Star Wars by Mike Chen

Author:Mike Chen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 29

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

The clones complied with every request.

They didn’t bother to ask why Anakin wanted additional medical supplies or access to a shuttle. Instead, he got a simple “Yes, sir” followed by a quick departure to retrieve the crates, stopping only to answer Mill’s question about whether the additional supplies would be missed.

“We always load an excess of three to five percent of materials in case anything is lost or damaged on the way,” the trooper explained, which worked for both of their purposes, and he even pointed to one of the four Eta-class shuttles sitting unused in the docking bay. “Whichever one you prefer, General.”

No explanations. No justifications. A simple chain of command, one that left him with countless troops ready to do whatever he deemed necessary. The sheer number of possibilities exploded through Anakin’s mind, the temptation of simply getting whatever he wanted done. But that quickly became tempered with a discipline, one that reminded him where his responsibilities lay.

Padmé. The Chancellor. Obi-Wan. The Jedi. The Republic. Though after Padmé, things shifted around based on situations, pushing him one way or the other. In many cases, they all aligned—Padmé, after all, was a key member of the Senate, which worked with the Jedi and for the Republic.

Prioritizing one often trickled down to all of them.

Even now, with this makeshift plan, it all chained together. If he went to be Obi-Wan’s backup, it might assist in Obi-Wan’s goal of de-escalating the war. If the war was de-escalated, then the Republic would be safer. If the Republic was safer, then the Jedi would be needed less, and the Senate would have fewer emergency sessions.

And if those things happened, then Anakin and Padmé would have fewer things trying to pull them apart.

Really, that was all that mattered. Galactic peace, Obi-Wan’s safety, Palpatine’s stability, all of those things were important. But when layer by layer was stripped away, the only thing that truly mattered to Anakin’s sun-dragon heart was Padmé.

He would do anything to protect her, even if that meant shifting the entire axis of the galaxy.

Or in this case, going to help Obi-Wan on Cato Neimoidia. Because someone had gotten their hands on the most important data in the galaxy.

The clone returned, the blinking lights of the launch bay reflecting off the gray stripes painted across his helmet. He gestured to the three supply crates on the now-deactivated repulsorlift dolly, then walked away when Anakin dismissed him. R2-D2 rolled slowly up to the inventory, then beeped a comment that roughly came across as “Do I have to carry all of that?”

Mill looked at the droid quizzically, and Anakin offered a quick translation before replying. “Some of it. But I’ll need you for something more important.”

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