Theed, Naboo
Governor Bibble and Captain Panaka pushed open the heavy doors of the Great Hall and stared at the scene beyond. Governor Bibble's sharp eyes darted from the crushed chandeliers, to the pulverized chunks of marble littering the floor, to the scores of battle droids lying still amidst the chaos. "What in the Republic happened here?" He thundered. "An explosion?"
Some of the rubble shifted, and three slim forms stood up from the debris, slapping dust from their clothing.
"No," Captain Panaka said. "Just the destructive force of teenage girls," He winked at the three.
"Hey!" One guard piped up indignantly. A few larger forms stood from the rubble. "Not just teenaged girls!"
"Hmm," Governor Bibble said thoughtfully. "If only a handful of guards and three little girls made this mess, perhaps I should send these two back where they came from." Two hooded faces peeked from behind him.
"Sache!" Rabe cried tearfully. "And Yane!" The girls gave her face-splitting smiles and limped a little painfully into her waiting arms.
"I found them being guarded by a group of frozen droids," Governor Bibble said, smiling.
"Frozen?" Sabe asked.
"Yes," Captain Panaka said. "It appears the pilots were successful. The control ship was destroyed."
"You mean….we've won?" Eirtae stammered.
Captain Panaka smiled and shrugged.
She turned slowly back to Sabe and Rabe and the three girls stared at one another wordlessly. Then suddenly they all erupted into a cacophony of disbelieving screams and laughter, throwing their arms over one another's shoulders. The guards joined in, slapping their backs good-naturedly.
Governor Bibble cleared his throat, his eyes twinkling at their girlish bedlam. Captain Panaka laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Not a bad days' work for a bunch of juveniles," He grinned, his eyes uncharacteristically warm as he looked at the results of his years of dedicated training.
"Where is Pad-I mean, Amidala?" Eirtae asked.
"In the throne room. Come, Governor, girls. Let us go and present you to your Queen."
The girls straightened proudly as they followed the men into the hall and to the throne room. It appeared that the others had succeeded in freeing most of the council members. Nute Gunray slumped between two guards, his bulging rosy eyes clouded as he stared lifelessly at the floor.
Padme was not looking her best, if one was honest about it. There was nothing particularly royal about her simple battle dress, and she looked tired and dirty with her hair falling from the confines of her bun. But as all five handmaidens lined up before her, reunited at last, Sabe thought she had never seen a more welcome sight than the Queen back in her throne, her delicate hands resting on the curved arms.
"Report," the Queen said to Panaka in court accent.
"The Federation's forces have been soundly crippled following the destruction of the droid control ship," Panaka said. "Our small number of troops have had no trouble in freeing what prisoners could not free themselves. I have already dispatched a unit to patrol for any non-droid Federation forces."
"And which pilot can we credit with the destruction of the control ship?" Amidala asked.
Panaka cleared his throat, sending Governor Bibble an amused glance. "Preliminary reports indicate that it was none other than Anakin Skywalker, your highness."
A collective gasp went through the room. Sabe smiled knowingly to herself.
"It appears that he took Master Jinn's order to stay in the cock pit seriously, even when the fighter jet took off on auto pilot."
"Well," Amidala said, the court accent faltering ever so slightly as she recovered herself visibly. "Give the pilots special instructions to see him back to the landing dock carefully. We wouldn't want him auto-piloting anywhere else."
The smallest of amused snorts escaped Sabe. Amidala's impassive eyes turned to her at the small noise, and she ducked her head in shame at losing her composure in court. But Amidala's eyes sparkled, and she smiled with the look of a mother who has forgotten the pains of labor upon looking into the face of her child. An avenging angel. A warrior queen. Unbidden, tears slipped from Sabe's eyes and slid down her cheeks.
"Why, Sabe! Whatever is the matter?" Amidala asked in concern.
Sabe sniffed, horrified, and rubbed her tears away hastily as she felt the stern eyes of the council members on her. "Nothing my Queen," she said softly. "It is only that I have just realized that there is no place in the Galaxy I would rather be than standing here, as your servant."
Padme's eyes misted. They did not leave Sabe as she spoke. "Viceroy, you may believe it was my cleverness and strength that defeated you, but in fact it was the unfailing loyalty of those in this room."
He raised his eyes slightly, looking dull and sluggish and all but hanging from the guards' hands.
Remembering the Viceroy's insufferable disdain on the day of the invasion, Sabe spared him a sadistic little smile. "What a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Viceroy," She murmured, tugging the headdress back from her head. Her hair had sweated a little color onto her forehead and cascaded ruddily onto her shoulders.
"Guards, make the Viceroy comfortable in the holding area," Padme said gleefully. She stood from the throne and linked arms with Sabe as they watched the guards drag away the protesting Neimoidian.
The Queen's lack of formality served as an unofficial dismissal, and the council members began drifting from the room. It was then that Sabe noticed the marked absence for the first time.
"Padme, where are the Jedi?" she whispered urgently.
Padme frowned, and she looked at Captain Panaka. "I…don't know. I have not seen them since were separated in the hangar. Have you had any word, Captain?"
"No, your highness," Panaka said.
"The creature they fought was excessively strong," Sabe said "It may be that they will need assistance."
"Agreed," Padme said, gesturing to the other handmaidens as well. "All of you go, and take troops with you. Report back when you have made contact."
"Yes, your highness," Sabe said, and started out the door.
A firm hand on her shoulder stopped her in the hall. "Oh no," Eirtae said. "Your recklessness served us well in the battle, but I'm tired of hairs-breadth escapes. This time I lead."
Sabe grinned and hung back. "Very well. Do you have a plan?"
Eirtae smirked back. "I think we've done pretty well on a wing and a prayer, so far."
This wasn't how things were supposed to be.
Sabe felt the color draining from her face as she and the others neared the doors of a small circular room just off the main hall of the power plant. A crowd of guards obscured the inside of it from her view. She thought nothing could be quite as bad as what she imagined lying beyond that grim line of faces. Then one shifted, and past his shoulder she saw the two forms on the containment room floor, one hunched over the other. A brush of air from within brought the acrid smell of singed hair and burnt flesh to her nose.
"Sabe, wait a minute," Rabe muttered, catching at her arm.
Sabe shook her off and ran forward, pushing through the guards into the room. She rushed to Obi-Wan, who cradled his Master's body across his lap. Grabbing his elbow, she tried to pry it away, to confirm what she couldn't yet allow herself to believe. "Let me see."
Obi-Wan resisted her, his forehead pressed to Qui-Gon's. "Go away," He muttered.
"Please, Obi-Wan, let us help him!" Sabe pleaded.
Obi-Wan pushed her off. "Don't touch him!"
Sabe staggered back. His face was terrible, contorted by pain and rage. He gathered the body even more closely to him. His eyes glittered unnaturally bright, as if he had been taken by some fever, and there was no sign of recognition in them. "It's too late," he choked, rocking slightly, his gaze distant and glazed.
It was not supposed to be this way. Sabe sank to her knees, the sense of utter wrongnesssettling over her like a shroud. She thought back, trying in vain to pinpoint where in the last few days fate had taken this unfathomable turn. This was supposed to be untainted victory. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were supposed to stand with them at the victory parade. They were supposed to receive laurels from the Queen. And then Qui-Gon was supposed to return to the Temple with Obi-Wan and Anakin, to train the boy to become the Jedi who would change the Galaxy.
Anakin…How would they tell him? Who would be his champion now?
A small sound reached her ears and she opened her eyes. In the entryway, Rabe, and Eirtae had made their way past the guards and were taking in the scene with disbelief on their faces. Like Anakin, they had all inwardly believed that Jedi could not die.
It was Eirtae who approached her first, and Sabe found herself leaning heavily into her arms. After a moment she became aware that Rabe was coaxing Obi-Wan with gentle words. It was a long time before the other handmaiden could persuade him to relinquish the body to the waiting medics. He dazedly followed as they steered the medpod out of the room.
Sabe slumped, her eyes fixeddully on the patterned floor.
"Sabe," Rabe said softly, coming to her and brushing back her hair. "You also need to come to the healers. Your wound should be checked."
It was all Sabe could do to concentrate enough to follow what she was saying. Her wound? Oh, of course. "No. It doesn't hurt," She murmured.
"You look like hell," Eirtae said bluntly. "And you've had a shock. Come away."
"Eirtae," Sabe hissed. "I want to be alone right now."
Rabe and Eirtae looked at one another. "Come on, Eirtae," Rabe said. Eirtae looked reluctant, but Rabe guided her away with a firm hand.
For a while Sabe just stared at the polished floor uncomprehendingly, wondering if she would ever again have the strength to rise. And then she pushed herself to her feet and looked around the containment room. She walked to the door, barely noticing the scorch marks marring its sides. She kept walking, aimlessly, with no clear idea of where she should go or what she should do. With every step the mantra in her head seemed to echo, louder and more frantic.
This isn't the way it was supposed to be.
For all these years she had hated him. He had abandoned her, just like all the others, after making her almost believe that he and his kind were different. Or at least that was what she hadthought as a child and for so long afterwards. It was only in the forest within the illusion he'd spun to dull her pain that she had finally seen the truth. When she'd come to the temple she'd been little more than a scavenging animal. In a way, Qui-Gon had become her father there, bringing her to life in a world she had not previously imagined; a world of order, civility, and justice. He'd given her dignity. He'd forced her to take control.
And what had she done with it? She'd clung to her shadows and hiding places. She'd fought as much against him and Obi-Wan as the enemies of Naboo, trying to keep herself secret from their eyes so she could keep herself safe from what she believed would be their judgement.
Sabe raised her head. She was deep in the bowels of the power plant. Huge power converters loomed around her, their control consoles flickering in the darkness. She heard voices in the distance. Guards, patrolling for Neimoidian stragglers.
She nearly gagged and lost her footing as she rounded a corner and came upon a terrible sight. There on the permacrete floor were the two halves of the demon that had slain Qui-Gon. Sabe looked up and saw the lip of the circular room fifty feet above. With horrified fascination she crept forward toward the creature's mutilated torso. It's stomach had been completely seared through, the stench unimaginable. She could still feel its black energy, dissipating now into the cold, dry air of the power plant. And then she saw its face, those terrible infection-colored eyes, the mouth below them twisted into a foul grimace. She turned her head, retching, and moved as far away as she could get.
After a moment or two she relaxed and opened her eyes.As she did, ametallic sparkle beside a power converter nearby caught her attention. Curious, Sabe ventured closer. There were metal pieces scattered on the floor around a cylindrical object about as long as her forearm.
It was a lightsaber, and one that was particularly familiar to her. She'd held it in her hands once. But it was all but obliterated now. The casing was split, and she could see the glowing crystals that gave it power and the wires and workings within.
She had only known Qui-Gon for three months, and he had touched her life more profoundly than anyone else she had ever known. But Obi-Wan…If Qui-Gon had been her father in some ways, he had been Obi-Wan's father in every way.
Kneeling, Sabe pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her cloak. She gathered he pieces of the lightsaber with as delicate a touch as possible, tying them within the cloth.