Ok, so it looks like you guys really like this series. Or it's popular because of the crossover criterion (Star Wars and Harry Potter respectively). But no matter, like I said, weekly updates because this sucker is already complete. Stats-wise things appear to have doubled (views, favorites, follows) so let's see what people were saying about the previous chapter and let's see my responses. By the way, if you do desire to use guest reviews and want me to reply, give yourself a name for me to reply to even if it's a fake one.
hellfire45: Both yes and no. The way I've been plotting her character is that she's more of a business partner more than anything else. I could make some kind of forced drama in a subsequent sequel (or intermediary story for between Episode I and II), but that's to be seen.
["kneecapping" guest]: Words will be said, maybe some fists thrown, but it won't be in this specific story.
Nexus Gundam: What can I say? I'm an internet "boomer" as it were. I love the classics.
bhanfhen: Again, as the story has already been completed and feedback plus other questions being looked into for additional material (sequel in the works, no idea when it will be done), I don't go into much detail here in this story on it. But that nagging question in the back of your head asking if it's the Force, or magic, or if they're the same thing is something I hope to cover later. But I can tell you this, even Harry doesn't know.
The-Black-Baron-1943 (and a few others): I don't disagree with what you're saying in the slightest. There's an art to managing multiple franchises of different genres or types and then proceeding to mash them together, something that I admit I'm not the greatest at. There are others that have this down to a science. Upon completion of this story, this was one of the things that really sat in the back of my mind as I contemplated what to do next. After all, this is what some would consider a "ride-along" fic where the presence of the added-in character really doesn't do much other than a few things that change the story slightly. This is a shortcoming that I'm not ignoring and acknowledge in full and is something that I'm really looking into in regards to any sequel-based material (episode II, the aforementioned in-between fic, the Clone Wars, etc.). As for how I'll carry it out without getting into "scope creep" (something that has plagued other stories with the sole exception of the pilot repository because that's mainly for one-off ideas and idea propositions), I do not know. I want Episode I, as formulaic and "railroaded" as it may be (as well as safe for scheduling), to be the background information for any intrapersonal relationships that may appear in the future. This is one of the things that I'm going to have to figure out how to integrate better with any potential sequel material. This ask goes out to everyone patient enough to read this, but if you have any suggestions on how to handle such a situation, I'm all ears, DM me.
HughJasz: That's something I hope to actually explore in additional material.
DaDragon562: This will definitely be something that will come up in the Clone Wars considering that's what brought Maul back with his criminal syndicate and an ax to grind. As for the second review (since they were back to back), reading through the novelization by Terry Brooks, it's never mentioned with any tactical decisions with what time to land and it seems like in the movie they just decide to do it during the day because it's Tatooine and the ship is shiny and the effects guys wanted to show off what they did.
With all of those out of the way, let's get on to the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my laptop and MS Word, see the first chapter for the full disclaimer.
XxXxXxX
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"Things said over the radio."
Narration.
XxXxXxX
If there's one thing that I know about Coruscant, it's that I don't want to be here. You might be thinking, "Harry, why not? Isn't it the cultural center of the galaxy?" Well, you'd be right about that, but since when has a Mando really cared about any culture but their own? The main reason I don't want to be here is the bureaucrats. The Republic, like many representative democratic republics, elected a representative to represent their planet or system to express their interests in the political sphere. The thing is, a long ass time ago some di'kut thought it was a grand idea to allow corporations in to participate as some could be considered moving "states" through space like some kind of nomads. Ever since then corporations have thrown credits around into the right pockets secretly to "sway" other senators to their way of thinking, or doing it blatantly to get rid of someone that's a thorn in their side. Politics is another form of a battlefield that I wanted no part of. There was no clear enemy until they had sunk their blade into your back. Another thing I hated about this planet was that anyone under a certain level of this megalopolis was considered untouchable and undesirable. The rich up here in their ivory towers lording over those in the underground not caring what happened to them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a socialist, but when I see bull I call it out. And considering that we were now landing on this shiny, backstabber filled planet, my hope that everything would go according to plan. But since when has that ever happened?
XxXxXxX
Queen's royal starship, hyperspace. Enroute to Coruscant.
If there was one thing that Harry hated the most, it was that hyperspace travel was boring. Especially so when computers did everything. That meant that you had to keep yourself busy in one way, shape, or form. The most common way was sleeping or watching prerecorded vids that would last until you could connect to another hypercomm buoy to download something else. Others that had space, like freight haulers, kept small projects on board to stimulate their minds and stave off boredom. Unfortunately for Harry, his personal project was in his ship and he had burned through whatever vids he had on the trip to Tatooine. This meant he had to find busywork. And he found quite a few things to be considered busywork in the first hour.
First, he got Rylis settled in. Padme had been willing to allow the twi'lek into the handmaidens' quarters for the trip. She had changed into the new clothing that Harry had gotten her in the bazaar on Tatooine. It wasn't anything fancy nor revealing like her former slave garb was, if she had walked around in this 'new' clothing she would have looked like any other moisture farmer. A private citizen. Innocuous. He promised to get her something more professional once they made port; after all, she would be working as his 'money man'. The second thing he did was put away the equipment that had been just been lying about and was considered a tripping hazard. He worked with the royal guards to put everything away. After all, they wouldn't need any of the equipment once they reached Coruscant. No one would be stupid enough to attack someone in broad daylight, especially someone meeting a senator and the Supreme Chancellor on his private landing platform.
Once the equipment stowing was complete, Harry made his way back into the main hold where Anakin was staying along with Jar Jar. He stripped down to his undersuit and started to clean each piece of armor with a small brush to remove any grit or sand that may have gotten in the armor itself. It took a while, but he could have sworn that he brushed it to a point where it looked like it was polished. Once he was satisfied with the state of his armor, he finally peeled off the undersuit to allow his actual body underneath to have a breather; after all, he had been stuck all this time inside his armor ever since Naboo. He wasn't wearing much under the undersuit; nothing more than a plain white t-shirt and a pair of uncomfortably tight shorts that were a step above being boxer-briefs. That being that he was wearing actual undergarments under them. He caught a whiff of something foul, realizing that it was himself he grabbed a spare set of extra clothes that he stashed away and made his way towards the second of two refreshers on the ship, that being for the crew.
As he passed the console that served as the communications hub, a thought passed into his mind. 'That other Jedi found us, but how?' His eyes drifted to the console itself. It was lit up, however, there was a no outgoing signal light on. "Hmmm…" he hummed aloud in thought. He set his things on the seat that sat in front of it and removed the storage tape that stored all incoming and outgoing data and placed it into the bag he was currently using to store his blasters.
Anakin, not bothered in the slightest by Harry's current state of dress, noticed this action. "What are you doing?" the boy asked.
"Quarantining a possible threat," he replied as he covered the tape up in various things.
"What do you mean?"
"Tall, dark, brooding, and screaming of death didn't find us by coincidence. I'm going to look into it. Don't worry your little head about it. Get some rest or something, I don't care," Harry replied, then left the room for the refresher with his change of clothes.
Harry didn't take long in the sonic shower. He just needed to not smell of stewed sweat as he and the rest of the ship's occupants would have to share the same air for at least half a day. When he was satisfied with his level of cleanliness, he put on a simple t-shirt and slacks that would be considered by many to be casual. Being the courteous fellow he was, he collected his things and opened the door to the cabin only to see Padme dressed in her handmaiden robe looking quite irate.
"Princess," he said casually, "how can I help you? I'm sure that you don't want to share a shower or something. I mean, we hardly know each other," he lightly jested.
The prod definitely worked as her face lit up in a blush, the type that 'pearl clenchers' would have when talking about anything 'immoral'. "N-no," she stuttered. She coughed into a fist to compose herself. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of the blush that made her look like a blushing schoolgirl and not a queen who was dealing with a crisis. "I came to speak with you regarding something that you stole."
"Stole? What could you be talking about?" Harry replied innocently.
"I'm talking about the data tapes that hold all of the recordings picked up by the communications console!" she exclaimed softly as to not cause a scene.
"Oh, that?" Harry said as he gently pushed her aside to step outside of the refresher. "That tape is in quarantine."
"Quarantine?" Padme asked as she followed him back into the main hold. "What in the name of the Old Republic are you talking about?"
Harry took a seat at his improvised workstation and took out the data tape and held it out in front of him. Padme tried to grab it, but Harry moved it away. "Do you remember what attacked us on Tatooine?" She nodded. "A zabrak well versed in Jedi techniques, or at least their fighting styles, that bore a lightsaber. I briefly looked at the data tape in question and saw a single message that came from Naboo from the governor begging you to get into contact with him as your people are suffering; I'll spare you the details on that as he was quite vague and it sounded very scripted in structure. More than the average speech ever would be. The point is that I suspect that the Federation's techs embedded a nasty virus or other pieces of malicious data to infect the ship's communications array to give away our position."
"But didn't you…" she paused to see Anakin was listening in on their conversation, "suggest to the queen that the communications array should be deactivated to prevent such a thing?"
"I did. And yet, the zabrak working with the Federation found us."
"But… how is that possible?"
"Two theories at the moment. The first is that we have ourselves a mole working for the Federation, willingly or not. They somehow turned the array back on when no one noticed and covered their tracks up carefully."
"The royal guards wouldn't dare compromise the queen!"
"Think about it," Harry calmed her down. "Your family is god knows where on Naboo, captured and taken from their homes, and there's a bounty for taking the queen alive, part of the deal is that it gets any family away from the Federation into comfortable living conditions. Only someone who is truly heartless would dismiss it without considering it, no matter what the consequences at the hands of his fellows would be."
This definitely got Padme to think. She too had family, although she changed her last name to protect them when she became queen. If she was in her men's position she did see how it would be extremely tempting. "I don't like it."
"And you don't have to, you just have to be open to the possibility as that's what it is." He turned the tape around as he placed his feet up on the workstation desk. "The other possibility is that the Federation was one step ahead of us the whole time."
"What do you mean?" Padme asked she seemed as unnerved as she was confused.
"They suspected an escape attempt either by you or some of your staff to request aid. They programmed a time-lapse program that would activate and reactivate any dormant or deactivated systems that would allow for tracking to occur. That data would then be relayed to whomever that zabrak was."
"Which do you think it is?" Padme asked.
Harry sighed in frustration. "I honestly don't know, and that's what irritates me. It's easier to defend her highness when the threat is clear and in the open. When it is unknown there are too many variables to consider in a short amount of time." Harry looked up to Padme who had been looking down at him with some concern. He reached up and patted her cheek. "But don't you worry, princess. I'll make sure that the queen makes it out alive and well."
"Excuse me," Anakin called out, "but shouldn't you be telling this to the queen?"
Harry pointed to Padme, "She's the queen's favored handmaiden, she'll inform the queen when she awakens from her slumber."
"Oh," the boy could only reply, still unaware of the fact that the true queen was standing right in front of him.
"Now, if you'll excuse me I need to do a little weapon cleaning."
"Didn't you do that already?" Padme asked, her head cocked to the side.
"Not on the ones exposed to the sands of Tatooine. If rather avoid a catastrophic failure if you don't mind." She seemed to not know, being from a Core-like world. "I'd rather like to walk out of the next engagement with all ten of my fingers. They are quite useful, you know."
"And the tape?"
Harry paused, unsure if he should say anything in the current company. "I… might know someone who can help with that." Padme motioned as to reply and ask a question, but Harry beat her to the punch. "This person and I... didn't leave on the best of terms the last time we did business. Luckily they work out of Coruscant so at least I won't have to leave the planet to at least proposition their services."
"What do you mean by 'services'?"
"They're a slicer and a damn good one at that. If they agree to meet, and enough credits are promised and presented as payment, they'll be able to figure out whether we've got a traitor in our midst or we missed something." He looked at her seriously, "I want you to keep this on the down-low. Don't tell anyone, well, except for the queen in private." Harry then looked to Anakin, "That means you too, kid."
"But shouldn't we tell Master Qui-Gon?" Anakin asked.
"No. The more people that know, the easier it will be to keep. We're lucky that the Gungan is sleeping."
"Why's that?" Anakin asked head cocked to the side.
Harry could only scoff, "He can't keep a secret to save his life. He's the talkative type that would spill whatever secret you told him by accident."
"But what about Master Qui-Gon, he's a Jedi?"
"I don't trust the Jedi."
"Why not?"
Harry kicked off of the table and sat upright. "Kid, when you get a chance to not do whatever the Jedi are going to dragging you around, look up the 'Mandalorian Excision' and the 'Battle of Galidraan' and remember while you're reading or watching the vids to not believe everything you see. History is written by the victors." He turned away from the boy and started to work on his weapons.
Padme rolled her eyes at the mercenary, it wasn't the first time that he had expressed his disdain for the Jedi Order. She didn't quite know every little detail as to why, but she could sympathize with it to an extent, recent events being considered and all. She looked over and saw that Anakin was shifting uncomfortably. "What's wrong?" she asked the Tatooine native.
"It's very cold," Anakin replied.
Padme could only mentally slap herself. How did she not notice the kid shivering even while she was speaking to Harry? She walked over to the communications station and pulled a blanket that had been left on the seat. She walked over and knelt next to him, making sure to cover the boy in the Nubian made blanket. "You come from a warm planet, Ani. A little too warm for my taste. Space is cold."
"If it makes you feel any better I'll yell at the engineers, someone must've switched off the heat," Harry chimed in as he carefully disassembled and started cleaning his current weapon, feeling the cold himself. It was abnormally cold. But then again, he had been on a desert planet for around two days. Well, Tatooine days.
Anakin seemed to ignore Harry and asked Padme, well, more stated, "You seem sad."
She seemed pensive when replying, "The queen is worried. Her people are suffering, dying even. She must convince the senate to intervene, or… I'm not sure what'll happen."
There was a brief moment of silence before Anakin changed the subject. He pulled out a small square that appeared carved with a leather thong made from some animal skin so it could be used as a necklace. "I made this for you…" he placed it in her hand, "so you'd remember me." She looked at it as Anakin continued. "I carved it out of a japor snippet. It will bring you good fortune."
"It's beautiful," Padme complemented. Harry could guess that she, as queen, might've gotten quite a few gifts to earn her favor, but she seemed quite grateful for the small gift. "But I don't need this to remember you by. Many things will change when we reach the capital, Ani, but my caring for you will remain."
"I care for you, too, only I…"
"Miss your mother," Padme completed.
Harry wanted to slightly gag, mostly out of the sappiness. He could understand where Anakin was coming from though. He missed his birth mother as she was the only one who he felt genuinely cared about him in his birth family; of course, all of this was soured by his father and his father's mentor Dumbledore ordering that he be placed with his Aunt and Uncle who hated him by proxy. He felt betrayed by those he was supposed to be loved by.
Padme stayed with Anakin for a little while longer until he fell asleep. She then excused herself to head back to her quarters where she would resume the position of queen instead of handmaiden for their arrival on Coruscant. Harry stayed up a while longer as he finished up his own tasks, that being cleaning his weapons and making sure the data tape was hidden in his bag. Once they made port he would keep it on him in a pocket on his armor, it wouldn't leave his sight until the mystery was solved. Well, except for when he handed it over to his contact to examine. But other than that, it wouldn't leave his sight.
Harry cleaned up and zipped his bag closed. Done for the night he headed towards his makeshift bed he made out of some suspended cargo netting and a spare blanket. He settled in as best he could and eventually drifted off to sleep. That night he had a few, really weird dreams that chained together. He could tell as they were sequential, they moved in a sense that one would read a book or watch a holo drama. Each event flowed into each other that continued where the last left off.
In the past few years, he had seen a bushy-haired brunette girl and a red-headed, pudgy boy going after some kind of stone. The year after that he had fought against a gigantic serpent that would have given a gundark a run for its money in pants-shitting terror. Tonight, there was another series of dreams. There were these flying, black-cloaked beings that were cold. Cold in the sense that they radiated that aura. It was depressing even. He woke up startled, gasping for breath as the creature came towards him and showed its ugly face which looked like a withered human face. Or a mummy. As he abruptly woke up he pulled out his tri-bladed knife and held it in front of him in defense until his breathing slowed and he remembered where he was.
'I'm inside the queen's ship, there's no one here to kill me,' he said to himself. As he put his knife away, he saw Anakin staring at him. "What do you want?" he asked grumpily as if kids were on his lawn.
"You had a Dream, didn't you?" Anakin asked mysteriously.
"I'm sensing the capital D there," he prodded. "I slept, therefore I dreamt." Harry swung himself out of his hammock and walked towards where his armor and bodysuit were sitting. They would be landing soon and he would have to put his armor back on to resume his (paid) duty.
"I have Dreams too. Sometimes I see things before they happen," Anakin kept going on.
Harry turned to look at the younger boy. "Is there anything important for you to do here right now?" he barked out of annoyance.
Anakin shrank for a moment, like when Watto would get annoyed with him and he would then shut up. "The pilot wanted me to tell you that we were an hour out from Coruscant."
Harry sighed at seeing the kid shrinking like that. "You're going to have to learn to deal with people who talk like me if you're going to be a Jedi. A Jedi is the type to diffuse a situation, not escalate it; at least they're not supposed to…" he trailed, thinking once more about both the Excision and Galidraan once again and how the Jedi and the Republic royally escalated things. "The point is, you need to learn social cues, something I hope that whomever you get apprenticed under teaches you." Feeling as if he went on enough of a tangent for the day he added, "Tell the pilot I'll be there shortly."
Anakin nodded and skittered off towards the turbolift to head to the bridge. Harry took the time to get into his armor. He left his weapons in the main bay as he wouldn't need them on the bridge. Helmet under his arm, he took the turbolift up to the bridge. When it opened the occupants were that of the pilot Ric Olé and Anakin. They had just dropped out of hyperspace and were speeding towards the distant city-planet. The silver, sword-shaped ship sped towards the planet. The flight few had already received approach coordinates and vectors from the authority on the ground by some paper pusher. It didn't take them long to enter the atmosphere and pass into the day side of the planet, where the Senate District was at this time of the planet's rotation.
"Coruscant. The entire planet is one big city," Ric stated mostly for Anakin's benefit. He nodded towards the hovering landing pad sitting right above the city's many skylanes. "There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle. And look over there, Senator Palpatine is waiting for us." Said senator was waiting for them at the center of the two hardpoints used to dock speeders to it. At the same time, the Chancellor and his elite Senate Commandos emerged from the shuttle that had docked with the platform.
The vessel set down gently, small bumps announced that the landing gear had made contact with the platform. Harry didn't wait for the engines to cool before he moved towards the main hold, Anakin squeezing inside the turbolift to join with the rest of the group. When he did reach the hold, he grabbed two WESTAR series pistols and holstered them as well as a blaster carbine, the EE-3. He didn't pack any heavy ordinance as that as he felt like he would need it later for some reason because of a hairbrained scheme. He just knew it.
As the boarding ramp lowered, the landing party was ready to depart. He put his helmet on and saw that Padme had reprised her handmaiden role instead of the queen one. He stuck near both as to not give anything away as they departed the ship; after all, he was hired to protect the queen, might as well give them a good show. The party consisting of the Nubians, Anakin, the Jedi, and he walked between the sets of guards. They eyed Harry, but as his blasters were both holstered and lowered in parade rest, all they did was glare. After all, the Mandalorians didn't quite like what the Republic did to them all those years ago, who's to say that they wouldn't get a little revenge a few hundred years later by killing the Chancellor?
The Jedi bowed and the Nubian delegation merely bowed their heads slightly. Anakin and Jar Jar followed the Jedi's example while Harry didn't move his head in any motion other than to scan his surroundings with his eyes. Padme walked forward and greeted the senator.
"It is a great gift to see you alive, your majesty," Palpatine greeted. "With the communications breakdown, we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum."
"Welcome, your highness. It's an honor to finally meet you in person," the Chancellor greeted in a powerful yet politically neutral tone."
"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor," the 'queen' thanked the man. They started to walk and everyone followed in step.
"I must relay how distressed everyone is over the current situation."
'Oh yes, very concerned,' Harry thought sarcastically with an eye-roll. Not that anyone could see it with his helmet on and visor obscuring those looking in.
"I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position," the Chancellor continued.
"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor," the queen replied right before she continued with Palpatine.
As Harry passed the Chancellor he gave him a head turn. The Chancellor definitely showed more balls than most would as he didn't flinch at all. Harry chose then to speak, "Private security pays quite well these days." He then continued to follow the senator and queen.
"There is a question of procedure," Palpatine said to the queen, "but I'm confident we can overcome it."
The Nubian delegation proceeded towards an open-air speeder, something that Harry didn't like from a safety perspective, especially that of his client. Anakin paused, confused at what he should do: stay with the Jedi or go with Padme and the Nubians.
"Come on, Ani," Padme urged. He looked to Jinn for advice, who only waved him to go with the queen.
Harry sat in front of the queen, next to the driver to provide some kind of protection to both her and Padme. It was then Jar Jar said something extremely odd, especially for him and to Anakin of all people.
"The queen's bein' grossly nice, mesa tinks," the Gungan said to Anakin. He looked forward and paused before adding, "Pitty hot."
Harry didn't need his sixth sense to feel that Padme was uncomfortable with that. The big one being that she didn't know how old the Gungan was and that she was only fourteen, kind of creepy. Luckily those thoughts were put out of everyone's mind as the speeder began to pull away from the landing platform and towards the senate apartments reserved for senators and their guests. Padme and the Nubian delegation would be shacking up in Palpatine's apartment until the ordeal was over and they could head back to Naboo.
During the flight, Harry couldn't place his finger on it, but something about Palpatine kicked his senses into overdrive. This was something that he had felt once before years ago. His father had taken him on a hunting trip on a backwater world where the only sense of civilization was the local government center in the only major city on the planet, although he couldn't remember the name off the top of his head. When his father was teaching him how to stalk his prey, they had stumbled onto a predator's den. Of course, they weren't stupid and didn't go into the den as they weren't decked out to deal with whatever lived inside of it, but there was one thing that they felt when they came near it. There was the feeling of eyes on you but you didn't know where. Them gazing upon you, sizing you up. Determining how much of a threat to them you were. Then the beast would decide by rudimentary, survival instincts whether to attack if the spotted prey was weak enough or to slink back and allow the dominant species to continue on. This was the same gut feeling that he got when being near Palpatine. There was something about him that made him feel on edge; like the older man was sizing him up, creating a threat analysis on him. He didn't like it and the sooner they were away from the man, the better.
Luckily for Harry, the trip didn't last that long; a good fifteen minutes at the most given the fact that most speeder computers had been told to give way to the diplomatic speeder. Once the speeder landed, the party entered the senatorial apartments and made their way towards Palpatine's assigned apartment, the 'queen' and Padme, and one other handmaiden made their way into the offered bedroom where they entered together. An hour later they reemerged dressed differently. Harry immediately knew that the decoy and Padme had switched places as both handmaidens had hooded cloaks on that hid a mass majority of their faces and shrouded them in shadows.
It wasn't long until Padme was seated on the couch in the apartment's parlor with the two handmaidens flanking her sides as they stood behind the couch. Both Anakin and Jar Jar were sitting outside the transparisteel doors that closed the parlor off from any outside sound or listeners. Palpatine was already talking with Padme as Harry watched the Coruscant skyline for threats as he listened in to the conversation. He had no right to really chime into the political matters of Naboo other than protecting his client. Harry heard the door open and saw Panaka enter.
"There is no civility, only politics," Palpatine replied to Padme's question about how the Senate was supposed to be the center of civility. He paced around his parlor as he continued on, "The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good. I must be frank, your majesty. There is little chance that the Senate will act on the invasion."
"Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope," Padme retorted.
"If you say so, your majesty, the Chancellor has little real power. He is mired by baseless accusations of corruption. The bureaucrats are in charge now."
"What options have we?"
"Our best choice would be to push for the election of a stronger Supreme Chancellor, one who could control the bureaucrats and give us justice. You could call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum."
That got Harry to raise an eyebrow under his helmet. "He has been our strongest supporter."
"Our only other choice would be to submit a plea to the courts," Palpatine almost seemed sincerely sorry. Almost.
"The courts take even longer to decide things than the Senate," Padme seemed annoyed. "Our people are dying, Senator. We must do something quickly to stop the Federation."
"To be realistic, your majesty, I think we're going to have to accept Federation control for the time being."
He stopped pacing and turned to look Padme in the eye. "That is something that I cannot do," Padme replied.
There was a pause before Palpatine stated, "Then we should prepare to present our case to the Senate." And with that, he left the parlor to do whatever senators did in their spare time.
Without even having to look at Harry, Padme said, "No."
"What do you mean 'no'? I didn't even say anything."
"I know what you were thinking."
"And that is?" Harry asked as Padme stood up.
"To do something either unlawful or borderline illegal."
Harry paused for a moment before replying, "You do know me well. Are you sure you're not psychic or Force-sensitive?"
"Of course, I'm not, I wouldn't have been on Naboo if I were."
"You know, I have a point though."
Padme walked into a bedroom to change into more regal attire that she chose for delegates specifically. "And that is?"
"Sometimes you must be willing to do everything if it means saving your people, even if it means going down illegal paths. It's better to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission."
Padme thought upon that. Her people were definitely in a tough situation. If what Harry had summarized up was true, then her people were suffering and dying at the hands of the Federation. "No, it would go against the spirit of democracy," Padme adamantly replied.
Harry could only shrug. "That's great, but remember what your senator told you, the senate is filled with bureaucrats out for Number 1; themselves if you haven't guessed. I wouldn't be shocked if they only pay cursory glance at your situation. Because, here's the thing: it doesn't impact them at all. If democracy fails you, are you willing to do WHATEVER it takes to save your people; even if it means selling a part of your 'soul', for the lack of a better word, to do so?" Harry didn't wait for her response as he headed back towards the front of the apartment.
That gave Padme plenty of time to think as she got dressed. She was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she believed adamantly in democracy, that the voice of the people would speak out and correct the injustices against the people of the galaxy; injustices that were carried out upon her people, her constituents who voted her their leader, their voice. Her voice would stand with theirs in asking for justice for them. But on the other hand, Padme had heard of the corruption that had been seeping into the Senate for years, her father shouting drunkenly that one time at the holonews reports on the corruption in the Senate, how they were failing those that elected them. Of course, that had been a night where they were celebrating his birthday and the drinking got a little… carried away.
That as a side note in Padme's history, she got back on subject. If things didn't work out, she would have to consider more… undesirable options. But that begged the question, what would she do if that happened? If democracy failed her? She was knocked out of that line of thinking as her commlink erupted with the voice of the guard stationed outside.
"The boy is here to see Padme," the guard stated.
A handmaiden took the commlink up and replied, "Let him in." The door to the apartment opened and said handmaiden walked over to meet the boy. Harry acknowledged him with a glance, but he knew that he wasn't a threat to the queen (or Padme). "I'm sorry, Ani, but Padme's not here right now."
As the door closed to the apartment, Padme spoke up. "Who is it?" she asked.
Harry gave her a slight look of, 'What other boy do you know?'
"Anakin Skywalker to see Padme, your highness," the handmaiden replied.
"I've sent Padme on an errand," Padme replied.
Anakin bowed like a Jedi would. "I'm on my way to the Jedi Temple to start my training, I hope. I may never see her again, so I came to say goodbye," he sounded sad as he said that.
"We will tell you for you. We are sure her heart goes with you."
"Thank you, your highness." And with that Anakin left as Padme turned back towards the bedroom to finish preparing for her plea to the Senate.
The rest of the early afternoon passed swiftly. Harry worked with Panaka and Senate security to create an absolute safe route involving closed roof speeders with tinted windows. Padme would be loaded up in one of three identical speeders inside a closed garage with no cameras to onlookers. None of the pilots would know what speeder that the queen and her party were loaded into until they reached the Senate building. This was necessary because he didn't know who he could trust in the guard detail. He didn't know who was on the Federation payroll and who wasn't. After all, he knew that the Federation had a several days lead on them; it didn't take a scientist to know that their exit vector was pointed towards Coruscant when they left Naboo. If the Federation was smart, which they were especially so in the realm of trade, they would have sent assassins or bounty hunters ahead of time to sit in wait to capture or kill the queen. It's what he would do.
The comms of each of the pilots were tied to a specific, fixed frequency that couldn't be altered; especially since they had been handed out mere moments before Padme and party emerged into the garage and entered one of the speeders and they wouldn't have time to alter them in the time it would take to reach the Senate. Harry sat in the same speeder that Padme would sit inside of. With timed precision, she and her royal guard entered the garage and entered Harry's speeder. The door slid shut and the door to the garage opened. As soon as it was wide enough for the first speeder to fit, it sped off. The idea was that any assassin would hit the first speeder if they were there, hence why Harry and Padme's guards were in the second speeder with the third filled the same amount of bodies in the form of guards to mess with anyone using thermal scopes trying to solve who exactly was in the speeder. Of course, it wasn't foolproof, but it was a solid plan.
The final defensive measure was something that he had heard in primary school before his father found him. He had heard that Queen Elizabeth's motorcade would swap places underneath underpasses and tunnels with other identical cars. Like one of those carney games with 'finding the red queen'. Keep the target moving and even remove it from play with a decoy using a completely separate route. It was a game of misdirection and deception.
As the first pass took place on Harry's order, Padme raised the question of why they were doing this specifically. "It's quite simple, really," Harry said as he pulled out a set of old playing cards, ones from Earth, and picked out three cards: the queen of clubs, the queen of spades, and the queen of hearts. He curved the laminated pieces of flimsy so that they would be cupped on the surface of the table that sat in the middle of the luxury speeder that was ordered on behalf of Senator Palpatine.
"What are those?" Panaka asked. "Playing cards?"
"An older variety, yes." He then showed the three cards to Padme and Panaka. "You're the red queen here." He then placed the cards face down on the table. "I want to play a game," Harry said as he slowly moved the cards so that their eyes could track it.
"This isn't the time for games," Padme said in her 'official' voice. The monotone one.
"Humor me, it's relevant." He lifted his hands from the cards. "Where's the red queen?"
Panaka looked to Padme who replied, "Indulge him."
He pointed to the card on Harry's right. Harry lifted it and showed that it was, in fact, the red queen. Harry set it back down and started to move the queen slowly again, but picked up speed as he spoke again. "You see, this convoy is like this game of 'find the queen', except literally. The face-down cards represent the three speeders traveling with us, you're in one of them." At this point, it was extremely hard to keep their eyes on the right card. "You see, the reason I'm doing this the way I am is that I'm sure that the Federation is up to something and I wouldn't put it past them to try something on you before you can present your case to the Senate. With this strategy, the possible enemy won't know what speeder you're in until it's too late and you've made it to, and inside, the Senate." He stopped moving the cards. "Now, where's the red queen?" Padme this time pointed to the middle card. Harry flipped it over to reveal the queen of clubs. "Wrong-o." He finished by flipping over the remaining two cards, revealing the remaining red and black queens.
The rest of the trip was surprisingly quiet and uneventful, and it was welcome. Once they arrived at the Senate building they were swiftly taken by Senate Guards to the Naboo senatorial booth where they met up with Senator Palpatine. The Senator chatted with Padme in a fairly friendly manner as he didn't want her on edge when she presented her case to the Senate; obviously, he held a stake in all this as well. Being the senator of said planet under illegal occupation you'd think that he would anyway. It wasn't much longer until the Senate started up its emergency meeting. Of course, being the politicians that they were, they quickly quieted down as they wanted to keep appearances intact. While not part of the political side of these things, Harry sat on the side. And on the side, it is meant he leaned against the corridor wall that connected the senator booth to the wall of the massive complex hall.
The Chancellor was the first to speak, "The chair recognizes the Senator from the sovereign system of Naboo."
Palpatine pushed a button that disengaged it from the wall and it floated downwards to the center podium that the Chancellor was sitting at. As it moved closer, Palpatine started to speak, not wanting to waste any time, "Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the senate, a tragedy has occurred… which started right here with the taxation of trade routes and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the Trade Federation."
Harry noticed down below that the delegate (see: meat puppet) of the Trade Federation floated on down. "This is outrageous! I object to the senator's statements," the Federation delegate interrupted.
"Oh yeah, of course, you would object," Harry said quietly enough that only the two Senate Guards and the rest of Padme's security team could hear. "It's not like you're being called out or anything."
"The chair does not recognize the senator from the Trade Federation at this time," the Chancellor rebutted the Federation senator.
Palpatine continued, unphased by the Federation delegate, "To present our allegations, I present Queen Amidala, recently elected ruler of the Naboo, who speaks on our behalf." Palpatine stepped aside and allowed Padme to step forward as the Senate chamber muttered intelligible words.
"Honorable representatives of the Republic, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. Naboo's system has been invaded by the droid armies of the Trade-," Padme said before she was rudely interrupted by the Federation meat puppet.
"I object! There is no proof!" he shouted.
"That was rude. Oh yeah, talk about cultured," Harry scoffed, once again quiet enough so that only those closest could hear.
"This is incredible. We recommend a commission to be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth," the meat puppet continued.
"The Congress of Malistare concurs with the honorable delegate from the Trade Federation," a Malistare male added his support. "A commission must be appointed."
"The point-," the Valorum started before getting cut off silently by his aide.
"Well we now know who's sucking who off," Harry jabbed. That got him a few looks.
They chatted for a good thirty seconds before the Chancellor completed his thought, "The point is conceded. Will you defer your motion to allow a commission to explore the validation of your accusations?"
"I will not defer," Padme strongly rebutted, seeing how the sanctity of how she perceived democracy was being desecrated right in front of her. "I've come before you to resolve this attack on our sovereignty now. I was not elected to watch our people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee. If this body is not capable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed. I move for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership."
Immediately, there was an uproar. The loudest was a Wookie shouting in its guttural tone that only its species could do. Harry activated his rangefinder to take in the absolute look of betrayal on Valorum's face. From a cathartic perspective, it was delicious. He even snapped an image of it and saved it for later, after this was well and over he'd share it with Padme. And he'd make sure to send a copy to his father, he had no love for the Republic so he would definitely get a kick out of it.
There was a chant of, "Vote now!" going around by multiple worlds and species.
"Order!" the aide could only shout to try and keep appearances of civility.
Harry turned his attention from the look of betrayal to Palpatine and Padme. He could see that his lips were moving, but couldn't quite make out what he was saying. "What are you whispering in her ear, old man?" Harry questioned so silently that those around him assumed he was grunting.
A few seconds later another booth entered the fray, "Roona seconds the motion for a vote of no confidence."
"There must be no delays," the Malistare senator added. "The motion is on the floor and must be voted on at once."
There was the continuing shout of "Vote now!" but once more "Order!" was shouted in reply. Finally, the Chancellor's aide stated to the Senate floor, "The Supreme Chancellor requests a recess."
The rest of the afternoon was quiet as the Naboo delegation made their way back to the senatorial apartments in the same vein that they did on the way there. Once again, there was no attack on them. This both relieved him as well as disturbed him. He kept his thoughts to himself as he traveled back with the group, but the thought kept nagging at him in the back of his head as they did move. Obviously, it would make sense to attack them before they made their case, but now the case had been made, with flimsy evidence that could have been easily backed up if images and videos were allowed to be displayed. But 'regulations' kept that from happening. Bureaucracy at its finest.
When they made it back, Harry immediately sent his message to his contact. He had to sit and wait for a response. Ok, it wasn't a 'little while', more like enough time to pass for the afternoon to turn into early evening and the sun to be barely on the horizon. As he did wait, he relaxed in one of the fancy recliners in the apartment. He listened on to Jar Jar and Padme speak as he watched his HUD for a message icon.
Jar Jar crept up behind Padme and asked, "Yousa tinking yousa people ganna die?"
"I don't know," Padme honestly replied. She didn't know. Everything she knew about democracy, everything that she had learned had been shattered.
"Gungans get pasted too, eh?"
"I hope not."
"But it's likely," Harry chimed in. "And before you accuse me of being cruel, I'm not. If the Federation droids are killing your people indiscriminately, they're killing his too."
"Gungans not dying without a fight. Wesa warriors. Wesa got a grand army," Jar Jar said with a sad pride. "Dat's why you no liken us, mesa tinks."
"I'd like to see these warriors," Harry said in thought, it would be quite interesting to fight another species in battle. Or a spar in this case. No need to have political backlash for his employer.
Everyone's attention was turned immediately to the borderline gleeful shout of Panaka saying, "Your highness! Your highness." He walked in with Palpatine on his heels, Panaka's hat under his arm. He sported quite a cheerful smile. The group turned to look at him. "Senator Palpatine has been nominated to succeed Valorum as supreme chancellor."
"A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one," Palpatine added with his own cheerful smile.
'That was quite quick,' Harry noted mentally. 'Almost too quick considering the same government we're talking about. A decision this quick? Something smells fishy, and it's not the Mon Cala delegate fresh out of the water.'
Palpatine spoke again, bringing the attention once more to him. "Your majesty, if I'm elected I promise to put an end to corruption."
Padme then asked, "Who else has been nominated?"
"Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malistare," Panaka replied.
"I feel confident our situation will create a strong sympathy vote for us," Palpatine stated.
That statement didn't make Harry feel any more at ease from his previous thoughts. 'Scratch that, really, really fishy,' he thought. 'Is he using this event for his own political agenda?'
"I will be Chancellor," Palpatine stated with certainty.
"I fear by the time you have control of the bureaucrats, Senator, there'll be nothing left of our people, our way of life," Padme stated with frustration.
"I understand your concern, your majesty. Unfortunately, the Federation has possession of our planet."
Padme seemed extremely angry at the senator, mostly because of the fact that by the time he'd even have some semblance of control on the Senate it would be too late. She paced around until she was in front of the windows that looked over the Coruscant city-scape. "Senator, this is your arena. I feel I must return to mine." She turned to face the senator. "I have decided to go back to Naboo."
Palpatine looked legitimately concerned. "Go back?" he said as he got up from his chair. "But your majesty, be realistic. They'll force you to sign the treaty."
"I'll sign no treaty, Senator. My fate will be no different than that of our people. Captain," she addressed Panaka.
"Your highness?" Panaka asked.
"Ready my ship," she said as she walked out of the apartment. Harry was hot on her tail as well.
"Please, your majesty, stay here where it is safe."
Padme turned around as her attendants walked out, their roles and duties already set by her command. Harry staying closely by her side. "it is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions. I pray you will bring sanity and compassion back to the Senate." And with that, she left.
Behind him, as he followed Padme, he felt a kind of smug satisfaction radiating from Palpatine, but he couldn't figure out why. "That was quite the savage burn," Harry joked.
"This is not the time for humor," Padme rebutted, still very stern voiced as she was in her queen persona.
Harry scoffed, "There's always time for humor. Especially in these times, it can be a coping mechanism to deal with things." They walked in silence until Harry noticed the flashing envelope icon in his HUD. He opened it and saw the message he had been waiting for. "How soon were you wanting to leave Coruscant?"
Padme looked at Harry funny. Well, with her eyes, that was. "As soon as the ship can be refueled and readied."
"I just got a message from my slicer friend."
"They're not really your friend, are they?" Padme teased, although it was tough to tell based on the fact she was still using her very monotone voice.
"Maybe. But that's irrelevant. They said that they'll be available in a single place for a standard Coruscant standard hour. Any longer than that, and they're gone. That's why I'm asking how long until you want to get off-world."
She seemed to be conflicted. She wanted to know who was responsible for possibly betraying her, but she also wanted to get back to Naboo to free her people. When it came down to it, what was an hour or two going to change? If they got there an hour or two later, her people would still be where they were and the Federation would still be in place. She finally came to a decision.
"Very well, take your time in making contact with your slicer. But do not take up too much time, we need to get on our way as soon as possible," she said with some reservation.
"Very well, while I'd ask for Padme to come with to view the results in your stead I think she has more pressing concerns to take care of," Harry replied.
"You are not incorrect."
"Therefore, I'd like to propose that Rylis stays behind to convey any information that is uncovered directly to us."
She gave Harry a sharp look. "You want to leave your former slave to keep an eye on the data which may reveal a traitor in my guard?"
"Yes. She has no connection to your guard and since she's a former slave she'll be compelled to obey by instinct alone. And don't think I'm manipulating her, it's just I know how people like her unfortunately work and how she'll react on an order or request. She'll eventually grow out of that habit, but it will take time. But her obedience will be to our benefit at the moment where, if ordered, will not divulge any information to anyone but either of us."
Padme was conflicted. She didn't want to send someone in that both didn't know Harry's contact as well as no experience in intelligence gathering. It would be a double-edged sword. On one hand, she would have no reason to betray them nor would she say anything to anyone else other than those she was told to. "Very well."
"I'll go with her and make sure she's appropriately dressed and armed."
"Armed?"
"The level that my contact wants to meet up at known for being a little… rough."
"Rough? Which level is it?" Panaka asked. He was obviously listening in.
"1313." That got him to pause in step before continuing on.
"Isn't that the level where a lot of illegal acts and services happen on?"
"Technically it's the tip of the proverbial iceberg when considering the gray and black markets. It's the 'top' level for illegal goods and services. The further you go down, the more illicit the goods and services become. It's not surprising that the lower levels are rife with slavery practices, gang activity, and unsolved murders." That definitely got a surprised look from Padme that broke the 'queen' mask. "That's right, your highness, the lower levels of the bastion of democracy practice everything that the Republic stands against."
"Aside from that," Panaka interrupted. "How will you assure her safety?"
He pulled out a blaster pistol. A much heavier pistol than Padme was used to seeing. "Literal hand cannon," he said handing it to her. "Illegal in six different systems. Ironically, Coruscant isn't one of them." He proceeded to holster it. "Get in, meet my contact. Convince my contact to allow Rylis to stay with them until our mission is complete. Get out and meet back here before the proposed disembarkment." He looked over Padme's attire. "You're going to need a wardrobe change."
She almost seemed offended. "My clothes are perfectly suited for going undercover," she argued.
"Yeah, in the Coruscanti overworld," Harry rebutted. "They would see you as some kind of rich person trying to slum it with the underclass. You'll get mugged. Aim more… middle class." She huffed and returned a few minutes later with something much more inconspicuous. "Better. Let's go."
The two humans and one twilek clambered into an unmarked speeder and started heading to one of the many nexuses that led to the lower levels. The architects of Coruscant were brilliant in the sense that they staggered each of the nexuses in such a way that kept the massive cityscape structurally sound despite what may happen. One could describe is as like a honeycomb on how the inner workings worked. Except, instead of a queen bee at the center, there was the mythical Level 0 that no one had been to in thousands of years. At least, not outside that sanctuary that existed in only one nexus access point in the entire city that had an entire mirror satellite to simulate day/night cycles for it due to the depth that it needed to be.
Thankfully the trip to Level 1313 was uneventful. They had to leave the unmarked speeder behind and travel through the undercity's mass transport system. Unlike many other systems that had a very predictable day/night cycle in which the mass majority of the population would engage in travel and activities during the day and more adult or shady ones would happen at night. Coruscant was not one of those planets or systems. It was a 24/7 rush hour and mass-controlled chaos. The train that they took was packed, but they gave Harry and company their space. It was probably that they didn't want to deal with a heavily armored Mando on their commute. They got off at one of the stops and made their way to the bar that Harry's contact said that they would be at.
Entering it showed that it was a smoky atmosphere. That being that people were smoking only the Force knows what. Although Harry could have caught a whiff of what seemed like tobacco. He muttered to his two followers some simple instructions, "Stay close, don't stare at anyone, just follow me." He approached a single woman in the back of the bar, and Padme and Rylis followed. "Tracer Tong, so nice to see you again," Harry greeted.
"What did I say about using my real name?" the woman replied back, clearly annoyed.
"Don't you mean your legal name at the moment that you do all your legal business through?"
"Semantics," she waved off.
"So? Spill it, girl. What juicy data do you have for me?" Harry asked as he sat down across the table.
She pulled out a datapad and handed it to him. "It was as you suspected, someone embedded a repeat signal in the ship's database. As soon as it received a signal from the point of origin, Naboo in this instance, it bounced back to Naboo with the planet of origin. Due to planetary drift, it wasn't precise locational data, but enough for someone to find you if they were diligent enough."
"Diligent is one word for it," Harry commented. "Any idea who placed it?"
"It's got Trade Federation code samples all over it, but there was one surprise though. Techno Union code bites as well."
"Do you think that the Techno Union is behind this as well?" Padme butted in.
"Who's she?" Tracer asked.
"My employer's handler," Harry replied. Padme didn't seem to like that, but he pressed on. "She's going to convey all the information that's needed for her case against the Trade Federation to her employer."
"I wish that you would have informed me of this," she sighed, annoyed at the whole thing. "No, but it doesn't rule it out. Those with enough money can buy programs from one of the big firms. The Techno Union has some of the best coders in the galaxy, the Trade Federation would be foolish to not use the best if they can't personally own it."
"Makes sense."
"There was one other thing that was odd, it also repeated the signal towards Coruscant, someone has a vested interest here as well," Tracer finished her report. "That's all I have on it."
"Any idea if you could dig up if the transmitter was reactivated?"
"It was reactivated, although the other data related to capturing who did it was scrubbed. They perhaps thought you would be found well before this could be analyzed."
To be continued…
XxXxXxX
And that will do it for this one. As I had previously mentioned, I'm well aware of the current shortcomings and am looking for potential ways to fix them in future story installments (not this specific story due to being complete, just released weekly). There was a reference to the Deus Ex franchise with a character that gets mentioned there near the end. I do have a couple of new ideas to explore in my story repository which I hope to have out sooner or later (who knows considering I may drop the random idea altogether and it ends up in the Scrapyard). If you're interested in whatever random shit I write, maybe check it out if you haven't already; literally anything goes with it. If you're interested in throwing a few dollars at me as a tip, tip jar addresses are in my bio. Now, if you excuse me I'm going to go back to my unhealthy playtime in the Yakuza series.
See everyone next week.