Chapter 105
In the chaos, confusion and emergency response to the bombing, we managed to get out of the arena without significant problems.
The one issue we had to deal with was disguising Anakin and myself, since we would be both known to the opposition by this point. He had grabbed another assassin's outfit, whilst for me we managed to find a black jumpsuit, and hooded rain cloak in a maintenance staff locker room. It wasn't a perfect fit, meant for a larger person, but it would do in the short term at least.
Scintel led the way, as we threaded through narrow alleyways, heading due south.
We would occasionally bump into others who were also fleeing in the same direction, but it was easy to feign panic and fear, blending into the herd and in this way we would not stand out to anyone.
Roughly three kilometers from the arena, she ducked to the side, leading us up a set of external stairs of a three floor home that had no life in it or furniture.
On the highest balcony she looked around for any witnesses or threats before she reached into a pocket and produced a long tubular whistle.
"Highness? What are you doing?" Anakin asked with a frown.
"Summoning our transport," she said, putting her lips onto one end and blowing hard into the sky.
I winced and clutched at my montrals as the ultra-high frequency resounded in them.
Thankfully it was over quite quickly, but left me with the togrutan equivalent of 'ringing ears'.
Scintel looked at me with surprise then understanding, "Oh, a togruta would hear a brezak whistle."
"Brezak? You mean those flying lizards your people have domesticated? That's our transport?" Anakin asked with concern.
"Any speeder we can steal or summon has too much risk, if the enemy has infiltrated as deep as I think," Scintel nodded. "A brezak mount will be just the thing we need."
A moaning cry echoed through the air and my montrals was just about back to normal when the flapping of huge membranes pushing through the air reached me.
I looked up just in time to see an eleven meter long monster covered in brown leathery skin flapping the vast membranes it used as wings and buffeting us with displaced air. It flared its body and huge flexible lower paws grabbed onto the balcony railing before it flapped frantically to bring itself to an awkward landing in the relatively tight space.
The brezak's four fingered massive hands grabbed hold of the roof before it reached a standstill. Its thick sinuous neck leaned down towards Scintel and its head came into the balcony's light. It had two eyes set on either side of its ridged head, with a massive wide mouth and lots of razor sharp ivory teeth glinting in the night.
The queen smiled, giving the massive lizard affectionate pats and caresses on its head, which it leaned into and clearly enjoyed.
She coaxed its right arm down and used the crook of the elbow as a footstep to climb up and into a large leather saddle on its back.
"Climb on as I did, hurry."
Anakin followed suit and was seated behind Scintel, whilst I nimbly jumped up the arm of the brezak and found myself squished into Anakin's back. The saddle was normally made for a maximum of two and the only reason we could fit at all was because Scintel and I were relatively smaller than the typical male zygerrian riders of these creatures.
She gathered the reins into her hands and made a complicated clicking sound with her tongue before lightly kicking her ankles into the brezak's broad back.
It gave a keening cry into the night before suddenly surging into the air, extending its membrane wings and flapping hard to gain altitude.
We left the ground behind and the lit buildings below became just a patchwork carpet of artificial lights, with the twinkling sea of stars above us that showed a rather breathtaking view of the majority of the galaxy.
I had to grip hard on the rear of the saddle to keep my seat as Scintel guided the brezak into a sharp turn to the east.
Our flight continued uneventfully and once we visibly neared the edge of the city, she twisted on the reins and pushed forward, bringing the brezak into a mild dive.
The air rushed past us and my stomach felt like it wanted to escape through my throat.
The brezak flapped hard and flared before grabbing onto the roof of a large darkened house that visibly looked no different from any other of its neighbors.
She patted the lizard affectionately, "We can get off here."
I went first, hopping off and landing on the slightly canted tiles of the roof. My senses stretched out, finding more than five dozen souls within the immediate vicinity, in the buildings and street below. Most of them were unalarmed, sleeping, eating or busy with intimate activities.
"Where are we?" Anakin asked as he hopped off and offered a hand to the queen to help her off as well, which she accepted graciously.
"The one place where no one would think I'd ever have a safe house or would hide in," she answered, gathering the reins and folding them around the saddle's pommel. She tapped the brezak on its head. "Stay, sleep," she ordered.
The lizard rumbled happily, the flappy flesh on its neck rippling as it gathered its limbs, folding itself into a much more compact form and dropping its head onto its folded hands.
She led us to the edge of the roof, where we dropped ourselves onto a balcony. "This is the Thollos, a region of the city devoted to pleasure in all its forms."
That certainly explained the level of amorous feelings I was sensing all over the place.
We went down another set of external stairs before Scintel paused at a door and knocked four times.
The door opened and a female zygerrian with red fur opened it. I swallowed somewhat, suppressing my own astonishment and Anakin managed to keep his external mask up, looking at the female with an appreciative eye. She was wearing an elaborate black body harness, that framed a body that was seemingly built for the bedroom, set over a barely there bikini type outfit that rivaled the one I was wearing underneath my disguise.
The female's blue eyes widened at the sight of Scintel and she immediately bowed, "Majesty?! What-"
Scintel held up her hands and placed a finger on her subject's lips for silence. "Hush, Imeth. I'm not here now. Understand?"
Imeth nodded with wide eyes, "Yes, yes… Miraj. Quick, come in."
She stood aside and we hurried into a short hallway that oozed a raw sensuality in its decor; from the carpets that were patterned with curves to represent the female form, the red walls with hand paintings that were clearly meant to give inspiration to anyone who looked at them. Yes, Scintel had brought us to a 'gentlemen's club', so to speak.
Imeth closed the exterior door and hurried to lead the way, her form bouncing in a way that was even starting to draw my own eye.
We were led up a set of stairs, turned right down the hall, before she tapped in a code that opened a door.
"Go inside," Scintel instructed Anakin and I.
Beyond was roughly sixty square meters of richly appointed apartment, complete with living room and kitchen combined into one, with three doors that probably led to bedrooms. The balcony looked out over a section of the city and I could vaguely see the huge city walls arching away to the left.
Scintel and Imeth shared a hushed conversation.
"No one is to know I'm here, Imeth. No one. Not even your boss."
"Miraj, if he finds out, I'm dead."
"You are under your sovereign's protection. That will be enough for him or else he will answer for it."
Imeth was clearly unhappy about it but nodded in acceptance. "Very well, Miraj."
"Good, now go about your night as if nothing has changed."
"Yes, Miraj," she obeyed with a bow of her head and left.
When the door closed, Scintel wearily rested her back against the wall and let out an explosive breath.
"Do find yourself a seat, Alad. You as well, Atre."
"Yes, mistress," I bowed.
Scintel walked into one of the rooms beyond which turned out to be a bedroom and immediately began peeling off the borrowed dusty clothes of the assassins. She emerged again in a golden nightgown strapped around her body. "Urgh, I'm going to have to take a shower before I put on new clothes." She hurried to the kitchen and brought us three bottles of water out of a refrigerator packed with food.
She gulped down half the bottle before letting out an explosive hiss of satisfaction.
Anakin and I were naturally more conservative, but we both appreciated the opportunity for quenching our thirst.
"Majesty, you clearly recognized those assassins," Anakin frowned. "Who are they?"
"A legend that we frighten our children with, which is unfortunately all too real," Scintel began to explain. "During our civil war, centuries ago, there were many factions. Each had their own idea of how we should return to the glory days of the Empire, each had their own idea of what the Empire should be. Some thought we should consider every non-zygerrian sentient as slaves by default. Others were rampant militarists who wanted to start a crusade among the stars to destroy the Jedi and the Republic. Then there is the Trak." She said the word as if it was taboo.
She sat back and drank further from her bottle, her emotions radiating disgust and she even shivered a bit. "They did not want a return to the Empire at all. They wanted to tear down the monarchical statues, level the palace to the ground, an abandonment of slavery, a destruction of every tradition and embrace the delusion that the rest of the galaxy lives under."
Inwardly, I was amazed at the very notion… a zygerrian abolitionist movement!
"They didn't last long, did they?" Anakin asked knowingly.
Scintel laughed, "Of course not. The major factions ended up temporarily uniting against the Trak and they were wiped out to the last. It was that cooperation that sparked the end of the civil war. It created enough unity among three of the largest factions, that my ancestors were part of, to eventually gain victory against the slaver extremists."
"That was the official version no doubt," he looked at her pointedly.
She conceded with a nod, "The truth is there was never high confidence we had wiped out the Trak completely. There may have been survivors and if their ideas remained alive, passed down to their descendants, then…" Her eyes looked very troubled as she stared out the window. "Then, if it's truly them who are responsible for everything going wrong lately, the assassination attempts on my life, sabotage, they clearly feel they are strong enough to show themselves and that worries me."
"Especially since you don't know who is actually Trak or not among your own government," Anakin nodded. He reached into his belt pouch and produced a hand held comlink.
"Who are you contacting?" Scintel asked in alarm.
"Vestret, he needs rendezvous coordinates-"
"By now the enemy will know that they've failed, they will know that I had help and that you both were that help," Scintel objected, pointing to me and Anakin. "Their first action then, if I was in their shoes, would be to put Vestret, the wookiee and your astromech droid under surveillance."
She's right, Skyguy, I thought to him.
"I know that," Anakin said with admirable patience. "I was not going to give him our current position, our com devices are encrypted and scrambled." He tapped on the link, "Lun, come in."
It took a few moments, but eventually Obi-Wan's voice emerged, "Alad?"
"Who else would have this frequency and coding?" Anakin asked as I felt him pushing his senses through the Force through the link.
"Naturally," Obi-Wan said dryly. "Everyone in the palace is acting like their queen's gone missing."
"Well, that's because she actually has," Anakin said flatly. "There was a bombing at the arena and assassins were targeting her."
There was a long silence as Anakin sent thoughts to his old master that were more sensitive and pertinent to the whole situation, "I see. You were in a position to intervene and did so."
"I was also saving my own life and Atre's in the process. If she died under my care then-"
"Yes, yes, you'd have a very large bounty on your head that'd see you hunted across half the galaxy," Obi-Wan pointed out impatiently.
"I've also been hired."
"Interesting. Well, it seems I have my work cut out for me, Alad. You've dumped another mess on my lap and now I have to clean it up."
"Why do you think I always prefer traveling with you?" Anakin smirked.
Obi-Wan rather rudely cut the link in response.
"That's it?" Scintel asked in astonishment. "You didn't tell him hardly anything about the situation."
"If he's under surveillance, it's better this way and we've worked together a long time, majesty. Lun will know what to do next. He's a very good investigator. One of the first things he's going to do is find an ally among your government who is not part of the Trak and high ranking enough to open doors. Then he's going to find the conspirators and hopefully expose them to the point where it's safe enough for you to return to the palace. In the meantime, we can hold up here, out of sight."
"Or they simply kill him before he can get anything done," Scintel argued, folding her arms.
"Than can happen," Anakin shrugged. "But we've both been partners for a long time and he's very good. If they try to kill him, they'll fail and just like that he'll have someone to interrogate for information. From there it's just a matter of time, majesty."
"Well, we may not have time. The idea of just sitting here… I can't stand it. Atre, make us something to eat so we can get to sleep. Perhaps I'll be more reasonable after a night's rest."
"Yes, mistress."
The morning light was just dawning on the palace and Obi-Wan found himself in the rather undignified position of being 'escorted' by two rather burly zygerrian guards.
A door opened automatically at their approach and he was encouraged to enter with a rather polite shove.
He easily maintained his balance and looked around at the expansive office he had just entered.
One entire wall was dominated by a collage of surveillance holofeeds that constantly shifted, another held an expansive case that actually had physical books in them, arranged to perfection, whilst another held a massive portrait of Queen Scintel. It was magnificently done, with traditional hand drawn paints and seemed to capture both beauty and authority in the same image.
"So, Mr. Lun Vestret," said Minister Koltal, resting his elbows on the armrests of his simple yet comfortable chair and giving Obi-Wan a look of naked suspicion. He tapped a few keys of the terminal on his desk, shutting down the screen. "Is there a reason you broke into a sealed off, active crime scene, an office that belonged to a traitor? Not to mention the trespassing into restricted sections of the palace."
"Why yes, I thought perhaps you could use a pair of fresh eyes to look at the problem," Obi-Wan shrugged and waved cheekily at the two guards who glared as they left the office. "It was also a very expedited method for me to get to see you without going through annoying subordinates and functionaries to get in the way."
"How did you manage it without getting blasted by automated security?!" Koltal snapped.
"I'm just that good and you answered your own question, automated security," Obi-Wan leisurely walked over to the bookcase. Pity, the books were all in Zygerrian.
"Your astromech helped somehow then," Koltal narrowed his eyes. "We'll just have to impound it and your wookiee slave for good measure."
"Then you will be depriving yourself of something I truly think you need to see," Obi-Wan shook his head regretfully.
"My best security specialists searched that office for hours, and you want me to believe you found something in the 23 minutes that you managed to snoop around?"
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment, "Oh dear, it actually took me about four minutes to find this."
With a quick fiddle up his sleeve he produced a zygerrian made data chit and held it up for Koltal to see.
The zygerrian looked as if he wanted to burst a blood vessel in anger for a brief instant, but managed to bring it under control. "Now my soldiers can't even properly search someone," he said and glared out the window of his office.
"Don't be too hard on them, Minister, I've been playing the game for a long time," Obi-Wan said lightly and slowly approached Koltal's desk before putting down the data chit in front of him. "It was hidden in a small scan-dampened safe, underneath the foot of the desk. There's no carpet in Dos Goora's office and he clearly didn't push the desk aside enough for the floor to show any significant scratch markings that would otherwise clue you in. That alone tells me what you're going to find on that chit is just the beginning of the truth."
Koltal grabbed a hand held scanner and waved it over the data chit. He studied the results for a few moments before scoffing and picking it up. He pulled out an entirely separate, bulky datapad that looked like it had significant upgrades and security enhancements, before slotting the chit into it.
He snorted in disbelief after looking at the screen, "An eight digit password? Really?" He tapped on the datapad and dumped it onto his desk. "It's going to take a moment to crack." He flicked a few buttons on his terminal and a holo appeared of another uniformed zygerrian.
"Yes, minister?"
"Go to Goora's office again, push aside the desk, feel with your hands for any voids, don't use scanners. Understood? Report to me once you've done so."
"Yes, sir."
The holo winked out.
Koltal now turned his full glare of anger on Obi-Wan, "Mr. Vestret, understand this. I have a missing sovereign on my hands, every palace guard who can keep his trap shut is spread out all over the city looking for her. The only reason it's so quiet in this office, and my ears aren't bleeding from all the officials complaining about all space traffic being grounded, is because I've stopped taking their calls! That isn't even getting into investigating the bombing of the arena! If you are just another distraction, if you are wasting my time, then I will personally ensure you are delivered to our slavemasters for processing!"
Obi-Wan merely smiled and shrugged, "I think you'll find that is the last thing I want."
"I can't help but notice your colleague isn't with you today, where is he?"
"I don't know," he admitted with perfect honesty. "It is one of the reasons I'm here, in addition to the retrieval of Sovereign Iballa's slave, Atre. I might as well put a blaster in my mouth if I leave Zygerria without either of the two, not to mention the money we intended to use to pay for our purchase of 80,000 slaves."
"Oh, does he have it?"
"He has half of it, and the money is useless and will fail to clear if there is only one of us to authorize the transaction."
Koltal snorted in amusement, "Clever of your sovereign. Well, it certainly explains your motivation, Mr. Vestret."
A chime resounded and the security officer reappeared in the holo. "Sir, it's confirmed. There was a hidden safe in the floor under the desk. It's forced open and empty."
"Thank you, sergeant. Secure it and bring it directly to my office as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
Koltal waved the holo away and picked up the datapad, which now was resolving into a stream of characters that held the minister's attention.
Obi-Wan could feel the zygerrian's emotions ride peaks and valleys of anger, disbelief, astonishment and realization. His hand swiped and tapped on the datapad in frantic urgency.
He also turned to his terminal and occasionally referenced more data from there and finally he chucked the datapad down onto his desk and stood, folding his hands behind his back, walking towards the office window.
"Do you know what you've just given me, Mr. Vestret?"
"I don't have an honest clue, minister, I can at best guess."
Koltal turned sharp eyes towards Obi-Wan, "Indulge me then."
"Comlink codes, maybe three of them and perhaps an encryption cipher."
"Good guess, but there are five codes, an encryption cipher and a log of messages between the traitor and his immediate conspirators," Koltal revealed with an angry sneer.
"That's sloppy," Obi-Wan criticized, folding his arms and caressing his beard in thought.
"Yes, but it seems Dos Goora wasn't too trusting of his fellow conspirators. He clearly wanted insurance to use against them if he ever felt they were going to use him as a scapegoat."
"Does any of the recent communications mention why he decided to target Atre?"
Koltal eventually nodded after clearly weighing whether to answer or not, "It was the last message. The royal slave Farsu, the first assassin, was Goora's lover. There was disagreement between them over whether she should take the assignment, as they both knew it would be a death sentence. Yet she doubted that there would be any better chance to kill the queen and that further delay would risk all the work they had done to get that close."
"So a lover's revenge plain and simple, for making Farsu's sacrifice worth nothing," Obi-Wan nodded. "It did feel a bit sloppy and rushed."
"Except for the kill switch Goora had in the surveillance system," Koltal groused with annoyance. "But that was just a prepared tool he had. He describes enough in his message log to clue me in on the exploit he used - another urgent task on my plate to deal with."
"And what about the comlink codes, are they traceable?"
"They are, but I'm doing a localized search using my own database, so it's taking much longer."
"You're afraid the conspiracy will notice."
"Of course I am. If I were them, I'd put sleeper programs in the palace database network, that would alert them the instant these codes are searched. We're racing against time anyway, since if these traitors are as competent as I think, they've already made Goora's codes invalid or even erased them."
Koltal's terminal chimed at him and he turned a surprised eye at the screen, he scowled and eventually looked at Obi-Wan with an assessing stare. "How far are you willing to go, Mr. Vestret?"
"I've made my motivations clear to you, minister."
Koltal reached behind his desk and slid a blaster pistol across the surface of it.
Obi-Wan stopped it from falling to the floor by interposing his hip, but made no move to pick up the weapon. "Why are you giving me this?"
Koltal chuckled, "You have the paranoia of a spy, Mr. Vestret. I approve. No, I'm not seeking to entrap you. That weapon is fully registered in the security system to me." He pulled out another blaster. "As is this one. We're going on a little trip. Most of the codes on Goora's chit led to nothing, except for one and since we're going to confront the rather august person this code links to, I need to have backup."
"You have an entire army of security on call," Obi-Wan objected.
"An army who is scattered all over the city, Mr. Vestret. The few who I still trust within the palace are also busy and the possible traitor we are going to confront can't suspect anything. They clearly have full run of the palace security systems, except for my own office. Therefore, I'm in the ignoble position of having to somewhat trust an offworlder to watch my back."
"Well, it seems I don't have any choice in the matter," Obi-Wan picked up the pistol, keeping his finger well away from the trigger. He held it up with a wry look at the security minister. "It's empty."
"I'm also paranoid, and consider it another test Mr. Vestret." Koltal stood and chucked an energy cell, which Obi-Wan deftly caught. "You can load it when we arrive at our destination. Not a moment before."
The weapon was shaped just well enough to fit somewhat snugly in the empty holster of his belt. "Shall we be off?"
"Mistress, how much does this outfit cost?"
"Don't you worry about that, Atre. Besides, your previous one was on its last legs after having gone through fighting, a bombing, all that dust and a ride on a grezak."
It was taking quite a lot of effort not to blush or even get aroused as my new 'outfit' was being tended to by Scintel in the living room, all the while Anakin was also watching the show with an appreciative smirk, leaning against the balcony door.
Outfit was actually a misnomer, the word 'clothes' could hardly be applied here. It would be more accurate to say I was only wearing jewelry that could somewhat qualify as both a thong and bikini top, that just happened to be attached to each other with thin auridium chains.
My hands also had a jewel threaded on their backs, with a thin chain looping around my thumb that immediately flared out into thin auridium chains that formed a gauntlet. From this, a thin silver chain snaked up my arms, over my shoulders to a choker with an inlaid ruby around my neck. My feet were adorned with auridium colored stiletto heels, which were linked with a single chain that snaked up around my legs to clip onto the thong.
Completing the outfit was a matching mask that covered my upper face in something that looked like it came from a masquerade ball.
'I look ridiculous,' I thought to Anakin with annoyance.
'I wouldn't say that, Snips.'
Scintel had become utterly bored within less than an hour after waking up and decided to pass the time by playing fashion with me for the whole morning. The closet in what was supposed to be her safehouse was utterly ridiculous and anything she lacked she bugged her local friend to fetch.
'Of course not. You're a guy.'
'Guilty as charged and don't think I won't share these memories with Padme.'
My insides squirmed at the thought. 'You are evil, Skyguy.'
He smiled with innocent twinkling eyes at me.
Scintel adjusted my jewel top a bit more and tested the support it gave.
I must not be aroused. Arousal is the mind-killer, I wryly joked to myself.
Anakin suddenly raised a hand from his position near the window, his body language shifting and drawing his blaster.
I had to suppress the reflexive urge to call my own blaster to me with the Force, instead I rushed the two steps towards the nearby table and grabbed it.
"Alad?" Scintel asked with an urgent hushed voice.
"Two uniformed palace guard, walking down the street. They look quite agitated and in a hurry."
I pushed outward with Farsight and spotted them, but searched further for more, but then I spotted the bloody obvious.
"Mistress, why would the brezak still be lying down on the roof?"
"I told him to stay, remember. They're generally trained to always wait for their rider. It doesn't help that they just fly back to the royal stables every time someone gets off."
"What would these two think seeing one on the roof of this establishment?" Anakin asked.
"It's not out of the norm for the guards to visit this district, Alad."
"Yes, but what if they come in here, looking for their fellow guard and find none?"
Scintel frowned with worry as the thought struck her. "I'll call Imeth."
She hurried to the door of the apartment and pulled off a datapad that was slotted into a holder on the wall. A few taps later, the image of Imeth appeared in it. "Miraj? It's not a good idea-"
"I know. If two palace guard come in asking about the brezak on the roof-"
"Oh, yes, I see the problem. I'll stall them, try and get them to leave, not to worry."
The comlink shut down.
"They're coming in," Anakin called from the window.
She cursed in Zygerrian, "Alad, can you try to keep an eye on them?"
"Without them seeing me? Generally, yes. And if they threaten to discover us here?"
Scintel looked troubled for a moment, before visibly steeling herself, "Then you have my permission to kill them."
Anakin nodded, "Very well. Be ready to move if things go wrong."
He carefully opened the apartment door and slunk out.
Scintel rushed back into her bedroom and emerged in a green and yellow tunic, leggings and shin length boots combination that wouldn't be out of place for a civilian farmer or worker. She had even scrubbed off her makeup and removed her jewelry. For the first time I was seeing simply Miraj and not Queen Scintel.
I shook off my amazement and walked to the front door, double checking my weapon and standing guard.
My farsight pushed forward, focusing at first on Anakin sneaking about the upper floors, before moving on towards the front door of the club.
At this time, I saw various employees, both zygerrian and offworlder, were beginning the preparation for the clients that would come in the evening. Crates of food and drink were being unpacked and readied for the kitchen, the chief chef was prepping his subordinates, the escorts were busy preparing themselves…
The two palace guard buzzed the doorbell and Imeth, now wearing a much more conservative figure hugging dress with a plunging neckline, took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Yes sirs, how can I help the palace guard?"
"I'm Maradel and this is Iltoc," one of them said and they flashed electronic ID badges at her. "Have you noticed anything strange in the last day or so?"
"Well, not really, officers. It would depend on your definition of strange."
"Unusual arrivals, customers, maybe they were a bit dusty," suggested Iltoc.
"No, nothing like that, I'm afraid. It's been business as usual around here."
"Are you aware of the brezak currently snoozing in the sun on your roof?" Maradel asked, gesturing upward.
"Of course, that's a city guard officer's mount who arrived. He had a long party last night, slept late and took such a liking to one of my girls that he paid extra for continuing his stay here."
"He'll be lucky not to face reprimand for such dereliction," Iltoc snarled.
Imeth held up her hands in a warding gesture, "Oh no, he mentioned he was on extended leave, officers."
They looked at each other. "We still have a lot of ground to cover," said Maradel.
"We've been on patrol for hours, I could really use a break and some water," Iltoc argued.
Maradel sighed, "Good point, sorry madam, but can we just trouble you for a brief bit of hospitality?"
I felt Imeth's conflict, outright refusal would be seen as too suspicious, yet she still needed to protect the fact that her queen was hiding in the upper floors.
"All right, but stay in the lounge area, can't have you getting underfoot with all my staff preparing."
They entered and soon enough were seated in said lounge area, busy sipping large glasses of water a harried chef had brought them.
Anakin had managed to place himself outside one of the adjoining doors to the lounge.
"You ever think of coming to a place like this?" Iltoc asked.
"My wife would skin me alive."
Oh for frak's sake, leave, I thought in exasperation, thumping my forehead lightly against the apartment door.
"Atre? Can you hear them?" Scintel asked with surprise.
"Togruta hearing is good, mistress, but not that good. There's a lot of noise to sift through, not to mention all the solid objects in the way, mistress. I'm just… frustrated. I'm sorry, I shouldn't complain to you."
"You shouldn't, but it's understandable." She had since deposited herself on the living room couch, with her weapon lying next to her. Since she was no Jedi, she couldn't remain in either fight or flight mode for long, her anxious worry gnawing at her gut constantly. "Come, you should put on something that will be less inconspicuous, while we seemingly have the time."
I was not going to say no to that.
Scintel still played Barbie on me though, trying different items on me from her humongous closet.
"Do you enjoy being a slave, Atre?" she asked as I pulled on a set of gray pants that was made of a smart shiny fabric that adjusted themselves to become skin tight.
"It is what I know, mistress," I answered softly. Scintel next handed me a matching long sleeved crop top that had an integrated hood. Her hands lingered on my midriff, tracing my abs. She clearly thought it was a crime to not show them off somehow.
"You don't ever think about what you'd do if you could have freedom? Choose your own path?"
"On occasion, I do, mistress," I said carefully, as Scintel fussed with some jewelry to put on my montrals. "I have seen much of the galaxy at Sovereign Iballa's side. People with freedom rarely have choice. They may not have a slave implant, but their circumstances imprison them just as surely. They can say 'No', they can quit their job, pack up and leave, but the costs are often too high and they know that. So, they stay, even though they are unhappy."
"And that is why you stay a slave?"
"If I'm doing what I enjoy and love, am I a slave, mistress?"
Scintel was silent for a few moments, "No, is that truly how you feel? Do you enjoy sharing Iballa's bed?"
"His many wives would strongly object to my presence there, mistress. He has seven of them."
"Oh, I'm not exactly familiar with the internal dynamic of the House of Iballa. What is your role then?"
I smiled mysteriously, stoking her imagination, "Anything else he requires, not related to the bedroom, mistress."
Scintel frowned at me with her hands on her hips, "It's because you're only borrowed to me that you're being so evasive with that question."
"Correct, mistress. I will eventually return to the House and he will thoroughly question me on everything I saw and did whilst under your ownership."
She sighed and handed me a pair of shoes that would be decent to run in. "You sound so sure of your purpose, so… content. I wish I could have that. These last few months, most of this year actually, I've felt nothing but doubt, worry, as if I was utterly trapped. As if… I'm the slave. I might be the queen, my word directly commands thousands, potentially millions. My people look to me for guidance, to lead them into the future, yet… I can't walk in the streets of my own city openly. I'm trapped in that palace… Then every other day, Dooku or one of his CIS officials calls and-"
She visibly stopped herself, taking a deep breath, "I should not be speaking of this, yet somehow I can't help but feel comfortable around you, Atre. It's as if I can speak to you without fear and you would listen without judgment."
I only smiled at her softly in response. It was so easy to fall into the trap of sympathizing with her. She was still at the head of a system of brutal slavery, being used as yet another puppet by the true enemy. For this reason alone, I would initiate the events which would see Zygerria plunged into another civil war.
The door to the apartment chimed and she stiffened rushing towards her blaster. "It's Alad, Mistress."
She let out an explosive breath as Anakin entered.
"They're gone and I've received word from Vestret," he said grimly.
"And?"
"We need to get on that brezak, now."
Koltal naturally led the way through the passages of the palace, but he would occasionally divert into opening hidden doors and using secret ways.
"They're faster," he explained to Obi-Wan. "And the only way we're going to surprise our target."
"And just who is our target?"
"That you'll learn when we get there. We are allies of convenience, Vestret."
Obi-Wan raised a single eyebrow in response and nodded, "I suppose we are."
The secret passages were cramped affairs, not allowing for two people to walk side by side and a ceiling of only 1.8 meters. There was no visible indication of direction, but Obi-Wan could see the minister moved with certainty and purpose. The secret passages even featured small ladders that allowed you to move between floors.
Obi-Wan could sense they were nearing the upper apex of the pyramidal palace, before Koltal tapped a button in the wall that opened a door disguised behind a very tall painting.
Koltal rushed towards a door just a few meters away down the hall they emerged in and he gestured for Obi-Wan to stand closely behind him.
"Now you can load the blaster," he whispered.
Obi-Wan nodded, smoothly accomplishing the task in a few moments and holding the weapon ready in a two-handed grip.
Koltal readied his own blaster, held up three fingers, counting down and when he only held up a fist, he elbowed the door controls.
He charged inside and Obi-Wan followed quickly on his heels.
Inside was an expansive office that looked much like Koltal's, however, whoever occupied this space was more interested in galactic affairs, as a huge holomap of the galaxy was projected from one wall, whilst a multitude of feeds from the Holonet was occasionally flashing a screen, projecting information in written Zygerrian.
Obi-Wan's senses were stretched over the entire room and he could find no signs of anything living.
Why would Koltal bring them here then?
The desk in front of them was a disorderly mess of datapads and the chair behind it was turned around, facing the window.
Koltal walked around the desk with a grim dread falling over his emotions, his tense posture sagging as he beheld whoever was seated in it.
"We're too late, Mr. Vestret," he said, shaking his head, then pushed around the chair.
The dead body of a female zygerrian, dressed in a long flowing purple robe, looked at them with blank, lifeless blue eyes. "This was Ralenn, Minister of Zygerrian Intelligence."
The cause of death was rather obvious, the hilt of a long dagger stuck out of her chest.
"Was she the suspect you had in mind?" Obi-Wan asked pointedly.
"The comlink code that remained active, through many twists and turns, leads right here," Koltal sighed. "I couldn't imagine that she'd be a traitor. She and the queen have been friends since childhood, but I had to assume the worst. A failure of imagination is deadly in this business."
Obi-Wan walked closer and inspected the dagger, the position of the body in the chair, the slight droop of the head as it lolled lifelessly to the left. He folded his arms, scratched his beard and considered the entire scene as a whole.
"Minister, I hesitate to touch the body, but can you feel the temperature for me?"
"Good instincts, Vestret. This is just the way someone could set you up to take the fall for this," Koltal nodded and used the back of his hand to touch the body's forehead. "That's odd. It's quite cold, almost as if… no, as if it's been in a freezer?"
"That certainly puts a wrinkle in things, note the lack of any signs of a struggle in this office. You'd expect that she would've fought back."
"Unless she was surprised by her murderer and knew them well."
"True," Obi-Wan conceded and carefully smelled the air around the body. There was a slight smell of something that prickled something in his memory. "Do you smell that, Minister?"
"I should hope so, wouldn't be much of a zygerrian if that human nose could outdo mine, that slight ozone with a hint of tanginess?"
"Yes."
He nodded, "I smell it, definitely something to identify in the scientific analysis."
"Do you think we have the time to wait for that?"
Koltal laughed, "No, we don't. This is also not the place for discussion or conclusion about what you are seeing here. Understand, Vestret?" He tapped his felinoid ear, which twitched slightly and gestured around the room with a twirling finger.
His implication was clear - he believed there was surveillance in the room, that the enemy was listening.
"I understand. What now?"
"Now we leave, come."
Koltal power walked to the door and Obi-Wan hurried to follow even as his mind grappled with the plot and mystery that was unfolding around him. Where had he smelled that scent before? He wanted nothing more than to just sit into a meditation and explore the paths of memory.
The minister paused outside the office, "Stay at my side, Vestret and keep up. If you fall behind I will assume you are trying to shoot me in the back. Now we run."
Obi-Wan burst into a brief sprint as Koltal began running, following the instruction of the paranoid security minister.
"Where now?!" he half-shouted as they fell into a running stride down the corridor.
"We go to secure Minister Gadrad! He is part of a select inner circle of advisors the queen holds close to her. Ralenn was also a member. I believe the assassins are now going after them. Knocking the pins of support the queen has from under her."
Koltal stopped at a turbolift and slapped the summon button. He kept his guard up, eyes ranging back and forth along the corridor.
No one was in immediate sight and Obi-Wan could sense only a handful of people on the floor, frightened and grim emotions radiating from them. The whole palace had a general miasma of frantic urgency and panic.
The lift doors opened and Koltal gestured for Obi-Wan to precede him inside.
The minister pressed a button for a much lower floor and the doors closed.
A frantic urgent beeping emerged from Koltal's sleeve at this moment.
"Gbìd!" he swore in Zygerrian. "Holster your weapon, Vestret, now."
Obi-Wan's read on the minister's emotions and context was such that he concluded it was wise to obey the order.
Koltal holstered his own weapon before pulling up his sleeve and tapping on a large specialized comlink that actually formed a half-sized vambrace around the minister's forearm. A holographic screen appeared above his arm and was quickly populated with Zygerrian characters, some of which were flashing in big, bold angry red.
"Someone has managed to break into my office and is right now using my terminal," he said with gritted teeth.
"Can you lock them out remotely?"
"It's too late. The only reason I was even notified is because of my secondary backup monitor system that I installed myself. Whoever is doing this is using governmental access code!" He swiped his hand through the holoscreen, changing the display and tapping frantically into it. "No, they'll… might as well." He scowled at Obi-Wan. "You contact your partner right now and tell him to get the queen out of the Thollos safehouse, now!"
"You knew all along," Obi-Wan said flatly.
"Of course I did," Koltal snapped. "Her majesty is many things, but stupid she isn't and I trust her judgment. If she needed to disappear from the palace with no one the wiser and with offworlders no less, then she will have a valid reason for it. My agent at the safehouse reported to me directly, but the enemy has now read my terminal and will soon know as well. Now get your comlink out and do it!"
Obi-Wan nodded, even as his mind was grappling with the revelation and the Force overtly supporting the zygerrian's words. He pulled out the handheld comlink. "Alad, come in."
For nearly eight heart stopping seconds nothing happened and there was no answer. Obi-Wan was just about to check the comlink for something wrong with it, when the small screen lit up.
"Vestret, now is really a bad time," came Anakin's hushed voice.
"It will be an even worse time soon. Get the queen and Atre out of there. The enemy will soon have your location, if they don't have it already."
"Are you sure?"
Obi-Wan inwardly cursed as he felt Anakin's projected presence through the Force within the turbolift, no doubt seeing Koltal.
"Yes, I'm sure. An operative working there noted your presence directly to the security minister," Obi-Wan said, vaguely gesturing in Koltal's direction. "But the Trak have breached his systems."
Koltal froze the instant Obi-Wan said the word.
The minister's eyes blazed and his emotions of concern, worry, anger and indignation morphed into a seething cold hatred. He looked up to meet Obi-Wan's eyes.
"I understand," Anakin said. "I'll get them out as soon as possible."
The comlink's light faded.
"How do you know that name?" Koltal hissed with gritted teeth.
"According to your sovereign, that was who attacked her in the arena," he answered, easily weathering the sheer hate pouring off the zygerrian.
"You will tell me everything you know, Vestret."
The turbolift whined to a halt and the doors opened.
The Force shrieked in warning and Obi-Wan looked up just in time for a smoking cylindrical grenade to soar into the elevator.
He reacted in the only way he could.
With the reflexes of a Jedi, he brought his leg up and kicked it right back in the direction it had come from.
He dove towards Koltal and the world turned into a bright flash of white.
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