Oh, I was so angry at that man. I was still going to meet Zak, though, regardless of what father said. I did not come to Coruscant to waste it in my, however nicely appointed, bedroom. Therefore, I got up early in the morning, took a shower, changed into a pair of dark green pants, a dark purple shirt with sleeves that flared at the elbow, and a dark blue and purple overcoat. I pulled on my shiny new black boots and my small black backpack. I was about to leave, when I saw Riv's necklace on my bedside table. I put it on and slipped out of my room. I was halfway through the foyer when a shadowy figure stepped in my way.
"And where do you think you are going young lady?" My father asked reproachfully.
"Out." I stated, my voice far more confidant than I was.
"I don't think so." Father said, coming towards me. I started backing up. If I could back up far enough without hitting the wall, I could dodge father into the living room and then run to the door and to the turbolift. My back hit the wall. I cursed myself silently.
"I'll go wherever I damn well please!" I shouted, in a last ditch attempt to shock him long enough for me to dodge him.
Father got angry instead. His face turned red and he unconsciously lifted his hand to hit me. I cringed and shrunk up against the wall.
"Cadwal!" Came mother's shocked voice from the hallway. She stood there, in her white nightgown with my brothers crowded around behind her. I never hesitated. I pushed off the wall and ran for it.
Love you!! I cried to mother as I ran to the door. I'm not sure why I yelled it, but whatever. I sprinted out the door and down the hall to the turbolift, which took a second to open. Father was at the doorway. I ran inside the lift and hit the close door button repeatedly as I hit the first floor button, as I faced the hallway. Father was half-way down the hallway. The glass lift door closed and I stared, scared out of my mind, at my raging father who was less than two meters away as I plummeted down to the reception. My adrenaline was pumping. I let out an explosive breath and leaned against the wall. The doors opened and I stepped into the reception floor. I went to the desk.
"Excuse me." I said to the tired looking Bothan behind the desk. "I'm Rabé Napola. I believe you have a Taxi for me."
"It's the bright green one on the left." he said.
"Thank-you. Also, I'd like to take out 500 credits against my room."
"Of course Miss Napola." He went to the safe, the lift light turned on. I tapped my foot restlessly, I wasn't away yet. The Bothan gave me my money and I shoved it into my backpack. I thanked him again and headed quickly for the doors. The clear lift doors opened, and my father stepped out, looking furious.
"Rabé Aleen Napola, get back here!" he bellowed. My adrenaline pumped as I ran out the doors, jumped into my Taxi and yelled out the first thing that came to mind.
"Holographic Zoo! Go! Quick!" Father came out and the Taxi sped away into the Coruscant skyline. I let out another explosive sigh and checked my chrono, 0800 hours to the minute. I tapped the driver on the shoulder.
"Change in plans. Take me to the Shivra Café please." The cab turned and sped in the right direction. The driver took me there and I paid him and gave him a pretty good tip, for putting up with me. I went into the café, which was about 2km from the Senate and got a cup of caf and a roll of some kind. I went out and walked along the street leading up to the Senate, window shopping. I checked my chrono again. Quarter of an hour till I was to meet Zak. I threw away my empty cup, finished my roll and started walking briskly towards the Senate.
I saw Zak standing in front of one set of stairs leading up to the Senate in his Jedi Robes. Feet spread apart, hands clasp behind his back, his Padawan braid blew in the wind. He cut quite the dashing figure. Beings that passed him gave him nods of respect, and some even bowed to him, he returned the bows and the nods. Playing the part of the wise and respected Jedi Knight appealed to him. I was about to wave to him when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw father talking angrily to Senator Palpatine, who was nodding understandingly, followed by five Naboo Guards and Palpatine's aides. They were walking towards Zak, roughly the same distance away from him as I was.
Now, I had two options. One: Leave, and stand Zak up, but don't get into more trouble; or two: Run, grab Zak, lose father in the Senate and go out and have fun. Guess which one I chose? I decided I was in enough trouble already, and that one more offense wouldn't make much of a difference.
So, I sprinted the fifteen meters between me and Zak grabbed his left hand with my right, yanking him around, and pulled him up the steps.
"Hi Zak! No time for explanations, just run!" And we ran up the steps together, past the statues and Senators, into the actual Senate Chamber. We ran down the polished black stone corridor to the turbolift, passing door after door with blue Senate Guards posted at each one.
"WAIT!!" Zak and I both cried at the same time to the people about to close the lift doors. We squeezed in and went to the back, breathing heavily.
"Which floor, Miss?" asked the lift operator
"What? Oh, umm, fifty-nine." I said.
"Are. You. INSANE?!" Zak demanded.
"Yes." I said. Today I was definitely insane.
"Can you tell me why we were running you crazy little bi-" then he broke off, looking at all the Senators staring at us. He gave them a fake little half smile and they turned back to their own business.
"I wasn't supposed to go out today and I snuck out of the hotel and I saw my father here with our Senator, and I had to think fast." I told him in a low voice.
"Oh. Well. It all makes sense now." He hissed at me, heavy in the sarcasm.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to see you." I shot at him, sulky. We both realized at the same moment that we were still holding hands. We quickly broke apart and I shoved my hands into my pockets and he folded his hands in front of him in typical Jedi style.
He laughed. "I see you finally got out of that stupid dress."
"Yeah." I admitted ruefully. "Today was defiantly a pants day."
The lift doors opened at floor 59 and we walked around the Senate Rotunda to the other side where we took that turbolift down to the main floor. I explained to Zak my entire predicament as we walked out the door to go find a café to sit at.
". . .so then father and I got into this tremendous argument and I-" I stopped speaking and my eyes grew wide. Father stood five meters away from me, arms crossed, face set stonily in an angry expression as dark clouds gathered in the sky. "Oh, Sith." I said in a very small voice. It hadn't occurred to me that he might not follow us into the Senate Chamber.
Zak followed my look. "Your father?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Yes." I said, slowly, mechanically. I turned to him. We both knew I had lost my game of hide and seek. "Look, I'm-" He went stock still, grabbed my wrist with his left hand and reached for his lightsaber with his right.
"What?" I said in a hushed voice.
"Listen." He said softly. A peculiar buzzing noise filled the air, we looked up and five droids I had never seen before swept down from the sky. They had no legs, bulky bodies, no necks, rounded heads and four arms, each with a twin high-energy blaster at the end. They hovered four meters from the ground.
"Assassin Droids." Zak whispered to me. Then louder. "ASSASIN DROIDS! TAKE COVER!!" He pushed me behind him and got out his lightsaber as the droids opened fire. Zak's blue lightsaber flashed as he blocked bolts of green laser fire. I searched for father frantically from behind Zak. I dimly noticed a Hovercam from the Senate zoom around the scene, recording.
"Daddy!" I screamed as I ducked behind a statue. Laser bolts spattered everywhere and a Gotal less than three meters away from me collapsed to the ground, dead. I choked against the bile that rose in my stomach and looked away, swiping tears out of my eyes. Zak couldn't take them all, as good as he was, there were too many droids, to many beings, and too little help. Beings all around me seemed to fall to the duracret. People ran all over the place as the Senate Guards flooded out of the Senate Chamber in a sea of blue.
I got up. I had to find father.
"Daddy!" I screamed again as I ran into a mob of people, looking for him frantically. I scanned the crowd for father, running into and around beings of all sizes. Then, I saw him, my father, and time slowed down. He saw me and ran towards me; an Assassin Droid spotted him, swiveled two of its arms towards my father and opened fire. Two brilliant green laser bolts ripped into my father's chest.
He fell to the ground. A pool of blood started to leak out from underneath him.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" I screamed as I ran to him, pushing people out of my way. Zak used the force and crumpled the droid from the inside into a hunk of metal. It came crashing to the ground two meters away from me. A droid saw and Zak flipped over a crowd of beings to me, deflecting laser bolts from the oncoming droid. I kneeled next to father and cradled his head in my lap.
"No daddy, oh, gods no!" I whispered, my voice cracking as tears welled up in my eyes. His eyes half opened, his trembling hand came up to touch my face, and I reached up to hold it there. Tears fell off my face onto his blue silk shirt. Father loved blue.
"I'm sorry daddy." I whispered to him. "Oh, gods! I'm so sorry!" I cried as tears ran down my face.
"I'm. . . .sor. . ry." He said as blood trickled out of his mouth.
"No!" I said, shaking my head wildly, dark hair flying everywhere, "It's all my fault!" I sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"
"I. . . .lo. . ve. . . . .you." He said. "I…could never... ask for a mo...re beau..tiful..daughter." He said with his last breath, love in his eyes. His eyes closed and his face and hand and whole body went slack next to mine.
"No! Daddy!" I shrieked. "No! You can't leave me! Daddy!" I let out a horrible wail as father's body fell from my lap, I turned my face upwards. It started to rain. I pulled at my hair, a very dark energy had filled my body and I had no idea what to do with it. People all around me screamed and the sound of laser fire and lightsaber filled my ears again. The clank of metal hitting the ground. The ionized smell of blaster fire. My hands shook, father's blood stained them. Father's blood on my hands...
My head hurt, I felt sick, I burst into tears. Then, Zak was there, hugging me as I started to sob more and more.
Then, a horrendous explosion lit up the sky as the top of a building exploded. A second later, the sound hit our ears as beings with hyper-sensitive hearing fell down, moaning, screaming and clutching their heads. The explosion came from a building in the same direction of my hotel. I clutched Zak's Jedi robe, burying my face in his shoulder, scared to ask the question that I didn't want to know the answer to, but somehow already knew.
"What building was that?" I finally whispered hoarsely
There was a pause as Zak lifted his head to the crying sky, stroking my hair. "I'm sorry." He said finally in a soothing tone.
I screamed and pushed him away, swinging widely at anything. This couldn't be happening, not to me, not now, not ever! I punched Zak in the side of the head, knocking him backward. I slammed my fists on the cement, scratching my knuckles and hands. This couldn't be happening! My entire family was gone in the blinking of an eye. I let out another horrible wail and sat there, my forehead pressed against the durasteel, my bloody hands pulling at my hair, sobbing in the rain as Zak tried to comfort me next to my father's body, as smoke from the explosion fueled by my family twisted up and disappeared into the Coruscant sky.
~~~