(Month Later)
“ Good morning, Milady. We will be landing shortly.” Corde came into Padme’s private quarters.
“ Thank you, Corde. I will be ready in a couple of minutes. You look beautiful.” Padme looked up from data pad that she was looking out and looked at the woman who stood before.
“ Thank you. I will be with the security and making up plans for when we land on Coruscant, to the Senate Building and even to our new apartments.” Corde gave Padme a small smile, because she never felt herself as a beautiful person.
“ Ok, I will be there to hear what Typho has come up with, on how we plan to land on Coruscant, without drawing to much attention to ourselves. I know that will be impossible in doing, because of our ship.” Padme gave a small laugh, as saw another smile come to Corde’s face.
“ True, it is very hard to come to Coruscant, without making a total scene with our ship. I must go now. See you shortly.” Corde gave a small laugh, before she turned and walked out of the room and made her way to the lounge area, where everyone was meeting in.
“ Morning, everyone. Everything is going on as planned and once Padme and I leave here, in the fighters, I will give the pilot the sign and he will take off with two other fighters ships. Then, we will take off, once you guys have lifted off.” Typho looked at the small group that was surrounding him.
“ Yes sir!” everyone said in together, before they broke up and went about their duties.
Padme walked into the lounge and heard the last part of what Typho had said to his security team. She also watched him go over to Corde, give her a hug and watched her nod her head to whatever he had told her.
“ Um . . . I am ready to head out.” Padme came up to the couple and hated to interrupt their private moment.
“ Oh . . . ok. We will be landing on Coruscant in two hours and we will see you, when we land on the platform.
“ Ok, you two keep safe and see you both soon.” Corde looked at both Padme and Typho, as she watched them take the helmets from the two pilots that just came into the lounge.
Padme took the helmet and put onto her head, so that no-one would know it was her that was getting into the fighter ship that was sitting outside the silver ship. Typho walked down the ramp of the silver Royal Cruiser and looked around. He motioned for Padme to follow him, and once they were down the ramp and on the ground, they walked to the fighter ships and climbed into the cockpits of the ships. Padme closed the canopy of the fighter and looked around the cockpit to get herself oriented with everything around her. Then, she was remembering where all the controls were, when she had to take that program and even flew a fighter ship in her combat training course, when she was the Queen of Naboo. Reaching over, she flipped the on switch and the engines of the ship came to life.
“ Ok, we are now ready for takeoff, Milady.” Typho’s voice came over her radio.
“ Ok, I am ready for this.” Padme looked over to the other ship and gave her head of security the thumbs up.
Both fighter ships rose from the ground and took off after the huge silver ship that just took off ahead of them. They took their place beside the Royal Cruiser, as they escorted it through space to the huge city-planet.
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Two hours later, four starships skimmed pasted the great skyscrapers of Coruscant. They were weaving in and out of the huge amber structures, sunlight reflecting off the mirror like windows of those massive structures, and gleamed brilliantly off the chrome of the sleek ships. The larger starship, which resembled a flying silver boomerang, almost glowed smooth and flowing with huge and powerful engines, set on each of its arms and a third of the way to the wingtips. Alongside of the ship, flew several Naboo starfighters. Their graceful engines set out on the wings, away from the main hulls, with their distinctive elongated tails.
One of the starfighters led the procession, veering around and about nearly every passing tower, running point for the second ship: the Naboo Royal Cruiser. Following closer behind the larger craft, came two more fighters, which were running close to the Royal Cruiser, and shielding it from any threats that may come their way. The lead fighter avoided the more heavily trafficked routes of the great city, that was where the potential enemies could be lurking, with the cover of thousands ordinary vehicles. Many knew that Senator Amidala of Naboo was returning to the Senate to cast her vote against the creation of an army, that would assist the overwhelmed Jedi in their dealings with the increasingly antagonistic separatist movement. There were many factions that did not want such a vote to be cast. Amidala had made many enemies during her reign as Naboo’s Queen; powerful enemies with great resources at their disposal, and with perhaps, enough hatred for the beautiful young Senator to put some of those resources to work to her detriment.
In the lead fighter, Corporal Dolphe, who had distinguished himself greatly in the Naboo war against the Trade Federation, breathed a sigh of relief, as the appointed landing platform came into view. It appeared to be secure and clear. He flew past the landing platform to the left, and then cut a tight turn back to the right and then encircled the great structure: the Senatorial Apartment Building, adjacent to the landing platform. He kept his fighter up and about, as the other two fighters put down side by side on one end of the platform, the Royal Cruiser hovering nearby for just a moment, then gently landing. Dolphe did another circuit, then seeing no traffic at all in the vicinity, he settled the fighter across the way from his companion craft. He did not put it down all the way, just yet, though. He remained ready to swivel about and strike hard at any attackers, if need be. On the opposite side of him, the other two fighter pilots threw back their respective canopies and climbed from their cockpits. One, Captain Typho pulled off his helmet and shook his head. He ran his hand over his short, woolly black hair and then adjusted the black leather patch that he wore over his left eye.
“ We made it and I guess I was wrong. There was no danger at all.” Typho watched his fellow pilot leap down from the wing and came up to stand beside him.
“ There is always danger, Captain, and sometimes we are just lucky enough to avoid it.” the other pilot responded in a distinctly female voice.
Typho began to speak, but he paused and looked back towards the cruiser, as the ramp was already lowering to the platform. The plan had been to get the contingent off the exposed platform and into a transport vehicle, as quickly as possible. Two Naboo guards appeared, alert and ready, their blaster rifles presented before them. Typho nodded grimly, and he was glad to see that his soldiers were taking nothing for granted, that they understood the gravity of the situation and their responsibility here in protecting the Senator. Next to come down the ramp was Amidala, and as always, in her splendor, and he knew that she could outshine anyone about her, even if she was dressed in a simple peasant’s clothing. Of course, today, she had to be dressed in her Senatorial attire, and this time, it was a fabulous weave of black and white, and with her hair tied up and exaggerated by a black headdress. Her mixture of intelligence and beauty, of innocence and allure, of courage and integrity and yet, with a good measure of a child’s mischievousness, she floored Typho every time he looked upon her.
Turning away from the descending entourage, back to Dolphe across the way, he offered a satisfied nod in acknowledgement of the man’s point-running work. Then, all of a sudden Typho was thrown down to the permacrete by a tremendous concussion. For a moment, he was blinded by the flash, as an explosion roared behind him. It took him a minute, before he could move, and looking up, he could see Dolphe sprawled down on the ground.
“ No!” he yelled, as he began to scramble to his knees and turned about.
The scene that laid before him was pieces of burning metal, spread through the Coruscant sky, looking like fireworks, fanning high and wide from the wreckage, while the remaining hulk of the Royal Cruiser burned brightly. Typho noticed the seven figures laying on the ground and one of them was wearing the decorated raiments that he knew so very well. Typho stumbled, as he tried to rise to his feet. He had a huge lump in his throat, because he knew what just happened. After all, he was a veteran warrior and he had seen battle, and also had seen people die violently. Looking at the seven bodies and looking at Amidala’s beautiful robes, at the way they were placed, about the very still form, he instinctively knew. Tears welled in his eyes, as he noticed that the woman’s wounds were mortal, and that she was dying fast, if she was not already dead.
There were loud sounds of the Klaxons, blaring along, with other alarms blaring in the air all around them, as they drowned out the cries that were coming from the astonished onlookers and the wails of the injured. Typho just watched, as his companion pilot raced passed him, as he scrambled to regain his footing and followed after the pilot. He noticed that Dolphe was up and similarly running towards the fallen form of the Senator. The female fighter pilot arrived first, and dropping down beside the fallen woman, she pulled the helmet from her head and quickly shook her brown tresses free.
“ Senator! Come, the danger has not passed!” Typho yelled, as he came up to Padme Amidala, who was kneeling beside the dying woman, who not only was her decoy, but her best friend. Padme waved the Captain back furiously, then bent lower to her fallen friend, as tears began rolling down her cheeks.
“ Corde . . . “ Padme whispered, as her voice was breaking, for Corde was one of her beloved bodyguards. She had been with her, not only serving her, but also serving Naboo, for so many years. She gently gathered Corde in her arms and began hugging her close to her body.
“ I am so sorry, Milady. I am . . . not sure... I . . . I have failed you.” Corde slowly opened her eyes, that were so much like Padme’s, gasping as she was struggling for breath, with every word, as she stared up at Padme.
“ No! No, no, no!” Padme was telling her bodyguard that it was not her fault.
Padme could tell that Corde was staring past her and everything that was surrounding them. She could tell that Corde’s eyes were staring into a different place that was far away. It was then, that she felt Corde relax, just as her spirit simply leapt from her body.
“ Corde!” Padme cried out, as she held her friend closer to her, as she began to rock back and forth, as she was trying to deny all this awful reality.
“ Milady, you are still in danger!” Typho watched the young Senator, as she held her dead friend in her arms and began rocking back and forth. Then, she began looking around.
“ I should not have come back.” Padme lifted her head from the side of Corde’s face, and took a deep and steady breath. Looking upon her dead friend and remembering all at once, the many times they had spent together, she gently lowered Corde down to the ground. She stood up beside the very wary Typho, as she still had tears streaking her cheeks.
“ This vote is very important and you did your duty, Senator, and Corde did hers. Now, come.” Typho came out of his ready stance, long enough to lock stares with Padme.
He gently grabbed Padme’s arm, but she just shrugged off his grasp and stood there, just staring down at her lost friend.
“ Senator Amidala! Please! Would you so much diminish Corde’s death, as to stand here and risk your own life? Then, what good will her sacrifice be if . . . .” Typho turned to the young Senator and trying make her see that they had to get going.
“ Enough, Captain!” Padme interrupted the person, who was trying to get to the safety of the air shuttle.
Typho motioned for Dolphe to run a defensive perimeter behind them, as he began leading the grief stricken Senator away from her dead friend, and the still burning wreckage of the Royal Cruiser. He gently took a hold of Padme’s arm and began leading her to the air shuttle. Once on board the shuttle, they lifted off the platform and headed for the small dome shape building that housed the Galactic Senate.