~Tagged~ A Long Handmaiden Fanfic - Prelude in the Archive

Thanks, you guys!

jedi-thespian- Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a good day yesterday.

Melne- well, what do you expect? He's a twisted, scheming, corrupted "security" guard that's just wandering around making sure no one sticks his or her noise in his SMART buds business- like Diiran Raxt did.

Princess Sari- Although it will distract you from reading my fic, I wish you well on your job hunt.

Angel Queen- Then wait no longer....


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The door slid open quietly and three silhouttes hurried in. Rabé tensed for a moment from where she sat on the couch, then relaxed as she realized it was just Panaka and Sabé and Yané. Panaka and Yané knelt by the uncouncious guard, while Sabé sat down next to Rabé.

?Good work,? Sabé said. ?Are you ready for Phase Two??

Rabé nodded, and the two stood. Panaka and Yané had the guard propped up against the wall, and Yané had her blaster out and trained on him. Panaka nodded to Sabé and Rabé, and they headed out of the room.

?He came down from that corridor,? Rabé whispered, pointing down the hall and to the left. They stole through the darkness, taking cover behind the occasional statue and pillar. When they came to the cross-corridor, Rabé lead the way to the left, looking cautiously around first.

She was halfway down the hall when she first saw the sentry they had set up. She was leaning casually against the wall, engrossed in her fingernails. The door to her right was closed, but light streamed from the cracks in it. Sabé and Panaka had noticed that Rabé had stopped and spotted the sentry a few seconds later.

Rabé looked to Sabé for instructions, but the other handmaiden was talking to Panaka in a low voice. The captain nodded, and Sabé withdrew her blaster and pointed it at the sentry. Rabé panicked instantly. If she fired at the sentry, the blaster would make enough noise to alert everyone in the Tower of their presence-

A bolt of blue blaster fire shot out from Sabé?s gun- silently, Rabé noted with releif- and the woman dropped to the floor, stunned. Rabé waited a moment, listening and watching to see if anyone had heard anything. Nothing happened, and Rabé waved Panaka and Sabé over.

Sabé had her commlink out and was speaking softly into it to Eirtaé. ?We?re almost there. Wait until I give you the signal.?

She nodded to Rabé, and they silently darted to the door, surrounding it. Panaka put his ear to it, listening. He nodded to the girls, and held up his fingers. As he ticked off each finger, Sabé repeated the countdown into the commlink.

?Five...four...three...two...go!?

They burst through the door, blasters up and ready. A group of about ten people in security uniforms looked up in surprise, then anger as they reached for their blasters. The handmaidens and Panaka dove for cover as the shooting started, firing their own blasters as they went.

Rabé popped her head up over the couch she was hiding behind to see the traitorous party retreating toward a door in the back. The door opened suddenly behind them, and Eirtaé and Saché came blasting their way in. The traitors were caught by surprise and dropped before the handmaidens? blasters. Within seconds, the fire fight was over.

Rabé, Sabé, and Panaka slowly came out from behind their cover as Eirtaé and Saché started to disarm and stun cuff the prisoners. Given a chance, Rabé took a look at the room in a sweeping glance. It was a dark office; the only light coming from a swinging latern over the table in the center. The table itself was littered with datapadds and flimsies. Sabé had already pulled on gloves and was sorting through these. Rabé hurried to her side, her curiousity peaking.

?What have you found?? she asked.

?Random notes, security schedules, the palace blueprints.? Sabé picked up a datapadd from the head of the table.

? ?The time is right,? ? she read outloud. ? ?Procede with the plan to terminate...? ? She trailed off, th

 

That's okay, Eirtaé. We don't mind not being left with a cliffhanger.

That was cool! I love seeing the hms in action. I wonder why those ppl wanted to kill Panaka?

Hey, I just realized that I'm going to be the first replier again.
And thanks for the well-wishes on my job hunt.

 

Plots against the Chief of Security -- how inventive! (If you ask me, the HMs should be expecting such things)

Whee! (I love my new optical mouse!)

 

Wow!!!! They want to kill Panaka! I wonder why? He's cool, in his own, security-ish way. You're doing great here Eirtaé!!! Can't wait for more!!! Keep up the wonderful work!!!

AQ

 

I just got caught up with this story and I am lovin' it. So my fave HM comes up with a plan, and a good one too

I really like the way you have written all of the fab five and can't wait to see more. (I hope there will be a lot Sabe too )

 

Page Three!!!

Princess Sari: Really? I thought readers enjoyed hours of agony, trying to figure out cliffhangers.

Melne & AQ: Well, I thought that a plot against Panaka would be different, and I'm hoping to build this devious scheme into a large-scale plan in which getting rid of Panaka was just the first step!

Melne: Aw, they're just a little naive now. They've only been on the job for a month. Just wait until you see them when they have more experience!

Sabe SkywalkerKenobi: Glad to see you! I'm glad you like it an hope you continue to do so.

Yay, there are fifty-plus posts and I'm on page three!

I hope I'll have a wrap-up to this little episode in a day or two. Then it's on to bigger and better things! I'm trying to decide if I should do I few more posts before the Invasion or just go right ahead. As before, it's hard thinking up something exciting b/c before the Invasion they were just so peaceful.

Or so we're told.

*Eirtae*

 

I think that the story is great. And I'm looking fowardto more

 

I love the HIA scenes!!! Cool!!

 

This part is short, and not very, um...exciting, but I wanted to wrap up the "Diiran Raxt Case" and move on. I'm thinking about doing a little bit of HIT (Handmaidens-in-Training). Anyway...


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?What did they hope to gain??

Panaka paced in front of Queen Amidala?s desk. ?I?m not sure. We went through all the datapadds and flimsies, but they only thing we could find out was that they were planning to murder me.? The words still sounded strange in his own ears.

?What is Palace Security doing about this?? Amidala asked calmly.

?We?re reviewing all personnal,? Panaka replied. ?So far, we haven?t found any other traitors; they must have all been there the night of the raid. We?re also having security devices installed in every room- queitly, of course.?

?If I may say something,? Sabé spoke up. Panaka turned to stare at her with a sort of patronizing look.

?Yes, of course,? he said.

?From reviewing the information we found,? Sabé continued. ?It appears that exterminating Captain Panaka was only the first step in a plan of a grander scale. Of course, this plan will only be a threat if we did not expose all the rebels last night.?

?Agreed,? Queen Amidala said, nodding her head ever so slightly. ?The only problem is that we do not know whether or not we have all the traitors.?

?We?ve already checked out the most suscpicious people,? Panaka informed them. ?I don?t think we?ll find anyone in the security force now.?

?Then the Diiran Raxt case is not fully closed. We must always be on watch,? Amidala said.

Panaka raised an eyebrow. ?A job, I think, for the handmaidens.?

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*Eirtae*

 

Well, it might not have been "exciting," but it was still interesting.
Of course it's a job for the handmaidens, Panaka! And they'll do it well, too!!

I'm the first replier again, heh heh.
Actually, I was doing some research on writing dialogue at (Melné will appreciate this) Orson Scott Card's website and I thought I check the boards really quick to see if any of the stories I'm reading were updated--and this one was!

 

Oh, spaceballs, princess-sari beat me to it again! I will try to reply first eventually.

Well, anyway, I guess the plot against Panaka is passable. I thought assassination attempts on high officials were stale, but that's just me. If you're getting to the invasion so quickly... that's weird.

(Sari, I do appreciate the usage of OSC as a writing guide. What do you think I do?)

 

I've decided for the HIT thing, and am dedicating this post (with all its amnosity) to Melne.

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Thrust. Parry, parry. Thrust, parry. Kilvarock move. Parry-

?Ouch!?

Eirtaé sat down in the middle of the training mat, sucking her little finger. ?That hurt!?

Sabé paused, her staff above her head in attack position, and rolled her eyes. ?Quit being such a baby, Eirtaé. I just tapped you on your hand. Your defense should have been better.?

?You did not just ?tap? me,? Eirtaé said indignatly as she stood up and stooped to pick up her staff. ?You were trying to knock my hand off!?

Sabé twirled her staff expertly as she brought it down from over her head. ?And I bet I could actually do it this time.?

Eirtaé?s staff cracked against Sabé?s.

?Just try,? the blonde girl mocked.

The weapons smacked together again, and the two handmaidens started a dangerously fast duel. Eirtaé gained the offensive imediately, her hard drives pushing Sabé back. Sabé blocked each attack, but some just barely. She was almost backed to the wall when she saw her chance.

Eirtaé raised her staff up for a downward slash, and Sabé kicked out at Eirtae?s unguarded stomach. The blonde girl stumbled back several steps, and Sabé launched into her attack. Eirtaé was worse at parrying than Sabé was and lost several feet of space in just a few seconds. Sabé drove, and the two staffs crashed together, the girls? faces just inches apart. They shared a loathful look for an instant before leaping apart. They whirled their weapons then flew at each other.

By this time, the sounds of their fierce duel had drawn a crowd. Saché, Yané, and a few other trainees stood gaping at the edge of the mat. Saché and Yané exchanged worried glances.

?Do you think we should call Panaka?? Yané whispered.

Saché didn?t have time to answer because at that moment Eirtaé rammed into her, thrown back into the crowd by another one of Sabé?s kicks. Eirtaé rebound immediately and tackled Sabé, knocking her to the floor. Eirtaé pinned her and slammed her staff down towards Sabé, and a great crack resounded throughout the training hall as the two weapons collided.

Sabé threw Eirtaé from on top of her, and Eirtaé went tumbling to the side as Sabé sprang up. Sabé brought her staff down hard on Eirtaé?s shoulder, and the blonde girl didn?t have time to block it. She bit her tounge to stop as small cry of pain from escaping her lips, and tried to struggle to her feet. Sabé was a step ahead of her, though, and swept her legs from under her with another kick. Eirtaé crashed to the floor again, and Sabé raised her staff up again-

?Handmaidens!?

Everyone froze, and Sabé and Eirtaé turned their heads slowly. Padmé stood on the edge of the mat, her face furious. Sabé backed away from Eirtaé, and the other handmaiden stood up to face Padmé.

?What do you think you are doing?? Padmé snapped. ?Is this the proper way for the handmaidens of the Queen to act and treat each other? What do you think Queen Amidala would say if she found out about this??

Eirtaé and Sabé looked ashamed, their heads bent.

?Everyone leave,? Padmé said, and the crowd began to vanish very quickly. She walked up close to her two disgraced handmaidens, and stared at each one. Her eyes were filled with disappointment and anger.

?Go back to your apartments,? she said quietly. ?I want you to work this out- now.?

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*Eirtae*

 

Well...at least it's good practice, Padmé.

You wrote that very well, Eirtaé! I have trouble writing hand-to-hand fight scenes, 'cause I know so little about it, but yours was cool! I could visualize their fight as it happened, which means the writing was good.

Heheheh. Beat you again, Melné.

 

It was just my luck, you began posting this the day I left for vacation! Fortunately, I hit that "Active Topic" thing before I left, but it's taken a while to catch up.

Anyway... APPLAUSE APPLAUSE and a big box of chocolates! I like that they're not perfect, I love their backgrounds (if you want to do some more filler, you can do some more interactions with their families now that they're HMs... I can't think Yane's dad or Eirtae's mother is going to let them out from their respective thumbs so easily...

I love the way they stand up for themselves and aren't afraid to kick butt!

More, more, MORE!

--Renata

 

Thanks for dedicating a post to lil' old me . I loved it -- just what the doctor (can't think of a funny SW euphemism) ordered.

 

You mean, like: Just what 2-1B ordered??

 

Ok, here's the next part. It didn't come out like I thought it would. I was going to make it so that...oh, wait, I shouldn't tell you! I can use that idea again later if I want. Anyway, this is also my fist time using italics in a post, so if I screw it up... ANYway...

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For a long time, neither of them spoke.

Oh, they muttered little things as they passed each other like ?stupid spoiled rich girl? and ?snobby self-righteous brat? but they didn?t actually talk to each other like Amidala had ordered them to.

Eirtaé sat down on her bed and glared at a large, ornate chrono on the wall. It was 0245 by standard time. The other handmaidens and Queen Amidala would be back at the apartments in a little while to get ready for court. Eirtaé knew she and Sabé wouldn?t be speaking when they came.

Sabé took a chair at the other end of the room and began writing a letter to her father on a datapadd. It wasn?t turning out too well; her irritation was channeling very well into the letter and giving it a negative tone. Eirtaé believes she can get away with anything, Sabé thought, just because she?s from some high-ranking noble?s family. She?s such a spoiled brat that I wonder why Panaka and Queen Amidala even chose her to become a handmaiden. It?s not like she?s actually worthy of the job. Sabé skimmed over what she had written, and was surprised to read that she had recorded all of her thoughts about the other handmaiden down. She quickly erased it. Her father wouldn?t enjoy reading that...

Eirtaé had pulled out her litto and started to play it. Sabé looked up at her irritably. Eirtaé ignored her and ran through some scales before going on to play a piece by a famous Naboo composer. Sabé threw her datapadd onto the bed next to her and clapped her hands over her ears. Eirtaé played louder.

When the blonde girl had run out of compositions she knew by memory, she put the instrument back into its case, and flopped down on her bed, looking at the ceiling. It was 0330, and she could hear the other handmaidens in the Queen?s apartments next door, probably helping Amidala get ready for court. It was Eirtaé?s turn to stand by Amidala during court, but she knew she wasn?t going to be leaving the bedroom anytime soon.

The door connecting the two suites slide open, and Queen Amidala stood in a radiant yellow outfit, with her handmaidens behind her. Rabé, Saché, and Yané filed in quickly and silently, going to their closets to change into their court gowns. Queen Amidala looked coolly at Eirtaé and Sabé.

?You have not resolved your problems yet?? she asked them.

Eirtaé and Sabé glared at each other, and that was all the answer the Queen needed.

?The other three handmaidens will be accompanying me to court, then,? she informed them. ?I hope you will be able to join us for dinner.?

Eirtaé shivered. It would be awful if they had to have dinner in their bedroom, just the two of them. The last forty-five minutes had been torture as it was. And Eirtaé was sure the meal that they would have in their room wouldn?t be half as good as the food on the royal table. Queen Amidala disappeared from view, and the other handmaidens vanished as soon as they had changed. Eirtaé was suddenly reminded of her mother, and a time long ago when Eirtaé had gotten in trouble for not acting like a proper lady.

?Eirtaé Firenzé Denala!? her mother?s sharp voice rang out.

Seven-year-old Eirtaé flinched. Now she was going to get it. Countess Denala called out again, but Eirtaé didn?t get up from where she sat on her bedroom floor. Instead, she tried to look as innocent as possible.

Countess Denala stormed into the room, her face red with fury.

?Eirtaé Denala,? she began. ?I just got a call from Sandé Mardus?s mother, and do you know what she told me?!?

Eyes wide, Eirtaé shook her head.

?She told me that Sandé came home from school today with her dress torn and a black eye,? her mother c

 

Well, I thought it was good!

I was starting to wonder if they were going to make up before the Battle of Endor, so I guess it's a good thing Eirtaé's training kicked in when it did.

All that talk about dinner made me hungry. Since we're loyal readers of this fic, do you suppose we could get some honorary passes to dinner at the Palace or something?

 

Great post! Glad that they made up! Write more soon!

 

"I was starting to wonder if they were going to make up before the Battle of Endor." LOL Great posts Eirtaé! Life in the palace can't always be perfect...

 

Sure, they got to eat dinner with the rest of the handmaidens, but this isn't the end of their...hard-feelings towards each other.

Up!

*Eirtae*

 

So, now, Eirtae, are we still in the original fic or are you going to start a new one under a new thread or a new one under this thread?

Just trying to keep straight.

Stories about HMs who are smart and brave are ALWAYS eagerly sought by this reader...

 

I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, Mistress Retana... This thread is going to be one, long, big, continuous story about the handmaidens, probably up to when they either all die/retire or when Padme becomes senator. It will all stay under this thread, most likely.
Don't worry,I'll let you know of any changes.
*eIRTAE*

 

This is my 1000th post!!! YAY! UP!

 

Ok, I dug this up from some flimsies- I mean, papers I had written a little while ago. It took me a littl while to type it all up. I hope it turns out okay; it's hard to write these combat scenes.
Anyway...


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?The point of this exercise is to simply survive.? Captain Panaka?s voice boomed in the vast training room. He and six girls were standing in the middle of a one-half scaled recreation of a small Naboo town. ?You need to get from Point A to Point B- the large X at the far end of the town?s square- in less than thirty standard minutes. There will be twenty-five training droids patrolling, each one armed with a stun blaster. Once you get stunned, you?re out of the exercise.?

The girls nodded and headed for Point A, the entrance to a narrow alley. Captain Panaka strode over to a station outside of the plastitech town where numerous screens showed different shots of the town?s streets.

Saché smoothed her maroon battle fatigues excitedly. They had been training with blasters for the last week, and she had been absolutely bored. But this was more like her kind of thing; she was in her element now.

Panaka checked a chrono nearby. ?Ready!?

The girls tightened into battle stances and clutched their blasters tightly. Saché sneaked a glance at the girl next to her. Padmé?s face was smooth and alert. Saché had first been surprised when the young queen had informed them that she would be training with them, but now Saché thought ?Padmé? fit in perfectly.

?Set!?

Saché snapped back to focus on the task ahead of her. She smiled as she started to feel her adrenaline rise. This was the kind of thing she had trained most of her life for.

?Go!?

The handmaidens sprinted up the alley, conscientious of the time factor. The alley intersected with a larger road, and they all paused there for a minute, checking for droids. They saw nothing, and Yané hurried out. Suddenly, a droid appeared from another side street, and Yané was on the ground, hit by a stun bolt.

The other four handmaidens immediately trained the blasters on the droid and fired, but Saché glance behind them, looking for movement. The other girls hadn?t thought about a read attack, they were so intent on elimination that one droid, but Saché knew-

A droid dropped from seemingly nowhere ten feet in front of her. Saché dropped it with one shot. She turned and ran after the other girls, who were already charging up the street.

They weaved up and down streets, silent except for the sound of their feet and scattered blaster fire. Eirtaé and Rabé fell at another intersection, when droids cam from all four directions. Saché saw the shock and disappointment in Eirtaé?s open eyes before the three remaining girls continued, and it made her shiver. This simulation seemed so much more realistic than any of her sessions with Kev.

Sabé, Saché, and Padmé paused at the opening into a large square, their destination just across the open space. Saché glance around anxiously. It was too quiet. This was the most dangerous part of the course, a large open area with no cover. Saché pressed her lips together. They were running out of time.

Sabé and Padmé, thinking the same thing, took off suddenly through the square. Saché hesitated, then ran along the buildings that lined the square. Droids began to pop up everywhere; more droids than they had every encountered at one time. Saché took a few wild shots at the droids behind her, the focused on the ones ahead of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sabé collapse on the ground, motionless. Saché turned her head to see them more clearly as Padmé hesitated a second, looking at Sabé.

?Padmé!? Saché screamed. Padmé shouldn?t have stopped; she needed to keep going.

Padmé didn?t heed the warning soon enough, though, and a bright blue stun bolt hit her squarely in the back. Saché forced herself to turn away and keep running. Padmé wasn?t dead...she wasn?t dead...just thirty m