Coruscant, the capital planet of the galactic republic, was the center of the galaxy. This is the planet where most of the actions occur. Tens of thousands of ships which belonged to hundreds of people, human and alien, the rich and the poor, politicians and merchants, fly by the sky of Coruscant everyday.
But among the ships, one of them was odd. Its style was never seen before in the market. It was a grey shuttle that had a dozen drop pods at the bottom to launch personal upon danger. It was more like a military transport than a civilian use ship.
"Senator Mason, huh?" Two Terran commanders were aboard the Hercules transport, one man and one woman. A dozen elite marines acted as the security. "I've got no idea why you chose this job. The Senate is not somewhere I want to work at." The woman said.
"Then why are you acting as my security? I'm sure captain Leon here can protect me." The man said. Captain Leon was the leader of the squad of the elite marine that protected Mason. "You can oversee the construction of your fleet back on Korhal rather than get into this mess known as politics with me. Violet."
"First, I am not getting into politics. You are. I am just watching over you." Violet replied as she shrugged. "Plus, I will have to make sure Palp doesn't do anything to you. You are playing with fire here by dealing politics with a Sith Lord." She neglected to mention the true reason she's here.
Anakin Skywalker.
"Sir, we are near landing." The Hercules stopped at a dock that belonged to the Senate. Mason took a deep breathe before walking out. Violet shrugged and followed him. Outside, someone was already waiting for Mason.
Ten Senate guards formed two lines. They carried a long blaster that acted more as a symbol of strength of the republic than as a weapon meant to kill. Their helmet and armor were blue. A T shaped opening was at the front of the helmets. A specially modified armored plate that can deflect blaster fires was at the shoulder of each guard. Palpatine himself was standing between the senate guards. He walked up the second Mason came down.
"Chancellor Palpatine." Mason smiled warmly as he shook hand with Palpatine. The chancellor seemed like a nice elder, but Mason knew what he is capable of.
"Senator Mason. Emperor Veleem informed me of your duty as senator of the Terran dominion. As far as I know, you will be acting as the representative of the Terran dominion in the senate, yes?" Veleem is the last name of Brian.
"Precisely." Mason replied. "This is Violet, the head of my security forces. I trust her with my life." Palpatine smiled and shook Violet's hand. Violet shook and quickly pulled back, slightly surprised by how Mason introduced her.
"Let's enter the Senate. Allow me to give you a tour of the senate." Palpatine invited.
As the commander chosen to represent the Terran dominion in the republican senate, Mason had his strengths. He might not be the best fighter, like Victor and Amy, nor the best commander, like Cass and Brian, but he had the mind of a politician. Out of all the commanders available, Mason was one of the few that Brian believed could outsmart Palpatine. Cass was one, but she diverged. Brian himself was another, but he's the emperor...
This is how Mason quickly understood the current situation. To Palpatine, the Terran dominion is a unified planet with a powerful military. They have advance technology and a powerful army. Their only weakness is a lack of fleet, which means if he wanted to be their enemy, now is the best opportunity to strike. But doing something now can be critical to his plan to overthrow the Jedi. This means he can't put the Terran down before they become a threat. In that case, Palpatine did what he does best. Play nice.
Palpatine pretended to be a kind gentlemen who's only interest is in the best of the republic. In that way, he can gain the friendship of the Terran, which will make betraying them much easier. But before that, he needed to play his part well. Thus came the invitation.
Unknown to Palpatine, Mason came with a similar purpose.
"Of course." Mason replied with another smile. "It will be my honor."
As Mason and Palpatine were exchanging praises in the Senate, Violet left for the Jedi temple.
It wasn't that hard to find the Jedi temple. But entering the Jedi temple was another matter. That's a fact Violet learned as she saw two Jedi wearing white masks guarding the gate.
Jedi temple guards.
"I am here to see master Kenobi." She said as she lifted her hands to show she came in peace. The temple guards exchanged a confused look. The Jedi lived in a relatively isolated environment. Most Jedi were brought to the temple since they were kids and stayed in the temple for training. Most of them didn't have a chance, or didn't want to, make friends with ordinary people.
Plus, Jedi didn't really have a great reputation in the outside world. More feared than admired, the Jedi didn't really made any contact with the outside world. The normal people were afraid of the power of the Jedi on them, and the mysterious setting of the Jedi, with all the cloaks and stuff, was not helping. One of them nodded and turned around and walked back to the temple. The other one stayed but lowered his double edged light saber.
A while later, two figures were running out of the Jedi temple. One of them was larger and older while the other was way younger.
"Obi-Wan, Anakin." Violet smiled as she knelt down and hugged Anakin. She turned to Kenobi. "I'm sorry for your loss."
During the battle of Naboo, despite the Terran influence, master Qui-Gon Jinn still died at the hand of Darth Maul. Violet tried to save him, but Cassidy deemed it an unnecessary risk and stopped her. She never got over it.
Kenobi signed. "I've gotten over it. But in order to honor my master, I am willing to accept Anakin as my padawan." He patted Anakin. "Come with me. I'll give you a tour of the temple."
The Jedi temple is mainly for Jedi, but there's no strict rule. As long as you're proven as someone not hostile, you can come and go as you please. But this is just another proof of how soft the Jedi have became after the destruction of the Sith. At least Violet knew the Terran base on Korhal was under strict restriction, and just landing on Korhal is not as easy thing.
As the trio was walking down the hall, Violet noticed Anakin being a little depressed. His hands were gripping tightly and his eyes were a bit red. But she didn't do anything.
"What brings you to Coruscant?" Kenobi asked.
"We have re-established our government on a planet called Korhal. I am the head of security of the senator, senator Mason, that is here at Coruscant to represent the Terran Dominion in the republic. I will be here for a while." She noticed how Anakin appeared excited after she said she'd be here for a while.
"Happy to hear that." Kenobi replied. "The Jedi council have been informed of the heroic act you and your people did on Naboo, and I'm sure they will welcome you as a guest. You can stay here as long as you want."
"Express my gratitude to the council." Violet replied.
Kenobi smiled. "I will."
A few hours later, Violet wondered into Anakin's room. The setting was simple, especially for a ten year old boy. There were no posters or anything like that. Instead, the room was so clean Violet would've called it empty. The Jedi, even younglings, weren't supposed to be living in luxury. Supposedly, it made them easier to turn to the dark side.
Violet found it ridiculous.
Anakin was sitting on his bed when Violet entered. He immediately stood up when Violet walked in. The two have became friends on Naboo, and Violet have protected Anakin for multiple times.
"Ani." Violet whispered as she knelt down. "How's your training going? You appear...sad." She was hesitant.
"I know Jedi are not supposed to show emotion." Anakin said. "But I am worried. I am worried about mother. She's still on Tatooine in the hands of Watto. Watto's a shop owner on Tatooine." Anakin explained. "When I left Tatooine mother told me to forget about her, but I...I can't."
"I'm sure she's safe." Violet tried to calm Anakin down. She's telling the truth. Anakin's mother will stay alive for at least ten years.
"I..I don't know." Anakin said with haunted eyes. "I just had a dream. In my dream, mother was killed by someone wielding a red blade...like the one that killed master Jinn. A Sith."
Violet frowned. The death of Anakin's mother was one of the factors that turned Anakin to the dark side, but that wasn't until a decade later. This is not supposed to happen. "Did you tell Kenobi about this?"
"I did...but Obi-Wan told me to forget about her. He said I need to break my ties if I am to become a Jedi. But I can't...does that mean I can't be a Jedi?" He stared at Violet in fear.
Violet's heart softened. No matter what the boy will become one day, he is merely a boy who's facing an impossible dilemma. In the original story line Anakin didn't do anything to help his mother because Jedi weren't supposed to be emotional. When he finally did, he found his mother dying. He slaughtered the Tusken Raiders that led to his mother's demise, and that was when he first gave into the dark side. She's hate to think what Anakin might become if he knew his mother died when as a child.
Fortunately, the presence of Violet presented Anakin with a mean of saving his mother and obey the Jedi code.
"I will save your mother and get her to somewhere safe." Violet said carefully. "But you need to forget about her and keep going. You are going to be an excellent Jedi. I am sure." Anakin nodded and hugged Violet. Violet patted Anakin on the head before turning around and leaving the room.
On the way out of the Jedi temple, Violet tapped an earpiece. "Adjacent, get me captain Edgar of the Violet fleet."
"Commander?"
"Captain Edgar." Violet said to the captain of her flag ship, the Spine. The Spine was a Gorgon battlecruiser designed to act as the flag ship of a fleet. It had triple the firepower of a normal battlecruiser, four times the armor, and a series of other tricks. Its size was four times that of a normal battlecruiser. It's a killing machine from top to bottom with enough firepower to threaten the fleet of the Trade Federation that blockaded Naboo. Brian ordered the construction of five Gorgon battlecruisers since the creation of the Terran dominion. One of them was given to Violet. "Is the Spine ready for battle?"
"The Spine is only carrying six hundred marines and three squadrons of Vikings. Only two liberators are in place. Where is the target, may I ask?"
"I am not sure there might be a war." Violet said as she left the Jedi temple and boarded what seemed like a flying car. "But the Hutts are not the nicest of all. Jump the Spine near Tatooine, and sent a Hercules to pick me up."
"I thought you were planning to stay on Coruscant for a while. And, with all due respect, I don't think the emperor will be too happy about invading the Hutt space." Edgar frowned.
"He will agree. Just get the ship to Tatooine. I will talk to him." Violet said as she ended the call. Something's wrong. She thought she would be able to stop the darkness from rising to power with the knowledge of the plot. Apparently she was wrong.