Nute Gunray would find it difficult to count the number of novel things he had seen over his lifetime, but the success he had accrued for himself necessitated being more adventurous than the average Nimoidian. One does not ascend to the position of Viceroy through passivity. It took ruthlessness, a keen eye for spotting the weaknesses of others, and the ability to gather resources secretly.
Nute learned these lessons well when he was but a young grub, having to spot the opportune moment to not just gain the food he would need to grow from the limited supply he and his fellow grubs had access to, but where in the hive to hide his spoils and the right moment to... take out the competition and using the removed competition to... supplement his private food reserves. There were even a few fellow grubs small and gullible enough to follow Nute's instructions with the promise of them getting to eat as well. A situation that taught Nute the lesson that everyone was the sentient capital of another. The trick was becoming the capital of the most powerful and capable being you can find.
That was why when approached by the shadowy figure of Darth Sidious, Nute made an agreement to work with the Sith in exchange for increasing profits for the trade routes under his control. An arrangement that has proven most beneficial over the years, even with that business with Naboo having not gone to plan. In some ways though, the failure of Naboo seemed to have worked to his master's benefit, netting Nute more benefits than he was anticipating from the success. Though that annoying Queen was still being a thorn in his side with her investigations into Nute's activities.
Nevertheless, things have been going well for the Nemoidian. Then along comes a possible business venture from the Jedi. A novel thing that they would seek to create a business. Nute did not care about preventing slavery or ending it, his people having benefited from the Narquois slaves within their territory. That said, the little Padawan's suggestions that a more profitable manner of dealing with sentient capital intrigued Nute. He doubted her ideas would survive the real world, but she had put together a proposal more thorough than many Nute had approved with the Jedi having promised to take on a majority of the risks involved.
He would be a fool to not agree to the deal. Either he is in on the ground floor of a more profitable business model that could be expanded out to the rest of his holdings before the competition, or he has proof to take to the senate that slavery was in fact more beneficial for society than letting all that sentient capital do whatever it wanted.
Which lead to his current position on the planet of Ryloth. Knowing that he would be dealing closely with the Jedi, he had done his research into their capabilities, including his disastrous encounter during the Naboo incident, and thought he knew just what they could do. While impressive, he still had concerns over his own safety and insisted on extra security besides two Jedi. Especially when one was only a youngling whereas the padawan he dealt with all those years ago became a knight not long after. No, best to have a droid along.
After that beast had attacked him, Nute felt justified in his desire for extra security, and distraught that he hadn't insisted for at least a squadron of droids. Then the padawan did something. Nute could not describe what happened, but she seemed to be a completely different person as she healed him while freezing the beasts in midair.
Then she moved.
That was the only way Nute could understand it. Nemoidians had very good eyesight capable compared to a human, able to see and process visual stimuli at two to three times what humans could. Even with that, the padawan was hard to keep track of as that golden blade of hers flashed everywhere at once, killing the beasts before they knew what was happening.
The thing that got to Nute the most though, was her prayers. Nemoidians in general were not a religious lot, but there were too many business deals made with those that were for Nute to not recognize a prayer for what it was. But this was not a prayer asking for anything. This was not a prayer blessing anything. It was a prayer thanking for what was already received from some unknown god. Some Lord with no spoken name. And in the spot on his arm that still was shaped in the image of her hand, shimmering in a gold color, Nute felt something.
Pleasure. Pure pleasure from the spot in his arm, like a drug injected into his system. A drug that left his mind clear and had no apparent low to go with the high. A drug that pulsed through his system in time with the words of her prayer.
Looking into the mirror of his private washroom, Nute quietly spoke three words.
"Praise the Lord."
Pleasure pulsed. Nute frowned before he began wrapping his arm in a bandage to hide the shimmer. This would require some research, but first he needed to talk with the older Jedi about what was going on.
Note stepped of the washroom and fully dressing himself, Nute quietly congratulated himself on insisting that the Jedi stay with him on his ship instead of roughing it while they waited for their transport to arrive. This would make the following discussion much easier.
—-
Labooda felt exhausted emotionally and physically from the day she just had. The whirlwind of emotions surrounding her padawan not helping her nerves. A lesson in suppressing emotions would need to be in order soon to quiet the noise in the Force. Thankfully, the control Tanya has over expressing them on her face and out loud should aid in the Padawan's mental training.
For now though, the Knight would give the padawan some space as she enjoyed the amenities provided by the Viceroy. The very Viceroy who was now coming her way, his emotions carefully subdued making him much harder to read at the moment. Something Labooda was currently fine with.
"Just what was all that your padawan did out there? And why do you Jedi not do that more of?"
An accusation of not doing enough. Something she had been hearing levied at the Order and the Republic a lot lately, especially from those located in the outer rim.
"My padawan tapped into an aspect of the Force unique to her situation. What you saw was her allowing her body to be the conduit to an ancient spirit that lives within her soul. She is the reincarnation of an ancient Je'daii Master."
"What does that mean? What is a Je'daii?"
"The Je'daii were the precursors to the Jedi and Sith orders. A schism broke the two apart when the heretical Sith began following the Dark Side of the Force. Padawan Degurechaff in her previous life lived as one of these pre-schism Je'daii and can tap into those memories in certain circumstances."
"Ancient religious slop," Nute scoffed at the idea before returning towards his room. Labooda notices Nute's hand seemed to linger over the bandage covering the wound he had sustained. With a passing thought hoping the Force willed him to have a speedy recovery, Labooda headed towards the quarters the Nemoidian has provided for herself and Tanya.
A room that was in mild disarray while Tanya sat on the bed, sulking. Labooda's eyes went straight to the bandage covering the knuckles on one hand. Labooda took a seat next to Tanya and picked up the hand that was not injured when she last saw the Padawan.
"What happened?" Labooda asked. Silence greeted her question. Deciding physical intimacy would probably help her Padawan open up, Labooda pulled Tanya into a hug. A move that led to Tanya tensing up. "Talk to me."
"I lost control." Tanya's voice was flat. Giving facts without the accompanying emotions. "We were in trouble and I had a way to gain the power to save us, but I lost control. I was just a passenger watching my body move and hearing the words come out of my mouth. I had no control or freedom."
Tanya's fists tightened and flashes of anger sparked in the Force, but Tanya's voice stayed level. Besides the anger, Labooda felt no darkness hanging over Tanya. She was not slipping into the darkside, but Labooda knew that she needed to help now or Tanya could begin going down the path.
"You did not lose control. You gave up control temporarily."
"I did not know I was giving up control of my body. That was never conveyed to me in any way. How am I suppose to make an informed decision if key information is missing?"
"Trust in the Will of the Force. We will always be lacking some information, but with the guidance of the Force we will be able to follow the course towards a brighter future."
Tanya stood up and began walking towards the washroom door. "I'm going to get cleaned up."
Labooda watched the retreating form for a moment before getting up to clean up the mess.
A quick assessment showed almost nothing appeared to have been broken. The one exception bring a small pile of metal. A pile that revealed itself to being the hilt of Tanya's lightsaber, dismantled. Dismantled and with the kyber crystal missing.
Labooda closed her eyes and reached out into the Force, searching for the crystal. Walking to where she felt it, she saw it had been tossed into a waste bin with the packaging for the bandages Tanya used.
Labooda collected up the crystal and parts, setting them all onto a table before beginning to pick up the rest of the room, remake the beds before she stopped at a small section of wall smeared in blood with four dents that Labooda just knew would match perfectly in shape to Tanya's knuckles.
With a sigh and a shudder, Labooda grabbed a cloth and moistened it with water from a nearby jug before scrubbing the blood off the wall before it could stain the surface. There would be nothing she would be able to accomplish in removing the dents, but with the blood gone the dents would at least be less noticeable.
With the room straightened up, Labooda took a seat next to the parts of Tanya's lightsaber and picked up the crystal. A large specimen for use in a lightsaber, purple in color like she imagined Master Windu's must look like, except, looking closer, Labooda noticed a different shade of color in the core. Focusing on her senses in the Force, she tried to understand the core.
The crystal was a bright spot in the Force, in the way all kyber crystals appeared to be when not in use. Labooda sighed and placed the crystal down as she turned to the washroom door as Tanya came back into the room.
"Tanya, the lightsaber is your life. You need to treat it better than this."
"Yes Master Labooda."
After that acknowledgement, Labooda noticed Tanya was standing in an odd way, with a hand pressed against her lower stomach.
"What is wrong?"
Tanya's face morphed into discomfort and uncertainty.
"Talk to me. What is wrong?" Labooda stood up and headed towards Tanya.
"I'm bleeding."
Labooda's face blanched. "Where? What happened."
Tanya pointed towards the area, her cheeks flashed red, uncertainty in her movements.
"I, um, I think I need some feminine hygienic products. For uh, certain periodic cycles."
Labooda took a moment to process what Tanya was saying before her shoulders slumped in relief. "A period. You are going through your period."
Tanya's nod was all the confirmation Labooda needed before beginning to help Tanya through what to do.
"You do seem a bit young for this. When we get back to the Temple, we should visit the medical ward for a physical."
"Young?" If not for the emotional turmoil that was the day they just had, the squeak of Tanya's fearful voice might have given Labooda a chuckle.
"I could be mistaken, but I did not have my first one until I was ten and I do not believe I was considered to be a late developer. You might be an early developer, but I would prefer we got confirmation."