Two more weeks had passed. Casualties were heavy on both sides, but the rebel squadrons had finally covered the entire territory. The Emperor was finally forced to surrender, overwhelmed by the war's toll and seeing that the deaths it had caused were beginning to sow discord among his allies. He had to admit that he had lost Kamino, but at least he had achieved most of his goals long ago, long before he had even become Chancellor. Even if his enemies suspected something, they still couldn't do anything.
Anakin and Obi-Wan paced back and forth. They hadn't spoken to Padmé or Satine in two weeks, and they feared something terrible had happened.
"We'll be back," Obi-Wan said, and Anakin nodded. Rex would take care of it.
"Father, you know it's almost time for us to leave," Luke said, and Anakin nodded. It pained him to know he had to part from his son.
"We'll be together anyway, Luke," his father smiled, embracing him.
"We'll be together anyway, Luke." "Thank you for trusting us to lead a squad," he said, looking at Mara, who was arguing with her new master.
"I couldn't have made a better decision," Anakin said proudly.
"Those two are just like you and Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, observing Mace and Mara.
"Why like us?" Ahsoka asked, appearing. "Master, why can't I attack from above? It would be easier if we arrived by surprise," Ahsoka said, discussing a battle strategy with Anakin.
"Ahsoka," Anakin growled, "If you want to surprise them, you can't just jump on top of them."
"But Master!" Ahsoka cried.
"I said no!" Anakin shouted back.
Luke and Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, then looked at Mace Windu and Mara, who seemed to be arguing about something similar. They smiled and left.
"I said no!" At the end of the day, Obi-Wan, Luke, Mara, Ahsoka, and Anakin returned to Dantooine, hoping everything was alright.
A week earlier, Satine and Lux had managed to track Dooku and Maul to Felucia. It was a strategic location, and finding them would be quite difficult, so they had been searching for several days before finally getting results.
The troops and Lux went to the front lines. They had refused to let the pregnant Satine go to the front. The area was a vast jungle. They found a cave that appeared to be Darth Maul's hideout.
Satine took the blaster in her hands. She wasn't keen on using it, but the credibility of the rebellion depended on it.
They found Count Dooku tied up at the end of the cave. He looked at them, confused, especially at Satine.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, coughing. "Have you come to kill me?"
"As much as I might wish it, it goes against my principles," Satine said proudly. "And to answer your question, we've come to rescue you. Sidious blamed the rebellion."
"Good strategy," Dooku joked. It was clear he wasn't well; he'd been there for quite some time, and it was obvious Maul hadn't been kind to him.
"Where is Maul?" Lux Bonteri asked.
"Apparently, my former apprentice decided she wanted to be the one to kill me. When she saw she couldn't defeat him, she fled. He went after her," Dooku said.
"We'll take advantage of our luck," Lux said, and the soldiers with them carried Dooku. They ran quickly to the ships, but Maul was already there, smiling at them.
" "You can't defeat us, Maul," Satine said, and the soldiers drew their weapons.
"But I can kill him, the one who took my place as Sidious's successor. Who else would have more power?" Maul said.
"Do you really think Sidious was going to give us that place?" Dooku laughed.
"If I kill you now, they'll blame the Rebellion, the Separatists will fight the Rebellion, and the Empire will gain power. But all power leads to destruction. Either way, I win," Maul smiled.
"You won't win," Satine said. "You'll only give Sidious all the power he needs. You can't imagine what he can do."
"I don't care either, I just want to kill him," Maul said, drawing his lightsaber. "And I have those who will help me." Everyone looked on in surprise as many bounty hunters arrived.
"Didn't I warn you?" Dooku asked, and Satine rolled her eyes.
"Very funny, but it's you they want to kill," Lux said, grabbing her weapon.
Everyone began to fight, while Satine and Lux dragged the Count toward the ship, but Maul moved quickly toward them, taking advantage of the soldiers' slightest lapse in attention.
"No!" Satine cried, but Maul forcefully pushed her aside, causing her to fall on top of Lux.
"Are you alright, Duchess?" Lux asked.
"Yes," she replied, getting to her feet.
Dooku dodged Maul's attacks, but bound and weakened, he was no match for him.
"I'll be the one to kill him, but only when I can give him a good fight," said a voice familiar to everyone.
"Ventress," said Dooku, and everyone could have sworn there was affection in his gaze, an affection that shifted to a hard, cynical look.
"Master," Ventress said sarcastically, "You tried to kill me, and now I have to save you. Life is funny."
"I'm sorry I failed to kill you," said Dooku, and she rolled her eyes as she fought Maul.
Ventress glanced at Satine, signaling something: they wouldn't be able to defeat him; they had to escape. Taking advantage of the distraction, Satine and Lux boarded the ship with the Count, and the soldiers quickly followed suit. Maul, realizing this, tried to stop them, but Ventress used her strength to push him away. She wasn't strong enough to push them all away; they would all die, it seemed. As she was giving her last effort, Dooku helped her.
Ventress watched in surprise, and then Dooku collapsed, unconscious, too exhausted to remain standing.
"I think we've captured him," Lux said.
"It wasn't the original plan, but let's take him to the medical droids. We need him alive so the Separatists will believe us."
"What if he betrays us?" "What if he says it was us?" Lux asked.
"He won't," Ventress said, having been forced to board the ship with them. "He wants the destruction of the Empire."
"Why did you help him?" Satine asked.
"Because I gave everything for him, I learned all his teachings, and he tried to kill me when I was in the middle of a mission against Skywalker and Kenobi," Ventress said. "I don't forgive betrayal."
"Of course," Satine smiled.
"Why are you talking like that?" Ventress asked, looking at her lightsaber.
"Just curious," Satine said.
"I have a call from General Kenobi," Lux said nervously.
"Oh," Satine said. They hadn't heard from them in two weeks. "Answer the call," Satine said, standing up and trying to cover the wound on her shoulder.
The hologram appeared, and Obi-Wan appeared in it. Satine's body froze when she saw they were on Dantooine.
"Obi," Satine smiled.
"Where are you, Satine?" Obi-Wan asked, worried.
"I," Satine said.
"Is that Lux Bonteri?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, about that," Satine began.
"Kenobi," Ventress said, appearing beside Satine, who glared at her.
"Ventress? Can someone explain what's going on?" Obi-Wan asked, irritated.
"I'll do it, and faster, so we can cut this hologram and not have to see your ugly face," Ventress said. "The Duchess and Bonteri came to rescue Dooku so their rebellion wouldn't be blamed. They ended up falling into a trap, and I saved them," Ventress said.
"Dooku?" Obi-Wan shouted.
"There's Dooku," Ventress said, showing the unconscious Dooku.
"Where are they?" "I'll come for you," Obi-Wan said.
"Please don't. I'll make sure you don't die until we reach Dantooine. You can thank me later. Goodbye," Ventress said, cutting the transmission.
"Why would you make sure we arrive safely?"
"Because you'll have Dooku, and I want to kill him. I don't want any trouble with the Rebellion. Besides, I've changed. This is the new me," Ventress said, sitting down next to Dooku and studying his vital signs. Satine smiled. Ventress didn't hate Dooku; she was hurt and felt betrayed.
Obi-Wan sighed, hoping only that Satine was alright. Meanwhile, Dantooine was in chaos.
The war on Kamino had ended. Mace Windu, Yoda, Master Fisto, and Master Mundi were gathering information on Palpatine's cloning, but the results were not encouraging.
He observed his former Padawan's family; everything was in disarray. The moment had arrived. As soon as they arrived, Padmé ran to embrace Anakin. They were fine for a while, but both he and Anakin noticed that Padmé's face sometimes showed pain.
"Angel, what's wrong?" Anakin asked, worried.
"I've been having contractions," she said, and Anakin's face paled.
"Angel, what's wrong?" From that moment on, everyone mobilized. They would go to Naboo; they couldn't wait any longer. Anakin flatly refused to stay on Dantooine. He had promised Padmé they would go to Naboo, and he intended to keep that promise, even if it meant facing the Emperor. Mon Mothma would be in charge, along with Bail Organa. As soon as Satine arrived, she and Obi-Wan would go with Padmé. Obi-Wan knew that would be Satine's decision.
Mara had run to hug Luke. It meant they would be separated, that Luke would return to the future. Mara told him that perhaps she should return immediately as well, to find some way to use the World Between Worlds. But Luke explained that it didn't work that way, that she would return when the time was right; that's how the World Between Worlds functioned.
Han hugged Leia. Everything was uncertain for him. He had been sent the same way as Leia, but he didn't know when his time would come to return, or even if they would ever see each other again.
Ahsoka felt depressed. On one hand, she was worried about Lux, but on the other, she had to go to her master, say goodbye to Luke and Leia. She just hoped Luke was alright.
Anakin was nervous. On one hand, his children were about to be born, but he didn't know if Padmé would be alright. What would he do if he lost her? What would he do if something went wrong during childbirth? The idea of having to say goodbye to his children was also terrifying. He knew he would see them again, that they were staying with him anyway, but he would miss them.
As soon as Satine arrived, Padmé greeted her, but Padmé's face looked tired. Dooku was left in the Jedi's care, and Ventress disappeared as soon as she arrived. Although everyone was grateful to her, Lux didn't get a chance to see Ahsoka and felt bad thinking that she had chosen her master again.
They all boarded the ship. Han piloted alongside Luke, while Anakin never left Padmé's side, holding her hand and kissing her forehead. Both were terrified.
The Emperor, for his part, smiled. He knew the birth of the young Skywalkers was imminent. He had already planted seeds of evil in young Leia. The twins had to be born healthy; he would see to it that he would snatch them from their parents' arms. They would be powerful allies, especially young Leia. She could never overcome the evil he had instilled within her; she would not be like Mara Jade. If this continued and they survived, the Skywalkers would raise the twins as their little angels, but darkness would inevitably grow in the child's heart—of that he could be certain.
On the other hand, he had to worry about concealing his work on Kamino. They already had access to the database; it was only a matter of time before they found them, but he wouldn't let that happen.
"What are the new orders?" Tarkin asked.
"Did you hide him well?" the Emperor asked.
"On Jakku, no one will find him, but we shouldn't worry about him. He was a failed experiment," Tarkin said.
"There is power in him," Palpatine said. "Perhaps we're missing something," Palpatine admitted, and Tarkin left proudly.
The ship landed on Naboo, and Anakin carried Padmé to the spot she had chosen—it was the perfect place.
They could never have imagined an Imperial ship arriving on Naboo. Too few to defeat them, but enough to ruin the happiest moment of their lives.