To Save the Queen

Chapter #36: Saving

"Sab—" I only had half a second to register the shock on Rabé's face as I rounded the corner, my four remaining pilots running behind me (How could Blue-Eyes have missed that droid? It was right there! How could he have gotten killed by it?), before I shot down an approaching droid and then ran to the very front of the group.

(Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé)

"To the throne room! This way!" I shouted over my shoulder, as I hurriedly led the way towards the stairs that would lead us up to the story that the throne room was on.

As I whirled around the corner directly before the staircase, droids began to march down them, firing on me.

(Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé)

I fired right back, as my training took over.

One droid, two droids, three droids down…

(Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé)

Four droids, five droids….

Behind me, I could hear pounding footsteps as everyone caught up to me. I ignored them and I continued my one-man charge at the droids, somehow (miraculously, the small voice in the back of my head that was still functioning logically added in awe) avoiding the blaster shots being sent my way. Vaguely, a detached part of me felt almost proud that nearly every single one of my shots took down a droid.

(Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé)

I dashed up the stairs, killing all the droids that got in my way.

Behind me, there were blaster shots and curses and shouts that I ignored entirely, (Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé) spinning around to cover my back once I—somehow, I wasn't sure how, it was all a little bit blurry—reached the top of the staircase unharmed. I shot back at the few droids that were focusing on me and ignored the droids that were concentrating their attention on the pilots who had decided to not try the staircase while it was still swarming with droids.

I blasted a few of the droids who were focusing on trying to kill Eirtaé, Rabé and the few pilots who were brave enough to follow me. However, I could practically hear a clock ticking down in my head (Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé) and, once they were nearly to the top of the staircase, I spun back around and began to hurry down the hallway. As I ran, I began mentally calculating how far away we were, and how far away Padmé had been and how long it would take for Padmé to arrive in the throne room (please say they were taking her to the throne room, please say they were taking her to the throne room, please, please, please…) and how long it would take me to get to the throne room.

I slowed down to a steady jog as I heard footsteps pound behind me.

"What's—What's going—going on?" I heard Eirtaé pant behind me.

I ignored her—there was absolutely no good way to explain this with all the pilots listening in—and instead continued to jog down the hallway.

(Save Padmé, Save Padmé, Save Padmé)

I took an abrupt turn down the hall that led to the throne room.

By now, out of the very corner of my eye, I could see the pilots start to spread out behind me, probably so they could then come out in front of me and have me hemmed in (protected, the logical, rational part of my brain quietly substituted).

However, the throne room was right ahead of us—they wouldn't have time.

And inside—they were inside! I was right, they'd been taken to the throne room, they were there, they were there, they were there!

Now—Now all I needed was to—

"Viceroy!" I shouted sharply, at my most Queenly, most Padmé-y, most Queen not Decoy.

Everyone inside the throne room whirled around to face me.

(Come on, Sabé, Come on… Save Padmé, Save Padmé…)

"Your occupation here has ended!" (Look at me! Look at me! Ignore Padmé, look at me!)

Two droids raised their blasters—I raised mine faster and both of them collapsed.

I turned heel and ran.

Follow me, come on, come on, follow me, follow me, I prayed as I sprinted off down another hallway, hoping that I had been convincing enough as Queen that the droids would come after me, allowing Padmé to capture the Viceroy and make the new treaty. Because if I hadn't been… well, I didn't really want to think about that.

I heard blaster shots ring out behind me, and my head snapped around to see droids chasing us, firing at us even as we fired at them, everyone running headlong down the hall.

A pilot collapsed. I shoved his stunned face and anguished cry to the back of my mind which was slowly beginning to fill with dead bodies. I tried not to think about it as I raised my own blaster and got in one more good shot before swinging down another hallway and starting to sprint up the stairs.

"What is going—" I heard Eirtaé start to shout.

But she didn't finish.

My heart stopped.

No.

I spun around, my blaster raised, fully intending to end whoever had stopped Eirtaé from finishing that question.

Instead, my mouth fell open.

All of the blaster shots stopped.

I stared at the droids who, only seconds ago, had been chasing us. They had come to an absolute stand still. They were drooping down and some of the droids' blasters had toppled out of their hands.

The droids were no longer functioning.

Which meant that the pilots had succeeded: the droid control ship had been shot down, the droids were deactivated and the Gungans now had a clear field of battle. Most of the Prisoner of War Camps would be unguarded.

There was also no chance in the world that Padmé, Panaka and the pilots who had been with her wouldn't over-power the Viceroy, if they hadn't already.

We had just won.

Naboo was free.

I couldn't help it. A smile split across my face and it took absolutely everything I had to stop myself from letting out a laugh.

Instead, as calmly and regally as I could—which, to be honest, wasn't very—I said, "Let us return to Handmaiden Padmé and Captain Panaka. We have a new treaty to negotiate."

And even though I could feel my legs shaking and my arms shaking and my hands shaking, I calmly and elegantly descended back down the stairs, stepping over the collapsed droids. I began to walk down the hallway toward the throne room I had just run from.

Behind me, I heard Eirtaé and Rabé fall into step behind me. Ignoring the bodies of our dead pilots that lined the hallway (not yet, Sabé, don't think about it yet), I led us back to the throne room, trying to ignore the adrenaline pumping through my body, demanding I do more than slowly walk down the hall. However, I ignored it, and instead tried to focus on calming my breathing and slowing my heart rate by constantly chanting she's safe, we're safe, Naboo's safe over and over again in my mind.

As we continued to walk, we passed by a picture of King Jafan and I very nearly froze. We had run a lot farther than I thought we had. We were on nearly the opposite end of the palace from the throne room. In fact, we were near—

Instead of continuing down the hall that would take us to the throne room, I veered off course.

I could almost hear the confusion behind me but, Eirtaé and Rabé excluded, the men following me were all in too much awe of the Queen to question me. Eirtaé and Rabé were too professional to interrogate me right now, although I rather imagined that if I could hear what they were thinking, Rabé would be utterly baffled and Eirtaé would be flinging questions, demands and accusations about indiscriminately. Those feelings, I thought vaguely, would probably only increase when they saw where we were going. But I didn't really care.

Naboo was free. And my feet really, really, really hurt.

We were going to the Wardrobe room and we were going there right now. Besides, I comforted myself, while we were there, we could pick up some shapeless outfits with hoods for Rabé, Eirtaé and I and another Queenly outfit for Padmé to wear as well as the necessary make-up and hair equipment. The sooner I could go back to being regular old Sabé, the happier I would be.

Although, to be honest, at that very moment, I would have settled for just being able to put on a different pair of shoes. Because my feet were killing me.