The Moons of Iego: The Padmé Amidala & Anakin Skywalker Website

FAN FICTION : ATTACK OF THE CLONES ERA

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Not Invisible

by Leia Naberrie

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Our presence will be invisible my lady, I can assure you.

- Jedi Master Kenobi, Attack of the Clones.

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Act 1 - Additional Security

I realize all too well that the additional security might be disruptive for you...

- Chancellor Palpatine

It was late evening in Coruscant.

After an unusually hectic morning and afternoon at work, the Senator from Naboo and her entourage had returned to the Senator's apartment just in time to receive the new members of the Senator's personal security detail. The meeting, though brief, had been very tiring. Throughout its duration, Amidala had seethed with private irritation as she weighed on one hand the disruption to her work that the additional security would cost her and, on the other hand, the pointless waste of manpower that would have been more effectively utilized in investigating the actions of Count Dooku.

She said as much to Bail Organa, the senator from Alderaan, via comlink that evening. She was working at an improvised bedside desk in her sleeping chambers after having been summarily kicked out of her own office in order for the Jedi to implement "security modifications" (to quote the Jedi Master himself) into its arrangement.

Bail chose to use that opportunity to inform her that on reflection, he was of two minds in this particular issue. Bail was very tactful.

"Dooku seems to have targeted you specifically, Amidala. The additional security is not entirely superfluous. And of course," he added hastily as she drew in breath for a sharp reply, "this is the best opportunity you have of persuading the Jedi to instigate an investigation."

Padmé mentally replayed the conversation that Master Kenobi had had with his apprentice. Anakin Skywalker had definitely seen eye to eye with her. She tried to imagine his Master pleading her case to the Jedi Council.

She shook her head at her hand-held viewscreen. "Not these Jedi. No."

The door to her private chambers opened. She looked up sharply but relaxed when Dormé entered the room. Padmé returned to her conversation with Bail and gestured a negative to the handmaiden when Dormé attempted to remove the almost untouched, now lukewarm meal from her desk. Idly, she noted the thin line of discontent between Dormé's brows. Padmé didn't blame her; she had specifically requested for the meal to be served to her as she worked and she had proceeded to simultaneously hold a dialogue with Bail and type out a report on her data pad.

"You will keep me informed of any new 'developments', of course," she said with false lightness, enunciating her words carefully so that he would not miss the emphasis. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dormé bustle about the room, tidying up Padmé's personal effects with unnecessary abruptness.

"Hopefully, before tomorrow, I should be able to recover that old report that you requested for," Bail replied calmly.

Her heart leapt. "I'd appreciate that very much." She kept her tone cool. The conversation continued easily, touching on subjects both professional and otherwise. After keeping up the charade for a few minutes, they finally terminated the link.

"My lady, would you like me to send up for another meal?" Dormé sweetly nagged, as she packed into a box the data cubes Padmé had placed on the floor by her feet.

Padmé smiled at her brightly. "Thank you, Dormé, but I'm fine." She poked at the plate until her fork latched on something and she managed not to flinch when she swallowed the lukewarm morsel.

Dormé was mollified. She started arranging Padmé's work-in-progress file.

Padmé looked up from the concluding paragraph in her report. "Dormé, what are you doing?"

"Have you forgotten?" Her handmaiden answered vaguely as she tried to take the data-pad from Padmé. Padmé held onto it until Dormé looked at her with some surprise. "The Jedi asked for you to remain in the living room this evening..." Padmé's eyes flashed. "They need to inspect your private chambers," added Dormé hastily.

Our presence here will be invisible, my lady, I can assure you.

So much for that, Padmé thought. She allowed a bit of her irritation to come out in her voice. "Well, we all will have to compromise, won't we?" She gently pulled her data-pad from Dormé's grip and collected her file. As she bent over to unpack the data-cubes, the thin, form-fitting jumpsuit she usually favoured to work indoors caught her gaze. Unbidden, the memory of a pair of bright blue eyes flashed in her mind. Suddenly and inexplicably, she felt distinctly underdressed.

"Hand me my robe, Dormé. I have work to do. If the Jedi need to inspect here they'll just have to work around me."

Master Kenobi was extremely understanding of the arrangement, of course. He would have suggested as much himself but he only thought to not invade the Senator's privacy. Padmé pleasantly reassured him. The Jedi Knight then proceeded to ignore her as he scrutinized the security details of the room. He managed to find a security defect in almost every aspect of the room, and personally supervised the modifications carried out by the Naboo security officers that accompanied him. Padmé covertly observed this while she rephrased the important point she needed to emphasize in her report's conclusion. Personal irritation fought with frank admiration at the efficiency with which her room was being systematically torn apart.

What a waste, she thought testily. If a fraction of the effort that they use now to keep me in a gilded cage was being spent investigating Dooku...

The Senator shook her head.

After another brave attempt, she decided that she would have to bear Dormé's displeasure and have her meal taken away. The little appetite she had anyway was gone.

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Act 2 - A Familiar Presence

...perhaps with merely your presence... this threat will be revealed...

- Senator Padmé Amidala

Anakin clamped down on his annoyance as he went to find his Master. He doubted if Captain Typho would have felt the need to scrutinize and question every alteration in the lounge security if it had been Obi-Wan that had co-ordinated.

Be mindful of your...

Anakin cut off the mental reprimand before his Master could complete it. This was the assignment he had dreamed about since becoming a Jedi and he was not going to let Obi-Wan's persistent nagging spoil it for him.

Master Obi-Wan was in the Senator's bedroom. With the ease of old habit, Anakin stretched out in the Force to find the Senator herself. She was also in the bedroom. His steps faltered as he reached the door.

"Come in, Padawan. Don't be shy," came Obi-Wan's wry voice.

It was targeted to exasperate but, even knowing that, Anakin did not hide the rise of annoyance quickly enough. He opened the door and fumbled over the threshold to glare at Obi-Wan's bland face.

"Captain Typho would like to go over some of the arrangements with you, Master," he said as politely as possible. He knew Obi-Wan was expecting him to gawk immaturely, so he held his Master's gaze steadily while he took in every aspect of Padmé's room. Under normal circumstances, it might have been a pleasant enough place with soft blue colours and stylish furnishings. Right then, it was far from serene with furniture lying about haphazardly and the window blinds in the process of being re-installed. The only sane spot was a corner of the large bed in a corner of the room where Padmé was. She was surrounded by data pads, data cubes and filo-faxes and appeared to be working steadily at her bed table despite the racket going on. She was sitting like a cat, with her legs curled up underneath her. Her hair was down and she was wearing a thin robe over an even thinner jumpsuit. She looked like a little girl, she was that tiny.

It took Anakin every bit of self-possession not to turn his head and stare.

"Go over them with me?" Obi-Wan was asking. "What, isn't he confident of your work?" His eyes twinkled.

Anakin wanted to shrug but he knew Obi-Wan would not let him off that easily. "I suppose not, Master."

Obi-Wan smirked then he turned to Officer Neeroy and instructed him to carry on in his absence. He turned to go and Anakin sneaked a glance at Padmé. His heart jumped. She was watching him, head inclined a bit to one side and an appraising look in her eyes. He held her gaze steadily. She looked away first.

Obi-Wan just stopped short of literally dragging his apprentice out of the room.

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Act 3 - A Dangerous Situation

The situation is more dangerous than the Senator would admit.

- Captain Typho, Attack of the Clones

It was the apprentice that returned later. Padmé listened gravely as he stammered an explanation of Master Kenobi needing to handle some other section of the apartment. She shrugged: he owed her no explanation; and returned to her work. After a pause during which she could feel him watching her, he turned away and continued where his Master had left off.

She was distracted almost immediately.

"No, not there. The far corner would be better."

It seemed that Anakin was not quite satisfied with the way Kenobi had positioned the observation cameras. The security officer setting them up gave a reply she was unable to hear.

"He did? But see here," Anakin said, pulling the man down from the stool and scaling it himself. "The light is going to hit the walls this way after sunset. If you fix the camera there, it's only going to see shadows. But here... see?"

Apparently the man did; he gave Anakin a grin as the latter jumped off the stool. Anakin looked up in time to catch her watching him. She looked away.

It was extremely distracting.

To start with, it was fascinating watching him work with people. While Kenobi had been a didactic supervisor, Anakin was more demonstrative. He carried the other men along, showing them by example what he wanted done, explaining whenever he had to modify any of Kenobi's improvisations and now and then even asking for their opinions. He moved as he worked, going from one corner of the room to the other, climbing up and jumping off stools with astonishing agility. The men relaxed around him and the sombreness of her room reduced in proportion. Padmé wondered if she had better ask Dormé anyway to help her move to the lounge.

"Okay, let's keep it down a bit," Anakin called out over the soft rumble. The volume went down at once. She looked up in surprise and he gave her a level gaze. "Sorry about that, Senator." He looked away at once but even she could see the effort it cost him.

That was the other distracting thing. Every now and then, Padmé would look up and it would be just in time to catch him looking away. It was getting harder and harder to sneak glances at him. Whenever she did, he would deliberately hold her gaze in a sort of silent challenge that she did not even want to try and understand. She was always the first to look away.

Just looking at him was distracting. There was something about the little boy attitude in a man's body that was extremely distracting.

Padmé glared at her console, immediately felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick and sighed loudly.

"Anakin!"

"Yes, my lady?"

She had his immediate attention. He had taken a few steps towards her and his blue eyes were almost jumping out of his face in eagerness. Startled, Padmé wondered what he could possibly have imagined she was calling him for.

He was still waiting. Padmé suddenly realized that she had no idea why she had called him like that.

"This is such a waste of time!" she snapped quickly to cover her confusion.

He was equally confused if the expression on his face was any indication. "You mean - "

She gained momentum. "You and Master Kenobi... All these extra security features. I mean," she added, shifting around on her bed so she could sit up a little as she spoke to him, "you said it - protection is for the local security, not Jedi."

Anakin managed to look both embarrassed and pleased at the same time.

"I- I spoke out of line," he stammered. "I should not have contradicted my Master like that."

"Well, you were right," Padmé said bluntly. His eyes seemed to shine at her. Padmé was immediately wary. "Please don't listen to me," she said quickly, "I certainly am no expert on Jedi etiquette." She picked up her work again.

His eyes dimmed momentarily and then blazed back at once. "Master Obi-Wan just wants to follow the Council's instructions. And so do I," he added earnestly, taking a step closer to her. "Protection and investigation cannot be separated in our mandate. I'm sure of that."

"The Jedi Council believe that the criminals behind this attack are extremists from the Naboo Moon Mining union who are protesting the effect of the Refugee Relief Movement on their trade." Padmé said dourly. "There is no need for an investigation. You know this already, don't you?"

"I know what the Council thinks. I know that you don't agree."

Padmé smiled wryly, still not glancing up.

There was a pause. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his feet shuffling nervously on the carpet. He cleared his throat. She heaved another sigh.

"How..." He choked on the sentence when she looked up and swallowed hard before he tried again. "How have you been, my lady?"

She was touched by the heartrending sincerity of his question.

"I've been fine, Ani," she said gently. "As well as can be expected as of recent," she added, more matter-of-factly. "And you, Ani? How've you been?"

"Well. Good." He shrugged and grinned a bit. His feet dragged on the carpet again and he came a bit nearer.

"Just well... good?" Padmé teased lightly, remembering his conversation with Kenobi. She had a feeling that what she had witnessed at the conference table and again just a few minutes ago were just a tip of the iceberg on a very stormy relationship.

"Better now," he blurted and immediately blushed.

His answer was an endearing mix of enthusiasm and shyness. It was disconcerting. Feeling awkward, Padmé turned back to her work.

This time, the silence dragged on between them. Anakin was standing quite close to her and she could feel his gaze burning down her neck. She wondered what the workmen were making of this scenario â€“ she in bed in thin day clothes, all cosy and comfy with the teenage Jedi apprentice hovering above her and practically staring into her robe. She looked up sharply to firmly send him on his way and she was immediately frozen by his eyes. On their own alone, they were already quite remarkable, cut-glass blue, hard, warm and infinitely beautiful. Now, they were staring at her in a way that made her feel as if she was being branded with iron. She felt something very hot and strong rise up inside her and she looked down at once.

The little slave boy had been her dear friend. She had come into his life without knowing her hands were open, asking for help and he had saved her and her people. The Jedi had the sky-blue eyes of that boy and they gazed at her with the same old adoration and awe. There was something new now. It should not have disturbed her because she had seen it in men's eyes before, but it had always been unobtrusive, veiled out of custom and courtesy. The desire in the Jedi's eyes was frightening in its sincerity.

"Did you mean what you said?"

Padmé had not even planned on saying those words. She had not even been consciously thinking about the earlier meeting with the two Jedi and Anakin's impassioned but apparently inappropriate vow to hunt down her assassin.

"What you said -"

"I know what you mean." He had come a lot closer than she had realized, he was near enough to whisper. "And I meant what I said."

She glanced over his shoulder as he turned around to face the security man that had just come up to him. "It's like this," Anakin said before the man even began to explain the problem he was having with the tool in his hand. Anakin placed the man's fingers around the instrument and gave him a quick demonstration. The man did it at once and got it right. "See? Easy." The man walked away, grinning. Anakin barely waited for him to walk out of earshot before turning back to Padmé.

She was still staring over his shoulder. "If you meant what you said-" she ignored his protest and continued firmly. "Then I have an idea you could help me with."

Vaguely, Padmé mused that Anakin's grin, as blindingly attractive as it was, was quite inappropriate for the situation.

She beckoned him nearer. He bent awkwardly and sat down at the edge of her bed. If he sat any closer to the edge, he would fall off.

In hushed tones, they plotted. Anakin gave Padmé an overview of the new security arrangements. Sentinel droids were being installed at every aperture in her apartment. They would deflect away any unauthorized intruder that approached her apartment within the range of 50m, effectively protecting her from any attack and preventing the Jedi from laying hands on any would-be assassin. She suggested carefully that if at least one sentinel droid near her sleeping chamber was shut down, then an intruder would be able to approach the apartment near enough to be apprehended. She phrased this very diplomatically. She was more or less asking Anakin to use her as bait for a murderer and she knew without any doubt that if he fully understood that, he would not help her in anyway.

"It could work, could it not?" Padmé asked finally.

Anakin nodded his agreement. "As long as Master Obi-Wan doesn't read my mind first and spoil all our plans."

"Oh." She had not thought of that. "Well then, perhaps-"

Anakin laughed softly. A few of the men looked over, but Padmé barely noticed them. It was the first time she had heard Anakin Skywalker laugh in ten years and the sound was just as compelling as it had been when he was a small boy.

Or perhaps, it was even more so.

She did not even know how delightedly she was smiling at him until he caught his breath.

"That's the second time I've made you smile today," he said quietly. He shifted nearer. She watched his hand reach over her console and towards hers on the bed. She pulled her hand back at once and looked at him sharply. He just smiled at her with his eyes. Padmé could feel her heart slamming against her ribs.

"Really?" she said breathlessly, trying and failing to sound aloof. His hand had not stopped its journey towards hers. "And when was the first time?" She fisted the hand closer to his.

"This afternoon." Anakin's knuckles were near enough to touch hers. If she pulled in her hand any further, she would be touching her own body and she was not sure whether that would hinder or encourage him. "When you told me I was still that little boy you knew."

This time, Padmé's smile was more of a smirk. This was familiar ground. "You still are that little boy to me, Ani. You always will be younger. No amount of Jedi powers can change that." His hand stopped moving at once and he looked down, crushed. She grinned even more widely with relief.

Anakin drew his hands into fists and sighed loudly. Then he looked up at her with his heart in his eyes. "You still are that angel to me, Padmé. You always will be. And no amount of carefully chosen barbs can change that either."

Padmé stopped smiling at once.

Whatever had this boy seen in the fourteen year old Queen of an Outer Rim world that had made him hold onto his steadfast devotion for over a decade? Naboo and beyond had revered Queen Amidala as the doll-warrior of justice and integrity, passion and ideals. They thought that Senator Amidala was that same girl. But how could innocence survive in any ruler that had resorted to war and bloodshed in order for her world to survive the corruption of its supposed guardians? How could she ever have regained her innocence after weighing human life on a scale like the Maker and choosing to sacrifice the lives of others for those of her own and her world? For as she watched the pyres burn for the casualties of the battle and the victims of the concentration camps, she had come to realize that in order to beat oppression, one had to utilize its weapon - corruption; and in order to use corruption, one had to become a part of it.

Anakin's angel of long ago was no more; she had probably never been. He was just looking at the memory of a dream. Padmé wanted to tell him that. She had to give him a reason to stop looking at her like that. She needed herself an equally good reason to look away from those impossible eyes.

The rest of the room seemed to shrink away and disappear.

"My lady?"

Padmé glanced up in relief. Dormé was bearing down on her with a pile of clothes in her arms and a suspicious look on her face.

Padmé turned to Anakin. "Thank you for your time, Jedi Skywalker." She tried to smile into his eyes.

He stood, bowed and hid his eyes from her. "We serve." He turned away and walked back to the men.

Dormé was too well trained to express her curiosity in more than a fractionally raised eyebrow and for that, Padmé was grateful.

"I think I'd better move to the lounge, after all. Dormé, can you help me?"

With remarkable self-control, she managed to prevent herself from looking once at Anakin as she gathered her documents together. It was not so easy to ignore the fact that he was equally succeeding in not glancing once at her, but Dormé's alert presence made it necessarily tolerable.

As she passed the workers to exit the room, all the men paused momentarily and gave her a smart salute. "Good evening, Senator."

She paused fractionally at the door, waiting.

Then:

"Good evening, my lady."

She felt Anakin's eyes touch her just before Dormé shut the door.

THE END

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