking.

“Bail,” she breathes reverently, “they’re perfect.”

“Yes. Yes, they are.” He draws her back to him, and she has to wipe away sudden tears. “They’ll be safe, Padmé. Let’s get you back to bed.”

“I don’t want to leave them. I know they’re safe… I just… don’t want to leave them.”

“I know.” His voice is gentle, and kind, and Padmé feels warmth bubbling up inside her, gratitude for his friendship and for his help. He rubs her arms soothingly. “Come along, Senator Amidala. Your babies will still be here when their mother has had a rest.”

Her dreams, however, are far from restful. She’s running — Theed Palace morphs into the Galactic Senate into Varykino into Geonosis into… she’s not sure. A ship, she thinks, maybe a Star Destroyer. And Anakin’s voice is calling her name, sometimes vengeful, sometimes pleading, but she can’t stop, she can’t let him catch her, she can’t let him know about the twins…

Padmé wakes to find the meddroids fussing around her again, the only other occupants in the room. Where are Bail and Obi-Wan? Getting sleep, probably.

She turns to the nearest droid and clears her throat. “Excuse me?”

The droid pauses in processing a readout and looks up at her. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Could… could my babies be brought in, please? Or could I go see them?”

The droid pauses. “We have to finish running some tests, but afterwards, that should be possible.”

Padmé relaxes back into her bed. “Thank you.”

Once the droids are done with their readouts, Padmé has to be helped to the ��fresher — why oh why does pregnancy involve so much fluids?! — and cleaned up and given a fresh medcenter gown, after being informed that she has already had a gown replaced on her while she was unconscious and hooked up to the oxygen tank. Given the amount of… well, she really doesn’t want to think about it, but the gown she gave birth in must have been messy, and she can’t find it in her to be more than a little embarrassed about having her clothes changed on her like that.

Not long after she’s back in bed (and grateful for it, between muscle fatigue and… postnatal ickiness), the door hisses open, and two very familiar figures enter the room. “Dormé!” Padmé gasps. “Captain Typho!”

“Milady!” Dormé rushes to Padmé’s bedside, then hesitates. Padmé stretches her arms out in invitation, and her handmaiden embraces her fiercely. “Milady, we were so worried!”

“I’m sorry,” Padmé whispers, looking over Dormé’s shoulder at Typho, who stands back respectfully. He nods to her, his face grim, and her heart sinks. “How did you find me?”

“Senator Organa commed me,” Typho replies. “He gave me the coordinates, and I decided to bring Dormé with me.”

“I’m glad he did,” says Dormé, releasing Padmé at last and perching on the edge of the bed. “What in the galaxy happened to you?”

Padmé opens her mouth, then closes it and shakes her head. “That has to wait for the moment.” She turns to the droids. “Pardon my impatience, but are you nearly done yet?”

“We are,” says the droid she spoke with earlier. “Do you wish for privacy?”

“Yes, please. Give me half an hour, and then you can bring my babies in.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The droids take their leave, and Dormé stares after them, wide-eyed. “Babies?”

Padmé smiles ruefully. “Twins.”

Dormé shakes her head. “Trust you not to do anything by halves!”

Padmé chuckles faintly, then returns her attention to Typho, sobering again. “Captain, you could be in danger just being here… I need to go into hiding — I can’t imagine that Palpatine will want me at liberty, or even alive.”

Typho’s expression grows even more grim. “No, he doesn’t. The majority of the Delegation of Two Thousand has been rounded up and imprisoned on charges of treason.”

Padmé’s hand flies to her mouth, her chest constricting. She should have thought… “We made it so easy,” she whispers. “A petition with the names of the Senators who opposed his power… we made it so easy for him.”

Dormé shakes her head. “Milady, you couldn’t have known things would get this bad.”

Typho nods. “No one could have suspected what Palpatine was really up to until it was too late. The fault does not lie with you or Senator Organa or anyone else on that list.”

“Bail! What about him — are they going to arrest him, too?”

“From what I can tell, no. I’m no politician, but despite the fact that Palpatine just declared himself Emperor of the known galaxy, I don’t think even he would try to imprison the consort of the monarch of a Core World. At least, not this early in the game.”

Padmé nods weakly. “You’re right, I’m sure. Still, Bail needs to be cautious.”

Dormé turns to Typho. “And what do we do, Captain?” Because, of course, they have on their hands one of the leaders of the Two Thousand, who has also just given birth to a Jedi’s children.

Typho sighs and looks to Padmé. “Milady… I think that for once we might be in agreement concerning your safety.”

Padmé smiles ruefully. “I think so, Captain. I know what I should do.” She closes her eyes, shame welling up inside her. “But I have to let my people down to do it.”

“You’ll find a way to continue to serve our people, I have no doubt. But you cannot help them if you are in prison or dead.”

Padmé bows her head, bites her lip, and nods. “I know,” she whispers, opening her eyes. “I can’t keep the twins, either, unless I go into hiding. Master Yoda says they’re strong in the Force — Palpatine will go after them once he knows about them.”

Typho nods solemnly. “I think, Senator, it’s time to use the doll.”

Dormé shudders. “That awful thing?”

Padmé sits up straighter — she’d forgotten about the doll! “We had it made for this exact reason, Dormé. If there was ever an extreme circumstance in which I needed to fake my death.”

Typho’s one eye is fixed on her. “You agree, then?”

Padmé almost says yes, then hesitates. Mom… Dad… Sola… the girls… Grandma Ryoo… what will this loss do to them? Exactly what it will do if Palpatine finds you. She sighs heavily and nods. “Yes, Captain, I agree.”

He bows his head. “Thank you, milady.”

Dormé turns back to Padmé. “But what will you do, milady? Where will you go?”

Padmé shakes her head, beginning to feel overwhelmed. “I’m not sure, just yet.”

“You don’t need to decide right now,” says Typho, “but you do need to make a plan soon.”

“I will,” she nods wearily, “I will. I do, unfortunately, need a little time — you would not believe how the past… how many days? three?... have played out for me.”

Typho pulls up a chair for himself. “We do have a little time.”

Padmé’s face twists. “I’m not sure… I’m not sure I can…”

Dormé takes her hand in her own, her lovely features full of concern. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Padmé takes a shaky breath. “No… no, I should. I know I should.” She looks between her loyal bodyguards and continues, “Please, don’t be angry with him.”

Typho shakes his head. “With Kenobi?”

“No… well, yes, actually, him, as well — don’t be angry with him either.” Her voice drops to a whisper again. “I meant Anakin.”

Dormé is speechless at the end of Padmé’s halting account of Mustafar. Typho, however, has gone into complete lockdown, no trace of emotion in his expression… which Padmé knows from previous experience means he is well and truly furious.

“How could he?” Dormé asks finally.

Padmé hangs her head. “I don’t know.” It’s not quite the truth, but she doesn’t know how to untangle in her own mind the things she knows about Anakin that might have brought him to the point where he could make such horrific choices, much less give voice to them. “Obi-Wan —” her voice cracks — “Obi-Wan says he saw Anakin… he saw Anakin die. He won’t say how.”

“Good,” Typho says shortly, and Padmé flinches, bracing herself for the storm. Her chief of security stands. “I know you loved him, Senator, but there is nothing in the universe that can justify what he did — to you, to anyone.” He half-turns away, lip curling in disgust. “And I trusted him with your safety.”

Padmé shakes her head, heart beating rapidly. “Captain, please, you can’t blame yourself. You… he…” She can’t think straight, her head feels light, and her heart won’t slow down, her pulse throbbing in her ears. Distantly, she feels arms wrap around her, and Dormé’s voice soothing her, telling her to calm down, she’s okay, just breathe, just breathe, she’s going to be all right, just breathe…

As Padmé regains awareness, she finds her handmaiden glaring at Typho. “That’s enough, Captain. She’s been through too much to deal with this right now.”

“She has to deal with it, Dormé!”

“Yes, but not right now. You’re a soldier; you’ve seen people suffering from trauma. If you don’t want to lose her, you’re going to be gentle with her and not force her to deal with anything before she’s ready to.”

“My hero,” Padmé murmurs, giving the older woman a faint smile.

Dormé gives her a watery smile in return. “My pleasure.”

There’s a knock on the door, and a voice calls, “Padmé, are you awake? May we come in?”

“Bail! Yes, come in!”

The door hisses open to reveal Bail and Obi-Wan, and… she hears Dormé’s sharp intake of breath, but Padmé only has eyes now for the bundles in the men’s arms, and stretches her arms out for them… Then they’re being placed carefully in her hold, one on either arm, and she doesn’t realize that she’s been holding her breath until she’s holding them both, warm and sleeping and utterly perfect.

And for one moment, there is no pain, no grief — only the joy of holding her babies at last.

She drags her gaze away from her children and looks up at her friends past her tears. “Thank you.”

Obi-Wan looks more on the verge of tears than she’s ever seen him, even while grieving for his master, and he nods wordlessly.

Bail smiles and murmurs, “You’re welcome,” then looks up at Typho. “Captain, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thank you for contacting me, Senator. We were all worried.”

Bail turns to Dormé. “Ah, and Dormé.” He takes her hand and bows over it, ever the consummate gentleman. “A pleasure to see you, though I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“As do I.” Dormé glances back at the babies, eyes full of wonder. “Thank goodness there is some light left in the galaxy.”

“Luke and Leia,” says Padmé, and then she chuckles ruefully. “I don’t know right now which is which.”

Obi-Wan clears his throat. “Luke is on your left, Leia on your right.”

She smiles in thanks, and bends over to lightly kiss each small, soft forehead, inhaling their sweet scent. “You are so beautiful,” she whispers.

Dormé rises from the bed. “All right, you lot,” she says to the men, “out with you now.” She makes shooing motions, her tone brooking no argument. “Let the mother have her privacy.”

The three men obey, shuffling awkwardly out of the room, Typho casting dark looks at Obi-Wan, and Dormé sighs as the door hisses shut behind them. But when she turns to Padmé, she smiles in satisfaction.

“Aren’t you going to let me have my privacy?” Padmé teases.

“Not unless you want to try breastfeeding twins entirely on your own when they rouse up.”

Padmé’s eyes widen. “Oh, right.”

Dormé nods. “Now, I’ve never seen a woman nurse twins, but I remember well enough my mother nursing my little brother. I think we can manage.”

Padmé smiles, tears pricking her eyes again. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d have three men trying to help you nurse your children instead.”

They burst out laughing the awkward mental image, and it feels so good to be laughing again. Padmé can’t remember how long it’s been since she laughed, and tears start to mingle with the laughter.

“Oh, milady, no, I’m sorry.” Dormé’s expression is instantly full of remorse. “I should be helping you keep your emotions stable right now.”

“No… no, I needed this. I’m all right, I promise.” Still, Padmé struggles to stop the tears, and the twins begin to rouse.

Dormé comes forward and lays her hands on Padmé’s shoulders, rubbing them gently. “Shhhh. It’s time to see what your babies want.”

As it turns out, Luke and Leia just want to go back to sleep. Padmé swallows the disappointment of not seeing her children’s eyes open and rocks Leia in bed while Dormé rocks Luke.

“Don’t worry, milady,” Dormé murmurs. “They’ll wake soon enough, and often, especially at night, and then you’ll wish they were sleeping.”

“I know… It’s just that I’ve barely seen them since they’ve been born.”

Dormé nods in understanding. “Would you like me to leave you alone with them?”

Padmé hesitates. On one hand, she has not had a single moment alone with her children, and on the other hand, there are two of them, and Dormé’s original point remains: she hasn’t nursed them yet and she’s not sure how to feed both of them. “If… if you don’t mind staying…”

Dormé smiles and sinks into the chair Typho used earlier. “Of course not — that’s what I’m here for.”

Padmé has to blink back tears again, and she gives a self-deprecatory laugh. “I’m sorry, my emotions really are all over the place right now.”

Dormé smiles sympathetically. “One of the joys of new motherhood, unfortunately. It won’t last forever, milady; you don’t have to be hard on yourself.”

Of course, that only brings fresh tears to Padmé’s eyes, and she groans even as she smiles back. “I’ll try to remember that.”

When Luke and Leia finally start to rouse again, both in their mother’s arms now, it’s Leia who wakes first. Padmé holds her breath as her daughter looks up at her with dark marble-blue eyes, tiny lips puckering, brows furrowing… Luke opens his eyes, the same shade of blue, and Padmé wonders whether they’ll share eye color in the future and whether they’ll look more like Anakin or more like her…

Leia starts to fuss, and Dormé comes forward. “It might be feeding time now. Let me take Luke — I’m not sure you can nurse more than one at a time.”

“Okay.” Padmé reluctantly lets go of her son, who is echoing his sister only half-heartedly, thank goodness, and works to open up her gown, this one thankfully opening up in front as well as in back. Leia continues to fuss, and Padmé murmurs, “It’s all right, little one, I’m working on it.” Heart pounding, she moves Leia up and close, and the baby quickly latches on. Padmé gasps at the sensation, and Dormé winces.

“Are you all right, milady?”

“I’m sure… I’ll be… fine,” Padmé grits out, eyes wide. “Dammit, Leia, can you please take it easy on your poor mother?”

Luke starts to fuss in earnest now, and Dormé rocks him, sighing. “We should probably try to set up feeding schedules, have some formula on hand… I need to do some HoloNet research on how to handle human twin babies.”

Padmé hisses as her daughter feeds quietly now, content and blissfully unaware of her mother’s discomfort. “You’re talking like you’re going to stay with me when I go into hiding properly.”

Dormé raises both eyebrows. “Forgive me, milady, but… you were planning on doing this alone?”

Padmé blushes. “I don’t know. I don’t have a plan just yet.”

Dormé nods as she rocks Luke more energetically, somehow managing to keep him from crying outright. “That’s what I thought. Milady, you need more help than Threepio can provide.”

Threepio! Padmé’s eyes widen in guilt — she’d completely forgotten about her faithful companion — but Dormé is still speaking.

“You can’t — you shouldn’t — do this alone. Besides which, I took an oath, Senator — an oath that I would serve and protect you. And help you in any way I can when you need it.” The older woman looks at Padmé pleadingly. “I want to help.”

Padmé shakes her head slowly, having to swallow tears again. “I can’t… I can’t ask that of you.”

“You don’t have to!”

“Anybody who comes with me and my children is going to be in danger.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want you to end up like Cordé!” Leia breaks off from her feeding, and both twins start to cry.

But Dormé holds Padmé’s gaze steadily even as she tries to soothe Luke. “I’ll do my best not to. But that’s my choice to put myself in that kind of danger, just as it was hers.” As Padmé opens her mouth, Dormé cuts her off: “I miss her, too, Padmé!” She softens her voice. “After all this time, I still miss her. But she would have been offering to come with you, too, if she were here, knowing the risks, knowing the whole galaxy would be against her. It’s going to be difficult, I know that. Lonely. But I made a promise, and, Padmé, you tell me how I’d be able to look my reflection in the eye if I broke that promise now, because I don’t know how I would, knowing that I’d allowed the most important person of my life to go off alone into danger when she needed someone to have her back.”

Padmé tries to speak, but no words come to her, just an ache and also a relief that washes from her tense shoulders on down her body that she doesn’t have to face the next few years, however they pan out, alone. She lost her husband, but she’s not going to lose one of her dearest friends. Her vision blurs fiercely, and she doesn’t resist when Dormé puts Luke back in her arms and takes Leia.

“You’re stuck with me, milady,” Dormé says quietly, warmly, “whether you like it or not.”

#Padme Lives AU #Star Wars #swfic #Revenge of the Sith #Padme Amidala #sw au #Sky writes stuff #Dorme #Obi Wan Kenobi #Captain Typho #Bail Organa

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mortallyclearwonderland · 3 years ago

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Star Wars Alien Species - Kallidahin/Polis Massan

Although most of the galaxy believed the Kallidahin to be the original inhabitants of the planetoid Polis Massa, the species had actually evolved on a different world known as Kallidah, in the Subterrel sector.

The planet Polis Massa, in the more isolated limits of the Outer Rim Territories, was instead the original home of a subterranean civilization known as the Eellayin Many centuries before the Battle of Yavin, Polis Massa exploded due to a natural disaster whose cause would remain unknown in further years. The native Eellayin mysteriously vanished afterwards and the Kallidahin and the Republic subsequently considered the Eeyallin to be extinct. The planet became an asteroid field, with the biggest asteroid being renamed Polis Massa.

Given Kallidahin reticence, few details were known of their past before the sixth century BBY. At some point in the past, this species made a deal with another one to learn the cloning techniques from the secretive clone-masters known as Kaminoans. The Kaminoans agreed to the deal in exchange for certain xenobiological data in the Kallidahin archives. Although the Kallidahin were not as adept as Kaminoans, they managed to employ the cloning technology sufficiently to re-build biological matter they had found in archaeological digs. They believed themselves to be descendants of the ancient Eellayin species once native to Polis Massa, although they kept this conviction in secret. The Kallidahin also learned to use cloning for medical purposes, although they were not as advanced as the Kaminoans in this field.

Later, in the sixth century BBY, the Archaeological Research Council decided to establish a Research Base on the largest of the asteroid remnants of the Polis Massa system, by then known as Polis Massa, to unearth evidence of this evolutionary link.

Circa 519 BBY, the entire population of Kallidah left their homeworld to mine at Polis Massa. They traveled to the biggest asteroids in the system to start looking for clues. The main objective of the species in successive years would be discovering their real connection with the Eellayin. Although their civilization officially covered the whole asteroid field, only the biggest asteroids had a settled population. They organized their new life in Polis Massa, centered around an archaeological dig that would be surrounded by a mining colony. As the asteroids lacked a natural atmosphere and the Kallidahin were oxygen-breathers, they resorted to airtight buildings. They built their new capital, Polis Massa Base, and organized imports of food, water and machinery, even if the system had no real exports. They also built, in one of the closed habitats, a high-quality medical center mostly equipped for the physiological needs of Kallidahin patients.

In later centuries, they found many artifacts and remains of the Eellayin, although real proofs of the relation, commonly coming from the depths of the Polis Massa asteroid, were scarce. The species had trouble with treasure hunters wanting to plunder their digs, and with the raising piracy in the Outer Rim Territories. The inhabitants of Polis Massa were quiet in their work to avoid attracting any undesired attention and refused to get involved with the rest of the galaxy, but nevertheless they kept their politeness when dealing with aliens.

When their initial research began to take dozens of decades, the Kallidahin chose to remain in Polis Massa and continue their task for as long as needed; soon, they had been away from Kallidah for so long that the species had no living memories of their own origin. At that point, aliens in the galaxy began calling the Kallidahin with the name of Polis Massans because they had been living in Polis Massa for centuries. The species humbly accepted their new name, feeling honored and with no objection.

At some point during their research, the Kallidahin found the remains of Wiyentaah, an Eellayin city, and built an installation over it, to carefully excavate the metropolis little by little. Because many of the unearthed artifacts were fragile, they were kept in secure, sterile rooms.

Other cultures began to speculate about the real connection between the Kallidahin and the Eellayin, but the Kallidahin were silent in that respect. As the Kallidahin were always anxious to learn about xenobiology, many other species believed that their traditional drive was their real motivation. They said they wanted to preserve the memory of the lost Eellayin, but certain outsiders believed they really wanted to resurrect their ancestors using their cloning technology. The species now called Polis Massans had previously cloned extinct lifeforms in other places. Following this hypothesis, they had not succeeded in cloning Eellayin because they had not found adequate genetic material.

The Kallidahin also began building droids through a company known as Polis Massa Pria Assemblage. They mostly manufactured machines for their own use instead of exporting them, mainly archaeological droids and miner droids; but they also needed help in skills beyond xenobiology, like obstetrics. Apparently to that end, they built the Chroon-Tan B-Machine, which had a face inspired in the species'.

Another alien who had had contact with the Kallidahin was Yoda, a renowned Jedi Master. Yoda had dealt with the Kallidahin Maneeli Tuun, operational head of the medical center of Polis Massa and firm supporter of the Galactic Republic.

In 19 BBY, Yoda became a fugitive and, along with his ally Bail Organa, went to Polis Massa looking for a haven. He had chosen this asteroid field partly because it was remote, adequate to harbor him, and partly because he knew he could count on Tuun. Yoda was soon joined by his allies Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and pregnant, injured Senator Padmé Amidala, all of them traveling in Amidala's star skiff. They asked the Kallidahin to help during the childbirth.

However, the available obstetricians were mostly members of an archaeological dig team, with only two of them being seasoned physicians; the others were exobiologists. Amidala's condition was so severe that they had no time to look for more prepared doctors. The doctors even had to operate in their mining bodysuits, not having a minute to change clothes. The Kallidahin who treated her were Maneeli Tuun, Dznori Xam and Selif Xam, with the added presence of Osh Scal, a non-medic supply officer.

Recognizing their unfamiliarity with Human parturition, the Kallidahin consulted their databank and resorted to a Chiewab Amalgamated GH-7 medical diagnosis droid, an advanced droid of which they had several units, to deal with Amidala's injuries; and a seldom-used Chroon-Tan B-Machine to help with the childbearing.

Although Amidala had twins, Luke and Leia, she had lost any will to live and slowly refused to recover. The Kallidahins and the droid did everything in their power to save her life, but failed. R2-D2 secretly recorded all the events with his holocam.

To keep the births a secret, the Jedi decided to simulate that Amidala was still pregnant when she had died. The discreet Kallidahin agreed to keep the secret, even if they probably did not understand the galaxy-wide importance of it. Kenobi and Yoda asked them to erase any record of the births, including a memory wipe of the used medical droids. However, the doctors had performed safety tests to the newborns, consuming several supplies, and the supply record was forgotten during the deletion. The Jedi and Organa left soon afterwards, heading to Naboo to bury Amidala.

Soon afterwards, the by-then Emperor Palpatine set up the Inquisitorius, formed by special Intelligence agents, including an Inquisitor Malorum in charge of the planet Bellassa. A source informed Malorum about the burial of Amidala, telling him that a Jedi had taken the corpse from Polis Massa to Naboo. Malorum wanted to discover more details about this to use the information against his rival Darth Vader — secretly the father of Amidala's children.

Malorum hired Boba Fett, a teenaged bounty hunter, to examine the medical records of the Polis Massa clinic and also Naboo. Never giving his own name, Fett visited Polis Massa as an Imperial investigator, copied all the files and took them to Malorum. Thanks to the precautions taken after the birth, those documents were useless to Malorum.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi joined forces with former Padawan learner Ferus Olin against Malorum, particularly when Kenobi discovered Malorum's interest in Polis Massa.

Malorum dispatched a new agent, an Inquisitor by the name of Sancor, who was an expert in record security. The personal interest of the Inquisitorius might have led the Kallidahin to suspect that the birth was more important than they had previously thought Sancor dealt with Tuun and searched the memory banks of the medical droids. Sancor later asked Tuun for the supply records and the presence of supply officer Osh Scal. As Scal was among the few members of this species who had an audible voice, Sancor could question him personally.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, following his instincts, split up from Olin to visit Polis Massa. Kenobi intercepted Tuun before the Inquisitor could find Scal and the Jedi asked Scal to forge the records Sancor was analyzing, giving him a more important, although fictional, fugitive to track. Kenobi also disguised himself as a Kallidahin and met with Sancor, pretending to be Scal; during the questioning, Kenobi tried to misdirect the Inquisitor.

However, Sancor saw a graphic depiction of the real Scal in the records and noticed that Kenobi did not look like him. Sancor attacked Kenobi and Tuun, but Kenobi scared him by activating his lightsaber. Sancor tried to escape from the system to report to Malorum. Kenobi and him struggled, and Sancor was killed. In order to cover Kenobi's tracks, Tuun then sent a message to Malorum, describing the "accidental" death of his envoy who fell from an observation platform and landed on sharp chirurgical tools.

Malorum met with Darth Vader soon afterwards and mentioned that he was researching events in the planetoid Polis Massa. Darth Vader forcefully requested Malorum to forget any work in that direction. Olin, who was secretly eavesdropping on the conversation, was sure that Malorum would continue probing Polis Massa.

Malorum personally visited Polis Massa soon after this event; however, even he was unable to find anything there. He then tried his luck on Naboo and discovered useful information. Malorum was then found by Olin and died while dueling him; the truth about the birth in Polis Massa remained a secret.

During the first days of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a movement that started in 2 BBY, the Rebel command mounted a secret base on Polis Massa. The Alliance launched several operations from this base, although the crew did their best not to disturb the nearby excavations.

The Empire raided this base repeatedly without achieving its destruction; during all these conflicts, the digs of the Kallidahin were untouched. In 0 BBY, when Darth Vader sent his elite 501st Legion to recover important information that the Rebels had stolen, the Empire annihilated the base and killed all the Rebels, again without disturbing the nearby Kallidahin.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War (25–29 ABY), the Yuuzhan Vong invaders found no reason to raid Polis Massa: it was too remote and held no strategic value or important resources that they could use. The later Dark Nest Crisis of 36 ABY was similarly clement with the Kallidahin. During this campaign, however, R2-D2 showed his holorecording of Polis Massa to by-then adult Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara Jade Skywalker and his nephew Jacen Solo, along with other files of Padmé Amidala's later days. By then, Jade was suspected to have murdered her husband's mother, and the droid's files served to clear her name.

The average Kallidahin was a short, thin being unable to walk as fast as a Human would or, on average, to compare to a Human's strength. They had skinny bodies covered by soft gray skin that, being thick, smooth, and partially insulating, pointed to their aquatic, cetacean ancestors. Their fibrous figures were also surrounded by anatomical features known as growth rings. During the Old Republic era, xenobiologists could not identify the evolutionary reason that the species developed this tree-like trait.

The head was connected with the body through a long, thin neck. A member of the species had a flat, pale face, covered by an osmotic membrane that left them featureless. The only facial feature was a pair of black eyes. Those visual organs lacked any expressiveness, but they were deep-focus and useful for work deep underground and for research in the field of medicine. A member of this species also had thin arms with nimble gray hands, each with four long, dexterous fingers including an opposable thumb.

Most Kallidahin were mute due to a natural lack of vocal cords. Their language, known as Massan, combined computers, sign language, and the use of their mildly telepathic brains. Their telepathy was not related to the thought transmission used by adepts of the Force, although it worked similarly when broadcasting thoughts and simple feelings to willing receivers in a fifteen-meter area. The Massan language has been described as falling beyond the Human auditive spectrum when used in its purest form. However, a small subset of Kallidahin, referred to as "speakers" by their people, did possess vocal cords and could physically speak languages such as Galactic Basic Standard, though their voices were soft and strangely resonant.

A typical Polis Massan stands at 1.4 meters or 4.6 feet tall and weighs 40 kilograms or 88 pounds.

Polis Massans age at the following stages:

1 - 14 Child

15 - 17 Young Adult

18 - 49 Adult

50 - 74 Middle Age

75 - 84 Old

Examples of Names: Osh Scal, Maneeli Tuun.

Languages: Polis Massans hum their language of Massan with various vocal pitches.

#star wars #star wars species #star wars aliens #Polis Massan #star wars Polis Massan #Kallidahin #star wars Kallidahin

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