Empire Day ✓

Chapter 11 - Nubian Rebels

Sirens activated in the underground bunker in the middle of the Royal Mausoleum Complex. This was all the warning they would get—thirty minutes before the invasion of Imperial troops. The sensors had just picked up the fleet entering the Naboo system from hyperspace.

Lady Quemé, a slim woman with curly brown hair and a wicked sense of humor, sprung to action. As some Alliance members withdrew data storage, others wiped surfaces down with a special acid, destroying all forensic evidence and aging the appearance of the equipment. 

Quemé stood ready to activate the last defensive measure as soon as her team evacuated—collapsing parts of the bunker, making it nearly impossible for the Imperials to reach the equipment.

Each one of the Rebel team would head into hiding across the planet. The Gungans would join their families in Otoh Gunga, while Nubians would hide in the forests and fields of Naboo.

Once they had evacuated the complex, Lady Quemé climbed the uneven earthen steps to the center of the Mausoleum Complex. She pressed a device in her hand, which shut the secret base permanently, collapsing the infrastructure. The grass above the bunker matched up perfectly with the surrounding grass.

She watched as ground crews hauled in marble benches, a fountain, and even a few statues. The casual observer would believe that this garden had been here even longer than the first mausoleum of the Nubian monarchs.

Once she had checked the are, the woman gathered her pale-blue skirts and hurried to the Throne Room.

While no one would call Lady Quemé young, no one would call her old or even middle-aged either. Her rich, brown hair bore no trace of silver yet. Only a few tiny wrinkles could be seen around her brown eyes that sparkled with energy. She still maintained her girlish figure and moved with an energy those eight years younger might envy.

While technically a member of the Queen's Court, she was too old to be considered a handmaiden, and the queen herself was too old for a governess. Still, Queen Marné looked to Lady Quemé for advice and guidance, as well as her expert leadership of the Rebel Alliance on Naboo.

Security officers and aides milled around the expansive room with ten-meter, vaulted ceilings carved in white marble. The multi-paned window behind the queen's desk admitted the Nubian sunlight, casting dark shadows throughout the room.

The chief of security, Captain Typho, admitted her to the queen's presence without delay. Quemé hurried up the seven steps to the daïs and curtsied to the young ruler, waiting patiently for the young girl to acknowledge her.

Queen Marné, dressed in the opulent costume of the monarch of Naboo, looked up from the reports on her desk. "Quemé, is everything secure?" The two horns on her headdress waggled as she spoke.

"Yes, Your Majesty. What's going on?"

"An Imperial investigation." The young queen did not waver, although her brow glistened with perspiration. "Our operation has been compromised."

Quemé blurted her report with speed. "Everyone is evacuated. Permission to—"

"No." The monarch's taffeta gown rustled when she lifted her hand to silence Quemé. "There is no place for you to hide except under their noses. Their leader has requested a tutor for his apprentice, one who will instruct him in Nubian history and politics. You will be that tutor."

"I don't see how putting me in close proximity to this Imperial's apprentice is going to protect me." Quemé's eyes flashed with passion.

The queen extended her hand to the woman. "You forget yourself, Lady Quemé. This is not a request. Please join the handmaidens in the anteroom. Don the veil during this Imperial Inquisition."

Lady Quemé bit her lip. She doesn't want advice. Let her rule, like you trained her, Quemé. She gazed at the queen, pride growing in her heart as she watched the young ruler respond to an emergency.

Queen Marné waved her hand, indicating for Quemé to depart.

The servant nodded her acquiescence and crossed behind the desk. 

Before Quemé had left the room, however, the teen-aged queen said, "Trust me, Quemé. This arrangement insures that you will have limited contact with Lord Vader."

At the name of the dreaded Sith Lord, Quemé took a sharp breath, her body stiffening.

"You will have charge of the boy while the Sith Lord is investigating this matter. He will hardly think that the governess assigned to his apprentice is actually the leader of the Rebel Alliance on Naboo."

Quemé smiled at the queen, proud that the girl was as devious as she was politically astute. "As you direct, Your Majesty. I live but to serve you and the Alliance."

With that, Lady Quemé hurried to the anteroom to don the ombre gown and headdress of the Royal Handmaidens. 

Did you know . . .

● The Queens of Naboo were elected by the populace to four-year terms. They could serve for two terms only. The queens were groomed in a special junior legislature program.

Tell me what you think . . .

● What do you think will happen with the governess and Vader?