Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. The inevitable OCs? Those I'll claim, though they may be based off of people I know, if only loosely.

Time-line: 2y, 8m. Takes a month.

Phantasm Chronicles 2: The Naboo Caper

It had only been a week since she'd returned from a mission to the Wookies with her Jedi, but Rae was feeling antsy. Seeing the Wookie people free, or as free as any race deemed valuable as slaves could be, just made her more determined to thwart the raise of the Empire. And her research on Coruscant was still getting her next to nowhere! She sighed and hid her digital tracks before comming Dex. "Rae! What can I do for you?" the jovial ex-arms dealer asked. Rae gave him a wan smile.

"I know it's only been a week but... Can I take a month and go to Naboo?" she asked. Dex hummed, one large hand coming up to rub his chin.

"Can I ask why?"

"Chasing ghosts," Rae answered. "And Naboo has some particularly interesting ones," she continued, thinking of both Palaptine's murdered family and Darth Maul. After nearly three years, would the notoriously difficult to kill zabrak still be at the bottom of that reactor shaft or would he have dragged himself off somewhere? Dex's considering hum drew her attention back.

"Well, there is a Festival coming up soon on Naboo. And I know how much you've enjoyed learning about new cultures. Sure, take some time to enjoy Naboo and her ghosts," he said. Rae beamed at him.

"Thanks Dex, I really appreciate this," she said. "I'll try out a new recipe while I'm out. With any luck, it'll be as good as the shortbread."

"I look forward to it," Dex said with a smile.

/*/

Flying Claire, the beat up ancient clarion fighter she'd pulled out of a junk heap to escape a horde of mutant rats, was always a pleasure for Rae. Space was quite, the only Songs she could hear were the distant, steady, melodies of the stars and a few quite strings that might have been an auditory manifestation of the Cosmic or Unifying Force. It had taken a while, but Rae had come to realize that the Songs she usually heard, the Songs that sometimes threatened to overwhelm her, came from the Living Force. Of course, she could only hear the Star Songs while in normal space. Hyper-space was almost completely silent in the Force with only the distant strings of the Cosmic and Unifying Force playing just on the edge of hearing. She settled back in her seat, closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing, listening to the quiet music of the universe. It was in this semi-meditative state that she heard the first words from the Force that weren't song lyrics. "Finally, you listen," the Force sighed.

"I've listened before, there was just... so much. It's quieter here," Rae answered, not opening her eyes. A hum from the Force.

"Yes, you are more in tune with the Here and Now, my Daughter. Still, it is good you are listening now."

"You know I seek evidence of Sheev Palpatine's wrong doing."

"I do. And you understand that without the Dark..."

"There can be no Light. Yes. But Force... must we allow so much Dark in the galaxy? Must we allow evil to flourish?"

"No. There is something to be found on Naboo, but it may not be what you seek."

"Is it what you feel I need?" Fond parent amusement.

"In time, yes, you will need what you find on Naboo, even if you do not believe you will." Rae hummed curiously at that and the Force just laughed. Rae huffed, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

"Very well. Be that way. Is there anything else you wish to tell me, while I have the time?"

"Don't let your warrior siblings fall."

"Jedi or mando'ade?"

"Elek."

"Fair enough." The nav computer beeped, signaling the transition back to real space, and Rae sighed as she drew her awareness back to herself.

"You are doing well, but you cannot do everything on your own," the Force whispered before fading into the background once more. Rae hummed even as she began making her approach to Naboo.

"I realize I'm only one person, but how can I truly ask another to put themselves in danger to help me? I already told Blon, and Dex and Obi and Anakin have a general idea. Surely, that is sufficient for now." She got a skeptical sounding buzz in her ears for that but resolutely ignored it.

/*/

Naboo was just as beautiful as it had been nearly three years ago. More, actually, as it wasn't being occupied by the greedy and corrupt Trade Federation and their droids. Rae took a deep breath of the cool air and smiled. The air here was so much fresher than on Coruscant, so much more pleasant. As she pulled her bag from Claire's gunner seat and slid down to the duracreat of the landing pad, she Heard a Melody that put her in mind of one of Padme's Handmaidens. Sure enough, when she turned around, there was a look-a-like in the red robes of the Royal Handmaidens waiting at the doorway. "Greetings!" Rae called. The woman smiled pleasantly and bobbed a slight bow.

"Welcome back to Naboo, Rae. The Queen has asked me to show you to your accommodations," she said. Rae hummed and hiked her bag a little higher on her shoulder.

"My accommodations? I didn't ask for Her Majesty to set anything up for me," she remarked. The Handmaiden smirked and a mischievous and oddly dangerous gleam entered her eyes.

"Her Majesty knows this, and insists anyway. You are a guest, a friend, and a hero to our people. Please, follow me," the Handmaiden declared. Rae knew how to pick her battles – mostly – so she settled for a faintly bemused smirk and followed the look-a-like out of the spaceport and through the streets. The woman, who introduced herself as Sabe, pointed out cafes and little shops as they passed them, commenting on prices and quality of goods. Rae absorbed all the information and filed it away for later. She'd come on the off chance she could find something on Palatine in his family estate, but if she could pick up some good gossip it couldn't hurt. "Ah, here we are." Here was the Palace guest wing.

"Should have known," Rae muttered. It was the same room she'd stayed in nearly three years ago, in the aftermath of the Battle of Theed. "Will Her Majesty be seeing me later, or does her schedule prevent such things?"

"I am here," Queen Amidala said, stepping around a corner. For a woman wearing so much silk, brocade, and beading Amidala made very little noise. Rae grinned at the young Queen and swept her a bow.

"We missed you at our last celebration, Your Majesty," she said. "Though... how you knew I'd be in Theed..."

"Please. Air Traffic Control knows to keep an ear out for your name, and your fighter. Honestly, did you think I wouldn't remember that you are in possession of a functional museum piece? You were far too proud of salvaging it for that," Queen Amidala answered with a smile. Rae bowed her head again, this time in acknowledgment of a well done verbal parry.

"Organized as always, Königin," she said. "Will I have free run of the city, or am I to be treated as a visiting dignitary?"

"You are my guest and a visitor to our planet. The same rights and freedoms my people enjoy are yours, Rae," Queen Amidala answered. "Though... it would please me if you joined me for dinner."

"How could I ever refuse such an offer, Your Majesty? When would I be expected... and where might I find appropriate attire?"

"It shall be informal, no need for a shopping trip," Amidala waved off. Rae gave a faint pout.

"Oh, and here I was hoping to spend some time with Padme. We haven't gone on a shopping trip together since that time on Coruscant," she lamented playfully. Amidala's painted lips twitched and Dorme chuckled as she breezed out of the room. "Besides, I didn't bring my nice clothes. All I packed were my training and work clothes. If I'm having dinner where your court can see me, I want some Dinner Party clothes. Ya know, the kind that don't have sweat, oil, and grease stains on them?" Amidala hummed, then bobbed her head.

"I will have Padme show you a few shops around Theed then. Expect her around the fourteenth bell," the Queen said. Rae grinned and swept her another bow.

"My thanks, Königin. I look forward to dinner with you tonight," she said. Amidala inclined her head in acknowledgment and ghosted back out the door, leaving Rae to her own devices.

/*/

Shopping for nice clothes with Padme was far different than browsing the upper and mid level shops on Coruscant just to stretch their legs. Instead of Rae finding a shop that sold various weapons or training equipment to drag the teen-aged Queen into, Padme was finding quaint little boutiques to tug Rae into. Honestly, Rae thought her friend was having a blast using her as a dress up doll. Still, Padme had an eye for fashion so she wouldn't complain. "I look like an Easter cupcake from Disneyland," she deadpanned, staring at her reflection. Okay, so she wouldn't complain much, but this complaint was justified! The gown Padme had pushed into her arms with a grin was puffy around the shoulders and forearms with a full shirt that was streaked with multiple pastel colors. Padme sighed, but nodded.

"I'm not sure what Easter or Disneyland are, but you're right, this one doesn't suit you like I thought it would," she admitted. Rae lost track of how many outfits she tried on that afternoon, but she ended up with two nice-casual dresses, a formal gown, and three snappy pant suits. And a handmaiden outfit that Sabe insisted she try then immediately demanded she keep. Rae sighed and accepted the orange and red get up, though she had a suspicion it was armored as she couldn't move as quickly as she was used to in it. She wore one of the causal dresses to dinner and had a lovely time, even if she had to give a Costumer Service smile to a couple of people who objected to her presence. Padme didn't hold back nearly as much. Rae was so proud. After giving a promise that she'd share lunch with the Queen the next day, Rae returned to her quarters and changed clothes. Slipping out of the Palace was easy, all she had to do was walk out the doors. Finding a slightly seedy cantina was harder. The place she ended up at was hardly the place one would think of when setting up a clandestine meeting, but it suited her fine. She played a few legal hands of Sabbac, had a drink, then slipped out to an alley that, fortunately, didn't have any cameras. An old cloak she'd 'stolen' from Obi-Wan, the goggles and face covering she'd worn on Tatooine, and a pair of thin synth-leather gloves later and she deemed herself sufficiently disguised. Now on to the next phase of the plan: find the Palpatine Estate and see if she could enter without setting off alarms. Well, actually, she knew where the estate was located so it was really more of a 'get to' than a 'find' but eh, semantics. Before too long, the fairly impressive walls and deceptively decorative gate of her target came into view. Cameras, pressure sensors, and a distressing lack of obvious lock. "Well shist," she muttered, peering around to see if she could get a glimpse of the electronic lock. Sadly, her goggles hindered her more than helped here, so she moved them to the top of her head and continued to squint into the darkness. Without her goggles keeping the scarf pinched to her nose, it began to slip. She huffed and tugged it back up. Bad enough her eyes could be seen, the rest of her face would make it far too easy for someone to track her down. And she did not need people knowing she'd been poking around here. Not yet.

/*/

Jakk Alduli was your average Guardsman. He had no awards to his name, no notes of excellence or demerit on his record, he just showed up and did his job before going home. He liked it that way, honestly. There was no lust for adventure or desire for fame in his heart, he just wanted to do his part to keep Naboo safe. Of course, one man can't keep an entire planet safe, so he settled for Theed and the surrounding estates. That night, he just so happened to be patrolling some of the lesser estates. Really, it was just his bad luck that he came across a stranger staring at the gate to the Palpatine estate. Now, someone pausing to look at one of the fancy homes wasn't too unusual, so Jakk wasn't concerned. At least, not until he got closer and saw they were glaring at the gate controls. "What are you doing?" he asked. The stranger whirled around too fast for his eyes to track and a thin, warm glove covered his mouth while a blade got shoved in his shoulder. Blue-green eyes flew wide with shock before the hand on his mouth was removed.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! People usually don't surprise me like that! How did I not hear you?! Oh no, that's a lot of blood. Oh jeez, come on, lets get you to a hospital or a clinic or something oh my gosh this night has just gone down hill so fast," the stranger said. Jakk was fairly sure that voice was female, but shock was starting to set in. He turned his head to look at the hilt jutting out of his shoulder and took a moment to thank the Great Waters that the vibro-pack hadn't been engaged. A regular blade didn't do as much damage as one enhanced with the kinetic energy of micro-vibrations. "Oi! Don't you pass out on me!" the woman, he was pretty sure it was a woman, barked at him. It reminded Jakk of the drill sergeants from boot camp, the remembered trauma jolting him into motion. "Ack, no, don't pull it out! What are you, an idiot? It's helping keep your blood in you! Curses, I don't have a med pack on me. Mental note, always carry a med kit. Right, can you stand up for me? Sadly, I don't have a speeder with me." Her voice melded into the background, meaningless chatter in his mind, as Jakk focused on getting to his feet and walking. Wow this hurt. He hadn't been stabbed since... huh. He'd never been stabbed. Shot with a stun blast, sure. Same with a taser. And he'd taken a blaster bolt to an armored vest before, but that had been low powered and left more of a burning bruise. Stabbing, Jakk decided, was much more painful. Leaving the knife in his shoulder also felt like a bad idea, but for some reason he trusted the woman's judgment there. Maybe she'd been stabbed before? "OI! It was your shoulder, not your leg! Help me out here!"

"Sorry. First stabbing," he quipped. She huffed and shifted to put more of his weight across her shoulders.

"So what, this is all your shock response? Jeez, take things pretty hard the first time, huh," she said. He huffed a laugh.

"Maybe." She shook her head, then reached up to pull off the goggles.

"Well, cosplay night is busted. And washing your blood out of this cloak is going to be a pain~!" He chuckled weakly, though he was glad to have a reason for why she was dressed like she was.

"Who... who were you..." he said, trying to string a proper sentence together.

"Eh, not sure. Desert scavenger maybe?" she answered. "Oh look! A clinic. Perfect timing."

"Welcome to the... Oh Great Waters! What happened?!" the receptionist exclaimed.

"It's a really bad idea to startle someone from the Outer Rim," the woman drawled back. Jakk chuckled.

"In my defense, I didn't know you were from the Outer Rim," he said. The woman rolled her eyes before turning to the receptionist.

"Single stab wound to the shoulder, as you can see. It was reflex, so the power cell for the vibroknife didn't get turned on. He's been responsive, for the most part, but shock has definitely started to set in. Probably going to need stitches. Can we get started on the paperwork now?" The receptionist nodded and gathered the necessary documents before handing them over with a stylus. "Much obliged."

"You know, most people don't talk like that these days," Jakk said. The woman huffed a laugh as she guided him to sit down.

"Well, I'm not from around here, you know." Jakk hummed and leaned back, closing his eyes. This was going to be a pain to write up the incident report for.

"Well, not how I saw my first date going," he said. Wait. What? That had not been was he was planning on saying mouth why?! To his great surprise, she snorted at him. He cracked an eye open to see her smirking at him in bemusement.

"As far as first dates go, this one isn't too bad really," she said. This woman... what even was she?! She was fast, and strong, and used phrases he had only heard in literature class, and stabbed people that surprised her... but she also joked and made sure he was okay and... was she flirting? "First guy I dated... well. We didn't actually date. He walked me to my parents' speeder after school a few times and I invited him to a small local festival. We almost went to a dance together but the guy stood me up. Didn't love him enough to be truly offended, but still. Rude."

"Who would leave a girl like you waiting?" Jakk found himself asking. She laughed.

"I was only at that school for a year so he didn't know me all that well. It's fine, I got over it," she said.

"What about the second guy?" Jakk asked. She shrugged.

"I'm not sure if we're romantic partners, friend partners, or responsible partners," she said.

"Well... what would your first date with him have looked like?"

"He took me to a dinner to get me a job with one of his friends," she answered. "Then he took me to the gym in his apartment complex because mine was sub-par in his eyes. First time he brought me off-world, though I'll admit I begged him to take me with him cause I was bored, we ended up in a junk yard filled with mutated rat-like creatures. A few of them had freaking wings! And that was where I got my very own star fighter; a truly ancient clarion." Jakk froze. A clarion? Junk yard full of rats? Why did that sound familiar?

"No wait. Before that, he brought me here, little over two and a half years ago. Introduced me to some natives. They gave me a blaster and a staff and pointed me at a field of B1 droids. If the blasters had been replaced with water or paint guns, I'd have had a whole lot more fun."

"Rae Mayar," Jakk breathed, eyes wide. "You're..."

"Huh. So Königin wasn't kidding when she said I was recognized," the woman, Rae Mayar, remarked.

"I... you're a hero!" he stammered, she shook her head and waved her hand like it meant nothing.

"I scrapped a few droids, gave out a few warnings, and let a couple people cry on my shoulder. That doesn't make me a hero, it just makes me a decent friend. Don't make a big deal out of it, okay?" she said. Jakk shook his head.

"You did more than I could. I was captured early on, put into one of the camps. It was awful, and humiliating. I'm supposed to keep our people safe and yet I was captured by a bunch of droids. You though..."

"I wasn't on the planet when the occupation began," Rae said. "The Queen and her Jedi escorts found me on Tatooine. Why they brought me back here with them... I'm honestly not sure. Guess Königin was already fond of me by then. Regardless, I wasn't about to be taken to a camp. The Gungans put me with Jar-Jar Binks on the front lines. First time I'd really used a blaster." She jolted slightly and shook her head. "Ah, but you don't want to hear me ramble on about this. I'll just... turn in this paperwork and be on my way. Königin is going to give me the Look when she finds out about this."

"Who is Königin?" Jakk asked. Rae blinked at him, astonished.

"Queen Amidala of course. Who else would I be talking about?" she asked, then left before Jakk could respond. This was certainly not how he'd thought his patrol would go, not one bit.

/*/

Over the next couple of days, Rae laid low. She wandered the city of Theed, picking up gossip and rumor that was usually only about half-true. Lunch with Padme turned into 'hi, I'm one of the Queen's friends. I brought food. Kindly shut up so we can eat,' as the young Queen was often caught in near endless meetings. The Handmaidens thought it was great and after the second time, they asked her to wear the robes they'd given her for lunch. Rae saw no problem with that and soon had the palace in a low-key uproar over the 'rogue handmaiden.' Finally, a week after her first failed attempt at casing the Palpatine Estate, Rae snuck out again. This time, she was successful... for a given value of success. As her skills stood, she had no way of gaining access without tripping alarms. She sighed and decided the next night, she would look in the royal records. She'd have to be careful, but it shouldn't be too hard? Right?

/*/

How Jakk had gotten assigned to archive duty, he honestly didn't know. Not that he was complaining, since archive duty was easy and his shoulder was still healing. So imagine his surprise when he saw Rae Mayar, late in the night, pouring over old records. "Good evening," he called, staying well out of her reach... or so he hoped. Who knew what she could do. There had been rumors she was a Jedi after all. She chuckled and turned to smile at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Officer," she said lightly and Jakk realized he'd never given his name!

"Jakk, Miss. Jakk Alduli," he said, coming closer. She hummed.

"A good name. How long have you served at the Palace, Jakk?"

"Guardsmen like me get rotated through the city, palace, and surrounding estates," he answered, coming to stand beside her. "I've had this job for... about five years now."

"And how has it treated you? Aside from the stab wound, obviously," she asked, eyes dancing. He huffed and smiled back at her.

"Aside from that, it's treated me well," he said. Rae hummed and turned back to the records spread out before her.

"Have you studied recent history at all, Jakk?" she asked.

"Can't say I have, Miss," he answered, curious.

"Hum. Then I don't suppose you could tell me about Senator Sheev Palpatine and his younger years? I must admit, I find him to be... too clean. It's like... looking at a single whitewashed building in a city. The other buildings are darkened by age or coated in a fine layer of dirt but that single structure is blinding white." Now that she mentioned it, there were surprisingly few complaints about Senator Palpatine. The again...

"Her Majesty is 'clean' as you put it," he began but Rae shook her head.

"Yes, but not in the same manner. She has served her people admirably while also making controversial decisions. Senator Palpatine, however, seems to have never made such decisions. Amidala has several concerns and debates attached to her name to go with her commendations, but Palpatine is just... bland. Capable, yes, but his tenure is not half as storied as Amidala's. Doesn't it seem strange?" Jakk paused and thought, really thought, about her words. Amidala, and indeed all the monarchs he could remember, had made decisions at one point or another that had sparked conflict across the planet. True, most of those conflicts had been minor and solved with debate rather than aggression, but there had been conflict. Many Senators had made similarly controversial decisions or suggestions; backed bills that were wildly disapproved of, voted against bills people were vocally in support of, pressed for faster decisions one way or another that the people noticeably didn't agree with... yet Senator Palpatine had a record clear of such polarizing actions. Everyone trusted him and backed him because... because he'd never given them a reason to criticize him. Not even in the wider Republic.

"That... is rather odd," he allowed. Rae nodded.

"Indeed. So, I've been looking into his history and that of his family, but most of what I can find is the same old bland nothing."

"Well... his parents did die mysteriously," Jakk offered. Rae perked up and turned glittering eyes on him.

"Records, now, or it didn't happen!" she exclaimed, latching onto his arm. He did his best to fight down the blush her attention was trying to inspire and nodded.

"Death records should be housed in that section over there, d-15," he said, pointing. "If foul play is suspected, there should be a reference for the Guard Report on the investigation. It likely won't be detailed, since there's such a thing as privacy rights, but enough to get the general idea. Detailed reports might be kept in the Guard database, but good luck getting in there without the proper clearance." She hummed, nodded, then popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Guardsman Alduli. I'm glad I got to see you again," she said, then vanished into the death records. Jakk shook his head and continued on his way. It was an odd encounter, but that was all it was... right?

/*/

Her month on Naboo was drawing to an end, but her investigation would continue. Palpatine's homeworld hadn't given her much in the way of evidence against him or of him being at the very least a Force-sensitive, but it had given her some. Not to mention... "I ah... I really enjoyed our talks," Jakk said, shuffling slightly in front of her. He'd come to her rooms in the Palace just as she was gathering her things to leave and looked about as sure of himself as a middle school student. Rae chuckled and shook her head.

"I'd have thought you found me strange, Guardsman Alduli," she remarked.

"You certainly gave me a lot to think about," he said, smiling, and Rae thought it was a rather pleasant expression. "But ah... I really did enjoy meeting you and... I was hoping..." he shook himself and pulled out a piece of flimsi, shoving it at her in a motion that spoke of nerves, "that you'd keep in touch?" Rae blinked, but took the small scrap and found it contained a comm-code.

"Yeah. I'll stay in touch," she said, tucking it away. "If I find anything else interesting, I'll let you know."

"And I'll stay more up to date on current events," Jakk said perking up. Rae smiled warmly at him.

"Don't stress yourself," she said, stepping forward to reach a hand up to his shoulder. "Next time I'm on Naboo, what do you say I help you work on your knife defense?" she offered. Jakk honest to goodness blushed.

"Ah... might... be a good idea," he allowed. Rae laughed and, dropping her hand, bumped his shoulder with her own.

"Who knows, maybe we'll be able to learn from each other," she said. Jakk smiled, still a bit unsure, and nodded.

"When are you leaving?"

"Today, after lunch," Rae answered, turning back into her rooms. "I was just finishing up repacking my things when you arrived."

"Right... well. I'll... let you do that then," Jakk said, awkward all over again. Rae laughed and gave a little wave.

"Until we meet again, Jakk," she said.

"Until we meet again," he echoed, smiling, before he left. Still smiling, Rae finished her preparations. Yes, this trip had given her more than just information on Palpatine and for that, she'd count it a success.