the brief invasion of Naboo ten years earlier made her arguments very convincing when she spoke to the Senate More than one of the Senators who favored creating an army would have been glad to see Padmé disappear for good Padmé knew the danger but her sense of duty was strong and her love of peace was stronger As the time for the final decision drew near she headed for Coruscant to cast her vote against the Military Creation Creation Act 6
CHAPTER 1 Senator Padmé Amidala stared out the main window of her spacecraft at the approaching planet Even from space Coruscant looks different from other worlds she thought Most worlds showed colors on their daylight side the greens of the forest worlds the blues of watery planets the glittering white of ice worlds the sandy yellow of desert planets like Tatooine On their night side most planets were dark with an occasional twinkle of light marking the largest cities Coruscant's day side was a dull metallic gray the color of the millions of buildings and platforms that covered its entire surface Its night side glowed amber from the lights of those same buildings like the stars of the galaxy in miniature Only on Coruscant is night more attractive than day Padmé thought The royal Naboo cruiser and its three fighter escorts curved around Coruscant toward their assigned landing landing platform Padmé hadn't wanted the escorts but her
security officer had insisted that she was in danger Captain Typho was good at his job so she had reluctantly reluctantly agreed Since the trip had been uneventful she already regretted giving in The three lobes of the landing platform came in sight The royal cruiser landed on the center leaf The three fighters took the other leaves two to one side and one to the other Captain Typho who had been piloting one of the fighters swung out of his cockpit and removed his helmet We made it he said I guess I was wrong there was no danger at all Padmé hardly heard him On the platform she could see Dormé one of her handmaiden bodyguards waiting waiting among the landing crew Dormé looked tired and tense She's just worried Padmé thought She can't know how easy the trip was The cruiser's ramp lowered Padmé's guards came down first then the rest of the Senatorial party As they reached the foot of the ramp the ground crew watched their arrival In the next instant something knocked Padmé flat Through the roaring in her ears she heard cries of terror She choked and blinked to clear the dark afterimage from her eyes the image of the royal cruiser exploding Captain Typho was right after all she thought and then Cordé Is Cordé all right She was still a little breathless from her fall but she 9
