The hum of the transport ship echoed loudly amongst the silent interior, Obi-Wan and Anakin sitting next to each other with the Chancellor and Luke sitting opposite them. Luke was more than aware of the multiple pairs of eyes on him as he intentionally stared at the floor and pretended to be oblivious. He could feel his heart in his throat and mental pinches against his shields—shields that felt much too weak in comparison to the two higher-trained Jedi and the Sith Lord in disguise.

The ride, which should've been blessedly short, instead stretched into what felt like hours, the skin underneath Luke's tunic growing damper with nervous perspiration. He badly wanted to focus on the situation the Force had thrown him into and how he could start formulating a plan to prevent his father from becoming Darth Vader. However, with the literal Emperor sitting only inches next to him, he found it a tad difficult to concentrate without feeling like his every thought was being meticulously scanned.

As the transport landed with a bump, Luke, not wearing his crash webbing, tumbled over with a cry directly into Palpatine's lap. Disoriented, he blinked up at the bemused silvery-blue eyes with a grimace. Covering his frantic upwards scrambling with a chuckle, he did his best to make his shudder of horror as subtle as possible.

A faint snicker caught Luke's ear, and he glanced up just in time to see Obi-Wan elbowing Anakin in the ribs, the younger man biting his lips closed in a failed attempt to smother another chuckle. Luke rolled his eyes, but took no offense. He supposed to someone who didn't see Palpatine as a homicidal, evil maniac, falling over in said person's lap would be more comical than traumatizing.

Before Obi-Wan could jab at his former Padawan once more and force him to apologize, the hiss of the doors sliding open overrode the sound of the engine. The Twi'lekkian pilot sitting in the front turned over the edge of her chair with a small smile. "The Senate Building as requested, Master Jedi."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said while rising to his feet. "If you don't mind holding here for a minute as well?"

"Of course not. Anything for the famous Kenobi and Skywalker duo," she blushed lightly, her eyes sliding towards Anakin particularly. Obi-Wan's mouth formed into a thin, emotionless line, and he looked as if he was seconds away from banging his head into the walls of the ship.

Anakin, smirking, rose to his feet with an air of confidence, his swagger flirtatious as he moved towards the pilot woman. "I'm guessing you're a fan of the Hero With No Fear?"

The woman blinked in surprise and then began to laugh nervously, pushing her yellow lekku back into her pilot's hat. "I've heard the stories."

"Well now you can tell everyone your own story. That you've met him," Anakin flashed a toothful smile, which made the pilot practically melt. 

"Anakin," Obi-Wan moaned, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Right," Anakin said, fake pouting so dramatically that Luke snorted. "You know me. Duty calls." Anakin trotted down the open ramp, the currently charging Artoo powering up in the corner quickly unplugging and zipping after his Master.

The Twi'lek woman waved after him mournfully, a sigh leaving her lips and her lekku popping right back out of her hat.

"Yes, well. I'll return in a moment," Obi-Wan said slowly before allowing Palpatine and Luke to exit before him. Force knew he wanted to escape the awkwardness before Anakin did something even more ridiculous in front of the Chancellor of all people.

Meanwhile, once off the transport, Luke hurried after his father, leaving Palpatine to make his way towards the frantic mob of senators swarming their way. The hoard of intricately dressed politicians all cried out in their own forms of relief to see the Chancellor making his way towards them, a wave of one wrinkled hand and a small, almost grandfatherly chuckle reassuring them that he was completely fine. It was so good that Luke almost fell for it himself, still marveling at not only the Emperor's ploys, but the scenery around him.

He had never seen Coruscant outside of holos, and what he had seen was more commonly referred to as Imperial Center. The Emperor had dismantled the Senate back during the early days of the Galactic Civil War, and the Jedi Temple had stood as a tomblike structure in the center of the city, serving as a painful and threatening reminder, its shape stark against the skyline. It also served its purpose as a warning, the way the Death Star had. Cross the Empire and you were dead. The entire image of Coruscant in Luke's time was a tyrannical mess that was bred to crush all hope and thoughts of rebellion before they could ever form. But to see it now, so full of life and citizens with their freedoms, so oblivious to the near future...it was beyond words.

As he gawked at the city, Luke wasn't paying attention and stumbled over Artoo, the astromech beeping up at him angrily. He blinked in surprise as the little droid began wheeling huffy circles around him before rolling up to nudge Anakin's legs. Anakin jerked forward in surprise and turned to see his droid insisting towards Luke, the boy standing awkwardly and trying to follow Anakin's lead until he was told to be elsewhere.

Luke opened his mouth to say something about his affection towards droids and how they took a liking to him right as colors flashed in his vision, and a numbing feeling harassed his mind. He dimly heard Anakin shout in alarm before strong arms wrapped around him and prevented him from collapsing to the ground.

"...ou alright?" Anakin's voice wavered in, his blue eyes crinkled in concern.

Luke coughed and let his shaky legs regain stability. Anakin's hand shifted to the small of his back to steady him, and he was patient as he allowed Luke to gain his bearings once more.

"S-sorry. Don't know what came over me," Luke breathed, blinking to clear his blurred vision.

"You weren't hurt, were you?" Anakin asked, scanning Luke's body for any visible injuries.

Luke waved him off. "No, no. I'm fine. Really."

"If you're sure," Anakin said uncertainly, finally pulling away and allowing Luke to stand on his own.

Luke smiled at his father's concern, assuring himself that he just needed rest. All it was was after effects from the Force lightning Sidious had attacked him with on the Second Death Star. He hadn't rested since then, and the adrenaline he had been running on had finally faded. He was fine.

"Aren't you coming, Master?" Anakin called, disrupting Luke's nervous train of thought.

Obi-Wan was leaning against the doorway of the transport and watching the two with a raised eyebrow. His gaze shifted towards the group of senators barraging the Chancellor before turning back to Luke and Anakin with a more casual smile. "Oh no, I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report back to the Council."

"Can't they wait for a briefing?" Anakin asked with a roll of his eyes. "I'd much rather brave the senators with you."

Obi-Wan shook his head in amusement. "You won't be alone." He nodded towards Luke, who looked startled to be acknowledged. "Also, our new friend here is the main reason I need to see the Council as soon as possible."

Luke shuffled uneasily, and seeing that the boy was uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, Obi-Wan quickly shifted back to his more light-hearted teasing tone. "Besides, someone has to be the poster boy."

The miffed look on Anakin's face sent Luke into a bout of smothered chuckles. He visibly despised politicians, which, if Luke was being honest, he did too. Thoughts of Leia switching into that 'mode' that he and Han had deemed it made him grin. Leia was definitely one of the rare dedicated politicians, but despite how she could get, she was still one of the sweetest people Luke knew. So wasn't Leia evidence that not all politicians were bad?

He looked over towards the group of senators across the hall, still coddling the Chancellor with their faux woes, and bit his lip.

Then again, maybe not.

"Hold on, this whole mission was your idea," Anakin countered. Despite him hating the Council, he much rather preferred them to the fake smiles and corruptness that radiated from the senators.

"Let's not forget Anakin that you were the one to rescue me from the buzz droids. And you defeated Count Dooku. And you saved the Chancellor while Luke here carried me unconscious on his back. You both deserve all the glory the senators will bestow upon you."

Luke blushed despite the comment obviously being another playful poke from Obi-Wan. Luke hadn't saved his old master for any glory, he had only wanted to save a friend. He couldn't bear to see Ben die twice in front of him.

"That was all because of your training," Anakin mocked, his smirk turning towards Luke, "And Luke here was just lucky."

Luke's head jerked up. "Hey!"

Anakin laughed.

"Seriously Anakin, let's be fair. Today you two were the heroes. Go use all that ego you bestowed on our poor pilot to help you," Obi-Wan added with an extra smirk, showing that he had won the argument.

Anakin gritted his teeth and sighed. "Alright. But you owe me one after saving your skin for the tenth time."

"Ninth time. That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't count," Obi-Wan grumbled, piquing Luke's curiosity. So many stories about his father he didn't know and could now learn...

"Sure Obi-Wan, whatever you say," Anakin scoffed.

"Well," Obi-Wan began, ignoring his former Padawan, "I'll see you two at the briefing later." He nodded gratefully to Luke, whom he had not been able to properly thank for saving his life. The two Jedi may not have trusted the boy completely, but he obviously wasn't a threat. Whilst on the transport, it had been Anakin who had decided through their mental link that they would show Luke to the Council later, once the business with the Chancellor's kidnapping was cleared up. His powers were quite impressive, especially for someone who seemed to have limited training, at best.

With one last smile, Obi-Wan walked back up the ramp of the transport, Anakin and Luke stepping back to watch him go before turning back to the group of senators. Luke skimmed his gaze over each of them, trying to recognize any from any history holos. His eyes widened briefly when he caught sight of Mon Mothma, vaguely recalling her mentioning that she used to be a Republican Senator. She definitely looked much younger, only adding to Luke's certainty that he was in the past.

"Chancellor Palpatine. Are you alright?" A dark-skinned man who, based on his clothing, was most definitely not a senator, asked as the Chancellor finally made his way out of the hectic blob of politicians around him. Luke didn't recognize the man as a significant historical figure, but his Jedi robes gave away who he was and most likely why Luke had never heard of him. To see how trusted Palpatine was, even by the Jedi, was troubling to Luke, unable to process that this man regarding the Sith so casual like would be hunted down or dead in just a short amount of time.

Anakin noticed Luke staring as they approached and smiled at his curiosity. "Jedi Master Mace Windu," he whispered, trying to remain quiet as the conversation before them took place. "He's high up there on the Council. All the way up with Master Yoda." Luke's breath caught at the mention of the little green troll who had taught him most of his Force knowledge on Dagobah, the thought of seeing him alive surging him with hope.

"Master Windu, yes, thank you. Thanks to your two Jedi Knights and...a friend, I'm here in one piece. Count Dooku was captured by Skywalker but died in the skirmishes, sucked into the vacuum of space. Unfortunately, General Grievous did not share the same fate and has escaped once again," The Chancellor responded calmly to the Master Jedi's concerned words, every syllable keeping the mass of senators behind him on their toes.

Luke flinched at the word 'friend', watching Mace's face change to one of confusion as he took in the word and its emphasis as well. He, wisely, did not question it further.

"General Grievous will always run, as he is a coward." Mace scowled, his hands, folded neatly before him, tightening momentarily before relaxing once more.

"But with Dooku dead, he is now the leader of the droid army," Palpatine said, practically interrupting the Jedi. "And I assure you that the Senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is alive."

To Luke, the words sounded like a threat, but if anyone else noticed the tone, they didn't react to it, especially not Mace and his unbreakable, emotionless mask. "Then the Jedi Council will make finding Grievous our highest priority."

The two men nodded to each other in silent understanding, and the whole group took the cue to march forward as one, any further conversation fading away from Luke and Anakin's range of hearing. Luke sighed, moving to ask his father another question only to find him gone from his side.

Confused, he spun in a circle until he saw Anakin a few feet ahead of him talking to one of the senators. The man was tall, about the same height as Anakin, and draped in a dark blue cloak with intricate designs embroidered on the sides. He spoke animatedly, almost as if the two were close friends. This particular senator felt glaringly different from the others, and the style of his cloak presented him as an obvious native-born Alderaanian.

Luke almost smiled at the thought before the memory of Alderaan being reduced to nothing more than an asteroid field assaulted his memory. He quickly shielded and pushed away his troubled thoughts as he began to walk towards the duo.

"The Republic cannot thank you enough," The senator was saying to Anakin as Luke approached.

Something about his voice...

"Thank you, Senator Organa," Anakin said, making Luke stop cold in his tracks.

Organa.

Leia's father.

A stream of light suddenly hit the man's face, and Luke captured his image permanently in his mind before he could lose it. Leia had shown him holos of her parents one night, the only thing she had left of them. She had cried on his shoulder, finally allowing her brave facade to break and taking comfort in her friend's reassurances. Luke felt weak at the knees thinking about his sister and all that she had gone through. No words could ever bring back her planet, her family, her life. All he had now was this, this one chance the Force was giving him and a physical image of Bail Organa, alive, well, and oblivious to his future.

They were all oblivious.

I'm their only chance, Luke thought nauseously.

He only wished Leia was with him. She could be here to see the father she missed so dearly, and be the logical voice in how to approach their situation. Desperately, Luke reached out across their ever-growing bond to try and sense his twin again, but there was still nothing. Just an eerie gap in his soul. He had never felt so alone.

But he knew that Leia was alive and well 23 years in the future with Han and the Rebels. They were all fine.

He just wished he could use the Force to make sure.

A familiar beeping caught Luke's attention, and he glanced behind him to see Artoo and Threepio, the two jabbering back and forth like they always did.

"Oh it couldn't have possibly been as bad as all that," Threepio huffed in his familiar tinny voice to his small astromech friend beside him. Luke stifled a smile, glad to have a distraction. No matter what time period, it was still the same old Threepio, or Goldenrod as Han would call the pompous protocol droid.

Artoo beeped again, this time with more fervent.

"Now there I agree with you. In fact, I could do with a tune-up myself," Threepio responded, the droid glancing up and throwing his arms in shock when he caught Luke watching them.

"Oh! Hello, sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. Are you in need of service?"

The question caught Luke by surprise, but before he could answer, he caught Anakin out of the corner of his eye, gesturing him forward.

"Uh, sorry Threepio. I'll see you!" Luke cried before turning and darting towards his father.

Artoo beeped something back to Threepio, who gasped dramatically. "Artoo-Detoo, don't you dare talk that way about him. He seems very polite for a human. Unlike you."

Artoo whistled in offense and began to roll away.

"Wha, where are you going? Artoo!" Threepio wailed, waddling after his droid companion in distress.

Anakin was still speaking to Bail when Luke caught up, the Senator barely taking notice of the boy's added presence.

"Well the fighting will continue until General Grievous is nothing but spare parts," he said.

Luke smiled at his father's attempt at a joke, surprised to see a similar smile on the senator's face.

"Well I'll do everything I can in the Senate," Bail said, clapping Anakin on the shoulder.

Luke thought about introducing himself to Bail. He had never met the man in his timeline, but he had heard plenty of stories. One of the original founders of the Alliance...Leia's hero in every way... How could he not?

But then he saw his father's eyes skirt to the side. The movement was just quick enough that he almost missed it, but it had definitely been there. Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, he followed Anakin's line of sight to find the pillars in the hall draped in strips of sunlight. The two droids were still bantering away to the left, and the fast disappearing senators were turning around the corner, but there wasn't anyone else for Anakin to—

A shadow that hadn't been there before moved behind one of the pillars. Luke instinctively reached for the new lightsaber Anakin had given him. His fingers just brushed around the activation plate before he felt a metal hand yank at him with a death grip. Confused, he looked up into glaring eyes uncannily similar to his own. It was almost like looking into a mirror. The only difference was the callous warning hidden deep within, his father's entire body language radiating predatorily.

Luke lowered his hand, only vaguely aware that Anakin had already excused himself from the conversation with Senator Organa.

"Stay here," he said, his stare deadly. Luke nodded without another word. He knew first-hand not to test his father's patience.

Anakin released his crushing grip on Luke's wrist and began to walk towards the shadow, his glare on Luke the entire time. Biting his lip, Luke looked away for a moment, only to turn back and find, to his bewilderment, that not only had his father stopped staring at him as if he was a threat, but that he had begun to jog, and then full on sprint towards the silhouetted figure hidden behind the pillar.

The shadow held out its arms, and Anakin practically fell into them, grabbing the person by the waist and spinning them in the air like a child with a toy starship, all the while laughing in pure joy and admiration.

In the darkness that cloaked the couple, he couldn't make out the stranger's face, but the flourishing dress they wore resembled the flamboyance of senatorial attire.

His curiosity piqued, Luke looked closer, using the Force to enhance his hearing. He put up the heaviest mental shields he could, listening intently on a conversation he knew he shouldn't be hearing.

"Oh Anakin," A woman's voice said, her voice as sweet and soothing as honey. Luke almost melted at the sound of it. Her voice sounded so familiar...but more like a distant familiarity, like something he had experienced when he was very young. Almost similar to Aunt Beru singing him to sleep when he would get scared of the dark as a child.

The couple moved into the light for the shortest of seconds, and Luke wasted no time in catching her face. He stumbled back with a silent gasp.

She looked exactly like Leia.

His father and the Leia-look alike kissed passionately, and Luke's alarm bells began to ring even louder. The only person his father would be kissing would have to be a romantic partner, and if Luke was correct about the timeline...

Then this was his mother.

She was just as he had pictured her as a young, orphaned Tatooinian boy who dreamed of the stars and the parents he had never had. But when Leia had described her from the most distant of memories, she had said that she had looked sad...

Sadness was definitely the last thing on this woman's face; only pure happiness mixed with relief shone in her chocolate brown eyes. However, he figured that it was the inevitable future that would soon morph her glowing smile into a face of hardened grief. A grief so poignant that it would be the only thing her orphaned daughter would remember of her. Not the smiles or the laughter...just the tears.

He listened more carefully now, wanting to hear every word exchanged between his supposed parents. He wanted to know everything about them.

"I've missed you Padmé," Anakin whispered to her as they continued to embrace in each other's arms, his hand aimlessly caressing the side of her face.

Padmé.

Her name is Padmé.

Luke then began to wonder why they were being so secretive and hiding in the shadows. How long had his father been gone to create that much relief on his mother's face when she saw him again?

A sudden thought struck him cold.

He recalled Ben mentioning that attachments were forbidden in the old Jedi Order, a rule which had confused and startled Luke at the same time. He remembered the discussion he had also had with Yoda about the same thing back on Dagobah.

'But Master Yoda, what's wrong with attachments?'

'If get too attached, fear for them you do. The path to the dark side, fear is. Get attached to others, you must not. Love too strongly, you must not.'

'And if I already do?'

'Love?'

'Yes...'

'Then learn to let go, you must. Too much like your father are you. Let emotions blind you to reality, you must not.'

Of course, Luke hadn't followed his Master's advice too well back then since he had inevitably ended up on Bespin to save his friends after a terrifying vision of Han and Leia in pain. He never did understand the attachment rule in the Jedi Code all too much, and had even considered reforming it when he went on to restore the Jedi Order after the war.

But for now, the rule was still in place, and his father was still a Jedi. A Jedi in love.

It explained why Anakin was being stealthy about kissing Padmé in public, and surely she faced the same pressure with being a senator. So with their obviously secret relationship, something must've happened that led their attachment too far, just as Yoda said. Something bad enough to change his father into a completely different man...

Too many questions were swirling through his head, and he desperately tried to put up more mental shields to handle them. He didn't want Anakin to think he was eavesdropping on his private conversation...even though that's exactly what he was doing.

"There were whispers...that you'd been killed," Padmé said breathlessly, staring lovingly and longingly into her husband's bright blue eyes.

"I'm alright," Anakin reassured her, stroking her silky soft brown hair, which was done up in pointed buns on each side of her head.

It took Anakin a moment to find words again, the man struck speechless by looking into his wife's eyes and blotting out everything else around him.

"It feels like we've been apart for a lifetime. It might've been if the Chancellor hadn't been kidnapped. I didn't think they would ever bring us out of the Outer Rim sieges," Anakin finally breathed, his voice growing lower and huskier as he leaned in for another kiss.

Padmé pulled back hesitantly, catching Luke's eye over Anakin's shoulder. He jolted and looked away before she could realize he was listening. "No Ani, not here."

"Yes, here. I'm tired of all this deception. I don't care if they know we're married," Anakin whispered, leaning down to kiss her again and unaware of her nervous gaze directed towards Luke.

Padmé pushed him away this time, a baffled frown on her lips. "Anakin," she hissed, "Don't say things like that."

"I'm sorry," Anakin said, trying not to look too hurt at her rejection. She sighed and allowed herself to fall into another tight embrace, this one much longer than the previous, as if letting go of each other would lead to them realizing that the other was just an illusion and that they were still separated by the war.

Luke looked at his feet as they did so, trying not to feel too embarrassed at getting caught staring by his mother. However, before he could begin thinking too deeply again, a pang of dizziness hit him like it had on the landing bay. He stumbled, shaking it off and trying not to get too frustrated.

Stop acting so childish. You're fine, he mentally scolded himself as he blinked his suddenly heavy eyelids in order to clear his blurry vision.

"Are you alright?" He heard Anakin ask his mother, the question almost seeming to be for him. Anakin pulled back out of their hug, sensing Padmé's pain and studying her with a concerned and overprotective eye. "You're trembling. What's going on?"

Luke found himself interested as well, despite the now lack of feeling in the lower half of his body. Maybe whatever was wrong with Padmé now had something to do with her dying so young.

"Something wonderful has happened," Padmé said with a weak smile, her hands shaking and her eyes refusing to make contact with her husband's. "Ani..."

She hesitated, shifting her brown-eyed gaze back at Luke again and studying him intently.

He registered familiarity radiating from her Force-presence and blinked. How could his mother, who hadn't even given birth to him yet, know who he was? He moved to feel more of her presence when a familiar signature came suddenly bursting from her direction, much brighter than her own—a Force-sensitive. But it wasn't her exactly, it was...inside her.

"Leia," Luke whispered, blinking in astonishment. Then another presence, this one stronger and dizzying to absorb.

Himself.

He stumbled backwards, retreating from the supernovas of her womb as shock numbed his system. Her news...it had to be...

"Padmé?" Anakin urged. "What is it?"

She sighed deeply, oblivious to Luke's turmoil. "I'm pregnant."

All of the injuries Luke had received on the Second Death Star and the Invisible Hand, combined with the trauma the surreality of the past few hours were having on his psyche, caught up to him in an instant. His knees buckled violently, his body collapsing out from underneath him and sending him sprawling bonelessly to the ground.

The last thing he heard was a cry of alarm from his mother before everything went ominously black.