Chapter 8
Naboo, the birthplace of Zafii Pel. She knew little about the place, other than it had recently been under attack from the shady Trade Federation and that fellow Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn had been killed by a mysterious Sith.
Officials were a little surprised to see her once she had landed, but she was warmly greeted.
"Come to check on the progress of the refugee's have you?" One official asked.
"Not exactly," she replied.
She had explained to them that under orders of the Jedi Council, she needed to speak with someone who could grant access to the data surrounding the attack on Naboo a little more than a year prior.
"I would have thought the Jedi would have those kinds of things in their archives." Another official said.
The first official spoke up once more, "Come, we will take you to Theed Palace. Queen Amidala is currently the only one who can unseal those records. I'm sure she will be more than willing to hear your case; she has a soft spot for the Jedi since the invasion."
With that, Zafii and R7 were escorted by speeder to Theed Palace where she was to have a meeting with the elected Queen.
Theed Palace was almost mythical in its elegance. The ceilings were high and lofty, the pillars made of the finest marble. So this was the capital of her home planet, Zafii thought.
"I've just commed Captain Panaka. He says Queen Amidala would be more than happy to meet with you. She's just had a cancelation in her plans and can meet with you immediately." The first official indicated.
"Excellent," Zafii nodded.
The throne room doors were open when they walked past, yet no one was in there. Instead Zafii was lead further back to a smaller room, which was a more private meeting space for the Queen and a guest of her choice.
"R7, stay out here." Zafii ordered.
The droid beeped and nodded his entire framework that was his body. The second official, whom had been escorting her, opened the door for her and she stepped through the threshold. The door was closed behind her and she stood still, waiting for the queen to acknowledge her.
"Please, sit." Queen Amidala said.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Zafii bowed and then walked over to a chair across from a dark, wooden desk that Amidala was sitting behind.
"This is an unexpected pleasure," Amidala smiled. "What can I do for your Knight Pel?"
There was a silence in the room. She had spoken to royalty before, but it was never a personal issue. She wasn't sure how to word this.
Amidala was young, yet had an intimidating look. She certainly looked every bit of royalty. She personified the beauty of the planet; with her ceremonial makeup and a white dress that looked every bit as complex to wear as it must have been to make. Zafii calmed herself with the Force and reminded herself that this wasn't personal; it was a task, a trial.
"I was recently here on Naboo, on a lay over from one of the refugee ships." Zafii began, but then stopped.
"I see," Amidala said and urged her on. "Everything is going quite well. The influx in population in combination with the treaty we put in place has really stirred the economy and it has been only a week."
"That's," Zafii looked for the right way to steer the conversation back in the correct direction, "excellent. Actually, my Queen… I was born on Naboo myself."
Amidala nodded, "We haven't had many Jedi Knights come from Naboo in recent history, to my knowledge. It's nice to know our planet is well represented in the Jedi Order."
"Thank you," Zafii smiled. "Actually the reason I'm here today is because when I was here for the lay over, I decided to look up my parents. To find out whom they were and how they were doing."
Amidala said nothing but nodded; as if she could see where this was going.
"Unfortunately I found out they were killed in the invasion last year. There wasn't much more and I was wondering if perhaps there were some records not available to the public about the attacks. Perhaps more information about their deaths is in there, or even where they took up residence prior to their untimely death." Zafii explained.
Amidala again said nothing; she seemed to be studying the young Jedi.
"I understand that the records must be classified and for good reason I'm sure. I just thought maybe since the Jedi were so influential in helping our home planet, that maybe…" Zafii cut herself off. She didn't know where she was going with that comment.
Amidala nodded and stood from her chair, "Of course. Anything for the Jedi. We owe them the highest debt of gratitude."
Zafii joined her in standing, taking it that the conversation was about to end, "Thank you my Queen. This means a lot to me."
"Pel…" Amdiala recited her name. "I take it you kept your given name after the Jedi took you in?"
Zafii nodded.
"Pel…" Amidala repeated. "I knew a Pel family. A man and woman. I don't think they had any children though. I remember they would come into the city and sell fruits and berries they grew out on their small farm. They were very gracious and grew the tastiest fruit."
Zafii smiled, "That very well could be them, I suppose. There was only one other thing I could find about them. According to a local journalist who wrote an article on them some years ago, they lived on a small farm growing fruits and berries."
"Article?" Amidala looked at her quizzically.
"Yes, a man by the name of Hep Naugzi interviewed about… me. He couldn't understand why after so many years of trying to have a child, why they would give me up to the Jedi Council." Zafii explained what she remembered about what she had read.
"Naugzi," Amidala shook her head with a smile that could have been confused as a frown.
"You know him?" Zafii asked.
"Indeed." Amidala confirmed. "He retired years ago from active journalism. He wrote a lot about Naboo but also was published around the galaxy. He's somewhat of a dreadful man. He came out of retirement after I was elected, just to share his opinion on how moronic the people of Naboo were for electing me. I also hear he has quite a vendetta against the Jedi. I hear he has won awards in certain sectors for his work condemning them."
"Does he still live here on Naboo?" Zafii asked.
"Yes, past the lake country. He has the big house. They are all big, but his is the biggest. He comes from a considerable amount of money. Never had to work a day in his life, but did. I guess you have to give him credit for that at least." Amidala smiled.
"Thank you," Zafii bowed.
"I'll tell the private library they should be expecting you then." Amidala returned her bow.
"My Queen," Zafii said as she rose from her bow and turned on her heel to leave.
The sealed records revealed nothing. Zafii and R7 looked for hours, searching for key terms and names but nothing ever surfaced besides the public report that Zafii had already found a week prior. She knew that it couldn't have possibly been that easy. She should have known better. It was obvious that the Jedi Council knew better, that's why they had deemed this her final trial to be knighted.
"Come on R7," Zafii motioned as they left the private library.
Zafii thanked the two officials whom had been escorting her all day and asked if she could borrow a land speeder. After helping R7 into the speeder, she hoped in the driver's seat and they were off.
Dusk was upon that hemisphere of Naboo and Zafii could never remember seeing such a physically beautiful planet in her life.
"And to think, R7, I was born here." Zafii said, wind whipping through her hair.
In the distance they passed mountains and waterfalls. In a hundred mile stretch on Naboo, you could seemingly see ever beautiful natural wonder the galaxy had to offer. There were not volcanoes, craters, or sand storms here. Only the things those most sought after could be found on this heavenly planet.
Dusk turned to night and the stars were in full affect overhead. They had just exited the lake country which was more exotically exquisite than she could have imagined.
Queen Amidala was right; there were several large, expensive homes in the lake country and just past. But when she saw what not a home was, but could only be described as a castle, she knew it must be the home she was looking for.
As they approached, Zafii slowed down noticing there was a drawbridge and a moat surrounding the castle. It didn't look that old though, as if only installed in the past decade. She turned the speeder off and hopped out and stood in the moonlight as it reflected off the moat's light bubbling water.
She placed her hands on her hips and took in her surroundings and wondered if she should come back in the light of day. She decided to reach out with the Force and see if there was any noise coming from within the castle.
Zafii could hear music; in fact it was very loud. She was surprised she wasn't able to hear it before fully tuning into the Force. The sound of a champagne bottle being uncorked pressed in her ear.
"Well, someone is definitely awake in there. I think they are having a party R7." Zafii commented.
Without so much as a warning, Zafii used the Force to leap towards the castle. She arced high in the air and began to free fall at an amazing speed. Just before she landed she slowed her body down and landed without a hitch. She dusted off her cloak and motioned for R7 to stay in the speeder.
She could definitely here the loud music now. It was so loud in fact that it was nearly vibrating the windows. Zafii approached the door and knocked loud enough so that one might hear her over the ballroom type music.
She knocked again, and again, and again. Finally the door crept open. An elderly man with a roundish figure was standing on the other side.
"Do you have an invitation?" He asked grumpily.
"I must have lost it," Zafii smiled up at him.
"Then I must have forgotten that I invited you. Good evening!" He said as he slammed the door in her face.
She knocked again and the door flung wide open this time. The elderly man pushed a button on the wall next to the door and the music came to a screeching halt.
"Invitation please!" He announced. "Can't get into one of my exclusive parties without an invitation."
Zafii did not ask, but simply stepped over the threshold past him and into the main room of the house. The furniture was nice, but dated and somewhat dusty.
"I must have it somewhere in these dreadful robes." She said, pretending to pat herself down for it.
"Ahhh!" The elderly man griped as he slammed the door and walked past her looking for his glass of champagne.
"What are we celebrating, again?" Zafii asked.
"The fiftieth anniversary of my first ever Galactic Journalist of the Year Award, of course!" He announced, chugging down a glass of expensive champagne before pouring another.
He then pointed up to the wall and Zafii noticed several impressive looking plaques surrounding the upper walls. They circled around the large family room as if there were no end to them.
"Congratulations once again," Zafii admired.
"Yes, yes," he scoffed.
"Mr. Naugzi," Zafii said slowly.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Hep!" He blurted, chugging his second glass of champagne.
"Hep, remember last time when we talked about Zenni and Josia Pel?" Zafii asked.
Hep squinted at her suspiciously, "Of course I remember. Don't believe the rumors do you? Think I'm losing my memory do you? Of course I remember. What of it?"
"I was just wondering if we could continue that conversation, perhaps start from the beginning. My memory isn't as acute as yours I'm afraid." Zafii explained.
"Yes, yes!" Hep motioned for her to follow him. "Let's sit and drink."
Zafii sat down in a large cushioned arm chair, exactly where Hep had directed her. Hep did not sit down, however. He had disappeared by a small bar and seemed to looking for something a bit harder than champagne.
"Yes, this ought to do it." Hep said confidently.
He grabbed two small glasses to go with a bottle containing a dark brown liquid.
"I remember you don't like ice in yours." Hep announced.
"You remembered." Zafii smiled, taking the empty glass from him as he sat down across from her.
"I never forget what a lady likes to drink, especially one as fair as you." Hep flirted.
He poured them both a generous offering of the strong spirit and he sat back in his chair, relaxing.
"Ah yes, who were we talking about again?" He asked.
"Zenni and Josia Pel. You wrote an article about them sixteen years ago." Zafii reminded him.
"How could I forget? That article won me three of those." Hep said, referring to the plaques on the wall. "Yes, they were a sad little couple. Of course the editor here on Naboo wouldn't allow for the whole article to be published. It was more than a fluff piece of the locals. No, he didn't want me defaming the Jedi. He never liked that much. Everyone else published it though. They respect me so much, they didn't even need the video evidence I had ascertained."
Zafii pretended to drink some of the dark spirit and then set it down on a nearby table.
"Video?" Zafii asked.
"Of course, I had a droid record the entire interview. They agreed to it before hand, of course." Hep explained.
"Hep, I refresh my memory. Why so much disdain for the Jedi? I mean, I know why I don't like them." Zafii prodded.
Hep sat up in his chair, a shocked expression covering his face.
"Are you serious? I've told you this story at least a thousand times. I remember telling you when you were but a wee girl on my knee. Anyway, you know I had a younger brother. Yes, I had always wanted a younger brother to play with. When I was eight years old, I had all but given up on the idea. My mother and father were always out at their fancy parties, didn't have time for me. All I had were the droids and the holo to keep me company. Then finally my father got caught." Hep shook his head.
"Caught?" Zafii questioned.
"Well, not literally… But when the wench of a maid turned up pregnant, it was all the proof my mother needed. But he was still my brother, even if only by my father. I still was excited to have him. My mother of course, she forgave my father but not before having the young maid arrested on some trumped up charge. It was always curious to why my father wanted real help and not cleaning droids. I guess we know the truth now." Hep [i]reminded[/i] her.
"I forget… what happened to your brother?" Zafii urged him on.
Hep's lip curled in anger as the memory came back to him, "The damn Jedi, that's what happened. Apparently he was Force sensitive. My mother was all too happy to give him away to the Jedi when they came knocking. Why wouldn't she be? Everyone knew what my father had done and it made my mother look like the fool. So there went my dreams of having a younger brother to look out for. Then what happens? Oh… I went undercover after I won that very first plaque over there. I had enough money to do it. I sought my brother out and he was nearly grown. It was the first time I had seen him in fifteen years. What did the Jedi have him doing? He was stuck on some Force forsaken farm planet. He was special enough to rip away from his family, with their lies… But hardly good enough to become a real Jedi. He didn't even have a lightsaber, what a tragedy. I hated my mother for giving away my baby brother when I was young. As an adult I realized it was the Jedi's fault. My mother knew how badly I wanted a brother and she loved me, I know she did. Why would she let the Jedi take him? I remembered overhearing the conversation years later. That's when I realized the Jedi had come to my parents and used their mind tricks on them. They did the same thing to that young couple, the Pel's. They STOLE their son… or was it a daughter. Either way, they stole that child from them and made them suffer until the day they died because of it."
It was apparent now that Hep was out of breath and out of energy from talking about all of this. He looked at Zafii one last time before dozing off in the armchair. Zafii took the full glass from his hand and set it on the table next to him.
Zafii walked with great stealth through the house until she found a datapad that was hooked up to a private server. It took her a few tries, but she was able to hack the password and gain access. She put in a search for Pel.
A few seconds later, several files came up on the datapad screen. One was a written text file, the one she remembered reading a week ago in the public records library. Then she found what she was looking for. The extension of the file told her it was a holovid. She found a pair of small headphones in a drawer and put them over her head and inserted the male end into the datapad itself.
"Did they make you give away your baby girl, Zenni?" Hep's voice could be heard, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Zenni looked like and older, more disheveled version of Zafii. She had an arm around her as she cried, presumably Josia's.
"Do you remember actually wanting to give her up or did they force you to do it?" Hep asked the question again.
"We told you," Josia sobbed, but the video was still focused on Zenni.
Zenni was a mess; her right hand covering her face, her left hand cradled the womb in which Zafii had been created.
"They kidnapped her, didn't they? They kidnapped her and told you if you said anything there would be consequences!" Hep demanded the answer.
"I didn't want to give her away. I felt… pressured." Zenni sobbed.
"I knew it, I knew it!" Hep said with a celebratory voice. "Trust me, the Jedi will pay for their crimes against you. I will make them pay!"
The holovid disappeared and Zafii restarted it. She watched it five more times before leaving Hep Naugzi to sleep.
For the Fuller family, things were finally starting to feel like home. The last of their minimal possessions they were able to bring were placed in their proper spots in the apartment. Kyn and Kyra had both made acquaintances at their respective schools, and much to the rejoice of the entire family, Tyon had received his first credit deposit from his job at the Jedi Temple.
"I think this calls for a nice family night out," Tyon announced.
Kyra jumped for joy and Rayna was also pleased to be getting out of the apartment and being able to do something as a family. Kyn wanted to get out of the apartment as well, but he was more interested in exploring Coruscant on his own.
"I'm just not comfortable with you roaming around the planet just yet," Rayna had told him several times when he'd asked to venture out.
The entire family, minus Cole who was at the academy dressed in their finest robes and Tyon even called for an air taxi to pick them up.
"Can we go see a holo-vid at the Cineplex after dinner?" Kyra asked.
"We'll see how full we are after dinner," Rayna said, as they hopped on board the air taxi.
"And how tired," Tyon yawned.
"None of that," Rayna said as she jabbed him with an elbow to the ribcage.
"I've been working all day." Tyon said defensively.
"And what do you think I've been doing?" Rayna reminded him.
The dinner was enjoyable. They were a little overdressed for the restaurant they picked but they didn't care. Finally it seemed that the homesickness they had all been feeling was beginning to lift.
After dinner and waiting on their air taxi to arrive, Kyn noticed the Cineplex high rise a few buildings over. There was a large screen playing clips of the latest holovids that they were offering.
"Oh, I've been wanting to see that one." Kyn pointed to the screen which was currently showing a clip of a high-tech action movie.
"I don't think that one is appropriate for Kyra." Tyon reminded him.
"I'm tired," Kyra yawned.
Tyon smiled, this was the best news he had heard all night.
Kyn rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Do you want to go Kyn?" Rayna offered.
"What? By myself?" Kyn asked, surprised.
Rayna looked at Tyon, "Give him enough credits to see the movie and to get a taxi home."
"What do you think they pay me over there?" Tyon said, outraged.
"Please," Kyn said. "I haven't done anything by myself in weeks."
Tyon shook his head but handed his son enough credits so he could enjoy the rest of the evening by himself.
They all boarded the air taxi together but Kyn got off at the Cineplex and the rest of his family returned to the apartment. Kyn stood in front of many smaller screens that were placed outside of the Cineplex and took note of all the different choices he had.
Each holovid had a different rate, based off the popularity of the film. He noticed that the vid he wanted to see was priced higher than all the others and was also rated mature, with identification required.
"I don't want to see any of these others," Kyn muttered to himself.
"Why not come see a race with me down at the tracks?" A female voice said.
Kyn recognized the voice; he also recognized the grotesque feeling in the pit of his stomach when her finger gently rubbed against his shoulder.
"What do you want," he said defensively, turning to face Salue.
"Jumpy, aren't we?" She laughed.
Kyn noticed she didn't have any of her rough alien friends around this time.
"Look, I wanted to apologize for what happened on the transport from Ennth. Those guys put me up to it, I felt like my life was endangered. I didn't know what else to do." Salue explained.
Kyn glared at her and shook his head, "I have no reason to believe you."
"True," she smiled wickedly at him. "I notice you have a handful of credits there. Care to make a wager?"
"With you? Hardly." Kyn spat.
Salue laughed, "Good boy, but not with me. This is legit. There is a big race tonight in the Undercity. There is a guy they say is the best. He's ruled the circuit for years, he's undefeated. I heard there is some daredevil Jedi challenging him tonight."
"I don't think so," Kyn said, walking towards a computer terminal.
He had decided to just buy a ticket to the cheapest showing so he could get away from Salue.
"Look, I'm not the bookie, Kid. I just thought I would make it up to you and show you a good time since I saw you out here. But if you don't want to go, I'm not going to twist your arm." Salue said snootily.
Salue began to walk away slowly. Kyn watched her for a few seconds and then finally called out.
"Who's the Jedi?" Kyn asked.
Salue stopped immediately and slowly turned to face him, a devilish grin on her pale, white face; her short blue hair covering half her face.
"Ever heard of Anakin Skywalker?" Salue asked.
"Yeah the little kid who won the Boonta Eve race last year." Kyn said knowingly.
Salue nodded and walked towards him, "Well they aren't racing pods, but I heard he was working on something really fast. He sneaks out at night and races from time to time. Hopefully if the little tyke can manage to get out of the Jedi Temple tonight, we will have a very interesting race on our hands."
Kyn looked at the credits his father had given him and decided that a race involving a Jedi in the middle of the night on Coruscant would have to be more action filled than any holovid.
"Okay," Kyn said, defeated.
Salue smiled and took his arm with hers and she escorted him down into the lower parts of the city. It took them over an hour of walking, but finally arrived where a large gathering of people were hovering.
"This must be the place." Salue said, trying to look between excited bodies.
"This is the track?" Kyn scoffed.
"What did you expect? This is the underbelly of the capital of the Republic." Salue laughed.
Salue pointed towards a large, blue alien who was taking credits and passing out small hand written vouchers.
"Get your bets in, race starts in 5!" The blue alien roared.
Kyn hesitated; he was a bit weary of walking into a large group of people with Salue around.
"Just give me the credits," Salue said.
Kyn slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the credits and handed it to her reluctantly. Salue smiled wickedly and walked towards the blue alien. She had a short conversation and soon she was walking back with their wager voucher and two small holo-monitors.
"What are these?" Kyn asked, taking one of the monitors for himself.
"So we can watch the race silly. You don't think they just go around in circles do you? No, they fly all around Coruscant, sometimes into the middle of traffic. There are spots they have to fly by and everyone can see so no shortcuts." Salue explained.
"Who did you bet on?" Kyn asked.
"Skywalker," Salue said, adjusting the settings on her monitor.
"But you said the other guy always wins!" Kyn exclaimed.
"Skywalker is getting odds, if he wins our winnings will be triple than if we just bet on the favorite." Salue said knowingly.
"I'd rather take the sure thing," Kyn muttered. "And it's my winnings I believe."
Salue looked up, her smile turning sour.
"So selfish… You wouldn't even know about this to win anything if it weren't for me. As I see it, if WE win, I should get a finder's fee." Salue retorted.
Kyn didn't say anything. He knew at best he would be splitting his winnings with Salue. She was devious and he should have never fallen for it.
As he was regretting his decision to accompany her, the race started. The two racers flew around Coruscant in modified speeders. They were neck and neck for most of the race, weaving in and out of traffic, dodging buildings and each other.
"Come on!" Everyone was yelling in the crowd, cheering for their racer to win.
The race had turned physical as the two racers were bumping each other's side with their respective speeder. The finish was close but it looked like Kyn was about to be out of the small amount of credits he had allowed Salue to wager.
"That's it," Kyn said in a defeated tone.
He set the monitor aside and shook his head in frustration. He was surprised to hear Salue begin to cheer and jump up and down in place watching her monitor. Kyn ran over to her side and watched with her as Skywalker had apparently used some sort of turbo boost that had been installed on the speeder and he zoomed past his opponent, winning the race.
"YES!" Kyn yelled triumphantly.
Salue dropped her monitor and hugged Kyn, wrapping her wormy arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek and Kyn felt violated.
"Let's go get your money." Salue advised.
The bookie seemed pleased with the finish. Mostly everyone had bet on the favorite and while those he did pay out were for more money, it was obvious he had taken a profit. Salue handed him the voucher and he in return handed her a fist full of credits.
She walked over to Kyn and offered him all of the credits. Kyn took it without hesitation but then handed half back to her.
"What's this?" Salue asked.
"Finder's fee," Kyn nodded.
"Oh you are the sweetest kid," Salue said, taking the credits and kissing Kyn on the cheek again.
The two of them walked away from the dispersing crowd as they counted their winnings.
"Have fun tonight, honey?" Salue asked in her best attempt at a sultry voice.
"It was… interesting. I'm glad we won though." Kyn smiled.
"Tomorrow night then, why don't we meet by the Cineplex again and I'll show you a real good time." Salue offered.
Kyn was hesitant. He had regretted coming with her at first, but the thrill of winning had but that on the backburner.
"I don't know." Kyn sighed. "This was the first time I was allowed out on my own, I don't know if I could…"
Salue laughed, "Ah, will mommy not let you come out and play?"
"Fine!" Kyn shot back. "I'll be there."
Salue once again had that wicked smile on her face and she allowed her hand to trace the jaw line of his face.
"See you soon then," she purred.