A mysterious plot,
With hopes of reunification, the Republic dispatches a diplomatic envoy to Anaxes to negotiate with the star system's secretive ruler, the Empress, to realign her realm with the Republic. But all is not what is seems as the Empress has motives that remain elusive to the Republic and even the Jedi…
The shuttle ride would be a brief one, Ahsoka knew. She, Senator Bail Organa and Admiral Yularen boarded the small shuttle with Jedi Masters and Senators seeing them off.
Her master was there and was not happy with the situation. "Why wasn't I involved in the decision?" He had said earlier while Ahsoka packed what little items she possessed into a single suitcase back at the Jedi Temple.
"Well you weren't there to say anything about it." Ahsoka had retorted while tossing her spare Jedi robes into the suitcase. Thankfully the conversation didn't evolve into an argument. It ended on a calm note with her master finally wishing her luck on the mission and to keep him and the Jedi Council up to date on all developments in the negotiations.
Since the mysterious "Empress" of the Azure Imperium only wants the three members of the envoy to enter her star system Ahsoka had to pilot the shuttle herself. It wasn't a problem of course as anyone of the three delegates could pilot a small simple craft such as the one they used.
The shuttle, under Ahsoka's control, eased off the landing pad with great care as to not blast the engines in front of so many important Jedi and Senators. As the shuttle broke away from Coruscant's atmosphere Admiral Yularen, sitting in the navigators chair seat, plotted the short jump to Anaxes.
When the coordinates were locked, Ahsoka threw back the hyperdrive switch and the ship shot forward into faster than light travel.
"I never been a diplomat before," Ahsoka said. "I certainly hope the Masters' faith in me isn't misplaced."
"Ahsoka," Bail Organa put a hand on her shoulder from the copilots chair next to her. "If you are anything like your master than you'll do just fine." He said with an encouraging smile. He wore one of his more elegant suits for the mission, a dark blue robe with light green trimmings and matching pants.
Yularen, remaining uneasily silent behind them, wore his pristine white admiral's uniform with ever Republic medal he had ever received on it, which was quite an ostentatious amount of gold and silver on her chest.
Ahsoka, for the first time in years, wore a traditional set of white and brown Jedi robes. Her combat fatigues, although very comfortable and easy to move around in, weren't exactly formal wear for a young Jedi. It was almost uncomfortable for her to wear clothes that covered every part of her being except for her head.
"Thank you Senator," Ahsoka said. She turned around in her chair to look at Yularen who seemed to be staring off into space. "Admiral?" Ahsoka asked, catching his attention. "If you don't mind me asking, are you happy to be seeing your home again?"
"I am," Yularen sighed. "But I had hoped to return only when the war was over."
Ahsoka suddenly understood why. Yularen had already said his painful goodbyes to his family, not knowing if he would survive or not. Seeing them again will be joyful for them but he would inevitably have to make another painful goodbye before returning to war.
"I'm sorry Admiral," Ahsoka had spoken without thinking and wished she hadn't. His family was his personal business, not hers.
The admiral took no offense. "It's alright Commander." He straightened himself with the rigid posture that only a naval officer could possess. "I look forward to seeing my family one more time."
Ahsoka inwardly wished the best for Yularen. Returning home so soon might bring more hurt than joy to him.
After only a few minutes the ship exited hyperspace and was suspended over a lavish purple and blue world. Anaxes was indeed as beautiful as Ahsoka had read about. It's dominate purple surface color was attributed to its famous Sirpar trees which had leaves of various shades of violet and lavender. The planet was like many terrestrial planets with contents that were divided by large and small bodies of water.
Ahsoka then noticed the orbital shipyards wrapping around the beautiful world. The shipyards were a solid ring of docking bays and dry docks that made a perfect halo around the world. It was like a silver ring had been slipped over the planet's belly and rested just outside its atmosphere.
No wonder the shipyards made Anaxes such a valuable jewel to Palpatine. The shipyards looked like they could turn out an entire fleet within a matter of a few months. And that fleet could be on the Republic Senate's doorstep within a few minutes, making for a devastating surprise attack.
The communications board binged. Bail worked at it and received instructions for their landing.
"They are instructing us to land in the Royal Hangar inside the Anaxes Citadel located at their capital city, Anaxa City." The Senator looked over to Ahsoka. "I believe only the Empress and those she trust are allowed to use it. Be sure to show a great amount of gratitude when we depart."
Ahsoka nodded and took the ship into Anaxes' atmosphere. As they descended she caught glimpses of many cities dotting the continental landscape. They all had gleaming silver towers making up the heart of them with smaller, more personal homes making up the surrounding suburbs. Wild forest grew in untouched patches of land which Ahsoka could sense were full of life and harmony.
The Anaxes Citadel is the center of Azure system's government, the Azure Imperium, and was also the residence of the Empress. It sat atop of a lush green hill overlooking the other smaller hills surrounding it. Anaxa City was built over the smaller hills making the Azure Citadel the center of the city.
The Citadel looked as if its architect designed it to be a cross between a lavish cathedral and impregnable fortress. It had six high walls surrounding a gleaming tower in the middle. Each point in the hexagonal outer wall had a tower smaller tower of its own protruding out from it. Anything from turbolasers to anti-starfighter defense batteries could be housed within the doomed tops. Gardens of immaculate beauty filled the wide space between the outer walls and the gleaming tower in the middle. The gleaming tower was the highest rising piece of architecture on the planet. Its sharp tip could scratch low barring clouds overhead. Light blue windows dotted across the towers surface in a perfectly symmetrical pattern. Every square inch of the massive tower sparkled brightly as the local sun cast rays of light upon it.
Almost taken aback by the work of art that was the Azure Citadel, Ahsoka momentarily forgot about the landing. Pulling her mind back to the task at hand she slowly brought the shuttle down to an open landing pad that protruded from one of the lower section of the gleaming tower. It was a retractable landing pad that would pull the shuttle into the structure as soon as was secured to the pad.
On the landing pad were a dozen or so people standing in the shadow of the tower behind them. The three of them summarized they were Her Majesty's greeters. None of them saw anyone resembling a royal ruler among the group.
Ahsoka put more care into the landing than she would with other ships. Most of the time she was landing a starfighter or drop ships in hot combat zones. She had to remind herself that everything she did on this planet would reflect upon not only her but the entire Jedi Order and Republic. So with great care, she put the shuttle down at a respectable distance from the greeters. The boarding ramp hissed open and the three departed the ship.
In the center of the group of greeters was Senator Mu'Val himself. Ahsoka noted he was shorter than his holo had led her to believe. Around him were eleven other men and women who wore similar robes as Mu'Val. They must be the administrators that ran the government of the Azure Imperium on the Empress' behalf. But not everyone in the group looked like an administrator. One woman stuck out from the rest of the people.
She was not as old as the others but not entirely young, she wore a simple everyday dress and had long golden hair wavering in the wind. What distinguished the woman the most from the others was the innocent looking little girl holding her hand.
In the force the girl was a bundle of excitement ready to burst. Strange, Ahsoka thought, she wasn't trying to sense the little girl and yet her force aura shines brighter than anyone else in the group…
Mu'Val smiled and stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "Welcome to Anaxes." He said warmly and firmly shook Ahsoka hand, which was crushed in the grip.
Ahsoka bowed gracefully. "Thank you for having us." She said in her most polite tone.
Mu'Val returned the bow and then turned to Bail Organa. "Don't you look sharper than a vibroblade?" He said, admiring his elegant and expensive robes.
Both Senators laughed cheerfully and embraced each other. "I always dress in my best for these occasions." They parted and Mu'Val moved over to the last person of the three.
"Ah, Admiral Yularen," He extended his hand. "I can't tell you how happy we are to have you back home–"
Ahsoka felt the little buddle of excitement burst in the Force before she called out, "Daddy!"
The little girl, her long brown hair and dress whipping about, brushed passed Mu'Val and leapt into her father's arms. Admiral Yularen, the most cunning strategist in the Republic, held his daughter with the loving care that would come from any good father.
The reunion of father and daughter was tear-jerking and Ahsoka had to challenge herself not to let any drops escape her eyes. Mu'Val and Organa let the man have his moment. None of the others minded either.
"I'm sorry dear." That was the golden haired woman who walked up to Yularen. "But you know how she gets when things are exciting." Her smile radiated as did her beauty.
"Oh I understand," Yularen smiled at the little girl in his arms and she giggled. "I suspect she gets that from your side of the family." He turned to his daughter. "You are defiantly your mother's daughter." The little girl giggled again.
The woman put her arms around them both and squeezed. "And yet we named her after you." She whispered into Yularen's ear with a smirk. "I wonder if she'll ever be as calm and collective as you are."
"I heard that!" The little girl declared.
The two parents chuckled and parted. He turned to face Bail and Ahsoka. "Senator Organa, Commander Tano, may I introduce my wife Celia." He nodded his head to the beautiful woman with her hand around his waist. "And our daughter, Yula," He hefted the girl slightly in his arms. More giggling exploded out of her.
"It's a pleasure." Bail said, shaking the wife's hand and then extending a single finger for the little girl to grip with her whole hand to shake. She couldn't stop giggling.
The little girl then looked past Bail and eyed Ahsoka. "Aren't you a Jedi?" She asked.
Ahsoka felt her cheeks warm from the curious attention of what appeared to be the most precious being in the galaxy. "What gave me away? It was the robe wasn't it?"
Yula, who was no more than five standard years old, shook her head with a smile. "It was the lightsabers." She pointed with one hand at Ahsoka's belt. "I was told only Jedi can use those kind of weapons." She cocked her head with a question. "Why do you need two of them?"
Ahsoka made sure to word her response so that the Yula would understand and wouldn't be exposed to certain subjects that were not suited for little girls. "Well, I like my first one so much that I made a second one to match." She lifted her shoto, the smaller lightsaber, off her belt. "But they are not weapons, only tools whose use is dependent upon the wielder's use of it." She let Yula look but not touch it. She gazed at it with fascination.
"My daddy flies big cruiser and they shoot big lasers at bad guys to chase them off." She turned to her father. "Right daddy?"
Yularen nodded with the slight undetectable pang. "You're right my dear."
It must be hard to explain certain things to one so innocent. Just as how Ahsoka didn't want to tell Yula she used her lightsabers to fight others, Yularen didn't want to tell her that he used the vessels he commanded to attack and destroy other vessels. That sort of violence had no place in Yula's sheltered life.
Mu'Val sighed with a grin. "I'm a sucker for reunions." He cocked an eyebrow at Organa. "You can tell me all about your wife back on Alderaan over a drink later. I've got a bottle of Anaxi Ale that's older than we are. If you were to ask nicely I might share it with you," He winked at Bail.
"Oh Senator, Senator," Bail wagged his finger at his friend. "We're politicians, when we ask for something we always have a plan to get it." They both laughed again.
Ahsoka watched and wondered if every diplomatic mission was like this, full of warm feelings and laughter.
Yula cocked her head again. "Daddy, what's Ale?"
Yularen froze and gave his wife a what-the-blaze-do-I-say look.
Celia stroked her daughter's hair and smiled. "It's something young ones shouldn't know about."
Yula gave her a puckered look. "That's exactly what you said about what rancors are and where little babies come."
Both parents' faces exploded into redness. Ahsoka too was blushing as Bail and Mu'Val pretended to be looking at the gardens.
"Okay dear," Celia took Yula into her arms. "That's enough curiousness for one day."
"But you never tell me anything!" She gave her a pout. "Daddy, where do little babies come–"
"That's a good question dear," Yularen interrupted swiftly. "And I'll be happy to tell you about that sometime later." He leaned over and kissed her on the head. "In about twenty years."
Yula opened her mouth to complain but her mother spoke first. "Say goodbye to your dad Yula," She winked at him with a perfectly curled eyelash. "He'll be home soon after his work is done. Won't you dear?"
Yularen nodded. "Yes dear," He said with a little redness still lingering in his cheeks.
"You promise to play with me too?" Yula asked with hope filled eyes.
"I promise,"
"Yay!" She exclaimed. "Bye-bye, daddy, come home soon! And tell me what rancors are when you get the chance!"
Yularen waved as his wife carried Yula off the landing pad towards the gleaming tower. He then turned back to the Senators and Jedi. "Please forgive me," He said with modesty. "I didn't mean to have all that out in front of everyone."
"It's alright Admiral," Ahsoka said modestly. "We didn't mind." Ahsoka looked over her shoulder at Yula as she was carried away, chatting with her mom at a thousand words per second. Her Force aura was still bright and shimmering like a blossoming flower. Ahsoka has felt similar presences before in Jedi younglings and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Yula was Force-sensitive. Whether the Admiral knew this or not, she didn't know. She had already told herself that his family was his business but she still felt it was her duty to inform him of the gift his daughter possessed.
Mu'Val laughed. "Hey, I was the one who invited them." He shrugged with his palms facing upwards. "I thought you might like the surprise."
"Thank you Senator Mu'Val." Yularen bowed courteously. "I very much appreciate it."
Mu'Val nodded and led the three over to the eleven others that had waited patiently.
"Senator Organa, Admiral Yularen, Jedi Tano, may I present the elected Overseers of Azure system. Together, with me as the chairman, we oversee all aspects of Her Majesty's empire." He gave the three a smile. "I thought you might want to see that this is not an absolute dictatorship as Chancellor Palpatine might have led you to believe."
"We would have never thought of such things," Bail said and nodded to all the Overseers before them. They all ranged from old to young, male to female, and a few of them were aliens. "I see that your government still lies deeply rooted in a fair democracy."
"To be fair my friend we've always been a democracy but we have always been guided by our royal rulers." He waved at the Overseers who dispersed and returned into the Citadel. "Let me explain." He gestured for the three to follow.
They entered the gleaming tower and began wondering its luxuriously decorated halls. "A thousand years ago our world was in peril." The group stopped before a large wall sized painting that depicted the purple world of Anaxes that was surrounded by flames with menacing looking warships descending upon it.
"A rival world sought to conquer Anaxes as they were jealous of our prosperity. They broke Republic law and attacked with a war fleet. We were completely caught off guard as the enemy fleet decimated our own fleet and world while the Republic stood idly by, afraid that interfering would cost them too many resources. Anaxes was left to fend for itself."
On that cold note Mu'Val moved the three over to the next painting along the wall. This one showed a woman, lean and human with bright brown robes around her and a sword of light in her upraised arms.
"At our darkest hour a hero emerged, defying the Republic's orders not to interfere." He gave Ahsoka a grin. "That hero was a Jedi Knight."
Ahsoka eyes widened. She was surprised that the Jedi had saved the entire world on her own but also deliberately disobeyed the Republic, even though is sounded that the Republic was in the wrong about not interfering.
"This lone Jedi, whose name has been kept secret throughout history, took command of what little of our fleet remained and drove our enemies from Anaxes."
Mu'Val led the group over to the next painting in the series. This one was also wall sized and showed what looked like the same Jedi Hero sitting upon a throne cloaked by a shadow high up in a gleaming tower. Her gaze was cast down upon the people in the city below as they rebuilt what was destroyed.
"Out of deep gratitude, the people of Anaxes unanimously agreed that the Jedi Hero should become their new ruler and ensure their safety and freedom. At first the Jedi Hero was hesitant as she explained that a Jedi does not seek to gain or hold power over others." Mu'Val released a painful sigh. "But she soon would reconsider. For interfering in the conflict the Republic had exiled her from all of Republic space as punishment for her defiance. She turned to the Jedi Order for help but they had refused. They had explained she went too far and had allowed her passion to cloud her judgment. They exiled her from the Order as well."
Mu'Val waved at the painting depicting the Jedi Hero as she sat upon her thrown in the gleaming tower. "And so she agreed to become the ruler our people desperately needed. She became the very first Empress. She ruled in secret so that the Republic would never learn of her existence. If they did they would have imprisoned her for remaining in Republic space on a Republic aligned world. For years she had secretly guided Anaxes into a golden age of peace and prosperity. Only the elected Overseers and a few other trusted individuals knew of her existence."
The next painting in line showed a funeral taking place. The Jedi Hero turned secret Empress laid upon a funeral pyre with her eyes closed and arms crossed her chest.
"Unfortunately, even Jedi can't live forever. Our Hero lived as long as she could for many decades but eventually she passed away. Her guidance was dearly missed." He lowered his head out of respect and then moved on.
"But of course, she wouldn't leave Anaxes without ensuring her people's future was secure. She had secretly married and bared a child. That child became the next secret ruler." Instead of a painting they stopped at a long line of bust lining the hall on both sides. "These are all descendants of our Jedi Hero, each one strong in the Force and trained by their parents to be just like the first Empress. And each had a single heir which they raised and trained to be the next ruler. Over the past thousand years many generations of Emperors and Empresses kept watchful eyes over our beautiful world. They were essential in many decisions, such as the construction of our orbital shipyards, the fortifying of our world from further attacks and the construction of many naval academies.
Mu'Val looked over at the Admiral. "You attended one of the first of these academies to be built if I remember correctly."
Yularen simply smiled proudly and nodded.
"Quite the history your people have Senator." Bail spoke up. "But I can't help but ask why does the Empress wish to reveal her existence now? And more importantly, why secede from the Republic?"
Senator Mu'Val gave him a palpable smirk. "Perhaps you would like to ask Her Majesty that yourself?" He gestured them forward. "She is the one who's called all of you here after all."
After navigating through the winding halls of the Citadel the group came to a well-guarded turbolift. There were ten guards, five on each side of the lift, each wearing light blue armor plates and bolstering large silver blaster rifles. They all wore helmets that concealed all but their mouths and noses.
"The Imperium Guard," Mu'Val explained. "Her Majesty's personal protectors. Not like she needs much protection anyways." He shrugged. "They keep a close eye on her and guard the areas of the Citadel where normal security couldn't go. The lift is the only way in and out of the Empress' throne room."
Ahsoka looked at each of the guards and could feel they were all tense and at alert, no doubt uncomfortable with letting visitors see their once secret ruler. A hand then fell onto her shoulder.
Mu'Val said, "You first," He pointed at the lift beyond the guards. "The Empress wants to see you one at a time."
Yularen and Organa traded glances. "Senator Mu'Val this seems highly irregular." Bail said. "Doesn't Her Majesty want to see us all at once so we can negotiate together?"
Ahsoka wondered the same thing.
"The negotiating will commence in all due time." Mu'Val grinned. "But first she wishes to meet you all personal. Living here all her life has left her quite curious of the outside worlds and she does seldom meet to new beings." He gave Ahsoka a slight nudge. "Go on, the lift goes all the way to the top. I hope you're not afraid of heights."
Ahsoka walked forward hesitantly. The feelings she was getting from the guards weren't malevolent ones but they comfortable either. Ahsoka could guess that their duty to protect their ruler was a deeply devoted one. Like Mu'Val had said, almost no one ever made contact with her until now.
She entered the lift and then the doors immediately snapped shut. The turbolift shot straight up and Ahsoka could fell gravity pushing all of her blood to her feet.
After a minute the lift slowed down to a stop, thankfully not as abrupt as it had started. The doors slid open and she entered the room beyond.
The room she entered was vast, large enough to dock a squadron of star fighters in. It was circular in shape and with massive thick pillars of black marble lining the massive windows that made up the walls. The transparent walls allowed a complete and unobstructed very of the surrounding area. The hill for which the Citadel sat upon and Anaxa City just beyond could be seen. The domed ceiling was also transparent with sun light splashing through it.
And in the very center of the room, basked in a shower of golden sunlight was a throne. It was massive enough to seat a Wookie with a back taller than a gundark could stand. It was such a large throne… for such a small ruler.
A small petit woman who was no taller than Ahsoka sat on the throne with pale skin that gleamed in the bright light. She wore what looked like Jedi robes but adapted to a royal rulers taste, a light blue robe made of shimmer silk with golden linings with a hood and matching leg and footwear. The hood was drawn over her head, making it impossible to see any of her face except for her narrow jaw.
As she approached Ahsoka reached out with the Force to sense if the Empress really was a decedent of a Jedi and therefore force-sensitive. But she detected nothing… less than nothing. An absence in the Force. The Empress should have had some hint of a Force aura around her, force-sensitive or not, but there was nothing but a vast emptiness in the room.
And then suddenly she felt it, the Empress' Force aura burst into existence, stretched out and met Ahsoka's. It caused enough surprise in her to gasp lowly. It felt as if the Empress had just reached out and shook her hand in the Force.
It was then that it occurred to Ahsoka that the Empress had been hiding her presence in the Force to the point where it was undetectable. Only Jedi Masters and a few Knights were known to be able to perform such a technique. This was meant to be a statement to Ahsoka. The Empress wanted her to know how skilled she was in the Force before anything else.
"At last," The Empress spoke. Her voice was small and soft with a smile on her lips. "You are here Ahsoka…"
A/N: Pretty wordy in my opinion but I had to explain a lot. You could guess this is a set up for greater events soon to come. Things will get more interesting soon enough.
Now I made up Yularen's family because I felt there needed to be a sweet and innocent side to this story. What more could you ask for when you put a loving couple and a little girl into the mix? Yula is somewhat of a comic relief but she plays a much greater role later.
As for the fluff and clones I promised, it will come very soon. Next I believe in the next few chapters I'll be bringing in a certain clone, a certain Senator and a certain villain. Can you guess who the three new characters are? I bet you won't. ;)
Thank you for reading and I do appreciate those who submit reviews. I am more motivated when I know there are people out there who are interested in seeing this story continue.
Xander867
