Precipice by shadowsong26
Milestones: Chapter 8
Bail was well on his way to Crait-may already have arrived, depending on what route he and Captain Antilles had settled on-and Padmẻ was left on Coruscant to do her absolute favorite thing in the world.
Wait.
Not that she was waiting for anything in particular. Or anticipating trouble, for Bail or anyone else-everything involving the base, according to the latest they'd heard, just before he left, was proceeding as expected.
Well, technically, she was waiting for responses from certain committee members on different aspects of official Senate business, but none of it was urgent. Mostly queries and updates to various items she was collaborating on, based on input from the Queen and Assembly on her recent trip home.
Then again, waiting on responses from colleagues didn't mean there was nothing for her to do, even if it felt that way. But there were ongoing projects and problems to at least check in on, even if she couldn't make any actual progress, which was part of why she and her handmaidens were holed up in her study-Luke was in his own room, theoretically catching up on some reading for his classes next week before he went to see Princess Lavinia tomorrow. Though, given what he and Sabẻ had discussed after he'd left dinner the other night, Padmẻ was pretty sure he was looking into flight schools instead.
Which was fine. She trusted he would find a way to get everything done-he usually did-and at least this was better than things had been for the past few days.
Her son had been, for lack of a better word, moody ever since they'd gotten back from Theed. Which wasn't totally new, exactly, but it had definitely become more obvious. And the worst part of it was that Padmẻ wasn't totally sure how much of this was just ordinary thirteen-year-old grumpiness, or if something was actually going on. He wasn't quite sulking, wasn't quite angry, just...a little withdrawn, a little sullen. He tried to cover it, but he was...well, suffice to say that one of the things he'd inherited from his father was an utter inability to hide what he was feeling.
Or maybe it was just because he was her son and she knew him well enough to tell. Either way, he wasn't talking to her about it, at least not yet.
That much, she was pretty sure, was just ordinary teenage behavior. She herself had mostly skipped that phase of shutting her parents out and moping on her own instead when something was bothering her, but she'd watched Sola, Ryoo, and Pooja all go through it. Besides, while she hadn't necessarily witnessed it directly, she'd certainly heard enough about her beloved husband's teenage years. Some of it even directly from him. There was no reason to think that Luke wouldn't go through a sullen-teenager phase, too, as much as she'd hoped he'd take after her in that way.
Apparently not.
Of course, just because it was normal and she was more or less resigned to putting up with it for a year or so, that didn't mean she didn't worry. Especially when there had been a sudden, subtle, but noticeable change. Something had changed on this trip home, something to push him deeper into that perfectly normal, if difficult, teenager mental state.
Then again, she knew pushing him would probably get the exact opposite of what she wanted, which didn't exactly help. She had never liked standing by and doing nothing when faced with a problem, even when it was the best course of action.
She wondered if Anakin was dealing with similar problems with Leia. He hadn't mentioned anything, but maybe she'd ask in her next letter. Even if there wasn't much to do about it, at least they could commiserate.
Other than that, she just had to hope she was finding the right balance between giving him privacy and space to sort things out for himself, to start to grow into his adult personality, and continuing to keep him safe and make sure he had everything he needed-all the support and love and tools she could give-to help him succeed.
More watching and waiting, like so much of her life these days.
At least she was fairly sure that, however much of the avoidant-teenager game he wanted to play, he would come to her if he was in real trouble. Or, if not her, then one of her handmaidens. Which was good, that he could depend on them, as well-the wider his support system, the better off he'd be. She'd learned that from experience. And, given how much Anakin had decided to rely on the others with Leia, she had a feeling he was taking the same approach. Making sure that, whatever else happened, their children would always have someone trustworthy they could talk to about whatever was bothering them.
And that part, at least, was already paying off on her end. Sabẻ had unraveled at least some of what was going on in Luke's mind. And her intervention had probably come at the right time-Padmẻ had been almost at the point of giving up on giving him space and just flat-out asking him what was wrong, rather than waiting for him to come to her, when he'd left dinner the other night and Sabẻ had followed him outside. Of course, she didn't expect Sabẻ to betray Luke's confidence unless she thought it was something Padmẻ genuinely needed to know, but at least he was talking to someone. And Padmẻ trusted her judgment on that, as with so many things.
So, the short version was-Luke was feeling adrift and stagnant, like his life wasn't going anywhere and he wasn't contributing enough. That would explain a lot of it. Probably. She hoped.
Which was where they'd started this informal meeting, of course. The situation with Luke, and coming up with a way to fix it.
"I have a feeling there's more to it than he was willing to tell me just yet," Sabẻ said. "But mostly details, would be my guess. Possibly something specific happened that made this feel that much more urgent or important to him."
Padmẻ nodded. "But you don't think it's anything we should be worried about?"
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Certainly nothing dangerous. And I doubt he's gotten involved in anything illicit we don't already know about."
Illicit, here, meaning his awareness of-and beginning participation in-her own extra-legal activities, his letters to and from his father and sister, teaching Princess Lavinia how to pick locks, sneaking out to a diner a few levels down that made excellent milkshakes…
Harmless, or at her side, for the most part-and if that ever changed, they were in a position to deal with it.
"Good," she said. "I'm sure we have some projects he can start on?" Which wasn't a bad idea, really. She just wished she'd thought of it herself, before Luke got to the point where he felt this left out.
"We have a list of things we've been putting off for lack of resources," Motee said. "We can review them over the next few days, then give him a few options."
"Thank you," Padmẻ said. "If you could send that to me, I'll look over it later tonight."
"Done."
Padmẻ flashed a brief smile, then sighed. "Which brings us to flight school."
"I have a few in mind," Sabẻ said. "Managed by people I'm familiar with on a reasonably personal level. And I suggested he do his own research, as well."
"Oh, I know," she said. "That's not what I'm worried about." She remembered, out of nowhere, how tightly Shmi Skywalker had gripped the balcony rail at that race all those years ago.
This isn't podracing, she reminded herself. It's just flight. The same kind of flying I used to do on a semi-regular basis. ...we'd better have a talk with him about sneaking out, though. I know Ani used to find street races in the underlevels when he needed to blow off steam...
But that was a problem for another day.
Then again, now that Sabẻ had gotten Luke to open up some, Padmẻ wasn't so sure that giving him space was the best play. Better to keep those lines open, remind him that she was here, when he was ready.
Subtly. Ish.
"I think I'll take him out for ice cream after dinner," she decided. "It's been a while since we did that, and even if we don't talk about anything important…"
"We'll make sure you're clear," Dorme promised, making a few notes on her datapad. Probably messaging Threepio, so he could rearrange her schedule as necessary.
From there, they moved on to more Official topics, going through legitimate and semi-legitimate business-not that there was much; mostly status updates on a pair of conservation bills she'd introduced shortly before her trip home. Neither of which she expected to pass, or even make it out of committee, of course, but that wasn't the point. The point was to see which of her colleagues actually supported them and try to figure out why; if it was a one-time support of this particular issue, or if they might be worth approaching.
Or if they might be trying to lure her and her allies into a trap, which hadn't happened recently, but was always a risk.
"I think we want to keep a closer eye on Senator Ah'Zedrin," Dorme said. "They just attached an amendment about trafficking in exotic pets to the botanical imports bill. Not the first time they've tried to get it shoehorned in on something tangentially related, so it may just be a pet cause of theirs." She paused. "Uh. No pun intended. Anyway, there are some interesting keywords in the text this time."
Padmẻ scanned the copy on her datapad, and frowned. Not like the usual bait the Emperor or his minions have tried to dangle, but not the kind of overture I've seen from potential genuine allies, either… "Huh," she said. "I see what you mean. Set up a meeting, would you? I'd like to sound them out in person."
Dorme nodded. "You have time the day after tomorrow, I think. I'll confirm with Threepio after we wrap up here."
"Good," she said. "Anything else?"
"Not Senate business, exactly," Motee said.
"Go ahead," Padmẻ said, once Elle confirmed their countersurveilance was still up.
"We've received an update from Crait," she said. "Back-channels, as always, through two or three relay points. As of yesterday, comms and shields are finally in place, though I think we're still leaning towards avoiding direct transmissions, as a precaution. I'm sure Senator Organa will make a final judgment call when he arrives."
About what she'd expected, even if a tiny part of her had hoped that maybe-
But better not to risk it, outside an emergency. And there had better not be any emergencies, either.
"All right," was all she said out loud. "Keep me posted."
"Of course."
"On a related note," Elle said, "I've been vetting some additional black market contacts."
"Oh?"
She selected a file on her datapad and pushed it into their private network, to share it with everyone else's. "I think this arms dealer is promising. Better than quite a few of our current sources."
Padmẻ scanned the file, considering. The dealer was, on the surface, a perfectly legitimate trader in art and antiquities, specializing in tapestry and other fabric or fiber arts. But his travel and contacts put him on worlds that saw a lot of under-the-table dealing in weaponry. Mostly small arms-pistols, rifles, and so on-but some of the flashier things, too. It had probably taken Elle weeks of careful research to connect the dots and confirm that he actually did have that particular side business.
"If we do end up using him, that puts us a little more overtly at the center of things than we have been thus far," Sabẻ pointed out. "Are you sure you want to risk that?"
"That is the main problem," Elle agreed. "But none of the others I've been looking into have a cover business any of our key allies can take advantage of quite this well. And, unless Senator Organa sees something we're not expecting on Crait, we probably need to start moving arms and other supplies in higher volumes. What we've stockpiled over the past decade won't last forever."
"It's something to consider," Padmẻ said. "But Sabẻ has a point, too. I'd like a little more detail, about him and his operation. Could you set a meeting with one of him, or one of his lieutenants? Any of us can go, but I want someone's in-person impressions before we make any potentially irrevocable moves."
Elle drummed her fingers on her screen for a moment, considering, then nodded. "It'll take me a week or two to set up. And it should be one of us, milady. Just in case."
"We can settle on that once we have the meeting lined up," Padmẻ said.
All four of the others exchanged a long look.
Padmẻ raised an eyebrow. "No scheduling the meeting for when I have a conflict I can't move," she said, firmly. Which they had done at least twice, she was pretty sure. Granted, both times had been in connection with things she probably shouldn't have handled in person, and when she was being particularly stubborn about it, but she still didn't like it. "I'm not going to insist on going-don't give me that look, Dorme-but I'd like the chance to talk you into it, at least."
"Fine," Sabẻ said, speaking for all four of them, after a moment. "Unless we have no other choice, we'll try to set it when you're available."
"Thank you," she said. "Is that everything?"
"Everything we had," Elle said, and the others nodded.
"All right," Padmẻ said. "In that case, I have some notes I want to make on the resolution Senator Chuchi asked me to co-sponsor." She called up the file on her datapad, setting it to project. "Feel free to chime in if you see anything I miss."
It was one of her favorite ways to work, really. Collaborating, like this, surrounded by people she trusted. Particularly her handmaidens. And even if Senator Chuchi didn't expect her response for another four days...well, it was still productive.
And it took her mind off waiting.
Original Author's Notes: Sooooo we are coming up on a couple of Milestones! As was pointed out to me recently, this fic is very nearly three years old, and it is also just past 200k words long. I have a prompt call for bonus fics to celebrate up on my writing tumblr-feel free to send me your suggestions!
And thank you so much for sticking with me this long! 3 ~shadowsong