"I bring my handmaidens with me everywhere. This time will be no different," the senator, Padmé Amidala, spoke with certainty. Her slender frame exuded confidence, despite the weight of the warning she was being given. The Togruta Jedi standing before her, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, folded her arms, a look of concern and slight frustration on her face. She shot a glance towards the sun, raising a hand to block it from her eyes before she spoke.
"I know someone is trying to kill you, my lady.. I don't want your people caught in a crossfire. Please at least let me come with you as added security," the young Jedi insisted. Padmé smiled softly and nodded, her eyes unaffected by the potential threat looming once again in her near future. She had been through enough assassination attempts in the past to now be able to handle new threats with grace. Meanwhile, you stood off to the side, observing the exchange.
Really? A Jedi is accompanying us to a conference? They really must be worried about a threat. I've kept Padmé safe before— this time will be no different. Unassuming in your handmaiden's outfit, you kept quiet, standing as you always did behind Padmé Amidala. Your eyes were cast downward and your face was shrouded by a cloak. The threat must not be that big though if Padawan Tano is coming and not Skywalker. Nothing I can't handle.
"_, are you coming?" Padmé was looking at you amused, as though noticing how deep in thought her handmaiden -and friend- was at the moment.
Kriff. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry ma'am," you said quickly, stepping in line behind the senator as she turned towards the ship and began to walk. Once inside the ship, Padmé dismissed you. Giving her a small bow, a loose strand of your hair falling beside your face, you turned and left the main cabin where Padmé was keeping Ahsoka company. As soon as you were out of vision and ear shot of the senator and padawan, you sighed, chest rising with the effort. Reaching up to take off the ornamental jewelry known to the handmaidens of the senator, you shook your hair loose, letting it fall against your shoulders. The relaxation of flight was always your favorite part of traveling with Padmé, which you thankfully did often. There was just something about being in one place, seeing the stars fly by during hyperspace, and suddenly ending up somewhere completely different that always made you feel relaxed and at home— as though you belonged amongst the stars. That was, after all, what drew you to the service of Padmé. Traveling all over the galaxy, meeting new people and seeing new things. No one to rule you... except of course your senator and friend, Padmé Amidala. For some reason though, you never saw your service to Padmé as a burden. It kept you fed, housed, clothed, and in good standing with the Republic— something you probably could not achieve on your own. It was difficult to keep your secret from the Jedi Council, but in service to Padmé, you are virtually ignored, free to come and go with little attention placed on you. So long as you remained a shadow, your secret would stay safe.
Reaching your favorite spot on the ship, a small nook next to a window, you plopped down, opening up your holopad to the book you were currently absorbed in and mentally disappeared into it for the remainder of the travel.
All too soon, the timer that you had set beeped, letting you know that the group would be arriving to the conference soon. Fixing up your hair again, you walked to the main cabin, hoping to find Ahsoka and Padmé preparing for landing. Sure enough, both were there. Padmé smiled at you when you entered the cabin.
"How was your favorite spot?" Padmé asked.
"Peaceful as ever, my lady. I finished a good bit of my book as well!" you answered with a smile, waving the holopad in your hand slightly.
"Perfect, you'll have to catch me up, I can't quite remember where you had stopped last." Padmé turned back to her work— a speech she was preparing for the conference. You nodded. You had been reading once when Padmé "caught" you, but rather than scolding you for reading on the job as would be customary, Padmé had sat down next to you and asked for you to tell her about the story you had been reading. Every flight after that, you were dismissed and allowed to go read, so long as you told Padmé about the story later. The both of you had been through many books together, and Padmé still loved to hear about the stories. It was one of the reasons that you had remained a handmaiden for so long. Genuinely, you loved the senator as though she were your sister, and you wanted to ensure her comfort and safety.
The ship came in for a soft landing, and the occupants stepped out onto the planet. You didn't know what planet they were on for the conference, but you didn't care too much whether you knew the name or not. It was pretty and that's what mattered. You gave a quick scan of the environment and buildings around the group, then noticed Ahsoka doing the same.
"What kind of threat are you anticipating?" you asked Ahsoka, walking in step beside the Jedi.
"I'm not quite sure.. I've been having horrible dreams about an assassin.. but I can't see much more than glimpses. I don't know. Maybe Master Kenobi is right and I am just battle-stressed." Ahsoka stopped walking, putting her hand on your shoulder. "Please help me look out for her. You know how the senator is. Between her and Anakin, I'm not sure who wins the award for Most Stubborn." You gave a small laugh at that. Anakin Skywalker was horrendously stubborn, but he was good at what he did, and so was Padmé. You sighed and nodded to Ahsoka. The duo sure had their work cut out for them, but you knew they could do it. With a nod, Ahsoka headed off to scout out security, while you went with Padmé to her room. The senator excused herself to her private bedroom for a bit to work on her speech and rest, allowing the handmaidens to do as they pleased with their time. You decided to lounge on the huge couch in the large room and kept an eye on the entrance. Nothing was getting past you.
As time went on, your eyes got heavier as the travel fatigue began to set in. You stood up and paced the room, trying to wake yourself up enough to pay attention. Finally, Padmé opened her door and came out into the room, dressed regally and ready for her conference. You smiled at the senator, grabbing the door for her to walk through uninhibited. Outside the door was Padawan Tano, standing guard, and she turned at the sound of the door opening. "Shall we?" Ahsoka asked. Wordlessly, Padmé nodded, touching at the edges of her sleeves gently, something she did when she was nervous or anxious.
The group walked down towards the conference hall, where Padmé and other senators would be speaking about the amount of displaced refugees that the war is causing. Your focus was not on the speech though, and neither was Ahsoka's. The two of you, along with the guards provided by the conference, were on edge, outwardly calm and yet internally hyper-focused. If Ahsoka's visions were correct — and not just paranoia from her combat days, something she was on a break from at Master Kenobi's request — then there was an assassin somewhere in the room.
Padmé sat down at her place at the front of the room, waiting for everyone to settle before Senator Organa opened the conference. You heard virtually nothing that Senator Organa said; your focus was on scanning the crowd. Sooner than you or Ahsoka would have liked, it was Padmé's turn to speak. She rose out of her seat like a goddess, exuding professional power. She began to speak with conviction, while you and Ahsoka remained vigilant. Finding nothing immediately, you forced yourself to tune back into what Padmé was saying, wondering if there would be a trigger in it that the assassin may know and use.
"We need legislation to defend the displaced citizens, to protect our soldiers from feeling there is no future beyond their warfare, and we must open channels through diplomacy so that we can end this war," Padmé spoke, her voice reaching every corner of the room. People were nodding slightly, agreeing with her.
Suddenly, Ahsoka pushed past you, half-shoving Padmé to the side as a loud gunshot rang out. Chaos erupted as people began to scream, and you tore your eyes away from Padmé to look for the assassin. Suddenly, in the top corner of the room, you spotted the glint of a sniper barrel in the vents. Grabbing Ahsoka, you pointed and said, "Look! Up there! Go! I'll take care of Padmé." Ahsoka nodded with a grimace, and sprinted off to intercept the assassin.
You knelt down immediately and held her hand to Padmé's back, keeping her upright. The smell of burning fabric and flesh was starting to go straight to your head. "Ma'am, we need to go, now. Ahsoka is taking care of the assassin."
"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just a surface hit," Padmé tried to say as she stood, but immediately collapsed.
That blaster shot was definitely not just a surface hit. You caught Padmé as she fell, supporting her body by throwing Padmé's arm around your shoulders and holding her upright. It wasn't too difficult of a task on account of Padmé's thin frame. "Come on. Let's get out of here." You began to lead Padmé out of the conference center and back to her room. The pair soon ran into Ahsoka, who told them that unfortunately, the would-be-killer had gotten away.
"It's not good, Senator." Ahsoka shook her head. "Aurra Sing, the bounty hunter... She's the assassin." Padmé weakly looked up at this. She tried to respond but the pain from her arm was not doing her any favors.
"We should get her back to her room and get a med droid there as soon as we can," you insisted. The bounty hunter would have to wait. But she would pay for hurting Padmé. You shook your head slightly. Sigh. As much as I want revenge, I can't do it without exposing myself to the Jedi Council and that is just simply not on my radar of things to do anytime soon. Focusing back on Padmé, you and Ahsoka got her to her room and a medical droid began to work on her arm. Ahsoka stayed in the room with her, and you stood out in the main room with the remaining guards and handmaidens.
There was a very tense blanket of stress over the room. Should they leave? Stay? Call an army? Go it alone? Too many options were whispered between the handmaidens. You sat in the corner of the room, back to the wall, and closed your eyes. To anyone observing, you looked as though you had simply fallen asleep or were resting your eyes. But in actuality, you were listening. You listened to the room, to Ahsoka's calming presence — despite her anxious movements —, to the feeling of the building around you always settling, to every person's voice, searching for a presence you didn't recognize, or a voice you didn't know the owner of. Searching and scanning for Aurra Sing.
Ahsoka stepped out of the room, making a tired beeline for you. Opening your eyes at her approach, you said nothing, waiting for the padawan to speak.
"Padmé will be fine. She's determined to not let Sing bully her into leaving the conference, but I'm worried that she will just put herself into more danger. Thank the gods I was able to get her out of the way, but if I had been even a split second late..." she trailed off, giving a slight shiver at the thought of her friend receiving a fatal blaster shot. You stood, placing your hand on her arm in comforting reassurance.
"She's strong. She'll be alright. We can go talk to her about it once she has rested a bit. Until then, we both need to eat something otherwise we'll never be able to stop Sing." Holding up a hand to halt Ahsoka's protests in their tracks, you continued, "I already ordered some food sent up here for us. It should be here any minute." Ahsoka gave you a soft smile before walking with you to the couch. A majority of the handmaidens had retired to the other room, so only you, Ahsoka, and the guards provided by the conference remained in the main room. As you sat, a cart carrying many different types of foods was rolled up to the guards. A thin human male pushed it, wearing the apron of a chef. The guards allowed him in, and he quickly deposited the food to the table in front of you and Ahsoka before excusing himself and leaving. The two of you dug in, suddenly ravenous as both remembered that neither had eaten in a while.
The sound of a sliding door echoed behind you, and you turned to see the medical droid leaving Padmé's room. It made eye contact with you, and spoke plainly. "You may see her now. She has rested and is asking for you both." With that, the droid spun and moved towards the exit. Alderaan, as you came to find was the name of the planet you were on, was not in combat at the moment, but the medical droid clearly had patients to visit in a timely manner. You glanced towards Ahsoka, and wordlessly stood as she did, walking into Padmé's room, food all but forgotten on the coffee table. As you entered, Padmé smiled, standing up from the bed. You held out your hands, anxiously waiting to catch her if she became too weak again; but though the gesture was appreciated, it wasn't needed. Padmé seemed to be relatively steady on her feet. The rest and help from the med droid seemed to have worked wonders. Lowering your hands, you took a step back, allowing Ahsoka to move forward to debate with Padmé about her determination to participate in the rest of the conference.
"I have a plan, Ahsoka. You don't need to be so worried all the time, you sound like Anakin." Padmé laughed lightly. "I am going to have a droid wear my cloak so that none can see its face, and it shall take my spot in-person at the conference. My speech will be projected to the speakers in the droid via a microphone I will keep with me in here. I will not leave this room, and the guards outside will remain. However, both of you must attend the conference as normal. I don't want the assassin believing that I am not there. Is this understood?"
Both you and Ahsoka moved to argue, knowing neither wanted to follow this plan. Leaving Padmé virtually unguarded felt like the worst thing to do, but you fell silent as you realized Padmé was correct in her instructions. If Sing knew that Padmé was hiding out in her room, she would find a way to get to the senator. Ahsoka attempted to fight with Padmé for a few more seconds, knowing it was virtually useless. Once the senator had made up her mind, there really was no debating it. With a smile and a wave of her hand, Padmé shooed the two out. The conference was beginning again, and you had a mission to complete at Padmé's request. You dressed up a droid that had been summoned to the room, and tested that Padmé's microphone worked. Once you both were confident that the ruse would work, Ahsoka stepped to the other side of the droid, and the three of you began to walk back towards the conference room.
You couldn't explain the weird feeling you had, as though something was not right, but you brushed it off. Ahsoka too seemed on edge, though you assumed that was just because of the nature of the ruse they were attempting. As you reached the conference room, Padmé was announced and you, the disguised droid, and Ahsoka made your way towards the front of the room. Applause sounded around the room to honor Padmé's bravery. So far, it seemed as though the plan was working. 'Padmé' stepped up to the center podium, and the senator's voice rang out from the droid's speakers. It sounded natural, so you breathed a small sigh of relief, despite the nagging feeling that something was wrong. You scanned the vents, looking for any sign of a sniper rifle. Finding none, you grew more concerned, knowing that meant that Sing was not in the conference room vents. As you began to scan the area, you had the feeling that Sing was not even in the same room as you and Ahsoka. Without warning, both you and Ahsoka were hit with a red light warning from the Force. Padmé was in imminent trouble. You excused yourself, attempting to walk calmly towards the door before taking off in a sprint towards Padmé's room once you were clear of the conference room. The light running steps beside you signified that Ahsoka had done the same.
The two of you burst into Padmé's room as she stood with her back towards the door, speaking into the microphone. Creeping out of the vent was a silver sniper rifle barrel. Aurra Sing was in the room with Padmé, and had almost killed her before anyone had gotten to her. Ahsoka pulled hard with the Force as you launched for Padmé. At the same time, the bounty hunter tumbled out of the vent, grappling with Ahsoka, and you hit Padmé, dropping the both of you to the ground on the other side of the bed. The microphone scattered away on the ground, no longer transmitting sound. You covered Padmé with your body, hoping that Ahsoka had the bounty hunter taken care of. A blaster shot rang out after a moment of grappling noises, and you jumped to your feet, hoping to find Ahsoka unscathed. Unfortunately, Padmé stood with you, so you pushed her behind you as you locked eyes with Aurra Sing. Ahsoka was on the floor, dazed, a blaster shot to her shoulder still smoking. Sing had knocked her down with the back of her handheld blaster, the rifle forgotten on the floor. The bounty hunter laughed at the sight of you protecting Padmé with your body, weaponless. She leveled her blaster at you and gave a smirk.
"An honorable end for someone who will never be more than a servant." she said to you with indifference. Almost in slow motion, you, Padmé, and Ahsoka, still on the ground, watched Sing pull the trigger on the blaster, and your instincts kicked in, making you do the one thing you always said you never would do. You blew your cover.
You Force-pulled Ahsoka's lightsaber into your hands, deflecting the bounty hunter's shot easily away from yourself and Padmé, making sure to not go near Ahsoka either. A noise of shock came from both Aurra Sing and Padmé, and Ahsoka's mouth fell open, but you stood your ground. Sing fired again, and you deflected the shot back towards her. It hit the wall beside her head as she dodged. Narrowing her eyes, Sing fired again and again and again, letting loose a hailstorm of blaster shots that you nimbly deflected back towards her. Ahoska had pulled herself behind cover of the bed, out of the way of Sing's line of fire. Finally, one deflection flew directly into Sing's thigh, limiting her mobility severely. You pushed forward, slicing off the front of her blaster before hitting her hard with the back of the lightsaber. She crumpled to the ground, and you unlocked the door, calling for the guards.
Breathing heavily, you turned to Padmé first, checking her for wounds. She was staring at you in shock. Finally noticing her expression, you glanced down at Ahsoka, who also had a look of shock on her face. The Jedi, however, also had an incredulous smile starting to creep across her features. You sheathed the lightsaber blade and handed it back to Ahsoka, slightly embarrassed by the attention. You rubbed the back of your head softly, knowing life was about to get much crazier once the Jedi Council heard about this.
"Surprise...?"