Ghosts of the Past (2)

Munificent Class Frigate Shadow's Veil

Location Classified

"The capture of Gunray is a serious threat to us. That fool was warned not to step foot on Rodia, at least until it was clear what danger Veil represents. He will break under Jedi interrogation. Even faster if this mercenary is allowed to get his hands on him." Sidious ranted at his apprentice.

Dooku was kneeling in front of a hologram of his master and listening about the unexpected debacle that had befallen CIS. His anger spiked when the spineless Viceroy was mentioned.

"I am dealing with it, master. My best agent, Asajj Ventress will gain entrance to the Jedi's ship and deal with Gunray one way or another. Perhaps the mercenary too." Dooku outlined his plan.

"You have a great deal of faith in your pet, my friend. Especially when she had failed so often in the past. Alas I am afraid that she may not be enough. Not with a Dark Jedi of unknown power playing mercenary assisting the Council's puppets. Send Artel Darc with her. He should be close enough to intercept them. Between the two of them they should be able to silence Gunray if not deal with the mercenary too."

"As you command, master." Dooku immediately agreed.

When the comm signal was cut from Sidious' side, the Count rose up, revealing a frown marring his face. 'Damn that fool, Gunray!' he thought. With the information that slug had in his too small a brain, the Republic could wreck unholy chaos upon the Confederacy.

To make matters worse, there was a new element in an already chaotic situation. Ever since the visions of the future he and Sidious could gleam were shrouded by ripples in the Dark side a few weeks ago, any further complications weren't welcome. For the first time since swearing his allegiance to Sidious, the Count was facing an uncertain future. It was not something he felt comfortable with. 'And isn't that thought such an understatement!' Dooku sneered.

The Count was still quietly fuming, when the armored doors leading to the bridge slid open and Ventress glided in. She was moving with the practiced ease of a trained predator.

"Master." Her voice was quiet, almost sultry.

"Sidious has a task he wants done. One we can't fail. You could afford no mistakes, child. A failure could spell disaster for the Confederation and our master will be most displeased. I do not need to tell you what that entails. You must prove that you are worthy to be my apprentice, Asajj." Dooku tried to impress the gravity of the situation to his protegee.

"I am worthy, Master. I will prove it to you." The assassin practically purred. Her lips twisted in a cruel smile.

"You're to intercept a Republic ship carrying Nute Gunray who was captured just a few hours ago. Either retrieve or dispose of the worm. Be advised, there will be at least two Jedi on that ship plus a new variable – a mercenary." Dooku began laying down the mission parameters.

"That won't be a problem, master." Ventress looked confused.

"Do not underestimate the mercenary accompanying the Jedi, Ventress. I sense danger when thinking about that man. He's a Dark Jedi of some power, Asajj. That's why my master deemed it best to sent Darc with you. The man is expendable in the great scheme of things. Use the his talents as you see fit. Just get the job done."

=RK=

On route to Republic cruiser Tranquility

Rodia's orbit

Outer Rim

After my civil conversation with his Sithiness himself, I was in for a boring day. Not that I minded the opportunity to stretch my legs and get a nap in a real bed after spending almost three days cooped up in the cockpit of my Torrent before arriving on Rodia.

The reason for the delay was typical one. The Jedi Council couldn't make their mind about how best to transport the Viceroy after they were informed that I'll be tagging along. Gunray spent that time in a small tower near to the one from which we called reinforcements. It had a cell meant for Amidala after her capture, which we used on the Neimodeian. I appreciated the irony of the situation. It served the bastard well.

My only problem was that I was not permuted to interrogate him myself. Shaak Ti declared that the Council had not decided how to deal with him. The infernal woman was following me everywhere except the fresher not allowing me to have a quiet chat with the prisoner! And that infuriating, small smile... that made her face so different and alive compared to her usual severe expression... She was baiting me on purpose!

What were orders from the Council anyway? For her to infuriate me into a murderous rage and get herself killed?!

Ahsoka was no help. After Master Ti ran her into the ground, the Padawan was too busy sleeping, ahem, meditating to be a nice conversation partner.

Shaak Ti appeared to be a quiet, private woman who I sensed would have liked to keep to herself but was unwavering in pursuing her duty. So no fun there. She was not interested in talking and I was not about to start pointing all the flaws of the Council and Jedi dogma before I knew her better and figured out what approach would work with her. If the Jedi leadership was consistent, I most likely would have time to figure her out, with her being my new minder.

I could not even get a heart to heart conversation with the Clones at the facility! They were wary of the Jedi tagging along. And some of the bloody bastards were chuckling at my predicament. Cheeky bastards.

That leads me to the present. I was on board of a Consular class frigate which was used to ferry us to the cruiser tasked with carrying us to our destination. After the Jedi were unwilling to include me in the escort detail, Palpatine evidently threw his considerable weight around and arranged for the prisoner's transportation.

I was with Ahsoka and Master Ti in the cockpit of the relatively small craft. Behind us was Gunray who was wearing chains. That was my idea. A bit of creative use of the Force and the manacles which were meant for Amidala were holding him secure.

When we approached the cruiser one of the clone's piloting our frigate contacted it. On a screen over the windows of the cockpit appeared an image of three men in blue armor. Senate commandos. It will be a wonder if a single one of them was not faithful to Palpatine first. Or perhaps not. An attack aimed at rescuing the Neimoidian could be a good cover to dispose from dissenters in the ranks…

The Jedi Master took charge of the situation.

"Cruiser Tranquility, this is General Shaak Ti. We have the prisoner secure and request permission to dock."

"You have it. We are awaiting the prisoner."

"Thank you, captain Argyus."

Meanwhile, I could hear Gunray trying to bribe the clones guarding him. I wondered how that would go down. With me and two Jedi on the frigate it was obvious that even if they wanted the troopers won't agree. But what interested me was how and why they would decline.

"This is a most generous offer, Viceroy. Considering that because of you and your cronies my brothers fight and die all over the galaxy, I'll have to decline. But I'll make you a counter-offer. Keep your damn mouth shut and I won't have to do it for you." Growled the clone commander. That was the same one who I met yesterday after dispatching the twins.

As we were about to dock through the hanger in the belly of the Venator, Ahsoka muttered: "Finally we'll get away from him."

To be fair, Gunray's whining was more than irritating and if it was not for my image as a level headed Sith, I would have seriously considered the benefits of ripping out his tongue as the phantom of Darth Vael suggested.

=RK=

Shaak Ti, Ahsoka and me plus Commander Green were the ones escorting the CIS leader to the detention center of the cruiser. Near it we were met by five men in blue armors led by the blonde captain with who Master Ti spoke.

"Greetings, General. We have a nice, dark cell waiting for this traitor." said the commando officer.

"Excellent, Captain. Commander Green, lead the way."

"Move!" the Clone shoved Gunray in the back.

"How in the Force did such a worm as Gunray deserve the attention of senate commandos?!" exclaimed Ahsoka.

I lightly tapped the back of her head.

"Ouch!" she glared at me. "Why did you do that?!"

"By himself, that walking pile of slime is not dangerous. However as a high ranking leader of the CIS he undoubtedly knows a lot of their dirty secrets, not to mention relevant strategic information. With the delay between capturing him and the Council making up their minds about the manner of transporting him it is virtually guaranteed that the Separatists would make an effort to free or silence him. "I pointed at the commandos walking in front of us. "That's why they are here."

"Your friend is correct, Jedi." The captain concured.

=RK=

Tranquility

Leaving High orbit of Rodia

I was with the two female Jedi in the cell where Gunray was chained for an interrogation table. I had the dubious "privilege" to observe how the protectors of the Republic tried to extract information from the Neimoidian. To say it was underwhelming would be a generous understatement. The way it was going there would be no questions answered. Just me, snapping and strangling the offensive politician with his own entrails. For ten minutes Shaak Ti asked the same questions and tried to gently persuade him to speak up. Then, suddenly things became much more interesting. I could feel anger rising within Ahsoka. The young Togruta had a low tolerance for Nute's particular kind of bullshit. I could sense her tensing and briefly brushing with the Dark side before the anger became too much for the kid to handle and she lost her composure. Her anger spiked and she slapped her palms over the table in frustration.

"Liar! Liar! Stop your sniveling and tell us the truth!" Ahsoka snarled.

With one elegant motion she drew her saber and an emerald blade sprang to life from its hilt. Tano dashed forward and placed the humming beam of energy centimeters from the throat of the Neimoidian who was struggling with the manacles chaining him to the table.

"Tell us the truth right now, before I gut you like a fish!"

I was smirking under my helmet and watching the show. The girl had fire in her! Knowing that at some point she had ended up expelled from the Order (the damn fools!) and never came back, I was determined to help her. Such potential! Obviously she was not one of those who could not see past the Jedi's Dogma!

Shaak Ti moved in a blur, grabbed Asoka's sword arm and pulled the blade from Gunray's neck. The prisoner slumped to the ground hyperventilating.

"Padawan Tano! What in the name of the Force do you think you are doing?! The Jedi do not use fear as a weapon!" Shaak Ti snapped at the younger woman.

"Even when it can end a battle or a war much faster thus saving a lot of lives?" I asked.

Then I turned to the girl and by the way she stiffened I knew she could feel my glare despite my helmet.

"As for you, Ahsoka, that was disappointing. You let your anger rule you instead the other way around! That's the problem with you Jedi! You have no damned idea how to handle your feelings! You do not fight your anger when you've been suppressing your emotions for as long as either of you had! You let it flow through you and channel it into something useful! "

The younger Togruta was about to say something but I cut her off.

"Do not dare lie to me young lady!" I snapped at her. "Giving us some story that you really did not mean it won't fly with me! I could feel your anger! You were deadly serious and that slug," I pointed at Gunray who was now terrified, "has important information in his head. Intelligence that your precious Republic needs! What would have happened if you went and cut off his head?! "

"I'm sorry." she mumbled. I could see her eyes becoming heavy with tears.

Bloody hell. I hate to see girls crying. Strange for a Sith, I know.

"Don't go moping around and instead learn from you mistake so it does not happen again. Ahsoka, you are a bright, you woman with her whole life in front of her. Do not waste it by giving in to your anger."

Sniff. "Thanks." Tano muttered.

"That's not what I expected from you, Delkatar."

"Not this again! Why the hell would I want to turn Ahsoka into a murderous lunatic controlled by the Dark side?!" I bemoaned. How many times must I have the same damned conversation with different Jedi?!

"It's the Sith way. You walk in the darkness. While most of your actions are atypical for one of your kind, I could sense the Dark side on you. It's so intense that I could almost taste it." Shaak Ti spoke quietly. Just loud enough for me to hear her.

"Because it is not, damn it! Unless you want to turn a bunch of Jedi into a bunch of half-mad dogs seaming for blood. Good to use as shock troops but little else. That is not something I want for Ahsoka." I huffed with exasperation. "You saw her! One of this days, the Jedi would have to admit to themselves that you do feel. You can't cut off your emotions. Instead of burying your collective heads in the sand, re-learn how to deal with them."

"Re-learn?"

"You've seen my record. The Jedi of old were not blind enough to pretend that they had no emotions. 'Emotion, yet peace.' Does that ring a bell?"

"That's..." Master Ti's eyes widened when hearing that line.

"Yeah. If you want I'll tell you more about the Jedi of old. But now we have a job to do, don't we?" I asked and looked at the prisoner.

Gunray gulped.

"Ah. I was a bit hasty, wasn't I? Shall we negotiate?" He smiled nervously.

I snorted derisively and raised my right hand. My palm pointed at him and he could see lightning sparkling between my fingers.

"You answer all our questions truthfully and completely. And I do not practice my lightning on you. I can tell when you lie, Viceroy. Do not mistake me for a Jedi as those two fetching ladies. I am like your master."

His eyes grew wide to a comic proportions.

"A Sith!?" Gunray squealed like a little girl.

I sensed a tremor in the Force and moved driven by instinct. The ship shook under our feet and Mater Ti lost her balance when she tried to steady the still distraught Ahsoka. I caught her before she slammed into the table.

"Your friends are here, Viceroy. Do not count on them getting you out of this mess."