Arrival on Naboo/The Missing Planet

The freighter reached Naboo safely and landed at Theed spaceport. After disembarking, Anakin, Padme, Livia and R2 took an airbus to the palace. Livia had to admit, Naboo certainly was a beautiful planet; with it's lush green meadows out in the countryside, while Theed itself boasted very tasteful architecture. "Ya know, if I grew up here, I don't think I'd ever want to leave." she remarked as the group made their way across the great courtyard.

"I doubt that." Padme laughed.

"I agree with Liv." Anakin chimed in. "When I first started my training, I was very homesick and very lonely. This planet and my mom were the only pleasant things I had to think about... the problem was, the more I thought about my mom, the worse I felt. But I would feel better if I thought about the Palace; the way it shimmers in the sunlight, the way the air always smells of flowers..."

"... and the soft sound of the distant waterfalls." Padme finished for him. "The first time I saw the Capital, I was very young... I'd never seen a waterfall before. I thought they were so beautiful... I never dreamed one day I'd live in the Palace."

"Was it always your ambition to go into politics, mi'lady?" Livia asked.

"No. Politics was the last thing I thought of when I was little." Padme laughed. "And you can call me Padme, Livia. My dream was to help in the Refugee Relief Movement. I never thought of running for office, but the more history I studied, the more I realised how much good politicians could do, so when I was eight, I joined the Apprentice Legislators, then later on became a Senatorial advisor with such a passion that, before I knew it, I was elected Queen. Partly because I scored so high on my education certificate, but for the most part it was my conviction that reform was possible. I wasn't the youngest Queen ever elected, but now that I think back on it, I'm not sure that I was old enough. I'm not sure I was ready."

"The people you served thought you did a good job." Anakin said. "I heard they even tried to amend the constitution so that you could stay in office."

"Popular rule is not a democracy, Anakin." Padme said. "It gives the people what they want, not what they need."

"I thought giving people what they want was democracy." Livia said.

Padme seemed to either not hear this remark, or she chose to ignore it. "I was relieved when my two terms were up." she said to Anakin. "So were my parents. They were worried about me during the blockade and couldn't wait for it all to be over. Actually, I was hoping to a family of my own by now. My sister has the most amazing kids. But when the Queen asked me to serve as Senator, I couldn't refuse her."

"I agree with her." Anakin replied. "I think the Republic needs you. I'm glad you chose to serve."

"Anakin..." Livia began, realising that Anakin was trying to flirt again.

"I feel things are going to happen in our generation that will change the galaxy in profound ways." Anakin continued.

"I think so too." Padme replied.

~8~

Padme and the two Jedi were soon in a meeting with Queen Jamila and Governor Sio Bibble. "How many systems have joined Count Dooku and the Separatists?" Jamila asked.

"About 200." Padme replied. "And more are leaving the Republic every day. If the Senate votes to create an army, I'm sure it's going to push us into a civil war." she finished grimly.

"It's unthinkable." Bibble shivered. "There hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic."

"Do you see any way through negotiations to bring the Separatists back into the Republic?" Jamila asked Padme.

"Not if they feel threated." the Senator replied. "The Separatists don't have an army, but if they're provoked, they will move to defend themselves, I'm sure of that. And with no time or money to build an army, my guess is they'll turn to the Trade Federation or the Commerce Guilds for help."

"Huh, the armies of commerce." Livia muttered to herself.

"Why has nothing been done in the Senate to restrain them?" Jamila asked.

"I'm afraid that, despite the Chancellor's best efforts, there are still too many bureaucrats, judges, and even more Senators on the payroll of the Guilds." Padme replied grimly.

"It's outrageous, but after four trials in the Supreme Court, Nute Gunray is still the Viceroy of the Trade Federation." Bibble burst out. "Do these money mongers control everything?!"

"Remember, Governor, the Courts were able to reduce the Federation's armies." Jamila reminded him. "That's a move in the right direction."

"There are rumours, your Highness, that the Federation Army was not as reduced as they were ordered." Livia spoke up.

"The Jedi were not allowed to investigate." Anakin added. "It would be too dangerous for the economy, we were told."

Jamila considered all of this. "We must keep our faith in the Republic." she decided. "The day we stop believing democracy can work is the day we lose it."

"Let's pray that day never comes." Padme agreed.

"In the meantime, we must consider your own safety." Jamila said.

"What are your suggestions, Master Jedi?" Bibble asked Anakin and Livia.

But before either Padawans could answer, Padme got there first. "Oh, Anakin and Livia are not Jedi yet, they're still Padawan learners, but I was thinking..."

"Hold on a minute..." a nettled Anakin tried to interrupt.

"Excuse me." Padme shut him up. "I was thinking I would stay in the lake country." she told the Queen. "There are some places up there that are very isolated.

"Excuse me," Anakin persisted, "we're in charge of security here, mi'lady." he pointed between himself and Livia.

"And this is my home. I know it very well. That is why we're here." Padme told him. "I think it would be wise if you took advantage of my knowledge in this instance."

"Sorry, mi'lady." Anakin backed down.

"Perfect. It's settled, then." Jamila spoke up, having watched this with amusement. "Padme, I had an audience with your father yesterday." she continued as they began to leave the throne room. "I told him what was happening. He hopes you will visit your family before you leave... they're all very worried about you."

"What was that about?" Livia asked Anakin quietly as they followed the Queen and Padme.

"I just don't like it when people belittle me in public." Anakin admitted. "Master Obi-Wan does it to me all the time, and I didn't want Padme doing it either.

"Well, maybe you should stop trying to flirt with her all of the time, then." Livia suggested.

"I was not flirting!" Anakin whined.

~8~

Back on Coruscant, Obi-Wan and Tey were standing in the Jedi Temple archive library when they were approached by Madame Jocasta Nu, the Jedi Archivist. "Did you call for assistance?" she asked them.

"Yes, yes, we did." Obi-Wan replied.

Nu then noticed that Tey was looking at a bronze bust of Count Dooku. "He has a very powerful face, doesn't he?" she said said, running a hand over the bust's chiselled features. "He was one of the most brilliant Jedi I have had the privilege of knowing."

"I met him once, ya know, when I was a youngling." Tey said. "Why did he leave, anyway?"

"Well, one might say he was always a bit out of step with the decisions of the Council..." Nu replied, "much like your old master, Qui-Gon Jinn." she said to Obi-Wan.

"Really?" a surprised Obi-Wan blinked.

"Oh, yes." Nu replied. "They were alike in many ways. Very individual thinkers... idealists... not unlike yourself, Master Sacul." she said to Tey.

"Well, I keep saying, times are changing, and we must change with them, otherwise we'll just become complacent and ineffective." Tey shrugged.

Nu turned back to the bust. "He was always striving to become a more powerful Jedi. He wanted to be the best. With a lightsabre, in the old style of fencing, he had no match."

"That's one thing I remember from my meeting with him; his lightsabre was curved." Tey remarked. "I've always wandered why that was."

"His knowledge of the Force was... unique." Nu continued. "In the end, I think he left because he lost faith in the Republic. He believed that politics were corrupt, and he felt the Jedi betrayed themselves by serving politicians."

"Hmm, I think I can see his point." Tey commented. "The Republic definitely isn't as righteous as it proclaims to be."

"He always had very high expectations of Government." Nu continued. "He disappeared for 9 or 10 years, then just showed up again as the head of the Separatist movement."

"Interesting..." Obi-Wan commented. "I'm still not sure I understand."

"Well, I'm sure you didn't call me over for a history lesson." Nu shrugged. "Are you having a problem, Master Kenobi, Master Sacul?"

"Yes, um, we're looking for a planetary system called 'Kamino'." Obi-Wan explained, sitting down at a computer terminal. "It doesn't show up on the archive charts."

"Kamino? It's not a system I'm familiar with. Are you show you have the right coordinates?" Nu asked.

"According to our information, it should appear in this quadrant here..." Obi-Wan pointed to the screen, "just south of the Rishi Maze."

"No coordinates?" Nu asked, tapping a few key commands. "It sounds like the sort of directions you'd get from a street tout... some old miner or Furhog tracker."

"All three, actually." Tey remarked.

"Are you sure it exists?" Nu asked.

"Absolutely." Obi-Wan replied.

"Let me do a gravitational scan..." Nu typed in some more key commands and the three Jedi studied the star map on the screen. "There are some inconstancies here." Nu observed. "Maybe the planet you're seeking was destroyed."

"But wouldn't that be on record?" Tey pointed out.

"It ought to be, unless it was was very recent." Nu replied. "I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you're searching for... doesn't exist."

"Impossible." Obi-Wan frowned. "Perhaps the archives are incomplete?"

"The archives are comprehensive and secure, Master Kenobi." Nu replied abruptly, offended at such an implication. "One thing you can be absolutely sure of- if an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!" She turned on her heel and strode away.

Obi-Wan turned back to the chart and ran a hand through his beard. "Hmm, I think it's time we started thinking outside the box." Tey spoke up. "Let's talk to Master Yoda. He'll know what's wrong, I'm sure of it."

~8~

On Naboo, Anakin, Padme, Livia and R2 made their way along a residential street in Theed. Anakin and Livia were back in their Jedi robes, while Padme wore a casual aquamarine dress. "There's my house." she pointed to a house ahead of them, with two little girls playing outside. "Ryoo! Pooja!" Padme called, and the two girls came running over. Padme scooped both girls up and hugged them. "I'm so happy to see you!" She set the two girls down and they scampered off to play with R2.

"Cute kids." Livia remarked. "They your nieces?"

"Yes, my sister must be visiting." Padme replied as she led the way into the house.

The trio entered the dining room, where Padme's older sister was just setting some food down on the table. "Padme!" she exclaimed in delight, and hugged her sister.

"Anakin, Livia, this is my sister, Sola." Padme introduced when they broke apart.

"Hello, Anakin, Livia." Sola greeted.

"Hello." Anakin responded polietly.

"Nice to meet you." Livia chimed in.

"And this is my mother." Padme continued as her mother, Jobal, came in from the kitchen with more food.

"Hello." Jobal greeted. "You're just in time for dinner. I hope you're both hungry, Anakin, Livia."

"A little." Anakin said politely.

"He's just being polite, Mom. We're starving." Padme said as they all sat at the table.

"Yeah, the cuisine on the transport wasn't up to much scratch." Livia added.

"Well, you've come to the right place at the right time." Padme's father, Ruwee, said as he joined them.

"Honey, it's so good to see you safe." Jobal said as she began dishing the food out. "We were so worried."

"Dear..." Ruwee chided lightly.

"I know, I know..." Jobal waved him off, "but I had to say it. Now it's done."

Ruwee just raised an eyebrow in amusement and cast a look at the two Jedi.

"Did ya know, Anakin, you're the first boyfriend my sister's ever brought home?" Sola said suddenly, causing Anakin to look taken aback, and Livia to nearly choke on her food.

"Sola!" Padme rolled her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend. Anakin's a friend, we've known each other for years. He and Livia are Jedi assigned to me by the Senate to protect me."

"Bodyguards?!" Jobal stared. "Oh, Padme, they didn't tell us it was that serious!"

"It's not, I promise." Padme tried to reassure her. "I'm not in any danger, Mom."

"Is she?" Ruwee asked the two Jedi.

"Yes... I'm afraid she is." Anakin answered honestly.

"That's why we've been assigned to her protection." Livia added. "But we're confident it won't be long before the danger's passed." she did her best to reassure the two worried parents.

~8~

After dinner, Anakin joined Ruwee for a walk in the garden. "Ah, I sometimes wish that, uh, I'd travelled more, but I must say, I'm happy here." Ruwee said.

"Padme told us you teach at the University." Anakin said.

"Yeah, and before that I was a builder." Ruwee replied. "I also worked for a Freedom Relief Movement, but I was very young." he winked cheekily.

~8~

Inside the kitchen, the women were clearing the table. "Why haven't you told us about him?" Sola asked her sister coyly.

"What's there to talk about?" Padme shrugged. "He's just a boy."

"A boy?" Sola scoffed. "Have you seen the way he looks at you?" she teased.

"Sola, stop it!" Padme huffed.

"It's obvious he has feelings for you." Sola pushed.

"Yeah, well, he shouldn't." Livia spoke up. "The Code forbids attachments."

"And why's that?" Sola asked her.

"Well, as my master told me, attachment leads to jealously, and jealously leads to chaos."

~8~

"So tell me, son, how serious is this thing?" Ruwee asked Anakin. "How much danger is my daughter in?"

"There have been two attempts on her life." Anakin replied. "Chances are there'll be more. Our masters are tracking down the assassins, I'm sure they'll find out who they are. As Livia said at dinner, the situation won't last long."

"I don't want anything to happen to her." Ruwee said desperately.

"I don't either." Anakin sighed.

~8~

"There is no attachment." Padme insisted. "Anakin and I are... friends. Our relationship is strictly professional."

"And I'm here to make sure it stays that way." Livia added.

Sola and Jobal just shared knowing looks and got on with their tasks.

~8~

Presently, Padme was in her bedroom, packing some provisions for the trip out to the lakes. "Don't worry, this won't take long." she told Anakin and Livia, who were both standing in the doorway.

"I just want to get there before dark." Anakin replied.

"So you still live here when not on Coruscant?" Livia asked Padme.

"I move around so much, I've never had a place of my own." Padme replied. "Official residencies have no warmth. I feel good here. I feel at home."

"I never really had a home." Anakin commented. "Home was always where my Mom was."

"The only home I've ever known is the Jedi Temple." Livia said.

"How old were you when you became a Jedi?" Padme asked her.

"About three, I think." Livia replied. "I can't remember anything before that. My earliest memories are of Master Yoda training me with the other Younglings, then when I was 10, Master Tey chose me as her apprentice."

Anakin walked over to a framed hologram on the wall. "Is this you?" he asked Padme. The hologram showed a nine-year-old Padme hugging two alien children tightly.

"That was when I was with the relief group to Shadda-Bi-Boran." Padme explained. "Their sun was imploding and the planet was dying. I was helping to relocate the children. See that little one I'm holding? His name was N'a-kee-tula, which means sweetheart. He was so full of life." she sighed. "They all were."

"What happened?" Livia asked her.

"They were never able to adapt... to live off their native planet. They all died." Padme replied sadly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Livia said sympathetically.

Anakin meanwhile went over to another framed hologram, this one showing an 11-year-old Padme wearing official robes and standing between two stern-looking legislators. "My first day as an apprentice legislator." Padme explained. "Notice the difference?" she joked, pulling a face that matched the one she was pulling in the hologram, causing Anakin to smile in amusement, then she turned and went back to her packing.

~8~

Obi-Wan and Tey walked through the Jedi Temple until they came across a training room, where Yoda was training 20 five-year-old children on lightsabre use. "Reach out. Sense the Force around you." Yoda coached the Younglings, who were all wearing helmets which covered their eyes, and they were trying to deflect stun bolts from training remotes with pratice lightsabres. "Use your feelings you must." Yoda continued, then he saw Obi-Wan and Tey enter. "Younglings. Younglings!" Yoda tapped his gimmer stick on the floor and the Younglings deactivated their sabres and lifted their helmets up. "Visitors, we have."

"Hello, Master Obi-Wan and Master Tey." the Younglings chorused.

"Hello." Obi-Wan said brightly.

"Your training's going well." Tey added. "Keep up the good work!"

"We're sorry to disturb you, Master." Obi-Wan said to Yoda.

"What help can I be, hmm?" Yoda asked, knowing that the two Jedi wouldn't have disturbed him unless it was for something important.

"We're looking for a planet described to us by an old friend." Obi-Wan explained. "We trust him, but the system doesn't show on the archive maps."

"Hmm, lost a planet Masters Obi-Wan and Tey have." Yoda said to the Younglings, who giggled. "How embarrassing. How embarrassing."

"Yeah, we thought we'd get your perspective on this, Master." Tey said.

"Liam, the shades." Yoda instructed a Youngling, who lowered the room's sun visor, while Obi-Wan walked over to a small tube in the centre of the room and placed a small ball at the top of it. "Gather 'round the map reader, clear your minds... and find the wayward planet we will." Yoda said as the reader lit-up and projected the star chart hologram into the room.

"It ought to be... here..." Obi-Wan said, walking into the display and pointing to an empty space, "but it isn't. Gravity is pulling all of the stars in this area towards this spot."

"And if the system had been destroyed in a supernova, like Madame Nu seemed to think, then the gravitational pull would have been altered, yet it clearly hasn't." Tey pointed out.

"Hmm, gravity's silhouette remains, but the star and all the planets, disappeared they have." Yoda observed. "How can this be, hmm? A thought? Anyone?"

"Master, because someone erased it from the archive memory." a boy spoke up.

Yoda chuckled. "Truly wonderful the mind of a child is. The Padawan is right. Go to the centre of gravity's pull, and find your planet, you will." he told Obi-Wan and Tey. "The data must've been erased."

"But Master Yoda, who could empty information from the Archive?" Obi-Wan asked as Tey retrieved the star chart. "That's impossible, isn't it?"

"Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files." Yoda frowned. "But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will."

"May the Force be with us all." Tey said grimly as she and Obi-Wan turned to leave. Their investigation had just become much more complicated.

Author's notes: Notice that this chapter is mostly made up of deleted scenes. I decided to include the stuff with Anakin and Padme visiting her family on Naboo to flesh things out a bit. I might include some more deleted scenes as we go along. Livia being along for the Naboo stuff is certainly making things interesting from a writing standpoint. Next time, we're off to Kamino and there's the small matter of a certain kiss...