Darsant Avat
Theed
Showing up unannounced was bad form, but since this was a last-minute arrangement, Qui-Gon did not feel the need to report ahead. It was a bit of a rough landing due to some turbulence, but he settled down easily enough when the time came and made his way to the palace. The current monarch was some twelve-year-old queen with a painted white face, a gown that seemed to swallow her, and a wig so heavy that her head wobbled on her thin neck as she tried to balance everything.
"Master Jedi," Said the child with all the gravity of an adult—someone should tell these girls that being regal did not actually mean being humorless. "I was not notified of your coming."
Naboo's business with electing children to become monarchs made for very awkward situations because none of the Jedi ever figured out exactly how they should speak to the sovereign. Talking to her as if she were a child seemed patronizing. Talking to her as an adult…there was no way he could consider her an adult.
Still, civility was civility, whether great or small.
"My apologies, Your Majesty—I did not send word, this is a rather delicate emergency, but I wish to speak to your senator."
"Senator Palpatine departed for Coruscant just yesterday," The child said with only a slight hint of apology, because she was setting her face too stoically to convey much emotion. "What is the problem?"
Bugger all this. "Do you know of any negotiations with Telos IV?"
The Queen paused. "Telos IV?" She echoed, thoroughly confused. "Interplanetary affairs would be something the senator should know more of, but what is the nature of these negotiations?"
Would Obi-Wan be able to use such big words when he turns twelve? Qui-Gon could not help but think of how his padawan still stutters over words he was not sure of. Certainly Feemor and Authsola had never been so absurd. He was completely floored by the Queen's diction.
"I am not certain," He answered after collecting his wits, "I was actually hoping he could give me some information about Telos." That was a nice way of avoiding he suspected the Senator of Naboo of being involved in foulplay—no one on Naboo would have taken kindly to that. "Perhaps I can speak to his staff."
Children tend to be more guileless than their adult counterparts, even if they took to speaking in outrageously formal sentences.
"That can be arranged," Said the girl, lifting her arm with its giant sleeve at one of her handmaidens. "Please notify the senator's office."
Qui-Gon watched as her wig overbalanced a little and she had to make a concerted effort to straighten her neck.
That can't be good for their health. The gown looked hot too. He wondered how these people have not had heat stroke, among other complications. Come to think of it, those gowns were big enough to hide cooling units…
He wondered if Naboo will ever realize that overdressing their children like this makes it harder to take their monarchs seriously, not easier.
The handmaiden returned eventually to report that he could go to the senator's office.
"Please escort Master Jedi there, Andwé," Said the Queen. Qui-Gon noted that the handmaiden was also a young teenager, if a bit taller. Her face was the same shape as the Queen's, even with the differences in white paint, and the nose…
Wait a minute, did they have the same face?
"I have no such record of what you say in our system, Master Jinn," Said the secretary as she looked up the computer. She turned the screen around. "You can look for yourself."
Qui-Gon stroked his beard absently as he looked through the list. "Does he make all of his appointments through you?" He asked.
"He should," Said the secretary, "Since that is my job. If there had been any correlation with Telos, perhaps it was done outside of the government here."
Or the Senator deleted the proof of any such encounters, but Qui-Gon could not bring this up before her.
He asked a few more questions, but already it seemed like a dead end. Naboo was involved somehow, but he was not sure how and he could not prove it. He inquired about the senator himself, but his staff had nothing but good words for him, and what was more curious was that they all meant it.
"He is like the father I never had," Said an intern, "He's always looking out for me. It's incredible, really. He always makes time for his staff, and one time when my mother was sick and we couldn't afford to pay for her surgery, he paid for it out of his own pocket. Said it was the least he could do for all the good work I have done."
Qui-Gon was a Jedi long enough to know that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This senator could be trouble, and who knows what sinister agendas he might have. He might even be the Sith master Qui-Gon was looking for.
"He sounds like a wonderful man," He said to the intern, "It's very heartening to hear about such compassionate people."
He left the office feeling a little bit exasperated by what turned out to be a fruitless trip, but before he could leave the building, he noted—what was her name? Andwé? Waiting and trying very hard not to be noticed. She was doing a good job; she had changed out of her handmaiden uniform and looked like some relative of an employee in the building.
"Master Jedi," She said in a low tone, "Please, we need your help."
Qui-Gon glanced at her, thought for a moment that she was not that much older than Obi-Wan, and wondered just how smart these kids from Naboo were that they could stumble their way through the maze that was politics.
"What can I do for you?" He asked cautiously.
She looked scared, and Qui-Gon felt sorry for her.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere more private," He suggested gently.
She nodded. "That will be best."
"I can't say it in front of others," Said Andwé, "But I don't feel Senator Palpatine is what he seems to be. Her Majesty has the utmost faith in him, but…there is something not right with him. I fear for her life, and I fear that Senator Palpatine might try to harm her." She looked desperately at Qui-Gon. "Please, you have to believe me."
The Force did work in mysterious ways. Qui-Gon looked into her eyes, stretching out his senses. Mildly Force-sensitive, He thought, Not enough to be brought to the temple, but enough to notice some things. In his experience, the weaker Force-sensitive individuals were actually sometimes even better at detecting what was vital than Jedi Masters, because Jedi Masters were so sensitive they were distracted by other aspects of the Force.
"Your Queen does not listen to him all the time, does she?" He guessed. "By utmost faith in him, you actually mean she believes he means the best for her, but she does not always take his advice."
The handmaiden paused slightly. "Yes," She said, a little startled by his insight, "My Lady is young, but she is capable, and she knows not to listen to only one advisor. However, Senator Palpatine wants complete influence over her."
It was easy to see the handmaiden was not really that well trained in dealing with politics, even if she was good at observing them. The fact that the senator was not actually here did not help matters, however, nor did the fact that all his staff members approve of him wholeheartedly.
"I'm currently working with other Jedi Masters on another mission," He told her, "But as I feel that the senator might be involved somehow, I will notify them and will endeavor to remain. You feel the Queen's life is in danger now?"
"He doesn't have to be present to make an attempt on her life," The girl pointed out, "And in fact, it is best that he is not present. That way he can feign ignorance when he returns. There was no good reason for him to make a trip to Coruscant."
"How do you know this?"
"The senate is in recess, he has to report to the Queen if there is any business and he hasn't."
Ah. "And your Queen trusts him and let him go regardless."
"He told her it was a sensitive matter," The girl worried her lip, and Qui-Gon had to fight the urge to stop her the way he would Obi-Wan—she was not his padawan, after all, "That he will report back when it has concluded. That is not standard protocol."
"Alright," Qui-Gon said soothingly, "We'll see what is going on."
"The governor contacted this frequency after the explosion on the moon," Mace reported, "But I can't trace where it leads to. It's heavily encrypted. There's some sort of password chain that has to be entered before the call can actually go through."
"What is that?" Qui-Gon's mind drew a blank when he read the numbers. "What system is that? What rim is that area code? That doesn't look like any Republic-issued area code."
"I don't know. Customizable frequencies have always been a thing, not to mention personally-generated ones. If you're a good enough engineer, you can hook your own comm-line and leech on established fiberhyperoptics."
Qui-Gon sighed. "This is the part where I tell you that you should paid more attention to computer classes, Mace. I have this issue on Naboo right now, I can't go to Telos yet. You have the droid, try to make sure it doesn't get bugged by someone."
"Your droid is lagging a lot. I thought R2 units were supposed to be more robust."
Qui-Gon sighed again. "Well I can't do anything about that. It's not my fault. Go talk to the company who manufactured these things. Maybe we got a lemon. In the meantime try to do what you can, maybe turn the R2 unit off and turn it back on again, for some reason that works with anything that computes."
"I already did that."
"Well then turn it off and wait ten seconds before turning it back on again. I'm not going to play IT with you when I'm all the way on Naboo. How is Depa doing?"
"She's hanging in there. There hasn't been a need for her to Force suggest anyone into not sleeping with her yet. If the Force is with us, there never will. You're also in a better position to send a message to the Council—if you think the senator is someone to worry about, perhaps send someone to keep a discreet eye on him."
"I will. May the Force be with you."
"And with you, though by the Force I probably need it more. As does Depa. I'll talk to you later."
Qui-Gon rolled his eyes when the connection closed. "Whiner. I had to fight through a whole group of bandits without eating for an entire day, or sleeping for forty hours. All he did was pretend to be a scoundrel."
Despite her worry, Andwé giggled a little at this. She seemed a little more at ease after hearing the exchange between him and Mace.
"Alright," He said to her, "How are we going to do this?"
The child blinked. "I…I'm not sure."
"It's alright," He assured her. She was young, and probably was more worried about getting help than what to do with it. "Your Queen is not amenable to suggestions from you in regards to this issue, I take it?"
"I was hoping that perhaps you can convince her, Master Jinn."
"Would she trust a Jedi over a senator?"
"She is an intelligent woman, Master Jinn."
Qui-Gon found himself biting his lip like his padawan, because never in a million years would he ever consider a twelve-year-old a "woman". For crying out loud, the robes hid everything but he doubted the Queen even reached puberty yet. Still, sometimes wisdom could be found in the young.
As he turned around, a vision struck him with such force it felt like a physical blow. The Sith Master was on Coruscant, watching the Jedi Temple from an angle Qui-Gon could not quite make out. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan was with Feemor and his padawan; they were heading out to a street fair and Qui-Gon could see giant balloons shaped like hot-pink birds. The two padawans got cottony candy, and then his perspective zoomed out into the stratosphere. Dark shadows plunged toward the planet, as if the universe were crushing into it, and sped toward his padawan who was still eating his candy, blissfully unaware. It narrowed into a primitive spear and skewered right through him. The child stumbled a little, but did not seem to notice what happened. Meanwhile, the shadows continued to fly away. A piece of Obi-Wan's Force signature went missing.
When the vision ended and Naboo's government headquarters materialized around him, Qui-Gon had to crouch down to wait for the disorientation to pass.
"Master? Master Jinn? Are you alright?"
Qui-Gon did not answer immediately. Draw the master away, and the one who matters becomes vulnerable. Sith, Obi-Wan was in danger, but heading back to Coruscant was not an option.
When in doubt, hyperspace was always the safest place to be, even though it was not exactly a place—but that was exactly why it was so safe; the Force was present there, but only functioned within the barriers of the vessel carrying the Force-user due to how reality was maintained. If he could not go to Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan will have to come to him.
"I need to make another call," He told Andwé.
"He's been fine," Authsola seemed a bit disheartened, "He hasn't been anxious, or anything."
"It's not you," Qui-Gon insisted, "I trust you, Authsola, and I trust Feemor. I can't really explain it. Obi-Wan and I have a unique bond. We seem to transfer our talents to each other. He is very strong in the Unifying Force, but whenever I receive one of his visions, he does not get them."
"You're still receiving visions, Master?"
"On occasion, don't tell the others," Qui-Gon paused, "Sifo-Dyas knows, Yoda might know. The others don't, and I want it to stay that way for now. It's why I'm being more erratic than usual, but what I sensed wasn't a physical attack, it was an attack through the Force, and can happen anywhere. I think you are very capable of protecting him, but it's probably better if I were nearby because I have this bond with him."
"What about the other Jedi padawans?"
"That's the thing," Qui-Gon paused again, "For some reason, this threat seems to be targeting Obi-Wan in particular."
"There is something odd about him," Authsola frowned, "I'll bring him to you, in that case. Perhaps I can even help out."
Four Jedi tackling pirates. If they do not resolve this issue with Telos, the council will have a collective apoplexy.
"Thanks a lot, Authsola," Qui-Gon said sincerely.
"Not a problem, Master. Stay safe, and may the Force be with you."
"And with you."
Convincing the Queen turned out to be very easy. Qui-Gon was a better diplomat than Andwé, and all he had to say was that there might be an attempt on her life while her political mentor, Palpatine, was away from planet. He did not have to go into any detail besides that, and the senator's allegiances were left out of the conversation.
In the meantime, he did a little digging, which mainly involved sitting for hours in front of a computer with the help of a much more chattery R2 unit supplied by the palace, repeated updates from Mace and Depa, though mostly Mace, about the Telosian governor's odd behaviors, and keeping tabs on the Council. As these things sometimes do, after a few days of no activity whatsoever, everything happened at once.
In the early hours of the morning on Naboo, his little one and Authsola arrived. Obi-Wan, adorably sleepy but very happy to see his master, allowed himself to be hoisted up into Qui-Gon's arms, where he promptly fell asleep on his master's shoulder. The bacta patch was gone, though there was still a tiny remnant of a scar that should go away soon enough. The Force bubbled between them, gentle like carbonated drink, and the Jedi Master allowed himself to indulge in a moment of relief and contentment that his little one was here.
Then he remembered that they were guests and their hosts were waiting. Qui-Gon tried bumping the child up and down to wake him up, but the boy was so tired his breathing sounded almost like snores.
"He's been too excited to sleep for the first two nights," Authsola told Qui-Gon apologetically, "There you go."
Behind them, the Queen and her handmaidens were too close to Obi-Wan's age to fully appreciate the scene, but the guards were all sporting tiny smirks and a couple of them winked at each other. Qui-Gon glanced at the Queen, then at his little one, and released a long-suffering sigh.
"He's not going to wake up for this is he?"
"I don't think so," Said Authsola, smoothing the boy's hair.
The Queen was actually smiling a little. Qui-Gon settled for introducing Authsola and provided a one-sided introduction of his sleepy padawan with some apologies that the Queen accepted.
"I have a little brother," She said to him, "He is not unlike Padawan Kenobi." She made arrangements for the child to be put to bed.
On Telos, Mace reported that Xanatos had left planet.
"Not for Coruscant, or any planet he'd have reason to go to," He told Qui-Gon, "For Naboo. Is he supposed to know that's where you are?"
Well Sith. Maybe he should bring Obi-Wan on missions more often. Things were certainly picking up momentum now that the child was here.
"It's secret too," Mace went on, "So whatever he's going to Naboo for, it isn't for anything…proper."
Meanwhile, Kit and Shaak Ti reported that the Senator of Naboo paid a surprise visit to the Jedi Temple upon his arrival.
"We're not sure what he was here for," Shaak Ti said to him, "We did not let him linger long. He said a lot of nothing. He has some issues, that is for certain. The only question is whether it is related to the Jedi, or if he merely wanted to consider us as a solution."
"It was very peculiar," Kit supplemented, "He kept pausing as if to gather his thoughts. I didn't understand a single sentence of his, besides the greeting and farewell. Quite abnormal in a politician—well, not really, but the pausing was. Perhaps he had some pathology in his brain."
Qui-Gon told Mace to break cover and for Depa to keep hers, so they could at least flush out (or blast out) the pirates while the governor was away. The Jedi on Coruscant kept an eye on the senator's movements, but all the senator did was meet with a few officials before taking off—toward Telos.
Obi-Wan stole the Queen's wig. Qui-Gon had no idea how he did it.
"Can I take a holopicture of this?" The little rascal asked, using both hands to support the monstrosity on top of his head, "It's so heavy! It weighs a ton! The Queen must have the strongest neck in the galaxy! Authsola! You should try it on!"
"Padawan Kenobi, you put that wig back where you found it right now."
"Why? It's not like she even likes this thing."
"It's not yours, Obi-Wan. You do understand the concept of personal belongings. Put it back."
"Can I have a picture of it first?"
"No."
"She wouldn't have minded," Obi-Wan grew plaintive, "She hates this thing. It takes hours to glue to her hair so she has to wake up before the sun comes up in order to attend court."
"That doesn't make it right. Put that back, or else you won't like what I'll do to you."
"It's not real stealing if I give it back…"
"You know that is false. I'm not going to repeat myself, Obi-Wan."
The brat got his picture anyway, with the help of Andwé who took said picture, in which Obi-Wan posed with a variety of goofy expressions under the elaborate wig. He was also not nearly as contrite as Qui-Gon hoped he would have been, but given the circumstances it was probably too much to ask for. Apparently, while Qui-Gon was dealing with Mace and Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan had charmed the royal court.
"Naughty youngster," Authsola remarked, unable to say much more than that.
Qui-Gon punished Obi-Wan by making the boy do homework brought from Coruscant. He struggled a little with the instinct to keep Obi-Wan away from Xanatos and the knowledge that separating himself from his padawan was exactly what the Sith wanted. As long as they did not know he was on to them, they would probably wait. Qui-Gon was not a Jedi Master for nothing, and Authsola had learned well. Between the two of them, surely they could take care of a single padawan?
And then there was no time left to second-guess himself. Amidst lightning and thunder and torrents of rain, the Governor of Telos arrived on Naboo.