A/N: Hi everyone! Here's another filler chapter that doesn't have a lot of action but has some important pieces in it. I know it's not that great, but filler chapters sometimes are a necessary evil. Hopefully, the next chapter will have some more action and maybe some tension that will help keep things interesting. Either way, I guess we'll all find out (even me, since the chapter hasn't been written yet!:)
In the meantime, please read, review, and enjoy! See you next time!
War creates opportunity for the criminal underworld! Ruthless mercenaries conspire with the Separatists to disrupt and exploit the unstable situation within the Republic. Now, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano descend into the treacherous gangster havens in an effort to find a corrupt and vile arms dealer who is buying weapons on the black market and selling them to the Republic's enemies.…
Almost an entire month had passed since Kit had been rescued from Grievous. His arm was still healing but was at the stage where he didn't need the sling anymore, and his leg was completely recovered. No scars were visible at all, and he had full mobility. In time he would regain mobility in his arm, but for now, he was just glad to be free of Grievous. He had returned to his ship and was once more in command, much to the relief of Monnk and all the other clones in the fleet. They were all sick of Tarkin, even with General Vos to keep things peaceful, and were relieved Kit was back where he belonged.
Tarkin wasn't too happy about it, but nothing could be done since he still had to make it seem like he was respecting the chain of command, so he stayed quiet. It didn't change the fact he and Kit couldn't tolerate each other or the air the other breathed, so it was still a strained relationship, something that Monnk again noticed one day while speaking with Kit in his quarters:
"I don't understand how you can put up with him, sir," the clone said, "He is disrespecting every decision you make and confusing the other ships in the fleet. How are we supposed to successfully engage the enemy if the captain can't be bothered to obey your commands?"
"We will have to work around that, Commander," Kit said calmly. Seeing the clone's incredulous look, he continued, "We are not out here just for the Republic, remember? We are also one of the few support measures for our friend, and we need to be ready to help her without Tarkin's knowledge. For that, I can tolerate his disrespect of me and my command," leaning against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, the device their friend had made nearby and turned off. Kit didn't see the point in using it right now, knowing that their enemies already likely knew Monnk, or at least the clone everyone thought was Monnk, was helping him but probably still unaware how many in his fleet were helping. As long as he could keep them thinking it was just Monnk, the longer they could work in secrecy. And Monnk had already been warned about what was going on and knew how to watch what he said.
Monnk nodded and looked down at the ground for a few moments before looking up and saying, "It just feels wrong, sir, that he can treat you this way. Wouldn't it be better to have him transferred to another fleet? I hear General Piell is looking for a suitable officer."
Kit openly smiled at that, "While it would be interesting to see how Tarkin would put up with Master Piell and his…." he stopped for a moment while searching for the correct word, "….personality, I have been asked to keep an eye on Tarkin by our friend. She doesn't trust him and wants to be apprised of his movements and schemes. I can't do that if he is in another corner of the galaxy. I'm afraid we will have to put up with him for a while longer."
"Yes, sir," Monnk said glumly, "He expects you on the bridge in ten minutes."
Kit sighed, "Of course he does. Does he really think I am doing nothing when I am in my quarters? I am actually working on the mundane parts of commanding the fleet down here," his irritation showing itself for a few brief moments before he forced it down.
He refused to let Tarkin get under his skin.
Monnk smiled to himself at the sight of his general so irritated, an almost impossible thing for the easy-going Jedi. They left Kit's quarters a few moments later, with Monnk asking, "What is our friend doing anyways? I haven't heard anything from her or about her in a while. She just disappeared suddenly after the second attack on Geonosis."
Kit shrugged as best he could with his still-stiff shoulder, "She is on Coruscant, the last I heard. She has been hiding for the last months or so while recovering from the wounds she sustained on Geonosis. I don't know what she is doing on Coruscant, but a friend of mine in the city says she has been staying with him while she takes care of things. I wish I knew what they were, but she will likely tell me after doing it. It's her way of making sure I can't try and talk her out of anything. I have to say, it works very well."
Monnk nodded as they got on the lift to the bridge before asking, "I thought Jedi didn't believe in trying? I thought it was just doing something or not doing it. I was under the impression there is no in-between for a Jedi."
"Usually, that is the case," Kit said, "But with our friend, there is nothing I can do except try with her. She is not someone to be controlled, at least not successfully, and she is very independent. There is only so far I can push with her; otherwise, she will push back five times as hard. All I can do is support her and try and get her to see reason when I think she is about to do something risky. She will listen, but then she will usually do as she pleases. That is how she was raised, and honestly, I wouldn't want her any other way."
Monnk could only nod as they stepped onto the bridge, knowing there were many things about the half-Nautolan he would never understand, which was fine with him. In the end, he would support his general, as always, and by doing so, hopefully, avert a bigger disaster for the galaxy.
Next to him, Kit schooled his features into a calm, relaxed smile and eased the tension out of his body; Tarkin being none the wiser when he turned to address the general, and Monnk quickly hid a smile.
When all was said and done, Tarkin wouldn't know what hit him.
In the depths of Coruscant, Ahsoka was dealing with problems of her own, and they had absolutely nothing to do with the half-Nautolan. She had gone with her master to find a weapons dealer named Car Affa in the slums of Coruscant, and they had been successful in finding him and stopping him from selling Republic weapons to the Separatists. Unfortunately, in the ruckus her master caused in arresting Affa, a pickpocket had stolen her lightsaber. Now she was on the hunt for her weapon, with the help of a Jedi Master who was an expert in the criminal underworld, Tera Sinube.
They had tracked it from the pickpocket who had stolen it, a Patrolian named Bannamu, and were now heading for the home of the assassin he had sold it to. Walking through the streets with Master Sinube, Ahsoka kept her guard up, not wanting to be surprised again, leading Sinube to say, "I'm sure we'll get there in time to find your lightsaber. You should settle your mind and calm down."
"I know, Master," Ahsoka said as she walked, "But I can't. It's not about my lightsaber," she hurried to say when Sinube looked at her questioningly, "It just feels like something is about to happen. Can't you feel it? The Force feels…." trailing off and unable to put words to what she was sensing.
Master Sinube opened his mind to the Force then, reaching out to see what Ahsoka was sensing and deciding that he was getting too old for this a few moments later. He hadn't sensed what Ahsoka had picked up initially, but now that he was focusing on the Force, he realized he did indeed know what she meant.
The Force was….stressed for lack of a better word, as if many beings were afraid or something was about to happen. Looking up and around, he tried to see what was happening in the general area, but his eyes weren't as good as they had been. Many beings were walking about in this part of Coruscant since they were still in the slum districts, but they didn't seem afraid or worried. And yet the Force was still uneasy, and that unease was only growing.
As if something was moving this way.
Seconds later, there was a call of "Police! Don't move!" from up ahead. Ahsoka and Sinube were hard-pressed to get out of the way as the police came barreling towards them, chasing an all-too-familiar being running as hard as she could to get away.
It was the half-Nautolan, dressed in her usual blue skirt and with a blue sleeveless one-shoulder top, fingerless gloves and comlink in their usual places, and strong boots, her necklace swinging wildly about her neck, who didn't even give them a passing glance as she nearly ran Sinube over and ducked around Ahsoka, running hard for a building. Seconds later, she was jumping halfway up the building before using the Force to leap to the other side of the gap in the street and disappear down an alley. Seconds later she was gone, running faster than the police could catch her, the police droids chasing after her. A few minutes later, the droids came back with one saying, "We lost her, sir," to the Inspector leading them, Tan Divo.
The Inspector only shook his head before saying, "Make sure the perimeter we set is tight, and she can't get to the spaceport. We'll find her before she gets off-world."
The police droid nodded before the Inspector turned to the Jedi and said, "If you're here to catch the half-Nautolan, Master Jedi, let me assure you the situation is well under control. We'll capture her soon enough. She can't get through the perimeter."
Seconds later, a transmission came through on the Inspector's comlink, and he accepted it. It was another police droid who said, "Sir, she got through the perimeter and escaped. She had a vibroblade and was able to cut a few of our droids in half. She was also too fast for us and was able to get away in an old-model Jedi starfighter. She's already through the atmosphere and out in space. One of our satellite stations reports her ship jumped into hyperspace before we could try and stop her."
Divo only stared at the droid in surprise, while Ahsoka was quick to hide a smile behind her hand. Seconds later, the Inspector said, "Report back to the station and get debriefed. I'll be there shortly."
"Yes, sir," the droid said and ended the transmission, leaving the Inspector to turn to the Jedi and say, "Well, it seems that we have lost the half-Nautolan. I'm sure we'll get her next time she decides to come to Coruscant."
"Why are you chasing her, Inspector?" Master Sinube asked.
Divo looked surprised, "You don't know, Master Jedi? She's been declared an enemy of the Republic by the chancellor. I would have thought the Jedi would know about this."
Master Sinube shook his head, "I was unaware of this, and I'm sure the Council is unaware of this as well. What has she done that would warrant such a thing?"
Divo only shrugged, "I didn't question the chancellor on this, Master Jedi, neither did my superiors."
Master Sinube only nodded slowly, and the Inspector walked away, leaving Sinube to turn to Ahsoka and say, "Let's find your lightsaber, and then we will tell Master Windu about this. He will likely want to speak to the chancellor about this and convince him to have the police stand down. That half-Nautolan is too dangerous for the police to go after alone. She may have run this time, but she may stop and fight next time, which could be disastrous for them."
Ahsoka nodded and followed the elderly Jedi, looking over her shoulder where the half-Nautolan had disappeared before turning away. She brushed her hand against her utility belt then and felt something strange as she did so. Looking down, she reached into one of the pouches and pulled out a comlink. It looked the same as the one she always kept on her wrist, but this one was more complex and had a few more buttons. It beeped once as she held it before falling silent, and Ahsoka looked up a second later to see she had fallen very far behind Sinube and hurried to catch up. The half-Nautolan mast have put it there when she had dodged around her, Ahsoka realized. I'm in the loop! she thought as she followed Master Sinube, She wants me to be able to help her more easily when she needs it! as she switched her comlink for the one the half-Nautolan had given her, seeing that the new one was already uploaded with all the codes and signals the Republic was using.
No one would know the difference.
Having left Coruscant, the half-Nautolan had quickly rendezvoused with the Ghost and docked her fighter in the cargo hold, quickly inputting new coordinates in the navicomputer for a familiar system, arriving there a few days later. Once there, she didn't land, keeping her ship cloaked and heading around the Republic blockade of Geonosis, heading two systems over. Once she arrived, she started looking around, activating the sensors and scanners, looking for something that was supposed to be there.
The information she had gotten from the Chancellor's personal office said it was here.
Hours later, she still hadn't found it and was getting frustrated, and desperate. She couldn't have come all this way out here just to fail, and considering the fact she had to be careful where she landed and refueled, every drop of fuel was spoken for. She couldn't waste it on fool's errands. Feeling the fear and uncertainty well inside her at the thought that what she was looking for truly wasn't here, she sat back in her seat and calmed herself.
She needed to focus, relax, and let the Force do what the scanners could not. Somewhere out there was a space station under construction that could doom the galaxy, and she needed to find it.
Settling her mind and closing her eyes, she blocked out the sound of the droids beeping and talking to each other, the hum of the engines, and the beeps and pings from the scanners and sensors. Focusing past the noise she could hear and the noise of all the beings in the galaxy in the Force, she breathed deep and easy, feeling her mind fill with the power of the Force. She reached out through the Force then, reached out far beyond what she could see with her eyes. Seconds later, she reached out with her hands, taking the controls of the ship and starting to steer it in the direction the Force was showing her; showing her like a patient friend, walking backward with a patient smile and a finger beckoning her on to what she was looking for.
Many, many minutes later, that friend stopped, and she opened her eyes, the Force retreating to the back of her mind where it always hummed and waited to help her and guide her. Looking out the viewports she saw that there was nothing there visually, but reaching out with the Force, she could sense a cloaking device hiding that which she was looking for.
And she had just the thing to disrupt that cloaking device and get inside.
Turning to the computer on her left, she started typing in commands, finishing lines of code and encryptions. Reaching into one of the pouches of her utility belt, she pulled out an encryption key she had stolen from the chancellor's private office and plugged it into her computer, activating the protocols and codes she had just finished writing. Seconds later, she watched as the cloaking device deactivated and made visible a space station that would look like a giant moon when it was finished.
And she had every intention of making sure that didn't happen.
Looking out at the space station, she could only hope the stolen key worked, and those onboard the station were left thinking that the cloaking device was still working and they were still invisible. If the key continued to work, she could get on board and set the station to self-destruct without anyone noticing. Hopefully, she would be able to get off the station before anyone noticed also.
She quickly flew into the closest hangar bay with those thoughts in mind, landing the Ghost and directing the droids to keep the engines running. They beeped in agreement, and she left the ship, running through the hangar and into a nearby hallway leading right to the reactor. She ran quickly, ducking into hallways and storage rooms to avoid the people going about the ship. From what she could sense, they weren't clones but were all human. She followed a couple of them for a few minutes, listening to their conversation and becoming increasingly disturbed by it. Whatever they were planning wasn't good, and she knew she had to stop them before this base became active. Turning down a hallway, she left the two she was following and headed straight for the reactor, reaching it in minutes and sneaking in. The people working there didn't pay any attention to her, and she quickly headed for a computer monitor nearby, using the Force to shield her presence and her physical appearance.
No one would know she was there, not until she did something worth noticing, like stabbing one of them, which she had no intention of doing.
Seconds later, she was inside the station's system, navigating through the web of networks until she found the one that controlled the reactor and engines. Looking furtively over her shoulder for a moment, she saw no one was paying any attention to her, still, and so slipped a hand into one of the pouches of her utility belt. She pulled out a small drive, staring at it a moment before plugging it in and watching the progress bar upload it into the system. Moments later, it was done, and she was pulling the drive out, checking the lines of code in the monitor before deciding it was good to go.
She left the reactor then, hoping no one would notice she was there. It seemed like luck, or the Force, was with her that day since she was able to make it back to her hidden ship and safely take off before anyone could do anything about it. Pushing the ship as fast as she could, she got to a safe distance before turning the ship to watch what happened to the station.
Minutes later, the Ghost was rocked by an explosion as the station blew up, the computer virus she had sliced into the system causing the reactor to overheat and the coolant system to malfunction, all while the monitoring systems reported everything was fine. The explosion wasn't as big as she had thought it would be and likely wouldn't be picked up on the sensors or scanners of the Republic cruisers orbiting Geonosis, but she knew that those that were paying attention to this station would notice what had happened just now and would be very keen to do something about it and her.
Which was what she was hoping for.
Nodding her head, she took up the controls of her ship and left the system, setting her navicomputer for her base and leaving. In a few weeks, events would start to unfold, and she would be ready not just for the Sith that would come after her but also for the Jedi. The hunt was about to begin, and she was more than ready for it.
As the half-Nautolan was destroying a space station that would have spelled doom for many in the galaxy, the Jedi Council was meeting with the Chancellor, Tarkin, and Thrawn in the Temple's communication center; Tarkin and Thrawn via hologram as well as Shaak Ti, Kit Fisto, and the Chancellor. Anakin was there as well, still unaware that Ahsoka had lost her lightsaber but found it again quickly with Master Sinube's help. They were discussing the continued progress of the war as well as a few setbacks, but eventually, the conversation turned to the one thing that many people in that room were divided on:
The half-Nautolan.
"Chancellor," Mace Windu said, "I don't understand why you had the Coruscant police chase after her the other day. She has proven herself to be incredibly dangerous, not to mention overwhelmingly strong in the Force. Mere police aren't going to capture her, and if they do, it may come with a high civilian cost. I don't want the innocent people of Coruscant getting hurt in a witch hunt," many Jedi there nodding in agreement.
"I assure you, Master Jedi, I did not make this decision lightly, but there was no other way," Palpatine said, "A spy of ours on the Separatist planet Raxus reported seeing her there a week or so ago, having dealings with a Separatist senator. She is likely an agent for the Separatists, and I wouldn't want our efforts sabotaged by her. That is why I felt it was prudent to let the Coruscant police be aware of her. If they can help in her capture, then there is a chance to keep the damage she could cause to the Republic to be minimum."
Mace shook his head while Obi-Wan said, "Just because she was on a Separatist planet doesn't make her a Separatist agent. Before the war, and even during it now, people were traveling to those planets freely. It is possible that she doesn't care about the travel restrictions imposed on Republic citizens or has things she needs to do on Raxus she can't do anywhere else."
"She has spent her entire existence in hiding," Saessee Tiin said suddenly, "It is possible she has established a network throughout the galaxy to keep her safe, and one piece of that network is on Raxus. Perhaps it is just one stop on a long, never-ending journey for her."
Many Jedi nodded in agreement, seeing the logic in that, but the Chancellor had something else to add, "While these theories do make sense, there is one fatal flaw in that I know she is a spy for the Separatists. She broke into my home while she was here on Coruscant."
Shocked silence filled the room before Master Yoda said, "Unaware we were of this, Chancellor."
Palpatine inclined his head then, "I wasn't home at the time, and nothing appeared to be missing in the beginning. If it weren't for the surveillance system and the fact something was missing, I wouldn't have noticed she had been there at all. She was able to get into my study and steal an encryption key that accessed files on our informants on Separatist worlds. And she got out without anyone noticing. The guards are understandably upset about the whole incident, but I felt it unfair to chastise them for this. She was a rather skilled intruder."
After a few seconds of silence, Anakin asked, "Is it possible to see that footage, Chancellor?"
"Of course," Palpatine said, typing a few commands on his desk and the footage appeared for all to see. It was a hologram of his personal study, empty and still, nothing out of place. At least that was how it appeared to be. The door opened after a few seconds, and the half-Nautolan walked into the study. She moved silently, her bare feet leaving no sound on the carpeted floors. She moved lightly on them as well, looking around the room slowly and clearly listening for any indication that there was someone home. Convinced there was no one there, she walked deeper into the study and came around the desk to open a few drawers and look around. Not finding what she was looking for, she straightened and looked around again, clearly thinking. After a few seconds, her eyes lit up, and she reached under the desk, feeling about. Moments later, she clearly hit a button since a small portion of a bookshelf separated from the wall and revealed a hidden compartment. She was there in an instant, finding a small safe.
A few seconds on the combination was all she needed; using her comlink to hack the safe controls and open it. Not even a minute later, the safe was closed as she had found what she was looking for, the hidden compartment concealed again, and she was looking around for the way out. It was then that the Chancellor said, "I arrived home around this time and was heading for my study to attend to some late-night matters that required my attention, which is when this happened," nodding at the hologram.
The Jedi turned back to watching the half-Nautolan as she looked around the study for a moment before walking over, still on silent feet, to the air vent cover near the floor on the other side of the study. Seconds later, the vent cover was off, and she was sliding through into the air duct, pulling the cover back on behind her and disappearing. The hologram ended there as the chancellor said, "I didn't notice the key was missing until the next day. The footage was reviewed, and she determined to have stolen it then. I felt that making it clear she was no friend to the Republic was in the best interest of all. There's no telling what she will do with that information."
"It wasn't in her best interests, Chancellor," Shaak Ti said, "Now every bounty hunter and mercenary in the galaxy, and the different security forces on various planets, will come after her and chase her down, sabotaging our efforts to gain her trust and bring her in."
Palpatine nodded, "I am sorry about that, Master Jedi; truly I am. But what's done is done, and there is nothing to be done about it except work with it."
Shaak only shook her head while Yoda said, "The past is the past, it is. Assemble our task force, we still shall," looking at Master Windu as he said this.
Mace nodded, "We have agreed on who will be responsible for tracking down the half-Nautolan and bringing her in. We feel keeping this as small as possible will be for the best, and we're hopeful it will be successful. To that end, Masters Mundi, Gallia, Plo, Unduli, Secura, Tiin, Kenobi, and Skywalker will be part of this task force. You and your men will be working on tracking her down instead of contributing to the war effort, unless something comes up that requires you and your men on the frontlines or for protection. Padawan Tano is allowed in this effort since she has proven herself skilled on the battlefield."
The Jedi that had been selected all nodded, but the chancellor had a question, "It is possible that this young one doesn't speak Basic, even though your report on Geonosis seemed to indicate she did understand it, Master Kenobi," the Jedi Master nodding, and Palpatine continued, "If that is the case she may speak the language of Glee Anselm. Wouldn't it make sense to have you, Master Fisto, on this task force as well?" looking at the Nautolan Jedi standing nearby with Tarkin.
Mace answered instead of Kit, "We thought about it, but decided against it in the end. Master Fisto is still recovering from his captivity. If she decides to fight us, we will have to defend ourselves."
"My shoulder is still a bit stiff," Kit added, "It requires a few more weeks of healing before I begin fighting with it again. And given the history of half-Nautolans where they were hunted on Glee Anselm and throughout the galaxy, it is quite possible she will trust me least of all, which would make it all the more difficult to find her."
Palpatine nodded, "Very well, Master Jedi, but perhaps your captain can volunteer some of his time to search for her? He and Captain Thrawn have already begun analyzing her tactics; their insight might be helpful."
"As long as it doesn't interfere with his usual duties in my fleet, I don't have a problem with it, Chancellor," Kit said quietly, "I am sure he will prove himself useful."
Tarkin's mouth tightened slightly, but he still stayed silent, clearly not liking the implications. Mace only nodded his thanks to the captain before saying, "This task force is designed to find the half-Nautolan and bring her in safely while convincing her to trust us. We want her to trust us and let us help her; we can't do that if she doesn't let us or if we give her a reason not to."
Nods were seen all around from those on the task force, and then the Chancellor asked, "Where do you plan on starting this search? We know so little about her, not even her name; it will be difficult to locate her with so little information."
"Meditate on the Force, I have," Master Yoda said, "To begin the search, it gave no clue. Perhaps, actively not search for her, we should. Wait for her next move; we should."
Anakin raised an eyebrow, "So wait for her to possibly betray our troops or spies? That doesn't sound ideal."
"No, it's not," Mace agreed, "but we don't really have any other option right now. I have asked Quinlan Vos to search for her with his tracking skills, but he has had no luck so far. Which does tell us something. She is skilled in the Force, capable of things at her age that Jedi Masters many years her senior can not do. If she can hide herself so completely in the Force, a Master taught her."
"So if we can track down the Jedi that taught her," Obi-Wan said slowly, "we may be able to find her," Mace nodded. However, Obi-Wan still found a slight flaw in the plan, "There are thousands of Jedi though, and many more that we have lost track of," seeing the look on Mace's face, though, he realized that the others had already thought of someone, "But Master Abazza is the only one that seems to have a direct connection because of the starfighter. You think she is still alive and taught this one?"
"It seems like the only explanation that makes sense," Master Mundi said, "Which leaves us with the difficult task of tracking down a Jedi that has been assumed dead for almost thirty years."
"Research Master Abazza, you should," Yoda said, "Determine if friends or allies outside the Temple, she had."
Mace nodded before turning to Kit, "You were friends with her, Master Fisto. Is there anyone you can think of she would turn to for help outside the Temple?"
Kit's brow furrowed in thought before he had to shake his head, "I'm afraid not, Master Windu. The only one that I think would have helped her was Master Jinn. If she had wanted to leave the Order, he would have helped her and not told anyone. He was a bit of a rebel, as I recall."
There was silence for a few moments at that news, but then Captain Thrawn asked, "Would it be possible for me to get all the information on Qui-Gon Jinn and Sundali Abazza? Perhaps I can find something that will give us a clue where to start."
Mace turned to Yoda for his permission, and after a few moments, Yoda nodded slowly, knowing there was no other way. With all their leads being dead ends, they would have to explore other options to find a place to start. Mace turned to Thrawn then, "You will have the information in a few hours, Captain," the Chiss bowing his head before Mace turned to the others gathered there, "We all have our assignments and missions for the next few days. May the Force be with you," ending the meeting.
The Jedi gathered there started leaving, Kit and Tarkin ending the transmission as Kit turned to his captain, "If you will let me know when you are working with the task force, captain, I would appreciate it. It would let me know when to have your second on the bridge."
Tarkin only nodded before walking away without a word, causing Kit to stare after him with a brow cocked before shaking his head as he turned back to the holotable. The clones standing nearby, including the one everyone outside the fleet thought was Monnk, stared after the captain in shock at his complete lack of respect for the general. Kit only shook his head again, letting them know to leave it alone, and the clones went back to what they were doing, although they wouldn't forget the lack of respect shown to their general.
And it would come back to bite him; they would make sure of that.
Once the meeting was over, Palpatine had quickly gotten in touch with his apprentice, once more becoming a Sith Lord to be feared. And Dooku did fear him because the news he had wasn't good, and Sidious knew it.
"You were right, Master," Dooku said as he kneeled in front of the hologram of Sidious, "The station you were working on has been destroyed. It wasn't the Jedi, so it must have been either a technical issue or sabotage."
"It was sabotage," Sidious said, "It was the half-Nautolan, I'm certain of it. She is the only one, outside of us, that knew where it was. I should have had the information in a more secure location, but I didn't think she would be so bold as to break into my home, and nothing can be done about it now. I won't restart that project until she has been dealt with, which is your task. How is that going, by the way? Have you made any progress at all?"
Dooku had to bow his head, knowing his answer wouldn't be received well, "She is too adept at avoiding us. It is hard to track her down with no knowledge about where she came from or places she is known to frequent. And the few times we have, she is gone before we can kill her."
Sidious shook his head, "She has learned from experience not to stay in one place for too long. The fact the information we do have is too old to be of any use doesn't help us. The Republic has dispatched a task force to track her down; we will draw back and wait. Perhaps they can catch her more readily than us."
Dooku nodded before asking, "Is Kit Fisto on the task force?"
"No," Sidious said, and even with the great distance between them, Dooku could sense he wasn't happy about that, "He has decided not to become part of it, citing the need to recover from his captivity still. I don't believe it fully, but there is no way to convince him to join without showing our hand. Which cannot happen."
"Yes, my lord," Dooku said, "I will do as you instruct," to which Sidious smiled slightly and said, "Good, because I have a task for our double agents and spies in the Republic. In the coming weeks, they will be needed to spread misinformation about an old friend of Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Who is that, my lord?" Dooku asked, and Sidious' smile widened slightly as he said, "Duchess Satine of Mandalore. It is time for the Mandalorians to take up arms as they had in the past and return to their warrior ways. It is time to bring war back to Mandalore."
Dooku smiled at that and bowed his head again as the transmission ended. Once Sidious was gone, his smile faded as he thought about what his master wanted. He wanted the half-Nautolan dead, but it was more difficult than any other task in the war so far. If only they knew more about her and what her weaknesses were.
Kit Fisto was one, but he was beyond their reach right now. There was no way to manipulate or force her out of the shadows until she wanted to. There was no way of knowing where in the galaxy that would be; the Force shielded her too well for that, and she knew how to use it to her advantage. She was too smart and knew their plans before they did, it felt like.
Her strength in the Force would likely be the greatest threat to them in this entire war.
Outside the doors to the bridge, Ventress started walking away when she heard the transmission between Dooku and Sidious end. Knowing she needed to get what she had just learned to her friend, she went to her quarters quickly and pulled out the transmitter hidden there. Seconds later, it was warmed up and turned on; the codes entered, making it possible for her to send transmissions without anyone on the ship knowing it.
After a few minutes of waiting, she was put through to her friend, who looked at her expectantly before Ventress said quietly, "Sidious is planning to force Mandalore into the war. Do you want me to do anything about it from this end?" the half-Nautolan was quick to shake her head, and Ventress sighed before saying, "Just keep doing what I'm doing right?"
The other woman nodded with the barest hint of a smile and ended the transmission, leaving Ventress with no other choice but to put the transmitter away and leave her quarters, heading for whatever training regiment Dooku had in mind today. It was a good thing her friend had prepared her for whatever Dooku did to her; otherwise, this would be a lot more unbearable. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to pretend to be something she wasn't for too much longer.
She was getting tired of pretending to be a Sith.
Having ended her transmission with Ventress, the half-Nautolan watched the whites and blues of hyperspace pass her by as she thought over her next steps. Sidious trying to force Mandalore into the war wasn't something she had expected, but it was something she would have to take action against. She owed the Mandalorians quite a bit and Satine more than most.
Nodding to herself, she set a course for Mandalore. It was time to visit a very old friend and help her if she could.
Sending a coded message to Kit, she wasn't surprised when she got a message back with his support. He knew how close she was to Satine and knew she would do whatever she could to protect her friend. Visiting Satine was something she had wanted to do for a while anyway, and it would be good to see her again. Perhaps she could pay a visit to her sister on the way there and see if the two sisters had made any strides towards peace between each other since the last time she had seen them.
One could only hope.