(Coruscant, Naboo Royal Cruiser)
(3rd Person PoV)
Ayillh stood next to the pilot as they came out of hyper space. Her eyes trailed the planet that didn't look like it had changed much since the last time she had seen it. To her left Anakin stood with a look of pure curiosity as he looked at the glowing ball.
The pilot let out a small chuckle as he looked at the boy beside him, remembering the first time he got to see Coruscant from orbit. Looking at the boy for a few more seconds he turned his attention to the stoic bounty hunter. "Have you been to Coruscant before?"
It took a few seconds for Ayillh to realize that the pilot was talking to her. Looking from the window to the man before her, she knew that one of the Jedi was behind her, listening. 'It won't matter if they know.' Thinking for a few seconds she responded in monotone. "Not in a long time." The pilot gave a nod but didn't continue his questioning.
Obi-Wan stood behind her as she said the words. He still didn't fully trust her, especially after Tatooine. Filing that piece of information away he kept to himself as they started to make their way in. As they ship started its decent into the atmosphere the high scale buildings drew the attention of Anakin even more as he stared wide eyed at every building and ship that passed them.
The pilot turned once again to look at him, giving a small smirk. "Coruscant, the entire planet is one big city." As he spoke he turned the ship circling around to one of the landing pads. Pointing at the one they were about to land on, another ship and a few people looked to be waiting for them. "There's chancellor Valorum's shuttle and look over there, that's senator Palpatine waiting for us."
Ayillh followed the conversation as she gazed silently at the landing pad. Under the mask her eyebrows furrowed as she felt something coming from the landing pad they were about to land on, something dark.
******************
Ayillh still felt that strange presence as she prepared to disembark from the ship. As the ship came into land, Ayillh had left the cockpit to grab her gear. She may have traveled light for the mission, but she still had some equipment laying down in engineering, where she had set up a small base.
She couldn't exactly walk around with all her weapons on her, especially her prized sniper rifle. So she moved to grab them while everyone else gathered at the loading ramp.
Looking at the groups that were about to leave the ship, Ayillh slowly made her way over to the Queen's contingent. At the front were Panaka and the Fake Queen, Sabé. She had asked Padme while they were alone, the name of the imitator so as not to get confused.
Knowing that she had already been found out Padme gave out the name of one of her most trusted handmaidens, while sincerely asking that she be as prioritized for safety as herself. Padme didn't want to see anything happen to Sabé, even if it was her job as decoy and loyal handmaiden, Ayillh didn't even have to think before she answered. The benefits outweighed the risks for Ayillh, her yes, something Padme was grateful for. Behind them were Padme, and a few of the other handmaidens.
Just as Ayillh moved to make her way over, Obi-Wan and Jinn stepped in front of her. "We would like to request, that you come to the Jedi temple with us." Jinn spoke for them as they waited for a response. They had not trusted Ayillh since they had first met on Naboo, even though she had helped them greatly in their protection of the queen, especially when the Sith turned up, they could not shake the dark presence that fluttered around Ayillh from their mind.
Though Jinn was a bit more experienced and was beginning to accept the darkness that surrounded her as the vicissitudes of the galaxy, being a bounty hunter wasn't for the faint of heart and could easily leave such a dark presence around a person. Obi-Wan was the opposite though, growing more distrustfully by the second. It was this doubt though that made them wary of letting the bounty hunter out of their sight, much less accompanying the Queen without them.
Ayillh looked at them for a few seconds but gave nothing away. Sabé and her ensemble were already looking in their direction. There wasn't much room in the tight space and they clearly heard the Jedi's request.
Panaka, Rabe, Sabé and a few others in the handmaidens frowned at the request. Though she was an unknown at the start, Panaka and the rest from Naboo had grown a certain respect for the bounty hunter, especially when she protected their queen with such zeal.
Padme herself was frowning at the request from the Jedi, she could hear the undertone of the question and didn't like it one bit. Ayillh looked at their group as well before giving her reply. "I still have to protect the Queen; she is not yet safe Jedi. If I have the time I will come to the temple to answer your questions."
Obi-wan frowned and wanted to say something but Jinn beat him to the punch. Giving a slight bow he backed off pulling his padawan with him. "Thank you for hearing us out, I hope you can come by later. I also want to thank you for the help you have provided in our duties."
Ayillh gave a bow back, as the two went to stand at the front of the ramp, with Anakin and Jar Jar. Looking at their retreating backs for a second Ayillh continued her move over to the queens group.
A few of the handmaidens gave small smiles towards Ayillh as she made her way over and stood behind Sabé. They had been informed on their journey that she knew who the real queen was. Though it had at first scared them, they now trusted her.
Keeping the tactical advantages in mind, Ayillh positioned herself so that it looked like she was guarding Sabé, while it was actually Padme who was right behind her that she was keeping an eye on. In front of their group were the two Jedi, along with Jar Jar and Anakin, they hadn't wanted the boy out of their sight since they got on the ship. Something Ayillh noted easily.
The landing ramp lowered slowly as the Jedi disembarked first. Ayillh noted all the guards that followed the man; she assumed was the supreme chancellor, spread out around their ship, forming a small corridor straight to him.
The Jedi both walked up to him and another, who Ayillh guessed was Senator Palpatine. Palpatine's eyes scanned the large group as they made their way off the royal cruiser, keeping a small smile on his face, his eyes roamed the group as he took everything in.
This wasn't exactly how he wanted his plan to go. 'But I can always improvise; even turn this to my favor.' His eyes still held kindness as he looked at the approaching Jedi, but his mind was thinking exactly the opposite. 'A sith stands right before them and they feel nothing? What fools! They deserve their eventual deaths.'
Palpatine let out a small chuckle inwardly imagining the ways he could kill the two before him, letting the thoughts bring a genuine smile to his lips as he stared at his unsuspecting prey. As he continued to think such things Palpatine's eyes slowly focused on the boy walking next to the two Jedi.
Maul had given him a report of what had happened on the planet. He at first did not put much importance on the boy that they had picked up in their travels, but now, looking at the force as it curled around the boy, the untapped potential that Palpatine could see just from a single glance, his full focus was locked onto the little boy.
A new plan started to form in his mind as he looked at the untapped potential in front of him. 'Plagueis is already past his prime and will soon be out of the picture, it is about the time I find an apprentice, one that could match my brilliance.' Palpatine's undivided focus was now on the boy walking closer, he wanted nothing more than to stretch the force out, to use it and check the boy in-depth, find out what really made him tick, his insecurities, his fears, all which he could use to manipulate him in the future, but alas with the Jedi before him, he could not risk exposing himself, not when he was so close to his goal.
Palpatine left one long lingering glance on the boy that no one noticed, well almost no one, there was one person that held the same interest in the boy and assessed everybody that they met. Ayillh's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the harmless old man they were walking towards.
The senator for Naboo, Sheev Palpatine, there was something off about him, her new powers told her so and her instincts also told her something wasn't right with him. 'He is hiding something.'
With her mask up, no one could determine exactly where her eyes were looking, something that she was always glad of. After giving the whole landing platform a once over, scrutinizing the guards around her and the Supreme chancellor of the Republic, a target she would have loved to kill, not just a few weeks ago, her eyes returned and rooted themselves onto one person, Palpatine.
Obi-wan and Qui-Gon were the first to reach the 2 prominent figures before them. Sabé's group stopped right behind them as they bowed to the Naboo representative. Anakin was right next to them as well as Jar Jar who, for once in his life, didn't mess up something and bowed quietly.
Palpatine spoke up first as the Jedi straightened and moved to the side, letting Sabé step forwards."It is a great gift to see you alive you majesty. With the communications break down we have been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear you report on the situation. May I present supreme chancellor Valorum." With an introduction Valorum stepped forwards with a practiced smile. "Welcome you highness. It is an honor to finally meet you in person."
Sabé gave a nod towards Valorum but kept her imperial regal as she spoke back. "Thank you supreme chancellor. "Valorum nodded in turn, keeping the dignity of the republic. "I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I have called for a special session of the senate to hear your position."
Sabé let out just a smidgen of happiness as she spoke with sincerity. "I am grateful for your concern chancellor." With that their group moved forwards to the waiting air speeder. Valorum didn't follow them as he stood next to the waiting Jedi.
As they moved past the chancellor Palpatine locked his eyes onto the unfamiliar figure standing behind the queen. He wanted to frown as he remembered the report Maul sent in for him, but he pushed it off for now.
Walking next to the queen they started a small discussion at the front of the group. "There is a question of procedure, but I'm confident that we can overcome it." Ayillh tuned the small talk out as she listened to what was happening behind them, as the Jedi started to talk to the supreme chancellor. She could just hear them from her position.
"I must speak with the Jedi council immediately. The situation has become much more complicated." But just as Jinn spoke up their procession stopped for a second as Padme walked out from the line. 'A pretty stupid move, if there was an assassin.' Ayillh thought to herself, but she let her be.
Padme turned around to call for the boy. "Ani, come on" Ayillh hanged back for a second as the rest of the group boarded the air speeder waiting for them. Waiting for Padme and Anakin to catch up they made their way over before finding their seats.
Panaka sat in the front, while Sabé sat next to Palpatine. Seeing that the only spots left were on the other side of the speeder, Ayillh, Anakin and Padme sat down in them. It only took a few seconds for the speeder to lift of and begin its way to the senate building.
Ayillh looked around at the slightly changed Coruscant, though it was still the technologically advanced city planet that she remembered, it did seem different than the last time she had visited. 'Well that's what 4 millennia can do to a place.
While she was in her own thoughts Palpatine looked at the retreating landing platform and calculated the distance in his mind. Keeping the smile on his face, he judged that the Jedi were far enough away from him at that point.
Making sure that he kept his cloaking technique up he slowly began to move the force to his intended target. Looking at the bounty hunter as she sat across from him he narrowed his eyes slightly. Unlike a Jedi mind trick, the technique Palpatine was using was an old sith technique that had been passed down since the start of the lineage of bane.
More reliable than mind tricks, and quieter, it was the go to method the sith lord used to scout his prey or victims. Small tendrils of the dark side slowly crawled up Ayillh's body. That was the first sign she had that something was up, she hadn't been trained in imperial intelligence for nothing. She knew when a sith or Jedi was probing her.
She instantly frowned as she felt it's cold touch on her skin. Just as the frown started Palpatine spoke. "Your majesty if I might inquire who is our guest?" The words came out innocently, only one person suspecting something.
Sabé glanced back at Ayillh for a second before she responded. "Ayillh is a bounty hunter hired by an unknown party, charged with my protection. She has been instrumental in helping us arrive here." Ayillh said nothing as the tendrils of force gathered next to her head.
She slowly turned to look at Palpatine as he smiled at her. "Thank you for your timely assistance; I don't know what could have happened without your help." There was silence for a few seconds as the tendrils began to pierce her mind.
Nothing was said for a few seconds before Ayillh smiled sickly under her mask. "You praise me too much senator." It was Palpatine's turn to be shocked as his facade almost dropped. He was being blocked out! He was being completely repelled!
Something that only happened once; when he tried to read his master! He would never forget what happened after he was caught doing such an act. His eye twitched ever so slightly as he tried harder, flaring his power higher.
"Could you possible tell us the name of your employer?" The question was considered in the bounty hunter business very rude to ask. A few others on the speeder sent them glances and waited for an answer. She had said no before, but maybe she had changed her mind.
Ayillh smile grew even larger as she pushed the mental probes out with force. She could just see the flicker of rage and anger hidden behind Palpatine's eyes at such an action. She now knew what was off about him, he was a Sith, and the small pieces of the puzzle that was the invasion of Naboo started to fall into place.
His mental probing might have worked had she not been explicitly trained to block and repel such attacks. Being in imperial intelligence one of their greatest assets was knowledge, and living in an empire ruled and plagued with sith who wanted to bend others to their will, it was one of the first things she had ever been taught.
Should it be through strengthening the mind through pain, pleasure or much, much worse, Ayillh had been through it all, only getting stronger mental defenses as she rose through the ranks. The mental attack that she was feeling from Palpatine, while strong, lacked the finesse she had encountered with those of the dark council.
Ever since she had been 'awakened' her defense had become even stronger, he would not get anything from her. Ayillh sneered behind her mask as she replied to the question. "No, he does not wish to be named." Palpatine almost shook as he felt the resistance and force that struck his tendrils out of her mind.
Padme who was sitting next to Ayillh looked on at the conversation between the two, she didn't know what was telling her, but a part of her instincts were saying something much more was going on than a simple conversation. She listened to each word as they spoke, but couldn't find any other meaning in them.
Finally she ended the conversation before anything else could happen. Palpatine was one of the people that knew of her true identity. "Ayillh has saved the 'queens' life, both on Naboo and Tatooine, I think it is prudent that she gets to keep her secrets."
Palpatine finally relented his mental assault on the bounty hunter as he turned to regard Padme. He wanted to sneer at the naivety of the Queen before him but kept his disgust heavily guarded and hidden. After a few seconds he nodded.
"You are right, sorry, that was most unbecoming of me to question one who is here to help." Padme gave a small nod to both of them before thinking of what will happen at the senate. By now the air speeder had already crossed quite a distance and the senate building appeared before her.
She remembered all her mother's tales of the 'Galactic Senate of the Republic' and couldn't wait to see it for herself. Palpatine quietened down as he shifted his gaze away from the bounty hunter. His mind began to race with theories and thoughts of the one across from him. No one normal could block his sith technique. It should be impossible!
His mind raced from thought to thought, trying to figure out how it was possible, there were known techniques to block such intrusions, but they were a well-guarded secret of the sith, only his master…..
Palpatine's heart began to race as this new line of thought spread. His master was the only one who could know…was it possible he had found out his plans and trained this 'bounty hunter'…was he trying to sabotage him with this…Was it another test from his master….
'No I have been so careful, there is no way he found out…but I can't take any chances… i'll have to silence him faster than I thought, before he comes up with any counter measures. I'll still have to check though, maybe a quick holo call when I have the time to see if he suspects anything.
Anger began to surge with in him as he thought of what he must do next. Though as soon as it rose he squashed it, he couldn't let the rage consume him now. He cast another glance at the bounty hunter. 'And if he thinks that she will be able to disrupt my plans he would be wrong. Maul will kill her, the Jedi and the queen. I have waited too long. It is MY time to hold power!'
Palpatine wanted nothing more than to rip the secrets out of the bounty hunter across from him, but being so close to the temple, it wasn't an option. Deciding the correct path in his mind he slowly relaxed in his seat.
'The plan will continue as set. Nothing and no one will stop me.'
******************
(Coruscant, Queens residence)
(Ayillh PoV)
I stood off to the side in the huge apartment we were brought to, I kept quite as those around me returned to the room. Looking at the queen for a second I realized that Padme had already made the switch. As they all came to sit down and talk I sent a small glance to the boy resting outside the door.
He was sitting out there with Jar Jar talking about something. I looked at them for another few seconds before focusing on the start of the conversation. "Should we talk about such sensitive matters while others are present?" My eyes snapped to Palpatine as he said the words. He was looking right at me; I could feel the hate he emanated my way, though it was heavily hidden.
He didn't want me to hear this conversation…that was interesting. I kept that opinion to myself and banked on the good will I had already accumulated on the trip here, I wasn't disappointed. Padme, who had transitioned into a set of regal clothes, spoke up in my defense.
"I trust her. She can stay for added protection should something untoward-myself happen." She stopped for a second to address Panaka standing at the entrance to the suite. "Not that I am doubting your skills captain." Panaka gave a deep respectful bow in return. "I fully understand your highness."
Giving one last nod and no other objection to my presence, Padme motioned for Palpatine to continue, though I could tell he wasn't happy about the proceedings. I watched as a series of emotions quickly filtered through his eyes, but it had been there for only a second.
After a short silence he began to speak. I listened to all his words raptly, knowing now he was a sith put quite a few of the events regarding Naboo into perspective. Though he looked like an old man, harmless even, I knew he was the second deadliest person in the room, just after myself of course.
"There is no stability in politics, the republic is not what it once was. The senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good. I must be frank you majesty there is no chance the senate will act on the invasion." Starting out with plan facts, he may have been laying on the inevitability a bit too much, but he wasn't at his true objective yet.
"Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope." Padme the ever innocent girl spoke with hope in her voice but hearing her words I started to see where the conversation was going. The senate may be erratic and corrupt, but if Padme was to grease some wheels with credits it would inevitably quicken the process, though I knew it was something she would never condone.
But then, I looked at Palpatine who kept a calm facade, if a sith were to do the same, he could easily lock the senate up on a decision indefinitely. So what was his main goal? "If I may say so your majesty. The chancellor has little real power, he is marred by baseless accusations of Corruption. The bureaucrats are in charge now." I almost snorted at the allegations. No doubt he spread the rumors himself.
Given little options I could see that Padme was starting to realize the likelihood of republic intervention with her people. "What options have we?" It was interesting to watch as her eyes search for hope. "Our best choice would be to push for the election of a stronger supreme chancellor, one who could control the bureaucrats and give us justice."
I saw him pause for a second and knew right then and there that this was his main goal. The satisfaction was just hidden under the surface, but it was there. "You could call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum." And there is was.
"He has been our strongest supporter." The words only now seemed to sink in for Padme as she looked up at Palpatine with wide eyes, the shock in her voice was audible. I wanted to shake my head, but kept it still, staring at the scene, no play, before me.
He was good. Even if he backed off now he had gotten what he wanted. When the cruel reality of the senate and corruption bared its weight on such an innocent girl, the seed that had been plated right now would sprout and possible without thinking Padme would do exactly what he wanted.
"Our only other choice would be to submit a plea to the court." And as predicted, he backed off while giving one of the worst options available. Something even Padme could see.I easily heard the anger that entered her voice at the mere mention of that option.
"The courts will take longer than the senate! Our people are dying senator! We must do something quickly to stop the federation!" Palpatine showed a well rehearsed sympathy at the words, but I could tell he didn't mean any word he spoke. "To be realistic you majesty, I think we will have to accept the federation control for the time being."
Padme's face hardened before my eyes as she stared a bit icily at the representative of Naboo, I knew the words that were about to come before she even spoke them. "That is something I cannot do." Hearing the words I tuned the rest of the meeting out. Palpatine had already gone past his main objective, anything else mentioned was irrelevant.
My mind began to work in overtime as I assessed the situation, trying to come up with a different solution. Though he had steered the conversation in his favor, he wasn't wrong about the corruption in the senate, the republic would always be marred by such practices and people, it was ingrained in their nature.
If I still had my funds from imperial intelligence, or my caches of credits I might have been able to swing some of the vote or even the proceedings in my favor. But that wasn't taking into consideration Palpatine's interference. With a sith already controlling power in the senate, it was neigh impossible to shake how events would turn out.
If I let events proceed as is, he will get what he wants and resolve nothing at the same time. Even if they were to call for a vote of no confidence, the senate would take a while to decided on the new chancellor and even then Palpatine would have him in his pocket…
My train of thought stopped for a second as the full details of his play started to come to mind, could he possible want… I had to give him some credit at the audacity of the plan, the fact that the Jedi hadn't found him, or ousted him already showed his confidence in such a move.
It also highlighted the blindness of the Jedi in this era. As one piece after another started to fall into place, my analytical and imperial skills rushed out with full force. I racked my brain thinking of every option available to me, trying to find the hole in the plan, what I could use, what I could disrupt him with.
I didn't have to, Mace didn't mention anything about counter operations, all I had to do was protect the queen. But I was one of, if not the best agent imperial intelligence ever had. It would be almost insulting if I couldn't find a way to disrupt his plans, I did have to improvise a lot in my long career.
Palpatine was an enemy not an ally, even though he was sith, so even if it did help the Jedi or republic in the end, it was better to disrupt his plan. Either way, if he is trying to do what I think he is, it won't matter if I stop him now, it will happen in the future. I was just be delaying the inevitable.
But a smile came to me as one idea came to mind, one simple way that I could disrupt his plan. It didn't matter if it was inevitable; it would be fun to mess with him. I always did love the look on a Sith's face when I got under their skin and ruined their master plan.
**************
(Coruscant, Personal Residence)
(Palpatine's PoV)
The small noise of the door closing behind me signaled that I was now alone. Though I couldn't flare my powers like I wanted, I could still drop the facial mask I always wore. My eyes turned glacial as I thought of all that happened after picking up the Queen.
My initial plan may not have happened as expected, but I have turned it in my favor, with the naivety of the queen it was assured that my rise to power would happen soon, by the end of the day even. Something to celebrate.
I quickly donned my robes as I prepared to make a holo call to my beast. He had failed me on Tatooine, showing once again why I would need to soon find a proper apprentice. Though Plagueis had allowed me to keep Maul as a beast I could sick on our enemies, his use was coming to an end.
Thinking of my Master, I thought about opening a channel with him as well, to assess if he had caught onto my plans so far. But it was better not to take such a risk; any sort of probing could tip him off if he indeed did not know. But then if he hadn't sent the bounty hunter to disrupt my plans, then who had?
I would have to check some of my back up plans should he truly be the force behind the ever growing enigma that was, the infernal bounty hunter. I might have to possible accelerate my plans for his death. Moving away from those thoughts I pulled up the specific transmission I was looking for and only had to wait a small few seconds before Maul appeared before me.
He kneeled obediently as I always taught him. "Master." I let my displeasure show as I scowled at his kneeling form. "Apprentice." He looked up in worry at my words and I gained the small amount of satisfaction seeing the fear behind his eyes.
"You have failed greatly in your last mission. Be prepared to suffer for your poor performance." Though he tried to keep his body still at my words, I could see it twitch ever so slightly. I would have indulged in a bit more of the mental torture of my beast, but I had bigger things to worry about, I was getting a bad feeling about the future of my plans.
"Until then, I want you to go to Naboo and oversee the occupation. I want everything to happen as planned. You know the consequences of failure." Maul bowed deeply once again. "Yes Master." I didn't wait any longer as I turned off the holo table and took of my robes.
I still had to attend the senate meeting in 2 hours. In that time I could convince a few more people to sway in the favor of the Trade Federation. The queen would only have one option left when it came time. The vote of no confidence.
I smiled as I made my way to the door, once again putting on my perpetual mask. I couldn't wait to have all the power in the republic at my beck and call. I was sick of waiting.
**************
(Coruscant, Jedi temple)
(3rd Person PoV)
Qui-Gon Jinn stood solemnly his padawan Obi-wan next to him as he spoke before the high council. "He was trained in the Jedi arts, my only conclusion can be that he was a Sith lord." Every master in the room was shocked for a second at the words, master Mundi couldn't help but speak up. "Impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a millennia"
Master Windu agreed with his sentiment, the idea of a Sith was very volatile subject. "I do not believe that the Sith could have returned without us knowing." Many agreed with his words, making the next speakers opinion carry more weight.
It made sense that the oldest of the council and current grand master of the Jedi, Yoda, spoke in opposition of the majority. "Ahh, hard to see the dark side is." When Yoda spoke, it carried weight, though many would not like to believe the words of Jinn, especially as he was considered one of the more maverick Jedi in the order, Yoda's words had to always be considered.
"We will use all our resources to unravel this mystery. We will discover the identity of this attacker." Windu turned to look at the Jedi he looked up to and consider the words thoughtfully, thinking the debriefing had finished.
Just as Obi-wan started to leave the room, Jinn held his place waiting to say more. "Master Qui-Gon, more to say have you?" Jinn gave a small nod at Yoda's words. "There were two more subjects I would wish to raise."
Windu leaned forward sensing the seriousness in Jinn's voice. "On our travels, as mentioned we met a bounty hunter, Ayillh." From his back left master Yaddle poof spoke. "Yes, she one who helped defend against the supposed sith, and rescued the queen on Naboo."
Jinn turned to her for a second and gave a nod. "Yes, her. From the moment me and my padawan met her we felt a darkness that lingers on her body…" This caused a few of the council members to frown. "She has a strong presence in the force, like and not like the presence we felt from the Sith who attacked us."
Windu's eyes furrowed even further. "And where is this bounty hunter now?" Obi-wan came to stand next to his master once again. Jinn looked awkward for a second before he revealed the truth. "She is currently with the Queen of Naboo." "What!" The outburst came from Ki-Adi Mundi.
"How could you let someone so dangerous stay with the queen?" Those words came from Windu. He had half a mind to quickly order some knights to the queens residence right away. Yoda kept quiet as he watched the council around him.
Most of them were appalled at Jinn's decision. Jinn seeing that the situation might get out of hand, spoke up before anything was done. "Before we left the ship, we requested that she join us to see the council, but she refused, stating that she still needed to protect the queen. I determined that we couldn't change her mind and didn't want to cause a scene, she has done nothing to suggest that she may harm the queen during our journey."
The words were enough to calm down the council, but it was then that Yoda spoke. "Disagree you do, young padawan." Obi-wan who hadn't said a word the whole time started in surprise. Suddenly all eyes in the room were on him and he didn't know what to think.
Though he didn't agree with his masters' decision, he didn't think it would be called out in front of the council. Looking to the green Jedi master before him, he knew that he couldn't lie to them. "I don't trust her masters; the darkness that surrounds her is unsettling and puts me on edge."
Once again master Windu frowned harder. "Could this Ayillh be apart of the attackers plot?" Jinn turned from Windu for a second to look at his padawan before he answered. "No I believe not, she has had many opportunities to assassinate the queen during our journey."
Jinn gave a sigh as he noticed that a few of the council were still worried about Ayillh. "Ayillh, has promised that if she has the time she will visit the council before she leaves. Though I worry about the darkness that clings around her, it is my belief that it is caused by her profession. Being a bounty hunter and having a stronger connection to the force than usual has caused such an occurrence to happen."
A few around the room nodded at his words, most of the Jedi masters had been to many different planets in their life time, they knew many types of things could taint a person, especially if they were entwined with the force. For Jedi it was a test strengthened them or leads them down a dark path.
It was Plo Koon sitting on the right that felt there was more to be said however. "You have more to add however I sense." Jinn nodded in his direction. "In trying to figure out her identity and the person who hired her, there have been few hints that could lead me to a conclusion. I cannot claim to be up to date with well know bounty hunters, but with her unique appearance I think would have heard of her before."
The rest nodded at his logical thought process. "She has knowledge about the Jedi that not even I know, though I do not claim to know it all." Yoda leaned forwards intrigued this time. "Knowledge on the Jedi?" Jinn nodded as he thought back.
"Yes, she let it slip in such a matter of fact way, as if every Jedi should know. That our mind tricks, something rarely talked about by Jedi in the first place, do not work on Toydarians." It was master Even Piell that cut in this time.
"They don'? That is the first I have heard of this." Depa Billaba backed him up. "Same here." Actually none of the council save one knew of this fact. Mind trick was a more advanced move than some would give it credit for, in a galaxy at peace it was slightly rare for a Jedi to use such a technique, not that many of them would ever run into Toydarians either way.
But there was one master that knew, and he gave a small laugh at the knowledge. Everyone turned to Yoda as he let out the small chuckle. "Old knowledge that is, long time since I last heard it." Coming from Yoda, everyone had to think for a few seconds on just how long 'old' meant for him.
Windu spoke up as everyone turned introspective. "That begs the question. Why does a random bounty hunter know such trivial information. And what else could she know about the order." Jinn jumped back in, hoping to find a few answers about the mysterious woman that had helped them.
"I asked her much the same question. She said she encountered a Jedi on Quesh of all places, and said that he told her about the information." Windu frowned at those words and everyone else in the council turned to him. He was one of the main people that sent and monitored Jedi sent out on assignments.
And Windu had no knowledge of a Jedi being on Quesh. "There are no Jedi currently on assignment at Quesh, no one has been assigned to go to the planet in I would say a decade, but we would have to check the records to be sure."
These were not the words Jinn were hoping to hear, it actually just made him have more questions about Ayillh. His thoughts were matched by the rest of the council, with Windu's thoughts instantly turning suspicions.
Obi-wan suddenly stepped forwards, gaining the attention of the council again. "Masters if I may. When we arrived on Coruscant, Ayillh spoke to the pilot of our ship. She mentioned she hadn't been on Coruscant in a long time. She has been here before; we could possible find information about her last visit."
Yoda nodded his head slowly at Obi-Wan's words. His intrigue about this certain bounty hunter had risen with each point mentioned. "More details about her person you have, master Jinn?" Seeing the interest behind Yoda's eyes Jinn didn't hold anything back.
"We only saw her appearance once, but it will narrow down the result tremendously. She is a Mirialan, which would explain her strong connection to the force." Depa Billaba spoke first as she was a bit more knowledgeable on the species.
"Yes the Mirialan usually have a very strong connection to the force, especially if they are female, that would explain that. Though not much is known about their practices, any Mirialan already in the order must train another Mirialan force sensitive if found."
She stopped for a second thinking of something. "I believe we only have a handful of them in the order right now. Most of them are padawans, while there is that one master, Luminara Unduli. She has the making of a great master of the order in the future."
Saying her piece Eeth Koth spoke for the first time during the meeting. "It might be wise to bring master Luminara to be present when we get the chance to talk to this bounty hunter. One of their own species would understand them better."
Windu nodded his head at the words, it was a good idea. "We will see if she is currently stationed at the temple in case she is needed." Eeth gave Windu a nod. Yoda had a small smile on his face as he moved the conversation along.
"Narrow it down this does not, more to say hmmm." Jinn also gave a small smile as he looked at the grand master. "Yes, her most defining feature is the fact that she is a rare species of Mirialan, one with Purple skin."
Ki-Adi jumped in the conversation again. "That is a rare skin color, not many in the galaxy share it, I would be hard pressed to name any species that come to mind." Windu gave a small smile at the information that would narrow down their search tremendously.
"We will start our search for information at the end of this meeting; it would be appreciated if we could meet her in person. Could you please convey that message to her." Jinn gave a bow, at the request. "Was there anything else you wish to add to this subject?" Jinn shook his head, he had gained so many questions traveling with Ayillh he just had to share them with the council at this time. Her timing in coming to help the Queen was too suspect to overlook.
Windu gave a nod "There was one more subject you wished to discuss." Jinn had a slight bit of hesitation before he broached the subject, he knew how his words would cause another string of questions and doubt in the council. "With your permission masters… I have discovered a vergence in the force." The council was intrigued, none more so than Yoda and Windu. "A vergence you say?""Located around a person?" Jinn gave another nod to both masters.
"A boy, his cells have the highest concentration of midichlorians I have seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceived from midichlorians." A small glimmer of recognition flashed through the eyes of those around, they had all grown up in the temple to get to their positions, they had all heard the prophecy.
"You refer to the prophecy of the one who shall bring balance to the force. You believe it's this boy?" Windu had every right to be skeptical as he voiced the councils thoughts. Jinn knew he had to pick his words carefully. "I don't presume…" Yoda interrupted him before he could finish though. "But you do, revealed your opinion is."
Knowing that nothing he could say, would be able to convince the masters in front of him, Jinn reconsidered how to approach the sensitive subject. "I request he be tested master." And with those words they all knew what Jinn wanted. "Oh, trained as a Jedi you request of him?"
"Finding him was the will of the force. I have no doubt of that." Jinn's conviction as he uttered those words was enough to get the council to consider his request. Though he may have had opposing positions to many of their practices, they saw his dedication to the force.
The council looked around for a few seconds their eyes meeting to confirm their answer; it was Master Windu that spoke for them. "Bring him before us then." Getting the confirmation he wanted, Jinn finally gave a bow and retreated from the room.