could not wait She shoved herself to her feet and ran toward the wreckage At the foot of the ramp lay several crumpled figures one was Cordé the decoy double who had been pretending to be Senator Amidala Amidala pretending much too successfully for her own good Padmé ripped off her pilot's helmet and gathered Cordé in her arms Cordé Cordé's eyes opened She stared blankly at Padmé for an instant then seemed to recognize her I'm sorry M'lady she gasped weakly I'm not sure I I've failed you Senator Failed No But before she could speak the words Padmé felt the life leave Cordé She gathered her de- coy's body close as if she could call her back by sheer force of will No she whispered No Not now not here not when we were safe on Coruscant But Coruscant was not safe Captain Typho had thought that any attack would come during the trip when an assassin would have all of space in which to flee That was why he had insisted that Padmé pilot one of the fighters instead of relying solely on her double A decoy is no help if you're standing right next to it he'd told her As long as you're on board anyone who attacks the cruiser will attack you even if Cordé is playing the Senator You have to be somewhere else So she had been and now Cordé had died just when they should all have been able to stop worrying at last 10
As if in echo of her thoughts Padmé heard Captain Captain Typho's voice beside her saying urgently M'lady you are still in danger here Gently Padmé lowered Cordé Cordé's body to the ground She looked up and saw other motionless motionless bodies two of her guards another handmaiden handmaiden She swallowed hard and forced her eyes to move onto the twisted wreckage of the starship The cruiser's pilot was still on board and others how many others Tears stung her eyes I shouldn't have come back she murmured half to herself This vote is very important Typho reminded her You did your duty and Cordé did hers Now come Padmé hesitated blinking the tears away The least she could do was to see these people clearly these people who had given their lives for her I will not let their sacrifice be in vain she promised silently There WILL be peace Senator Amidala please Captain Typho's voice sounded desperate as well as urgent He was right again she should go Padmé took a last look around printing the picture of the wreckage on her memory Then she turned and fell into step beside beside him Behind her she heard a small whimpering noise from her faithful droid R2-D2 but she did not turn She had work to do 11
It took longer than Padmé had expected to change and get to the Senate chamber By the time she and her escorts arrived most of the flying platforms that covered the walls of the vast arena were occupied and the session had started Padmé heard one of the Senators Senators shouting as she entered her platform needs more security now Before it comes to war Padmé craned her neck The speaker was Orn Free Taa the fat blue skinned Twi'leck Senator who was one of the biggest supporters of the Military Creation Act Must I remind the Senator that negotiations are continuing with the Separatists Chancellor Palpatine said firmly Padmé found it hard to understand how he could remain so calm in the face of such constant provocation but somehow Palpatine always seemed unaffected by the angry shouting around him Peace is our objective here the Chancellor went on not war As the Senators shouted responses to the Chancellor's Chancellor's comments Padmé flicked the controls of her platform setting it in motion Deftly she maneuvered around the other platforms already hovering near the center of the arena As she passed them she noted the occupants of the other pods Ask Aak of Malastare Darsana of Glee Anselm and of course Orn Free 12
Taa all supporters of the bill It was a good thing she had arrived when she did My noble colleagues I concur with the Supreme Chancellor Padmé said as soon as she reached the speaking area At all costs we do not want war To Padmé's surprise a stunned silence fell over the entire Senate A moment later cheers and applause sounded from every platform Even Orn Free Taa and Ask Aak joined in though with less enthusiasm It is with great surprise and joy that the chair recognizes recognizes the Senator from Naboo Padmé Amidala said Chancellor Palpatine The unusual emotion in his voice told Padmé what had happened They must have heard about the explosion Padmé thought Well perhaps she could use the attack to show them just how important this bill was Less than an hour ago an assassination attempt was made against my life she began One of my bodyguards and six others were ruthlessly and senselessly murdered Her voice wavered as she remembered Cordé but she forced herself on She must show them how important it was to avoid war I was the target Padmé continued but more important I believe this security measure before you was the target I have led the opposition to build an army but there is someone in this body who will stop at nothing to assure its passage Some of the Senators booed Padmé kept her face calm with the skill of long practice but inwardly she 13
