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A dark feeling passed over Darth Vader as his TIE fighter entered the Tatooine atmosphere. His Master would not approve of the dark lord taking it upon himself to revisit the home world of Anakin Skywalker. They had spent considerable time and effort into extinguishing any remnant of the Jedi Knight from Vader's memory, and Tatooine poised a threat of regression. Vader knew this and went on with his plan anyway, though he quickly questioned that decision as they landed.
The Force was strong on this planet.
It was not so unusual that a Force-sensitive inhabited a world. The Empire had a list of individuals it knew to have a proclivity to wield the Force, and deemed those remaining to be insignificant threats to them. This was different though, more powerful and somehow refined. He instinctively reached to his side, considering pulling his lightsaber out right at that moment, but even for him, there was something to be said for maintaining a low profile. Fear, of course, had its benefits, and he would use it once he had honed in on the Death Star plans, but for now, he would rather stay as much under the radar as he could. Pulling a black cloak over his head, the closest he could get to a disguise given his suit and assisted breathing, Vader stepped off his ship and onto the Tatooine sand.
Mos Eisley Spaceport was his first stop. If it was true that the Death Star plans had been taken by droids aboard the Tantive IV, the congregation of bounty hunters and smugglers was as good a place to start as any. Maneuvering his way through the city, he caught a few second glances from those who passed by him. Some of them may have even recognized him as Darth Vader, as his appearance had been used in recent Imperial Propaganda to emphasize the unwavering supremacy of the Emperor's command, but none dared to venture more than a quick double-take.
In fact, it was Vader who would find himself caught off-guard by the unexpected appearance of a masked menace. No more than ten feet away from him was a man adorned in green Mandalorian armor, with a honeycomb plate pattern and fearsome T-shaped visor. He recognized that armor from another life, from Anakin Skywalker's fight for survival on Geonosis, and its presence before him now was unsettling.
He should not have come here, Vader realized. The familiar heat of Tatooine's twin suns brought down a wave of recollection that he did not want, that he could not afford.
To his surprise, the masked figure spoke to him. "This is no place for you," the bounty hunter, known across the galaxy as Boba Fett remarked to Vader. The Sith Lord should have choked him there, in the middle of Mos Eisley, but he did not. The streets around them were crowded, as the two stared at each other, eyes hidden beneath their respective masks. Vader clutched his fists, prepared to unsheathe his lightsaber in a heartbeat, though Boba Fett knew better than to engage with the Sith Lord. He had heard the stories, and while he was sure that the Empire embellished the tales of horror, the bounty for Darth Vader's head put out by the Rebel Alliance was not worth the certain death of a physical encounter. "They say you killed Jedi Master Mace Windu."
Even under his mask, Vader did not react at all to this statement. "It's possible. I have slaughtered countless Jedi," was all he replied, neither a confirmation nor a denial.
Boba smiled underneath his helmet, nodding his head slightly.
"Then I have a gift for you, m'lord."
If any politician embodied the decline of the Senate, it was none other than the loathsome Grand Vizier Mas Amedda. The blue-skinned Chagrian had served in his equivalent position as Vice-Chair since Chancellor Finis Valorum, with little to show for it other than significant growth in personal wealth. The Emperor afforded him little real power, but since he controlled what was debated on the Senate floor, the wealthier systems were always eager to stay on his good side.
Bail Organa had enlisted the aid of Pooja Naberrie, the current senator of Naboo and sister of the late Padmé Amidala, and Quarsh Panaka, the regional governor of the Naboo system. Despite Panaka's position within the Imperial Administration, Bail considered him to be as decent of a man as could be found within the government, and Alderaan and Naboo had long enjoyed a close alliance. He hoped that the presence of the two most prominent political figures from the Emperor's native system might carry some clout with Mas.
"I'm sorry, Viceroy Organa, but I simply cannot grant you an audience with the Emperor, particularly not to discuss your son, who faces such serious allegations," Mas Amedda spoke with a feigned sincerity, well-practiced after some three decades within the Senate. "I'm sure you can appreciate that even your allegiance to the Galactic Empire is in question after your friend Mon Mothma declared herself an enemy of the people."
Bail did not blink in the face of the accusation. Mon Mothma had set about her own path, and he was left with his. Fortunately, he had as much experience with maintaining a political poker face as the Grand Vizier. Pooja, however, was not quite so practiced. "An enemy of the people? She's advocating a political alternative-"
"She's sponsoring galactic terrorism," Quarsh Panaka cut her off. "The Senator had every opportunity to voice her concerns peacefully within the confines of the senate. She chose a different path." Quarsh did not always see things in such plain black and white. Certainly within his role in the Empire, he had seen questionable things, but always managed to look the other way, to find a way to rationalize that it was for the greater good.
"It is good to hear you think so," Mas said, clasping his hands together. "There is one matter regarding the traitor I did hope to discuss with you all. You see, the Emperor is concerned that there may be a delusion forming, particularly among the middle and outer rim systems, that there is support for a so-called Rebel Alliance within the Senate walls. Can you imagine? Traitors, propping up a government they secretly hate, living amongst us." The Grand Vizier showed his yellow teeth as he snarled the last few words, disdain dripping from his voice. "I will be introducing the Galactic Defense Act. This will grant our heroic stormtroopers the authority to eliminate any known rebel collaborators. The senate tribunals we normally would grant someone of Mothma's stature would allow to present herself as a martyr. We cannot have that."
Pooja frowned. She was a pacifist by nature, and granting blanket license to kill was not something she could support. "And you need our votes?" she asked, genuinely surprised that Amedda felt the need to bring it up. There were normally plenty of senators actively courting for his approval that he had no trouble passing legislation.
"Oh, we have enough to pass it," Amedda assured her, "By some margin, I would add. However, both the Emperor and I feel it would be a powerful signal if, for once, the entire senate could come together and vote unanimously. In trying times such as these, unity is so essential."
"I quite agree," Bail replied quickly, not allowing Pooja to voice an objection. "I'll instruct my son's proxy to support the bill, and I'll voice my personal support to my allies in the senate." It was a hopeless situation, Bail knew, but Stormtroopers had never hesitated to shoot to kill when it came to enemies of the Empire. This legislation was ceremonial only, and detractors risked exposing themselves as rebel supporters.
"Oh that's excellent news. Now if you don't mind, I have a meeting with the Banking Federation. It appear that mining accident on Jedha cost them a rather large fortune and they seem to think foul play was involved." Bail nodded his head, rising from his chair. In truth, he had low expectations of the meeting, knowing that Mas Amedda was unlikely to do anything, but he had to at least act on behalf of his son. The moment he appeared to accept that Luke would be treated as a traitor was the day his son would perish.
There would have to be another way.
While Cassian Andor knew he should be grateful to be alive, he could not help but be filled with a great irritation at his current predicament. While the medical droids were certainly doing their best, his legs were still not functioning, and he was still largely a prisoner of his bed, trapped by his body into a life that tortured him.
Jyn Erso watched him from behind a window. Despite their differences, she had grown to care for Cassian, more than she cared to admit, and seeing him in such misery was difficult in a way she did not expect. She was aggrieved too, being cooped up in a medical bay on Coruscant was not how she wanted to spend her time after retrieving the Death Star plans, but in a strange way, she felt jealous of Cassian. While successful, their mission had come at severe costs, lives lost in pursuit of the greater good, and yet she lived. She had never wanted any of this, and she knew better than to consider herself any sort of hero. She should have died, but instead Rebels far more committed to the cause had perished. At least Cassian had enduring scars to show for his sacrifice.
"You seem restless," Ahsoka said, appearing by her side as they both peered in on Cassian.
Jyn turned to look at the Togrutan. She was thankful, of course, for having been saved from the brink of death, but a lifetime had left her cynical. She did not fully trust the would-be Jedi. "I wish there were something I could do, to make him not so unhappy."
Ahsoka smiled, "That, I may be able to help with," she replied, turning to behind her and waving her arm, gesturing for someone to come forward. K-2S0 emerged from the darkness.
"What? This can't be," Jyn said, she had heard Cassian mercurial droid get blown to bits on Scariff. There was no way it could be him now.
"It's not quite, to be honest," Ahsoka admitted. "Given nature of your mission, the Rebels didn't want to take any chance that you were holding back on information they needed to know so…"
"They took a back-up of my memory after your failed attempt to rally the Rebels," K-2 clarified. He paused for a moment, looking down at Jyn. "They said I sacrificed myself for you, Jyn Erso. I find this highly unlikely."
"It really is you," she replied, wryly.
K-2 turned toward the door to Cassian's room. It made Jyn happy to see some sign of life on Cassian's face at the sight of his droid. He sat up in his bed, gripping his droids arm as the two women watched, both aware enough of the significance of the reunion not to interrupt the moment. Still, regardless of how much she appreciated the gestures from Ahsoka, her skepticism remained.
"Some day, soon, you are going to tell me why you chose to bring us to Coruscant," Jyn told Ahsoka, to which the other woman laughed dryly.
"Oh, Jyn, isn't it obvious? We're here to kill the Emperor."
