PT How did Darth Maul track the Queen to Tattooine?

I can buy into that argument - coupled with the usage of Maul's droids to locate the queen's party from there... I guess I somewhat felt that it was left as a deliberate mystery as to who responded... was it the handmaiden? was it Panaka? was it someone else? or was it just the fact that the message was recieved? ... however all this leads me to another question - Sio Bibble says something to the effect that - we must bow to their wishes - you must contact me.... why? why does the queen have to contact Bibble? Is she the only one who can speak for the state? Can some verbal response she gives affect how the Feds are treating the locals? I just don't understand his urgency in demanding that she respond....

 

The answer is right there in the film: "It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace." Whether Bibble's pleas were genuine or not doesn't really matter. He was forced to make that transmission by Nute so that Padme's ship could be located.

 

It was bait to trace the Queen.

 

It's a FAAAAAAAAAKE!!!

 

Fixed

 

She's the Queen of Naboo and head of state. She has final say in all matters regarding the running of the government. The Federation's invasion and occupancy of both the planet and the system itself, is dependent on Padme signing the treaty, so that it can be recognized and ratified by the Senate. The urgency is that the people are being made to suffer and both the Federation and the Sith are playing upon her emotions to get her to establish a connection trace. Palpatine believes that not only can she is young and naive, but also emotionally weak and thus easy pickings.

Given what Nute says to Sio, after Maul has failed to capture Padme, it seems that the contents of the message were legit.

 

Could you not make the case that the Queen abdicated her rule once she fled the planet and that Bibble was now effectively running the planet? In that case he could sign the treaty as the de facto leader of Naboo... but then the movie would be over in 30 minutes, eh??

 

No, because Padme was going to Coruscant to plead her case before the Senate. That's why Palpatine sent Maul out to find and retrieve Padme, before she could get there. He still needed her to sign the treaty at that point. But once she was finally underway to him, he switched tactics so that he didn't need the treaty anymore.

 

Point well taken. However, when she goes missing for that time on Tatooine, who effectively rules Naboo? That's like saying the President is "lost" - who effectively runs the country in his stead... naturally - the line of succession is in place within the Constitution. I guess it leads to - why wouldn't Naboo have such legislation, and if they did - why would Palps not engage that clause and work over Bibble since he was already in custody.

From my perspective there's a whole other avenue that Palps chose NOT to pursue that makes me raise my eyebrow...

 

That's because Padme wasn't missing. Palpatine knew that because she didn't show up, nor tried to contact him, that whatever happened when the ship fled Naboo, it couldn't come there directly. Hence sending out the message to try and track her down. Sio Bibble stayed behind to try and buy time for Padme, since he was the governor of Theed. But he still doesn't have the political power necessary to do anything more than what his station allowed for. Naboo's government apparently doesn't allow for a Vice President situation.