Author's Note: Have any of you seen the new episode of 'Bad Batch'? Because all I can tell you it was totally awesome!
I don't own Star Wars: The Clone Wars or its characters, but I only own Nadia Aomori, her family and other OCs.
Enjoy!
Threads of Destiny
Chapter 44: Deception
A terrorist threat!
Moralo Eval, mastermind of a Separatist plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, has been captured by Republic forces!
But even with the criminal behind bars, rumours swirl in the underworld of Coruscant that Moralo's plot has already been set in motion!
With precious time running out, the Jedi Council hatches their own plot to keep the Chancellor safe.
Nadia was walking with Duchess Satine in the hallway of the Galactic Senate building.
"I was actually born in the world of Kalevala and lived there with my father, Duke Adonai Kryze and my younger sister before becoming the ruler of Mandalore."Duchess Satine admitted.
"You have a younger sister, Satine?"Nadia asked in surprise.
Duchess Satine nodded at Nadia with a slight smile.
"Yes, Nadia."Duchess Satine answered and her smile shrunk a bit."But unfortunately, we have our differences."
"Oh…"Nadia replied, understanding what the Duchess of Mandalore meant."I get it."
"When my sister was a child, she took the Mandalorian Creed by performing a Mandalorian initiation ritual in the Living Waters in the Mines of Mandalore and was showered with gifts while our father looked on proudly."Duchess Satine exclaimed."My mother died when me and my sister were still very young, so we looked up to our father."
"Your father sounds like an interesting man, Your Highness."Nadia complemented with a smile."I would've liked to have known him."
"He was a great man."Duchess Satine admitted."He died defending Mandalore during the Great Clan Wars."
"I'm sorry if I brought back sad memories."Nadia apologised with a hint of guilt.
Duchess Satine smiled and shook her head.
"It's fine, Nadia."Duchess Satine assured."I never actually talked about my childhood and dreams for a peaceful Mandalore to anyone besides Obi-Wan. But that was a long time ago."
This caused Nadia to smirk in amusement upon realising how close Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine were in their youth.
"You know…despite having similar ages and personalities, you and my master would make a great couple."Nadia admitted.
Duchess Satine blushed a bit and looked down at Nadia's words.
"Oh if only he wasn't living by the Jedi Code."Duchess Satine commented with a hint of sadness.
Nadia became silent at Duchess Satine's declaration.
"Satine's a formidable woman in all regards. Extremely intelligent, incorruptible, passionate and beautiful with a great devotion to peace."Nadia thought with a hint of admiration."She might come off as stuffy, but that is because she knows she's in a den of wolves and must appear powerful and unshakable. If only I can encourage my master to accept her feelings and form an attachment with her. I want him to be happy and not be like the rest of those arrogant pricks. Where to start though?"
"Nadia!"
Duchess Satine and Nadia turned around just in time to see Ferus coming over to them.
Ferus bowed at seeing Duchess Satine.
"Duchess Satine."Ferus replied firmly.
Duchess Satine gives Ferus a small nod.
Nadia smiled at her secret boyfriend.
"Hello, Ferus."Nadia greeted."What is it?"
A look mixed with sad and shock appeared on Ferus' face.
"There's been an incident."Ferus replied grimly.
Nadia frowned. "What kind of incident?"
"Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were on their way to a meeting with the Council when they were suddenly ambushed by a bounty hunter named Rako Hardeen."Ferus exclaimed, being careful words with his words."Anakin and Ahsoka survived his sniper attacks. But Obi-Wan got shot by the bounty hunter."
Both Duchess Satine and Nadia became horrified at Ferus' words.
"What?"Nadia whispered, her voice soft yet hurt at the same time.
"I'm sorry, Nadia."Ferus apologised."Your Master is dead."
A few hours later, a Jedi funeral was held for Obi-Wan.
Nadia stood between Duchess Satine and Padmé as her eyes stared quietly at the coffin that held her Master's dead body inside.
The raven haired girl wore a brown cloak as Ahsoka, Anakin, Ferus and other Jedi that were in the room did.
Duchess Satine wept for the man she loved while Nadia had tears silently rolling down her eyes for losing one of her closest companions that she considered a father.
Ahsoka glanced at Plo Koon.
"I'm worried about Anakin and Dia."Ahsoka whispered."The two of them haven't said a word since it happened."
Ferus glanced at Anakin, who looked at the coffin with a withdrawn and grim expression.
The coffin was then lowered into the ground.
Once the doors seal shut over Obi-Wan's body, a bright white laser emits from the ground which signalled that he became one with the Force.
Anakin closed his eyes in fury while Nadia's gaze grew cold and distant as the two of them continued watching the coffin.
Ferus glanced at Chancellor Palpatine, who strangely had a hidden glee in his eyes while looking at Anakin and Nadia under a mask of grief.
The Jedi Knight silently narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but didn't say anything.
After the funeral, Nadia silently made her way back to her bedroom and removed her cloak before placing it near her box of belongings.
Duchess Satine, Ahsoka, Ferus, Padmé, Hal and Maybelline all gave her words of comfort.
So did Chancellor Palpatine and he surprisingly invited her to dinner tomorrow night.
This helped her a bit, but didn't remove the utter pain within her heart.
Nadia sat on her bed before grief overwhelmed her and covered her face to cry quietly.
It happened again.
She failed to protect someone close to her and that person was no out of her life as well.
She had no Master and wasn't even sure if she wanted another Jedi teacher.
How can she have allowed this to happen?
If she was there for her friends, Obi-Wan would still be alive.
Instead she had been focused on trying to find a way to make her master and the Duchess of Mandalore become a couple like Anakin and Padmé.
How could she have gotten so sidetracked?
They were in the middle of the Clone Wars.
Not an era of peace.
There there was a knock on the door, but Nadia kept looking down.
"Come in."Nadia muttered while drying away her tears.
Then Ahsoka, Hal and Maybelline came into Nadia's bedroom before the door closed.
"Hey, Dia."Ahsoka greeted.
"We've very sorry about what happened."Hal apologised.
Nadia shook her head slowly.
"It's fine. I'll be okay."Nadia muttered and scoffed."At least, that's what everyone's been telling me."
Maybelline went to sit next to Nadia.
"Master Shaak Ti said Master Yoda and the Jedi Council are already trying to figure out to track down the man who killed Master Kenobi, big sis."Maybelline explained gently and hugged Nadia."After that, he will be behind bars."
Nadia simply nodded at her younger sister's respond, but didn't say anything.
Ferus sat in the living room of Padmé's apartment in utter silence, thinking of what occurred tonight.
Obi-Wan was dead.
But this meant his girlfriend was in the same position he was in when he was a Padawan when Master Tachi was killed by bounty hunter Magus who he managed to bring to justice during the Battle of Azure Spaceport.
However, the Jedi Knight was more bothered with the way Chancellor Palpatine was looking at Anakin and Nadia during the funeral.
No one seemed to notice that except him.
He didn't like the Supreme Chancellor.
He always felt something was utterly off about him and didn't know why.
Anakin and Nadia considered Chancellor Palpatine a good man as everyone else in the Republic, but only he wasn't fond of that man.
Padmé walked over to her adopted younger brother and sat down next to him.
"Ferus, you should get some rest."Padmé insisted.
Ferus glanced at Padmé.
"Padmé, does something seem off to you about Chancellor Palpatine?"Ferus asked.
A confused look appeared on Padmé's face.
"What do you mean, Ferus?"Padmé questioned.
"I don't know why, sis."Ferus answered."I just can't trust him for some reason."
Padmé placed a comforting hand on Ferus' shoulder.
"You might as well get some sleep, little brother."Padmé insisted with a soft smile."A lot has happened today."
Padmé walked away from Ferus as his frown deepened.
But soon the Jedi Knight retired to his room to get some sleep for the night.
The following morning, Master Yoda informed Anakin, Ahsoka and Nadia that Rako Hardeen was at a seedy bar named Trueping's that was located in the slum district G17 of the Coruscant Underworld.
The Jedi Knight and the two Padawans immediately headed to the bar with utterly cold expressions that were almost startling.
Once the trio arrived inside the bar, Anakin takes his lightsaber and activated it, gaining the attention of everyone in the bar.
Everyone looked over and quieted down instantly at seeing how angry Anakin, Ahsoka and Nadia looked.
"Where is Rako Hardeen?"Anakin demanded.
"Back room."the bartender answered.
The bartender gestured nervously to the back rooms causing Anakin, Ahsoka and Nadia to go to there.
Anakin deactivated his lightsaber before opening one of the back rooms.
There Anakin, Ahsoka and Nadia saw Rako laying still on one of the beds by the window.
"Is he dead?"Ahsoka asked.
"Too bad."Nadia scowled coldly."I'm in the mood to punch something in a hard way."
"He's about to be!"Anakin retorted.
Anakin stride forward and bashed his knuckles together.
The Jedi Knight shoved Rako onto his back, who coughed before looking up at Anakin in confusion.
"A Jedi? I already killed a Jedi today."Rako muttered tiredly."Let me sleep."
An outraged look appeared on Nadia's face at hearing the bounty hunter didn't have any care for killing her Master.
"He's not dead! He's drunk!"Anakin snapped in fury."Get up, you filth!"
Anakin violently threw Rako against the wall while Ahsoka and Nadia watched with no pity expressions at seeing the bounty hunter at Anakin's grip.
"If it was up to me I would kill you right here!"Anakin growled."But lucky for you, the man you murdered would rather see you rot in jail!"
Rako looked tired and drunk as Anakin, Ahsoka and Nadia glared at him.
"Now, let's go, you coward, before I change my mind."Anakin retorted darkly.
Later that night, the Jedi Knight and the two Padawans brought a handcuffed Rako to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center.
The trio walked him towards the Detention Center, where Commander Fox and a Shock Trooper were waiting for them.
Anakin shoved Rako toward them.
"You should be expecting this scum."Anakin stated.
"Yes, sir."Commander Fox answered.
"And let me know if he's any trouble, Commander Fox."Nadia insisted bitterly with her arms folded."I'd be happy to use him as a punching bag."
Nadia glared at Rako as the bounty hunter glared at the raven haired girl and her two companions as he was taken inside the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center.
Not long after Rako Hardeen was sent to prison, Nadia met up with Chancellor Palpatine at the Dining Commons which was located at the Galactic Senate Building, Senate Plaza.
Nadia wore a hot pink sparkly dress with one shoulder sleeve on her right arm, a white off the shoulder strap on her left arm with dangling blue jewels and purple ribbons. It had tiny colourful details toward the end and changes from purple to pink to yellow. It had a tiny little ribbon at the back and had several puffs and pink ruffles at the end. Her raven black hair was up in a ponytail with a blue star hair clip and she also wore tiny hot pink diamond earrings.
The dress was one of the gifts she received from Padmé after her first official date with Ferus.
Chancellor Palpatine and Nadia sat on a table as waitress droids brought them their meals.
"My congratulations on capturing Rako Hardeen, Nadia."Chancellor Palpatine declared.
"Thank you, Chancellor Palpatine."Nadia replied with a small nod."Hopefully that scum will spend the rest of his days rotting in a cell."
Chancellor Palpatine nodded. "We can all hope that after what he did."
After a couple of minutes of eating their meals, Chancellor Palpatine spoke up.
"Tell me, Nadia."Chancellor Palpatine responded."Are you familiar with the Shrine in the Depths?"
Nadia shook her head.
"Unfortunately not, Chancellor Palpatine."Nadia answered with an apologetic smile."What is it?"
"The Shrine in the Depths was an ancient Sith shrine situated at a Force vergence here on Coruscant, constructed before the rise of the modern Republic."Chancellor Palpatine exclaimed."The Jedi Order later constructed the Jedi Temple over the shrine, hoping to neutralise its dark energies and occasionally nullified Dark Side artefacts inside of it."
A stunned look appeared on Nadia's face.
"Really?"Nadia said in disbelief."I never knew that and I doubt that Anakin, Ferus and Ahsoka did too."
Chancellor Palpatine simply smiled at Nadia's response.
"Then this should be quite an education for you."Chancellor Palpatine stated."The Sith constructed the shrine on Coruscant no later than close to five millennia, during a period in which the Sith dominated the galaxy on top of the mountain peak of the sacred spire, a powerful light side vergence, hoping to corrupt it with the Dark Side of the Force, which eventually succeeded. The enormous black edifice stood against the Coruscant sky as a symbol of Sith dominance until it was razed by the Jedi at the end of a great war. Following the Sith's defeat, the Jedi built their own shrine over the Sith shrine's foundations."
Nadia slowly munched the crait crusted cod on her plate, enjoying the browned white fish with a white salt crust.
Though her mind was utterly focused on what the Supreme Chancellor was telling her.
"Eventually, the Four Masters erected the Jedi Temple in a symbolic attempt to bury the legacy that the Sith had left behind on the galactic capital."Chancellor Palpatine continued."Over the following centuries, the Jedi Temple slowly took form. The ruined foundations of the Sith shrine were steadily buried beneath layers of plasteel and ferrocrete as a massive flat-topped ziggurat was built around them. The Jedi also hoped the placement of their Temple over the shrine. Eventually, the presence of so many Light Side adepts within it, would serve to neutralise and cap the dark power inherent in the shrine and eventually return the vergence to the Light Side."
Nadia was silent at Chancellor Palpatine's declaration.
"So this Shrine in the Depths is still within the Jedi Temple?"Nadia assumed.
"Indeed, young Commander Aomori."Chancellor Palpatine agreed."In the Shrine in the Depths of the Jedi Temple, the Jedi Council gathered a group of powerful Masters to study these ancient artefacts. They joined their minds together in the Force, but when they gathered their focus to look upon the idols, there was no darkness at all."
Chancellor Palpatine then took a sip from his glass of Crème D'Infame; one of the most sought-after types of wine in the galaxy.
"Master Yoda never told me that the Jedi Temple was erected in a symbolic attempt to bury the legacy that the Sith had left behind on the galactic capital."Nadia complemented with a small frown."Not even Master Kenobi."
"I'm sure neither of them never meant to be so secretive."Chancellor Palpatine stated."But I guess the Jedi Council never told young ones such as yourself because they were worried that you might take interest in the Shrine in the Depths within the Jedi Temple if you discovered it."
Nadia let out a slight scoff after drinking a bit of her blumfruit juice beverage.
"Because I'm the Lord of Hunger's last living descendant."Nadia retorted and her expression saddened."Now I'm also a Padawan Learner without a Master to teach me."
"Don't worry, my dear."Chancellor Palpatine assured."Things will turn out for the better in the end after the war. You'll see."
Nadia smiled at Chancellor Palpatine.
It was a bittersweet smile which showed she was a bit happy though still sad at the same time for losing Obi-Wan.
"Thank you, Chancellor."Nadia thanked gently."I guess you're right."
Nadia seems to be growing more fond of Chancellor Palpatine while Ferus remains suspicious of him. But don't worry. I'm not planning to have Nadia fall to the Dark Side. She is after all unlike any other Jedi. I'm also planning to have other Clone Troopers have their inhibitor chips removed, but I'm not going to say who they are! You'll all learn in future chapters:)
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day!