supplies necessary to keep alive the city-planet, which long ago had become too populous to support itself through its own resources. The efficiency of these docks was nothing short of amazing, and yet the place was still tumultuous, and sometimes gridlocked by the sheer number of docking ships and floating cranes.
This was also a place for living passengers, the peasantry of Coruscant, catching cheap rides on freighters outbound, thousands and thousands of people looking to escape the sheer frenzy that had become the world. Blended into that throng, Anakin and Padme walked along, dressed in simple brown tunics and breeches, the garb of Outland refugees. They walked side by side to the shuttle exit as they approached the dock and walkway that would take them to one of the gigantic transports. Captain Typho, Dorme, and Obi-Wan stood waiting for them at that exit door.
'Be safe, M'Lady,' Captain Typho said with genuine concern. It was clear that he was not thrilled with allowing Padme out of his sight and control. He handed a pair of small luggage bags over to Anakin and gave a nod of confidence to the young Jedi.
'Thank you, Captain,' Padme replied, her voice thick with gratitude. 'Take good care of Dorme. The threat will be on you two now.'
'He'll be safe with me!' Dorme put in quickly.
Padme smiled, appreciating the small attempt at levity. Then she embraced her handmaiden in a great and tight hug, squeezing all the tighter when she heard Dorme start to weep.
'You'll be fine,' Padme whispered into the other woman's ear. 'It's not me, M'Lady. I worry about you. What if they realize you've left the capital?' Padme moved back to arm's length and managed a smile as she looked over to Anakin. 'Then my Jedi protector will have to prove how good he is.' Dorme gave a nervous chuckle and wiped a tear from her eye as she smiled and nodded.
Off to the side, Anakin held his smile within, deciding consciously to wear a posture that exuded confidence and control. But inside he was thrilled to hear Padme's compliments coming his way.
Obi-Wan shattered that warmth, pulling the young Padawan off to the side.
'You stay on Naboo,' Obi-Wan said. 'Don't attract attention. Do absolutely nothing without checking in with me or the Council.'
'Yes, Master,' Anakin answered obediently, but inside, he was churning, wanting to lash out at Obi-Wan. Do nothing, absolutely nothing, without checking in, without asking for permission? Hadn't he earned a bit more respect than that? Hadn't he proven himself a bit more resourceful, a Padawan to be trusted?
'I will get to the bottom of this plot quickly, M'Lady,' he heard Obi-Wan say to Padme. Anakin seethed inwardly. Hadn't that been exactly the course he had suggested to his Master when they had first been assigned to watch over the Senator?
'You'll be back here in no time,' Obi-Wan assured her.
'I will be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi.'
Anakin didn't appreciate hearing Padme speak of any gratitude at all toward Obi-Wan. At least, he didn't want Padme to elevate Obi-Wan's importance in all of this above his own. 'Time to go,' he said, striding forward.
'I know,' Padme answered him, but she didn't seem pleased. Anakin reminded himself not to take it personally. Padme felt that her duty was here. She wasn't thrilled with running offplanet-and she wasn't thrilled with having another of her dear handmaidens stepping into the line of fire in her stead, especially with images of dead Corde so fresh in her mind.
Padme and Dorme shared another hug. Anakin took up the luggage and led the way off the speeder bus, onto a landing where R2-D2 waited.
'May the Force be with you,' Obi-Wan said.
'May the Force be with you, Master.' Anakin meant every word of it. He wanted Obi-Wan to find out who was behind the assassination attempts, to make the galaxy safe for Padme once again. But he had to admit that he hoped it wouldn't happen too quickly. His duty now put him right beside the woman he loved, and he wouldn't be happy if this assignment proved a short one, if duty pulled him away from her yet again.
'Suddenly I'm afraid,' Padme said to him as they walked away, heading toward the giant star freighter that would take them to Naboo. Behind the pair, R2-D2 rolled along, tootling cheerily.
'This is my first assignment on my own. I am, too.' Anakin turned about, taking Padme's gaze with his own, and grinned widely. 'But don't worry. We've got Artoo with us!'
Again, the levity was much needed.
Back at the bus, waiting for it to take them back to the main city, the three left behind watched Anakin, Padme, and R2-D2 blend into the throng of the vast spaceport. 'I hope he doesn't try anything foolish,' Obi-Wan said. The mere fact that he would speak so openly concerning his student showed Captain Typho how much the Jedi Knight had come to trust him.
'I'd be more concerned about her doing something than him,' Typho replied. He shook his head, his expression serious. 'She's not one to follow orders.'
'Like-minded traveling companions,' Dorme observed.
Obi-Wan and Typho turned to regard her, and Typho shook his head helplessly again. Obi-Wan didn't disagree with Dorme's assessment, however innocently she meant it. Padme Amidala was a stubborn one indeed, one of strong and independent thinking and more than willing to trust her own judgment above that of others, whatever their position and experience. But of the pair who had just left the speeder bus, she wasn't the most headstrong.
It was not a comforting thought.
Chapter Eleven
The great Jedi Temple was a place of reflection and of hard training, and it was also a place of information.
