Senator

- Look, Ben, didn't the trade federation act as aggressively before? And how did they get away with it before?

- Actually, the Trade Federation didn't do this before," Kenobi said. - They were assholes, of course, but they didn't act that rudely, or hide it well.

- I see," our dear Sidious seems to have started using the Trade Federation just by starting with Naboo. Well, well done.

Night, or day-it's hard to tell on the ship-I was still living on Tatooine time, and the ship had its own, "ship time. When it was past midnight, I started to yawn and was escorted to my cabin by Ben.

It's cold here, after all. Not like on Tatooine, where it's hot all year round.

As Qui-Gon gathered everyone up and led us on our way, Nubian came out of hyperspace, rapidly approaching the planet. My mother, temporarily enlisted as Amidala's servant, followed the fake queen, and I, oddly enough, a slave in rags, was placed there as well. Qui-Gon insisted, though I didn't realize I looked like a scarecrow. Really, given the "combat coloring" of the fake Amidala... I can see why Padmé didn't want to show off her makeup - I mean, I'm not against a moderate amount of makeup on a beautiful lady's face, but covering her whole face with white powder... unthinkable. The boat entered the atmosphere like a knife in butter, and everybody took their places at the ramp. Yes, unlike Lucas' work, the Nubian had no portholes to enjoy the views outside, and there was only one ramp, the cargo-passenger one, on the side of the yacht. After a few minutes of shaking, we finally stopped. The hatch began to open, and the air of Coruscant flew in, surprisingly clean, but without natural odors. Except for the pseudo-Queen, which smelled of some kind of flowers. I had a seat right behind her, so I had time to smell it.

When the trapdoor opened, everyone went down, and I followed them. Oddly enough, the Chancellor and Sidious actually came to meet Amidala in person. The chancellor was a tall, even lanky old man, with a bald head and protruding brow- the word "koshey" was on my tongue. But no, surprises in a distant galaxy are surprises - Palpatine, always smiling, with wavy hair and rosy cheeks... visually one would have wanted to call him a do-gooder if he didn't have a faint whiff of darkness in his power, almost the same as Darth Maul, but much weaker. Yes, the smile is fake, also looks at the queen that way... and in power creates outrage with his dark side. I wonder if it's the midichlorians that make me so sensitive, or if the Jedi just never use flair? I doubt the latter, so let's chalk it up to the midichlorian's heightened sensitivity and the fact that Yoda hasn't talked to any senator from Naboo yet. Yeah, it's time for the second part of the plan. As I recall, Sidious is going to start working on pseudo-Amidala almost immediately, so that she will agree to break her alliance with the Chancellor and nominate him, a Sith, for that responsible position. Leaving it at that is not an easy thing to do - becoming his chancellor was the starting point of becoming his emperor. Without the chancellor's authority, Sidious is if not helpless, then at least he will find it difficult to do anything about it. I have to do something about what's going on right now, not wait for Amidala to pass a vote of no confidence in his ally. But how? The plan appeared this morning. I can't command anyone or even report to an authority in the form of the Jedi Council, but at least there's at least one Jedi who believes in my abilities-Qui-Gon. All I can do right now is go to Qui-Gon and invoke the power. Yes, he must listen to me. And if you add to that the koshchei chancellor... The procession had already walked three dozen steps - the pseudo-king exchanged a ritual greeting with the chancellor and the senator and moved on, while Palpatine was flattered by the pseudo-Amidala. I walked, close to them, and scanned him with my senses. After all, if I tried to tell a Jedi what I could sense, they might check it out, and then I might get in trouble if I couldn't prove it. The best thing to do would not be to "prophesy," but to use the knowledge to find the right thing. If you know what and where to look, it's much easier to find it. Palpatine, aka Sidious, reeked of the darker side of the force. It was definitely weaker than his apprentice's, but it was clear enough that I could feel it. No wonder Sidious was able to hide from the Jedi-if I could only sense him up close and even faintly... Darth Maul, for example, was felt almost as soon as he approached us on his strange speedbike. We had gone some thirty paces when I turned to look back and saw that Qui-Gon and the Chancellor were talking. Qui-Gon, noticing my interest, pointed his hand toward the queen's procession, saying, "Go, boy. But I, to his surprise, turned around and walked back. Yes, the show's started, take your seats!

- Anakin? - The Jedi asked, raising an eyebrow expressively.

- "It's important. As important as it is to you, Mr. Chancellor," I said, glancing at the chancellor. He exchanged thoughtful glances with Qui-Gon, who asked mournfully:

- Anakin, can't it wait?

- Absolutely not. Remember the one with the red face that attacked you on Tatooine? - I asked.

- Yes," Qui-Gon immediately turned serious, "but I don't understand why you would ask such a question in this environment...

- Who is he? There was a great deal of darkness in him. I could feel it.

Qui-Gon got even more serious, and answered:

- "It was a Sith. They will tell you who they are, only later.

- But are there any Sith in the Senate? - I "wondered," making my eyes widen and turning my gaze to the Chancellor. He answered me immediately, interrupting Qui-Gon:

- No, boy, the Sith are a cult, and they're long gone. They are not in the Senate and never have been.

- But that man is a Sith," I said so confidently that Qui-Gon immediately began to look around for danger and his hand seemed to tremble in the direction of his sword.

- Anakin, who? - The Jedi asked, finding no threat.

- The one with the curly long hair that met the queen," I answered the Jedi, "it feels the same as the one that attacked us, perhaps even stronger. True, I was only able to sense him when I stood next to him. I guess he knows how to hide the disturbance in the force. And the one that attacked felt almost the same, only from a distance, so I thought they might be connected...

- Mr. Jedi, if you wouldn't mind translating into galactic, please? - The chancellor scoffed at my inarticulate explanations. But Qui-Gon, remaining unperturbed, answered him:

- The boy claims that Senator Palpatine is somehow connected to the assassin who overtook us on Tatooine. Perhaps they are both Sith. It's a very dangerous sect, but I, like the rest of the order, believed that they had long since disappeared due to internal dissent. At least I thought so until one of them attacked us.

- So you're saying the Sith have resurfaced? - But I answered the chancellor:

- They didn't go anywhere. That man is a Sith. That is as true as it is that Qui-Gon is a Jedi. The senator is faintly felt, but his power is great... - I said cryptically.

- Is that so? And what do you mean by that?

- I suppose that since he sent assassins to the queen, he might be trying to influence her. Maybe if he can't eliminate her, he'll try to win her over to his side and turn her against you. As I understand it, Amidala Naberrier is your ally?

- Yes, she is," the Chancellor nodded as the conversation with the boy slowly faded away. Strange fellow, I think we should get to know him better.

- Wait, Anakin, are you sure of your feelings?

- Quite sure, Qui-Gon.

- But can we do anything solely on the basis of the boy's feelings? - The chancellor raised an eyebrow expressively, which looked very exotic on his Koschei face. Qui-Gon decided to go with his only trump card:

- This boy is more force sensitive than any Jedi, even more than Master Yoda. I believe we must take some action. If the senator really has something to do with the assassin, it is better to take action beforehand that will refuse to be unnecessary than...

- I understand you, Qui-Gon. The suspicion that he will try to break us up with Naboo is already reason enough to observe. Still, the Sith are your department," Herr Chancellor blamed the problem on Qui-Gon.

- Yes, but our mission is only to get the queen to the senate. I will certainly report to the council, but it is impossible to do anything at once, my apprentice and I must return to the temple. And, Chancellor, senators are your department," Qui-Gon replied on automatic. Ah, was, was not...

- Qui-Gon? Can I keep an eye on Amidala in the meantime? And we'll turn on the droids' recording, so if he tries anything against the queen or the Republic, we'll be the first to know.

- Yes, that's a sensible idea. But how do you envision it? Installing listening devices in the senator's chambers from Naboo? Absurd.

- We could start by warning the queen that Senator Palpatine has fallen under suspicion as the mastermind of the assassination attempt, and that he might try to recruit her since he failed to eliminate her.

- Yes, I agree. I'll take a message to her majesty. And you, Anakin, go. Perhaps we'll be back quickly - after all, such charges are very, very serious," Qui-Gon said sternly. The chancellor nodded.

- I am not accusing anyone of anything. It's just that this man reeks of the same darkness as that zabrak who attacked you, Qui-Gon. I merely reported it.

- But then why did you say such unnecessary things? - The chancellor asked curiously.

- I don't know. Intuition, I guess. Qui-Gon told me to trust it, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining things," I answered innocently. Yes, this is it! They are all philosophers and when someone says something, they don't have to immediately give proof but they can say things like "this is how I feel" or "my intuition tells me this is right". And that's it! However, I don't think this trust should be abused, but it can be used in moderation.

Coruscant City, planet-city, capital of the Republic. They say all the people in the galaxy came from here. You can believe it, but people are so disrespectful to nature that they can crap all over the planet, so much so that the only undeveloped place is the mountains. And they are probably already working out how to litter them with skyscrapers too. Greed and shortsightedness, Coruscant more than any other city in the galaxy deserves the honorable title "city of sins". Temptations of every kind--entertainment, prostitution, street gangs, drug dealing... If Mos Eisley was a marginal black market, where the mafia really worked to earn their ill-gotten gains, then Coruscant was a market for the same mafia. If there's one decent thing about the Yuuzhan-wongs, it's that they tried to destroy the whole city here and return the planet to its normal appearance. For nothing, of course; it would have taken too much effort.

Coruscant was amazing. In size, in population, in buildings. Though the latter was dubious - the houses and other buildings were too monotonous. As if in the good old Soviet Union, all like copy, so that you can not tell one from the other. The speeders, local transport of all sorts and sizes, ranged high and wide between the houses. Above the gray mass of cloned houses-skyscrapers towered some buildings that were much taller and had a more original design. On the horizon was the senate building, which was easily recognizable by its mushroom-shaped and truly colossal size.

The queen, followed at her heels by the maids and guards, walked in front of me. I followed inside. Inside was a residential building, the corridor of which we walked in a procession. Palpatine was still noodling the Amidala doppelganger, and I was looking at the local decorations with all my eyes. Yes, the style is similar to Earth's high-tech and not at the same time - it smelled of nasty dry filtered air, the walls and floor were decorated with some kind of drawings. Royal chambers, no less. But if there was room for Panaki and the maids, it meant there was room for me and my mother to lie down, too. Still, it was cold in here, though I was beginning to get used to it, or rather, to Tatooine.

Was it right that I turned Sidious over to the Jedi? Probably yes - his becoming chancellor is the starting point of the clone wars. If the Jedi declassify him, Palpatine's hands will be tied. Which means he won't be as dangerous. The Sith weapons and their power are in the rule of two, and it only has real power when the Sith are in hiding, meaning they use their anonymity as a defense against the Jedi. There is also a weakness in the rule of two - just kill two in a special way and you don't have to worry about them coming back to life. Capture them, sever their ties with the force, and kill them. Or, at the very least, just drain the power around the enemy at the time of his death, so that he would simply die without going into the force, and without the slightest chance of resurrection. The uncomfortable part for me was that separating reality from fiction was not easy-there were inaccuracies in the world around me, and there were confirmations verbatim that this was still the same galaxy. The biggest difference was the history of the galaxy, which was not described by Lucas himself, but by a bunch of writers who hoped to write books about a world that everyone already loved and to profit from it. Still, they created them without regard to the original, even if the events described were not logically real - where there is a question of publishing and buying books there are other laws, the laws of commerce, rather than common sense. The reason for thinking that is simple - I remember the Trade Federation was a pretty aggressive organization and Qui-Gon and his padawan in one book were fighting the Trade Federation shortly before the siege of Naboo began. But Ben said this was the first time this had happened for them, so it makes sense to listen. Listen and think about it.

We entered a large room, vaguely remembered from the movie, where the queen was seated. Outside the window, speeders and other vehicles of all colors and sizes were scurrying about, and inside, the queen's team had already begun to take their seats. The wide sofa in the middle of the room attracted the attention of the pseudo-king herself, the real one dragged her mother somewhere, the maids immediately began to put the room in order, placing the brought things, the dark-skinned captain of the royal guard Panaka began with a round - inspected all the interior details, checking with some small device, similar to a comlink. That was basically the whole "arrival of the Queen of Naboo" picture. After a while, all more or less settled down, and I remained forgotten-abandoned, except that Panaka looked half-eyed at me, or rather at my lightsaber on my belt - whatever, but a weapon, it means, can be used to harm the royal person. The queen and the senator were seated in the living room, and the copy of the queen listened with a nonchalant face to Palpatine's sweet talk; the maids had fled to their rooms with the droids; Panaka had taken up his post near the wall, and was now acting as a sentry. Now, didn't I say I'd keep an eye on the queen? That's right. But there's no point in that for now, until the chancellor starts working on the queen in earnest. And he won't start immediately on arrival, the senate doesn't meet until tomorrow, I overheard the servants talking about it on the flight here. Anyway, I can't give myself away now, so, ignoring the glances Captain Panaki threw at me, I made my way resolutely to the same room that Padmé and my mother had gone to. If I had to keep an eye on Padme, I should have kept an eye on myself, and I should have kept Padme's "maid" away from the Sith.

The room was similar to the previous one, only smaller, clearly designed for a staff of servants and maids - a few armchairs, a coffee table in the middle, and doors to separate chambers for each servant. Mother and Padme found themselves in the armchairs, in the company of the other orange and yellow ladies. Mom turned around and called out to me when the girl sitting next to her pointed at me.

- Ani!

- Mom... - I stepped closer and said, "I have to go out...

- Huh? Where?

- Well... - I looked expressively at my "clothes". I didn't understand why Anakin had changed into something decent in the canon after the blockade of Naboo had been lifted. I've never considered myself fashionable or at least somewhat fashion-conscious, but I didn't like to stand out too bad, or too good clothes - practicality is practicality, but here I am in the entourage of an entire queen, but dressed like a hobo...

- Padme? - Mama turned her attention to the queen.

- Yes, yes. Ani... we don't have the right clothes, unfortunately, but we can order them. If I remember correctly...

- Padme, does this Coruscant village happen to have such a wonderful invention of all intelligent races as a "clothing store"?

Padme chuckled, but nodded in agreement with her words in response:

- There is, of course. Plenty, but walking around here unaccompanied...

- Hmm... - I looked expressively at the real queen of Naboo and nodded, "Yes, you're right. Maybe I should ask the queen for permission, or even that you would escort little me. After all, my mother and I have been enlisted, albeit temporarily, on the staff of the Nabuan delegation.

- Yes, yes!" Padmé rejoiced. The reason was as clear as day, transparent as a tear. What kind of woman would turn down an opportunity to go shopping? Or, at the very least, just to stroll around Coruscant, not as a senator and queen, but as a mere mortal. The fish took the bait and immediately got up from her chair, walking toward the living room. But she stopped halfway toward me, and thought about something. I could see the work of thought on her face and the inner struggle. On the one hand, a double may do something wrong, but on the other hand, I would like to! A woman is a woman, no matter how you slice it. The desire for a walk triumphed, as expected, and Padme turned to her mother:

- "Shmi, shall we... shall we go?

- Yes, yes," Mom nodded, and Padme continued:

- We'll be back soon... hopefully.

Padme said nothing to her doppelganger, who was now standing with Senator Palpatine on the balcony, admiring the views of Coruscant. It was the middle of the day on the planet-city. Panaka was still standing guard in the living room, hypnotizing the pseudo-king with his gaze, and Padme approached him, arousing the black-robed captain's curiosity.

- Panaka, will Anakin and I step outside for a moment? The boy needs to be dressed, after all, since he's in the retinue...

- "Yes?" Panaka looked at me doubtfully, and continued, "would you like me to escort you out? Though, I can't leave the queen, so I'll have to take someone else.

- Panaka, but we'll go to a decent place and buy some clothes... I hope Anakin can take me? - The senator glared at me, and I was supposed to be ashamed of myself. I was a bit shy, but I wasn't. My body is not as mature as my mind, and my mind is not known for its coolness and Buddhist-Jedi unbreakable serenity.

Padmé was amused by my reaction, and she smiled and walked away from her senatorial suite.

After giving a few commands to Trypio, who was also standing there, I glanced at the Gungan and, sighing, hurried after the real queen. This Panaka is either a risk taker or a freeloader, letting the queen go alone, I mean, with me, but I can't even fight very well! I have a light saber, though, and I can even block a blaster shot if I have to.

Padme took matters into her own hands - she wanted to call a cab on the comlink, but changed her mind and went to the garage. There was a small garage attached to this noble house, where several speeders were parked, serving the senators in their daily transportation needs.

We were met in the garage by the chauffeur, a young lad in his early twenties, dressed in attendant's clothes. Padme took the brunt of the negotiation, while I looked at the local transport with my eyes wide open. It's about the size of a car, hovering a few inches above the surface, and the driver's seat is about the same as a car, except instead of a steering wheel, it has a steering wheel like the ones on small civilian planes. Inside, there are two rows of seats, front and rear, and a trunk, but apparently the engines are also there, along with the fuel system. Repulsors are as common in the galaxy as the wheel on earth, and perhaps everyone without exception treats the technology as a must, because the Republic has existed for tens of thousands of years, and in all its existence was repulsor technology. In the saga such a point is poorly covered, but here I can see with my own eyes all the variety and splendor of the technology. To begin with at least the small speedbikes, essentially flying stools that float low to the ground, and ending with the huge transport vehicles. The speeder, which was in the garage is more correct to compare it to a Mercedes - not the most expensive, but still representative and well-made, comfortable and unpretentious. The guy stood there for a few seconds, looking at us, or to be more precise, at Padme, and then he turned to her:

- Excuse me, can I help you with something?

- Yeah, we need to go somewhere. Would you mind?

- Yes, yes, of course. May I ask where?

- Shopping. Orders from the Senator," Padme said, and she was already approaching the speeder. The boy nodded and circled around his tartan. The vehicle swayed as he climbed in, and Padme turned to me:

- "Ani, get in! - and pointed to the seat next to her. I had to take a seat, too.

A few more seconds and we were in motion, popping out of the garage like the devil out of a snuffbox. The Senator's driver was very decent - he drove carefully, I couldn't have done that. I mean, I'd have just pushed full throttle and flown through the place like a fighter jet. The carriage race seemed to have left its mark on my perception of the world - slow-moving traffic made me irritated and decided to talk to Padme for now.

- Padme? Listen, where are we going?

- Э... - she glanced at the driver. He, noticing her gaze, answered me:

- To the shopping district. You can find anything here.

- Here," Padme concluded, looking me over.

I don't like shopping, like some people do, but I was really in a rush right now. I was distracted from my thoughts by a sharp maneuver as the speeder turned the corner and ended up on a huge street. The speeders were flying in both directions in a steady stream, so I could see the Coruscant traffic. Padme was not silent, but asked when I was distracted from contemplating the flow of speeders:

- Ani, do you have any money?

- Yes, I have some.

- If anything...

- No, it's not the money we need to worry about," I said, remembering the Senator and Padme's double we'd left behind.

The galactic republic, and the galaxy itself, was, in my opinion, incredible. And it felt best here on Coruscant, amid the flow of cars, signs, street advertisements, and other things. Why incredible? It was hard to imagine how two races could get along in one place, with three being three times the problem, and there being millions of intelligent races in the galaxy. Of course, most of them can hardly be called widespread - the same Gungans did not leave the cozy forests of Naboo, and they are not alone, but actively traveling, trading, fighting, a thousand and a half races. Although the basis of all this outrage is still represented by humans. Both humans and those who are close to us in thinking and biology - Twilights, Duros, and others like them. The characteristic feature is two arms and two legs, and the Twilights are even quite cute from the point of view of humans. And all this diversity, millions of races manage to coexist, if not peacefully then at least - not in a state of all-galactic war. This is already unbelievable. The planets have different gravity, different atmospheres, different food, different traditions and laws. What is understandable and familiar to me may be terribly sacrilegious to another, brought up in other traditions and with a different mindset.

Though it is fair to say that the galaxy didn't unite all at once, and not all at once. The original races - the Kwa, the Durossians, the Dressels, the Rakata, and, of course, the humans - traveled throughout the galaxy - many races were underdeveloped then, but the aliens, especially the Rakata, cared little - they needed resources, new planets, new markets for their goods, needed expansion. In the end, greed won out over everyone - most races saw the opportunity to get their way to tens of thousands of inhabited planets as a sign from above, as a great opportunity for self-fulfillment. Of course, some succeeded, but eventually they all became citizens of the galaxy - adopting both the way of thinking and the language of their colonizers. But it started out differently. And for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking, or rather feeling, or even vaguely wanting to fly there, to the very beginning. To the very beginning of the whole story of the saga. But I chased that feeling away with the thought that I would make it-if not now, then after I'd been able to defend myself. I didn't start a hard workout, but at least a couple of times a day I worked out a little - push-ups, pull-ups, and the other delights of self-development didn't require any equipment. Let alone strength training and related skills. I had a whole year before it was time to set foot on the trail of history, and I had time to get myself up to speed with training, and with theory, too-although the holonet was available.

Padmé was sitting there, pondering something of her own, when the repulsors grew higher and the speeder slowed to a stop. The driver flew into the parking lot and turned to the girl:

- That's it, we're here. "Galaxion is a good trading place for humanoid races, especially humans, you'll find everything you're looking for here," after a short "advertising" slogan, the driver got out of the speeder, and Padme and I kept up, simultaneously curious about the place this Sussanian had brought us to. The parking lot was like an underground parking lot, but on top of several skyscrapers. There were rows of speeders standing, or rather hovering over the surface, and a little farther along was the entrance, a solid structure with glass, or rather transparent walls, and a lot of signs, signs, and other light-empowerment stuff.

Padmé spotted the entrance and, taking my hand in hers, she strode steadily toward it. So steadily that I had to run-her steps were sprawling, even in a servant's robe. I looked back helplessly at the driver, but he was looking at it with a "you got it, boy!" smile. Yes, he turned out to be right. I'm never going to store with a Nabuan queen again! And all I wanted was to buy something civilized. But under the gaze of a woman's gaze and a little excitement, I was immediately changed at the first major store. The look on Padmé's face at that moment frightened me a little-she was so busy picking out all sorts of styles and styles that she didn't seem to notice even if the Yuujan-wongs came to Coruscant with their "hot" gifts in the form of bombs. Oddly enough, fashion in the galaxy changed extremely slowly and was not particularly refined or canonical. The loose-fitting pants, the outerwear that reminded me of a Japanese kimono, and finally Padme dragged me to the hairdresser, where the helpful knight of scissors and hair gel transformed my uncomplicated hairstyle into something that was similar to the image of me they had created in the movie. Only my hair was a light straw color, burned out by the aggressive radiation of Tatooine's stars. After I'd had my hair done in a hedgehog style, I decided to let it be as it was-Padme and the hairdressers could see how it looked from the outside. After all the metamorphosis I got a pretty decent look, just my style - dark gray pants, comfortable athletic shoes, and a gray, like a London clerk's raincoat, something that looked like a turtleneck. On top of this "turtleneck" was a leather vest of pure white, which reminded me of the smuggler Han Solo - he wore almost the same, but there was style, you might say, finesse. Maybe someone will say that black is cooler, then I won't agree with them - I love white and lighter shades in general. I only have a black belt, on which I immediately clipped my sword. Then Padmé went shopping on her own, while I had the dubious honor of following her around. Gradually she bought herself an entire costume, a couple of dresses, several pieces of jewelry from different races, a painting... Oh, the power, the painting! As I was about to follow her into the lingerie store, I noticed the signs with the skater-twirls in lacy lingerie, and I yelled at myself and Padme for the company:

- No, not again! Padme, do you want me to help you pick out some cute panties? - I asked, adding so much sarcasm and dirty innuendo to my voice that even Monsieur Han Solo would have been jealous. Only then did she stop, blushing:

- No, what are you... ah... - She calmed down with visible regret, and, returning to her usual color, she turned around and told me: "Forget it, let's go, it's evening, we're already late.

Oh, these women - I chose everything for myself in half an hour, and then Padme, like a child for the first time in a toy store, looked at everything with excitement, tried on dozens of dresses. In the absence of other options, she flaunted herself before me, veiledly demanding recognition of her magnificence and beauty. Of course, my "childish" personality liked it, so I didn't mind, and it all lasted for five hours, with breaks for lunch and sipping the juices that are squeezed from the exotic fruits from all over the galaxy right here, by every escalator... And after this torture, "we were delayed." Who will understand these women? I can change many things, even the fate of the galaxy, but such a feat as understanding a woman is beyond me. She looked too pretty when she blushed, though. But me, I certainly shouldn't care about that for the next five to ten years.

It was the looks from the people around me that were interested... I guess it was because I didn't want to lug four shopping bags behind me, much less the queen, so I took them by force and carried them behind us. It wasn't particularly difficult, though people were quite surprised - the Jedi were not, contrary to popular misconception, common knowledge and widespread. In the galaxy - twenty million races on one side and a few thousand Jedi on the other. A drop in the sea this order, but the output on the government and cooperation with the galactic republic did its job - the Jedi were known, not most, but many, and the search for gifted knights tried to conduct everywhere possible. Of course, they couldn't cover the entire galaxy, but at least in the explored and civilized part of the worlds the Jedi were working in earnest.

The bags floated in the air behind us and, supported by telekinesis, drew unnecessary attention to our personalities. The force itself didn't mind at all; I even thought it was having fun with this free use, without any philosophy or deference to the mighty and understudied force.

The driver showed up in his speeder, reading something on his tablet, distracted only when we got close enough. Padme was still in her orange-red robe, so it was impossible not to notice her, and I looked completely different from when I entered the mall, so I was looked over with curiosity and even complimented by him:

- Now, boy, all the girls are yours," and winked as I, remembering my joke on Padme's infatuation, turned a little pink. Padme, too, though, and the driver continued, "Are we going back?

- Yes, please," the queen replied. The purchases in the speeder were as curious to the chauffeur as to the passersby, and he even whistled as he looked at them, saying

- So you're a Jedi?

- Not exactly. But it's only a matter of time. So, shall we go?

- Yes, yes," the driver nodded hastily, putting aside his clipboard and starting the engines.

I considered the Palpatine-Sidius situation again as I drove back. Nothing has been decided yet, but he had better not be allowed to serve as chancellor, or he will not only start a war, but he will exterminate the Jedi. I would be a fool to think that I have the right to decide such matters, much less to think that I am smarter than eight hundred-year-old Yoda and the entire Jedi Council. However, I will still monitor the situation with Palpatine, but with the Jedi Order behind me and the current chancellor in the future. And the Jedi can figure it out on their own. The main point of the rule of two is that it's a minimum number and a direct opportunity to maintain generational continuity, with complete secrecy. The Jedi have no idea that the Sith have not disappeared like mammoths, but are still actively conducting their business, building up the weight in the Senate and the problems of the current government. The same Darth Maul was used by Sidious as a political tool to eliminate undesirables. Sidious is now exposed, if not publicly, then secretly. The Jedi Council is too cautious, taking too long in its deliberations, whereas there is hope for the Koshchei Chancellor - if his power is threatened, he will not sit quietly and wait for a vote of no confidence, so he will act, perhaps even hurry the Jedi Council, so that they do not drown in endless collegial deliberations.

As we climbed out of the speeder, Padme's comlink received a call and she answered it with a smile and quickly changed her face. She became more serious than before, and after a brief thank-you, she looked into space and became thoughtful and absent-minded--she almost fell over, stepping on the hem of her unusually long robe. Perhaps her majesty was not yet accustomed to the clothes of a servant. I, on the other hand, with a rough idea of what she had been told, asked:

- Is something wrong?

- No," she smiled and hurriedly pushed me toward the door, "your mother must be worried, so hurry.

I did not hurry, and picking up the same telekinesis bags, I went along with the queen, asking on the fly:

- "Is there anything I can do for you? And don't try to hide it, are you in trouble? Have we been out there too long?

Padme smiled sincerely now, and, running her hand through the tips of my hair, said:

- Well, you could say that. In fact, your mother is probably waiting for you.

As I approached the room, I sensed two Jedi inside. Near the door, in the small hallway foyer, stood an astrodroid, the same pen-pen of the local continuum, Erdva. As we passed, he turned his optical sensor in our direction and, changing the color of the lens illumination, squeaked something with a grumpy intonation. Padme walked on, not even paying attention to the robot-her thoughts were now occupied with far more important matters. I wonder what Erdva thinks about all this?