5/24/02

"Could I go along on this?" Kylo asks as Mirina, Rey, and Ellie are chatting about the Naboo trip tomorrow.

He and Rey are 'changing things up a bit' mainly, they're in the courtyard. He's 'working,' meaning he's found himself a comfy sofa (not the sex sofa, that's home) and not exactly paying attention to Rey and the ladies as they chat. (Though Rey's sitting next to him, her back to his side, resting against his shoulder, as they 'have tea, and discuss the next outing.') This lets him nod to her in the direction of things that pass under his eye he'd like her to see, and she can talk about more of her adventures in being the Pretty Lady, and he's nearby to get an idea of what's going on.

As they see this, the biggest advantage is that instead of running into stuff, and then using their off time to talk about it, they can just talk about it as it comes up.

Mirina and Ellie are irked but doing their best not to let it become too visible on either their faces or minds. They do, after all, approve of taking meetings in the courtyard.

They don't exactly approve of the idea of him crashing this meeting, though. The Ladies look at him, and he feels the exasperation, the purse of the lips as they sip their tea, though neither of them says anything. It's clear he's not supposed to be lounging around reading his reports here.

"Fine." He says, responding to what they're feeling and not saying, "I don't see—"

"That's part of why you aren't going on this tip," Mirina says, staring at Kylo, his legs stretched in front of him, feet bare, sleeves rolled up as he reads on the sofa next to Rey, being very present and very male. "You don't see the point of any place you can't go."

He shrugs at that. He's been shut out of enough shit in his life, he's not about to go tiptoeing around now.

Rey's looking curiously between the two of them.

Mirina says, "Part of the idea of this is to help Rey get a better grasp of traditionally feminine power. Part of why we're hoping you'll bring your girls along, too. Like you saw among the Kress, female power is often superficially hemmed in, hidden, kept behind and away from where the men can see."

"And you don't want me learning all the secrets?" Kylo says.

Ellie sighs. "No. But, unless you want to use your magic and appear to not be there, if you go along, we won't be able to demonstrate, by literally showing your girls, how women act among other women. You show up, and the behavior shifts."

"Oh." Kylo thinks about that. Shall I go cloaked? he asks Rey. He glances at the two older ladies. Not mention it to them, either. See how they shift on their own.

Rey sips her tea. She tries to look like she's not responding, and if she weren't with Ellie and Mirina, she might have pulled it off. They'll notice the Kylo-shaped hole in the space around them.

"Yeah, they probably would," he says out loud. "And I'm much too… male… to pass as anything other than myself?"

"Unless you have a set of Captain Phasma's armor lying about?" Ellie says, voice wry. "Not that that'd help. She shows up and the same shift will happen. For the purposes of our discussion, Captain Phasma was male."

That does make him wonder a bit; what happened to Phasma's stuff? Did she share chambers with Hux? He realizes he doesn't know the answer to that. Whatever happened to their stuff happened on the Finalizer, which is well outside his worldview these days.

He does wonder if Hux ever kept any momentos of Phasma.

"There is another complication of bringing you along, Kylo," Mirina says.

"Amidala," Ellie adds.

"Yes, since we haven't exactly decided when, or if, you're ever mentioning who your grandmother was, keeping you, at least officially, off of Naboo, is probably a good idea," Mirina says. "Since, I'm the designer on record for several of the outfits in the museum, we're going to get a bit more access and information than would generally be available to the public, even very important public, but we don't need to complicate that by having people suggest that you went along, decided you liked the look of the place, and went to make a play for it."

Kylo's eyes narrow slightly at that. "Well, this would be a play I can back up with a genetics test, no?"

"Yes, you have extended blood family you could match up with still on Naboo," Ellie says. "Still, until you can find an angle beyond, 'The ghost of my dead grandfather told me that his wife was Padme Amidala' I'm thinking we're keeping you off of Naboo."

"Does it really matter that much?" Rey asks.

Mirina shrugs. "Honestly, in the long term, probably not. But, given how we're more or less moving through the Alderaan angle on brass stones and no shame, not bringing up any other royal antecedents without a really solid grounding makes sense."

Ellie's thinking. "The only person who really knows the kind of terms you were on with your Mum is Commander Poe?"

Kylo's got to think about that. He comes up with, "That's likely true." Then he stops. "No. No, it's not. General Threepio."

That gets a moment of silence, and Ellie and Mirina decide to just leap right over that complication and leave it for later.

"Who got her personal effects when she passed?" Ellie asks.

Kylo doesn't know the answer to that.

Rey does, though. "Chewie, and then Poe. And Chewie was around for most of the last year, so he knew the two of you weren't on good terms, too. Why?"

Ellie doesn't shrug, though her voice indicates that fixing something like this isn't that big of a deal. "We could," she gestures a bit with her hand, "create… some personal effects. Like a note from Organa to his daughter about her real mother. Or a journal. Or," she waves her hand, "something. A locket with a picture in it. It's not like it'd be hard to get images of her."

Mirina smiles. "I'd have to look, but I should have some images. Especially when I'm getting to know a client, I'll take pictures of her in the colors she likes. It's much easier to get the right fabrics and flow if you've got an image of the person."

Ellie lights up at that. She's spinning the story, "And, of course, we're seeing the exhibits. And Rey's seen the image. You or Leia would have showed it to her. She recognizes the face… If… You want to claim Amidala, that's probably a good way to do it."

Rey and Kylo share a look.

Do you, Prince Ben?

He sighs. "Would it be a… kindness to give Heloise a heads up before we do it if we're going to move in this direction?"

Ellie smiles at that. "I imagine Organa would like that. It burnishes his line by tying it to another royal family."

"But not hers?" Rey asks.

"It doesn't hurt her, but it doesn't improve her situation, either," Mirina says. "Granted, both systems get on well enough. They have similar political codes and leaders of companionable temperaments. And, just to gild the lily, it's not like Naboo will, upon learning that Leia was one of their own, demand a place in the New Alderaanian succession. That said, if we're going to make this play, I suggest that our group go on our visit, Rey has her 'revelation' and then we seek to set up a private appointment to have a bit of a chat with the Neberrie family. Which means, to sell the lie, you can't give House Organa a heads up."

"Since you were a designer for Amadala, will they think we're just… setting things up?" Rey asks.

"They may, but the fact that Kylo'd be willing to offer a blood sample on this one, because he's going to be curious... After all, that image in the locket won't be too sharp focus. It's old. So, he won't know who the woman in the locket is just to look at her. Not for sure, but he wants to know. Just… luck of the Force," Mirina says with a wink.

"And, if they, like I did for Alderaan, say no?" Kylo asks.

"They may choose to do so, but unlike you refusing, their royal bloodlines are in searchable databases, to help 'keep things on the up and up,'" Ellie replies. "Monarchs are elected on Naboo, but they have to come from the correct families, and those families are… proactive… in making sure their lines stay clean."

"Ah."

"Well, Prince Ben," Rey says, later that night, as they're cleaning up the last detritus left in the communal kitchen from the kids' dinner.

He sighs. "I don't know…" He puts the rag he's been wiping up the counter with away, and says, "I just want to… visit, you know? Not take over the damn place. Maybe, get a chance to talk to someone who knew her."

She could say, "It'd take you nine seconds to locate Threepio and talk to him," but she doesn't, and he appreciates it. She does say, "Find some family you don't have a history with?"

He nods a little. "Yeah."

She pushes herself up onto the counter, gestures for him to come close, and he does, and she wraps her arms and legs into a hug around him. "Find some people who don't have expectations for and of you?"

"Might be nice. Or maybe just… He said I have her eyes. I'd… just like to know more about her, you know?"

"Yeah. I know." And she does. She understands the kinship, beyond the literal genetics, that Kylo feels to a woman taken advantage of by Force users more powerful than she was. "Tomorrow, I'll notice one queen looks familiar, okay?"

"Okay."

5/25/2

"So, why do the girls get to go on this and we don't?" Critt asks, looking a little hurt.

"Because it's important for girls to have girl time," Rose shoots back. "I'm sure you'll have a good time with Poe and Finn today, and sixteen hours without your girlfriend won't kill you."

Critt rolls his eyes viciously, but Rose, damnable Rose, has absolutely nailed his complaint. Jacen's going off today doing gods alone knows what. Something involving Kylo and Chewie and the Falcon. He doesn't know all the details because Jacen's being mature and trustworthy and not spilling the secrets.

And it sounds fun and exciting and he's raring to go, too, but noooo… He's too young. Jacen's just a hair more than two years older than he is, and he gets to go, because he's been doing some shit making everyone around him think he's older than he actually is. Sometimes Critt's really tempted to call him on it. Remind everyone that Jacen's seventeen not eighteen but he's got the sense that he can do it, and it won't matter, because Jacen'll just point out that he's been doing whatever it is he's doing, so, obviously, he's old enough to do it.

And then, on top of that, Savarah, and Magiit, and Cassie are all going off with Rose and Rey and…

It's just going to be so fucking boring here. Even with Poe and Finn. Supposedly, they're going to go and figure out how much cargo space they're going to need to get all of their shit off of Lirium and onto Achc-To, assuming they ever find a place on Achc-To to land. But he knows that mostly what he's going to be doing is keeping the little guys in order with Elias while Poe and Finn try to explain how to do this. (He rolls his eyes. Math. Finn doesn't know how to do some of it, and Poe just sees the answers as soon as he's got the problem and is shit at explaining how he does it. So, Critt's not, on any level, anticipating enjoying the two of them attempting to explain how to figure out cargo tonnage.)

So, yeah, it's important, and a useful learning experience, and Chewie says that the quickest way to bankrupt yourself as a trader is to miscalculate how much cargo you can take, but it's not going off to do whatever it is Kylo and Jacen are going to be up to, and…

Rey's hand on his shoulder. "I promise, we'll do something fun with you guys soon, too. Okay?"

His eyes narrow, and he grudgingly says, "Okay."

He still looks pretty jealous when Rey ports off with Rose, Paige, and the older girls.

And once again, Rey's official Order of the Maji branded ship is ready and waiting for them. And once again, there's a crew of people ready to go with them. Today is just a day trip, but, apparently even day trips to a peaceful planet involve at least twenty stormtroopers and a full piloting crew.

The girls are looking very wowed by this. They've never had a full military escort join them and walk them through a hanger. They've never seen the way people react to Kylo and Rey when they're being Lord and Lady Ren. They're used to Rey and Master Kylo, and this is a deeply different experience. People around them are leaping to attention as they pass, quivering, ready to follow any order that might come their way.

Cassie, especially, who is an Order member, is for the first time, really seeing Master Ren and understanding who she, for all practical purposes, lives with. Cassie whispers to Savarah, "They feel different, don't they?"

Savarah nods. Her empathy is sharper than Cassie's and she's very aware that this is not Rey and Kylo in the communal kitchens keeping watch over supper, let alone Rey talking moral philosophy, or Kylo wiggling his fingers at them, indicating that they can all rush him at once, and see how that works.

"Lord and Lady Ren," Savarah whispers back. "In their castle."

In your heads, girls, Rey thinks to them. Unless you're in our room or Kylo's office, assume that someone is always listening when you're on this ship.

Rose is a few steps being the girls, and she's smirking a bit as they walk toward the ship. It's… she's not sure… poetic justice, maybe. The last time she was walking through the Supremacy with a twenty person military escort, they were going to try, and fail, to cut her head off. Now she's a step to the left of the people who run the whole organization, and even without Force skills she can feel how ready to hop-to and do whatever she asks, immediately, anyone around her is.

Part of her wants to tell Finn about this. She thinks that… maybe, if she hit him with it correctly, he'd find it really funny. Or maybe not. The Kylo aspect of this complicates things. Still the fact that she could likely, assuming she made good eye contact and used her 'Mommy voice,' order any of the men around her to break into jumping jacks and they'd do it, does make her want to laugh.

As they draw closer to Rey's ship, it also occurs to her that part of not being unnerved by this is that only the military escorts are in full stormtrooper armor. Around them, bustling about, are men and women and none of the above in armor. Cloth uniforms, mostly of gray, though she sees the occasional black and blue that must mean something, but she doesn't know what, faces bare, hair visible…

People.

She glances over to Kylo. He made them people.

He catches her thought, nods once, and then goes back to chatting with Rey.

Go time, again. Kylo thinks. They're standing together, his forehead to hers (Apparently, according to Ellie, the pictures of them doing that are very popular. People actually buy and collect them. Which staggers both of them. Though, apparently, since there is a market for those pictures, the Order now has a print shop making little collectible ones for people to buy. It's not a lot of income, but it's some, and every little bit helps.) holding one another as they say their goodbyes. He thinks to her. I didn't remember to ask last time, but did you traumatize Threepio by piloting him somewhere?

I've never flown him anywhere.

Well, there goes that theory.

Kylo?

I was thinking maybe he makes sure you don't fly anywhere because you scarred him for life or something.

Rey mentally snerks a laugh at that. She can imagine how easy that'd be to do. No. According to Ellie and Threepio, me flying myself is 'not befitting my status and role.' She doesn't roll her eyes. They're closed. So are his. From the outside it looks like the two of them just taking a long last hug before departing. Mentally, though, it's clear she's feeling rather short about her 'status and role' in this case.

Oh. They stand together, quiet, and he shifts his weight and hold so he can pull her up a little and kiss her. Have fun out there.

He puts her down, and she smiles up at him, stroking his face. Always.

Then Rey turns to her ship, and heads up the platform, to the gaze of three very interested teen girls, a satisfied looking Mirina and Ellie, and a deeply amused Rose.

(At least Paige isn't fussed one way or the other. She's much more interested in crawling around the seats.)

Once they're on their way, there are still three sets of very curious, very amused eyes on Rey.

Magiit's the one who says it, "So… This is what you do when you're not home? Get all dressed up and have Master Kylo pet you?" Savarah and Cassie are giggling at that.

"Among other things," Rey says, voice dry. The girls are watching intently. "The petting is… part of the image."

"And, you like it," Cassie says. (Rose sniggers.)

"And, I like it. But it's also…" She looks to Ellie and Mirina for help, but they both go mute, waiting to see what she'll do with this. She glares at them, and says, "It's also about trying to make people like us, and want to work with us, and join us."

"I didn't need to see Master Kylo canoodling you to join up," Cassie says.

That gets Ellie's attention. "Are you an Order member, dear?"

Cassie nods. "Yes. Master Kylo says that my time with the Maji will also count for my Order five years."

"As well it should. Do you have your uniform, dear?"

Cassie nods at that, too. Savarah pokes her. "I do, but it's probably too small. I've grown some."

"Eminently fixable," Mirina replies. "If you come on more of these, we'll have to make sure you've got your uniform, and, maybe like Rey's ship, your kit will have Order of the Maji marks on it."

Cassie smiles at that. She loves her uniform. There's no reason to wear it at home, and it is too small, but it has a special place in her drawer, and sometimes she likes to pet it. The idea of one with Order of the Maji marks like Rey has makes her feel warm and glowy inside.

"Will we go on more of these?" Magiit asks.

"Can you keep a secret from the boys, so that if it doesn't go off right, they won't be disappointed?" Rey asks.

The girls all look at each other. It's clear they're thinking yes, but Rey adds, "Jacen, too."

They glare at her.

"Let's just say, yes, this will happen again. All of you will have the chance to be out and about more as time goes by."

"Is Jacen a good friend? A… dear friend… perhaps?" Mirina asks, wondering which of the girls he's the beau of.

The girls smirk at that, very amused, but Rose is the one who says, "Jacen's the mindreader." She shares a look with Ellie and Mirina. "In this territory, the ground doesn't always look the way you'd expect it to. That said, it's very likely that Jacen, Critt, and Elias would know what was up within an hour of leaving, either because Jacen pulled it out of their heads, or because Critt and Elias are awful secret keepers. Generally, once one of the six of them knows, it the other five do."

The girls are not impressed.

"Jacen's been keeping secrets," Savarah says. "It's pissing Critt off. He comes home, and Critt's so happy to see him, wants to hear everything they've been up to, but he's not telling everything."

"And how does Critt know that?" Rey asks.

Savarah shakes her head. "I'm not telling. You'll just tell Jacen how to do a better job covering up what's going on."

"Probably," Rey says. "But it's also important that he be able to cover up what's going on."

"You know!" Magiit says, staring at Rey.

Rey rolls her eyes. "I don't just look nice and canoodle with Kylo. Yes, I know what they're talking about doing. And not only do I know, I also know that it's a good plan for Jacen to not be talking about it as much as he can."

"Who on Lirium could we tell?" Savarah says, exasperated.

"Savarah…" We are not alone. Rey thinks it to all of them. There are twenty-five soldiers or crew on this ship, and you just gave any of them paying attention the name of the planet we live on. And, again, the plan is to get all of you off of Lirium and out and about more in the not wildly distant future. It's not good to be stuck out there all the time. But if you are out and about, and you slip up like you just did, we have no control over who gets to overhear what. You can't slip up with what you don't know.

"But they're Order members!" Cassie says out loud, scandalized that Rey doesn't, inherently, trust all of them.

I know, Cassie. And a lot of them will literally die for us, but maybe not all of them. "Yes, just like you, a bunch of them probably joined up, or some of them were here from before." (Like every time she gets on her ship, Rey has greeted all of them, but as of this point, the same soldiers have never escorted her twice.) "And it is their job to protect us against anything that might show up."

"Wait," Cassie says, "is this dangerous? We're going to a museum, right? We didn't bring Paige along on…"

"Hush, Cassie," Rose says. "This is about as dangerous as going to the lake in the summer time. Everything should be fine. You know the lay of the land. You know how to swim, but, just in case, it's a good idea to have someone watching your back. If I thought it might be legitimately dangerous, I would not have brought Paige along."

"Okay," Cassie says, looking calmer. "So, who does know we're going on this trip?"

"Obviously, everyone in our ship," Rey says.

"And once we land," Mirina replies, "Well be greeted by Madam Neeyutnee, who you will all be on your best behavior for."

"Why?" Magiit asks. "I mean, I'm not going to be rude, but you say something like that because the person's a big deal, and I don't know who that is."

Mirina nods. "No, I wouldn't expect you to know her. Madam Neeyutnee is the daughter of one of the former Queens of Naboo. Once upon a time, her mother was a client of mine, and so was she. These days she runs the Hall of Leaders, and will be giving us a private tour."

"Good works like running historical museums, or hospitals, or charities, or universities, is considered the sort of job that's appropriate for the members of royal families who didn't quite manage to make it to royalty. Madam Neeyutnee was born into a royal family of Naboo, but when the time came, her name was not put forth as one of the possible ladies to rule," Ellie says.

"Why not?" Rose asks.

Mirina smiles a little. "You won't like the answer, though it is part of why we're going, and what we hope to learn. Neeyutnee is a lovely girl. She's bright, and pleasant, and makes people happy to be near her. She's also not, by the standards of the humans on Naboo, pretty. She's not grotesque, or anything like that, but she doesn't have the slim, graceful curves, or particularly symmetrical looks that the Naboon favor among their Queens."

Savarah, Magiit, Cassie, and Rose are all angry at that.

"Wait," Rose is the one who says it. "She didn't get elected because she didn't… look right? What the fuck sort of bantha shit is that?"

Ellie stifles a laugh.

Mirina smiles, a little. Then she says, "Reality. It's reality. While we're there, look at the images of the queens, and the senators, and… Pick any elected body you like. Not everyone will match human standards of beauty, but you'll never see anyone who's ugly. Or if they are, they're the right sort of ugly. Either they started pretty and got old enough they lost it, or they're battle scarred. Otherwise, everyone will be attractive. Maybe not beautiful, but they'll at least clean up nicely and be presentable. All of them will have tremendous charisma. If you're conventionally unattractive and have the personality of a six days worn sock, you will not be getting elected to anything anytime soon."

"Is that… what you're doing with Rey and Kylo and… canoodling in front of the cameras?" Savarah asks.

"Part of it. People like romance. They like leaders they can look at an imagine good things of. Being pretty to the eyes helps that. Being lovey and lovely helps that, too. Among other things, the man who loves his wife is a man who likely has hopes for the future. He has something to lose, so he's likely to be cautious in a good way. He's more likely to want to build a world for his children, than destroy the world of his enemies. The kind of hopes that likely translate well for everyone around him, and their families, too. It makes him seem more trustworthy."

Rose is looking at Ellie with a lot of respect right now. She nods slowly. "And you plant the seed of that idea by showing off the two of them being sweet on each other."

"Exactly," Ellie smiles a bit. "Plus, anyone who spends more than ten minutes with them sees it anyway, so it's not like trying to hide it was a plan with any chance of working."

The girls all know about that. Lord and Lady Ren have stiffer posture and nicer clothing, but they still look a lot like Kylo and Rey, and Kylo and Rey like to cuddle.

Mirina continues the theme that Ellie had started. "The ugly loner on the other hand… Think of him or her. How does that work? Are people charitably inclined to the person who looks wrong?" Even the girls are worldly enough to know the answer to that.

"Part of how, especially in the beginning, the Rebellion was able to raise people is that Palpatine looked like a pickled frog who'd been left in the brine too long and then bleached. It's very easy to imagine the worst of a man who looks like Palpatine did. Snoke apparently learned from that, made sure that people didn't see him. He stuck Hux in front of the cameras, because he looked good and sounded better."

Ellie takes over. "A good voice, posh accent, cheekbones that could cut glass, and presence will get people to go along with whatever idiot plan you may have much more readily than eons of good planning and a face that looks like it was illustrated by a blind man using his off hand with a one minute time limit."

"Who were the faces of the Rebellion? Pretty blonde Luke Skywalker. Lovely, young, virginal Princess Leia. Luke Skywalker never made a single command decision through the entire war. That didn't stop them plastering the idea of the Jedi were back and were out to end the Empire all over their media. Leia Organa, her tactical role paled in comparison to what people saw of her. There were generals and admirals and they made the tactical decisions, but she was the face. Because she was young, and pretty, and innocent, and passionate, and if someone like that was on their side, obviously, they had to be on the side of the angels." Mirina glances to Rose. "Who was the face of the Resistance? I know it wasn't Leia, not really. She was 'officially' the leader, but the holos and propaganda you passed around, who was on it?"

Rose winces a little. Then she says, "We teased the hell out of him, but… Poe. They put pictures of him in his flight gear, but… uh… not all of it, his helmet was under his arm, and… He… didn't hate it, because he likes being drooled over, but he was embarrassed by it, too." Then she looks sad. "My sister. Paige was a bomber pilot, and… They had pictures of her, too." She swallows. "I've still got a few of them at home. Uh, she's standing, hair loose and blowing in the breeze, one foot on a bomb, her ship in the background. RESIST! In big letters under her."

Ellie's nodding along at that. "Youth, attractiveness, strength… These send a message, one that people like. We're just… showing off that we've got a deep well of young, strong, and pretty here."

Magiit thinks about that for a moment, and then says, "He said goodbye to each of us, will there be pictures of him with you and Mistress Frakes?"

"For our internal consumption, there will likely be video of the whole thing, but there won't be images of us for sale. We don't hide, but we also don't plaster us all over the galaxy," Ellie replies.

They're about twenty minutes out from Naboo when a thought goes running through Rey's head.

They will, intentionally, see an exhibit about Padme Amidala. So, Rey can 'discover' her.

The kids and Rose all know that once upon a time, Kylo went by Master Padme.

She has not mentioned that this "coincidence" is about to fall into their laps, and she'd really appreciate it if they didn't mention it.

She closes her eyes and quiets her mind before thinking to Rose, Cassie, Magiit, and Savarah, Remember 'Master Padme?'

That gets some curious looks aimed at her.

Yeah, so. While we're there, you'll notice that one of the Queens of Naboo was Padme Amidala.

And four sets of eyes go wide.

And… uh… She was Leia's mother. And that's not… widely known. And… it'd be really nice if it stayed that way.

She sees the girls all look at each other, before Rose stares at her very intently, and more or less screams in her mind HE'S THE GRANDSON OF A QUEEN?

Yes, but you knew that anyway. Leia was the daughter of Breha.

AND PADME?

Rey nods. Yes. It's a long story, and when we're home, I'll be happy to tell it, but Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala met, married, and produced Luke and Leia. With the exception of Kylo, Threepio, and maybe three other people, everyone who knows that is in this ship, and I'd like to keep that number, for the time being, very small. So, no comments about how Kylo used to go by Padme, okay?

You are so telling us that story, Savarah thinks to them when Rey's done.

I will. But not now. The tale'll go easier when we can talk with voice.

Rose nods at that. She glances at the older ladies but doesn't think her question. Rey understands it anyway. Yes, they know. And, in a few months, Padme will be completely out, but if we're going to make it look like this is something we discovered on this trip, you can't look at her, see the name and ask about it. Okay?

She gets four okays back, and relaxes a bit.

Ellie smiles as she watches Rey scoot across the ship, to one of the ports, looking out as soon as they get word that they're within view of Theed.

The girls are crowded around her. Rose is looking cool, but she's gazing out a different port.

Magiit's the one who says, "It's so beautiful."

Rey nods. "This is my favorite city." Her face is light, eyes bright and pleased as they look out on the capitol of Human Naboo, lovely coral colored buildings rising into delicate copper green domes, curled around the waterfalls.

Coming here as Lady Ren is very different than coming as a private citizen. Not having to wait for a place to put their ship is nice.

Greeting a full delegation of political higher ups, less so.

But, with Mirina and Ellie's words in her mind, she is looking. The Queen is not here, likely because this isn't an official state visit, this is… as Mirina says, "A favor from a friend to a friend. If this was an official visit and she didn't greet you, that'd be a snub, and not something anyone would tolerate. As it is though, it'd be rude to demand she pause her day to greet you."

The people who are here… They're elegant, polished. No one is beautiful, that's true, but no one is ugly, either. Or for that matter, even average looking. Ellie catches how she's looking and mentally adds, Granted, they do have a staff of people who do nothing but make sure they look as good as they can all the time, so… Take it for what it's worth. Waking up first thing in the morning, they're not quite this pretty.

Rey makes herself not shrug. She is aware of the hour the makeup and hair droid spent on her today. She does think, Waking up first thing in the morning, I'm not, either.

Ellie smiles at that, but there's a sharpness to her eyes. Oh, my girl. You're close enough. Tell me about how you're not quite so fresh first thing in thirty years.

Rey doesn't have a response for that. She does clasp hands with another member of the Naboon delegation, and thanks them for their hospitality.

"It's like a dreamland," Cassie says as they meander through Theed in a scooter, heading toward the Hall of Royals.

Rey feels the same way. Everything about this city was built to be splendid.

"Why don't we live here?" Magiit asks.

Someone is always listening, Magiit. Rey thinks back to her.

Magiit closes her eyes. They've found that she needs to shut out as many of her other senses as possible to think to people, but she can do it. Then give me an answer worth listening to! Her eyes flash open and she hits Rey with a snarky look.

Rey rolls her eyes. "Perhaps, when you're old enough to be on your own, you'll decide to move here."

"I was on my own before I joined you." Or, more precisely, as the oldest of the slave children working in the Favier stables, she was basically taking care of the rest of them. Their owner made sure there was food, and a roof, and water, but that was primarily for the Faviers. She made sure that enough of it ended up in their bellies to keep them going.

"And I was under the impression that you didn't much enjoy it. I know I didn't enjoy being on my own at sixteen."

Magiit sighs, and looks out the window. "You think the Order might decide to put an embassy here?"

"Now that's an interesting question," Mirina says. "Before we leave, I'll have to see if our pilot can do a fly over of the embassy neighborhood. It doesn't quite look like the rest of Theed, most of the embassies try to match their own, local tastes, but that's an idea."

Savarah and Cassie glance at each other, and then Rose, almost seeking permission for what to say next. Rose smiles and nods. "Uh… What would matching local tastes look like?" Savarah says.

"Yeah, I mean, would Master Kylo want to plop a huge black triangle in the middle of Theed? That'd be awful!" Cassie says. "I mean… I'm part of the Order, and I don't want to see that!"

Rey giggles a bit at that idea. "The Supremacy was built before Kylo joined the First Order, and Snoke and his designers had no interest in what Kylo might have thought about how it looked."

"Oh, right." Especially for Cassie, who's young enough that the time before Kylo ran the Order is vague, the idea that he's not always been powerful enough in it to have real control is something that isn't part of her worldview.

"He would like it here," Rey says, because he did. "And I'd imagine that if there were to be an Order embassy here, it would blend pretty well. Partially because this is beautiful, and partially because the Order wants people from everywhere to feel welcome there."

Savarah keeps looking out the windows as they pass tan and peach colored buildings with green copper roofs, long streets of fitted stone, and small planters filled with carefully sculpted bushes. Will our own home look like this? When we get to Achc-To?

Rey smiles at that. That's a lot of building.

Jacen says you're going to Canto Bight soon.

Rey nods at that.

So… win an extra good hand or two, and get us some pretty sandstone buildings?

Rey smiles. We'll see. We've got to find an island to put them on, first. And I promise you, the dome to make sure we don't get blown off the map if a bad storm comes is going to eat up a lot of our winnings.

Savarah looks skeptical about that, but she keeps her peace as they turn down another street, heading toward a huge, circular courtyard, surrounded by more greeny-copper domed roofed buildings.

"This is the courtyard of the Royal Palace," Mirina says, "The Hall of Royals is a side building here. We'll be there shortly."

And shortly, they are.

The Royal Palace of Theed is… astonishing. That's a pretty good word to describe how Rey feels walking through it. She's pretty sure she could spend hours just looking at the stonework on the walls, or the way the tiny panes of colored glass glint in the windows, or the little hand painted tiles set along the base of the walls, or…

It's… a lot.

Everyone around them just wanders around like all of this is no big deal. They've grown immune to it.

Rey, Rose, and the girls, aren't.

Though Rose does say to her, "They'd probably gawk at the Supremacy if they were on it."

"Probably faint at how ugly it is by comparison," Rey says.

Rose smirks at that. Magiit outright laughs. Then everyone gets quiet, because there's a sort of hush in this place, like no one laughs here.

"Neenee!"

"Mirina!" The two ladies hug and kiss each other's cheeks.

While going through the introductions Rey understands what Mirina was telling them. "Neenee" is warm, kind, easy to be with and… visually off-putting in a way that's hard to describe.

Any given feature is fine, but put together they're a bit… off. Too long legs, too short torso and arms, eyes that are pretty enough but too widely set and small for a face with too much forehead and jaw, but somehow not enough chin. Wide hands and stubby fingers. Too much bosom and not enough neck. She's just… off.

If she'd been male, she'd probably be within 'presentable' parameters, but Naboo isn't that forgiving of feminine looks. Especially for their Queens.

Ellie glances at her. She nods slightly. Good. Understand, listen.

So, Rey does.

It's… small talk. She can't imagine it's that important. Mostly, as they walk through a few of the palace halls Neenee and Mirina update each other on a massive list of friends and friends of friends. Who's doing well, who's poorly, what new updates have happened in their lives, where their children and husbands are…

She feels that's where Ellie's trying to aim her attention.

Ellie offers a tiny nod. Listen.

She does again, harder, more intently. They're ten minutes into this, and still new people are being bandied about. Neenee knows… everyone. And so does Mirina. Jon's mentioned that. He felt like she'd been on board for nineteen seconds, and his mum knew everyone.

Female power is kept hemmed in, and hidden. Rey thinks to Ellie.

Indeed.

But between the two of them, they know the partner of every major player in the galaxy don't they?

Ellie smiles. Now she's met you, they do.

Oh.

Keep watching.

Rey does. Neenee is warm. She's kind. She takes immediate interest in everyone around her. She listens to the girls, talks directly to them, doesn't skim over their questions and never makes them feel silly or like hangers on.

They matter to her. A moment in her presence, and… They're charmed.

Why doesn't she run this planet? Rey thinks to Ellie

Whoever said she didn't? Ellie's eyes sparkle. Keep watching, keep thinking… How many hours a day do you think it takes to run this place?

That's a good question. Rey doesn't get the sense that a lot of people come here. It's a museum, and right now they're in a long room filled with wax statues of what they think the first rulers of human Naboo looked like.

Apparently, long, long ago they emigrated here from… somewhere not here. The Gungans are the native species here, and they didn't even notice them for the first few decades because their two worlds didn't much overlap.

But eventually they did.

And that caused fighting, because back then the humans of Naboo were under the impression that just by showing up, they'd claimed the whole planet, and that was that. (Probably.)

And the fighting meant that just about all of the early records are gone. There are tiny bits and pieces that have survived, so they know the first humans on Naboo spoke a different language, and they came here from a place called Xrithnia, but what or where that is, or why they came, they don't know.

There are a few pictures of the early rulers, enough so they have some ideas of how they dressed, (maybe) they don't know if the images are ceremonial, or snapshots, or… Fiction, either. There's just not enough context in the fragments they've got.

So, the first room is statues, with names (maybe), and outfits (possibly) and bits of early history that are couched in lots of modifiers and 'probablies' and 'maybes' and 'as bests we can tells.'

And so is the next room, and the one after that, and the one…

But, it doesn't look like, beyond dusting things, that any of this would need something like extensive upkeep. Do they do original research and archaeology here?

Not here, Ellie thinks back. This is for display. They do the research at a few of the Universities.

Rey nods. And, just to be very clear, it's not like she's dusting these displays by herself.

Ellie doesn't snort a laugh out loud, but Rey very clearly feels it. Finally, she thinks back, There are droids for that.

Rey nods.

More rooms, more generations (or in the case of the first rooms, centuries/millennia) of rulers. As they move through, Rey's getting more and more of a feel for what goes on here.

And the correct answer is, not all that much.

This is… a job to give someone so they've got a title. It's not a job that gets done. Or at least, not in the sense of official duties.

So, what does she actually do? Rey thinks to Ellie.

This. Ellie thinks back. She's warm, caring, good to be around. She knows everyone's name, birthday, family, interests. She writes letters and sends gifts. She keeps track of everyone, where they are, what they do, what they want, what they need.

Rey stares at a ruler who's been dead for two thousand years. By now they're in a section where they've got actual images of the person, and though the clothing on the statue is a replica, the real clothing is hovering behind the statue in a static field to preserve it. The version on the statue is a perfect replica, down to the molecular level, so people can touch it, see it, interact with it. The one in the static field is there just to be looked at.

"Living history," Neenee calls it.

The girls think the fabric is too thick and stiff and scratchy. Rey's worn worse. If you're out and about in a rough climate, you want something that thick because it'll wear well, and if you've got limited fiber production, you make do with what you have.

You do that, too? Rey thinks to Ellie. Keep track of people like that.

Ellie cocks her head. To a lesser degree. She's better at it, and has a wider web than I do.

But you know her.

Ellie nods to Mirina. I know Mirina. Mirina knows her. Mirina knows that if I need a favor, that I need the favor, and that I'll make it worth her while, so if needs be, she'll mention something to Neenee, and she'll put the right word in the right place at the right time, and maybe I'll see something shift without it ever coming directly back to me, or maybe I'll get an invite to tea, a friend of a friend looking for a bit of conversation. Just depends on who and how and where.

Rey nods. I'm following. Here's the part I'm not following, if none of you are the… well… man. She looks annoyed to put it that way, but… Well, when it comes down to it, Pat commands the armies, Ellie doesn't, and if she's understanding how this works, none of the rest of these ladies do, either. How does you having tea with whomever… shift things?

Ellie smiles at her, as they drift over to look at a statue of a man wearing a lot of tiny disks of copper all woven into a fabric of sorts. "Scale mail," Ellie says. "Old and primitive armor. I daresay our Jon could tell us all about it and how it works."

Rey nods. "He probably could. I think he'd use it mostly decoratively now."

"Yes, he would." When you get to a place of real power, most of the 'men' as you put it, have a tight group of trusted allies. Usually, their wives among them. If I were to say to Pat, 'This is a thing that needs to happen,' he absolutely will pay attention. He may not agree with me, but if he doesn't, he'll have very good reasons for it, and that's something I can send back across the line to whomever has asked me for the favor.

There will be cases where I won't have an in to one of the 'men' in question, but through friends and friends of friends, I will have an in to someone in his inner circle. Somehow an idea will pass from ear to ear, or eye to eye, and it will get to the right place.

Rey nods. Even the Emperor had a mistress.

Ellie nods to one of the kings of Naboo. "See the blade at his hip? There was a time this was a warrior culture." The Emperor was a bit more twisty than that. He… did not have that web. That's not true. He had a huge, far reaching web, but he was the center of it, pulling strings. We used our connection to anticipate and maneuver around him, instead of manipulate him.

Neenee smiles at her. "A time. That said all of our upper level political players are trained in military arts. We don't need those skills right now, but we might, so we make sure we have them."

"Wise," Ellie says. "Better to be armed and not need it, than need it and not have it." The Emperor was fond of complicated plans. And if we knew the plans ahead of time, we could… gently tip a little sand into the gears in the right place, move him from his primary plan to his secondary or tertiary one. He'd always claim that no matter what, everything was always going to plan, but he also always had a million plans.

Rey nods at that, too, and thinks to Ellie, And ladies like Neenee keep the ideas flowing, or the plans in motion.

Exactly. And many times, she'll be the one with the idea in the first place. She remembers the first time someone tried that sort of plan. Ellie glances around at the museum. This is a job that doesn't take much doing, but it does take a lot of knowing, and if you know how humans behave, it's very easy to predict how they're going to behave in the future and present, which means she can generally keep her eyes open, and then occasionally nudge people as needed.

Rey looks at more statues. So, I should study history?

If not you personally, then one of your girls, perhaps. You don't have to master everything, and I think what you're studying with philosophy will fill the same bucket, but it's always good to have someone who knows the ins and outs of what has come before you, so you can have a better idea of what will come next.

And with that, they continue to walk through the halls as Neenee tells them the history of Naboo.

Eventually, Neenee understands the ladies want some 'alone time.' She tells them to go wander, and that she'll meet them for tea in two hours. Then they can talk about what they've seen.

They turn a corner to a long hall filled with statues made of wax of each of the Queens of Naboo, dressed in her royal raiments and jewels on the occasion of her coronation. These ladies are the last hundred years, each of them elected.

For a good twenty minutes Mirina lets the girls wander and look.

And, of course, it's worth looking. Naboo is fashionable. It is rich. It is famous for good taste, elegant design, and glamour. And, because it is the original home of the Emperor, his policies here didn't encourage much to rebel against. And, because the local government was pacifistic and egalitarian, the Rebellion didn't have any reason to try and cause trouble here either. And in the years after… A stable, untouched, functional economy with a full manufacturing system up and running makes a place in a war-torn galaxy very valuable.

Thus, they walk among splendor of the sort Rey's never really seen before, and the girls have never imagined. The gems, the headdresses, the gowns, everything in here sparkles with glory and wealth.

It is beautiful and it deserves at least a few moments of just looking.

But it's important to not just look, but to see. And there is a lesson here, amid the piles of gems, and silk satin, and lace.

A lesson about power, and who has it, and how it works.

When the girls are done looking, Mirina draws them to the first of the ladies, Queen Reheena. There was a time when Naboo was a birth right absolute monarchy. A time when the King's word was law. And then a time when the King went bad, and people died, and the world suffered.

They've heard Neenee's version of this, told in vagaries and passive voice. Mirina doesn't tell the story that way, "And when enough people died, and enough homes burned, and enough gold was squandered, the King stopped being the law. Ten families managed to amass enough power between them to decide that Naboo would be theirs.

"They liked the idea of an elected monarchy. No longer could one man rule by the luck of forming in the right womb. And after a long and bloody war, they wanted the image of peace, so, while it is true that males can be elected King, it only happens where there are no females of the right age. And that brings us to youth. The Queen of Naboo would be young. The claim is that they wanted the fresh perspectives that youth and innocence bring to throne. Now, look girls," and she taps the coronation picture of that first Queen, and gestures down the line to the other. "Look at the images, and tell me what you see."

The girls wander for a while. Rey thinks she sees it first, but she also has an edge of knowing what Mirina wanted them to look for. But it's only a minute later when Savarah says it, "The same men are in the backgrounds of the pictures. I mean, not the same because the first picture is a hundred years older than the last one, but…"

"It's the same guys over and over. Old ones die, new ones pop up, and you keep looking, and you see them grow old. The girls change. New Queens ever few years, but the men stay the same," Cassie says. "Just like the bishops."

Mirina nods. "Exactly." She gestures to the finery around them. "Who had the power?"

"The men?" Magiit asks.

"Sometimes. Most of the time. But not always. That said, they thought they had the power, and especially if you become skilled in the use of women's power, that's the best possible place to be. A man who thinks he's in charge, especially if he's not, is easy to manipulate."

"Why not just do it yourself?" Savarah asks. "I mean… Especially someplace like here?"

Mirina nods. "First of all, you won't always be someplace like here, and if you're not, you need to be able to get what you need done. And second of all, if you are someplace like here, the question is, do you want to be held to account for your actions?" She gestures to the images of those men. "They didn't. They watched the wars, and they wanted a figurehead they could pin failure on." She shrugs a bit. "History is not kind to bad rulers, or the people who get too close to them."

Ellie moves closer to one of the images, and sort of nudges Rey toward her. What else do you see?

So, Rey looks, and walks through the queens, and the photos, and looks.

Focus on the last twenty years.

Rey nods. She catches it after the third image. Just like the men who get older over the course of the photos, Neenee is in the background of all of them.

She may not be 'pretty.' She's not 'what they want a queen to look like.' But queens come and the queens go, but Neenee remains.

There's someone else Rey's looking for. Before she settles in on Padme, who she knows is there, but, for the time being she's avoiding, because she doesn't want to march right up and say, "Wow! Is she familiar or something?"

So, for now, she circles. She knows who has to be in these pictures. She doesn't know where, though. Which one is him.

Mirina sidles over, and looks down, and then lays her finger on a bland looking young man. "You'd never glance twice, not just to look at him."

Rey's got to agree with that. That's a face that could walk past her in the hallways of the Supremacy any and every day, and she'd never notice.

"Who are we looking at?" Savarah asks.

Rey points him out. "That's the man who becomes Emperor Palpatine."

The other girls, and Rose, come over, very interested. And all of them have a similar reaction to Rey.

Rose is the one who says it, "He's so… normal looking. I… Where's the… face."

"The face, as you put it, is a long way off, Mistress Tico. This is," Mirina checks the image. "This is from before I was born. He's probably only a year or two out of his Jedi training."

"The Emperor was a Jedi?" Magiit all but whispers it, the idea shocks her so badly.

"Like your Kylo, he tried, and didn't find it suited his temperament."

"Not like Kylo," Rey says, glaring at Mirina.

"Perhaps." Mirina can see a great deal of similarities between Palpatine and Kylo, starting at the failed Jedi training and assumed names, but hopefully not ending in exploding Death Stars. "I was on good terms with his second and third mistresses. Neither of them saw the monster."

"You supported the Empire," Rose shoots at her.

"So did literally trillions of other people. Supporting your legally elected government is not a rare position to hold," Mirina says, voice tight. It hasn't been illegal to support the Empire for a while now, but it makes her danger sense spike to talk about it. And her anger at having to defend it.

"He didn't step down when the senate voted to boot him out," Rose shoots back.

"That was nineteen years into his tenure, and only after—"

Rey holds up her hands. "We're not refighting the Rebellion, not here, not now."

Ellie smiles at that, and at her. "Perhaps in the ship, and on our own, we'll tell our stories, and let the girls understand them, in fullness. And they can contrast and compare on their own, later?"

That's probably the easiest way to do that, and not have it break out into fights.

"Still, though. The lesson is here. You see him, a junior senator from Naboo. This is…" Ellie checks the date, and runs the numbers. "I was six when this first image was taken. He's not all that much older than you girls are. Maybe twenty. Maybe this is where the scheme starts. Maybe this is his first real taste of power." She taps the picture. "It's not where it ends. And I don't know where the itch began. Maybe it was always there. But this is important, no one, no man, no woman, no person seeks out or gains great power because they like the status quo. He saw something, and it turned him toward a different path.

"I don't know enough about the Jedi to know if by then it was already starting to sour. I do know enough about the Republic to know that it wasn't all sunshine and roses, not even then. Something woke his dragon, and he chased it, hunted it down, tamed it, and rode it to glory, and death, and war.

"We all have a dragon, it's just a question of what you'll sacrifice to power yours, and how you'll turn it once you've tamed it," Ellie says, looking at the image of a content, milquetoast-faced man.

She steps to the next picture, and the next, and the next, pointing him out, telling them about how he went from Junior Senator, to Senator, to Leader of the Centrist faction, to Chancellor of the Republic, to The Emperor.

"See him in this one, standing behind Padme Amidala. This is when he began to let the cards land on the table. He'd set enough of his machine into motion, it was time to begin the game. And there she is. Young, hopeful, innocent. She's fourteen in that picture. Youngest queen of Naboo. Chosen because he assumed young and innocent meant easy to manipulate."

"Was she?" Magiit asks.

"More than she probably wanted to be, less than he hoped she'd be," Ellie replies.

"Look girls. We've got images of all the queens here, tell me what you see when you look at their formal portraits," Mirina says.

"They're beautiful," Savarah says it. And she blushes, feeling silly. "I…"

"No, that's a good observation. We talked about attractive before, but these ladies are, for the times and cultures, beautiful. If you look at birth monarchies, or, worse, ones that are keen to 'keep their bloodlines pure' you'll notice that the Kings and Queens are not beautiful. But these are elected monarchs. And they're gorgeous. They're how those men behind the girls wanted the rest of the galaxy to see Naboo. Pretty, sweet, innocent. A girl/woman just coming into the power of her body and beauty." Mirina gestures, and the girls follow as they go to a datapad beside one of the displays. It takes Mirina a moment to key in portraits of the Habsperg family. A moment later a collection of… Well, at first Rey's not entirely sure that they're standard humans. They look… mostly… like humans, but the jaws and foreheads are badly misshapen, eyes sunken deeply, and Rey hates to think it, but some of them just look… stupid. She never had a mental idea of what stupid looked like before, but she does now, and feels bad about it. "The Habspergs ran the Hrilla system for close to five hundred years, until interbreeding and pure bloodlines drove them so insane their people killed every member of the family they could find, and the ones who were carried off to other planets turned out to be sterile. Humans may approve of 'pure bloodlines' genetics do not.

"What else do you see?" Mirina asks. "Think about the clothing and makeup. Fashion tells us a story, one we can learn to read, and if we can read it, we can do a better job of understanding what is going on, and what the people around us want."

The girls look, and look, and Cassie says, tentatively, "They all wear the red dots, but… sometimes they've got heavy makeup on the rest of their faces, and sometimes it's just the dots."

"Good eyes, Cassie," Ellie replies. "Keep looking at the images. It's only the Queen and a few of her courtiers who wear the heavy makeup, and only at some times. What do you think the advantage of the makeup is?"

The girls look, and think, and Rey and Rose do, too, because they don't know, either.

It's Rose who gets it, likely because she knows the history of at least a few of the queens. "They… at least the later ones, wear the heavy makeup when Naboo is at war."

Mirina smiles. "Exactly. When Naboo feels safe, the face of the Queen is bare, save for the Scars of Remembrance. When it's in danger, she cakes the makeup on. Put flat, white makeup on a woman's face, a thick wig, and elaborate headdresses and robes, and anyone can be wearing the outfit. Here's a secret I know about Queen Amidala, it's likely only her in a third of these images. Over the course of her reign, four body doubles were killed. In peaceful times, the need for body doubles lessens, possibly even evaporates, and thus…" Mirina walks into the next room. "Yes, where I remember it. Come girls."

They walk into the room reserved for Padme Amidala. "You'll see this last exhibit, is the image of her funeral procession. You'll also see she was buried bare-faced. With so many rumors of Padme's demise, for for weeks after her death, until the procession, people proclaimed she'd been kidnapped, gone into hiding, was starting a rebellion."

That one amuses Rey. To an extent, in that she'd given birth to Leia and Luke, there's a degree where that was true.

"One of Palpatine's first acts as Emperor was a full, visible, state funeral for Padme Amidala. He's the one who set up this," she gestures to the holo of the parade, and the one next to it is of her mausoleum.

"Is she… pregnant?" Magiit asks as she looks at the holo of Padme moving to her final rest.

"She certainly had been," Mirina says. "That wasn't widely known. Naboo wasn't the kind of place that approved of ladies with babies and no husband, and they really didn't approve of that for their ex-Queens/Senators."

"So, everyone could see it, but they just sort of… Ignored it?" Rose asks.

"More or less," Mirina nods to a few of the dresses Senator Amidala wore. "Granted, assuming she wasn't lying flat on her back, outfits like this will hide a pregnancy well into it. I should know, I built them to do just that."

"You knew she was pregnant?" Savarah asks, eyes wide.

"Of course, dear. That's why I knew her at all. Your General Threepio showed up one day, though back then he was just one of Senator Amidala's personal servants, in need of a discreet favor for his lady. I was in a good position to take care of that favor. She couldn't be seen to be pregnant, that wouldn't do at all. So," And Mirina gestures to several dresses built in such a way that you could likely stick someone Kylo-shaped in them, and as long as you applied enough makeup to him, he'd pass for female, let alone hide something as tiny as the first two trimesters of a pregnancy.

"Who was…" Savarah stops, not sure if she can ask, Rey mentally nods at her. "Who was the father of her child?"

Mirina smiles at that. "Now, that's a lot of rumors and gossip and no hard facts."

"Did you know?" Magiit asks.

"I had my suspicions. She never directly said, and I knew not to ask, but if you pay attention, and you are part of a lady's intimate helpers…" Mirina lets that trail off.

Ellie adds, "The gossip on Coruscant was that the child was Palpatine's. At least that was one of the rumors, set on fire when he held the funeral for her. Officially, it was a courtesy of one powerful Naboon to another, but he didn't hold state funerals at his own expense for any other senators or ex-queens of Naboo. She was also often seen in the company of Obi Wan Kenobi, one of the Jedi, and he went missing, assumed dead until nineteen years later, when she died."

Mirina smiles at that one. "I'd heard that one. That when Order 66 went through, he'd gone to his death to protect her as the Jedi fell. And that Palpatine, who had not intended her to die, felt guilty about it, and honored her after her death."

Are any of those stories true? Savarah thinks.

Only that Padme Amidala was pregnant when she died, Rey thinks back.

And they leave that, there.

Padme has her own room. Part of that is she was the youngest queen of Naboo. Part of it is the romance of Padme Amidala, who died young, somehow got the attention of the Emperor so much that she got her own special mausoleum, part of it is that unlike many of the other Queens, when she left the throne she didn't just wander off to be a figurehead and do good deeds. She stayed in the political arena and kept using her power to fight.

Part of it is just… She's a good story.

It works out well for Rey. After they look at the pictures from the funeral, she spends several moments looking at the different pictures, and then walks to the statue of Padme in the center of the room, really looking at it, and finally says, "Do I know her?"

Mirina flashes a discrete smile. "Perhaps. She was famous, on a wider scale than most of the Queens of Naboo."

Rey keeps gazing at her. She's shorter than Rey, and, in this sculpture, not covered in white makeup. It's her as a woman, not so much the queen. She does.

There's a long quiet moment, and then a sort of confused, Rey? from Kylo's mind.

Look through my eyes.

She feels Kylo in the back of her mind. It takes him a moment to figure out who she's looking at, and then another moment to figure out what 'she does' means. But when he does, he thinks, Oh. She does. Or, I guess I do.

A quiet moment while they both look. The picture of her in the book wasn't very good, Kylo thinks to Rey.

Rey absently nods. Padme does have Kylo's eyes, or the other way around, probably, and that's a lot easier to see on this statue. Lips are similar, too. Hers are thinner and finer, but she's smaller than you are, and female, so… Or maybe they aren't similar so much as that Rey's seen Kylo hold his mouth in the same position that Padme's statue is.

She can feel him looking at his grandmother, studying the statue of the woman in front of her through her eyes.

Maybe she's where you get your wavy hair from, too? There are pictures of Padme with her hair back and severe, so Rey's not sure if those waves are natural, like Kylo's, or the byproduct of hours of work with a styling droid. Maybe, privately, she'll ask Mirina about that.

Is it really weird if I think she's beautiful?

Rey smiles a little. I don't think it's weird. She is beautiful.

She feels him nod. It'd probably be different if I grew up cuddling against her as a child and calling her Gran or something, but… I can see why he took one look and became completely obsessed.

Kylo? She's not actually alarmed by that statement, but she is looking to poke him a little with it. She feels a sheepishness roll over him.

Not saying I want to overthrow a political regime for her. Just… I think I can see what he must have seen.

You telling me you've got a thing for fine-boned brunettes with Imperial accents.

She feels him laugh at that.

I'm not touching that comment, at all.

Really, and what are you touching?

She feels him looking around wherever he is. There's… something in his hands, and she's not sure what it is, or why he's holding it. Long story. I'll explain tonight or tomorrow.

Okay.

There is, deeper down, an ulterior motive for this trip.

It's not sinister, but it is necessary, and Mirina and Ellie were hoping they could keep their thoughts and goals deeply buried enough that Rey wouldn't twig to them.

And from the looks of things, they've succeeded. As Rey wanders about, with Ellie talking or thinking political philosophy and reality to her, Mirinia is watching.

The Order, if it's ever to become The Order needs style. And Rey, whether she wants to be or not, is the Order's figurehead when it comes to style. So here they are, wandering about amid literally hundreds of examples of how women in power, women picked not just to lead, but to look good doing it went about the look good doing it part of the job.

It's clear that Rey's not actively thinking about how the ladies look. At least, not much beyond the point where they are drawing her attention to it, but she is reacting. Mirina sees the long looks, the way she'll brush some of the fabrics with the tips of her fingers, but not others, or the way she just… lingers at some of the ladies.

In Padme's room, she's not sure how much of Rey looking is about setting this up, and how much of it is genuine interest, and how much is just plain old curiosity. But she does know this, Rey goes back to the images of Padme in her casual surroundings over and over. To the places where she felt safe. Where she wore little makeup, and her clothing was soft and flowing, not structured to hide shield generators and recording devices and anti-poison stim darts if needs be.

She's standing before an image of Padme at a fundraiser for… something. Mirina doesn't bother to read the fine print. It's from before she knew the woman, and the dress is not one of hers, though she's fairly certain that it's a copy of a style she'd put out a few years earlier. Some of the details are wrong, but this dress has been modified to be worn in a place with gardens, and the version she made was for halls of stone and metal, not grass and dirt.

"Would you like something like that?" Mirina asks, quietly.

Rey doesn't blush. She's looking at the soft, flowing drape of pastels, the structured neck piece set to show off how long and elegant Padme's body was, the bare arms and wrists snugged amid falls of splendid silk.

"I…" It's clear she can't imagine herself in something like that. Mirina can. Different color palette, and slightly different cuts, but she'd look splendid in outfits like this, especially amid the reflecting pools and stars of the Order's main courtyard.

Mirina nods. "She's a senator in this image. A woman who was a queen in her own right. Much less the puppet that she'd been designed to be." The image is from a gracious house, made of stone, nestled among greenery, overlooking a lake. "She understands and owns her power here. And she understands her beauty as well. People will listen to a beautiful woman, in a way they don't or won't otherwise. Even if it's only politeness. The first time a message hits a pair of ears, it'll usually fizzle, but again and again." She looks at Padme among the donors. "I understand it's much like a bombardment. The first hits just bounce off the shields, but they do weaken them. The next volley and the one after that, more damage. And eventually the missiles get through."

Rey doesn't roll her eyes. She's understanding, though there is a bit of desire to do so. "And… looking like this is the equivalent of shield piercers?"

"Or a much larger weapon. Either metaphor will work." She nods and the younger girls come closer. "Look at the men in the background and the sides of this image. Senator Amidala is, as best they know, unmarried. What do they want?"

The girls blush a little, but Cassie's the one who screws up the courage to say it, "Sex. They want to have sex with her."

Mirina smiles at that. "True."

"They'll hate her for it, though," Cassie adds. "The Bishops always did. They wanted, and they hated wanting, so they hated the women who 'made them want.'"

That drains the smile off of Mirina's face. She spends a moment just looking at Cassie, and then nods. "Yes, some of them. Who do you think…"

Cassie points out two of the men in the background. "It's harder to tell with pictures, but I've seen those sorts of looks. That's a man who'll claim a woman is a witch and burn her, because he wanted."

Mirina nods slowly, as Ellie and Rose, who had been talking about the images of Padme rescuing two Jedi (at least that's how the story is told on Naboo, and the pictures are awfully impressive) head over to join this discussion.

Cassie looks up at Mirina. Her eyes are intense, burning with the sort of pure un-moderated hatred of a thirteen-year-old who feels morally right in her hate. "What do you do with them?"

Mirina doesn't blink, at all, as she says, "Phenylhydrilhexiquine, three to five mls depending on the mass of the man, or just do five just to be safe, administered in a drink. It's tasteless and odorless, so unless the beverage is scanned ahead of time, there's no way to know it's in there. Generally, a man like that will have servants, and generally, they won't be too fussed to turn a blind eye to something like that. If you know the one who does the scans and can prevail upon him or her, all the better. On most worlds it's completely untraceable, not the least because it metabolizes completely before death, and it takes about four days to kick in. Once it does, his heart will just… stop. It'll look like he had a heart attack."

Ellie also keeps her voice quiet as she says, "Poison is usually considered a 'woman's weapon,' as well it should be. All of you should know how to use, and if needs be, compound something that will drop a man in one dose. As my mum once said to me, 'A man gets one free hit, and a warning. You look him in the eye and tell him not to do it again. If he does it again, you drop him.'"

"But… if you get caught…" Magiit says.

Ellie's eyes are sharp. "Better to be caught destroying the enemy than live with his continued existence. If he's a problem for you, he'll be a problem for others, too. If anyone had had the good sense, and the access, to offer the Grand Moff a proper cup before he took out Alderaan, the entirety of the galaxy would look very different right now."

"The Grand Moff?" Rose asks. This is not the version of the story she understands.

Ellie nods, also understanding that this is probably not the version of the story Rose knows. "Obviously, he had orders and permission to interrogate Leia Organa to get information from her. But those orders did not explicitly involve using the Death Star on a civilian target. But there she was, beautiful, pure, angry, spitting insults and fearless. She was utterly uncowed by him, and he could not let that abide. And he was a man who wanted, and hated wanting, and he despised the power she had over him by virtue of her sex, so he burned everything that mattered to her. And she was not the first, but she would be the last.

"And if someone had gotten close enough to him to dose him properly…

"The Emperor was many things, and by that point, insane was likely on the list, too, but it's unlikely he would have, on his own, given the order to use the Death Star on a civilian target, not when there were so many military targets he could have aimed it at and used that to the same purpose.

"News of Jeddah was already getting out," Ellie says. "The survivors of the battle of Scarif Bay were also starting to let word be known. Another strike on a proper target would have had the same effect, without rallying everyone who'd sat there, peacefully talking about how the Empire had to be strong to deal with it's enemies. How a standing army and huge weapons made people think twice about attacking and kept them all safe.

"Once they'd burned Alderaan, the idea that anyone could be a target set in. And once that idea is in place, people stop talking about how a regime needs to be strong and start worry about where that strength will be used."

"So why didn't you?" Rose asks Ellie pointedly. "You claim you knew the problem was there. You were there, too. You had access. You claim to know this is how the game works. Where were you?"

Ellie looks like a harmless little old grandma. On one level. But her eyes are sharp, and the line of her lips makes it clear this is a woman who's put men to rest before, and may do it again should the desire take her. "At that point I was on Coruscant, and I can give you a list of names, but you won't know them, because they all had convenient heart attacks before they became big problems. Pat and I never shied away from taking people who didn't belong in the game out, especially if we had the connections for it, but it's a big galaxy out there, and we could not be everywhere." Ellie looks to the girls who all have very wide eyes. "Just because you're not wearing a uniform or holding a blaster doesn't mean you aren't a soldier. And it certainly doesn't mean you get a pass to shirk your duty." She nods to Rey's Order of the Maji pendent. "Sometimes, the balance is going to need help. There's as much a time to kill as there is a time to heal. And sometimes help comes in the form of a correctly prepared cocktail. Sometimes it comes with a smile, and fluttered eyelashes, and wearing a shorter skirt than strictly necessary. Sometimes it comes from telling a man exactly what he wants to hear, that his plan is brilliant, and you love it, and he's going to be so wonderfully successful because of it. The wrong idea can be just as powerful as the right one, assuming you drop the wrong one on the right man at the right time."

She nods to the picture again.

"Look at her, young and beautiful, telling the right people the right things, and the right people the wrong things. She's working that crowd for supposedly the purposes of the senate, because at this time she's one of Naboo's senators, but really its for her own ideal of the greater good." She touches the back of a man's head. "But he's there, too, working for his understanding of the greater good, too."

"Is that the Emperor?" Savarah asks.

Ellie nods. "The woman he's talking to, that's Selina Beau, one of my dear friends, and his mistress. That's why I can recognize him by the back of his head. Right now, both of them," She realizes that's vague. "Palpatine and Amidala are working together at this meeting. It's a 'good venue' with the right people. The official reason is to raise money for something like this," she gestures to the museum, "and they will raise that money. But the real reason is to get people together, to talk and learn and listen. I don't remember this specifically, but my guess is, if both of them were there, there was legislation going up that Naboo generally wasn't going to like, but the wider galaxy would, so they were going to make sure that the people who mattered would back them against the rising storm."

"The Emperor had a mistress?" Magiit's voice is soft as she asks, and Rose is also staring, the same wonder in her eyes.

"Of course. He was a man, and a rather cold and calculating one of that. He wanted the intelligence she could provide, and he also knew himself well enough to know that he'd be much less distractable by a pretty face and a soft body if he had regular access to sex with someone he liked. Over the course of his political life he had three mistresses, and he often indicated that there was a potential for the creation of political marriages, as well. He never did marry, but he used the potential for it to his advantage. Especially, once he became Emperor."

The girls are utterly horrified at that. They all have an image of the Emperor, and he's not husband material.

Mirina smirks a little. "Many men will overlook the fact that another man is uglier than sin, older than dirt, and repulsive of manners if dangling a daughter or sister in front of him might make a politically advantageous match."

"And even more of them will then hand said sister or daughter the poison if her widowhood makes for an even better situation," Ellie adds. "Which, is, of course, why he didn't actually marry, or produce any children. That would just encourage people to rally behind the child or wife."

"And by making sure there were no options beyond him, he was able to maintain the mindset of, 'Well, maybe Palpatine isn't everything we could possibly want, after all, no leader is perfect, but he's better than anarchy." Mirina knows that one first hand. She'd had that conversation many times as the Emperor continued to do more and more questionable things.

"Until he blew up Alderaan," Rose says, seeing how the older women understand this.

They nod. "Vague threats to people other than you are easy to ignore. If the battle might touch you and yours, it focuses your mind and priorities," Mirina says.

Ellie adds, "Most people out there want today to be more or less like yesterday, and the promise that tomorrow will continue that trend. The idea of better is always nice, but very few of them are willing to trade stability for the possibility of better if there's a chance of worse." She smiles a little. "I think this may be one of the great strengths, and possible weaknesses of The Order, everyone we get is someone who was willing to toss aside the status quo to seek a better life."

"Weakness?" Savarah asks, but it's clear Rose is thinking it, too. Rey blinks. That'swhy Savarah asked.

Ellie nods. "From," and she gestures to Rey, "the point of view of the Powers That Be. It's much harder to maintain control if your people aren't easily lulled into stasis. Again, think of it in terms of Rey's balance—"

"It's not really mine."

Ellie waves that aside. "If you have too many people willing to sit on their bums and let the galaxy spin around them, nothing happens. If you have too many ready to hop up and change things at the first sign of trouble, you don't successfully build things. You need a balanced collection of people who can do both for a society to flourish."

That makes sense to the rest of the group.

Neenee appears at the entrance to the Amidala room. "Ladies, tea is ready. Care to join me?"

And the girls are eager. No one's had lunch and tea sounds wonderful.

As they head to the door, Ellie pulls Rey back, and nods to an image. "That one. Rose and I were looking at it earlier."

Rey heads over to it. It's actually a collection of pictures. They surround a story about the time Padme Amidala rescued Obi Wan Kenobi and "Oh," she keeps it under her breath, but it does come out in a verbalization, 'Anakin Skywalker.'

Kylo

? No words, but he's curious. About to meet up with Jacen.

It can wait. Look through my eyes.

So he does, and… Oh. Is that… It's… Oh…

It's a shot of Padme and Anakin, riding something… big.

Well, if you ever wondered what I meant when I said there wasn't a man there…

He's so young! They both are, but… Gods… Is he as old as Jacen in that shot?

No idea.

Rey keeps looking. She's got the blaster.

Yeah, just like Mom.

"Are you coming, Rey?" Savarah calls back. "They've got a tray of pastries as tall as you are!"

"Yeah, just…" I've got to go.

She can feel his nod. I want to come back here some day.

Soon, Prince Ben, soon.