video: un: amidala

[democratically]

I can't say it is quite what I was expecting...

[As she starts to record, Padmé offers a gentle smile. There is a quiet calm to her, although any that would know her well knows that it is a countenance that she wears and that within, brews a storm. She is dressed in a manner that is known in her own galaxy but which might well seem a bit strange to others. Yet they are clothing of a style that she dons on a regular basis to Senate meetings- a thick rich layered gown of velvet with an ornate hair piece haloing her head.]

While I'm not certain how long I will remain here, I do admit that I haven't been planet-bound since I was younger, and even then, it was not for long.

[Her voice is soft but also strong and those brown eyes are drawn away from the feed, regarding the sky for a moment. It is an atmosphere that holds no meaning to her, at least as its stands, but there are some things in this place that she can understand, that are universal no matter where one is. She does begin to speak again, her focus still out there on that great unknown, wondering just what lays beyond... Yet her gaze is drawn back and she gives a little nod of her head, before making eye contact again.]

My name is Padmé Amidala, a Senator for the planet of Naboo, and I offer a greeting. It seems, if I am to understand this correctly, that we are all here by the same means, caught in the same situation. As it seems I may well be here for some time, I would be interested to hear more about the places you call home, for any willing to share.

[There is a genuine warmth in her voice and her smile grows ever so. The situation may be foreign, but she can find some common ground to begin with while remaining true to herself. The rest... She will with piece by piece.]

I would, of course, speak of my own as well, for those who wished to hear of it. I am curious to see just how far a reach this place has, and whether Naboo or Coruscant or even any of the other planets that make up the Galactic Republic are known to anyone here.

Comments

video: un; apparition

[unphase]

[Tinya has to do a double-check. she looks like Padmé, sounds like her, too. but she knows better than to make assumptions about where and when people are from]

I know how it feels to have it be strange when planet-bound, at least at first. For much of my life, I worked for my mother who was then the ambassador from our planet. It's a little creepy at first, but it gets better.

[democratically]

[There is a polite interest on her face, but no recollection, no hint of having ever met her before.]

It is not always a bad thing. In the future, well, I would like to settle back on Naboo.

[If the stars were willing.]

And your planet is?

Video; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Earnestly-]

I'm glad you're feeling more like yourself, Senator Amidala.

For the record, I'm from Lothal. Which is way out on the Outer Rim. I've been to Coruscant, but uh. I didn't grow up in the Jedi Temple. I didn't get to see it until I was eighteen. [And that was a whole other complicated event involving mysteriously powerful entities interfering with people gathered from across the cosmos.]

I haven't been to Naboo, but I've been told it's beautiful.

[democratically]

Please, Padmé is fine.

[Offering a smile. It's not like Padmé sees any reason to stand on any sort of airs here.]

I am, yes, and thank you for the help. It is appreciated.

[Not that it still isn't strange to think about. It is. But she is far less jumbled now than she had been, and things have straightened out within her.]

Eighteen? [Which is surprising for her, given that Anakin himself had been old to join. Although she ponders over some of the information that others had spoken about. Little bits and pieces that didn't fit in with things. But, she also doesn't press, humming instead. The name is one she knows, but is not familiar with.]

I've only heard of the planet in passing, I admit. And, I may be biased, but I do fine Naboo to be very beautiful.

un: eudaimonikos; video

[eudaimonikos]

[Everyone else here is being extremely tactful. Tact is not one of Michael's strong suits!]

Boy, there's a lot of you around. Nice headpiece. [For what it's worth, that sounds completely genuine!] I'm Michael. I'm from a plane that operates as the human afterlife for our universe, though we're only currently serving Earth. No humans anywhere else, yet.

[democratically]

[Thankfully, or not, Padmé has tact to spare.]

Politicians?

[A small glimmer of mirth, if only because she knows what some think about politicians. She suspects humanoids, although he appears humanoid as well, at least from what she can see. Then again, she knows better than to judge any book by its cover.]

The afterlife? I cannot say that I've ever met anyone with a history like that before. Have you always been on that plane?

video | un: 10-0

[devilmind]

[ The Operator perks up at the word "planet-bound." One thing they learned very quickly when they arrived was that most people hail from universes where life has always been limited to a single planet. Meeting someone whose experiences are a little more familiar is a welcome change of pace.

Their own camera feed shows a teenager, perhaps around the age of 14, whose solemn expression is betrayed by curious golden eyes, faintly glowing. ]

Hello Lady Amidala. [ The word "Senator" is too unfamiliar for them to use it as an honorific. They aren't even sure if it denotes occupation, social class, or species. "Lady," chosen for the woman's fine clothing, will have to do. ] I am from the Origin System, orbiting the star Sol. I haven't heard of Naboo or Coruscant, but... [ They take a breath, eyes turning skyward as they count off fingers like they're reciting for school. ] Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Deimos, Ceres, Jupiter, Europa, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Sedna—

Have all been colonized.

[ Their gaze fixes eagerly on the camera again. ]

Is yours really a "galactic" civilization? How many solar systems have been colonized? Do you travel to them through the Void?

[ This is the first time they've spoken to someone whose universe actually sounds more technologically advanced than their own. They want to know everything. ]

[democratically]

[Lady Amidala. That is rather formal, yet it's also clear that it's been chosen on purpose. The meaning behind it could be multi-fold, although she doesn't know enough whether it's cultural or something else (like not knowing the word).]

Hm. None of those are familiar, aside from earth in the generic use, like dirt or soil.

[Not that she doesn't roll them around in her mind a little, to see if it won't jostle something free. Yet unlike before, there's not even a small blip of anything. Yet it isn't surprising. Of the planets that she could name off of the top of her head, they would be but a handful in the ocean of planets that are written of, not to mention those that still wait in wildspace.]

It is a Galactic Republic, yes, with delegates from many different planets, systems and organizations, although I fear I'm not the person to ask about how many systems... I couldn't give an exact number.

[As for void... She isn't sure if that means space in general, or something else.]

Could you explain this void a little more?

video; un: tsabin

[decoyqueen]

[ It takes... a while... for Sabé to respond after she sees the video. First because she heard nothing that was actually said. Then because she had to watch it again two or three times to believe it was real and not grief messing with her.

By whatever luck, Padmé was here. She got a second chance to see her dearest friend. She wasn't going to screw this up.

So she collected her thoughts and emotions, made sure her funeral clothing was nowhere in sight of the holo... and turned it on, a slight grin on her face the only thing pushing her true emotions away. ]

You've been missed.

[ Yes she's only been here for a month, but it's been a long month of mourning. ]

[democratically]

[Her smile blossoms easy and true at the sight of her dear friend, beaming across her face, although it shifts a little as realization settles in. It means that Sabé is here as well, and even if Padmé has no control over that fact, she would see those that she cares about safe.]

I had not seen- did you just arrive as well, or-?

( video | un: kenobi )

[jedies]

[ oh, it is a welcome thing to hear padmé's voice again. he greets her warmly. ]

Already probing the depths for diplomacy?

[democratically]

[There's that hint of fondness in her voice as his message comes though and she hums a little.]

After being unfamiliar with myself, I figured I may as well do something familiar.

video; un: jk21a

[hearuthinking]

I ain't heard of your planet, Senator, but you probably ain't heard of mine, either. We call it "Earth". Third planet from the sun in our solar system. It's the only one that can support life, at least in our system. There are lots of people from Earth here, so you'll hear about it plenty.

I do know one of your generals is here. Obi-wan Kenobi.

[democratically]

The only earth I know is the kind one walks on.

[Not that she's studied planets to even know those that fall outside of her purview. Would that she could, if only because it would give her a greater understanding of others.]

What is your Earth like then?

[Aptly named, or in jest?]

un: natsume.takashi

[natzoom]

[Well, that's...new.]

I'm afraid I'm from a planet that, ah...only has life on it. That we know of.

[democratically]

There is nothing wrong with that.

[At least, you know, on a basic level... Because stars alone know what transpires on it.]

The galaxy I am from is quite varied.

Video; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

[She's so. absolutely. Stunning! Usagi stares for a little bit and then clears her throat. Focus! Don't get distractedby the gorgeous nice woman.]

Ah! A pleasure to meet you, Padmé-san! My name is Usagi, Usagi Tsukino. I'm from Earth, specifically the country of Japan!

Uhm, actually, I've heard of all those planets. But uh not much about them.

[democratically]

[Friendliness is infectious, and Padmé finds a smile spreading across her face.]

It's nice to meet you as well.

[Not entirely certain about the 'san' part. Would that make her Usagi-san? Some honorific from where she is from?]

Oh? From here, or did you hear of them in Japan?

video; @boomboompow

[hijinxer]

Haven't heard of a single place you're talking about, fancyhead.

Do you actually wanna hear about other places or are ya just tryna be all proper and council-y?

[democratically]

I would, but only with those who want to share.

[anobserver]

[...Natalie Portman?

she's seen The Professional and Black Swan more times than she can count. she's a huge fan.

but not Natalie Portman? okay. chill, Lexi, you can do this]

I've been, uh. Planet-bound my whole life. Some of the star patterns are similar here, like I can see Orion and Taurus just fine, but the tech level is almost steampunk in its approach. Like the omnis in particular.

[Lexi is trying to look warm and personable herself. she's endlessly afraid of seeming weird compared to Cassie and her mother]

[democratically]

Steampunk...?

[As that isn't a term that Padmé is familiar with, or the star patterns that she speaks about but that is of interest...]

video; un: skywalker

[facultative]

Pad-- [No, that's not right.] Sena-- [That's not it either. He has no idea how he's supposed to address her in public now. He can't be too friendly with her, but formality only shows that he has something to hide.]

Where are you?

[#nailedit]

[democratically]

[There is that lightness in her eyes that portrays her own loving amusement as he flounders over his words, although her own face does remain neutral in turn. Not that it exactly shows what is going on within, as her heart gives that flutter and there is a sense of relief when she sees him.]

I've been exploring around the canals.

[There's a million questions there on the tip of her tongue, although she staves them off for the moment.]

[survivalthroughhate]

Queen and Senator. I suppose you always have been an ambitious one. That's why he picked you.

[Palpatine needed someone both young enough to manipulate like a puppet on a string and strong-willed enough to make decisions that would still benefit him. Amidala had been perfect for that role. And despite Maul's failure in capturing her, things had still worked out to his master's benefit, as they almost always did.]

[democratically]

[She hadn't mentioned anything about being queen, which can mean one of a few things when it comes his reply.]

He who?

[Video] [UN: JustLuke]

[faithfulson]

Padmé...?

[ Her name, softly whispered in something like awe, is out of his mouth before he even realizes he actually answered the call. He collects himself, though it's after a moment of staring in wonder, disbelief, and utter amazement. Airy had said his father thought she was Padmé because they looked so similar, he just... had never thought they would be near identical. ]

I... um... I've heard of Naboo... and Coruscant, but I've never been. I'm from Tatooine.

[ It felt lame, just saying that much. He wanted to say so much more, to blurt out that he was her son and wanted to know her because for some reason she wasn't around in his time, but he couldn't get the words to unstick themselves from the back of his throat. ]

[democratically]

[A small arch of her eyebrow, with a nod. It is the manner in which her name comes from him that has Padmé regarding him lightly. Yet she gives a knowing hum.]

Tatooine.

[Another then from the galaxy that Padmé knows, although she's coming to learn that there are different times, which is still odd to wrap her head around.]

I am familiar with the planet, having been there several times. It's... very sandy.