Chapter 11
Padme had to find a way to make everyone else know what she knew, or thought she knew. Unfortunately, she had promised Anakin that she would not let anyone know she was on Corusant. She needed to contact Dorme. But how could she do this without alerting the entire planet of her whereabouts?
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The imposing Senate building was relatively quiet. Speeders and ships flew near its dome, but not many were letting off passengers. Guards in silver and black uniforms stood at attention by the main entrance. A group of senators left the building. Although the guards barely glanced at them, they stopped a tourist who wanted autographs. Evidently visiting hours were over. Someone in a brown robe walked to the doors. Nothing of its face was visible. It was most likely an assistant to one of the outer rim senators. The robed one tripped on the threshold of the door and mumbled something in an alien language. The guards shrugged at each other and looked away. The brown robe kept walking.
No one noticed the creature who had been hiding in the shadows of a nearby building. It was tall and robed in dark blue. Its only visible feature was a wrinkled gray snout. The brown robe passed a few feet from the blue one's hiding place. The blue robe quietly began to follow the brown one.
The brown rode walked for a while on the crowded streets, dodging other pedestrians. It kept turning left until it was nearing the outskirts of the political part of the city. The buildings were progressively shabbier, until they had reached what was known as the "green horn district." This was the seed from which the powerful city of Corusant had sprung. Now it was plain seedy. The brown one took a lift to a lower level and entered a small garage.
The blue robe stayed outside in the shade of the lift. It began to wonder if it had been tricked when a decrepit black speeder suddenly shot out of the garage doors. The speeder, with the brown one driving it, flew higher back into the main hub of Corusant. The blue one stared at it for a moment then entered the garage. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
The black speeder choked and coughed as it sped through Corusant's airlanes. Padme took a deep breath then exhaled it with relief. The garage owner was an old friend of her family. He had moved to Corusant in hopes of starting a speeder renting business. He had found it a business too hard to run honestly and now made a living renting the speeders with "no questions asked." They weren't the most dependable vehicles, but they were cheap and they were not registered. To the kind of clientele that the garage appealed to, that was all that mattered.
Padme tugged at the oversized hood of her brown robe. It was certainly not the most fashionable thing she had worn, but it had served its purpose. She had left the Senate building without being recognized, by tripping and muttering she was now sure that the guards would remember her, she had found untraceable transport and now all she needed to do was - what? She couldn't very well walk right into her official quarters and demand that Dorme come with her. There were too many people who could recognize her.
She was so busy formulating a plan that she didn't even notice when the rusty green speeder started following her, and as she parked the speeder in a service hanger, she didn't see the blue robed creature that parked its green speeder far from hers. When she walked to a comlink and gave a message for Dorme she didn't see the creature slink toward her speeder, and when she slipped inside the building to wait she didn't see the creature put a small detonating device in her speeder. No one was there to see the creature punch in a few numbers. No one was there to see it creep back to its speeder. No one knew what it had done.
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Wje Nasna had once been an honest man. He had operated a small shuttle business for the middle class tourists. He had had a wife and three children, small but comfortable living quarters in a decent place, and a very sporty speeder. He wasn't the most successful man on Corusant, but things were going good for him. Then a tourist had introduced him to the exciting world of betting.
He began to frequent bars. First he started with the high class ones, clubs like the outlander. But as his money began to disappear, he had gone to any place that served a drink. He would buy death sticks and a drink, then proceed to gamble away his entire months earning. Many times he would come home and tell his wife that he had no money for food. They had been tossed out of their home, and he had to sell his speeder. When there was not enough money to feed his habits, he even sold their business. That was the last straw for his wife. She took his children and left Corusant. He hadn't even cared enough at the time to try to trace her. She was gone now, and he would never find her trail. Through it all he still managed to scrounge enough money for his drinks and his death sticks and his gambling.
Now where was he? How far he had fallen! He had become the lowest of theives, stealing from the innocent to feed the demons inside of him. Could he quit? He had tried, but now his body shook when he had gone too long without a drink. Sometimes he had horrible cramps and pains. He had begun these habits thinking that he controlled them. Now he knew the truth. They controlled him.
Why had he come here today? He stared at the building that housed the temporary living quarters of the senators. He supposed he knew that they would have the money that he needed. He wouldn't beg, but he could steal. Wje walked toward a hanger, not even completely aware of where he was going. It was a chilly day, but all he wore over his regular clothes was a thin cloak. He had never been a big man, but since he rarely bought food anymore he had shrunk. He had at one time been a slightly handsome man, but the drink and the smokes had turned him into a shriveled old man.
He needed a drink and he needed one soon. His vision was blurred and he barely even remembered where he was. As he entered the hanger a green speeder zoomed past him, but he didn't even know it was there. His only thoughts were of the fine price the black speeder he saw would bring him in the market. He wondered how many drinks or smokes he could buy, or how many games he could bet on.
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Dorme had been staring out the window, wondering where her mistress was when a low buzz announced a message for her. She walked to the center of the room and pressed the appropriate switch. An automated voice spoke in a halting monotone,
"A friend is here to see you Dor-me. You are to bring your things and meet her in the ser-vice hang-ar. Please ask dear Miss Eve." The machine buzzed again and the message was over.
Dorme frowned for a moment. She had no friends on Corusant, and what did that last bit mean, anyway? She puzzled over it for a moment, then smiled and laughed. She knew what the message meant, and it was rather clever. A machine certainly wouldn't understand, and anyone who intercepted the message wouldn't either. She moved swiftly to her room and tossed a few garments into a small bag. She fastened a warm cloak around her shoulders as she moved toward the lift. Her destination: meet Padme in the service hangar.
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Dorme stepped off of the lift and ran toward Padme. They hugged each other warmly before Dorme thought of protocol and stepped back.
"I'm glad to see you, milady. When I heard what happened on Genosis I feared for you."
Padme nodded, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but Anakin - um - Skywalker, you remember him, right?" Dorme looked curiously at her flustered, usually un-fluster-able mistress and nodded. Padme continued, blushing over her awkwardness. "Anakin said it would be best if I sent no messages to Corusant. We're - the Jedi and I - are trying to keep people from knowing that I'm here."
Dorme nodded, still wondering at Padme's blushes and stutters, but she couldn't keep from smiling, "I am very glad to see you milady. I was worried."
Padme motioned for Dorme to follow her as they walked toward the nearly empty hangar. "Dorme, a lot of things are happening. I need our help."
She would have said more, but as the two women came in view of the parked speeders, a black one started up. Padme drew a blaster reflexively and yelled, "That's my - " She got no further. The frail looking man driving the speeder had given her a panicked look, then revved up the speeder. It almost made it out of the hangar before it exploded in a ball of flame. Padme and Dorme watched in horror, their mouths open. Padme said the first thing that came into her mind.
"It was a rental."
Padme had to find a way to make everyone else know what she knew, or thought she knew. Unfortunately, she had promised Anakin that she would not let anyone know she was on Corusant. She needed to contact Dorme. But how could she do this without alerting the entire planet of her whereabouts?
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
The imposing Senate building was relatively quiet. Speeders and ships flew near its dome, but not many were letting off passengers. Guards in silver and black uniforms stood at attention by the main entrance. A group of senators left the building. Although the guards barely glanced at them, they stopped a tourist who wanted autographs. Evidently visiting hours were over. Someone in a brown robe walked to the doors. Nothing of its face was visible. It was most likely an assistant to one of the outer rim senators. The robed one tripped on the threshold of the door and mumbled something in an alien language. The guards shrugged at each other and looked away. The brown robe kept walking.
No one noticed the creature who had been hiding in the shadows of a nearby building. It was tall and robed in dark blue. Its only visible feature was a wrinkled gray snout. The brown robe passed a few feet from the blue one's hiding place. The blue robe quietly began to follow the brown one.
The brown rode walked for a while on the crowded streets, dodging other pedestrians. It kept turning left until it was nearing the outskirts of the political part of the city. The buildings were progressively shabbier, until they had reached what was known as the "green horn district." This was the seed from which the powerful city of Corusant had sprung. Now it was plain seedy. The brown one took a lift to a lower level and entered a small garage.
The blue robe stayed outside in the shade of the lift. It began to wonder if it had been tricked when a decrepit black speeder suddenly shot out of the garage doors. The speeder, with the brown one driving it, flew higher back into the main hub of Corusant. The blue one stared at it for a moment then entered the garage. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
The black speeder choked and coughed as it sped through Corusant's airlanes. Padme took a deep breath then exhaled it with relief. The garage owner was an old friend of her family. He had moved to Corusant in hopes of starting a speeder renting business. He had found it a business too hard to run honestly and now made a living renting the speeders with "no questions asked." They weren't the most dependable vehicles, but they were cheap and they were not registered. To the kind of clientele that the garage appealed to, that was all that mattered.
Padme tugged at the oversized hood of her brown robe. It was certainly not the most fashionable thing she had worn, but it had served its purpose. She had left the Senate building without being recognized, by tripping and muttering she was now sure that the guards would remember her, she had found untraceable transport and now all she needed to do was - what? She couldn't very well walk right into her official quarters and demand that Dorme come with her. There were too many people who could recognize her.
She was so busy formulating a plan that she didn't even notice when the rusty green speeder started following her, and as she parked the speeder in a service hanger, she didn't see the blue robed creature that parked its green speeder far from hers. When she walked to a comlink and gave a message for Dorme she didn't see the creature slink toward her speeder, and when she slipped inside the building to wait she didn't see the creature put a small detonating device in her speeder. No one was there to see the creature punch in a few numbers. No one was there to see it creep back to its speeder. No one knew what it had done.
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Wje Nasna had once been an honest man. He had operated a small shuttle business for the middle class tourists. He had had a wife and three children, small but comfortable living quarters in a decent place, and a very sporty speeder. He wasn't the most successful man on Corusant, but things were going good for him. Then a tourist had introduced him to the exciting world of betting.
He began to frequent bars. First he started with the high class ones, clubs like the outlander. But as his money began to disappear, he had gone to any place that served a drink. He would buy death sticks and a drink, then proceed to gamble away his entire months earning. Many times he would come home and tell his wife that he had no money for food. They had been tossed out of their home, and he had to sell his speeder. When there was not enough money to feed his habits, he even sold their business. That was the last straw for his wife. She took his children and left Corusant. He hadn't even cared enough at the time to try to trace her. She was gone now, and he would never find her trail. Through it all he still managed to scrounge enough money for his drinks and his death sticks and his gambling.
Now where was he? How far he had fallen! He had become the lowest of theives, stealing from the innocent to feed the demons inside of him. Could he quit? He had tried, but now his body shook when he had gone too long without a drink. Sometimes he had horrible cramps and pains. He had begun these habits thinking that he controlled them. Now he knew the truth. They controlled him.
Why had he come here today? He stared at the building that housed the temporary living quarters of the senators. He supposed he knew that they would have the money that he needed. He wouldn't beg, but he could steal. Wje walked toward a hanger, not even completely aware of where he was going. It was a chilly day, but all he wore over his regular clothes was a thin cloak. He had never been a big man, but since he rarely bought food anymore he had shrunk. He had at one time been a slightly handsome man, but the drink and the smokes had turned him into a shriveled old man.
He needed a drink and he needed one soon. His vision was blurred and he barely even remembered where he was. As he entered the hanger a green speeder zoomed past him, but he didn't even know it was there. His only thoughts were of the fine price the black speeder he saw would bring him in the market. He wondered how many drinks or smokes he could buy, or how many games he could bet on.
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Dorme had been staring out the window, wondering where her mistress was when a low buzz announced a message for her. She walked to the center of the room and pressed the appropriate switch. An automated voice spoke in a halting monotone,
"A friend is here to see you Dor-me. You are to bring your things and meet her in the ser-vice hang-ar. Please ask dear Miss Eve." The machine buzzed again and the message was over.
Dorme frowned for a moment. She had no friends on Corusant, and what did that last bit mean, anyway? She puzzled over it for a moment, then smiled and laughed. She knew what the message meant, and it was rather clever. A machine certainly wouldn't understand, and anyone who intercepted the message wouldn't either. She moved swiftly to her room and tossed a few garments into a small bag. She fastened a warm cloak around her shoulders as she moved toward the lift. Her destination: meet Padme in the service hangar.
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Dorme stepped off of the lift and ran toward Padme. They hugged each other warmly before Dorme thought of protocol and stepped back.
"I'm glad to see you, milady. When I heard what happened on Genosis I feared for you."
Padme nodded, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but Anakin - um - Skywalker, you remember him, right?" Dorme looked curiously at her flustered, usually un-fluster-able mistress and nodded. Padme continued, blushing over her awkwardness. "Anakin said it would be best if I sent no messages to Corusant. We're - the Jedi and I - are trying to keep people from knowing that I'm here."
Dorme nodded, still wondering at Padme's blushes and stutters, but she couldn't keep from smiling, "I am very glad to see you milady. I was worried."
Padme motioned for Dorme to follow her as they walked toward the nearly empty hangar. "Dorme, a lot of things are happening. I need our help."
She would have said more, but as the two women came in view of the parked speeders, a black one started up. Padme drew a blaster reflexively and yelled, "That's my - " She got no further. The frail looking man driving the speeder had given her a panicked look, then revved up the speeder. It almost made it out of the hangar before it exploded in a ball of flame. Padme and Dorme watched in horror, their mouths open. Padme said the first thing that came into her mind.
"It was a rental."