THEN
"This is where the Senator lives?"
"Yes." I replied as the ball in my stomach grew.
He kept his finger on the holo of the penthouse. "And which apartment?" he asked. "Don't lie."
My heart shook inside my chest cavity. "On this floor." I whispered, pointing to the center.
"What did you say?" his voice pierced the stale air. I should've known better. Why didn't I listen to my better judgement? I mentally questioned myself.
"On this floor." I said in a louder voice. I was still clinging to that small hope of the knowledge that the apartment's highest security forces would be able to stop him from entering.
Yes, the security officers were the best. They could stop criminals like him. They've stopped many other people before. Despite that knowledge, something stronger than a gut feeling was gnawing at the ball in my stomach and my heart.
"And?" the sound of his boots echoed as he paced the confined concrete room.
"That... is her home." I knew it was vacant from what Padmé had told me.
Narrowing his eyes in my direction briefly, the blonde man pressed a button on the bottom of the image and it faded out.
NOW
It's that same woman outside. I try to push her presence aside. I'm not trying to sense her.
There is a low humming I can feel. I know it's coming from below. This feels different from the last thing I remember. I must be in a different neighborhood. The humming I feel is replaced by the humming I hear. Then footsteps.
"Sir, is there something you need?"
I turn around as the white light banishes the dark.
"No." I tell the woman.
"You need to rest. You're lucky you didn't sustain any major injuries. You were just unconscious."
Just unconscious? I could've had a Force-Vision.
She takes a seat at the chair next to the white bed as if she's a parent of a small child.
Hoping to dispose of the awkwardness, I walked over to the bed so it was the only thing between us.
"My mother refuses to tell me about the Force." I say. "And I..." I won't ask her to tell me about it. Not now. I decide.
"Go on," she tells me. There is no pity for someone unprivileged in her voice, just the sound of someone curious.
As if taking my pause as a cue to continue, she says, "Well, you aren't being cared for by the First Order."
"I was on my way to a spaceport. They want the lightsaber." I don't know why the words slip out. It's almost as if this... Force-crafted being has a hunch of what I'm thinking and I am only confirming them. "I have to go now." I let my feet dart across the smooth surface to the door.
The woman, who is as fast as she looks but stronger than she looks, has her thin fingers gripping the black sleeve of my shirt like a metal cuff. I jerk my arm. It doesn't move. Before I can cuff my left hand around my right wrist, I feel my muscles freeze. Then my legs relax from under me, but I don't hear the sound of my knees cracking.
The woman has her hands in front of her, with her palms facing me, the expression on her face unreadable. My calves suddenly hit the edge of the bed.
"Please, I need-"
"No, I've been given strict orders to not let you out." her eyebrows scrunch together in determination.
"By who?!"
"Just... calm down and I'll tell you what's happening." I know she's being sincere even though her voice doesn't project it. She takes her previous seat on the chair in front of me.
She sighs. "Have you heard of Grand Master Luke Naberrie?"
"Yes. I thought he was a myth when I was very young; my mother told me he was. I told her she just didn't know anything. She's never met him, I think."
"He isn't a myth." she takes a deep breath. "He's my father." her voice raises a pitch higher but drops to a whisper, as if she's a little girl excited about a wonderful secret she shouldn't be proud of.
"Y-your father?! Where is he? I–I need to go see him. Take me to him now—"
"It was thought upon that you were attempting to reach the First Order." her voice is back to a professional tone.
"Yes, but... now I–I think I know for sure he isn't a myth, I can... "
"He is busy as of this moment—"
"Is he–Master Naberrie here on Coruscant?"
"What? No. We are not on Coruscant. I forgot to tell you we're in the Hosnian system. On Hosnian Prime. Unfortunately, we will have to leave soon, or else the First Order troops will seize the planet, seeing it as it is the capital of the Republic."
"Is he here on Hosnian Prime?"
"No. He's at an undisclosed location. Even I don't know where he is. He isn't even allowed to tell me."
THEN
Having our meeting adjourned was like being permitted to breathe when I stepped into the neon-soaked street despite the uncleanliness of it. Unlike the Upper Levels, the streets here were littered with the majority of non-humans and insects feeding off the shadows around the waste and edifices.
Remember what Padmé you about these types of neighborhoods. You can never be too careful about who knows where you come from. Or who you are. I told myself. Of course I knew I should've opted for a lighter wrinkled shirt and pants instead of a crisp silver-gray tunic with a golden clasp at the collar. It was sheer luck that the long brown cloak over my head kept my face and my clothes hidden.
I darted my head in both directions and sprint like a feather. As soon as I caught a vacant feel of a dark building, my feet immobilized. There was no one on the other side of the door.
With a light touch of my palm, the door swung into the dusty blackness. I stepped into it and pulled the door closed behind me. That had been both a mistake and a necessity as no other being outside would consider intruding.
I silently uttered a curse word in Mando'a that I picked up from the streets which I had not dared to use in front of Satine, whilst I fumbled for the holoprojector at my belt.
As if my ungrateful prayer was answered, my hand found itself around the circular disk-like object. I pulled it out and pressed in a few buttons as well as a combination of other numbers which only one other person had memorized.
"Obi-Wan." Satine whispered. In times like this where most communications were being monitored by Imperials, the both off us new better than to squeal at the excitement from the rarity of communicating from afar even if it was from a secured channel.
"Satine. is this a good time? Are you busy?" I asked.
"Why would I talk to you if I was busy?"
"Oh. Right." I let the slightest chuckle escape before suppressing it with a sigh. "I know you aren't fond of the Empire nor the Rebel Alliance."
"Obi, you aren't thinking of joining the Alliance, are you?" I always knew that she hated the idea of someone closely associated with her, the pacifist, being involved in the very thing she was against. Sometimes I found myself wondering why she did not resent my friendship with Padmé.
Political disagreements aside, the two women seemed to get along like normal civilians women, with the majority of their conversations distanced from politics. Padmé is a kind woman, Satine told me.
"This isn't about me joining the Alliance. It's about Padmé. She apparently refuses to admit she is in danger." I paused. "If she were in grave danger from the Empire, would you grant her refuge?"
An unreadable expression was cast onto Satine's face from the holoprojector for five seconds.
"For the time that you've been off Mandalore, the presence of Imperials has increased. To make matters worse, there are Mandalorian warriors who serve the Empire. Tell Padmé that I'm sorry. She will eventually be discovered if she were to stay here. The pressure will probably be too much for her. I am not saying this from the fear of punishment." her eyes stared into space as if she didn't know what else to say.
"If the Imperial presence has increased, are you sure you don't want the Rebels to fight them off?" I asked.
"The insurgent activities will only cause destruction. You know what the Clone Wars did to the galaxy over a century ago."
I knew from university courses. The same material was taught so many times that I could practically pass the university exams in my sleep. The Jedi were rebelling against the then-Chancellor. All he wanted for the good of the galaxy was a corruption-free and orderly society. The Jedi went as far as the assassination of the Chancellor one night at the end of the war, which resulted in his scarring, trying to fight off the powerful beings. Had the Jedi won, they would've seized absolute power and segregate the Non Force-Sensitives and use the Force to beat them into submission. The Jedi and their warrior ways are what is evil. The Emperor was a Sith. He didn't deny it. He'll use the Force for good.
If you have the time, please review the story. I want to know what other people think. Should I continue?
