Anneke's senses slowly returned, and she wished they hadn't. She hurt all over, a bonedeep ache that set her teeth on edge. Keeping her eyes closed, she reached out with her Force senses, searching for Obi Wan. He was no where near, but she detected another familiar presence, a dark shadow in the Force. How was Palpatine here? Where was Obi Wan? Where was here?

A sense of deep wrongness, of something missing, settled into her. The sense of her children, always so close, was gone. She reached out, searching frantically for them. There! They were alive, but distant. She had no sense of location or direction. She sat up suddenly, her eyes flying open. "Where are my children?!" she screamed, her voice raw.

Palpatine stepped into her field of vision, his face shadowed by the hood of his robe. "I'm afraid that Obi Wan has taken them." He bowed his head. "I am so sorry, my dear. I didn't reach you in time to stop him."

"No!" She glared at him, her fury more intense than ever before; her heart was a thermonuclear furnace, burning away everything inside her. "I must find them!"

He moved closer, clucking his tongue. "I understand your urgency, my dear, but it will take time to recover your strength." He put his hand on her shoulder, and gently yet inexorably pressed her back down onto the bed. "We will find Obi Wan. I promise you. We will make him pay."

Obi Wan Kenobi landed his small ship on the desert sands of Tatooine, and sat for a moment with his eyes closed, remembering. It was hard to believe that the hopeful young woman Qui Gon had taken under his wing all those years ago had become the hateful creature Obi Wan had faced on Mustafar.

He had last seen Anneke in the medical bay on Polis Massa after the emergency surgery that had delivered the twins—he could almost imagine she was still the Anneke he knew as she lay unconscious, no sign of hatred in her still features.

Yoda had insisted that the medics keep her asleep until they could decide what to do with her. He had not approved when Obi Wan had brought her to the outpost, but had allowed it for the sake of her children. While Yoda was deciding what to do with her, Obi Wan had remembered Anneke's stepbrother Owen who lived on Tatooine with his wife Beru.

"Where did I go wrong?" he whispered.

A soft sigh from the bundle beside him was his only answer. His gaze dropped to the tiny blue eyes peeking out from the folds of blanket, and a small smile curved his lips. Out of the greatest tragedy of his life the Force had given him a new hope in the form of two small children. Already their presence in the Force was strong, especially this one, who shone like a beacon of light. Because of this, he had taken to calling her Lucia, an old name from his homeworld meaning 'light.'

Her brother's Force presence was much more easily masked. The boy would be safe, growing up on Alderaan as Bail Organa's son, under Emperor Palpatine's nose as it were, the last place the Sith Lord or his apprentice would think to look.

Tatooine was more of a risk, with Anneke's connection to the planet, but Obi Wan couldn't keep Lucia with him, no matter how he wished he could. He knew nothing of children and it wouldn't be fair to her. She deserved more than he could give her, she deserved a family, and he was determined not to fail her as he had failed her mother. The Force had guided him here, to the small house where Anneke's stepbrother Owen lived with his wife Beru, where Anneke's mother had lived before her untimely death.

Lucia's aunt and uncle would be able to give her a stable home, and a family. Obi Wan wouldn't go far; he would watch over her to make sure that she stayed safe, to make sure that she had everything she needed. This time, he would trust the Force, a lesson he had learned painfully.

He opened the hatch and gently gathered Lucia into his arms, then carefully descended to the sands, keeping her face covered against the wind. She squirmed, protesting—she didn't like to have her face covered. He hurried toward the small house. Despite his many losses, despite his many failures, he allowed himself to hope.

A/N: Here ends Episode III. If you'd like to know what Obi Wan was doing while Anneke was unconscious, check out Deleted Scenes and Bonus Materials for A Shadow in the Glass.

Stay tuned for Episode IV – coming soon!