CHAPTER 9:

EMISSARIES

It was some time after the trip to Japan, and Alnus Hill now had a small town adjacent to the base, for refugees from Coda, along with those affected by the scorched earth tactics the Emperor had employed. These had been supplemented by some servants from the Formal household, with the local tavern run by Delilah, the Bunny Warrior whom Anakin had met in Italica. One that Anakin was sure was a spy for the Formals, given what he felt through the Force.

For now, Anakin acted as an adjutant for the local 'military police', working alongside Myuute and Rory. The young Siren, having been cleared, had leapt at the chance to become, in her words, 'part of the city guard'.

Anakin, meanwhile, continued his lessons with Lelei and Cato, and occasionally sparring with Rory. He was actually grateful for that, for her superhuman abilities, way above that of any Jedi he knew of, forced him to get better and better. She also spoke to him of philosophy and morality, as well as politics.

As promised, the Jedi had sent a replacement starfighter, complete with astrodroid. For now, though, Anakin had to ensure that Yanagida or the engineers didn't try to take it apart. Instead, they had to content themselves with either just examining it, or the remains of his original starfighter.

Still, apparently the Republic was sending their first official emissary over to this world, dubbed Mondas(1). They were due to arrive sometime soon, so security was fairly high, and newcomers were highly scrutinised. And Pina was already courting the various senators here, to try and get a faction to sue for peace. More politics, in other words.

In any case, Anakin was frowning when a dark-skinned woman approached the entrance. He was there speaking with Myuute when the woman, dressed in a mantle, approached the settlement. He frowned, and reached out with the Force. The woman was…searching for something. Fear, desperation, and hope.

Anakin therefore decided to approach her. "Excuse me," he said, using the main lingua franca of Mondas rather than the Basic he had usually used. "What are you doing here?"

The woman turned to peer at him, before she said, "I need to find one of the Men in Green, one of those who drove away the Flame Dragon."

"And why is that?"

"The Flame Dragon has attacked our home in Schwarz Forest," the woman said, removing the mantle from around her head. This revealed stunningly beautiful features framed by silvery hair, golden eyes peering at him…and with the familiar pointed ears of an Elf.

"A Dark Elf," Myuute mused. "We don't see many of your like outside of your settlements."

Anakin nodded. "Your name?"

"Yao Ha Dushi," the Dark Elf said.

"Yao Ha Dushi, I am Anakin Skywalker, and this is Myuute Luna Sires. We're both working alongside the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, the military force you know as the Men in Green," Anakin said. "Come with me, please."

They stopped by the tavern, only to spot Itami and Rory having drinks. Yao scowled. "What is that degenerate doing, having that child drink?"

As Rory turned to look at Yao, with a smirk that didn't bode well, Anakin said, "That is Rory Mercury. Haven't you met her before?"

"I doubt I would have," Rory said with a pout at Anakin for spoiling her fun, while Yao's eyes widened. "The Dark Elves worship Hardy, and I'm not on the best of terms with either Hardy or her Apostle Giselle."

"My apologies, Lady Mercury, and…are you one of the JSDF?"

"Yeah. 1st Lieutenant Youji Itami."

"This is Yao Ha Dushi. She came to Alnus because the JSDF drove off the Flame Dragon," Anakin explained. "Apparently the Flame Dragon has attacked their home in Schwarz Forest."

Itami nodded. "Okay, got it. Listen, Yao, was it? If you want the JSDF's help, you need to speak to our commanding officer, Lieutenant General Hazama. We're currently engaged in negotiations with the Empire, and while diplomatic stuff isn't my strong suit, I don't want to screw it up."

"Schwarz Forest is in Elbe's territory, isn't it?" Rory asked. "I happened to see King Duran here recently, being fitted with artificial limbs. That could make things easier. After all, you only really need his permission to send a small group there to avoid causing too much ruckus."

"I'll bring that up with your commanding officer, 1st Lieutenant Itami," Yao said, bowing briefly. "However, I need them to take action before long. Our people are in hiding, but the Flame Dragon is on the rampage in our lands. At the very least, we need the same weapons that helped drive it off."

"Hey, it wasn't just all us. Anakin here helped drive the thing off with his lightsaber," Itami said.

Yao looked at Anakin. "Oh?"

"I distracted it to allow the villagers from Coda to get out of the way. My lightsaber only damaged its skin, it didn't cut through it," Anakin explained, shooting Itami a brief glare. It wasn't like Anakin didn't want to share the credit, it was just having to be dumped into this and potentially pressured into fighting the Flame Dragon again. He'd do it in a shot, especially to protect people, but politics was getting involved. He didn't want to jeopardise the peace talks.

Yao frowned. "A lightsaber…what is that?"

Anakin led the Dark Elf out of the tavern, and activated the lightsaber. Yao was entranced by the glowing blade. "A sword of light," she murmured in awe. "And you took on a Flame Dragon armed only with that?"

"I also used the Force. Many here would think it was a kind of magic. I used it to shield the villagers from the flames," Anakin said, deactivating the lightsaber. "I couldn't kill it, though…"

Along the way, Anakin picked up Lelei to act as an interpreter, as she knew Japanese better than Anakin. Anakin watched on as Yao offered what had to be the largest diamond he had ever seen as a reward for dealing with the Flame Dragon. However, Hazama declined. Anakin let Hazama know about King Duran's presence in Alnus, at least according to Rory, so Hazama told Yao to sit tight for now.

Anakin remembered Padme's frustrated address to the Senate nearly ten years ago. He hadn't actually seen it in person, what with having to meet the Jedi Council for the first time, but he saw a recording of it later. He remembered Padme exclaiming in the recording, "I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!"

However, as they left the office, Yao frustrated, Anakin said to her, "If we don't get permission, I would be willing to help. Even if the JSDF refused, I'm technically not part of them. But the odds of us winning are better with them, so I'll wait for now."

Yao nodded morosely. "Thank you, Sir Skywalker."

"None of that 'sir' business. I'm not a Jedi Knight. I'm just…a Padawan. A squire."

Then came the familiar voice of Rory, sounding a little tipsy. "And yet, you're more noble and brave than many a knight on this world at least."

Anakin looked over at the Apostle, who was smirking her usual feline smirk. "And what of the Rose Knights?"

"Exceptions rather than the rule," Rory said, waving a dainty hand in dismissal. "Chivalry is really just a means of prettying up warfare, lying to one's self…though to be fair, I actually like the truly chivalrous, because they try to hold themselves to a higher standard. No raping or pillaging, that sort of thing. Those who actually care about honour, rather than using it as window dressing to atrocities. Pina Co Lada, at least, tries to care about honour, and what's more, she's gaining perspective on the Empire she defends. The gods, in general, aren't ones for change, especially where technological and scientific development are concerned. But changing one's ideology, well, that is no sin, depending on the ideology."

"Oh?" Anakin asked, his eyes narrowing. "And what about medicine? Do the gods hold back progress on that? Do they delight in keeping people ignorant of how they can get better?"

Rory shrugged. "We Apostles are gardeners of this world, we follow the whims of our gods. I don't think Emroy cares. In truth, he's probably laughing his head off at the chaos caused by the JSDF coming here. And as much as it galls me to admit it, Hardy probably doesn't care either. She's probably laughing just as hard. But other deities here…well, let's just hope that your Republic has a policy of allowing worlds to keep a level of technology they prefer. Still, you have a point about medicine. I don't think the gods would mind advances in that being shared."

Anakin scoffed. To himself, he thought, Gods who hold back progress are not kind gods. He thought of Naboo, where the natural beauty was integrated with the technology and architecture of both the Naboo and the Gungans. It was a much more beautiful place, admittedly, than Coruscant or Tatooine. He could understand doing so to prevent something like Coruscant, which, for all its beautiful architecture for many of its buildings, was a city-spanning metropolis that lacked much in the way of natural beauty. But surely there was balance?

Balance…yes. Anakin's thoughts on that had him thinking once more on the Prophecy. The one that led Qui-Gon to taking him from Tatooine. Of a Chosen One who was prophesised to bring balance to the Force. But how does one do that? How do you bring balance to the Force? Would that mean light and dark in equal measure?

And did the Chosen One have to be a Jedi?

Anakin shook his head. He'd been thinking like that a lot lately. His discontent with the Jedi Order was growing, though this was more the precepts, he began to realise, more than anything else. He was a square block being pushed into a round hole. And he began more and more to realise this when he finally had a conversation with Obi-Wan, who had made it back to Coruscant.

Obi-Wan didn't seem happy that Anakin had been left on his own for this mission. Obi-Wan seemed to believe that Anakin wasn't quite ready yet, and he also seemed concerned for Anakin's safety, given that he was sandwiched between the belligerents of two civilisations, one more significantly advanced than the other, even if they were both relatively primitive. And he knew that Anakin despised politics. But for all that, Obi-Wan also told Anakin that he was proud of how he handled himself, given the reports that Anakin had sent back. And frankly, Anakin treasured that. Obi-Wan wasn't sparing with his praise, but it was generally understated.

Though he could have done without the kriffing lecture. Again.

Then again, Obi-Wan seemed to share a conspiratorial smile with Anakin when they discussed teaching Lelei. His admonition to Anakin not to teach the young mage any bad habits was done in jest, Anakin knew, and they shared a bit of a chuckle over it. In fact, Obi-Wan seemed pleased that Anakin found someone to be responsible for.

"You know, if you get too deep in thoughts, you may drown in them," Rory said, interrupting his train of thought. "You're very much a brooder, and it's not all adolescent angst, is it?"

Anakin merely shot her a glare. "This coming from the girl who never went through puberty?"

"Oh, you wound me so, Anakin!" Rory said, overdramatically, clutching her chest as if an arrow or a blaster bolt had struck it. "Such disrespect you show to the Apostle of Emroy!" On seeing Yao's darkened expression, Rory said, "We're joking around, Yao. I thought Dark Elves had a better sense of humour than that."

"My apologies, Lady Mercury. I am just somewhat on edge thanks to what happened," the Dark Elf said. "I don't want to keep waiting for help with the Flame Dragon either. Are you sure King Duran was here?"

"Well, his hair had turned white, and he was missing an arm and a leg, which goes very well with the eye he lost years ago," Rory said. "I also believe he is suffering from what the JSDF call post-traumatic stress disorder, just a touch. You know, how the horrors of the past, from war or destruction or murder or rape, can affect the present. Many Imperial soldiers would call that cowardice. Then again, they view battle as glorious." A sardonic smile touched her lips. "Oh, battle can be glorious, but they think of different types of glory to what I think is glorious in battle." She looked up suddenly, and her smile became more interested than cynical. "Ohoh, what's this?"

Anakin followed her gaze into the dusk sky, and watched as a silvery spaceship came out of the sky. A modified J-type 327 diplomatic barge, a beautiful wide-winged spaceship made of highly-reflective silvery metal, escorted by a pair of starfighters. But it couldn't be…could it? He had only seen this ship a few times, or at least the type.

"Oh, you recognise it, do you?" Rory asked. "Well, if there's someone you know, why not go and say hi? I'll hold your hand if you're nervous."

Anakin ignored that little bit of snark, but made his way to the airstrip, though he gave Yao a hurried farewell. He wanted to help her, though, and if the JSDF prevaricated too much, then he intended to go with Yao, by himself if need be, though he had the feeling Rory would tag along at the very least. He'd even use the Jedi Mind Trick on Duran or something, get some weapons from the armoury here, as a lightsaber seemed to do sod-all, but another anti-armour rocket would do the trick.

They went to the makeshift airstrip, where the starship and its escort had landed. A group of JSDF soldiers, led by that glasses-wearing guy Yanagida, were present, ready to greet the occupant. Yanagida turned to see Anakin approach, and nodded in acknowledgement. "I was going to send for you, Skywalker. Though why is Mercury here?"

"I want to meet our next offworld visitor," Rory said casually. "Besides, it would be an honour for an offworlder to be greeted by an Apostle."

Yanagida looked her clothes up and down. "…For all we know, dressing up as a Gothic Lolita could be an insult on their world," he snarked. While he understood the religious significance of the clothes, he did have a tendency to snark at Rory, albeit gently. Not enough to insult the Apostle.

"If it's who I think it is, Lieutenant," Anakin said, as the boarding ramp lowered, his heart racing with anticipation, even as he remained outwardly calm, "I don't think it's a problem. I recognise the spaceship. Or at least it's type. That's a J-type diplomatic barge, constructed by the Theed Palace Space Engineering Corps of Naboo."

Before Yanagida could remark on that, a young woman dressed in robes began descending the ramp, escorted by guards. Anakin felt so nervous, so excited…he hadn't seen her for years. And it was her. True, she was older, no longer a teenager but a woman grown, but her brown hair still framed beautiful features. He remembered what he said to her when they first met: "Are you an Angel?"

Yanagida saluted. "Greetings, ma'am, and welcome to Mondas. I am 1st Lieutenant Akira Yanagida. Are you the assigned diplomat from the Galactic Republic?"

"Yes, I am," the young woman said, her voice not having changed much. "I am Padme Amidala, Senator of Naboo, and on special assignment on the request of Chancellor Sheev Palpatine to be a diplomat to Mondas and Earth." Her eyes flickered over to Anakin, and then, she looked pleasantly surprised. "Ani? My goodness, you've grown."

Anakin blushed slightly. "Yes, you've grown more beautiful…I mean, for a senator…"

Rory tittered. "Awkward reunions, always fun. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you too, Senator Amidala," she said, curtseying. "I am Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy. No doubt you'll be meeting a more official and boring representative of our world, but I thought you could do with a more interesting first impression of our world."

"Well, you certainly are interesting," Padme said politely, doubtlessly bemused by Rory.

"Senator Amidala," Anakin said, falling back on formality to try and disguise what he felt, "you have no idea…"

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, here's a turn-up for the books: Padme is now in the Special Region. And, of course, their awkward dialogue is from the awkward first meeting in Episode II, only Rory doesn't mind being a moment killer. Then again, maybe it's just as well. And, of course, Yao is here.

Review-answering time! hydrangea wine: Yeah, you have a point there about the original author. It's part of the reason why I wrote in that little bit at the end of the last chapter that everyone but Dirrell and his yes-men thought it was a bad idea. In the still-being-written eleventh chapter, Dirrell gets replaced when it's revealed to the US government that he tried to abduct a representative of a galaxy-spanning superpower that dwarfs the US. Also, I decided to gloss over the whole thing with Rory trying to seduce Itami. I have to wonder how much of that is her trolling him and how much of that is a genuine attempt to seduce him, though. One thing that doesn't seem to be emphasised in some fics is how much of a troll Rory is.

1. I chose Mondas as a placeholder name for the Special Region world simply because it doesn't have one. It's a name I used before for the world of Final Fantasy VIII, and was inspired by the name used for the original Cybermen's homeworld from Doctor Who, derived from the Latin Mundi.