(Video)

[politicallyinclined]

(Since she has been made aware of her prior stay, Padmé decides to use her tablet to send out a message. She is pale, but strangely resolved to this new plight. Her hair is ornately braided, but her clothing is plain. She's just happy to have clothes and to be rid of that white gown!)

Greetings, everyone. Some of you might recognize me; I want to speak to you if that is the case.

(The faster she is up to speed, the better.)

For those I am encountering for the first time, hello. I'm Padmé. Some of my family is present and -

I would like very much to protect them. I'm sure you can understand the feeling.

Comments

[forcecalls]

["Ani." He can't say he's ever heard his grandfather referred to quite that way before. It's odd enough to think of him as "Anakin," though he knows that's what he had been called, in the earlier part of his life. He can't help thinking of how Rey had adopted calling him "Ben." How he hadn't argued with it. He expects "Ani" is a name that only she is allowed to use.]

He is. [Agreement, but a hint of skepticism. He knows that she comes from farther in the past, and he can't quite imagine her being so accepting of what her grandfather had become. Not with everything he had been through himself, with everyone who had claimed to care about him.] Though I would call him Vader.

[politicallyinclined]

(The name is a connection to a time when they were little more than children. He had been an adorable boy, enslaved along with his mother and she had been a young queen pretending to be a handmaiden. His honesty, his sweetness and bravery had drawn her to him, though as a protector at first; a friend. Their love had come later.)

For me, Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker. I love the goodness in him - the Light. It hasn't faded. (No matter what Anakin tells himself.) I'm with him now. I won't leave him.

Or you.

[forcecalls]

[He doesn't believe that. There hadn't been a single person in his life who didn't leave him. Usually for good, whenever it happened. Rey, at least, came back. His father had, too, but he- He isn't going to follow that train of thought.]

You don't know me.

[politicallyinclined]

I can get to know you. (No, she isn't denying his statement. It's just the truth.) I wanted a big family. If you like, I can tell you about my mother, father and sister - as well as my nieces.

[forcecalls]

[She says it, and the concept sounds utterly foreign. The family he knew had been small, and full of distance. He isn't certain how much he does want to hear about all these people he's most likely to never meet, but he does want to speak with her more, whether or not it involves her family. He doesn't know how to trust her immediate acceptance, but he does trust his grandfather, and that alone is enough to make him want to know more about her.]

We should find another place to talk. Somewhere in person.

[politicallyinclined]

(Everyone is connected; there is a possibility he will meet his extended family someday. But, for now, the first step is him trusting Anakin. It's not an easy thing to trust anyone and she certainly isn't going to demand anything of him.)

I would like that. Where should I go?

[forcecalls]

I'm at the apartments in Central Command. I'll meet you out front.

-> (Action)

[politicallyinclined]

(She is dressed plainly, for her, and though her long, abundant, hair is braided neatly, resting against her back, Padmé looks and feels tired. The clothes she wears also don't completely hide that she was recently pregnant. Carrying twins is no mean feat.

But she travels to meet him anyway because she would move the stars for her loved ones. She might be a petite woman, but few can match her determination. He dwarfs her in height - so does Anakin - yet that doesn't stop her from approaching him with a smile.)

Hello.

[forcecalls]

[He doesn't have far to go, just the distance from his own apartment to the front where he said he'd meet her. He's waiting when she approaches. His own expression is guarded, but there's a clear interest in the way he looks at her, this relative of his that he knows so very little about.]

Hello.

[politicallyinclined]

(She understands how strange this must be for him - or, at least, she tries to understand it. She knows so little about him.)

You definitely have Naberrie in you. (A pleasant surprise, really, since Anakin's genes seem to be so strong.) The height you get from Ani.