A/N: Okay, I know this isn't an excellent chapter in the action sense. No one is doing anything exciting, and it's more of a filler than anything else. Unfortunately, fanfiction isn't complete without some filler chapters to move things along. Even if it is boring, it is necessary. That being said, I tried to make it as enjoyable as possible before we get back into the action. I hope you like it and see you next time. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a bit more action-packed (as soon as I write it :) until next time, please read, review, and enjoy!
Republic outpost, overrun! The Jedi have lost all contact with the clone security force stationed on the bleak, snow-covered planet of Orto Plutonia. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, accompanied by dignitaries from the nearby moon of Pantora are sent to investigate the disappearance of the clone troopers on the desolate and forbidding landscape….
The end of the standard year had come and gone a few days ago, and the woman was celebrating in her own way. It wasn't often she could relax and take a break from the trials of her life, but she had found the opportunity and was taking full advantage of it. She was pursuing a hobby of hers, one that could only be accomplished on a planet with mountains and snow. Snow that was light, fluffy, and powdery. Snow like the snow found on Orto Plutonia. And so she had come here, bundled up entirely against the cold, goggles over her eyes and a mask over her mouth and nose. Thick, fur-lined boots and a hooded parka with even more fur packed into it kept her warm, and her gloves were heavy and thick.
Her knives were tucked into her belt, but she didn't think she would need them here. She wasn't here to hunt Sith, and there weren't any here to begin with. She was here for some fun, and she was about to enjoy herself. The Talz were always welcoming to her presence as long as she didn't accidentally bury them or their village in an avalanche, something she made a point of not doing.
Today she was here to snowboard, and she had brought along her board. She had landed the day before with a backpack of provisions and then sent her fighter and droid to wait in orbit and cloaked, R1 knowing she would signal when she was ready for pickup. Other than that, he would stay off the planet's surface, knowing the cold would be too much for her fighter.
As soon as her fighter had left, she strapped her board onto her feet and took off down the mountain she had landed on top of. Immediately she had launched herself into the air in a jump, spinning 360 degrees around before landing and continuing down the mountain, going faster and faster before eventually everything evened out and her speed decreased a bit. Only then did she look up and try and focus through the bitter cold and freezing winds, seeing the Talz were leaving the clone outpost the Republic had set up here.
She curled her lip a bit at that, she couldn't understand why the Republic had done so, but she knew the Chairman of Pantora had insisted on it and believed the planet belonged to him and his people, even though the Talz had been there first. That was beside the point now; now she needed to know what the Talz were doing at the base. They had no reason to and didn't advertise their presence here on this planet, hence why Pantora had always thought the planet was uninhabited.
For them to be leaving a Republic base didn't make any sense and didn't bode well for the clones stationed there now that she thought about it.
She shook her head as she started heading for the base; curiosity had always been her greatest weakness, and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon. She had to know what the Talz were doing there and take the risk that the clones might see her.
But, considering what she knew of the Talz and their skill as warriors, she had a feeling the clones hadn't stood a chance against the locals, and the Republic would be on their way soon to figure out what had happened. It only gave her a limited amount of time to figure out what had happened for herself, and so she boarded over as quickly as she could, sliding to a stop in front of the doors to the small hanger where the bikes were stored and letting herself in after taking her board off. No one challenged her and no one shot at her, and after she walked inside, she closed the door behind her, board in hand.
Senses on high alert for any surviving clones that were thinking of attacking her, she started walking slowly up into the base, checking the rooms as she did so, and eventually found the first signs that things had gone poorly for the clones here. The Talz warning to others not to challenge or threaten them was there, spears with the helmets of the clones on top of them, and she continued on deeper into the base, eventually reaching the control room and finding a massacre.
The clones hadn't stood a chance and been taken entirely by surprise if she had to guess. They were strewn all about and were lifeless and still, the Talz having done their work too well. She looked around some more, resisting the urge to touch the computers and look for Republic secrets that could be of use to her. The Republic forces that came here to figure out why the base wasn't responding would notice if she messed with the computers, so she would have to leave them be for now.
There were always other ways to get the information she needed.
Looking around the room one more time revealed nothing more she could learn, and she had no intention of tracking the Talz down to figure out what had happened that had caused them to act so aggressively. She would do so when she was convinced they were calm. She left with that thought, but not before leaving something for a friend of hers to find when they eventually came. She needed their help with something, and hopefully, they would deliver.
In the meantime, she had some powder she needed to enjoy before duty called to her again.
A few days later, Republic gunships arrived at the frozen base of Orto Plutonia. With them came dignitaries from Pantora, Chairman Cho and Senator Chuchi. The woman watched as they came in for a landing and started setting up their equipment and sensor beacons. Seeing how far out the clones were going, the woman moved off away from the base, knowing that those beacons would detect her if she stayed. Her board was strapped to her boots in seconds and she was off, racing down and deeper into the mountains before disappearing from sight.
By the time the clones reached where she had been nothing remained, the snow covering the track left by her board as quickly as it had been made. As this was happening, Skywalker was looking around at the surrounding hills, trying to figure out what he had sensed. In the end, he shrugged and shook his head; he must have been imagining things.
This planet was uninhabited, wasn't it? Why would he sense life on it?
The woman ended up playing a game of avoid and evade with Skywalker and Kenobi for the rest of the day as they found a droid base near where the clone base had been, then followed information from the droids into the southern canyon and eventually found the Talz. The woman watched from a cliff overlooking the village as the Jedi disappeared into the main hut, wondering what would happen.
If the Jedi made the wrong overture, the Talz could face the consequences of the Republic overreacting. The Jedi might not believe in revenge, but she wasn't sure she could say the same for the Republic, not with the way it appeared to be heading.
As this was happening, back at the clone base, Chairman Cho was getting everything ready for what he thought would be an attack from the Separatists. But Chuchi wasn't so sure and was watching out the window in thought as the Chairman issued instructions to a clone: "I want the weapons system back online and the shields operational. There's no telling what the Separatists have planned."
Chuchi turned around then, almost hesitant to ask a question she felt needed to be asked, "Chairman, what makes you so certain the Separatists are behind this attack?"
"Look around, Senator," gesturing at the dead clones being carried away by their brothers, "Isn't this carnage proof enough?"
"I know," Chuchi said, starting to walk towards the central command hub where the Chairman was, "but there are no dead droids here, no blast marks. The clones' injuries were not consistent with what –" only to be cut off by the Chairman, "So, you're an expert on war now, are you, Senator?"
"No, Chairman. No, I only –" Chuchi tried again, but this time Chairman Cho wouldn't even let her finish the sentence as he walked toward the stairs to join her, "Let me tell you something, Senator. I have led our people since before you were born. I've seen a hundred planets rise and fall through force of arms. If it's not the Separatists out there, then it's a malevolent and aggressive enemy nonetheless, and I will not let whoever it is jeopardize the security of the people of Pantora," as they headed for the lift.
"But if the Jedi discover that the Separatists aren't behind this," coming to a stop in front of the Chairman, "then perhaps there is a peaceful resolution,"
"Senator, I am willing to fight and die for my people. It's time to ask yourself if you are brave enough to do the same," with that, Chairman Cho left, leaving Chuchi with no option but to go as well, leaving the control room for the stairs, deciding to head down that way to clear her head.
She understood the desire to protect her people and do the right thing for them in some ways. Still, at the same time, she couldn't really understand the Chairman's desire to be so aggressive in that protection. If a peaceful resolution was possible, shouldn't that be explored first? Chuchi shook her head; her Chairman would never agree to that when fighting was so much easier and got him what he wanted in the end.
Even if it was the same thing she wanted but wanted to go about it differently, it made no difference to him.
Fighting was easier than talking for some.
Chuchi shook her head again and looked up, realizing her feet and wandering mind had taken her to one of the lower levels that were a bit emptier than the rest of the base. It was the barracks where the clones stationed here had lived before they were killed. She looked around then; they were empty and quiet, not to mention rather dark. Chuchi shuddered slightly; she wasn't afraid of the dark by any means, but it almost felt like the ghosts of the dead clones were about her, talking and laughing with each other as they settled down to get some sleep or got up to follow orders to get up to the command center. She smiled sadly; she hadn't known any of the clones stationed here, but she still felt sorry for what happened to them.
Maybe that was the difference between her and the Chairman? She could feel sympathy for the clones and soldiers that had died here, while the Chairman only saw them as a means to an end to get what he wanted.
She shivered again, hearing the laughter of the clones in her head again; she needed to get out of here before those ghosts seemed more real than they actually were. She turned around then, heading out of the barracks quickly, but stopped dead when she saw something she hadn't noticed before on one of the bunks.
It was a small data card, and it was sitting right in the center of one of the bunks. No snow or dust was covering it, revealing it hadn't been there very long, but it was the symbol on it that Chuchi recognized immediately. It was a symbol she hadn't seen much of over the last year, but whenever she did, she was reminded of the fact that she was helping fight two wars, the Clone Wars and another, more secret war being carried out under the noses of the Jedi, the Republic, and the Separatists.
And her career was over if she was found to be helping with that and not wholly doing what was best for Pantora. She was at the bunk in seconds, quickly grabbing the card and pocketing it, wishing the sign on it was anything other than a sharp-beaked bird rising from flames. But she knew it wouldn't change, no matter what she hoped, and so Chuchi could only take the card and learn what was wanted of her later when she was alone in the safety and privacy of her office on Coruscant.
She left then, completely left the barracks, and headed up towards the upper levels of the base. On her way, she nearly bumped into a clone; that was how distracted she was. The clone caught her before they could both fall to the ground, and she said quickly, "My apologies, I was distracted."
"It's fine, Senator," the clone said, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Chuchi replied, trying to hide her unease, "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and found myself down in the barracks before I realized it. I was coming from there," the clone nodded, and she asked, "Are the generals back yet?"
The clone shook his head, "Not yet, but the sensor beacons detected movement a few minutes ago, so it could be them on their way back now."
Chuchi nodded, "Alright, thank you, trooper. I'll go find the Chairman now."
The clone nodded and stood at attention before walking away. Chuchi continued on her way to the hanger to meet the Chairman and hear what the Jedi had discovered. After this was over, she would be going back to Coruscant to figure out what came next for her and the Conspiracy.
The Jedi and clones had just left the planet and were flying back to the cruiser waiting for them, leaving the woman the chance to finally enjoy herself. She had been waiting for them to entirely go before she started snowboarding again, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to herself, spending time with the Talz while she waited. She often found herself enjoying their company, even though she wasn't sure why. She couldn't speak their language fully but could approximate the sounds they made in her throat. It came close enough to carry on a conversation with them and enjoy simple meals and grand stories around the fire. Maybe it was because they preferred a simpler life, and so did she, that she enjoyed their company so much, or perhaps it was because they had spent their existence in hiding and so had she.
Maybe there was something there after all.
Either way, with the Jedi and clones gone, she was now able to enjoy a few more runs before it got too cold for her. Her gear kept her warm, but there eventually came a point when she couldn't tolerate the cold anymore and had to leave. She had already been here for many days, and that may have been a few days too many. Already she could feel the cold affecting her, and she knew it was time to travel to warmer climes.
But for now, she would take the opportunity to have some fun. She had just found the right mountain and was getting ready to snowboard down but had stopped to watch the Jedi and clones leave. Reaching out with her senses, she could sense that Chuchi was there as well, having successfully negotiated peace between her people and the Talz. How she had done that, the woman didn't entirely know, but she did know that Chuchi was more capable of asking for a peaceful solution than her Chairman had been. She also knew Chuchi was stronger than she believed; she just needed the right moment to believe in herself to prove that to herself.
The Jedi giving her a little push in that direction had likely helped as well.
The woman watched the ships for a few more minutes before shrugging and strapping her board on. Now wasn't the time to think about politics, now was the time for some fun. She shuffled to the very edge of the slope she had decided on and looked down for the briefest of moments before taking a deep breath and shoving off. Seconds later, she was flying, going faster and faster as the mountains zoomed past her. Eventually, she slid right off a snow-covered boulder and actually flipped in the air before coming back down and continuing on her way. Crouching down not only increased her speed but also gave her the ability to leap into the air again and complete a 360-degree turn.
After that jump, she did a few more before slowing and finally stopping, smiling to herself as she did so. For some reason, the thrill of adventure had never left her, and snowboarding down a mountain with no one around for miles and just herself there to enjoy it was the greatest adventure of all, in her opinion. She smiled to herself and looked around, just appreciating how alone she was, before suddenly sneezing. It was only a quick sneeze and not very loud, but a crashing sound came behind her seconds later. Turning around very slowly, already knowing what it was, the woman watched wide-eyed as the last thing she had wanted to deal with came crashing towards her.
Avalanche!
The snow was racing towards her, an unstoppable force of ice and power, and she immediately took off again. Looking around as she increased her speed as much as she could revealed nothing that would give her any kind of high ground above the avalanche, but there was an alternative. Right in front of her was a deep ravine.
If she could jump that, then she had a chance of getting away from that avalanche before it buried her.
Deciding that was the best plan she could come up with, scratch that, it was the only plan she had, she crouched low, asking for more speed, and brought her arms in close, increasing her speed even more. She was still only a few meters ahead of the avalanche, but it was enough to keep her safe.
The ravine was getting closer and closer with every passing second.
But so was the avalanche as she glanced behind her.
Finally, she was close enough to the ravine to plan her jump. She crouched low again, increasing her speed, calculating how much speed she would need to leap clear. Seconds later, she had it and eased up slightly, knowing that she didn't need to be that fast. Moments later, the ravine was a bit closer….and a bit closer….closer….closer….now!
She flew off the side of the ravine edge, using her speed and strength to jump clear of the tons of ice and snow barreling towards her, grinning as she did so and feeling the adrenaline climbing again with the height of her jump. Seconds later, she did a flip in midair just for the fun of it, straightening in time to land safely on the other side and keep going for a few feet before slowing down a bit and finally stopping to look behind her.
The ravine she had just jumped over was quickly filling with ice and snow, and she smiled beneath her gear at the sight before deciding she had had enough for a while. It was time for her to get back to her task and give snowboarding a rest for a while, especially if this was the end result. She hadn't meant to start the avalanche, but if it happened again and there were Talz nearby, she would never forgive herself if they got hurt because of her. It was time to leave, she decided as she raised her arm and tapped the button on her comlink signaling R1, before she caused more damage or another avalanche.
And she needed to be on hand for the information Chuchi was going to send her whenever she had the chance to get it. The senator might not understand the importance of the information now, but in time she would, especially if it benefited her moon and her people in the long run.
Safe and warm back on Coruscant, Chuchi had arrived back at her office in the Senate building and settled herself for a few minutes before checking to make sure she was truly alone. She had sent away everyone as quickly as she could without seeming rude and now was alone. She sat down at her desk and looked out the window at the bustling skyline for a few minutes before sighing and turning back to her desk. She locked the doors to her office, making sure no one could disturb her, and then reached under her desk for a secret button. She found it seconds later, and a hidden panel opened on the underside of her desk leg, revealing a hidden computer.
Chuchi quickly pulled it out and set it on her desk, opening it and powering it up. The screen lit up a few seconds later and asked for the passcodes. She entered them quickly, setting the protocols as she did so. This computer wasn't networked to any system or interface, given to Chuchi when she joined the Conspiracy to access communications among others involved and review information she may need, as well as the progress of others in the Conspiracy. This computer was also impossible to hack, so there was no way to access its information without her. It was an essential part of her work in the Conspiracy and allowed her to give information to others securely without any fear of compromising anyone or risking lives.
She knew it wasn't just her, Padmé, and Bail involved in the political side of the Conspiracy. While the woman and General Fisto organized and took care of the military part, it was up to her and the others to provide the correct information when asked for.
Chuchi sighed before reaching for the data card left for her on Orto Plutonia. She had kept it hidden and safe for all of her adventures there, waiting for the right moment to actually access the information on it and see what was needed of her. So far, she hadn't been asked for much, but it was clear that now it was time for her to do more. Clearly, it was thought she was ready for more difficult tasks, and she needed to step up and do them.
And she knew the woman wouldn't ask her to do anything that would put her in danger if she could help it. And if she did, the woman would send along help and backup to keep her safe; that was something she had always promised.
Chuchi stared at the card for a few moments longer before swallowing slightly to settle her nerves before finally plugging it into the computer and accessing it. Words began to fly across the screen, going at a pace she could easily keep up with. She read what was on the card carefully, then reread it, not quite believing what she was being asked to do.
It was simple and something she could easily do as a senator in theory. But in practice, knowing there was a level of secrecy involved in everything they did, she wasn't sure how to accomplish it. Secrecy was critical to the success of the Conspiracy, this had been drilled into her from the beginning, and the information she was being asked to get would be a challenge to that. While it was public information and something she could easily get, she would have to figure out how to get it without attracting attention since it wasn't something she would typically ask for. The only good thing was the note down at the bottom, which immediately eased the tension and anxiety she felt in regards to how she was going to accomplish this:
"There is no rush. I don't need this information for at least a year, maybe more. Don't worry, an opportunity will present itself; just be patient."
Seeing those words Chuchi immediately felt relief. Now she had time to figure out how she would get the Trade Federation's records and their more recent transaction history. The woman had already gotten the Trade Federation's records from a long time ago, but they had changed their record-keeping methods and started going to greater lengths to hide who they did business with, to the point the woman couldn't access it from the outside.
She needed someone on the inside, someone who could get the information without it being suspicious, and that was where Chuchi evidently came in since Pantora was starting to have trouble with the Trade Federation, and the legal battles were starting to get more heated. Padmé and Bail clearly couldn't get the information since they had no reason to ask for it, but she did and no one would be the wiser for it if she was the one asking for it. Hopefully, she would be up to the task when the time came.
Far away, the woman's comlink beeped. Looking down at it, she watched as the activated button flashed a coded message for a few seconds before being abruptly cut off. She closed her eyes then for a brief moment before opening them, determination in her eyes; a friend was in trouble and needed her help, and she would give it as soon as possible.
She didn't abandon her friends, no matter what.
All she had to do was find them.