Old Property 4

They landed in an open field just outside the square that was home to the Lake District Court House. There were several other buildings nearby, a library, and a school. A small river flowed behind the buildings, and set half way up the hill on the opposite shore was another building, surrounded by a cool forrest of trees.

'So, we're here. What's the plan?' Luke asked as he joined them from the cockpit.

'We need to view the documents that support the Patronage, which means a trip to the Temple on the other side of this river.' Greys informed them.

'Not the Court House?' Mara querried.

'No. The documents cannot be copied at all, in deferrence to the rank of the Heir Apparent. We will have to go to the Temple.'

'Who was she?' Luke asked. He did not miss the hesitation before Ms Harrow answered.

'Queen Amidala of the Naboo.'

'Amidala? I've heard that name before...'

'Senator Bel Iblis or Cheif of State Mothma might have mentioned her. She was a colleague of theirs.'

'No... Leia did. A Senator Amidala was a founding member of the Delegation of 2000, the political arm of what eventually became the Alliance. She, Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, and Mon Mothma co-authored a Petetion that became the basis of the Alliance's treaties, even before the Empire was formed. Parts of the New Republic's constitution are based on that document. I wonder if there was any relation?'

'They were one and the same. Amidala was the Name of State the Queen adopted when she was elected. She served two terms, during which she liberated our planet from occupation by the Trade Federation, united the Gungan and Human populations of the planet by formal treaty, and completed the process of rehabilitation after the occupation. She then served as the Chomell Sector's Senior Senator until her mysterious death within days of the Empire's formation. The Naboo loved her. We stood on the streets of Theed for hours during her funeral parade, and there were vigils in many places. The circumstances were all the more tragic because she was heavily pregnant at the time of her death, and her youngling was lost too...'

Luke felt vaguely ill. He wasn't sure whether he appreciated Ms Harrow's decision to talk around the elephant in the room, giving him time to digest each new bit of information.

Mara caught Greys' eyes with a look of venom, and Greys shifted topic slightly, but she knew the Naberries were likely to make difficult demands during the court proceedings, and delaying the discussions too long would not help her client cope.

'Our former Senator Pooja Naberrie is Queen Amidala's neice, and next in line to inherit the property, unless the issues surrounding this Patronage intervene.'

oooooooooooooo

They passed the short gondola ride from the riverside dock to the temple in silence.

A teenaged devotee of the Godess manned the reception desk just inside the entryway. She was wrapped in swathes of filmy material, which covered her hair and half of her face.

'Godess be praised,' the youg girl greeted them with a small bow. 'How may we, her servants, aid her Children today?'

Ms Harrow responded with a curt bow. 'We are here to view the Marriage Log, year 22BBY, Nelona entries,'

The girl checked her terminal breifly. 'I humbly decline, Mi'Lady, but our Nelona entries of that year have been sealed. I can have our Archives Custodian look up the information for you.'

'We have Supre Court dispensation to view the Log,' Ms Harrow explained, producing the documents with the Monarchy seal attached.

The teen's eyes widened, and she bowed hurriedly. 'Right this way,' she scuttled demurely ahead of them, along the halls to an office just outside the main sanctuary, where she handed the documents to another devotee.

'Yyanle will show you the Log. Godess be praised,' she bowed again and scuttled back the way they had come.

Yyanle bowed, greeted, and seated them around a small desk inside the office, then placed a slim flimsy binder on the table in front of them, labelled 13:5 GRS, and bowed out, closing the office doors behind her.

'The Tribunal Judges found Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie listed in the Lake District Temple Marriage Log, but the entry was unsigned. Apparently they were married at Varykino, which I understand is two hours travel from here by coach and gondola. The Officient wrote them into the Log and filed copies of their lisence and signed certificate. Here...'

She angled the binder so her companions could see the pages she was looking at.

Mara withdrew subconsciously as she recognised the shaky but eerily familiar scrawl printed on the documents. Luke sensed her reaction before she could block it from him. Greys kept talking.

'The officient documents here that he had a discussion session with them before the wedding. He was satisfied with the terms of their betrothal, that they had the requisite legal counsel, and exchanged appropriate devotion gifts. Interesting... Delanee and Sons represented Anakin Skywalker at the prenuptial meeting, but a different partner handled the case. There was no prenuptial agreement. All this means that Anakin Skywalker was legally entitled to patronage of Varykino. Our question now is whether his subsequent actions, or Lord Vader's, invalidated that right. The dissolution of this patronage could set a revolutionary precedence. The courts will not make this ruling lightly. Any accusations against him will have to be proven.'

'Allegations?'

'A change of poltitical or religious allegiance will not suffice. He would have to be found complicit in his wife's death, or unfaithful to his marriage vows.'

'How did the Queen die?'

'We Naboo do not interrogate our dead. There was no finding of foul play, but I doubt there was an autopsy. The same religious traditions and respect for Queen Amidala that hindered any investigation of her death years ago will prevent her family exhuming her remains for examination now.'

'And my Father has been dead for years as well Ms Harrow. He's not available for cross examination.'

'Indeed, but you are, and so is Captain Jade.'

'All this happened before I was born. What questions could I answer?'

'Fidelity.'

oooooooooooooooooo

'Remind me why I agreed to this?' Mara hissed at Luke across their bond as they entered the court building.

'Because you are a loyal friend, and I am very grateful for your presence.'

They were waiting outside the courtroom, in a long gallery adorned with restored holos of the elected Monarchs and Chief Justices of Naboo.

Unsurprisingly, Amidala was represented there. Mara turned her eyes on Luke, then back onto the holo of the woman. She was beautiful. A tiny brunette, with dark brown eyes and elaborately styled hair. She wore Nabooan robes of state.

At it seemed to Mara that she was staring into the face of the princess of Alderaan, but on closer inspection the resemblance was vague, based more on colouring than facial structure. She could imagine Luke in the woman's face, around the nose and mouth.

'Come look at this.' She walked over to the holo.

Luke followed.