YOUNG BLOOD ( A. SKYWALKER ) [1]

IV.

"An extremely well-put-together droid, your Highness. Without a doubt, it saved the ship as well as our lives," Captain Panaka remarked, his brown eyes settling on the young lady seated on the throne, which was obviously crafted especially for the Queen.

The brunette girl clad in Padawan robes cocked her head to the side, her chocolate brown eyes trained on the dirty-looking R2 unit beside the Captain. She was amazed to see that this tiny droid managed to survive, as he was the only remaining droid out of the three brought out. She was also extremely grateful for the droid managed to saved their skins from the attack of the Federation. If it weren't for this R2 unit, everyone in this room would probably be dead by now, or captured.

"It is to be commended, what is it's number?"

The tiny blue and white droid let out a series of beeps, its head rotating as the Captain scraped off some of the grime on its body. He squinted for a moment, then proceeded to read out the droid's number. "R2-D2, your highness."

Queen Amidala nodded her head at the droid, thanking R2 and the droid responded happily through its droid language. "Padmé."

One of the Queen's handmaidens step forward, approaching the small droid. If Layna wasn't mistaken, this was the same handmaiden the Queen addressed earlier before she came to a decision to leave with the Jedi. So, her name was Padmé, the younger Padawan thought as she silently observed the girl - she looked a few years older than Layna, that was for sure, and if anyone looked a little closer, they could see the slight resemblance between the girl and the Queen.

"Clean this droid up the best you can," the Queen instructed her handmaiden. A ghost of a smile appears on the Queen's painted face as she gazes upon the tiny droid. "It deserves our gratitude."

Artoo let out a whistle, obviously happy with the Queen's words. "Continue, Captain."

Captain Panaka silently approached his Queen, turning his head to the Jedi standing quietly at the back. The eldest of the three stepped forwards, seeing as it was his turn to speak now. "Your Highness, with your permission, we're heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It's a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation."

Layna's eyes went wide and her head whipped towards her Master. She was not informed of their decision to land in Tatooine, but she was familiar with the planet. Tatooine was not a planet she particularly liked, mainly due to the scorching heat beating down from its two suns to the endless view of sand as far as the eye could see. If she were to put it bluntly, she doesn't like Tatooine and she doesn't want to go there. But she guessed that it couldn't be helped, if her Master feels the need to go to such a planet to hide from the Federation.

"I do not agree with the Jedi on this," Captain Panaka voiced out his opinion, glancing towards the older man and his companions. You're not the only one, Layna pursed her pink lips and swallowed her words.

"You must trust my judgment, Your Highness."

+

The young Padawan sat on the metallic table placed in the center of the room, swinging her legs back and forth as she got lost in her own thoughts once more. The spacecraft was already set for Tatooine, and it was going take quite a bit of time before they reached the desert planet.

No matter how much she disliked visiting Tatooine, she had no choice seeing as they needed to stay low for a bit. This was for the sake of the mission, and she was to be a Jedi - she was not supposed to abandon a mission just because she disliked the planet they needed to visit.

She hasn't been to Tatooine since the first time she visited with her Master around seven months ago. When she heard that her Master had to head to the faraway planet called Tatooine, she was absolutely ecstatic as it meant another adventure, and even more sights to see as opposed to the usual view of Coruscant from the Jedi Temple.