Author's Note: Hey all! I don't know if I'm going to be able to update over the weekend. I will be in town, but slammed with bunches of errands to run and chores to complete. (Yuck). I'll definitely get back to it on Monday. In the meantime, it is my pleasure to present the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews!

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As Anakin boarded the ship, he punched in the launch sequence and heard the ramp begin to clank as it retracted into the belly of the ship. Waving at Artoo, he continued towards the front of the ship where Padme already had the messaging system up and running.

As he lowered himself into the pilot's seat, she expertly punched in the code and they watched the hologram pop into view. The now-familiar voiceover began to speak, "Teams must now travel to Planet Binkai and set their ships down in Sector 78-B where the next clue is waiting."

Before the voiceover had even finished speaking, Anakin had the starmap up and running and he and Padme searched it frantically. "There!" Padme called. The color drained from her face as she whispered, "It's awfully close to Plauu."

His face grim, Anakin simply replied, "Yes, it is."

Determined, his fingers flew over the control panel as he programmed the coordinates. Looking over at Padme's worried face, he vowed to keep her safe.

SHIP OF DAKE AND TARV - SAME TIME

Obi-wan smiled as the door slid shut, sealing him inside the warm ship. He shrugged out of his thick overcoat and hung it on a peg in the storage closet. He hurried to the front of the ship where Mace was already playing the clue.

"That's not very team oriented behavior, Tarv," he said mildly.

Mace ignored him and repeated the clue impatiently. Searching the starmap, they found the planet fairly quickly and looked at each other as they spotted the neighboring planet.

"So, this is it? Should we go ahead and contact Anakin? He has an encrypted comlink with him-" Obi-wan began.

"No," Mace replied, searching the Force. Satisfied, he leaned back in his chair and stated, "The time is almost right. But not yet."

PLANET BINKAI, SECTOR 78-B - THREE HOURS LATER

Anakin held his breath as he set the ship down on the barren planet. His senses were on edge as he watched Mace land his ship several yards away. Finally, he disengaged the engines and lowered the ramp.

"The Guardians must not have suspected anything," Anakin said, shooting a relieved glance at Padme.

"The intelligence the Council received must be right," Padme mused. "There were too many of those ships guarding that planet for the weapon to still be in a developmental stage."

"You're right," Anakin agreed. "And from their positioning, it looks like they may be ready to act. Several of those ships were transports."

Padme reached out to Anakin through their Bond and felt his soothing presence. She could feel Anakin grab on to her signature and she settled into his mind's comforting embrace.

Stay with me. I need to know you're safe. Whatever happens, don't let our connection be broken.

I won't, Anakin. No matter what.

Hand-in-hand, they left the ship and headed for the hologram. Obi-wan and Mace fell into step beside them as Padme glanced curiously at a large wrecked battle ship that lay submerged in the ground several yards away. Her mind caught fragments of the conversation going on between the Jedi.

Shouldn't we strike now?

Patience, young one. The shields won't drop for several more hours.

The voiceover began, cutting off any further discussion: "Welcome to Binkai. You have reached a Divergence and must choose your path - Explore or Implore." The image changed to show the crumpled ship that Padme had spotted immediately. "In Explore, teams will have to navigate the wreckage of a U8-9PY freighter to find three kiosks. Each kiosk will dispense a portion of your next clue - contestants must assemble the fragments to form the next clue. The kiosks are easy to spot, but a U8-9PY is quite large, so navigating it may take some time."

There was a pause before the image changed to show a large city with many residential dwellings. "In Implore, teams will have to fly to Sector 95-G and ask for donations for a new housing community. Teams will receive their next clue when they turn in 150 credits to the Mayor. The Sector is known for its wealth, but the project is not well publicized so reaching your monetary goal may be difficult."

The political implications from the Implore challenge struck a chord within Padme as the thought, Hmmm... A new housing community. How delightful! I wonder if it benefits the children of the commun-

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as the three Jedi called, "Explore!" Watching the three men make a dash for the imposing ship, she shook her head and followed, climbing into the hulking structure a few seconds behind them. As she drew herself up to her full height, she took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Spotting Anakin standing a few feet in front of her, she reached for the back of his tunic.

And as he turned, she found herself looking into the empty sockets of a white skull. Suddenly, the empty eyes began to glow red...

She clamped her mouth shut before a scream could escape. Hearing the strangled noise she made, Anakin gripped her hand, studying her intently. She raised her eyebrows, feigning confusion at his serious expression and pressed forward, not wanting to reveal her vision. She carefully shielded her thoughts from Anakin and instead focused on sending him a rush of reassurance through their Bond.

He has enough to worry about. I won't have him being distracted by these visions, she thought. I will get a handle on this.

Padme felt the ground began to descend and she realized she was on a ramp of some sort. The light from their hovering camera droid made things a little easier to navigate, but she was still careful, painfully aware that there were still many dangers in a battle ship, no matter what its status.

"I think we need to go to the lower level," Anakin mused. Padme groaned quietly as she realized that meant taking the stairs - and lots of them. She followed them to the center of the ship and watched Obi-wan and Mace start down the stairwell, Anakin close on their heels. Her foot was poised over the top step when she felt a breeze stir the hair at the nape of her neck. Startled, she reached a hand out, feeling the cool air pass by her fingertips.

Feeling along the wall, she found the seam of a concealed door. Pulling with all her might, she inched it open and peered inside. She fumbled in her utility belt before pulling out a light stick. Holding it above her head, she studied the cavernous room, gingerly stepping forward.

Suddenly, the floor fell away from under her feet and she found herself falling. She cried out in surprise as she tumbled into the darkness. Reaching out desperately, her fingers caught on a ledge, stopping her sharply and she held on tight, her shoulders straining with the effort. She clenched her jaw against the pain and slowly pulled herself up. When she finally scrambled onto the small outcropping, she sighed in relief. Peeking over the edge, she saw her fallen light stick, glowing faithfully several stories down.

She jerked as she heard Anakin's frantic voice in her head. PADME!

She took a moment to calm her trembling and responded confidently, Ani, I'm fine. I just didn't want to go all the way down those stairs so I took a more... direct... route.

How can you possibly joke at a time like this?

She paused for a moment as she realized there was another opening behind her. She pulled out another light stick and crawled forward, squeezing under the heavy door. Blinking her eyes, she realized she was in a wide corridor. She headed for the far wall, spotting a bright glimmer of something in the distance.

Padme? Where are you?

She grinned before she replied, staring at the sight before her. Finally, she responded and she could feel Anakin relax at her words.

I'm in front of one of the kiosks. And where are you, my Jedi Knight? I don't believe you are being very efficient.

He didn't reply to her teasing question, but she could sense his amusement. Straining her ears, she could hear the thundering footsteps approaching her from below. She knew he would find her.

He always did.

Turning, she placed a hand on the kiosk's console and a piece of parchment dropped out. She unfurled it and read, Travel to Sector 84-...

She rolled the clue back up and turned to find Anakin, Obi-wan and Mace jogging towards her. She smiled at them warmly and hugged Anakin tightly when he pulled her into his arms.

"Liri, did you realize there is a more traditional route to get to this hallway?" Obi-wan asked dryly.

"Yes, thank you for that helpful snippet of information, Dake," she retorted saucily.

Together, the foursome retraced their steps and headed back down the dark hallway. But this time, Padme was in the middle of the group. Looking around at the faces of her Jedi protectors, she decided she didn't mind.

Not one little bit.