Governor Bibble was still at a stand still. Two fleets in as little as a month. One coming and blockading the planet and the other coming in and in a matter of minutes removing the threat entirely. He had never seen anyone move as fast as Gunray did to leave the planet. It made him smile that the Trade Federation lost twenty of its Lucrehulk ships in less than ten minutes. However, as much as the result made him want to giggle like a child the circumstance was shocking and sobering. They did not withhold the facts of their arrival. At least not from him and he was unsure if he could keep such a secret for long. Time travel and not just a bit but fifty capital ships worth of beings, droids, and warriors.
He knew Mandalorians when he saw one. They were the ones portrayed on the holovids to be the super soldiers of the galaxy. To have Mand'alor the Avenger standing in this very hall was daunting. That was not the most fearful of the ones that the Commander had brought with her. To see a real Sith, with red skin and chin dangles sent chills down his back. They looked scary with their yellow red eyes, but many of them were overly joyous. They broadcasted their emotions and feelings around the room. It was such a distinct contrast to the calm Jedi who quietly talked with others. The knights from Zakuul, where ever that was, acted much like the soldiers and Mandalorians that mixed in between them all.
He had seen how they, with their Sky Troopers, had come down and efficiently removed the deactivated droids, passed out rations, and applied temporary repairs. The one Sky Trooper droid with the green camouflage and strange speech pattern was unnerving, but the others did their work silently. Thankfully the droid stayed near the large astromech droid who stayed nearby the Commander. He needed to get in contact with the queen so she could come home but she must think his transmissions are compromised. Was she even alright? Were they stranded somewhere as there was evidence that the ship was damaged before entering hyperspace? He felt so lost.
"Governor an aide of Senator Palpatine has sent a message informing us that the Queen has made it to Coruscant."
"Thank the goddess. I will contact him at once." The runner bowed and moved off as Bibble rushed across the room. The Commander smiled at him. He is still shocked to find she is only twenty six years old subjectively, or thirty one. Give or take 3600 years. Her whole fleet looked young even the one called Mand'alor was no older than forty two.
"Governor, I feel that you have news." Master Darra calmly stated. "May I join you?"
"Yes please I am sure our Queen will want to thank you." Darra bowed and the Mand'alor followed her with those two droids. When Bibble turned around to face the holodisplay he noticed one of the Sith and a Zakuul Exarch had joined them. He nodded to the tech and the display glowed. A human passed middle age showing that his hair was starting to gray, but looked hail appeared on the screen. In the background was several young woman surrounding a regally dressed woman that could only be a queen.
"Governor Bibble so nice to see you are well." Darra instantly disliked him. The impression she got was so much like her first impression of Chancellor Saresh that she was not going to ignore it this time. This man screamed dangerous, but the Force was silent as to why. The group of girls behind him were young, very young and even with the makeup, even the apparent queen was young as well.
"It is good to be so. Fate was kind to us and we have the Commander here to thank for her timely arrival."
"Really, and who is this commander?" Palpatine looked from each of the unknown beings surrounding his planet's governor. One was a Mandalorian, but the other three also wore armor similar to her. Though the male in the back had gold armor that reflected the arrogance on his face. The biggest shock was the impossible, as the other male in dark armor and features that the bluing of a hologram could not hide was a perfect example of a Sith. He focused on the Commander and she held herself like any of the dozens of Jedi he had encountered.
"I am the Alliance Commander of a small fleet of ships out of Odessen. We miss jumped and by circumstance were in a position to assist Naboo." Yes definitely a Jedi, but none he had ever heard about.
"I see, but I digress. The Queen of Naboo most likely would like to thank you regardless." The woman behind in the elaborate dress stood and came closer as well as one of the young girls.
"Thank you Senator. Governor Bibble I hope our people did not suffer long."
"No your highness we fared well considering. There was some loss of life and injuries, but it could have been much worse. It would have been had Jedi Lord Darra and her fleet not arrived." Darra looked to the Queen and bowed but her eyes were drawn to the handmaiden next to her. She hide well, but the Force told her that the Queen was not who she showed herself to be. The Senator's eyes widened showing surprise and that added to the puzzle of this world.
"Greeting your majesty."
"Thank you master Jedi and I thank the others behind you as well. I hope you pass on these thanks to your fleet."
"I will." The false Queen looked to each of the unusual beings in armor. The one with the strange markings on their face were fascinating.
"Can I ask their names?" The Commander moved as she pointed at each with her arm. She paid particular attention to the Senator behind the young queen. He looked barely able to control himself. Darra wondered what would set him off?
"This is Shae Vizla. Commander of my ground troops. Exarch Trill from Zakuul, leader of my Knights. Lord Rivix is my Wing Commander."
"It is nice to know the ones responsible for freeing my world and my people. I will prepare to come home as soon as further repairs are completed on my ship."
"Yes your majesty." Sio Bibble bowed. A man came into view and Darra could tell that he was not an aide from his basic stance. This man was a fighter and most likely her security captain.
"Your majesty the repairs have already been completed."
"I will leave at once."
"Your majesty it is safer here and do you not want to remain until after the new chancellor is voted in?"
"I do hope that you win, but there is no reason for me to stay one more minute. I will give a public statement before I leave." This last caused the Senator to step back as if he had just been wounded. The Queen turned and nearly floated out of view and most likely out of the office as if on a hover board. Her handmaidens followed her with the last being the one that Darra clocked as the real queen. Her expression towards the Senator was one of betrayal. Rivix chuckled letting her know he had noticed as well. The transmission suddenly cut causing the governor to gasp.
"That was most unusual. I would think the Senator would have other things to inquire about."
"Politics is no foreign animal to me governor. If you need any of us I will be on my ship. We will return to orbit by nightfall."
"Yes, yes and again thank you. You have no idea how vile those droids were."
"Oh sadly I do know governor. More than you could image the after effects of a droid army." With that the governor turned whiter than his hair as the Commander turned and strolled out of the communication suite. The strange red man just laughed sending a chill through nearly all present. Who where these people and could they really have come from the past?
An hour later Queen Amidala came out to face several dozen news outlets. She was also a bit surprised at the number of reporters present in person. Padme walked confidently up to the podium and waited nearly a full minute before the reporters calmed down.
"Gentle beings, certain events have changed my system's plight from one of being oppressed by an invasion of the Trade Federation to them being defeated. As of several days ago a fleet of ships from The Alliance stopped the Trade Federation's effort to subjugate my people. These people did not hesitate in coming to our systems aid. Only fear of discovery by assassins kept me from believing the reports until after our visit to the Senate earlier today. I have lost all confidence in the Galactic Republic to defend its system worlds from the aggression of another. We are going home."
Palpatine was furious. He had with a thirty second statement from his Queen lost the election. He had most of the Senators in his pocket, but the extra votes he needed to push him into the chancellor seat were lost because he needed the situation on Naboo. Part of his fury was from the fact that Gunray had not bothered to even inform him that he had been routed from the Naboo system. Hego Damask radiated pleasure from hearing how everything had gone sideways and that made Palpatine even angrier. Then there was how his pet assassin had failed him on Tatooine. The only reason he had not lashed out and killed the infuriating child Queen himself was that he had contingency plans in place on top of contingency plans.
"You must see the humor in all this, my apprentice. I know that you had everything lined up, but fate and the Force are difficult to work against."
"The Force itself told me the time was now. That burst in the Force has changed everything and seeing that Jedi. No she was not just any Jedi but a Jedi Lord. Did you not feel the rightness of that title?"
"I did and we will discover their weaknesses and come up with a contingency to deal with them. I doubt they will be an issue and will probably go back to where they came from." Palpatine glared at his master. He was so ready to cut his head from his neck, but for now his master still had his uses and his influence that he would lose temporarily the moment he died. No, let the sentimental fool think he was still a partner in this relationship instead of a flat wheel.
Hego Damask was not clueless and he knew his apprentice quite well. He could feel he had been planning his death for some time and his offer of a cochancellorship had pushed him very near to trying to kill him again. Damask was not sure if he could stop his apprentice as there was nothing more he could be taught. However, this new event and the fleet it brought with was causing even the shroud of the dark side to roil and threaten to dissipate as hundreds of darksiders tapped into the Force. That one was a true Sith and allied with a Jedi no less told him she had brought them with her. Palpatine may or may not have studied much more than the abilities of the ancient Sith, but the third Force user and the mention of Zakuul brought memories of one particular Sith to mind.
Emperor Valkorion may not have been a proper Sith, but the holocrons had linked him to Tenebrae. The planet Zakuul was nothing more than ruins of a long dead civilization, but it had not been that long. About the time that Tenebrae and Valkorion had been defeated and the Third Galactic War had started. A war that lasted nearly a hundred years and caused many more conflicts for centuries until the final defeat of the Sith nearly a thousand years ago. He truly wished the holocron had said more about the one who defeated them. All he had was the Title, Hero of Tython.
Later that night the count was finalized and Bail Antilles won the election surprising many of the talking heads who favored Palpatine for Chancellor. The second thing that surprised them was that he immediately relieved Mas Amedda as vice chair and Sei Taria as Staff aide. Mon Mothma, a young woman was selected as his Staff aide. Tendau Bendon was voted in as vice chair later that day. This was one of the slight sighs that the Force gave the Masters. Master Yoda feared the future he could no longer see, but this felt right for the first time in decades. Change was felt in the Force.