By the time they got back, Padmé had almost completely forgotten about her obligation to meet with Bail and Mon that evening. The incident with the Stormtroopers had caused her to lose all track of time, and now she realized that she had about ten minutes until the meeting, and she still needed to report the incident and figure out what to do with Luke. School was done for the day, and he certainly wouldn't appreciate being dragged into the meeting.

"Luke," she said, "how would you like to help out the mechanics for a while?"

He glanced up at her and narrowed his eyes, probably sensing that she was up to something. "Why?" he inquired.

"I have a very long grown-up meeting. You wouldn't like it, I don't think, but learning about ships will be fun, right?"

Luke sighed and stared blankly off into the distance. Please, Luke, Padmé thought, I don't have time to argue with you about this.

"But," he said softly, "I want to stay with you, Mommy."

If she weren't in such a hurry, her heart would have melted at his sweet words.

"I would want to stay with you too, but if you come with me, you'll have to sit still and be quiet for up to two hours."

Luke gave no response. Padmé figured he didn't really understand what a two-hour meeting would be like, so she decided it was best just to make the decision for him. Surely he would love being in the hangar; he would thank her later.

Fortunately, one of the mechanics­­­­- a young Twi'Lek woman- was gracious enough to accept a "little helper" for a while, so Padmé dropped Luke off there and hurried to the security office.

The security guards monitoring their computers glanced up in concern when Padmé burst in. "General Amidala, is everything all right?" one of them asked her.

She had never been able to get used to being called "General Amidala," especially when her title should have been "General Skywalker." But General Skywalker was supposed to be Anakin.

"I have an incident to report," she said, breaking out of her reverie. "I saw some Stormtroopers when I was out in the town with my son, and I wanted the security team to be aware."

"When did you see the troops? Did they notice you?"

Padmé explained the rest of the story, but left out the part in which Luke accidentally used the Force. She watched the security guard's face as she related the story, and while he didn't say anything, his brow creased in concern and his frown deepened.

"Are you sure they didn't follow you back here?" he said sternly when she was done.

"I can't be too sure. I was constantly checking my rearview mirrors on the way back, and I didn't see anyone, but it's possible that they were clever enough to not be seen."

"I never thought the Empire would get close to this planet so quickly," he murmured, half to himself. "Thanks for the report, General. I'll have the team keep an eye on the radar scanner."

"Thank you," she breathed, and hurried off to the meeting. She was already late, but Bail and Mon would understand.

Padmé found the two of them staring intensely at the computer screen, and they barely seemed to notice her tardiness. "Padmé," Mon said, "come look at this. We just received a notification from the security office that there was Stormtrooper activity in the area."

"I know, I was there," she muttered, taking a seat next to Bail. As he and Mon stared at her in surprise, she told them the whole story, including Luke's impulsive use of the Force. She could trust Bail and Mon to keep this information private.

"Let me get this straight," Mon said. "Luke used the Force, in public, and shattered a window in front of Stormtroopers!"

"He didn't mean to," Padmé retorted. "I don't think he can control it much yet."

"Children require years of training to learn to use the Force properly," Bail said, coming to Padmé's defense. "And all the Jedi are dead or hiding, so there's no one left to train Luke."

"I understand, and I'm not blaming him." Mon sighed and ran her fingers through her auburn hair. "But you realize what serious implications this has, don't you? I'm just concerned that Luke cannot be controlled in this way and that we may experience more problems like this in the future."

Padmé nodded. The truth stung, but she couldn't disagree with Mon's reasoning. "I wish I knew how to help him," she murmured. "It's just... he has so much of his father in him."

They all fell silent. Mon stared at the ground, while Bail smiled sympathetically.

"Well, we can't worry about this now," Mon said. "We have a battle to plan. Better do it quickly, before the Empire figures out that we're here." She opened up some software that had an interactive map showing where the Empire's new outpost was.

The next hour or so was spent discussing ways to stealthily enter the outpost before attacking it, and where were the most strategic places to have ground soldiers and air forces. A few times they brought in some people, such as the lead pilot and the head of security, to give their input.

Padmé felt confident throughout the whole discussion, because she was well-versed in the subject of military strategy, thanks to her experiences in the Clone Wars.

Even better, the battle plan they ended up creating seemed like a good one. If all went well, the stealth team would be able to disable the outpost's power generators and put the Stormtroopers there into a state of confusion before the attack. That would give everyone else a chance to sneak in and surround the outpost, and hopefully take it down swiftly and decisively. Bail, Mon and Padmé decided not to take any prisoners, because there was the possibility that they would escape and reveal the location of the Rebel Base.

The only thing Padmé was dreading was the idea that she might have to take a life.

Just as they were finalizing the details, a knock sounded on the door. "Come in," Padmé said.

The door hissed open, and the Twi'Lek mechanic came in with Luke, smiling sheepishly. "I am so sorry to interrupt, Generals..."

Padmé blinked in surprise. Luke was staring at the ground, not meeting her gaze. "Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Well..." The Twi'Lek laughed nervously. "I'm really sorry, but I do need to return your son to you. It's just that he's been... distracted. Wandering off, getting into things he's not supposed to, and not following directions. You don't mind having him back here, do you?"

"No, of course not. I'm sorry he gave you trouble."

The Twi'Lek smiled awkwardly and hurried out, probably embarrassed by the whole situation.

"Am I in trouble, Mommy?" Luke whimpered, while Padmé had him take a seat.

"We'll talk about this later, Luke." Padmé didn't intend to punish him, since his misbehavior was largely caused by his personality, and so it was mostly outside his control. But he definitely needed a good talking-to.

Bail and Mon were polite and gave no reaction, and once Luke was quiet, the discussion resumed. They soon ended the meeting feeling apprehensive, but well-prepared.

As Padmé was taking Luke back to their quarters, Bail came running up and caught up with them. "Padmé," he said, "I feel terrible about the incident in the town today, because it's mostly my fault. If I hadn't suggested you go out with Luke today...."

Padmé tried to suppress a laugh. "Oh, Bail, it's not your fault! In fact, I'm glad we saw the Stormtroopers because everyone's aware of it now. So, really, I ought to be thanking you."

"Still... when I think about what could have happened..." He shook his head in dismay. "If anything had happened to you, Padmé, I could never forgive myself."

His voice was quiet and serious. Padmé was a bit taken aback by the sincerity of his words.

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Bail asked.

Really, there was no reason why he had to "make up to her" at all, but Padmé could see that he needed her to say something that would help him ease his guilt, even if that guilt was misplaced. So she smiled and said, "Keep doing what you've been doing, and help us win this battle!"

She was glad to know that there would always be at least one person looking out for her and Luke in the Rebel Base. Bail Organa, she couldn't help thinking, would be an excellent father.

(Author's Note: What do you think of Bail 's and Padmé's dynamic? Comment and let me know your thoughts! Thank you for all your views, votes and comments thus far. I really appreciate your support. Also, a special treat is coming up now that this has received  over 1,000 views.... so keep reading! )