God Save the Queen Chapter 2

A/N: Because it's been a minute, here's Chapter 1 

There will be an announcement coming shortly about monthly stories and all of that, so stay tuned. 

Chapter 2: Menacing Phantoms

“Padme! Padme, look!” The trophy looked big in Anakin’s hand. I made sure to snap a holo of it, before he returned the trophy. The organizers pulled out some bylaw about it not being able to be taken from Tatooine, or it technically belonging to Watto because he was Anakin’s owner or some nonsense like that. Really, they were just cheap.

It hadn’t stopped us from taking the parts we needed. Repair on the ship had just finished today, and with another quick picture on my comm, we were ready to go.

Barring Darth Maul’s arrival that is. I was pretty sure the universe I inhabited was much closer to the Lucas version of the prequels, but whether or not Maul showed up piloting a mech would cinch it.

But back to the moment at hand. “I knew you’d win.” I smiled. “Never doubted it for a second.” Not even when his left engine had finally exploded from the blaster damage, leading his pod to spin out in a fiery halo and skid just over the finish line a scant heartbeat ahead of Sebulba.

Really, with my help he’d been in first place the whole time. It had been a cakewalk. Honest.

I ruffled his hair. “Ready to go?” He nodded, giving me a quick hug before dashing back off to his mother. Shmi Skywalker was standing apprehensively next to Qui-Gon as Watto finished the rest of the paperwork. It was, all told, about as good an outcome as I could have engineered. Even if I’d almost had a heart attack at the end there.

I was drawn out of my thoughts as the woman approached me, dark eyes wary. “Why?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Why my son, why me? Out of all the slaves on Tatooine.” She shook her head. “I…”

“You’d have to ask Qui-Gon about that.”

“It was your choice.” The woman’s voice sounded worn thin, frayed. “I can see it in your eyes. And, and to have my son come home telling me he was going to race in the classic, for our freedom… just, why?”

I frowned. A better question would be why was she so suspicious, I didn’t remember that, especially not after… the dinner? It clicked into place. This time, because I’d gotten the ball rolling with my usual delicate touch, the three of us had dodged the sandstorm. We hadn’t gone to Anakin’s home, so we hadn’t met Shmi. I let out a sigh. Honestly, it must have been quite a surprise to hear that Anakin was racing in the classic, without knowing anything else.

Almost as much of a shock as finding out your daughter was Skitter, the Warlord of the bay.

“It was an alliance of convenience.” I walked next to her, talking in low tones as Qui-Gon entertained Anakin with stories of being a Jedi. “We needed the parts, and… what type of monster would I be if I left behind the family that allowed us to make the repairs we needed?” It was a rhetorical question, I knew exactly the type of monster I was. I was just trying to be… better this time.

It’s up to you to win the fight, to take control and keep the administrator from claiming everything you have.

Shmi looked unsatisfied, so I shrugged. “I’m not a good person, Shmi Skywalker, but that doesn’t mean I would leave the people right in front of me to suffer.” I shrugged a shoulder to the rest of the city. “They’re beyond my help, at least for now, but you and Anakin… at the very least, I could start there.”

And wasn’t that true in more ways than one. I could start with them, and keep going until the whole galaxy was thrown into a tumult that not even the likes of Sheeve Palpatine could escape from.

Something of my thoughts must have shown on my face, because Shmi drew back slightly, only giving a meek nod, before returning to her son.

I held back a sigh. I was slipping a bit. Yes I’d had diplomatic training in this life, but even then I found myself falling back on the idea that I could push my reactions out of me, into my swarm. I had no such abilities here, and while practice was enough to get me through most days, well…

These days were not most, and I had much on my mind. More thoughts than dunes in the sea.

I almost breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the hum of a speeder bike racing towards us over the dunes. I guess I hadn’t changed enough to avert this meeting.

From the corner of my eye I saw Qui-Gon shift immediately. Obi-Wan took a second, his senses less attuned than his master’s. For my part, if I hadn’t been waiting for the hum, I might have missed it entirely.

“Get to the ship.”

Shmi’s head snapped up at the Jedi’s words. “Master Qui-Gon?”

With a sharp hiss, there was a glowing blade of green in Qui-Gon’s hand. I followed his gaze, just now picking out the black dot racing towards us. “Padme, get the others to the ship.”

I nodded, grabbing Anakin and Shmi by the hands. “This way.” I pulled him into a run, ignoring their questions. Behind us, I heard the sound of Obi-Wan activating his own lightsaber. My heart started to race.

You know, I thought I’d be pretty good with the whole lightsaber and force side of things. Really, what was the force compared to an Entity? Leet had made a lightsaber for god’s sake. It wasn’t anything out of context. But then, suddenly, they were real.

“Ask your questions on the ship,” I told the two running with me. “If a Jedi tells you to run, you run!”

“Padme!” Ahead, I saw Captain Panaka at the bottom of the Royal Starship. “What’s going on!?”

I threw a glance over my shoulder, just in time to see Darth Maul hurl himself off his bike, his red saber clashing with blue and green in a shower of sparks. “Start taking off, Captain!” I raced up the ramp, my two charges in tow. “And get these two somewhere safe.”

“Yes, y—” Captain Panaka caught himself. “Yes, Ma’am.”

I let out a breathless laugh as Panaka barked rapid orders into his commlink. “If a… lowly handmaiden might be allowed a suggestion… I think it’s time to break out that sonic weaponry the queen had us bring.”

The dark-skinned man looked at me for a moment, then back to the battle unfolding on the sands below. “Yes, I think you might be right.” He turned “You there! Break out the special weapons!”

I stayed with him as the Captain, but my eyes fixed on the ground below. They moved fast. Faster than the eye could see, experience or no.

The movies hadn’t done the Jedi justice.

I let out a slow breath, holding out a hand as Corporal Ivego passed a sonic rifle into my palm. I took a knee next to several other guardsmen. “I should have just brought a cylinder of plasma and traded that for the damn parts,” I muttered. But of course, I’d gone for the guns the moment I’d realized that the invasion of Naboo was still going to happen.

“But then we wouldn’t have a chance to test out the Queen’s new toys, eh, handmaiden?”

I smirked at my man. On the ship, only Panaka and my handmaidens knew my true identity, but I had a pretty decent relationship with the rest of my guard as well.

“Isn’t that the Queen’s own truth.” I’d always taken good care of the people who worked for me.

I braced the rifle against my shoulder.

Naboo was a peace loving society, but that didn’t mean we had forgotten how to wage war. As Queen, I was expected to have some basic self defense training, while the Royal Handmaidens trained alongside the guard. I’d opted for theirregiment. And really, I’d already had a bit of a reputation as a hawk.

Though, I doubted my detractors were saying that now that my orbital defenses were the only things keeping their estates in the Paletine District safe from droids.

“Hold your fire!” Panaka’s voice cut through my thoughts the hum of the starship both. “Whatever you do, don’t hit the Jedi! Wait until we swing around.” I nodded, checking my desire to let loose.

Training or not, reincarnation or not, I didn’t want to know what would happen if I ended up shooting Obi-Wan in the back with a sonic blaster.

Slowly, the ship made a banking turn. Below us, the battle continued unabated. It was hard to know for sure, but it looked almost like Darth Maul was pushing the two Jedi back. I bit my lip.

Then Qui-Gon made a low sweep with his blade, creating space between them.

“Fire!”

I pulled the trigger in unison with the guardsmen, a rippling wave of sound launched from our guns. They sounded just like the Geonocian pistols I remembered from the films.

I saw the moment three sets of eyes snapped to us, even as I continued to unload. Unfortunately for me, Maul turned out to be more than just a homicidal moron that I’d hoped for. He didn’t try to block any of our shots. With only ten sonic rifles firing, he managed to dodge the assault with ease. There wasn’t room on the ramp for a full gunline.

So much for yet another ‘initiative’ of mine. Honestly, I was starting to understand how Accord used to feel. You set everyone up perfectly, and in the end, it was all we could do to lay down covering fire in order for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to jump aboard the ship.

Maul remained on the sands of Tatooine. I swore I saw him glaring directly at me, yellow eyes burning with hate. So I raised my gun and snapped off yet another shot.

What was he going to do, try to kill me harder?

Then the hatch slid shut and I was left staring at sleek chrome.

Letting out a sigh, I stood, handing back my rifle to one of the guardsmen. “Thank you for letting me assist.”

“Psha.” Ivago took the weapon back from me. “We all know who the best shots are.” He was smiling, despite the situation we were in, and… I found myself smiling as well.

My heart was pounding, and I even caught myself wishing that the fight had lasted longer. Really, it was the first fight I’d had in this life. Due to my defenses, escaping from Theed had been nothing more than boarding the ship after all.

“Sonic Weaponry was it, Captain?”

I still paused at the sound of Qui-Gon’s voice. I glanced over my shoulder, just as Panaka said, “Well within the limits of Republic Law, Master Jedi.”

There was a moment of silence, but then Qui-Gon just gave that ineffable smile of his. “I suppose I should be thanking you for the assistance, then.”

“Yes, maybe you should.” Panaka took a step forward. “Just what was that down there? Is another Jedi after us?”

The master just hummed. “We knew that bounty hunters from the Trade Federation would likely be on our tail.” He said. “As you saw, handling him was well within our capabilities.”

I leaned over. “I should probably go inform the Queen of what occurred.” Ivago nodded at my whisper, and I started moving to the exit of the cargo bay.

“Ah, Padme.” Qui-Gon caught me by the arm before I’d gone two steps. “I needed to speak with you.”

I held back a grimace. “Surly whatever it is can wait until after we’ve debriefed her Majesty.”

He gave me another affable smile. “I suppose then it would be prudent to accomplish both.”

I let out a huff, glancing around. The rest of the guardsmen were busy clearing the bay. I still kept my voice low. “You saw through me immediately.”

“Rare is a handmaiden that speaks so confidently for her lady,” was the Jedi’s only reply. Normally, I might have fought against it a bit more as Qui-Gon guided me gently from the hangar bay, but I already knew he was one of the (very few) good ones in the setting.

He was one of the people who I’d maybe have been willing to tell everything to, just for pragmatism’s sake, if not for the feeling of the earth dropping out from under me every time I so much as thought about it.

I’d had a passenger, once; I knew when some higher power was trying to tell me something.

“What did you need from a handmaiden, Master Jedi?” Qui-Gon gave me an amused look as he slid the door the stateroom shut.

“You knew,” he said.

I sighed. “Right to the point.”

He chuckled. “You strike me as someone who dislikes wasting time, your Highness.”

“What, did you look up my record or something?” I asked.

“On the contrary, it is visible in your every action.” He moved away, giving me a bit of space. “I would still like very much to hear how you discerned the boy was a Jedi, even before myself or my padawan did.”

I shrugged, glancing off to the side. “I saw it in a holo-film.” Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at the closest thing to the truth that I could give him. “Fine. I got him talking, I figured he’d be able to give us an insight into his master. Then once he mentioned pod racing I saw an opportunity. I… figured you’d have a way to check.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve only heard pod racing mentioned in passing, but if it’s anything like Swoop Bikes, humans don’t have the reaction time for it.” I met Qui-Gon dead in the eye. “Unless they’re Force Sensitives.”

“Indeed.” He folded his arms in his sleeves. “Still, it was a remarkably fast pivot. Did you… perhaps, get a feeling?”

I held back the urge to roll my eyes. It wouldn’t be befitting of a lady of my station after all. “I’ve gone through the basic tests to check for force sensitivity. I’m about as much of a Jedi as that chair.”

“I believe you.” He pulled out the blood tester again. “But the force works in mysterious ways. For your own sake, I’d suggest checking.”

“So you can ship me off to the temple the same as Anakin?”

“So you can know the dangers you might face.” His voice was solemn. “Especially if, as I suspect, the being that we faced was not simply some fallen Jedi, but a Sith.”

My head snapped up. “Should you be sharing your suspicion with me?”

Qui-Gon’s lip twitched into the barest impression of a smirk and showed me the testing device in his palm. With a huff, I held out my wrist. He took my hand, pricking a finger with the small medical scanner, and letting it take a read of my midi-chlorian count.

“It doesn’t make sense that a bunch of microbes cause force sensitivity, anyway.” Lisa had a whole rant about that bit for the Lucas Prequels. I’d heard of midi-chlorians in this life, of course. But the Jedi were, in many ways, more mysterious in this universe, when I couldn’t just look them up on wikipedia.

“Because they most likely do not.” Qui-Gon chuckled at my expression. “Correlation is not causality, after all, but there is no sense in denying that the correlation exists.”

I raised my eyebrow as the scanner beeped. “Then why the whole bit with ‘midi-chlorians cause force sensitivity’?”

He hummed, looking at the device. “Perhaps because it’s a much catchier idea, for one, but also perhaps, as a researcher, it would be rather discomfiting to stand before the most respected Jedi Masters in the galaxy, and inform them that they have space worms.”

I snorted, clapping a hand in front of my mouth. “Maybe I should share that impression with the Senate.”

Qui-Gon gave a tranquil smile. “Her Majesty will do what she thinks is best, I’m sure. In any case, you were correct.” He waved a hand. “You are, in fact, less force sensitive than this lovely chair.”

I let out a small breath. “Well, if that’s all, I do have a report to make.” I looked at him archly. “Including your behavior.”

“My apologies for the finger. If you would like, I’m sure Anakin would be willing to kiss it better.”

I sighed. “And here I thought you Jedi were supposed to have no sense of humor.”

Qui-Gon smiled.

“Take care of the kid for me.” I moved towards the door. “He’s sweet.”

“Indeed, he is a fine young boy, and I will do my best to train him into a fine Jedi as well.”

“Just don’t forget to make him a fine person, too.”

Qui-Gon chuckled. “With the Queen of Naboo looking out for him, how could he be anything but?”

I gave him a sharp stare. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t go out of your way to blow my cover.” I opened the door. “We’ll have more time to speak after we get back to Coruscant.”

Then I was out into the hallway. Still had to get changed.

*~*~*~*

Back in the stateroom, Qui-Gon glanced down at the medical scanner in his hand. “That we will, your highness…”

With a press of his thumb, he cleared the result. *Error—return 0.0 cmc* CMC, cellular midi-chlorian count, was more than just a measurement of force sensitivity. It was something that every living being in the galaxy should have.

So he had not been lying when he told the queen that she was less force sensitive than that chair, because, as far as the medical scanner was concerned, she was every bit as dead.