EIGHT:
The day "dawned" with a rapping at the door.
"Someone's at the door," murmured Padme, rolling over and knocking a pillow off the bed.
The rapping continued, and she shot up.
"Someone's at the door!" she realized, half-falling out of bed while wrapping a blanket around herself. She stumbled towards the servant's quarters and nearly tripped over the door to find both Jedi on their way out.
"I'll get it," said Anakin.
"Wait," said Obi-Wan, "Let me. Stay in there, Padme."
Obi-Wan pointed into the servant's quarters, and he shut the door behind her. There, she was met with a certain silence, punctuating by the muffled sounds of interruption in the other room. She felt rather lame and unpretentious, sitting draped in a blanket in the half-lit room, waiting for the Jedi to decide what to do. Not having information bothered her tremendously, even if for just a minute.
Finally, Obi-Wan came in and found her glance within a split second. It was as if he knew exactly where she was going to be. Maybe he did. She wondered how pitiful she might look. He smiled briefly, but then it was gone.
"We have arrived," said Obi-Wan.
"Where exactly have we arrived?" she asked, rising and summoning dignity against hope in her current circumstances.
"Tatooine," he said. "One of the heads of the five Hutt syndicates is here for the pod races. Odo the Hutt."
His normally placid face went grave.
"I hope you're on top of your game today, Padme," said Anakin as he strolled in behind Obi-Wan. "A Hutt isn't going to be as easy to convince as that other guy."
"It'll be fine," said Padme, feeling irritated and not at all sure it was 'going to be fine'. "Just… let me get dressed, already."
She rushed out and shut the door behind her, cutting off the Jedi. Heaving a sigh, she busied herself with dressing, and not thinking about what she was about to face. After she was done, she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed for minutes, trying to procrastinate, which wasn't like her at all. It was just, to be honest, dreadfully scary.
She heard a soft knock at the servant's quarters door and knew which of the two Jedi was knocking, just from the sound of it. She opened the door to reveal Obi-Wan's concerned face, and she couldn't help but smile a little at him.
"Hi," she said.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"No," she replied.
"Then let's make a plan," he said, coming into her room and taking her hand.
"Okay," she replied, and as they moved to sit together on her bed, she felt her mind finally shift back into gear and begin moving towards productive ends. She'd been locked into inaction, but now she was able to think again. "What do we know about Odo?"
"Well," said Obi-Wan, "he's a Hutt, and a high-ranking one, seeing as how he's head of one of their syndicates."
"He must be rather powerful," she said. "Did you know that there's a faction of the Senate that wants to create a standing army just to check the expansion of Hutt power in the galaxy?"
"I'm not surprised," said Obi-Wan. "Not that I keep up with everything that is happening in the Senate. It's too much for one person to navigate."
"That's my job," said Padme.
"Perhaps I should have said 'too much for one Jedi to navigate'," said Obi-Wan.
"I suppose you have your own Jedi things to worry about," said Padme, waggling her fingers.
Obi-Wan chuckled.
"And I don't know how you do it," he said to her. "With how many Senators and how many motions and bylaws and factions are happening simultaneously, every day…"
"It's a lot," admitted Padme. "But, it is rather interesting. And important."
"As you say," replied Obi-Wan, non-committal.
She gave him a flat look.
"You don't think so?" she inquired.
"It is a lot, as you said, and though I likely don't know at all what I'm talking about, it seems as if, from the outside, that there's a lot of extra unnecessary legislation going on all the time," he said. "I mean, don't they say if you want something to never get done, introduce it to the Senate?"
"Yes, but they're joking!" objected Padme.
"Yes, of course, they're joking," said Obi-Wan, though he looked as if he wanted to add something but didn't. Padme narrowed her eyes at him.
"I know what you're thinking," she said.
"What am I thinking?" he inquired, not at all fazed at the idea that she might be privy to his thoughts.
"That behind every joke is a grain of truth," she said, pointing.
"I wasn't thinking that at all," he said, waving a hand in dismissal.
"What were you thinking, then?" she asked.
He glanced at her and paused, opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to decide not to.
"Nothing productive," he settled.
She peered at him and he deflected. It was as if a force field was suddenly erected around his body, really, or his psyche, at least.
"Now," he said, acting perfectly normal, "Odo the Hutt. If there's one thing we know about Hutts, it's that they are always looking to gain advantage, and if you can make him believe that working with you will give him an advantage, he will work with you. If disposing of you seems to give him advantage, he will dispose of you."
"I should like not to be disposed of," mentioned Padme.
"I should like you not to be disposed of, as well," agree Obi-Wan. "But, if we must, we will defend you, and we will always have the element of surprise. No one will suspect the Jedi."
"Indeed, no one would expect Jedi to be in dealings with Hutts," said Padme. "Isn't it against your religion, or something?" Hutts
Obi-Wan gave her a wry look, and she smirked at him.
"Not if it's for the greater good, you know," he said to her.
"Let's make sure it ends up being that way," said Padme. "If we fail and get offed, this will have all been for nothing."
"I think we both find the Hutts equally distasteful," said Obi-Wan.
"When do we leave?" asked Padme.
"In a few ticks," said Obi-Wan. "We've just enough time to-,"
"I'm ordering breakfast," announced Anakin, walking in and yanking the comm off the wall in a dramatic show. "Yes, we'll have breakfast, now," he said into the comm handle.
"I need caf!" interjected Padme.
"Add some caf," muttered Anakin into the handle, and then he hung up and glanced around and touched the hilt of his lightsaber, as if restless. His eyes landed on Obi-Wan and Padme sitting mildly on the bed.
"This is boring," said Anakin, and he loped over sit at the table with droid parts and started fiddling with things.
"We'll be going soon enough," said Obi-Wan.
Padme glanced at Obi-Wan and considered the fact that he'd been placed as master of Anakin Skywalker by the Jedi council. She wondered, why him? After perceiving the particularly frightening power that Anakin had with the force, she wondered why they entrusted Anakin to Obi-Wan. Perhaps he was the only Jedi who they thought could handle him. Perhaps Obi-Wan was the only Jedi Anakin would listen to, or at least partially listen to. She wondered what Obi-Wan thought, what he really thought about Anakin's abilities. She wondered if Anakin's power frightened him, too.
He never acted as if that was the case. In fact, he only seemed vaguely like an exasperated parent, not like someone who might fear Anakin becoming a monster. However, she knew he did have some concerns. How well he was able to keep it all hidden, whatever he might think! Perhaps he had to keep it hidden; perhaps he did it to protect Anakin. If Anakin knew Obi-Wan feared him, what would that do to his training? How much worse would that make Anakin feel? How would that change his future?
Her view of them both would never be the same after last night, not after sensing the way they each used the force.
"Are you alright, Padme?" asked Obi-Wan, watching her.
"Yes," she said immediately, like a reflex.
He went quiet; he didn't inquire further, but she knew he was thinking. There were so many things he didn't say. She just knew it. He was like a placid lake, but with what depths hidden beneath the surface? What was beneath? She wanted to know. She hated not knowing things.
His eyes shuttered and he glanced aside, but he was sitting close enough for her to feel the warmth from his arm and she didn't want to let him go so easily. They had at least a few minutes to kill before breakfast arrived, didn't they? So, she felt for the force around him and observed the lake, despite his avoidance. She stayed close to him and pressed him with a subtle pressure, which he politely ignored. This must have been what Anakin was talking about last night, and she realized she was being rude or at least insensitive, or perhaps she was being too sensitive.
She glanced over at Anakin and he was peering darkly sideways at her, so she rolled her eyes at him. How was she supposed to be a master of the force after so little experience? With a sigh, she relinquished all feeling and stared glumly into nothing.
After a moment, she felt Obi-Wan take her hand gently in his. She felt his presence return like when the sun comes from behind a cloud; warm and radiant and subtle, and so familiar that sometimes she might not notice. She noticed this time, however.
There was a knock at the door and Anakin was up in an instant retrieving their breakfast.
There was a small transport which was used to take them to the surface of Tatooine. It had been a long time since she'd been to the desert planet, but it didn't give her any feelings of nostalgia. She wondered how Anakin felt about it all and glanced toward him while he was gazing through the port glass.
He looked tired.
"Hey," said Padme, coming to stand by him and tugging his sleeve at the elbow, "Maybe we'll stop by and see your mom."
"Yeah," said Anakin, not looking away from the glass, "maybe."
He didn't seem like he wanted to, and she wondered why that may be. She glanced at Obi-Wan, who met her eyes and then glanced away, but beckoned to her to follow him around the edge of the corridor nearby.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"You are aware of how the Jedi must forsake all attachment, correct?" he asked her gently.
"Oh no," she said, glancing back to where Anakin was around the corner. "Oh, no, I just thought… does that mean he can never see his own mother?"
"Well, technically he can," said Obi-Wan, "but he cannot if he still feels attachment to her."
Padme felt that to be quite horrific if she were to be fully honest about it.
"Which he does," added Obi-Wan. "It hasn't been easy for him. I can only imagine visiting Tatooine is not something he's happy to do."
"It must be horrible," said Padme. "I just can't imagine. How do you deal with it?"
"We just do," replied Obi-Wan. "As I've told you before, it is always a process. We are never finished."
"I feel terrible for bringing it up," said Padme.
Obi-Wan gave her a small smile.
"Should I apologize?" she asked.
"No," chuckled Obi-Wan. "You didn't know. It's better to leave it be."
Padme found herself observing Obi-Wan a moment.
"Interesting," she said.
"What?" he asked.
She gave him her own small smile in return.
"It's nothing," she replied, and turned to rejoin Anakin at the port glass.
"What a sorry planet," said Padme as she stood beside Anakin and observed its growing size as they entered the atmosphere.
"Definitely," said Anakin as they waited.
0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0
As soon at the landing platform fell, a rush of hot, dry air blasted against her exposed skin. Behind her stood her secret Jedi, on guard, flanking her descent towards the shaded alcove in which the Hutt waited with his goons. She approached with as much confidence as she could muster.
The goons rose as she approached, but the Hutt lounged in his seat and watched her sideways.
"Well," said the Hutt, "Madame Negotiator, I presume?"
"Odo the Hutt, I presume," she replied.
"We are met," he rejoined. "Have a drink with me?"
The Hutt gestured towards a seat across the small table from him.
"I suppose," said Padme, and she sat.
"Now," said Odo, pouring a drink from a crystal decanter nearby and sliding it across the table. "What can I help you with?"
Padme lifted the drink, sniffed it, and was immediately certain she didn't want to drink any of it. She glanced over Odo, considering.
"I've been sent to gather information about your other 'shipments'," she said.
"Who says I have any other shipments?" asked Odo, glancing at his goons, who chuckled, as if that was funny. He smiled at Padme. "My friends just happened to bring me some crates they found, I don't know anything about 'shipments'."
It was so obviously a blatant lie, but this must be how he functioned, so Padme adjusted, considered, and then gambled:
"Well," said Padme, "That's fine. I was just wondering, though… because I've heard about the militarist faction in the Galactic Senate, and how if they get enough votes to fund a separate army, they've got their eyes set on taking down the Hutts. Now, I know you're a legitimate business, but they don't seem to think so. You know how extremists are."
Odo the Hutt seemed to have paled, but she couldn't be sure, seeing as how he just looked like a slug.
"So I was thinking… if you've got enough of those shipments averted, like your friends just did, then maybe enough of those votes will go another way to change the outcome to something more… profitable," she said. "What do you think?"
"Hmmnnmh," said Odo, making a noise particular to his species. His eyes narrowed on her, and for the first time she saw the real face of Odo the Hutt; shrewd and calculating. "I may be able to provide you with some information, Madame Negotiator."
"Oh?" inquired Padme.
"Yes," he said, reverting to his original relaxed stance, "but only if we can become friends, eh?"
Padme gave him a tight smile.
"Perhaps," she said.
"Don't forget your friend Odo when you're negotiating with him, alright?" he asked, lifting his cup in a toast.
"With the right information," said Padme, raising her glass in reply, "I'll never forget my friend Odo."
"Oh stars, oh stars, oh stars, oh stars, oh stars," said Padme, unable to release all of the pent up energy that had built in her throughout the entire process of duping the Hutt, getting the information chip, and securing a private transport vessel for her and her two security guards. As soon as the platform shut and they were alone, she collapsed from the pressure of it all onto her rump on the floor.
Obi-Wan and Anakin bent to console her and she held up a hand sharply.
"Shut up and check for bugs," she commanded. "Now!"
As they disappeared, she hugged her knees and dropped her head into her arms. Sometimes, this was too much. She spent the next several minutes trying to draw and release deep, calming breaths. Her nanny on Naboo had taught her how to do that whenever learning how to be a queen had become too much, which happened often. She'd had to learn to cope. That didn't mean it was ever easy.
By the time Obi-Wan returned, she had become closer to her normal self, whatever 'normal' was.
"I'm sorry I told you to shut up," she said.
Obi-Wan smiled at her.
"It's quite all right," he said, taking her hands and pulling her to stand. He looked at her with concern. "But are you all right?"
She smiled back, "I'm fine."
He was still holding her hands.
"That was quite unbelievable," he said to her. "You were so quick… and so shrewd. I'm quite relieved you're on my side of things, to be honest."
She chuckled a little and glanced down.
"At least you didn't have to fight our way out of it," she said.
"At least," he said wryly.
"But there's something else we learned, Obi-Wan," she said. "I took a chance and was quite lucky to be correct in guessing. Though I'm quite unhappy to say it, it seems as if the person who is behind this, the true man behind the curtain… is a senator."
He squeezed her hands, as if aware of how much that would bother Padme.
"Why would a senator want to destroy the Republic?" she asked him.
He gazed at her with his clear eyes, lacking an answer.
"It doesn't make sense," she said. "And not only that… to be honest, I find it a bit infuriating."
"I don't blame you," he said.
"No, a lot infuriating," she corrected.
"Yes?" he inquired.
"How can a senator betray his own people, his own office? His own oaths?" she demanded of Obi-Wan.
"I don't know," he replied.
"It's reprehensible!" she said.
"I am inclined to agree," said Obi-Wan.
"I'll find out who he is and I'll have him hanged for treason!" she oathed, pounding a fist into her palm.
"Perhaps a hanging is a bit archaic for-," began Obi-Wan carefully, but she cut him off:
"This can not be allowed to stand! I'll not allow it! Not on my watch!" She pointed a stern finger at Obi-Wan.
"I don't doubt you," he offered, perhaps in surrender.
She let out a restless groan and looked over Obi-Wan, and instantly hated his shroud. She pulled it from around his shoulders and tossed it bitterly to the floor. Then, she smoothed his robes along his shoulders and at the collar and made it perfect. This was something over which she had control, right now, in this moment.
As for Obi-Wan, he was mild and allowed it, and as she finished and was satisfied, she lifted her eyes back to his and saw a softness there, an empathy, an understanding. He softened her, somehow, turning her rage into gentle warmth, and she saw at once why he was the one put to minding Anakin where the other Jedi could not. He was water to fire; he could douse the wildest rage not by force, but with gentle, empathetic persuasion.
"That's incredible," she half-whispered, forgetting that she'd left her hands resting on his chest.
"Is it?" he asked, almost as if he was asking what 'it' might be.
She didn't bother telling him, because she'd begun, again, to bask in the presence of the lake of still water which emanated from him, and she'd remembered what it felt like to touch his cheek.
This time he must have forgotten not to let her, because she fell in. Before she knew it, she was submerged, fallen, riding in the depths of energy that can be known as the whole of a person; that which defines them and beyond that which defines them, and here she was, a new element introduced, creating reverberations against that which had always been, not unwelcome, but alien and new and different and the resulting metaphysical reaction was vibratory.
In the distance there was a disturbance in the force. It called again and then suddenly, like breaking out of deep water, past the surface, into the air, she knew it:
"What the hell?" Anakin was yelling.
Padme gasped and realized she was in Obi-Wan's arms, her face had been pressed into the spot where his neck met his shoulder, and she felt his own breath catch, nearly at the same time as hers, in her hair, by her temple, and oh stars… she had no idea what had just happened.
They pulled apart, quickly, lacking grace, and stared at each other.
"I leave you two alone for, what, half a click?" complained Anakin, still outraged. "What is this?"
"I-I don't know," stammered Padme, though she was unable to look away from Obi-Wan. The echoes of memory kept reverberating again, and again, though she was desperately trying to clear her head.
Obi-Wan looked grave and sorely penitent.
"I don't know what happened," said Padme, finally turning her gaze to Anakin. She felt a little helpless, as if, somehow, he could tell her what happened.
"I'll tell you what happened!" said Anakin, as if on cue. He pointed at Padme: "You overstepped your bounds. Hard. I told you what not to do, and you did it anyway! Not only did you do it, you extra did it!"
"It is not all her fault," Obi-Wan quietly interjected.
Anakin stopped at once, perhaps having been fully ready to go into a tirade upon Padme, but his fire was doused and his anger faded, and as it melted away, it became clear that, beneath it all, Anakin was extremely pained by Obi-Wan's admission, possibly beyond anything she'd seen yet on the padawan's face.
It was then she understood; Anakin was afraid of losing his master. He clung to Obi-Wan with the same attachment which he'd been forced to give up in becoming a Jedi padawan. But perhaps his attachment, though not formally approved of, had merit, for who else could be his master but Obi-Wan Kenobi? Was there anyone else who could do it? Padme was nearly certain no one else could.
Now she threatened that, and Anakin was forced to watch as she pulled his master apart. She wasn't an enemy he could fight off or keep physically at bay. She was an ally that they needed, and so Anakin had to watch as his master became weakened by Padme and her unwillingness to stay away from him. Padme at once felt a monstrous burden of remorse fall on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry," she said to Anakin, meaning it.
He looked at her with a kind of sullen restraint.
She glanced at Obi-Wan.
"I'm sorry," she said to him, differently, with a different meaning for him. She glanced away and moved off into the transport in the hopes of finding reports to scour.