7 Ch. 7: I think; therefore I am?

Authors Note: I'm going off the assumption that Senator Bail Organa, Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan stayed on Naboo to return Padmé's body and have their conversation about what to do with the babies. There is no jump cut to outer space. Also anyone else wonder how Wedge Antilles' Dad worked for Bail Organa and I'm assuming by extension the Rebels as well but Wedge still went to an Imperial Academy Flight School and never thought about going to the Rebels until Sabine came along in the Rebels TV show? Rant over.

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Naboo sounded like a strange name for a planet to me(all planets had strange names to me) but I wasn't about to argue with it. We proceeded to land in one of the personal hanger bays of the palace as directed and gathered to disembark.

"Zavart, a moment please?"

The request pulled me up short of walking down the descending ramp. I turned to find Master Wamo and Master Shaddoc, who wasn't fully looking at me.

"Yes?"

"Master Shaddoc and I think it's best if we meet with Master Kenobi first.....alone. He has the most experience in the order, after Master Yoda, fighting Sith, and we don't know how he'll react to you."

"You believe he'll attack first and try to kill me on the spot considering all that's happened."

"Yes basically."

I nodded my head in agreement, "Yeah no arguments there. I won't impede the peace talks. I'll just walk around the Palace and Bazaar in the meantime, I'm supposed to get food and supplies per the Captains orders anyway. If she's still taking us on as passengers?"

I directed the question to both Wamo and Ilawatizo who was just passing by at the time.

"As long as your credits are good I'm still finishing my job of getting you all back to Coruscant like you asked. Until that becomes null and void you can stay on my ship," she holstered her blaster pistol that I used against the pirates and threw on a white flight jacket that had a hood and a design on the back. It was a thorny black rose with a stylized M superimposed in the middle of the plant. It was nicely designed and looked like it cost a lot of credits to be made. She looked really good in it too....

"Cool, then should we get the supplies? You know your way around other planets better than I do."

She paused at the top of the ramp and seemed to mull this over in her head. "Yeah that's probably for the best, can't have you wandering off and Master Shaddoc losing his mind thinking you're going to kill a bunch of people."

I knew it was supposed to be a joke but with the way Shaddoc winced at it made me think that's exactly what he thought I'd do.

"That's not what we—" Master Wamo started to say.

I held up my hand, "It's fine Master Wamo, I won't hold it against you. Can I just have another one of your extra robes? Walking around like one of the pirates won't really help me blend in. Neither will my lightsaber."

Immediately Master Shaddoc went to fetch one from his quarters, this problem he had with me was more serious than I thought. I should probably watch my back around him.

"Here's credits to get yourself clothes and our share of the supplies. If you can try to stay under the radar, please do so. We don't know how these people are reacting to the new Galactic Empire and they could be hostile towards us. Any Clone Troopers you see are considered our enemy and hostile on sight. Also," here she turned to Ilawatizo, "Keep your comm on hand in case we need to make a hasty getaway or we need to get ahold of each other."

"No problem, I don't plan on being out of touch at all. Let's get going 'Zavart', we have a lot of stuff to get."

She walked down the ramp while pulling the hood up and I just let out a sigh.

"Give her time, we were very sure you were the Sith Lord that had started this war in the galaxy. Her life may have been caught up in it from an early age," Master Wamo tried to console me. Guess Jedi really live up to their reputation....sometimes.

Master Shaddoc finally came back with the robe and I took it from him. "She's not the one I'm worried about still holding something against me for no reason."

I let the awkward pause last a few seconds before donning the robe and turning down the ramp as well. I was behind Ilawatizo by some distance but didn't worry about losing her, it wasn't like I had a bad sense of direction.

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"You'll have to tell him, you know that."

"Yes I know! I know this and you've been reminding me about it ever since, Contrillo. When we were meditating after the pirate attack, when we were mourning the deaths of our fellow Jedi across the galaxy and after your training session with Zavart."

"I remind you of this because I know it will eat you alive with guilt otherwise. Holding onto this is a dangerous and poisonous thing. Don't let it corrupt yourself Yul'hara."

"What am I supposed to do Contrillo? How am I supposed to bring it up and ask for his forgiveness? It's not like saying sorry for taking the last Meiloorun Fruit."

The two Jedi Masters whispered among themselves in harsh tones while I followed behind them. We all wore the usual Jedi robes to hide our appearance since it looked like mostly humans lived on this planet. We didn't know how they felt towards aliens and Jedi; Since the three of us were all of them it was apparently best to be on the cautious side.

I had no idea who or what they were talking about and I had already started people watching long ago. Which told me a great deal.

Even though there were a great many humans in this main city(Theed as it was called, I was given the name by Master Shaddoc before he and Master Wamo started arguing) I could see another race starting to fill up the streets. And they were all wearing mostly black clothes with somber expressions. I'd never seen anything like it before.

"Master Wamo, what's wrong with all of these people?"

She turned to glance back at me and(and then over me to see if anyone was following us) and then she looked around at everyone. She took her time answering.

"They are in mourning Drazad."

"What's mourning?

"Mourning is when you spend time remembering a person that has died and joined the Force. It's usually a sad time since you no longer are able to see and spend time with this person anymore. The people closest to this individual get together and spend time sharing memories of them."

"So then are all of these people in mourning for the same person?"

That brought the two Jedi Masters up short. I almost ran into them when they stopped and looked around.

"The Apprentice has a point, this is an unusual amount of people getting ready for a wake. It's almost as if—"

"It's almost as if the whole planet is mourning...." Master Shaddoc trailed off her sentence. I saw them give each other a glance which seemed like they were speaking to each other without verbal words.

"We should get off the streets and hurry to the rendezvous with Master Kenobi."

Their pace picked up quiet a bit and I had to move faster just to keep up with them. I didn't know what they meant by the planet was mourning but now that I had words to express it I felt something. It was like this weight all around me that got heavier the more people started to crowd this place. I wasn't unused to being surrounded by a lot of beings but that was usually because I was working or trying to find a comfortable place to sleep, both of which were dirty environments. This place though was almost squeaky clean and could eat off the floor by comparison.

But even still, I took one last look behind us as we left one of the main streets leading to a bazaar that looked like it was half heartedly open.

This place had a metaphorical shadow hanging over it that I could also feel and it sent shivers down my spine. Something was really depressing and I didn't want to stay long to find out what it was.

I've had enough depression in my life to fill a planet.

Luckily we passed two more streets and rounded a corner to find a man standing at the other end of the building casually leaning against it. He wore a mostly grey outfit with some type of headpiece wrapped around the back of his head. He was a pretty tall human with shaggy brown hair.

As soon as he saw us he stepped away from the building.

I could almost feel Masters Wamo and Shaddoc tense up the moment this happened. My fight or flight almost kicked from years of being around constant danger but the man started talking first.

"Jedi Master Contrillo Wamo and Jedi Master Yul'hara Shaddoc?"

"Who's asking?" Master Shaddoc let his hand rest near his lightsaber to emphasize the point of his wariness.

"My name is Captain Antilles, I serve Senator Bail Organa. He asked me to escort you to our ship where Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda are waiting for you."

Both of them relaxed instantly upon hearing this.

"Master Yoda is with you as well!? Is there anyone else?" Master Wamo freely approached now, no longer apprehensive about an ambush.

"Unfortunately no, from what I've gathered a lot of lives were lost at the Jedi Temple when the Clones attacked. We aren't sure who else has survived there or across the galaxy."

"Hopefully we can establish that when we come together. Please, lead on."

"This child is with the both of you, I'm assuming?"

Master Shaddoc laid a hand on my shoulder, "Yes we picked him up on our travels. He is in our care."

"Of course, no problem. Then let's be off."

Captain Antilles turned and led us through the building he was leaning against and down the alleyway behind it.

"How did you know we were the Jedi Masters Captain?"

"Well with the people of Naboo gathering to publicly mourn the death of Senator Amidala, not many are still on these back streets. Most are already on their way to the Palace in Central Theed where the procession will take place."

"Senator Amidala is dead!? What happened?" Master Wamo seemed shocked by this but I had no idea who this person was supposed to be.

"I'm not sure. Master Kenobi brought her back to us from a fight he had with someone and she was already in critical condition. There wasn't much more that could be done for her. I wasn't told more than that and we gave her body to the family."

"This is getting worse the more we hear. Is there any good news?" Master Shaddoc pulled his robe even tighter around him. I did the same after hearing all of this. It's mostly flying over my head but I knew none of it was good news for any of us, or my decision on being a Jedi....

I looked around where we were, tall buildings of people's home looked around us as we moved into more winding alleyways and crossing the busy streets. I saw vendors giving away free items for the procession later and even food to those asking for it. It seemed these people were really coming together in the death of this Senator Amidala, something I had never seen before. It was awkward for me to watch this so I focused back on the conversation.

"—far as we know all the Clones have turned against the Jedi simultaneously across the galaxy. It seems Chancellor—excuse me, the new Emperor Palpatine has been planning this for quiet some time. It sheds new light on everything he has done as the former Chancellor."

"How could we let this happen? To have our greatest enemy right in our midst the entire time?"

We stopped at a doorway that led to a hangar bay. Captain Antilles looked around before he started to punch in a code.

"He had us all fooled Master Jedi. No one knew he was scheming to take power like this and plan everything that's happened. All we can do now is survive and try to plan for what comes next."

The door slid open to the right and he stepped aside for us to enter before him. We all piled into the hallway and kept moving forward as the door slid closed behind us when Captain Antilles also stepped in. Auxiliary lights on the floor and ceiling turned on to light the way around a corner to another door. It slid open as well to reveal and big hangar bay with all the lights off.

"Before you ask, the leaders of Naboo asked us to keep the energy output to a minimum. Per their sacred rites for Senator Amidalas funeral, only fires are to light the way in the city or very low lights. Anything else must be turned off. This will also help anyone questioned about our whereabouts so no one will have to lie. If they don't know we're here, they won't be questioned needlessly."

"Understood. Since this is a Aldaaranian Diplomatic Cruiser does that mean Senator Organa is here as well?"

"Yes, Senator Organa is here too. He's been with Master Yoda since we left Coruscant and Master Kenobi joined us afterwards. Please let's enter right away."

He lead us up to the boarding ramp and inside the ship which thankfully had the lights fully on, but the shade of white they used for the interior was definitely too bright for my eyes. I had to squint to see for some time which gave me a couple odd looks from the crew that we passed by. This whole place was unnervingly clean and polished, I almost didn't like it for some reason.

"They should all be gathered in here," Captain Antilles pointed to a doorway just ahead of us that was already open by the time we got to it.

Inside sat three beings. One man was a darker complexion and very regal looking with a half shoulder cloak on. The other was, well he looked like he had just gotten out of a fire. Holes littered his tunic and ash and smoke were plastered on his skin. The last being who was half turned away from us as we walked in had a diminutive figure and green weathered skin. All of them were aged but he seemed to be the most by far, like he'd lived for too long. The two former men stood at our entrance and the third fully turned towards us. It was at this moment that I truly felt happiness radiate off of Masters Wamo and Shaddoc since I first met them.

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"Do we need anything else?"

I saw Ilawatizo look over a list she made of everything. Still in our robes and flight jacket respectively, we stood among a crowd of people slowly moving about to gather last minute things for this funeral procession. The sun was waning in the sky and the cities lights were slowly starting to turn on on a low setting. We've gotten everything relatively easily, it seemed like word had spread fast that we arrived with Jedi on the ship and we were given supplies either freely or at a very low cost. It was good to see we weren't going to get trouble on this planet and they were still friendly to the Jedi, I had a feeling that we weren't going to be getting that a whole lot after we left.

"Just new clothes for you and the kid the Jedi are bringing along. It's not like we have extra clothes for Lasats and I'm expecting him to actually gain some height and muscle once he gets proper food in him. You might too."

I gave her a sideways look basically saying I wasn't that malnourished when compared to the kid. She took it in stride and approached another vendor who had gotten the word on who we were. The man waved us down flashing some type of fish he wanted to give to us. I followed Ilawatizo as she took them with much thanks and asked where to find any clothes at. She had a way with talking to these people that was an art. She definitely knew how to charm them and encourage them to have a small laugh even during this time of mourning. It was disarming.

We were directed to another stall that looked like it was about to close up. The woman noticed us coming and not wearing the common black clothes as everyone else was had a look of understanding appear on her face. She stopped what she was doing and watched as we approached.

"Are we that noticeable to everyone on the planet? We didn't mean to interrupt this time of mourning that everyone is going through," Ilawatizo bowed slightly.

"It's not your fault. You are outsiders so we know you don't know our traditions and customs and do not hold that against you. The news of you traveling with Jedi has traveled to all of us and anyway we can help you, we will." The woman bowed back and cast her eyes at me.

"Are you the Jedi everyone is speaking of?"

That brought me up short a little bit and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I'm not ma'am. They are somewhere else going about their own business."

"Shame. It's been many years since the Invasion of Naboo but we still remember how the Jedi came and helped us be liberated. It's a shame they are being cast out of the Republic now."

Both Ilawatizo and I stayed quiet, I don't know what her reasons were but my headspace was in a different place altogether.

"If you don't mind ma'am we're looking for extra clothes for my friend here and a male Lasat child that's in our group. We were directed towards you by the man behind us."

"Yes I have extra clothes. Although all that I really have is our ceremonial black, it should do as well as anything else. What size would you be? Large? And a 42 length? Yes I think....5 credits for each set would do it."

"I say it every time but I'm still surprised that you all are making this so cheap. You'd think everyone on the planet is wealthy or something," Ilawatizo added a chuckle at the end as she pulled out the credits.

"If you don't mind me asking ma'am. Why did you think I was the Jedi? Was it just the robes?"

"Well that, your slightly above average height and the lightsaber on your waist were all give aways."

The both of us froze, the woman kept pulling out the sets of clothing like what she just said wasn't bone chilling to either of us. I gave the Captain a look that obviously said we should run but she shot me one that said, STAY. PUT. These people had helped us out so far, it wouldn't add up for them to rat us out if they knew I had a lightsaber.

The woman finished pulling out the clothes for me and continued with her sales pitch.

"For the Lasat, I don't have much. More just elastic clothes that'll stretch with his growing body. You'll probably have to travel to another planet to find anything more suitable for him. And probably do it soon, the news on the Holonet is that Clone Troopers are being deployed to a lot of places for new peacekeeping purposes now that the war is over."

"Any idea where they could go?" I took the clothes she handed to us as Ilawatizo pulled out the credits and handed them over. I noticed she had a few extra in it than was asked for but didn't say anything.

"No clue, this new Galactic Empire is already changing a lot of things up in the time it's been established. Everything's going to be different now."

"Yeah, you can say that again," I nodded along with the Captains statement. We all were in uncharted waters.

The commlink we were given started to chime and we both thanked the woman before stepping away. We found a little alcove that led towards an alleyway no one was using so we could have some privacy. I doubled checked to make sure by looking around quick and gave her the go ahead. She activated the call and Master Shaddoc's voice talked first.

"Captain, are you and Zavart finished with the errands you had to complete?"

"Almost Master Shaddoc, we just finished gathering food and clothing now. We were about to be on our way back to the ship to drop everything off and look for anyone that's selling fuel."

There was a slight pause as the other end was quiet, obviously talking with someone.

"Don't worry about the fuel or dropping off the things you bought. I'm sending you coordinates to meet a Captain Antilles who will bring the both of you to us. He has men who will take your things back to the ship and sort out the fuel problem along with any repairs to the ship that is needed."

Ilawatizo gave the commlink a weird look and then passed that same look onto me. I just shrugged my shoulders also not knowing what was going on.

"Master Shaddoc, we both were under the impression that you and Master Wamo split off from the group so as to keep the location of your meeting with Obi-Wan a secret. We still don't know if this planet is completely friendly to us or not. Won't sending your location like this be detrimental to all that?"

"There's no need for that kind of worry on this planet. We've gotten guarantees from Master Kenobi and some other friends here that we are safe on this planet. How long remains to be seen but we'll worry about that later."

"So there's more than just this Obi-Wan friend of yours that wants to meet me, is that right? Another Jedi Master, or someone else?"

The comm was silent for a bit as whoever else was there discussed on how to answer.

"We'll talk more about this when you get here. Sending the coordinates now."

The connection went dead and like he said we received the coordinates on where to go. I didn't know how to feel about all this crypticness and apparently neither did the Captain.

"Are you sure you want to go? I know the Jedi are usually vague in the way they talk but to outright not answer is never a good thing."

I gave a slight shrug, "It's not like I should have a problem with it. I know Master Wamo and I don't really have a problem with each other and as long as she's there and you have my back, I'm sure it'll go fine."

She seemed not sure of my statement at first and started biting her lower lip in contemplation. It seemed like an unconscious habit, probably whenever a problem presented itself in a time sensitive manner. I didn't notice this during the pirate attack likely because of my hunger and need to hold my lightsaber again.

I adjusted my grip on what I was holding and turned towards the general direction we needed to go.

"Coming?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

She deliberated for another few seconds and then made a decision.

"If you have people shoot at me again or you get attacked by a lightsaber, again, the blame is on you."

And with that she led the way.