Holonet NEWSFLASH
The Office of the High Chancellor issued another statement apologizing for the continued absence of Lady Amidala from all Imperial Senate meetings; citing her continued illness. It is the sincere hope of this network that the High Chancellor will recover quickly.
In later news…
News of his mother's condition, so coldly recited over the news was scarcely new to Luke Naberrie. He sighed heavily as he switched off the holoset. His fingers itching, he looked to the comm. station longingly—but it would do no good. Besides, he was less than an hour away from boarding the transport that would take him home to see his mother. In either case, if she were still ill, she would be in no condition to receive a call.
"Luke!" Ralij Varquand eagerly pounded his fist against the door before he pressed the door buzzer. "Luke! Are you in there?"
"Yes, yes, I'm here." Luke rose and opened the door, smiling up into Ralij's exuberant face.
"I'm going to stay on Coruscant for furlough. We'll be able to see the opening of the new velocidrome like we talked about!"
"You're not upset about not going home?" Luke's slim fingers sought out the doorframe and held on, tightly. His stomach churned, and he grimaced; though he outwardly put on a smile.
"No, not at all. In fact, I'm glad! My father would only punish me for my marks this semester."
"I see." Was all Luke could think to say, but his stomach turned every time he met Ralij's eyes.
"Well, give me a call whenever you think you could manage to go. I'm ready!" Ralij smiled bravely as he turned away; and Luke took a deep breath, willing his friend's feelings to leave him.
Traffic on Coruscant had been a problem for far longer than most beings in the universe had been alive. Traffic lanes were overfilled most of the time, the same with the hyperspace lanes both on and off planet. Outwardly composed, Luke sat primly with his bags at his feet, anxiously waiting for his transport. Most of the students who were going home for holidays had already gone, and those who remained were holed up in their quarters or down in the recreation rooms.
"Ah, Luke."
Luke looked up to see one of his professors walking toward him. He rose to his feet, snapped a respectful salute before averting his eyes to the floor; the very picture of an obedient Empire Youth.
"At ease, cadet." Luke lifted his chin, meeting Professor Malkin's cheerful eyes. "Sir?"
"Luke, I wished to speak with you before you left." Malkin sat down and gestured for Luke to do the same.
"My transport seems to be running a bit late," Luke smiled, resuming his seat," so I'm at your disposal, sir."
"I understand your appointment for training rotation has been to Lord Vader's ship." He said gravely.
Luke looked puzzled, then stricken. "Why--?"
"I'm not certain." Malkin admitted. "You're a good student, you have never received a demerit. I can only assume that someone is very impressed with you, and expects great things. To my knowledge, you're the only cadet ever assigned to the Executor."
Luke sighed, somehow looking both flattered by Malkin's praise and dismayed by the news. "Thank you for telling me, sir. I know we were going to receive a notice over holiday."
"I thought such news should at least be given in person." Malkin gave him a wan smile, then rose to his feet. "You'll take care of yourself?"
"Oh, yes sir." Luke rose as well, and took Malkin's hand when he held it out.
"Then the best of luck to you."
"I don't believe in luck." Luke said, shaking Malkin's hand firmly. "But thank you, sir."
"Enjoy your holiday, cadet." Malkin released Luke and quietly headed down the far corridor.
"Thank you sir!" Luke had no sooner sat down again when the speeders arrived and he hurriedly climbed to his feet to greet the handmaiden who walked in to retrieve him.
"Hello, Luke." Sabe Marterre pushed back the hood of her cloak and smiled at him. Luke bounded toward her and wrapped his arms about her happily.
"Am I glad to see you!" he squeezed her tightly. Sabe hugged him back just as warmly, motioning to the droids to take his baggage.
"Let's go home, shall we?"
Minutes later, Luke had his nose pressed to the transparisteel window of their private transport, waiting for an accident. He was likely to see one too; there was at least one every afternoon. Beside him, Sabe sat with her legs primly crossed. She gave him a smile when she saw him looking, and leaned forward to pat his knee.
"How is Mother, Sabe?" he asked finally.
"She's fine, you know. No worse than before."
"But the Holonet—" Luke tried to look her in the eyes but failed. She was always ill, a condition stemming from an assassination attempt ten years ago that had nearly succeeded.
"You know they always overexaggerate. Anything to make a headline." Sabe scooted over to sit by him and pulled him into a hug. "Is your mother all that worries you?"
"No." Luke admitted reluctantly. "Professor Malkin came to tell me about my cadet service appointment."
"Anywhere you haven't been before?" Sabe asked, running her fingers lightly through his spiky blond hair.
"Yes." He swallowed nervously. "I've been assigned to Vader's ship."
Sabe froze, her fingers ceased their soothing run through his hair. "Vader?"
"Apparently so." He said softly.
"You're going to be just fine, Luke." Sabe wouldn't look right at him though. "The Emperor wouldn't allow you to be sent to Vader if there was any danger."
"You really think so?" Luke looked up, Sabe was smiling a little.
"Your mother would be most upset if something were to happen to you. The Emperor would run the risk of losing two servants to the Empire in that case!"
Luke laughed aloud, imagining his mother challenging Vader if so much as one hair on his head had been disturbed. "I suppose so."
"Just the same, I don't want you to say anything about it to her just now." Sabe cautioned, and Luke sobered.
"I won't." he promised. Looking to the window, he found they weren't anywhere near the residence yet. "Where are we going?"
"We'll need to run some errands." Luke made a face, and Sabe laughed aloud. The last time they had run errands, Luke had been forced to sit through several senate committee meetings that lasted most of the day.
"Not what you're thinking!" Sabe smiled at his dark look; she'd seen it many times on her mistress's face over the years. "We'll be picking up Leia."
"Oh!" Suddenly, Luke felt warm all over. It had been at least six months, if not more since he had spent any time at all with his twin. Feeling along the bond that bound him to his sister, he was relieved to find she was as happy to see him as he was to finally see her.
Leia had grown since he had last seen her. Though standing out on the platform surrounded by her retainers, Leia looked even smaller. Despite her dimunitive stature, she held her head up proudly. Luke felt a pride rise up in him; she was a miniature replica of their mother. Looking up to him, she met his eyes and smiled as she accepted Typho's hand and his help up into the speeder. Without waiting another minute she threw herself across the seat and wrapped her arms about him.
"Luke!" She kissed him, and Luke squirmed uncomfortably and pushed her away.
"Eww! Don't kiss me!"
"You certainly haven't changed much." She laughed, as did Sabe, whom Leia hugged next before sitting back with her legs crossed, back straight and head held high.
"How is Mother, Sabe?" Leia asked into the silence, and Sabe sighed heavily.
"No better, but no worse than before. I imagine seeing the two of you will make her well faster than any medicine a droid could give her." Sabe affectionately ran a hand through Leia's thick curls and Leia leaned into the touch.
Luke went back to staring out the window in hopes that they'd be home soon. A gust of wind buffeted the speeder, and both twins sat up to peer out the window to the depths of the city below. Another gust of wind, and the speeder's clear transparisteel was splattered with droplets of water. Leia slid down in her seat again and restrapped her restraint. There were two speeders in front, and another three behind, plus a TIE escort.
Luke watched in fascination as the pilots wove expertly through a standard series of manuevers and came up along side their transport.
"Luke, sit down please." Sabe called, and Luke reluctantly fell into his seat and pulled his harness on, still craning his neck to try and watch the fighters.
"That is so cool." He breathed softly. "Someday, I'm going to fly with them." he said, and Sabe felt a chill. Reaching out, she gently put her hand on his shoulder.
"I know you will." She said simply, and he smiled at her.
The speeders began to slow as they approached the Imperial Palace, and the TIE's veered away as soon as they entered the restricted airspace. Flying smoothly past the great Palace, they continued on to the High Chancellor's private residence; nestled in the city-planet's garden district, it was home to the few private parks and the remaining natural old growth trees. The speeders settled down on the private tarmac, and Luke and Leia hurried to unstrap and gathered their cloaks before bolting down the lowering ramp.
"Wait!" Sabe called, but her cry went unheeded. Shaking her head, she followed them at a sedate pace. Their gleeful cries echoed throughout the hangar and Sabe smiled.
The residence always seemed warmer when the children were home.
The interior of the Chancellor's residence was bright and airy; filled with plants and a large indoor waterfall that dominated the front hall. Great transparisteel windows ran from floor to ceiling in some rooms—it made defending the residence a bit more difficult, but Amidala had utterly refused to consider changing the design. She had only conceded to removing the windows entirely from the bedrooms. Luke always loved coming home, the house reminded him of his grandparents home in Theed. The clouds were deep and impenetrable, even at this level. A thick swirling mist of fog and drizzle seemed to fill the room, and despite his happiness at being home, he felt his happiness begin to dim beneath the inclement weather.
Looking to Leia, he found her expression matched his own. He reached out a hand and took hers, squeezing it reassuringly. Sabe removed her cloak and handed it to a young serving girl.
"Milady was asking for you, Lady Sabe." The girl said softly, and Luke watched the way Sabe's expression warmed.
"Is she feeling better?"
"I believe so, her physicians seemed encouraged about her condition today."
Sabe smiled her happiness, and Luke felt his spirits lift.
"Why don't the two of you change, and get ready for evening meal while I see how your mother fares?" Sabe offered, and Luke grinned.
"All right." Both twins said together, and laughed aloud. Still holding hands, the children turned and all but skipped down the hall to the left, while Sabe turned to the right. Her heeled shoes rapped loudly on the tiled floor as she moved swiftly down the hall. Acknowledging the guards that stood on duty outside the door, Sabe stepped close.
"I understand that Milady has asked for me?"
"Yes, Lady Sabe." The lieutenant activated the controls that opened the door, and motioned Sabe inside. Steeling herself, Sabe took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness.
Nearly ten years before, when Amidala had been a Senator and
representative of the people of Naboo, she had been an outspoken idealist. Her
policies and her tendency to act during her time as Naboo's sovereign had
earned her a great deal of respect—and even more enemies. Sabe herself had not
been in Amidala's service at that time, but she could recall hearing about a
series of assassination attempts over the
Holonet.
If she was truthful with herself, she could even admit to a twinge of guilt
that she had not been there to help protect her friend. There were a great many
things that Sabe longed to know about Amidala from that time. The assassination
attempts had prompted Chancellor Palpatine to order Jedi protection for
her, but Sabe was still uncertain of the events that followed. The
Battle
of Geonosis, and Amidala's subsequent involvement. The sudden blossoming of her
relationship and marriage, of all things, to Anakin Skywalker. She still puzzled over what it was exactly
that her mistress had seen in him as a mate, as a husband. The only aspect of
their relationship she had not contemplated was of the creation of their
children. The man had been an arrogant, insufferable fool, but he
had been utterly gorgeous.
Sabe smiled ruefully as she took
one step inside, and then another until they closed the door behind her. She
cringed as the pressure seals clicked into place, and then she could hear the
air beginning to circulate back into the room through the vents in the roof
above her. The entire room was a specially designed hyperbaric chamber, for
Amidala's fragile health had been an ongoing problem after the last
assassination attempt had nearly succeeded. After the initial explosion of her
speeder escort, Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been thrown from the cockpit and
were catapulted into freefall through over four kilometers of Coruscant
traffic, broken only by the duracrete tarmac of a landing platform. Between the
injuries she had sustained in the initial blast which included a chemical
searing of her lungs, numerous burns, countless broken bones including her
ribs, both legs and a fracture of two of her vertebrae, not to mention her
third trimester pregnancy, she had been lucky to survive. They all had. Moreover, it had only been with Kenobi's
assistance that she had lived at all, he had rescuitated her numerous times
while they waited for the medics, and had even used his skills within the Force
to try and breathe the life back into her. Sabe stood still for a moment in the
darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust.
"Sabe? Is that you?"
At the whispered sound of her name, Sabe lifted her chin and slowly scanned the bed, trying to find Amidala's small form buried amid the mound of blankets.
"Yes, milady. It's me." Her eyes adjusted, Sabe stepped forward again and moved to the side of the bed, sitting down carefully. "How are you feeling?"
Amidala coughed, the sound so faint Sabe could scarcely hear it above the hiss of the respirator. She struggled feebly to sit up, and Sabe helped, pulling her up until she was sitting and then piling a few pillows behind her to prop her up."Stronger." She whispered.
"May I turn on the light?"
"Keep it low, please. It hurts my eyes" Amidala asked, and Sabe nodded her understanding. She tapped the glow panel on the bedside table and it flickered on dimly.
She looked terrible, her features sunken and pale. Thin strands of brittle, tangled hair had been forced into a braid to at least keep it out of the way for her recent bacta immersions. Amidala lifted her chin to meet Sabe's eyes briefly, and she took heart at the familiar sparkle in her friend's eyes. She coughed again, longer this time than before, her tiny frame quaking with the force of it. She pointed with a shaking hand at the ventilator mask, and Sabe quickly obliged, pressing it to her mouth and nose. Slowly, she calmed again, and Sabe removed the mask.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, thank you." She whispered again. She lay back down again, wearily. "Are the children home?"
"Yes, and they were most anxious to see you." Sabe whispered. Amidala's eyelids were flickering, she was falling asleep again.
"As I long to see them." She mumbled. Then she was silent, and Sabe was just about to leave her to her rest when she spoke again. "Bring them after they have eaten evening meal?"
"Yes, milady." Sabe promised. She waited a moment longer, to see if there was anything else, but her breathing deepened, and she knew her friend was sleeping again. She rose silently and shuffled back to the door. With one last look to her mistress, Sabe shook her head sadly and left her chamber. Moving as quickly as she could, she rushed down to the end of the hall and let herself outside. Night was falling and the fog was thickening. The gardens were lost in the swirling fog, their small glowlamps simply couldn't dispel the encroaching darkness. Even the sound of the fountains was muted and lost in the silence. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let the cool mist wash over her. Above her, a light flickered on, and then another, and another, until the patio was awash in a rosy tinge that reminded her of countless summer nights spent in Theed. She smiled then, reluctantly moving back into the noiseless, dimly lit halls and into her own chambers to change.
