Ten years passed like the slow turning of a great wheel years of political manoeuvrings, industrial expansion, and the quiet, relentless strengthening of shadows.
Padmé Amidala, once the defiant young queen who reclaimed her world, now wore the elegant mantle of Senator of Naboo.She had aged into her convictions, sharpened them, polished them her voice now steady, her beliefs unyielding.
She believed in peace.
She believed negotiation could prevent bloodshed.
She believed the Republic could still be saved.
And so, when the Military Creation Act was introduced a bill proposing the formation of a standing Republic army Padmé stood firmly against it.
She believed an army would provoke war, not prevent it.
She believed voices like hers still mattered.
She believed she could change the course of the Senate.
She believed
Until the moment the blaster bolt tore into her ship.
Coruscant's air traffic lanes swarmed with speeders like veins of living light.Padmé's Nubian starliner descended gracefully toward the Senate docking platform, the golden sun reflecting off polished silver hull plates.
Her security detail was already tense.
Republic politics had grown volatile fractured between those calling for intervention and those insisting on restraint.
Beside her walked Captain Typho.
"My lady, I still feel this vote is too dangerous. There have already been threats. We can delay"
Padmé gave him a steady look.
"Captain, if we bend simply because we are afraid, then democracy is already lost."
Her handmaiden smiled faintly.
"We're with you."
The ramp lowered
The platform flashed
BOOM.
The ship erupted in a plume of fire.
The shockwave knocked soldiers and droids sprawling across durasteel.Smoke rolled across the platform like a living storm.Metal screamed.Glass shattered.
Typho hit the ground hard.
Padmé shielded her face, coughing, hearing nothing but ringing and roaring flame.
The handmaiden who had walked ahead of her
Lay still.
Burned.Broken.Gone.
Padmé stared at her, throat frozen.
"…Cordé."
The handmaiden's final breath came in a trembling whisper:
"I failed you…"
Padmé shook her head fiercely, voice cracking.
"No. No, you did your duty. You protected me."
Cordé's eyes closed.
The Senator of Naboo straightened slowly.
Her expression changed.
Conviction did not vanish.
It hardened.
The Jedi Respond
The Senate was in uproar.
Security doubled.Rumors spread like infection.Some senators whispered Separatist plots.Others blamed rival political blocs.
The Jedi Council sensed only fog.
So they assigned protection.
The door to the Chancellor's office opened with quiet ceremony.
Yoda.Mace Windu.Ki-Adi-Mundi.
And standing beside them
Obi-Wan Kenobi, older now, beard trimmed, posture calm.And Anakin Skywalker, nineteen and still burning like a star with no core.
Palpatine rose from behind his grand desk, his face a sorrowful mask of statesman concern.
"Senator Amidala, this attack is most tragic. I assure you, the Senate will act swiftly."
Padmé's tone was firm.
"We must NOT be intimidated into military escalation. Fear cannot guide policy."
Palpatine bowed his head slightly, gracious.
"Of course. Peace is always our first aspiration."
The Jedi exchanged glances, but said nothing.
Soon enough, escort assignments were made:
Anakin would guard Padmé.
Obi-Wan would investigate.
All moved according to the Chancellor's design.
The Jedi believed themselves in control.
They did not see the stage had already been built beneath them.
When The Jedi Were Gone
The doors shut.
The Jedi's presence vanished from the chamber.
Only two remained:
Chancellor Palpatine.His face of soft, diplomatic gravity.
And his son, stepping from the shadowed alcove behind the throne:
Lord Palpus - Darth Scorn.
His robes were immaculate dark silks, his posture sovereign, his aura folded inward like a blade sheathed in velvet.
Palpatine's smile faded.
His voice became sharp steel.
"Report."
Palpus inclined his head, tone calm, business like.
"The cloning facilities on Kamino are progressing on schedule. The Jango template has stabilized. The first five battalions are nearing full capability. Trooper indoctrination remains loyal to your direct military command."
Palpatine nodded once.
"And the naval assets?"
Palpus tapped a holopad.
A projection flared into the air
2000 Xyston-Class Star Destroyerseach the size of a small city, black dagger-shaped titans built for orbital annihilation.
Except these were not the ones that would exist decades later.
These were better.
And already real.
"The first 700 are completed and stationed beyond mapped hyperspace lanes in the Unknown Regions," Palpus continued. "Their crews are conditioned, loyal, and fully trained. Hyper-fuel reserves are stockpiled. Weapons arrays tested. Targeting solutions calibrated."
Palpatine's eyes gleamed yellow flickering through blue.
"The Republic knows nothing?"
"Nothing," Palpus confirmed. "The Jedi feel nothing.The Material Extractor continues to mask our signature in the Force."
A long silence.
Not empty.
Full.
Shared understanding.Purpose.Destiny.
Palpatine exhaled slowly, savoring the moment.
"My son," he murmured, voice warm with something almost resembling affection
"Soon, the galaxy will kneel."
Palpus's eyes glowed softly.
"No, father."
His voice was soft.
Inevitable.
"They already are."