Reclamation Saga: Book I: The Separatist Crisis: Chapter 3: Prepare

25 August 2,575 CE/25:8:9 BSC

Apartment Suite 511, 500 Republica, Senate District, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core World Territories

20:49:12 (Local Time)

Near the top of the spire that was 500 Republica stood, on a railed balcony overlooking a small landing pad, a single human woman with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes aimed straight at the relatively short Jedi Temple in the distance stood against the whipping wind. Her hair was organized in a neat bun atop her head that captured every brunette strand. She paid little heed to the speeders that were flying by within their organized skylanes, criss-crossing the atmosphere in every which direction. Out of a nearby skylane, though, shot out a relatively small yellow speeder at breakneck speeds. Her eyes immediately darted towards the offending craft, but failed to notice the driver behind the bright headlights, only knowing it was heading right for her apartment.

She lowered her arms almost instantly and began backing up until she hit the wall behind her. She began shimmying to the right, never able to keep her eyes off the craft that got closer and closer as the seconds ticked by. Soon enough, however, the craft slowed down noticeably, but her eyes continued to dart to and fro across the craft looking for any marking that would allow her to know who drove so recklessly. The speeder spent several seconds approaching her landing pad, some ten meters form the wall she now found herself attached to, and then stopped mid-air before landing slowly, touching down with the duracrete-durasteel landing pad. When the driver turned off the headlights, she was still unable to see who dared come to her at such an unforcely time of the hour thanks to her slow moving retinas.

All she saw was a black figure jump out of the speeder with hast, straighten itself out, then walk with what could only be described as confidence up the staircase. It was when the figure was on the last two steps that Padmé finally realized who barged in, and allowed a thankful, satisfied smile to grace her features.

"You had me nervous there for a minute Ani." she said as the figure reached the last step to stand some meter away from her, easily a head or more taller than her.

"I'm sorry milady." he said with a short, mocking bow, "It was not my intention to scare you with my driving."

"It wasn't your driving I was afraid of," she said while turning around to find the door to the balcony, knowing he would follow, "It was the thought of what I'd have to do to scrape you off Five-Hundred Republica when you inevitably crashed."

She found the door not three meters from her, and approached, and when it whooshed open automatically, he said arrogantly from behind her, "Surely you jest Padmé. My piloting abilities are second to none."

As Padmé moved through the door, her companion right behind her, she said, "And yet everyone that drives with you says they'll take a walk next time."

Anakin exhaled rapidly as if he were just punched and clutched his heart while looking into the sky melodramatically, "You wound me Padmé."

He then straightened out again and, when she sat down on a couch nearby, he sat next to her, continuing, "You say such hurtful things, yet I do not recall a single complaint from my most beautiful customer."

Padmé leaned to the left with this statement, away from Anakin, and with a devilish smile she said light-heartedly, "I never knew you felt that was about Obi-Wan."

Anakin's surprise turned to a look befitting someone who was about to correct the error of another, "Obi-Wan. Force no! I was, of course, talking about Senator Organa."

With that the pair went into uproarious laughter, spending several seconds emptying their lungs of all contents and shaking merrily at the jokes. The fit of laughter, however, ended quicker than either expected, with the result being the two staring into each others eyes, as if in some hypnotic state the other induced. Neither bothered to move for what appeared to be a blissful eternity, instead choosing to steal yet another second's time to simply revel in the company the other gave.

When a quick series of beeps and whistles sounded from the room to the far right, which was lit up to reveal a kitchen in absolute disarray, they both tore away from the hypnotic spell and averted their attention to the room in question, where a blue and white painted astro-droid was stomping with both its two feet.

Padmé's eyes bulged in alarm as she said, "Damn! I forgot about the nerf!"

When Padmé stood up in a hurry and walked towards the kitchen with long strides, he followed, and was immediately assaulted with the smell of burning meat and smoke, some of the light grey wisps of which hung high on the roof of the room. As he noticed Padmé move about attempting to salvage dinner, he couldn't help but smile, first of humor, but then turned amorous when a single strand of her hair fell from out of her perfectly braided bun and took residence just in front of her face. Her countenance turned to one of determination and anger, with small, almost imperceptible beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

When she had her back turned over some device that gave off a faint humming, he approached with purpose to her, hoping to be of some assistance. She turned at the sudden sound of footfalls, and her faint smile of thanks turned to a frown of alarm. Before she could voice her concern, he began slipping on a wet spot on the floor that he failed to notice, leaning back dangerously ready to fall. Without hesitation, she jumped a step closer to him and reached out her hands, both of which he grasped. However, she was unable to support his weight, so he dragged her with him.

They fell with a thud, him on the bottom and her on top in quite the compromising position. Her head was laying across his chest as she exhaled at the sudden turn of events several times, while he looked down reverently at her.

After a handful of moments of relative silence, save for the constant sound of something sizzling in a pan, Anakin said, "Padmé, if you wanted to hold me, you could'a just asked."

Padmé looked up to him, and rolled her eyes before smacking him on the chest lightly with her right hand. She then pushed off of him and stood, offering both hands to him again, which he again accepted.

They had nominally more success in standing on their two feet, and after giggling for a scant few minutes at the recent turn of events, she looked over he shoulder and said, "Sorry about dinner."

She then turned to face him and said with a poke to the chest, "Granted there isn't enough food on Coruscant to satiate you."

"How about we eat out. I know just the place to go." Anakin proposed.

Padmé thought is over for a few moments before she said, "Alright, but if it isn't up to my liking, you're paying."

Anakin smiled slightly and said as he turned to face the veranda door, "I'm paying regardless."

"Oh no you're not Skywalker." Padmé yelled back while running to a nearby closed door some odd meters away.

Anakin was already at the transparisteel door when Padmé returned with a white cloak hugging closely to her body, white fur along the perimeter of the cloth, and two strands at the neck that were topped off with a ball of the same white fur.

Before they crossed the threshold, Anakin looked down at her, with an inquisitive face and asked, "Are you sure you wanna wear that? You'll stick out like a sore thumb."

Padmé looked up at him and said almost despondently, "This is the most common cloak the HoloNet would let me wear without asking questions."

Anakin nodded in understanding and said after a short pause, "I'm sure it won't matter. No one cares about what anyone else is wearing where we're going."

XXX

Dex's Diner, CoCo Town, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core World Territories

21:08:31 (Local Time)

Surrounded on all sides by buildings that rose high into he low orbit of Coruscant was a small, one storey diner with all rounded edges made of a dull grey metal. It had a classical appeal to it, reminiscent, as the Terran's called it, of the twentieth century by their calendar. To the left of the front of the building, from the couple's perspective, stood a red-outlined door made of the same metal as the rest of the structure, with a line of four windows plainly in view, all with rounded edges. A red neon sigh with the words "Dex's Diner" in Galactic Basic were lit up in the window to the right of the door.

The area around Dex's was filled with sentients of every variety, leaving little room for the two humans to move. Among the crowd was a pair of two humans, a male and female. The male was wearing a brown cloak and hood, with the latter of the two drawn over his head, covering his face from the light of Coruscant illuminating the area around them. The smaller of the two, a female human, also had her white hood up. Her cloak of choice was much more opulent than her companions, with furs of an unknown variety lining its edges. Where the male's cloak covered his body save for his black boots and hands, hers covered only her head from view and her back, leaving her white clothed front exposed. Her deceptively diminutive features moved gracefully behind the tall and broad-shouldered man in front of her, their hands clasped firmly together as sentients continued to bump into them.

The door slid open to reveal a building with a counter dividing the structure in two. The back appeared to be a kitchen stock full of machinery and a handful of automatons working tirelessly inside. On the other side, other droids with wheels for legs moved quickly from occupied table to table. There were roughly twenty tables in total spread in evenly spaced columns across the floor, and four chairs to each table save for the ones against the wall, which had two booths on each side of the table. The counter, opposite the kitchen also sported a group of ten red-topped stools, four of which had patrons in them.

The pair lowered their hoods upon entering the surprisingly empty building, revealing their youthful faces showing they were in their early twenties.

As soon as they lowered their hoods, a creature with glutinous lizard-like features and four arms, each featured large, calloused hands, announced to them, "Anakin! Come in! Come in!"

Anakin smiled broadly at his apparent friend, and his smaller companion joined him with her own gentle smile as the human male replied, "Dex, it's been too long."

By now, the alien shimmied out from behind the counter he was behind, and laboriously walked towards them, laughing at each step.

He then gave Anakin a bone-crushing hug that left the poor man without air momentarily as the alien said, "Too long indeed my friend."

After several long seconds, the Besalisk male let go of Anakin patted him on the shoulder while holding his massive, toothy grin, and turned to face his companion.

Dex then bowed slightly and said with mock reverence, "Pardon my manna's. My name is Dexter Jettster, the owner of this fine establishment."

"The honor is mine Mr. Jettster. My name is Padmé Amidala." Padmé replied while nodded his head, trying to stifle her laughter at the Besalisk's antics.

"Why don't you both take a seat an' I'll be right wit' ya." Dex said while motioning with his top two hands towards the entire restaurant.

Anakin quickly glanced at Padmé, who returned the favor, and both moved towards a table nearby that was left empty. He pulled out the closest seat to them, and allowed Padmé to sit in it before pushing it back into place. She gave him a quick thanks while watching him take several steps around the table to the seat opposite her.

As soon as he took his seat the Besalisk returned and took a seat between them, drawing their attention as he said, "So what can I get you kids today?"

"I think you know what I want, Dex." Anakin said.

Dex merely nodded then turned his attention to the young woman before him and asked, "And you milady?"

"I'll just have a salad."

"What would you like to drink?"

Padmé replied, "We'll just share a water." then looked at Anakin and asked, "If that's alright with you?"

Anakin returned the gaze and responded, "Fine by me."

A silent pause fell between the three before Dex ended it by asking, "Is that all you two want today?"

"Yeah, that's all." Anakin said for them.

Before Dex could stand, Padmé stood and said to Anakin, "If you'll excuse me, I should wash my hands before eating."

Anakin nodded while maintaining his charming half-smile, prompting her to begin walking away towards the back of the restaurant with the grace of a Nubian swan.

Dex, taking note of Anakin's distant stare after the senator, nudged him and said slightly above a whisper, "She's a pretty one, ain't she?"

Anakin didn't avert his gaze as he replied, "Pretty doesn't do her justice."

"Ya know" Dex began, "there are probably a lot a men who're workin' real hard to put a ring on that finger a hers."

Anakin turned to face the Besalisk with a neutral expression, "I'd like to see them try."

Dex began to laugh at the change in mood, prompting Anakin to break out into another half smile while Dex said, "Calm yourself Little Ani, I'm only poitin' out a fact. You'd have to be mighty stupid to cross a Jedi."

As Padmé opened the door and began walking towards them with her eyes fixed solely on Anakin, Dex leaned over to whisper into Anakin's ear, "If the way she looks at ya is any indication, the feelin's are mutual."

Anakin smiled broadly at this, making Padmé do so as well, and after a few seconds when she was walking b the two, she asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Padmé," Anakin began, his eyes never averting from her own, "I was just thinking of where we left off in my stories."

Her smile widened and when she finally took a seat, she said, "Ah yes, I believe it had something to do with Obi-Wan stuck in a nest full of Gundarks."

Anakin laughed righteously, but before he could continue his tale, Dex, with much effort, stood up out of his seat and said, "I'll go ahead and leave you two love-birds alone."

Anakin's laughter subsided and a blush crept up to both of their cheeks, Padmé raising her right hand to cover the amused smile that threatened to spread.

Anakin uncomfortably cleared his throat and asked sheepishly, "Um, Gundarks, right?"

"Yeah." Padmé responded just as sheepishly.

Anakin then chose to lean in, his elbows resting on the table and said in a voice just loud enough for her to hear, "Well, there I was atop the cliff, and what do I see when I look over the edge?"

By now, Padmé had recovered and leaned in to better listen to Anakin tell his tale, "There's Obi-Wan laying unconscious in the middle of a nest of Gundark babies. So I whisper 'Obi-Wan! Get up!'"

Anakin leans in closer now, mere decimeters from Padmé, and said even more silently, "And what does he do you may ask? His eyes flutter open, he looks around, and screams like a little girl 'Help! Anakin! Get me out of here!'"

With the mental image of Obi-Wan doing such a thing, Padmé said in between giggles, "You shouldn't say such things about your master."

"I'm just telling you the truth." Anakin said with a smug grin.

Once her giggles had subsided, Padmé replied, "I'm sure Obi-Wan would beg to differ."

Anakin waved with his hand at nothing in particular, "He'd just give you that 'From a certain point of view' poodoo. I at least give the full truth."

"...So long as it embarrasses Knight Kenobi?" Padmé raised an eyebrow.

Anakin seemed to ponder this for a moment before replying, "I think of that as a nice...bonus."

"You're bad." Padmé shook her head in mock disapproval, but still had a genuine smile of mirth.

"Good. I hear you like 'em bad." Anakin said with a husky undertone that was barely perceptible.

The immediate shock was gone in an instant and she quickly retorted, "And how would you know how I like my men?"

Anakin leaned in and motioned for her to do the same, which she did, "Cause I'm the only man on Coruscant to take you out to dinner."

"Padawan Skywalker, are you flirting with me?" Padmé asked with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow.

Before either could continue, Dex arrived with a plate in three of his hands and a cup sloshing with water and placed two of them in front of Anakin and one in front of the good senator, with the cup placed in the middle. Anakin's two dishes were made up of two steaming browned meat, blackened strips criss-crossing the entirety of the morsels. Padmé's own dish was simply greenery arranged on a plate twice as big as her hands with red spheres and purple rings dotting the surface. The plates themselves were plain white lacking any decorations and had a knife and fork on each.

"Anythin' else I can get you folks?" Dex asked with his toothy grin.

"No, that will be all." Padmé replied pleasantly while maintaining eye contact with Anakin an unknown emotion simmering under the surface.

Dex ginned knowingly at the pair and turned while saying, "Alright. I'll be over here if ya need anything."

Unable to keep her eyes fixed on the man before her, she looked down shyly and said just above a whisper, "We should probably start eating before it gets cold."

Anakin only nodded and looked down at the pieces of meat in front of him. He picked up the knife on the right side of the plate and the fork on the left and began cutting into the steak quickly. Each piece he cut was large and dripping with grease and sauce. After placing the first square-shaped cut into his mouth, it was almost too much, and small beads of the brownish liquid from the meat dipped out of his mouth and onto his chin before landing on the plate. He chewed the meat into a mushy paste loudly and within seconds before gulping it down. He wiped away the stray liquid form his mouth and began working on his next piece. Across from this barbarian, Padmé acted in a more dignified manner, stabbing mall pieces of leafy vegetables and fruits and eating slowly and silently with her mouth closed. Where Anakin's elbows rested on the table, her unoccupied hand was on a napkin on her lap that was folded neatly in half to cover most of her thighs not under the table. After a handful of bites, she reached over the table and grabbed onto the glass container, lifting it up to her mouth and taking a few small sips from the cold, refreshing liquid within.

Just as she was about to set it back down, Anakin opened his right palm in the direction of the glass and pulled it to his awaiting hand with the help of the Force. Her expression was one of absolute fear at dropping the glass before she saw it move slowly across the table through the air as if held by a string on the ceiling.

Upon seeing who was doing this, she looked at Anakin, her amused smile spreading across her face, and said, "Now how would Obi-Wan react to seeing his blatant misuse of the Force?"

After taking several greedy swigs from the glass, making a quarter of the water disappear before setting it down and wiping away the excess, replied, "He'd be a very grumpy man."

Anakin leaned in and continued, "Luckily for me, he doesn't need to know."

"And what makes you think I won't tell him myself?"

Anakin waved his hand slowly in her direction and said just as slowly, "You don't remember my recent use of the Force."

Padmé blinked a handful of times before looking at the Jedi across from her incredulously, saying "Did you really just try that?"

Anakin looked down to his right hand and said just loud enough for her to hear, "That doesn't make any sense. I'm the most powerful Force sensitive in the galaxy."

Padmé busted out laughing at this declaration, Anakin following suit, prompting many of the nearby patrons to look sideways at the table out of curiosity. She was close to tears at his presumptuous statement. Once she calmed down, she looked up at the same time as him, allowing their eyes to lock together again. Padmé's giggles returned at the sight of him, but she shook her head from left to right and looked back down at her food, continuing with her dinner. Anakin, never one to pass up the opportunity to eat, followed her example.

The remainder of their dinner was spent in relative silence save for the few remarks they made about the other. Anakin was the first to finish, and pushed his plates back before patting his now full stomach.

Padmé having a few scraps left, simply rolled her eyes and muttered, "Such a glutton."

Anakin smiled at her remark, but remained silent as she finished her meal, pushing the plate back herself.

Seconds later, the same droid that they encountered minutes ago arrived and quickly took the plates from them, before asking in a highly feminine mechanical voice, "You wan' any dessert?"

Anakin shook his head at the droid before looking at Padmé, who shook her head as well, then he replied, "No, we're fine. We'll take the bill."

The droid rolled away and said something to Dex behind the counter that neither Anakin nor Padmé cared to hear before returning with a small datapad in hand saying, "Here ya go hon'."

The droid set it down in the middle of the table, and both parties glance up at each other, daring the other to try and grab it first. Then, without provocation, both reached out simultaneously, but Anakin's reflexes won the day. Padmé's hand clasped down on empty air as the datapad was taken from her reach and firmly in the hands of the young man opposite her.

"Ani." she whined, "I'll pay for the meal. It was supposed to be my dinner after all."

"And I tagged along for the ride." Anakin replied while looking over the digitized words and numbers on the datapad.

"Anakin," she said forcibly, "I'm paying. I'm the affluent senator who takes their friends out to eat. Not the senator who expects my meal be paid for."

"Now give me the bill." she continued after a short pause in which he didn't nudge in the least.

Anakin looked up, amused, and said, "Are you threatening me, Senator?"

"Yes, I am." she replied seriously.

Anakin had to lean back and ask, "And what makes you think I'm afraid of a beautiful Nubian woman like you?"

"I can kill sentients twice my size with half as much effort as you. That's why." Padmé replied confidently.

Anakin 'tsk'ed several times while looking back down at the datapad and responded, "Didn't you ever learn to never mess with a Jedi, Padmé?"

Just as Padmé was about to retort, her mouth was inexplicably shut by an unseen force. Her alarm turned to fury as she noticed Anakin having his right hand raised in her direction, but his focus was still on the datapad. He then set it on the table and pulled out some small chips of some kind form the belt he wore, all while maintaining a 'shit-eating grin' as the Terrans would say. She raised her right hand and pointed her index finger at the culprit, while attempting to say a string of words unknown to everyone but her.

Anakin merely shook his head from side to side before saying loud enough for the waitress droid to hear, "Excuse me, ma'am. Here you go."

She rolled over after setting several dishes down on the table that ordered them and took the datapad from him before rolling away.

He lowered his hand as he stood, freeing Padmé from his grasp, and said amusingly, "You'd do well to remember how powerful I am."

She narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Do that again Anakin, and I'll have your head."

Anakin raised his hands in surrender, "Wow, Padmé. No need to be violent."

He lowered his arms to his side and motioned to the door, "Let's return you to your apartment. I still have some news to share with you in private."

She huffed in indignation and walked past him, brushing gently against his shoulder before allowing then door to open before her. Anakin was right on her heels as they made their way left and towards his parked speeder.

Anakin's yellow speeder quickly moved through the skylanes, bobbing and weaving through the lanes of traffic that stood between him and Padmé's apartment some two and a half kilometers away. Next to the energetic young man, as far back against the seat as possible and her hands clutching the armrests with a death grip sat Padmé, a look torn between fear and amusement crossing her countenance.

"Slow down!" she yelled, but Anakin seemed to be hard of hearing, as he sped up incrementally once he banked to the left out of the way of a tall freighter moving too slow for his liking.

"Ani, please! Slow down!" she screamed again.

A roguish grin began spreading across his face as his complied, and he said sarcastically, "I'm sorry milady. I didn't hear you."

Padmé turned to her left and looked incredulously at the smart-ass of a man, "You heard me well enough the first time."

Anakin left the lane of traffic and began his descent to her landing pad near the top of the structure that was 500 Republica, "Now would I lie to you Padmé?"

"Apparently you would." she crossed her arms and said indignantly.

Anakin set the craft down turned to look at her, and said remorsefully, "I'm sorry Padmé. I'll be more receptive to your desires next time. I swear."

She looked away from him after a pause responded, "You better."

Without waiting for him, she exited the craft, Anakin hot on her heels. He quickly caught up to the petite senator and walked beside her at her own pace as they neared the door. It opened before them automatically, and the light, previously off, turned on, illuminating the expansive room. Padmé strode over to a nearby chair, allowing Anakin to sit in an adjacent couch close to her. He looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to say something.

When she didn't move to begin the conversation, he stated, "Well are you going to say something or just stare at me?"

She uncrossed her arms and sighed, looking down and away from his gaze.

When she spoke, it seemed like she was both angry and disappointed, "Ani, you know I hate it when you use the Force on me. What you did was very disrespectful to me."

His face fell in remorse, "I'm sorry Padmé. I swear on my life I'll never use the Force on you again without permission."

She looked back up at him, than to the side and replied, "It's alright Ani, just don't do it again."

She perked up slightly at the change in subject as she asked, "Now, you had an announcement for me?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot." Anakin prefaced before taking a breath, than continued, "It appears if all goes well on Ryloth, you'll need to refer to me as Knight Skywalker."

She gasped audibly and smiled despite her best efforts, replying. "That's wonderful Ani!"

She than reached over and gave Anakin a bone-crushing hug and continued, "I know you'll do well."

Anakin smiled proudly while she still clutched to him and said, "You have no idea how much I value that sentiment, Padmé."

She leaned back while still in his embrace and said with a little concern in her voice, "Ani, I need to give to something. It's a good luck charm."

She closed her eyes as if deep in thought before she grabbed onto the twine braid holding up an unknown necklace, pulling the object up from its resting place on her bosom. The object's identity became more and more evident as its pressed against the silk gown Padmé still wore, until finally the white wooden object revealed itself. It had an archaic design, as if hand-made, and was somewhat small, only the size of the palm of her hand. Anakin's expression went from curiosity to disbelief as his eyes bulged at the sight of the object. With rapt attention, he saw her pull the necklace of and extend her right hand, with the thing firmly grasped within, towards him.

"You kept it. After all these years." he said quietly, astonished and humbled.

"How could I not?" she said gently before opening his right hand and placing the object within before closing it manually, "It's been my most prized possession, and now I want you to have it again."

Anakin glanced down at the object within his grasp, then back at her and said, "Padmé, I can't possibly-" she cut him off.

She shushed him and said quietly, "It's still my most prized possession, so I expect you to return it. But it's given me good luck over the years like you promised. Considering the circumstances, I think you'll need it more than me."

Their eyes spoke volumes as they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Anakin's com-link sounded off with an annoying set of chirps, which drew their attention to the guilty device.

Anakin cursed under his breath and pulled the small object out of his belt and to his mouth before saying, annoyed, " Skywalker here."

Padmé heard from her close proximity, "Anakin, this is Obi-Wan. It's getting late. Please wrap up whatever you're doing with the good senator and return to our quarters."

"Yes Master, I'll be there in a few. Skywalker out." Anakin sighed, wanting to say more but knowing it would have to wait for later.

A short battle was waged in his head as he stood before Padmé, but one side quickly won, and, throwing caution to the wind, he leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

Her shock subsided quickly, and she faintly heard him say amidst the storm in her head, "One way or another, I'm giving this back to you. I swear it."

Time flew as she saw him jump into his speeder and fly away, her hands ghosting across her burning lips and a small smile spreading wider and wider as time went by. Anakin himself was grinning like an initiate who won the annual Sabre Competition at the Temple. Neither would find sleep easily that night.

26 August 2,575 CE/26:8:9 BSC

Hangar Bay 01, JSF Perseverance, High Orbit of Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core World Territories

05:08:27 (Local Time)

The hangar bay was nothing more but a large rectangular prism, roughly one-hundred and fifty meters in length by fifty meters in depth. The entrance was composed of a clear material that separated the vacuum of space from the atmosphere inside, with a blue outline along the walls. It was also divided up of two major areas: the hangar bay floor, which composed most of the bay and had over a dozen small craft spread apart of varying classes and the walkway and raised platform some three meters off the ground level, and only a scant four meters wide, with a large door leading to the corridor beyond.

At the moment, a pair of triangularly-shaped craft hovered above an empty patch of the hangar bay floor. The one to the right was white with a blue paint design and a young caucasian male beneath the transparisteel covering of the cockpit. To the pilot's left was a moving dome with a different shade of blue for its paint, which let out a series of beeps as if communicating with the pilot. The craft on the left was also white, but with red paint in a similar design to its counterpart. Underneath the transparisteel covering of the cockpit towards the back was an older looking caucasian male, one with rust colored hair and a complimenting beard. Also to his left was a similar droid, only red and with a top that evened out.

The craft had three clamps, two at the back and one towards the front, that extended down towards the hangar bay floor. The vessels slowly descended until the clamps hit the dull metal, pushed down momentarily before straightening back out to hold the weight of the starship above. Both pressed down on several unseen buttons within before the cockpit opened up with a whish. The pair pulled their safety belts off themselves and stood within the enclosure before calmly walking onto the right wing. They jumped off their ships and moved towards each other, their droids joining them in jumping out of their pit and onto the floor.

"It's unbecoming of a Jedi to cheat, Anakin." Obi-Wan said as they neared each other and turned to face the walkway leading to the corridor some twenty meters away.

"I didn't cheat." Anakin quickly defended himself, "You're just slow."

"Are you calling me a poor pilot?" Obi-Wan asked, amused.

"If the boot fits." Anakin cheekily replied.

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, "I'll leave flying to the droids anyway."

"Where's the fun in that?" Anakin asked as they began walking up the stairs, a handful of soldiers in grey uniforms milling about.

"Pardon me if I'm a little cautious when controlling a flying metal death machine." Obi-Wan responded sarcastically.

"You're just hate flying." Anakin announced with a grin as they hit the walkway and turned to the right, now a scant five meters from the main door.

"I don't hate flying," Obi-Wan corrected, "I just hate when you fly."

Anakin stopped, forcing Obi-Wan to turn and see his padawan clutching his heart as if he was suffering from cardiac arrest, while an expression of mock pain crossed his features, and said, "Master, you wound me."

"Stop being so over-dramatic, Anakin. We have a job to do." Obi-Wan reprimanded with the faintest of a smile beneath his goatee.

Anakin lowered his hand back to his side and said with a wider grin, "Sorry Master. I'll behave."

Knight Kenobi turned and, while walking away with Anakin following suit, said seriously, "If you value a regular sleep schedule, you will."

Anakin allowed a satisfied grin to grace his countenance as the pair spent the remainder of their trip in silence. The rounded edges of the hallway flowed seamlessly from one corridor to another in an ancient design long in use in Republic warships since the days of the Jedi Civil War. The walls were a blank white with periodic grey blast doors at the ends of hallways and along the walls. Sterile lights were evenly spaced along the curved roof, allowing no room for darkness. The pair of Jedi squinted under the assault of photons as soon as they marched through the threshold to the first hallway, and remained that way for all of the ten odd minutes it took them to reach the bridge.

At the moment, the two Jedi were along in a spacious lift that ascended up three levels of the craft to the command deck. The lift's interior was bright white tiles with grey outlines and a sterile white light at the top of the small room. An expansive grey door stood in front of the Jedi, similar in design to the others of its kind found throughout the vessel.

Once the lift stopped some seconds after they entered it, the door opened suddenly and a hallway no longer than thirty meters revealed itself to them. No one milled about in this corridor, but two sentients, both human males of paler complexion stood at attention in the Republic's standard issue armor and DC-15S's slung across their chests at the ready. The pair of marines eyes the robed sentients before them with suspicion as they approached, their index fingers instinctively inching themselves closer to the trigger mechanisms. As the Jedi got closer, however, their identities were clearly discernible and the soldiers straightened themselves out more and inclined their chins further up at the sight of the famous duo walking towards them. The anxious marines gave them no acknowledgement save for a short nod, with both Jedi reciprocated before the massive blast door opened to reveal the relatively bare bridge of the JSF Perseverance.

The bridge was abuzz with activity as ensigns of many different species moved their fingers across their holographic displays near the speed of light, the deck officers walking quickly from one terminal to another to oversee all activities. At the center stood a portly man with his uniform in relative disarray and badges crooked. He was standing at attention overlooking the holographic table, the image of an elderly man in rich clothing quickly disappearing, replaced by that of blue and green dots moving quickly across the expanse of digitized space.

Upon hearing the sound of the main entrance to the bridge open behind him, he turned and looked at the two individuals some odd meters away and said in an arrogant, Coruscanti accent while giving a mock bow, "Ah, the Jedi finally grace us with their presence."

The two Jedi bowed in kind and Knight Kenobi replied stoically, "It is an honor to be aboard this proud vessel of the Republic, and to be in the presence of such a noteworthy officer such as yourself Captain Rokahn."

The good captain didn't seem amused as he huffed in reply before turning his back on the two mystics, instead focusing on the holographic display.

The cacophony died down slightly and one of the ensigns announced loud enough for all to hear in the bridge, "Captain, all vessels are in formation and awaiting your command."

The captain nodded and responded, "Set course for the Ryloth System. Go to hyperspace on my mark."

Several moments passed in the bridge, the Jedi observed, in which seemingly nothing happened save for the constant typing away at holograms and the sound of steps from the deck officers going about in their patrols. The holographic table at the center revealed a set of twenty large triangles of equal size to the one at the direct center of the image and roughly thirty or more other sized triangles spread around, all forming up in a pyramid with the triangle at the center of digitized space at the forefront. Outside the main viewport at the front of the bridge, the blackness of space was pot marked with white pinpricks and a large spherical object some hundred thousand kilometers away to the left of the screen, taking up roughly a full fifth of the transparisteel.

"Mark!" Captain Rokahn announced, and after a few second delay, the white pinpricks extended into long shafts of light.

The captain held onto the edge of the holographic table before him to maintain his balance as the Jedi took a small step back to regain theirs after the ship lurched forward into the realm of hyperspace. The captain let go a second later, and the Jedi took a step forward again, their stone faces unmoving. Outside the glass of the viewport a swirling blue tunnel extended for what appeared to be eternity.

The captain then turned to face the Jedi again and said, "Alright Jedi, this is my ship, so you'll abide by my rules. Understood?"

Anakin quirked an eyebrow up at this statement and whispered to Knight Kenobi, "He can't be serious."

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding, shooting Anakin a quick look, prompting the young man to quickly follow his example, and said diplomatically, "Of course, Captain. We shall not interfere in your business in the least unless our mandate demands such action."

Anakin winced inwardly for a brief half second before he said without emotion, "You won't even know we're here."

The captain narrowed his eyes at them and ordered, "Be sure I don't."

He then straightened his back and raised his chin, "We won't reach Ryloth for another seventy-two hours, so you have until then to do whatever the hell Jedi do for entertainment. I hope for your sake that's just quiet contemplation."

"Than if you'll excuse us?" Obi-Wan replied, "We'll make our leave. May the Force be with you captain."

The captain mumbled something inaudible as the Jedi turned on their heels and walked towards the door opposite them. After trekking through the corridors of the warship for several minutes in silence, the pair stood before a large door of similar size to that of the bridge entrance. It opened before them to reveal a short hallway, no more than twenty meters long, with a group of five doors on the right and left, each just barely over a meter wide.

The two walked together, shoulder to shoulder, as they approached the first door to the right. When within knocking distance of the metal door, Obi-Wan moved his right hand to the small terminal to the immediate right of the door and punched in a series of five unknown numbers. The door then slid up into the wall to reveal a cramped room with no more than eight-and-a-half meters wide and nine long, with two small beds barely wide enough to support either of the broad-shouldered Jedi. A single desk with one drawer near the top and a closed closet also were in the room, but no other amenities were inside. The walls were a drab grey with a decimeter wide white bar running along the top of the walls and floor. A single ventilation shaft was seen across from the drawer, which itself rested between the two adjacent beds.

Obi-Wan quickly scanned the room and said evenly while nodding, "Well, I've seen worse."

Anakin began moving forward into the room, Obi-Wan crossing the threshold close behind, and replied, "Certainly better than a tent during Dantooine's rainy season."

Obi-Wan stopped in front of the bed furthest from the door, Anakin having chose the one closest, and both began taking off their heavy cloak, and said to his apprentice, "Or a cave on Hoth."

Anakin stopped after taking off one sleeve and turned to the left to look at his master, a perplexed expression on his face, "When were you ever in the Hoth System."

Obi-Wan continued, folding the cloak on the bed, "I never did tell you about Qui-Gon's misadventures with a small, easily scared apprentice, did I?"

Anakin hastily threw the cloak on the bed as Obi-Wan finished neatly folding his, and asked, "It looks like you have a story to tell."

Obi-Wan shook his head while turning around to face away from the bed, before crossing his legs and sitting down in a meditative position, "It's not a very interesting tale."

Anakin leaned in and preformed the same maneuver as his master, getting ready to immerse himself in the Force, "Tell it anyway."

"Alright." Obi-Wan dragged out the word.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and allowed for his breathing to become more shallow, each rise and fall of the chest happening at longer and longer intervals. Anakin did the same not a second later, and soon enough, the two were immersed in the Force. Obi-Wan's calm visage broke out into a small, almost unnoticeable grin as he mentally relayed his experience on the ice world to Anakin, who's own entertained smile spread from ear to ear.

29 August 2,575 CE/29:8:9 BSC

Bridge of the JSF Perseverance, High Orbit of Ryloth, Ryloth System, Gaulus Sector, Outer Rim Territories

10:59:27 (Local Time)

Just ten minutes ago the task force dropped out of hyperspace above Ryloth and were in the midst of preparing for deployment on the planet's surface. The bridge of the capital ship, the Perseverance, was a whirlwind of activity as officers moved from place to place issuing orders into their com-links to those under their command while the captain stood before the holoprojector, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. The image was of an aged human male in ornate robes, but this was quickly replaced by that of the planet below, with fifty blue triangles of noticeable size all facing in the same direction above its surface. The image of the planet moved from left to right slowly before him, with the triangles remaining stationary in their positions.

The sound of the main entrance of the bridge opening barely registered in the captain's mind against the sound of activity around him. Walking through the threshold, passed the pair of armed guards, were the two Jedi. They strode in with only a handful of steps and were but two meters from the captain before the intentional coughing from Obi-Wan alerted Rokahn of their presence.

He turned quickly, rolled his eyes, then turned to face the holoprojector again while saying, "Surely you Jedi don't need me to tell you exactly what you obviously should do?"

Anakin narrowed his eyes and replied, "We just didn't know if you could handle things up here, captain."

The captain turned around, looking furious at the padawan's bold challenge, but Obi-Wan, after he quickly turned to look at his apprentice, was quicker with his statement, "Anakin, we're here to receive our orders, not antagonize the captain."

He then murmured just loud enough for Anakin to hear, "Even if he does deserve it."

Anakin bowed his head in defeat, but his eyes, not visible from the captain's perspective, danced with amusement.

Rokahn, getting a reign on his brewing anger, raised his chin high and said, "Thank you Knight Kenobi. It's good to see not all Jedi are incapable teachers."

The captain then turned back to the holoprojector and said a little too loudly, "Because we have yet to secure a satisfactory hangar bay planet-side, you both will be escorted down to the planet's surface on one of the AIAT's, callsign 'Reach-one-a'."

"What shall we do once we reach the ground, Captain?" Obi-Wan asked.

"You will do as your mandate suggests: aid us in restoring order to Ryloth and the nearby planets." the captain responded.

"Very well than" Obi-Wan said as he bowed, Anakin lagging behind only minimally.

Once the two returned to their original heights, they turned on their heels, and left, Anakin and Obi-Wan walking side-by-side. The doors to the bridge opened automatically for them and the pair quickly made their way through the corridors to the lift, then the hangar bay. The smell of starcraft fuel immediately filled the Jedi's nostrils as then door opened, Anakin allowing a nostalgic smile to spread across his face as Obi-Wan scrunched up his. In they walked through a side entrance of the bustling hangar bay, moving casually through the storm of sentients going from place to place in the expanse. Sounds of machinery moving about and sentients shouting in various languages reverberated off the walls as the two Jedi continue their trek through the hangar bay. Crates and bins were being moved either by machinery or with a pair of soldiers as they were carried to various transports, most AIAT/i's. A row of four AIAT/i's were lined up, all facing the blue-outlined edge of the hangar bay, their rear ramp leading to the troop bays open and a faint red light barely illuminating the expanse inside. Each one had their center occupied by crates or bins already moved inside, each group of them resting on top of a wooden pallet with straps circling from the open center of the pallet, around the side, across the top down the other side, and back, or circling around the sides. Along both sides were a line of twenty-five small, uncomfortable-looking chairs, some craft already having a good dozen or so filled with people, some strapped in and others simply using them as a temporary resting place.

The two snaked their way through the crowd until they reached the vessel nearest the other end of the hangar bay from which they entered, and walked up the ramp. Their steps were measured as they walked forward, through the cargo hold and through a threshold into a secondary walkway that lead to the cockpit. After five steps, they walked through another doorway, which opened up to a small compartment with three seats, two facing forward towards the windows and one facing a wall of screens and one terminal. Each seat was occupied, with one human female in dark blue pilot's uniform and one Ithorian in similar dress in the pilot and co-pilot seats, and a male blue Twi'lek in a blue uniform in the navigation officer's seat.

All turned to look at the pair of Jedi, and the human female asked, "Can I help you two?"

Obi-Wan responded with a disarming smile and a nod in her direction, "We were simply wondering if this is 'Reach-one-a"

"Indeed it is." she responded with her own smile to match the Jedi's.

"Excellent." Obi-Wan said, "We will be joining you today, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." she shook her head, then continued, "Make yourselves comfortable. We don't leave for another ten minutes."

"Very well." Obi-Wan finished before turning around and leaving the cockpit with Anakin in tow.

The remainder of the trip to the cargo hold was silent, and within ten minutes, every seat was filled with humanoid sentients. The repulsorlift engines activated and all four of the ships lifted off the ground, the four clamps on the bottom of each slowly ascending back into their original positions within. The engines whined and a bright blue light emanated from inside the conical shapes. Within seconds, all four shot out of the hangar bay at break-neck speed and passed through the transparent material into the void of space. Moving as a squadron, the group of four AIAT/i's angled downward in the direction of the planet in a phalanx formation, two on the left side and behind the craft the two Jedi were in, and one to the right and behind. Numerous other squadrons formed up around them as they entered the atmosphere, the air friction lighting up the transparisteel in a fiery red and orange light. From within the cargo hold, the fifty sentients shook violently with the fierce turbulence.

Large, puffy clouds filled the sky above the city of Lessu, their white texture blending in splendidly against the light purple back-drop of the atmosphere behind. The city was in a tense silence, not a sound reverberating through the air. Not a speeder sped by, nor sentient walk in the abandoned streets. Suddenly, without provocation, the loud ringing of large bells filed the morning air, prompting a flock of twenty or so small flying creatures to take off from their perched position and glide into the distance. Other than the bells, which rang in sets of four, the air was silent.

The clouds just above the city center parted as if pushed open by an invisible force before a group of twelve craft broke through and spread out across the city. These ships, AIAT/i's, carried within fifty armed men, and more than a handful of crew to man the weapons and navigational equipment. Above the park, a single one landed slowly, the sound of starcraft engines outdoing that of the bells. Towards the back of the craft, white gas shot out from four corners of a clearly visible door, and said door's top lowered slowly to the ground. A handful of seconds passed as the ramp descended to the ground before, with a thud, it touched with the soft earth of the park. In the compartment, bathed in a faint red glow, two platoons of soldiers, one on each side, and a pair of robed Jedi stood at attention at the center-back, ready to step foot on the ground first.

Anakin stepped forward from his position to the right of his master. Obi-Wan was a step behind as the pair descended the craft and set foot on the soft ground. The gentle afternoon wind brushed passed them, causing their cloaks to billow out and to the left slightly. They looked from left to right, assessing any potential threats, then motioned for the two lieutenants to lead their men out of the craft.

Anakin took another couple steps forward, stopping in front of a nearby fountain. The marble structure was small, only a scant three meters in diameter, with a two meter height. The bottom of the pool was filed with clear water, and a ring of three hoses near the top of the spire at the center of the fountain shot water out and in an arc to the pool below. Several pieces of round metal shined through the crystal-clear water, grabbing Anakin's attention momentarily. The sound of officers issuing orders behind him filled his ears, but he paid them little attention as he instead focused on the empty streets around him.

Obi-Wan stepped forward and joined his apprentice before asking, "Anakin, are you alright?"

"Something seems off, Master." Anakin pointed out while still scanning the area.

"How do you mean?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Surely you sense that dark presence." Anakin stated while turning to look at Obi-Wan, his brow furrowed, "It's practically suffocating me."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes in concentration, before opening them some seconds later, nodding his head in agreement, "I sense a faint trace of darkness, but it's certainly not 'suffocating' as you put it."

"But you sense it nonetheless?"

"Yes, but it's not anything worth working myself up over." Obi-Wan assured.

This didn't seem to assuage him, as Anakin continued, "We need to be on the look-out, Master. I fear this mission is far more complicated than our mandate suggests."

Obi-Wan raised a single eyebrow and asked, "Since when did you care about the limits of our mandate?"

Anakin shrugged and responded in a sage-like voice, "Certain situations require a delicate hand, Padawan."

Obi-Wan mock-scowled and, while Anakin smirked, replied, "Thank you for putting me back in my place, Master."

Anakin inclined his head in a mock bow, "Anytime my student."

Obi-Wan shook his head and whispered under his breath, "The things I put up with."

"Hush now, Obi-Wan." Anakin responded, "You're lucky to have an apprentice like me."

Obi-Wan smiled and turned towards the soldiers who we filing out of the transport, "That depends on your definition of 'lucky' my young apprentice."

Before Anakin could give a witty reply, a short human male with a dark skin-tone walked up to them, bowing slightly in their presence. His armor was of the same design as the rest, grey and black plastoid armor and black under-armor covering the joints and neck. His helmet covered most of the back and top of the head, leaving the face exposed. He clutched the traditional DC-15 across his chest, his finger resting comfortably several centimeters from the trigger.

"Master Jedi," he said with a deep tone, drawing out the first vowel of the words.

"I'm in need of your assistance." he continued, looking from one to the other.

"What do you need officer?" Anakin asked while quirking his left eyebrow up.

"We'll be setting up our command post in the governmental building over there." he continued, raising his right hand away form the trigger and towards the large marble building some hundred meters from them, "And we'll be needing your insight as to where to place all the equipment for your convenience."

The pillars and classic style of the building reminded both Jedi of the older civilizations they had encountered in their many years of service. The windows were all darkened, and not a single sentient appeared to be milling about inside.

Anakin, after getting a full view of the building, turned to look at the commander, and asked, "Isn't that where the Ryloth Congress meets?"

"Indeed it is, Padawan Skywalker." the commander confirmed

"Won't they be," Anakin replied, turning to look at Obi-Wan, "oh, I don't know," then back at the commander, "governing."

The commander knowingly smiled and replied, "Actually, they won't."

When neither of the Jedi responded in the affirmative, instead with questioning stared, he continued, "By Executive Order, Ryloth is under JSF authority until such a time that order is restored to the system."

"Why weren't we informed of this development?" Obi-Wan asked hastily, the shock seeping through his otherwise calm facade.

"The captain felt your mandate didn't require you to be knowledgeable of this development." the officer replied stoically.

"Well obviously the captain's judgement is wrong." Anakin pointed out angrily.

Before the commander could properly retort, Obi-Wan sighed in frustration and said while rubbing both his eyes with his right hand, "Anakin, there's no need to yell at the commander for the incompetence of his superior officer. It's best if we just dropped it and moved on from here."

Anakin huffed much like a wild beast dissatisfied with recent developments in its domain, but soon after closed his eyes and found his center.

Once he calmed down, he bowed his head and said to Obi-Wan, "I'm sorry Master. I shouldn't let my anger get the best of me so easily."

The commander quirked his eyebrow at the sight before him, but maintained his place as Obi-Wan clasped his hand on Anakin's right shoulder and said to his apprentice, "It's alright, Anakin. You're still learning."

Obi-Wan then turned to face the commander again and asked, "May you please inform the captain that we must be informed of all developments pertaining to this mission on Ryloth from here on out?"

The commander bowed and said evenly, "I shall do so at once master Jedi."

"Thank you" Obi-Wan said with a thin smile while bowing equally as deeply as the commander, before seeing him walk off with even strides through the growing crowd of uniformed sentients.

XXX

Corner of Fifth Avenue and Vrolu Road, Lessu, Ryloth, Ryloth System, Gaulus Sector, Outer Rim Territories

12:53:17 (Local Time)

The roads were almost entirely empty, the only sounds being those of the repulsorlift engines working on the nearby JSF craft hovering off the ground in their patrols around the city. This particular street corner was narrow, the two roads in question meeting at a near parallel angle, and a building contorting to the side-walk, giving it the appearance of an arrow-head from above. Pieces of garbage and debris littered the road and side-walk, blown by the gentle wind from one side to another.

To the east, across the street from the narrow building, strode out a hooded figure who's only distinguishable features were a pair of human-looking wrinkled hands that had little color to them, dark black pants, brown boots, and a brown cape made from some no-doubt expensive material, held onto the body with a shining silver chain running from one side of the neck to another and anchored with two equally shiny round buttons roughly the size of an average-sized wrist watch. His head was held low and his hood darkened every part of his face save for the very tip of his nose and lowest part of his chin.

This figure crossed the street in a handful of long strides within seconds and turned north, up the nearest road to him, Fifth Avenue, and walked forward for several minutes. As he reached a dark alleyway, the sound of an approaching AIAT/i filled his ears, and he quickly ducked inside, the lack of light protecting him from the fast-moving gunship. As soon as he ducked into the alley, the gunship flew passed his position, casting a long shadow onto the street and nearby buildings below from its position some hundred and fifty meters in the air.

Once the gunship was a sufficient distance away, the hooded man began walking deeper into the alleyway. The alley was darkened considerably, even at the height of the Ryloth day, with the only light coming from the small lamps hanging from the walls some two meters above the ground and spaced out considerably. Each one cast a yellow light down upon the grimy, dirty, uneven ground of the artificial chasm. Before the figure was a set of five steps down onto an even dirtier ground, which spread out from two meters in width to five meters in width. Some two meters from the steps was a door that seemed unnaturally clean compared to the unkempt walls it rested against, and a lone sentient, a human by appearance stood in classic criminal garb, the shirt torn at the sleeves to show off his bulging muscles and a black leather jacket over the shirt in question. The jacket had the design of a downward-facing dagger against the backdrop of a white circle.

The possible criminal kept his eyes trained solely on the hooded figure as he approached, going down the steps and passed him before continuing on his journey. Once he was a meter to the miscreant's right, he turned to the left and spit on the ground, and huffed. After walking forty meters, the figure came across a fork in the road, turned to the left without missing a beat, and continued down the corridor, this one roughly three meters in width. Some of the lights flickered the further he went, but his strides didn't change, instead he picked his head up slightly, allowing, when under a light, the view of the bottom of his lip down to his chin, and more of his nose.

Another set of steps, some meter in width with an enclave to the right that had hiding inside a pair of trash bins overflowing with black bags and stray pieces of garbage, was waiting in from of him some ten meters away The unknown sentient ascended the set of seven steps and continued on his walk, noticing the alley broadened considerably to be able to fit a speeder going in one direction. Some fifty meters from him, beyond set of two closed garage doors, stood a lone, black-cloaked figure with its hood also drawn up to cover its face. The original hooded figure raised its hands up to grasp onto the edge of the hood before pulling it down, revealing the face of the ever so famous Count Dooku of Serenno.

Within moments, the count was before the black-cloaked man, who had no visible signs of being any specific humanoid sentients species.

The second man knelt down and said reverently with malice lacing its way through each word, "Master, I bring you good news."

"Rise, my apprentice." the count commanded deeply, with a noble tone to his voice while turning his hands over so the palm was face-up and moving upwards slowly.

With the hand motion, the apprentice rose to his full height and looked down at the count, "Our most recent reports show we are producing at one-hundred and fifty percent capacity, and the rate is growing by the day. We will have the largest fleet the galaxy has ever seen in a matter of months."

"This is good news indeed," Dooku said mostly to himself while nodding his head before tuning his attention back to his apprentice, "Have you received a report from our ONI allies on the progress of their mission?"

"I am told the Banking Clan and Commerce Guilds are in favor of separation from the Republic, for a nominal fee, of course, but the Trade Federation is proving harder to convince."

Dooku furrowed his brow and asked, "Why are they stalling?"

"Our ONI agent it under the assumption that they mistrust us after the Naboo Incident."

Dooku thought this over silently for a handful of moments before an evil, giddy smirk spread across his face and he said, "I know how to alleviate the Viceroy's concerns and eliminate a future enemy in one fell swoop."

The apprentice quirked his head noticeably to the right side and asked, "What is your plan, Master?"

"Send word for our bounty hunter to make his way to Coruscant and eliminate Senator Amidala." Dooku ordered.

"Why not our ONI operatives on Coruscant. Surely they're more reliable."

Dooku narrowed his eyes and said darkly, "Do not question me if you wish to remain in one piece, my apprentice. Send word to Fett immediately. Time is of the essence."

The apprentice bowed and replied, "As you wish, Master."

XXX

Ryloth Congressional Building, Lessu, Ryloth, Ryloth System, Gaulus Sector, Outer Rim Territories

15:51:23 (Local Time)

Several hours passed before the command post was set up properly in Lessu's Capitol Building. A line of barbed wire, a nice throwback to ancient times, surrounded the premises, groups of five soldiers patrolling along the edges. Every window was shining with bright white light breaking through the inherent darkness of the planet to illuminate the nearby area. A group of twenty or so sentients milled about on the roof of the building, their rifles elongated and slimmer than the ones used by their comrades below, with a visible scope on the top of the rifles on each.

The main doors to the lobby behind the row of columns were closed, the edges shining with light breaking through the crevices. The lobby lay behind, the room an easy thousand square meters in area. Before the JSF took up residence, the chamber was ornate in nature, the marble tiles that made up the floor a mix of various shades of white and grey, streaks of black snaking their way through. On the north wall was a large archways with a staircase behind, the clean-cut marble making it up as well. Its railings were seemingly copper or brass, but the exact composition is unknown. Halfway up the wall to the roof was a second floor with a long balcony running along the expanse of the wall overlooking the lobby. The railing was the exact same as those of the staircases nearby, and a row of three large wooden doors stood at the center of the balcony across from the railing. The center one, the largest of the three, had, on its left, a plaque which read in Galactic Basic, "Congressional Rotunda Entrance". The east and west walls each had an archway that lead off to a hallway that went on for some time, wooden doors along their expanse, all open with soldiers moving from one to another.

A great many wires of varying widths criss-crossed the expanse of the lobby. These wires connected to numerous different machines, from generators to terminals, to large fans to keep the area cool. There was no pattern to the madness, as sentients moved from one end of the room to another, their footfalls joining with the yells and orders to create a whirlwind of noise. Leaning over the railing was the young Skywalker, his elbows resting against the metal framework. His eyes darted from the line of terminals along the east wall manned by droids and sentients alike, to the main holoprojector some five meters in diameter at the center with at least twenty wires protruding from it on all sides, to the circle of crates and bins on the south-east corner with a handful of soldiers sitting on them and talking amicably. Behind him and to the left, Obi-Wan was talking to an officer of some kind, their rank displayed on their left breast in the form of a column of one red square and two blue, from top to bottom. Once their conversation was over, Obi-Wan turned and walked over to Anakin, leaning his back against the railing while propping his elbow up on the metal framework.

Obi-Wan turned his head to the left and asked, "Still riled up about the captain?"

Anakin sighed and shook his head while closing his eyes, and once he opened them, he looked into space and answered, "No, it's not that."

Obi-Wan asked sincerely, "Than what's the matter?"

Anakin pushed himself away from the railing and said while looking away distantly in the direction of the main doorway of the lobby, "It just feels like the Force is trying to tell me something but I can't hear it right. It's like listening to someone talk during Coruscant's rush-hour. I hear something, but the background noise is too loud to make out anything coherent."

Obi-Wan pushed off himself and folded his arms over his chest before asking, "What do your instincts tell you?"

Anakin turned his head and looked into Kenobi's eyes as he stated, "We're in the middle of a brewing storm, but we're too damn blind to actually see it. It tells me we're here for a simple mission, but it's anything but simple. It feels like something big is about to happen, something of galactic significance."

Obi-Wan nodded, taking all this in stride before he looked back to his padawan and said, "I guess we'll have to keep our eyes open for anything unusual, Padawan."

Obi-Wan then turned on his heels and, while facing towards the east hallway on the second level, said to Anakin "Now come on, I've been meaning to see the mess hall, and Force knows you're hungry."

As if on cue, Anakin's stomach gurgled as if it was waiting for the most opportune time to sound off, prompting Anakin to look down sheepishly. Obi-Wan just shook his head while chuckling softly to himself, before he took a few steps forward, Anakin right behind him. His thoughts were still on the muddled warnings, but at least now he could fill himself with lackluster food.