Location: Coruscant, the Galactic Capital
The Senate tower loomed like a mountain of glass and steel beneath the endless hover-lane sky. Streams of speeders darted across layered airways, casting flickering shadows over the palace landing platforms. Here, politics ruled. Not blasters. Not armies. But words — sharp, coiled, and deadly in their own right.
As the Queen's starship touched down, Kira watched the city-planet's skyline from a small viewport near the engineering deck. He hadn't spoken in a few minutes — his mind was processing more than just sensor data.
"This place is loud," Hikaru said from beside him, arms crossed. "But not with sound. It's like the Force is screaming here."
Kira gave a quiet nod. "Politics. Corruption. Suppressed truths. Yeah… it's loud."
Behind them, Vol whirred softly. "High-priority systems scan initiated. Galactic Senate structure: inefficient. Political gridlock probability: 83.9%."
Kira snorted. "That's the understatement of the millennium."
The Senate Games
Queen Amidala, with her entourage — including Panaka, Sabe, and the disguised handmaidens — made her way to the Senate building with the Jedi at her side. Kira and Hikaru, officially 'engineer's aides' on the ship's manifest, were left behind with Panaka's blessing… and likely suspicion.
Which was fine.
They had no interest in watching a hundred self-important senators argue while Naboo burned.
Instead, Kira got to work — running diagnostics on the hyperdrive system, which was still partially fried from the escape off Naboo. The ship could barely jump to Tatooine, let alone Coruscant again without a full overhaul.
"Can we patch it?" Hikaru asked.
Kira shook his head. "Temporarily. Long enough for one more jump. But we'll need a replacement fast or we're dead in space after that."
Hikaru looked out the viewport, eyes squinting toward the Senate district far below. "Then they better not waste too much time arguing in there. Time's not on our side."
From the Shadows
Later that evening, as traffic thinned and the city lights blinked like distant stars, a shadowed figure moved along the upper decks of the diplomatic quarter. Cloaked in silence, he paused to overlook the Queen's cruiser.
The figure did not speak. Did not breathe loudly. But his yellow eyes burned.
Darth Sidious's orders were clear.
Observe. Do not yet strike. Let the trap close first.
Somewhere in the city, a surveillance node — deep, ancient, forgotten in the bowels of Coruscant — hummed to life. Its red eye blinked softly.
UNKNOWN ENTITY: Force Signature Detected
Matching Known Pattern…
Tracing… unsuccessful. Anomaly logged.
The Decision
When Queen Amidala returned hours later, her mask of royalty barely concealed her frustration.
"The Senate will not help," she said flatly.
Qui-Gon bowed his head, but his voice remained calm. "Then we must act without them. There's a world in the Outer Rim — Tatooine. Remote. Lawless. But there's a chance we can find what we need there. Supplies. Parts."
"And safety?" she asked.
"For now," he replied.
Panaka scowled. "I don't like it."
"You're not supposed to," Obi-Wan said dryly.
Kira and Hikaru stood quietly behind the group, unnoticed and unimportant. But they exchanged a quick glance — they knew exactly what was waiting on Tatooine. And exactly who.
The Jump
Hours later, with emergency repairs complete and coordinates locked, the Queen's cruiser lifted from the cityscape and tore through the atmosphere, stars stretching into hyperspace as Coruscant disappeared behind them.
A new path lay ahead — one written long ago, in both the Force and memory.
Tatooine awaited.
And on the surface of that forgotten desert world, fate stirred for the first time in a long, long while.