"Her Majesty was unwilling to share much with even so trusted an intermediary, but she did say the Gungan ambassador to the royal court was recalled without explanation a few hours ago. There was significant emphasis placed on the need for you to return to Naboo as soon as possible, Senator.
That's what I was told, at any rate. You have my apologies that I couldn't arrange for the two of you to speak, but I hope you'll understand when I say the situation here is quite, hectic."
...
Shifting his attention back to me without waiting for a reply, the Master of the Order concluded by saying "Continue to protect the Senator, Skywalker. There's no reason to believe anything which has happened today will have altered the assassin's intent."
I nodded my agreement with this, then waited, expecting him to continue. When he hesitated for a long moment, lips pursed as if deciding whether or not to say what was on his mind, I grew rather curious.
Finally, with none of his characteristic decisiveness, Mace inquired "Skywalker, your capacity to perceive Shatterpoints. Has it, been diminished by any discernable degree?"
I frowned slightly at the sudden change of subject. Uncertain as to why this of all things was the question he lingered to ask. Especially with Cad Bane and his accomplice at large within the Temple.
"If anything, Master Windu, I'd say my talent for seeing them, and my capacity to divine their nature has been steadily increasing of late. Why do you ask?"
"Merely curious as to your progress. It seemed reasonable to suspect you might have leveraged a shatterpoint, after I heard of your signal success against the Malevolence from Master Tiin."
The reply sounded perfectly reasonable to my hearing, and the Jedi Master's face was it's usual study in stoic composure, but I couldn't shake the sudden conviction I'd just listened to Mace Windu tell me an outright lie. I thought I was successful in keeping my suspicion to that effect off my face, because a moment later he offered a very distracted.
"May the Force be With You", then terminated the connection before I could reply in kind.
I honestly didn't know what to think or say about any of this, but Padme didn't seem to share my ambivalence.
"Am I alone in feeling that conversation was as jarring as it was abrupt?" The beautiful brunette's question was asked in a polite tone, but I could feel the frustration rolling off her in waves. Caused by the way Windu had just dropped word of trouble on Naboo in her lap.
Only to vanish without even mentioning whether or not her handmaiden had even been provided sanctuary from the fighting. I was briefly tempted to agree with her, but then I looked at the overall situation from the Jedi Master's point of view.
"I was hoping to gain a more coherent idea of what's been going on, myself, but I think we should just be grateful that Master Windu found the few minutes necessary to provide us with the information we truly needed.
With all the demands being made on his attention, I'm inclined to forgive his not being more forthcoming." My reply seemed to take the edge off my companion's frustration. Especially after I looked at her directly and confidently added.
"You don't need to worry about Eirtae, Padme. I know the Temple's Gatemaster well enough to say Master Jurokk is not the kind of man who would allow a young woman's life to be needlessly endangered. Not as a result of doing her duty to her people."
Source of relief or not, I realized I might have put a foot wrong in attempting to reassure her when I saw the young Senator stiffen in response to my words.
"Why would you know the name of the woman who handles my professional and personal correspondence, Anakin? With the exception of Sabe, I don't recall introducing any of the women from home who work with me." Despite the tight control of her tone as she asked the question, it's not hard to work out I've unwittingly raised the specter of suspicion.
Unlocking my chair from it's fixed-forward combat position, I swivel it to face a woman who obviously didn't want to think ill of me, but was being tempted to do it anyways. Looking her straight in the eye with a serious expression, I decided to tell her the unpleasant, unvarnished truth.
"If you want to be as certain as possible of killing a protected political figure, you either suborn or become someone close to said figure. The first, nearly successful attempt on the late Senator Greyshade's life? It was carried out by an ex-Senate Guard who'd stolen security codes belonging to a still serving Senate Guard, who just so happened to be his brother.
The supposed "suicide" that constituted the second successful effort? Carried out by a beautiful Dark Side adept, who persuaded her hopelessly infatuated victim to dismiss his Jedi protectors.
Senator Kim, Palpatine's predecessor as Senator of the Chommel Sector? Palpatine used his position as the Senator's "old friend" to learn of his planned movements, so he could pass that knowledge on to an assassin in his employ."
Looking at her evenly, I pressed my point even as she opened her mouth to reply. "Your friend, Senator Robb? She was undoubtedly murdered the same way. Disabling the security scanners in a Senatorial aircar isn't something done during a furtive two minute break-in under cover of darkness.
If the assassin didn't use her driver in some way, I will eat my lightsaber, Padme. I would have been criminally remiss in my duty as your protector, if I hadn't run background checks on the women you rely on for so much."
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave me a challenging look as she answered "And what did you find? Any nefarious conspiracies involving women who have all risked their lives for me at one time or another?"
"No, but that's not the point, and you, milady, know it" I replied with a look of resolve that answered her challenge. As we sat there staring at each other, I couldn't help but notice how she somehow became even more beautiful when her emotions ran high.
My gaze traveled from those flashing dark eyes, to the soft lines of her cheekbones, and on to a swan-like throat where I imagined pressing my lips to a throbbing pulse point for just an instant.
I had to suppress the urge to shake my head sharply as I snapped out of it. "So, ahh, Naboo then, Senator? I think we've accomplished everything we can here, for the time being, I mean." Thankfully, my question came out in the even tone I was trying for, if a little less smoothly than I might have otherwise wished.
The next moment was sublimely gratifying, as I saw her cheeks color a little, and felt the irritation of a moment ago vanish like smoke. Padme's recovery was so quick though, it reminded me why there were people who feared her poise and self-mastery. Her voice was perfectly controlled, as she replied after the briefest hesitation.
"I think that might be best, Master Jedi." Another momentary pause, then she frowned, and I could see the wheels really begin to turn behind those eyes.
"I can't imagine why Boss Lyonie would recall the Gungan High Council's Ambassador to the Royal Court, but it must be serious if Jar Jar refused to offer any explanation. He wouldn't stay silent under these circumstances. Not without strict orders to remain so."
Reminding me she was listening to every word being said, Ahsoka chose that moment to speak up in a concerned tone. "I thought the Gungans and Naboo have been allies for, well, ever? Wasn't there some kind of invasion a long time ago that united your peoples, Senator?"
Despite the troubling uncertainty behind the Gungans' actions, I shared a brief smile with the twenty-four year old woman opposite me at my apprentice's adolescent notions concerning the passage of time. Unfortunately, the amused expression faded as quickly as it had come, and when she answered my apprentice, her tone was quite serious.
"Our two peoples have both profited a great deal from our alliance in the years since the Invasion.
That's what makes this so hard to understand, Ahsoka. I spoke with Boss Lyonie only a couple of months ago, while his guest for the Festival of Warriors, and I didn't see any sign of a developing rift.
On the contrary, Queen Neeyutnee's request that a number of RNSF volunteers be allowed to take part in the Festival competitions received the enthusiastic approval of Boss and High Council alike. Before this troubling development, I would have said the ties binding Gungan and Naboo had never been stronger."
Turning back to study the console before me once more, I checked on the situation in the outer system as the two continued to talk.
There were a half-dozen new debris fields where C.I.S warships had been, but even as I watched, the tiny handful of surviving ships, including the Malevolence, disappeared from the plot.
One of the red dots reappeared a couple of seconds later another few tens of thousands of kilometers further out, before immediately becoming a newly designated debris field. I didn't get my hopes up, though, and sure enough, Seraph identified the ship that was breaking up as the Trade Federation Dreadnaught.
My hands tightened around the control yoke until my knuckles were white, then I let out a long breath and released the yoke with a shake of my head. I sensed Padme's and Ahsoka's attention had returned to me, so I explained what I'd seen for their benefit.
"The CDF failed to penetrate the C.I.S's protective cordon aft of the Malevolence in time. It just escaped into hyperspace, thanks to Admiral Dron's stubborn pride."
A small part of me wanted to pound on the yoke before me in frustration at the thought of all the people who were going to die because of one man's egotistical need to prove the Judicials didn't need help from the Jedi, but instead I took hold of said yoke, swung Seraph's nose away from the planet, and began accelerating away. Neither woman had replied as yet, so I began methodically punching strings of numbers into the nav-computer.
The moment the star field streaked and became the familiar blue and white tunnel of hyper-space, I called out in my most controlled, locked down tone "Artoo, keep an eye on things for me. I'm going to go take a minute to myself."
The moment the astromech rolled forward between mine and Padme's chairs with a beep in the affirmative, I slid past him and into the corridor leading to the small cabins port and starboard. Neither woman said a thing, and to be honest, that was just the way I wanted it.
...
Hey guys if you like the story please throw some power stones to Elevate the ranking.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can go to p@treon :
p@treon.com/Rage_moon