Chapter Sixteen
Ahsoka Tano received the orders and mission details that Anakin had given her. She was to travel by way of tunnels in the Underworld and meet one of Amidala's at an entrance. But this was not just any entrance: this was one closest to Padme's residence in order for delivery to be more efficient. The coordinates for the entrance were in her datapad so that all she had to do was follow and avoid as much contact with other people as possible until then. Luckily, most people in the Underworld were too busy with their own secret activities to care for one teenage Togruta much.
Especially one that didn't show off her status as a Jedi though she wondered how long that would last. Dealing with punk criminals who were soon given a run for their money was one thing but what about the one who put out the Temple's electricity? They had to be very dangerous to do that and if they found a Jedi Padawan had escaped the Temple, who knows what would happen? Ahsoka had to be on her guard for anything but she especially needed to be alert for that specific bounty hunter.
Or was it someone more powerful than a bounty hunter? What if the person in question was actually a Force-sensitive warrior trained and paid to kill Jedi? Though uncommon, such people were not unheard of and it wasn't common for a few Jedi-slayers to reveal themselves here. Plus, Ahsoka had encountered one in the form of Aurra Sing and was not about to forget it anytime soon.
She had also encountered two more in the form of General Grievous and Asajj Ventress, both of whom had proven superior in skill to her. And while she honestly could say she felt a disturbance in the Force at the thought of Ventress, she wasn't sure why. The woman had disappeared off the radar after Sullust until she helped Kenobi fight Darth Maul and Savage on Reydonia. Then she disappeared back into the darkness once more... could this be her return to action, in the heart of the Republic?
"Why did you even consult with a Jedi emissary in the first place? The whole idea of this protest is to occupy the Temple and force them into our terms. Not negotiate with them or offer them a chance at a truce of any kind!" Ventress exclaimed into her comlink. "When she arrived, you could tell we had them scared senseless; why keep fighting when we've already won?" replied an Occupy leader.
"For starters, the Jedi are very good at turning any victory for an enemy one that bites them back in the ass and brings them down! And for another, who is 'she'?" Ventress snapped. "She said her name was Ahsoka, she was a Togruta," the leader calmly answered. So they sent Skywalker's filthy, obnoxious little pet back into action, eh? Ventress asked herself.
"Where is Padawan Tano now?" she asked aloud. "Last time Embo saw her, she was heading into a tunnel that led into the Underworld then near the residence of none other than Senator Amidala. And I would have had him shoot her down but she was too far out of range and she would've deflected the bolts anyway," the leader answered. Amongst all the talents that little child possesses, deflecting blaster bolts is indeed one of them Ventress silently admitted.
"Shall I have Embo pursue her?" he asked after a moment's pause. "No, leave her to me but have Embo stand by as backup should I fail to stop her from her mission," she answered. "And what mission is that, precisely?" he inquired. "To get help directly from the Chancellor, of course, what else?" she replied.
Then she put aside her comlink and even disconnected it so that he couldn't reply to her with his comments. Just because I'm an ally of yours doesn't mean I answer to you like all those other puppets you have. I'm not paid to be here from your pocket, after all she thought but didn't say. Readying her lightsabers and donning on her mask, she began her pursuit of Padawan Ahsoka Tano of the Jedi Order.
Lom Pyke had to admit that the deal he had struck with Darth Maul and the other members of the Shadow Collective was impressive. He had spent comparatively little amounts of his money thus far and in return, had gotten the benefits of having the Chancellor's paychecks. Maul will suspect this as will Xizor, neither of them are fools though I can't say the same for Savage or Vizsla he thought. And indeed, Maul and Xizor were far more cunning than the average person, such as Vizsla appeared to be.
But there was something about Savage that implied danger yet it wasn't because of his wits and cunning like with his brother. Perhaps he's the brawn and thus, Maul reserves his fighting abilities only for the most dire situations Lom guessed. Would make sense considering what Xizor said about how Savage had dealt with the Head Councilman, Ramses the Undying. Loosening his collar, he was glad that it wasn't his head Savage was chopping off... yet, that is.
And as if the night weren't good enough, Asajj Ventress had called to tell him a Padawan escaped the Temple and she was pursuing her now. She might fail the job but at least I can count on her and Embo to deal with any loose Jedi cannons better than those pathetic rioters. They're so backwater besides the mercenary and the bounty hunter, it almost puts a tear to my eye he said silently. Pyke was a thinking man and while he honestly liked that he had assessed Embo quickly, Asajj was a bigger mystery especially with disconnecting the channel they used.
What compelled her hatred for the Jedi so much that she would do this? Was it from her experience as the commander of the Separatist armies? Did it have something to do with what happened after her retirement into the mercenary life? Who knew but most of all, besides the Jedi, who cared really?
Ventress would get the job done better than anyone else and she had Embo as backup if she couldn't. Best part about that, nothing stunk of his money or his hand that the Jedi could immediately see. Investigations would be a hassle to handle but he was confident he could thwart off most of those who would pursue him for justice. In fact, he was counting on people coming because he would have plenty of goodies in store thanks to Maul and the Shadow Collective, something that made him smile.
"So what is it about these Yuuzhan Vong that make them so dangerous?" Arden asked. "Besides advanced biomechanical weapons of mass destruction, they have proven to be resistant to certain Force powers. Battle Meditation, luckily, is not amongst those powers though telekinesis, telepathy, and related powers of that sort are," Thrawn answered. "I bet they haven't seen the likes of what I can do with this sword, before," Arden stated.
"Probably not, which gives you an edge should you choose to fight them far more so than any Jedi of this present age. We only discovered their resistance to certain powers by way of chance: a rogue Jedi named Vergere accidentally discovered these little things the hard way, several years ago. When she wasn't evading capture, she brought this information to my attention because she knew of the Ascendancy's fight against them," he replied with a shrug. "What else can they resist or not resist? she asked.
"Besides what Vergere has told us before her unfathomable capture, we only know that they are also not resistant to Force lightning and energy-based powers of that sort. Plenty of ground for your to perform well when faced with them, if faced with them," he answered. "And how would I be able to face them, on their ground or is there another, safer and more proficient way of doing it?" she inquired. "If you're eager to spill their blood, know that you would indeed need to fight them on their ground unless one of their ships broke through our fortifications," he explained.
A repeated beep came on one of the channels of his communication chamber followed by a red, flashing button that he pressed. "Thrawn here, what is the situation?" he asked into the channel. "Admiral, we were fighting the Yuuzhan Vong again and the lucky bastards scored a breakthrough for one of their ships. We've managed to throw off the rest but that one is on its way and due to shots we took, it'll be crashing down on Irkalla in a dozen minutes or so," the voice on the other side answered.
"Copy that, I'll send someone to meet them when they crash. They will find her to be a most excellent treat even if they don't survive her," Thrawn replied. Then he turned to her and retorted, "Speak of the devil, it would appear that you have a chance to test your skills against them." "Just send me the coordinates of their crash area and they will be dealt with," she snapped.
"It'll all be available on your datapad upon detection of their crash on this planet. You will have to be patient for a few minutes longer before you get a chance to spill blood. That is, for the first time in twenty-five millenniums, of course," he calmly stated. "Very well, I'll play it your way and since I have this long, you have gained my trust," she said.
Trust? A very dangerous thing to give a man such as myself. What's to stop me from ordering you to be gunned down if I found you too uncontrollable? he asked silently. I can crush your mind before your lips uttered a single words in that direction, that's what would stop you she replied through the Force. The manner in which she invaded his mind also proved her point and he knew he was dealing with someone who would soon have the better of him.
Unless he thought of something quick that would throw her off in such a situation, that is. But despite her ancient and sometimes outdated ways, he doubted she was foolish enough to buy his lies. "Pray that you never feel compelled to attempt my death again for it will be your undoing," she warned aloud. He watched as she left and rubbed his head in a vain attempt to heal it from her mental invasion of his brilliant brain.
Despite the wellness of the formation of the Shadow Collective, Governor Pre Vizsla was troubled. His feelings for Bo-Katan were beginning to spiral out of control and, as if sensing it and liking it, she was worsening it by showing signs of affection herself. Admittedly, he had taught her to be honest about any feelings she had for anyone but he found his own teachings difficult to live up to. Especially now that he wasn't insulting someone or mocking their lack of honor in combat as was the norm.
It finally came to a climax here and he knew that if he didn't say something soon, he would never have another shot at doing so. So when Maul preoccupied himself with discussing business with Xizor and Savage was patrolling the camp, he made his way to her tent. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that for once, she was not in her armor but in a dress that made her seem... normal. At first, the sight of her in a beautiful dress frightened him but this fright was followed by a sudden burst of excitement.
"Sorry, sorry for intruding," he said when he was frightened. "Oh no, you're fine. I just got finished changing anyway," she replied after squeaking in surprise. He looked back at her since he had turned away when he first saw her in the dress which he admitted was very beautiful.
It was a simple garb that rather lightly covered her body and could be taken off just by throwing off the shoulder straps. The color was a light purple that ventured on medium and the brooches were silver with a golden rim. Her fiery red hair was free as it always was even when she had armor on but it was cleaner than usual. It was likely that she had decided to bathe off the grit and dirt of battle and changed into the dress in order to have something clean to where while her armor was being washed.
He himself wore a light nightrobe that exposed his otherwise naked body to the warm breeze of Zanbar's night air. After all, the planet was a far warmer place than Mandalore ever was during its hottest summer and thus the heat was a little difficult to adapt to, initially. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked, hoping to have a start to an otherwise, awkward conversation. "Yes it is but I get the feeling that's not why you're here," she replied, as if seeing right through him.
Normally, this would be a sign of disrespect especially when said in front of his fellow soldiers but tonight, he was feeling like making an exception for his most skilled lieutenant. "Your senses serve you well, there's something I have to tell you," he began. He hesitated, not knowing how he would say this since he had never told anyone he loved them since his father was killed by Jango Fett. "Yes I'm listening, boss?" she asked when he paused too long.
Unfortunately, the question didn't make it any easier for him to confess and forcing him to stammer on the first word of his confession. It got so bad that even decided to stop and shake his head, hoping that the look on his face that followed told her what he meant to say. Then she approached him and he was afraid that she was going to direct him out of the tent, being his equal on her ground. Instead, she just simply walked up to him until her eyes and lips were inches away from his own and what she did next surprised him.
She undid the brooches on her shoulders, letting her dress slip and exposing her nude body to him. He took a massive gulp at that moment and almost back out but not before feeling her hand slither its way up his face and around the back of his bald head. When she did that, he was helpless as she guided his lips to hers and kissed him passionately and without any sense of pace. Wrapping an arm around her hips, he allowed himself to be smothered with kisses by a naked Bo-Katan.
After a few moments, he undid his silk belt and pulled back long enough to let his robe fall, also exposing the skin of his body to the night. But not before closing the tent's flapping door so that even the more inquisitive people outside would not see whatever it was that they were doing together. After doing all that, he returned to kissing Bo and holding her close to him and kissing her rather savagely down her lips, neck, and chest. Then both man and woman became one and let all else melt away as they thought of nothing else but each other and the warmth each brought to each other.
And as both Pre and Bo thrust the thrust of procreation and lust, they unconsciously let out sighs and moans of excitement. The sounds were much too low for anyone but them to hear, but it was the sound that seemed to entice them even more to each other. But now, not even the fact that they were violating part of the code they upheld for each other held them or their feelings back. Unfortunately, this blindness to the universe also hid the fact that Maul had sensed this accumulating until just now.
So, the Mandalorian fool has finally acted on his feelings for a colleague. Impressive, it will make for a good tragedy when I'm leading Mandalore and the galaxy beyond. Besides, no couple truly in love has ever had a happy ending regardless of what the story holos say he thought. On the outside, he acted as he knew nothing and continued to focus on the business he was discussing with Xizor.
"Do you trust your shadowy friend to do her job in our absence?" Xizor asked. "I do not trust her or her Mistress Arden any further than I could throw them. Sith are not supposed to trust anyone, not even each other," Maul answered. "Indeed not and what would our next move be in the meantime?" Xizor insisted.
"For now, we will do nothing except abandon Zanbar in two days. We'll all head for Lom Pyke's hideout on Mon Calamari and we will stay there. That is, until he delivers his final report as to the success of the riot occupying the Jedi Temple on Coruscant," Maul replied sinisterly. "It will be at least another standard week, during which we would have to evade the Mon Calamari and the Quarren peoples of the planet," Xizor stated.
"Lom has already seen to it that the officials of both governments see and hear nothing about him in that area, we will be safe," Maul assured him. "Nobody is ever truly safe and this stall we have pulled on the Jedi will not hold forever," Xizor warned. "True but it will hold long enough for us to be ready to deliver Mandalore into the hands of Vizsla before taking it ourselves," Maul said. I like this man's trend of thinking, much like I was when I was young; he gives a pawn what they want for a brief moment and then he takes it away at the cost of the pawns life Xizor thought with a smile.