Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. I do not own Star Wars or
any characters you recognize from previous Star Wars movies and books. I
have no connection with anyone involved in the Star Wars movies, either. I
did make up Yelen, though.
Chapter 1: The Fourth Attempt
Nute Gunray stood on the balcony of a very old and abandoned house, in a very quiet and less populated area on the planet and city of Coruscant. It was a cold, but cloudless night. Twinkling stars dotted the night sky as the Neimoidian's keen red eyes gazed out, obviously looking for something. There was a sudden crash as a garbage can in an alley nearby was knocked over. He gave a start, and saw a cat running away.
Nute Gunray shivered. It was indeed very cold, especially since he was wearing a fine red silk robe with golden lines sewn in intricate designs looping and swirling about all over the place like kites caught in a wind.
Suddenly, he noticed a dark figure on a speeder zooming toward him. The red eyes gave the machine a glance and noticed that it was rusty and very filthy. There were oil stains all over it and the paint in some parts were chipped, revealing the metal underneath.
A few seconds later, the speeder had landed and the cloaked figure aboard it climbed out and walked over to the impatient Neimoidian.
"Viceroy," the creature greeted in a husky, deep, but calm voice.
"Yelen," Nute Gunray replied. "Shall we get down to business?"
"Of course Viceroy," the creature said as he motioned inside the house. "Shall we sit down Your Honor?"
The Viceroy snorted at the creature's words, but he agreed to go in and sit down in the dusty and tattered armchairs probably torn up by a baby nexu.
"Viceroy," Yelen began taking off the hood of his cloak and revealing a hideous face when they had settled into the armchairs. "Of what of my services may I offer you? You are a new customer."
"Well." Nute Gunray paused. "I am fed up with Senator Amidala and I want her dead!"
"Vicious aren't you, Your Honor?" the cloaked figure said.
"Stop that nonsense like 'Your Honor' and get on with it!" Nute Gunray growled.
"Okay then, how am I supposed to kill this Senator Amidala?"
"I don't care! Poison her! Drown her! Take a blaster and shoot her! I don't care how you kill her! I just want her dead!" Nute Gunray screamed waving his hands in the air and walking in circles as he spoke. He was lucky that most of the humans and creatures living near the abandoned house slept like the dead. If they didn't, then the rest of them hated the ponderous, stupid Republic and everybody involved with it in their opinion and didn't have a care in the galaxy if anyone talked ill of the Senate.
"I have a better idea Viceroy," Yelen said with an evil smirk.
"Well get on with it! I don't have all day you know!"
"Actually Viceroy, we have only been talking for a few minute and it is nighttime," Yelen corrected.
"Who cares what time it is," the Viceroy said. "I just want to know how you plan to kill Amidala!"
"Here's the information then. I kidnap her in the dead of night next week and take her to Geonosis. There, I will make her divulge all her plans and then kill her with a toxic dart and bring her back to her home and try to make it look like she committed suicide," Yelen announced with a calm tone and look.
"Kidnap Senator Amidala and take her back to Geonosis? Then bring her back and make it look like she committed suicide? Are you a complete lunatic or are you out of your mind!" Nute Gunray yelled. "THAT WILL NOT WORK!"
"I thought that was a good plan," Yelen replied obviously hurt. "And I think with me and somebody else to do it, we might pull it off and Senator Amidala would be on Geonosis this time next week and the person I'll be working with is a S-"
"I don't care!" the enraged Viceroy interrupted. "This is not going to work because I am working with a lunatic who wants to kidnap a very important senator and bring her to Geonosis and then bring her back to Coruscant and make it look like she committed suicide! No! No! No! You are not doing it because you will fail! I will not pay a great quantity of credits for you to carry out a far-fetched plan as that! Do you hear me, you excuse for a slimy gob of grease?! "
"I promise you, Viceroy, I will not fail," Yelen said with a determined, but calm look and tone, brushing aside the insult Nute Gunray had just thrown at him.
"YOU WILL FAIL!" the out-of-control Viceroy screamed as he slammed his fist down on the fragile glass table set between the calm bounty hunter and the enraged Viceroy. As fist met table, the table collapsed in a heap under the strain and force of the Viceroy's hand. Glass shattered everywhere covering the already cantankerous Neimoidian, and the cloaked figure sitting in the armchair facing him.
Yelen stood up and locked eyes with the enraged Viceroy who was screaming with fury. "I promise you, Viceroy, I will not fail," he repeated with the same calm tone and look.
"And why is that?" the Viceroy sneered lowering his tone as his red eyes flashed, but not breaking the eye contact.
"Because I never fail." Yelen replied calmly.
"Oh really?"
"Really."
"And are you sure?"
"Positive."
"What if I find someone better than you?"
"You won't, Your Honor."
"What if I do? What would you do?" the Nute Gunray taunted.
"Is that a challenge, Your Honor?" the bounty hunter asked his calm tone and look slipping a bit, but he immediately mustered them back together.
"What do you think? Is that a challenge, Your Honor?" the Viceroy mimicked turning the bounty hunter's words back on him.
Yelen ignored the Neimoidian and told him what he had planned to say before he was interrupted. "I will be working with a Sith Lord who wants Amidala dead. He has already agreed to my plan and demands for you to approve and I assure you Viceroy, he will not be pleased if you don't because after all, you know of the power of the Sith. You've worked with them before? Haven't you? "
"How do you know if I've worked with them!" Nute Gunray demanded, but there was an edge of uneasiness in his voice that Yelen could not miss.
"Well, Your Honor," the bounty hunter answered. "The Sith Lord has told me about you. This isn't your first attempt of trying to assassinate Senator Amidala. You tried to kill her on her way to Coruscant for the vote of the creation of an army for the Republic. Second time were the deadly kouhuns, the centipedelike creations that almost killed Amidala while she slept, but Anakin Skywalker stopped them. Third was the Battle at Geonosis, which has begun the Clone Wars, in my opinion. This is your fourth attempt to kill her, I believe."
"Fine then," Nute Gunray agreed uneasily. "You can go on with this plan of yours and I will wait and hope it has gone right. If it has, but I doubt it will, we will negotiate a time and place for us to meet so you may collect the other half of your credits after I know that Amidala is dead."
"Thank you, Viceroy," Yelen answered with a bow as he slipped his hood on, so it covered his face.
Nute Gunray reached into his pocket and took out a handful of credits and presented them to the bounty hunter. Yelen swept them up in an instant and stuffed them inside his cloak.
"Be off now and let me be," the Viceroy ordered.
"Thank you and good night, Your Honor," Yelen said with a bow.
"Dismissed," the Neimoidian said and Yelen walked quickly to his speeder.
"One more thing bounty hunter," Nute Gunray called to the cloaked figure as it climbed abroad the speeder. "Blowing who hired you to do this job if you are captured, and I think you will be, will hurt even more than failing!"
The cloaked bounty hunter nodded, started up the speeder and sailed off into the night. Killing and tricking were way too easy he thought. It was such a pity that he had to use the Sith and Darth Sidious to trick the stubborn Viceroy into agreeing. The Viceroy was a stupid one indeed. If the Neimoidian had listened closely, he would have realized that it was odd that a Sith Lord would demand for him to approve of a plan for the death of Senator Amidala when no one knew about him wanting Senator Amidala dead at this moment. The Viceroy had been worrying about the Sith and Darth Sidious, so the thought had slipped his mind. After all, the Sith had nothing to do with this because Yelen always worked alone. Always.
Behind the stairs of the house, a teenage girl stood listening with one hand on her lightsaber as the Viceroy was picked up by some sort of vehicle on the balcony above the stairs. It was clear to her that Senator Padmé Amidala was in danger. Grave danger, and it was up to her to do something about it, but first she had to report this to her Master.
Chapter 1: The Fourth Attempt
Nute Gunray stood on the balcony of a very old and abandoned house, in a very quiet and less populated area on the planet and city of Coruscant. It was a cold, but cloudless night. Twinkling stars dotted the night sky as the Neimoidian's keen red eyes gazed out, obviously looking for something. There was a sudden crash as a garbage can in an alley nearby was knocked over. He gave a start, and saw a cat running away.
Nute Gunray shivered. It was indeed very cold, especially since he was wearing a fine red silk robe with golden lines sewn in intricate designs looping and swirling about all over the place like kites caught in a wind.
Suddenly, he noticed a dark figure on a speeder zooming toward him. The red eyes gave the machine a glance and noticed that it was rusty and very filthy. There were oil stains all over it and the paint in some parts were chipped, revealing the metal underneath.
A few seconds later, the speeder had landed and the cloaked figure aboard it climbed out and walked over to the impatient Neimoidian.
"Viceroy," the creature greeted in a husky, deep, but calm voice.
"Yelen," Nute Gunray replied. "Shall we get down to business?"
"Of course Viceroy," the creature said as he motioned inside the house. "Shall we sit down Your Honor?"
The Viceroy snorted at the creature's words, but he agreed to go in and sit down in the dusty and tattered armchairs probably torn up by a baby nexu.
"Viceroy," Yelen began taking off the hood of his cloak and revealing a hideous face when they had settled into the armchairs. "Of what of my services may I offer you? You are a new customer."
"Well." Nute Gunray paused. "I am fed up with Senator Amidala and I want her dead!"
"Vicious aren't you, Your Honor?" the cloaked figure said.
"Stop that nonsense like 'Your Honor' and get on with it!" Nute Gunray growled.
"Okay then, how am I supposed to kill this Senator Amidala?"
"I don't care! Poison her! Drown her! Take a blaster and shoot her! I don't care how you kill her! I just want her dead!" Nute Gunray screamed waving his hands in the air and walking in circles as he spoke. He was lucky that most of the humans and creatures living near the abandoned house slept like the dead. If they didn't, then the rest of them hated the ponderous, stupid Republic and everybody involved with it in their opinion and didn't have a care in the galaxy if anyone talked ill of the Senate.
"I have a better idea Viceroy," Yelen said with an evil smirk.
"Well get on with it! I don't have all day you know!"
"Actually Viceroy, we have only been talking for a few minute and it is nighttime," Yelen corrected.
"Who cares what time it is," the Viceroy said. "I just want to know how you plan to kill Amidala!"
"Here's the information then. I kidnap her in the dead of night next week and take her to Geonosis. There, I will make her divulge all her plans and then kill her with a toxic dart and bring her back to her home and try to make it look like she committed suicide," Yelen announced with a calm tone and look.
"Kidnap Senator Amidala and take her back to Geonosis? Then bring her back and make it look like she committed suicide? Are you a complete lunatic or are you out of your mind!" Nute Gunray yelled. "THAT WILL NOT WORK!"
"I thought that was a good plan," Yelen replied obviously hurt. "And I think with me and somebody else to do it, we might pull it off and Senator Amidala would be on Geonosis this time next week and the person I'll be working with is a S-"
"I don't care!" the enraged Viceroy interrupted. "This is not going to work because I am working with a lunatic who wants to kidnap a very important senator and bring her to Geonosis and then bring her back to Coruscant and make it look like she committed suicide! No! No! No! You are not doing it because you will fail! I will not pay a great quantity of credits for you to carry out a far-fetched plan as that! Do you hear me, you excuse for a slimy gob of grease?! "
"I promise you, Viceroy, I will not fail," Yelen said with a determined, but calm look and tone, brushing aside the insult Nute Gunray had just thrown at him.
"YOU WILL FAIL!" the out-of-control Viceroy screamed as he slammed his fist down on the fragile glass table set between the calm bounty hunter and the enraged Viceroy. As fist met table, the table collapsed in a heap under the strain and force of the Viceroy's hand. Glass shattered everywhere covering the already cantankerous Neimoidian, and the cloaked figure sitting in the armchair facing him.
Yelen stood up and locked eyes with the enraged Viceroy who was screaming with fury. "I promise you, Viceroy, I will not fail," he repeated with the same calm tone and look.
"And why is that?" the Viceroy sneered lowering his tone as his red eyes flashed, but not breaking the eye contact.
"Because I never fail." Yelen replied calmly.
"Oh really?"
"Really."
"And are you sure?"
"Positive."
"What if I find someone better than you?"
"You won't, Your Honor."
"What if I do? What would you do?" the Nute Gunray taunted.
"Is that a challenge, Your Honor?" the bounty hunter asked his calm tone and look slipping a bit, but he immediately mustered them back together.
"What do you think? Is that a challenge, Your Honor?" the Viceroy mimicked turning the bounty hunter's words back on him.
Yelen ignored the Neimoidian and told him what he had planned to say before he was interrupted. "I will be working with a Sith Lord who wants Amidala dead. He has already agreed to my plan and demands for you to approve and I assure you Viceroy, he will not be pleased if you don't because after all, you know of the power of the Sith. You've worked with them before? Haven't you? "
"How do you know if I've worked with them!" Nute Gunray demanded, but there was an edge of uneasiness in his voice that Yelen could not miss.
"Well, Your Honor," the bounty hunter answered. "The Sith Lord has told me about you. This isn't your first attempt of trying to assassinate Senator Amidala. You tried to kill her on her way to Coruscant for the vote of the creation of an army for the Republic. Second time were the deadly kouhuns, the centipedelike creations that almost killed Amidala while she slept, but Anakin Skywalker stopped them. Third was the Battle at Geonosis, which has begun the Clone Wars, in my opinion. This is your fourth attempt to kill her, I believe."
"Fine then," Nute Gunray agreed uneasily. "You can go on with this plan of yours and I will wait and hope it has gone right. If it has, but I doubt it will, we will negotiate a time and place for us to meet so you may collect the other half of your credits after I know that Amidala is dead."
"Thank you, Viceroy," Yelen answered with a bow as he slipped his hood on, so it covered his face.
Nute Gunray reached into his pocket and took out a handful of credits and presented them to the bounty hunter. Yelen swept them up in an instant and stuffed them inside his cloak.
"Be off now and let me be," the Viceroy ordered.
"Thank you and good night, Your Honor," Yelen said with a bow.
"Dismissed," the Neimoidian said and Yelen walked quickly to his speeder.
"One more thing bounty hunter," Nute Gunray called to the cloaked figure as it climbed abroad the speeder. "Blowing who hired you to do this job if you are captured, and I think you will be, will hurt even more than failing!"
The cloaked bounty hunter nodded, started up the speeder and sailed off into the night. Killing and tricking were way too easy he thought. It was such a pity that he had to use the Sith and Darth Sidious to trick the stubborn Viceroy into agreeing. The Viceroy was a stupid one indeed. If the Neimoidian had listened closely, he would have realized that it was odd that a Sith Lord would demand for him to approve of a plan for the death of Senator Amidala when no one knew about him wanting Senator Amidala dead at this moment. The Viceroy had been worrying about the Sith and Darth Sidious, so the thought had slipped his mind. After all, the Sith had nothing to do with this because Yelen always worked alone. Always.
Behind the stairs of the house, a teenage girl stood listening with one hand on her lightsaber as the Viceroy was picked up by some sort of vehicle on the balcony above the stairs. It was clear to her that Senator Padmé Amidala was in danger. Grave danger, and it was up to her to do something about it, but first she had to report this to her Master.
