Chapter 5 - Chaos on Scipio

Author's Note: In which Padme gets herself in trouble, but what else is new? :') xD

~ Amina Gila

Jaufre Naberrie

I knew something was going to go wrong when Padme left. It's perfectly normal for her to get in trouble, and it drives me up the wall, but something about this time felt off from the start. Call it a bad feeling, I suppose. "Padme's in trouble again," I declare flatly, letting my annoyance show all over my face.

"What happened?" Anakin asks, worriedly. Aniya just sighs.

"She was on a mission to Scipio – something about the Banking Clans – and she got arrested."

"Arrested?" Aniya repeats.

"Oh," Anakin says, eyes widening. "How did that happen?"

"Don't know any details," I answer with a shrug, "But we can't just sit around."

"Why was she there?" Anakin inquires.

"The Chancellor sent her."

"Then he'll probably call us, to get her out of trouble," Aniya grumbles. "I don't get how she keeps getting into these situations. It's like she's either the unluckiest person in the galaxy or cursed."

"Well, this is Padme," I point out with a smirk, "I imagine she was doing something that was... 'for the good of the Republic' but the Banking Clan didn't appreciate it." Although what that could be, I have no idea. It's not as if I keep track of the details of everything she does. She doesn't always tell me, anyway. It's not really my job to be her babysitter, even if it sure does feel like it most of the time.

"I see your point," Anakin sighs. "I hope someday we'll be able to get away from all this... politics and everything."

"Don't we all," Aniya sighs, patting his arm. "Maybe someday, but we have Krell to kill and Dooku to find first, and we need to be on the front lines for that to happen."

Yes, them. There are few – if any – people I loathe more than Dooku and Krell. They hurt the twins, irreparably. I haven't, and never will, forgive that. I'm not like the twins, and I'm not a Jedi. I have no reason to forgive them. Not to mention that it's against the Nubian way of life to forget when someone hurts a family member. I want to tell them to be careful, but it's not as if they don't always, and it's not as if they've both nearly been killed even while trying. Instead, I opt to say nothing at all.

**w**

Aniya Skywalker

Sure enough, Anakin and I are called to Palpatine's office shortly after we talked to Jaufre. The Chancellor explains the situation with the request that we go to Scipio to get her out and bring her back, so she can hopefully continue her investigation. "If she has already been arrested once," I object, "It seems like this is far more dangerous than we imagined."

"It appears this way, my dear," Palpatine sighs. "There is evidence the Banks may be taking actions which are hurting the Republic, and this only makes it more apparent. We must be cautious. Go there and free Senator Amidala and see what she has uncovered."

"Of course, Your Excellency," Anakin replies. "I just wish she wasn't always getting in these situations."

"It concerns me as well." the Chancellor admits.

"She does have the unfortunate tendency to attract trouble everywhere she goes," I grumble. Maybe I'm spending too much time around Obi-Wan. I don't normally complain about anything and everything, but right now that's all I want to do. Or maybe it's just too many things happening all once. I like being here, though. It makes me feel more wanted than I ever have at the Temple, especially since my master is gone. No one knows exactly where he is, or if he'll return. I feel completely lost without him. I don't know what he's doing, and it feels like the only ones left of my family are Anakin and Obi-Wan. And there's only so much time we have to be around Padme and Jaufre.

"I'm afraid someday she'll get into something we can't save her from," I confess.

"I have great faith in your abilities to protect her, no matter what the dangers are," Palpatine insists.

Well, it's good to see that someone does. "Thank you, Your Excellency," I reply.

"I have told you many times, you are the most gifted Jedi I have ever met, and I know you will be able to protect her. That's why I'm sending you to Scipio, to protect her while she completes her mission."

**w**

"What exactly is going on here?" Anakin asks, entering the cell. It doesn't look bad compared to what I – we – are used to, but I don't let that fool me. Being stuck in a small, closed space for an extended period is enough to drive a person insane.

Padme sighs. "Ani, I'm so glad to see you. How long have I been in here?"

"A few days," Anakin replies, approaching her and sitting down next to her.

I cross my arms, standing a few feet away. "Are we going to talk in here or out there?"

"They say Teckla is dead," she says quietly, a clearly pained note in her voice, "Is it true?"

"Yes," Anakin confirms, "She was found shot at the bombsite."

And this, I have to say, is the part that really makes me wonder what Padme was doing, because why was Teckla around there in the first place? Yes, I definitely want the whole story. "By who?" Padme inquires.

"They don't know. The Muuns say she sabotaged the power grid," Anakin replies.

"Is that what happened?" I ask bluntly, "I mean... what were you doing? How did you get arrested in the first place?"

"It's a long story, one that should probably wait until I'm out of here," Padme declares.

"That's probably a good idea," I agree. If she really is guilty of espionage against the Banks, the stupidest thing to do would be to talk about right here in prison where they might overhear.

"You've already been released into our custody. Come on." Anakin stands again, and we leave the building together. I couldn't be more grateful to get away from there. I hate prisons of any kind, and this is no exception. Not to mention I haven't had good encounters with their species. I know they're not all evil, but I sense corruption here, and I still remember Plagueis far too well.

We leave the building without incident, heading back for the ship where Jaufre is waiting. "You made it back in one piece," he drawls. "I'm shocked."

"Jaufre," Padme says flatly.

"What?" he retorts, "If you aren't chasing Gunray around, all alone, or nearly unleashing a virus deadly enough to obliterate the galaxy, you're being arrested for espionage. How do you always get out in one piece?"

"That is actually a very legitimate question," I agree.

Padme huffs. "It doesn't matter. I can't leave without the files I got when I came."

"Do you know where they are?" Anakin asks.

"Well," Padme begins, and from her tone, I immediately know we are not going to like what's she's about to say. "They should be at Clovis' residence."

"What?!" Anakin and I hiss in unison. I know that name. He's the one Padme was able to steal the plans for the factory on Geonosis from, and he nearly got her killed. That fact alone is enough to make me hate him. He's a traitor to the Republic. And apparently... he has feelings for Padme, still, which I am none too appreciative of. It had let her get the plans we needed, but I don't appreciate him being around her. I don't like her needing to use their former friendship, either. It's deceitful and unsettling to see her doing something like that, and while I know she'll do anything for the Republic, I still hate her being in a situation where she has to.

"What does he have to do with this?!" Jaufre demands, instantly irked.

"He works with the banks. He was assigned to help me with this, and he helped me acquire the information I need."

"How can you put your trust in him?" Anakin demands, crossing his arms.

"It's for the Republic," Padme insists, "There is something very wrong with the banks."

"Wait, because you're doing something for the Republic, you're working with someone who betrayed the Republic in the past? Makes sense," Jaufre deadpans. Padme gives him a most unimpressed glare.

"Fine," Anakin concedes, "But this is risky."

"It always is," she replies.

"Yes, but normally you're not in the danger with us," Anakin mutters. I reach over to squeeze his hand, no words going between us. We both know what's going through his mind; how neither of us were able to protect our padawans when they needed us to. How he wasn't able to protect me, though I can't fault him for it. He does though. I can't blame him, because I'd do the same.

"Come on. We should hurry if we're doing this before leaving," Jaufre urges.

We get there not long later, and I can't help thinking it's freezing here. Cold doesn't bother me much, but I'm still shivering slightly by the time we finally land. When we enter the residence... it's obvious there's been a fight or at least someone with absolutely no decency has been there, because it's... a very big mess. It looks like someone was digging through it searching for something.

"Cozy place," Jaufre remarks dryly. "Does he live like this?"

"Someone was looking for the files," Padme observes, "They must know Clovis has them."

"Or maybe they found what they were looking for and that's why he's missing," I comment.

"We can only hope," Jaufre quips.

Padme scowls. "Do you not understand how important these files are?! They'll expose corruption that goes to the very core of the Banking Clan."

"Someone's still here," Anakin cuts in, glancing around the room.

Padme bolts forwards over to the railing looking down into the level beneath. "Clovis!" she exclaims.

I hurry over, looking down to see him cautiously looking out of a presumably hiding spot. "Padme!" he responds eagerly.

Padme walks down the stairs, and Anakin follows. Jaufre leans on the railing, scowling. I can entirely relate; if someone nearly got Anakin killed in such a manner, I would hate them to the end of the galaxy also, but we're Jedi. We're not supposed to carry grudges, though I'll admit Clovis gets under my skin in a way no one else can.

Especially when he promptly steps right up to Padme, like way too close. Goodness. Does he have no regard for personal space?!

"I knew you'd come," he exclaims, and she takes a pointed step back from him.

Clovis frowns, gaze darting between her and the rest of us. "You again," he scowls. I'm not sure which of us he's so unhappy to see, and I don't care either.

"Yes, us again," Jaufre snarks back, "Problem? You didn't seem too capable of taking care of her last time I saw you. Security doesn't forget these things."

They take a moment to glower at each other and I nearly roll my eyes. Boys. "You have the disk, right?" Padme thankfully interrupts.

"Yes," Clovis confirms.

"Then let's get out of here," I advise, spinning around and stalking towards the door. Something is wrong here, I can sense it, and I don't want to stay on this planet one second longer than we need to.

"I think we're being watched," Anakin remarks as we start heading for the speeder.

We're nearly at the door when the Force suddenly flares in warning. A blaster shot rings out, shattering the window over the area. Anakin and I have our lightsabers out instantly while the others scramble for cover. From how fast the shots are coming, it makes me wonder if there's multiple shooters from the same area. I deflect a few blaster shots aside, but they keep coming.

"We can't keep standing her," hisses Jafure. "Unless we're trying to get killed or hunt the bounty hunters hunting us."

"Assuming that's who's hunting us," I mutter, pulling back as a shot nearly takes my face off.

"Follow me," Anakin orders, stepping forwards. He deflects the next shot before running towards the speeder.

Jaufre jumps into the front, firing up the engines as Padme and Clovis scramble in after. Anakin and I jump in last, continuing to deflect away blaster shots – where are they coming from? – as we start to fly away. Only for a blast to promptly strike one of the engines. Whoever is fighting at us is an expert sharpshooter, that's for certain.

The speeder spirals out of control, plummeting downwards into the snow. We're still moving, but we can no longer fly, which makes it more difficult. I shove past Jaufre to fly myself, just in case. It's awkward, but we don't know which sides we could be being shot at from.

An armored figure streaks through the sky, firing down at us again, Anakin spinning his lightsaber to deflect the shots away. Jango. I'd recognize him anywhere. Not good. He's deadly, and we must move quickly if we're going to escape. What is it with him trying to kill Padme, anyway?!

"Fine," Jaufre growls, whipping out his blaster and firing back.

"That will do no good," Anakin calls back, "His armor is beskar. It can't be penetrated." He keeps shooting, anyway, and I'm not about to discourage it. Maybe we'll get lucky, and he'll damage Jango's blasters or jetpack or something.

Another figure – a little smaller, is that Boba? – streaks into view, shooting at the ice formations straight in front of us. I twist the speeder to the side, and Anakin catches the icicles with the Force and throws them at the Fetts.

We go over a ridge and down into a gap in the ice next, and I duck as one of the Fetts nearly takes my head off again. I can only hope that Artoo will get here with the ship soon, because there's only so much longer Anakin can keep protecting all of us.

Both of them keep shooting, and a couple shots strike the back of the speeder. It jolts violently and starts smoking, nearly throwing us out of it. It shudders again before veering off-course, slamming against one of the snow walls.

I land face first in the snow, hastily pushing myself up, right as the speeder explodes. We're barely clear of it.

"Artoo," Anakin calls into his comm, "Hone in on my signal! Artoo?"

Jango and Boba fly overhead again, shooting for Padme. I throw her out of the way, igniting my lightsaber in a flash to deflect the shots away. This is getting ridiculous. We have to do something.

Padme, Jaufre, and Clovis dart back against the snowbank to take cover, and Anakin and I position ourselves in front of them. The bounty hunters circle around, flying a little lower now, as they keep shooting.

Anakin finally runs forwards and jumps at Jango, slashing through his jetpack before landing on the ground again. Jango throws his jetpack off seconds before it explodes, and he lands – easily enough – on the ground.

Finally, I hear the sound of engines. Artoo is flying the ship towards us, and not a moment too soon. As Boba keeps shooting at us, Jango pushes a button on his comm, and I manage to make out him telling someone named 'Din'" to come immediately as the five of us race for our ship, jumping onto the ramp, thankfully before anyone else can show up. I was honestly expecting a little more resistance, and our escape seemed too... intentional for my liking. Were we supposed to be killed or was this a scare tactic of some kind? It's difficult to tell.

**w**

Anakin Skywalker

Despite Clovis' insistence of how he wants to fix the Banking Clan. I know he's far from honest, and we'd be stupid to trust anything he says. The man is a traitor to the Republic, and I don't trust that he won't promptly turn on the Republic again the moment it suits him.

"I believe what Clovis is saying is correct," Padme declares firmly, looking between Palpatine and the other assembled Senators in the room.

"Then, Senator Amidala," Palpatine replies, "I would like you to spearhead this investigation. Work closely with Rush Clovis and find and expose these secret accounts. One we know what we are dealing with, then we can decide how best to handle this situation."

What?!

Padme nods in acquiescence and the meeting ends at that, everyone filing out of the Chancellor's office.

"Padme, wait," I call after her quietly, toning down enough that I won't catch everyone else's attention.

"What?" she asks, turning around.

"I don't like the idea of you working with Clovis," I state firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"I know danger, Anakin," she sighs, "I won't let myself be deceived twice."

She doesn't understand, does she? It's not that I don't trust her around him; I'm well aware of where her loyalties lie, thank you very much. I have no reason to, never would, and never could doubt that, but I know that she still cares for him, and it could easily be used against her. "A serpent can shed its skin, but it is still a serpent," I point out.

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry," she assures, "Jaufre will be nearby if things go downhill, and you can stay around too, just... out of the way."

I sigh quietly. I still don't like this at all, but I know it's not something she's going to change her mind on. I can only hope that Jaufre will be able to handle it if something goes wrong, because I can't shake the feeling that something will.

"Private conversations going on here," Aniya grumbles in the background, and I turn to see her very pointedly trying to block us from Clovis' view. It gets Padme's attention anyway, though.

"Senator Amidala?" he asks, looking to her. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes, of course," Padme agrees, eyeing me for a moment, "We can talk about this later," she tells me quietly, before turning and heading off after the other Senator.

"Rude," Aniya mutters, "Does he have no sense of privacy at all?"

"I don't have a good feeling about this," I mutter.

"Me neither," Aniya agrees darkly. "He can only lead to trouble."

**w**

Padme Amidala

I may not fully trust Clovis, but I can tell, at least to a point, he's being genuine. What he did back on Scipio was extremely dangerous for him too, after all. He's worried about his own planet and the Banks, if nothing else. I know he does not have the good of the Republic in mind like I do, but I still am willing to work with him if it's what I have to do.

Banishing any such thoughts from mind for the time being, though, I turn my focus to trying to figure what the people running the Banking Clan are up to, and where all the money is going. There's still a major piece that they're missing, though.

"You should know my contacts within the Muun government run deep. I have many allies, should I need to call on them," Clovis declares.

I hum quietly in response. "I didn't appreciate how personal this was for you." I had no idea, until he finished explaining how he was raised by one of the Muuns himself. Maybe I've been a little too harsh in my judgement of him. We did used to be friends, after all.

"Now, maybe you will trust me."

"I'm here, aren't I?" I points out.

Clovis stands, moving a little closer. Too close. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. I don't think I would have had the strength alone."

I take a pointed step away from him, sitting back down on the couch. Honestly, it would be easier to be around him if not for the fact that he obviously still has feelings for me, and it's awkward, when he keeps forgetting to respect the fact that I do not return those feelings. He didn't before, either, which was why I had to outright tell him that any friendship we had needed to be completely professional. With Jaufre here, I know he won't get too out of line, though. Not as if I couldn't handle it even if he wasn't, but it certainly is a deterrent.

"You're doing the right thing, Clovis," I reassure him. And now it's best that things get back to business. "Now, why don't we see what else we can find?"

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