Life with Padmé Amidala was never boring. She was a force to be reckoned with, a woman underestimated too many times and Sabé was very aware of how strong and stubborn her sister could be. She did things her own way and ignored the protests of others to stay back when she knew she could do whatever it was herself. Sabé admired that the most in Padmé, but it often dragged them into trouble. It was usually right to worry when Padmé Amidala was involved. As lucky as they were, trouble seemed to never be far behind.
Like today.
It was supposed to be routine, but honestly, Sabé should have known better. She sat quietly in the ship monitoring the internal scanners while Padmé piloted the vessel. C-3PO was secured in his seat next to Padmé and, as per usual, was the voice of reason both women seemed to regularly ignore.
"My lady," The droid broke the silence, "are you sure the information from Chancellor Palpatine is reliable?"
"Yes," Padmé confidently assured him, "it was secretly given to him by the supreme executive of the Banking Clan himself. If they leave the Separatist Alliance it will go a long way to shortening this war."
"Besides," Sabé interjected, looking up from her diagnostics, "the Chancellor is the one who gave us the intel, not a pirate. We would be fools to not look into it."
Suddenly a sharp beeping noise emanated from one of the panels at Padmé's station. They would be leaving hyperspace within moments.
"We're approaching the system now," Padmé informed the group, "What's the status, Sabé?"
"Systems clear," Sabé replied as the stars came back into focus.
Unfortunately, that was not the only thing that came into view.
A ship, larger than any star cruiser Sabé had ever seen, was in full view. Flames billowed from every angle as the monstrosity hurtled through space directly at them. From behind it, Sabé could see the unmistakable streaks of cannon fire still barraging it. Sabé threw herself into action, fingers dancing along screens. 3PO was full of panic as the women got to work to evade the burning ship.
"Reverting auxiliary power to the shields," Sabé informed, "It won't be much, but it'll keep the shrapnel off us!"
"This isn't right!" Padmé panicked, "That's a droid warship!"
"And a battle!" Sabé knew they most definitely were not prepared to engage in any type of fight.
Their ship was an H-Type Nubian Yacht for crying out loud! There were no weapons systems on board and evasive maneuvering would only do so much. Still, Sabé continued siphoning off power from different amenities to the thrusters and shields. Padmé had to focus on keeping them from becoming space junk.
"There must be a Republic cruiser nearby, Padmé," Sabé informed her as the younger woman swerved out of the way of an explosion, "I can hail them, but it will certainly give us away to the enemy vessel!"
"Naboo cruiser, identify yourself." A voice rang out.
"This is Senator Amidala," Padmé informed the cruiser, "traveling with-"
"Padmé?" A familiar and bewildered voice interrupted, "What are you doing out here?"
"I was sent on a special mission," She explained as Sabé took control of the craft, "The Senate was told the Banking Clan wanted to negotiate a treaty."
"Get out of there as fast as you can!" Anakin demanded.
"Padmé!" Sabé interrupted, "We have a problem!"
"Have we been hit?" C-3PO asked, but Sabé just shook her head.
"Even worse, a tractor beam!" Sabé informed them, "The ship's not strong enough to break free!"
"Padmé, what's happening?" Anakin asked worriedly.
"We're being pulled inside the droid cruiser by a tractor beam!" Padmé's face hardened, "I will not be made a Separatist bargaining chip."
"Continue your attack," Padmé insisted, "You must destroy this monstrous ship!"
The communications cut off as the small cruiser entered the hangar deck. Sabé was on her feet in an instant, helping Padmé get the droid up onto his feet.
"It does not look safe out there, my lady," C-3PO tried to advise the senator, but she already had a plan forming.
"I see now this whole thing was a trap," Padmé was worried and visibly upset, "And I'm afraid I walked us right into it."
"Well," Sabé pulled out a blaster from one of the nearby storage units, "Luckily I'm here to help us get out of it then, little sister"
"I have an idea," Padmé said, looking at her sister, "Overload the power system and let's get out of here."
"You've spent way too much time with Anakin, Padmé," Sabé shook her head as she followed the order, "Blowing up nice ships."
The trio clambered down into the bowels of the small ship, slipping out from under the landing gear to try and remain unseen. The air was hot and smoke from the active fires around them tasted foul on Sabé's tongue. They only had the one blaster, there was no time to search for more, and Sabé held it tightly in her grasp as she kept watch. Padmé was busy coaxing their gold-plated friend down the hatch. Sabé was worried a small company of droids was headed their way, they would not be alone for long and she feared she would not be enough to defend them.
When 3PO was finally on solid ground, Sabé covered them as they made their way to a small alcove. Due to the charred edges, she doubted it had been there in the original floorplan. Though Sabé wanted to get out quickly, they would need the explosion as a distraction. Whoever was taken with it would just be a happy coincidence. Unfortunately, Sabé saw a figure she knew all too well from Obi-Wan's messages, the infamous General Grievous and she was eager to avoid him at all costs.
Moments later, the cybernetic killer rushed out just before the ship exploded. Flames and chunks of metal were strewn all around the already flaming hangar. Sabé didn't have time to gloat as Padmé was already whisking the trio away. The bodyguard hurried after her, Sabé would be furious with herself if she let her sister go off on her own. She knew Anakin well enough that he would send a group to rescue Padmé, Sabé just needed to keep them alive until they got there.
Sabé walked in the front of the group, clearing each opening with her blaster before they passed it as they made their way down a long corridor. She wasn't sure what Padmé was looking for, but she knew her sister well enough that she would tell her when she found it. Sabé was proven right not long after as Padmé stopped at a control panel.
"Pardon me," 3PO addressed Padmé as she stopped, "but might I suggest we keep moving?"
"I agree, Padmé, I can hear battle droids nearby," Sabé scanned the area, "We must leave immediately."
"But we also need to contact the fleet," Padmé responded, focused on her task, "if I can just get this comm panel working."
"My lady, I'm afraid Miss Sabé was right."
Sabé jerked back from her lookout spot. Grievous was leading a group of droids and they were closing in fast. The only advantage the small group of stowaways had was that they had yet to be spotted. However, Sabé feared that would not last much longer. She was not going to subject herself or Padmé to whatever cruelty the creature would surely do to them if they were caught. She thrust the blaster into 3PO's arms and pulled at a few loose panels, creating an opening just big enough for the three to hide in. They crammed together not a moment too soon as the General was stopped just in front of their hiding space.
"Uh, General?" One of the droids caught his attention, "The damage to the hyperdrive was not as bad as we first thought. We should be able to get underway shortly."
"I must inform Count Dooku," The General exclaimed, "Stay here. Continue the search. Find the stowaway and bring them to me."
With the droids still nearby, Sabé couldn't let out a breath of relief as she heard the man stomp away. They marched past the hiding space and once they were gone, Padmé was the first to emerge. She was never one to waste time and Sabé rolled her eyes and followed her.
"Miss Sabé," A voice called out to her, "A little assistance?"
She turned back and saw the droid was a bit tangled in loose wires. She shook her head with a small smile, he was always getting into trouble. Gently she pulled the wires away so he could step back into the open. To no surprise, Padmé was already fiddling with the comm panel again. It seemed to be working, but Separatist ships were different to the Republic vessels they were used to. Sabé wished she could be of some assistance, but she was not one to tinker, she was a lady. So she settled back into playing lookout, hoping what her sister was doing wouldn't get them both killed. Finally, the panel beeped and they were through.
"Padmé?"
"Anakin," from her spot Sabé smiled in relief, it was sure good to hear his voice.
"Are you alright? Where are you?" He fired off quickly.
"We're on the lower levels," She replied, "We are fine, but I don't know for how long. Droids are everywhere."
"Obi-Wan and I are on board, too," He responded.
"What?" Sabé couldn't help but blurt out, "Obi-Wan is here too?"
"Sabé?" Obi-Wan cut in, "What are you doing here? We came to get Padme off this ship, I thought you were back on Coruscant!"
"I go everywhere with her!"
"We'll talk about this later!" Anakin changed gears, "Ahsoka, how can we get to them?"
"We'll be there!" Padmé's voice jolted Sabé out of her thoughts, "Large open space, center of the ship."
Sabé nearly groaned as Padmé took off. The woman raced after her sister, muttering under her breath about stubborn queens and damned Jedi. Sabé bolted in front of the Senator, blaster at the ready just in case they were met with resistance. Luckily, the trio managed to make their way through the corridor undetected. Quickly, they emerged at a sharp drop above what appeared to be a complex array of internal trains. The ship was truly massive in order to include such a feature.
"This is where we're supposed to meet them," Padmé told Sabé as she too assessed the area, "He's probably late again."
"But we do have company of another sort," C-3PO informed the women as a group of battle droids turned the corner behind them.
"Blast them!" One of the droids yelled.
"Padmé! Get back!" Sabé told her as she fired back at the droids with her blaster.
True to form, Padmé ignored her and pulled out her small hand blaster and fired back as well. Still, Sabé had the bigger weapon and hoped the rapid fire of her blaster would draw most of the attention away from the Senator. They backed their way down towards the trains, Sabé at the rear holding the group off. A shot came far too close to her face for her liking, she could feel the heat against her face. Not for the first time did she wish she had a lightsaber in her hand rather than a blaster, those were much more effective.
"Look, Jedi!" One of the droids yelled as Sabé dropped down to the senator.
"Fire!" Another one cried.
"No, wait!" But the warning came too late, the blasts were quickly reflected back to their owners.
"You both need to jump!" Sabé instructed her companions as they approached the trains.
"No," Padmé refused, "I won't leave you here by yourself."
"It is my job, sister! I'll be right behind you!"
With a nod, Padmé shoved 3PO onto the train and lunged after him. Sabé stood alone on the platform, firing on the droids. She was sorely outnumbered and almost took her chance to follow Padmé onto the moving train. However, to her dismay, it had passed and escape was no longer possible. She was lucky enough that another one brushed past. She was quick to catch it and was rewarded with the face of Obi-Wan.
"Well, I'm glad to see you," She told him as he helped her to her feet.
"I am glad to see you are safe, Sabé," He replied kindly, "Come, we must fetch your droid. May I?"
"Just don't drop me, Master Kenobi."
"Have I ever?"
With that, he jumped to a much lower train and Sabé clutched his tunic tightly as he held her close to his chest. The young woman slipped slightly as they landed, the impact a bit jarring for someone who didn't have the Force to break their fall. Thankfully Obi-Wan's grip was firm and he was able to steady her. Sabé held tight to her blaster and kept watch as Obi-Wan used the force to pull 3PO out of the crate he had managed to land in. Unfortunately, just before he could be brought up, another train crashed right into the floating droid.
Sabé let out a snort that elicited a raised eyebrow from the Jedi. But, Sabé couldn't help herself. As much as she loved the droid, and she surely did, he was the unluckiest of them all! He always seemed to suffer the most in any altercation. Sabé was sure that if had been an organic being, he would have died from the stress he always seemed to be under.
"Blast, that's not good."
"We should hurry if we have any hope of catching up," Sabé replied as the train vanished, "I'm not leaving without my droid."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan spoke into the comm on his wrist, "I got separated from your droid."
"Ugh," Anakin groaned, "I'll take care of it. We'll meet you back at the Twilight."
"No, we can't leave yet." Padmé insisted and Sabé was quick to chime in.
"My sister is right, the ship's hyperdrive is almost repaired," Sabé looked at the Jedi beside her, "We are already headed in that direction, Obi-Wan."
"Yes, I'll make certain that the hyperdrive stays offline," He informed Anakin before signing off, "Grievous won't let the hyperdrive be destroyed without a fight."
"He never does," Her voice was soft and worried, "Especially when it comes to you. Ani told me he has always wanted to add your lightsaber to his collection."
Obi-Wan put a hand on the young woman's shoulder, "I'm afraid he will have to wait a bit longer for that, darling. You focus on that hyperdrive, if Grievous arrives, I will deal with him then."
With that confirmation, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Sabé Nabierre disembarked the fast-moving train and ran through the corridors. The hyperdrive was not difficult to find, even in an unfamiliar ship. There were certain things that were standard and even the Separatists couldn't avoid using the tried and tested placement.
Sneaking up on droids wasn't exactly difficult. The Force could be used to quiet footsteps and the beeping of the control panels covered excess noise. Just as the duo arrived on the widest part of the platform, the main lights switched on. Super battle droids and regular battle droids emerged from all angles. Sabé squeezed her blaster tighter at the realization that they had walked right into a trap. It seemed the General had gotten more clever over the years, much to her disdain.
Sabé nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Grievous' laugh and metal feet hitting the platform. Obi-Wan turned to greet the Jedi-Killer and with a sharp breath, Sabé did as well. The droids wouldn't fire without his command, and the General was always one to talk.
"Hello there," The guttural voice greeted, "General Kenobi, did you really think I would leave the hyperdrive unguarded?" if the cyborg could smile, she knew he would be smug.
Sabé clenched her teeth hard. Obi-Wan was as good of a man as he was a Jedi, she knew he would never let anything happen to her and though that was a relief, she knew Grievous always itched to kill. A blaster would do nothing against him. Though he could not use the Force, Grievous was incredibly talented with a lightsaber... or three.
"Anything is possible," Obi-Wan replied, feigning thoughtfulness, "You haven't exactly impressed us today," he gestured to Sabé who was behind him.
"What are you doing?" Sabé hissed at the Jedi, but Grievous only laughed.
"Kill him," He instructed, "And his little friend."
Sabé held her blaster at the ready as the droids raised their weapons. Still, she was in the clear as Obi-Wan leaped into the air, drawing blaster fire with him. Sabé hit the deck quickly as the blasts became face-level once more. As the Jedi drew his lightsaber, the former Queensguard pushed up to her knees. As soon as the first blow was made by Kenobi, she fired on the droids that advanced towards them. Several were quick to fire back, but she easily rolled out of the way. Droids weren't the best shots.
Looking up, Sabé saw Grievous draw his blaster and aim for Obi-Wan. Shooting one last droid, she swiveled on her knee and cried out a warning to the Jedi. He was quick to take action, using the Force to send a droideka right into the General. He caught it, as expected, but all they needed was a second. They raced past down one of the walkways and into a corridor, out of sight of the General. As they ran, Sabé knew Grievous would not be far behind.
"You are still getting into trouble, I see," Obi-Wan said as they continued down the hallway, "It is hard to believe you have been working with a senator."
"After all this time it still manages to surprise us," Sabé admitted, "Luckily I have my very own Jedi Knight to come and rescue me."
"Always, Sabé," Obi-Wan replied, cupping her cheek in his hand before pressing their foreheads together.
"Obi-Wan, come in Obi-Wan!" Anakin always seemed to have impeccable timing.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan was quick to respond, "I'm afraid Grievous is on to us."
"Yeah, we noticed!" Was his annoyed reply.
"We'll rendezvous back at the Twilight," Master Kenobi watched his companion turn away, "The fleet must engage the- blast!"
"What?" Sabé turned back to the Jedi.
"The signal is jammed," He shook his head.
"Took them long enough I suppose," Sabé mused, "But perhaps we can still outrun that hunk of metal," She gestured to the fast-moving trains with a smile.
It wasn't the best plan, but the clanging of metal claws was getting closer. With a shrug, Sabé grasped Obi-Wan as he leaped off the platform and onto a moving train. Though she hoped that they would have a bit longer of a reprieve, the bang of Grievous landing behind them was unmistakable.
"Stay back," Obi-Wan instructed the woman he loved, "But stay close."
"Copy that," was all she was able to say as Grievous landed in front of Obi-Wan, dual lightsabers in hand.
She didn't have time to muse about their previous owners, the battle was moving close quickly. Blaster turned down, she bolted for the end of the train. Obi-Wan's back came closer and closer as did the deadly gleam of lightsabers. A fabric-coated hand latched onto hers and she was only able to widen her eyes as Obi-Wan flipped the two of them off. He yanked her body close to his as they landed on a train below, heading in the opposite direction. Looking back up, Sabé watched the retreating General who roared in anger as the distance became too great to see them.
"I hope Anakin got the hyperdrive taken care of," Sabé heaved as she followed behind Obi-Wan.
Suddenly a blast whizzed by only to be stopped by the bright blue glow of Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Sabé groaned and took off running, shooting back every so often. Obi-Wan followed close behind, doing his best to shield them both from the deadly enemy fire.
"Hold the doors!" Sabé called out as they made their way over to the ship.
Anakin used the Force to shove crates into the offending droidekas, allowing the two to slip inside. Sabé reached out to her sister but didn't quite know what to say. It didn't matter though, her presence was comforting and Sabé let her shoulders slump in relief that they were all safe.
"R2, release the docking clamp," he instructed, sitting in the pilot's seat.
Sabé dropped into the nearest seat and turned the safety on before lying her blaster across her lap. Anakin was a talented flier, but he wasn't one who played by the books. Sabé turned to the scanner beside her as blips began flashing.
"Look out," She spoke loudly, "Enemy fighters approaching."
"Time for some clever tricks, Anakin," Obi-Wan advised as the ship rocked from cannon fire.
"That's what I was thinking," Sabé could almost feel his smirk from where she was seated, "Sabé, keep your eyes on the scanner."
"Yes, Sir."
Her eyes flickered around the screen as she began relaying enemy fighter positions to Anakin. He reacted to every word, spinning and dipping in a way that made Obi-Wan grip the sides of his seat. Unfortunately, they were still getting pummeled.
"You know, we have guns!" Anakin shouted, "You can shoot back any time!"
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Sabé exclaimed, shooting up from her seat, "Padmé, take my place."
"I can do it!" Padmé insisted, but Sabé was already pulling the scope down.
"Just sit tight, Sister."
Sabé focused on the enemy ships that continued their attack. Her shots were measured and calculated. She had always been a good student and that was reflected in her counterattack. While not every shot hit its mark, Anakin's crazed flying was by far the biggest obstacle, the ones that did, blew up the small ships. Sabé wasn't happy to be blowing things up, but she was thankful that the enemy wasn't organic. One violent swerve by Anakin dislodged his gunner and she slammed into the wall of the ship with a harsh thud.
"Miss Sabé!" C-3PO exclaimed, causing Obi-Wan to look back.
"I'm fine," The young woman insisted and got back to her post.
Her back ached and she knew there would be bruises coloring her skin soon. She knew she had to worry about that later and continued to fire as the ship got closer to the Republic cruisers. Shooting down the last ship, she noticed one of them taking off into hyperspace.
That damned Grievous! She thought, had she known he was one of the ships, well, she didn't know, but it unnerved her that he was getting away once again. She stepped back and gripped the back of Obi-Wan's seat just in time to see the monstrous ship they had just escaped crash directly into the moon.
"I suppose you had something to do with that?" Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow at his former padawan.
"All part of the plan, Master."
Sabé shook her head with a small smile, typical. For once, Sabé couldn't wait to get back to the Senate on Coruscant. She missed the safety of the Inner Core, but any time spent in the arms of her handsome Jedi was time well spent.