Hi again. Sorry about the long time between posts. My boss seems to think that if I want a pay check I should actually show up at work occasionally. Having a job is seriously cuttin' into my sittin' around time. :-) I'm long winded again today, (seems to be a charater flaw) so I put a bar at the start of the actual story if you want to skip all my responses and get right to it. See, I look after my lurkers! :-)
I always respond if do you leave a review, so here are my responses. :-)
k00lgirl1808: I can find lots of good books, it's the best ones that elude me. Fortunately, I learned very young that if you make nice with the librarian, she'll be very helpful. :-)
Mike: Ah, so that's where Fred disappeared to! I wondered where he could possibly go on vacation. :-) Seriously, though, If I didn't know better I'd swear you were reading my mind. Am I becoming predictable? I'll have to tell Fred so we can work on that.
Sorry about the errors, My computer is junk (literally) and I can't run any word processing programs more sophisticated than Wordpad. That, unfortunately, means no spellcheck. I have my trusty dictionary, though and that helps. I won't say much about Han, I like surprises, but I think you have been spying on me cause I edited the very scene you mentioned as a suggestion the day before I read your review. Oops, I hope that's not a spoiler! Oh, well.
Beorthryth: I couldn't help but remember that the only mention of Padme's death was the one scene at the end of ROTJ. Even then it was just Leia saying "She died when I was very young." It happens all the time that someone is belived dead when they are really not. Even the IRS messes that up. :-)
As for Padme and Redge, well, there really isn't much there. He was nice to her when she needed a friend. Remember, Padme picked up Kerine on her own just a few years after she "died" (that's not a spoiler, I already posted that!)
Kazzy: I like reading your "books" it reminds me to think about what I'm writing. Palpatine was a braggart. He wouldn't have eliminated al evidence of Padme, she got him elected supremem chancilor, she got him started!
Keeping in mind that Palpatine would want to flaunt his victory, he probably wouldn't have edited much about her at all. That means that her views and opinions would also have been made publick knowledge. Think of it this way, Padme called for a vote of no confidence in chancilor Valorum because she felt he wasn't able to uphold the values of the old republic, that made room for Palpatine who went on to destroy the old republic. I think Palpatine would have loved the irony. He is the one who tried to get Luke to kill his own father, after all.
Also, Padme was against creating an army of the republic. Once he had been granted emergency powers byt he senate (an action started by Jar Jar Binks, if you remember) that army was what enabled him to destroy those who objected to him keeping that power. Yes, Padme got him started, but aside from making a space in the senate for him, she really didn't do anything else to help him and was actively against him in many instances.
(and you thought you were long winded!:-)
I really wasn't sure on Bail, so far he doesn't really even have much of a character. I had to draw on what Leia's reactions and opinions have been and use that to infer the way he must have been. It's repeatedly been said (not cannon) that Liea was very close to her adoptive father.
This fic seems to be all about guilt, I'm not entirely sure how that happened, but it seems to be working. Naboo, well, that info is coming up, well get back to it in a couple of chapters. Leia is becoming a challenge. I think I'm walking a fine line with her. On one hand she has a lot do deal with right now, so she's going to be a little (a lot)emotional, but ont he other hand she can't be too obvious about it.
REV042175: I relly like doing my backstory that way. it makes it more intersting for me. :-) I've never written Bail before and I've never read him before he adopted Leia, so I'm glad I got it right. Han and Padme, well... it's coming, I won't tell you more than that, but I will admit I've done some foreshadowing. If you want to scour the story looking for it.
Sorrow Multiplied
Chapter 5
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Kerinè begged out of the sight seeing trip, claiming she had work to do on the ship. Padmè knew the girl simply didn't want to intrude on a family outing and vowed to make it up to her one day. In the mean time, she was going to take advantage of the time she had with her children. All too soon they would both have to go back to their jobs and their homes and she would hardly see them. She knew as well as anyone, Senators and Jedi are busy people.
Stepping quickly down the ramp, Leia reached the bottom and turned to watch her mother decend. Padmè stepped gracefully toward the ground, looking every bit as reagle as her holos even without the extravagent costume. She was flanked by Luke who almost looked like a guard in his black ensemble. Leia was wearing the yellow sundress again, but she vowed to purchase some new clothes today. It was time she had some casual outfits again.
Leia giggled childishly and took her mother's hand. Together, the three of them headed for the bank of speeders that Padmè knew would be waiting just outside the spaceport. Something was wrong, though. She hadn't often used this particular spaceport, but she definitely remembered it being busier than this. In fact, the place seemed desserted.
The bank of speeders she'd remembered being outside was reduced to three bored looking drivers. She led her children trepidaciously to the first one to notice them and he gestured for them to climb inside. He didn't speak untill they were all seated.
"So, where to?"
That was a good question. Padmè thought for a moment then told him "Theed Palace. I know my way around from there and I know several places we can go in that part of the city."
The driver looked at her skeptically. "You sure you want to go to the old palace lady? There's not many that go there anymore."
"Yes, I'm sure. I grew up here, I'm not just any tourist. I haven't been back in a long time, but I do know my way around."
He startd the cab and the car lifted into the air. "Whatever you say lady, you're the one paying the fare."
Though the driver's words had an ominous ring to them, Padmè chose to ignore the sense of dread that was trying to form in her belly. She ruthlessly beat at the emotion until she had nearly burried it, then turned to the window to play tour guide for her children.
"You really have to see it from the ground to appreciate everything. This city was designed to be run with a very low level of technology, or, at least, that is the way it is supposed to appear. Everything is truly up to date, but my ancestors, the ones who built this city, liked the feel of the more ancient civilizations."
Listening to her, the driver turned back to look at her again. "You seem familiar, do I know you lady?"
"I'm sorry, I don't recognize you. It is very possible though, I've met a great many people in my life. My name is Padmè Amidala Skywalker. What is yours?"
Luke was glad the car seemed to be on autopilot because the driver wasn't doing much driving, he was too busy staring at Padmè.
"Your Highness? Is it really you? I thought you were dead!"
She managed a smile for the driver. "A great many people have lost their lives in recent years. I was not one of them, although I do believe another now holds the title of 'your highness.'"
The driver shook his head and turned back to his controlls. "No, no one has since Queen Jamilla's second was killed. He only held the office for two weeks. We never held another election after Palpatine... Well, you know."
Padm's face had turned ashen and Leia took her hand in support. "Who is controlling the government?"
"Wow, you've really been out of touch, your highness. There is no government, at least, there's none to speak of. The Guard are still going and many of the old leaders are still around, keeping things up. Mostly, we've just been hanging on by threads."
The speeder settled in front of the Palace and Padmè was shocked at how empty the street was. The driver turned back to look at her.
"You would think with out a government, there would be chaos. But for the most part life just goes on as usual." He stopped there, though he kept looking over his shoulder, as if he wanted to say more..
The former queen was just shaking her head slowly, as if to deny the man's words. When she finally spoke, it was in the barest of whispers. "All my work... Everything we accomplished... Was it all for nothing?"
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Padmè paid the man and the group headed for the steps of the palace. The driver had tried to refuse payment, but she wouldn't have it. She insisted, telling him that she was no longer queen, that she was just an ordinary citizen and that he'd done her a great service by catching her up as well as by driving them to this place.
"It's the least I can do." She'd told him, and he'd finally relented. One just didn't say no to the greatest Queen their planet had ever had.
Climbing the steps of the great Theed Palace, Padmè was assaulted by memories. The most vivid was the peace celebration held every year on the anniversarry of the Battle of Naboo. Every year she had officiated the ceremonies from these steps. Every year she'd also flashed back to the first celebration, the last time she'd seen Anakin before he went to Coruscant to become a Jedi...
She shook her head to rid herself of that train of thought. They were approaching the main doors and there might not be anyone here who would recognize her. She would need all of her concentration, Padmè Amidala Skywalker was dead along with most of the people she had known.
With Luke on her left and Leia on her right, Padmè ascened the final stairs without fear, only to discover that there was no door guard. "In my day, even if the streets were desserted, we still would have posted a guard. I wonder if something is wrong..."
Luke rested on hand on his lightsabre for a moment, then let it drop. "I don't think anything is wrong. This places feels sad, but safe."
"Sad?" Padmè asked of him.
"It feels lonely, like something is missing. But there is no malice here."
Padmè looked to her daughter who shrugged dismissively. "He's the psychic here. If Luke says it's okay, it probably is."
"Leia!" her brother cried, sounding hurt.
The Princessess face set stubbornly and Luke looked away. Her hand on his arm made him glance back at her and he let her smile pass for an apology. He never could stay mad at her and right now he knew she was hurting far more than she was letting show. For months now he'd been able to sense her feelings and she his, though he was certain her connection wasn't as strong as his.
Padmè watched their exchange silently and couldn't help but radiate pride. Despite only having known each other a short time, both her children were as close as if they had grown up together. They had been able to get past, not only their own differences, but all the obstacles the galaxy had thrown in their way, and form a good relationship.
"Well, I suppose we won't find out until we go inside." She told her children as she reached for the door handle. The huge door swung inward easily to reaveal a slightly dusty main hall. Swollowing hard, Padmè stepped across the threshold. The once beautiful hall was dusty and falling into disrepair. The statuary was crubling from lack of care and dirt filled in many of the carvings on the walls. It seemed that this building was hardly used at all anymore.
Leia pointed to the floor just in front of them. "Look, there are footprints in the dust. It looks like someone goes through here quite frequently."
"Well, let's find them, whomever they are." Padmè said, stepping along the path in the dust.
The path led them down many corridors, through another huge hall, past what Luke recognized as a stripped out hanger and into an official looking part of the building. There was more evidence of occupation here. The floors had obviously been swept and mopped recently and the layer of dust was very light indeed. They were rounding one more corner when Padmè found herself looking at the business end of a blaster.
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When security systems alerted her to an intruder, Telia immediately checked the survelance systems. If the intruders were just kids goofing off or a lost tourist or two, she would be able to take care of it herself. But if it was something more she wasn't even going to announce her presence. There were secret passages all over the palace just for that purpose. She wasn't as young as she had once been and she had no intention of trying to hold off an army on her own.
Luck was on her side, however Security told her the intruders were three humans, two female, one male. Most likely kids entering on a dare or out-of-towners looking for a souvenier from the 'abandoned' palace. Either way they should be easy enough to chase off. She turned on one of the displays to try and guage her approach. If they were tourists, it wouldn't do to scare them, on the other hand she wanted to scare the pants off them if they were kids looking for thrills.
While she was waiting for the impossibly old monitors to warm up, Telia pulled her long red hair into a loose bun and wrapped a dark robe around herself. She would look professional enough to politely detour tourists and the dark color would blend into the shadows if she needed to frighten the kids. The picture finally resolved and she absently reached for a clip board, noticing that the intruders were adults...
She did an abrupt double-take. It was like looking at one of the old security holos, except she knew the equipment that would play those had been sold long ago. Telia shook herself and looked again. No, it wasn't an old holo. The woman in the lead was much older than the person Telia had mistaken her for and the two others were strangers, though the man carried himself like a jedi and that yellow dress could be a handmaidens robe, minus the hood...
Only one way to find out, she surmised, heading for the door.
On closer inspection, in the shadows that the camera had eliminated, Telia was more convinced than ever that she must have finally gome crazy from living alone too long. On an impulse, she lept out of the shadows and pointed her blaster, which she always carried, at the air. In another second, the group had rounded the corner and the woman whom Telia could have sworn she had met before, was looking straight into her sights.
As she had thought, the man ignited a lightsabre and the woman produced a blaster from nowhere. For another minute, the tableux held, Telia not lowering her blaster nor firing it, the other two holding at the ready. Finally, she could take no more and Telia spoke.
"You, milady, look far too much like a ghost for my taste. State your name and your business here."
The mystery woman stood proudly despite the blaster, or maybe because of it, and responded exactly as Telia had expected her to.
"My name, is Padmè Amidala Skywalker and I am here to seek answers."
Telia lowered her blaster. "Well then, welcome home milady."
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Padmè had no idea what to expect when she had entered the palace. Judging by it's emptieness, she'd expected disrepair. As she and her family had progressed farther into the building, she'd begun to lose all hope of actually finding anybody here. The building was too far gone to still be in use. It was useable, but not for much longer if it didn't get some care.
At every corner, the former queen saw ghosts. Images of the past played out before her eyes, scenes only she could see. She'd spent ten years of her life living here and had spent the following years travelling between this palace and Coruscant. Her entire life had been in these very rooms for so long, and now they were vacant, empty, dead. She had once thought it would be strange to come back in twenty years and find these rooms populated with new people, new furnishings. Finding them empty was far worse.
Only, as it turned out, the space was not empty. Padmè thought herself unbelievably lucky for an instant, then her brain registered the blaster. She heard her children ready themselves for battle behind her and decided to play royalty for the time being. The woman in front of her was still young and she might be easily intimidated. If that was the case she could be helpful. If not, Padmè would at least serve as a distraction so her children could incapacitate the woman.
Ready for anything, when the woman accused her of being a ghost, Padmè took it as a sign that the girl recognised her, or had, at least, seen holos of her. She though rapidly, searching for the response the naive fourteen year old queen would have given. Wincing inwardly, though she allowed no such emotion to reach her face, the now world-wise woman answered. "My name, is Padmè Amidala Skywalker and I am here to seek answers."
Amazingly, the stranger accepted this answer and lowered her blaster. Now that she was not faced with emminent death, Padmè studied the girl more closely. Red hair was not unheard of among her people, but it was uncommon enough to take note of. The 'girl' turned out to be much older than she had initially appeared, at least in her third decade, and her loose robe concealed a well muscled frame. As the woman moved, Padmè noted a leaness that was not purely from exercise. The kind of build you see most often in wild animals during the month just before spring. The woman responded, not surprisingly, with, "Well then, welcome home milady."
Hearing Luke shut down his 'sabre, the former queen fought not to breath a sigh of relief, wondering momentarily where her control had gone. Surely she wasn't becoming soft...
Shaking off the irrelevent thought, she extended a hand to the stranger in front of her. The woman, in a show that Padmè had half expected when she'd used the phrase 'milady,' kissed the hand instead of shaking it.
"Milady, it is good to have you back here. You cannot imagine the plight that has befallen us in recent years."
"I think I can imagine." Padmè said wryly, gesturing toward a door that was hanging by only it's latch; the hinges having long ago deteriorated. "Please, what is your name, miss?"
The woman shook her self. She stopped to gaze around the hallway before she answered, as if she expected someone else to answer for her. "I am Telia Nor Fillia. I have been caring for the palace since the guard became too few in number to spare a team to do the job."
Leia stepped forward, her blaster had once again vanished and Padmè guessed, with some pride, that Leia was wearing one of the many 'accesories' that she and her handmaidens had so often employed. A holster that could be hidden invisibly beneath a gown, sometimes on the leg, thigh, or back. Padmè owned one to go with every outfit.
"Can you fill us in on what has happened over the past few years, Miss Nor Fillia?" She asked the young woman.
"Please, call me Telia." She tucked her waepon into an arm holster and turned toward the hallway behind her "Come, I'll make tea and we can talk."
All three family members exchanged glances, then followed her. Telia led the way through several hallways to a quarters whose previous occupant Padmè couldn't remember. The quarters were large enough to make a suitable apartment, but they had been filled with old security equipment. When they had filed in, Telia quickly moved several pieces off a small table and the corresponding chairs.
They were pieces too, literally. Not a single one could function on it's own. She had apparently been taking apart several items in an attempt to use the parts to build something else. Luke settled on a chair and examined the pile next to it while Telia was otherwise occupied making tea.
"Mom, Leia, look at this," he whispered. "She's building a security droid, and I think it will actually work."
Leia whistled appreciatively. "Wow, and I thought she was crazy. Can you be crazy and be a genius?"
"Why? What does that mean?" Padmè asked.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea the kind of talent it takes to build a droid from spare parts? I mean sure, a basic, one motion machine is easy, but to build an entire, working, thinking droid, by yourself? I recognize some of these things, and none of them are new. It looks like she's working with scrap."
"Is that so amazing? I mean with lots to work from you could build most anything, couldn't you?"
Luke stared at her and Leia shook her head in disbelief. "No, Mom, it's not that simple."
But Leia didn't get to explain, because the subject of their discussion came back with tea. "I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot offer you any refreshments. I'm afraid I'm fresh out."
"That is quite all right, Telia." Luke said. "I noticed you're working on a droid, how is it coming?"
The woman spoke slowly, focusing on the cup she was trying to pour into. "It's not easy, guarding someplace this big alone. I thought I could do it better with some help. It's not easy though, half the parts I need are the ones that people only threw out the stuff because that's the part that broke. I'm having a terrible time finding the right power convertors."
Something didn't ring true for Padmè, "If I remember correctly, the palace had a lot of automatic defences and a very good security system, why does everything fall to you?"
"Sold it. They tore it all out and sold it. Good system, got a good price for it. I put in a new one, though. It's slow, not as good, but it works."
"This is the palace security system?" Leia asked incredualy. "We had better equipment in the rebellion." She saw the stricken look on the woman's face and ammended her statement. "We had a lot more to work with. Our techs could never had put this together."
The woman beamed with pride and Leia breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was upset the person who was most likely to be able to help them figure out what was going on. The princess had never visited this planet before but something was terribly wrong here. It was as if, all of a sudden, the people had stopped caring what happened to them. Leia had seen such symptoms before, in the lives of people being treated for attempted suicide, but never in an entire population.
Telia smiled and said, "This is nothing, truly. I like to take things apart. I'm sure your people are good at what they do."
"Spoken like a true diplomat. Are you sure you are not a senator?" Padmè asked her, half in jest. She was still convinced the woman was half crazy.
She shook her head. "No, Milady. My mother worked with palace security so I grew up around diplomats, but I never was one." She bowed her head sadly. "I was still too young when Vader killed the Queen. There was no government left after that."
Luke laid one hand on her arm, catching her attention. "I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you. It is very difficult for us, as well. But we need to know what happened. What can you tell us about that time?"
Telia looked up and nodded, as if agreeing with him. "It is an honor to be able to help Her Majesty." She took a deep breath and spoke as if telling a story.
"Shortly after Palpatine effectively ended the Clone Wars by declaring himself Emperor, Vader came here looking for you, Milady. He held the entire court hostage for hours, I'm not sure what hapened during that time, I was but a child then and no one wanted to tell me the details."
"Trust me, Telia, that tells us more than your description possibly could." Leia said wryly.
"Well, during that time, Queen Jamilla died. They said that Vader had killed her because she wouldn't tell him where you were. Vader left and her second in command took control. He even set a date for another election, but it never happened. After only couple of weeks, Vader returned with an army to storm troopers. They stormed the palace, killing everyone. He was so angry, every where he walked you could feel it. It was like the air took on an electric charge."
Luke nodded knowingly. "He still didn't have control. The Dark side can be very powerful. Although, with his emotions controlling him like that it's a wonder his could function at all."
"He probably couldn't." Padmè said. "When Ani broke down, he went all the way. I've only ever seen him that upset twice and both times he couldn't even speak. He was never good at control, even Obi-wan couldn't teach him that."
"You are right, Milady." Telia informed them. "Vader didn't say anything the entire time he was here. He just came in and killed everyone who was here. Every adult, that is, he saw me, but he didn't even attempt to hurt me. It was like I wasn't even there. Did you know he had blue eyes?"
The light comment surprised Luke and Padmè, who nodded in amswer. Leia had turned away when her mother said the name 'Ani' and hadn't seemed to involve herself in the conversation since. Now, she looked back and glared at the woman in disgust. "How would you know what color his eyes were?"
"I could see them. I remembered because I have never seen so much pain in anyone before. His face looked angry, but his eyes looked sad."
"Leia, that was before he fell in the Volcano. Your father did not wear all that armor by choice, you know this right?"
"Of course I knew that, mother." She responed indignantly.
Padmè could see the confusion and anger in her daughter's eyes. She understood that feeling. How could the monster I hate so much have eyes, have feelings. Leia did not want Vader to be a human being. It was easy to hate an object, or a monster, but it was much harder to be angry at a person. And Leia was not yet ready to let go of her anger.
"Leia, He was a person. You can be angry at him all you want. It's okay, be furious, hate him even." Padmè turned quickly to Luke, who had opened his mouth to protest. "Not one word of Jedi wisdom, Luke. I know the lines, but your sister is not a Jedi." She turned back to Leia, who was glaring defiantly.
"Leia, sweety, it is okay to hate him, but you have to accept him. You have to accept who he was, what he was, so you can move on. I understand, you had to do what ever it took to keep going during the war. And that included denying the truth when that truth would disable you, however temporarily. But now you have to accept what was, so you can move on."
Leia shook her head. "It's easier when he's a faceless monster."
Luke grinned at her. "Since when have either of us ever done anything the easy way?"
When she laughed, he grinned wider and Padmè breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, she was rather upset with her husband as well. It wasn't fair of him to leave her this mess. He made his daughter hate him and now it was up to Padmè to save the girl. He'd even asked her to do it himself.
Not that I wouldn't be here anyway. I was already on planet when he came, but still... She shook herself from that line of thought, knowing it wouldn't do for Luke or Leia to pick up on those emotions. It was only an idle thought, she truly loved her children and her husband, dead or not. She turned back to Telia, who was sitting quietly and sipping her tea.
"What happened after Vader left the second time?"
"People came and burried the dead. There was one big funeral, for everybody. My mum got this big bouquet of flowers by her marker and they gave me her medal. There was a lot of people talking, everyone cried alot, and the palace stayed empty. The guard took care of it all for about ten years, but funds were running low. People stopped paying taxes and guard members got tired of looking after an empty building. One day, no guard team came to relieve the shift that was leaving.
"I was cleaning some of the carvings when the last team just left. They just walked out and none have been back. I stayed and waited for the next team to come, but they never showed up. A few days later I moved in." She shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess people just stopped caring. Vader killed everone, all of our leaders. Without them, the local govenors did not have a direction and soon they lost all control of the people. Voting day came and went and nobody ran for any office. That was okay, I suppose, because nobody tried to vote anyway. The stopped maintaining the parks and museums, then they stopped caring for the roads. Later, stores started closing and nobody opened any new ones."
When Telia stopped, Padmè asked a question that had been bothering her for some time. "What happened to the gungans?"
"I'm not sure. They all went into hiding when the leaders were killed. Every Gungan in the city left that day and no one has seen one since. I assumed they went back to their underwater cities."
"Mother," Luke asked, "what is a Gungan?"
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While Padmè explained to her son about the other race that inhabited their beautiful planet, Telia excused herself from the conversation. She needed to think.
When she had first encountered this strange trio, Telia had assumed Padmè was travelling with a handmaiden and a Jedi as protection. But to find out that these two were her children? Who could have guessed. And the way the Queen had talked about Vader, as if she knew him...
That meant the rumors were true, Queen Amidala had married that monster. That would mean these two were the children of Vader. For years she had hated Vader for destroying her home, now she was helping his children to restor her planet. Wasn't irony wonderful?
Telia knew that they would restore Naboo. They hadn't said a single word about it yet, but she knew, deep down, they would. It was only right and fitting for Vader's family to restore what he had destroyed, demolished, torn apart.
But even as she was thinking about how her home would be put back together again, a tiny voice inside whispered that the children of Vader were dangerous. The one was already a Jedi, like Vader was before he turned. These two could also be turned. Leia was certainly angry enough. When they had been talking, she had watched Leia intently and seent eh anger and hurt in her face. For just a momment, she'd looked just like Vader had, that day he'd massacred everyone in the palace.
Luke looked just like him too. Leia only resembled him when she was angry, but Luke could have been Vader. Who was to say that the resemblance was only physical? And who would control these two? If she helped them in their quest to restore her home would they end up destroying it completely?
But her home had many more problems than most of it's occupants, even those that claimed to care, were willing to admit. The bigger question was, could she afford not to help them?