Hey everyone, once again thanking Strider's Girl for the review, you're rapidly becoming my beta lol. Begs others to R&R even if its to flame, constructive critism is always welcome.
Ta'a Chume paced impatiently up and down the lavish suite wondering why the Elphoran ruler had annoying decided to take up some of her value time by visiting.
"The girl must know she'll get nothing from me" She spoke to no one in particular, crossing her arms as she heard three sets of footsteps come down the corridor.
Ta'a Chume coughed lightly from under her lilac veil and the servant left her with her visitors. Her features hardened as she noted the member of the Quelena's Guard with her "To what to I owe his unexpected visit?"
"I want an end to all this petty feuding" Kyia came straight to the point, in this situation it did not help to mince words "We are family that have been estranged for too long".
Ta'a Chume's eye was drawn to the lightsabres on the belts of both women "Jedi"" She snarled "I should have known you would be. After all the only Jedi in my line was Dextro. Understandably I have problems trusting them, I have been betrayed by them once already"
Good thing I did not bring Obi Wan she thought to herself "I get the point" She said tiredly, trying not to react to the obvious bait of using her father "But is the veil really necessary?"
"You came in battle dress" Ta'a Chume snorted, there was a pause as each woman tested the subtext; finally she lifted the veil "Happy?"
Kyia smiled inwardly, the first victory was hers. Ta'a Chume turned away and sat at one end of the rectangular table, Kyia sat at the other end and Kayless on the long side at her Quelena's right hand.
"Why are you really here Levelle?" Ta'a Chume had also decided directness, in her opinion it saved time and she wanted these two to leave as soon as possible.
"An alliance" The Quelena replied calmly.
"An alliance?" The redhead laughed lightly "An alliance?" She repeated it to make sure that she had heard it correctly; the idea seemed so incredulous. "You deprive my ancestors of the heritage that is rightly theirs, you try and gain power over us by corrupting my cousin by seduction…"
"Your cousin was sent to kill my mother, he stayed of his own free will" Kyia snapped, treaty or no treaty she was not going to have her parents spoken of in that way "Your side of the family is hardly blameless."
Ta'a Chume was insistent that she finish her sentence "But I suppose that is what you get for sending a man to accomplish a task even that simple, they've the desire to reproduce where brain cells should be. It would have been revenge".
"It would have been murder" Kyia countered "By the Force Ta'a Chume, we are cousins"
"Second cousins" She corrected harshly
"Both sides have made mistakes" Kayless interjected, this was going to turn into a brawl if she did not play the referee "but now both sides have a chance to heal old wounds, it was what Dextro Levelle strived for, feuding is doing nothing but harm to ourselves."
Ta'a Chume sneered bitterly "Dextro was never had a drop of Levelle blood in his veins. I am the Queen of Hapes, I am not harming myself; in this cluster I have more power than Elphora will ever amass."
"And more hate" Kyia had used the few moments Kayless had given her gratefully to compose herself "We are both strong and we both have our spheres of influence, why not make each other stronger."
"And what does Hapes need from Elphora?"
"Botanicals, medicines, arts" She listed them "Trade between us at the moment is non existent. We have some of the best healers in the galaxy and mutated viruses are ravaging many of the Hapan worlds. It makes business sense if nothing else".
Ta'a Chume thought this over for a moment, looking for the catch "And in return?"
The Quelena breathed, this was the crunch, when Ta'a Chume would realise why she was really here "Unconditional aid in case of invasion, contraband control and opening of tax free trade routes".
The Ereneda's dark green eyes lit up "Isn't this more or less what you receive from the Republic?"
Kyia kept her head up; making a point of not flinching from her gaze "We are currently in negotiations to leave the Republic". The Quelena could literally see the awareness creep into her cousin's face
"That's why!" She laughed again, enjoying the position she now held "I knew there was another reason; I have never been naïve enough to fall for the 'lets reunite the family' talk. So Kyia Levelle, give me one reason why we shouldn't let you be destroyed".
This was where it was going to get interesting.
Obi Wan stood looking out the view port of the Celestya, not happy at being left behind despite his mandate. He was nervous for her; he knew what the possible implications were.
"She'll be okay, she's smart" Anakin sensing some of his Master's anxiety.
Obi Wan raised an eyebrow "And stubborn"
"She wouldn't have let us come no matter what you said" He leisurely back in the pilots chair, imagining what it would be like fly it.
"I just do not like breaking our mandate, padawan" He tried to state it sternly "We are meant to be protecting her and here we are in a strange land meeting with someone who has made previous attempts on the lives of her family."
"Is that why you were fighting?"
Suddenly he wondered what else his apprentice had picked up and reminded himself fear was of the dark side "Jedi do not fight, they discuss"
Anakin sniggered.
He decided to use his training as a distraction from where this conversation was heading, sardonically wondering if the motivation was of the dark side as well. "Focus, padawan. Close your eyes, what do you sense?"
"A contest between the Kyia and the Queen of Hapes. She feels she is losing control of the argument, and she's getting angry at Kyia."
He had shocked his Master "Yes" He whispered quietly "What else? Focus on the positive feelings, anger and bitterness are a part of the dark side of the Force".
"Hmmmm" Anakin tried to concentrate harder "Kyia is pleased, she's said something to irritate the Queen and she feels like she is winning, she's pleased with Kayless too".
The padawan felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Obi Wan who shook his shoulder slightly "Well done Anakin. You've surprised me with how far you've come" He said warmly.
Anakin allowed himself a small smile, every victory for him was a victory for his mother and Qui Gon Jinn, and he wanted to be so much for them.
"It will show the galaxy your compassion" Kayless was continuing, "Elphora is full of things worth saving. Do you really want to see your ancestral home destroyed?"
Kyia had sat back and let her aide put forth this side of the argument, if it was needed she had something up her sleeve, she would give Ta'a Chume the chance first.
The red head snorted "Ancestral home? I would gladly watch it rot. Elphora left my family to fend for itself amongst pirates."
The lack of respect the woman had for her world grated. Kayless' temper flared. "You've ended up as head of the Hapes Consortium, you obviously fitted in flawlessly".
Ta'a Chume's hands formed fists in outrage "I could have you killed for that remark!"
Kyia stood up slowly, asserting her presence, speaking in a low whisper, "Try it".
The two stared each other out for a few seconds until the weaker turned away.
"I will not be insulted" The Queen glared at a patch of wall.
"Then do not insult," She stated it calmly, Kayless' control had returned.
Back aboard the Celestya Obi Wan had resumed his instruction of his padawan. Once again they were using the Force to monitor the conference.
Anakin winced "Glad I'm not in there, it sounds messy"
His Master was inclined to agree with the latter part of his statement "It was always going to be a clash of wills"
"Why doesn't Kyia just use her powers to make her agree?"
In years to come when Obi Wan stared out at the dry Tatooine sunset counting the long road of choices he wished he had not made he would pin point this moment as the first step towards the destination he would always pray Anakin would never reach. Until understanding dawned latter he would always put the greatest blame upon himself for the manufacturing of Darth Vader from the great Jedi his padawan should have been. But an older and wiser Obi Wan realised that darkness believed in its own perfection, young and naive he had thought that even under the influence of the dark side a person's faults were visible to themselves.
"Anakin, we may be Jedi but we are not perfect, and our will may not be that of the Force, so we cannot push it on others. That is why it leads to wanting to control over people, do you understand?"
"I think so," He said, digesting the information he had been given.
He nodded "Good, it's important that you do. A Jedi must master when to use the ability before actually using it" He allowed himself a laugh "I think that Ta'a Chume has inherited the family stubbornness and it only works on the weak-minded anyway".
"Hope it isn't catching" Anakin joked.
The Quelena had had her fill of trading insults; she had used restraint letting Ta'a Chume accept her offer on compassionate grounds but the Ereneda obviously was not going to let her have her way without a less subtle form of persuasion. "Okay lets put all our sabacc cards on the table"
The Queen straightened up in her chair "And what do you mean by that Kyia Levelle".
Kyia grinned ferally "I didn't come here on a wing and a prayer, I want this treaty, and I will do whatever it takes, even resorting to underhanded means".
Ta'a Chume's eyes hardened "And what exactly can you do to hurt me?"
Her opponent sighed and relaxed back into her seat, Kayless gave her a brief look of interest "Do you know who trained me in the ways of the Force?"
"No" She replied flatly
"Master Yoda, one of the permanent members of the Jedi council" Kyia looked down at the table saying it as if she half did not mind if her cousin heard it or not "You've had an easy time of it here in the Hapes Consortium, and you protect your borders fiercely, I don't think the Council realises how fiercely"
"The Jedi have no right to intervene against us, their jurisdiction…"
Kyia cut her off "Justice is their jurisdiction, they have overlooked you because they are not aware of what goes on. No one normally notices if a few smuggler vessels disappear within a few parsecs of your borders. Imagine if they decided to investigate, the Cluster swamped with Jedi…"
"You wouldn't" This time it was Ta'a Chume who interrupted
Kyia leaned forward "Try me. Elphora is one small planet, and we are not begging for charity, you will barely notice us. Are we really worth all that trouble?"
The redhead's green eyes flashed " So, it's to be blackmail! How dare you…"
"What is it to be Ta'a Chume? I was hoping to do this the easy way, you may have power over 63 star systems, but I have influence too, are you so naïve that you don't realise that?"
There was a pause as Ta'a Chume thought it through, her jaw tightened in the struggle within her mind. Finally she turned away "Fine I'll have the paperwork drawn up immediately, but do not come begging again. Elphora will not be a hindrance to the Consortium and neither will you. Is that clear?"
"Crystal"
"And" She put her hands on her hips "There is to be as little publicity on this as possible. I will not let this be the first of a landslide of planets"
"Even better" Kyia agreed, the best situation was to keep this information from The Republic and the Trade Federation as long as she was able.
Ta'a Chume replaced her veil "When do you intend to leave"
"As soon as the datacard is signed"
"Good, I'm glad we understand each other".
Two standard hours later Kyia waltzed in the door of the Celestya beaming.
"You did it!" exploded Anakin.
"Oh I can't take all the credit. My trusty cohort saved me from losing my temper a few times"
Kayless blushed blue "I think she thought it was the quickest way to get rid of us".
"So that's it?" Obi Wan said apprehensively, it all seemed to easy "All done?"
"That's it, everything signed. I didn't think it would take very long, she isn't keen on anything making the information channels"
"As easy as that? What did you say to her?"
Kyia smiled "My little secret"
Kayless tried to repress a grin and failed, her respect for the Quelena higher than before this trip "So where to now?"
She turned to a nearby chair and sat down elegantly "Home".
The hanger doors opened to swallow the Celestya like a predator engulfing its prey, it landed, expertly guided by the pilot next to another ship that occupied the hanger.
Kyia's eyes widened "Sith spit!"
"What?" Obi Wan and Kayless craned their necks to look out the view-port almost simultaneously
"That's Master Yoda's transport" Was the hurried reply "More cunning than Qel Droma! He's early to catch me off guard so I can't prepare properly."
Obi Wan could not help but snigger.
The Quelena put her hand on Kayless' shoulder "Good job, the galaxy is going to have to watch out for you someday" Then she bolted out of the ship.
"Why do I get the feeling she's come out of the frying pan and into the fire"
"Huh?" asked Kayless
"A saying" He answered "Meaning she's gone from bad to worse"
"I've heard rumours" She commented
Anakin remained silent and remembered the last time they had met, the young Skywalker got the feeling that Master Yoda did not like him very much.
Kyia ran to her chambers "He's here!" She said out of breath to Anice who was already there.
"Sorry, I did try and pre-warn you but he said I shouldn't disturb you" Anice's expression changed to puzzlement "At least I think that's what he said. Where did he learn Basic?"
Kyia rolled her eyes "Where are my robes?"
"Here" She held out a hand with a hanger in it "Already done, he's waiting on the terrace".
Ta'a Chume paced impatiently up and down the lavish suite wondering why the Elphoran ruler had annoying decided to take up some of her value time by visiting.
"The girl must know she'll get nothing from me" She spoke to no one in particular, crossing her arms as she heard three sets of footsteps come down the corridor.
Ta'a Chume coughed lightly from under her lilac veil and the servant left her with her visitors. Her features hardened as she noted the member of the Quelena's Guard with her "To what to I owe his unexpected visit?"
"I want an end to all this petty feuding" Kyia came straight to the point, in this situation it did not help to mince words "We are family that have been estranged for too long".
Ta'a Chume's eye was drawn to the lightsabres on the belts of both women "Jedi"" She snarled "I should have known you would be. After all the only Jedi in my line was Dextro. Understandably I have problems trusting them, I have been betrayed by them once already"
Good thing I did not bring Obi Wan she thought to herself "I get the point" She said tiredly, trying not to react to the obvious bait of using her father "But is the veil really necessary?"
"You came in battle dress" Ta'a Chume snorted, there was a pause as each woman tested the subtext; finally she lifted the veil "Happy?"
Kyia smiled inwardly, the first victory was hers. Ta'a Chume turned away and sat at one end of the rectangular table, Kyia sat at the other end and Kayless on the long side at her Quelena's right hand.
"Why are you really here Levelle?" Ta'a Chume had also decided directness, in her opinion it saved time and she wanted these two to leave as soon as possible.
"An alliance" The Quelena replied calmly.
"An alliance?" The redhead laughed lightly "An alliance?" She repeated it to make sure that she had heard it correctly; the idea seemed so incredulous. "You deprive my ancestors of the heritage that is rightly theirs, you try and gain power over us by corrupting my cousin by seduction…"
"Your cousin was sent to kill my mother, he stayed of his own free will" Kyia snapped, treaty or no treaty she was not going to have her parents spoken of in that way "Your side of the family is hardly blameless."
Ta'a Chume was insistent that she finish her sentence "But I suppose that is what you get for sending a man to accomplish a task even that simple, they've the desire to reproduce where brain cells should be. It would have been revenge".
"It would have been murder" Kyia countered "By the Force Ta'a Chume, we are cousins"
"Second cousins" She corrected harshly
"Both sides have made mistakes" Kayless interjected, this was going to turn into a brawl if she did not play the referee "but now both sides have a chance to heal old wounds, it was what Dextro Levelle strived for, feuding is doing nothing but harm to ourselves."
Ta'a Chume sneered bitterly "Dextro was never had a drop of Levelle blood in his veins. I am the Queen of Hapes, I am not harming myself; in this cluster I have more power than Elphora will ever amass."
"And more hate" Kyia had used the few moments Kayless had given her gratefully to compose herself "We are both strong and we both have our spheres of influence, why not make each other stronger."
"And what does Hapes need from Elphora?"
"Botanicals, medicines, arts" She listed them "Trade between us at the moment is non existent. We have some of the best healers in the galaxy and mutated viruses are ravaging many of the Hapan worlds. It makes business sense if nothing else".
Ta'a Chume thought this over for a moment, looking for the catch "And in return?"
The Quelena breathed, this was the crunch, when Ta'a Chume would realise why she was really here "Unconditional aid in case of invasion, contraband control and opening of tax free trade routes".
The Ereneda's dark green eyes lit up "Isn't this more or less what you receive from the Republic?"
Kyia kept her head up; making a point of not flinching from her gaze "We are currently in negotiations to leave the Republic". The Quelena could literally see the awareness creep into her cousin's face
"That's why!" She laughed again, enjoying the position she now held "I knew there was another reason; I have never been naïve enough to fall for the 'lets reunite the family' talk. So Kyia Levelle, give me one reason why we shouldn't let you be destroyed".
This was where it was going to get interesting.
Obi Wan stood looking out the view port of the Celestya, not happy at being left behind despite his mandate. He was nervous for her; he knew what the possible implications were.
"She'll be okay, she's smart" Anakin sensing some of his Master's anxiety.
Obi Wan raised an eyebrow "And stubborn"
"She wouldn't have let us come no matter what you said" He leisurely back in the pilots chair, imagining what it would be like fly it.
"I just do not like breaking our mandate, padawan" He tried to state it sternly "We are meant to be protecting her and here we are in a strange land meeting with someone who has made previous attempts on the lives of her family."
"Is that why you were fighting?"
Suddenly he wondered what else his apprentice had picked up and reminded himself fear was of the dark side "Jedi do not fight, they discuss"
Anakin sniggered.
He decided to use his training as a distraction from where this conversation was heading, sardonically wondering if the motivation was of the dark side as well. "Focus, padawan. Close your eyes, what do you sense?"
"A contest between the Kyia and the Queen of Hapes. She feels she is losing control of the argument, and she's getting angry at Kyia."
He had shocked his Master "Yes" He whispered quietly "What else? Focus on the positive feelings, anger and bitterness are a part of the dark side of the Force".
"Hmmmm" Anakin tried to concentrate harder "Kyia is pleased, she's said something to irritate the Queen and she feels like she is winning, she's pleased with Kayless too".
The padawan felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Obi Wan who shook his shoulder slightly "Well done Anakin. You've surprised me with how far you've come" He said warmly.
Anakin allowed himself a small smile, every victory for him was a victory for his mother and Qui Gon Jinn, and he wanted to be so much for them.
"It will show the galaxy your compassion" Kayless was continuing, "Elphora is full of things worth saving. Do you really want to see your ancestral home destroyed?"
Kyia had sat back and let her aide put forth this side of the argument, if it was needed she had something up her sleeve, she would give Ta'a Chume the chance first.
The red head snorted "Ancestral home? I would gladly watch it rot. Elphora left my family to fend for itself amongst pirates."
The lack of respect the woman had for her world grated. Kayless' temper flared. "You've ended up as head of the Hapes Consortium, you obviously fitted in flawlessly".
Ta'a Chume's hands formed fists in outrage "I could have you killed for that remark!"
Kyia stood up slowly, asserting her presence, speaking in a low whisper, "Try it".
The two stared each other out for a few seconds until the weaker turned away.
"I will not be insulted" The Queen glared at a patch of wall.
"Then do not insult," She stated it calmly, Kayless' control had returned.
Back aboard the Celestya Obi Wan had resumed his instruction of his padawan. Once again they were using the Force to monitor the conference.
Anakin winced "Glad I'm not in there, it sounds messy"
His Master was inclined to agree with the latter part of his statement "It was always going to be a clash of wills"
"Why doesn't Kyia just use her powers to make her agree?"
In years to come when Obi Wan stared out at the dry Tatooine sunset counting the long road of choices he wished he had not made he would pin point this moment as the first step towards the destination he would always pray Anakin would never reach. Until understanding dawned latter he would always put the greatest blame upon himself for the manufacturing of Darth Vader from the great Jedi his padawan should have been. But an older and wiser Obi Wan realised that darkness believed in its own perfection, young and naive he had thought that even under the influence of the dark side a person's faults were visible to themselves.
"Anakin, we may be Jedi but we are not perfect, and our will may not be that of the Force, so we cannot push it on others. That is why it leads to wanting to control over people, do you understand?"
"I think so," He said, digesting the information he had been given.
He nodded "Good, it's important that you do. A Jedi must master when to use the ability before actually using it" He allowed himself a laugh "I think that Ta'a Chume has inherited the family stubbornness and it only works on the weak-minded anyway".
"Hope it isn't catching" Anakin joked.
The Quelena had had her fill of trading insults; she had used restraint letting Ta'a Chume accept her offer on compassionate grounds but the Ereneda obviously was not going to let her have her way without a less subtle form of persuasion. "Okay lets put all our sabacc cards on the table"
The Queen straightened up in her chair "And what do you mean by that Kyia Levelle".
Kyia grinned ferally "I didn't come here on a wing and a prayer, I want this treaty, and I will do whatever it takes, even resorting to underhanded means".
Ta'a Chume's eyes hardened "And what exactly can you do to hurt me?"
Her opponent sighed and relaxed back into her seat, Kayless gave her a brief look of interest "Do you know who trained me in the ways of the Force?"
"No" She replied flatly
"Master Yoda, one of the permanent members of the Jedi council" Kyia looked down at the table saying it as if she half did not mind if her cousin heard it or not "You've had an easy time of it here in the Hapes Consortium, and you protect your borders fiercely, I don't think the Council realises how fiercely"
"The Jedi have no right to intervene against us, their jurisdiction…"
Kyia cut her off "Justice is their jurisdiction, they have overlooked you because they are not aware of what goes on. No one normally notices if a few smuggler vessels disappear within a few parsecs of your borders. Imagine if they decided to investigate, the Cluster swamped with Jedi…"
"You wouldn't" This time it was Ta'a Chume who interrupted
Kyia leaned forward "Try me. Elphora is one small planet, and we are not begging for charity, you will barely notice us. Are we really worth all that trouble?"
The redhead's green eyes flashed " So, it's to be blackmail! How dare you…"
"What is it to be Ta'a Chume? I was hoping to do this the easy way, you may have power over 63 star systems, but I have influence too, are you so naïve that you don't realise that?"
There was a pause as Ta'a Chume thought it through, her jaw tightened in the struggle within her mind. Finally she turned away "Fine I'll have the paperwork drawn up immediately, but do not come begging again. Elphora will not be a hindrance to the Consortium and neither will you. Is that clear?"
"Crystal"
"And" She put her hands on her hips "There is to be as little publicity on this as possible. I will not let this be the first of a landslide of planets"
"Even better" Kyia agreed, the best situation was to keep this information from The Republic and the Trade Federation as long as she was able.
Ta'a Chume replaced her veil "When do you intend to leave"
"As soon as the datacard is signed"
"Good, I'm glad we understand each other".
Two standard hours later Kyia waltzed in the door of the Celestya beaming.
"You did it!" exploded Anakin.
"Oh I can't take all the credit. My trusty cohort saved me from losing my temper a few times"
Kayless blushed blue "I think she thought it was the quickest way to get rid of us".
"So that's it?" Obi Wan said apprehensively, it all seemed to easy "All done?"
"That's it, everything signed. I didn't think it would take very long, she isn't keen on anything making the information channels"
"As easy as that? What did you say to her?"
Kyia smiled "My little secret"
Kayless tried to repress a grin and failed, her respect for the Quelena higher than before this trip "So where to now?"
She turned to a nearby chair and sat down elegantly "Home".
The hanger doors opened to swallow the Celestya like a predator engulfing its prey, it landed, expertly guided by the pilot next to another ship that occupied the hanger.
Kyia's eyes widened "Sith spit!"
"What?" Obi Wan and Kayless craned their necks to look out the view-port almost simultaneously
"That's Master Yoda's transport" Was the hurried reply "More cunning than Qel Droma! He's early to catch me off guard so I can't prepare properly."
Obi Wan could not help but snigger.
The Quelena put her hand on Kayless' shoulder "Good job, the galaxy is going to have to watch out for you someday" Then she bolted out of the ship.
"Why do I get the feeling she's come out of the frying pan and into the fire"
"Huh?" asked Kayless
"A saying" He answered "Meaning she's gone from bad to worse"
"I've heard rumours" She commented
Anakin remained silent and remembered the last time they had met, the young Skywalker got the feeling that Master Yoda did not like him very much.
Kyia ran to her chambers "He's here!" She said out of breath to Anice who was already there.
"Sorry, I did try and pre-warn you but he said I shouldn't disturb you" Anice's expression changed to puzzlement "At least I think that's what he said. Where did he learn Basic?"
Kyia rolled her eyes "Where are my robes?"
"Here" She held out a hand with a hanger in it "Already done, he's waiting on the terrace".
