DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
"Hey, Kenobi, any time you need a ride, just come to me, okay?" Spath called back from the cockpit.
Obi-Wan grunted, and adjusted another bolt. He was nervous, and didn't know what to do with himself. Well, until it turned out that Spath's beat-up Arcturian cruiser could stand some repairs.
Obi-Wan had never really considered himself mechanically-inclined. Anakin could sit for hours, building some kind of vehicle out of scrap parts and junk. Obi-Wan rarely even knew what he was making until he was finished. But when it came to repairs, Obi-Wan was a master. He sort of had to be. Qui-Gon wouldn't touch mechanical things if his life depended on it, and Anakin often ended up breaking more things than he repaired. Right now, Obi-Wan was hard at work on Spath's auxiliary cooling system. He'd already refitted the hyperdrive and cleaned out the landing jets.
"Are we almost there, yet?" he called out, grumpily.
"The way you're goin', sunshine, I might just fly us around in circles until the whole ship is like new."
"SPATH!"
"Kidding, kidding."
Anakin had the distinct feeling that the palace guards weren't going to let him in. He didn't think mind tricks would work, either. They might work on one guard, but the others would catch on. He was going to have to find another way to get to Amidala. Getting into the Palace couldn't be too hard, though... After all, there were a whole bunch of servants and cooks who had to get in. And, of course, there was always the duct work. Anakin was pretty sure he could fit through the ducts, but if he got caught, he had no idea how to explain his presence there.
Anakin stood on the Palace Walk, watching the pedestrians mill around. He'd already come across half the galaxy, and now he was stuck at the gate. Suddenly, a flash of orange caught his eye. He watched as two girls in elaborate orange robes passed, obviously on their way to the town proper. They were carrying shopping baskets, and laughing and giggling together. Handmaidens.
Anakin broke into a sprint after them. "Hey! Wait up!"
The two handmaidens paused, and their eyes widened. "Anakin!" one exclaimed.
Anakin grinned. They remembered him.
"What are you doing here?" the other asked.
"Hey Eirtae, hey, Sache." He grinned sheepishly. "I need your help."
"Sure you don't need any help?" Spath pressed.
"Yes. I'm quite sure I don't need any help. I can take care of this by myself."
"Ya want me to hang around? You an' the kid are gonna need a ride back to Malastare, right?"
"No. I will need a ride back to Malastare. Anakin will be dead, so he won't be needing a ride anywhere."
Spath grinned.
"Don't inconvenience yourself, Spath. And thank you for the ride."
"Hey, no problem. An' I got some stuff I could do here. I'll be hangin' around for the next few days. If you need me."
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, bowing slightly.
"Thank you, Kenobi. You fixed every damn thing on my ship."
Amidala sighed as Sabe ran the brush through her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror. She spent so much time in costume anymore that it seemed strange to see her reflection minus the facepaint, intricate hairstyles and elaborate clothing. Instead, a plain, brown-haired, brown-eyed village girl stared back at her.
Right now, she wished she were still a village girl. A village girl wouldn't have to negotiate with Westerly in two hours. She smoothed her dressing gown carefully. He wasn't that bad, she kept telling herself. He was just young, and enjoying his royal status. He might even be normal in a few years. Unfortunately, the negotiations needed to take place now.
There was a soft knock, and Rabe entered.
"M'lady, there's a visitor."
"A visitor?" She furrowed her brow. It was probably Westerly. He'd taken to pestering her in the time surrounding their negotiation sessions. "Whoever it is will just have to wait," she intoned in her Queen voice.
"Yes, m'lady," Rabe said, nodding slightly. "M'lady..." she paused. "It's Jedi Knight Kenobi."
Amidala's eyes widened, and she jumped to her feet. "Obi-Wan," she mumbled happily, as she dashed out of the room.
"M'lady!" Sabe exclaimed. "You're not..." she trailed off as she realized Amidala was out of earshot. "Dressed."
Something was wrong. Obi-Wan paced the waiting area. No one had mentioned Anakin. Maybe he'd beaten the boy here. No, he could feel some of the boy's mental residue. He'd been here, but wasn't now. But surely, the boy's first move would have been to find Amidala. Obi-Wan himself had just walked in, announced his name, and requested to see her. Maybe Anakin wouldn't have taken the same approach.
His mental processes were abruptly cut off when he was hit with about a hundred pounds of Nubian royalty.
"Obi-Wan!" Amidala exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?"
Obi-Wan hadn't quite gotten his thoughts sorted out yet. "You're... wearing a bathrobe."
Amidala blushed. "Oops." She poked his traditional Jedi robe. "So are you."
"I am not! These are trad--"
He noticed her looking around. "Where's Anakin?"
Obi-Wan swallowed. She didn't know anything about the boy's disappearance. He started to tell her, then stopped. How could he tell the poor girl that he'd lost his apprentice? "He's off at the Jedi Temple for the week. The Council wanted to evaluate him without my presence. I figured here was closer than Malastare, and since you'd said you were having some trouble, I thought I'd stop in." Obi-Wan smiled lamely. He really hoped she bought it.
Amidala looked confused for a moment, but decided to just go with it There was something more going on, but if Obi-Wan wasn't ready to tell her, he just wasn't ready to tell her. "Well, it's good to see you."
"Er... yes. How are the negotiations going?" Obi-Wan mentally grimaced. This wasn't helping him find Anakin at all. But maybe, if he could get Amidala to let him stick around, he could intercept the boy before he did anything rash.
"Oh, the Gungans are showing up today."
"Gungans?"
"M'lady?" Rabe begged quietly from the doorway.
"What?" Amidala asked.
"Do you really think it's proper for you to be entertaining guests in your dressing gown?"
"Rabe, did you stop to think that perhaps my dressing gown is entertaining Obi-Wan?"
Both Obi-Wan and the handmaiden flushed red.
Amidala grinned, and patted Obi-Wan on the cheek. "Don't look so scandalized. I'll talk to you a bit later, all right? I need to go before my handmaidens have conniptions. Rabe, find Obi-Wan a guest room, please."
"Yes, m'lady," Rabe said awkwardly.
Amidala gave a quick wave and disappeared back into her room.
"Follow me, sir," Rabe said to the still-blushing Obi-Wan. He barely caught her last comment, mumbled underneath her breath. "Entertaining, indeed..." She looked back at Obi-Wan, who was curiously observing the palace hallway. "Pervert."
"You must be mistaken, Anakin," Sache protested. "The Queen has mentioned nothing of getting married."
"Maybe she didn't tell you," Anakin pressed.
Eirtae frowned. "I don't know, Sache. Maybe he's right. That Jocarian prince has been a little... pushy."
"Don't be silly, Ei! He's flirted with all of us... Oh, my."
The girls had snuck Anakin into the palace, and the three sat in the handmaidens' quarters.
"See? I just need to talk to her..."
Eirtae shook her head. "It won't do any good, Ani. I know Amidala. If she thought it would benefit Naboo, she'd marry a Gungan. Especially if she couldn't even bring herself to tell us about it..."
"She is the Queen, and it is her business..." Sache said slowly. "Oh, Ei! We can't just let her marry that pompous kaadu! He's... slimy."
The handmaidens shared a despondent look.
"Look," Anakin said. "Maybe we can't convince her face-to-face. But if we could... I don't know... find out something about him. Or make him look bad."
The handmaidens shared another glance. "Anakin, that's sneaky and underhanded," Eirtae scolded.
"And dishonest," Sache added.
"Sorry," Anakin replied glumly.
"And we're going to have to start looking for some dirt now, if you really want to stop this," Eirtae continued.
Anakin grinned. He'd known the handmaidens would help.
"What are you doing here, Jedi?" Captain Panaka asked good- naturedly.
"I have no idea," Obi-Wan sighed. It was the truth. Rabe-- he thought it was Rabe, anyway-- had appeared at his door and announced that the Queen requested his presence at the negotiations. He squirmed in the uncomfortable chair. Just about everyone was here. Sio Bibble sat a few seats away, complaining animatedly about something. Panaka's Guard stood in various spots around the room. A handsome young man who Obi- Wan could only assume was Prince Westerly sat in one of the more ornate chairs. He looked a bit uncomfortable himself, especially in royal uniform. He didn't seem too unpleasant, but then again, Obi-Wan wasn't a female.
Suddenly, everyone in the room stood, and Obi-Wan hopped up, too. The Queen strode into the room, two handmaidens at her back, dressed in their traditional orange robes. Obi-Wan could barely recognize Amidala from the young woman he'd seen earlier. Her dark hair was twisted into some sort of crest around her head, set off with an elaborate headpiece. Her face was painted in its familiar white. She wore a heavy, cream-colored dress, trimmed in gold. In his association with Amidala, Obi-Wan had come to realize that her clothes were always symbolic. During the Neimoidian invasion, she'd wore predominately black, symbolizing her mourning for her planet. When addressing the Senate, she'd worn red as an emblem of her anger and outrage. Right now, the negotiations were peaceful, and almost at an end, so she wore white.
Amidala stopped in front of her chair, but remained standing.
"Today's negotiations will be joined by the other civilization of Naboo-- the Gungans," she announced in her regal, oddly-accented voice.
The doors at the other end of the hall opened, and Boss Nass, accompanied by a small Gungan honor guard entered.
"Greetings, Queen of da Naboo," he intoned, as he reached his seat. "And you, Prince of Jocar."
Westerly bowed slightly.
Amidala nodded, and everyone sat down.
Obi-Wan, realized, to his horror, that he recognized one of the Gungans.
Said Gungan, realized, to his horror, that he recognized Obi-Wan.
"Obiwun!" Jar Jar announced.
Obi-Wan had the grace to look embarrassed.
Boss Nass shot Jar Jar a look, and Jar Jar promptly shut up.
Prince Westerly squinted at Obi-Wan.
"Queen Amidala, is a Jedi really necessary at these negotiations? I assumed things were going well."
Amidala smiled peacefully. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is an old friend, Prince Westerly. He is visiting, and I suggested he observe the negotiations. I thought perhaps he might have some input."
"Ah," Westerly concluded. "Well met, Jedi."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Well met, your Lordship."
Obi-Wan frowned. Westerly seemed upset. Outwardly, the man seemed cool and polite. But from the moment Amidala said "old friend," Obi-Wan's Jedi senses fervently yanked the "hostile emotions" alarm. The man seemed threatened, almost... jealous. But why? Obi-Wan couldn't think of any reason. Perhaps he had a past history with Jedi. After all, he'd recognized the robes instantly.
"Something up, Jedi?" Panaka whispered in his ear.
"No... Not overtly. Just a... feeling," Obi-Wan whispered back.
"I trust your feelings, Jedi. You get more than a feeling, you tell me, okay?"
"Of course," Obi-Wan replied. He turned his attentions back to the negotiations. But not before one more glance at the Crown Prince of Jocar.
"We're going to need help," Eirtae explained, as she led Anakin and Sache down the hallway.
"Ei..." Sache warned.
"He owes me a favor," Eirtae protested.
"Mm-hmm. I think you like--"
"You can keep your thoughts to yourself, Handmaiden Sache," Eirtae sniffed.
"The hangar?" Anakin asked, confused.
Eirtae keyed the door, and it hissed open. The hangar was abuzz with the usual daytime activity. Droids scuttled about. Eirtae made a beeline for one of the fighters. Half the paneling was removed, and its pilot was crouched under one wing, busy making repairs, a little R2 droid rolling around excitedly, trying to help.
"Hand me that hydrospanner, O3," Ric Olie grunted to the little droid.
"Hey, Ric!" Eirtae said brightly.
Ric promptly stood up and hit his head on the wing. R2-O3 chittered merrily.
"Laugh it up, Servo-brain," Ric grunted. He looked up, and a grin broke onto his face. "Hey, Ei. What can I do for you?"
"Hey, Ric!" Anakin piped up, slightly offended that the Nubian pilot hadn't noticed him yet.
Ric looked down, and his eyes widened. "Anakin! What are you doing here, kid?"
"Ric..." Eirtae started. "We have a problem."
Obi-Wan's year of training Anakin had definitely spoiled him. He'd almost forgotten how boring negotiations could be. He didn't know how Amidala had been going at it for days. The Jocarians seemed sincere-- they had a lot to offer Naboo, but they also stood to gain a great deal from an alliance as well. The Gungans, not being a space-faring race, didn't seem to have a lot of interest either way, but they just looked happy to be included.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Westerly rose to his feet. "Queen Amidala. Your planet's offer seems most generous. I greatly anticipate the close alliance of our two worlds."
"I eagerly await that, as well," Amidala said smoothly, standing up.
"Moreso, I look forward to the day when our planets become more than just an alliance. The day that we become as one."
"I don't like this," Panaka grumbled.
Obi-Wan nodded mutely, confused. The Prince's words were disturbing, but there was no hostility from the man. Instead... cockiness?
Amidala stood silently, eyes ablaze.
"The contract will be signed after our marriage ceremony, Queen Amidala, and not before. Our joining will mark the start of a new era of prosperity for Jocar and Naboo."
Every eye in the room was on the Queen. Her jaw was tight, and her face was stony. Obi-Wan sensed her emotions run the gamut from rage to embarrassment and back again. But even he couldn't have guessed her next words.
"Yes, Prince Westerly. I, too, anticipate that day. The negotiations are finished for today." With that, she stalked out of the room, handmaidens scrambling to keep up.