A/N: I probably need to mentionthat I'm merely trying to establish a friendship between Obi and Padme in this part, but I really couldn't help myself from having a little fun with it in the process. Her friendship with Anakin will be a bit more dramatic. And as the next chap is already completed it should follow very shortly.

TinTin: Thank you. And if you like wicked endings than you just may enjoy the chap after this one.

Kaime: Hey, girl! Nope, I didn't quote from any book here. I just have a bunch of silly little scenarios rattling around in my head which occasionally leak into the story.

abcd: Glad that I could clarify and it's so good to see you came back..

vaderbabe: Well, this one took a little while, but I promise the next part will be up real soon.

LuvObi: You probably don't want to get me started on those lovely eyes as I may never stop. And I know I made Palpy a bit of a sick pup in that last one, but I couldn't help it.

Chapter 10

It was late, and Padme Amidala had spent more time than she had planned among the Supreme Chancellor and Alderaanian society. The young woman tiptoed quietly down the hall towards her room in hope of being able to before she was spotted and pulled into yet another conversation about galactic politics.

She gave a sigh of relief as she reached her destination and hurriedly slipped her access card into the reader...only to have it spit back out at her several moments later.

"No," she pouted softly as she pushed the card back in again. Again the reader spit out the card.

Now she was getting frustrated.

Jamming the card into the reader a third time she growled, "I'll stomp on you if you don't work this time."

Padme then nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand from behind reached past her and gently removed the data card from the reader. She spun around and came face to face with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi's clothes were wrinkled as his eyes looked tired, but the impish grin he favored her with was a clear indication to Padme that he was at least awake enough to find her dilemma amusing.

He turned the access card over in his fingers and placed it back into the reader. A moment later her door hissed open.

"Thank you," she said, blushing slight with embarrassment.

"It was merely upside down," he smiled. "There was no need to threaten violence on the poor thing."

"Oh," she stammered, "I suppose I was a bit over eager to anxious dinner."

"Anxious to escape the Supreme Chancellor and his oily entourage? I can't imagine why," he jested then added with raised brow, "Not to mention the fact that you seem to have caught the attention of a rather prominent Jedi padawan.

Now the young woman was certain that she was turning crimson red. "Stop teasing me," she playfully scolded.

Obi-Wan feigned pure innocence and said, "Dear Senator, I never tease."

Padme cupped her hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter. Obi-Wan had always presented a very formal and serious front in the small amount of time that Padme had been around him, thus she found this quite humorous to see him standing before her wrinkled and joking.

The young man smiled briefly in response to her laughter before deciding that to head back to his own room for the evening. Giving a short, cordial bow he said, "Rest well, m'lady," and made to leave.

"Oh, wait," she called after him.

"Yes, Senator?" he said, once again in full Jedi mode.

"I still have your cloak," she explained and gestured for him to follow her inside.

"There's no need to trouble yourself this late," he protested but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"No, honestly. It will only take a moment to find."

"All right," he conceded with a nod as he followed her in.

He stood stiffly by the doorway, his eyes instinctively darting about to take in his surroundings while Padme made her way to the closet in search of his cloak. He noted that her accommodations were near identical to his own- a bed, a closet, and a small table and chairs tucked away in the corner, all simply yet elegantly decorated in typical Alderaanian fashion.

He continued his perusal of the surroundings until something decidedly un-Alderaanian- or Nubian, for that matter- caught his attention and caused him to laugh quietly to himself.

"May I ask what's so funny," Padme said, finally emerging from the closet with his robe in her hand.

"Sabaac cards?" he exclaimed in mock surprise as he pointed to a shiny new deck sitting on her table. "I always thought that was a game played exclusively by scoundrels and thieves. Which are you, m'lady?"

"I'm a politician," she quipped. "Doesn't that make me both?"

"You don't really want me to answer that, do you?"

"Maybe not," she laughed before asking, "Do you play?"

He flashed her a lopsided grin and said, "I've been known to win a hand or two- purely in the name of top-secret Jedi undercover work, of course."

Padme then grabbed the cards from the table then tossed them over to the young man. "Well then, Jedi, let's see what you've got."

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The hours had quite surprisingly flown by and Obi-Wan Kenobi, despite his notorious unease around politicians, was finding himself quite comfortable in the company of Padme Amidala.

The two fast forming friends were lying stomachs down on the soft carpet of her guest room with their Sabaac cards stretched out on the floor between them. Obi-Wan had long ago removed his boots and utility belt in favor of comfort , and the young senator had traded her formal evening gown for her nightclothes and a warm robe.

"I must admit," the woman laughed, "that I never expected a Jedi to be so adept at bluffing."

"I learned from the best," he answered. "My friend Bant taught me how to play when we were in the creche together. She still beats me on a regular basis."

"She?" Padme playfully asked with raised brow.

"Yes, she."

"Is she pretty?" Padme teased.

Obi-Wan snickered.. "She's stunning as far as Mon Cal's go, but I admit I'm having a bit of a hard time picturing her in that blue dress you wore earlier. That was quite a number."

"Flattery won't make me go easy on you Jedi," she said, holding her cards up to her chest and allowing a slow smile to spread across her face. "How about a wager on this one?"

"Jedi don't bet."

"We'll wager a secret then. If you win I'll tell you anything you want to know. But if I win..."

"Hmmm. Having the ability to blackmail a well respected senator could prove handy in the future," he grinned.

"Didn't they teach you anything about overconfidence in Jedi school?"

"I'm sure they tried, but I don't think it did any good."

"Quit stalling, and show your cards."

With a dramatic sigh Obi-Wan placed his cards on the floor before him then favored the young woman with a challenging grin.

Padme beamed back at him as she slowly revealed her own hand- and her victory. "I win," she gloated," with no small amount of glee. "And you owe me a secret. And you better make it a good one."

The Jedi laughed along with her for several moments then suddenly paled at a warning through the Force.

Disturbed by her friends sudden change in pallor, Padme asked, "What's wrong?"

The Jedi quickly jumped to his feet and dashed across the room to where he had previously discarded his utility belt and boots.

"Someone or something is coming," he whispered as he glanced about for a place to stash the young woman. "You'll have to hide."

He then pulled his lightsaber from his utility belt and a small shiv from his boot. "I'm sorry," he said as he handed her the shiv, "but I don't have a blaster. Keep it hidden, and don't hesitate to use it if you need to."

"Well, let's hope I don't need to," she responded nervously while concealing the small blade in one of the deep pockets of her robe.

Finally spying an air duct in the ceiling overhead, Obi-Wan gestured to it and said, "Up you go."

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It had started as the faintest tingle in the Force, odd in that it was clouded and not seeming to be the threat that it actually was. Qui-Gon Jinn was a man who prided himself on keeping his focus in the moment, thus he was seldom caught by surprise. But when he ventured from his room to investigate the curious vengeance, he was stunned by the rag tag collection of thugs that opened fire on him.

Fortunately he was able to recover in time to defend himself, his weapon instantly coming to his hand so that he could deflect the shots back towards his attackers.

Anakin sprinted from his own quarters only a moment later and was behind his mentor in a flash. "How in Sith's hell did they get past security?" the youth questioned as he steadily deflected fire.

"Good question, padawan, but not one that we have time to ponder at the moment," came his master's reply.

The duo was joined shortly thereafter by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tore from Senator Amidala's room- minus utility belt and boots- and took up a defensive stance alongside his two fellow Jedi.

Qui-Gon Jinn gave the knight a fleeting look of reprove and shook his head.

"What?" Obi-Wan all but growled.

Qui-Gon looked the disheveled knight up and down and replied, "Oh, nothing."

Flashing his former mentor an offended glare of disbelief at the silent insinuation the knight said, "I know what you're thinking, and unless you want me to run you through with my lightsaber you won't dare suggest it out loud."

"Noted," Qui-Gon replied with a wry grin.

The standoff wore on for several minutes, but the collection of mercenaries, hardened as they were, proved no match for three Jedi- or so it appeared. The group disengaged as abruptly as they had attacked and rushed down the corridor, seeming to flee.

"They're getting away, Master," Anakin shouted before running off to give chase.

"Anakin, NO!" Obi-Wan shouted after the youth, but the boy was already out of earshot.

Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Gon. "It's a trap," he said. "Make sure that Senator Amidala is safe. I'll go after that damn kid of yours." And before the Qui-Gin could offer a word of protest, the knight peeled down the hall after the wayward padawan.

Just great the Jedi master thought to himself. Never in the history of the entire Jedi order has there existed a pair more capable of finding trouble.

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Anakin Skywalker was halted dead in his tracks as he rounded the corner in pursuit of the mysterious attackers. Weapon held at the ready before him, the young man attempted to slowly back away in the direction in which he had come while two destroyer droids came towards him with their cannons set to fire.

For perhaps the first time in his life, the padawan was actually glad to see Obi-Wan Kenobi, who skidded to a stop alongside Anakin just as the droids started raining blaster bolts in his direction.

"Once again, you've managed to get yourself in quite a bind, Skywalker," the knight observed while aiding the youth in deflecting fire.

"Yeah, well, maybe you're rubbing off on me," Anakin shot back.

Obi-Wan started to respond in kind, but snapped his mouth shut when his instincts alerted him to a threat from a new angle. It didn't matter as there was no way that they could turn their backs on the destroyers. The sharp burn of a stun blast rendered both men unconscious at almost the exact instant that the droids ceased fire.