Entry 48

I haven't gotten in trouble for months. I must be going for a record. It makes me a little nervous. When is the scat going to hit the preverbal fan? Nothing goes this smoothly for me for this long. I may actually make it to my next birthday without getting in the sleemo holozine tabloids. Well, one can hope.

.

.

.

Entry 49

I went on a mission with Ben this week. This is the first time that we have worked together without a Master with us. Usually my dad or my Aunt Mara accompany us because we were not knighted yet, but now that Ben is a fully fledged Jedi knight he was assigned a mission and he asked me to join him, which I think is cool. I need the experience.

We were assigned to guard Queen Kaie Indupar acting ruler of the Induparan Crown Worlds…at least until a pure blood heir of the royal line claimed the throne. If the Queen was of the Indupar royal bloodline she could rule, but the late King Odaj Indupar married a commoner so when he died a few days ago apparently without an heir there was a mad rush among the royals to claim the throne. That was until the Queen announced that she was two weeks pregnant with the King's child. Fearing assassination attempts on her unborn child's life she fled to Coruscant.

She requested the best guards and suggested that Jedi be assigned to her. I was really excited to be working with Ben. Given the responsibility to protect a royal made me feel like I was more than an apprentice.

I didn't want to make the same mistake I did on Seylott. I researched the planet Indupar and the royal family of the same name. The late King had been a large man in this mid-thirties who looked very much like Prince Isolder, with blond hair and blue eyes. The queen was a local blond-haired beauty that caught the King's eye when she was working as a teenage model. There was a whirlwind romance and six years ago, at the tender age of nineteen, she became his wife.

The planet has an interesting history. The world was within Separatist space during the Clone Wars. Later it fell under the Eriadu Authority, which was a splinter faction of the Galactic Empire that was formed shortly after the Battle of Yavin. Despite Indupar technically being an Imperial world under the Eriadu Authority, it still maintained its monarchy. After the fall of the Empire the Indupar Crown worlds became independent. They were not part of the GA, Imperial Remnant or any other large governing authority. From what I read Queen Kaie and her husband King Odaj Indupar were the most popular royals in recorded history. The Royal couple strived to establish jobs and schools for the populace and they worked diligently to end poverty on their planet. In the past the royals were known to tax the non-royals into squalor, but King Ojaj Indupar put a cap on taxes of ten percent and didn't squander the money on big palaces, but instead built colleges and libraries.

According to the HoloNet reports the citizens were terrified at the prospect that a less loving leader would take the throne and were thrilled when they discovered the Queen was pregnant.

I am looking forward to protecting this young mother. Well, I guess I shouldn't say young. At the age of twenty-five she is six years older than me.

Ben and I arrive at the posh Monument Crown Hotel where the Queen was staying. We were brought to her quarters and introduced to her and her decoy. Her body double is a young woman named Ema Aiti and the resemblance was absoultely eerie. I thought they could be identical twins…and later I discovered I was right…Ema was the Queen's identical twin sister.

Queen Indupar was very cordial to us and I could understand why her people loved her so. She spoke very eloquently and lovingly of her subjects and her great sadness of the loss of her spouse.

The Queen was in a suite fit for a queen. There was a large sitting area, a kitchen, four bedroom chambers each with a private bathroom and a large ornate balcony with a spectacular view of the Coruscant skyline. Ben and I were told we could have two of the empty rooms. Ema would take another room and the master bedroom would go to the Queen. Ben and I would take shifts guarding her. One Jedi slept while the other stood guard within the apartment. We weren't the only guards…we were just the only ones who had direct access to the Queen. There was a roving police presence throughout the building and outside.

Ben took the first shift and I tried to get some sleep…which isn't easy in the daytime after I had gotten a full night's sleep. Finally at dinnertime Ben woke me up and he went to his room to sleep. I went into the sitting room where I found the Queen and her sister sitting at a dining table eating supper. They both smiled at me and motioned for me to sit.

"Your friend already ate, but there is a meal for you also. We would love it if you would join us," said the Queen. Although the Queen and her sister were identical in looks, I was able to identify her by her demeanor. She never turned off the royal façade, whereas the sister, when not playing the part, appeared more relaxed.

The food smelled fantastic. I sat down and dug into a wonderful bantha steak. I looked down at the food in thought. "Is this take out from the Manarai Restaurant?"

The Queen lowered her fork and looked at me impressed. "I am surprised that a warrior has a palate sophisticated enough to distinguish fine cuisine from one restaurant to another."

I laughed. "My mother probably cooked this meal. It's her recipe." I gave Ema and the Queen a look of pride. "She's the head chef at the Manarai."

The Queen's eyebrows went up. "That is an impressive accomplishment."

I just nodded in agreement. I rarely tell anybody that my parents also own the restaurant. It was too much like name-dropping.

I sat quietly and ate. It's not that dealing with Royalty intimidated me, but I definitely didn't want to say or do the wrong thing. The Queen finally dabbed her mouth with a silk napkin and excused herself from the table. "I think I will retire to my room. I have some documents to read." She looked to her sister and then to me. "You two enjoy yourselves."

I stood when she rose from her seat. "Good evening, Your Highness."

After the Queen retired to her room I sat back down and started back to my meal. Eventually I noticed Ema eyeing me. I looked up to her questioningly. "Is there a problem?"

She shook her head. "No, I just can't get over how much you look like my sister's late husband."

My brow furrowed in thought. "Really? I thought he looked more like Prince Isolder."

She gave me a light chuckle. "You mean the very, tall, handsome, blond haired, blue eyed Prince of Hapes who you look very much like?"

I shrugged. I guess I look a little like him, but I think I am much better looking. "I suppose..." I hesitated not knowing what would be the proper title to call the sister of the Queen. "I know you introduced yourself as Ema, but is there a title that goes along with that? I don't wish to cause a political gaffe by addressing you incorrectly. "

She smiled. "My sister was Queen Consort to the King, therefore her siblings are without royal titles. Her son or daughter when born will be the Prince or Princess until they reach the age of twelve. At that time they could claim the ruling title, but most children usually wait until they have reached the age of majority." She paused. "So…please call me Ema."

I smiled at her. She is a gorgeous woman. "So Ema…do you have a husband or significant other?"

She shook her head. "No, when you are the decoy for the Queen it has a tendency to making dating difficult." She gave me a coy look. "What about you? With your good looks I assume you have a girlfriend."

She gave me a soft smile that would have made my knees weak if I had been standing. "No, no steady girlfriend."

She laughed softly. "I am surprised. I read so much about you on the Holonet."

I groaned. Will I ever escape my ill deserved reputation? "I swear all those stories are lies, Ema. I am not the love child of Luke Skywalker. I haven't fathered multiple extramarital children. I'm not a deadbeat dad. I don't partake in bedroom dress up. I am not into domination scenarios. I have never had a furry fetish with Wookiees or Bothans. I'm not a chubby chaser…although I don't have a problem dating full-figured girls…I just don't specialize in certain body types. I don't do Tauntaun play. I'm not the masked actor in the skinholo Hold My Lightsaber and I never, ever participated in an interspecies orgy with Killiks and Worrites…I mean how would that even be possible…they have exoskeletons and are taller than Wookiees." I stopped and took a deep cleansing breath. I get so irritated when I talk about this subject. "I'm sorry. I get a little aggravated when I think about what the sludge media has done to my reputation. I just want to reaffirm that whatever you read is not true."

Her eyes crinkled up with amusement. "I was referring to your brave actions in capture of the Coruscanti University rapist. I would think women would be falling all over themselves to date a Jedi hero such as yourself."

Okay, now I felt really stupid. I could feel my face flush hotly. "I am sure women would be flocking all over me if I didn't have a totally false reputation of having a carapace sexual fetish."

She laughed. "I find your humor absolutely charming."

I smiled brightly. I am really starting to like this woman. I know I don't have a snowball's chance on Mustafar of striking up a relationship with her—after all she is twenty-five and I was nineteen—but it is nice to fantasize about the possibility. "Thank you. I find you charming also."

Stang! As soon as that came out of my mouth I realized that might seem too forward, but I was relieved when she simply smiled.

"So," I said changing the subject. "Why did you and your sister decide to come to Coruscant? I am sure there were closer worlds that could offer you equal protection."

She gazed into my eyes. "Talon, have you ever heard of H'drachi Seers?"

I thought about it for a moment. I did remember our Jedi Historian, Tionne, mentioning them once. "They are from the Expansion Region," I said. "They are known to utilize the Force to see the future."

"They supposedly read what they call the 'time stream'. The more H'drachi Seers you have reading that stream, the more accurate the prediction. There are a half dozen seers living within the palace. The King didn't take much stock in their religion. It was his mother who was a believer. She brought them to the kingdom a few years prior to her death." She paused a moment collecting her thoughts. "Within hours of the King's demise they requested an audience with the Queen. They knew she was pregnant before she even knew. They told her to ensure the life of the heir she must go to Coruscant and request protection of the Jedi Knights. Only with the help of the Jedi would the heir of her blood live to rule the house of Indupar. If the King's cousin—a horrible man called Olaf Racine—came into power the seers foresaw our world slipping into civil war. Millions would die and cause a cascade of events that could adversely affect of the fate of the Galaxy."

My jaw dropped. "Talk about pressure. If we screw up this mission the galaxy goes down the Sarlac pit."

She laughed. "I wouldn't get too stressed." She shook her head. "I don't know if the seers are to be believed or not. They could be completely wrong, but they did know about her pregnancy, so the Queen decided to take their counsel."

I squared my shoulders. "Ema, I will do everything in my power to protect the Queen and the life of her child."

Ema reached across the table and put her hand on mine. "I know you will. I have a feeling the Force will be with us."