Chapter Text
Padmé had precious little hope remaining as she was marched to be processed, like the rest of Naboo had been. Her handmaidens were being admirably brave, but they too felt the weight of their capture. The Trade Federation had caught the queen and won. Now Naboo was in their hands.
Suddenly, two figures in brown cloaks dropped from a balcony above her, along with a long-eared being, landing in front of the droids at the head of the formation, catching them by surprise. The droids tried to fire their blasters in response, but metal cylinders in their hands erupted into green and blue lightsabers.
These men must be Jedi. Even though Padmé didn’t know why they were helping, she knew that the Jedi Order was trustworthy and their presence on Naboo was a blessing from the ancestors.
The Jedi quickly dispatched the droids, cutting through them so quickly that Padmé hardly had time to think before the older one urged their party to get off the street. Padmé and the handmaidens were led to cover by Governor Bibble, while Panaka and the guards collected the droids' blasters.
Once they were in an alley, Padmé listened as the older Jedi explained to her decoy that Chancellor Valorum had sent them to negotiate with the Trade Federation, but that they never took place. The Federation attacked them instead, forcing the two negotiators to flee onto the planet. He asked Panaka if they had any way to communicate with Coruscant, and he explained that communications had been knocked out.
While they spoke, the younger man quietly checked with the guards and handmaidens, inquiring about their health. Padmé’s staff assured him that no one had touched them and they were ready to do what they must.
Outside of the flight hangar, the older Jedi urged Sabé to come with him to Coruscant. He seemed to think that there was more at work on Naboo than they knew and that her life was at risk, not just becoming a prisoner and being forced to sign a treaty. Padmé subtly directed her decoy to say they would join him.
As they moved into the large flight bay, the two Jedi went in different directions, both seeming to be completely calm and sure of themselves. Padmé was rather envious of how nonchalant the Jedi appeared to be.
The younger went to free a group of pilots being detained nearby, whom they would need in their escape. The elder led her and her staff toward a squad of droids keeping guard outside of her ship, informing them that he was taking her to Coruscant. The droids, in their ridiculous mimicry of human speech, tried to arrest them. Padme tried to imagine attempting to arrest a Jedi- it was laughable. Padmé certainly would never be stupid enough to try.
Though separate, both Jedi ignited their lightsabers at the same time, destroying the droids incredibly fast. Their movements were graceful but deadly, slicing through metal like butter. It was impressive to see, even during a fight for their lives.
Once the droids had been reduced to scrap, Padmé and the others hurried onto her starship and into her stateroom, wanting to ensure they were out of the way for takeoff. Panaka, Ric Olie, and the Jedi went to the cockpit, leaving the queen and her handmaidens alone.
The Nabooan ladies were tense, standing by the throne that Sabé sat in, as they felt the ship’s hurried departure. They were all used to not even feeling the ship move, but this time they were jostled roughly, though none of them were injured.
Then came a long period of rough shaking and sounds of impact on the ship’s deflector shield, or at least that’s what it sounded like was happening. Padmé had never been in a ship while it was being fired upon, so she was making educated guesses. Rather than going to the cockpit to demand an update, as she would like to, she chose to trust in Ric and Panaka to handle the situation.
Finally, they felt the ship make the jump to hyperspeed, and the ladies all exhaled in relief, allowing their clenched bodies to loosen. The handmaidens all looked to Padmé, waiting for instructions.
“Sabé, continue to act as my decoy until we reach Coruscant. When Panaka comes to report, follow the Jedi's instructions unless I signal otherwise. If possible, find out more about them. I want to know exactly who is on my ship.”
“Yes, your Highness.” Sabé agreed without argument, dipping her head.
After a short wait, Panaka and the Jedi entered the stateroom, followed by a small astromech droid that looked as though it had been through the battle. Panaka explained its heroic actions while the starship was being attacked by the blockade.
Sabé gave Padmé an opportunity to show her appreciation by cleaning the astromech called R2-D2. Despite having received Sabé’s instructions, Padmé did not depart. She stood off to the side, listening as the Jedi introduced themselves to her decoy and recommended that she travel to a planet controlled by the Hutts. Though Panaka disagreed, Padmé respected the Jedi's thought process and appreciated their wisdom, so she did not signal to Sabé that she should argue.
It would take three days to reach Tatooine because the hyperdrive was so badly damaged. The length of the journey worried Padmé, but she didn't have any alternative places where they would not be found by the Trade Federation. Rodia was her first instinct, but she didn’t want to bring trouble to her uncles door.
Master Qui-Gon Jinn informed them that once they arrived, he and Jar Jar Binks would travel into the city and purchase the parts they needed. Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom Qui-Gon called a 'Padawan', would remain on the ship to begin repairs.
After the meeting was concluded, Padmé led R2-D2 to the droid storage room, where she began to clean its exterior. While she worked, her mind was fixated on fear for her people and if they would be able to reach Coruscant in time to save them. She was the only person who had the authority to sign a treaty with the Federation, but that didn’t stop them from hurting her people in the meantime.
While she was cleaning, the long-eared amphibian approached her, which she was almost sure was a Gungan. The native Nabooan inhabitants, Gungans, had a tense relationship with the planet’s surface dwellers and the two species rarely interacted. Padmé had certainly never met one, merely seen diagrams of their species in school. This male seemed outlandish but well-meaning, despite being difficult to understand. She was glad to meet Jar Jar and did her best to be kind to him.
On the second night of limping toward Tatooine, Padmé had an opportunity meet and speak with the yournger Jedi, Obi-Wan.
She was in the kitchen, making a light meal that she planned to eat alone in her bed, when the young man entered as well, deep in thought. He wasn’t wearing the brown cloak she associated with jedi, and she could see that his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hands and forearms were covered in engine grease.
As he entered and distractedly peered into the rations closet, he thoughtlessly ran his hand across his face and up into his short, spiked hair, spreading grease along the way. The result was hilarious, and Padmé was unable to control the huff of laughter that escaped her at the sight.
The Jedi was startled out of his reverie and looked at her in confusion, eyebrows scrunched up. Padmé laughed and pointed to her own face.
“Your face has a bit of grease on it. It looks like you rubbed your face against an engine. Let me help.” she offered, pulling a cloth from a drawer, wetting it, and giving it to him. He took it and scrubbed it across his face, then looked at the black gunk on it. It had barely helped.
“Ahh, I see I wasn’t as neat as I’d hoped to be. Thank you, milady, for so kindly letting me know.” Obi-Wan said sarcastically, then winked when she kept smiling at him.
“I’m Padmé. Did you get swallowed by an engine and had to fight your way out?” She asked before taking the cloth from his hands. She dispensed some soap before handing it back to him.
He took it with a grateful nod and began to rub his hands and forearms, an activity that Padmé tried not to obviously watch. She was suddenly very aware of how handsome he was, even with black smeared across his face.
“I’m Obi-Wan. I’ve been trying to repair some of the damage from our escape. I might be able to increase our speed a bit and prepare for the new parts ahead of time, but I'm no mechanic. It certainly isn’t the cleanest activity, as you can see. You're one of the queen’s handmaidens?”
Padmé was so focused on not staring at his hands that she took a second to respond. “Oh, um, yes, I am. Thanks for trying to make our trip faster. My people are depending on us reaching Coruscant quickly, and every delay only lengthens their suffering.”
Obi-Wan grimaced a little as he flipped the cloth and began to wipe his face. “I don’t mean to be negative, but I don’t know how much help the Senate will really be. The politicians seem to spare little thought for the people whom their disputes affect. They’ve created more problems than solutions lately and seeking power over one another rather than justice for the people.”
Padmé felt her heart sink a little at his words but did her best not to be discouraged by his skeptical view of the Senate. Senator Palpatine had expressed similar uncertainties at the start of the blockade and hadn’t believed that the Senate would stop the invasion or even acknowledge it.
“Do you truly think so? Your companion seems sure that going to Coruscant is the right thing to do. Chancellor Valorum also seems sympathetic to our cause.” Padmé said, causing Obi-Wan to wince and stop scrubbing.
“I don’t mean to say it's hopeless, of course, only that they might not have a quick solution or be able to reach a consensus. There are good people in the Senate, like Chancellor Valorum. I’ve heard good things about him, and I believe he's doing his best. Likely better than any other politician might. Don’t pay attention to my political cynicism, please. My Master is wise, and the Force is with him. If he feels that Coruscant is our best option, you're right trust him.”
Obi-Wan looked a bit sheepish for speaking so openly about his lack of faith in the Senate. He returned to his scrubbing, working to remove grease from his nails.
“What does that mean? ‘The Force is with him’? I don’t know much about the Jedi except what I learned in school.”
Obi-Wan stopped scrubbing again and adopted a teacher’s demeanor. “All living things are connected by the Force. It binds us together. Those who feel the Force, and submit to it, are guided to peace and balance. Master Qui-Gon has spent many years serving it and being directed to act for the betterment of the Republic. He is a true servant of the Force and so it is with him.” Obi-Wan explained. He watched her face during his explanation, ensuring she understood.
Padmé leaned against the table, nodding. “But how do you know if the Force is with someone? Or if they can be a Jedi? I know that many children in the galaxy are tested, but I have never seen it done before.”
“In an ideal world, every child in the galaxy would have a blood test run on them when they were born. Inside the cells of all beings, there are organisms that make a person sensitive to the Force. With a blood test, we can find out how many of these organisms there are in a person, which is how we know a person is likely to be Force-sensitive. Unfortunately, not every child is tested. There are far too many worlds in our galaxy for a Jedi to visit every child in it.” Obi-Wan explained.
“Sorry if I'm bothering you with my questions, but I have never met a Jedi before. Your services aren’t usually needed since Naboo rarely has conflict with others.”
“It’s not a bother at all. I like helping people to understand our order, so I don’t mind your curiosity. But tell me, how does one become a handmaiden to a very young queen?” Obi-Wan asked while finishing scrubbing. He then began pulling packets of rations from the closet, examining them, then putting them back.
Padmé mentally chuckled, having forgotten he didn’t know she was the queen. “She isn't the youngest queen we've ever had. Most of us attended the Royal Academy with her, so when she was elected, we applied to serve her.”
Obi-Wan finally chose two ration packs and began to prepare them while listening to Padmé explain the handmaiden selection process and the three-month training program they went through. She appreciated that he paid attention while she spoke, rather than tuning her out like other men might.
When he was finished, they wished each other goodnight and went their separate ways.
Back in her quarters, as she ate in the middle of her bed, Padmé decided she wouldn’t mind spending more time with him. In fact, she was greatly looking forward to it.
Much to her disappointment, Padmé did not have another opportunity to socialize with Obi-Wan, who she heard was working nearly non-stop in the engine room. However, she rarely had spare time either.
For the remainder of the trip to Tatooine, Padmé was entirely focused on her plans for Coruscant, mostly writing and re-writing her speech multiple times and analyzing profiles of current Senators who would be voting on the plight of Naboo.
She and Sabé also looked through her nearly empty closet, trying to choose which ceremonial gown would have the most impact during her appearance before the Senate. Clothes were important symbols in Nabooan culture and were essential in conveying intention and emotions. There weren’t many to choose from. Padmé’s last time on board had been to a Celebration of Life on Inusagi, and the wardrobe she had left was not what she needed now. She needed to express strength and inspire respect.
Since Obi-Wan had expressed his thoughts on the Senate, Padmé had been considering every word and phrase she wanted to speak to them. His words made her ponder the fact that the Senate might not be motivated to action by appealing to their morality, but rather by the consequences to their worlds if the invasion was deemed legitimate.
If the Senate would not be moved by Naboo’s suffering, they might be by the precedent that it would set for their own interests.
When she was informed by Panaka that they were entering Tatooine’s atmosphere and were about to land, she briefly considered that it might be interesting to accompany Master Qui-Gon onto the planet.
Tatooine was a world that was almost entirely the opposite of Naboo. As part of the Refugee Relief Movement, Padmé had traveled with her father and worked on Frontier worlds. She had always been fascinated to see different cultures compared to her own and was tempted by the thought of seeing this one.
However, as she looked at the datapad in front of her and the piles of notes on her desk, she decided to ignore her desire to explore and allow the Jedi to complete his mission without her.
At best, she would be a nuisance, since she had no skill in stealth or trading. At worst, she might be killed or kidnapped. As much as she would enjoy an adventure, she refused to do anything that might lengthen their time on Tatooine.
Her time would be better spent at her desk, further refining her plans. At the edge of her mind, there was also the idea that she might be able to spend time with Obi-Wan Kenobi.