Chapter 4: Annabeth Tells a Tall Tale

The next morning, we headed into Theed. Annabeth was amazed with the architecture, rattling off styles like "Greek, Byzantite, and Frank Lloyd Wright." After five years, I knew what to do whenever Annabeth went into architecture mode: a lot of "Yeah" and "Hmm" and "Cool" and then repeat. I was a little preoccupied with the fashion sense of the locals. It was so varied and brightly colored and way too many men were wearing robe things that looked like dresses. We got a good exchange for our drachma and enjoyed a nice breakfast at a café where I played eenie meenie miney mo with the alien menu options. I couldn't believe that an actual robot, or droid as Annabeth said they were called, took our order and served our food.

Next, we headed to the governor's office in the palace. We discovered last night that the legal age for adulthood on Naboo was 21 which meant we had to have a guardian of some sort for the next four years though I was hoping we were long gone before then. Since we were trying to build a life here until we could get home, we decided we had to be as legitimate as possible. Both of us knew that we would most likely be put in an orphanage, but since we had a source of credits, we hoped it would be a nice one and that we could stay together. Going to an orphanage would be hard for me. I knew a lot of demigods who had lost their mortal parents and ended up in the system, but I was lucky because I always had my amazing mom, until now.

As we entered the office, Annabeth whispered to me, "Now, please behave Seaweed Brain. Try not to smirk, and definitely no wolf stares. In fact, go for that cute baby seal look, and leave the talking to me."

I whispered back "You got it Wise Girl! After all, I don't think that pretending to be orphaned circus performers who lost their caravan will work in this case." We both started laughing at that particular memory and accidentally bumped into two very important looking men having a serious conversation. One of them was wearing those big puffy robes and looked rather distinguished. The other guy had a don't mess with me look and was wearing a sort of brown Kevlar vest thing with some kind of military hat. I gave them my best baby seal eyes and let Annabeth do the talking.

"We're terribly sorry, sirs. We should have payed more attention to where we were walking," Annabeth said in her most innocent voice and a little head bow.

The distinguished man said, "Do not worry my dear. We should have been paying more attention as well." Then he looked both of us up and down, and I realized exactly how grimy we looked between the stains and tears in our clothes from the manticore attack and sleeping on the ground.

I guess we must have looked extra pitiful because next he asked, "Can I help you my dear? Do either of you need medical treatment?"

Annabeth replied, "Physically, we're fine, but we came here to register as orphans." She sounded so lost and even started tearing up. I instinctively wrapped my arm around her and squeezed her shoulders. Wow, when did Annabeth get so good at acting?

Even the military man's face softened, and he muttered "I am very sorry for your loss." The man in the robe asked if we could tell him what happened.

Then Annabeth started to weave a very tragic story. She told him we were from a planet called Earth that had limited space travel capabilities, but that her mother and my father were part of a crew of space explorers trying to improve our people's knowledge. The last trip should have been an easy mission, so they let us come with them to see space for the first time. Then, a strange gravitational phenomenon appeared unexpectedly. The power source of the ship was severely damaged when several asteroids, also caught in the gravitational pull, crashed into the ship. In an attempt to save us, our parents had launched us in one of the few remaining escape pods that was barely big enough to fit us. As we were pulled into a tunnel of glowing blue light, we saw the main ship explode from the pod window. Both of us must have passed out because the next thing we knew our pod was crashing into the swamp. Luckily, we were able to salvage the pod's emergency bags and escape before it fully sank into the water. We used a scanner to find the direction of the nearest settlement and walked for many days until we reached the city.

Finishing her tale, Annabeth said, "I know you probably don't believe us. I mean I can barely believe what happened. Our scientists back home could only theorize about gravitational phenomena forming worm holes that can buckle space. But we have no one else to turn to, and we don't even know if it's possible for us to get home again." She looked sadly at both men. "What should we do next? Can you help us? We have some gold from our emergency bags if that will help with anything."

The older man gave us a small smile and said, "My dear, I am Governor Sio Bibble, and this here is Captain Quarsh Panaka. I do believe you. Although it is rare, hyperspace wormholes are known to appear, but usually we can avoid them with our advanced sensors. I am so sorry that two young people such as yourselves have suffered through such an ordeal, and I will do what I can to help you."

Annabeth gave me a small elbow in the side which I guess was my cue to talk. "Thank you so much, sir. My name is Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth Chase. Do you think it's possible to find our planet?" I asked hopefully since unfortunately, Annabeth's laptop couldn't find any matches in the stars which most likely meant we were at least in a different galaxy if not a different universe.

Governor Bibble answered, "I cannot make any promises my boy since hyperspace wormholes are very tricky, but Naboo has some of the best scientist in the galaxy. I'm sure they would be happy to try and locate your planet. In the meantime, you will need a place to stay." He frowned and asked, "How old are you?"

"We are both seventeen, sir," I replied.

"Hmm, then you will both need a guardian until you turn 21. I'll contact the orphanages and see if they can take you on."

I tried not to wince when the governor mentioned orphanages, but I knew the captain saw me. I put my begging baby seal eyes on full force, squeezed Annabeth to my side and quickly asked, "If possible, sir, is there any way we can stay together? Annabeth has been my best friend since I was twelve, and we've been through so much together. After everything the thought of getting separated is just too . . . painful."

Governor Bibble gave a heavy sigh, "Unfortunately, my boy, our orphanages are separated by gender."

The captain gave us another hard, long look, and then spoke up, "I can take them."

Bibble blinked at him, clearly surprised, "You wish to take charge of these children, captain? I thought that with the demands of your job, you did not wish for a family."

Captain Panaka smiled wirily and said, "After everything they have been through, I think you can hardly call them children, governor. I know many adults who would not survive a day in the swamps much less several. Since they are almost of age and seem rather resourceful, I do not think they will take time away from my duties. Plus, my private residence is rather large for just me."

Annabeth asked, "Are you sure captain? We really wouldn't want to trouble you, though we can help with some of the expenses."

"There is no need," Panaka replied. "My salary is very generous and more money than I can use by myself. All I ask in return is that you work hard at your studies and community service while you stay here. Force willing, we will be able to locate your home planet and help you return soon. In the meantime, I suggest that you take advantage of our education system since it seems we might be more technologically advanced in some areas than your home world."

Governor Bibble beamed and said, "It's settled then. Percy, Annabeth, you will live with Captain Panaka for the time being."