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| Duty Bound by Jedi Gepper |
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Dorme watched from the shuttle as the transport lifted off into space. She, along with Captain
Typho and the Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi, had just seen off Senator Amidala and her assigned protector Anakin Skywalker. They had taken the senator’s faithful droid R2-D2 along with them as well. Still, they looked so small and insignificant as they merged with the other people loading onto the refugee shuttle. It was hard to believe that anyone would want to kill the young Naboo politician or that such drastic measures were needed to protect her.
It was necessary, though. Dorme knew that as well as anyone. She had been a faithful servant to the senator even back to when she had been the queen of the once unnoticed planet of Naboo. Ever since the invasion of that planet ten years earlier, the threats were always present with varying degrees of intent. ‘Who was out to get Amidala?’ was a common question in the meeting places of the idyllic planet, and surely many would mourn sincerely were anything to actually happen to her. Never before, though, had the threat been so ominous as to send the senator into hiding, and with a Jedi student no less, while a Jedi Master investigated the situation. The explosion on the landing platform had brought on this course of action, and at heart no one could argue with it.
This did not make it easier for the handmaiden to watch her mistress go, however. She secretly berated herself for having tears in her eyes as the senator left her. It was not her place to show weakness. She was the senator’s support, her aid in all things. For now, though, she was consoled in small part to know that the senator had the Jedi with her.
He was not really a Jedi yet, she corrected herself. He was a young man, a young man clearly bent on having his own way who never seemed to stop bristling no matter how many times he had been curbed in his training. Dorme had not seen that much of him, but another one of her duties was observation. This brash Jedi-in-training was not at all difficult to read. She remembered well his importance to Naboo in saving the planet from the Trade Federation invasion. She also saw his presence as a clearly lovestruck teenager, no different from a galaxy full of boys his age. The future . . .now there was something that Dorme could not yet see. She questioned the wisdom of trusting the senator to this student of the Jedi Order. It was obvious that his priorities were not where they should be.
Senator Amidala was not fond of the plan either, but carefully insistent words from the Supreme Chancellor had swayed her. Dorme had watched as Amidala and Skywalker talked while the bags were packed for the trip. She could already see that look in the Jedi’s eyes, the way they lingered on the senator. She picked up on his desperately clumsy attempts to impress Amidala. How much of this the senator noticed, Dorme did not know. Again, it was not her place to ask such things. The senator undoubtedly knew what she was doing. Besides, Senator Amidala knew better than anyone what duty meant. She would not let the amateur wooing of a headstrong Jedi keep her from her responsibilities as a senator and a servant of the Republic, just as Dorme would never betray her duties towards the senator she served so devotedly. Dorme, like the Jedi Master Kenobi or Captain Typho, was fully aware of what was important, of what her responsibilities were.
“It’s time.”
Dorme returned to the present upon hearing that voice. For a moment, only a moment, she had forgotten the presence of Captain Typho. She heard his voice, felt his hand gently on her back, and then it came back clearly to her. Captain Typho was a hard man to forget.
They returned to their seats on the shuttle. The Jedi left them at a stop near a local diner. Dorme could not figure how stopping at such a place could help protect the Senator, but Jedi worked in puzzling ways from time to time. She and the captain took the shuttle back to the Senate offices. Typho escorted the handmaiden back to her own apartment before leaving for his security office. He left her with his usual nod and quick smile. That was all she needed, really, to keep her imagination racing for some time to come.
With the senator on this extended leave of absence, Dorme was left with seeing to the needs and concerns of her representative, the Gungan Jar Jar Binks. This was a more harrowing task than the handmaiden had anticipated. Binks was nothing if not indecisive. He lived in fear of offending anyone, and spent most of his time saying yes to everything for fear of angering whoever asked anything of him. Perhaps he was scared of returning to a life of exile, Dorme wondered, by making some horrific mistake. He assumed that if everyone seemed to approve of his apparent ‘decisions,’ then his future was safe. In any case, just keeping up with him occupied most of Dorme’s time.
The only thing that brightened her otherwise tedious days was the occasional update from Captain Typho. Dorme preferred to think of them as visits rather than updates. Whatever the reason, it gave her a chance to see him, and that was enough.
“I’ve received a message from the Senator,” he said one day, “She says that she’s safely arrived on Naboo with no incidents. She had a meeting with Queen Jamilla concerning the situation. She also said that she and the Jedi are getting along well.”
“I’m sure,” Dorme said quietly.
“I’m sorry?” the captain asked, cocking his head slightly.
“Oh, nothing…nothing. Did M’Lady say anything else?”
The captain gave her that quick smile and said, “She said she wishes we could be there.”
Dorme smiled in return and blushed ever so slightly. The perceptive captain picked up on the reddening of her cheeks but did not know the reason, assuming she just enjoyed the kind words from the senator. He did not seem to realize that Dorme was thinking of she and the captain being on Naboo together…and not necessarily in the presence of the senator.
Typho shook his head slightly. “I’m sure she’ll return soon. The Jedi will turn up the assassin soon enough. I only wish I could be of more help.”
“As do I,” Dorme agreed.
There was the usual pause, the one that indicated that the official business was completed. Dorme rummaged violently through her brain for an excuse for him to extend his visit. He was turning ever so slightly in the direction of the door, ready with that nod. As he turned, Dorme reached out for his arm. A charge ran through her as she touched him, and she drew back. He turned back inquiringly.
“Is there something else, Dorme? Is there a problem?” The concern was evident in his voice. Was it for her, or was it an extension of that he gave the senator?
“It’s just…M’Lady left in such a hurry and all. The window was repaired, but…well, are you sure that the security is sufficient in her suite?” Dorme flustered. “I don’t doubt your abilities, of course,” she added hastily, “I just feel it may be for the best if it were checked over again before she returned.”
The Captain took a step back. His face took on a contemplative air. He nodded slowly, then more insistently.
“I think you may be right. We can take no chances. Come along. Let’s go check it out.” He extended his arm toward the door. She walked ahead of him, and then his arm fell gently on her back again as they exited the room. It was almost more than she could have wanted.
Suddenly, the guilt struck her. She was using his concern for the senator as a tool to spend more time with him. That was certainly inappropriate at the very least, dishonest at its worst. Still, there was no harm in checking the security in the apartments. It was a good thing to do in any case. The arguments did battle in her mind until they reached the senator’s suite.
They entered the main sitting room where the senator met with any visitors. The dusk of twilight lit the room dimly. Dorme looked around her and saw nothing of particular interest. Her attention was elsewhere, and she knew it.
“I’ll check the other rooms for any bugs or devices. You check out here.” Typho unconsciously laid his hand on his blaster holster, always ready for anything. Dorme refocused and searched the room diligently, finding no evidence of tampering, no holes in the security.
As she stepped towards the hallway connecting the main room to the others, Captain Typho came around the corner. Neither had seen the other coming. They ran directly into each other and stopped abruptly.
They were practically engulfed in shadows. No one was there, and all they could hear was their own breathing. Dorme was unable to look up, unable to look in any direction but at the folds in her dress. The captain just stared down at her and was suddenly hit by the realization that there was more here than he had previously seen or knew. He spoke, quietly and hesitantly.
“Excuse me,” he said. That was all.
Another few seconds passed. Dorme finally looked up and blinked. She looked directly into his face and stared momentarily. Finally, she responded.
“Of course…excuse me.” She moved aside, lowered her head again, and allowed him to pass. He did so, very slowly.
As he entered the main room again, he turned to Dorme who was still facing away from him.
“Dorme,” he said gently, “Would you like to take a seat on the couch? I think you want to talk.”
Dorme drew a deep, long breath and turned around. The embarrassed tears were in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll just leave.” She headed towards the door. He did not approach her, but he did call to her.
“Dorme,” he asked, “Please come back and talk to me.”
She turned again and heeded his words. She sat down on the couch. He sat on the one opposite her.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, “I didn’t want to feel this way. I know it’s wrong.”
“It’s not wrong,” the captain suggested, “It’s just…it’s complicated.”
Complicated. He called it complicated. Dorme recognized, with a shred of amusement, that Captain Typho had picked up on the senator’s diplomatic vocabulary. That did not make him right.
“It is wrong, though,” she insisted, “I see it now. I have had feelings for you for a long time, longer than I can admit.” Dorme looked past him, out to the traffic moving methodically along in the Coruscant skyline as the final light of day gave itself up to the night.
“I never knew,” the captain shook his head side to side at his own ignorance. “I make it my business to observe people, and I never noticed how you felt.”
“That’s because you trust me. I’m no threat to the senator. I’m another part of her staff, another part of a team.”
“You’re more than that, Dorme,” Typho chided her, “You’re one of her best friends.”
“Before all things, though, I serve her,” Dorme started confidently, “It is not my duty to necessarily be her friend. The line must exist, it MUST exist, in order to do my job.” Dorme paused. Her gaze finally locked on his.
“That is why it must also exist between us.”
“How do you mean?” Typho asked, wondering seriously.
“If my focus were split, if I had to choose between my duty and my friendship…or my love, I could not give the attention to either as they deserved. It would be unfair to both. It would be wrong to both. Plus, it would create choices that should not be made to exist.” Dorme paused for a moment. “It would be dangerous to both as well. I could not endanger M’Lady, and nor would you.”
The captain stared at her earnestly. “I understand you. Having such feelings is natural, and I’m sorry to have not noticed them.” He leaned forward, “I am flattered by them,” he added quickly. “A man would be lucky to be loved by you.”
Dorme smiled, almost laughed. The captain continued.
“You’re right, though. I could not be faithful to my duties to the senator if I also was worried about you. We each have a role to play, and there can be no compromise.”
“We have the senator as our example,” Dorme added. “She has always put all of her time and energy into her duties to Naboo, to the galaxy. She knows to split them for anything hurts everyone.”
“She is a great lady, and a wonderful senator,” Typho agreed, “We can only hope to emulate her.”
Both smiled at the thought. Their Senator would return here soon. The two of them now had an understanding between them. Dorme realized how close she had been to doing something she would have regretted. The Captain had never come too close for himself, but he appreciated now something he had not realized to that point. Their lives belonged to the senator, just as the senator’s life belonged to the people of Naboo. They lived, at least for now, to protect and support her. They would not betray her by thinking of their own desires. They knew she would give them the same respect with regards to herself.
“We should be going,” the captain said. He smilingly added, “If word got around that you and I were spending time alone in the Senator’s suite, we would be all over the Holonet.”
Dorme laughed out loud, the tension gone with the truth out in the open.
“Agreed. We would not want to be party to bringing any disrespect to the Senator, would we?”
Both laughed now. They rose from the couches and headed for the door. As it opened, Captain Typho’s hand approached Dorme’s back again. He caught himself doing it, and almost stopped himself.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Dorme assured him, having caught his hesitation. She looked up and back at him and smiled. “You’ve lost your power over me.”
“Well, I suppose I'll just have to put my focus elsewhere.”
“On the Senator,” Dorme said seriously.
“On the Senator,” Captain Typho agreed.
They traded smiles again as the door closed, professional smiles. Captain Typho laid his hand on her back as the exited the doorway, and Dorme was fine with it. Just fine. The captain escorted Dorme back to her own quarters down the hall and left her with usual slight nod and smile. Dorme watched the door close on him, closing with it a brief adventure in her life. When the senator returned, Dorme would be ready. Senator Padme Amidala would have work to do, and she would get it done. Nothing would distract her. Nothing would keep her from her duties.
Dorme was so proud of her senator, her former queen. Nothing would keep Dorme from serving Amidala for just as long as she was needed. It was her duty and her honor. It was her life.
And so life goes on. Dorme looked forward to hearing what adventures the senator had while on this leave of absence, especially how she will have fended off the nonsensical courting of Skywalker, a man who apparently had no sense of his own oaths of service.
Dorme’s purpose was clear now. It allowed her to sleep well, knowing that she worked hard at work worth doing. It was a lesson she had learned from the senator, and Amidala would never betray her. Dorme had never realized fully until this day that she, in turn, could never betray the senator. She took comfort in this knowledge and rested in readiness for another day.
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