"Is there nothing I can say to make you reconsider? There's still enough time for you to back out now and hire a more seasoned professional to do the deed," Sabé bit her lip, keeping a close eye on the figures brushing past her airspeeder, never once letting her guard drop. "There are far too many variables at play here, I fear that you're putting yourself at unnecessary risk."
"I agree that the situation is incredibly dangerous, but the potential outcome of it is just too beneficial to too many lifeforms. If I can get this monster off the streets and into a very, very cramped cell, then I have to take the chance," Padmé explained, speaking with a passion one would expect from Naboo's righteous senator. She tilted the passenger's sun visor downwards and stared at her reflection in the mirror, giving her make-up one final scrutinous inspection. "Furthermore, I refuse to place any woman at risk just to keep me safe."
"I had a feeling you would say something like that," Sabé smiled affectionately.
Padmé's willingness to throw herself into situations any woman of her standing would balk at was made her an endless source of admiration for both Dormé and her fellow handmaidens. Rarely had there been a conflict involving Naboo and its people that Padmé hadn't directly intervened in, politically and militarily. Never one to sit on her hands and watch the slow wheels of bureaucracy turn, the former Queen always acted when it came to furthering Naboo's galactic interests, much to the chagrin of her peers in the Senate. Her humble beginnings provided her with a much more rounded view of the galaxy compared to those she shared the Senate chambers with, driving her proactiveness when it became clear just how little would be done to stamp out the injustices by successive Chancellors.
Whether it was preventing the spread of viciously potent nerve agents or an operation to bring down Separatist affiliates, Padmé refused a second of her non-Senetorial free time on the frivolous matters, risking life and limb at a time when the Republic seemed to be slipping further into the abyss. And with Dormé and Sabé at her side, Padmé was by far one of the most effective forces for good outside of the Clone Army and Jedi Order. There was little she wasn't willing to do, a fact that continued to challenge her allies.
"Are Karté and Dormé in place?" Padmé asked, teasing her long chestnut hair to give it a messy quality befitting of the the work she would be engaging in.
"If by 'in place' you mean hobnobbing in your stead at Senator Wodrata's charity gala? Then yes," Sabé replied, smirking deviously at the memory of her holocall with the women in question. "And I think they're coming very close to tearing their hair out."
"I know precisely how they feel," Padmé laughed, elevating her lower body as high as she could given the low roof of the sleek Incom airspeeder. She dragged the black Happabore leather miniskirt along her thighs, becoming acutely aware of just how little coverage it actually provided her with. It was joined by a matching black mesh top which deliberately teased the swell of her breasts and her tiny waist. "There's nothing worse than having to endure performative charitable work hosted by Senators that posses more wealth than most systems in the Outer Rim. It's simply an excuse for them to dress in their finest gowns and show off for the press."
"And yet, you always happen to be the most dazzling guest whenever you attend," Sabé winked, giving a deadly glare to a Rodian who hovered around the side of the airspeeder for a suspiciously long time, sending him scurrying away. Turning back, she found Padmé hunched over, sliding her feet into a pair of cheap, lucite plastex platform heels Dormé had covertly purchased for her. Sabé was struck by the contrast between the inelegant footwear and the captivating woman wearing them, finding herself staring down at Padmé's legs for a little longer than she had intended. "Most of the other Senators resent you for your passion, but they couldn't keep their eyes off you if they tried."
"Which will come in handy tonight," Padmé responded light-heartedly, still able to see the hesitation in Sabé's eyes. She reached across the centre console and took her friend's hand, giving it the softest of squeezes. "Sabé, there will never come a time where I won't cherish your concern for my wellbeing. But you know me too well to know what I'm like when I have my mind set on something.."
"You're as stubborn as a Fambaa," Sabé scoffed, though the fondness for Padmé's unwavering commitment to her beliefs was as strong as her exasperation. Regardless of her own apprehensions, Sabé would back her friend to the very end. "Are you certain that everything will go as you think it will? The lower levels of Coruscant are a hotbed for illicit activity, they cater for every possible predilection a sentient being might have. Given what we know about him, it's entirely possible that he'll happen upon a vice that will occupy his attention."
"No, I'm certain that he'll turn up," Padmé spoke without a trace of doubt, appearing very much like the combative politician that was beloved by many and a nuisance to others. However, Sabé couldn't help but imagine the glee Padmé's political opponents would display if they ever saw her clad in the garb of a typical Coruscanti sex worker. "We've complied enough research to understand his daily patterns down to a microsecond, along with his taste in women; particularly Naboolian women. If I'm right, which I usually tend to be, then I believe that I've created a look that will make me irresistible to him."
"As if to suggest that there are times when you don't look irresistible? Because I know quite a few Gungans and Wookies who would disagree, quite vigorously if my memory serves me right," Sabé grinned wryly, enjoying how easy it was to bring a blush to Padmé's cheeks, still visible beneath the layer of striking make-up. "I have no doubt that you'll be a hit with the males looking for someone to relieve their sexual tensions, but Strugges Bakil isn't your run of the mill client. He's made his vile fortune through the kidnapping and trafficking of our people. You need to be careful."
"We both know what would happen to him if he attempted anything untoward. Just one week, that's all I'll need to burn his empire to the ground," Padmé smirked, glancing towards the mouth of the alleyway, composing herself before giving Sabé the order. "Not long now, let's head off."
Sabé nodded and compressed the accelerator pedal, carefully sending the airspeeder across the rusting durasteel road, weaving to prevent the debris lining the edges from damaging the metallic paintwork. A short turn brought them into Kalpana Town, a seedy plaza located a few levels below the Urscu District. Despite the amount of time Padmé had spent researching the decrepit plaza, nothing could have quite prepared her for seeing it in person, immediately living up to its reputation as Coruscant's premier destination for criminal activity.
Drug dealing and prostitution were rampant throughout the plaza, thriving due to the lack of any real law enforcement or presence of civil curators. As was the case with most levels after a certain depth, the planetary authorities simply stopped caring about the activities that took place, so long as said activities never spread to the Uppercity. With every new level that was constructed, it became easy for the privileged classes on the surface to turn a blind eye to what unfolded below, unwilling to engage with an underclass they viewed as a burden. It should have been a source of intense shame for the crown jewel of the galaxy, but Padmé was cynical enough to know how few cared about those who were hidden by countless layers of durasteel and ferrocrete.
They hovered past a barely-disguised bordello, one that promised a line-up of only the most exotic beauties Coruscant had to offer, though Padmé had reason to believe that its drunken patrons had a larger chance of being robbed blind than they did of bedding the sumptuous Lethan Twi'lek posing in the holo-advertisement. Dive bars and sordid nightclubs were in abundance, usually acting as meet ups for the many slicers and mercenary groups who operated their services right beneath the noses of decent society.
Sabé moved at a sedate pace, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention towards them as they traversed the cramped streets. The former handmaiden remained fully alert, listening closely to the blaster fire in the distance, exchanged by rival gangs in the midst of a territorial war. Seeing just how at ease the locals were with the chaos left Padmé sorrowful, indignant at the thought of the Senate allowing such suffering and poverty to take exist on a world famed for its extravagance and unparalleled wealth. Unfortunately, even the most progressive thinkers had to accept there was little to be done to improve the state of the Undercity, overwhelmed by the thought of where to begin undoing millennia of degradation and societal decay. As many outsiders did, Padmé kept her head down and her mind focused on her own mission.
The further the went, the worse the condition of the level became. Eventually, they entered the outskirts of the plaza, a location where there appeared to be a virtual zero level of maintenance or repair to the local infrastructure. The dimness of the lampposts and light sources indicated that the outer areas operated using their own power source, likely siphoned off from the grids of the levels directly above and below it. Most of the storefronts were either sealed up or burnt out, hidden behind mountains of waste and trash that sprawled out across the sidewalks.
After a half hour of searching, they finally arrived at their intended destination, one that made Raxus Prime look like the glittering homeworld of the Hapans. It looked like a shanty town, lined with hastily erected market stalls and broken down speeders that were missing a large number of their components. Spice and glitterstim deals were conducted openly, with the participants staring suspiciously at the pristine airspeeder hovering by, unable to see inside due to the black tinted windows.
Yet it was the scantily clad women that could be found throughout the crumbling old street that Padmé focused on, the sex workers of Kalpana Town doing whatever they could to make a few credits. Some were obviously more seasoned than others, standing at the edges of the curbs with dispassionate expressions on their elaborately made-up faces as they waited for their next clients to appear. It wasn't difficult for Padmé to pick out the more inexperienced members of the bunch, standing out because of their nervous demeanour and rather subdued clothing.
