Chapter Five
Two days of touching with limited restraint and kissing far past the melting point, was enough to drive any woman to the edge of insanity. Sexual frustration anyone? She wanted to make love to Obi-Wan so desperately, and yet cared enough for him to respect his wishes. He wanted to wait. For what, she wasn't sure. Her undying devotion? He had it! Her promise of monogamy? It was his for the asking! She ached with wanting him, and the damned meditation he had designed for her wasn't helping at all!
Padmé imagined that when they finally did join together, the result would be rather climatic. No pun intended. It would be like a supernova, reducing their surroundings to a pile of rubble and ash. Nothing left but her charred skull revealing a most satisfied grin.
In the meanwhile, she would continue to make use of the gift Dormé had presented her with on her last naming day. Now, if only she could find an available outlet on board this miniature ship!
And even though the cruiser was basically a closet traveling through space, Dormé had somehow managed to stay out of her way. She suspected her assistant had spent most of her time with Anakin in the cockpit. A wise choice. Padmé wasn't finished with their discussion from the other day about the continued bad choices she'd been making lately.
"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan's voice reached her from underneath the cramped 'fresher door, but his concern did little to improve her mood. Apparently, the outlets on board this ship weren't compatible with the charger for the intimate massage device Dormé had given her.
"I'm fine!" her voice carried more loudly than intended.
"We'll be entering orbit soon," he explained kindly, "and there's a few things I need to go over with you."
Like why this ship is equipped with 4/40 when her charger is 2/20? "I'll be right out," she told him instead.
Within a few minutes she joined Obi-Wan and the Menace herself in the Main Hold, deliberately choosing to refuse to make eye contact with the other woman.
"There are two lockers down the corridor containing a variety of blaster rifles. Long range as well as sporting pistols. If you stay on board as I've asked you to, there should be no use for them. However, it's always best to be prepared. Beneath the corridor flooring is a storage space I believe both of you will fit into if you need to hide for some reason. And here;"
Obi-Wan placed a comlink onto Padmé's palm.
"I'm not sure if the mountainous terrain will offer the most reliable transmissions, but it's better than nothing."
"Master?" Anakin heralded from down the corridor. "We're entering the atmosphere."
"You girls better get strapped in. I'll meet with you after we land."
Before he left, Obi-Wan placed a chaste and sweet kiss to her cheek, and then moved quickly to the front of the ship. Padmé hurried to the wall and seated herself on one of the benches, reaching around to connect the safety harness as Obi-Wan had suggested. She didn't bother checking to see if Dormé had done the same.
Their ascent was rather jarring, but the landing was smooth. When all motion had ceased, Padmé unstrapped herself and rose to find Obi-Wan.
"There are essentially two types of terrain here," he explained near the loading ramp. "Mountains and woods. The plan is to meet with the Gaw-Lin clan first, which will take Anakin and I south. If you need us, use the comlink. Please, do not venture off the ship. If, for some reason, a conflict does arise, I don't want you to be caught in the middle of it."
"Be careful, Obi-Wan," Padmé pleaded, reluctant to release his hand as he stepped away and exited the ship. She didn't take her eyes off him until the ramp closed with a shuddering clang.
Only then did she spin round and level a glare aimed at her assistant. She'd had enough. Not only had Dormé interfered with the health of a Jedi, she had interfered with Obi-Wan's mission as well! What if her presence here was too distracting for him, and he got himself hurt? Or worse?
"Mi'Lady," the young woman began in a sorrowful tone, but Padmé would have nothing of it.
"Don't say a word!" she spat out, stepping toward the cockpit and away from the corridor, slapping the comlink down onto the console. "When we return to Coruscant, I'm turning you in myself! You are a danger to the Jedi, to me, and to yourself!"
"But I…"
Large aqua monster tears were threatening to spill over, but they did little to lessen Padmé's anger.
"Don't start it! You were sorry before and look what you've done! You promised not to interfere again! And look what you've done!"
She was yelling, and she knew it, but couldn't seem to stop herself. Be it the frustration of unrequited lust, or Dormé's complete lack of sensibility, Padmé had reached her limits!
"If anything happens to Obi-Wan, I swear…" While she was considering an appropriate punishment, an unfamiliar noise caught her attention. At first it sounded like a tap on the outside of the ship. But then the tapping became a whir, and sparks began to fly through edge of the ship's loading ramp.
If she didn't know any better, she would think somebody was trying to get in!
Dormé's common sense finally decided to reveal itself and put the young woman into action. She hurriedly shoved Padmé down the corridor, with the obvious intention on reaching the storage space beneath the floor Obi-Wan spoke of. But there wasn't time.
With a loud bang, the ramp door collapsed, falling backward onto the ground, shooting up a cloud of dust and piercing the interior of the ship with sunlight. Following that was the sound of barking orders in a language neither of them understood.
Padmé did understand their current situation however, and felt that any being who had the nerve or stupidity to vandalize a vessel delivering Jedi was someone who could not be trusted. They were in trouble. Deep trouble!
"Hide!" Dormé suggested quietly.
It occurred to Padmé as she frantically searched the ship that this was the best idea her bodyguard had come up with in a long time.