AN – Ok, where is all the time going? I can't apologize enough since my course has been taking up more of my time than initially thought and the stories are starting to suffer – this cannot happen.
Thank you to katniss12 for reminding me and to Carliecullenx for being my new Beta :)

Chapter eleven

Naboo

Neither really knew what to expect over the next few days. How long would it take for the assassin to realise that she wasn't there? Once they did, they would most likely guess Naboo as her location and therefore the human capital, Theed, but would it be too obvious to choose to stay somewhere more remote? Padmé had settled on a family Villa in the lake country, Varykino, as the safe house and once they had finished business in Theed they would move there. She chose it because it was far away from the eye of the capital and she would still be safe and comfortable.

Anakin and Padmé had no trouble getting to Naboo and once there they were greeted warmly. They spent that first night in a town house in Theed whilst Senator Amidala informed her associates about the future arrangements and wrapped up any queries. Anakin was introduced as her personal security to her colleagues and welcomed fondly.

There were meetings after meetings, about security, other Senators expressing their concern for her safety, voicing their worries about her having 'such a young boy' watching over her. All Anakin really did was follow her around, checking every corner, every window, every door and try to ignore the comments.

"You're nervous." She whispered to him. It wasn't a question; she could tell he was anxious from the way he picked at the corner of his robes. They were waiting outside a council hall for a requested meeting with the Queen.

He glanced sideways at her then looked forward and took a forcefully deep breath.

"It's my first assignment on my own but … I'm not worried."

"Good, neither am I." She smiled to herself. "After all I'm sure everything will be fine so long as R2 is with us." The droid chirped up behind them at the mention of his name.

Eventually they started to leave for Varykino, after Anakin voiced his own concerns about spending too much time in the public eye. So they took a ferry deep into the lake district where Padmé had connections to the villa that she had known as a child. They got out of the city by meeting the caretaker of the villa with his gondola in a remote and quiet part of the city.

"Paddy, it's good to see you again." Exclaimed Padmé on seeing the man at the boat.

"It's been a long time, my lady." The old man smiled.

"Oh, excuse me. Anakin, this is Paddy, he's worked in our family retreat for many years now. And this is the Jedi Anakin, Paddy, he's here to protect me and ensure nothing happens to me." Anakin bowed to the old man, respectfully, and he did so in kind.

"Well, Master Jedi, you have your work cut out for you with this one. I still remember the days when she was young and enjoyed the thrill of going out on the lake." Paddy gave a deep chuckle. "Anyway, we should get going."

The journey was a fair distance, enough to get away from the capital, and once Theed was out of sight, Anakin could see a marked difference in Padmé – she was more calm, visibly more relaxed.

"How you holding up?" asked Padmé from where she sat across from him on the shallow boat that glided them across a large glassy lake.

"Not bad." He glanced at her briefly before letting his mind drift out again, constantly searching. "Haven't found anything yet, but I hope that isn't just due to my obvious inexperience." He flicked his gaze to her just in time to see her wince.

"I'm so sorry about them. They just don't understand; yes you are young but your skills aren't something that will have to improve with age, necessarily. I know that you are more than up to this task."

"Thank you." He muttered. A part of him was flattered but then a part of him didn't know if she was just being kind to him. She was a politician after all.

They were nearing their destination, which was neatly settled into the side of a hill on the edge of the lake; it's elegantly curved architecture built in a soft sand coloured stone with soft tones and luscious greenery that both surrounded and climbed the building. It really was beautiful and at least there Anakin could relax for a while.

There wasn't much for Anakin to do as the protection detail; he was shadowing Padmé whilst she went about her business. When she wasn't in even more meetings she would be writing to a correspondent in the courtyard garden that overlooked the lake.

Few official people knew she was back on Naboo and it was essentially Anakin's job to make sure she was safe if their presence leaked out. The fact that most people still thought she was on Coruscant meant that there was a lot of letter writing to be done and that meant that they were locked away for long hours. Padmé was aware of how tedious if must be for him to stand around and follow her so she wanted to make more of an effort for him to see more than just her offices.

"Have you heard from Obi-Wan recently?"

Anakin looked up at her, not expecting the branch of conversation.

"No, I know he's busy. I'm not really sure if he's meant to check up on me, actually. I report to Master Windu if anything goes wrong here…"

"Is there a protocol you have to follow when you and your master take different assignments? I would have doubted you would be so isolated from him." She didn't look up at him but continued to scan the page she had in her hand so she didn't catch the crease in Anakin's forehead.

"I don't know. It's never happened before … I mean, it must have at some point but never to us, so I don't really know what's going on."

"It must be more of a test of independence, then."

"Could be." He said, smiling to himself. He hadn't had much of a chance to prove himself before, even if this was just a security detail.

"Are you worried about him?"

"No, he can look after himself. It's strange not going with him … and I will always be worried if he gets into trouble but I can't do anything about that. He's a like a father to me so I guess I'll always be worried if I'm not there."

Padmé looked up to see him staring at his feet. How young he appeared.

"And Echo?"

"Well, I know she can do just fine without me." She smiled at the smirk on his face and returned to her letters, pausing and folding away her papers.

"Come with me, I have something to show you."

Kamino

"So the mystery planet does exist." Obi-Wan chuckled into the intercom. All data on Kamino had been whipped from the archives so Obi-Wan had relied on what other Jedi could tell him.

"Didn't doubt you for a second, Master."

"I see the settlement; R4, head for that landing platform."

R4 made a responsive bleep and the craft dived toward the blue planet. The entire planet appeared to be taken up by a restless ocean and there was water everywhere: falling from the skies, running off the roof tips and falling into the incredible expanse of ocean below them. The only settlement visible was a collection of circular buildings with pointed, cone-shaped roofs. It matched the description of the capital, Tipoca City, that Dex had given them.

They had only just disembarked from their craft into the pouring rain when the doors to the closest building slipped open. Echo immediately jumped to defence, her hand to her belt but Obi-Wan stopped her as he could sense no threat just … tranquillity. The Kaminoan strode toward them, standing tall and elegant, almost glowing white against the dark atmosphere on the platform. Its neck was extensively elongated, with a small, serpent-like head and wearing long silky looking robes.

"Welcome, Jedi, we have been expecting you."

Echo really struggled to cover her shocked expression at this greeting but a cross glance from her master kept her silent; her uncle had warned them to be polite so she just bowed her head, feeling the water trickle down the collar of her cloak.

"Well, we are very sorry to have kept you waiting. Forgive us. I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and this is my apprentice."

They bowed in unison.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Taun We. If you follow me I will take you to our Prime Minister." With that she turned back to the doors and slinked away. Her long, elegant strides made her seem to be moving in slow motion and appeared rather eerie.

Obi-Wan and Echo shared a cautious glanced before Echo nodded to her master and followed him out of the rain.

Prime Minister Lama Su was even taller than Taun We and wore a long dark robe. He had welcomed them warmly, informing them of how the order was doing well with two hundred thousand troops at the ready and a million more on the way. He then insisted on showing them how it was going along.

"Had you heard of anything about a clone army?" whispered Echo. Obi-Wan simply put a finger to his lips and shook his head slowly.

They followed the Kaminoans through well-lit corridors with simple, smooth architecture when they suddenly reached a walkway lined with enormous glass windows overlooking a hall below them. Lines of white armoured men were collecting helmets and weapons in regimented form and Lama Su told them that they were growing at an accelerated rate but that the original, a man called Jango Fett, had requested a copy for himself which was not accelerated.

The real shock arrived when they reached one of the corridors and were confronted by a large chamber filled with rows after row of clones.

"This could be a phenomenal army but in the wrong hands …" muttered Echo, in awe at the militia before her.

"Does the original still live here?" Obi-Wan asked Lama Su.

"Oh yes, we like to keep him close by. Would you like to meet him?" the Prime Minister enquired, a gentle hand waving in the direction of another corridor.

They stopped at a door and knocked gently. It was opened by a young boy with a flash of dark hair and Lama Su addressed him kindly, asking if his father was home. The boy nodded and wandered off to another part of the living rooms, they followed him to a man who very strongly resembled the boy. The child stood back but continued staring evils as the Jedi. Echo narrowed her eyes at him but the boy didn't waver, instead fixing his stare to her alone.

"Jango, this is the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young apprentice." Taun We introduced them to the man before them and they bowed in acknowledgement. "They have come to see how the project is getting along."

"I see." Jango Fett surveyed Obi-Wan as if sizing him up but Obi-Wan remained civil, smiling pleasantly at him as always but Echo could see the warning look in his eyes.

"Your clones are very impressive, you must be very proud." Obi-Wan said.

"I'm just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe." The defensive edge in Fett's tone made Echo snap her eyes to him, analysing him. Obi-Wan must have picked up on it too but instead he smiled at Fett again.

"Ever made your way through the Interior to Coruscant?"

"Once or twice."

"Recently?"

"Possibly." Fett shrugged.

"Then you must have known Master Sifo-Dyas. He must have hired you for this job."

"Never heard of him. I was hired by a man called Tyranus." At the mention of the name Tyranus both Jedi did well to hide their reactions.

"Curious." said Obi-Wan, all pleasantries gone to be replaced by a testing stare from both parties.

"Do you like your army?" muttered Fett. Obi-Wan suddenly showed a wry smile.

"I look forward to seeing them in action."

A/N Trying to keep to the original story line now so there will be some lines and scenes from the film but with my added interpretations. I'm struggling a little with the split in the story line here so please tell me if you think it's not working like this.