Chapter 42: Chapter 42

A Young Girl’s War Between the Stars

Naboo, 39 BBY/961 GSC.

Standing in the courtyard of his home, Darth Sidious in the guise of his civilian identity Sheev Palpatine very carefully kept the frown off of his face as he felt the approach of Master Dooku—alone. A few moments later, a yellow painted public speeder car lowered itself down into the courtyard and the rear door opened. Jedi Master Dooku stepped out of the back, his black Serennian cape and suit beneath it looking a bit dusty and worse for wear, an R3 astromech droid following him. Dooku smoothed his clothes down and stepped away from the speeder as it rose into the air and took off again under the direction of its droid pilot.

“Master Dooku,” Sheev smiled, offering his hand even as internally, he wondered what was going on. He knew there had been an incident at the spaceport—it was all over the news—but he had no idea what had actually happened, and Sheev hated being out of the loop. Information he didn’t know was information he couldn’t act on to ensure events went to his plans for the future. “It’s good to see you again. But if I must say, you’re looking a bit worse for wear, and you seem to be missing a Padawan?”

Dooku shook his hand, the older man nodding. “Yes, we had a bit of trouble at the spaceport. You sent a driver for us?”

“I did, yes. He’s served as my driver for the last twenty years,” Sheev nodded. Briefly, he seemed to recall the driver seemed a bit anxious that morning, but he had been called away to take a holocall with Viceroy Gunray. “Oh, but excuse my rudeness. Please, come in,” Sheev gestured towards the home and fell into step with Dooku as they made their way inside, the droid rolling along silently behind them. Looking to one of his house staff, he said, “Please bring refreshments for myself and Master Dooku to the drawing room.”

“Of course, senator,” the young man nodded, before hurrying off to do so.

“Now, you were saying?” Sheev asked, forcing down his impatience at the pleasantries he was forced to observe for the sake of those who did not know who he truly was. It would be so much faster, not to mention simpler, if he could simply do away with them and demand a report immediately.

“My Padawan and I sensed something was off with the driver and the car,” Dooku explained as they entered the drawing room, moving over to the couch Sheev gestured him towards while Sheev took a seat on the couch across from him. Dooku took a moment to unfasten the chain holding his cape on and removed it, folding it neatly and laying it over the back of the couch before taking a seat as the droid moved to a corner and fell silent.

Crossing one leg over a knee, the Jedi Master took on a contemplative look as he continued to recount the events that had delayed his arrival. “We subdued the driver and relocated the vehicle so we could question him. Unfortunately, it seems someone had planted an explosive device in the car and attempted to use that as a distraction to assassinate the driver to prevent his questioning. I sent my Padawan after the sniper while I got the driver to safety and questioned him myself.”

Shaking his head, Dooku let out a sympathetic sigh as he explained, “It seems the poor man’s family was taken hostage and he was forced into the situation against his will. It is clear to me that the sniper planned to kill us all in the explosion, including the driver. I handed him over to the police before hailing a taxi and coming here.”

“I see,” Sheev murmured as the servant entered, carrying a tray with a caff pot, tea kettle, cups, and snacks. The servant dutifully went about serving Master Dooku first as was polite as Sheev considered the implications of what he had just learned, along with the timing.

It must have been Gunray. Had he not called, I would have gone with the driver to meet Dooku at the spaceport. If the attack had been successful in catching myself along with Dooku, and it was tracked back to the Trade Federation, it would mean problems with Naboo and their bottom line—potentially even an interruption to selling our plasma. That fool!

“And your Padawan? It was my understanding that she is just a young girl. Will she be safe, tracking down an assassin?”

That wasn’t all that he had heard. Or seen. His own Master had shared a particularly interesting video taken on Mandalore. The girl’s sheer brutal efficiency and calculated cruelty meant to instill the maximum terror in her opponents was rather impressive. The Jedi had no idea what it was they had, and if he could just give her a nudge here and there, Sheev was certain that she would be just as useful and effective as Maul—perhaps more.

Of course, he would have to find some way to hamstring her to prevent her from growing too powerful to control in the future—after all, it was the very nature of the Rule of Two for the apprentice to overthrow the master and Sheev had no intention of ever allowing any apprentice to usurp him. He would instead find a way to ensure his own existence…

Dooku smiled, chuckling before taking a sip of his tea. “I have every confidence that Tanya will be fine. She is very enthusiastic and thorough about solving these sorts of problems. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tracked the assassin back to whoever hired them and eliminated the problem herself.”

Well, that wasn’t good at all. As much as Gunray had brought this on himself, and as fitting as allowing his own stupidity and impulsiveness to bring about his downfall would be, Sheev still needed him. He had spent entirely too much effort and resources ensuring Nute Gunray made it to the position of Viceroy of the Trade Federation and then claimed a seat in the Republic Senate to throw the man away at this juncture. One day, he would be in a position to establish a system of survival of the fittest—with only the most intelligent, hard working, and cunning climbing to the top over the bodies of those too incompetent to maintain their positions. But that wasn’t today.

“Have you heard anything from her?” Sheev asked casually, sipping at his cup of caff.

“Not yet, no,” Dooku shook his head. “I imagine I’ll receive a call from her soon, however.”

“Good. That’s good. We can’t have assassins running around Naboo!” He chuckled and Dooku nodded his agreement. “If you’ll excuse me, I should probably go call that in so our security forces don’t mistake your Padawan as a troublemaker.”

“Of course,” Dooku agreed easily, picking up one of the small cracker sandwiches on the tray and nibbling at it with an appreciative hum. “Mm. Your people make even smoked meat and cheese into an art form.”

“Yes, we try,” Sheev smiled as he put his cup down and stood. “I’ll return shortly. If you need anything, one of my staff is just outside. When I return, we can get down to business.”

With that, Sheev left the room and turned down the hall, keeping his pace unhurried as he made his way to his secure office, locking the door behind himself. Then, he did exactly as he said he would and contacted the Nabooian authorities to let them know that Dooku’s Padawan was still out and about so there would be no incidents. Once that call was complete however, he shut off his normal holocom and made his way over to the corner of the office. Pressing on a panel, it popped open, revealing a hidden cabinet with his robe and his other holocom.

Pulling the robe on, he pulled out the unit and placed it on the desk, before selecting Gunray’s number. A gesture at the wall dimmed the room’s lights and turned on one above him to cast his face in shadows for the appropriate level of theatrics. It took a few moments before the call picked up and Nute Gunray’s image projected over the table. “My lord,” the neimoidian man bowed his head. “How may I serve—”

“Silence, you imbecile.” Sidious glared at the man, whose mouth moved for a moment before he clamped it shut and nodded. “You sent an assassin after Count Dooku. The man has been a Jedi Master longer than you have been alive. Did you really expect such a pathetic attempt to succeed?”

“I, I simply thought that without the Count, Serenno would fold! Their sacanium will be invaluable to our future droid production efforts, my lord!” the man protested.

“I know that!” Sidious hissed, seething as his fists clenched in anger under his robes as he reminded himself that as good as it would feel, he couldn’t reach through the hologram and Force Choke the man before him because he still needed him. “You had an opportunity on Naboo to work out a genuine trade deal. To end hostilities with Serenno and move them from enemies to a neutral party in the future, perhaps even convince them to align with the Trade Federation for the coming war with the Republic. Your unofficial sanctions and blockade had already pushed them further away, driving them to align officially with Mandalore and seek others to join their alliance. You could have taken this opportunity to extend a hand and bring both of those worlds in. Instead, your short-sighted actions today will surely lead back to you, and we’ll be lucky if this budding third faction alliance doesn’t declare war on the Trade Federation in the near future. Even now, Dooku’s Padawan is hunting your assassin.”

The neimoidian visibly flinched. “But, but the sniper my assistant hired is a professional! He will not give up his employer!”

“Fool! The Jedi have ways of making even the most recalcitrant talk! Very few races are immune to the manipulations of the Force and outside of those, fewer still are the individuals who can. He will talk.”

“Then I will claim ignorance! My subordinate was acting without my approval and of course I would never try to have the ruler of another planet assassinated,” the Viceroy smirked. “I have diplomatic immunity and they are Jedi. They aren’t going to kill me!”

Sidious simply stared and, after few moments, the Viceroy began to fidget uncomfortably. Eventually, he blurted out, “I have an armed security force of thirty men! Surely…!” When Sidious remained silent, Gunray nervously looked around for a moment, before saying much more quietly, “I brought a clawdite with me, in case the first assassin failed.”

At that, Sidious finally nodded. “Good. Listen carefully. This is what you are going to do…”

I hurried out the back door of the building I’d tracked the person who had hired the sniper to, leaving behind five corpses in various states. Slipping onto my commandeered speeder bike—claimed from the sniper I’d tracked and interrogated—I took off towards the north of the city and the housing assigned to visiting foreign dignitaries as I considered what I had learned from my most recent interrogation.

The sniper was hired by a local Trade Federation representative in charge of handling political issues with Naboo. The representative was given his orders by an assistant to Nute Gunray—Viceroy of the Trade Federation and Republic Senator representing the Trade Federation. The assistant herself passed along the Viceroy’s orders to eliminate Master Dooku before the meeting, that way with Master Dooku out of the way, they could apply more direct pressure to Serenno to get the sacanium.

Gunray’s assistant, and presumably the man himself, are currently in the northern residential area of the city set aside for diplomats and the like. Security is going to be tight there—both the Viceroy’s own and Nabooian security forces. I don’t want to upset the locals, so I can’t just go in guns blazing. The best option then is to hit the Viceroy as he’s moving.

I know Master Dooku has a meeting planned for tomorrow to speak with the Queen of Naboo and the original plan, the one I can only assume that we were allowed to intercept, was for the Viceroy to crash that meeting and start making demands using the Trade Federation’s grip on Naboo’s plasma refinement and economy to ensure they didn’t join our alliance. So it stands to reason that with the assassination having failed, that’s what he’ll default back to.

However, hitting him in transit to that meeting is too obvious. They’ll definitely be expecting it, because it’s the safest option. They’ll be prepared for it. My absence will have been noted and they’ll know I’m coming at this point. What they won’t be expecting is for someone to disregard the security around and in the diplomatic sector, infiltrate silently, and capture him in the middle of the night. It’d be too risky, both in terms of dealing with the various security teams and the risk of political backlash if they were caught.

With that in mind, I veered off and turned south, heading back to the spaceport. There were emergency vehicles everywhere and the entire space was locked down, and it wasn’t long before I found myself being intercepted by a pair of Nabooian police on speeders with flashing lights. I slowed and descended to the tarmac, slipping off the speeder as they got off and approached.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Miss, this is a restricted area at the moment. I’m afraid the spaceport has been locked down until we get the situation under control,” the first one said, resting a hand on his belt—specifically the handle of what looked like a stun baton.

The second pulled out a datapad and approached. “We’ll need to see your ID. Then, we’ll be issuing you a citation and we’ll escort you from the area.”

I smiled, and for some reason, both men’s hands fell to their sidearms—the first one fumbling off of his baton as he did. “That won’t be necessary, gentlemen. I’m here on official business.”

The pair exchanged a look, before the first ask. “What ‘official business’ could a little girl possibly have here? Are you even old enough to operate that speeder?”

Reaching out, I pressed on them with the Force. “I am a Jedi. You will signal the all clear and leave, and forget you ever saw me. Do you understand?”

There was a pause, before the two human men slowly nodded. One reached up and grabbed the mic clipped to his uniform shirt. “Dispatch, this is unit seven. All clear. False alarm. They have clearance to be here.”

I nodded and slipped back onto my new bike as the pair returned to their own. Riding the short distance to the Rusted Silver, I parked and made my way inside, locking the hatch behind me. Movement caught my eye as a furry, white form laying on my bed shifted, one bright blue eye looking at me, before burying its face back in its fur and going back to ignoring me.

“The sheer audacity,” I grumbled as I walked past the cat, pausing only to reach down and run a hand down its back. A steady rumble emanated from the animal as it radiated content satisfaction and sleepy nap time feelings. Shaking my head, I moved back to the back of the ship and left it alone.

Unfolding my work bench from the wall, I dropped my lightsaber on it and moved to my armor locker, pulling out my second one, the laser whip I’d acquired, and the chunk of white-silver kyber crystal I’d claimed as my own. Sitting down at the bench, I got to work on some quick modifications while I had some time to kill before tonight.

I’d had some time to study the laser whip I’d claimed from the bounty hunter Ona Nobis over the trip back to Serenno, and off and on in my free time, and I had figured out generally how it worked. It was essentially just a weaker lightsaber, substituting a small array of artificial kyber crystals for a single natural crystal and using some other technology I was still studying but assumed it modified the magnetic containment field that held the plasma contained to generate the whip effect, along with allowing it to lengthen and shorten.

On the one hand, I kind of hated it. It reduced the art of swordplay into flailing around a very lethal rope of plasma and if a real lightsaber used the technology, it wouldn’t function as a non-lethal capture device in anything but training mode. On the other hand… I very much liked the idea of an unpredictable weapon that could stretch to several times the length of a normal lightsaber, simply for the sheer mass destruction and chaos such a weapon could cause if used properly. Especially if deployed against an enemy that was unarmored, relatively slow, and not agile enough to do anything to evade it—such as droids. Being able to clear a ten foot area around myself with a flick of the wrist could be very useful.

Then, of course, there was always the appeal to the part of me that was a former Japanese man—no, a former man of Earth. The idea of a bigger sword would always appeal. And if the whip could hit twenty feet in length, then lengthening a sword to ten should pose no problem.

The biggest issue I had however was the fact that the light whip Nobis used was weak—which is part of what contributed to it being usable as a less lethal weapon. I didn’t want a weak lightwhip—I had a setting on my sabers to modulate the power output down to ‘training mode’ already. No, if I was going to add that feature, I wanted a full strength lightsaber style blade, at full whip extension.

Opening up my lightsabers and the laser whip, I got to work. I didn’t have time to try to reverse engineer the piece of tech that allowed the laser whip to flex as it did, so I’d only be adding that feature to one of my sabers, by yanking the existing one out and slapping it in wholesale after making some improvements so it wouldn’t burn out under power—namely, replacing the artificial kyber crystals with my own larger ones, and plating the rings it was made up of with songsteel for higher heat tolerance. The other saber would only be getting a new pair of crystals and a switch to allow it to lengthen or shorten as needed—from as short as one foot to as long as ten without any loss of strength.

It took all afternoon, but eventually I finished everything and closed the sabers back up. From there, I took a few minutes to test the ability of both to lengthen and shorten their blades, and the one I’d added the new components into to produce a whip—in training mode, to avoid damaging my ship. Once I was sure they were going to work, I got changed into my armor and cloak. I left the rifle since I wasn’t intending to get into a firefight, but clipped a trio of gas grenades to my belt just in case to go with my normal grenades, along with the ascension device from the rifle’s under-slung mount.

Locking my helmet into place, I checked my gear one last time and left the ship, locking up behind me. Slipping onto the bike, I took off for the Viceroy’s temporary accommodations.

Stopping some distance away, I parked beside one of Theed’s many spires and got off the bike. Pulling the grappling gun out, I used it to ascend the spire. Quickly orienting myself and finding the estate where the Viceroy was staying I began my reconnaissance. Tapping at the side of my helmet, I activated the vision overlays for light amplification night vision and infrared, switching back and forth between them occasionally as I scanned over the property and started taking note of the positions of guards, their numbers and their patrol routes, before pulling back to observe the approach.

I can get closer on the bike before I have to put down. From there, ascend a nearby building. Pole vault across the distance to clear the wall and land in the forested grounds. Ignore the guards and guard post. If they’re smart, they’re doing frequent radio checks, and if I interrupt one it’ll put them on high alert. Head inside via the second floor. Corner a guard, question him quietly, then turn them loose and make them forget I was there.

This would all be much easier if I could just project myself ahead and scout, but I didn’t want to risk doing so where a potential Sith might sense it. I could probably risk using a detection formula when I got closer, if I kept it low power.

Well, at least it adds an element of excitement, I mused, a grin pulling at my lips as I hopped off the spire, letting the ascender play out and slow my fall. Once I was on the ground, I got back on the bike and moved closer to my target, avoiding the patrols I could feel, until I got as close as I felt I safely could.

Using the ascender to get on top of my chosen launch point, I took a few moments to observe the patrols again to make sure nothing had changed. Once I was sure no one would see the path of my jump, I pulled my extending staff from the rear of my belt and ran for the edge of the building. The staff clicked against the roof as I launched myself off of it, the Force assisting my jump. My cloak flapped and popped in the wind as I tucked the pole away and fell through the air, before tucking into a needle dive to make my profile narrower as I slipped between tree branches. Reaching out, I snagged one on the way down and bled off momentum with a spin, launching myself towards the ground and landing in a roll.

My steps were nearly silent as I rushed through the forested grounds of the estate and came to a stop at the edge of the treeline. Looking around, I spotted the cameras on the exterior of the building, panning slowly back and forth as they overlooked the grounds.

Sloppy, I mused, shaking my head. Having a single camera pan and tilt to cover the area that three cameras should be covering was sacrificing security for the sake of saving a few credits. They weren’t even using a supposed ‘vulnerability’ to catch people with hidden cameras!

If this is standard for how planets organize their security for visiting diplomats, I’m going to have to have a word with someone if we ever have to stay in a place .

Shaking my head, I waited for the camera to face away before dashing across the lawn. Another pole-vault assisted leap put me on the second floor balcony in front of an empty room I had observed from the spire. The lock was no barrier to the Force and I was in a moment later, the sliding glass door closed behind me.

A quick, low-powered ping with a detection formula got me everyone’s current location, speed, and bearing and I left the room and took a right. Spotting the guard patrolling the floor ahead of me, I slipped up behind him and covered his mouth, hitting him with the Force as I gave the command, “Be quiet.”

The man nodded and I let him go, before gesturing to a nearby empty room. He followed me inside and I asked, “Where is Nute Gunray?”

“Down the hall, at the end,” he pointed the direction he had been going.

“Is there any security on his room?” I asked, and the man shook his head. “Good. I am a friend. I am allowed to be here. Forget you saw me and continue your patrol. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Right,” the man murmured, before nodding absently, before leaving the room.

I followed on his heels, matching my steps to his own, ensuring I was as quiet as possible. Now that I knew which room the Viceroy was in, I could more finely tune my senses. I ignored everyone but the person on the other side of the wall. I frowned at the emotions coming from the room—anticipation, excitement, and a sense of readiness and casual violence that I’d really only felt in soldiers and Mandos to date.

That doesn’t… really fit with the image of a politician, does it? I mused, wondering if perhaps the man had some history of military service I was unaware of.

Putting the thought out of my mind, I waited for the guard to pass before pulling off and posting up against the wall beside the door. I went over my options as I considered my next move.

If I breach loud, I’m going to have the entire guard force on me. He’s awake though, so if I open that door, I’ve got maybe a second or two before he looks up from whatever he’s doing and notices me. Enough time to hit him with Mind Trick and shut him up, I think.

Nodding to myself, I took a breath and got ready to move. Grabbing the door handle, I slowly turned the knob, finding it unlocked. Pulling it open, I moved to step inside, only for danger to flare in the Force an instant before a trio of green blaster bolts flew from in front of the sliding glass door leading out to the patio. Two of those bolts hit me in the chest while the third grazed my helmet as I jerked my head aside.

I caught just a glimpse of the green skinned, red eyed, somewhat frog looking form of Nute Gunray just a moment before another flare of danger went off and I dove to the side, as a shaped charge on the floor pointed at the door went off. My helmet thankfully compensated for the sound of the explosion, keeping me from going deaf, while the armor did its job of protecting my vitals from the explosion as I felt most of my body peppered in shrapnel—a few pieces managing to get through the vac suit to the flesh beneath as I was launched through the wall behind me from the force of the blast, but nothing that registered as life threatening.

Under the sudden flare of alarm from everyone on the grounds, I felt… amusement from the direction where I’d last seen Gunray. I felt him retreating, and given the direction, it was clear he had went onto the balcony and jumped to the ground below.

Forcing myself to my feet, I spun up an anesthetic formula—mentally catching myself just before I added stimulants as well. Shaking off the ringing in my head, I took a deep breath and coughed, feeling an all over ache from the force of the blast from the fucking claymore!

Who sets an anti-personnel mine up in their bedroom?!

The same person who sat there with a high-powered blaster rifle, waiting patiently for me to enter, apparently. It was now blindingly obvious that they had anticipated a night attack. And judging by the fact that I could feel the breeze coming in through my helmet, and my HUD was complaining about a breach, that single round had managed to penetrate the beskar-plated armor and burn right through it. A glance down confirmed that two more holes had been burned straight through the over layer of armor on my chest. Thankfully, I didn’t feel any new holes in my body, so it seemed the pure beskar beneath it had saved my life.

I am suddenly beginning to reconsider not using my less subtle formulas. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on noᴠelfire.net

“You there! Hands where I can—aah!” the guard who had come rushing around the corner and drawn his weapon found himself launched through the wall and outside with the Force as I turned and ran through the room Gunray had occupied, leaping over the destroyed floor and then out the balcony. Following my senses as people spotted me and blaster bolts began streaking across the grounds, I ran towards the front of the property to catch up.

Spotting the man running away as I rounded the corner, I raised an eyebrow incredulously at his sheer speed. I was catching up, certainly, but the man was ridiculously fast for someone not blatantly using the Force.

That was a secondary concern to the fact that he had reached his goal, however—as he opened the cockpit of a speeder car and jumped inside. I spun up a targeting formula, drew, and fired. The car’s door dented, crumpling inwards before it got into the air and the pilot began evasive maneuvers as he accelerated away.

Should’ve brought my rifle! I mentally growled as I was forced to dodge a shot from behind.

Jumping over the wall surrounding the compound, I slid onto my bike and took off, following Gunray’s car. The speeder bike was faster, but Gunray was an incredible pilot, and while I closed the distance, he was able to slow that down as he led me on a merry little chase down Theed’s streets and through the little air traffic they had at night.

Eventually however, I got close enough that he wouldn’t be able to dodge. A white-silver blaster bolt in each of the car’s thrusters blasted them out and sent the car into a controlled descent as its repulsorlift system allowed it to glide to the ground.

Not that Gunray waited, as the man jumped out of the car as it passed over a rooftop and landed with a roll, before taking off in a sprint across the rooves. Utterly fed up with the chase at this point, I reached out and grabbed the man with the Force, lifting him into the air and forcing his limbs out away from his body.

Setting down on the rooftop with him, I pressed him face down into the roof and made my way over. Patting him down, I removed two blaster pistols and a vibro knife from his person. Kicking him over onto his back, I glared down at him as he smirked up at me. I pulled out my lightsaber and flipped it on, illuminating the roof—and for some reason, the man just felt more smug.

My helmet’s HUD flickered, before going dark as it gave up the ghost. Forced to pull it off or be blind, I did so, dropping it to the ground beside me. The man’s smirk grew for just a moment, before he took on a horrified look and began wailing. “Let me go! Release me! I am the Viceroy of the Trade Federation! I have diplomatic immunity!”

There was none of the emotion he was attempting to convey in his actual feelings, however. Sensing something was wrong, I nearly cursed as I felt people approaching from behind—blue and red strobe lights getting close enough to splash over the buildings around us. Looking behind us, I spotted a group of vehicles converging—two police speeders and three much larger Nabooian military gunships.

Before I could question him, one of the Nabooian Security Forces vehicles landed and a group of four uniformed and heavily armed men disembarked. Three of them took up their weapons at a low ready—not pointing them at me, but visibly prepared if something happened. The fourth, a captain by his rank insignia, approached. “We’ll take it from here, Master Jedi.”

“This man is my prisoner. I will be escorting him back to my Master for interrogation.”

I felt the man’s hesitation, before he gestured off to the side. I glanced at the others before shutting off my lightsaber and following him as he walked just out of earshot of them. “Jedi Padawan Tanya Mereel?” he asked, and I nodded. “We’ve been informed of your activities by Senator Palpatine, your host.” He paused, then let out a sigh. Reaching up, he pulled off his helmet and scrubbed a hand through his hair in visible frustration. Much quieter, he continued, “This has now become an official diplomatic matter between Naboo, Serenno, the Trade Federation, and the Jedi Order. If we let you take him, it would cause problems for Naboo that our Queen doesn’t want. So her orders were to separate the two of you and return the Viceroy to his people, by any means necessary.”

I glanced up at the two military gunships still in the air, and the lingering sense of danger from them—not to mention the tension their pilots and crews felt. After a moment of consideration, I released the Viceroy. “Take him.”

The man let out a little sigh at that and relaxed, the tension bleeding off of him. “We appreciate your understanding. Do you need a ride back to Senator Palpatine’s estate?”

“I can find it myself,” I shook my head.

The captain nodded and turned away, hurrying back to the others as they loaded Nute Gunray into a gunship, the man radiating smug satisfaction as he glanced down at me. For just a moment, I considered just reaching out and crushing his head… but no, the goal hadn’t been assassination, I had intended to capture and interrogate him first. We needed the knowledge in his head and killing him would just screw us in the long run.

I waited until they were gone before collecting my helmet and sticking it to the magplate on my belt. Slipping onto my speeder bike, I turned for where I recalled we were staying. I took it slow on the way back, letting the wind whip through my hair and calm me down from internally seething to simply irritated.

I had him! Another thirty seconds and we would have been gone!

Taking a breath, I let it out in a frustrated sigh.

If Palpatine is our Sith, then Gunray is almost certainly in his employ. If he wasn’t before, he is now. That, or the Sith considers the Viceroy too useful to whatever his plans are to allow him to be captured or eliminated. I suppose we’ll learn more tomorrow, assuming the Viceroy pokes his head out.