Star Wars: Seduction of Sedition

Chapter 1- The Phantom Menace

The Planet Naboo

Theed- 76 BBY

"Move! Out of the way!"

"Move! Now!" two Naboo security officers shouted as they charged into Theed's vibrant Grand Market Square. The bustling hub was filled with vendors calling their wares and eager shoppers chatting. The central plaza featured four fountains, statues, benches, power generators, and multiple entrances to the sewer system, a perfect place to lose a pursuer. At this time of day, it was filled with tourists, patrons, and unsavory individuals looking to take advantage of honest merchants.

The square was alive with the aroma of Muja fruit and sizzling street food. The scent of the Shaak meat hinted at the mysterious and possibly perilous chase unfolding just beyond the corners of sight.

Get out of the way!" the second officer shouted, wiping the sticky juice from a Shuura drink from his face.

The security officers' once-bright yellow uniforms were drenched in the ripe green and red-skinned fruit, and their red Shaak-hide cuirasses showed unmistakable scorch marks. These were embarrassing reminders of where this chase began.

They were called to break up an altercation between a youth and two off-worlders. Before the officers could react, the boy pushed a Shuura fruit stand into their path, crashing it into them, and fled in their V-19 landspeeder. The officers had spent half the morning chasing the repulsor craft through the capitol city to finally catch up with the speeder after it had purposely crashed into the statue of Queen Teenela Palpatine. The child, pretending to be injured, grabbed one of the officer's blasters and shot him and his partner before making his escape.

"Move! Out of the way!" the officer bellowed, urgency piercing his voice as he forcefully pushed past a Zabrak male. The unexpected shove sent the multi-horned being stumbling into a nearby jewelry kiosk, causing an array of shimmering bangles, intricate necklaces, and delicate earrings to cascade in colorful chaos. The clinking sound of metal on metal filled the air as passersby turned their heads, startled by the sudden commotion.

"There!" the first officer shouted to his partner.

Ahead of them, two cloaked off-worlders, shrouded in weathered brown fabric, darted through the narrow alleyways formed by the bustling kiosks. Just before them was the boy, laughing at the chaos he was causing, before sprinting off again.

The two pursuers were quick and purposeful. They passed through the crowd with ease. Their eyes locked on the child sprinting ahead, his figure now a blur amidst the patrons and stalls.

"Boy! Here!" shouted a hairless humanoid with gray skin and a shallow nose. His elongated head towered above the crowd.

A sandy-haired boy, about eight cycles, rushes away from a small Domaine de la Maison sur le Lac winery. Inside, a very irate vintner is screaming at two Rodian patrons, accusing them of stealing one of his prized wines. The blueish-green snout-nosed alien, dressed in expensive robes, pleads with the merchant. His saucer-like antennae twitched in frustration as he insisted that he and his companion had not stolen anything. "Unhand me! I do not deserve this insult. If I chose, I could buy your entire inventory and the vineyard where your so-called prized wine is produced," the Rodian shouted in proper Basic. The smugness in his tone conveyed his highbrow education.

"Hide there, boy!" commanded a deep, nasally voice that emerged from the shadows of a nearby Zaela tree. The tree was one of the last remnants from a time when the Naboo and the Gungans lived and worked in harmony. This particular Zaela tree had been a gift to Queen Teenela Palpatine during the days of the High Republic.