"Peace..."
"Requires protection, milady." Fang Zar's mood seemed considerably brightened in the days since his homeworld's liberation from the Trade Federation's clutches. "Sern Prime has always been a pacifist planet, just like Mandalore. But my people would still be toiling under the yoke of bondage if it weren't for the actions of the Alliance and yes...our Clone army."
"This is precisely the difference," the Duchess Satine Kryze rebuked from her seat of honor at the center of the table. "Sern Prime has always been a pacifist planet. Mandalore has a history of war and violence so for us, the margin of error is that much thinner."
"I speak from personal experience, your excellency, that if and when an invasion comes, you will find your margins reduced to nothing." Padmé sat opposite the Duchess on the conference table, flanked on the table to either side by Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, flanked by more representatives of the Alliance such as Fang and Garm and Onaconda radiating outwards from the center three. Standing directly behind her were her two main bodyguards, her husband and Master Sifo-Dyas, while Dooku manned the entrance to the small castle sitting at the edge of a balmy lake.
"We do not seek occupation," Mon Mothma tried to assure the Duchess. "The clone armies will come nowhere close to Mandalore or any associated system unless you do indeed come under attack."
"This is an agreement of protection," Bail Organa added. "No strings, nothing more. The Alliance asks nothing from Mandalore, whether it be credits or taxes or even any statements of political support."
"Anything agreement we may come to here on Takodana will remain as discrete as your excellency wishes," Padmé affirmed. "If you wish to send a message to the Chancellor to stay away from Mandalore, then we can make public a treaty. If you fear more the political implications internally from such a treaty, then I promise you that the lips of every member of the Alliance contingent will be sealed."
The Duchess of Mandalore studied the faces of her negotiation counterparts, trying to spot the crack in the facade. Everything about this offer seemed too good to be true, and Satine in her years of experience knew better than to trust something like that on its surface level.
"This all sounds very good," she said finally. "Mandalore does nothing, agrees to nothing, but if we find ourselves attacked by the Republic, then you will come to our rescue."
"And we will add very specific language in any agreement," Padmé said, "that upon the expulsion of any invading forces, the Alliance will immediately withdraw all forces at the Duchess's request. As Senator Zar can attest, over ninety-five percent of the Forces used to liberate Sern Prime have already left the system."
Takodana had been Sifo-Dyas's idea. They needed a planet out of reach the Republic for safety's sake, and outside of Alliance territory for plausible deniability on the Duchess's behalf. The old Jedi immediately brought up the mild weathered planet, saying he knew of a friend who had old castle that would be available for their use. It seemed fair to assume that this was where her Jedi friend had spent most, if not all, of his time in exile, and the planet held more than its share of his secrets. Sifo-Dyas had hidden away the Trade Federation's blackmail footage of the Senate shortly before Gunray's election, and Padmé wondered in her head how close she was to that most dangerous holocron, one she had held in her own hands before handing over to the Jedi.
Satine studied her fingernails, before looking back up at her counterparts. "What's the catch?"
"Catch," Bail asked, confused.
"You give everything, and ask for nothing. Consulars, your sterling reputations precede you, and I trust your intentions are generous, I really do. But no one in this galaxy asks to give in exchange for nothing in return, excepting possibly the Jedi Order. There must be something the Alliance seeks to gain from such a treaty."
"You are partially correct," Padmé conceded. "We have nothing to gain, and I prefer to keep the terms of any potential treaty as such. But were the Trade Federation to gain control of Mandalore, we have everything to lose. Yours is a warrior culture, as you no doubt understand better than all of us, and the warlike tendencies of your ancestors are indeed best kept contained to history museums and texts. Were Nute Gunray able to harness such negative and latent energies, however, the consequences would be dire, both for Mandalore, and for the galaxy as a whole. This is why the fate of Mandalore is critically entwined with the fate of the Alliance."
The Duchess looked at her closest adviser, Prince Tal Merrik, who took the prompt to give his opinion of the negotiations. "Your excellency, you say that you trust the reputations of the Consulars. I take a different view." He turned to look harshly at the Alliance members across the table. "Not only is your offer too good to be true, your sparkling reputations, so carefully crafted, are too good to be true as well!"
"Prince Tal," Satine began, visibly shaken by her advisor's lack of decorum.
"It must be said," the Prince continued. "Look at Consular Amidala, the picture perfect caricature of an idealist, left with no choice but to turn to arms. You would think she has done nothing untoward in her life, personal or professional. It is just all merely coincidence that she began a relationship with her husband the very day he came of age in accordance to Naboo laws..."
"Prince Tal, that is enough!"
The Prince ignored his Duchess's rebuke.
"It's a coincidence too, that she got caught up on events on Ryloth, clearly having had no intention to visit a sovereign planet and manipulate a civil war so she can place her own lackeys at the seats of power..."
"You know nothing of Ryloth," Kara protested from her seat on the table.
"...and perfectly a coincidence that Amidala, and no one else, was the only person who could save Naboo, then the Republic, then the galaxy. If you truly believe this bullsith, your excellency, then..."
The Prince did not get to finish his diatribe before Dooku ran up from the outer halls to the negotiating table. For a second, Padmé saw sheer terror in Tal Merrik's eyes, scared out of his wits that he had seemingly incited a Jedi Master into a murderous rampage, but she sensed that Dooku cared nothing for Mandalorian nobleman at the moment.
"We've received reports of unidentified spacecraft," he said carefully, though Padmé could see the anxiousness in his eyes. Sifo-Dyas tensed immediately, as did Anakin.
"Republic or Alliance," Bail asked, clearly unprepared for such a scenario.
"Neither," Dooku seemed to almost whisper to Sifo-Dyas. "Jedi."
Sifo-Dyas's eyes widened. "Jedi? I did not sense them."
Satine seemed entirely confused. "Are they here to reinforce..."
"Their presences are heavily shielded," Dooku said. "I do not believe this to be a friendly mission."
As if on cue, the doors of the manor slammed open, and five Jedi masters emerged with lightsabers activated. Padmé looked at her husband...they had both sensed the presence of the intruders the moment they entered Takodana airspace, but had to remain impassive in order to maintain their covers.
"What is the meaning of this," she asked, standing. Satine stood too, defiantly facing their unwelcome guests.
"Senators Amidala, Organa, Mothma," Ki-Adi-Mundi began, "you are under arrest."
"Under what charges," Bail Organa asked, and to her surprise, Padmé could feel anger from the man. Good, she thought. It was about time her allies felt some passion for the cause.
"High treason," Saesee Tiin replied. "Conspiracy against the Republic..."
"The Republic is nothing more than a front for the Trade Federation," Mon Mothma yelled back, passion in her voice as well. "Surely the Jedi see this as fact?"
"The Republic must be preserved," Ki-Adi-Mundi shouted.
"We understand the Republic is not perfect," Adi Gallia added, "but rebellion is not the answer. If the problem arises within the Republic, it must be resolved within the Republic."
"You are blind," Sifo-Dyas snarled back at his former brethren. "The Republic has become the very evil the Jedi have sworn themselves to defeat. How can you not see this?"
"Master Sifo-Dyas," Cin Drallig, the Temple battlemaster taunted, "you were never known for the wisdom of your judgment. Perhaps that is why they kicked you off the Council."
"Then why have they never even bothered appointing you to the Council," Dooku asked, stepping forward towards Ki-Adi-Mundi, the Cerulean acting as the leader of this faction. "I am still a current member of the High Council. Do you intend to turn your weapons against your own?"
"We will do what we must," Ki-Adi-Mundi responded, resolve clear in his eyes.
"That Masters Yoda and Windu choose inaction does not mean we will let the Republic fall apart under our very eyes," Depa Billaba said, the pain evident in her eyes as she indirectly condemned her own former master with her words.
"This is a conference of peace," Satine protested. "Mandalore does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Republic! Neither does Takodana."
"You claim to be a pacifist," Ki-Adi-Mundi said contemptuously to the Duchess, "yet here you stand consorting with outlaw warlords. Justice must be served."
"Warlords," Satine asked indignantly. "The Councilors graciously agreed to arrive unaccompanied by their Clone Army upon my request."
"Else you wouldn't be standing here alive," Anakin mouthed maliciously.
"What justice do you see us getting under the auspices of Chancellor Gunray," Padmé asked. "Torture? dismemberment?"
"The Jedi Council will act as a liaison with the Supreme Chancellor," Adi Gallia. "We will not allow any miscarriages of justice."
"You are either naive or ignorant," Dooku intoned in his deep voice, lighting his sword. "Once we cross sabers, the Council as we have known it will cease to exist."
"So be it," Ki-Adi-Mundi stood, raising his weapon in front of him. "Five against two. You are outnumbered. Surrender now, and your crimes may be forgiven before the Council."
"You are nothing more than another wanna be petty despot," Padmé spat at the Cerulean Jedi. "How does Nute Gunray's dick taste, Master Jedi? As vile as his liquor?"
"Stay back," Sifo-Dyas warned her and Anakin as the inched closer to the melee. "They will not hesitate to kill us all."
Padmé looked at Anakin, an unspoken message passing between the two as their two Jedi protectors leaped into action, immediately surrounded and under attack by their Jedi foes.
"Run," Sifo-Dyas yelled at the politicians at the table. "All of you, while you have the chance."
"It is time," Anakin asked softly. Padmé nodded.
"It is time. We will not ask our loyal friends to sacrifice their lives for us."
Every representative at the table gasped as four new lightsabers appeared seemingly out of thin air, and the frail young woman and her teenage husband jumped with supernatural speed into the fray.
"Sith!" Ki-Adi-Mundi cried out as Anakin landed in the middle of the fight, engaging him and Depa just as they were close to disarming Sifo-Dyas. With a furious flurry of blows he drove back the Jedi, Force shoving Saesee Tiin, who was running towards their threesome, very roughly against the back wall, at the very least knocking the Jedi Master out for the time being. To their right, Padmé had similarly driven back Cin Drallig and Depa Billaba's assault on Dooku, and the four warriors now stood side by side facing their counterparts, all recognizing the stalemate, calculating the odds, and ready to strike again at a moment's notice, though no one in the room failed to notice that while the numbers were now even, Padmé's side now outnumbered their enemies in lightsabers, six to four.
"Do you see who you stand in league with now," Ki-Adi-Mundi screamed at his former brothers in arms. "Your foolish ideals have led you to the threshold of the Dark Side. Turn back now, before it's too late!"
Padmé turned to Sifo-Dyas, her eyes hard and weak at the same time. "We are not the Sith of old," she stated firmly, looking back to her colleagues at the negotiating table as well. "Nothing we stand for changes. Our ideals remain the same."
The old Jedi looked at her in understanding, then at Anakin and Dooku. He nodded, and they nodded back at him. "Let's finish this," he said, immediately slashing at Depa. Seeing a weakness in the old Jedi's defenses, Ki-Adi-Mundi moved immediately into the void, hacking at Sifo-Dyas's undefended left side, but his blades came down upon the twin ones, blue and red, as Anakin roughly thrust his weapons, knocking the Cerulean off balance.
"Which Jedi did you kill to get your weapon, boy," he spat out at Anakin.
"We made our own," Anakin said, driving the older Jedi back through the sheer power of his blows. "Why should the Jedi hold the monopoly on Ilum?"
To his right Padmé, movements quicker than even he, had driven herself between Adi Gallia and Cin Drallig, allowing Dooku to press his attack on the latter, two master swordsmen faced off in one last duel to the death. Suddenly, they all heard a deep groan as Saesee Tiin, somehow still alive after being flung against the marble brick wall, managed to force himself to his feet, flinging himself at the group. At first unsure of whom he should attack, his eyes seemed to focus onto Padmé's red blade, and with an unnatural speed he jumped into the air at her, eyes intent on a killing blow.
"Padmé! Watch out!" Feeling the threat to his wife in the Force, Anakin swerved away from Ki-Adi-Mundi, the brief lapse in attention giving the Jedi the opportunity to kick ferociously at his knee while he dodged a strike from Sifo-Dyas.
"Ummphf," Anakin grunted as he fell to the ground, instantly angry at himself for the lapse in focus. He watched in horror as Ki-Adi-Mundi doubled down on this attacks on Sifo-Dyas, Depa Billaba pivoted away from that duel to aim her weapon at Padmé's exposed left side, her two sabers already high in the air to fend off Tiin and Adi Gallia. Thinking quickly, he flung his saber through the air, low enough and parallel to the ground, propelled by his will across the room and slicing straight through Depa's ankles. Screaming, she fell harmlessly onto the ground, and within seconds Anakin was up, sprinting across the room and inserting himself between Ki-Adi-Mundi and Padmé, who had just fended off Saesee Tiin's attack by swerving her body sideways through the air, avoiding his blow while striking true across the back of Adi Gallia's neck, who screamed as she wobbled in pain towards the duel between Dooku and Drallig. Determined to the last, she swung at Dooku as she fell, but off-balance, she missed entirely as Dooku countered with a deadly stab that went through her chest.
"I'm sorry, old friend," the older Jedi said as he struck down his former colleague on the Council, the grief obvious to all in his voice. In the brief moment he contemplated his final trespass against the Order he once held dear, he found himself slow to react to Cin Drallig's parry, now furious as the battlemaster witnessed the death Gallia. Realizing that he was too late, Dooku took a quick step back, but not before yelling out in pain as Cin's green blade clipped his elbow, causing him to drop his weapon onto the ground. As Cin moved in for a killing blow, Padmé materialized instantly between the two, her two blades instantly forcing Drallig back and away from the wounded Jedi.
"You have turned Jedi against Jedi," he mouthed angrily at her, "and killed your last innocent victim. You will pay for your crimes, Sith!"
Padmé sneered. "Hypocrite...how close your anger brings you to the Dark Side you realize not, even on the brink."
Her words make an impact on her target, as Cin barely flinches physically even though she feels his mind stagger at her accusation. Pressing her attack, she continued.
"Don't give into your anger, Master Jedi. You may kill me yet, but it's not worth sacrificing your soul in the process. Strike true, but release your anger and your emotions into the Force."
"Shut it Sith," Cin yelled back at her, but she could feel his focus wavering as he struggled to do exactly as she had perversely suggested.
"Perhaps you can take a lesson from a Sith," Padmé suggested, a twinkle in her dark brown eyes. "Feel my balance, my center. If even a sith can fight without anger and hate, then it just may be possible for a Jedi."
"I said shut it," Cin screamed, his pitch higher. As he lunged towards the sith, swinging his saber in moves so intricate they appeared a complete blur to the untrained eye, he concentrated his focus on the young woman's pale neck, envisioning and willing the Force to allow his blade to strike true through that infernally smooth skin. Deflecting a parry of green blade, he switched his weapon imperceptibly from his right hand to his left, giving himself a clean window to cut the woman through from her chest to her neck as Saesee Tiin advanced on the sith just enough to divert her attention.
Realizing that Saesee's action was a sacrifice, as getting Padmé's attention took him away from his duel with Sifo-Dyas and opened up his back to him, Cin swung his left arm as hard as he could at the sith...and felt nothing but his blade fly through thin air. Seeing the blades of two Jedi coming at her, she jumped and contorted her body impossibly through the air, biting back her pain as she felt her hip singed by Tiin's saber. Seeing the shock on Cin's face as he realized his mistake, she reached for the Force as deeply as possible and rolled her body in the air to the left, her twin weapons a lethal windmill as one blade after another pierced the neck and then back of Drallig as she flipped herself back onto the ground. Crying out, blood spurting from his mouth, the last thing he saw was Saesee falling to the floor in pain while the boy, the one many a Jedi whispered to be the Chosen One lost to the order, continue to wear down Ki-Adi-Mundi, separating him from the rest of the group.
As Dooku picked himself off the floor and Sifo-Dyas strode forward to help Anakin, Padmé help one hand up.
"Stop," she whispered, watching as her husband's twin sabers continue to press down on the lone standing Jedi. "He's got this."
And indeed he did, for as his body spun and twirled as he pushed Ki-Adi-Mundi against a wall, Padmé realized that he was merely showing off now. While none could deny that the Cerulean was a vastly more experienced Jedi Master, his body was older and it was clear that the man had not engaged in any serious duels of late. The arrogance of the man, Padmé thought, to think he could take on the sith, though the group of five had indeed arrived on Takodana expecting to arrest a mostly defenseless group of politicians.
She felt from even a distance her husband's sheer power and grasp of the Force, and it took her breath away.
Nice work, Ani, she sent through their connection just as one of his blades cut off the Cerulean's saber wielding hand, giving him the opportunity to without a moment's hesitation plunge his two blades into Ki-Adi-Mundi's chest. You're gonna get it good tonight.
He turned back around, his face somber, mindful they both were to not gloat in front of the gathered politicians and the two Jedi, whose reactions they could not predict now that the dust had cleared. Sure, they had acted in their defense, helping the two Siths slaughter the Jedi, but Padmé did not get where she was by taking anything for granted. She studied the eyes of Dooku, who seemed unsure, and Sifo-Dyas, whose loyalties she could tell immediately.
Still holding her lightsabers, she deactivated them and surveyed the room as Anakin walked up to the wounded Saesee Tiin, wondering what to do with their new prisoner. "I realize this changes many things," she said, her political allies' eyes wide in shock at what had transpired. "But I assure you that every principle I have voiced in the past remains unchanged."
"I understand the Sith have always been the enemy of the Jedi," Mon Mothma started, having been the first to regain their composure.
Padmé nodded. "That was true for thousands of years, but the last of the Sith of old died on Naboo with Maul ten years ago. Anakin and I seek no enemy lest they wish harm on us or the galaxy."
"The creature Maul...," Dooku started, advancing rather threateningly on her.
"Had nothing to do with me," Padmé defended, knowing how much the death of his old Padawan Qui-Gon still weighed on the old man's mind. "My master trained myself and Maul in secret, separately, and I did not know of his existence until he revealed himself on Tatooine. Obi-Wan did the galaxy a great favor by ridding the galaxy of that creature, and my mourning of Qui-Gon Jinn was true. As I've said, I do not care for ancient grudges, and Master Jinn will always be revered in my heart as a Hero of Naboo."
"And he believed in me when few others besides Padmé did," Anakin added. "I won't forget that."
"Who was the master that trained you and Maul," Dooku continued, asking questions that had obviously weighed heavily on his mind since Qui-Gon's death, questions he had long suspected Amidala held the answers to.
"A nightmare. He would have been the scourge of the galaxy was he not dead by my hand before the Jedi..."
The warning in the Force came too late. With both of them distracted with appeasing Dooku and the others, the wounded and crippled Depa Billaba called upon the last of her reserves to cloak her intentions, and Padmé did not see her green lightsaber fly through the air aiming directly for her face until it was too late.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
She heard Anakin's scream but he was too far away to react in time. In the split second as she struggled to decide whether to try dodge or futilely bat the missile away, or look lovingly at her husband one last time, her world went black.
Padmé felt the rage build up in heart as her vision cleared and she glimpsed struggling form of Sifo-Dyas on the ground, groaning silently in pain, blood starting to stain the front of his robes by his chest. She rushed down to him, followed by Dooku, barely noticing Anakin lift with the Force the treacherous Jedi until the air.
"You murderer," he screamed, his fingers choking Depa as she hung suspended before all to see.
"The Sith will never triumph," she gasped out.
"You are nothing better than an assassin," he snarled in rage. "You killed no one but your own." Not bothering to continue choking her or hear any more insults, he made one motion with his fingers, snapping her neck. Letting her body drop to the ground, he rushed over to the small group gathered around the dying Jedi. His wife was already crying, her grief as real and tangible in the Force as the wound through Sifo-Dyas's chest.
"I'm so sorry," she cried, cradling the old Jedi's torso as he blinked, trying to get his bearings in his last moments. "This is my fault...you paid the price for my lies and..."
"Don't," Sifo-Dyas said, trying to comfort her even at the very end. "I served...I'm proud...I did...duty to galaxy."
"It didn't have to be this way," Anakin said, feeling the full brunt of emotions hit him. They had originally planned to use Sifo-Dyas, not expecting that both of them would become attached to someone who had become their most loyal bodyguard, and even friend. "We should not have continued lying to you..."
"It is done. You did what you had to do, as did I. Labels...don't matter anymore. Just actions..."
"Your death will be avenged," Padmé swore, her teeth gritting as she felt the Dark Side swirl around her.
"It is not necessary. I die...happy...surrounded by friends."
"My old friend," Dooku finally managed to find his voice. "My old friend," he kept repeating. Unable to bear the sight any longer, he buried his head in his hands and paced the room.
With his last tendrils of energy, Sifo-Dyas lifted his hand, beckoning the two siths to lean closer. When he spoke, his whisper was barely audible.
"When...first met...I had...vision...Queen...ruling over all...ruthless justice...and vengeance...galaxy..." He sighed, his chest convulsing. "Reign, Amidala...in my memory...reign."
His last words complete, they felt the last streams of life wither away from the old Jedi, and Dooku, now across the room, appeared to almost whine in a high pitched cry. Never able to forget her station and her duty, Padmé stood, again surveying the faces along side the negotiating table. Bail Organa was the first to stand, walking nervously over to her. Sensing permission, he gently tapped Padmé on her shoulder, offering comfort, then withdrawing.
"I'm sorry. I believe...none would disagree here upon Master Sifo-Dyas's honor and his devotion to his duty."
"Thank you, Bail." Gathering her emotions, knowing her eyes were still red from her tears, she spoke, just as much in command of the room before the Jedi attack. "I ask kindly the delegation for a temporary suspension of talks. I know many of you have questions for me, and they will be answered in time. For now, I wish to just mourn a friend."
Even the greatest living sith lord in the galaxy needs comforting sometimes, and Padmé unabashedly allowed her body to sink into the frame of her husband as the flames consumed the remains of Jedi Master and former High Councilor Sifo-Dyas. She felt the contours of her husband alongside her her back, his body more muscular and less wiry than before, his hold on her more confident, reassuring...in a word, manlier than she had ever remembered. And she had never needed him more. She gripped his hands, skin still youthful and smooth despite their deadly acts earlier in the day, squeezing them as if her life depended on it.
"Stay with me, Ani."
"Always, angel."
"I can't lose you. Not now. Not ever."
"I'm yours, forever."
The light of the flames barely eclipsed the incredible array of stars sitting above them on the night sky, illuminating the small group stood huddling atop the grassy knoll overlooking a small, swampy lake, the ever present sound of waterfalls and cascades gracing their ears even at night. The proprietor of the castle, one Maz Kanata, had been friends with Sifo-Dyas and suggested for his memorial a place which the late Jedi Master treasured in life. To the edge of their group stood Dooku, who had barely said a word since his friend's death. Padmé understood, the last ten years have been a rough decade for the Jedi, who had lost first his old Padawan, then his trust and faith in the Jedi Council, and now his closest remaining friend within the Order. She would give him his space, but realized that she had little control over Dooku's actions now that his anchor was gone. The rest of the delegation stood behind her in mourning as well, respectful of the unique relationship she and her husband had had with the man.
As the flames billowed, she felt the presence of the Duchess approached her. Padmé respected Satine more than most, sensing that the Mandalorian ruler may have well been the woman she would have grown to be had her life not been tainted by war and the Dark Side. The older blonde woman stood boldly next to the sith couple, respectfully maintaining her distance.
"My security has identified Prince Merrik was the leak. Consular Organa's security confirmed this. He resisted our questioning at first, but when presented with incontrovertible proof of his traitorous communications with the Republic, as well as the new deposits into his accounts, he has made a full confession."
"Thank you, Satine," Padmé finally said after a long silence, her eyes never leaving the flames.
"This tragedy is my fault, that I did not properly vet my people. The Alliance came to Takodana in good faith in accordance to the conditions set by myself, and lost one of your own because of your trust in me. More, likely, were it not for your...abilities."
Painfully, Padmé left her husband's embrace, sidling next to the Duchess. She placed her arm around the older woman. "Thank you, though the fault is not entirely yours. I should have known better...sensed more."
"If you wish," Satine said reluctantly, "I will turn the Prince over to your custody."
"It would please us," Padmé said simply.
"Will he," Satine ventured carefully, "succumb to his injuries like the Jedi prisoner, Saesee Tiin?"
Padmé reached with her right hand to grip her husband's. "He will answer for the consequences of his crimes," she said coldly.
Satine sighed sadly. It was clear that she was not at all comfortable with whatever Padmé planned to put her former adviser through. "Normally I would protest...but here, I have lost the high ground." They stared at the flames for what seemed like another lifetime, each buried within their own thoughts. "I will sign," the Duchess finally said. "Mandalore will stand as one with the Alliance...and openly before the Republic."
Padmé's grip on Satine's arm tightened. "Don't. Don't sign this treaty out of guilt, or any sense of obligation. You will come to regret..."
"No," Satine said firmly. "Turning over the Prince is my restitution. I sigh this treaty out of principle and for the good of my people." She stepped forward, closer to the flames, and Padmé feared for a moment the poor woman may allow herself to be consumed by them altogether.
"I know little of the Sith," Satine started again after another pause, "besides what I remember from the classes of my youth. And I have always held the highest regard for the Jedi, having known one well very early in my life. They are noble...loyal...selfless..."
What a small world, Padmé thought, that the Jedi she was thinking of was one Obi-Wan Kenobi, the unspoken link between the two. Rather than interrupt, she let the Duchess continue.
"What I witnessed today bears little resemblance to the Jedi Order I know, for five Jedi Masters, four members of their high Council, to attack what they believed to be an unarmed diplomatic conference meeting under the auspices of peace...with information obtained from outright bribery by the Trade Federation."
She turned her grey blue eyes at Padmé, their souls joined in the moment as they cemented their alliance.
"I will sign, because I no longer trust in the safety of Mandalore from the Republic and the Jedi Order. I understand that the attack today does not represent the Jedi as a whole...that many within the Order would condemn it outright...but while Nute Gunray and the Trade Federation continue to hold the reins of power and retain the ability to persuade at least some within the Order to act on their behalf, I cannot trust that my people will remain safe from aggression."
Padmé gulped. She had gotten what she wanted on Takodana, but did it have to come with such a sacrifice, both to her conscience and to the people she cared about? Sensing her distress, she felt a reassuring squeeze of her hand from Anakin.
"I will inform my fellow Consulars to commence drafts of our agreement. But not tonight. Tonight, we mourn, we reflect, and we give thanks to what we still have not yet lost."
HannahKathleen: Yup! Some things are written in stone!
ichigo urahara Shihoin: They know of each other, but this was their first meeting.
Praetor-Canis: She holds those cards for the time being...and apparently the Sith are not the only ones Satine would be in danger from.