"Master?"
"Yes, Padawan?"
"How can you be so calm at a time like this? We just left your wife and baby in tears!"
Obi-Wan took a deep cleansing breath, thought a moment, then exhaled before he answered. "Anakin, as a man, I wished to follow my heart and stay with Sabé and Meira. I had to fight the impulse to shout out that this is my family, that I am responsible for Meira and her well-being."
Anakin nodded. "What stopped you, Master?"
"Think back for a moment, Ani. Do you remember when Qui-Gon told you that a Jedi's life is hard? What did you think he meant by that?"
The boy shrugged. "I thought he was talking about stuff like not having the best food to eat, or a fine bed to sleep in, or just having to follow someone else's orders. It seemed like no big deal because that's what life was like for me already."
The Knight smiled at his apprentice. "Now, do you see what he was talking about?"
"Yes, Master. There are times when we have to leave our loved ones even though it tears us up inside. I first started feeling that when I said goodbye to Mom." Anakin sniffed a bit, wiped at his eyes and stared straight at the wall in their cabin. Suddenly the room felt far too large for two occupants. A wave of shame passed over him. It seemed selfish to be traveling in such style.
"That's right, Padawan. Being a Jedi means putting your personal impulses aside. If we had rushed out of the ship without thinking, we would have done more harm than good. Sabé can now work through the situation without the complications our appearance would have caused."
Anakin considered the issue. "You mean it would have been worse if we had been seen?"
"Yes. It would have raised questions. There would be no official reason for us to be protecting the Minister and her child, so for us to appear to do so would lead the opposition to speculate in directions better left alone."
Turning back toward Obi-Wan, Anakin sighed. "These are all very logical statements once you put it that way, Master. They still don't answer my question."
Obi-Wan leaned back and leveled his gaze at his padawan. "Very well. I suppose the easiest way to answer your question is this; I can be calm because I trust in Sabé. She will do what she needs to do and she will do it well. Then she will join us when the crisis is over." He glanced at the chronometer on the wall. "I will go send a message to our contact on Corellia, Nejaa Halcyon. He will need to know of the situation."
***********************
"How are they doing?" Amidala asked, as she wiped the white makeup from her face.
"They're recovering nicely, Your Highness," Rabé replied.
"Even Meira?"
"She was out of sorts until Saché brought Max and Mana back to her. Then she sat and played with the cats. I understand she was talking to them quite a bit. It must have helped to have her pets with her."
"Good," said the Queen. "Now that We've wrapped up Our business with the Supreme Chancellor and seen him off, We can turn our attention to solving this problem. We've got to find a top attorney for Sabé. The Calle family will not allow me to be on the tribunal without a fight. They can point out that I have a conflict of interest in the case. They're right; I won't be impartial. But we are having the first hearing in my office."
Rabé nodded and took the last pins out of Amidala's hair.
The Queen shook her head, enjoying the feel of her hair falling loose after having been pinned up all day. "Rabé," she said suddenly, causing the handmaiden to jump. "Is it just me, or is there something fishy about the Calles? I mean, Sabé's been using the name for quite some time now, and we checked the record carefully. Baris Calle, the pilot, listed no next of kin."
"It does seem very strange, Your Highness," Rabé agreed. "The timing of their appearance was a bit too calculated."
"Indeed. Well, we'll get to the bottom of this," Amidala said, crossing her arms.
****************
Amidala, Sabé, Saché, Rabé and Panaka sat at the small table in the corner of the throne room. They were all squirming under the stare of a woman with gray hair, dressed in formal black robes. "Now let me get this straight," she barked. "What I have to do is get the suit that the Calles are filing against the Minister here thrown out of court without any publicity? Do you know that the Calles are one of the more influential families of Keren? They're not nobles, that's true, but they do have some leverage behind the scenes in that port. This is not going to be easy."
Sabé shifted uncomfortably. "I realize that, Counselor Picay. Is there any hope?"
"There's always hope, especially if you come clean with me. You'll have to tell me exactly how you arrived at this state of affairs."
Saché leaned toward Sabé. "She's here to help you. We all understand. You didn't do this to hurt anybody."
Nodding, Sabé looked up at the attorney. "Councilor, what I can tell you is that my daughter was not fathered by Baris Calle. It is very important that her paternity be kept secret, even if we have to admit that fact."
The counselor took out a datapad, and made a few notes. "All right. This complicates things. The Calles have a history of being very vindictive. After I did a quick search on them in the office, I can hardly blame the young man for wanting to break ties with him." She paused, and looked up from the pad. "We need something on them. They will try to ruin you, since you don't have their grandchild; that's what they really want." She shifted her gaze to Amidala. "Your Highness, are you willing to use some of your resources on this?"
"In what way?" Amidala asked.
"Well, they left Naboo not too long before the Trade Federation moved in, and they've returned only recently. They've always been based in Keren, and Force knows there are more than a few shady deals going on there. I'll wager that the Calles have been involved in their fair share of them. If we can nail them on something that's not overly serious, but that they'll want to conceal, we can all get out of this without too much trouble." Picay turned and leaned toward Sabé. "So how did you come to choose Baris out of all the pilots that died?"
Everyone could see the wheels turning in Sabé's head. "He was the only one who seemed to have no family ties to complicate things," she said, almost too quickly.
Picay wrinkled her brow, but made a note on the pad. "Did you know him before his death? Ever meet him?"
"No," Sabé said. Sadness came through in her voice.
"Have you personally benefited from his death in any other way, besides taking his name for yourself and your child?"
Sabé shook her head. "No! Of course not!"
"All right. Let's see if we can find anyone who knew Baris Calle. He was a pilot in Bravo Squadron. Handmaiden Fenella, you are training as a pilot, is that correct?"
Saché nodded.
"Why don't you start asking around when you go to the pilot's lounge? See if anyone ever heard him say anything at all about family."
"Sure," Saché said. "I'll try."
Picay inclined her head towards the Queen. "Your Highness, I request that one of your security personnel start running some searches through databases. Let's see if anything even slightly odd comes up."
"Yes, counselor. That's a very good idea," Amidala said.
A chime sounded to signal that someone was at the throne room door. Amidala stood up and called out. "Come in."
The large doors slid open and a valet entered with a sealed envelope on a silver tray.
"Thank you,"said the Queen. "I'll take it here."
"Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but this message is for Minister Calle," said the valet, bringing the tray to Sabé.
The Minister assumed a cool and controlled expression as she opened the envelope. Everyone present watched her eyes as they moved while reading the slip of paper, but not even Amidala or Saché could see a hint of what was going through Sabé's mind.
Finally, she folded the paper and stuck it in a pocket of her robe. "Could you excuse me, Your Highness, Captain, Handmaidens, and Counselor? There is a matter I must attend to immediatly. I will return as soon as possible."
Amidala peered at her friend. "Of course. Take what time you need. Counselor, can we meet tommorrow night to go over any new information that comes up?"
Picay punched a few more keys on her datapad and looked up. "Yes, I think this is enough to get us started. Same time tommorrow, should it please Your Highness?"
"It would please Us greatly. You are all dismissed for the night."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Sabé blurted, then walked out of the throne room as quickly as she could.
Amidala and Saché exchanged a puzzled glance as they watched Sabé go. The Queen motioned to Saché with a subtle move of her eyes and her head. The handmaiden signaled her understanding, bowed to Amidala and departed the room.
"Yes, Padawan?"
"How can you be so calm at a time like this? We just left your wife and baby in tears!"
Obi-Wan took a deep cleansing breath, thought a moment, then exhaled before he answered. "Anakin, as a man, I wished to follow my heart and stay with Sabé and Meira. I had to fight the impulse to shout out that this is my family, that I am responsible for Meira and her well-being."
Anakin nodded. "What stopped you, Master?"
"Think back for a moment, Ani. Do you remember when Qui-Gon told you that a Jedi's life is hard? What did you think he meant by that?"
The boy shrugged. "I thought he was talking about stuff like not having the best food to eat, or a fine bed to sleep in, or just having to follow someone else's orders. It seemed like no big deal because that's what life was like for me already."
The Knight smiled at his apprentice. "Now, do you see what he was talking about?"
"Yes, Master. There are times when we have to leave our loved ones even though it tears us up inside. I first started feeling that when I said goodbye to Mom." Anakin sniffed a bit, wiped at his eyes and stared straight at the wall in their cabin. Suddenly the room felt far too large for two occupants. A wave of shame passed over him. It seemed selfish to be traveling in such style.
"That's right, Padawan. Being a Jedi means putting your personal impulses aside. If we had rushed out of the ship without thinking, we would have done more harm than good. Sabé can now work through the situation without the complications our appearance would have caused."
Anakin considered the issue. "You mean it would have been worse if we had been seen?"
"Yes. It would have raised questions. There would be no official reason for us to be protecting the Minister and her child, so for us to appear to do so would lead the opposition to speculate in directions better left alone."
Turning back toward Obi-Wan, Anakin sighed. "These are all very logical statements once you put it that way, Master. They still don't answer my question."
Obi-Wan leaned back and leveled his gaze at his padawan. "Very well. I suppose the easiest way to answer your question is this; I can be calm because I trust in Sabé. She will do what she needs to do and she will do it well. Then she will join us when the crisis is over." He glanced at the chronometer on the wall. "I will go send a message to our contact on Corellia, Nejaa Halcyon. He will need to know of the situation."
***********************
"How are they doing?" Amidala asked, as she wiped the white makeup from her face.
"They're recovering nicely, Your Highness," Rabé replied.
"Even Meira?"
"She was out of sorts until Saché brought Max and Mana back to her. Then she sat and played with the cats. I understand she was talking to them quite a bit. It must have helped to have her pets with her."
"Good," said the Queen. "Now that We've wrapped up Our business with the Supreme Chancellor and seen him off, We can turn our attention to solving this problem. We've got to find a top attorney for Sabé. The Calle family will not allow me to be on the tribunal without a fight. They can point out that I have a conflict of interest in the case. They're right; I won't be impartial. But we are having the first hearing in my office."
Rabé nodded and took the last pins out of Amidala's hair.
The Queen shook her head, enjoying the feel of her hair falling loose after having been pinned up all day. "Rabé," she said suddenly, causing the handmaiden to jump. "Is it just me, or is there something fishy about the Calles? I mean, Sabé's been using the name for quite some time now, and we checked the record carefully. Baris Calle, the pilot, listed no next of kin."
"It does seem very strange, Your Highness," Rabé agreed. "The timing of their appearance was a bit too calculated."
"Indeed. Well, we'll get to the bottom of this," Amidala said, crossing her arms.
****************
Amidala, Sabé, Saché, Rabé and Panaka sat at the small table in the corner of the throne room. They were all squirming under the stare of a woman with gray hair, dressed in formal black robes. "Now let me get this straight," she barked. "What I have to do is get the suit that the Calles are filing against the Minister here thrown out of court without any publicity? Do you know that the Calles are one of the more influential families of Keren? They're not nobles, that's true, but they do have some leverage behind the scenes in that port. This is not going to be easy."
Sabé shifted uncomfortably. "I realize that, Counselor Picay. Is there any hope?"
"There's always hope, especially if you come clean with me. You'll have to tell me exactly how you arrived at this state of affairs."
Saché leaned toward Sabé. "She's here to help you. We all understand. You didn't do this to hurt anybody."
Nodding, Sabé looked up at the attorney. "Councilor, what I can tell you is that my daughter was not fathered by Baris Calle. It is very important that her paternity be kept secret, even if we have to admit that fact."
The counselor took out a datapad, and made a few notes. "All right. This complicates things. The Calles have a history of being very vindictive. After I did a quick search on them in the office, I can hardly blame the young man for wanting to break ties with him." She paused, and looked up from the pad. "We need something on them. They will try to ruin you, since you don't have their grandchild; that's what they really want." She shifted her gaze to Amidala. "Your Highness, are you willing to use some of your resources on this?"
"In what way?" Amidala asked.
"Well, they left Naboo not too long before the Trade Federation moved in, and they've returned only recently. They've always been based in Keren, and Force knows there are more than a few shady deals going on there. I'll wager that the Calles have been involved in their fair share of them. If we can nail them on something that's not overly serious, but that they'll want to conceal, we can all get out of this without too much trouble." Picay turned and leaned toward Sabé. "So how did you come to choose Baris out of all the pilots that died?"
Everyone could see the wheels turning in Sabé's head. "He was the only one who seemed to have no family ties to complicate things," she said, almost too quickly.
Picay wrinkled her brow, but made a note on the pad. "Did you know him before his death? Ever meet him?"
"No," Sabé said. Sadness came through in her voice.
"Have you personally benefited from his death in any other way, besides taking his name for yourself and your child?"
Sabé shook her head. "No! Of course not!"
"All right. Let's see if we can find anyone who knew Baris Calle. He was a pilot in Bravo Squadron. Handmaiden Fenella, you are training as a pilot, is that correct?"
Saché nodded.
"Why don't you start asking around when you go to the pilot's lounge? See if anyone ever heard him say anything at all about family."
"Sure," Saché said. "I'll try."
Picay inclined her head towards the Queen. "Your Highness, I request that one of your security personnel start running some searches through databases. Let's see if anything even slightly odd comes up."
"Yes, counselor. That's a very good idea," Amidala said.
A chime sounded to signal that someone was at the throne room door. Amidala stood up and called out. "Come in."
The large doors slid open and a valet entered with a sealed envelope on a silver tray.
"Thank you,"said the Queen. "I'll take it here."
"Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but this message is for Minister Calle," said the valet, bringing the tray to Sabé.
The Minister assumed a cool and controlled expression as she opened the envelope. Everyone present watched her eyes as they moved while reading the slip of paper, but not even Amidala or Saché could see a hint of what was going through Sabé's mind.
Finally, she folded the paper and stuck it in a pocket of her robe. "Could you excuse me, Your Highness, Captain, Handmaidens, and Counselor? There is a matter I must attend to immediatly. I will return as soon as possible."
Amidala peered at her friend. "Of course. Take what time you need. Counselor, can we meet tommorrow night to go over any new information that comes up?"
Picay punched a few more keys on her datapad and looked up. "Yes, I think this is enough to get us started. Same time tommorrow, should it please Your Highness?"
"It would please Us greatly. You are all dismissed for the night."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Sabé blurted, then walked out of the throne room as quickly as she could.
Amidala and Saché exchanged a puzzled glance as they watched Sabé go. The Queen motioned to Saché with a subtle move of her eyes and her head. The handmaiden signaled her understanding, bowed to Amidala and departed the room.