(1/7/17) Hi! This chapter like the one previous had a massive rewrite. Thank you everyone for your support! If you have any positive or negative feedback, please let me know so I can improve the story. Enjoy and thank you!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Penelope tried to maintain a calm and collected composure, walking side by side with Anakin through the hallways of the Supreme Chancellor's office. She had never been there before and was taken aback at the grand taste and decoration that lined the walls of the Senate Leader's office. Penelope allowed Anakin to take the lead as they approached the Chancellor's office, he knew his way better than she did – Penelope heard stories from Anakin in the past about visiting the Chancellor.
Penelope tried not to feel flush when she felt all eyes in the Chancellor's office turn to her and Anakin when they entered the room after passing the guards. Almost the whole Jedi Council was present, along with several Senate members. They all appeared to had been waiting for her and Anakin's arrival.
"Oh, good! Welcome!" The Supreme Chancellor practically cheered from his seat when he saw Anakin and Penelope enter his office. "It's so good to see you both!"
"Sorry, we're late." Anakin apologized and took a seat next to Obi-Wan, who gave his former Padwan Learner a look that Penelope could not decipher.
Penelope stood in the background by a few Jedi Council members, trying to remain unfazed by the look Master Windu was sending her way.
"Shall we discuss what has brought us all here today, Supreme Chancellor." Senator Bail Organa spoke. "We do not have much time to waste."
"Yes, of course!" The Chancellor clasped his hands together before direction his full attention to everyone in his office. "As many of you here are aware, the Galactic Republic has been trying to unit itself with nearly a dozen Outer Rims planets. Our goal is to decrease further power the Separatists could retain from these planets, many of them offering valuable resources.
The Senate has been working tirelessly to set up negotiation with various leaders on these planets. The hope is to have these planets under the Galactic Republics protection in less than several months."
"While I understand the Senates reasoning for this idea, I must warn you Supreme Chancellor that many of these planets will not yield easily to the rule of the Republic." Master Windu spoke. "A fair amount of these planets and societies thrive on violence and crime. It will not be safe for any member of the Senate to travel there."
"That is why we request the protection of the Jedi while we complete these negotiations." Senator Amidala stated from her seat next to Chancellor's desk. "With your protection, we can focus on completing our tasks in a timely manner. The Jedi are protectors of the peace, and the Senate is trying to establish that peace throughout the galaxy."
"Senator Amidala has a fair point." Grand Master Yoda agreed, even though his facial expression stated otherwise. He looked around the room to make eye contact with several members of the Jedi Council. "Provide protection for the Senate we must. Bring peace it will."
"I agree with Master Yoda." Obi-Wan nodded as he looked onward in deep thought. "If we are to end this war, we need to be a unified galaxy."
Penelope watched Master Windu reluctantly nod his head in agreement with Masters' Yoda and Kenobi.
"When will you need our assistance, Supreme Chancellor? How many of us will you need in your mission?"
"The plan is to leave tonight." The Chancellor stated, causing a sense of tension among many of the Jedi Masters. They were not expecting it to be so soon. "I understand that this is very sudden, but after the attempt on my life, the Senate agrees that we must move quickly before more of us are targeted. I will only require a small number of Jedi to accompany myself and several other members of the senate."
"You'll be going? Do you believe that would be wise?" Master Windu questioned, eyeing the Chancellor with curiosity.
"We need the Supreme Chancellor to be there." Senator Organa explained from he stood behind Senator Amidala. "The Chancellor has been the one to take on the most of the negations. It has been requested by many of the Outer Rim leaders for him to be present during the agreements and signing. Most have stated that they will not agree if he is not present… Our hands are tied, I am sorry if this make it difficult for the Jedi Council."
"With the Supreme Chancellor and the Senate, the Jedi will be..." Master Yoda spoke up, his word final.
"Thank you, Master Yoda." Chancellor Palpatine nodded in thanks, before smiling towards the Jedi Council. "I will not burden you with taking to many of your Knights. I believe after today; young Skywalker would be perfect to keep myself and other members of the Senate safe. And from I have heard I believe Jedi Knight Hollow would make a perfect protector too. I have heard many stories about her resourcefulness when in a bind."
Penelope tried to contain her shock at being picked for protection detail for the Supreme Chancellor and Senate members. She had not been on an actual mission since before Master Ekko left the Jedi Order.
"I do not believe having Jedi Knight Hollow on this mission would be wise." Master Windu stated with some hostility. "She has not seen combat or even a mission in nearly a year. She is not fit for duty."
"I respectfully disagree, Master Windu." To Penelope's surprise it was Anakin who up. His facial expression was blank while he maintain eye contact with the fierce Jedi Master. "Hollow is just as skilled in the Force as I and many of our other peers. Just because she has not been on a mission in a long time does not make her useless. You, yourself has not been on an actual mission or seen combat for almost a year as well, but still deem yourself competent to judge if someone is ready or not."
"Anakin!"
Obi-Wan snapped at the Jedi Knight, while everyone, but Chancellor Palpatine and Master Yoda, looked on in shock at his words. Penelope could see Jedi Master Windu was forcing himself to maintain a calm composure - if they had been back in the Temple, Anakin would had received a tongue lashing from the older Jedi.
"Young Hollow will accompany Skywalker in protecting the Chancellor and Senate," Yoda stated to ease the tension in the room. Penelope saw the Grand Master Jedi glance her way before he continued with his statement. "Masters Kenobi and Windu will be along too. Will four Jedi be sufficive?"
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Master Yoda." The Chancellor smiled graciously, before he addressed the entire room again. "I thank you all for taking the time to be here today. I have a strong feeling our efforts will be successful in uniting and being peace to the galaxy. For those of you who will be taking part in the negotiations, our ship will be leaving at seven o'clock sharp. Please meet in the Senate's ship hanger where my staff will be awaiting your arrival. Good day everyone and may the force be with you!"
Quickly everyone filed out of the room, only Senators' Amidala and Organa staying behind to speak with the Supreme Chancellor. Penelope kept her focus on Anakin as she exited the Chancellor's office with the rest of the Jedi.
"Anakin," Penelope tapped the young Jedi Knight on the shoulder once they had exited the Chancellor's office, the Jedi High Council members walked off in a separate direction to speak in private with one another. This left Anakin and Penelope alone to talk while Senator members retreated to their respectable offices.
"Yes?" Anakin stopped and turned to look down at Penelope, who was smiling softly. This brought a smile to the young Jedi's face. "Excited to finally go on a mission?"
"Thank you for speaking up in there for me." Penelope stated, trying her best to ignore strange fluttering feeling in her stomach. "I-… it was greatly appreciated."
"No, problem." Anakin continued to smile, "You deserve to have the same experiences as the rest of us. It's not right the Council keeps assigning you to stay at the Temple with the younglings. You deserve to use your skills for other uses, not just teaching."
"The Council just want to keep a closer eye on me after what happened with my Master."
"They need to let you breathe." Anakin let out a long sigh. "They should not be punishing you for Master Ekko's mistakes…. What did he do anyways to get kicked out of the Order? Obi-Wan refuses to tell me anything. I heard rumors that-"
"That's for another time." Penelope cut off Anakin from speaking further about her former Master. She did not want to discuss the matter of why he left the Jedi Order so close to many prying ears. "Same for when we discuss what happened at the Temple earlier… and I'm still mad about that too!"
"Sorry about that… I was upset at the time." Anakin apologize sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He then sent Penelope a small smile. "Forgive me."
"I forgive you for now." Penelope chuckled quietly, unable to stay mad at Anakin. She knew it was not alright what Anakin did earlier to her, invading her thoughts without her consent but she could understand his anxiety at what had occurred. Penelope, herself, did not understand what happened – she still felt uneasy at what she saw. The right thing to do would be to inform the Jedi Council, at the very least Master Yoda, of what she saw and experienced. Except Penelope had a feeling inside that there was still much more she needed to figure out on her own before disclosing the matter with the Council.
"Anakin!"
Penelope and Anakin turned to see Obi-Wan approaching them, he appeared very displeased.
"Oh, here we go with another lecture." Anakin mumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. He glanced at Penelope. "This is probably going to take a while. I'll see on the Chancellor's ship tonight?"
Penelope nodded and moved to leave Anakin and Obi-Wan alone to speak, she gave Master Kenobi a nod of acknowledgement before hightailing it out of there.
….
"There you are," Anakin stated as Penelope rushed onto the Chancellor's ship with a few minutes to spare "I almost thought you weren't goin' show."
"I was in the Archives finishing some research for Master Yoda." Penelope breathed heavily. "I lost track of time, and then when I did try to leave the Temple it was next to impossible to get a cruiser to come here. Did I miss anything?"
"No, you're fine." Anakin assured her. He guided her towards the back of the ship where Jedi Masters' Kenobi and Windu were seated. Penelope tried not to stare at the lavish decorated ship the Chancellor was entitled to. While the ship was small it could obviously hold the dozen people on board comfortably, excluding the droids that were spot close to Senator Amidala. Penelope remembered seeing the droids a few times before.
'I thing they are R2-D2 and C-3PO? Maybe? Or was it something else...?'
Chancellor Palpatine and Senators' Organa and Amidala paused their conversation to briefly welcome the Jedi Knights, before returning to their conversation about a minor political problem.
Anakin signaled for Penelope to take a seat next to Master Kenobi, while he sat on the other side of her. Jedi Master Kenobi greeted Penelope with a warm smile while ignoring his former Padawan.
"He's still mad about earlier..." Anakin whispered with irritation in Penelope ear, he too aware of the cold shoulder from Obi-Wan.
'Obviously!'
Penelope tried not to laugh at the stubbornness between Obi-Wan and Anakin.
"Jedi Knight Hollow, I expect you to be on time." Jedi Master Mace Windu stated none to please with Penelope almost tardiness. "If you wish to continue receiving mission from the Council, you must first show that we can rely on your arriving on time. The High Council will hear of this near grievance."
"Yes, Master Windu." Penelope nodded. "I understand, it will not happen again."
Master Windu stared at Penelope with a blank expression before sitting back and closed his eyes to meditate.
'This going to be a very, very long mission…'
Penelope thought bitterly, before she too tried to relax and meditate for the long journey ahead of them.
…
14 hours later, Penelope felt herself being awoken by the turbulence of the ship. She had fallen asleep 7 hours into the flight after the Chancellor and Senators' reviewed with everyone what the criteria of the journey consisted of and what planets they were to visit. They would be arriving on the following planets in order: Gand, Voss, Taris, Tatooine, and possibly Hoth.
The Captain announced to the Chancellor that they were five minutes away from their destination.
Penelope glanced towards a window and was shocked to see the ship move through clear clouds.
"I thought we were going to Gand first?" Penelope questioned Anakin, who was pretending to meditate.
Anakin slowly opened his eyes and let out a silent yawn. He too glanced out the window and appeared confused by what he saw. "We are supposed to be arriving in Gand." He looked around Penelope to speak with Master Kenobi and Master Windu, who were speaking very quietly with one another. "Master, what is happening? Why are we not going to Gand first as planned?"
Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Senator Amidala.
"There had to a sudden change in plan." Padame spoke from where she sat close by Senator Organa. "The Supreme Chancellor received word a few hours ago, that another Outer Rim planet has agreed to join the Galactic Republic but will only keep the offer open for 48 hours. After that they will end all further communication with the Republic."
"I understand that this causes some anxiety for you all, but this planet is crucial if we wish to obtain the allegiance of the other Outer Rims planets." The Supreme Chancellor frowned. "I would not suddenly change our plans if it was not absolutely necessary. I am terribly sorry."
"Which planet is this?" Anakin glanced out the window with curiosity, seeing only rocky mountains, and fields of ice and snow.
Penelope felt the color from her face drain as she took in the landscape that became clear with each second they got closer to the ground.
'No... no…no!'
She gripped the edge her seat tight when the Captain announced they would be in a minute.
"Iridescent." The Supreme Chancellor stated with a big smile. "Very hostile environment and society, but extremely valuable to the Republic's mission. With the support of the..."
Penelope stopped listening to the Chancellor as he raved about the necessity of Iridescent and its people. A sick feeling build in her stomach; her chest feeling tight with pressure. Penelope wanted to start screaming and crying at the same time when she felt the ship land. She could already feel the familiar cold seep through her clothes and into her bones.
Immediately everyone undocked the ship with the help of the Chancellor's flight crew. Two of the Chancellor's staff members guided the Supreme Chancellors and the five Senators towards where three representatives from Iridescent awaited to greet them.
Everyone around Penelope tried to brave the cold weather, while she remained unfazed by the cold weather, as they all made their way across the air field where the representatives and three cruisers waited for them. Penelope felt her stomach tie up in knots the closer they approached the representatives, afraid that she would be recognized immediately.
'Stay calm… everything will be fine.'
She chanted inside her head repeatedly. Her anxiety was felt immediately by Anakin and Obi-Wan while they followed behind the group, and Penelope and Master Windu each took a side of the group. Penelope could feel Obi-Wan and Anakin's stares burning into her back as they watched her with concern.
'Relax… You'll be fine.'
Anakin's voice echoed in Penelope's mind, trying his best sooth her fear. Obviously believing Penelope was feeling scared being on her first mission in almost a year. Penelope wished that would have been the case, but it was way worse than that. Way, way worse!
Her anxiety gradual dissipate the closer they got to the representatives, it becoming clearer with each moment that she did not recognize any of the men who waited to greet them. Penelope felt safe for a little longer, until she saw him approach out of nowhere behind the representatives – gliding with ease between his men to meet the Supreme Chancellor with open arms and a huge grin.
"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, I am so glad you could make it! Welcome to Iridescent. I am Sebastian Sharp, and I will be your host during your stay!"
'Fuck me!'
To be continued…
Thank you for reading, please review! Next chapter will be posted in 2 days!