Anyway, I want your opinions as to the fate of Cherek. I have two directions his storyline could go. The first (and more complicated) idea is that he's not actually Cherek, but someone else employed by Palpatine to encourage support in the Senate (because Cherek is Coruscant's Senator, so his opinion would influence many). This idea would mean that he would live to serve in the Empire. The second idea is that he gets his comeuppance and is confronted by Sabé and Obi-Wan. I can't decide which one to do. What do you think?
Chapter Forty-Two – An Unexpected Attack.Four months after the events of the codebreaker, which had exasperatingly been destroyed in the battle on Azure, both Obi-Wan and Anakin were on Coruscant preparing for Anakin's knighthood ceremony. This was a stroke of luck for Sabé and Padmé, who waited anxiously back at the apartment for news. After a considerable length of time R2-D2 appeared in the turbolift bearing a box and a data pad. Padmé received it with a small smile and opened the box. Inside was Anakin's severed Padawan braid, a symbol that now he truly was a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. The data pad contained a short note to say that he and Obi-Wan would be along later. Padmé shared this news with Sabé and they exchanged delighted smiles.
Shortly after this, Sabé couldn't help but notice R2-D2's disappearance from the apartment. Upon asking Padmé, she was told that the little astromech droid had been given to Anakin as a congratulation present and was now serving with the Jedi. Without R2's cheerful whistling, the apartment seemed far too quiet, despite 3P0's constant grumbling. The protocol droid now had new coverings of a bright golden colour and was frequently showing off his new look. The gold did suit him, but neither Padmé, Sabé nor the handmaidens dared to tell him so. They knew it would just fuel the boasting.
The senator and her assistant were almost constantly caught up in red tape in the recent weeks. What with the Clone Wars still raging, the Senate had a new matter to argue about every day. The conflict had had a deep effect on everyone. Sabé had noticed how much colour had gone out of Coruscant since it began. Even Padmé was now dressing in sombre tones of dark blue and inky purple rather than her usual vibrant gowns. She had been feeling the strain recently. Since Anakin had become a Knight he was sent away more often and for longer. On the evening of his knighthood, Sabé had decided to go and stay with 'a friend', leaving the apartment to Padmé and Anakin. Moteé and Ellé were also given leave to visit acquaintances on Coruscant. Padmé had cheered up noticeably after this, but now she had begun to look stressed again.
Sabé, naturally, was worried about her friend and decided to ask her about it when they returned from the Senate session. Cherek had kept his distance for a considerable amount of time after talking with Master Yoda, but recently he had been catching Padmé and Sabé in the corridors again, asking to share their air taxis and other trivial conversation. This was not adding to either Padmé or Sabé's mood, but considering Cherek's political position it had to be put up with.
Luckily they hadn't had to deal with him today, as another senator had intercepted him outside the Senate chamber. Upon seeing this, Padmé and Sabé, with Moteé and Ellé in tow, hurried back to the apartment as fast as they could. Settled in the main social area with a pot of herb tea, Sabé finally confronted her friend. "You've been looking so strange recently, Padmé. I'm worried about you. You were up incredibly early this morning too."
Padmé shrugged. "I felt sick."
"Has this been going on long?"
"A few days, why?"
Sabé frowned and leaned over to feel the senator's forehead. "I hope you're not coming down with something."
Padmé nodded. "Me too. Although the break would be quite welcome I suppose."
But in the following months it became steadily clear to Sabé that Padmé was not ill. Rather the opposite. But Obi-Wan and Anakin's being sent to the frontlines took precedence in their thoughts. What made this sudden parting particularly hard on them all was the fact that neither Jedi knew how long they would be parted for. Padmé and Sabé, now used to this routine but still hating it, took it well and only shed tears after the two had left.
For several weeks afterward, Padmé grew quiet and brooding. Sabé, Moteé and Ellé could not help being worried, even though the former had her theories about just what was wrong with the senator. On a particularly bad day, Padmé sought her out and uncharacteristically burst into tears. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Sab," she sobbed. "I feel so awful every morning and I think I've put on weight."
Sabé took her hands. "I think I know what the matter is," she said gently.
"What?"
"I think you should have a pregnancy test."
Padmé went white. "Oh gods. Do you really think…? What am I going to do? People will know about Anakin."
"But think how wonderful it will be. You'll have a child. Something that's a part of you and Anakin." There was a slightly dreamy expression in Sabé's eyes that Padmé did not miss and she realised that her friend quite liked the idea of having a child herself.
She sighed, wringing her skirt into crumpled knots. "I still think it's going to cause trouble. But the family woman in me won't pass up this chance. I don't want to get rid of it and yet I know…"
Sabé reached out to lay a reassuring hand on her forearm. "It will be alright."
Padmé turned and nodded. "You'll have to help me. Moteé and Ellé too, although they don't need to know yet."
"Padmé, I don't know the first thing about pregnancy! How do you honestly expect me to help you? Sola would be better–"
"No! Sola can't know. That would start a big snowball of confessions that I don't need right now."
Sabé sighed. "…Alright. We'll manage I suppose." Her face broke out in a sudden sly smile. "Perhaps 3P0 has a program for–"
"No! Absolutely not!"
The next big event was Saché's wedding. The former handmaiden had accepted a proposal from her young officer and had swiftly written to invite Sabé and Padmé to the ceremony. In the end, however, only Sabé could make it. Saché made her chief bridesmaid, giving her the task of taking responsibility for the flowers and the rings, not a job that she relished. Everything went smoothly in spite of this and a blushing Dormé caught the bouquet. Sabé travelled back to Coruscant to present Padmé with a slightly squashed slice of cake and life continued as normal.
For the two politicians this meant Senatorial duties for much of the time with heartache and worry whenever they had a moment to themselves. Finally, Sabé could stand it no longer and announced to a weary-looking Padmé that she was going to visit Obi-Wan.
"No, no way on Coruscant are you going out to the frontlines, Sabé," the Senator was quick to say. "You'll be noticed straight away."
"I will not," Sabé countered. "I'll disguise myself."
"As what? A Jedi? A prisoner? A blaster?"
"A trooper."
Padmé frowned. "And how will Obi-Wan recognise you then? The troops all look the same."
"They're clones, Padmé, they're supposed to look the same. That's why the disguise will work. And the armour's so inflexible, I won't look like a woman."
Padmé's frown deepened. She severely disapproved of Sabé's wild idea and yet she was one of the few who could sympathise with her situation. She hurriedly weighed up the pros and cons and finally nodded her head. "Ok. If you're sure you can take care of yourself out there."
Sabé's face took on a look of steely determination. "That and the journey and the hacking into the Jedi Temple's computer to find out where he is."
Padmé rested a hand on the slowly growing bump that her normally flat stomach was becoming. "The things people do for love."
Sabé remembered those words as she flew her way out to the frontlines. It was a crazy idea, she knew. But after the Jabiim incident she couldn't bear to leave it so long before seeing her husband.
As soon as she reached orbit of the planet that Obi-Wan and Anakin were currently occupying, she took an escape pod down so as to escape large notice. It went well enough, but the tricky part was joining in and surviving through the raging ground battle. Her handmaiden training helped a great deal in this endeavour and she could almost hear Captain Panaka's scolding voice in her ear as she carelessly dodged a shot. It took her several hours to locate Obi-Wan. Once she had accomplished that, she stayed a fair distance away, never letting him out of her sight. It was difficult, but somehow she managed it.
The battle wore on for a further gruelling five hours before the opposition were defeated. The most senior Jedi Master ordered everyone back to their ships to rest, as they would be advancing on the rest of the Separatists' new supporters in the morning. Sabé followed Obi-Wan back to the command ship, which sat neatly in a forest clearing. Fortunately, several regiments were also heading that way, so she did not fear suspicion. It was only after she broke with them to pursue her husband that she began to receive a few confused looks. Obi-Wan, despite all his Jedi bravado, looked as though the battle had taken a toll on him. He did not even notice his pursuer until he reached his door. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Commander?" he asked wearily.
Sabé nodded and said as low as she could, "In private if you don't mind, Sir." The speakers in the helmet distorted her voice enough so that Obi-Wan clearly didn't recognise her.
"Very well." The two entered the small quarters and Obi-Wan shut the door. "What is it?"
"I wanted to see you," she said, smiling to herself.
"Why?"
She tugged off the restricting helmet and blew strands of mahogany hair off her face. "Because I'm your wife and I miss you." She had never before witnessed a Jedi's eyes widen as far as Obi-Wan's did upon seeing her.
"Sabé? What the blazes are you doing here?" he snapped.
She frowned. "I'm here for…morale boosting. Or something like that."
He tried very hard not to smirk at her words. "Well, I don't approve."
"Somehow I didn't think you would." They stood staring defiantly at each other for several seconds. Then Sabé said, "For Gods' sakes, Obi-Wan, I just wanted to see you."
He approached, taking her hands in his. "I know. I'm sorry. It's not that I'm not glad to see you."
"You just don't want me turning up in the middle of a battle."
He turned to the single viewport in the room, gesturing the war-damaged outside. "Not just a battle, Sabé. This is the frontlines. We've lost so many Jedi and even more troops. I don't even know where my own ex-Padawan is. If I couldn't sense him I wouldn't know if he was alive or not."
Sabé glanced down at the floor, moving to drop the trooper helmet on a chair. "I know it was reckless of me, but I did think about the potential danger."
He looked away from the view and met her sincere gaze. "I'm sure you did. But please promise me you won't come out to find me, wherever I am or however long I've been gone."
She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. "Alright. I promise. I'll fly back tomorrow."
He brushed a finger down her cheek. "Whatever happens tomorrow, we still have tonight."
She smiled. "We still have tonight."
The following day, Padmé was most relieved to see her return, bustling out from the Senate chambers to give her a hug. Sabé quickly told her everything that had happened, leaving out certain private details, and accompanied her back in.
"The session is in the middle of a five minute break. You arrived just in time."
"Typho told me to land here rather than at 500 Republica. I did wonder why," Sabé muttered, tugging her gloves off with her teeth as she held her pilot helmet under one arm.
"Palpatine's asking for more power to fight the Separatists. He claims it will help us win the war."
Sabé studied her friend's expression. "You're not so sure."
Padmé shook her head. "No. You know me, I'll always keep searching for a diplomatic solution."
"Yes, that's true. If they ever made a Padmé doll its talking phrase would be 'Always look for a diplomatic solution'!"
Padmé laughed and swatted her on the arm. She was wearing another dark blue Senate robe, the voluminous skirts of which quite covered the bump she was developing. Sabé posed a stark contrast to her elegant look, still wearing the black jumpsuit she had flown in. "Do you need me then? Is that why Typho asked me to land here?"
"Yes. I want your opinion on what Palpatine is suggesting."
"Well, you know I don't like the man, but I'll try not to let it affect my judgment."
Padmé frowned and adjusted the sleeve of her gown. "If you could."
"I'm not dressed for a Senate session, you know," Sabé stated.
"I don't think that'll be a problem. The Senators know you."
The two made their way to the Naboo box, where Moteé and Ellé were waiting patiently, followed by Captain Typho, who had been silently trailing behind the senator and her assistant while they were talking.
This was the first of a series of taxing Senate sessions during which Palpatine spouted many demands that would aid the winning of the war. In a private conversation, Typho had voiced that the Chancellor's actions were arousing suspicion. He felt that it was all building up to something. Sabé couldn't help but agree.
But what it did build up to was something completely unexpected. The day began as normal, almost two months after the initial Senate session. Ellé had finished altering some dresses for Padmé, making the waistline much higher so it would conceal her pregnancy. Padmé had let the handmaidens and Captain Typho into her secret as soon as it had become evident. She had also asked Ellé to alter Sabé's gowns, feeling that it would hide the change if they both wore the different style.
Sabé tried one on, frowning at the shapelessness of it. "Wonderful. I seem to resemble some kind of cone."
Moteé, who had been assisting her in dressing, stifled a laugh. "It hides the Senator's condition, so we should be grateful for the style."
"Oh, I'm grateful. I just…look like a cone."
"Sabé," Padmé called, passing the door. "Are you ready to go?"
"More or less," she replied, picking up her data pad. "It could turn out to be quite good. Perhaps Cherek doesn't like the conical look."
Padmé's usual entourage made its way down to a lower floor that had access to a landing platform from which the air taxis collected. As they walked along the corridor, Ellé chanced to look out of the window. "Gods," she exclaimed. "There are hundreds of ships out there."
The whole party halted to see what she was referring to. The Coruscanti skies were swarming with ships, all descending on the buildings. "It's an invasion," Padmé breathed.
Scarcely were the words out of her mouth when an explosion tore away a section of wall not ten feet from their position. C-3P0 tottered over to look out of the hole, letting out a series of mechanical yells.
Typho hurried over to Padmé's side. "M'Lady, we must get you to safety."
"No, we have to evacuate the building," Padmé said, her ruler persona taking over. "Get everyone to a shelter."
"Yes, M'Lady." Typho turned on his heel and ran off to sound the alarms.
Padmé glanced at 3P0, briefly wondering how the droid could manage to complain so much.
"An army of droids?" he was saying. "Here?" He leaned out of the smoking gap in the wall and scolded, "I'd like to have a serious talk with your programmers!"
Padmé rushed forwards and interrupted him. "Come on, 3P0!" She led the party down the emergency stairs and into the lower levels of basement shelter. There they spent a dull and tense few hours waiting out the battle. The experience was bad enough in itself, but it was made ten times as worse by Cherek's obnoxious voice proclaiming its unwanted opinions.
When Typho finally gave the signal that all was clear, they emerged to find that the shelter really hadn't been necessary. The explosion that had hit near Padmé's party was one of only two that 500 Republica had sustained. Padmé's apartment, being right at the top of the building, was completely undamaged, so the senator and her associates returned at once to check the HoloNet for information. Sabé was detained by Cherek, who seemed to be one of the slowest walkers on the planet, and reached the turbolift several minutes after everyone else. Just as she was making polite leaving excuses, the lift doors opened to reveal a stunned-looking Padmé.
"Sabé, the attack. It's bad."
"What? What is it?"
"My dear lady," Cherek exclaimed, "you seem in shock."
Padmé glanced at the two. "The attack wasn't an invasion, it was a distraction. Palpatine's been kidnapped by General Grievous."
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A/N: I'm now replying to reviewers via the reviewer reply tool. (Wow, trying saying that after 5 gins) So, the only replies on here will be anonymous reviewers. Next chapter, Revenge of the Sith begins!
TheCrazyOneInTheCorner – Don't worry, Sabé and Obi-Wan will have plenty of time to be more mushy later, lol.