22 BBY

Sabé gazed from the platform, taking in the tall skyscraper buildings and flow of traffic, wishing instead she was on Naboo, taking in its luxurious waterfalls and luscious greenery. Her thoughts flickered briefly to the palace, to the moment of liberation so long ago. So much had changed since then. Queen Amidala had finished her last terms peacefully, some even hoping for a third. While Padmé refused, she was not done with her civic duty and had taken the offer to join the senate. Sabé just could not imagine Coruscant being that much more safer for her, and refused to step down as her handmaiden and bodyguard. Padmé had felt the same. Her concerns for Padmé's safety had only grown and had kept her extremely busy the last year or so. Today would be much the same. She had flown ahead of Padmé upon their return to Coruscant to ensure her apartments were secure for her arrival. She had not taken the role of decoy in quite some time. Padmé insisted she needed her services elsewhere, training Cordé to take her place. She used her extra time to instead act with Captain Typho, devising strategies, advising the Senator, and continuing her combat training. Ever since Naboo, something told her she would need them again.

Sabé awaited Padmé at her landing platform. The air was chilled, ominous. She walked towards her as Padmé exited her own starship in her pilot gear; part of Sabé's plan to keep her under cover. Relief barely made its way to her, stifled by something unknown.

"We made it." Captain Typho began, watching their decoy exit the ship. "I guess we were wrong. There was no danger at all." The words had barely left his mouth, when Sabé felt a sudden sense of doom. She ran quickly, throwing herself at Padmé, as an explosion sounded from the ship. When she was certain there was no more debris hurtling towards them, she released Padmé and they ran to Cordé together. She turned Cordé over gently, her face covered in soot, hair singed, blood dripping down her face. A deafening reality set in for Sabé in that moment. Her best friend was in serious danger. It only resounded in her as she realized that at any point in time in the last ten years, this could have been her. She felt a sudden onset of guilt wreak havoc on her being, her breathing pained, blood pounding in her ears. This should have been her. Cordé was fresh to this role and so young. She knew she should have never allowed anyone else to take this risk. She came back to the present as the young woman spoke.

"Milady, I'm so sorry. I have failed you senator."

"No..." Padmé cried. Sabé reached for her as Cordé took her last breath.

"Padmé, we must leave. It is still not safe for you here."

"I shouldn't have come back." Her voice was soft, broken.

"This vote is very important. You did your duty, Cordé did hers." The captains words barely reached Sabé's ears as he made his way to them.

Padmé slowly allowed herself to be picked up from the ground. Sabé released her over to the Captain and began checking the rest of the crew. She would ensure they were honored in the end. Confirming Padmé was off the landing platform, Sabé finished recovering the bodies of the senator's entourage, remorse for each life filling her, hitting her harder with each passing moment. She returned to meet the senator back at her quarters. She was finalizing her reports for Padmé, when none other than the senator herself came sweeping in a rage into her apartments, followed swiftly by the captain and her handmaiden Dormé. Sabé rose to meet her, her questions evident across her face.

"Insufferable! Can you believe with everything going on they think that I need more protection." It was rare for Padmé to raise her voice or to lose herself in such a tirade. But when it came to injustice or anything that may come in the way of delivering justice, Padmé could not stand for it. "Honestly! I have my own guardsman. I have handmaidens and loyal bodyguards! I do not need the Jedi also interfering and making my job even harder. If other senators see these threats and heightened security, they may believe it is due to my opinion on the military creation act. What if they then feel they cannot vote as they please? What if they also begin to fear for their lives?" She was fully in front of Sabé now.

"Your concerns are just, milady. But I am sure the Jedi will be discreet. They are peacekeepers and diplomats. I am sure they do not wish to create more opposition to you." She tried her best to reassure her. Padmé sighed. She suddenly grabbed her friend in a swift hug.

"Oh, Sabé. Forever my voice of reason and dear friend." She had placed her hands on Sabé's shoulders now, holding her gaze. "I do hope you are right."

Obi-Wan could feel the tension rolling of his padawan in waves.

"You seem a little on edge." He commented to his padawan.

"Not at all." Anakin replied, doing his best to have an air of indifference.

"I haven't felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of gundarks."

"You fell into that nightmare, master, and I rescued you. Remember?"

Obi-Wan smirked to himself. "Oh… yes." He enjoyed teasing his young padawan too much. The truth was, he found himself also anxious. He had yet to learn who truly died on that platform, and feared the worst as he had come to know many of the senator's entourage while back on Naboo.

"You're sweating. Relax. Take a deep breath."

"I haven't seen her in ten years, master." This final statement brought a different round of concerns to Obi-Wan. He hoped it would not be indicative of anything else. Shaking the thoughts away he smiled to himself as Jar Jar Binks greeted them at the door.

"Obi? Obi!" He called to him, grabbing his hands and shaking them vigorously. "Mesa so smilen to seein yousa!"

"Good to see you again, Jar Jar." He had always admired the senator's part to include the Gungans as a representative in the senate. A very diplomatic and thoughtful move.

"Senator Padmé. Mesa palos here! Lookie, lookie, Senator. Desa Jedi Arriven." Jar Jar had brought them in front of the senator, her handmaiden and who Obi-Wan assumed to be two of her security personnel. He was surprised when one of the security guards turned around, stoic and graceful. Sabé. She was dressed as the rest of the guard, a dark blue jumpsuit with a burgundy overlay. A blaster was holstered to the side of her leg and a vibroblade could be just barely seen peeking from the top of her boot. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail that flowed to her lower back. Her chocolate eyes filled with the guarded emotion he remembered well from her masquerade as queen. He turned his focus back to the senator as they approached him.

"It's a great pleasure to see you again, milady." He greeted Padmé.

"It has been far too long, Master Kenobi." Taking his extended hand in greeting.

Sabé hid her surprise at seeing Obi-Wan again after so long. Padmé had failed to mention who the Jedi intended to send, but Sabé could not have hoped for better. The familiarity would work well in assuaging Padmé's anger and irritation at the situation. She watched, a few steps behind, as Padmé greeted the Jedi. His hair had grown longer, strawberry blonde strands just kissing the tops of his shoulders. A beard had started at his strong jaw, accenting it nicely. Obi-Wan broke his eye contact from Padmé to meet Sabé's gaze, striking crystal blue eyes meeting hers. She could never forget those eyes, or the playful smirk that now graced his face. She couldn't help but allow a small smile to form on her face. Familiarity would work well. She broke their contact to turn her gaze to the young man behind Obi-Wan, finally recognizing young Anakin. She caught on to Anakin's awkward blunders of calling Padmé beautiful, mentally rolling her eyes. There was just something unsettling about his attitude towards her. Just as the feeling eluded her with the supreme chancellor, it eluded her here as well.

"Our presence here will be invisible, milady, I can assure you." Obi-Wan began as Padmé led them to the sitting area. Sabé remained standing next to captain Typho, slightly to the left of her charge.

"I'm Captain Typho of her majesty's security service. Queen Jamilla has been informed of your assignment." Not realizing Sabé already knew those in the room, he turned then to introduce her. "This is Captain Sabé, the Senator's personal bodyguard and security advisor." At this Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at her. Her face remained impassive. "I am grateful you are here Master Kenobi. The situation is more dangerous than the senator will admit." He finished and made a pointed look in Padmé's direction.

"I don't need more security. I need answers. I want to know who's trying to kill me." Padmé lamented.

"We are here to protect you, Senator, not to start an investigation." Obi-Wan responded, as diplomatic as he ever had been. His diplomacy was, however, abruptly shattered by a very different response from his padawan.

"We will find out who's trying to kill you, Padmé. I promise you." It did not go unnoticed by Sabé that he used her name so familiarly. It was not proper of anyone, and especially not a Jedi. A new tone that Sabé had never witnessed before came from Obi-Wans mouth. This one was stern, kind, but firm. She believed she must be witnessing his teacher's voice, and shuddered at the recollection of her own teachers speaking to her this way.

"We will not exceed our mandate, my young padawan learner."

"I meant that in the interest of protecting her, Master. Of course." She watched as the young Jedi's features contorted, trying to mask his emotions and cover his misstep.

"We will not go through this exercise again, Anakin, and you will pay attention to my lead"

"Why?" At this, all eyebrows in the room went up. Sabé could feel the tension building and the awkward exchange clouding the air.

Obviously just as startled, a confused "What?" came from Obi-Wan.

"Why else do you think we were assigned to her if not to find the killer? Protection is a job for local security, not Jedi." Sabé did not appreciate the disdainful tone that he used while speaking of 'local security'. Their security team was made of some of the most promising recruits from their planet and they worked tirelessly to always ensure Padmé's protection. "Its overkill, Master. Investigation is implied in our mandate."

"We will do exactly as the council has instructed and you will learn your place young one." Obi-Wan spoke with finality and the room filled with a deafening silence. Sabé would always be grateful for Padmé's ability to smooth out even the worst of situations.

"Perhaps with merely your presence the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed. Now if you excuse me, I will retire." She really had become quite the politician, breaking all tension in the air with her soft voice.

"I know I'll feel better having you here. I'll have an officer stationed at every floor and I'll be in the control center downstairs. Sabé is to remain with her into the night." Sabé nodded her head in agreement with Captain Typho's words. He exited swiftly after and Obi-Wan walked back in her direction.

"Captain." He nodded to her in greeting, voice still thick of his coruscanti accent. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it, or had even enjoyed it for that matter. The last time she had been in his presence she was merely fourteen years old, a girl playing charades as queen. So much had taken her attention then, she felt she must not have taking enough time to appreciate his presence, and found herself doing more so now.

"It is nice to see you again, Master Kenobi. I am grateful for your presence." Her tone was serious as she gestured Obi-Wan to the balcony, enveloping them into a small form of privacy. "I am worried for her. I fear this is only the beginning. We are doing all we can, but even I must admit your instincts are better than mine. I haven't been unable to find any solid leads in this matter." His smirk had fallen from his face, replaced with a scrunched nature of concern and deep thought.

"As I already advised my padawan, investigation is not in our mandate, Captain." His tone was clam, despite the firmness in his words.

"I understand, I only hope that if you notice anything, I be the first to know. The Senator is more to me than simply my charge, she is my dearest friend." Emotion threatened her voice, visions of Padmé lying dead on the platform flooding her mind. She turned to look at him, swallowing thickly, banishing such thoughts. His face had softened again, his hand reaching for hers that lay resting on the balcony edge. Her hand warmed in the contact, sending a feeling of a thousand tiny electrodes through her. He had turned to her, his ocean eyes calm.

"You have my word, she will be safe."

Sabé allowed a deep sigh to escape as he led her back inside just in time to catch the end of Anakin's conversation with Jar Jar Binks.

"You're focusing on the negative, Anakin. Be mindful of your thoughts. She was pleased to see us. Now lets check the security. Start with the floor below, Anakin."

In full duty mode, Sabé gave Obi-Wan a full report of her first sweep of the apartment when Padmé first arrived and any changes she might have noticed since then. They were finishing their final checks as the suns set. Padmé had since gone to bed, and Sabé followed in shortly after to stand guard.

She could hear the Jedi talking from inside Padmé's room. She had taken to lying on a mat on the floor. Doing her best to be inconspicuous.

"Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs. No assassin would try that way" Obi-Wan informed his padawan. "Any activity up here?"

"Quiet as a tomb. I don't like just waiting here for something to happen to her."

"Sabé is with her. She won't let anything happen to her." She smiled at the confidence he had in her.

Their voices faded away as they walked away from the door. In the silence, Sabé could barely make out an indistinct whirring sound. She looked to the wall where shadows played from the light coming into the window. She could make out the shadow of what could possibly be a small droid. There was no way for her to alert the jedi without alerting the droid also. Strategizing quickly, Sabé decided to wait. She didn't wait long until she raised her head slowly to see Padmé and just in time as she saw two slimy creatures wormed their way near her. As much as she would like to catch her attacker, she leapt from her position standing above Padmé, taking deadly aim at the creatures. The sound of her blaster fire sent the two Jedi running into the room and Padmé to jolt awake.

"Obi-Wan! A droid at the window!" Sabé did not know what she expected him to do, but jumping head first out the window was not what she had in mind, but that is exactly what Obi-Wan did. She watched in slight awe as he jumped and grabbed onto the droid. With no time to think, she looked to Anakin.

"Stay here! Make sure no one else comes for her!" And she bolted to the parking garage in search of her favorite speeder. She hopped in, realizing she would have no idea where to start looking. She took off in the direction she saw the droid leave, allowing her instincts to guide her. After what felt like ages, she finally saw the outline of a man hanging onto a droid. She had never been more grateful for her training in her life, as she watched someone shoot at the droid and knock Obi-Wan off, careening down to the planet surface. She turned abruptly mid air to chase him down, barely making it to him to him not 30 feet above the surface. He turned to look at her, surprise evident on his face. He had not been expecting her. His words caught in his throat after sputtering, "What took you so long?"

"It is not every day someone goes diving out a window. Some things take a moment to appreciate before you can act."

"As if you would have done differently." At this she smiled, knowing he was right. Her focus went back to the speeder she saw the shooter jump into. A wild chase ensued, Obi-Wan back-seat driving the entire time.

"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi, I didn't realize you don't like flying."

"It's not the flying, Captain, this is practically suicide!" He yelled as she narrowly missed a passing speeder.

She laughed despite their situation.

"We won't be alive long at this rate." He said exasperated. As their chase continued, Sabé sighed deeply.

"Master Jedi, if we don't change our tactic here soon, we will never catch them. Do you think you could take the controls?" She didn't wait for an answer, as she slowly inched to the front of their speeder and jumped onto the backside of the one they were chasing.

"In the name of?! Sabé!" She ignored him and the new feeling she felt rising in her chest at his use of her name. She grabbed her vibroblade from the side of her boot. Jamming it into the top of the speeder. She had the element of surprise, the pilot not entirely ready for a passenger. She quickly pried open the top and avoided shots from the pilot. For a split moment she lost balance, her grip on her blade the only thing holding her to the speeder. She used all the upper body strength she could muster and swung back around, kicking the pilot into the passenger side. They grappled for a few moments, until Sabé was able to pull the emergency landing gear. They skidded to a very ungraceful halt, the pilot shoving her down and jumping out themselves. Sabé gathered her wits and quickly slid out of the cockpit, just in time for it to catch fire. She turned quickly to give chase, watching the pilot run into a nearby club.

"Captain!" She heard Obi-Wan call.

"She ran into the club." Catching her breath, she looked at him. Surprise was still evident in his face.

Obi-Wan could only stare at her incredulously. Who in blazes was this woman before him? The Sabé he had remembered was stoic, levelheaded, and calm. While such responsibilities had been placed on her shoulders at such a young age, he had respected how maturely she had carried it, how gracefully. But this blasted woman flew perilously through oncoming traffic and went jumping from speeders at terrifying heights, giving chase to dangerous bounty hunters. While she was still as she was before, he sensed a different fire in her now, one she seemed to have grown into since their last encounter. He saw that flame now, flashing in her brown eyes. Her hair was disheveled from her chase, ponytail now loose, strands stuck to her forehead in sweat.

"Since when do you do such reckless things!?" He asked her, hints of his astonishment evident.

"Since someone is threatening Padmé." She replied firmly. Her gaze steeled staring back into his.

"I'm starting to wonder if I really did meet you on Naboo or if that was another decoy as well."

She sent him a cheeky grin as they entered the club together.

"Why do I have the feeling that you will suddenly be the death of me?" She just laughed him off at that and stopped to look around the filled club, seriousness returning to her expression. Obi-Wan started to walk away from her.

"And where are you going?" She asked.

"To get a drink." He said pointedly.

She looked at him slightly flabbergasted. Now was not the time for such things, but he had already walked away, leaving her with her mouth hung open. Gathering herself, she followed his lead and turned to look around the rest of the club.

It did not take too long to find her, as she slowly walked to Obi-Wan's exposed back. Before Sabé could even blink, Obi-Wan had lit his saber and cut off her arm that had aimed the blaster to his back. Silence deafened the loud club, as everyone turned to stare. Obi-Wan simply waved them off, and she bent down to help carry the pilot out to the back street.

"Do you know who it was you were trying to kill?" He questioned.

Moaning, the bounty let out a breathy response, "It was a senator from Naboo."

"And who hired you?"

"It was just a job?"

Sabé leaned down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tell us." She insisted, the urgency clear in her voice. She kept her voice low and steady. "Tell us." She demanded once more, locking eyes with the girl.

"It was a bounty hunter called –" Her face suddenly contorted and she gasped out a curse in Huttenese. Sabé and Obi-Wan looked up quickly to see a man in armor flying away. She stared after him as Obi-Wan removed something from the girl's neck. Sabé checked her pulse, but she was gone.

"Toxic dart." He murmured. Someone did not want to be found out. "I must report this to the council."

"I will brief the Senator. I am sure she will not be pleased that I went gallivanting to rescue her favorite Jedi. Or maybe she would be." Sabé allowed a small amount of amusement to grace her features.

"Rescue me?" His face was one again of astonishment.

"If I do remember correctly you were falling from a droid in the middle of the sky. So yes rescuing you." Her cheeky grin had returned. Obi-Wan realized he had never seen her smile such before. Of course she had smiled once or twice on their time on Naboo, but much more reserved. This smile was full of mischief and he found it suited her.

He only shook his head at her, letting a breathy chuckle escape his lips as they made their way back to her speeder. They landed at the Senators apartments and went their separate ways, Sabé quick to excuse herself to find Padmé.