CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Wait!" Dorme yelled at Padme who was running ahead of her down the darkened hallway. "Do we even know where we are going?"

"From the noise above, we are obviously several floors below the main audience chamber. There's got to be a service entrance down here. We just have to find it."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Keep moving until we do! What choice do we have?" Padme was beginning to sound desperate.

"And how long do you think it will be before they notice..." Before Dorme could finish her question, the two women heard raised voices filtering down the hallway, as well as an alarm blaring throughout the floor above them.

She looked at Dorme with widened eyes. "Move!"

They ran quickly toward what was apparently a dead end, only to be grabbed by the arms and pulled into a darkened doorway.

Dorme yelped in surprise. Padme glanced at the woman who had grabbed them and immediately recognized her, although she appeared much older and worn. "Shmi?"

The woman appeared quite startled and slowly backed into the room. Padme followed her and soon found herself in a large dimly lit area filled with work benches and droid parts.

Shmi stared at her somewhat confused. Suddenly Padme realized that the layers of blue body paint and the outfit she was wearing must be the cause. She reached toward the older woman's arm and grasped it gently. "Shmi. I'm Padme. I came to Tatooine with the Jedi ten years ago, when Master Jinn took Ani away. Do you remember me?"

For a second, Padme was worried that she had forgotten, but then a small smile appeared on the weathered face. "Ani." It was a wistful sound and Padme's heart went out to the woman.

"How is my Ani?"

"He's fine."

"More than fine actually." Dorme murmured from behind with a wicked grin.

The confused look soon returned as Shmi quickly glanced at the green figure of Dorme standing near the doorway. "What are you two doing here?"

Dorme chose to answer the question. "We came to rescue you. I'm afraid we're not doing a very good job at it though."

Padme shot Dorme a look.

"Well, we aren't!"

"Shmi, listen. Is there a way out of this place? A service entrance or something?"

"Why yes, there's a door leading to the outside right down that hall." A callused hand pointed across the room to a dark opening in the far wall.

"Great!" Dorme was beginning to get her confidence back.

Padme grasped Shmi's arm once more. "Come on. We're getting out of here."

Shmi pulled against her in resistance. "I can't."

"What?" Dorme looked at the older woman, mouth gaping.

"The transmitter. Every slave has a transmitter in their body. If I leave Tatooine, Jabba will detonate it and..."

"The transmitter!" Padme's confidence was dwindling.

A moment of shuffling through thin layers of material and Dorme once again produced the commlink. "Ric?" She paused. "Ric!"

"Ric here." Came the staticy voice.

"Ric, we need a portable scanner. Know where you can find one?"

"Probably in one of the shops in town, but they won't be open again until morning."

"We don't have time for that." Dorme's voice was beginning to display the aggravation she was beginning to feel.

"Watto has one." Shmi stated.

Padme visibly cringed at the thought of speaking with the Toydarian junk dealer, but they had little choice. "Let's go find Watto."