“ Good morning,Padme. I hope your birthday night out was fun” Obi-Wan came into the room, from his early meeting with the Council.
“ Um . . . morning, Obi-Wan. Yeah, it was fun and it was great to get away from all the stuffiness that is this place.” Padme rolled over in bed and looked up at Obi-Wan, with only her right eye open.
“ Good to hear that you had a great time last night. Oh, by the way, I hope that you were not involved with the fight that happened last night.” Obi-Wan asked, as he sat down on his bed and looked over to his Padawan.
“ Oh, that? No, my party and I were not involved with that fight. It involved with a couple of drunken guys and Padawan Allyn. The drunken guys said something about the Jedi being baby robbers.” Padme stretched, before sitting up in bed.
“ I see. Then, what did you and your friends do?” Obi-Wan asked.
“ We got up and left, so I don’t know what happened after we left. We came back here, and I went to bed.” Padme got up from the bed.
“ Then, am very proud of you for doing the right thing. I know there will be others, who did say that you should have stayed and helped out Padawan Allyn, but that would have only made it worse.” Obi-Wan laid down and put his arms behind his head and trying to figure out a way to tell Padme about their new assignment.
“ Ok, where are we going to now? Man, I was hoping we would stay here for at least a few days and get some good rest.” Padme went over to the trunk at the foot of her bed.
“ Well, yes, we do have a new assignment. The good news is we will be staying here on Coruscant.” Obi-Wan closed his eyes.
“ So, are you going to tell me what the Council wants us to be doing?” Padme turned and looked at her Jedi Master.
“ You heard about the assassination attempt on the new Senator of Naboo.” Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked at Padme, with a smile on his face.
“ Yes, I did hear about it. I don’t find it something to smile about Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Padme gave Obi-Wan a stern look.
“ Well, our assignment is to be a bodyguard for the Senator. Before you start saying, it is a waste of time for us, um . . . we know the Senator, Padme. Of course, we haven’t see him in ten years.” Obi-Wan’s smile widens.
“ Oh . . . the Senator is . . . Anakin?” Padme asked, as she felt her face heat up with a blush.
“ Yes, we will be bodyguards for him. So, with that said, get cleaned up and we will go to breakfast first, before heading over to his apartment.” Obi-Wan chuckled, at the flushed face of his Padawan.
Padme nodded, grabbed her clothes, headed out of the room and to the refresher, to get cleaned up before breakfast.
“ Hey, Padme. So, what are you doing tonight?” Jayson looked up from his breakfast, as Padme sat down across from him.
“ I will be on assignment with Obi-Wan.” Padme began eating her breakfast.
“ Man, it seems that you and Obi-Wan get a lot of assignments. I wish I could have the adventures that you and Master Obi-Wan have.” Hilarey looked to where her Master was sitting with Obi-Wan.
“ Yeah, I guess, you can call everything we do an adventure, but half the time, I just wish to stay here.” Padme took a sip of her drink.
The Padawans sat there talking about classes and some of the lightsaber combat techniques, that they were having problems with or have added something new to it, to make their own movements. After breakfast, the Padawans headed off to their classes. It was after dinner, Obi-Wan and Padme got into the speeder and head off to the Senator’s apartment. Once they arrived at the complex, they went into the lobby part of the building.
“ Good evening, Master Kenobi. How can I help you and your Padawan?” the security guard asked.
“ Good evening. We are here to see Senator Anakin Skywalker.” Obi-Wan informed the guard.
“ I see. I have to call to his head of security first, to see if you are expected.” the guard said.
“ That is fine.” Obi-Wan nodded his head.
The Security Guard buzzed Captain Typho and told him that the two Jedi were here to see the Senator.
“ Please let them through. They are going to be on my security team.” Captain Typho said.
“ Ok, I will put their names on your security team.” the guard said, as Obi-Wan gave a nod to do so.
“ Ok, thank you.” Typho said ending the conversation.
“ Ok, you may pass. Here is the apartment number, and the key you will need to get to the Senator’s floor.” the guard handed both Padme and Obi-Wan the turbo-lift key.
Obi-Wan and Padme got into the turbo-lift and Obi-Wan used his key, before hitting the button for the penthouse. Padme was about to see Anakin again, the man who had captured her heart and soul, when he was but fourteen years old and had never let it go.
“ You seem a little on edge, Padme.” Obi-Wan noted as the lift continue its climb.
“ Not at all.” Padme unconvincing reply.
“ I haven’t see you this nervous, since we fell into that nest of Gundarks.” Obi-wan smiled.
“ You fell into the nightmare, Master and I rescued you, remember?” Padme smiled also. They both shared a very much needed laugh.
“ You are sweating. Take a deep breath. Relax.” Obi-Wan noted.
“ I haven’t seen him in ten years.” Padme said wiping her hands on her robe.
“ Padme, just relax.” Obi-Wan reiterated. The lift door slid open and Obi-Wan stepped off first.
“ That’s not why I’m nervous.” Padme muttered under her breath, as she followed Obi-Wan off the lift. Going to the door, they rang the bell. It was Captain Typho who answered the door.
“ Master Kenobi, Padawan Padme, please come in. Anakin is in the living room. Please follow me.” the Captain stepped aside and let the two Jedi inside the apartment. >{?They came into the room and came to where Anakin stood up from the chair that he was sitting in.
“ It’s a pleasure to see you again, Anakin.” Obi-Wan came up to Anakin and shook the young man’s hand.
“ It has been far too long, Master Kenobi. I’m so glad our paths have crossed again, but I must warn you, that I think your presence here is unnecessary.” Anakin took Obi-Wan’s hand in his own and return the Jedi Master’s hand shake.
“ I am sure that the members of the Jedi Council have their reasons.” Obi-Wan replied.
Then, Anakin turned his attention to the most beautiful person he as ever seen, stand behind Obi-Wan.
“ Padme?” he asked, as a huge smile and the flash in his eyes came to his face. All Padme could do was smile and nod her head.
“ My goodness, how you have grown.” he said looking over Padme’s body and liking what he saw.
“ So have you, grown more handsome, I mean, and much taller. For a Senator, I mean.” Padme answered awkwardly, as if she had to force each words from her mouth. She cleared her throat and stood taller, as she teased, trying unsuccessfully to sound in control.
Padme saw Obi-Wan’s disapproving scowl, but Anakin laughed any tension away and he shook his head. After they talked for a few more minutes, Anakin said he had a couple of things he needed to look over and bid them two Jedi goodnight. Then, Obi-Wan and Padme followed Captain Typho, as he did his security sweep of the apartment.
“ I will have an officer on every floor, and I will be at the command center downstairs.” Typho bowed to the Jedi, before leaving the apartment.
Obi-Wan began to search the apartment again. In his room, Anakin was trying to control the sparks of feelings that was coming up; the feeling of lust . . . No, it was something else. When he shook Padme’s hand, he felt that spark, the same one he felt the first time he shook her hand over ten years ago. Two hours later, Padme was walking around the living room again, looking at the pictures that was sitting on the end table, next to the couch. She saw one that had the ex-Queen of Naboo in it and she was standing next to a tall man. She had two children in the picture, a little boy about a year old and very young baby in Amidala’s arms. She closed her eyes and began to get feeling of the room through the Force, in which she could sense any kind of disturbance through the Force. Padme’s eyes popped open wide, she looked around the room and pulled her lightsaber from her belt, or almost did. She stopped fast, when the door slid open and Obi-Wan came into the room.
“ Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs. No assassin will try that way. Any activity up here?” Obi-Wan looked curiously, his gaze sitting on Padme.
“ Quiet as a tomb. I don’t like just waiting here for something to happen.” Padme replied.
Padme saw a concerned look come across Obi-Wan’s face, when he took a view scanner from his belt and checking his screen. She knew that Obi-Wan could see only part of Anakin’s bedroom . . . the door area and R2-D2 standing by the wall, but nothing more.
“ Senator Skywalker, covered the cam. I don’t think he liked me watching him.” Padme explained.
Then, they were talking about their abilities in sensing things in the Force and of course, it was Padme, who’s senses were more in tune of what was going on in the bedroom. That was when she felt it, two small bodies that entered the bedroom. The two Jedi burst into the room, with their lightsabers raised. Padme slashing across just above the bedcovers, for the second time and sliced through both creatures in half.
“ Droid!” Obi-Wan cried out and Padme and Anakin turned to see him rushing for the window.
Obi-Wan leapt into the blinds, and taking them with him, as he crashed through the windows, and grabbing onto the droid that was hovering outside the window. Padme left Anakin with Captain Typho, who came rushing into the room. She ran out of the apartment and went down to the hanger bay, found a speeder and took off after Obi-Wan and the droid.
Twenty minutes later, after Obi-Wan joined Padme into the speeder, they followed the assassin. They caught up with the craft, in which crashed on the busy sidewalk, not far from the club that she and her friends were at the night before. They caught the assassin, taking her out of the Club and started asking her who hired her. All they got out of her was a bounty hunter. Before she could say the name, she too was assassinated, by a highly poison dart. They both headed back to the Anakin’s apartment and told him what had happened. Padme stayed at the apartment, while Obi-Wan headed back to the Temple to let Master Yoda know what just happened. Padme laid down on the couch, closed her eyes and fell into a very light sleep.
*(pages from the book Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore)