Important Notice: I will not adding new chapters until late January. I'm taking a break from the computer, but hopefully I'll be able to start right back up again soon. Thanks for all the support from my reviewers! :)
...
The two weeks passed rather slowly for Anakin. He spent half the time gambling against "unbeatable" crime lords and the rest of the time reading up on Naboo's latest political news. If he was going to be working for Padme, he needed to know of any threats she was up against.
Anakin and Panaca had met several times over the two week period to discuss protocol and requirements for working in the Queen's service. Panaca obviously distrusted him, (though for good reason), and he went into great detail explaining exactly how "Laurence" was expected to act, work, and behave on Naboo. Sadly these rules meant that one needed strict permission from a higher athority if their pasttimes included gambling, brawling, and leaving the premices for a random podrace or swoop diving competition.
Anakin smiled and shook his head as he remembered the emphasis Panaca placed on each individual rule and law he expected the boy to follow. It was as though he expected Anakin to try and decimate the palace the minute he landed on Naboo.
At the heart of the matter though was the captain's concern for the life of his Queen. Despite the fact that Padme might be leaving her throne to another successor in a year, Panaca and the people of Naboo would give anything, even their own lives, to ensure her safety.
Anakin leaned back and adjusted a few knobs on the control panal, earning a glare from the ship's navigator. Panaca had decided he should start his job early by learning the makings of one of the Naboo cruisers, in this case the Queen's.
The navigator/captain of the ship was most displeased with this turn of events, especially when "Laurence" displayed more knowledge about the vessel than he had realized there to exist. The kid didn't even have to say anything. He just started adjusting controls, pointing to objects, and somehow nonverbally explaining every nook and cranny of the engineering room and cockpit.
The navigator sent another dark look in Laurence's direction as the kid leaned back in his chair, obviously at perfect ease with being placed in such a critical position as driving Queen Amidala's own star cruiser. Didn't the boy realize how serious the situation was? The lives of everyone on the ship depended on how well one could steer the vessel in an intense situation, and the kid was just relaxing with that infuriatingly calm look on his face.
"Just one flight," the navigator muttered to himself. "Put up with it for one flight, and then he's gone." He hoped he was correct in that assumption.
Anakin grinned at the navigator's obvious discomfort. Apparently he didn't know of Anakin's skill with a podracer. Anakin had always claimed he could fly any vessel in the galaxy, and for him Naboo cruisers were a piece of cake.
"We're approaching Naboo's atmosphere," the navigator announced. Anakin could practically taste the relief emmulating from the agitated man.
Grinning widely, he set in a sequence for landing controls before the navigator could even start his own computations.
"Why you little - " the navigator started to vent his anger, then thought better of it. No one got into the Queen's own service by shouting at young upstarts, and he had learned from past mistakes how to control his temper.
Needless to say he was overjoyed when the ship landed safely and Laurence dashed away.
"So help me I'm going to officially retire before I let that kid on my ship again," he muttered as he slammed his gloves onto the computer panel and stomped off.
Anakin took a deep breath of the fresh air and gasped softly in pleasant surprise at what he saw. While on Coruscant it was a rare occasion to find a wooded park, Naboo was covered in forests, grassy meadows, and flocks of various birds and animals. The waterfront sparkled in the distance, reminding Anakin of the joy he had felt as a young boy the when he saw such a large body of water for the first time. Despite having traveled to various planets over the course of his Padawan life, Naboo would always hold a special place in his memories.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Padme asked as she came up beside him. "I always love to return here. It's so... peaceful."
Anakin nodded, almost speaking but stopping himself in time.
As Queen however, Padme couldn't afford to spend all day admiring the scenery. Suddenly all business, she gave out orders to her handmaidens and guards as she walked brisquely to the palace.
"Sabe, Rabe, see to it that my things are unpacked. Gui-lano, inform the advisors that I wish to speak with them. Kapana, I need Nabano's family informed of his death."
She turned to Anakin. "Laurence, go with Captain Panaca. He will introduce you to Jilzan Tai-bika, who is in charge of the ship building and repairs." She turned away again, Laurence temporarily forgotten as she continued to issue orders. "Noi-baki, see to it that..."
Captain Panaca waved a hand for Anakin to follow him as he headed down several flights of stairs towards an enormous building. Anakin's eyes widened as they entered.
Ships, cruisers, and speeders of every size, color, and model stood in neat lines across the room. There must have been hundreds of space vessels, ranging from newly crafted ships to semi-used ones to sorry wrecks worthy of only scrap metal.
"Is Jilzan here?" Panaca asked one of the workers.
The man indicated towards the far right side of the warehouse. "He's inspecting a new battleship that just came in," he explained. "You should find him over in that direction."
Panaca nodded shortly and led the way towards a tall Twi'lek with green pigmentation.
"No, no, no, the short fuses go to the interplastic connection, and the explosive controls connect with the closbetory panel!" the Twi'lek shouted to a worker as he grabbed his lekku in horror. "No, you just - argh - just - oh, get out of my way!" A none-too-gentle shove sent the worker sprawling as the Twi'lek grabbed the wires and set them in their proper places.
"Now you see?" he berated the poor hapless assistant. "It's all rather easy if you simply look at the controls in the first place! How do you expect to - "
"Excuse me, Jilzan," Panaca interrupted politely as he waited in vain for the Twi'lek to acknowledge them.
"Hm? Oh, Captain! Good to see you here," Jilzan said enthusiastically as he shot a glare at the employee he had been lecturing. "I trust the ships are all to your satisfaction?"
Panaca smiled. "Actually, I haven't come here for an inspection." He waved for Anakin to come forward. "The kid says he's good at building ships, and Queen Amidala has requested you to find him a job here."
Jilzan's eyes narrowed and his leku twitched in irritation. "I suppose we could find him something...adequate," he said thinly, not appreciating the possibility of an inexperienced brat touching his cruisers.
Panaca nodded. "Good," he said. "I'll return later to check on his progress." He left immediately, having other pressing duties to attend to.
Jilzan let out a hiss of anger, seething at the Queen's uncourteous and ill-planned decision of putting a new employee in his shipyard. Jilzan hated anyone touching his ships, and the only reason he had help in the first place was because he couldn't deal with a 1,000 vessels-a-month quota on his own.
The kid smiled pleasantly at him, but Jilzan was not amused. "What's you name, boy? And be quick about it! I've got a lot to do and I don't have time to stand around for lengthy epxlanations."
The kid went into a flurry of hand motions. Jilza growled and threw his hands in the air. Of all the street urchins the kind-hearted Queen would put in his warehouse, she had to pick a mute one!
"Here!" he said, snatching a datapad from one of his employees and thrusting it at the boy.
Anakin quickly scribbled his name and handed it back to the touchy Twi'lek. Jilzan examined it with a scowl and handed it back to the employee it belonged to.
"Get him a new one," he ordered as he glared at Laurence, who was still smiling politely.
Jilzan hated happy people. He never considered himself to be having a good day unless it was pouring down rain and the streets were filled with miserable people and crummy traffic. Cheerful employees were the worst of his nightmares, especially the younger ones who always seemed to be on a coffee binge.
Grabbing the hastily brought datapad, Jilzan shoved it into Laurence's hands and stalked down the lines of cruisers.
"Oh, by the way, you're fired," he told the worker he had been lecturing before Panaca's untimely interruption. Jilzan loved to fire people. As the master ship builder he managed to get away with it, provided he rehired everyone by the end of the month before complaints rolled in. He loved to watch his workers' terror stricken faces as he neared their workstation, his eyes searching for the smallest mistake or paint scratch. Employees snapped to attention whenever he passed by, and Naboo's hospital staff had often noticed that most of the patients with anxiety related sicknesses came from Jilzan's employment line.
"Ah-hah!" Jilzan shouted enthusiastically as he spied a hunk of blackened metal in the scrap heap. Once it had been a handsome cruiser, but those days were long since over.
"Repair that," Jilzan told Laurence snidely, "And I might hire you after all."
Of course the boy would find it absolutely impossible, and if everything went right Laurence would leave of his own accord, and Jilzan would have nothing to blame for it. Oh, yes, Jilzan thought as he rubbed his hands together gleefully. This would be all too easy.
Anakin stared at the large heap of twisted scrap metal as the Twi'lek practically danced away. It didn't need to be more obvious that Jilzan was trying to get rid of him. Anakin had repaired ships before but this...
Anakin sighed and began a review of the destruction. He might as well be building a new ship for all that was left. The controls were melted, the hyperdrive distentigrated, and the hull blackened and crisped. The wheels started turning in Anakin's brain as he looked around though. There were plenty of old parts that could be welded together, and some of the supposedly ruined engine pieces could be easily repaired.
Anakin grinned as the pieces began to fall into place in his mind. So Jilzan wanted him to repair this thing, huh? Well he'd give the shipmaster the surprise of his life.
..
Many of the employees had watched sympathetically as Jilzan assigned the newest worker to the destructed cruiser, knowing full well the boy wouldn't make it to the end of the day's shift. Now they looked on in wonder as Laurence began working.
The enterior of the ship's hull was torn out, some pieces saved for further use and the rest discarded in the junk pile. Wires were reconnected, metal slabs welded together and connected to the ship, and computer systems put together from who knew what miscellaneous controls.
Six hours later Laurence was still working, not even having taken a break for lunch. More and more workers looked on as the kid cut out new glass for the windshields and rebuilt parts of the outer hull of the ship. By the time the day was out the hunk of scrap metal had transformed into the basic skeleton of an everyday star cruiser.
The employees were reluctant to leave, and Anakin was just as loathed to abandon the ship. He was exhausted however, and he admitted any further work would have to wait until morning. At least Jilzan hadn't given him the pink slip in a manner of speaking.
Afterwards Panaca had shown Anakin his new quarters, which were complete with furniture and a new wardrobe that contained both work, formal, and everyday clothing (mainly in black Anakin was pleased to notice).
Late that night Anakin sat by the window and stared out into the silent moonlit world. The trees were cloaked in shadow, the beautiful flowers hiding from the darkness. Yet even then something in the planet called out to him, as though this were truly his "home" now.
Anakin realized though that with his new place in the Queen's court, he had finally left the identity of "Anakin" behind forever. He truly was Laurence now, an uncannily talented kid who never spoke a word and yet devoted his whole life to the Queen's service. What would he be like years from now if this continued? Anakin wondered if Obi-Wan would even recognize him. He was bound to meet up with his master eventually if Padme required Jedi assistance. And Padme... would she ever recognize him as the young slave she met on Tatooine? Would she ever look past the boy and see the man Anakin was becoming?
These thoughts running through his mind, Anakin leaned his head back and drifted off, his dreams filled with memories of the temple and a sixteen year old boy with blond hair and a lightsaber.
...
"I'm seriously going to fire that kid before the day is done," Jilzan muttered to Talko, one of the captains, as he watched Laurence begin spraying a coat of white paint onto the cruiser he had started repairing three weeks before.
"You've been saying that every day since he got here," Talko replied with a smirk.
Laurence had indeed far exceeded the expectations of the Panaca and the palace staff. In twenty days of almost non-stop labor he had transformed the twisted remains of a cruiser into a sleek vessel, complete with a working engine, shields, and weapons. The only things that remained were the paint job and the inside of the completed vessel.
Much as Jilzan held a grudge against Laurence, he was smart enough not to neglect his duty as manager and readily supplied the neccessary equipment required for the ships enterior. Comfortable seats for the cockpit and passengers were installed, storage compartments were added, the walls were painted, and finally at the end of the twenty-fourth day Laurence proudly stepped back and allowed Jilzan to inspect the finished star cruiser.
Panaca had stopped by, as requested by the Queen, to check on Stalin's progress. He was astounded at the boy's talent. To create a starship from scrap is no small feat, and Panaca's admiration grew as Laurence pointed out each new gadget or hidden compartment. Stalin seemed to have a good idea of how dangerous it was in times of war for even Naboo's less prominent citizens. He had added at least ten hidden weapon stores in different locations, a hideaway underneath the floorboards, and even a small cloaking device.
Jilzan stammered and tugged on his lekka as he looked around. Then he shrugged helplessly and walked out of the ship. Obviously he wasn't about to get rid of the boy now, but as he watched Panaca's amazement he suddenly realized he could ask for no greater assistant than that cocky, self-assured mute that Queen Amidala had forced him to hire.
Cackling and rubbing his hands together, Jilzan pictured fleets of warships, cruisers, and speeders on the assembly lines. Buyers would spend all night bartering with him over one of the boy's splendid ships, and he would (humbly of course), accept their overwhelming praise and heighten the price of the ship to ten times its market worth.
Oh, yes, Jilzan had done it this time. Under his kind hearted tutilage he had created a master builder out of a seventeen year old street rat. His name would be whispered of in awe by every leader and general, and of course, in time he might even give a small pittance to the boy who started his fame.
Whistling an off-key tune and skipping towards his office, Jilzan's mide conjured up millions of credit chips and meetings with the kings and queens of planets all across the galaxy.
His workers scratched their heads and trembled slightly at Jilzan's strangely cheery mood. Either someone had dropped an bomb on his neighbor's apartment or he was gleefully inventing new ways to get them all fired. Either way, every employee figured they'd be out of a job before the day was over.
...
"That boy is a genius," Panaca reported to Padme some weeks later. "I've never seen anyone so capable with machinery. He's taken apart the blueprints of nearly every single model Jilzan has and created them into amazing vessels. Jilzan says he can't keep enough ships in stock, they're selling so fast."
"Are they really that excellent?" Padme asked in surprise. Laurence had said he was good at building ships. But if he was this talented, why had he needed Naboo to find him a job? It didn't make sense.
Panaca nodded. "According to Jilzan's report his ships are faster, more durable, and better capable of escaping an attack than anything we've been able to produce. He's put Laurence in charge of the entire design department, though he says it's his," here he cleared his throat in sarcasm, "'fatherly guidance' that has helped Laurence get this far in the first place."
Padme giggled softly, knowing the grumpy ship builder's haughty and demeaning attitude all too well. "Tell him we are amazed at his newfound ability to create a master builder in a few short months," she told Panaca. "Perhaps if he can use his 'fatherly guidance' with all his crew, he will find he has less incompetence to add to his ever growing complaint list."
Panaca smiled slightly at the thought of Jilzan's face as he opened and shut his mouth in an attempt to salvage his good repute.
"Also," Padme added, "Make sure that Jilzan knows Laurence is allowed free reign of the workhouse. I'm interested to know what else he is capable of."
Panaca gave a short nod and bowed at the waist before leaving.
...
Jilzan of course nearly tore his lekku out after he heard Panaca's message, but he knew that nothing could really be done. He would just have to be nicer to his employees.
Right. This should be easy.
Jilzan made a face and walked about the ship hangar, wishing a 'good morning' to all his now very worried employees. He sauntered over to where one of the worker's was repairing an oil valve. "You are doing a... sp-sple - erm, a most... adequate job," he said, his lips firmly disobeying any orders to formulate a compliment.
"Um, is that a good thing?" the hapless employee asked just before he accidently squeezed the valve to hard and squirted black goo all over Jilzan's face.
The Twi'lek squeezed his eyes tight shut and slowly wiped the muck off his green features.
"No!" Jilzan answered, his plans of being nice being thrown directly out the window. "In fact, that's the worst job I've ever seen in my life! You're fired! And don't expect to come back unless out of my great mercy I decide to rehire you sometime in the next hundred years! Now pick up your filthy rag and go home!"
Muttering under his breath about the incompetence of his pathetic crew, Jilzan stomped back to his office and slammed the door behind him.
Back in the workroom, his employees shared a sigh of relief. If Jilzan was attempting to be chivalrous, the whole world was doomed. As long as he was shouting at them though, everyone figured their future was in pretty good hands.
...
Grinning as he heard Jilzan's shouts at the fifth employee he had fired that day, Anakin adjusted his goggles and continued welding the last piece to the outer hull of the ship. He had been working on it for five months now, ever since Jilzan had grudgingly told him that Padme had granted him the permission to build whatever he wanted in the warehouse. This ship would be Anakin's masterpiece, and hopefully, his own personal star cruiser.
The design Anakin created resembled Naboo cruiser, following the style of Padme's ship when he first met her on Tatooine. The hull was designed to change shape to a point, allowing it to lenghten or diminish in size depending on the number of passengers, as well as set the seats back and flatten out slightly for evasive maneuvers through tight spaces.
A retractable dejarik table was installed for war against boredom during long trips, as well as a small refrigerator and a holo television. Over two hundred hidden weapon compartments were scattered across the small ship, and ten retractable gun turrents would provide extra outter defense. Besides the turrents, Anakin had installed high power torpedo guns at the front, as well as a powerful shield. Thousands of buttons and switches activated various parts of the ship, from compartments to lighting to extra miscellaneous controls.
Stirring a large vat of black paint, Anakin mulled over the complications of color choice. He wondered if he should add light blue or bright green designs. He could do red, but he dismissed idea. Anakin didn't really care for red as much. Of course yellow might work. If Obi-Wan were here he would be telling Anakin he was trying to attract attention to himself in battle, and perhaps he was correct. Either way, Anakin liked the color.
He was still trying to make a decision when Panaca walked over.
"Queen Amidala wishes to speak with you," the captain informed him. His tone indicated that nothing was wrong, but Anakin was not expected to delay.
Anakin nodded and followed Panaca to the palace.
He immediately felt self-conscious as he entered. The pristine decor and intriquite tapestries of the palace made his oil stained work clothes give him the appearence of... well, a mechanic. An extremely dirty one for that matter. Padme hadn't given him any time to change though, so Anakin figured any dirt he smeared onto the carpet would not be his fault. He was still uncomfortable however.
As they entered the almost empty throne room Anakin caught sight of Padme standing next to the window. She was wearing the red and black robe that signified her position as queen, but her face was unpainted and her hair down aside from two strands that had been drawn from the front and tied behind her head. She looked preoccupied, and Anakin sensed she had something very important on her mind.
"My lady," Panaca said respectfully as he bowed and left the room.
Anakin gave a stiff bow of his own as Padme turned to him. "Laurence," she said with a slight smile. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
Anakin smiled softly. He had learned over the past nine months to express much of what he needed to say with looks and gestures, rather than using sign language all the time.
"I hear you're doing very well in the ship hangars," Padme said, using light conversation to bring around the main issue.
Anakin shrugged, as though to deny any skill in that area.
Padme smiled and shook her head. "You don't need to be so modest, Laurence. I've been on several of your ships, and so I know for myself what amazing vessels they can be."
Anakin grinned at her praise. Then his face turned serious. Go on, his eyes seemed to say.
Padme sighed as she took a seat next to the window. "The elections for the next queen will be in three months, Laurence. You won't have to worry about losing your job, I'll see to that, but..." She didn't add the last part - she would miss him.
He sat down, his eyes filled with concern at her unhappiness. Padme smiled. Laurence always seemed to be able to discern her deepest feelings. Suddenly an idea hit her. Perhaps...
"Laurence," she said, hope filling her voice. "Are you as good a pilot as you are an engineer?"
For once he didn't act modest as he grinned enthusiastically. Padme's eyes sparkled.
"Laurence," she said again, her thoughts racing. "If I offered you a job as a pilot would you do it?"
He stopped to consider, shrugging his shoulders. "What kind of job?" his fingers spelled out.
"I want you to drive my ship," Padme said in a rush. She flushed at her boldness, then stood up abruptly as the Queen of Naboo took over.
"Laurence, if you can drive a ship as well as you can build it, then I would be honored for you to be one of my pilots," she said with all the formality she could muster.
Laurence stood and regarded her for a moment, then gave a short nod. Padme sighed in relief. She would have him by her side for a little longer at least.
"Will I still be allowed to work in the ship warehouse?" Laurence spelled out, looking more like a worried child at the thought.
Padme laughed. "Of course," she agreed. "Whenever you're off duty you have my full permission to go there."
Laurence grinned in obvious relief. "When do I start?"
"As soon as - " Padme's voice was cut off in astonishment as Laurence's eyes widened and he grabbed her around the waist. She gasped as he swung her around faster than she could think, practically throwing her behind himself as he drew a blaster and fired three shots in quick succession towards the ceiling.
There was a shout of rage as an armored Mon Calamarian leapt down towards them, a vibroblade swinging in his grasp. Padme reached behind her and hit an emergency signal, then dashed behind a pillar and aimed her blaster at the assasin. Laurence managed to get a kick past the Mon Calamarian's defense, but without his durusteel pole he was more engaged in ducking and rolling to avoid the vibroblade swinging at his head. Seeing her opportunity, Padme was able to shoot the assasin in the opening in his arm guard, giving Laurence the opportunity to lash a boot out and kick the Mon Calamarian in the head. The creature's now caved in helmet took most of the damage, and Laurence was now in control as he grabbed the assasin's arm, stood upside down momentarily on his hands, and did a mid air split. One foot effectively kicked the vibroblade from the Mon Calamarian's hand, and the other aimed a last blow at the assasin's head, knocking him out if not outright killing him. The whole fight had taken place in less than three minutes.
Padme ran out immediately, her blaster trained on the figure on the floor. Laurence scowled at her for leaving the shelter of the pillar, but she ignored him.
"Are you all right?" she asked as security burst in.
"Milady!" an officer cried as he caught sight of the fallen Mon Calamarian. "Have you been harmed at all?"
"I'm fine," Padme reassured them as they commenced to search the throne room for other assasins.
Laurence walked over to the floor next to the window and carefully scooped up a small dart buried in the floor. He raised an eyebrow at Padme and showed it to her.
Padme paled as she realized how close it had come to killing her. "You moved me in time?" she asked, reffering to his unexpected reaction when the assasin first appeared.
He nodded slightly, his eyes serious.
"Captain Tel-caz," Padme called to the security guard, hoping no tremor showed in her voice from her body's reaction to the situation.
"Yes, my lady?" The guard turned to her, his gaze dark with fury at the attempt on the young queen's life.
"Laurence saved my life," Padme stated, her brown eyes flashing. She remembered the words of the Coruscant police.
"He'd make an excellent bodyguard, ma'am."
At the time, she had dismissed the idea, having no knowledge of Laurence's abilities or whether or not he could be trusted. This was the second time he had saved her life though. If she had any doubts before of his loyalty to her, they were now abolished.
"See to it that Laurence is made one of my personal guards," Padme ordered. "It would be a waste of his talents to leave him in the ship yards."
Laurence swung his head up from his examination of the assasin to look at her, shock, bewilderment, and thrill mixing in his features.
Padme continued. "He already has a great deal of experience, and I have had recomendations from the Coruscant police force about his skill. Twice now he has saved my life from assasins. I would trust him to do it again if necessary."
Laurence watched her, wonder filling his eyes at her praise.
Tel-caz looked dubiously at Padme, but it was not his place to question her orders. "As you wish, my Queen," he answered.
Anakin couldn't believe what had just happened. A personal guard for the queen? Since when did the fates look upon him so kindly?
He walked in a daze as Tel-caz led him to a large padded room where new recruits were trained.
Anakin only snapped out of his thoughts when Tel-caz handed him a blaster and turned on the holographic program that would test his skills by setting him against numerous species, each with their own special abilities and weapons.
The program started out easy enough, setting up a few holographic battle droids which Anakin easily shot down. It heightened the difficulty level as the computer assessed Anakin's skills and increased the strength and number of the opponents. There was a variety of weapons besides the blaster available for Anakin's use, and he began to truly enjoy himself as he danced around the enemy, twirling a vibroblade and replaying his old life in the underlevels of Coruscant.
At last Tel-caz turned off the computer program. Anakin stood in the middle of the room and waited for the security guard's decision.
"It doesn't look like this one will be needing any further training, eh boys?" Tel-caz adressed the other guards in the room who had stopped by to watch. There was a chorus of agreement, bringing a grin to Anakin's face.
"I'll give you a brief overview of what we expect from our security force," Tel-caz said as he led Anakin to his the new quarters he would occupy in the palace. "Our duty is to protect the Queen. Any breach of that duty will result in you being removed from the security force permanently. You will accompany the Queen whenever your assistance is requested. Remember that her life is in your hands. The entire government rests on your ability to protect her."
Anakin nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation.
"The rules around here are pretty simple," Tel-caz continued. "You're a member of the Queen's guard. That means no drinking on duty, no disappearing without permission, no slacking off while on duty, no..." He tallied off a long list of do's and don'ts, finally finishing with, "Basically, you do absulutely nothing that could risk the Queen's life or harm her reputation." He gave Anakin a pointed glare. Tel-caz gave this lecture to every new guard in training, but even then a couple always managed to turn sour.
Laurence on the other seemed to be more trustworthy, even though he was relatively unknown among the security force. Tel-caz had never seen him in action and the boy hadn't even had a single day of training in the Naboo security forces, yet already he had earned the Queen's infinite trust. Either Laurence was no one to be underestimated or the kid was extremely lucky.
Tel-caz shook his head. He didn't know what had come upon Queen Amidala to suddenly hire someone into the security force like that, but he hoped she hadn't made a mistake. Either way, he would keep a sharp eye on Laurence.
...
Anakin shook his head as he surveyed his new quarters. In one year he had moved from a simple apartment on Coruscant to slightly more extravagant quarters on Naboo, and now he found himself in a luxuriant room in the palace of Queen Amidala herself!
Tel-caz had explained to him that the most important of security guards stayed in the palace to be ready whenever the Queen needed aid. Anakin was expected to be ready in a moments notice for whatever danger might present itself.
Tommorrow his training in security would begin - one could not just step out of the ship hangars and expect to guard the Queen's life immediately. Anakin had caught Tel-caz muttering that it probably wouldn't take long for him to finish the courses though. He hoped not. Anakin hated studying rules and regulations when he could be doing something more active with his life.
Until the next day though, Anakin was left to himself. He slowly walked around the room, running a hand through his freshly dyed hair uncomfortably as he surveyed the extravagant carpet, impeccably whitewashed walls, and deep blue curtains and bedspreads. It was supposed to be an example of the more "simple" quarters in the palace, but to anyone used to a more standard way of life, it was like entering a wealthy mansion.
Anakin groaned and rubbed his eyes. It was going to take him a while to get used to this.
Going to the closet next, Anakin took a look at his expected dress code. Once again his uniforms had been pre-ordered before he even had a chance to start his job. The colors were like Panaca's outfit; a long blue tunic with a brown leather vest to wear over it, dark navy trousers, black boots, leather gauntlets, and a leather cap with a flap at the back to provide protection for the neck. Anakin was rather relieved by the selection; he had expected the drab oranges and browns worn by a great deal of Naboo's security force. The colors hurt his eyes and he imagined looked absolutely terrible on him.
Anakin shook his head. First he had been a Jedi, then a runaway who took on the black market dealers of Coruscant, then an engineer, he had been offered the job of a pilot, and now he had wound up as a security guard in Padme's service! Anakin smiled and remembered his step brother Owen's musings about his career choices; he was positive that Anakin was bound and determined to get himself killed by the age of twenty-five. Trying the cap on, Anakin began to feel Owen was pretty correct. But that was the kind of life the pilot of a podracer led; a path filled with daring and adventure.
Wrinkling his nose at the clothing material, Anakin considered going to Padme for a different uniform sometime. It looked great, but navy just wasn't his color choice, especially after wearing black for two years.
All that put aside however, Anakin knew the most important thing to concentrate on would be on passing the training courses for the security force. He might have gained the trust of Padme and Panaca, but there was still protocol to consider. He would have to take the same tests as every single officer.
Sighing at the thought of the long wait, Anakin placed the security cap back in the closet and left to do some exploring. Security regulations or not, his curiousity would have to be satiated.
...
This might be the last update until the end of January. Sorry for the long wait, but it will give you something to look forward to. :) Let me know if there's anything you're confused about and I'll try and clear it up in the next chapter.
As to the review from LianneZ4; Thanks for your review. I still have a bit to work out with the Anakin-clone thingy, and I might edit it a little later on. I took the memory idea from a fanfiction I read once. I think you're right - it does seem a little complicated to brainwash the clone with all of Anakin's memories, but I didn't really want the clone to have his own identity becuase the plot involves him acting like the Anakin Skywalker in the original films. If anyone has any advice in this particular area, let me know. :)
Thank you also to all my reviewers - this chapter wouldn't have been written for a while without the encouragement. :)
