'Grubbing for Transport' (Chapter Four)
By Ennon
Padmé spent the rest of the night thinking back to Mustafar and what might have happened to Anakin. She thought she'd heard Obi-Wan say he'd felt the Emperor's presence right before they took off. Of course, the Emperor must have somehow gotten to Anakin in time and. ..
After a considerable amount of tossing and turning, she'd concluded that Leia was as safe from Vader as she could be under the circumstances with the Royal Alderaan protection- and Bail had successfully kept his opposition to the Emperor under the radar to help Alderaan maintain some autonomy. Leia would be safe at least until she was sure Luke was, Padmé concluded. She couldn't count the number of times Leia must have caught her crying as she went to sleep in the same room- and when she first awoke. But when would be the best time to seek out Luke? The answer came the very next morning.
"Nursemaid Mamie, Her Majesty instructs you to ready the younger children for their excursion in three hours," the silver droid C7FO droned.
"Excursion? Where are. ..?" Padmé asked.
"The Queen and Prince Consort/Senator are to take their younger offspring to Yavin to explore the temple ruins for ten days- and you are the help His Highness's youngest sister, Her Grace, Lady Tia Organa care for the Crown Prince," C7 droned.
"But why isn't Osric going. .?"Padmé tried to ask.
"That's not for you to question," C7 questioned.
Padmé was a bit apprehensive at this news- for this would be Leia's first outworld excursion since before she was born- and Padmé hated saying goodbye to Leia (as well as her 'brothers') even temporarily.
Still, ten days might be enough of a window for her to leave Alderaan, find Luke then return- if only she could leave the Palace, find a transport to the space port then find a space cruiser to. .. wherever Yoda was. How was she going to find Yoda when the entire Empire with its agents and bounty hunters had come up empty? Where did he once say his species was from? She'd have to work that out.
"Why can't I go with you and Papa?" Osric whined to Yuermina while Padmé got Leia and Crolock ready in their travel clothes.
"Because you're my Heir Appearant and this will be good practice for you to do the rituals on your own so you'll be ready when your time comes," Yuermina beamed.
"But I don't wanna stay with Aunt Tia," Osric groaned.
"You'll be with Nursemaid Mamie. She'll take good care of you,"Bail insisted.
"And your aunt will help you through the rituals of greeting our guests during Subject Lovedays," Yuermina exclaimed.
"Are you sure he's ready for that?" Padmé asked.
"He's nearly six now and it will be a good time for the Alderaan subjects to see their future king up close," Yuermina added.
"Aren't you excited about seeing those temples,Leia?" Bail asked.
"Sure, but why can't Mamie come with us, Papa?" Leia asked.
"We already explained to you that she's needed here to help your Aunt Tia care for Osric during Subject Lovedays," Yuermina sighed while crouching down to hug her 'daughter'.
"Mamie, why can't you come with us? Don't you love me as much as Osric?" Leia whined.
"Leia, your. ..mother thinks it's best I stay here and I can't disobey her. You know I love all you children very much," Padmé exclaimed while swallowing her tears.
"I'll miss you. You're so pretty and nice!" Leia exclaimed as she broke her embrace with Yuermina to hug Padmé.
"Princess Leia, I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your adventures on Yavin Four! Take good care of your parents and baby brother and remember how I love you!" Padmé exclaimed as she virtually had to force herself to pry Leia's arms from her waist.
" We must be going!" Bail sighed.
"Osric, Mamie, you mind what Lady Tia says until our return. Farewell," Yuermina exclaimed as she led Prince Crolock while Bail led Princess Leia to the Royal Transport stationed in the courtyard by the Royal Palace Lake to take them to Yavin Four.
Padmé's heart sank as the transport took off and she openly burst into tears.
"Nursemaid Mamie, please pull yourself together. We have a very busy four days ahead of us starting tomorrow as we prepare Osric to greet the selected guests during Subject Lovedays," the tall and somewhat ungainly looking Lady Tia Organa pleaded.
"Sorry, Lady Tia. I just hope Leia- and Crolock will be okay during their first spaceflight," Padmé sighed.
"I'm sure my niece and nephew will be fine. It's smart they get used to space travel at an early age. You shouldn't be so overemotional,"Lady Tia sighed- though not unsympathetically.
"Sorry, I'm not at my best," Padmé sighed.
"Is it. .. that time of the month?" Lady Tia asked.
Padmé was rather stunned- as she'd worked through all those times before without taking so much as a single day off since Luke and Leia's birth but she knew this could be an opportunity she'd never receive again.
"I'm sorry but . .. I guess it is," Padmé groaned.
"No apologies necessary. You just stay in your quarters and relax as long as you need until it passes,"Lady Tia insisted.
"But what about the Crown Prince and Subject Lovedays?"Padmé asked.
"Yuermina and Bail asked me to come here to help with my nephew so I'd have practice for a family of my own one day. I'll tend to him. You couldn't have joined us in the Reception Lines anyway since your rank isn't high enough," Lady Tia laughed.
"I suppose you're right. I'll do the best I can under the circumstances," Padmé sighed doing her best to contain herself- although she'd done that virtually every day since she'd arrived at Alderaan three and a half years earlier.
The next morning, she dressed Crown Prince Osric in his Reception Clothes and let Lady Tia take him to the Throne Room where the 5000 Guests would greet him, his aunt and other high Alderaan officials during the next four days.
"Are you certain you don't need a droid to tend you?" Lady Tia asked as she led Osric away.
"No, I think I'll be fine. There's enough food here and I have enough holographs to read and watch until I feel better," Padmé said as wanly as possible.
About an hour after Lady Tia left, Padmé heard the first group of Guests arrive. Since she'd been in Alderaan, Padmé had observed that every six standard months, the Royal Palace Grounds would be open to 5000 Guests- 4000 from Alderaan but 1000 outworlders who'd been randomly selected to be the Queen's Guests then carefully inspected for weaponry and espionage equipment by specially programmed droids would be given a guided tour of the Historic Route through the Royal Alderaan Palace. Padmé and most of the other servants weren't permitted to leave the back part of the palace while the four-day tours were transpiring but she'd often get close enough in the back walls to hear their excitement at seeing such classic architecture and majestic grandeur of 150 centuries on display. Of course, once the Lovedays were over, the Historic Route would be re-opened to the servants for them to immaculately clean to ready the halls and chambers for the next Loveday.
Padmé decided to sneak into one of the groups of Guests and follow them to their hovercraft transports DOWN the 3000 meter Aldera Rock Mountain then take a City Hovercraft to the Space Port but how to get out without being noticed even among these crowds.
Padmé was trying to find a panel that would lead to the Gift Shop (which doubled as the Commisery when Lovedays weren't in session) when she bumped into. ..
"Artoo? What are you doing here?"Padmé asked.
R2D2 squawked a bit.
"Well, I can see you're about to distribute holographic Palace brochures but it's been some time since Queen Yuermina sent you to Captain Antilles. ."Padmé sighed.
Artoo chirped a bit.
"So Threepio worked his way up from being a binary loadlifter programmer to being part of the Captain's staff- with some persuasion by you! Very smart, Artoo,"Padmé beamed.
Artoo sputtered.
"Yes, there is something you can do. You can unlock the panel to the Gift Shop then provide a distraction. ."Padmé explained.
Artoo asked in a few beeps that only Padmé had learned to understand.
"That's right, Artoo. I'm leaving! I can't stand not knowing whether Luke's safe!" Padmé boiled.
Artoo beeped solitiously.
"Risks? I know all about the risks but I'm not letting anything happen to my children. You know how docile banthas are? Well, the most dangerous animal in the galaxy is a bantha cow protecting bantha calves from danger- not even bantha rams are safe horns not withstanding! Don't count human mothers out either!" Padmé proclaimed.
Artoo sputtered a bit.
"Yes, I'll be as careful as possible. Keep watch over Leia and Threepio," Padmé pleaded.
Artoo sputtered his promise.
Now before you do anything to help me escape, there IS something I need you to do. No, it won't take very long. . " Padmé insisted.
In a few moments, Padmé (wearing once again her traveling boots, khaki slacks and matching shirt) had Artoo open a panel leading to the Royal Palace Gift Shop and joined the other Guests.
"The Crown Prince's a bit of a brat," sniffed one Mon Calamari society matron- a distant cousin to Admiral Ackbar.
"He's only six," Padmé sighed as she stepped into the tour group.
"Odd, I don't recall seeing you with the rest of us,"the Mon Calamari matron sniffed.
"I. .came with an earlier group and had to relieve myself but now I'm back," Padmé gulped.
They soon climbed into the hovercraft transport.
"Where's your Invitation?" asked the droid driver.
"It. .um. ." Padmé sputtered when.
"Magnetic discharge at Palace! Must clear grounds immediately!" the droid driver chirped.
Artoo knew that no droid wanted to get too close to magnetic disturbances and that would override whatever programming they had been given.
In another hour, the hovercraft finished its 3000 meter climb from the Aldera Rock and was at the Main Gate to be waved through- and for the first time in three and a half years, Padmé was away from the Palace!
As Padmé (AKA Mamie) was a servant and servants got paid, Yuermina had paid her a salary and Padmé had saved more than enough units to buy transport tickets to virtually anywhere in the galaxy. The Royal Nursemaid position's pay would have been enough to have paid for a small efficiency apartment only half a kilometer from the Palace Gate, food, a modest wardrobe along with a small hoverscooter. However, as Padmé's food, board and clothing had been provided by the Palace and she'd only spent small amounts in the Commisary to buy birthday presents for Leia and her 'brothers', Padmé had no worries about money at this time. This was virtually the only worry she did NOT have.
She made it to the Alderaan Space Port which was 30 kilometers from the Aldera Rock with no further incident an hour later via city hovercraft but at the space port, there was quite a flurry of activity which was quite exhilarating for Padmé after over three years of being cooped up in the Palace grounds.
"Thank you for flying Cosmos Spaceways. What is your destination?" the transparent ticketing droid asked.
"Dantooine," Padmé gulped- as she thought that's what Yoda said about his species origins.
"Next space transport for Dantooine leaves in another five standard hours and you will be required to change space cruisers at the Coruscant Galactic Space Port," the ticketing droid explained.
"How many changes if I avoid Coruscant?" Padmé asked- knowing she could NEVER go anywhere near the Imperial capital planet again.
"Three-and you will be arriving four days later than by the Coruscant connection," the droid droned.
"Very well. I see it's 4000. ." Padmé sighed as she took out some of the monies from her pocket.
"Cosmos Spaceways does NOT accept any units besides credit holograms. You can apply for a credit hologram at the Hologram Exchange in Level 24-B Subheading V," the ticketing droid droned.
"OK, but may I get reservations now?" Padmé asked.
"Reservations may be obtained- once you have presented your Imperial Galactic Hologram Passport," the droid droned.
"Imperial Galactic Hologram Passport?" Padmé gulped.
"Yes, If you go to Level 98-N Subheading F, you can apply for one and it's only 134 standard holographic pages of information you are required to fill out," the droid droned.
"Thanks anyway," Padmé sighed.
Oh, for the days when she had her Senatorial Passport but she knew she couldn't chance the formwork giving her away so she dejectedly left the Space Port and started walking back to Aldera City but noticed that there was a large number of warehouses on the edge of the Space Port complex that looked quite seedy- totally out of place in Alderaan.
Padmé saw a sign that said 'Pilots PitStop Bar' and decided that perhaps she could see about finding another way to leave Alderaan.
Padmé saw a very large and tall hairy two-legged beast walk in ahead of two teenaged boys.
"HEY! We don't serve your kind here!" Padmé heard the barkeep yell.
"What?" shouted the brown haired human teen with a scarred chin.
"Our scans indicate you two are only sixteen standard years old! You'll have to wait outside for your Wookiee friend!" the barkeep shouted.
"Any other ideas, Hotshot?" his bronze-complected human friend asked.
"Hey, don't look at me! You're the one who said we should stop by this place for that. .sightseeing tour," the brown haired teen scoffed.
"They told me they'd get us spots on the Palace Tour," the bronze-complected teen replied.
"What's so great about a building above the clouds anyway?" the brown haired teen asked.
"Excuse me, but what if I bring you two drinks from the bar?" Padmé asked.
"Well, well! Who do we have here?" the bronze-skinned teen asked as he started to take Padmé's hand
"Call me. ..Maddie," Padmé purred.
" Han Solo here and this is my friend Lando Calrissian! Got any friends for him?" Han asked as he quickly shook Padmé's hand before Lando could reach it.
"Not now but perhaps if you can take me to Dantooine, I could arrange something," Padmé purred.
Padmé hadn't needed her diplomatic skills to know what was on the teen boys' minds- as that was virtually universal amongst teen boys. Still, they were pilots and maybe she could get them to take her to where she needed to go. She just needed some insurance.
"Rrrh!" the wookiee growled as he left the bar and came to the rest of them.
"Poor thing, you've got a metal shard in your foot. I've got some tweezers to yank that out,"Padmé offered as she reached into her pocket.
"Chewie won't let you. ." Han sputtered.
"Purr, grr-ahn," Padmé whispered which caused Chewbacca to nod his head and hold his fur covered foot still.
"You speak Wookiee? How did you learn. ." Lando asked.
"You don't look like the type to crash on their planet like I did," Han scoffed.
"I didn't! There was a wonderful Wookiee restaurant and Laundromat on the bottom level of my Coruscant apartment building. Served the most delicious sautéed tree beetle grubs!" Padmé beamed as she quickly yanked out the metal shard from Chewbacca's foot then put some antiseptic on it.
While Padmé HAD been good friends with the Kashyyyk Senator, she also truthfully had eaten at that restaurant many times and learned the language- for there were restaurants representing virtually every species and planet in the galaxy on Corcuscant!
"And you said that had to be eaten raw," Han fumed to Chewbacca while making a disgusted face as Chewbacca led them away from the bar towards their ship's docking bay.