Emerald Jade

An Theta-class T-2c shuttle thundered through the atmosphere of the planet of Naboo. Having left the main hanger of the Star Dreadnought in synchronous orbit above Theed, the craft was making its way down to the planet surface.

Sitting in the co-pilot seat, Tobias Rune stared out towards the clouds as they passed through them. The weather was getting better after an entire month had passed since Operation Cinder. There was little that needed repair and unlike the planet of Vardos, there was no ash covering the surface. The ecosystems, human and gungan habitats weren't in trouble.

A small smile was pressed across his lips as he could see the City of Theed. His eyes centered on the Royal Palace. However something else grabbed his attention as he was listening closely to the force. While his sensitivity indeed concealed, it didn't mean he couldn't sense someone else.

The personnel transport would begin its landing processes as it hovered over the main starport in the city. As it settled down the wings would fold and it gently came to rest.

Two members of the Royal Security Force came walking out to greet them as the loading ramp lowered. Yet as they did so, they paused half way there as the Grand Moff came walking down slowly on his own. His hands folded behind his back with a stern expression on his face.

They were rather confused for the expression as he waved them off. As if saying, he didn't need an escort and were thereby dismissed.

At the wordless dismissal, the officers would make their way back towards the Royal Palace to make their report. It didn't seem like his immediately designation would actually be the Palace.

Out of everyone in the crowds parading in the streets, he was the only man wearing an Imperial Uniform out in the open. It was clear he was trying to lure someone out. His eyes watched feathery hats as they brushed by. He found the fashion on the planet to be rather strange, possibly questionable. Everything was flamboyant.

He clearly knew this before he landed, since he had knowledge of this world prior to landing. Amidala's dresses were far from normal in his point of view. Tobias shouldn't have suspected any different from the local populace.

Each step echoed in his mind, like a silent room with a dripping faucet as he selectively pressed his senses through the crowds. That was until he heard someone else's shallow breath mere meters away. Leaning against a building along the main avenue.

Cutting between buildings, he made his way through the crowds, effortly slipping passed people without touching them or knocking them over. However he made it all seem natural. As if he was using this route to get ot the Royal Palace. As if he was just going for a casual stroll. Though this might set off flags to anyone watching, this was clearly the point.

Entering the Avenue, he would begin walking slowly towards the Royal Palace. His hands still folded behind his back, militarily, with a blank expression on his face. He was clearly thinking, but his mind was shielded from being probed from a distance.

The shallow breathing changed in pace, he heard someone else's footsteps behind him. His eyes narrowed forward as he increased his pace. The steps behind him also increased rapidly.

The feet sounded dainty, small. Their build was petite, agile. Tobias was making the assumption that his pursuer was female, relatively young, probably around his own age group. He could feel the force from the person behind him. She was closing in quickly, she was augmenting her natural speed.

After a few minutes of this pursuit, he ducked into an alleyway, standing there for several more minutes after that. Suddenly, he could sense the pursuer and he blinked a few times. Slowly he turned his head to the side as he felt the air move above him. His eyes caught a petite female figure adorned in a black attire. A silver saber at their hip. What made him turn around to face her however was the emerald green eyes and red-gold hair, accompanied by a freckled face.

She stood under five foot four, she appeared to be just under a hundred and thirty pounds. From what he had seen, she was acrobatic, flexible. Her walk she displayed made her out to be a skilled fighter.

A small smile tugged across his lips as if felt the girl use the force upon him, attempting to charm his mind. He knew exactly who this was, it was none other than Mara Jade.

"Hey there," A compassionate tone erupted from her lips. She was purposely walking with a seductive posture. She was assuming her power was consuming him, his intellect. Yet just as she grabbed his uniform and pressed his against the alley wall, she found a gloved hand holding her lightsaber; pressing its mouth against her neck. "How did..."

"Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand." He smirked as he stared down at her, his other hand moved up to grasp her beneath the chin. His brown eyes looking into her emerald hues. Suddenly his force sensitivity was unmasked, allowing her to feet the Neutral Vergence which surrounded him.

Mara Jade was known for holding her composure in almost any situation, but she felt her nerves tingling all over the place. "This was a trap," she stated the obvious, her hands slowly loosening their hold on his uniform.

"Yup," with his response she would suddenly find herself suspended a meter off the ground and pressed against the opposite wall, pinned by the force. Her body spread out in an open anatomical position. Her hands pressed against the walls.

Even with her degree of training from beneath Palpatine, she found herself unable to resist his hold. "This wasn't in your dossier!" She yelped as she took a note of his capacity to use the force and the fact he was practically a walking nexus.

"Yes... Yes I know, I've been keeping it hidden." Tobias blurted it out as he tilted his head to the side. "Looking for Skywalker are we? He's not here," he mused with a teasing tone as he walked over to her.

He stepped forward and took the E-11 Carbine from her hip and placed it on his own. A small smile still grasping his lips as he watched her try to struggle against the wall.

Mara just remained silent after hearing him tease her, telling her that Luke Skywalker wasn't present on the planet nor coming anytime soon. Her eyes just remained trained on him.

Yet he simply returned the gaze with his own, empty brown eyes.

In that moment he felt that she was disillusioned with the Empire like so many others. Yet it didn't show on her face, nor her body language. Through the force however, he could feel that she learned that she wasn't doing anything for the Greater Good like she had once believed.

"The Empire as you know it will perish in two months time," The Grand Moff informed as he'd drop her to her knees, forcing her down into a kowtow. "Will you preserve the ideals of an Empire? Or will you let it drown out in the twilight?"

She didn't fight the pressure on her back which kept her to the ground. She could tell he wasn't doing this out of superiority, it had a purpose. He was asking her if she would join him in some capacity. All she knew was to be an Assassin, but she had skills with the force and without it as well.

She used the force to resistist his hold, looking up at him with her bright emerald green eyes. "I will preserve the ideals of an Empire, for the Greater Good, of the Galaxy." Jade honorably asserted, a blank expression on her face. Her eyes piercing right through him.

"Welcome to the Shadows, Mara Jade. Report to my Theta shuttle, wait for me there." His eyes tagged along her attire, his facial expression was rather vacant. "Or would you like to accompany me to the Royal Palace?"

He dropped her lightsaber beside her, which she quickly caught before it hit the ground, with her open palm ready to intercept. She hooked it back onto her hip and did the same with the rifle which was on his belt.

"I am so glad you didn't kill me, when I found you." With the understanding that he was a powerful force sensitive, capable of continuing her cultivation in the force, she knew he had known of her being around well before she started following him. "I'll join you. There's nothing better to do," her tone this time around sounded playful towards him.

His eyes squinted slightly, did she have an ulterior motive to trying to seduce him? Maybe she was looking for a safe haven in the first place, or was trying to get into a place of power. He couldn't quite sense it, nor put his finger on it.