Hey guys. So Padmé's arc of off and running. I haven't decided if I want to go on a short three week hiatus just to catch up on my writing. If you have any further questions PM me and always review. Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, I just wish I did.

CHAPTER 11

The Emperor was furious, his personal assistant lay dead at his feet. She had just informed him that his underlings had failed to contact Lord Vader again. It had been weeks since he heard from his faithful apprentice. After graciously rewarding him with a week's furlough, Vader had seemingly vanished. No matter how hard he tried he could not sense Vader's force signature anywhere.

No doubt it had something to do with that insufferable Padmé. He should have dealt with her as soon as Vader submitted to him, but then his apprentice would have never forgiven him. He was always so attached to her, which in turn prevented him from becoming fully emerged in the Dark Side. Paranoia swept through the Sith's mind, what if he had been betrayed? Surely, Vader's weak flower of a woman hadn't persuaded him to forsake his teachings? A new wave of fury arose within the malicious, old cobra. Whatever happened, Vader would pay dearly for it.

Padmé was gazing at herself in the fresher. She didn't look anything like herself. Apparently Neira Jason had blonde hair, grey eyes, and wore the dull colors of an Imperial standard uniform.

They had just entered Medea's atmosphere, the captain informed her. When the transport landed, she stepped of the catwalk and admired the beautiful city of Argo. The entire city shimmered with a crystalline light reminiscent of Christophsis. The morning sun tinted all the buildings a rusty orange. She wrapped the traditional Medean shawl around her head to cover her hair. She stopped at a traditional Medean cafe to try some bitter Medean caf. Then, she made her way to the Rebel informant's flat. The building was white with deep blue tiles adorning the doorway and rooftop.

As she waited outside, she marveled at the peculiar blend of ancient architecture and modern technology. Coruscant was ever changing, it seemed to always have some new technological advancement. This place seemed to utilize technology but still retained its culture. She was thrown out of her daydream when a lime green skinned woman in a purple hijab answered the door. Her eyes were a mix of every color, and a beautiful golden necklace hung around her neck. She appeared to be a native Medean, which meant that under he hijab was a stunning array of bright feathers in place of hair.

" You must be Neira, I'm Lani Iliad. I'm Mistia's roommate. I assume you are staying with us. Here let me help you with you bag." She had a cheerful disposition to her. Padmé was beginning to think she would enjoy this job. Lani led her to their flat. After showing Padmé a cozy bedroom that was meant to be her accommodation, she retreated to the kitchen.

" Mistia should be home soon, she's usually here by now. I don't know what's holding her up." There was a sharp rap on the door and a pale skinned woman with hazel, almond shaped eyes steeped through the door.

" Hi, I'm Mistia." She said offering her hand. " Sorry I wasn't there to greet you. I was just picking up some Honi root. I wanted to make some Honi tea."

Upon further inspection, Mistia had her hair up in a tight bun secured by a ruby pin. She wore a simple sleeveless red dress. After setting down the groceries, she proceeded to help Lani make the tea. After several minutes, Lani came out with a tray with three cups of tea. Padmé soon learned that Honi tea was simply hot water that was sucked through a hollow Honi root like a straw. The tea was very sweet and sugary.

Mistia suddenly had a sort of mischievous gleam to her eyes as she took a big sip of her tea , then fired the contents out of her straw and into Lani. Obviously, Lani retaliated, but she managed to get some on Padmé. Soon, the girls were engaged in an all out war.

The blaring sound of an alarm awoke Padmé. Groping around her nightstand in vain, she finally managed to shut it off before stumbling into the refresher. Ugh, today was the first day at her new assignment. She was not looking forward to spending her time with arrogant, misogynist Imperials. At least she had Lani and Mistia to work with, but she doubted that she would see them often. It seemed that most nonhumans or females hardly received any high class jobs in the Empire.

Adjusting her wig and smoothing her uniform she prepared herself for what would probably be the worst job ever.

The ride to the Imperial center was long and arduous, but it gave her time to socialize with her new roommates. As Padmé had expected, Lani was simply a cleaning lady. Mistia, much to her surprise, had made it all the way to Lieutenant.

The speeder ground to halt in front of a dull grey building equipped with numerous satellite dishes. Squadrons of storm troopers paced around the building. It was a very intimidating sight. Mistia gave her a reassuring look as they made their way through the thick blast doors into the base. It was very sterile and quiet, nothing about this base seemed extremely unique. That was before Padmé passed columns of datachips, everything the Empire had ever done or is planning to do, and a humongous computer twice her height. In fact, she was so taken aback she ran straight into an Imperial officer. He glared at her with an air of superiority.

"I assume you are the new captain." he said haughtily.

" Captain Neira Jason at your service, sir. " Padmé felt a spark of anger when the officer refused to shake her hand, and made eye contact with her. Was she seriously expected to put up with this rudeness everyday? Sighing to herself, it was going to be a long day.