Chapter 8. Awakenings
Padmé looked around the large conference table and wondered how she could have been so blind. How could she have wrapped herself in duty the way Sabé had draped her in the filmy headdress and veil she now wore?
It was a subdued enough garment by the standards of the Naboo but did not meet the requirements of the Senator's newly established aesthetic. Still, it served a useful purpose today. And it had the added advantage of allowing her to observe every face in the room without seeming to do so.
Wolan's face, which had previously always appeared at the forefront of every discussion, was now almost hidden in a back corner of the room. He was not seated at the conference table. The two Foreign Ministers had taken over the negotiations.
On the table in front of the Naboo Foreign Minister lay the severed tip of Wolan's sword. Next to it lay a report analyzing the toxic substance found on its tip.
Every D'laian in the room was scowling. Periodically one or the other of them would allow his eyes to slide toward the wall behind Padmé and then would look away again.
How could she have been naïve enough to believe that these people were negotiating in good faith? How could she have even briefly considered committing herself to one of them personally in order to safeguard Naboo? Padmé reached behind her in her imagination to find the warm presence that had changed everything.
Anakin was standing motionless against the wall behind her but she imagined she could feel a living pulse of energy coming from him. It was indescribably reassuring. Even sitting here in this room with group of warriors who could turn ugly at a moment's notice, and who in all likelihood would do just that once they heard Naboo's new terms, Padmé felt safe. And happy. And free.
Inwardly free.
Outwardly most things were the same. In some ways they were about to get worse.
She didn't care.
Anakin, she thought.
Here. She actually imagined she felt him answer.
With difficulty she brought her thoughts back to the table and the task at hand.
"….betrayal of trust," the Nubian Foreign Minister was saying. "As a result we can under no circumstances agree to the conditions that you have set forth."
The D'laians muttered among themselves. Wolan's rash act had not only scuttled their advantage in the negotiations, it represented a severe loss of face for D'lai. There wasn't one among them who wanted to be in his shoes when they returned home. Treachery was fine. Being caught was not.
"What is your proposal?" countered the D'laian negotiator.
The Naboo allowed a dramatic silence to settle over the room before replying.
"In the interests of regional solidarity Naboo continues to be willing to pursue an agreement between our planets based on mutual interest. We are willing to continue in this matter without reference of any kind to this morning's incident."
The D'laian looked at him across the table. "In return for…"
"There is to be absolutely no further discussion of a condition of marriage, now or in the future. And a number of other provisions will have to change as well."
Padmé wondered why the D'laians continued to mutter and rumble among themselves. It should have been perfectly obvious that Naboo would respond in this way. On the other hand they didn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of alliance without acquisition of an economic and legal stake in the ally.
One of the younger warriors stood up, raised a curved ceremonial dagger in his fist for all to see and shouted, "We can take what we want!"
Weapons were forbidden at the negotiation table. This one must have slipped through as part of his elaborate costume.
The dagger pulled away from his hand and floated through the air to land gently on the table next to the broken sword tip. All eyes turned to Anakin, whose expression had not changed at all. If some of those eyes had contained daggers he would have had to engage his light saber by now.
The Naboo Foreign Minister stood up.
"On the other hand," he said sharply, "if you are not willing to negotiate in good faith, we can end these discussions now."
The D'laian stood as well. "My apologies for the young one's rashness," he said, looking as though the words tasted bitter. "We request a recess of one hour in order to communicate your proposal to D'lai and to await instructions."
They are stalling for time. Anakin's thought entered Padmé's consciousness with perfect clarity. She wasn't imagining it.
She drew the Naboo negotiator down to her and whispered in his ear.
"We agree to a recess of one hour," he said.
The D'laians continued to radiate hatred toward Anakin as they filed out of the room. The change in the room's atmosphere once they left was a relief.
Padmé went to the COM link and called Typho, Sabé and Dormé to the conference room. Anakin's presence at their emergency summit meeting, like his presence in the room during negotiations, now seemed to be a matter of course. Anakin chose to remain standing behind Padmé. Suddenly she was deeply grateful for the veil and discretely tugged it just a little lower, because the communication she was receiving from him had nothing to do with words.
"Well?" The Foreign Minister asked.
"Our fighters are scheduled to arrive from Naboo in three hours," Typho announced. "Theirs will arrive sooner. We have to go along with the pretence until then."
"That won't be enough," Anakin said suddenly.
They all looked at him.
"Their thoughts betray them," he insisted. "They are awaiting a much larger force."
There was an awkward silence. Typho said carefully, "That is not what we have been given to understand. What is your evidence for saying that?"
"Believe it, Captain. Your fighters will not be able to defend you."
There was another silence as they struggled with their dilemma. Should they trust an inexperienced young Jedi over their own intelligence sources?
Finally Typho said, "If that is true, why did you not give us this information sooner?"
Anakin looked straight at him. "If I had been involved sooner I might have been able to."
Typho looked around the table for support. The two Handmaidens remained silent, as did the remaining members of the delegation. The Foreign Minister looked at the Senator.
As usual it came down to Padmé to make the decision.
Trust me, Anakin said inside her inner awareness. Trust me. It was getting uncanny.
"Captain," Padmé asked, "how much of a force can we muster to come to our aid if this is true?"
"It depends what they are planning to do." He was looking more annoyed by the minute. "If all they intend to do is take this ship hostage we can hold them off."
"And if they have something more aggressive in mind?" Padmé prompted gently. "If they plan to turn on Naboo, for example?"
Typho looked grim. "That is something we cannot defend ourselves against. Not even with more time." He started rubbing his forehead with his hand. The gesture made him look defeated, somehow. "We were counting on the D'laians to bolster our military defense."
This is like being Queen again, Padmé thought.
"Captain," she finally said, "send an encoded message to the Chancellor on Coruscant. Priority."
There was an uncomfortable silence around the table while they waited for the Chancellor's holographic image to appear.
"I am sorry to disturb you, Chancellor," Padmé said to the image, "but I need your help. We have reason to believe that the D'laians are preparing to attack us, and possibly Naboo. Do you know of anyone in the Sector who could come to our aid on short notice?"
"This is grave news indeed," the image responded. "How have you come by this information?"
"Jedi Skywalker believes it to be the case."
"Is he there, Senator Amidala? May I speak with him?"
Typho reached over and widened the field so that Anakin appeared in the image the Chancellor was receiving.
"My friend," said Palpatine, "tell me the situation." Padmé could have sworn that she felt a wave of gratitude coming from Anakin.
"The D'laians are clearly delaying negotiations until the arrival of a significant military force. I do not know its numbers or their exact intentions, but they are anticipating its arrival very soon."
Palpatine's holo – image looked as grave as a flickering mass of atomic particles could look.
"Senator," he said, "You must trust your Jedi protector's assessment of the situation. This is precisely why I asked him to accompany you. I will take immediate steps to find you some assistance. Please take all necessary precautions until I get word to you. Is there anything else?"
* * * * *
"No, thank you Chancellor..." Padmé was beginning to say, when Anakin rudely interrupted her. He didn't mean to. But a vivid, compelling picture had been forming in his mind, along with a compulsion to speak.
"Chancellor, there is more," he said, almost unwillingly. Padmé looked at him, startled.
The holo – image flickered and waited. Anakin plunged on. The words just came out of his mouth. But he knew them to be true. He just knew.
"I have no direct proof, but there is a possibility that the D'laians are secretly allied with the Separatists."
A gasp went up around the table. Everyone waited breathlessly to see how the Chancellor would respond. Anakin could feel Padmé's stab of dismay as clearly as if it were his own.
"Again your Jedi protector serves you well, Senator," the holo – image said. "I have very recent information suggesting the same thing, but I had hoped it was not true. Now you must be very cautious indeed."
Anakin was surprised not only by what he had said, but also by the fact that the Chancellor had confirmed it.
"Thank you, Chancellor," Padmé said, in a creditably calm voice. "We are grateful for your assistance."
Typho and the Foreign Minister were staring at Anakin with undisguised surprise.
Sabé looked at him long and thoughtfully.
Anakin, on the other hand, only had eyes for Padmé, whose mood had shifted abruptly during the discussion with the Chancellor. He tried to reach out to her but she didn't respond.
The Senator stood up abruptly. "Wait for the Chancellor's communication, and inform the Queen. Give nothing away to our guests. If they want to resume discussions before I get back, say that I have called away on other business."
She left her stunned staff and colleagues behind at the long, gleaming table on which a D'laian ceremonial dagger still lay side by side with the poisoned tip of a sword.
Anakin followed her like a shadow.
"I hope she gives him Hell," Typho said, watching them go.
* * * * *
The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic lingered at his desk after the holo – image disappeared. Occasionally one had to allow oneself a small sense of pleasure at a well-formed plan. This was one of those times.
The D'laian fools had behaved exactly as predicted. It was always a pleasure to work, however indirectly, with the Force-blind. Greed and pride were such dependable motivators.
The oppositional Senator was about to be rescued by, and become dependent on, the very army whose formation she had worked so hard to defeat. A fighting force had already been positioned nearby to come to her aid.
She was also well on her way to assuring the boy's eventual estrangement from the Jedi. He sensed that the connection between them had increased exponentially.
It was a good thing, he reflected, that she had not been killed ten years ago as originally planned. She was much more useful now.
And the boy – well, the boy. Such potential. So very receptive. And so full of conflict. He looked forward enormously to clarifying things for him.
He wanted the boy, and he wanted him soon. He had need of him. But the keys to his success had always been vision and patience. It would take a little more doing, he thought. But Anakin would be his.
* * * * *
Once Obi-Wan had made the decision to go after Anakin he moved quickly. If he hurried he could arrive on Naboo shortly after the Queen's Yacht, thus giving his young Padawan less time to get in trouble.
He hoped.
While filing his flight plan just before departure Obi-Wan was given a routine update about conditions in the Sector to which he was traveling. He didn't expect any surprises.
He was wrong.
He read the paragraph twice, with increasing alarm.
He read it a third time.
The Royal Yacht of the Queen of the Naboo was under attack by a Separatist faction from a planet called D'lai. Republican armed forces had been sent to engage the Separatists. Travelers to the Sector were warned to proceed with caution. Coordinates were given.
Obi-Wan shook his head in astonishment as he walked toward his ship.
What in blazes has Anakin done now?
It was a measure of Obi-Wan's experiences as Anakin's Master that his first reaction to news of a serious incident was to assume, without irony, that his Padawan had something to do with it.
It had been a very long ten years.