Chapter 75
Coruscant
Bail Organa watched the quarter-sized image of Mace Windu standing in the middle of the Chancellor's desk. His old friend looked absolutely exhausted, and a deep cut marred his forehead, blood trickling down the side of his face. Palpatine had called a meeting for the few Senator's who had supported the Pantorans during their current crisis, either giving support in the main chamber or volunteering supplies to the transports that had arrived on Alderaan. Unfortunately, that stop was coming back to bite Bail. Already, Lott Dod had caught whiff of their dealings and come forth, offering evidence of secret, illegal dealings. Palpatine seemed disinclined to listen to such accusations, but other Senators were beginning to shift their hostile attention to Alderaan.
Bail wasn't worried. He could take on half-baked threats and accusations. What he couldn't handle was the image he was seeing of Jedi Master Mace Windu. It was like a glance into the state of Pantora. Clearly the moon had been battered, bruised and broken in ways that would need time to fully heal. But they were still alive, and more determined than ever to fix their broken moon.
In the far corner of the office, huddled together in conversation, stood the Jedi Masters Ki-Adi Mundi, Oppo Rancisis, Plo Koon, and the Grand Master Yoda. Beside them stood one of the most out-of-place guests to this meeting. A business man, Tutla Mex stood to inherit one of the largest galactic shipping enterprises, Blue Means Shipping. Why he was here was beyond Bail.
Mace had just finished telling them of their troubles on Pantora so far, from the martial law still in effect to the medical supply stations being raided, and finally to the appearance of the warship. Palpatine watched the Jedi with narrowed eyes over steepled fingers, watching his every move with rapped interest. Bail's own fingers worked unconscious of his mind, dancing across the controls of his datapad and taking notes while Mace detailed the configuration and firepower of each ship, and the basic tactics they employed.
"…we were lucky that Admiral Yularen arrived when he did, Chancellor. His quick actions saved most of our surviving forces.", Mace paused, then looked behind him, "It is my opinion that the final goal of these terrorists was to release this one man. Now that they have him, Pantora should be in safe hands with the Navy and Judicials. The Jedi taskforce is no longer required."
Onaconda Farr, the Senator for Rodia, spoke up. He asked the question on everyone's mind. "Why did these terrorists feel they required such extreme measures to facilitate the capture of only one man? It seems a bit extreme, even for a criminals."
"Unfortunately, we do not know.", Mace replied, "But that is a question I intend to answer. In the meantime, we need ships to return the dead and wounded to their homeworlds. Can you organise those for us?"
"You would abandon the moon and the people?", Bail asked, "What if there is a counterstrike?"
Everyone fell silent. The question they were all thinking hung amongst them, like a smell that no one wanted to mention. Why had the terrorists had access to the huge warships in the first place? Was this perhaps connected to the larger cells of terrorism that were leeching across the galaxy – or to the Confederacy? No one knew definitively.
Mace cleared his throat, "The taskforce is leaving. I am ordering both Rig Nema and Quinlan Vos to remain on Pantora to assist and protect the civilians, and I recommend leaving the Resurrection and their troops here as well. I believe that Vonir Kyle is travelling from Mel Hullt with additional supplies as well. Yularen has already called for reinforcements from the Third Fleet. The Pantoran's need all the reassurance they can get. But we have wounded here that need help, and our defence capabilities are compromised for now. Counterstrikes will need to be Yularen's concern. Mine is the injured and the exhausted Jedi."
"And ours, this prisoner will be." Yoda stepped forward, hobbling against his walking stick. "Investigators, I will send, to find them. Hidden from our best, they cannot be."
"Speaking of investigators", Senator Mothma spoke up, "I believe there is currently an investigation into the disappearance of Senator Trav-iss?"
That caught everyone off guard. Mace even seemed flustered, which Bail had never seen before. He ran a hand over his smooth head, "Excuse me, Senator? What disappearance?"
The Chancellor answered him before Mothma, sending her a cautious glance. "It would appear that Senator Trav-iss Torn has lost his way during the hyperspace journey between Shili and Coruscant. He never arrived on Coruscant."
"He disappeared?", Mace asked.
"Vanished, it would seem.", Ki-Adi Mundi said, his fingers dancing in the thick goatee he wore with pride. "We got their signal telling us they arrived at Shili, though their signal has since vanished."
"Not true.", Plo Koon said gravely, "Our probes have recovered partial signals, though they are from multiple systems. Assk, Melladroma, Akiva, and Tolstad have all received the Returned Glory's signal, but none have any visuals on the craft itself."
"So they are lost.", Palpatine mournfully concluded, "And thus is Pantora's last hope for more supplies and aid."
Politically, anyway. Bail knew that although Yularen had called in the Third Fleet for assistance, they could not proceed to the planet without permission from the Senate itself. They could only assist in the removal of the Republic personal, or the security of the space around it. Without an edict from Palpatine or the chamber as a whole, they could not aid the Pantoran people.
"Find the Senator, the Jedi can.", Yoda spoke again. He seemed a little aggravated by the piling up responsibilities. "Send two Jedi to find them, the Council will."
"We can send additional frigates for the injured soldiers.", Palpatine flattened his hands against the desk. "I will also send additional fighter squadrons from the Republic's member worlds to guard them in case of counterstrikes. But we have limited resources. Our Navy is voluntary. We are not equipped for this sort of affair.", he straightened, staring across the table towards the Senators gathered around him, "If that concludes this meeting, my friends, I unfortunately must begin writing the condolence letters I will need to send out to the victims families. Senator Organa, would you be kind enough to organise an excuse for Senator Trav-iss' disappearance? I don't want the public asking questions until we know the facts from the Jedi's impending investigations."
As one, the people began to file out of the office. Bail stole a glance over his shoulder and saw the Chancellor and Mas Amedda speaking in hushed tones over the table. There were still secrets that needed to be unearthed. Questions of origins and destinations. And Bail intended to figure out exactly what that was.
Hours later, Chancellor Palpatine disappeared, enveloped in shadows. In his place stood Darth Sidious, the robed Force User adept in the darkness. Sidious crossed the chamber of his home, crossing to the dark room concealed behind a hidden panel in his apartment's walls. Hidden back here was a secreted holotransmitter, a small collection of ancient Sith artefacts and the droid 11-4D. Most of his possessions, he had moved to his newly refurbished tower in the Works District. Dooku was to bring some more from their offworld facilities. He activated the holographic transmitter, keying in the passcode and the transmitter code he required. Then, he stepped back to watch the image materialise above the table.
Before him appeared Darth Tyrannus, bowing regally at the waist. "What is thy bidding, my Master?"
"I hope that your sources were able to snuff out the words of Trav-iss, Darth Tyrannus.", Sidious barked out, clearly annoyed. "The Jedi are moving their resources in an effort to find him. Should he return to the Senate, we may lose our hold on the moon itself."
"Unfortunately, the Obakic pirates failed to fulfil their contract." Tyrannus replied, "They have paid for it with their life. I have requested that the Raven travel to Shili and find the Senator. His decoy transceivers have been most helpful in redirecting the Republic, but now we need a direct strike."
"What do you plan to do once he is found?", Sidious' fingered sparked with electricity. He wanted to punish his apprentice for losing the man in the first place, but held in his rage.
Still, Tyrannus spotted the flash of lightning, and instinctively flinched. His body no doubt remembered the pain that had come from his past failures. Other than the small, instinctive movement, he remained undeterred by his Master's show of power, "I have received word that Kolraresh and Tarrok have recently returned to the Locanas. They have the asset they required and are now fully committed to returning their Grievous to power. I plan to allow them the privilege of killing the Senator once the Raven locates him."
Sidious nodded in understanding. "You wish to test their ranks again."
"I do.", Tyrannus responded, "Your vision stated that one of these assassins would become an asset in our war. But there is still one that we need to fix. This time I hope to secure the interest of their most senior officer."
Sidious chuckled maliciously. "Then we must also lead the Jedi away from Shili. Place a local bulletin with the Bounty Hunters Guild. Say that the head of Trav-iss Torn will be worth an obscene number of credits, supplied by the Bando Huntress."
The Bando Huntress was one of many false criminal organisations that both Sith had a hand in secretly creating. This particular group was responsible for a handful of small assassinations, often helpful for advancing Palpatine's own endeavours.
"I understand, my Lord.", Tyrannus bowed his head, "By the nights end, hundreds will be hunting for Pantora's voice in the Senate. Even if he escapes Shili, he will never make it to Coruscant."