- Noteworthy fruition. As Captain Trend and Padawan Farnos made their way through the hallways of the voting area, a being came to direct contact with them. The unknown one quickly had a spike in interest. Similarly, a pro-callous being took that approach. A melting of goals… if there ever was one. -
Chapter 19. Shuffle actions all round
"What has led a member of the Republic military personnel to the idea of coming to the Senate building?"
"I have my reasons, Senator."
"You believe that I'm a Senator?"
"That's right, sir."
"Well… What makes you proclaim that?"
"Nothing, but a lucky guess."
"I will have to report this to Mas as soon I see them separate."
A venomous smile appears behind a red mask. Quite logically, the surroundings of the trio hadn't changed since the start of the conversation. Everyone, after all, had a role to play, a task to accomplish. Deciding to stop and listen to a dialogue between beings, when the topic is completely blank, would be foolhardy. So the natural flow of beings around them continued with very, very little stops. Several minutes pass before Zane says:
"Your motivations aren't clear also."
"Neither is your status." – The Senator fires back.
"It seems we have arrived at a standstill."
"Possibly, officer. Although… I wish we could move forward from it."
"That will require some cooperation from you."
"And from you."
"From all of us." – states Captain Trend.
The member of the legislative branch suddenly tilts his head, so that he could access the atmosphere behind Zane. The red masked person swiftly dashes to the wall, sticks to it like glue. By doing so, the Senator doesn't spot him with his eyes.
"We should keep our voices low then."
"Agreed." – The other two state.
The least known being in this person triangle quickly thinks about his future move. He wasn't completely sure that he wanted to pursue something when it came to the recently familiarized beings. A new person is still a new person, with everything new a different approach than the previous one should be chosen. Reason being – everybody's character's essence is unique. A counter-argument to his distrust was the somewhat agony of the current situation. The inability to progress the Republic to a far better place than it was now angered him; the patience for the suitable push-back strained him from the morning. Soon the second force overwhelmed the first one and the dialogue rose another level.
"As I can see, you're waiting for me to start."
"Honestly, that is the preferred move for me."
Oswald's friend did not sense anything of an immediate danger from the Force right now.
"Very well. My name is Senator Vescell."
"Captain Trend."
"Zane Farnos."
"A pleasure... to meet you both."
The later minute chat consisted of getting to know each person's reasons for developing the conversation further. Each member of the trio said quite an ambiguous truth. In case of Vescell, he just only met the two. They were new acquaintances; their alignment to a power within the Republic was hard to place.
"The obvious answer doesn't work here."
One of Senator Avergreen's supporters hoped that Zane was the joker that she had mentioned previously. Nobody could really convince the quite frenetic representative that Farnos didn't look the part. He wore a dull, grey cloak, the traditional robe of the Jedi Order. Vescell very rapidly put together facts to come to a conclusion about the joker's status.
"Maybe Avergreen's Joker was a member of the Jedi Order."
In case of Trend & Farnos, the probability of running into the 'Mastermind' was very small. However, that did not stop the 18 year old from taking the preposition into account. The higher ups in their respected institutions would already be displeased of their actions up until this point. Any further ones just added fuel to the fire. Analyzing the power of the Mastermind not so long ago, an easy-going approach, fully transparent reasoning painted the picture of a catastrophe. Trend did not grasp the situation as seriously as the Force sensitive, but it was enough to take the same stance on the matter. Every action of theirs was risky from their meeting at the Temple; it will continue to be so.
"The risk of getting exposed to the Generals will not disappear any time soon."
What can you do, sometimes the odds of success are just not favorable.
"I believe we are useful to each other." – says Vescell.
"I'd agree. Our goals do differ slightly, but the bulk of them are interchangeable."
"So how do we proceed?"
"We must reconcile with ourselves for a bit. Keep a low profile."
"There can be no turnarounds from here on it." – Zane says coldly.
"Yes. Our minds must remain focused on the tasks ahead."
"Good. I'll have free time tomorrow, so we can set up a meeting then."
"We should choose a different place."
"With what priorities?"
"I believe it should be a dangerous & unpredictable one."
"I can think of that. By midday tomorrow, I'll send you both a hollo-note of preferred spots."
"Sounds great." – states Trend.
"Then till next time, Senator."
"Good day to you, Trend, Farnos."
The trio separates and walks in opposite directions of the hallway.
Few minutes later. The red masked being enters a restroom, locks the door. Less than a minute of dissecting the space around him with his ears prompts safety. A transmission starts swiftly after.
"Yes."
"Amedda, I have some news to report."
"On what?"
"The anti-Palpatine senators."
"What about them?"
"One of them has recently had contact with a clone and a Jedi."
The blue skinned male's attention to the call explodes.
"You're sure of this?"
"Positive, Mas. One of them wore clone armor without a doubt, while the other wore a dull, shallow, grey cloak. There is only one organization I know that would consider that 'formal' wear."
Amedda reprocesses the information several cycles. No contradiction or lie comes to mind.
"Good work. Did you manage to identify the Senator?"
"Sadly not. My view was obstructed by the others."
"Understandable. Anyway, we should end the conversation soon. I'll inform Him of your findings. For now stay with the clone & the Jedi. They take priority till the day's end."
"Yes, Amedda. I'm leaving to track them right now."
"I wouldn't want it any other way. Good luck."
The transmission ends.
"Main is overstaying at his office again."
"A disvalue of our time." – Sezk adds.
"So it appears." – says Hefyra.
It looked that this complaining miraculously brought upon change within the physical domain. Instantly after Hefyra's words, the doors slid open and the Senator appeared through a short corridor.
"You're punctual."
"True."
In a flash a person runs up to the left side of the female senator.
"Senator Hefyra." – says a man.
"What's the matter?"
The man looked gasped, most probably because of a lot of running.
"I have something to tell you."
"Alright."
He approaches her, leans in to her left ear and whispers something.
"Thank you. Get back to your representative in a… moderate pace."
"Of course."
Just as how he appeared from out of nowhere, in a slightly longer period of time – he disappeared in the crowded hallway. With good reasoning, Senator Main was interested in this event.
"An unexpected way to start the evening."
"We are in accordance there."
Hefyra turns her face to him.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes. I'm really hungry."
The quartet of beings assembles in a rhombus: Marshall Sezk in front, the Senators in the middle & Richie in the back. They adjust their pace to specifically be very close to the movements of others around them. Three circles in a line illuminate the road from time to time; it never seems to be too dark for the quartet.
"Does the information affect me directly?"
"Yes." – The female says in a concerned, silent tone.
"Is it what I believe it is about?"
She just nods. Senator Main's face changes; it now doesn't resemble any amount of cheerfulness.
"Person?"
"Vescell."
"What about him?"
"He is losing his concentration."
"At an alarming rate, no doubt."
"His involvement in our 'business' is becoming very problematic."
"Dangerous."
"Quite so."
Senator Main was no sloth. He understood what a reckless Vescell might do to their cause.
"We must bring this topic up to Avergreen at tomorrow's morning meeting."
"Forgetting it is not an option. The reassessment of our cards is required."
"The stakes are high. We must make sure that we play them right."
They glance at each other's face, and then continue walking with almost no more word exchanges.
Ten minutes to 18:00. The duo of skeptics on the bombing case arrives at one of the hangars of the Republic Senate building. It was fairly empty; you could count all the transitional people in it on your fingers.
"So…" – Zane starts.
The white chocolate skinned male turns to face the clone captain.
"…this is where our paths split for today."
"Wise move, Farnos."
"I believe you have some thinking to get to."
"As do you. Today was a good start to our partnership."
"Definitely not time wasted."
"By all accounts no."
"I'm not sure, when we will meet tomorrow."
"You want to meet before we come into contact with him?"
"I'm not sure, Captain. There are facts that need to be… reviewed again."
"Your action will be based on their… value."
"Or lack thereof."
"I understand."
He extend his right hand, Oswald's friend understands the intention. A shake of hands ends their time spent today. Captain Trend turns to the right & slowly leaves the hangar. Zane recognizes the awkwardness of doing his recently planned action is such a spot. This is why the 18 year old moves to one of the walls, takes several semi-hidden glances at the people around. Nobody's eyes seem to be locked on him.
"Good. I have to check with the Force."
According to him, a connection to the Force was required, since he wanted to make sure there weren't any major dangers around him now or coming in the near future. A couple of minutes passed, the signal was of a dissectible nature. It transmitted signals of caution to the Force sensitive, yet they were fairly bleak, hard to pick up, even of conflicting origin.
"This… is… not what I wanted to get. It does not give me enough reassurances."
Then there was one strong signal of loss, its vibrancy implicated a fairly near death of someone. Since it was sent to Zane, he swiftly came to the conclusion that he was at the center of it. Moreover, this created an imaginary possibility list of him, Kelan, Oswald or his master. None of whom he wanted to pass away, obviously.
"I do have some… crucial work to do."
Suddenly, Farnos opens his eyes, takes in some deep breathes and starts a walk to his speeder, with whom he came to the Senate building. The people around him really didn't pay attention to any of this, just concentrated on their own work.
18:00, exactly 5 days till the Vote. The bond between Master & Padawan was not a simple matter of words – it was a way of living. The two Force sensitives lived in the same living space from year to year. If we treat their living essences as spheres, then their overlapping area was quite huge. One had to be patient, so that the other can hone as many skills as needed to become a Jedi Knight. While in return, the latter had to trust the former, so that a step forward in complication of tasks could be taken. Menson was neither over-sympathetic on the matter, nor attributed it to a scummy, illusion driven idea. A home is still a home, and the 19 year old acknowledged that.
"It is a sad sight. To… feel… that this may be the last time I see it all."
The blonde haired male brushes his right fingers on a table. The polished surface gives him the idea and feeling of softness, warmth, joy, bliss.
"If one could feel bliss just for a whole day, he would be the happiest person in the Galaxy."
The contact ends, Oswald turns his head to his duffel bag. It sat so peacefully on the chair; someone would say that the spot was perfect for it. The brown chocolate exterior was broken apart by some white letters, which had a stitched up contour around them. A couple of exhales came to existence in the room before the being took the bag, threw it onto his right shoulder. A self-check of objects packed ran through his mind. At that moment, an idea came to mind.
"I should talk to my friends before my journey. I mean, I don't want to get them angry."
First one up was Kelan Elanesquil. He was not sure whether she & Master Bangad had entered a battle or not. Waiting was not on the menu, moreover, when the person, who would be waiting, is already obliged to appear before someone.
Somewhere in Trans space. Even with a lot of sound deadening, partitions, a fairly long distance, some vibrations from the engines could be felt all over the ship. Living quarters were no exception. Speaking of which, in one of those quarters a great amount of swiping of air was being conducted.
"Wooom!.. Wooom!.. Wooom!" – The sounds transferred in to linguistics.
Soon double digit steps complimented the swipes. A third member entered the party not long after. It was a beeping from a hollo-projector.
"Hmmm."
The being swiftly stopped moving, slowly walked over to the hollo-projector. It was sitting on a metal table near one of the corners of the room. A tap on the main button unfolded an image in a few seconds.
"Hello, Kelan."
"Oswald. Good to see you."
"Back at you, Kelan."
The blue eyed male in a blistering speed processed his friend's attire.
"I guess you were practicing with the lightsaber when I called."
"True."
Kelan was wearing a powder white T-shirt, same colored shorts, that covered about a third of her thighs. Both clothes had two red stripes on the sides; the shorts had a white cord going around in a circle.
"You look different too. Compared to the last time we saw each other in any way."
"You're talking about the spiky hair?"
"Oh yeah. It does have a presence."
"Maybe. How long until you jump out of hyper-space?"
"About 2 hours."
"Then we don't have to… extraordinarily rush."
"Maybe not for time constraints, Oswald."
"Then for what, Kelan?"
"Well… you did interrupt my practice session & I really wouldn't want to leave my body in these sweated clothes longer than necessary."
He nods.
"Glad we agree."
"I called you to tell you of a special journey that I will be onto in less than an hour from now."
The twi'lek female grew a bit suspicious of her friend. The content he just presented to her was not of an immediate danger. It was of a different origin.
"What makes it special?"
"It will be the first one since the start of the War."
"Ok. What is it?"
"I'm going on a vacation."
The sportier dressed being was not prepared for such an answer.
"Vacation? Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"You've managed to get time off so you can heal your mind?"
"A great guess, Kelan. Yes, it will give me the time to heal. Especially after the fact that I will not be on Coruscant for it."
"That is even better."
"I know."
"I hope it will be as fruitful as you hope."
"We will soon see."
"How long will it last?"
"I should be back at the Temple in 5 days if everything goes smoothly."
She smiles.
"So… there is a chance of me seeing you at the Temple if I complete my mission in record time."
He returns a smile.
"Correct."
"Well… I wish you luck on your journey."
"Same goes for you on the mission. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Maybe… I just really longed for a simple talk with you."
"Two things true at once, my friend?"
"Could be."
"Anyway. Until next time, Oswald."
"Bye, Kelan."
The blue pixels of the hollo-projector disappear into the bleak atmosphere of the room, the brightest objects being the twi'lek's clothes. She concentrated her vision on the projector for a very short time. The news of Oswald getting away from the Jedi Temple on a non-fighting type of an agreement was a 1/1 000 000 thing for her.
"It… is… so… well."
The Jedi Council was at odds with Oswald since the moment Ahsoka got imprisoned in a Military base on Coruscant. According to Kelan, there was clear animosity between the authority and the subordinate. This was mostly because she knew Mundi's Padawan's character.
"I hope it is all you want it to be, Oswald. You are going to have to be very careful."
A very uncomfortable thought entered her mind.
"Something tells me… that the Council has ulterior motives when it comes to your leave. Something… big… might be on the horizon. Your foresight … will probably … be put to the test more than we both imagine."
Elanesquil's eyes change their direction, she stretches her arms, bends them in a couple directions, and enacts several cycles. Soon the lightsaber training resumes.
Back at the Temple.
"One down, one to go."
A new signal is set to another person, this time from a different device. Not a minute passes for an answer to come.
"Zane here."
"It's Oswald."