On the way to room No.266 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building in Silver Spring, he met her.
"Don't be late for the briefing, Dr. Naberrie-Palpatine."
"What makes you think I would be late, Dr. Skywalker?"
"Because you are always late... almost always."
"That is an assumption, and you know it."
He smiled and gestured with his hand, pointing towards the room. "After you."
They were the last ones to arrive, and two seats in the first row were held for them. Of course, she led the expedition and he was her deputy. Dr. Windu was impatient for the briefing to begin, even though they had taken their seats two minutes before 7:00pm.
"Dear colleagues, the last briefing short before the start of the expedition is always necessary, so I would like to emphasize once again the importance of accurate records. Your recording and transmission with GPS coordinates must not contain any errors. The plane is waiting for you at Ronald Reagan Airport with equipment already on board. As the project leader for this year, Dr. Naberrie-Palpatine will take the next steps on site in Anchorage.
A few more instructions followed, and the majority had already started yawning. Everything was known, this was a repetitive expedition, practically routine...which shouldn't be taken lightly, though. No one will.
"Thanks, and I wish you a successful expedition and a good flight."
Some said thank you, the others just went out, and Padmé had a few more words with Dr. Windu to exchange.
There is a certain amount of nervousness before every expedition, even if it isn't the first. At least until everyone has taken their seat on the plane.
Padmé was already seated in the front row, behind the pilot's cabin. Thank goodness, as there was more space to stretch out. When she was rummaging through her bag, someone settled into the seat next to her with a plop. She looked up... and there he was.
"Sorry, Dr. Skywalker, but this is Dr. Secura's place."
"We swapped. She assumed that the leader of the expedition and her deputy had much to talk about...and I can stretch my...long legs."
Looking at him, she noticed his long legs. Her gaze followed the way from his feet, over his knees and thighs, to the place where a men best piece would normally be. This man's imposing piece was... yes, imposing.
She remembered how popular he was on campus, especially among female students. He was tall, blond, blue-eyed, and had a perfectly built and toned body, in other words: a dream for every woman.
….like she was every male student's dream. She knew that she was incredibly beautiful, and she used that to make every single one of them crazy, but only one stayed away from her game. She didn't want to play with him, she loved him, what no one knew. It was so secret that she even kept it hidden from herself. She wanted to have him in the end and forever. She held on to this intention... until she had to become Mrs. Palpatine. Things often turn out differently than you think.
"I don't know what made Dr. Secura think so...but OK. , sit down... and don't spread yourself out so much."
"Oh, sorry, it was not my intention." Of course that was his intention to touch her with his knee. Dinner will be served when we reach flight altitude. Right?"
"You mention food so often, and I see you eating a lot in the cafeteria. How do you stay so slim, I mean..."
"I spend a lot of time in the gym."
"Aha, it is obvious that you have a tendency to think highly of yourself."
"Yes, but you too." He smiled at her and admired her beautiful cashmere pullover, which looked very similar to his in color and shape.
"Time to fasten our seat belts."
Her belt clicked, as did his, the already noisy engines roared until they were revving up and then all of a sudden, they were rolling. They were pressed into their seats and went silent as if everyone feared something, some holding hands reassuringly, Padmé and Anakin not. The plane climbed higher and higher until the lights of the city, below them, became smaller and more indistinct. At some point, they felt that the machine was no longer in climb, and it became quieter. The light above their heads flashed green and ping rang, it was okay to unbuckle.
Anakin fidgeted in his seat, turning every few seconds to see if the stewardess was already beginning to serve dinner. Finally, the trolley arrived. Because they were sitting in the front, they were the last to be served food.
"You can choose between sweet and sour chicken and roast beef with a side dish." stewardess offered.
Anakin took chicken sweet and sour and Padmé chose the other menu.
After he put a piece of meat in his mouth..." You made a mistake by not taking the chicken menu. Mmmm, it is perfect."
"Like the Chinese?"
"Nearly. Try it." And raised the chopsticks.
"Only if you taste my beef, otherwise you will say I ate it all away." She put a piece of meat in his mouth with the fork.
At that moment, Aayla Secura arrived, and she was surprised by the intimacy between the two.
"Uh… am I interrupting? I just wanted to give you some data on that DataPad...I...I'm already done with eating over there, sorry, Padmé."
"No problem, Aayla. I will look after I have eaten."
Aayla turned to leave, but Kit Fisto, who was sitting behind Anakin and Padmé, asked:
"What about those two?"
"Nothing. They feed each other, but not with information relevant to the expedition."
Padmé had heard the comment. "Dr. Skywalker, they are going to start talking about us."
"I do not care."
"It is something to care about, I'm your superior. You know how this can end."
"I know, but there is nothing between us, they're just speculating."
"Sometimes it's enough to get things started."
"What can they do? We have known each other since your freshman year."
"They don't know that. None of them studied at Cornell."
"Do you remember your freshman year in college?" he smiled.
"Oh yeah. Wherever there were ten girls in a bunch, you were in the middle."
And now he laughed. "And whenever the boys got into a fight, you were the reason."
"Then we know each other well. I would suggest; "Try to sleep, it is a nine-hour flight, get some rest."
He tilted the backrest slightly back and took the blanket offered by the stewardess. After a short while, he fell asleep. He turned his head to the left and at some point it was resting on her shoulder. She hadn't fallen asleep yet, but she sat there with her eyes closed, enjoying his closeness.
When she was a student, she often dreamed of having him close while other girls enjoyed his closeness, but none of them for more than the one day. She wasn't sure if it would make her feel happy or sad. If every day another girl had hung on his arm, would that mean that all that girls didn't mean anything to him, or that he wasn't able to commit...or didn't want to? As he got a few years older, he was not seen with women as often, but even then, it was always another. And now? Officially, he was single. She assumed that he had casual dating, which was normal for singles his age.
And she? What happened to her? As a student and later, she allowed herself to be admired, or something non-binding that no one knew and no one saw...and now? Now she was married. But it is another story. How can you have so much bad luck in life? She didn't have to ask herself this question; she was prepared for it from her early age. But now she didn't want to think about it, now she had her moments of happiness and wanted to enjoy them while they lasted, however short they might be, at the latest until landing... if he doesn't wake up before... With the pleasant smell of his hair, which was tickling her nose, she finally fell asleep.
The captain announced the landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International and the descent began soon.
Padmé woke up and Anakin was still asleep with his head on her shoulder. When the machine became a little more restless, he woke up. It was just before 6:00 a.m. Only those who were awake got breakfast.
Anakin looked at her, almost disturbed.
"Excuse me."
"Did you sleep comfortably on my shoulder… all night?"
He gave his best smile. "If it had not been so good, I would have woken up already."
"I'm happy I played as your pillow."
"I would look forward to a repeat...maybe soon." And grinned.
"No hint of impudence, right?"
"Everyone knows I'm not shy."
"And what do you want to achieve with your confident attitude?"
"Everything I want, let's say…almost everything."
"Well then almost. We're descending...uh, are you hungry? You slept and got nothing."
"I am starving."
She picked up her bag and pulled out a fruit bar.
"Here, I need you alive."
"Good to hear I'm needed."
"Don't equivocate."
"Not at all. I'm just glad you need me…for whatever."
"Dr. Skywalker, stop this nonsense immediately."
"Yes, Boss."
"We are in descent, I hate it."
He wanted to ask if she was scared and if he should hold her hand, but bit back the question. Instead, he simply took her hand, which was clenching the armrest, into his own hand and held it tightly. Padmé didn't withdraw her hand. She didn't know why she didn't, she just knew she should have.
When they landed, it was 6:00 a.m. , still dark at night. On that Tuesday, November 17th, at 9:00 a.m., it was just starting to get light. They will have to wait for a few more hours in the cold and darkness before they can board their connecting flights. Of course, they were not outside in 3,2F, but the airport hall is not as warm as the Silver Spring office. All of them gathered at the newly opened Starbucks to drink a cup of warm coffee and perhaps eat a sandwich.
Everyone was able to sleep through the flight, unfortunately it's not that comfortable in the half-sitting position, everyone was tired. Nevertheless, Padmé still had to underline that the equipment must be checked carefully when loading. They all flew to their final destination in small, single-engine planes. They didn't take off from where big plane like Boeing or Airbus do, so they could go to the plane by themselves.
The chartered planes arrived around 9:00 a.m. ready to receive the cargo and passengers.
First up were Aayla Secura and Kit Fisto. Their plane was ready to take-off to reach their destination Umiat in about two hours of flight, if the weather doesn't change.
The second plane was supposed to take Plo Koon and Adi Gallia to Chevak. The flight time could be the same.
..and Padmé and Anakin were the last ones on their plane to Fairbanks, about an hour's flight.
With such a small machine, you have a wholly different feeling of flying and Padmé didn't like it, she was visibly nervous. The two sat behind the pilot, with headphones on because of communication. Anakin noticed her discomfort and took her hand in his. She quickly took down the headphones and placed them in her lap.
"Don't do that, Dr. Skywalker."
The pilot didn't need to hear their conversation, so he also took down his headphones. "Why not?"
"Because it makes me uncomfortable."
He smiled at her, "Sorry milady." but didn't let go of her hand.
Best regards from Germany