Cast in Shadow

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A/N1:Major AU story!

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A/N2: I do not own Star Wars.

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Anakin Skywalker has defeated Chancellor Palpatine— now known to be Darth Sidious— his turn to the Dark Side merely a ruse concocted by the Jedi to fool Palpatine. And it worked.

Now, after the birth of their beloved twins, Padmé and Anakin couldn't be more contented. However, not everyone is pleased with the happy couple.

Palpatine defeated or not, the Skywalkers still have enemies, some of them carrying grudges they refuse to let go of. The most dangerous ones are those who have waited patiently in the shadows, the moment to strike imminent.

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Prologue:

"You know what must be done?"

Aurra Sing lifted a brow. "Of course. I have everything I need, except your go ahead."

She eyed the man before her, seated behind his desk with one hand fingering his black rounded beard. The facial hair circled the mouth elegantly with a small puff following the vertical center of his chin to the bottom of his lower lip. The man's green eyes stared down his rounded nose and she wondered what they were seeing as they were obviously not focused on the datapad there.

"The serum is ready at last, after a year of science and testing," her current employer mused as if to himself. "Finally we can make this happen."

Aurra suppressed her annoyance, having learned long ago not to question any oddities her clients may possess. If they paid well, she could overlook a few faults. And this man did pay well, very well indeed.

In fact, he paid enough for her to even consider this job; one that many others would shrink away from.

Finally Hazael Kedar met Aurra's gaze. "Do it. You know where to rendezvous. You will receive the other half of the agreed amount once I have my prize... and complete anonymity. This won't work without it."

"I understand," Aurra replied, bowing her head and leaving his office.

The man watched her go and then turned in his opulent chair to gaze out at the nightscape of Coruscant. Lanes of traffic went about their merry way as usual, completely unaffected by events that had transpired only twelve months earlier. The billions of citizens that made up the population of the city-planet didn't usually care who was in charge so long as their way of life wasn't disturbed too much.

Hazael figured they might have actually batted an eye had Palpatine succeeded in his grand scheme to make an Empire. Kedar wouldn't have minded a few less Jedi in the galaxy, and secretly wished the old man had won the Clone Wars.

But alas, the Jedi had— to the surprise of all, Hazael had to grudgingly admit— managed to one-up the Sith Master. Their Chosen One had supposedly gone Dark, and yet it had all been a faux, a game of dejarik. Anakin Skywalker had played the part of the willing servant to the Sith Master but in the end the raid on the Jedi Temple had been a deception also so the Jedi scum could get closer to Palpatine.

As for the clones ordered to kill the Jedi, somehow it had been discovered that the clones had chips implanted— something about the rogue clone's information being anonymously given to the Jedi Council.

No one knew where that information had come from, but it had to have been someone who had once had high ranking in the Separatist army with access to such information. Either way the Jedi had still lost many in that event, but overall they had been prepared once the order was given. The rest of the past year had been spent removing the chips from the clones so they could go on serving the Republic.

Hazael's mind wandered onto the more personal side of things: the Skywalker family. The two children born to Padmé Naberrie and Anakin Skywalker were doing well: were healthy and happy in their lives.

He sneered to the window. He hated the entire family, but mostly the adults. How dare they be so happy: uncaring of those they had wronged in the past. And how they had wronged him... and he would have his revenge.

With a devilish smirk, Hazael rose from his chair and made his way to his personal yacht, the Sandcastle, named partly in jest to his new... career. It was a luxury yacht, and he made frequent trips to desert worlds, such as Tatooine and Jakku.

Hazael boarded his ship and began the start up sequence, also putting in a request for departure. It took a few minutes, but a slot opened for him and Hazael took it gladly, lifting his ship from the deck.

00000

Padmé Naberrie Skywalker leaned over and tickled her son's belly, causing him to chortle with laughter, his little cheeks pink with joy. One year old Luke Skywalker squirmed under her attacking fingertips, trying to get away even as he laughed.

Leia Skywalker, not one to be left out, waddled over on her stubby legs and pounced on her mother, trying to help her brother.

"Ma!" the little girl called, and then she pointed to her twin while trying to tug Padmé off of him. "Luuke!"

Padmé loved hearing Leia trying to say her brother's name, and they way her little mouth dragged out the middle syllable. It brought a grin to her face every time.

Smirking, Padmé turned on Leia instead, abandoning Luke's rounded belly and instead tickling Leia's sides. The toddler shrieked in surprise and tried to get away, but Padmé grabbed her up and swung the girl around.

Leia giggled while Luke protested jealously. "Turn!" he demanded, his little arms lifting expectantly. He was always ready to be flown about like a starfighter, something Anakin excelled at with the twins. Padmé wasn't as good at it as her husband, but her children didn't seem to mind.

The thought of her absent husband brought a momentary pang to Padmé's heart, but she pushed it aside. Anakin was on a short mission for the Jedi Order, and should be home by tomorrow.

When Leia began to tire of being gently flown about, Padmé set her daughter down and obliged Luke's request to have his turn. She made sure to make the noises of a ship as Luke squealed and flapped his arms in absolute bliss.

Padmé laughed at his antics and flew him until her arms grew tired. She looked at the chrono, and then turned to her twins, who were starting to yawn by this point.

"Alright you two, time for bed." Padmé maintained her hold on Luke and then carefully lifted Leia up also.

Luke snuggled willingly into his mother's shoulder, his eyes already drooping, though Leia protested somewhat. Padmé settled the pair into their respective cribs and then lowered the lights to something soothing so the children could sleep easier.

By then Luke was already fading, his breathing evening out and his little mouth parted just-so. Leia squirmed, though, and Padmé leaned over the bars of her crib.

"Hush now, Leia, it's time for sleep," Padmé murmured, caressing the baby's head. Leia looked to Padmé with big brown eyes and the adult Skywalker thought she saw a hint of fear there.

"What's the matter, Leia, hmm?" Padmé asked, not really expecting an answer.

Leia babbled at her, but not much of it made sense as the twins were still learning their vocabulary skills. But Padmé listened anyway, wanting her daughter to know that what she had to say was important to her mother.

Padmé wondered if the girl just wanted Anakin. The twins were always a little fidgety at night when their father was absent, almost as though they needed his Force presence to feel truly safe when sleeping.

"It will be alright, Princess," Padmé soothed gently, urging Leia to sleep. "Daddy will be home tomorrow, remember? We want to be well rested so we can go meet him when his ship comes in, don't we?"

Leia's eyes lit up and she cooed excitedly, causing Padmé to chuckle softly. "That's right. You and Luke can pounce on Daddy as soon as you see him. But first, sleep."

Leia closed her eyes slowly while Padmé stroked the little girl's soft chocolate hair. Once the child was slumbering Padmé straightened. She planted a feather-light kiss on Leia's forehead and then checked on her brother, who was deeply asleep now.

Padmé kissed Luke's head, gazing at her sweet, loving son for a few moments and drinking in the sight of him.

She was blessed to have her children at all, let alone a complete family. Padmé recalled the day Anakin had defeated Palpatine, and the ones leading up to that where Padmé had truly feared that her husband had turned to the Sith way of life.

Anakin had explained after Palpatine's death how they had to make his false turning as believable as possible, and only the ones involved in the con could know of the details until Palpatine was no longer a threat.

She was ever grateful for her family: her complete family, and she couldn't imagine not having them all with her. Padmé left the room, casting a final glance at her babies before shutting the door.

As she prepared herself for bed, the stray thought crossed her mind of whether or not she and Anakin would have any other children. She was happy with her family as it was, yes, but Padmé wasn't opposed to expanding it.

I suppose we will just see what happens, Padmé thought as she sat at her desk and read a few reports while she had the chance. She would sleep later.

00000

Aurra breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the lights finally went out in the Skywalker home. She'd wondered if Padmé would ever go to sleep, or if the Senator would stay up till dawn reading reports.

Aurra waited long enough to make sure everyone in the household was very much in dreamland before she approached the house in her covered speeder. She used her specialized datapad to gain entry to the house, and when the door opened she grinned. Moving back to her seeder, Aurra removed a cloth sack and slung it over her shoulder.

Entering the abode, Aurra walked with sure steps, knowing exactly how much time she had until the first patrol of Padmé's private security was due to sweep the area. She had scoped the place for days and knew the security well enough to know when it was safe to move. If Anakin were here, Aurra wouldn't have touched the place, but with the Jedi gone— and his wife as Force-blind as Aurra— the timing was perfect.

Aurra silently opened the door to the nursery, checked that the coast was clear, and walked up to the crib containing the male child. He was sleeping on his stomach, head turned toward the door as his blond hair fell into his eyes. Aurra guessed he would be cute if she were interested in kids at all.

Aurra set her bag down, checked her chrono and pulled out a previously prepared syringe. Without hesitation she injected the boy with it, and before he could cry the sedative went to work. The sedative was also laced with Kedar's serum, which was supposed to both suppress the child's connection to the Force and all but cancel his presence in it, or something to that effect. Aurra didn't claim to understand that part, but then again she wasn't being paid to understand.

Aurra had no access to the Jedi power, so she had no way to verify if that part of the serum worked. Hazael had assured her it would, so she decided to hold the man to his word.

Once the baby was unconscious, Aurra lifted him from his crib and set him on the floor. Picking up her sack, Aurra removed the clone baby from within and settled the lifeless body in the same position the host had been in.

Aurra surveyed her work and, satisfied, she placed the live child in the bag and hefted him onto her shoulder. She froze when a noise sounded in the hall.

Grimacing, Aurra slunk into the shadows behind the door as it opened. She held perfectly still as a small beam of light fell upon the beds, and a metallic voice could be heard from the Skywalker's protocol droid.

"Everything seems to be okay in here, but I thought I heard something." See-Threepio tottered off, muttering about needing his systems updated.

Aurra rolled her eyes. The droid needed far more than an update in her opinion, but she waited until the prissy golden thing was good and gone before she hustled back outside. She placed her cargo in the back seat and then made sure to relock the door she had come through. Next she entered her speeder, smiling in satisfaction.

Half an hour after the kidnapping, Aurra was in her ship, sealing the baby inside a cell where he'd be secure and silent.

Without qualms Aurra booked passage off-world— an easier task in the middle of the night— and was granted permission soon after.

00000

Daylight streamed brightly through the windows, creating prisms on the walls in some places, when a scream rent the apartment.

"NOOO!"

Captain Panaka, head of Padmé's personal security detail on Coruscant, rushed in the front door. He'd just been coming to check on the Senator when he heard her shriek. The sound was followed by heart-rending sobs that only made him move faster.

When he barreled inside the door to the nursery, it was to find Padmé just pulling her son from his crib. She clutched the baby to her heart as though he was a precious piece of porcelain, her face ashen as tears swept from her eyes in a torrent.

Leia was also crying, though the captain supposed the baby was just feeding off of her mother's anguish.

Confused as to what was happening, Panaka approached Padmé. "Milady, what's the matter?"

Padmé jerked her head up, startled. "Captain..." Padmé sobbed. "Get the Jedi Temple on the line, and have them contact Anakin immediately!"

Panaka already had his comlink in hand, though he paused. "What about Milady?"

Padmé hiccupped a heart-broken sob and revealed her son. Panaka frowned, not sure what she was trying to show him... and then he did see. He noted for the first time the limp state of the child, and how his chest failed to rise and fall. Nor did his skin look healthy and pink anymore. No... it had taken on a grayish hue that was only possible when one was no longer breathing.

"Milady," Panaka breathed, not knowing what to say to ease her pain.

"Please just make the call, Captain," Padmé whispered.

"At once," he murmured, turning to do so.

His heart cracked to hear Padmé whisper to her dead child. "Oh Luke..."

00000

Anakin Skywalker's heart raced as fast as his feet as he sped along the hospital corridors, Obi Wan barely able to keep up as the younger man sprinted madly. Anakin had just landed and been told the news by Master Yoda, who had taken a call from Captain Panaka.

"Padmé?!" Anakin cried as he flung the door open to the room he'd been directed to.

"Ani!" Padmé flung herself into his arms, weeping heavily.

Anakin held her tightly for a moment, but then his eyes lifted, searching desperately for... his heart stopped when blue eyes rested upon the unmoving form of his son in the bed. He didn't care that the bed was far too large for the baby's small body, nor did he care that Obi Wan had finally reached the room as well.

Anakin silently passed Padmé over to his best friend and walked in a haze to where Luke's body lay. The child's pure blue eyes didn't spring open at his approach, nor did his innocent smile light up his small face as only Luke's could. He didn't babble a sweet hello to his father, and Anakin collapsed to his knees.

One shaky hand reached out to touch the cold face, and Anakin instinctively touched the boy with the Force. But there was nothing to touch, and nothing reached back to him. His boy was gone... but something, somewhere in his soul refused to believe it.

Anakin stood back up and spun around. "This can't be real!"

Padmé broke away from Obi Wan, her face grief-stricken. "Anakin, he's been looked at by three doctors and one Jedi Healer... he's g-gone."

Anakin shook his head adamantly, in denial even as his eyes spilled over. "No! He... he can't be gone!"

Padmé looked away, closing her eyes. "The doctors say there was... a rupture in his brain. It happened during the night... there was nothing to be done."

"Have him looked at again!" Anakin growled, desperate.

"Anakin..." Padmé whimpered, and his lower lip trembled heavily as he fought for a modicum of control.

At his wife's expression, Anakin let out a strangled noise and turned back around, bracing himself over Luke's lifeless form while his chest worked unsteadily. Luke couldn't be gone... he just couldn't...

Slender arms encircled him from the side, and Anakin recognized them as Padmé's. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ani... what do we do?" she asked in a broken whisper.

Anakin's meager control shattered then and he shook his head, turning to crush his wife to him. "I don't know!" he spluttered, his shoulders shaking with great sobs. "I just don't know!"

Obi Wan looked away, unable to intrude even as he wept silently. Luke had been a sweet boy, dear to even Obi Wan's heart. Obi Wan had been introduced to the twins as Uncle Obi Wan, and he'd loved them instantly as an uncle would.

He would have to be strong for his friend and brother, especially now. But at the moment, Obi Wan needed to let Luke's parents grieve.

00000

Aurra Sing landed her ship in the sands, cursing the fact that her client had chosen this dust ball of all places to meet. She hated sand, but she supposed this was as good a place as any to lie low for a while.

Few would think to look on Tatooine, and even fewer would care that there was an eccentric man living there in luxury. She wondered how he'd managed to build himself such a nice place to live without Jabba breathing down his neck, but that was Hazael's problem, not hers.

She was only to deliver the runt.

Thankfully it was night, so few were awake to witness the bounty hunter's arrival. Aurra exited her ship and walked to where her client lived. There was a security camera at the front door and she looked expectantly into the lens.

Seconds later the door hissed open and Aurra strode inside. She ignored the fine interior complete with a cleaning droid and walked to where Hazael waited in the sitting area.

"You have what I require?" Hazael asked, and she admired the man's obvious control. He had to be eager, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. The man had the perfect sabacc face.

"I do." Aurra set the bag down and opened it. Hazael reached within and checked for life. With a sinister chuckle he straightened.

"And you got away clean?" he demanded.

"Yes."

He studied her a moment, and then nodded. "Excellent work." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a credit chip. "As agreed, the rest of your payment."

Aurra took the chip and placed it in her datapad, verifying that the funds were actually there. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

With that she took her leave.

Once the bounty hunter had gone, Hazael lifted the child from the bag fully and gazed at his unconscious face.

"You are mine now, you little runt." He growled. "And your parents will never know the truth. Suits them right, after what they did to me. They took away my life, my happy ending... well now I have taken theirs."

He lifted his head and snapped his fingers. "Slave!"

A woman in rags appeared, one he had bought from Jabba the Hutt to act as the boy's caretaker until he was self sufficient enough for his master's taste.

"Yes Master?" she whispered, head bowed.

Hazael handed her the unconscious child. "Your job is to make sure this boy stays alive, understand? If he dies, so do you... in the most painful way possible."

She trembled, looking down at the toddler. "B-but Sir, I haven't any experience with children, let alone a baby!"

"You will learn." Hazael dismissed, waving her away. "Now get out of my sight."