Chapter One

Senator Padmé Amidala stared out the main window of her spacecraft at the approaching planet. Even from space, Coruscant looks different from other worlds, she thought. Most worlds showed colors on their daylight side — the greens of the forest worlds, the blues of watery planets, the glittering white of ice worlds, the sandy yellow of desert planets like Tatooine. On their night side, most planets were dark, with an occasional twinkle of light marking the largest cities.

Coruscant's day side was a dull, metallic gray, the color of the millions of buildings and platforms that covered its entire durface. Its night side glowed amber from the lights of those same buildgings, like the stars of the galaxy in miniature. Only on Coruscant is night more attractive than day, Padmé thought.

The royal Naboo cruiser and its three fighter escorts curved around Coruscant toward their assigned landing platform. Padmé hadn't wanted the escorts, but her security officer had insisted that she was in danger. Captain Typho was good at his job, so she had reluctantly agreed. Since the trip had been uneventful, she already regretted giving in.

The three lobes of the landing platform came in sight. The royal cruiser landed on the center leaf. The three fighters took the other leaves, two to one side and one to the other. Captain Typho, who had been piloting one of the fighters, swung out of his cockpit and removed his helmet.

"We made it," he said. "I guess I was wrong; there was no danger at all."

Padmé hardly heard him. On the platform, she could see Dormé, one of her handmaiden-bodyguards, waiting among the landing crew. Dormé looked tired and tense. She's just worried, Padmé thought. She can't know how easy the trip was.

The cruiser's ramp lowered. Padmé's guards came down first, then the rest of the Senatorial party. As they reached the foot of the ramp, the ground crew watched their arrival.

In the next instant, something knocked Padmé flat. Through the roaring in her ears, she heard cries of terror. She choked and blinked to clear the dark afterimage from her eyes — the image of the royal cruiser exploding. Captain Typho was right after all, she thought, and then, Cordé! Is Cordé all right?