Chapter Text
Anakin Skywalker sat on a desk in the senate building, a silly smile on his face as he looked down on his wife. Padmé was busy, as always, but she did always make sure to make time for him. She was so perfect. He hated the war, and he hated that it constantly kept him away from Coruscant. He liked to fight, he admitted it, but he really just wanted to spend more time with the people he loved rather than fighting in some inane war.
"So I was thinking," he gently began, "it'll be a while until I have to ship out again, how about we take some time and spend it together? Just the two of us?"
"Ani, you know I can't," Padmé replied with a sigh, but Anakin could sense the longing in her heart. She wanted to, but there was never time. The war weighed on her too, "Bail recently came to me with a new proposal he's working on," she continued, "a military oversight bill he's writing with a Jedi called Froggie."
Anakin rolled his eyes, "there's always another bill. Why does the military need more oversight anyway? There's the senate already."
"Just saying that shows the need for such a bill," Padmé looked up at him, "we both know the senate is far too slow to do anything," she reached out to trace his hand, "I trust you, Ani, but what about Pong Krell? You told me how he abused his rank to try to murder Fives and Jesse. That's who this bill is for."
Anakin grimaced. The carnage of Krell still weighed on him. Anakin had trusted him to lead his men, and that monster abused them and even sent them against their own clone brothers. He was no Jedi. He couldn't be, not while Anakin tried so desperately to be the perfect hero everyone expected. "Okay, fair point," he acknowledged, smiling at his beautiful wife, "but he was an exception, I hope, and you're always far more busy when you're about to put the bill to the senate anyway. We can take a moment before it reaches that point," he cupped her chin in his hand, "we get so little time together these days..."
Padmé placed a gentle kiss against his lips, "okay, maybe," she began, "I'm heading back to Naboo for a few days soon. Want to come along?"
"You know I'd like nothing more," Anakin replied.
Vi Shi-Nar was not a complicated person. She liked to have food and a bed and that was all she needed in the galaxy. That was all she got. She was ambitious though, the galaxy had much in store for her. It'd been promised to her. Vi just need to keep her end of the deal and she would get so much more. She might even get a soft and warm blanket, something to keep her comfortable in cold nights. She had to fight for it though, that was the deal. She would fight, and she would get things in return, like a second helping of food or an hour extra time to nap. It was a good deal. She liked fighting, and she liked succeeding. They were two of her favourite things, other than eating and sleeping. Vi loved to kill.
Vi rarely saw her master, but when she did it was always important. It meant either a mission, or training, and of the two training was worse. Vi wasn't very strong, so her master hurt her until she was up to his standards. At least he didn't visit to train her all that often. Her master mostly communicated through droids, just like everything else Vi interacted with. Aside from master, she'd never spoken to another organic being, but she wasn't bothered. Organics were just a different kind of being, one that was full of blood and organs and other blubbery meat rather than wires and circuits. The droids were fine, and not nearly as nasty as Vi's master, though that didn't mean much. They hurt her too, if she let them, but them she could handle... Most of the time.
Vi was sparring with one of the droids when her master visited. She immediately sensed him when he entered the building, and she endeavoured to defeat the droid as fast as possible. It was mimicking some previous apprentice of her master, a warrior with skin as red as his blade and horns instead of hair, and he had been skilled. She tapped into her anger and her fear, and within moments the training droid laid at her feet, utterly destroyed.
"Your time improved, yet you are still too slow," the grouchy butler droid declared as another robotic servant dragged the smouldering droid remains away, "the master is here for you. Go see him immediately."
"I know he's here!" Vi snapped at the droid as she grabbed her cloak from the sidelines and wrapped it around her feathered shoulders, "why do you think I finished the droid so fast??"
"I thought you finally thought to put in the effort," the droid dryly replied, but Vi wasn't listening. Her master was waiting for her, and he did not like waiting.
Vi's master was always clad in a long black cloak that hid all his features, except for the putrid, twisted odour escaping from under his hood. She wondered if he knew he smelled, but she did have far more powerful senses than most people. No matter the smell, Vi immediately knelt before her master. He liked it. He didn't hurt her if she showed him proper submission. She had obey.
"I have another mission for you, child," her master croaked in his ragged, pained voice, "you will kill for me again."
Anakin was excited. It reminded him of that day years ago. It seemed so long ago that he'd been assigned as Padmé's guard, leading her to her home planet where she'd be safe from assassination. What a wonderful time it'd been. It'd ended horribly when visions overwhelmed him and they'd travelled to Tatooine. There Anakin had watched his mother die after getting brutally tortured by Tusken raiders, but this time it wouldn't end like that. This was a holiday. Padmé had some important political stuff to do, sure, but for Anakin it was just a holiday, a week away from the war, a week with his beloved wife. This was going to be a good week. Anakin knew it. Even the force told him so, which made it extra special, but also ominous. It meant something important would happen, which probably meant something bad. Anakin just tried not to think about it.
Unlike when they travelled in hiding, this trip they would go on in style. They were taking Padme's Nubian yacht, rather than a refugee ship. Anakin liked the luxury, even if he shouldn't. It wasn't something a Jedi should care about, but that didn't mean it wasn't nice. The Venators and military camps that'd become his home away from home weren't nearly as comfortable as this ship. To make up for it, he brought only a small amount of luggage, just a few spare robes, unlike Padmé's wardrobe. It didn't soothe his feelings of guilt though, guilt for acting so unJedi-like. It often haunted him, but he couldn't help but follow his heart.
"I think this is gonna be a lovely holiday," Anakin contently told Padmé as they boarded her ship, "I've got a good feeling about this." All their preparations were compete, R2-D2 was beeping like a sailor at a loader bringing on board the last few crates, everything was ready for a nice, relaxing holiday on the wonderful planet of Naboo.
"You are going on a holiday," Padmé teased, "I am going on a work trip, Anakin. I'm glad you're so eager to have fun though, the war's been getting to everyone, hasn't it?"
"Let's not talk about the war," Anakin replied with a smile, "because you're exactly right, it's got everyone on edge."
Padmé smiled back at him, "let's not talk about the war," she repeated, "instead, where would you like to go on Naboo? I'm looking forwards to seeing the lake country again... You know, with you."
"The lake country sounds amazing," Anakin replied, staring at her lips. He wanted to kiss her so much right now, he wanted hold her and hug her like he had in those green pastures, but... It'd have to wait. They could share their love on the ship, not out here in the open. "Let's get going," he softly told her, "I'd want to roll around in the grass with you again..."
Vi had her target. She had her mission and she got to leave her home again. Her master had left and she would too. She had to hurry after she skimmed the briefing. According to what her master had told her, her target would soon leave. Leave where Vi didn't know, she didn't particularly care, but it was a good idea to at least get on board her ship. She had to disguise herself first though. She would be hated and hunted if she left without a disguise. Only her master kept her safe after all... Vi's rags would do fine, refugees were plenty, but her feather-tufted ears and her golden eyes would not. Her master warned her that she'd be hunted if they were seen, if she was seen as she truly was. It was always better to pretend to be human, and in front of a mirror, Vi did exactly that. She worked the force, bending it to her will, and she changed herself. Her pale, grey skin and her pink hair were still the same, but her feathers had vanished and her eyes turned a humanoid white with gold irises. She pulled a face and laughed at herself. She could pass for a sickly human this way...
A silver ship stood on the landing pad Vi had been directed to by her master. That was the ship her target would be using, and she would soon be arriving. Vi sensed her moving around, smelled her sweet, flowery scent. There was someone else with her though, smelling of engine oil and ruined droids. Vi was far too familiar with that scent, but that man smelled far more strongly than any organic she'd met, except for her master. It was the smell of trouble.
Vi saw them approaching, the target and a robed man, a Jedi. She had to hurry, she was running out of time. She had an idea though, the loader droids were still doing their work. Through the force she distracted one of them and as it tweeted in confusion, she ran up and jumped into the crate it'd been about to load. Moments later, Vi felt the crate lift up and being carried to the ship to the gentle cadence of the droid's steps. She'd got her ticket on board. She also found something that excited her far more than being one step further along on her mission. With a tiny little flashlight from her belt she inspected the squishy little bags she laid on, and discovered she'd jumped into a crate with some sort of food or drink. She bit open one of the little plastic bags and sucked out its contents. It was so sweet and so tasty. It felt like Vi had jumped into a little slice of tasty heaven. It was nothing like the chemically-tasting water and nutrient paste she'd gotten in the old industrial complex that'd been her home.
After a long while, after emptying a lot of little bags of juice and filling her stomach, Vi realized she made a mistake. She hoped she could sneak off to a bathroom sometime soon.
Anakin had a bad feeling about things as he watched Padmé pull the lever that'd take them into hyperspace. He liked flying, but watching Padmé fly was just as fun. He liked seeing her enjoy herself, though at the moment he was more focussed on the force, trying to divine the source of his discomfort.
"Anakin, you're so quiet. What's wrong?" Padmé asked, "Is something up?"
"I'm not sure," Anakin softly mused, closing his eyes and letting the force flow through him, "there's something wrong with... No, on the ship..."
R2 beeped loudly, tweeting a very stern warning. "Was there something wrong with a loader droid?" Anakin asked the attentive droid. R2-D2 loudly beeped another sequence of binary, and Anakin jumped up from his co-pilot's seat, "there's something wrong with the cargo," he declared. R2's warning made perfect sense with what he sensed. There was someone on board who shouldn't be there.
In the cargo hold, Padmé immediately started opening crates of supplies and boxes of luggage. Anakin didn't join in though. He knew which crate to open, and so did R2. He'd seen it being lifted into the ship by a loader droid with issues. He threw it open and inside... Laid a girl. In side the crate laid a girl in rags, curled up on herself amidst what seemed like half a crate of emptied emergency rations. "Padmé?" He worriedly began, "We have a stowaway..."
Anakin pulled the girl out of the crate and placed her on top of another. She seemed sleepy and disoriented, and she looked like she was sick, starved or both. Her skin was a pale, dull grey. Anakin knew there were other species with pale skin like that, but usually they had some vigour in their complexion, not to mention they didn't look like they were barely more than skin and bones.
"Hey, are you awake?" Padmé asked the girl, holding her head upright, "what's your name?"
The girl fixed her golden eyes on Padmé, and Anakin could sense a lot of conflicting feelings from her, but most of all confusion. "Name's... Vi," she began, stretching with a violent shake of her shoulders, "who's you?" she asked in turn as she rubbed her eyes.
"My name's Padmé," she replied, "what were you doing in that crate?"
"Seems like she was eating all our rations," Anakin commented, keeping a close eye on the girl.
"Was tasty," Vi replied, "never had anything that tasty before..."
"The nutrient drinks?" Anakin laughed, "those are nothing but salt, sugar and some other junk!"
"Tasty," Vi nodded, her gaze flicking from Padmé to Anakin, "you smell like engine oil..."
"I have a mechanical hand," Anakin gruffly replied, "how'd you get on board and why? What're you doing here?"
Vi looked at the crate, "took a nap in a dark spot," she commented, "where am I anyway?"
"You're on my ship," Padmé kindly explained, "we were underway to Naboo when R2 told us there was something wrong with the cargo. A loader must've put the box with you in it on board."
"The box was a nice spot," Vi commented, yawning and wrapping her arms around her legs, "could I stay there? I don't have anywhere else to go..."
Vi had made a mistake. She'd eaten herself into a stupor and she'd gotten caught. Her target, Padmé Amidala, the senator of Naboo had caught her. Vi had never made such a stupid mistake before, but at least she'd managed to salvage things a bit. She'd managed to convince them she was just a stowaway, not a highly trained assassin. Now she was just a... A passenger or something though. Surprisingly, they didn't mistreat her at all. Even more surprisingly, they'd given her something to eat as well. While the Jedi with the mechanical hand still seemed suspicious of her, Padmé seemed intent to treat her very well. Vi wondered if she knew more than she let on, if it was some sort of ploy to get her to betray her master or something, but she couldn't even think of that. Her master would do horrible things to her if she did...
Sitting in her chair, snacking on the ration bars Padmé had given her, Vi watched her two hosts argue. Padmé was kind and wanted to help her, but the Jedi, Anakin was more annoyed with her. He wanted to drop her off at the nearest planet and continue on to their holiday. Padmé agreed about the continuing their holiday, but instead wanted to bring Vi along, or at least set her up comfortably on Naboo. Both of them wanted not to leave her with nothing though. They both seemed to strangely care about their weird new passenger. According to Anakin, Padmé seemed generally a kind and caring person, and according to Padmé, Anakin was an honourable protector of the weak. Vi didn't know enough about them to know if that was true, but that wasn't unexpected. The only thing she was expected to know of her targets was how to murder them the best. One thing Vi was certain of, they liked each other. They smelled like it.
"Could I come with you to Naboo?" Vi carefully interrupted their discussion, "I'm... I'm wiling to work for passage, and I don't need much. Just one of these a day and a quiet corner to sleep," she finished off the ration bar and licked the crumbs from her fingers, "not asking for much, I could probably find a job on Naboo or something..."
"We can give you passage to Naboo," Padmé promised, "it hasn't been hit that hard by the war, and I'm sure they can help a refugee like you."
"Hey, wait a moment," Anakin began, "I still don't trust her!"
"it's just to Naboo," Padmé argued, "it's not that long a trip."
"I'll earn my stay!" Vi promised, "I can... I can clean or make repairs or do other droid stuff... I'm poor, not... Not helpless... I promise I can be useful. I just... Don't have anywhere to go. Don't have a home..."
Anakin stared at her, "fine," he relented, "I'm not gonna argue it. If Padmé's okay with taking you to Naboo, I'm fine with it too."
Vi showed a weak smile, but in her heart she grinned darkly. She could stay with her target. She'd have all the time in the world to prepare... She would have to prepare of course. She couldn't just do the job with Anakin watching. She had to wait and be patient, do some work for a few ration bars. She was being devious, it wasn't that she wanted a few more ration bars before she did the deed and returned to her master. It wasn't that she was scared to return again while these people gave her food.
The Nubian yacht was the most luxurious ship Vi had ever travelled on, especially since she was dragged from that crate. She didn't have much to do either. She'd promised she'd do work, whatever work needed to be done, but the amount that needed to be done was almost zero. She just cleaned up the wrappers from the rations she'd gobbled up and spent the rest of the day curled up in a corner. Padmé and Anakin were spending their time together, and Vi wasn't going to bother them. Instead she was accosted by the blue and white astromech called R2-D2. The droid rolled up to her when she'd settled in her corner, ready to either nap or spending her time imagining things, and it loudly beeps until she opened her eyes. R2 demanded to know why she's snuck in board.
"Look I just went looking for food and a place to spend the night, and that crate gave me both," she smoothly lied, "I'm not after anything in particular, if that's what you're suggesting."
The droid tweeted in reply, burbling about a confused loader droid.
"Perhaps it didn't expect the crate to be so heavy," Vi suggested, "I dunno why a droid would get confused. I'm no droid mechanic, not really at least. I could help realign your locomotors if you need, but that's about the extend of my skill."
The droid burbled another question.
"I dunno where I'm from," Vi replied. It was an honest answer, she really didn't know. her master had picked her up somewhere, but Vi didn't know where. She pulled a necklace from her ragged shirt, the only thing that was truly hers aside from the lightsaber in her boot. "This is the only thing I got from home," she told the droid, "says my name's Vi Shi-Nar, but that's all I know."
R2 let out a sad sounding whistle.
"Why are you pitying me?" Vi laughed, "look, I don't care about where I'm from, I just care that I get to eat... That's difficult enough already, I don't need to worry about some place I don't know."
The droid beeped and tweeted wildly.
"Are you calling me pathetic now??" Vi angrily demanded, "I'm doing just fine! I don't need a home! I don't... Don't need anyone." Somehow, Vi felt her eyes getting wet. Tears. Was she crying now? She didn't care for whatever planet she came from, but she still held on to that locket, that locket that'd belonged to her mother once, her only link to some past she couldn't remember. Vi had visions about it sometimes, seeing a different life without her master, with a mother who shared her feathers, but it was just a dream. Vi could only obey her master. Her life was in his hands, just like it'd always been.
With a thumping of his locomotors, R2 let out another series of binary beeps. The droid felt sorry for her. Why did everyone on this ship seem so nice? Why did they want to take care of her?
"Look, I dunno if I can stay with your masters," Vi replied, "yeah, they're nice, but..." Vi had to kill one of them, that was the answer. She had to kill Padmé for her master, "I can't stay," she mumbled, "I dunno if they'd even want me to stay, They probably won't think me worth the trouble."
The droid loudly objected, bumping against her feet with his locomotor struts.
"Hey, I'm not trying to insult them!" Vi objected, "I'm sorry if I said something wrong, but why would anyone want to just look after a strange stowaway like me??"
The astromech proudly answered. They were nice he said. As if Vi could believe that. Still she hoped.
R2-D2 seemed to like their stowaway and so Anakin had to admit she probably wasn't that bad. She was growing on him. She was eager to help with whatever she could help with, and whenever there wasn't anything she could help with, she hid away in some corner, trying not to get noticed. She was strange, a complete mystery, but it seemed like she was determined to not bother anyone. R2 had told Anakin of the necklace she carried, a locket with her name inscribed, and Anakin couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was also lost in a galaxy bigger than her. Anakin knew how it felt. His thoughts often dwelled on Tatooine, he hated it, but it'd been his home where his mother lived and now rested below the sand. He wondered if she had a home planet like that, perhaps a place she never knew she had, but he wasn't going to bring it up to her. From what R2 said, it was sensitive.
"So, Vi," Anakin began when he found her in a corner again, "why do you just sit in a corner? Isn't it uncomfortable?"
Vi shrugged, looking up at him, "not that bad, won't be a bother here."
"You're allowed to use the furniture," Anakin grinned at her, "the cushions don't bite."
"I... Am?" Vi asked, a strange confusion on her mind, "you're not gonna... But it's..."
"It's fine," Anakin interrupted her with a chuckle, "are you alright? We're not gonna hurt you or something..."
Vi stared at him with a confused look on her face, and Anakin felt such an intense, dark expectation from her. She expected pain. She expected to be hurt. "You... Aren't?" she asked with a pitiful hesitation in her voice.
Anakin knelt next to her, his voice gentle and soft, "did someone hurt you?"
Vi startled, "no, I'm fine," she hurriedly replied, and Anakin knew someone had. He didn't need the force to see that.
"Vi, make yourself at home here," Anakin told her, "'you can use the furniture, and you can take one of the beds tonight. Eat with us, and relax, you don't have to be scared. We're not going to hurt you."
"Are... Are you sure?" Vi asked, "I'm fine being invisible, I don't want to be a bother."
"I'm sure," Anakin ruffled her neon pink hair, "you won't be a bother."
"You're getting softer," Padmé teased Anakin as they watched R2 and Vi chat. The girl had finally settled on the couch, curled up around herself, yet Anakin still sensed a deep worry from her. He pitied her, worried for her.
"She's... Something about her worries me," Anakin replied, not entirely sure of what he felt, "but she also just reminds me a bit of myself, back on Tatooine..."
"You want to help her?" Padmé asked, "like Qui-gon helped you?"
"She's not a slave like I was," Anakin quietly replied, "but there's something bothering her, something she's terrified of. I don't know what, and I doubt she'd want to tell, but... Yes, I want to help her."
"You can't help but want to help, Ani," Padmé teased, reaching up to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, "that's why I fell in love with you."