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None of that, though, had allowed them to find Crass. He was not among the prisoners, and no one knew where he could be now, since he obviously had his own hyperspace capable ship. Piell, Padme, and Obi-Wan had decided not to put out a bulletin about the man just in case doing so would warn him off. Piell had promised to head to Neimodia itself to search for the man after dropping off Nute Gunray for his trial.
The police's follow on investigations also made for grim reading, adding to Padme's guilt and growing sense of despair. Several hundred tons of food had been stolen as well, which would impact the planet's economy going forward due to needing to pay off the planets they had trade agreements with. Whoever had taken Padme's people had sifted through them with a fine-toothed comb. The men who were taken were all engineers or technicians, with a smattering of cooks for some reason. The women were all attractive, perfect, as ones of her maids put it, slave material. And the children…
By the Force, the children disturbed her the most. Obi-Wan had told her that slavers actually preferred to kidnap children, because then they could be raised into the society of slavery. They could be raised to believe that they were worthless and powerless, so they didn't even think of rebelling or even disobeying.
"But Anakin didn't believe he was worthless, and he certainly wasn't beaten down!" Padme had exploded, her distress obvious.
"For all that he might protest it, Anakin had a somewhat decent life in comparison to the slaves raised into servitude on many planets. He was a son of a slave to a single merchant. He was not one of a thousand and prized just as little, nor was he ever in danger of being sold once his technical aptitude showed itself. I will not say he had an easy life. He did not. But his master was not cruel to him needlessly, nor saw any need to utterly break his spirit."
The grim way Obi-Wan had spoken of slavery made Padme shiver. He had not personally dealt with any of the large-scale slaving rings out there, but he knew of planets in the Outer Rim where slavery was the bedrock of the local economy, a local working economy on a global scale, which was entirely different from Tatooine. And that is the hell my people are being taken towards or might already be experiencing. And I am powerless to stop it!
A gentle hand touched her clenched fist, and Padme blinked, coming out of her anger induced stupor for a moment to watch one of her maids pull her fingers slowly apart and pull out the small cup of water that she had been trying to crush in her grip. "Those are expensive, Padme," said Sabe teasingly. "I don't think the castle's majordomo would appreciate you destroying his fine crystalware, especially since it survived the occupation in one piece."
Padme smiled wanly. "I suppose not, but I really… I know it is beneath my position and serves no purpose, but I would really like to hit something right now! I feel so, so powerless! We have those ships in orbit. We have a full complement of starfighters once again. We could even figure out how to turn those droids on, I suppose. But we don't have a target for them! Our people are gone, and there is no trail we can follow!"
"Where is Master Kenobi?" asked the other girl, placing the cup on a nearby table and coming back to clasp Padme's hands.
"Meditating. He said he's trying to use the Force to find the trail, but I don't know if he'll have any luck. The vagaries of the Force are a closed book to me."
Sabe nodded slowly, frowning thoughtfully. She wished she could help her friend and queen, but at the moment there was little any of them could do. Once a ship entered hyperspace, unless you were lucky enough to get a reading of its heading as it was entering hyperspace, you would never be able to find it again. And the easiest way to throw off something like that was to take a short jump and then change your heading to an entirely different direction. Even perfectly legitimate merchants did that occasionally to throw off pirates. Someone looking to sell slaves like this would have every reason to hide.
"Your Majesty," said a new voice, and the two young girls turned to the doorway where another of Padme's handmaidens was standing.
"Yes, Eirtae?" Padme asked.
"There is a call for you coming in from Sorenno." Blinking in surprise, Padme frowned for a moment, but then her frown gradually turned into a smile. "Padawans Potter and Aayla, I suppose?"
"Both of them and others, my lady. Master Fay, Master Dooku, and Master Vos, along with a fourth Jedi I do not recognize."
Interesting. Perhaps this is at least something that can take my mind off our current troubles. With that thought Padme gestured to a nearby desk. "Send the signal to here, please." With the Holonet receiver set up in the palace itself, it was a simple matter to link into the Holonet from anywhere within its environs.
A moment later the holographic screen came online, showing the Jedi sitting around a room on the other end. Padme smiled lightly, her eyes flicking over the holographic images above it for a moment before resting on Aayla and Harry even as she addressed the group as a whole. "Masters Jedi, is this a social call or a professional one?"
"You look like you need it to be a social one," said Aayla promptly, while Master Fay nodded her head looking through the pickup on Serenno at the image of the queen. Padme idly wondered how bad she looked if her exhaustion and emotional turmoil could come through a hyperspace signal so easily. "Is cleaning up after the occupation so arduous, or is there something else going on?"
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