Author's Note: To the new readers, and old, thank you again for your input! Again, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and liking it! To Hieiko, when Padme says she is from Nubia, she is using it as a cover - she's not sure whether she can trust the young Jedi she is talking with, she hasn't recognized Anakin yet. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I've had to rework that part a few times and the clarification got lost in the process. But it has been fixed!

Forbidden Assignments

5

All through breakfast Anakin's thoughts were elsewhere. Obi-Wan chided him lightly; first for being late and later for allowing the omelets to blacken. When the time came to serve the meal, Anakin impatiently stared down the line of hungry Jedi to see if Padmé's dark head showed up in the crowd. The line of Jedi dwindled down and with a sinking feeling he realized she was not going to appear at breakfast.

All day he didn't see her. It was as if she had disappeared off the face of the planet. He wondered if she had made herself vanish, afraid to accept charity. Obi-Wan asked him if he wanted to do some sparring and he turned his master down, too distracted to focus. Obi-Wan, puzzled, let his apprentice be and sought out other company. Finally he tried to reach out to the Force to find her.

She still eluded him.

About mid-afternoon, having decided to trust that Padmé would eventually seek him out, he met back with Obi-Wan. Not five minutes after master and apprentice met each other did Obi-Wan's comlink began beep.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi speaking," he said into it, a slight look of confusion on his face.

"Obi-Wan, this is the High Council," Mace's strong voice said. "We wish to speak to your apprentice."

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin as if to say, "Have you lost your comlink again?"

Anakin blushed. The blood vessels in his face seemed to be getting quite a workout these past couple days.

"Very well. I'll send him on his way immediately." Obi-Wan clicked the comlink off and turned to Anakin. "Best be going – the High Council wants you."

"What? Why?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. Anakin knew he was biting back another lecture about loosing his comlink, his lightsaber, it was all the same…over and over…

Relax. He hasn't said anything yet. Let it be and he might not, Anakin told himself. Stepping into the chamber, he faced Yoda directly.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," Yoda said plainly. "A mission for you we have."

A trill went through Anakin. Something echoed through the Force, he knew what this mission might be. He allowed his lips to curl upwards, waiting for Yoda's next words.

"Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo has come to us in need of aide. She is able to help the Senate with the Separatist invasion of her planet now that she is in the capital," Mace Windu said. His face remained indifferent and he sat stoically in his chair. "To do this, she needs to have a place to live. We want her close; we don't know what the assassins on Naboo may try to do to find her if they know she is still alive. We have decided that you shall help her find new quarters."

"What about Ob – Master Obi-Wan?" Anakin covered up his blunder. He and Obi-Wan were close enough that the Jedi Knight didn't mind his Padawan calling him only by first name. However, the Council did not hold with such loose formality.

Yoda just blinked at him. .

"Very anxious he is to prove himself," Adi Gallia said in her soft voice. "Possibly overly so…you want to take the trials. But you're not ready yet."

Anakin blushed a deep red. Very much with that workout, no doubt about it.

"But we're not wrong to give him his own assignment. He's ready," Mace countered.

Anakin tried not to be impatient or blush any more. He hated it when the masters started talking as if he or Obi-Wan weren't there.

"Why are you anxious, Anakin Skywalker?" Ki-Adi Mundi questioned.

Anakin thought for a second then answered, holding back a sharp tone to his voice.

"I just feel I'm ready. I feel like I've learned as much as I can. I want to be able to go out and work to the best I can."

"Mmm. Still uncertain I am, but this assignment you shall have," Yoda said slowly with a tone of finality. "Go back to the Queen, help her today you will."

"Yes, Master." Anakin bowed deeply, and turned to leave the room. Once outside the council chamber he found a comlink station. He dialed in his link, and after two beeps Padmé answered.

"Hello?" She sounded nervous.

"Don't worry, it's me."

"Oh! Hi, Anakin."

"Can I come up and see you? Are you in your room?"

"Oh…Well, sure. Do you know where it is?"

"I can find it. I'll be there soon."

With that, he shut the link off. With a few more keystrokes, he pulled up a search and typed in her name. He wasn't positive about the spelling, but when the computer pulled up a few options he knew it immediately. Next he found directions to her room and realized it wasn't far from his own.

The whole trip down took just a minute or two. At the right door, he knocked quietly and looked up and down the corridor nervously. A knot twisted in his stomach, making him regret eating a plentiful lunch.

"Hi, come in, come in…" Padmé said as she opened the door.

Anakin nodded and stepped in, smiling as he looked around.

The room was still simple; Padmé didn't have many things with her when she arrived. The bed was neatly made and a mini holoprojector sat on the desk in the corner, giving away the fact that she was doing research on the history of the Jedi and the Temple. The single lamp in the room, the one she struggled to turn on earlier that day, was on.

"Here, I still have it." Padmé held out his comlink.

"Oh, thank you…actually I didn't come to talk to you about that," Anakin said. Taking the comlink, he bounced it a couple times in his hand, not sure how to tell her what the Council bid him to do. Now that he knew who she was, he found it increasingly difficult to string two words together in a coherent manner.

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I've been assigned the task of finding you lodging for your stay on Coruscant," Anakin said, having finally found his voice. "The Council expects you will be staying here to help against the Separatists, and so you need to have some place to stay; somewhere for the long term."

"I certainly appreciate the offer. When do we start looking?"

Anakin smiled then said, "Well, we can begin today, if you wish."

"Alright. Shall we?" Padmé pointed to the door, ready to begin the search.

The Senate was about to be called into session. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine looked around the domed chamber. Several systems were absent, declaring themselves part of the Separatist movement. The empty spots clustered in one area just over his left shoulder.

Palpatine was ready to fight this war, ready to win it. The people thought he was righteous, wanting to save the Republic. Politics could be so duplicitous. Altogether, Palpatine wouldn't mind if the Republic lost this war…

Sighing and gathering his thoughts, he called the Senate into session. There was so much work to do, so much – now with the rumors that the Queen of his homeworld was dead.

They were just rumors though. Palpatine knew differently. Queen Amidala was very much alive, and she was on Coruscant. She had been for the past few days.

And that lead to a whole host of other problems with which he would have to deal.

But first, the matters concerning the Senate.

Padmé screamed as Anakin dropped the speeder they were riding into a steep dive. They hurtled straight down towards the lower levels of Coruscant, and a large grin spread across his face. In the passenger seat Padmé gripped the side of her seat so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. Finally Anakin leveled the speeder and slowed them down.

"Are you nuts?" Padmé asked him, her mouth hanging open with shock.

Anakin smiled. "Perhaps just a little. You weren't scared were you?"

Padmé let out a laugh at his audacity. "You really do think you are something, Master Jedi."

"Oh, I'm not a Master yet. You flatter me more than I'm worth."

She laughed again. Anakin smiled wider at her. "Alright, I promise to drive a little more sanely. It's just that the steering's a little loose…"

He jimmied the speeder slightly. Padmé shot blaster bolts at him with her eyes.

"Hey! I have to have a little fun sometimes!" he defended himself.

"I thought you Jedi weren't allowed to go hunting after adventure. I thought you were supposed to be serious." She said the last words with emphasis, making her voice sound like a wizened old school teacher.

"Yeah, there are lots of things we're not supposed to do. But you have to live at some point, right? I think sometimes that the Code has grown a little old for the times.

"Oh, here we are."

Having quickly changed the subject, he pulled the speeder over to a landing pad. With the Force, he disengaged the engine and he hopped out. Padmé disembarked with much more grace, taking her time. Anakin walked over to her side and gave her his hand to help her out of the speeder.

"May I lend a hand, My Lady?" he asked teasingly.

Just to provoke him, Padmé said nothing, instead getting out of the speeder on her own and deftly avoiding Anakin's hand. Once she had both feet planted firmly on the ground she said, "I'm not that incapacitated."

"The thanks I get for trying to help you out," Anakin said with a shake of his head.

Padmé rolled her eyes and walked into the building. She held the door open for Anakin, who followed her silently. Inside, a blue Squib stood nervously looking for someone. The alien's arms were crossed across its chest and its eyes darted to everything that moved.

"Hello…I'm looking for the land manager about the space for rent," she asked politely.

The Squib looked her over then smiled. "You've come to the right place. I'm the one you're looking for. I can take you up to the apartment now, if you wish."

"That would be wonderful," Anakin said from behind Padmé.

"Alright then. Right this way." The blue Squib walked away at a fast pace. Padmé scampered to keep up with her.

"So may I ask why you're here?" Padmé asked. She knew Squibs were well networked together, and usually remained close to those networks.

"Oh, I just got stuck here on Coruscant, and I'm heading off back home. Need to get rid of the space, you know. Have to get home! It's been too long," she hurriedly explained. As she spoke of home, she got an extra bounce in her step.

Anakin tried not to smile. He'd heard that Squibs were very energetic, and this one sure fit the profile. However, he also heard they were stiff to bargain with. He hoped this one would be willing to offer a reasonable rate for the apartment; he was not up for taking on a bartering match with this one.

The Squib entered a security code and unlocked the door. She stepped inside and Padmé followed. Anakin stepped in behind her and nearly collided with her when she suddenly stopped in her path. He stepped to the side; instinctively he put his hand on her back to let her know he was passing by her.

The Force jolted through his hand.

He felt as if he could feel Padmé's very lifesource, radiating through her into him.

Every sense he had attuned to the Force intensified and the sense of power washed over him, feeling that he was encountering something sacred. It overwhelmed him. Almost scared, he withdrew his hand and wondered what he had just felt. Anakin shook his head; there would be time to meditate over it later back at the Temple.

Padmé took a quick look around the apartment. It was quite small, with just one small bedroom, the meager central room and connected kitchen, and a tiny refresher unit that felt like it had been added as an after thought.

"I'll take it," she said with finality.

Anakin stared at her. "What? You haven't even looked around –"

She turned to him. "It's perfect. I don't need that much space…it's just me."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"How much rent do you want?" Anakin asked the Squib.

She looked him over, thinking.

"Five hundred Ditaries and you can have it. You can keep it."

Anakin's eyebrows went up. This was odd – he was expecting to do a little bit of bargaining. What the Squib was asking for was almost ridiculous; no one in their right mind would outright sell an apartment for that little. Warily he reached out with the Force, and sensed that the Squib meant them no harm. She merely was desperate to rid herself of the space and get back home.

"Alright. Five hundred Ditaries. You have your apartment sold," he said calmly. Padmé looked over at him and smiled. In only four days they had managed to find her a place to live. "We have the money with us, if you wish to take it now."

The Squib glanced out into the hallway warily, shifting on her feet and saying, "Physical credits are worth more to me than electronic ones."

"What are you so afraid of?" Anakin asked, reaching to pull out the money. As they had been standing here, the Squib had been getting more and more anxious. Now Anakin didn't have to reach out to feel it.

"Surely you must know, Jedi, that the war is coming to Coruscant. Is it not so wrong for me to want to get home, to the lands and people I know? Things are not as well as they seem."

Anakin hid his surprise at the fact that she hinted at his being a Jedi with a little scorn. He held the money out to her. With that, she reached out to take the money. Not saying another word, she left the apartment, apparently on her way back home.

"So, Master Jedi, do you always travel with that much money?"

"Do you just call me that to irritate me?" Anakin said, exasperated.

"Perhaps."

Padmé turned to investigate the rest of the apartment they just purchased. She peeked inside at the refresher unit, satisfied that it was sanitary enough, and the small kitchenette would serve her purposes.

"To answer your question," Anakin called out when she stepped over to the kitchen area, "I got permission to carry the money for the reason that I just used it for. I figured that having a little currency would help to make a down payment, if necessary."

"Well, it turned out to work quite nicely. Now, just to get some furniture," Padmé said, surveying at the rest of the apartment.

It was, after all, quite bare.

Anakin smiled, having an idea about where they could get some furnishings for her. As they stepped outside the apartment and got back in the speeder, he felt a twinge of sadness. In the four days that they had searched for a living space, he had grown quite attached to Padmé's company. He wasn't sure how she felt, but he knew he was going to miss her.

"The Separatist movement has fought the Republic for too long a time now. For the past couple months, we have lived in a state of tentative peace. We find that systems still fall prey to their clone armies – and when those armies have conquered, droid armies replace the living."

Palpatine's voice rang out solidly in through the circular senate chamber, calling the Senate to the next matter of business.

Obi-Wan looked to Mace and Yoda, muttering, "Sending droids to do a person's job…that's just despicable." His thoughts went back to the fight against the Hutts a week or so ago. He shook his head. The two Masters didn't reply, instead they intently watched the Senate.

"I hereby call for a permanent army, to replace the existing temporary volunteer army, to be raised up in defense of the Republic," he said with his voice jumping up in volume a few notches. Immediately voices sprang up in protest.

"Alderaan does not concur with this motion! The Republic has no need to maintain a permanent army!" Bail Organa floated to the center, circling around the Chancellor's podium. "Alderaan moves to continue using the troops we have."

"Ithor seconds the motion! The Republic has never had an army nor needed one! Let the Separatists have their share of the galaxy if they wish – it is despicable that we should lower our standards to fight them on their level!" The hammer-headed Ithorian floated up next to Bail Organa.

"Bothawui agrees with the Supreme Chancellor! An army must be maintained – our planets must be defended! If we do not stop the Separatists, soon Coruscant will be under their control!" The Bothan senator clicked on his beeping comlink to hear a rather rude message coming from an anonymous senator:

"You just want an army so you can defend your precious space! Get out of the senate!"

The furred alien quickly shut the thing off angrily.

"What Corellia wants to know is this: how much would the army cost and where would it be stationed? What system would have that grand pleasure?"

Unruly chanting broke out as rival systems volunteered each other for the task.

Mace winced slightly, and Obi-Wan felt it too. It would take a long time for a location to be decided. Exemplified before them was the very reason the Republic was falling apart. Delegatees no longer worked for the greater good – but for their own interests. There was no motive to remain true to the constituents Senators represented, only to the special interest groups funding their campaigns.

Democracy, the Jedi knew, was rotting from the core. There were whispers that they might have to extricate themselves from the galactic government, as they took no political sides. More radical Jedi, ones that rumors said had turned to the dark side during the wars, believed that the Jedi should not only leave the Republic, but become the Republic.

This motion was immediately disregarded and banished by the Council. Jedi were the protectors of peace and justice, the Republic itself, not the enforcers of a tyrannical ruling class. Or even that tyrannical ruling class itself, as the rogue Jedi suggested.

One senator floated to the center of the hall and a tall, dark haired human took the stand.

"Carida offers its services to the Republic for building a base for a volunteer army and facilities to train such an army."

Obi-Wan swore he saw the senator give a side glance to the Chancellor, a look of alliance. It chilled him, and he looked back at Mace and Yoda. Mace had an expression as if to say, I saw it too. Yoda turned back to watching how the voting would hold.

Carida received the vote, if a permanent army was activated it now had a permanent training base.

The next vote was the big one, to pass a bill for the Chancellor to raise his defense forces. A static energy hung over the senate hall as each senator cast his or her vote. The silence weighed heavily as the votes were tallied. It was a close one, a narrow victory.

The Chancellor finally, after years of the Separatist threat, had his army.

Once more Obi-Wan looked back to Yoda. The little green Jedi said nothing, reflected no emotion. He blinked slowly once then started walking away. Without word Mace followed him and Obi-Wan, wondering what the two Masters were thinking, went after them.

"It's not much, but it certainly will do! Thanks so much!" Padmé said as she enveloped Anakin in a hug. They had just finished bringing some things over from the Temple, making the little place more livable. Everything was now arranged in its new space. She took a second look at the room and broke the hug with Anakin.

"Oh…maybe we should move that couch over just a bit," Padmé said. She bit her lip. The couch was heavy and awkward to move.

Closing his eyes, Anakin reached out to the Force. With a sharp inhale, he found the couch and gave it a slight nudge. He cracked on eye open, looking at the Queen.

"Is that suitable, your majesty?"

She nodded with a smile. "You know, you Jedi are proving to be more and more handy to have around."

Anakin blushed slightly, nodding. Now that Padmé was fully moved in, his task was over. In just a few minutes he would have to head back to the Temple and meet up with Obi-Wan. He sighed mentally, and tried to be thankful that she was at least close so he could stop by and say hello on occasion.

Padmé plunked down on the chair, sighing. Tired, she rubbed her eyes. Her stomach rumbled a request for nourishment. By the time she and Anakin got her few scattered things together and the furniture moved over from the Temple, it was nearing dinner time. She leaned back in the chair, taking a moment for herself. Anakin stood where he was, unsure of what to do.

"Would you like some dinner? There is a small kitchen, and I have a few things…I stocked up yesterday after dinner at the Temple." Padmé rose to her feet and motioned with her thumb to the tiny offset room that served as a kitchen, if it could be called that, at the back of the apartment.

Before answering, Anakin looked her over. She was in a simple tunic, blue, and pants. Her dark hair was free of its usual bun, and Anakin realized it was a lot shorter than he remembered it. Obi-Wan would be expecting him back at the Temple soon, but Anakin could just tell him the move took a little longer than expected. Something in him wanted to stay and be with her for as long as he could.

"Sure, that'd be fine," he finally responded.

"Alright." Padmé moved into the kitchenette. "I'll warn you now; I'm not much of a cook."

"I'm sure you can't be all that bad. After all, you've lived so far."

"True, but we had cooks on Naboo. I didn't have to do much cooking."

In about twenty minutes she had a nice salad and sautéed Brillion steakon the table. Anakin ate slowly, watching her.

"See, your cooking isn't so bad," he said.

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

Grateful that he had a mouthful of food, Anakin merely nodded. He was trying to make her feel better; he wanted her to be happy in her new home – no matter how temporary it may be. However he wasn't sure how to tell her this without giving her the wrong impression.

What wrong impression? You know very well what impression you're trying to give.

"It's so different from home. It's just so strange. I'm used to being able to…" Padmé trailed off. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Sometimes memories are all we have left. We have to keep them with us – it's the only way we keep those we lost alive," Anakin offered quietly. The words brought up a memory of his mother, standing there, letting him walk away with Qui-Gon without so much as a single protest

"The choice is yours alone, Annie," she told him that day.

Living with her, despite the slavery, had more freedoms than his life with the Jedi now. Not even the Jedi could prevent him from making his own choices.

Padmé looked at him, her fork halfway to her mouth. "My family…I never told you…"

"I just had a feeling about it," Anakin shrugged. The truth was that by being around her, he got fleeting images of what happened to her and her family whenever she remembered it. "Letting them go doesn't even mean forgetting them – forgetting them is the betrayal, not letting them go."

The Queen took in his words, brown eyes focused on his face. "You really have grown up, Annie."

The nickname came out of her mouth without her realizing it.

He half-smiled in return.

Annie.

"Go now, and don't look back. Don't look back." The last words Shmi Skywalker said to her only son. The greatest decision he ever made, all without protest from her, only encouragement to do what his heart told him to do.

Making his choice, regardless of the Code, Anakin reached across the table to take her hand. Halfway, he stopped.

Touching her in such a way – it was a gross breach of some internal code of etiquette. Feeling stupid Anakin forced himself to finish his plate, the food no longer having any taste to him. He set his fork down, and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I should be going," he said apologetically. Padmé looked up at him, startled.

"Oh." She got up to walk him to the door, unsure of what to say. "Thank you for everything, Anakin."

"You're welcome. It was an honor to help you." Anakin stopped in front of the door.

The Queen stepped up next to him. As he looked her over, he wanted nothing more than to stay here forever with her. He could help her; he could protect her from ever having to go through such tragedy again.

No. You still are a Jedi. You know you have to leave.

As he reached for the control panel to open the door, something in Padmé's expression changed. A frown took over her smile and her eyes squeezed shut as if she were about to break down in tears at any second. Anakin pulled his hand away from the door, not sure of what to do.

He took in a breath only to have it stop short before reaching his lungs. He was being smothered by –

By Padmé.

Anakin froze.

All the thoughts going through his mind ground to a halt. Holding Padmé close was something he wanted to do, and now that she was he did not know what to think. He tried to make some kind of move, say something, but nothing happened.

On the other hand, Padmé buried her face against his chest. Her arms squeezed him even tighter, not wanting to let him go.

A wave of emotion jolted through him – straight from the Force.

Belonging. Understanding. Care. These were all the things Padmé was, both in the physical world and the Force. Concerns for his mother, worries over being the right Jedi all melted away in her arms.

Without thinking about it anymore, he put his arms around Padmé. The big brown cloak he wore almost completely enveloped the both of them. Feeling that perhaps he and Padmé knew more about each other than it first seemed, he leaned his head down next to hers and pulled her as close as he could.