Chapter 6
Anakin landed his ship at the Senatorial Apartment Complex, right outside Padme's apartment. Anakin thought to himself "Guess having the penthouse has its perks.". Padme came out and seeing her husband, ran straight up to him. She greeted him with a hug and a kiss. Anakin said "Thanks for the use of the Naboo starfighter, I forgot how much fun they are to fly!". Padme with a chuckle said "That happens to be the exact same starfighter you flew when you destroyed the droid control ship.". Going inside the apartment, Anakin continued speaking "You never told me that people still talk about how I destroyed that ship when I was only 9 years old. One of the guards who escorted me to the Palace hangar brought it up.". Padme with a slight smirk said "Hey its not my fault that you became something of a legend amongst the Naboo Starfighter Corp.". The doorbell rang, and Padme opened the door. To Anakin's surprise, it was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. "Anakin my boy, it has been far too long!". Anakin with a smile said "It has at that Chancellor, how have you been?". Palpatine, with a sad smile said "Tired, leading a government in time of war is no picnic. But it is good to catch up with an old friend. Incidentally, you seriously should drop the formality. You are no longer a Jedi. You should try calling me Sheev once in a while.". Padme chimed in saying "Anakin has built a really good business on Tatooine, building and selling custom landspeeders, hes just signed a contract with the Incom Corporation.". Palpatine smiled widely and asked "Is that so Anakin? You know when I was a younger man, I wanted to be a professional speeder racer.". Anakin said, surprised "I never knew that. You should get in touch with Incom, you could pre order one of the speeders that Skywalkers Customs is going to build.". Palpatine with a smirk said "I might just do that. With everything thats happening right now, I could use a distraction. Anyway, I had best get back to my office. I mainly came to say a quick hello. It's been good to see you Anakin.". Palpatine reached out a hand and Anakin shook it "You too Chance- Sheev.". With that, Palpatine left the apartment. Anakin had a strange feeling when he shook hands with Palpatine, like there was something just beneath the surface.
Anakin and Padme decided to go out to dinner at the Menarai, the best restaurant on Coruscant. Padme being a prominent Senator and Anakin being one of the wealthiest beings in the Outer Rim had no trouble getting a table. Padme ordered a salad and Anakin ordered a Bantha steak cooked with Malla petals. While they were waiting for the food, Anakin went to the bar to order a bottle of wine. The bartender asked "What can I get for you sir?". Anakin answered "A bottle of Alderaanian wine from the Apalis coast region and two glasses." The bartender nodded and busied himself with the order. A Falleen seated at the bar said in a calm, cultured voice "A fine choice of wine, I have had it myself. But I find the wine from the Glarus Valley has a much better bouquet.". Anakin responded "This particular label is produced by House Organa, my wife is close friends with Bail Organa.". The Falleen asked "What might your name be?" "Anakin Skywalker.". The Falleen with a smile said "I suspected as much, I have heard rumors about you. You have built a multi million credit business in less than two years, and the speeders you build are of the finest quality.". Anakin simply said "Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but could I have your name as well?". The Falleen answered "Of course, how rude of me. I am Prince Xizor, of House Sizhran. Head of Xizor Transport Systems. I was hoping that we might meet one day, your story is one that deeply impressed me. Born into slavery on Tatooine, freed as the result of a bet on the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace 11 years ago, former Jedi Padawan. Now an extremely successful businessman. But I seem to be taking you away from your wife, and that is quite rude of me.". Xizor pulled out a datacard and said "My personal comm frequency is encoded on this card, I would like to discuss some business before you leave Coruscant. For now, enjoy your dinner." The bartender returned with the wine and glasses. Xizor said to the bartender "Put the wine on my tab please" and to Anakin "Until we meet again."
Padme looked troubled when Anakin returned. Padme asked "Anakin, do you know who that was?". Anakin answered "He said he was Prince Xizor, spent a goodly portion of the time trying to flatter me.". Padme whispered "There are a lot of disturbing rumors concerning him. I don't know if its true, but there are whispers that his company, Xizor Transport Systems is only a front. The rumors say that he is a prominent member of Black Sun.". Anakin took a deep breath, even on Tatooine, he had heard rumors of Black Sun. They were said to have a stake in almost every kind of illegal activity imaginable. Spice, contract killings, weapon smuggling, and most heinous as far as Anakin was concerned, slavery. But no one had ever been able to bring them down in the four thousand years that the organisation had been in existance. Even when a member was arrested and convicted, they would never betray Black Sun, either out of loyalty or more likely, they would not live long enough to do any serious damage. Black Sun was said to have agents everywhere, in government, in the judicial system, law enforcement, everywhere. As a result, they were always a step ahead of the law. Anakin, took less than a second to decide "I will not risk my business or my employees safety doing business with Xizor if that is the case. Padme smiled. A waitor appeared with their food and as far as Anakin was concerned, at this moment, life was perfect.