The Sister boarded the ship and activated the engines. Only recently had Darth Sideous trusted her to fly her own ship without supervision. She knew that neither he nor Tyrannus fully trusted her, but she was okay with that. Soon, she wouldn't need them anyway. Only a few more months, she told herself.
It was a small ship, with only one seat and one bunk to sleep on. Sideous has this ship specially made for her, once he decided she could be trusted to fly unaccompanied. It had enough provisions to last her several days if she got stranded, but it also had a sophisticated tracking system and more cameras to keep track of her on her journeys. Unfortunately for the Sith, the Sister was talented in the art of mechanics and deactivated the security measures in such a way that looked as if she hadn't tampered with them at all.
The style of the ship was sleek and resembled a vulture droid. It was excellent for air fights, or for solo jumps to other systems by herself. It suited the Inquisitor, and it reminded her of...the good old days.
All of the checks came up clear, and she activated the thrusters. There was no need to clear her exit since not even battle droids were allowed on the sacred planet. It was incredible that even she was permitted to step foot here since she was an Inquisitor and not a Sith. She knew that Sideous could sense her leaving, and didn't bother to confirm.
She jumped to hyperspace without trouble. There were no security ships to pass through, unlike the majority of Separatist systems. Instead, she entered her coordinates and sat back to watch the tunnel fly past her.
It wasn't a long jump as Vancor was only 5 parsecs away from Dromund Kass. She didn't bother to set a reminder to jump out of hyperspace, but sat and waited for the time to be up.
The Sister sat back in her seat. She saw her reflection in the windshield of the cockpit, and she stared at herself. She brushed her montrals, something she only did when she was alone. Togruta didn't ever touch their montrals or lekku in public, just as a rule of thumb. To some degree, they can feel through their montrals and lekku, but no one from any other species knew this so it was kept quiet.
They had grown longer and taller in the last few months, more like they would look when she was an adult. She hated having the mask attached to them, even if it wasn't covering her face. Sideous had insisted on it though. He said it was a reminder, a symbol of her loyalty back when he didn't trust her at all. It was too late to try and get rid of it now, but when she was alone, like now, she could take it off and massage her montrals. She never let on about it, but the mask actually bruised her.
While she had time alone, she took it off and did her routine rub around the side of her head. She went to the back of her ship and looked in the mirror. The bruises had gotten darker since the last time she had looked. She tried not to concentrate on them and focus on the rest of her face.
She knew why Sideous had been using her to get to Skywalker. Despite her skin tone and different marks, she resembled the one called Ahsoka Tano. If her eyes had been blue, they would have looked like cousins. Perhaps not siblings, but somehow related. In another world, she would have liked to meet her, but that was beside the point.
The Sister examined her appearance, looking for any signs of weakness or vulnerability in her expression. She brushed her fingers over her veins, which were dark from the Dark Side of the Force flowing through her every day. It added to the aesthetic Sith-like look, which helped her image, but she hated how unnatural it looked. Togruta, by custom, are deeply connected to their environment, and all things natural. The Sister knew that veins so dark were not natural, and neither was her outfit, or anything about her look, especially her eyes. They were a sickly gold that made her want to puke the first time she saw it. She might have enjoyed the power that came with the Dark Side, but it made her feel...fake. Artificial.
Putting her mask back on, reluctantly, she went back to the cockpit. She checked the navi-computer and found that she still had plenty of time to go. She sunk into her seat and started swimming through the Separatist news feed. She needed something to do.
She found an article about the negotiations on Vancor, along with other victories around the galaxy. The Separatists, like the Republicans, shied away from letting the general public about their losses unless it was a privately funded station instead of a government-funded one. She read these passages, not really caring about the words that flowed in her mind until she found one that stuck out.
Her own face was on it, right next to Ahsoka Tano's figure. The headline read, Ahsoka Tano: Is She Back?
The Sister couldn't help but laugh. Even the civilians were fooled.
She opened the article and looked for the author first. It was from a private news channel, located on Coruscant, of all places. She took note of this as she read the words intently.
'Nine months ago, Ahsoka Tano, a padawan of the Jedi Order at the time, stood trial in front of the Senate for the accusation of bombing the Temple...' The Sister skipped the paragraph. She already knew plenty about the trial. '...and many thought that would be the last that we would hear from the teenage Togruta.
'However, as reported from the offices of the Republic, a new Force-user has risen in the ranks of the Separatist army and calls herself an Inquisitor, named the Sister. Lo and behold, she is also a young female Togruta. This species is rarely seen off of their home planets Kiros or Shili, and very few live even on the vastly and variously populated planet of Coruscant. It is suspected that this new Inquisitor is not a new Togruta, fresh off of the Togrutan home systems, but Ahsoka Tano, back and eager for revenge against the Republic and the Jedi Order. While no confirmation has come from the Jedi Council itself, it has not denied the possibility either.
'An even more interesting question is the effect that the debate is having on the ex-Padawan's old master, Anakin Skywalker. He has rarely been seen away from the Temple or the Senate Building recently, which is unusual for the Hero with No Fear. Has the decision of his ex-apprentice finally taken its toll on the Jedi Knight, or is he seeking to get revenge, and on who? Who is to blame for the fall of Ahsoka Tano? The Jedi Council? The escaped criminal and expelled Jedi Barriss Offee? Is Skywalker himself to blame? We may never know, but the galaxy keeps its eyes open and trained on this new player in the Clone War and prays that she will not be the cause for the fall of the Republic.'
The Sister reread this article a few times before closing it down. True to the nature of such articles, it stretched the truth a little bit. The Sister doubted that Skywalker was trying to 'get revenge', but then again, maybe she was wrong. It's not like she knew him all that well. As for herself, she doubted she would be the one to turn the tide of the Clone War. At least, that's what Sideous seemed to think.
Closing the HoloNet portal, she returned her attention to the navi-computer. It was almost time to drop out of hyperspace. She gripped the controls and began the sequences to arrive in the Vancor system.
She landed without difficulty, although the communication with the Vancor airspace control tower had been interesting. They seemed to think that she didn't speak Basic at first because she was a Togruta.
Closing her mask, she opened the ramp that led outside of the ship. She walked down, not bothering to acknowledge the battle droids that awaited her at the bottom. Instead, she strode straight to Viceroy Nute Gunray, the chairman of the Separatist Council, who would be leading the negotiations with Vancor in the absence of Count Dooku and Darth Sideous.
Gunray gave one of his twisted smiles to the Togruta. "Ah, the Inquisitor. I've heard much about you," he remarked. "What might I call you?"
"You may call me the Sister," she replied tartly, not caring for pleasantries. "Have the negotiations begun?"
"Not yet, my dear. We are still waiting for the Vancorians to finalize their preparations."
"If they don't complete their preparations soon, I will be...encouraging them to do so." She told the Neomoidian. "I was given very clear instructions to make sure these negotiations will run smoothly."
"I was hoping you would say that." Gunray turned and started walking into the building they were next to. The Sister followed him inside. "It's so nice to have a personal representative from Lord Sideous."
The Sister didn't bother to respond to his compliment. She didn't especially like politicians, save for a few acquaintances. Viceroy Gunray was not one of those acquaintances. "I will check in with the Vancorians before securing the premises. If you need me, that's where I'll be."
She did not wait for a response, but turned the corner to the right and abandoned the chairman at the intersection. She walked through the middle of the hall, asserting herself to the bystanders. The crowds parted before her, eyeing her Dark appearance and deciding that they did not want to be sliced in half, or choked to death. She wanted them to know that she was here on business and that she intended to carry out that business.
She found the people she was looking for on the top floor of the building. They were dressed as professionally and extravagantly as Gunray had been, but the style was different, due to their native background. Their clothing set them apart from the others, as well as their posture and their snotty expressions. The Sister could already tell that they would be a difficult group to work with. They were self-righteous and proud and thought they were better than anyone else.
If the Sister didn't express dominance over them, they would boss her around just as much as they did their servants. Time to use her appearance and her status to her advantage. She was not about to spend the next few days as a rag doll.
"Are you the Vancorian negotiators?" She asked, her voice devoid of interest.
They turned and to face her, about to tell her off for not recognizing the esteemed politicians, when they saw her and did a double-take. They eyed her armor and her mask, and her red skin tone, and felt their knees become significantly weaker than they were mere seconds ago.
One of them, the Sister assumed he was the leader, straightened up, and pretended not to be afraid of her. "We are. Who are you?"
"I am an Inquisitor, but you may call me the Sister. I am a representative," she paused, making sure that they were listening, "from Darth Sideous." She gave them a moment to let her words sink in. "I will be overseeing the negotiations today, which I assume you are ready for."
Their eyes grew wide before they remembered that they were supposed to be high and mighty and all-powerful. The leader spoke again. "We are..ready whenever you are, I suppose."
"I will conduct my search of the premises immediately. I don't want any interruptions today."
"Interruptions?" He asked shakily, not entirely sure he wanted to know.
"There is reason to believe that the Jedi will attempt to sabotage the negotiations today," she explained, turning away. "We wouldn't want any of you or any of the members of the Separatist Council to be injured or killed. Darth Sideous would be most displeased."
She did not look behind her to enjoy the looks of terror on the face of the pale politicians, but made for the window and stepped outside. She kept from the windowsill to the concrete roof and listened as the flock of men scurried down the hall, fleeing from the Inquisitor.
The best part about this job: she got to scare the most disrespectful people in the galaxy, and no one could touch her.