Forces of Infinity

“Just to be clear, after this last comment I can go home right?”

“Yes. What? Did you think I was gonna keep you here and let Leia deal with Jaina, Jacen and Anakin alone? I’m not cruel.”

“Well, you are dating Mara. So…”

“Hey, you and Leia are the ones who got us together.”

“Luke, it wasn’t just us. Literally everyone you two know was sick of watching you both dance around each other, and had a hand in our scheme.”

“Talon?”

“Everyone.”

“Wedge?”

“Everyone.”

“Kyle?”

“Everyone.”

“Jean?”

“Everyone.”

“Ahsoka?”

“Everyone.”

“Mayday?”

“Everyone.”

“Logan?”

“Yes. Even Logan was fed up with it.”

“…Wow.”

“Alright, the Guardians’ first outing did not go the way they planned. It had to end with losing the right way, instead of winning the wrong. Or something like that.”

-An excerpt from The Fight For Justice (featuring Han Solo), by Luke Skywalker.

“These Avengers are a clear threat to the Grand Plan. How do you intend to eliminate them?” the holocron of Darth Bane asked Sidious.

“They cannot be weakened the same way as the Jedi and Separatists. Their resolve is too strong and it will only be a matter of time before their numbers grow. I will still work to divide them, but I can only conquer them if I face them myself. And I do not intend to leave anything to chance. I require more power,” Palpatine answered.

“Which ritual do you seek then?” Zannah questioned.

“Force Drain.”

“On what scale?”

“Nhilus and Vitiate.”

“The knowledge on how they did it has been lost,” Bane dismissed. “If it still existed, then I would have consumed the entire Jedi Order myself.”

Zannah looked more thoughtful.

“Not necessarily,” she said, surprising her former Master and gaining Sidious’ attention.

“What do you mean?” Bane demanded.

“After I defeated you and took on the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, I began to learn more about Force Drain. I found texts on Darth Vitiate and discovered that he may have left one last mark on the Galaxy. His biological father had a son with another woman, and he took possession of the body. It is not clear what he did with it, but I suspect that he kept it as a backup for Essence Transfer, just as he did with his original form. Perhaps he even left a holocron of his own.”

Bane glared at her.

“You had this knowledge and never acted on it?!”

The blonde woman shrugged.

“It was of no use to me.”

“You were the Dark Lord of the Sith!”

“Yes, but it was my duty to ensure that the Grand Plan could ever be enacted. I knew I would never be the one to rule the Galaxy, just as you did. So instead I laid the foundation for what the Rule of Two would become. I seduced powerful men to kill and take their wealth for the Sith. I trained an apprentice who eventually bested me. My excellence in Force Clouding led to the ritual used by this one and his former Master to veil our presence completely. I did my part. No more, no less.”

“You are lucky I am a hologram,” Bane growled.

“Is that so?” she asked with a smile, tilting her head. “Because if I remember correctly, I killed you. So pray tell, who’s the real lucky one,” Zannah taunted.

Bane turned away with a growl.

Sidous regained their attention with a laugh.

“Did you learn where he kept this body?”

“Where else? His home planet. The very one he consumed, transforming it into a well of the Dark Side and wound in the Force. Ziost."

Anakin, Obi Wan and Rhodey woke up with a groan.

“Mmm… Master. What happened?” Anakin asked, getting up.

The other two sat up to see that the three of them were tied together in plasma chains.

“Ah, well, I guess the pirate brew is stronger than we thought,” Kenobi admitted.

“I only took a sip,” Skywalker lied.

“We were drugged, obviously,” Obi Wan also lied.

Rhodey gave them both flat looks.

“Guys, just face it. We had too much to drink, they took advantage of it, and now they have us locked up in here.”

“Rhodey, if anyone asks, we were drugged,” Anakin pleaded. “The others will never let us live this down.”

“Fine,” the Avenger conceded.

“If you three are finished…” they turned to see Count Dooku in the corner.

“Oh, great. It’s you,” Anakin glared.

“I did warn you these pirates were devious. You will notice our shackles are bound together. I have tried to separate us…to no avail.”

“It’s bad enough we have to be in the same cell,” Anakin spat, rising up. “But could you at least spare me the sound of your constant chatter?!”

Obi Wan and Rhodey held him back.

“Hey, he’s not worth it,” James tried to calm him down.

“And while I hold my tongue, the three of you will devise a brilliant strategy for getting off this godforsaken planet?”

“Yes!” they all answered, annoyed.

“Excellent.”

“I already have one,” Rhodey began. “Wait for my teammates. They’ll wipe the floor with these bozos.”

“Definitely…” Anakin began before finally taking notice of something rather crucial. “Wait…Where’s my arm?!”

Quill sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose down the hallway, listening in on their conversation.

“Isn’t this thing a beauty?” Rocket asked with a grin, inspecting the Jedi’s missing arm. “Absolutely perfect mechanics, and it even has gold plating.”

“It’s one thing for us to let Hondo take them prisoner, but did you have to take his arm?” Gamora groaned.

“I am Groot,” Baby Groot said from his dad’s shoulder.

“What did he say?”

“He said it was too funny not to,” Rocket translated, not even looking away from the robotic arm.

“Ugh, this whole plan is going to shit!” Nebula complained.

“You don’t say,” Quill groaned.

“We have to stop them, Peter,” Gamora urged.

“I’m working on it,” he said.

A door opened and out came Hondo speaking with one of his subordinates.

“It’s like my mother always said: ‘Son, if one hostage is good, two are better. And three? Well, that’s just good business!’” he laughed.

“How much do you think they’ll  fetch?”

“Don’t you worry about how much. You’ll get your cut,” Hondo chided. “Just see to it that the Republic’s ransom gets here.Once we get the ransom for the Sith, then we’ll get the ransom for the Jedi. Thank you mom,” he blew a kiss to the heavens.

The two parted ways and Gamora narrowed her eyes at the subordinate.

“I’m gonna follow him.”

“Good idea. I’ll try to talk some sense into Hondo,” Quill replied.

Gamora slowly followed the pirate, remaining out of sight. She hid in the darkness as he sat down with another pirate with an eyepatch.

“The spice is on its way. Hondo has asked me to meet the Republic envoy and bring them here with the ransom. But I want you to intercept that ship and force it down. Be careful. I want that spice intact.”

The Guardian narrowed her eyes.

“Eh, it’s too risky. What about Hondo?”

“Yeah, that nitwit couldn’t kill a nuna. He depends on me for that. I’ll tell him the ship was destroyed with everyone on it, including the spice. By the time he finds out the truth, we’ll be long gone.”

Looks like Rocket’s gonna have some fun.

“Will she be alright?” Vision asked Doctor Nema.

The two along with Natasha were in the Halls of Healing looking over an unconscious Wanda.

“Her vital signs are stable. She just needs rest,” Nema answered.

“What caused this?” Nat questioned.

“We all felt a dark presence in the Force,” she said with a shiver. “A strong one. And Ms. Maximoff has only recently become attuned to it. Her body is not used to the new experience, so it was a lot for her to handle.”

“Will this be a regular thing for her?”

“She’ll adjust to the fluctuations in the Force. It just takes time.”

“I have already altered Pietro. As soon as he completes his mission, he’ll be right here,” Vision stated.

“Wouldn’t expect any less from him,” Nat smirked.

Vision looked down at Wanda with a frown.

“You alright, Viz?”

“I was there when it happened, and I am puzzled by my reaction. I believe I felt…fear.”

“You didn’t think that was possible,” the Black Widow realized.

“I’m not all machine. I knew that I was capable of emotions. I just did not anticipate feeling so strongly about this.”

Romanov smirked and looked between Wanda and Vision.

“Maybe this is a special case?”

The android looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“What exactly are you insinuating?”

“I’ll let you figure that out.”

The door opened and in came Masters Yoda, Windu, Plo and Fisto.

“Came as soon as we heard, we did.”

“After all your group has done, it’s the least we could do,” Plo added.

“Thank you,” Vision said.

“How is she feeling?” Fisto asked.

“She just needs rest,” Nat explained.

“We should have prepared her for something like this. For that, we are sorry,” Koon apologized.

“Apology accepted,” Viz nodded.

“Any idea what that was?” Romanov asked.

The Jedi silently looked to each other before Yoda answered.

“Occurred a great evil has. A dark presence by the Sith.”

“What does it mean?” Vision wondered.

“We don’t know. But nothing they do can be good,” Windu answered.

“Well, with some training from you guys, she’ll be ready next time,” Nat said. The Jedi frowned and some shifted uncomfortably, causing the Widow to raise a brow. “Something you’d like to share?”

“Not everyone on the Council is…open to training her. We have traditions that prohibit such things,” Plo answered.

“Being?”

“We don’t need to discuss that now,” Windu deflected. “There’s another reason why we’re here. Kenobi, Skywalker and Rhodes have located Dooku on Florum and will be bringing him to Coruscant soon.”

The Avengers put aside the previous topic for now to focus on this one.

“So the War could be over soon,” Viz surmised.

“Yes,” Yoda said.

“Did you say Florum?” Romanov questioned.

“Yes. Apparently Dooku had been captured by pirates and they are offering him to the Republic for ransom,” Fisto explained.

“Is one of them by any chance named Hondo Ohnaka?” the redhead frowned.

The Jedi straightened up and looked at the woman warily.

“Know him you do?”

“He told me about the Hutts’ holo diary.” The Avenger then pulled her comm out. “Rhodey, do you copy?”

There was no answer.

“Shit. Okay, Hondo has likely taken them hostage.”

“You’re certain of this?” Kit questioned.

“Positive,” she nodded. The Black Widow gave them a soul piercing gaze. “Forget the ransom. Send me.”

She left no room for argument.

“We’ll have a squadron accompany you,” Windu offered.

“Good. I’ve been itching to see these boys in action.”

“Come on!” Ki Adi Mundi commanded his troops, the Galactic Marines. The Jedi ignited his lightsaber and charged out of the trench and ran across the plateau.

“You heard the General! Let’s move!” Commander Bacara shouted, pulling out his rifle.

Soon all the men in white and maroon charged along with them, firing their blasters at the enemy droids.

And they weren’t alone.

A familiar shield was seen cutting through the droids and even bouncing off tanks and artillery. The vibranium disc was caught by Captain America himself, who then proceeded to charge straight through the enemy units.

“There’s the Avenger! Ready the cannons!” the tactical droid ordered.

A few cannons trained their sights on the Captain. Then a few missiles came down from above and blew them to bits. The smoke cleared to reveal Falcon flying high.

“The tactical droid has been taken out!” Sam announced.

“This is our chance. Let’s win this, boys!” Steve called out.

The clones cheered and fought great vigor. About an hour later the battle was already won.

“We’ve eliminated their main forces and secured the northern hemisphere. Hypori should be our’s within the week,” Bakara reported to the Jedi and Avengers as they looked at a map of the Separatist world.

“Very good, Commander,” Mundi said. “You are dismissed.”

Bakara nodded before walking away.

“Capturing Grievous has left the clankers in shambles. If they hadn’t moved a third of this planet’s defenses, I doubt we would be celebrating right now,” Cap said grimly.

“You alright, being back here?” Sam asked his friend.

Steve hesitated.

“It’s better than last time. I’ll say that much,” he answered.

Sam opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the arrival of a clone.

“Sirs. Someone has approached the camp. Says he’s a Jedi.”

The three blinked and shared a look before following the trooper to the edge of camp. When they arrived they saw a hooded figure covered in fur.

“Glad to see that I will be returning home soon,” they said before pulling back the hood and revealing his beastly face.

Mundi and Steve each sucked in a breath, instantly recognizing the Whiphid.

“Master K’Kruhk…” Ki Adi began, stunned.

“You’re alive,” Steve continued. “But how? We saw you die.”

“It will take more than a swipe of a lightsaber to finish me. I simply fell into hibernation,” K’Kruhk chuckled. Then his look became solemn. “The others though…”

“Aayla and Shaak survived,” Cap said.

The Whiphid released a sigh.

“That is a relief to hear. Tell me, how much have I missed?”

Steve chuckled.

“Where do I even begin?”

“Alright boys, let’s go over the plan,” Natasha began. “As far as we know, they think we’re just going in blind. Well, we’re not. We’ll land in an area they won’t detect us. Then we use stealth to infiltrate the base and extract the hostages. Any questions?”

“What are we dealing with?” one of the clones asked.

Nat nodded to Commander Stone, who proceeded to pull out a comm and displayed a projection of the base.

“They’ve got three tanks, three fighters, and a light cruiser,” Stone began. “Scans for life forms also picked up a garrison of about fifty men.”

“Seems like we’re outnumbered,” one of the men complained.

“Come on, they're less challenging than clankers,” the other chided.

“Exactly. As long as we’re nice and quiet, everything will be fine,” Widow smirked.

The extraction team sat down in their seats and put on their safety harnesses.

“Have to say, it’s good to finally be getting some action,” one of the troops said.

“Tell me about it,” the other complained.

“Most of your assignments aren’t combat related?” Romanov questioned.

“Most of our missions are escorting and protecting Senators,” Stone explained. “We’re a part of the Coruscant Guard. We have as much training as any other clone, but are solely stationed as security for the Senate. Though we have begun to aid the local police forces.”

The Avenger raised an eyebrow.

“How many of you are there?”

“Thirty-seven thousand give or take give or take. Same as every other corp.”

“And you’re ordered to just sit on Coruscant?”

“Pretty much,” one of the men groaned.

Before she could comment on how wasteful the GAR was being, the alarms blared across the shuttle.

“Pilot, what’s going on?” Widow asked.

“One of the pirates’ vessels is on our tail. We’re trying to shake them!”

Just outside, one of the saucers fired its lasers upon the shuttle. The Republic ship banked left to try to dodge. One of the blasts scraped a wing, trailing a bit of smoke.

“I don’t think we can last much longer!” one of the pilots screamed.

Suddenly, the pirate ship was struck by a missile and burst into flames, crashing down to the world below.

“What the?”

Then a craft they’d never seen before emerged on their left side.

“Good morning. My name’s Rocket and I’m here to help. I know a spot where the pirates won’t find you. Sending the coordinates now.”

“What do we do, Agent Romanov?” Commander Stone asked.

The redhead thought about it for a moment.

“Do as he says. He saved our lives and that’s worth something. But remain on guard.

The two ships landed in a small clearing surrounded by geysers and alien beasts. The hatches on both vessels opened up and out came the respective groups. From the new ship were a gray man with red markings, a woman with antennae and a…

“So you’re who the Republic sent to retrieve the hostages,” Rocket surmised with his arms crossed.

Natasha blinked and stared at him.

“I’ve had drinks with a god. I’ve fought aliens and a genocidal robot. I’m in a galaxy with wizards that use laser swords. Why am I surprised by a talking raccoon?”

“I’ll kill you!” Rocket screamed, jumping at the Avenger.

The clones raised their blasters but luckily the small Guardian was caught by Drax before he could do something he’d regret.

“Don’t ever call me that!”

“Rocket, calm down!” Mantis chided. “We are so sorry, he is very sensitive about that.”

“Noted,” Romanov nodded.

“What is that, a bouncer?” one of the soldiers asked the other.

“I think it’s a lothcat,” the other spoke.

“Or a vulptex.”

“Knock it off, you two,” Stone chided.

“Why’d you save us?” Widow questioned the Guardians.

“We helped the pirates capture Dooku,” Drax began.

“We thought that it would end the War,” Mantis continued.

“But we didn’t expect Hondo to capture the Jedi and that Rhodey guy too,” Rocket finished.

“Why’d they try to shoot us down?” one of the clones asked.

“That actually wasn’t Hondo. Two of his men decided to go rogue and take the spice for themselves.”

“Well, joke’s on them, cause we didn’t bring it. I figured Hondo would pull a stunt like this.”

“So, you decided to come and rescue your friends instead,” Drax guessed.

“Pretty much,” Nat shrugged.

“Alright, then we’ll help,” Rocket said. “The rest of our team is back at the base. I can call them in and have them sneak your friends out. We’ll have to distract their tanks though.”

“What do their tanks look like again?” Drax asked.

“Didn’t you see them earlier?” Mantis questioned.

“I was too busy beating the pirates at wrestling.”

“They look like zargnuts with big guns on top.”

“Then those are the pirates’ tanks coming right towards us.”

“What?!” the group collectively exclaimed and turned to see the tanks were less than a mile away.

“You’re just mentioning this now?!” Natasha shouted.

“I wasn’t sure if those were Hondo’s tanks. They could have been anyone’s,” the Destroyer said like it was obvious.

Rocket groaned and pulled out his comm.

“Quill, we need to move ahead with the plan now.”

“I’m on it.”

Obi Wan stood at the cell door, waved his hand and used the Force.

“You don’t want to guard this cell.”

“I don’t want to guard this cell,” the pirate repeated in a trance.

“You want to deactivate the cell bars and go out drinking.”

“I want to deactivate the cell bars and go out drinking!” he repeated with a smile. And he did exactly that.

Once he left, the four prisoners began to walk down the hall.

“Not bad,” Anakin smirked.

“Very impressive, Master Kenobi,” Dooku admitted.

“Wasn’t that kinda a breach of free will?” Rhodey questioned.

“It’s really just powerful suggestion. Nothing to worry about,” Kenobi explained.

“If you say so,” Rhodey shrugged.

“You don’t wanna go that way,” a new voice said. The group turned to see it was Star Lord. “That entire side of the building is guarded.”

“And we are to expect you to help us?” Dooku asked skeptically.

“Yes.” Quill then surprised them by pulling out the two Jedi lightsabers and tossing them to the pair. Anakin and Obi Wan cut Rhodey’s and their shackles but kept Dooku tied up. “Gamora, Nebula and Groot are getting your ship ready so you can escape on it.”

“I’m not about to pass up a golden opportunity,” Rhodey said.

“Hold up,” Anakin cut in. “Do you know where my arm is?”

“Uh…Rocket took it,” Peter explained sheepishly.

“Okay, then just give it to me.”

“We…don’t know where he put it…”

Skywalker let out a long suffering sigh before turning to the Count.

“I blame you for this.”

The Guardians and rescue team hid behind some large rocks and used them as cover against the tanks.

“What’s the plan, Commander?” one of the clones asked.

Stone took a glance and saw a geyser not far away shoot boiling hot water high into the air.

“Agent Romanov, if we lure them to the geysers, we can take them out.”

“Not a bad plan,” the spy praised, arming her widow’s bites. “It’ll throw them into chaos, leaving them exposed. So who’s gonna be the bait?”

She got her answer when Drax ran right for the tanks, laughing like the maniac he was.

“Drax!” Mantis shouted after him.

The Destroyer let out a war-cry that caught the pirates’ attention as he charged at them and threw one of his knives. The blade embedded itself into the throat of one of his opponents.

“Kill him!” their leader shouted.

The tanks shot large plasma blasts that Drax ran from as he laughed out “Come and get me!” The Guardian ran right for the geysers.

“That’ll work,” one of the troops said.

“That’s Drax for ya,” Rocket shrugged.

“Nowhere left to run!” the pirate leader shouted as they managed to surround Drax.

“That’s what you think,” the Destroyer smirked.

There was a rumbling sound and suddenly, one of the geysers fired water from right underneath one of the tanks, flipping it onto its side.

“Poodoo! This was a trap!” one of the pirates shouted before he was struck by a blaster bolt. Another one was electrified and slumped over in his seat. The pirate leader then felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Sleep.”

“Alright, we’re not too far away now,” Quill told the others as the stealthily made their way through the halls.

“You know, you could have easily taken a cut of the ransom for all four of us. Why are you helping us instead?” Anakin asked.

“We didn’t sign up for this. So, you could say this is pushing our limits,” Peter explained.

“Very honorable of you,” Dooku praised. “But I assume you still plan to hand me over to the Republic.”

“Definitely. This war’s gotta end.”

The group arrived at the Twilight to see Gamora and Nebula standing over a bunch of groaning pirates.

“Next time, stay out of our way,” Nebula told them with a glare.

“You crazy bitch! You stabbed me!” one of them screamed in agony.

They then received a kick from Gamora.

“Shut up. Only I can talk to her like that.”

“What the hell happened here?” Quill asked.

The two sisters turned to face him and shrugged.

“They were guarding the ship. We told them to get out of our way and they didn’t listen,” Nebula explained simply.

“Then we better hurry because there’s no way Hondo doesn’t know about this,” Peter said.

“Well, you’re right about that, Quill,” said Hondo himself. He stood right behind them with the rest of his men pointing their blasters at the group.

“Aw, fuck,” Rhodey complained. “This just got harder.”

The Jedi and sisters raised their blades at the pirates. Rhodey raised a blaster but Quill kept his hands empty. He just looked at Hondo calmly and slowly raised his hands in a placating manner.

“Hondo, look…”

“Ah, Quill, Quill, Quill,” the captain tisked as he walked up to the Guardian and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Betraying me, attacking my men, and rescuing these hostages behind my back…I am so proud!”

“Huh?”

The others were just as confused.

“You almost managed to succeed. And I am very impressed by that.”

“Thanks?”

Hondo just laughed.

“Of course, I can’t let you take them.”

“Watch me,” Star Lord sassed before pulling out a blaster and pointing it at the Captain’s head and holding him with his other arm. The pirates all trained their guns on Quill. “I’m sorry, Hondo. I promise this is nothing personal, but I didn’t sign up on kidnapping the other three.”

“You do know that you still won’t get out of here, right?”

“Wanna bet?” they heard from above.

Everyone looked up to see the Benator hovering above them with the ramp down. Standing on it were the Republic rescue team.

“I suggest you lower your guns Hondo,” Nat continued.

“Natasha~” Hondo grinned. “I haven’t seen you since the Mos Eisley Cantina. How are you my friend?”

“Well, you took my other friends hostage, so I’m not really feeling very friendly right now,” she warned.

The pirate turned to the Guardian holding him at gun-point.

“Having your ship ready to attack? I knew I liked you!” He then turned back to the Black Widow. “Well, since you were so generous the last time we met, I think I shall let your friends go.” He then motioned for his men to lower their weapons, which they did. Quill released him in response. “I’m certain we can still make a deal on Dooku, yes?”

“You did capture him, and we now have him thanks to you, so yes,” Obi Wan said.

“Very honorable of you, Master Jedi,” the Captain bowed.

It was at this point that Dooku noticed his lightsaber hanging from Hondo’s waist. If he could just reach out for it…

Rocket then landed the Benatar and the rest of the Guardians and Republic forces made their way to the group.

“Remind me to buy you a drink as a gift,” Rhodey grinned at his teammate.

“Be sure to find me this galaxy’s equivalent to vodka. I am Russian after all,” she grinned back.

The Count knew he’d never get a second chance, so reaching out with the Force, he pulled his lightsaber to him and unleashed a massive push against his captures.

Everyone fell to the ground except Quill, who quickly used his rocket boots to fly through the air. He pulled out his blasters and shot at the Sith.

Dooku expertly deflected the blasts as he backed into the base. He closed the door behind him and slashed the controls before running off.

“He’s going for the other ships! Go!” Gamora shouted.

Star Lord nodded to her before flying to the other end of the base. He arrived to see the Count enter a saucer and begin to fly it out of the area.

Thinking quickly, the Guardian pulled out a tracker and hurled it at the vessel. It landed on its side just as the craft zoomed off the surface.

“I put a tracker on the ship,” he spoke into his comm. “The Republic Fleet might be able to intercept him.”

Back on the other side of the base, the Jedi sighed and nodded.

“Then all we can do is hope. We’ll send it over to Yularen. In the meantime, let’s go home,” Kenboi said, walking into the Twilight.

“Wait a minute,” Anakin spoke before marching over to the raccoon. “Give it back.”

The Widow’s eyes widened as she put two and two together.

“Did you take his arm?”

“No,” Rocket lied.

“I am Groot,” Groot said from his shoulder.

“Don’t tell her I did!”

Anakin just continued to glare at him flatly.

“My arm. Now.”

“Just give it back, Rocket,” Gamora sighed.

“But I want it,” he said like a child being denied a toy.

“You can make one,” Mantis argued.

“But it’s gold!”

“We’ll buy you gold, just give it back,” Peter said tiredly.

“Alright, alright. Just let me get it from the ship,” Rocket groaned.

“Is this normal for him,” Skywalker asked.

“Yes,” all the Guardians answered.

One Week Later

Anakin and Padme stood outside her parents’ house on Naboo. With them were R2 and 3PO.

“We’re really doing this,” Padme said.

“I can’t believe it,” Anakin added. He saw her frowning and placed a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder. “I don’t need the Force to sense that you’re nervous.”

She wrapped the hand he’d placed on her shoulder with her own and squeezed tightly.

“We’re not just telling them about us, Ani. We’re also telling them about this,” she placed both their hands on her stomach.”

It had been three months and Padme’s body was beginning to show. She had started wearing baggy clothing whenever she went out to hide it.

“Hey, it’ll be fine. Worst case scenario they’ll just be disappointed in you and hate me.”

“Indeed, Master Ani,” 3PO spoke. “The odds of complete rejection are less than ten percent, complete acceptance is fifty percent, and your scenario is only forty percent.”

R2 chirped in affirmation. Anakin gave her a look that said ‘see?’

“That’s not the worst case scenario,” Padme sighed.

Her husband just shrugged before they rang the doorbell. The door was soon opened by a beaming Jobal, Padme’s mother.

“Padme!” she exclaimed before enveloping her daughter in a tight hug. Padme reciprocated the gesture with the same enthusiasm. “It’s so good to see you!”

“You too, Mom.”

Jobal smiled upon seeing the Jedi.

“Hello, Anakin.”

“Hi, Jobal,” Anakin nodded. “Are Ruwee and Sola here too?”

“Yes. And the kids. Come inside, come.”

The group walked in and were greeted by the sound of children giggling.

“Are you going to stand there, or are you gonna give your aunt a hug?”

“Autie Padme!” Ryoo and Puja screamed in delight as the ran right for Padme and hugged her.

“Look at you both, you’re so big!”

The two then saw R2 and ran up to him just like last time they were here.

“Looks you they just forgot you,” Sola laughed before hugging her sister. “How’s my little sister these days?” Padme opened her mouth to respond but Sola didn’t give her the chance. “Oh! You brought Anakin. Nevermind, that answers my question,” she said with a wink.

Padme blushed.

How can she get a reaction out of me when the Senate can’t?

“Leave her alone, Sola,” Ruwee chided his oldest daughter before hugging his youngest. “How are you, kido?”

“I’m good.”

He smiled. Then he turned to Anakin and shook his hand.

“How are you, Anakin?”

“I’m good too.”

“Actually, can we talk to you three for a minute?” Padme asked. “Without the girls?”

Sola nodded and turned to her children.

“Girls, how’d you like to play with the droids?”

The kids squealed in affirmation.

“The children will be well taken care of, Mistress Padme,” 3PO said.

“Of course they will. R2’s with them,” Anakin sassed for the fun of it.

“What?!”

The astromech beeped and whistled.

“I’m good with children!”

R2 let out a chirp as a question.

“I looked after Master Anakin when he was a child.”

The shorter droid beeped.

“What do you mean that doesn’t count?!”

One Hour Later

“And that’s the truth. All of it,” Padme finished explaining.

The married couple told them everything about their secret marriage. How they got married after Geonosis. How they’ve been having secret meetings. And what it would mean for both of them if it got out.

The Naberries were silent, still processing everything they’d heard.

“Look,” Anakin began. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear right now, but I need you to know this was my idea alone. If you’re gonna be mad at someone, be mad at me.”

“You really love my daughter?” Ruwee asked.

“I do.”

The university professor let out a long suffering sigh. Anakin and Padme shared a nervous glance and held hands to comfort each other.

Then something unexpected happened. Sola grew a very smug grin and opened her hand towards her father.

“Pay up.”

The Skywalkers blinked.

“Wait- what?” Anakin questioned.

Ruwee sighed before handing Sola a handful of credits. Jobal then tapped him on the shoulder and showed her hand as well. The aging man groaned before giving her some credits too, causing Sola to laugh.

“You both just lost me two-hundred credits.”

Padme’s eyes widened.

“You knew!?” she exclaimed.

“Yes,” her mother answered.

“How?” Anakin asked.

“Sabe,” they all answered.

“Sabe?! But how did she know?!” Padme questioned loudly.

“Uh…” Skywalker began to sweat.

“Anakin?” his wife asked with a slight edge to her voice.

“She may have seen me sneak into the apartment last year,” he answered nervously, indicating that Sabe did indeed see him there.

“What else happened?” she inquired with narrowed eyes.

“She asked if we were together.”

“What did you say?”

“…That it wasn’t her business?” Anakin was very worried now

Padme lightly smacked him upside the head.

“Yeah, I deserve that.”

“You are very lucky it was her and not anyone else,” she warned. She turned to her family. “Why didn’t you ever confront us?”

“We wanted you to make that choice yourselves,” Jobal answered.

“And your timing couldn’t be better!” Sola cheered. “We had a pool going that Mom and I just won.”

“Two more weeks and I would have won,” Ruwee grumbled.

“Why did you tell us now?” Roja asked.

The young couple shared a look before Anakin nodded and Padme took a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

Their reactions were instantaneous as they cheered and squealed before pulling Padme and Anakin into a large hug.

“My baby girl is going to have her own baby,” Ruwee said with tears in his eyes.

“How far long are you?” her mother asked.

“Three to four months,” Padme answered with a smile, very happy that her family was being so supportive.

“My sister’s gonna be a MOM!” Sola cried in joy. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Boy/Girl,” Padme and Anakin answered over each other before groaning.

“Not this again. It’s a boy Ani,” she groaned.

“No, no, no. It’s a girl. And she is going to be the toughest one in the Galaxy,” he grinned.

“You’re right about that last part. And he is going to be the most compassionate as well.”

“Ooh~. I think we just got our new pool. One-hundred credits on girl!” Sola cheered.

“Same,” Ruwee said, writing it down on a tablet.

“You traitors!” Padme exclaimed.

“Sorry sis, but when was the last time a boy was born in this family?” Sola apologized with zero sincerity.

“None since me,” their father answered.

“That’s how I know it is a boy!” Padme argued.

“What do you think?” Anakin asked his mother-in-law.

“I’ll go with boy.”

“Well I’m sticking with girl,” he affirmed, grabbing the tablet too.

“And I am going to borrow my sister for a moment,” Sola said, tugging on Padme’s arm and dragging her out of the room.

“Mark me down for boy!” Padme called out as they left.

The two arrived in Padme’s old room and sat down on the bed.

“Well, well, well. What was it you said? ‘We’re just friends?’” Sola teased.

“Shut up,” Padme said with a blush. “Is that all you brought me in here for?”

“No. Give me the juicy details,” her sister asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What details?” Padme asked with a uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

“Is it true? About Force Sensitives being incredible in the sack?”

“SOLA!” Padme cried out indignantly, her face now resembling a tomato.

This was the worst case scenario.