"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond. 'aaaa' - regular dreams

AN: I want to quickly thank everyone who has been reading, following and favouriting this story! You all are amazing and this story now has over 8,860 views!

This chapter was originally supposed to be based on the episode Heroes on Both Sides. I was halfway through writing it (the last few weeks have been a little crazy for me, so I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to) when I decided to backtrack and write this instead.

Don't worry, I'm still working on the episode rewrite. It might take a little longer than I had originally hoped.

Thank you princesselsaamidala22 for every review that you leave on this story. I love reading them and answering your questions.

On with the story!

While Anakin is off on a mission for the Chancellor, Rosella has agreed to help Padmé prepare for a dinner party that she is hosting.

QUICK EDIT: ALL existing chapter numbers have been updated. I saw an error with one of my early chapters and had to go back to readjust them all.


Chapter 24: Saving Senator Amidala from an Imposter

The evening after she and Anakin returned from Ilum, Rosella walked into the formal sitting area of Padmé Amidala's penthouse apartment. Even though the sun had already set and darkness was slowly starting to cover the surface of Coruscant, the first thing she noticed was that the Senator was busy looking at a large, rectangular tablet while one of her handmaidens - who was wearing her orange, flame-coloured robes - was busy setting the right side of the table.

The fourteen-year-old had grown a little taller and decided to change her outfit to better accommodate her body. She was now wearing a form-fitting, high-necked, sleeveless top that went all the way down to her thighs and a pair of light grey leggings with diamond cutouts going up both sides. The colour of the top, which was light purple, matched her new pair of fingerless gloves that were designed to help her keep a better grip on her hilts. Instead of keeping her brown utility belt, she went for a dark purple one that now had a new clip on the right for her shoto blade while her main one stayed in its spot on the left. The colour of her boots stayed the same, plus they matched the leather bracers that she wore over top of her gloves.

Coming to a stop a few feet away from Padmé, who was wearing a white dress, she placed her hands behind her back. "I just finished my perimeter check of the building," she said, watching as the Senator lowered the device that she was holding and glanced behind her shoulder. "The outside is clear."

Padmé smiled as she turned around. "Thank you for helping out tonight, Rosella," she replied. Glancing at the tablet that she was still holding, she continued speaking. "The negotiations with the Arthurian delegates are critical, and there are a lot of people who don't want them to happen." Lowering the device again, she looked up at her daughter. "You know, it might not be such a bad idea if you stuck around."

"Thank you for the offer, Senator, but it really isn't my place to mingle with politicians," Rosella said.

The handmaiden, who was almost finished with her job, rounded the table to fix one last table setting.

Rosella glanced at the table and then narrowed her eyes. Something felt off and she knew it wasn't the handmaiden. Stepping over to the table, she scanned everything that had been laid out. All of the plates and cups were fancy, but that was to be expected when one was having dinner with a Senator.

"I do have one question though, if you don't mind," she stated slowly, placing her hands on the table as she turned to look at her mother, who was looking at her datapad again. Slightly smiling as she knew that the Senator was going over the guest list one last time, she shifted her gaze over to the handmaiden as the woman turned around and headed for the doorway.

"Go ahead, Rosella," she responded, glancing up from the screen in front of her.

"Why did you set the table the table with utensils?" The teenager asked as she reached out and picked one up. "The Arthurian delegates never use them and they might find it insulting."

Turning towards the table, Padmé eyed it with a slightly confused expression before narrowing her eyes. "Hmm," she said. "You're right. And I was very specific with the instructions that I gave out earlier this evening." She turned to look at the handmaiden, who had almost reached the doorway. "Excuse me," she called out while holding up one hand. Rosella, who got the feeling that something bad was about to happen walked up and stood beside the Senator. "What is the meaning of this?"

The woman stopped where she was for only a moment before suddenly whirling around with a blaster in her hand.

Even though both ladies were in total shock upon seeing that the handmaiden – or whoever she really was - was aiming a blaster at them, it was Rosella who went into action.

Just as the woman opened fire, the Padawan darted over, grabbed the Senator and pulled her towards her, causing her to stumble a little and drop the tablet that was in her hand as she wrapped both her arms around the slightly taller woman and leapt towards the table, hoping that she wouldn't be too angry as everything that had been set up came flying off as they rolled over the surface and landed on the floor. Sensing that Padmé was beginning to come around, even though she was still in a little bit of shock over what was happening, Rosella quickly got up and flipped the table on its side, creating a barrier that would temporarily protect them from the imposter.

Two of the fake handmaiden's laser blasts hit the overturned table.

Turning to look at her mother, who was now awake and sitting up, Rosella smirked. "She's not on the guest list for tonight, right?" she asked.

Padmé shook her head. "Nope," she responded.

Scooting over to the left side of the table, Rosella glanced down at one of the overturned dishes on the floor. Due to its shiny and reflective surface, she noticed that the imposter was slowly moving towards them. Knowing that she was going to have to time this right, she took a deep breath, unhooked her sabers from her belt and launched into a back handspring that turned into a tuck and roll. Quickly getting to her feet, she held both hilts in a reverse grip and ignited them.

The imposter fired two more shots at the padawan.

Bringing both sabers up to protect herself, Rosella deflected one laser with her main blade and the other one with her shoto.

The woman cried out in pain as one of the lasers hit her wrist, causing her to drop the weapon that she was holding. The other one hit her arm which forced her to stagger back and fall to the floor.

As the padawan cautiously moved towards the imposter, the woman quickly shifted back into her true form, which was a changeling. Rosella was shocked to see that it was Cato Parasitti, the same woman who had infiltrated the Temple in order to help Bane steal a Holocron.

Throwing off the orange robes, the changeling jumped up, revealing that she had a trigger in her hand. Placing her other hand over the wound on her upper arm, she narrowed her eyes.

Rosella's eyes widened as the woman pushed the button.

Padmé gasped as she saw the device that had been placed underneath the table. Turning around, she grabbed the edge and hoisted herself up. "Rosella, there's a bomb!" She exclaimed.

Glancing behind her shoulder, Rosella had a look on her face that was both worried and concerned at the same time. Sensing that the changeling was smiling at them in glee and in anticipation since the bomb was still counting down, she knew that she had to do something and fast. Quickly formulating a plan in her mind, she put it into action. "Send it to me!" She said, slipping into the voice that she used with Rex and his vod'e when they were out in the field.

Padmé, who was glad that she had chosen to wear the same pair of boots that she had worn on Geonosis, quickly scrambled to her feet and got away from the table. Turning around, she bent her knees, then lifted her left leg and kicked the table with all her might, sending it sliding towards the teenage padawan.

Rosella quickly spun around and stabbed the right side of the table, cutting a circle around the bomb. Deactivating her shoto, she clipped it to her belt and held out her hand, sending a powerful Force shove towards the glowing circle, sending it flying through the now open balcony entryway that Padmé was standing beside.

The bomb exploded harmlessly in the sky.

Knowing that her plan had failed, the bounty hunter tried to make a run for it, but was shocked to see the Senator standing in front of her with a large decanter in her hands.

Padmé narrowed her eyes and swung the heavy item like she was holding a bat, knocking the bounty hunter backwards.

Cato yelped in pain as she flew through the air and landed on the floor. Even though her eyes were closed, they still twitched and then she lay still.

"You know," Rosella remarked as she deactivated her other lightsaber and clipped it to her belt before walking up to her mother, "you act a lot like Dad sometimes."

Both of the women looked over as the table at the back of the room tipped over. The jug that was sitting on top slid off and fell to the floor, water splashing everywhere.

"Well," Padmé said as two members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces came in and took Cato away. "It looks like the negotiations will have to be postponed until a later date."

"Then, I guess I will be staying after all," Rosella told the Senator. "I would hate to see all the food that has been prepared go to waste." She walked over to the overturned table and placed it back on its feet while Padmé spoke to two of her other handmaidens who had entered the room.

When she was finished reassuring her friends that she was alright and that they hadn't failed her, she asked one of them to summon a cleaning droid before dismissing them. Turning around, she saw that her daughter had taken a step back and was looking at the mess on the floor. Walking over to her, she placed a hand on Rosella's shoulder. "Thank you," she quietly said. "If you hadn't been here…" She sighed and shook her head. "I know Anakin will be proud of you when he hears about this."

"Really?" Rosella asked, glancing at her mother out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yes," Padmè responded. "You're a lot like him too. The two of you both share the same unflinching desire to help others."

Rosella sighed. "I find that when I do help others, regardless of who they are, it sometimes leads to me being impulsive," she said.

Padmé laughed. "Anakin tends to be rather impulsive too," she said. "But he uses that to his advantage and so do you." She smiled and gave Rosella a side hug. "If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you never give up. That's the important thing to remember." Glancing behind her as the cleaning droid came into the room and began to take care of the mess, she led the teenager out of the room. "Now, let's go eat."


Mando Translations

vod'e - brothers