A Young Girl's War Between the Stars [Youjo Senki/Star Wars] 43

A Young Girl’s War Between the Stars

43

Naboo, 39 BBY/961 GSC.

I set the speeder bike down in the courtyard of the senator’s estate. A mont later, I felt and heard soone rushing towards from inside. Further in, I could feel several other presences inside the house, but among them Master Dooku stood out. Looking up, I spotted one of the doors opening and soone dressed in what looked like a servant’s uniform hurried over. “Ms. reel?”

“Yes,” I nodded, sliding off of the bike.

“This way, please,” he sent a smile, and I nodded as I followed along behind. I barely paid attention to our route as I turned my focus inside, feeling myself growing more anxious by the step as I walked into what was potentially the lion’s den.

Relax. Think of this as a recon and infiltration mission. There is no expectation of combat, but the more ready for combat I am, the more likely it will beco. I can hide my emotions behind my shields, but minute fluctuations in the Force around are sothing a Master could read to indirectly see that I’m preparing for a fight.

Forcing my breathing to even out, I found the steady ticking of my computation orb in the Force and focused on that until I stopped feeling like I was getting ready to do sothing stupid and dangerous. Loosening my grip on my ntal shields just slightly, I allowed so of my frustration and irritation at being denied at the last mont to bleed through, in the hope that it would serve as both a distraction and possible explanation for any potential fluctuations if my control slipped.

Finally, we turned a corner and I felt Master Dooku ahead, along with soone else. The man’s presence in the Force was minuscule. Less even than those around us who couldn’t use the Force. And that, more than anything else, confird for that I was dealing with a Sith. He was simply too good at muting his presence, to the point that I hadn’t even sensed him until we got within a few yards. It reminded of my own tactics for dealing with enemy mages I wanted to slip past to cut throats in the middle of the night—suppressing my mana down to the point where the enemy would have to basically be on top of to sense it.

Like recognizes like, I mused, before a frown briefly pulled my lips down at the possibility that the Sith would have similar thoughts.

Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now. I’d have to go in and hope for the best… without the ability to prepare for the worst, without tipping off an enemy.

Sitting in his dining room enjoying a al with Count Dooku over wine and talk of the goings on in the senate, Sheev felt a presence approaching in the Force. Nodding along as Dooku gave his assessnt of what, to an outsider, surely looked like either a coming fracturing of the Republic or a war, a civil war, or both Sheev studied the presence with interest.

She was strong in the Force. Impressive for her age, really. But he was less interested in her strength than what he felt—after all, strength in the Force could be trained or gained in other, darker ways, if one was willing to go that far for power. Honestly, given how quickly she had likely gained that power, Sheev would prefer she be a bit weaker given the potential threat she represented.

However, he was less concerned with how much power she had than with how it felt. And what he felt made it very hard not to give away the ga with the devious smile that wanted to slip out. It was dark—much darker than he had expected, even. To the point that he wouldn’t be surprised if this was what had caused the friction within the Jedi Order that had seen Dooku leaving them. The girl was balanced on a razor’s edge between light and dark and all it would take would be a nudge to send her over that edge, one way or the other.

He could sense the tremors in the Force around the girl as it responded to her emotions, and years of experience picking out subtle emotions in people with more emotional control than a Zeltron child allowed him to read her like a book. See the frustration and anger pouring off of her as the girl practically seethed, along with a small amount of trepidation.

This ti, the smirk was impossible to hide, so he shifted it into a smile. Then it seems our plan was a success. Good. And this failure on her part provides with an opportunity to approach and be a friendly ear.

Picking up his wine glass, he took a sip as the door to the dining room opened and one of his house staff bowed as a small girl stepped inside, surveying the room—eyes taking in everyone in it and taking note of every exit, he saw. Getting his first good look at her, he felt this may be even easier than he suspected. She was young—ten, twelve at the most. The girl was decked out in armor, but there were two very obvious holes in the chest piece and the helt magnetized to the plate on her belt had a hole in it that looked like it had just missed hitting her head.

Her expression, however… that was a thing of beauty. She reminded him very much of a caged predator that had been denied a al, stalking on the other side of the bars as it stared through them with open hunger. It reminded him of Maul, in so ways. At least, in the mont he had to register it, before her face closed off and she forced on the most blatant sabaac face he had ever seen. The look in her eyes remained, however.

There was sothing else, itching at his sense of the Force. It took a mont to determine what it was, but when he did Sheev raised an eyebrow as his interest grew. The Force around the girl behaved oddly—minute amounts of it drawn in towards her in a steady tick-tick-tick-tick. Four simultaneous ticks per second. A very precise rhythm, and regular to the point that he couldn’t help but think it was artificial.

Did she find so ancient Sith artifact? Or perhaps… she made sothing? If so, that would be very much against the wishes of the various Jedi councils. Any sort of experintation with anything resembling Sith sorcery, outside of putting together a lightsaber, is frowned upon.

Sheev humd quietly before glancing at Dooku. His mind raced as he considered the possibilities. If the girl was already dabbling in the dark side, then that was another vector he could use. He had a small collection of old artifacts, both dark and light, for public display—nothing sensitive or that would raise eyebrows if a Jedi happened to see it. But his ‘private’ collection, for inquisitive minds he was attempting to entice, held other treasures—even a holocron or two. Perhaps she would appreciate a tour…

“Ah, Tanya. Welco back,” Dooku smiled after a mont of studying her rather disheveled state. “This is our host, Senator Sheev Palpatine.”

The girl eyed him for a mont, sizing him up as Sheev smiled and lifted his wine glass. “Welco to my ho, Ms. reel. And please, no titles while I’m off the clock. I get enough of that outside these walls,” he chuckled. “Just Sheev is fine, or ‘mister’ if you must.”

She dismissed him just as quickly, bowing at the waist slightly before politely answering, “Thank you for having us, Mr. Palpatine.”

Nodding, seemingly satisfied at his Padawan’s appropriate show of respect for their host, Dooku took a sip of his own wine before moving directly to business. “Co, sit. I’m sure you’re hungry. Tell us, how did the hunt go?”

“Poorly,” the girl grumbled, rolling her neck until it popped as she strode across the room and took a seat beside her Master. A mont later, one of the servants set a plate down in front of her, along with a wine glass. She raised an eyebrow as they took the wine bottle to pour and held up a hand. “No thank you.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Sheev chuckled. “A glass never hurt anyone, and it would be a sha not to sample what we have while you’re here.”

She glanced at Dooku and the man nodded. “If you like.”

Considering for a mont, the girl looked surprisingly torn, before finally sighing. “One glass. Could you bring a pot and cups for tea?”

The servant nodded and poured a glass, before hurrying off. Taking up the glass, the white haired girl considered it for a few monts as she sat in thought. Eventually, she took a sip and humd, nodding briefly at Sheev before she spoke.

“I left the spaceport and tracked the sniper across the city. He was particularly wary of being followed and spent several hours simply riding the train back and forth across the city. Eventually, he left the train and I followed him ho, where I then interrogated him. The trail led to Viceroy and Senator Nute Gunray’s assistant. I went after Gunray himself.” Taking a breath, the hand not holding her glass clenched and Sheev hid a smile behind a sip of wine as he felt her anger abruptly flare up. “I chased him across half the city, but I managed to corner him on a rooftop. I had him. I was about to interrogate him when we were interrupted.”

Looking up from her wine, the girl’s silver-blue eyes locked with Sheev’s own. Once again, he was reminded of so caged predator, pacing slowly behind a set of bars. She had already decided he was going to die, the only question was whether that would be today. He almost laughed. He would welco the attempt, if only for the excuse to drop the niceties and show them what true power was…

Alas, he could not. Not yet. Not today. For now, he had a role to play.

“Unfortunately,” she continued, “soone warned the Naboo Security Forces that I might be coming for him and they responded in force.”

Sheev sighed, nodding and sending her an apologetic look. “Yes, I am afraid that was . This entire situation was a powder keg waiting to explode. I did my civil duty to Naboo by reporting the incident and your involvent, in order to prevent things from escalating further. It would have caused strife between Naboo and the Trade Federation, had we not stepped in. Luckily, I believe that with so work, this can all be swept under the rug.”

“And why would we want to sweep the fact that the Viceroy of the Trade Federation tried to have us assassinated under the rug?” the girl asked, arching an eyebrow as she set the glass down and leaned forward in her seat, starting to put food on her plate.

“Are you certain of that?” Sheev asked, and the girl nodded. “You have a witness willing to co forward and testify to that fact?”

Tanya frowned as she began cutting a piece of at up. “I have a recording. Unfortunately, the witness took his own life as I left. I suppose the thought of having betrayed his masters in the Trade Federation and the fear of what they would do to him was too much to bear.”

Sheev could read between the lines and was impressed at just how thoroughly she had cleaned up after herself. Forcing the assassin to divulge what she needed then kill himself was much subtler than Maul’s usual thods of torture and then murder and wanton destruction. There was certainly a place in the tool box for a hamr, but a scalpel could be just as useful—and in fact, was sotis the preferred tool. Hearing that made him even more keen to find a way to recruit her.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to for the genuine story.

“Most unfortunate,” Sheev shook his head. “Recordings can be manipulated. With no living witness, it’s only unsubstantiated hearsay. Pressing the issue will only do more damage to your cause. Damage that hurts the current negotiations between Naboo and Serenno.”

The Padawan frowned, glancing at her Master, who nodded. “Very well. Then I’ll cut my losses here. How would you suggest we smooth over any ruffled feathers.”

“While I would never advise lying about legal matters, there is a proper ti and place for the whole, unvarnished truth. There are varying levels of truth, most dependent upon perspective. However, truth is sothing one shares with friends and allies. The Trade Federation are neither of those, and I believe deception is a standard practice in war?”

The Padawan smiled—and a beautifully vicious smile it was. “That it is.”

Nodding as the red girl popped a piece of at into her mouth, Sheev resisted the urge to laugh, unable to resist the urge to gloat as he innocently asked, “Did you know that there are many species across the galaxy capable of shapeshifting? Changing their appearance and even biology to match another mber of their species, or even another species entirely?”

Tanya’s knife scraped the plate hard enough to crack it as the girl looked up, one eye twitching. Quietly, entirely too calmly, she asked, “Excuse ?”

“Oh yes!” Sheev nodded, putting on an oblivious smile. “They’re quite sought after for assassins, bodyguards, and other uses—legitimate and nefarious alike. So, that is what you should imply. You followed the assassin ho, only to observe him tussling with a man who appeared to be Viceroy Gunray. Of course, the Viceroy will have an alibi for where he was at that ti. You say that after a short pursuit, you lost sight of him, so you went to where the Viceroy would most likely be.” Pausing, he pointed to her chest piece. “That is where you picked up that damage, is it not?”

“It is,” the girl murmured, eyes narrowed as she considered the web of lies Sheev was spinning for her.

“And who did that? The Viceroy’s security?”

Tanya shook her head. “The Viceroy himself, before setting off an anti-personnel mine and fleeing on foot to a speeder.”

Sheev scoffed. “Then whoever you t there clearly could not have been the Viceroy. He’s no athlete or soldier. The man is a politician through and through, and a barely competent one at that.”

An incredulous look crossed her face as she quietly asked, “Then… it’s possible that it wasn’t actually the Viceroy I pursued?”

“So it would seem,” Dooku murmured. “I would not put it past him to have employed such a person for just such occasions. Being the sort who would engage in assassination himself, he would of course be more cautious about being assassinated himself in the sa manner. It’s possible that he wasn’t even staying on the grounds he was assigned for his visit. Perhaps he visited one of the Trade Federation employees on planet and they arranged suitable accommodations?”

“Mm. It’s very likely,” Sheev agreed easily. “And there you have it. You did not attack the Viceroy. You were in pursuit of an assassin attempting to kill or replace the Viceroy. Why else would he look like Viceroy Gunray and be waiting in his quarters? If anything, I’d say you’ve done sothing rather heroic in spoiling an assassination plot against Viceroy Gunray! This was quite obviously so sort of attempt by a malicious third party to damage negotiations, and it’s a good thing you were there, Ms. reel. I’ll forward this along and see to it that you’re properly rewarded for your aid and service to Naboo in this matter.”

The white haired girl considered that for a few monts, before eventually nodding as the last of her anger guttered—leaving behind only embers that felt to Sheev much like general discontent. Looking to Dooku, she asked, “Are we still on schedule for the morning?”

“We are,” Dooku confird.

Finishing the last of the food on her plate, she washed it down with the last of her glass of wine. “Very well. I need to return to my ship and make so repairs to my armor. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“I’ll make sure to let the guards know,” Sheev sent her a smile as she gave a quick, short bow and left. Turning back to Dooku, he said, “That could have gone worse.”

“Quite,” Dooku sighed, taking up the bottle and pouring himself a fresh glass, then doing the sa for Sheev. “You are familiar with Viceroy Gunray?”

“Oh yes. I’ve dealt with him for many years now, in between handling affairs for Naboo with the Trade Federation and his joining the Senate,” Sheev confird.

“And given your experience, do you believe it was an assassin?”

The Sith humd, pretending to consider. “It’s possible,” he nodded. “I didn’t want to say it, but it’s also possible that it was soone in the Viceroy’s employ. He seems like the type who would use a body double. In the first case, she may have legitimately stopped an assassination. In the second… she stepped into a trap set by the Viceroy after the failed assassination, but they won’t admit to it. If I’m being entirely honest, it’s much more likely to have been the latter than the forr.”

“They never intended to negotiate in good faith,” Dooku nodded, his tone unsurprised. “It is good to know what sort of foe we are dealing with, then.”

Internally Sheev seethed at the reminder that if Gunray hadn’t been too hasty, if the man had just called Sidious and asked, they could have avoided all of this. Sheev might have even been able to convince the two of them that their goals aligned and co-opted this growing third faction separatist movent Dooku and his allies were building, rolling it into the Trade Federation.

Patience. Ti and patience are what I most need here. Perhaps this may even turn out better than my original plan. Allow Dooku ti to build up their side of their own initiative as they prepare to go to war with the Republic, when the Republic inevitably decides they’re a threat to be eliminated. Let things devolve into a three-way war and enjoy the chaos for a while. Then, wait for a mont to push the Republic into doing sothing so incredibly stupid that it pushes the other two forces together against them—it shouldn’t be hard.

“Well, it won’t hurt to see what they have to say tomorrow. After all, today’s enemy may be tomorrow’s ally,” Sheev suggested.

“Assuming they show up as we expected,” Dooku raised an eyebrow—it wasn’t quite a question, but he was asking for Sheev’s opinion given his experience with the Viceroy.

“Oh yes. Viceroy Gunray is quite shaless. I assure you, he will show his face. And if he does have so manner of shapeshifter in his employ, and that is who Ms. reel pursued earlier tonight, her claiming to have seen that shapeshifter eliminate their first assassin will muddy the waters—potentially enough for them to believe another party sent their own assassin. A man like Viceroy Gunray has many enemies. If we put the possibility out there, he will twist himself into knots trying to determine which of his enemies decided to act against him.”

“I know the type,” Dooku said, standing up and smoothing his suit down. “Very well. If you’ll excuse , I believe I’ll turn in early in preparation for tomorrow. I have much to ditate upon.”

“By all ans,” Sheev agreed easily, and Dooku left the room with a nod. Sheev waited until Dooku was in his room before heading to his office, then into the secure, and most importantly at the mont soundproof office. As soon as the door closed, he began to laugh—long and loud as he took a seat at his desk to adjust his plans for tomorrow.

It’s always fun to lead foolish Jedi around by their noses.

Making my way into the Rusted Silver as Arthree rolled in behind , I waited silently while the droid began a scan—reaching out with my own senses to feel for anything out of place, then running several detection formulas of my own to scan the ship and compare it to previous scans. Finally, after several minutes, Arthree beeped an all-clear.

“Open up,” I instructed, and the droid complied, opening his storage compartnt. Reaching in, I grabbed Revan’s holocron. Feeling it probe at my mind, I allowed the probe to connect as I moved back to my work bench and pulled off my chestplate, dropping it and my helt onto the bench, before setting the holocron down on the corner.

Revan’s projection appeared standing beside the table, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. “Sith or not, the old man’s smooth, I’ll give him that. He almost had believing that line.”

Nodding, I grabbed so spare patch panels and got to work welding them onto my gear. The breastplate would be easier to repair since there were no electronics, so I started with that. “If I didn’t already suspect, I would have overlooked him entirely.”

“Yes, the suppressed aura does give it away, if you know what to look for. He’s using a combination of Force Concealnt and Art of the Small to conceal the nature of his Force alignnt and shrink his presence down below that of even those without the ability to manipulate the Force. I used the sa combination of techniques to hide my presence on Korriban once.” Considering , he added, “We’ll add it to your training once we leave. Don’t want to tip him off.”

“No, I imagine that would end poorly,” I murmured, pulling a set of goggles on and starting the welder. Bright, white light filled the room as I carefully patched the armor. When I finished, I shut off the welder and pulled the goggles up to rest on my brow, while I grabbed the angle grinder to smooth everything out before I painted over it. “What about the man I chased?”

Revan shrugged. “Palpatine was being honest there. A little too honest, perhaps. There are several species capable of shapeshifting, either within their own species or even taking on the guise of other species. But the fact that he jumped straight to that, instead of suggesting soone using holograms such as the ones your people have, or the Force, or even just good old makeup and a physical disguise…”

He fell silent for a mont, thinking as I fired up the grinder and quickly smoothed out my welds and the patches. When I shut it off, the engram continued, “What you have to understand is that most Sith have an ego the size of Coruscant. They enjoy bragging. Gloating. I’ve baited more than one into outright monologueing while I planned my next move. The clever ones are especially bad about it, because they believe that everything is going exactly to plan and they have you right where they want you.”

“They’re hams?” I asked, and on the projection’s confused look, I poked the crystal and sent the aning of the term directly to him.

“Hah! Oh yes. ‘Drama queens’ indeed. They are all the star of their own little drama.”

Opening the nearby cabinet with the Force, I levitated out a can of black spray paint and a mask. Pulling the mask on, I quickly painted over the two new plates and moved them aside to dry. Standing, I made my way over to the environntal/life support controls and had it run a quick cycle of the air and exchange it with the outside air. Once it registered clear of chemicals, particulate, and smoke from the welding I pulled the mask off and returned to my seat.

Moving the helt front and center, I flipped it over and began pulling out the cushioning inside so I could get at the electronics. As I did, I asked, “So then, our best bet going forward is to take Senator Palpatine’s advice and lie to confuse the matter with the Trade Federation. That is, assuming he doesn’t call ahead and warn them again.”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s better to be predictable for now. Act within his expectations. This one is definitely a scher. He has so long term goal in mind and as long as you’re acting in a way he can predict and account for, as long as you still appear useful, he won’t move against us directly or reveal himself. Of course you realize, this whole ‘award ceremony’ thing is his attempt to feed your ego and potentially drive a wedge between you and your Master. That, and curry favor for his civilian persona. If you feel that Sheev Palpatine recognizes your contributions when others do not, you’re more likely to turn to him to confide in.”

Frowning as I moved a light with a magnifying screen over to get a better look into the helt now that I had the cushioning out, I nodded. “Of course. It’s a very simple, basic psychological tactic.”

“It’s basic because it works with most people,” Revan chuckled. “Are you telling that it wouldn’t have worked on Lt. Col. von Degurechaff?”

To my annoyance, he was correct. “If it wasn’t a reward for obvious ritorious service, such as my Silver Wings Assault Badge, then I would have assud it was an attempt at quid pro quo… and likely accepted if it ant a transfer away from the front. I’ve never been what one would call a ‘glory hound,’ however. It was never about the acknowledgent for , it was always about everything else that ca with it. Rank, title, privilege, increased pay, respect—tangible, quantifiable benefits that opened doors and should have set up for a better life in the future.

“Naboo is just one planet, and while having that recognition could be useful in the sa way the official dals I received for my service to Serenno are, they aren’t that appealing anymore simply for the sheer breadth of options and opportunities available to . If I need money, I can hunt pirates. If I want a new ship or parts, I can hunt pirates. If I want to go sowhere, I have ships. Once Cindy finishes automating the Corsair as much as she can and I staff it with droids, I can realistically do without those other crew mbers if I’m willing to take it in to have it serviced at a dock fairly regularly—and with that ship, I can make more money. This ti, I can choose my allegiance, but I’ll always have the ans to leave and start over if I need to. And that freedom is worth more to than any favor so senator can offer .”

Reaching up, I adjusted the magnifier and let out a disgusted sigh at what I saw. “Going to have to scrap this one.”

“No, hold on,” Revan shook his head, moving to my side and pointing at the display. “I recognize so of this stuff. This is your integrity sensor line. These are all power. And this one… looks like there was a chip here for sensor control.”

“Yes, and that chip is just gone,” I pointed out. I knew a chip had been there, but I hadn’t been sure of what it was until Revan pointed it out.

Revan sent an amused look. “Yes, but everything else will work if you reconnect it. Tell , Keeper—what do you need sensors for?”

“For targeting—” I paused at his amused look, then sighed and grabbed a patch. “Right. Slap a patch on it, skip the sensors, reconnect everything else and it should be good to go.”

“Good. And while you’re at it, you should add so kind of decorative elent over the damaged area. Sothing suitably threatening and impressive for a Mandalorian.”

Considering for a mont, I nodded. “A small horn or spike, perhaps. Nothing that will be obnoxious under my hood or catch on things.”

“That would do it. Now, about that shapeshifter. You have the opportunity to do sothing hilarious…”

“Oh?” I asked, glancing up as I flipped the helt over and pressed the patch into place, using the Force to bend it to the curve of the helt and hold it in place as I picked up the welder and pulled my goggles back down.

“Oh yes. The good senator has already given you the opening you need. And when you have a chance to remove one of the enemy’s pieces from the board, you should always take it. If doing so also lets you intimidate your enemies and sow confusion, then even better.”

A smile pulled at my lips and I nodded along as Revan outlined his plan.