Hysteria
It's bugging me, grating me
and twisting me around
Padmé was glad this wasn't another "political rally" like almost all of her previous employer's concerts. She stepped back from the microphone and smiled as the applause washed over her. Voyage of the Sound was just another hard-rockin' Thunkalot band out to make some good music and to show their fans a good time. Sure, they could get a little angsty (as the next song was about to attest), but Voyage of the Sounds concerts had little chance of turning into a riot.
As the applause lessoned to a steady roar, Padmé took a quick swig of water as the triani player stepped forward. After twenty-five performances singing back-up for VOS, Padmé was still amazed at the immediate reaction when the first chords to their mega-hit "Now" were played.
The roof of Coruscant Performance Center was nearly blown away.
yeah I'm endlessly caving in
and turning inside out
Obi-Wan Kenobi thanked the Force for sound-dampening fields. How else would he be able to hear himself think if he had stayed inside the performance center the whole time he was body guarding Senator Blushade's daughter? The concourse outside of Blushade's personal box was decidedly quieter than it was inside. The young Jedi absent-mindedly wondered which was louder: the music or Daphne Blushade's screams of adoration.
That didn't mean that the concourse was not completely devoid of screaming and shouting. A Duro couple twenty meters to Obi-Wan's right were arguing about something that, from what Obi-Wan could make out, had something to do with the infidelities of one of the two. Or maybe both of them were cheating on each other and they were trying to decide who ruined the relationship more with their infidelity; the Duros language wasn't one of Obi-Wan's best.
Along the far side of the corridor sat many of the parents and guardians responsible for the youngsters cheering and singing along to the music inside. The Blushade box was near the grand staircase that led up to the second level, and as Obi-Wan looked down the stairs to his left, he was very surprised to see who was coming up them.
"Ah, it's the Senate's favorite Jedi-bodyguard."
Obi-Wan nearly blushed at the jibe to his current duty. "My duty was assigned to me by the Jedi Council, Master Qui-Gon, not by the Senate."
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn could not wipe the smile from his face as he continued to tease his former padawan. "I'm starting to think my leaving the Jedi Council was a bigger career blunder for you than it was for me." He finished his slow stroll up the stairs and grabbed Obi-Wan's hand in greeting. "It's good to see you again, Obi-Wan."
'cause I want it now
I want it now
give me your heart and your soul
Padmé and her Twi'lek and Falleen partners stepped forward and sang "now" and "soul" along with VOS's lead-singer. Padmé, Gautra (the Fallen), and Swoosha (the Twi'lek), first met at the beginning of the tour two months ago, but were performing as if they had known each other all their lives. The complex steps they danced between their brief moments at the mic were barely noticed by anyone in the audience, but they took it as seriously as if they were the main performers and not just back-up singers.
"Now" was one of the few songs where they didn't get really into it. With over a trillion records sold (via hardcopies or downloads), VOS wanted all of the focus to be on them during the song, and expected the girls only to back up the lead's vocals, not to distract the crowd. "Performer's Prerogative" is what she called it, and after nearly six years of singing back-up for dozen's of artists, Padmé was used to it and didn't take it personally.
Besides, it gave her a moment to relax her mind, letting herself move on instinct when it was time for her to sing. She'd also take a moment to look, actually look at the audience. Sure, several times during the concert she was responsible for turning to the crowd to encourage them to sing along or clap their hands or whatever appendages they had, but "Now" gave her a moment to actually look at their faces.
One face in particular.
and I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
last chance to lose control
"A vergence around a person?" Qui-Gon had just explained to Obi-Wan why he was at the performance center, and Obi-Wan didn't like it. "And this vergence has led you here?"
"It surprises me as much it does you, my doubtful-friend," Qui-Gon said, patting Obi-Wan's shoulder.
"This is why you left the Jedi Council five years ago? To chase some Force anomaly?"
"A very strong Force anomaly, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon explained. "It has taken me five years to finally see the patterns in this… vergence's behavior and travels if you will."
it's holding me, morphing me
and forcing me to strive
to be endlessly cold within
and dreaming I'm alive
Padmé first noticed the face nearly two years ago when she was performing for Chael SoJax. The boy was blonde, pretty, and, she initially thought probably a huge Chael SoJax fan, appearing every performance during the two hundred city, fifty world tour. It was after she joined Back Tuner (a Thunkalot band similar to VOS), when she realized that the pretty face in the crowd never looked at Chael or any of the other singers: he only had eyes for her.
And there he was in the crowd again tonight. He had changed over the two years since she first noticed him. His face was closer to rugged now, less pretty and more handsome. His nearly luminescent hair brushed the collar of his beaten nerf-skin jacket, a halo around the azure-orbs that were his eyes. His lips mouthed the words to the song as if he was singing it to her alone.
'cause I want it now
I want it now
give me your heart and your soul
Confident his charge was as safe as he could make her, Obi-Wan let Qui-Gon lead him to a bank of monitors where anyone who wanted to protect their ears could still watch the performance. "There, the human female." Qui-Gon pointed-out on one of the monitors. "Her name is Padmé Naberrie."
"She's the vergence in the Force," Obi-Wan said, not really convinced. He was sensing a disturbance in the Force, but he was fairly certain it wasn't coming from the woman on stage.
Qui-Gon's face dipped, his thoughts hesitant. "No, but it has something to do with her. She is the nucleus of his existence."
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
last chance to lose control
He was closer to the stage today than she ever saw him before. Padmé's history with men had never been great. During her tenure as a handmaiden to Queen Amidala on her home planet of Naboo, she had an ill-advised affair with one of the queen's guards. The relationship not only cost her her job, but the scandal ended any chance of a career in politics. The only good thing that came from it was her now six-year old daughter, Nyla, who, while Padmé was on tour, lived with Padmé's parents, the child's father having died in a tragic drowning accident while patrolling Theed's canal system.
This man was different than any man she had ever seen in her years as a performer, and she had seen some very attractive men. This man, whoever he was, had some sort of power, some kind of force, attracting her like never before.
and I want you now
I want you now
I'll feel my heart implode
Qui-Gon was in the crowd now. After watching the monitor, focused exclusively on Padmé Naberrie for several moments, he felt the disturbance in the Force strengthen, and Padmé's will weaken.
He was here, and he had her under his spell.
I'm breaking out
escaping now
feeling my faith erode
Anakin Skywalker had been following Padmé Naberrie across the galaxy ever since she sang with Syn Sootles before the Boonta Eve Classic some five years ago. A pod-racer since he was nine, Anakin won that race for the first time that day with the hope that Padmé would notice him, the champion. Much to his dismay, she had escaped from Tatooine before the race even finished.
The win had come at a more terrible price than that.
Anakin wasn't supposed to win. He was told not to win by the Hutts. Millions in currency had exchanged appendages in the wrong direction when Anakin won. Breaking Anakin's hands severely enough so he couldn't race for years later wasn't enough for the Hutts.
They killed his mother as well.
With his anger nearly consuming him, the young slave escaped from Tatooine, killing his master and freeing himself to search for the angel that had enchanted him.
Now he was here. Now he was within reach of his goal: the woman who would love him forever.
Then the Jedi touched his shoulder, and the galaxy changed forever.
End