6 - Travel broadens something I'm told.
"Oh, shush." said Shayla as she readied the sleeve for my arm. "How did this one happen?"
"Would you believe arm wrestling?" I try with a wince as she fitted it.
"How do you break your arm doing that with a twelve year old?" Shayla said incredulously.
"We were using the Force. Anakin's strength is extraordinary." I said.
On reflection it was a bad idea. Telekinetic wrestling? With Darth Vader? In my defence it was at the end of a training session and I had suggested it as something fun. Kid damn near tore my arm off. That was okay though, I popped the heavy duty pain killers I keep on hand for these moments and then Anakin drove me here.
"You, need to be more careful." scolds Shayla.
"I am the image of probity and caution. For I am a Jedi." I intone piously.
In return I get 'the look'.
"What about the trampling last month? Or when you nearly drowned? Or got poisoned?" Shayla said, pushing the buttons on the sleeve. The device beeps, there is a brief series of jabs into my arm and then a cool sensation as hyper-advanced medical technology gets to do it's magic. Well, advanced to me. Even after almost four years the ability to pretty much walk off anything that does not outright kill you is still amazing.
"Training accident. Training accident. Occupational hazard." I recited.
"Getting shot at is an occupational hazard?" said Shayla disapprovingly.
"They were not shooting at me. Anakin and I just happened to be there. They were shooting at the Queen." I said. Who Anakin saved, again, and I got almost killed, again. Does anyone scold them? No.
"I do not understand how you can be so casual about it all." said Shayla.
I am a stoic space monk and I am supposed to take this stuff in my stride. However since I'm a fake the real reason is that I have bigger problems on my mind.
Anakin is almost thirteen. He's about to hit puberty.
It's going to hit back.
-----
I walk back to my apartment after promising Shayla I would wear the sleeve for the prescribed two days while my arm heals and to not do anything foolish. Since to me that means 'more foolish than training the Chosen One, work out a way to stop Palps and not get killed' my levels of risk assessment are a little different. For example, the assassin from two weeks ago is a typical 'I disagree with your politics' memo. Just a friendly reminder how I don't live in Kansas anymore.
"Evening Master Dee-Jay. Oh, hurt again, I see." says a voice. It's Sacha. He's a neighbour, has become an accountant and amateur thespian.
"Good evening Sacha. Just a small accident. How's the play?" I said, turning.
"Almost ready. It was a stroke of fortune meeting you. It will be quite the romp." said Sacha.
"I merely supplied a few ideas." I said humbly.
"You Jedi are too modest. It could mean a whole new career for me. You will come to the performance?" said Sacha.
"Force willing, yes." I said.
"Excellent, excellent. Just one question. Where is the Penzance system?" said Sacha.
"You know, I don't remember." I said and then started walking. "Sorry, have to go. The mail has been."
I continue my walk home. Well, what was I to do? The Mikado would see the Naboo reinstate their lese majesty laws.
-----
I reach my home. Wasn't lying, there's a mail bag. I pick it up off the hook and go inside. The interior is small, comfortable and now actually my home. It also has a twelve year old in the main room.
"Anakin! What are you doing here?" I said.
"Mom sent me round to apologise." he mumbled.
"Well, I am as much to blame as you. I suggested it well knowing how powerful you are Anakin. It was an acceptable risk." I said.
My charge looked unconvinced. I sat down in a chair and motioned for Anakin to do so. Once he was settled I began.
"Why do the Jedi exist?" I asked. Besides to entertain millions back home, that is.
Anakin gives this some thought. He is really trying to think. I am worried about him. What turns this rather normal kid into Mr Sexually Repressed Edgelord? I really hope it's not all puberty and hormones. Because then it's all over and I may as well try to discover if that nudist planet really exists.
"To be the Guardians of Peace and Justice in the Galaxy?" said Anakin finally.
"So why limit that to only people who can use the Force like us? Lots of people could dedicate their life to a Galactic Peace Corps and make the Galaxy a better place. No Force superpowers needed. Our role as Guardians of the Galaxy is something we do, but it is not our primary goal." I said.
"Padme could do that." said Anakin.
If I could throttle a cosmological constant I would. Every now and then the bloody Force nudges Anakin to think about her. I know this because I can sense it doing so. It's gentle, subtle. You would not notice if you didn't think to look. No wonder he became obsessed.
"Yes, she probably could. But no TK or TP means she would never be in such an organisation as the Galaxy is now." I said. Not that the Galaxy's newest poster child for Abolition needs more work.
There is a knock on the door interrupting my train of thought. I rise to answer it.
Oh hells. It's Padme. I really hate it when Kreia is right.
"Come in. Come in. Sit down." I said to Padme and her trained attack minion, Sabe, I think. They're both dressed down in what I've come to think of as 'privacy cloaks'. Don't want everyone to recognise you wherever you go? Wear one of these with the hood up and you need some state of the art gear to look in. Or the Force.
Anakin brightens as they enter and lower the privacy screens.
"Padme! We were just talking about you!" he said.
"You were?" Padme said.
"Yes. Dee-Jay says you should be a Jedi." said Anakin.
"Don't be silly. I don't have your powers." said Padme.
"A lot of what the Jedi do does not demand use of the Force. We were discussing that and Anakin thought of you." I said.
"Yeah, you would be good at it. We could all go off and have adventures together." said Anakin.
"How sweet." said Padme. She looks from him to me. "That sounds, tempting."
No. No. A thousand times no. Come on! A Jedi can influence the Force, can't they?
'Not enough for what you want.' whispered the Dark Side.
Ignoring the Dark Side, I try to concentrate on the matter at hand.
"While you would be good at it I suspect that's not why you're here. How can I help." I said.
Padme takes a breath. She looks at almost certainly Sabe and then back to me.
"Gunray was found not guilty by the Courts. Insufficient evidence. He will walk free." said Padme.
"And?" I said, guessing there was more.
"And I am under pressure to drop the matter. Let the past be. Look to the future. Show that we can forgive and forget."
"I see. This comes from the Chancellor?" I said.
"Yes. How did you know?" Padme said.
Because it's Palpatine. He's the bad guy. He wants to break you. Because if you go bad, turning Anakin gets so easy. Why didn't he do this before? No, we're Jediing. Focus.
"Being seen as the peacemaker between Naboo and the Trade Federation would be of tremendous benefit to him. Such a gesture could see him re-elected." I said
"We could get Gunray for you." said Anakin.
Padme smiles at Anakin's outburst. She is, however the least of my worries.
'Good idea love. Do to Palpatine what he does to Anakin. Take away his supports, one by one.'
"That's, not what we do Anakin." I said.
'Why not? You don't owe the Jedi anything. You are not one of them. Anakin never really was either.'
"Why not?" says Anakin
"Vengeance never ends. You think it will end with Gunray, but it won't." I began.
'Then go for the head! Sideous. Give in to me and I will grant you the power to do so. There is no way you would be as bad as him.'
The Dark Side would be so much easier to resist if it were not whispering into my ear. Sharon did that. It's like she is doing it now.
"I could post a bounty. Insist on alive only." says Padme.
And that's legal? Galactic law is weird. As long as she contests the Galactic Court ruling Gunray can be arrested anywhere Naboo holds sway. So a bounty hunter can nab him, bring him here, have the locals arrest him and walk off with the cash.
"Say, say Gunray is captured. Brought before you. What do you do then? What of the other captains who blockaded Naboo? Will you want revenge on them too? What of those who blocked you in the Senate? Them as well? It will never end Your Majesty and it will leave you hollow and empty." I said.
I always feel like a heel pulling the Queen card on Padme. Reminding her that she has duties and responsibilities beyond her person. Because she will always do her duty.
"Are you saying I should do as they ask?" Padme said.
"No. Demand further investigation is required. If they insist that you drop it, um, abdicate. Show them you and by extension Naboo will not tolerate this travesty." I said.
"Abdicate?" said both women at once.
"Yes. You are allowed to do that?" I said and they nod. "Well then, bear that in mind as a superior option to bounty Hunter's. Also, request that the Jedi aid you in any follow up investigation. I recommend Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi." I continue. Where did that last bit come from? Okay, it's not like I can remember the names of the others.
I am then hit by a burst of, excitement? Anticipation, from the two women in front of me. Oh come on. Seriously? They stand up.
"Thank you Master Jedi. I shall consider your advice. Goodbye Anakin." said Padme before leaving with most likely Sabe.
That leaves me with Anakin.
"That goes for you as well. Revenge only feels like it will solve things. But it never does. Any questions?" I said.
Anakin shrugs.
"Just one question. Who is Sharon?" he says.
-----
Damn. Was kind of putting off this conversation til later. Like when Palpatine is really dead or just before the kid Darths out. Oh well.
"Like you, I learned I could use the Force later in life. Sharon was my wife." I say, then pause.
"What happened?" said Anakin.
I take a few breaths.
"There was, an accident. She, died." I say.
A car accident. Bad weather, night time, a missed turn. She had said, no. No more. I am mostly okay now. Mostly.
"Oh." said Anakin. "I'm sorry."
"Then I became a Jedi. They say trauma sometimes can awaken someone to the Force." I said.
We will leave out the astoundingly bad coping mechanisms attempted.
"You miss her." Anakin says.
"Yes, yes I do. Which means the Dark Side has a way to tempt me that it does not the other Jedi. I believe it will be the same for you." I say.
"Me?" he says.
"Yes Anakin. You have already made connections with people and it was thought that my perspective would best help. I will not be doing it alone though. Since you are older, I thought now some travel to other systems are in order." I say.
"Other systems? Like where?" asks Anakin perking up at the anticipation of travel.
"Well, first on the list is Corellia." I said.
-----
"Corellia!" said Shmi a few days later.
I can tell she is unimpressed. Okay, so the Galaxy's main point of contact with Corellians are the owner operators of the light freighters produced there. Not all are drug runners like Solo, very few in fact. Still, 'fell off a the back of a Corellian' means exactly what you think it does. They're space truckers. They mostly haul boring stuff, but they all have a stash of curios they thought they could buy low and sell higher. So everyone has a tale, often cautionary, about them.
"Yes. They have many engineering firms and flight schools. They're not all Rogue Traders." I say.
Shmi still has her arms folded and is scowling. You would think I was taking Anakin off to the Orb of Unearthly Delights or the Bazaar of Deva.
"We're going to be visiting engineers and flight school instructors. All serious beings who are not in any way excitable." I say.
Let's leave out that Anakin could scare up a swashbuckling adventure at a math expo.
"No trouble?" she says.
"None that I forsee. Jedi's honour. It's a Core World. Civilised. " I say evoking sincerity.
"I'll think about it." she says.
That's Shmi for yes. Well, yes in a couple of days. I can wait. Patience is something we space monks do. Or so I'm told.
-----
"Corellia?" said Padme a few days after that.
I don't get summoned often. The Queen and Ninja Squad usually just drop in at random whenever they want. Less wear and tear on the apparatus of government that way. Perhaps they're busy, or maybe, what?
"Yes? Anakin's of an age where visiting other bits of the Republic is sort of encouraged. Didn't you visit Alderaan and Kalidor at a similar age?" I said.
"Yes I did. Corellia though..." she begins.
"With it's engineering, trade and flight schools will be an ideal environment for Anakin to develop his skills." I say.
"The Royal Engineering Corps are not sufficient?" she says.
"I am afraid not. While I thank you for all your support Anakin does require a broader perspective. While the Royal Engineers are some of the finest in the Galaxy the Corellians have a style nearer to Galactic norms. The experience will be good." I say. Getting better all the time from the sound of things.
"I. See. When can we be expecting you back?" says Padme after a while.
"Of that, I am not sure. No more than a year." I say.
"A year?"
"I expect to enrol Anakin in some courses. They will last that long. Of course, we will visit." I say.
Padme pauses and takes a breath.
"Very well. I suppose. Please let us know where you will be." she says.
"I shall do that." I say, bow and leave. Once outside in the hall I look about. Empty. Will they notice a series of indentations at say, head height? I am such an idiot. I pause. The Palace has been around since before my ancestors developed agriculture. Well, not this exact panelling, they probably change everything every few centuries, but still. Paddy's Axe and all. All this focus on Anakin and I ignored the other half of the equation. Admittedly it wasn't hard. When it comes to blank slate characters they pretty much wrote the book with her. Or not, in this particular instance.
But this isn't a movie character. This Padme has all sorts of ambitions, belongs to a political elite and while from a relative backwater, we all know that didn't slow old Sheev down any. Galactics have longer lives and can plan accordingly. Great, more to worry about. I make my way out of the Palace.
What else is not as it seems? How the hell do I find out?
-----
I get home in short order. Since I've been a Jedi for a while now I try the Jedi thing. Sit down, get comfy, attune with the universe. Expect a goddamn answer. The Force however today wants patience to be today's insight since nothing else is forthcoming. Still, I do calm down. I become aware of other presences. I open my eyes.
Obi Wan Kenobi and plus one. A young girl, bright red skin, but otherwise human looking. Padawan braid. Neither look impressed at the clutter caused by several engineering projects.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi. You have arrived. Why don't you introduce me to your padawan?" I say.
"This is Helene. A most adept and promising student of the Force." Obi-Wan says. He looks around. "Where is your padawan."
"At school, but he will be here soon." I say.
"You are sending the Chosen One to a school!" says Obi-Wan.
"Not at all. His mother sends him to school. Quite a nice one." I say.
"What could he learn at a school for normals?" asks Helene.
"A thorough grounding in the arts and sciences as well as some socialisation skills." I say standing up. I walk over to the kitchen area and start popping various fruits into a giant blender, masher thing. I then start it up and ready the pitchers to receive the juice.
Obi-Wan walks over as I am swapping the pitchers over.
"What, are you doing?" he asks.
"Refreshments, it's important to be hydrated." I say grabbing a new pitcher.
"You're not seriously expecting him to drink all this." says Obi-Wan.
"Of course not." I say handing him two full pitchers. "Here, make yourself useful. It's for the others." I say as I take two outside myself. Obi-Wan and Helene follow.
"What others?" says Obi-Wan.
Then there is a sound. The sound of many feet. Of shouting, of excitement. A small horde of children and some adults tears into view and assemble into rows in the field.
If there is one thing I like about this universe, it is the amazing sense of timing everything has.