***Chapter Five ***
At the start of the Junior Legislative program, Padme assumed all of the other children would be as ambitious as she was. Padme expected the children to be prepared to have philosophical conversations as if they were seasoned scholars. It was at this point, the Padme started to learn the valuable lesson that human connection is based on more than a meeting of the minds. Padme began to embrace her peers for what they had to offer versus what Padme thought they should offer.
The Life and Times of Amidala, the People's Queen, By: Softa Jiane, Oralist and Historian
The next morning Luke Skywalker left the palace by foot. As Leia's official security escort, he was given the privilege of not answering to palace guards or to the New Republic security force that was watching over the subject matter team.
The protestors that had clogged the streets that day before were mostly gone this early in the morning, but there was still small contingent of 50 or 60 protestors all dressed in rainbow bright colors. Luke smoothed down the front of his own taupe colored tunic, aware that he was dressed especially bland compared to the brightly colored locales. Luke struggled to think what he would even look like wearing anything so bright. The most colorful thing Luke had ever worn was the orange flight suite and even that was mostly ever worn in his X-wing.
Luke noticed a harmless looking man well passed middle aged among the crowd, he did not seem to be yelling, but rather just standing near the protestors, He was wearing a teal tunic and pale purple breeches, a more sedate outfit compared to the rest of the crowd. His white beard was trimmed neatly against his face and his head was bald.
Luke approached the man "Sir, can I ask you a question?"
"You an off worlder?" He barked in a gravely voice?
"Yeah?" Luke responded.
Luke watched as the sucked in his mouth and then spat in his face.
"Hey now," Luke responded while wiping the spit from his cheek.
"It's not worth it," A woman said approaching Luke. She was wearing a red dress with blue accents. Her dark hair elaborately braided on top of her head. Her brown eyes seemed almost too large against lightly tanned face and her nose came to a slight point on her face. She appeared to be young, not much older than 25 or 26.
Luke turned to face her, "I'm just trying to figure out what's going on."
"And these protestors aren't going to talk to an off worlder." She responded.
"But you will?" Luke questioned
"Yeah, you could even say it's my job. My name's Palak Ramy, I'm student at the Oral Tradition Center." She responded, holding out her hand, on her wrist Luke noticed a tattoo, it was crescent moon containing a nine-pointed star. Luke worked to hid his interested, it was the same tattoo he noted yesterday on the assailant's neck.
"Oral Tradition Center?" Luke questioned, continuing to hold interested, perhaps this girl had answers.
"Yeah, but typically, when one person introduces themselves, the other reciprocates the gesture."
"I'm Luke Skywalker." Luke said, hoping the name did not register, but in the past year, now that rebellion news was no longer taboo, Luke Skywalker had become a bit of a household name. The New Republic had not spared any expense in making sure their heroes were known across the galaxy.
"I know!" She said with a sly smile.
Luke shook his head, the nice thing about being up in the stars with his X-Wing all day is most of the guys he flew with knew him before he was truly famous. Sure, there had been the hushed legends floating around the galaxy about the kid who destroyed the Death Star the very first time we got in a X-Wing, but for the most part he was able to fly under the radar. After the battle of Endor, his picture had been plastered on every holonetwork for weeks. Winning the war created a certain amount of hassle.
"What's the Oral tradition center?" Luke questioned again.
"It's where we preserve the Oral Traditions of the Naboo." Palak explained.
"Huh?" Luke questioned, unsure what she meant.
"Look, no one's going to talk you out here dressed like that, but you may be spat on a few more time. Come to the Center, I can explain." Palak offered, reasonably.
"I'm not sure…" Luke trailed off, surely, he should stay with the protestors.
"Look, we both know your why you're here." Palak offered.
"We do?" Luke questioned.
"You're with the New Republic and trying to figure out what's going on with the protests." Palak was not wrong, and Luke realized how obvious he was. "I think I can shed some light, but it'll be easier at the Center."
"Fine." Luke agreed, weary of the potential threat, but curious just the same. When we attempt to seek counsel with the Force, he was unable to distinguish between the general turmoil of the protestors and any additional threat this young lady may provide. The feeling was unsurprising, more and more Luke had been experiencing the same feeling, as if his teachings from Obi Wan and Yoda had already been lost.
"Great, it's just a short walk through the city." Palak said, bringing Luke out of his thoughts on the force.
"Lead the way," Luke responded.
Luke took in the sights, happy to be able to see the city up-close and on foot. He'd never been to a planet quite like this before and if things didn't settle down soon with the war effort, he was unsure he would see much opportunity for this sort of spectacle. He was most intrigued by the aqua blue canals that seemed to run along the streets of the city. Even after visiting planets where water was abundant, there was a part of Luke that was still a moisture farmer that treasured every drop of water and was amazed when so many congregated so freely.
"You're a Jedi?" She asked, motioning down to the lightsaber Luke had prominently displayed on belt.
"I am." Luke agreed, "I'm surprised you recognized my lightsaber though. The knowledge of the Jedi seems to be limited through out the galaxy."
"I study history, now that the Empire is gone and it is safe to discuss the Jedi again, some of the older Oralist have been sharing a bit though I am afraid that much." Palak replied.
"Do you know any of them?" Luke was interested. He had been looking for stories of the Jedi, hoping to find some guidance in rebuilding the Jedi order. Among those that knew Luke best, they were all aware that once the war was stable enough and he was no longer needed, he would leave his X-Wing behind and start the tedious of work of returning the Jedi to the galaxy.
"Not well enough to re-tell, but we can surely find you someone that can."
The walk through the city seemed to end as Palak opened the doors to yet another grand stone building with green roof. "Welcome to the Oral Tradition Center, Theeds branch."
The doors opened up into a grand hall, a circulation desk at the middle and archways along the sides leading to other parts of the building. The inside mirrored the outside, with white marble floor, pale stone walls and a green dome. There seemed to be men and women milling about, as if they had places to go.
"I'll still don't understand." Luke exclaimed.
"It's where we preserve the great oral tradition of Naboo. Everyone here is a historian, their job is to keep an oral history of a past events." Palak explained.
"This succeeded during the Empire? this seems like the very type of establishment he would have been hell bent on destroying." Luke inquired.
"Not even close." Palak responded, "The Empire established the center, before the Empire Oralist worked out of their homes, only telling the stories they saw fit." Palak explained.
"But with the center, the Empire could control the stories?" Luke caught on quickly.
"Your smarter than I expected." Palak replied with a sort of joking ton.
"Turns out, flying an X-Wing requires more intelligence than assumed." Luke replied dryly, an affectation that comes when a bunch of strangers assume to know you personally.
"I apologize if I offended, I was just... Joking." Palak backstepped tentatively.
"It's not you… sorry." Luke apologizes for his abruptness. "Are you still able to talk about the isolationist?" Luke questioned, anxious to change the conversation back to its original purpose.
"Yeah, let's go to my office to discuss." Palak says and takes a turn to a particular opening in the guts of the building, away from the grand hall.
The building quickly becomes less grand and more work a day. The white drywall feels dingy and peeling paper posters adorn the wall. Palak selects a door and opens it to a small office, hardly large enough for the desk, let alone the chair behind the desk and the two in front.
"Take a seat," She said sitting behind the desk with a smile, though she has seemed to have lost some the casualness she held before and has instead transforms into something more professional. "I'll being now."
Luke looks confused but before he has time to fully reconcile, Palak speaks up. "According to Official Oralist Bi-Laws, I am required to disclose that I am still living out history on the isolationist but I am able to give an incomplete oral over view on what I have learned thus far."
Luke nods, again, unsure of the protocol.
"The isolationist movement began eight months ago. At first, it was a small fringe movement, a small group of people that could see no good in entering yet another intergalactic government, at least not yet. Naboo compared to other worlds had been spared the worst of the Empires policy, but the people here still suffered. In addition, the shared consciousness of Naboo shares an extreme guilt, as their own world had supplied the totalitarian leader that would come to bring an extreme blight over the Galaxy. Soon the isolationist movement reinvigorate an old story over 500 years old about a former Queen that saved the world by pulling out of nearly every intergalactic agreement. The Oralist who kept tradition of the story has become so popular it takes weeks to gain an appointment to re-tell the story."
"Four months ago, it was announced that the Queen Shear would begin negotiations into the New Republic. Naboo has a unique form of government. While our planet elects the Queen, once she is in office, her rule is all powerful and final. As there is no other way to oppose the opinions of the Queen, protests become the only reasonable way raise objection. The isolationist protest marks the first wide spread objection in nearly 100 years. Under Imperial rule, such objection was disallowed, with punishment resulting in death. Before the Imperials, the Queen's decisions were made with policy experts, and while there were those that dissented, they did so knowing the Queen had weighed out all options, working to the net benefit of the world instead of special interest groups."
"Both those critical of the isolationist and the isolationist themselves have argued that the large-scale opposition is representative to the fact the Empire may have forever damaged the rare delicate Eco System of the elected monarch. There are many on the planet who have called for a radical change of government. While still rumors, it is expected that there will be wide support for a Queen who promises to make this change. A sort of martyr for the cause who will instantly relinquish rule for a new government."
Palak ended her speech and there was a long pause as her words seeped in.
"That's it for now, I'm am still living the rest of the story, so it's incomplete." Palak explained returning to more neutral tone.
"Oralist who tells the old about the Queen, how do meet her?" Luke questioned.
"You have to make an appointment, but it may be weeks before she opens up." Palak explained.
"Well, I've got to try." Luke responded, overeager.
"Come on then. Let's see what circulation can do for us."
Palak lead Luke out of the office and back towards the grand hall and up to the circulation desk where a young librarian was sitting.
"Hi Gennie, any chance there's appointments open with Gerty Rea any time soon?" Palak questioned with a slight twinkle in her voice as if she were laughing.
"Believe it or not, someone cancelled for this afternoon. She has an opening in two hours." Genie responded.
"No way," Palak responded genially surprised.
"Yes way, do you want it" Gennie inquired.
"Yes," Luke interrupted, enthusiastically.
"Alright then, Palak and companion, you have an appointment in two hours with the now infamous Gerty Rea." Gennie responded, typing the appointment in her data pad.
Luke did not move from the circulation desk and instead waited for Gennie to finish her data input.
"Can I help you with anything else?" Gennie inquired at Jedi still in front of her.
"If I wanted to talk to an Oralist about Queen Amidala, could I?" Luke question, hopeful.
"Of Course, the greatest Queen our planet has ever had." Gennie said. "Unfortunately, Lynn Sihgn, who tells the story, is out on research the next eight weeks. The originator Softa Jiane still does some tellings, but she's out of the Lake Country center."
"Thanks." Luke said, a bit defeated that learning about Queen Amidala would be near impossible.
Gennie paused, looked down at the lightsaber prominently displayed on Luke's belt and said. "Look, you're after the Jedi tale, right?"
Luke nodded, "Yes."
Gennie shook her head. "It's not in the official telling, the Oralist here, on research rather, she doesn't know the details, and Softa will insist the Jedi in the story was not material to the Queens life. Truthfully Softa may be right. If you're looking for tales of the Jedi, this is probably not the right world."
"Thanks," Luke replied, but there was something that made Luke think differently. Maybe it was the inconsistencies force or maybe it was the fact that even if the Jedi had been unimportant in the Queens life if did not change the fact that besides Ben and Yoda, this was the most tangible discussion on the Jedi that Luke had had.