"The Naboo Chronicles: Part 11"
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: GL owns SW. I own this story. Neither of us is making any money from the other. So there.
"We should probably get out of here," Anakin said, gesturing
to indicate Palpatine's office, which was littered with debris from the
shattered window.
"It does seem to be getting a bit chilly in here,"
Palpatine murmured, touching the top of his head and wincing in pain. He looked at his fingers. "Well, at least I'm not bleeding any more."
"I still think you should go to the hospital, sir," Sara
told him. Palpatine shook his head.
"No,"
he said, rising to his feet and swaying a bit unsteadily. "I think I'd better speak to Senator Bel
Iblis." Sara gave him a disapproving
look.
"Shall
I have a couple of Senate Pages meet you in his office with a stretcher in case
you fall over unconscious?" she asked.
"Very funny," Palpatine replied, striding out of his
office, Anakin close behind.
"Mind if I tag along?" Anakin asked, lengthening his
stride to keep up with Palpatine. Damn,
I've never seen him move this fast, he thought as they hurried through the
busy corridors of the Senate building.
"Not at all," Palpatine replied. "In fact, I was hoping you would. I will need all the help I can get
convincing the senator that this threat is real. I am afraid that he does not like me very much."
"No way!" Anakin exclaimed in mock surprise. "I thought EVERYONE likes YOU, Palpatine."
"Oh yes, I am Mister Popularity in the Senate," Palpatine
agreed caustically. "You cannot imagine
how thrilled everyone was when I took over and decided to sit down and figure
out where several rather large budget surpluses were actually going."
"Yeah,
I bet. So was this guy we're going to
see now one of the ones lining his pockets with taxpayer money?" Anakin
asked. Palpatine shook his head.
"No, Senator Bel Ibis wasn't – isn't – corrupt."
"So why doesn't he like you?"
"He is Corellian, Anakin. You know how Corellians feel about authority figures of any
sort. I believe he dislikes me on
general principles. Ah, here we are,"
he said, entering an office with Anakin right behind. He stopped in front of a reception desk where a young intern sat,
engrossed in a book. "Good morning,"
Palpatine said politely. The intern
glanced up at him.
"Chancellor Palpatine!" she exclaimed in surprise,
jumping to her feet, her eyes wide with astonishment. "I… we… this is so unexpected…" she continued uncertainly,
glancing between Palpatine and Anakin. Palpatine gave her a warm smile.
"Is the senator in this morning?" he asked.
"I… well, yeah, but he's… well I mean I guess… oh gosh…"
she stammered. "Uh… follow me?"
"That's quite all right," Palpatine told her, patting her
shoulder as he breezed past her desk. "We'll find our own way, thanks."
"Nice meeting you," Anakin told her casually, giving her
a slight wave as he passed. He followed
Palpatine into an office, where the senator sat behind his desk, staring at his
computer screen and muttering under his breath.
"Good morning, Senator," Palpatine said cheerfully.
"What do you want?" Bel Ibis demanded, not looking up
from his computer screen.
"Allow me to introduce my associate, Jedi Knight Anakin
Skywalker." Bel Ibis's head snapped up.
"Skywalker?"
"That's me, Senator," Anakin said, stepping forward to
shake Bel Ibis's hand.
"Have a seat," the senator said rather ungraciously,
motioning at the chairs opposite his desk.
"There is very little time to spare, so we'll get right
to the point," Palpatine said as he sat. "Your homeworld is in grave danger."
"It
is so good to see you again," Sabé said, embracing Padmé.
"Look at you," Padmé said, stepping back and regarding
her friend in amazement. "You're
absolutely huge!"
"Ha! You should
talk. Think you that you were any
slimmer when you were pregnant with your twins?"
"I suppose not," Padmé agreed, linking her arm with
Sabé's as they strolled off the landing platform towards the waiting hovercar. "And," she said as they climbed inside, "I
have been thinking about having another child."
"Really?"
"Oh yes," Padmé said. The hovercar moved slightly as one of the blue-robed Chancellor's guards
loaded the Queen's trunks into the back.
"Have you mentioned this to Anakin?" Sabé asked. Padmé shook her head.
"No, not yet. I
think I will wait until after your twins are born. I've no doubt he will be easier to convince once he sees your
little ones and recalls how wonderful babies are."
"Oh you are sly," Sabé said. Padmé giggled. "Still, I
do not think you will have a difficult time convincing him. He can deny you nothing, you know." She put her hand on her enormous
abdomen. "I am not yet sure – " Her
eyes widened.
"What is it?" Padmé asked, concerned.
"My goodness," Sabé said.
"So let me get this straight," Bel Ibis said
sarcastically, glaring at Palpatine. "You're telling me some unknown enemy is getting ready to invade
Corellia?"
"Yes, Senator," Palpatine agreed. "That's exactly what we're telling you."
"That's ridiculous," the senator scoffed. "Where did you get this information?" Palpatine and Anakin exchanged a glance.
"There has been a warning through the Force," Anakin
finally said, shooting a look at Palpatine, who shrugged. The senator eyed them suspiciously. Clearly he was not hearing the whole
story. Before he could voice his
doubts, Anakin spoke again. "Do you
doubt the word of a Jedi?" he demanded. Slowly, the senator shook his head.
"I don't doubt you, Jedi Skywalker," Bel Ibis said,
sounding almost civil for the first time. "I'm a bit puzzled, though. Whose army is it? Why Corellia?" Palpatine leaned forward to speak, but
Anakin cut him off.
"Never mind that," he said, waving his hand very
slightly. "Right now you have to warn
your government about the impending invasion so they can get their defenses
together." He backed up this advice
with the very slightest Force push.
"All right," the senator agreed, nodding. "I'll contact my government. But you two had better be right about
this. I don't want to look like an
idiot."
"You are going to save your homeworld and your people
from certain destruction," Palpatine said soothingly.
"Yeah," Anakin agreed. "If nothing else, it'll look good around re-election time." Bel Ibis made a face.
"All right, let's get this ball rolling," he said,
rising. "What are you two going to do?"
"I'm going to the Jedi Council," Anakin said as he rose.
"I suppose I will have to call a special session of the
Senate," Palpatine said, sounding tired. "Everyone should know of this threat. Corellia may be only the first planet on their list." Suddenly, Bel Ibis's intern came barging in,
followed by Sara, who was quite out of breath.
"Sorry to interrupt," the intern said. "But she insisted."
"I take full responsibility," Sara said
breathlessly.
"Good," the intern said as she left.
"Queen
Amidala called, sir," Sara said, addressing Palpatine. "She's with your wife."
"Padmé's here?" Anakin asked. "I didn't even know she'd arrived."
"She just got here," Sara said. She turned her attention back to Palpatine. "Lady Sabé went to the landing platform to
greet the Queen, and well… it appears that your wife has gone into labor in the
car on the way back to your apartment." Palpatine jumped to his feet.
"What?" he asked, sounding panicked.
"The
Queen is accompanying her to the hospital as we speak," Sara told him.
"Want me to drive you to the hospital, Palpatine?" Anakin
asked.
"I…the Senate… Corellia…" Palpatine stammered. For the first time, Bel Ibis smiled at him.
"Don't worry about it, Chancellor," he said, his whole
attitude changing. "You're wife's
having a baby. You go take care of
that, and I'll take care of the rest. I'm just going to sit down here and call home, and then I'll address the
Senate. OK?" Palpatine glanced at Sara.
"I'll keep an eye on things, sir," she murmured. He nodded.
"All right," Palpatine agreed.
"I'll call the special session for you, Senator," Sara
told Bel Ibis.
"Great," the senator said.
"Hospital," Palpatine muttered.
"Don't worry, sir," Sara said, patting his arm
reassuringly. "She'll be fine. Women give birth every day, you know."
"Yes, but not to MY children!" Palpatine exclaimed.
"Well, I should hope not, Chancellor!" Sara said
teasingly. Bel Ibis and Anakin
laughed. Palpatine managed a slight,
rather unconvincing smile.
"C'mon, Palpster," Anakin said, grabbing Palpatine's arm
and steering him out of Bel Ibis's office. "I'll drive you to the hospital."
"I can drive," Palpatine protested.
"I doubt that," Anakin said. He glanced over his shoulder at Bel Ibis. "See ya!" he called. The senator was busy punching a code into a
holophone. He waved distractedly.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Anakin," Palpatine
worried.
"About
what?" Anakin asked.
"About
everything!" Palpatine said, waving his hand expansively. Sighing, Anakin put a friendly arm around
Palpatine's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Palpatine. It'll all work out somehow."
Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi knelt on the cold marble floor
of the Jedi Council chamber. His eyes
were closed, and his mind was completely free of turmoil, doubt, or fear.
"Jedi Kenobi," Yoda intoned solemnly. "Tested you have been. Conferred the Council has." The Jedi Master noted with satisfaction that
not a glimmer of emotion crossed Obi-Wan's face. He continued. "Bestow
upon you the rank of Jedi Master this Council does!" Obi-Wan exhaled a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been
holding until that moment. "Dismissed
you are, Master Kenobi. Difficult your
trials were. Rest now you must." Obi-Wan stood, his head still respectfully
bowed.
"I thank you, Master Yoda, for teaching me so well." One by one, he bowed to the members of the
Council before taking his leave. Yoda
watched him go, an enigmatic expression on his face.
"Well you should rest now," he said quietly. "A long time it may be before another chance
you will have."
The first person Obi-Wan encountered upon leaving the
Jedi Council chamber was Anakin, who was loitering in the hallway outside,
clutching an aromatic bag of microwave popcorn.
"I see you've been to the vending machines," Obi-Wan
observed.
"Yep," Anakin replied, tossing a few pieces of popcorn
into his mouth. "So, how did it
go?" Obi-Wan reached into the bag and
helped himself.
"You are looking at the Temple's newest Jedi Master," he
replied, chewing. Anakin's face broke
into a huge grin.
"Who is THE MAN!?" Anakin yelled rhetorically, giving his
former teacher a resounding high five. "You are THE MAN!" Obi-Wan
grinned and shoved more popcorn into his mouth. "So what exciting assignment has the Council given our newest
Jedi Master?" Obi-Wan snorted.
"Master Yoda told me to get some rest."
"Yeah, well, wait 'til you hear what I have to tell you,"
Anakin said, walking with Obi-Wan. "I
was going to tell the Council, but I think I'll run it by you first. After all, you ARE a Jedi Master now, so I
can do that." Obi-Wan's brow furrowed.
"Careful, Anakin," he chided. "You already play rather fast and loose with the rules around
here." Anakin shrugged.
"Remember what happened LAST time I tried playing by the
rules?"
"You have a point there," Obi-Wan conceded. They had reached the door to his
quarters. "Well, you'd better come in
and tell me about it."
"OK, Lady Palpatine, one more push and the first one will
be completely out." Sabé gripped Padmé's
hand so hard that the Queen feared her fingers would break. Palpatine stood on Sabé's other side,
holding her other hand and murmuring encouragement, trying hard not to look at
what was happening at the other end of the table.
"Aaaaaaaaaa!" Sabé screamed as the contraction hit and
her first child came into the world. The baby immediately began screaming with displeasure at being
forced out of its warm little home.
"It's a girl, Lady!" the doctor exclaimed, holding up a
surgical scissors. "Chancellor, would
you like to cut the cord?"
"I…" he said, pressing a hand to his mouth. "I don't…" A nurse passed the instrument to
the reluctant Chancellor and urged him forward.
"My goodness," he said, turning pale. "There's so much blood…"
"That's normal, Chancellor," the doctor soothed.
"Oh my gods," Sabé gasped as a new contraction started.
"Second one's coming," the doctor announced
unnecessarily. He turned his attention
back to Palpatine. "Go ahead," he told
Palpatine, indicating the place on the cord where he should cut. Carefully, Palpatine closed the surgical
scissors, severing the connection between his wife and his child with a
crunching sound that made his stomach turn over. A nurse whisked the squalling newborn away for examination.
"Are you all right, Palpatine?" Padmé asked. He nodded wordlessly and resumed his post
next to Sabé.
"You're doing great," the doctor told Sabé. "Just a couple more pushes and it'll all be
over."
"That is easy for you to say," Sabé said from between
gritted teeth.
"I understand how you feel, Lady Palpatine," the doctor
sympathized just as the next contraction hit.
"Ahhh!" Sabé gasped. When the contraction had passed, she pulled herself somewhat upright,
glaring murderously at the doctor. "First, you have no idea what this is like," she spat. "No man does. Perhaps if I were to grab your private parts and hold them up
over your head for a few hours, you'd have some small idea. Second, my name is Sabé. There is no such person as 'Lady Palpatine',
unless my husband has undergone an operation that I don't know about." Padmé giggled. Sabé lay back down, but continued to upbraid the doctor between
contractions. "Third, your bedside
manner is appalling and your people skills are nonexistent. You cannot even get your patient's name right. It is a shame that you work in a field that
demands that you interact with people on a regular basis."
"Lady Sabé?" the doctor interrupted timorously.
"Yes?" she gasped as a contraction passed."
"Your second child is here. It's a boy."
Later that day, two very tired Jedi Knights met a very
tired Queen of the Naboo in the hospital lobby.
"I see you two found the gift shop," Padmé observed,
noting the two plush teddy bears Obi-Wan carried, and the small bouquet of pink
roses that Anakin was clutching.
"Yeah. How
is Sabé?" Obi-Wan asked. Padmé
smiled.
"Tired, but very happy," she replied.
"And you?" Anakin asked, taking her in his arms and
kissing her.
"The same," she said, taking his arm as they moved
towards the elevators. "Wait until you
see the babies, Anakin."
"I
for one cannot wait to see them," Obi-Wan said, exchanging a meaningful glance
with Anakin. Padmé's eyes narrowed.
"They're
adorable," she informed them.
"So they look like Sabé, huh?" Anakin asked,
grinning. "They got off lucky!" Padmé laughed.
"They will be sending Sabé and the babies home tomorrow,"
Padmé said as they boarded the elevator.
"So soon?" Obi-Wan wondered. Anakin snorted.
"Damn HMOs," he muttered. The elevator doors opened, and the two Knights followed Padmé up
the corridor. She stopped at Sabé's
door, knocking softly.
"Come in," Sabé called quietly. She was sitting up in bed, holding one of her babies. Palpatine sat in a chair next to her bed,
holding the other. Grinning, Obi-Wan
stepped forward and presented her with one of the stuffed animals. "Oh," Sabé
crooned to the baby she held, "Look what Uncle Obi-Wan has brought you!" She held the toy so the baby could see it.
"These are for you," Anakin said, holding up the flowers in
their slightly crumpled wrapping. Sabé
beamed up at him as he bent to kiss her.
"How lovely, Anakin. Thank you." She glanced
around. "I think there is a vase around
here somewhere." Padmé took the flowers
from her husband and began looking for the vase.
"Have you decided on names yet?" Anakin asked, taking a
seat near Sabé's bed. Palpatine
exchanged a glance with his wife.
"Yes
we have, actually," Palpatine answered. He watched for a moment as Padmé arranged the flowers in the plastic, hospital-issue
vase she'd found in the nightstand by the bed. "We've had awhile to think about it, you know." Smiling, Sabé tilted the baby she held so
that its face was visible to the visitors.
"Meet little Padmé," she said.
"Oh Sabé," Padmé said, her eyes filling with tears. She sniffled, laughing a bit as she wiped
her eyes. "I don't know what to say."
"Say hello to little Anakin," Palpatine suggested,
indicating the sleeping baby he held. Anakin's mouth fell open in astonishment.
"Anakin isn't a Nubian name," he said, shocked by this
unprecedented break with tradition.
"It is now," Palpatine said quietly, smiling. Anakin glanced away, rubbing at his eyes.
"Gosh, now I'm the one who's going all mushy on you," he
finally said, laughing. Palpatine
glanced up at Obi-Wan.
"Well?" he asked without preamble. Obi-Wan smiled.
"Yes," he replied cryptically. Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan and nodded.
"Yeah, I think so too," he agreed, recalling how
Palpatine had expressed the desire for his children to be trained as Jedi if
they too had the Force.
"What are you talking about?" Sabé asked. The two Knights glanced at Palpatine, who
was suddenly completely fascinated by the sleeping baby he held. Sabé's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's going on here?" she demanded.
"Nothing, darling," Palpatine assured her, which only
served to make her even more suspicious. "We will discuss it later."
"You bet we will," she agreed acidly.
"Well, looks like she's getting back to normal," Anakin
observed. Palpatine laughed.
"I am sorry to interrupt," a new voice apologized. They all looked over to see Sara standing in
the doorway.
"What is it, Sara?" Palpatine asked.
"I need to speak with you, sir."
"All right," Palpatine agreed, standing. "Padmé, would you mind…?"
"Not at all," she said warmly, taking little Anakin from
him. The transfer woke the
newborn. As Padmé settled him in her
arms, he made a little snuffling sound. "Look at you," Padmé murmured to him as she sat down in the chair
recently vacated by Palpatine. "You're
just adorable, aren't you?" The infant
gazed up at her silently with large, serious deep blue eyes.
"Chancellor?" Sara prompted.
"Yes, right, coming," he said, motioning for the two Jedi
to follow. "What is it?" he asked as
the door shut behind them. Sara sighed.
"Corellia is no longer in danger," she said.
"Well, that's a relief," Palpatine said.
"Yes, but there is more. The Corellians captured many of the invaders and have confirmed that the
Neimoidians are behind both the cloning and the invasion. Well, the Neimoidians are not very
happy. During the special session, Lot
Dodd felt compelled to share with the Senate his knowledge of your Sith Lord
brother, and he even suggested that you conspired with him to get yourself
elected Chancellor. The Senate is in an
uproar. They are calling for a vote of
no confidence in your leadership." Palpatine sighed.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
"Who's calling for this vote?" Anakin asked.
"The usual suspects," Sara told him, shrugging. "The ones who are still upset about the
Chancellor's investigation of the rampant corruption in the Senate, the ones
who just don't like him for whatever reason, and the ones who have nothing
against him, but simply want the position for themselves."
"Sounds like Obi-Wan and I need to address the Senate,"
Anakin said. "We've read Sidious's
diary, and we can testify that Palpatine had no knowledge of what that guy was
up to, and wasn't involved in any way."
"I need to go back to the Senate," Palpatine
murmured.
"Oh no, sir," Sara said. "You should stay here with your wife." Palpatine shook his head.
"My wife and children will survive without me, but the
Republic as we know it may not. I care
not about the office of Chancellor. My
concern is that the Neimoidians are directing attention away from their own
actions, and I do not want to allow them to get away with it. Not this time. This time they will be made to answer in full for their illegal
invasion of a Republic planet!"
TO BE CONTINUED….