Alderaan's Senatorial Chambers
Imperial Senate
Imperial City
Imperial Center
"Thank you, Senator Lilan," Bail Organa said with a courteous bow. "I will discuss the upcoming Empire Day festivities with my aides on Alderaan when I return home in a few days."
"Good," the Nubian senator said with a smile which didn't reach his eyes. "I am pleased that you agree that the Empire and her glorious leader must be celebrated on every civilized planet. We have enjoyed a little more than two years of peace since the Clone Wars and this time of calm and joy and tranquility should be celebrated."
Organa bit his lip, "Indeed."
"My aide will discuss the details with you now," Lilan stated with an imperious gesture toward a slight, blond woman who stood behind him, her face tipped modestly toward the floor.
Bail Organa sighed, "I have a meeting in 20 minutes, and I hoped to send a message to the Queen of Alderaan ..."
"The Emperor himself wishes to be assured that you have all the necessary information about the ceremonies as soon as possible," Lilan said with narrowed eyes.
"Very well," Organa replied wearily. He watched irritably as the sycophant left the room with his guards and two other secretaries in tow. This current Nubian Senator was a slithering worm who groveled at Palpatine's feet in return for the Emperor's dubious favors. The former Senator, Padme Amidala, had been a powerhouse of passion and courage and righteousness. The contrast was truly dramatic.
A slight noise caught his attention and he turned in surprise to see the blond aide locking the door. He opened his mouth in protest and then shut it as she lifted a fierce hand to her lips in the universal request for silence. She lifted a datapad and spoke clearly, "Perhaps, Senator, you could look over the suggested details of the Empire Day festivities and then tell me if you have any questions? We have some special music developed by the Emperor's favorite composer, Quirana Benza, and I'd appreciate your listening to it while you look over the documents."
"Certainly," Organa replied with a furrowed brow. The woman stepped forward and placed a holopad on the desk. She pushed a button and rather militaristic orchestral music began emanating from it.
She stepped forward briskly now and grabbed Bail, propelling him out of the room and into the ... the refresher?
The door shut behind them and Bail shook himself loose from his stupor, "What is this, Aide ...?"
"You can call me Sabe," the woman replied, tossing her blond hair briskly. "I apologize for the dramatics, but you must know that all senatorial offices have listening devices. We had a cleaning droid check the refresher yesterday, and it's clear. We don't have much time so let's make this quick."
"Make what quick?" Bail demanded, taking a quick step backwards. "What does Senator Lilan want?"
"Want?" Sabe snorted. "He wants to get fat and rich and live off the backs of the poor and broken. I don't work for him. I work for the true government of Naboo. More than that, I work for Padme Amidala. I was one of her handmaidens back during her tenure as queen."
Bail compressed his lips and shook his head gently, "I'm so sorry for your loss. Senator Amidala was a truly amazing person and I grieve her death."
"She's not dead," Sabe stated firmly. She lifted a hand to forestall additional comment from the stunned Viceroy. "We really don't have much time. Padme and her husband Anakin Skywalker, plus the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi have been in hiding for more than two years. We've been in contact and she sent me a message yesterday that their current hiding place may have been compromised ..."
"This is impossible," Bail interrupted insistently. "I saw the holo of her funeral myself!"
"That was me pretending to be Padme in full make-up," Sabe continued impatiently. "The body in her grave is a poor soul who was killed during the attacks in Naboo when Palpatine formed his Empire. Padme wants to know if, if they need to flee their current hiding place whether they would find a safe haven on Alderaan."
Bail thought about it for exactly 1.63 seconds.
"Of course."
"Thank you, Senator," Sabe replied with a warm smile. "Now let's get back to the office. Please remember to comment about the percussion section at the end of the march. Apparently Palpatine loves it."
/
Banai Residence
Mon Espa
Tatooine
12 hours later
"Want that! Want!" Leia howled, hurling her small body toward Luke, who promptly tumbled to the ground. Triumphant, Leia grabbed the small bantha plushie from Luke's unresisting hand and ran off with Luke in hot, howling pursuit.
"Leia," Anakin said sternly, reaching out with the Force and lifting her to dangle forlornly in the air. "You are not allowed to steal toys from Luke. Tell him you are sorry."
"Sawy, Wuke," she stated with a firm pout of her lower lip.
"Took banta!" Luke replied with a pathetic sob, even as he grabbed the bantha. "Took banta! Mean Weia!"
"Luke, don't call your sister mean," Padme said wearily even as she crooked an eyebrow at her husband.
"Yes, they are tired," Anakin said with sigh. "I'll put them down for a nap."
"No nap! No nap!" the twins howled, drawn together in outrage over their parents' unreasonable decisions.
Anakin lifted them both with the Force and guided them out the room and into the Banais' guest bedroom.
"I'm sorry about that," Padme said, patting her stomach as her unborn child kicked. She had noticed the baby was more active when the twins were upset.
"It's all right," Tamora Banai replied with a pat of her own pregnancy bump. "I have helped look after my cousin's toddler, though there is just one of him. I can't imagine the exhaustion of two!"
"It is hard," Padme agreed, "though in some ways it is nice as they sometimes play together well. But they are both crazy, especially Luke, who is a climber."
Tamora chuckled, then looked serious, "How was your delivery of the twins? I confess to being a bit nervous, though I will have the assistance of both a local midwife and a good med droid. Kitster is insistent on that."
The other woman smiled and leaned back, "Well, you'll be better off than I was. We didn't know I was carrying twins and I went into labor 6 weeks early. Anakin had to deliver the twins with some dubious assistance from Obi-Wan, who was completely freaked out."
Tamora's eyes were wide, "Anakin delivered them! That's amazing. I think Kitster would faint."
"Shmi, Ani's mother, was a midwife for the slaves, and she had Anakin assist so he knew what to do when I went into premature labor. It was an emotional and scary experience but we all got through it unharmed, which is a huge relief. This one is due in less than two months and we are certain there is only one this time, so we hope she goes full term."
"She?" Tamora asked curiously.
"Well, we don't know for sure, but we both think she's a ... she. We'll see, won't we?"
"We probably should break into Governor Minchel's offices," Anakin said, striding into the room with Kitster and Obi-Wan at his heels. "All the freed slaves were human, so where are the Tusken adolescents and children? And the banthas? Not that I care about the Tuskens as sentients, but Minchel is obviously up to something."
"Why don't you care about the Tuskens?" Kit replied with a lowered brow. "They are sentients like you and me, and they don't deserve to be enslaved and destroyed."
Padme caught her breath at this statement and Anakin's eyes turned yellow.
"They abducted and murdered my mother," he replied, his body rigid. "They are animals."
Padme's child leaped in her womb as the woman rose to her feet and stepped forward, "Anakin, calm down."
Kitster's eyes were wide with shock and Padme, noting their host's concern, drew Ani into the front hall to calm him down.
"What happened to his eyes?" Tamora demanded. "They were yellow!"
"It's ..." Kenobi began, and sighed, "it's a Force thing. Anakin is, as you probably have realized, a powerful Force sensitive. When he is upset, his eyes turn yellow. I'm afraid his mother's death was profoundly traumatic. The Tuskens took her and tortured her for weeks. Anakin found her in time to say good-bye but she was too injured; she died in his arms."
"I'm so sorry," Kitster replied, his eyes dark with regret. "I didn't realize."
"It's all right," Obi-Wan replied firmly. "As Anakin says, we need to know what is going on. I appreciate the assistance of the Underground Sandstorm in getting the settlers returned to their farms, and it was brilliant to feed the location of the slavers to one of the local crime rings so we could rescue the slaves while the two groups were battling one another. Nothing quite like pitting two unpleasant groups against one another. But in any case, we need to know whether there will be another series of abductions. Minchel is neck deep in this whole operation but why? Why the Tuskens? Were they merely attacked and killed as cover for snatching settlers so he could sell then for personal gain?"
Tamora shook her head, "All those are very good questions. But Minchel is an Imperial governor and his mansion is very well guarded. There is no way you and Skywalker can make your way in their safely. You'll be caught and executed!"
Obi-Wan Kenobi shook his head with a smile, "Anakin and I are adept at getting in and out of places surreptitiously. I am worried that we are burdening you with our presence, though. It isn't entirely safe to have us here as both Anakin and I are wanted by the Empire."
"Anakin is a friend and a brother," Kitster said passionately. "You will stay as long as you want."
/
Governor Minchel's Office
Governor's Mansion
Mon Espa
Tatooine
The next day, around noon
Governor Minchel ran a weary hand across his face and closed the latest report. The fiasco on Jabba Street was a constant headache, what with the explosions and the fire and many henchmen dead and even more henchmen busy cleaning up the mess both literally and figuratively. Tatooine was an Outer Rim planet and Minchel had a significant level of autonomy, but the governor still didn't want any Imperial higher ups to discover he was involved with the human slave trade.
He scowled hideously to himself; it had seemed so ideal. The Tusken adults destroyed, the adolescents and children taken along with their banthas for Imperial purposes. Why not get a little something for himself? Why not enslave a few dozen human settlers to augment his limited salary as an Imperial governor? It was all very well to say that governors were paid well. Those on Core Worlds were paid well, certainly. But Tatooine was a wasteland and he deserved credits on the side for having to live and serve here.
There was a brief tap at the door and Minchel gritted his teeth. He was so sick of people. He wanted ... he didn't know what he wanted. He didn't want to sit in his boring office talking to boring people doing boring things.
"Come in!" he barked.
The two men who entered were garbed in technician gray, and they pushed a large hovercart in front of them.
"Your shockball table has arrived, Governor," the red haired man stated.
"Shockball table?" Minchel asked in bewilderment. "I didn't order a shockball table!"
"Yes, Governor, you did order a shockball table," the other man stated, gazing hypnotically with cerulean blue eyes.
"I did order a shockball table," Minchel repeated in a dazed tone.
"I will need to access your com to set it up properly."
"You will need to access my com to set it up properly."
"You will enjoy the shockball table."
"I will enjoy the shockball table."
Governor Minchel suddenly smiled widely. Sometimes in the middle of a hard day, something truly great happened. Today he was the proud owner of a new shockball table!
/
The Banai Residence
Mos Espa
4 hours later
"Here it is," Obi-Wan said with a furrowed brow. "According to this report, the captured Tuskens and their banthas were shipped off to ... to Geonosis!"
"Geonosis!" Padme repeated with surprise. "What's on Geonosis, besides the Petranaki Arena and a bunch of hungry nexu?"
"I don't know," Anakin frowned, "but we probably need to find out."
/
Governor Minchel's Office
Governor's Mansion
"Ouch!" Aide Zuta yelped.
Governor Minchel collapsed on a nearby chair in a paroxysm of laughter. His new shockball table was the best.
/
Muchas gracias to my wonderful editor and husband! Those of you who have never read Lord Vader's Limpet by frodogenic should – shockball tables are an important factor in that fanfic. Thanks to those of you taking time to review and follow! Happy July, everyone!