Chapter 1: Trouble in Twos

Nearly midday on Coruscant, the sun was high overhead and the sky clear on a relatively peaceful day for Senator Padmé Amidala, though that was about to change. Running her slim fingers over the gold neckband she wore, she reflected on the occasion when she received it from the Naboo Council. Now Padmé was awaiting something else from the council, though she expected to cherish it far less. Standing in the center of her spacious office, dressed in a dark indigo bodice and skirt, her hair held back in a cone shaped headdress, she awaited the arrival of her new guests. Typically she wore an overcoat with this gown, though she felt a bit stifled by it when at work in her office and set it aside, leaving her arms and shoulders bare.

"I don't know how I feel about this, Dormé," the young politician said to her devoted handmaiden standing behind her, "I'm a senator, not a teacher. I don't have time to babysit, especially now during the war."

"If I may say so, m'lady, I believe it is because of the war that they started this program," Dormé said in her delicate, soft voice. She wore a similarly dark blue gown to match her senator's.

"I sympathize with their good intentions. But this smells of overzealous public relations, more of a symbolic gesture than a practical one. I agree we need to better integrate gungans into politics and the greater galactic community, but not at the expense of proper representation for everyone else on Naboo."

Before them the large grey door to Padmé's office slid open, a slight hiss sound of the motor could be heard as the heavy durasteel block glided upward. Three gungans stepped into the senator's office, the first two were young males, about a foot shorter than the average adult gungan and then behind them the familiar sight of Jar Jar Binks.

"Mistress Padmé!" Jar Jar bellowed in his heavily accented voice, "I bring dey new interns!"

"I see that Jar Jar," Padmé said as she stepped closer to the young gungans. She extended her arm, "I'm Senator Amidala."

The boy on Padmé's right, skin of a dark forest green color, looked to his friend and then to back to the senator before taking her delicate hand in his. "Nice to meet yousa, Senator Amidala, mesa Tullo."

Padmé shook his hand and nodded, and then looked to the other intern.

"Mesa Finka," said the slightly shorter, tan colored gungan. He shook her hand lightly, noting her especially smooth, soft skin.

"It's good to meet both of you," Padmé said, "It'll be ... interesting to have some new blood around here."

"Oh dey very excited, Miss Padmé," Jar Jar interrupted, "Every gungan male dream of getting a job with dey lovely Padmé." The gungan chattered on loudly and animatedly, "Since you save'n da gungans and bring'n da Naboo together, yousa considered beautiful maiden by oura people. Every male dream of being..."

"Jar Jar!" Padmé interjected harshly, "Thank you." The senator turned her head slightly to address her handmaiden, "Dormé, show Finka and Tullo to their rooms and get them oriented. I'll see them back here when you're finished."

"Yes m'lady," Dormé said with a bow of her head.

Dormé escorted the two gungan interns out of the spacious office while Jar Jar lingered in the office.

"How was your trip home?" Padmé asked the lanky representative.

"Mesa have good time. Boss Nass not so happy to be see'n mesa. But mesa not get in mooey trouble dis time."

"Oh Jar Jar," Padmé said with a shake of her head. "You may go home early you want. I'll see to the intern for today. But remember, they're as much your responsibility as mine."

"Yes, Miss. Padmé." Jar Jar stepped closer to the senator, "But yousa know Miss Padmé ... Mesa been away a while and mesa starting to get little achy down dere..." The gungan motioned toward his crotch and made a woebegone expression.

Padmé rolled her eyes and stepped away.

"But Miss Padme..." Jar Jar pleaded.

"No, Jar Jar, I have work to do." The senator walked around her desk to her seat, shaking her head.

The lanky gungan sighed and then bowed and left.

Taking a seat, Padmé hoped her two new gungan interns were less needy than her assistant representative as well as a bit more responsible.

Nearly an hour passed before the two young boys returned to the senator's office, accompanied by Dormé. The young pair were joking and laughing with each other as they tailed the handmaiden. The senator stood at her desk to greet them.

"I hope you find your accommodations pleasant then?" Padmé asked.

"Ooh yes, Senator," the green skinned Tullo said, "Wesa never have anyting like'n dis in Otoh Gunga. Every place cramped dere."

"I'm glad you like them." Padmé looked down at her desk, her mind running over her schedule for the afternoon. "Unfortunately I won't have any time today to get you better acquainted with your duties. But Dormé, perhaps you could show them the sights around town?"

Dormé nodded, "Of course m'lady."

The senator focused on the two gungans, "Now, mind Dormé and anything she tells you. She knows this city well and there are more ways then you'd expect to get into trouble here."

"Yes, Senator," the two gungans said in near unison.

The trio left her office, leaving the petite woman to her own devices. She had a few meetings to attend, including one about draft revisions for a bill that would aide refugees. How was she ever going to find time to properly train and teach these two interns? If only Jar Jar were more competent, she could not only count on him to manage the gungan teens, but also let him take the reins on some senatorial issues while she could spend time with the boys.

Padmé walked over to her private bathroom, her long skirt swishing on the ground as she moved through the quiet office. She was used to having at least one handmaiden present, usually Dormé, and though they were typically silent the senator was surprised at how different the room felt. Padmé was hardly ever alone, whether it be a handmaiden or a squad of troopers assigned to guard her, she rarely had a moment of privacy outside her bedroom.

The slender woman splashed a handful of cool water on her face at the sink and dabbed a towel on her skin. Looking herself over in the mirror she noted her bare shoulders and somewhat low cut top. In the past Padmé often dressed modestly, not often showing even a bit femininity, especially in the Senate, but in recent months she had decided to relax, it was taking too much effort to wear so much clothes.

Padmé wondered what the two teenage gungans thought of her. Her past experiences lead her to believe gungan males had an equal if not greater attraction to the human females compared their own. Generations of elitism by her people no doubt contributed to that feeling. Being in close proximity to the beautiful and revered Senator Amidala, indeed the most desirable woman from all of Naboo, was likely too good an opportunity for the two interns. No doubt they would try to sneak a peek of her in the shower or while she changed, perhaps cop a feel as she passed by or even be so bold as to make a direct advance. It might be fun to tease them, Padmé mused.

The day proceeded more or less according to schedule for the senator, though without Dormé present she had the extra load of juggling all her own messages and communiqués. It was a little overwhelming but preferable to having the inexperienced gungans tailing along into important meetings.

At around midday the senator decided to go out for lunch, which was typical as she thought it a good practice to spend as much time as possible outside the confines of the senate and out with real people. Well, as real as they got on the upper levels of the 'crown jewel' of the republic.

Padmé traveled to one of her favorite locations, a quaint café in the art district that was no bigger than her bedroom. A stout toydarian named Junti ran the place, serving as both cook and waiter to the small crowd that frequented the charming establishment. Padmé ordered a dish of sautéed falumpaset, one of her favorite from back home and chatted casually with the toydarian as he fluttered around the café.

Not long into her meal however, Padmé was unpleasantly interrupted by a holo com call from Dormé. Stepping outside as to not disturb the other patrons, she pressed the receive button. Her handmaiden's oval face flickered to life above the small device.

"M'lady, I'm sorry to bother you..." said the quaint girl.

"Is everything alright, Dormé?"

"No ... m'lady. I'm sorry but ... Tullo and Finka have gotten into some trouble..."

Padmé's stomach turned. This was just the beginning, she knew it. She had met plenty of competent and intelligent gungans in her life, why was it that every one she was ever stuck with was a fool?

"At their request we went to a club..." Dormé continued, a bit hesitant.

"A club? Dormé, why in all the worlds would you take two teenage boys to a club in the middle of the day?"

"I'm sorry m'lady. They requested to see one and I thought that during the day it would be quieter..."

"They're never quiet." Padmé said with a telling sigh.

"They got into a game of sabbacc and ... well before I could even stop them they bet more than they had, and then lost it. I'm so sorry m'lady."

Padmé shut her eyes and took a deep breath, how was she going to handle this? They needed to be punished; severely, but sending them home in shame would no doubt be a public relations disaster. She had to deal with this fast and quietly and worry about what to do with the two fools later.

"Okay. Where are they now?"

"Well ... they didn't just lose to anyone. They lost to Dendra Skizz."

Dendra Skizz was an organized crime boss, human, low level but up and coming. He didn't have the power of the hutts but he had enough to get away with his crimes. Padmé had heard of him in passing in recent years, as he stepped up his smuggling racket and was making a profit off of running supplies to war torn systems outside of the republics support net. While she didn't approve of his illegal operations, Padmé had been keeping an ear to the ground as far as enlisting smugglers to run dangerous aide and rescue operations.

"How much did they lose?" Padmé asked in an even tone, her composure strong, belying an inner anger she felt for the two barely-off-the-starship interns.

"Fifty thousand."

"Okay, give me coordinates for Skizz's headquarters. Dormé, return to the senate and push my appointments back till tomorrow."

"Yes of course m'lady," Dormé said with slight bow of her head, "Do you want me to send along assistance for you? Captain Typho?"

"No, adding more firepower to the mix won't help. This shouldn't require any ... aggressive negotiations."

Padmé paid her bill, leaving behind most of her falumpaset beef and a toydaria tea. She rode in the backseat of her jet black speeder, piloted by droid, down several levels into the undercity of Coruscant. In a short amount of time she arrived at "Friendly Transports", Dendra's front for his smuggling ring.

Padmé, having put on her overcoat, stepped out of the speeder and into a puddle. Much of the undercity was damp, as if there were a constant rainstorm in the upper city. However it was mostly air conditioning dripping down, and probably a few other extraneous fluids that Padmé didn't want to think about. "Friendly Transports" was small, or rather was meant to look at such. From the outside it appeared to be a two story courier service, merely a middle man for booking flights. On either side of the small building were boarded up businesses, probably owned and secretly occupied by Dendra as well.

Looking around the area Padmé could tell she stood out, and knew it was best if she moved inside quickly before attracting any unwanted attention. Walking up to the entrance she noted two guards, a huge dark skinned abyssin goon, shirtless in only black pants, and a bith wearing light armor and a bandolier draped across his chest.