An Even Greater Sin

Author's note: This chapter's layout was inspired by the writing of Matthew Stover in the Revenge of the Sith novelization.

Chapter 11: The parent falls...

This is how it feels to be Luke Skywalker, right now:

You frantically scrub every last micron of your flesh, trying to scrape away the corruption of Palpatine's violation of your self. You know your time is limited, but you can't help but linger in the shower for many times your normal length- trying desperately to purify yourself of the crime.

When you finally emerge, your skin is even more red than after the lightning- you had set the water setting to its hottest level, scalding away the filth. You had scoured your body as though it needed a good sandblasting- but the pain is more than physical.

It is to try to block out all of the anguish, the death, the spiritual conflict that surrounds you, here and in your own time. You have no idea when you will return home- to your friends, to your family- to your own destiny. You beg the Force that it will be soon.

Donning the midnight-blue hotel bathrobe- your own clothes are in tatters, still lying on the blood-tainted bed where-

You don't want to think about that. Only the discipline given you by Master Yoda keeps you from screaming.

You tie the robe tightly, keeping as much of your bare body covered as the robe will allow. Thankfully, your socks and boots are still intact, so you won't need to walk the permacrete barefoot.

Slipping out of your room as stealthily as you can, you make your way to the bustling streets of Coruscant, where the smoke still lies heavily in the air. Snatching a piece of corrugated paperboard from a box in an alley, you hurriedly scrawl upon it, "RAYP VIKTUM- NEDE MEDIK."

Crouching by the wall, you hold up a boot and your sign- it's not completely false, you DO need a medic, but you don't have the time- trying to look as pitiful as you can while keeping your head under the robe's hood. No need to show your face, is there?

It takes an infuriatingly long time- people are busy, and some of them look at you with contempt, probably assuming you're a lady-of-the-night, but after a while, someone drops a credit coin into your boot. You swear it must be hours before you've calculated the amount to be decent- thirty-five credits, you think. Sneaking off to a dark corner, you count it out, and your estimate turns out to be correct.

Thirty-five would probably be able to buy you SOMETHING to wear. Putting your boot back on, you slip into a bargain shop.

You're not in the mood for the Huttese "How are you?" of the storekeeper, but you just ignore it and make your way to the discount rack. Black jacket- simple, unassuming, and not something people would recognize as JEDI- and a plain pair of pants cost you thirty-two-fifty, and you buy it and change. Keeping the robe on for the sake of disguise, you look at the sky and curse. It's already past daybreak.

You know which building your mother is in- now to just get to it without transportation.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was depressed- if such a silly word could be used to describe this deep, pervasive funk which had settled upon his chest like the corpse of a Hutt, smothering him and crushing his spirit. He had no idea what to do.

"Send me to kill the Emperor. I will NOT kill Anakin." As the words left his mouth, they immediately seemed ridiculous. Kill Anakin, his best friend in the Cosmos? But even in his denial, he knew Master Yoda's response.

The wizened old Jedi asserted, "Powerful enough to destroy the Emperor, you are not."

"Anakin is like my _brother_... I cannot do this."

"Twisted by the Dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is... consumed by Darth Vader." Sadly, the elder warrior continured, "Visit the new Emperor, I must."

Padme` Amidala's child- still she wondered if it could be children- writhed within her belly like a colo claw fish within the jaws of a sando aqua monster. She lay carefully on her couch, trying to breathe in the least painful manner possible.

For the first time, she truly felt the possibility of Anakin's nightmare.

The Temple still burned, in the distance, and she went over the day's events in her mind.

She still wished that it wasn't true- that there was no Jedi rebellion, that there was no Empire... that there was no Palpatine.

He had turned his back on the very liberties the Republic had risen to defend. She had trusted him- not entirely, of course- but she had learned much from the elder statesman. And so had Anakin.

Anakin. Where was he now? What had happened to him over these last desperate nights? He had been so pale, so ill-looking, that she had almost felt sick herself. He had frightened her. Was he the cause of the child's pain?

She couldn't make herself believe that.

The child's fit increased in intensity, and she tried to keep from clutching her stomach- it didn't help at all, she had discovered. Looking out past the veranda, she saw a speeder streaking towards her landing platform. Hurriedly, she rose to her feet-

-Luke Skywalker dashed into the apartment-

-Obi-Wan Kenobi leapt out of the speeder-

Padme` stared at both men, not knowing which one to speak to first. Obi-Wan took the initiative, and asked, "Do you know where Anakin is?"

"I- I don't know," she lied. Something about Obi-Wan's behavior scared her, as though he had learned a truth she didn't want to hear. "Why would I?" Turning to the intruder- the one from the concert, she demanded, "What are you doing here?"

Luke, panting with exertion, replied, "My name is Skywalker."

Obi-Wan gaped at the young man. Yes, he was strong with the Force, but Obi-Wan had never met the boy before. "Skywalker, you say?"

The boy nodded, and ran a hand through disheveled sandy hair. "I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but- I need to help you- and I need your help."

"Why should we help you?" were the first words out of Padme's mouth. This man had caused her child- children?- to lash out in pain. "You say you're a Skywalker? Anakin has no other living relatives."

The blond hung his head in shame. "I can't get back to where I come from. I need advice."

"We are short on time," Obi-Wan said.

The younger man almost seemed to be crying. "I'm afraid that you may be shorter on time than you know, Master Kenobi."

"I am certain we haven't met before."

Obi-Wan was thoroughly confused. What did this boy have to do with Anakin? He reached out with the Force, and found-

The boy's Force-signature was identical to that of Senator Amidala's unborn child. Even identical twins could not replicate Force-identities.

This boy was-

Padme` abruptly leaned closer to the young man- he backed away slowly, as though he feared touching her- and searched his eyes. All of her years as a politician had trained her to deduce the truth of other's statements.

This man was telling the truth, she could see it in his bloodshot, tear-filled blue eyes.

Blue eyes that had come from Anakin.

Luke exhaled raggedly, still worn out from his long run. He saw both his mother and his mentor-to-be realize it at the exact time.

"Yes, I am Anakin's son."

Obi-Wan shook his head in disbelief. "I am NOT going to even try to figure out how he has a son his own age."

"He's from the future, dolt." Padme` snapped. "No wonder you knew about me. But what are you doing here?" She directed her question to Luke.

He honestly didn't know, and he said so. Explaining what he thought had happened- minus the unnecessary mention of sex- he asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't know. If the Force sent you back, it may be that it wanted you to interfere, but it seems unlikely. Any effect that you have here will change your own time- and it may even destroy you, making it so that you could not return and change things. A paradox." Obi-Wan sat back, and Luke saw a great sorrow in his grey-blue eyes. "You are most likely here as an observer."

Sighing, Luke nodded. "That's what I figured." He didn't dare mention the interference he had already committed.

Padme` interjected, "Well, if anyone's going to do anything, we should go to Mustafar."