IV

The storm on noon above us rolled,
Of light the fury, furious gold,
The long dray troubling us, the depth;
Dark is unrocking, unrippling, still.
- Robert Penn Warren

I am unsure of every step I take, and fear I resemble Jar Jar Binks more than I care to admit. Now if only fortune would favor me as well - But I cannot rely upon that; I hold my own destiny.

They were on the land 'inbetween' - or so it was called. In stretch of land, located between the outskirts of Theed and the outskirts of the Gungan property, was an area of land that neither population claimed. It had now become the perfect place to form and unite under the same cause.

Padme sat with her handmaidens, alone; all were separated from the others. They were pressed for time, and had very little to work with. But that fact only seemed to make them more alert and aware of the situation. Rabe punched the coordinates into the system while Padme, Sabe, and Eirtae poured over their memory of their own city. Boss Nass, the Gungan leader, was with the women and put any input he could into their plans.

" That is certainly the best way to get to the throne room if we want to avoid as little of causalities as possible, " Eirtae pointed out the path. Boss Nass nodded, rather impressed with their confident knowledge.

" This is when the decoy scheme should come to prove at its most advantageous," Sabe agreed.

" It is set then," Padme said taking up the coordinates and walking to camp with Boss Nass. " I shall see if we can get the stamp of approval from the jedi."

Nature was echoing in their ears, an oddly comforting sound in what was now a battle strained world. " Shall you be alright?" Eirtae asked of Sabe as she watched Sabe prepare her weapons. She understood the strain Sabe had to be under. She carried the heaviest burden of them all.

Sabe turned to her and to Rabe, who was now also watching her with curiosity. Sabe spoke, " I shall have a small militia at my beck and call. I shall be alright. How about you?"

Eirtae nodded," Of course, I shall be protecting the Queen."

It was strange, and yet oddly wonderful to Sabe, how each of them was concerned with the other's welfare and how they were all ready to give their lives in serving Padme. This passionate loyalty was not something she was used to in others, yet she welcomed it.

Padme returned, " The plan was able to get by the red tape," She spoke dryly. " Let us separate and organize."

Sabe stood in front of the group of men she was to lead. They were all older than she was, and all of them were more experienced than she could ever boast. " Once in the hanger were are to split our group, and then relocate to the prison cells in effort to free some of the prisoners. But more importantly we shall hopefully distract and bring all action away from the Queen to ourselves." They all listened attentively to her, giving her their upmost respect, and they all trusted her. She felt a sense of empathy towards these men, and she cared about their fates. Her sudden emotion almost overwhelmed her and threatened to break her forced stoicism. It was as if in that moment she understood the position of Queen Amidala fully.

The battle raged with inevitable speed. Men fell around her before she had barely time to breath. She led her separated group away from the hanger. Her shotgun in hand she took down the droids with a determined accuracy. It was unfair to battle something that had no soul and to which life had no meaning, while her men gave up so much for their deaths. After much winding in the passageways of the palace, Sabe forced herself to make an observation. She halted in mid-run, and turned to her troop. " We are being met with little opposition, and we are not being followed," She spoke hurriedly. " Abort the first plan, we are going to the throne room." She raced down the passageway to her left and the farther their distance, the faster she went. With that sense of urgency, she felt a second wind.

The noise of boots upon the marble floors echoed as they came to the main corridor. She looked down into the throne room and she thanked her instinct. " Vicroy!" She called out in almost a taunt. " Your occupation here has ended."

To the watching galaxy the victory on Naboo was monumental. Not only did it bring that small planet to the Republic's noticed, it also brought a realization that they were a formidable planet when the need called for it. The Republic had often overlooked them, but this victory assured that it would not do so again. What was more, they were awed by the leadership of their Queen. Being both small in size and quite young had not been a deterrent. Of which was both a terrifying and thrilling fact for the galaxy.

Sabe noted with interest the amount of delegations that had come to visit the planet and join in their celebration. Never had such figures graced the landscape before, many jedi came as well - although she suspected for another reason. Padme never spoke of it, but Sabe could tell Padme was pleased and relieved by the enthusiasm this celebration inspired in the galaxy. It promised greater intervention from the government in this planet's welfare, and that had always been one of Padme's upmost interests. But Sabe had her own suspicions, and wondered if the new praise was going to be as benefiting as Padme hoped it would be in the future; the future was always hazy. But she also knew Padme's greatest relief was knowing that her people were safe; it sounded like the stuff of a dirt cheap novel when spoken, but when connected with Padme one suddenly felt inspired by such a thought. It was in part what made Padme so successful as Queen. She believed in those ideals and everyone knew it was not mere say.

Padme was dressed resplendently for the celebration, her costume had been designed by the creative Eirtae in a short amount of time. Yet it could by said that it was Eirtae's most aesthetically pleasing work. Padme watched the gathering crowd below from her window. Sabe had been looking for her and found her. She walked up to her queen and too looked down upon the crowd. " Our city has never looked so alive," Sabe spoke.

" This is true," Padme nodded. She then turned to Sabe as if she just thought of something, her eyebrow were raised, " You never asked me about my decision to reveal yourself as my decoy at the Gungan Ruins."

" Why, should I have?" It was a rhetorical question and they both knew it.

The Queen shook her head," You've done well Sabe."

Like a gift she presented these words and Sabe smiled gratefully.

They both turned their eyes back upon the bustling crowd again. Sabe was amused by the children below who who were trying to claim as much confetti as possible and then the intervention of the parents trying to devide it evenly. A typical family affair, she thought. It was amazing how things could return to normal so quickly. Was this typical for every planet? It could not be, and was it a positive or negative way of life on Naboo?

" I forgot to mention," Sabe started, " The boy Anakin was asking for you again this morning. I think he feels rather neglected by you."

Padme turned again, " Really? That's sweet." A genuine smile was upon her face. " It is flattering to recieve such attention from what is supposed to be such an anti-girl stage."

" It is odd don't you think?" Sabe replied. She shook her head with feigned seriousness, " Something must be wrong with him."

Sabe walked next to Obi-Wan. His hand was upon the shoulder of his new apprentice, the young hero, Anakin Skywalker. He carefully lead the boy as they walked.

They were in the middle of a large group heading out the the platform where the parade was to end. Boss Nass and Queen Amidala were then to close this day of celebration. They were leading the procession now. Sabe could easily see the Queen ahead with her white dress amongst all the the dark clothing.

Now that he was walking beside her, she looked at the jedi and noticed a difference in him. He looked older somehow, there was an aura about him now that was not there before. There was a melancholy lit to his gaze. He did not seem to feel any pride in defeating his enemy (what had been called a 'sith'); and he only had the look of a man with a weight of responsibility upon his shoulders. He had lost his friend and master.

Sabe felt a surge of pity for him, and for once was sorry she had to play the part of the invisible handmaiden. She could not say anything. But, as if he sensed her sympathy, she now felt his gaze upon her. She looked up at him and although he did not speak either, she saw a thanks and appreciation in his glance.

For no one had comforted him at all until that moment, not even Master Yoda.

They all stood regally as the parade of gungans came forward. Naboo, in this moment, lay not as a secret. But it allowed for true emotion to break through. For once the gungans and humans of this planet accepted each other. Joy was upon the citizen's faces, and the Queen smiled a look reassurance to the young Anakin Skywalker. If one would have looked they would have noticed a secretive smile that could rival the Mona Lisa under the hood of the handmaiden close to the queen. So much had changed, and in that moment it felt like a change for the better.