Chapter Three
The sun was setting over Naboo. Shops and businesses began 'shutting up shop' for the day as the citizens of Theed began to return to their homes. Despite the Clone Wars and the fact that there were delegates from other worlds at the palace, nobody in Theed, or the rest of Naboo, seemed all that bothered about it. To them, it was just a normal day.
Durge crept stealthfully through the city, using the fading light and alleyways to hide him as he made his way to the palace. He had the location of Chae's room on the holocron attached to his wrist. Somehow, the person who hired him had found the information out. Durge hadn't bothered to ask how they got the information, he was just grateful for it, as it made his job easier.
Durge opened the balcony windows and walked into Chae's bedroom. He glanced around the room, trying to find a good place to place his thermal detonator booby trap. There wouldn't be much time. He had estimated he had about an hour.
Why not the old "put it under the bed" trick? It had worked many times in the past so why not now? Okay, so his target was a Jedi, but she had to sleep sometime. Durge nodded to himself and set to work setting up the trap.
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The Jedi representatives spent a long evening mingling with the other delegates. Asia looked around the huge ballroom…. And spotted a face she hadn't seen for years. It was Tom Antilles, the pilot who had helped her escape from Tatooine years before.
Asia gently pushed her way through the crowd towards him. As she got closer, Asia noticed Tom was with a pretty woman and a baby.
"Tom… Tom Antilles?" Asia asked. Tom turned around. "Do you remember me?"
Tom Antilles looked at her for a few moments. A look of recognition crossed his face. "Yes! I remember you. You're… Asia, right? The Jedi girl I met on Tattooine."
The pretty brunette woman looked at Asia coolly, then looked at Tom and said "I take it this is the Jedi you told me about, Tom."
"Yes, I am," Asia replied.
The woman smiled then added "I'd better get Wedge to bed, he's getting tired."
Tom nodded. "Okay," he said and gave her a kiss before she left.
Asia waited until the woman had left before she asked "who's that?"
"That's Nyssa De'Ne'Lo. She's my partner. The child's our son, Wedge." He paused before asking, "How's it going with the Jedi?"
Asia shrugged. "It could be better. We're wasted in this Clone Wars. We're peace keepers, not solders!"
Eventually, as planned, Queen Apilana appeared and took to the small platform at the front of the ballroom to make her annoncement. "Thank you all for your attendance here tonight for our diplomatic negotiations. I hope our home worlds will be able to work together and find a way to form an alliance during these difficult times."
The crowd clapped politely as Queen Apilana left the platform and left the room. The guests began to slowly leave the room. Tom and Asia left together to take a walk, as they wanted to catch up with each other, and the other Jedi went to their rooms. Chae and Obi-Wan walked to the bedroom she was sharing with Asia.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Obi-Wan asked. "I'm worried about you."
Chae nodded feebly. "I just need to rest. I've been stressed out all day."
Obi-Wan kissed her gently on the lips and Chae watched as he disappeared down the corridor. If only he was staying in the same room… Chae shook her head. She put the thought to the back of her mind and went into the room. It was empty as Asia was still out on her walk with Tom. Chae barely noticed the opulent décor of the bedroom as she removed her Jedi clothes and put on the elegant nightclothes of deep red. Untying her hair, Chae crawled into bed, completely unaware of the booby trap under her bed.
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"Are you okay master?" Anakin asked. "You seem a little tense."
Obi-Wan sat down on his bed on the opposite side of the room. At first he didn't answer. Chae was being very strange and it bugged him. Eventually he said "I'm just a little worried about Chae. She seems a little edgy and upset about being here."
"Well, you can't blame her. The Sith killed her father here, so she's bond to be stressed about being here." Anakin sat down on his own bed and kicked off his boots.
Obi-Wan silently agreed that getting some sleep was the best way to go at that moment in time, so began to follow Anakin's lead in getting changed. Although he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. The last time he had been on the planet, he had lost his Jedi Master. Now, he had the horrible feeling that something would happen to Chae.