Thanks again to Kim and Jenn for reading over this and for their helpful comments. Thanks also to Emerald Green Queen who was kind to leave a comment. Hopefully this chapter will pique some curiosity. Sorry about the delay in posting. Hope you all enjoy!

The Grand Inquisitor sat stoned faced as the Imperial Senator from the system of Malastare sat on the other side of her desk. One of her many tasks was to ensure that rival worlds did not cause trouble while their representatives were in Imperial City. However, since most emissaries did not want to have a brigade of stormtroopers garrisoned within their embassies, Sabé's job usually amounted to motherly admonishments of the parties in question. On occasion, she would don the white facepaint of Naboo aristocracy and since Saché's death, she had added the red marks of mourning, symbolizing her grief. The main advantage was nobody could readily determine her expression, as her mind had been wandering since she viewed her friend's body only a few days prior.

She was not paying attention to anything Senator Aak was saying as the events of the last two days weighed heavily on her mind. After she had spoken to Saché's parents, Sabé and her handmaidens had been busy making the necessary arrangements to return her friend's body home for burial. However, the voyage home had been delayed because the medical examiner had not completed the autopsy. Sabé hoped that by some miracle that her husband might return to Imperial City before she left and join her on the journey back to Naboo. However, Thomas was the Executive Officer on Lord Vader's flagship, the Executor, which was on constantly on assignment, leaving them little time together.

"Your Honor? What are you going to do about my problem?"

Silence

"Inquisitor Kelaria, did you hear me?"

Sabé shook her head briefly before returning her focus back to the glaring Malastarian. Unwilling to admit her concentration lapse, she simply answered, "I will look into the matter immediately, Senator, and get back to you."

The alien's eye stems seemed to swirl about rapidly for several moments. "Very well, Lady Kelaria. I will leave it in your capable hands."

Both the Grand Inquisitor and the Senator rose simultaneously as Naria entered the room to escort him out. Grateful that was the last appointment of the day, Sabé sighed in relief as she slumped back into her high backed chair.

"Computer: reduce lighting eighty-five percent."

The office instantly dimmed to the amount of light she normally enjoyed in the evenings. Sabé swiveled her chair around to face her bay window. Something about watching the city lights always seemed to relax her. Perhaps it was a reminder that the light represented the many lives that lived on the giant city-planet and despite her many tribulations; life always went on.

But not for Saché.

The Grand Inquisitor was no stranger to death. Throughout her long career, it was always something that was lurking around every corner—watching, waiting for that perfect moment to strike. However, thanks to her many devoted hours of training, she had always found a way to cheat death, yet those around her were not as fortunate. Saché's death had reopened a wound that had taken years to heal. The pain of losing Padmé came back to her as if it had just happened. Sabé had vowed over twenty years ago to guard the life of her Queen with her own if necessary and in the end, she failed her.

It was late at night when the party ended and the other handmaidens had returned to their chambers. Only Sabé remained, sharing a bottle of Naboovian red wine with Padmé. The new Queen, a young woman who assumed the royal name Jamillia, had won the election and in the morning, would formally take the throne. The six women who had been through an occupation, liberation and reconstruction, were enjoying their last night together in Theed Palace as they would be going their separate ways in a few, short hours.

"I hear Senator Trensdae is retiring, Your Majesty," Sabé remarked with a smirk. "Any bold ambitions for his seat?"

Padmé chuckled prior to taking another drink from her glass. "I'm supposed to meet with the new Queen in the morning and if she requests it of me, I will take the position."

The chief handmaiden gave her a wry look as she placed down her wine glass. "Padmé, really, how much is enough?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Sabé moved closer. "The monarchy in the last seventy years combined has not dealt with as much upheaval as you've had in your two terms. Don't you think its time that you lay Amidala of the people to rest and just be Padmé Naberrie?"

The eighteen year old Queen flashed a knowing smirk before taking bite of a red berry. "Sometimes we have to put aside our selfish desires for the good of others."

"I understand that, Your Majesty," Sabé replied, growing slightly agitated. "However, there are times when we must live. The spirits only give us one life."

Padmé offered a sad smile, knowing her friend was right. She secretly wished to step out of politics and return home to have a normal life like her sister—maybe even start a family eventually. However, she knew there was still so much work to be done and the soon to be former Queen could not rest until she had fulfilled her duty.

"I could say the same of you, joining Ambassador Levani as her deputy in two weeks." Padmé retorted with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Sabé smirked at her friend, appreciating the irony. "Well, it is a tremendous opportunity, Padmé. Plus, I hear she is contemplating retiring in a year or so." The two young women shared smiles momentarily until the handmaiden's demeanor changed. "However, I will give it up if you ask me to remain in your charge, Your Highness."

Padmé smiled and she reached for her friend's hand, squeezing it affectionately. Tears started to build in her eyes. "You truly are my dearest friend, Sabé. Throughout everything, you've always been the one to stand behind me, even when the others or the Royal Court have disagreed. And I would love for you to remain in my service if I do join the Senate; but, that wouldn't make me a very good friend." The young Queen's smile grew as she continued, "It's time for you to go out on your own and make your mark upon the galaxy. Chasing after me won't get you to where you truly want to be."

"I love you, Padmé," Sabé said as she wiped a tear away with her free hand. "You are more than just my friend and my Queen…you truly are my sister and I will always stand by you."

As they rose to embrace, Padmé replied, "I love you too, Sabé and you will always be part of my family."

Tears were tracing down the sides of Sabé's face as she returned to the world where her sister was gone forever. She was about to reach for a handkerchief when she felt something, or rather, someone watching her. Slowly, Sabé pulled her hand back towards her cloak where a small blaster was concealed. However, before she could reach the handle, an amused, deep cackle echoed throughout the room as her blaster flew out from under her robes and towards the shadows.

"I think your skills are beginning to slip, Milady."

Sabé grinned as she stood and walked towards the corner of her office. Sitting on the edge of the window was the black robed Sith, Darth Vader. There were probably more rumors than stories based on fact about the Emperor's heir apparent. Some said that he was once a Jedi. Others thought he was a relative of Palpatine's. While many believed him to have been a military officer who served during the Clone Wars. This was why he was thought able to vanquish most of the renegade Jedi that barricaded themselves in the Temple after their failed assassination attempt on the Chancellor's life. Whatever his past, the tall, handsome man was the commander of the Empire's entire military, much was to the bemusement of Moff Tarkin who as head of the Imperial Navy and was required to answer to the much younger man.

Vader was the one that Palpatine sent to the problematic regions of the galaxy. Often times, he resorted to brute force rather than diplomacy; however, after years of the corrupted practices of the Old Republic, along with the brutality of the Clone Wars, the people were tired of conflict and many turned their heads as long as the Emperor maintained the peace. Most in the Empire were fearful of the young Sith. Indeed, at many of the swank balls that Palpatine held mainly to further exalt himself, most of the new aristocracy tended to avoid him. Despite his reputation, Sabé had befriended him almost immediately and she was probably his only confidant in the galaxy.

An unofficial game that they played was to try to get the upper hand on the other. Vader knew of her years spent training as a bodyguard and occasionally they practiced their hand to hand combat training together. However, the former handmaiden was always at a disadvantage since he could always tap into the Force to aid him. Despite this, Sabé could somewhat give him a challenge and she learned considerably from his expert tutelage.

"I'm afraid you caught me on a bad night, Milord."

The Sith apprentice who appeared to be in his early thirties, stood up and offered a slight bow of his head as Sabé respectfully curtsied. He remained quiet for several moments, looking away from her when he finally spoke. "I sense that something is troubling you."

"You sense correctly."

"What is the matter?" He asked, surprising Sabé at how soft his voice sounded.

She sighed deeply before answering. "One of the handmaidens that I served with on Naboo died the other day."

"How?"

"She was walking in the Senate district without her papers and ran when a security patrol ordered her to stop."

Vader noticeably stiffened. "What was her name?"

"Her name was Saché. In fact, I am taking her body back to Naboo as soon as it is released."

"I am sorry for your loss, Milady."

She smiled at the dark figure and answered, "I appreciate your kindness, Lord Vader." Wishing to change the subject she then asked, "With you here lurking in the shadows can I expect that my husband is going to pay me a visit soon?"

Vader nodded. "Commander Piett is currently finishing some official business at fleet headquarters."

Sabé smiled slightly, but her gazed remained fixed outside. "How long is the Executer docked for?"

"I'm afraid for only the night. The Emperor has ordered us back into the Outer Rim where there has been some reported Rebel activity."

The Grand Inquisitor barely nodded as she turned away to sit back down at her desk. Sabé then activated the controls to return the lights back to normal. She blinked rapidly when she thought she saw Vader noticeably flinch when he looked at her. However, the moment passed too quickly before he was moving towards the exit and her blaster suddenly appeared back on her desk.

"Milady, I can grant Thomas extended leave if you wish."

Sabé laughed softly. The thought of using her influence was tempting. "I thank you, Milord. However, you know how he feels about such things."

A sly grin creped across the Dark Lord's face as he answered, "Indeed. That is why he was done well and will go far."

Before she could answer, the Sith was already gone, as though he had disappeared into thin air. But this was how most of their encounters would go. Sabé believed it was a way for them to communicate without prying ears listening in on their conversation. For some reason, she felt that Palpatine would object to their friendship even though both he and Vader have vouched for her on several occasions to the other members of the Inner Circle. Then again, the Emperor was never required to explain himself or his ways to anybody, least of all her.

Sabé looked up at the chrono and realized that between her recollections and her visit with Lord Vader that it was near midnight. Quickly, she gathered her things and was about to leave when her desk com unit rang. Sighing in defeat, the Grand Inquisitor walked back to her desk to open the channel.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Milady, but a Doctor Zhass from the medical examiners office is calling."

Sabé's eyebrows rose. This was the communication she had been waiting for. "Put him through, Elermaé."

The miniature holographic image of the physician bowed as it appeared on her desk. "Lady Kelaria, I apologize for calling on you so late."

"Not a problem, Doctor. Have you completed your examination…of Saché?"

The image nodded slightly; however, it shifted uncomfortably before he spoke again. "I have, Your Honor, but there are some inconsistencies that trouble me."

"Inconsistencies?"

"Yes, Milady," he replied before looking side to side as he continued. "I would rather…discuss them in person, if that is acceptable?"

Aware of his apparent concern of being overheard, Sabé nodded. "Yes, of course, doctor. I will come immediately."

After dismissing her handmaidens and personal guard for the evening, Sabé took her speeder over to the Medicenter in order to not draw attention to herself. She had even cleaned off her facepaint before leaving her office. Fortunately, Doctor Zhass had been waiting for near the complex's front entrance. They exchanged brief pleasantries as they hastened their way through the maze of corridors that comprised the underbelly of the entire Medicenter.

Finally reaching a nondescript examination room, the young physician led her to a corner desk that was filled with holographic monitors. He quickly took a seat and punched in a sequence of keystrokes, causing the monitors to flicker momentarily.

Becoming curious, Sabé asked, "What have you found, Doctor?"

"I think it is better if I show it to you rather than explain it, Milady." At that instant, a holo image of the area where Saché had injured herself appeared along with a facsimile of the former handmaiden, as well as several stormtroopers. The physician then returned his gaze to her.

"During the autopsy, I expected to find crushed bones in her neck which should have been the cause of her death; however, all I discovered were a few torn tendons and ligaments. Although, she did break bones in her legs and arms, but her vertebrae were completely intact."

Sabé's face contorted in confusion. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, your honor," he replied, clearly baffled. "I obtained a copy of one of the security recording cameras that was nearest to Saché when she fell."

"And?" Sabé asked anxiously.

"See for yourself." The images focused and Saché was running away from the approaching patrol. However, when the lieutenant ordered her to halt, she turned to her left, which was opposite from the direction the squad was approaching from and started to fire desperately at seemingly nothing. Then a moment later she plunged head first down the stairs.

The Grand Inquisitor's eyes bulged in shock. Urgently, she instructed, "Stop the feed there and reverse the image back to where she fell."

The image reversed, then resumed to where Saché fired her last shot. Sabé watched it more closely until she ordered, "Freeze it there."

Dr. Zhass stopped the motion and then turned around to look at her with a grave expression. "She was at least five feet away from the stairs." Sabé said perplexed. "It looks like as if something pushed her."

"Or someone." The physician remarked.

"What do you mean?" She asked, becoming even more confused.

The physician reversed the track several spots to the point where Saché was ordered to stop. He then played it and said, "If you listen closely there is another voice ordering her to stop, not just the Lieutenant's."

After putting the holorecording through several filters, Zhass played it again and both of their eyes widened at what they heard. "One voice says stop and…"

"…the other says halt." She observed. "Could it have been one of the stormtroopers?"

He shook his head. "The clones are engineered to follow an officer's orders and will not act without prior command."

"Then who…"

The doctor looked at her worriedly. "I don't know, Your Honor, but whoever it was, that was who your friend was shooting at, not the troops. Look," he said, forwarding the frame to the portion where she turned away from the stormtroopers and withdrew her blaster. "Somebody else, it appears, was chasing her and they were clever enough to reveal themselves only when the squad was close enough to see her."

"But why?" Sabé asked, more to herself than the doctor. "It's been years since she served the Naboo throne. She would not be privy to any secret information."

"I am uncertain, Milady; but, what concerns me more is her injuries—or lack thereof."

"How so?"

"Her neck wasn't broken, nor was her spinal cord. She should have survived the fall; however, when I examined her lung tissue, it showed all the signs of someone that had been suffocated to death."

Sabé walked around in a small circle, contemplating the possibilities. "Perhaps she crushed her windpipe when she fell?"

Dr. Zhass shook his head. "Her trachea was uninjured, which is also impossible with the type of fall she sustained.

"Then I don't understand."

The physician looked back up at her, and this time his voice quivered as he spoke, "I'm afraid we may have to submit to the possibility that somebody used the Force to prevent her from injuring herself from the fall. Perhaps…perhaps there is a renegade Jedi in our mists."

Sabé stood in her place, stunned at his declaration. "But that's impossible!" She declared. "Lord Vader dispatched them after their attempted take over of the government. Besides, why would a rogue Jedi keep Saché from breaking her neck only to choke her to death when she reached the bottom?"

"I don't know, Milady, but I've run the simulations at least a hundred times and they confirm that something had to protect her neck."

Becoming nervous at the prospect of a surviving Jedi, she said, "If this is true, then the Emperor will have to be notified."

The Emperor sat quietly, listening to Sabé take nearly a standard hour to retell the entire story of Saché's death, as well as relay the findings from the medical examiner and his suggestion that a renegade Jedi might have been behind her friend's supposed accident.

"And do you trust this Doctor Zhass' assessment, young Inquisitor?" He asked softly.

Sabé nodded. "When I examined the facts myself, there left no room to question that his speculations have merit. However, neither of us are experts on the Force."

Palpatine's image seemed to shift uncomfortably for a brief moment before he responded. "Quite right, Lady Kelaria. That is why you should not worry as I am sure there is another rational explanation for these events."

Sabé knew the former Supreme Chancellor of the Old Republic well enough to recognize when he was not going to listen to the suggestions of a mere subordinate. However, that did not mean she couldn't try another approach.

"Perhaps you could request Lord Vader to look into this incident given his vast expertise on the subject."

The Emperor's face furrowed momentarily as he appeared to at least consider her request. "That is not possible. I have ordered him to proceed to the Outer Rim by dawn."

She nodded solemnly, focusing her attention away from Palpatine's image. "Then, Your Highness, will you allow me to begin an investigation?"

Folding his hands together, the Emperor released a wry grin. He was amused at the woman's tenacity, which was one of the reasons why he tolerated her. However, it was times such as these where she became more of an annoyance, much like Amidala had been. The Force revealed to him the pain that Lady Kelaria held over the death of her friend, the handmaiden.

Ignoring her question, Palpatine inquired, "What arrangements have been made for Lady Tralivn?"

The eagerness of learning the truth quickly dissolved from Sabé's face. She replied, "I am seeing to transport her body home for burial, Your Highness."

The Emperor nodded solemnly. "I believe you should not concern yourself with an investigation. Go home and attend to your friend. When you return, we can then discuss it further."

Sabé's shoulders sagged in defeat. Her grief was again bearing down on her soul. "Very well, my liege. With your permission, I shall take my leave."

"Of course, Milady. Please extend my…condolences to Lady Tralivn's family."

The former Queen's decoy shot a suspicious look before bowing. "I will and thank you for seeing me at such a late hour."

Palpatine flicked his wrist, deactivating the holoviewer, causing the image of the Grand Inquisitor to disappear. The Sith Master then angrily slammed down his fist on his large chair. The ghost of Padmé Amidala seemed to always cause him trouble. However, despite his agitation, he was thankful that he did not order his apprentice to kill Lady Kelaria. She had the uncanny ability to keep those that threatened him in the light where he could watch them. A wry grin eclipsed his face as he suddenly realized that there was now one less tie to the past.