Chapter Four

Aldé drummed her fingers impatiently against her thigh as she waited for the man (whose name she had learned was Captain Panaka) finished filing her report. She ha dbeen able to explain what happened fairly quickly but for some reason Panaka had asked her to stick around while he finished up the report on the rogue droids. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to that talk because she couldn’t imagine what it could be about except a dressing down for being so stupid as to wander into their training session. But she was impatient anyway because just sitting here doing nothing was worse. She didn’t like to be idle.

“Miss Tonderra,” Captain Panaka spoke. Her fingers ceased their movements and she sprang to her feet. He gestured to his office and she entered quickly. She sat down in the chair she had vacated not long ago at the finish of her report.

“I’m sure you’re wondering about why I asked you to stay behind.”

She nodded and he continued speaking, “The group of trainees was one short and we have been unable to find a suitable individual to complete the group. I confess you I first considered you when I saw that you have much the same coloring of the other trainees, but it wasn’t until you identified the weapon the droid held that I seriously thought about asking you to join us.”

Her eyes widened. This was a job interview?

“Tell me. According to our records you trained at the Royal Academy of Alderaan, but your focus was on history and literature. How did you recognize the manufacturer and model of the blaster?”

“My brother,” she answered abruptly, “he was in security. He liked to talk about weapons models. I listened.” She gave an indistinct shrug.

Panaka tapped his fingers on the screen in front of him.

“Ah, yes. Your brother. Narem Tonderra—he worked security at the Orlon Plasma Refinery.”

Aldé just nodded, eyes not meeting Panaka’s.

“You lost your whole family then when the refinery was sabotaged?” It had been well publicized when the “accident” was actually revealed to be an act of sabotage. It had been one of the last nails in King Veruna’s political coffin. When it was revealed he had business ties to the parties responsible for the destruction he had stopped fighting the impeachment proceedings and abdicated the next day. It seemed that even he had been appalled at the damage, which had not only destroyed the refinery but also most of the town around it. There had been few survivors from that small town whose economy revolved around the refinery.

She nodded again.

“And that was around the same time you graduated?” Panaka didn’t apologize for bringing up such horrible memories.

“I had graduated only a week before. My family couldn’t come to the graduation. I had already packed up all my belongings and was ready to move—most my stuff I sent along ahead on a commercial cargo transport. But I had to stay a few more days on Alderaan to take my exit certifications—I know Naboo requires them even if Alderaan doesn’t. After that, the earliest ticket I could get on a passenger ship to Naboo was the day after the explosion. I got home to find the whole town destroyed.” Her face had gone pale as she talked and her voice got lower, but she didn’t cry.

Panaka’s expression finally melted and his sympathy showed through. “I’m sorry.”

Aldé bowed her head a little and took a deep breath. She looked back up at him, “I filed for emancipation the next day. The judge granted it immediately.”

Panaka nodded in understanding but abruptly shifted topics, “How good is your aim?”

She blinked, “Uh, pretty good, I think. I was on the school beep ball team. Our team won the regional tournament though we came in third in the planetary competition.”

Panaka looked like he wanted to laugh, “Well, beep ball does require accuracy and good aim, but not quite the same skill set for using a blaster. Have you used a blaster before?”

“My brother insisted I learn, but I didn’t have much time after I went to Alderaan. I haven’t used one in a while.”

“Very well. If you don’t mind we can test your skills—with the blaster and your physical fitness and then I will take the results to the…one who has the final say.”

Aldé looked surprised at that but didn’t comment. “That will be fine,” was all she answered with.

~~oo~~

A few hours later Aldé collapsed in exhaustion onto the bed of the small apartment she lived in. Panaka hadn’t been kidding when he’d said they would test her physical fitness. She had been run ragged. An indoor obstacle course had been first, followed by a timed five kilometer run. Then they had asked her to lift weights. They’d mostly been interested in her arm strength with the weights, but by the time that was done all of her muscles were protesting.

Only after the physical tests had they taken her to a practice range where she could show her prowess with various weapons. She had been asked to use the ELG-3A like the droid had used, a Merr Sonn Model 44 blaster pistol, and a larger BlasTech E-11 rifle. They had been impressed with how accurate her shots were with the 44, especially since its shorter barrel often made shooting a moving target more difficult. But her scores with the E-11 had been abysmally low.

She sighed. She had done her best—especially considering she’d had no time to prepare. If she got the job (which, come to think of it, Panaka had never fully explained) then she would be happy, but if she didn’t she at least knew she still had her park services work. Her supervisor had left a message on her comm praising her for helping the injured security trainee. Apparently, Panaka hadn’t told him that she had forgotten the instructions to not be in the falls area.

She groaned and pulled herself up off the bed. She needed to eat before she went to sleep or she wouldn’t sleep well. Moving to the food prep area of the small living space, she wondered, not for the first time, why appearance would be the first thing Panaka was looking for in his security trainees.

~~00~~

The next morning Aldé woke up early to the beeping of her comm unit. She flipped it on and was greeted by an annoyingly chipper voice.

“Is this the residence of Aldé Tonderra?”

“Yes.” Aldé replied with a yawn.

“This is the office of Theed Palace Security. Captain Panaka would like to meet with you this morning. Would you be available for a meeting at nine?”

“That would be fine.” Aldé said, wondering if she should call her supervisor or go to work and leave early to make it. The next words out of the secretary’s mouth answered that question.

“Very good, Miss Tonderra, your current employer will be notified of your absence today.”

“Where should I go to?”

“You want to report to the Theed Palace Central Security Office. Droid guides in the palace can show you the way.”

“Thank you.”

When the secretary had disconnected Aldé sighed. She had no idea what kind of clothing would be appropriate for this meeting.

~~oo~~

Aldé had finally decided on simple blue dress that could pass for either casual or formal. She took a public hover bus to the palace and exited with an early morning tourist group. While the group of visitors assailed the nearest guide droid with questions, she turned down an ornate hallway that had a discreet sign with the galactic symbol for security on it.

The office was easy to find and she arrived a few minutes early. She presented herself to the reception droid, showing her identification. A moment later Captain Panaka appeared looking pleased at her punctuality.

“Thank you for coming. Please, let’s go to the back conference room.”

They came to the room and Panaka entered, but Aldé hesitated on the threshold because she saw the room occupied by six other people. She entered and sat down warily looking at the figures in flame colored hooded dresses.

“Aldé Tonderra, thank you for coming.”

Aldé jerked in surprise as the voice came from, not Panaka, but one of the hooded figures. The woman at the end of the table stood and removed her hood so her face could be seen clearly.

“Captain Panaka has recommended you and has provided me with your records. After much consideration, I would like to invite you to become one of my handmaidens.”

Aldé was frozen in incomprehension for a breath but then her eyes widened as she put the pieces together. She jumped to her feet and hastily bowed to the figure. “My queen—I would be honored to be counted among your handmaidens.”

The woman smiled and said, “Please, sit. I am glad you have accepted. We have been searching for a sixth handmaiden for weeks now since a previous applicant was unable to meet the physical requirements.”

“Aldé,” Panaka’s voice drew her attention to the other side of the room. He had a slight scowl on his face but he spoke in a normal tone, “you will be under strict confidentiality guidelines and you will have to agree that you will never speak for the queen, the government or the palace staff except by express permission of the queen. You must also be aware that the confidentiality clauses will extend beyond the term of your employ.”

Aldé nodded immediately—she knew as well as anybody that even during Veruna’s trial his footmen had been excused from testimony by those confidentiality agreements.

He handed over the flimies and she added her signature to all of them.

“Very well then. Aldé, we welcome you to the Queen’s security staff. Padmé, I will leave you to introductions. When you are finished please have Aldé escorted to the palace wardrobe designers for her fittings and then to the handmaidens’ wing so she may see her new accommodations.” Panaka left abruptly.

Aldé looked around her tentatively as the rest of the women removed their hoods. They were all smiling at her. She returned it weakly. None of them seemed to want to speak first so Aldé took the plunge. “Captain Panaka doesn’t seem as happy about me being here as he was at the prospect yesterday.”

Padmé grinned widely, “He likes you well enough or he wouldn’t have recommended you, but I think he expected me to talk to you a bit more before making my decision. But from your records I can see that you are highly independent and adaptable. You’ll do well here I think. I don’t like to dwell on my decisions for to long and I didn’t see how a longer interview with you would change my first inclination.”

Aldé looked perplexed at this but after a moment she smiled, “Thank you.”

“I am Padmé if I am not in the royal costume, Amidala in the attire. These are your fellow handmaidens,” she pointed to each in turn as she introduced them, “Sabé, Rabé, Yané, Eirtaé, and Saché.” Each waved as she was introduced.

“I’m glad you were in the area yesterday,” Rabé said, “Using your speeder bike saved a lot of time getting me back to the palace.”

“Oh! Is your ankle alright then?” Aldé asked.

Rabé nodded.

After that their conversation fell into a natural pattern—all of them (including Padmé) asking and answering questions and getting to know her better and she them. Aldé grew more comfortable as they continued and realized that maybe her situation right now wasn’t as bad as she had thought it to be.