May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)

Dr. Snark said:

Declares my omake non-canon

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

"You have your assignments, let's find out what the hell happened." Minn Adri nodded to conclude the planning meeting and watched her subordinates scatter. All but one. "Yes, Veltress?"

"Are we just going to ignore that last order from up top?" asked Calos. Out of all the people she commanded, Calos Veltress was the single most literal minded of them. If he were less intelligent in general, she could be convinced the man didn't even know what a metaphor was.

"What order are you referring to?" Minn groaned, knowing that she'd no doubt regret asking.

"Our orders are to compile dossiers on the protestors, their families, any criminal records they may possess, and what they had for lunch yesterday." repeated Calos. "Okins is looking into the protestors, Yula is finding out which ones have families on Coruscant, and Zalzzabar is collaborating with Corscant Security Forces to look into the protestors' criminal history. But no one is asking around to find out what the protestors ate for lunch."

Minn sighed in exasperation. It was times like this she contemplated asking for a raise. "Veltress, they weren't being serious. It's just a figure of speech, telling us to be thorough."

"And if it's not? I don't want to start ignoring orders because I thought they were a figure of speech." protested Calos.

"I guarantee you, no one but you is expecting us to look into what the protestors had for lunch yesterday." Minn clasped her hands together and pointed them at Calos for emphasis.

"I'm just saying, what if one of the protestors had something for lunch yesterday that would blow this whole thing wide open, and we don't look into it because you decided it was a waste of time?" speculated Calos.

"For the love of- look, if it makes you feel any better, I promise to take full responsibility should that very unlikely event come to pass." said Minn, mostly just looking to get Calos Veltress out of her office and go through some of the paperwork that had started to pile up. "Now go help Yula with her assignment. Poor girl has enough on her plate."

"Yes ma'am. I'll bear that in mind." Calos saluted, then left, much to Minn's relief.




"So, full responsibility?" prompted Calos.

"Yes Veltress. I know." The information itself was a godsend, even if it had come from outside sources. But the fact that it proved Calos' insane conspiracy theory correct wasn't worth it.

"I'm just saying, explosive nano-droids were found in the man's leftovers from lunch the previous day. If you had listened to me from the beginning, we'd have known that days ago." If he were any more smug about being right, Minn would have decked her own subordinate right then and there, consequences be damned. She had no idea that anyone could be such a sore winner.

"I'll be sure to take your advice more seriously in the future, Veltress." said Minn, trying to be cordial through gritted teeth.

"Well good then. As long as you listen to my good ideas going forward." Calos gave an exasperated sigh. "Someone's gotta do it."

This time, Minn did punch him.



AN:

Kyr'am said:

Alternatively, nobody was actually assigned to ask people what they had for lunch, because that's just silly.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Well fine then, if you want to be boring about it.

Coruscant

After telling Grievous to make a speech from Kalee, the hours seemed to go by in a blur for Ciaran.

"This brazen assault on the Jedi Temple is nothing short of disgraceful. While we Kaleesh have had our own issues with the Order, we are at least willing to let the galaxy judge our words for what they are. This bomber seems to be only content with murder for the sake of murder..."
"The official condemnation of the bomber by Grievous has drawn a significant amount of attention in the last few hours, as many experts believe that the bombing was motivated by the scandals surrounding the Huk-Kaleesh War. Experts are still trying to determine why the bomber or the organization supporting them has made no demands or statements..."
"Duchess Satine Kyrze is expected to attend the funeral for the four casualties taken in the attack. In an official statement she said that 'The Jedi Order has my fullest sympathies in this time of sorrow. This is not a matter of politics but simple decency and sympathy in what is no doubt..."
"While the Jedi Order has yet to confirm it, many believe that the casualties at the temple would have been far greater had most of the staff not been moved to Tython, as the bomb appears to have gone off in one of its hangars-"

"Ciaran."

The woman in question jolted out of her reverie as she processed Thrawn was speaking to her. "Ugh...sorry about that. What was it?"

"I wanted to let you know that I will be arriving shortly with Miss Plenar, Master Althean, and Miss Fett to assist in the investigations."

"Right, that makes - Miss Fett!? Did I hear that right!?"

"You did," Arla said as she stepped into view just to the side of Thrawn. "I specifically asked to be assigned to this."

"...Arla, I appreciate that you're willing to help but-"

"I can't just stay by my brother's side forever," she said as she breathed in, steadying herself. "I know it's not going to be easy for me, which is why he specifically ordered that your men be with me at all times," she said as she slightly gestured in Thrawn's direction.

"And just what exactly do you think you can bring to this?"

"Understanding of the mindset of a fanatic," Arla said before taking in a deep breath. "I...I honestly don't think you can understand why someone would be insane enough to bomb the Jedi Temple of all places, but I can tell you that if the Death Watch could have done it they likely would have. You have to understand that people like the Death Watch don't see the galaxy like a sane being does; to people like them everyone is either with them or against them, and..." She went silent to gather her thoughts. "...There's only so far logic and reason can get you when dealing people like them."

Ciaran folded her arms. "I'm going to need proof that you can be an actual asset and not a liability. So tell me, based on the evidence so far why do you think that the Temple was bombed?"

Arla withdrew into herself slightly though Ciaran could tell it was because she was seriously considering her question. "The Huk-Kaleesh War is an obvious factor. After that you need to start accounting for the location itself. Obviously the Temple was bombed but the important thing was that the bomb went off in an area few Jedi would actually be in in comparison to the rest of the Temple. I know that they can sense hostile intent to an extent but if you could get a bomb into the Temple you could definitely have it inflict more Jedi casualties. This was not a message to the public. This was a message to the Jedi."

"And what would that be?" Ciaran asked, her curiosity growing.

"Since whoever did the bombing hasn't made any demands I think that it's something along the lines of 'you're more fallible than you think you are.' But honestly...the only way you're going to figure out the 'why' is by asking the bomber themselves."

"I see...okay then, how do you think the bomb got in?"

"With the high security measures in place I guarantee you it was a patsy or something similar. I doubt they even knew they were bringing in a bomb; they could have been asked to hold something on their way in and hand it back when they got back out or something."

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact that it's the Jedi Temple. I can't say I know exactly how the Force works but I'd think that with that many Jedi around they'd be able to detect that level of hostile intent or fear that someone who knew they had a bomb would have."

Ciaran was silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you pass. I won't contradict Thrawn's decision," she said as she looked at the Chiss in question, "though I'm fairly sure he did the same thing I did."

"An accurate assessment," he replied.

"You do know that you're technically still wanted, right?"

"Can't see through armor."

"Mandalorian armor's going to draw a lot of attention these days."

"That's the idea. I..." She breathed in slightly again. "There are...signs that the Death Watch had, subtle ways of saying who they were to others without anyone else noticing. I'm going to have your people follow me and see if we can find any trace of whoever's behind this."

"...Alright. As long as you're sure."

"I am. I need to do this. I may not be as good as my brother but I'll do everything I can to help."

----------

The Jedi Temple was the last place Anakin Skywalker wanted to be right now.

That wasn't to say that he didn't want to help stop whoever bombed the Temple. He was planning on helping with the investigation whether the Council wanted him to or not, though given that he and Ahsoka had just gotten back after explicit orders from Yoda himself he was certain he would be assigned to it anyway. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was himself.

Or more accurately the fact that he'd spent the last half-year constantly debating whether or not staying in the Order was the right thing to do...or whether or not the "right thing" mattered and he should do what he wanted. It was no coincidence that he'd been taking on missions more or less constantly to keep himself away as much as possible, but now he couldn't stay away. Not now.

Even then...the events were nagging at him.

How could someone bomb the Temple? And why?
Was it a Jedi that fell?
If it is, why hasn't anyone found them yet?
If it isn't, how could they evade the Order?

Trying to clear his mind, Anakin had spent the better part of the day pacing around the Temple grounds, trying to make sense of things and at the same time trying to focus on the more immediate problem of the bombing. As he wandered through one of the outer training grounds he noticed that the sun was about to go down, the stars in the night sky starting to appear.

"Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin whirled around to face the voice that had come from behind him, his hand reaching for a lightsaber. "Do I know you?" he said to the figure in a cloak standing impassively.

"Unlikely, unless you know the names of the Sentinels."

Anakin's hand drifted away from his saber though he was still clearly suspicious. "What do you want?"

"It is not what I want, rather that I believe we can help each other. You are quite familiar with the Lady Ciaran, yes?"

Anakin glared at the figure suspiciously.

"I'm sure you are aware but we expect that she will want to examine the case herself," the figure continued after noticing Anakin wasn't speaking. "While the Order certainly has capable individuals like you involved in this matter we are of the belief that additional eyes will be needed. Eyes that can look into places that a Jedi Knight cannot see."

"Meaning?"

"When you are assigned to the case - and that is a certainty - if there is any information you wish to pass to her simply use this," the figure said as he handed over a small device to Anakin. "In return we will inform you of anything she wishes to say to you."

"...Why this secrecy? I know she and the Council don't get along, but I could-"

"It is not you that is the issue here. You will understand tomorrow once the Council brings you up to speed." The figure walked past Anakin. "Good hunting."

----------

"How could the Separatists get into the Temple?"

"Worse than that it is, young Padawan."

"What could be worse, Master Yoda?"

"Everything is on the table. We have to look at the possibility that it could have been anyone in the temple, even a Jedi."

"If a Jedi this is, gone to the Dark Side they have."

"I...I can't believe a Jedi would attack a place this sacred."

"We'd like for you two...Skywalker?"

Anakin shook his head slightly. "Sorry. Just thinking things through. You want us to lead the investigations then?"

"Yes," Mace replied. "We can't trust anyone here, even a Jedi. You and Ahsoka will provide an impartial point of view, free of assumptions." He winced slightly as he said that.

"Is...something wrong, Master?" Anakin asked.

"There's already someone working on the case which is why your perspectives will be necessary."

"Wait, who?"

----------

"Darra!?"

"Hey Ani, long time no see," the young Jedi in question said as she slowly walked towards Anakin and Ahsoka with a noticeable limp, seemingly ignoring the hangar debris and the various droids scanning them. "So, the Council decided that they needed someone who's actually been out and about in the galaxy looking into things instead of me?"

"That's - that's not the point!" Anakin shouted as Ahsoka looked between the two of them confused. "We've been told by the Council in no small words that -"

"Don't trust anyone, everyone's a suspect?" she said as she chuckled darkly. "Can't say I blame them. Don't worry though, I've got security footage, multiple alibis, and I even turned over my communication and holonet history to be sure. You can still trust me."

"But why are you here?"

"I needed to do something, anything to help," Darra replied. "For once this is something I can do even if...well...you know how it is," Darra said with a slightly sad smile.

"Uh...are you going to introduce us?" Ahsoka asked.

"R-right," Anakin said as his mind shifted back into gear. "Ahsoka, Darra Thel-Tanis. She's an old friend, from when we were still Padawans. Darra, this is Ahsoka, my Padawan."

"Is that right?" she said as she turned to face Ahsoka, her face noticeably lighting up. "How many times have you had to bail him out of trouble?"

"I think we're up to sixteen now," Ahsoka replied without missing a beat.

"A-Anyway, we need to focus. The bomber could still be out there," Anakin said as the three began to move through the hangar.

"I can't believe a Jedi would do this..." Ahsoka said quietly, looking around and fully processing the damage around her.

"Not every Jedi agrees with this war, Ahsoka," Anakin replied as Darra visibly winced. "There are many political idealists among us."

"Myself included," Darra said quietly.

"But a traitor?"

"I'm afraid one can eventually become the other," Anakin said. "Remember Count Dooku and General Krell. That's how they started too."

The three of them continued their walk, not really paying attention to the debris for a moment before Anakin stopped to look around. "Enough of that, we need to get to work. Darra, have you talked to the wounded?"

"Not yet. I've only just started preliminary scans, but now that you two are here I can get on that."

"Right," Anakin said as he asserted himself. "You..." He shook his head. "I do trust you but I from what I heard I doubt the Council would appreciate you interviewing them on your own. Take Ahsoka with you, and I'll stay here and look over the scene, see if any of the droids around here find something."

"Hah. Look at Ani being all assertive," Darra teased lightly. "But that does sound like a good plan. We'll let you know if we hear anything," she said as she and Ahsoka left the area.

"Right..." Anakin said to himself, closing his eyes and breathing in. As the two left it felt as though the hangar began to darken slightly, the atmosphere becoming more oppressive. Distant sounds of scraping steel suddenly seemed to echo through the room before they were joined by the sounds of people screaming-

-screaming as the clone troopers advanced through the Jedi Temple, mowing down anyone who got in their way as he led them forward, cutting down people that he had called his friends and comrades as though he didn't even know them, even as they threw themselves at him to try and stop him-

Anakin's breathing began to become more rapid as the vision began to overwhelm him before he reached towards his chest, feeling the snippet beneath his robes-

"Take it."

"The Japor snippet? Padme, I gave that for you to keep way back when. Good fortune and all that, remember?"

"You need it a lot more than I do right now," she said as she hung it around Anakin's neck. "After everything you said..." She smiled sadly. "If you ever get scared or afraid, just hold on to it and remember that I'm always going to be here for you."

"Sheesh, you're treating me like a little kid now?" Anakin joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Be serious." Padme replied as she lightly jabbed him in the arm. "I..." Her face fell slightly again before she looked at Anakin worriedly. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through right now with the visions you told me about but...you're not alone. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

"I won't. I promise."

Anakin's breathing began to steady as he came back to his senses, taking in the room around him and noticing that the various analysis droids were still moving around, scanning individual pieces of debris. Thinking things over, he moved towards one of them to see what he'd found so far.

---------

As Ciaran was going over data coming in on the Temple bombing, she received a call that had a cipher indicating it was from the Jedi Sentinels. Pushing a button, a figure in a cloak appeared.

"Figured you'd talk to me sooner or later," Ciaran said neutrally. "Anything come up yet?"

"No. The investigation has only just begun in earnest. I was calling to warn you that intervening directly in the matter would be inadvisable given that one of the primary investigators is one Darra Thel-Tanis."

Ciaran was silent for a long moment. "Was that intentional?"

"The Council did not stop her. Perhaps that is enough of an affirmation. However we can still keep you in the loop; one of the other investigators is Anakin Skywalker, who has agreed to use us as an intermediary in this matter. If he finds anything he will pass it to us, and in turn we will pass it along to you."

"Understood. I'll try and stay out of the way as best I can, though really there's not much I can do since it's in the Temple right now."

"Very well then. We will be in touch."

-----------

"Did you notice anything unusual about the hangar?"

"Not really...although I left the hangar five minutes before the bomb exploded."

"Did everything seem okay before that?"

"Everything seemed normal. ...Is it true that a Jedi might be responsible for the attack?"

"...We're not certain of anything at this point." Ahsoka moved over to Darra, who had just finished talking with another victim. "This distrust is troubling. Some of these people have worked within the Temple for years."

"Ahsoka...believe me when I say that doesn't matter," Darra replied quietly. "All it takes is one act of betrayal and..." Her face fell. "Let's just say I know where these people are coming from."

"I...think I know who did it," a man spoke up from the back of the room. "Who blew up the hangar."

"Who?"

"I believe it was...Jackar Bowmani."

"Jackar Bowmani..."

"Who is he?" Darra asked. "Has he been working at the Temple for a long time?"

"He was a maintenance crew member, and has been with us for a few years now."

"And you think he was the culprit because...?"

"I passed him as I was going on my shift change. He - he had been working all morning in the section the blast came from. It was the last place I saw him."

"Have you seen him since the explosion?" Darra asked.

"No. Truthfully I didn't see much of anything after the explosion."

"I see," Darra said before laying a hand on his shoulder. "I...thank you for telling us about this. I know what it feels like to be a part of a tragedy like this." Without another word she stood up, slowly leaving the room as Ahsoka followed her.

"Mast-"

"Please call me Darra."

"Darra...what was that?" Ahsoka asked. "What were you talking about?"

Darra sighed. "I'm sure you noticed the limp, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well, that's because of the cybernetics in my leg. They aren't as good as they used to be."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking that is, I-"

"It's fine...it's fine. I was on a mission a few years ago to pursue a man who had attacked the Senate and...it went wrong. It went very wrong. I would have died if it wasn't for..."

"For..."

"Ciaran. She and her men helped the Sentinels track him down and they arrived just in time to keep me alive. I'm a lot more machine than I used to be but..." Darra went quiet. "I'm alive. For whatever reason the Force wills it."

"...I heard that you testified against her. About connections to the Hutts?"

"...Yeah I did." Darra looked at Ahsoka sadly. "That's what I was talking about earlier. It doesn't matter what someone has done for you...all it takes is one act of betrayal and that can be enough to ensure that you can never trust them ever again."

The two of them were quiet before Ahsoka spoke again. "Do you think she's behind this?"

"There's no way," Darra said with conviction that surprised Ahsoka. "She gains nothing and loses everything if she did this given her actions so far. And I know for a fact that woman would rather die than willingly do something that would damage her reputation or income."

As the two turned a corner, they ran into a very concerned Anakin. "Either of you two find anything?"

"Yes, thankfully. Jackar Bowmani, one of the Temple workers. One of the witnesses saw him in the hangar bay before the bomb exploded, and apparently there's been no sign of him since then," Darra explained.

"I see," Anakin said, taking in the information. "I'll talk to security, see what they can find," he said as he walked past them. As he did so he quietly brought out the Sentinel device...

---------

"Skywalker has found a lead," the Sentinel explained to Ciaran. "Jackar Bowmani, male Abyssin maintenance worker. Last seen at the bomb site and by all accounts has completely vanished since then."

"I'll see what I can pull up," Ciaran said as she ended the call before placing one to the analysis team. "I need a dossier on 'Jackar Bowmani' ASAP. The subject is a male Abyssin, see if there's any sign of him anywhere."

After some time Ciaran got a dossier. Jackar Bowman, maintenance worker at the Jedi Temple. No criminal record, no signs of mental disorders, was pro-Jedi by all accounts, specialized in munitions and more specifically nano-weaponry...and was married to one Letta Turmond, who just so happened to be a member of the protests around the Temple.

As she processed this, she got another call from the Sentinels. "Skywalker has found another lead-"

"Probably the same one I have. Letta Turmond?"

"Indeed. She has been taken into temporary custody until he can question her."

"Meaning that there should be no one home. The dossiers I have on hand indicate they live in an apartment in a rough neighborhood, someone could break in..."

"I will note that Skywalker's investigation will likely move to that location at some point," the Sentinel noted. "Anyone else would have to move quickly and quietly if they want to find anything."

[] Have someone break into Jackar and Letta's apartment to see if there are any leads.
-[] Do it yourself. You've broken into many Courscant buildings in your life, this one would be no different.
-[] Have Arla and company break in. Maybe she'll pick up on some signs that you'd overlook.
-[] Have Asajj and Karrosi break in. Asajj has done enough black ops work that she'd probably be able to pick up on anything suspect.
[] Set up people around the apartment to watch and listen for any suspicious activity, but don't go any further than that.
[] Leave the house alone, you don't want to risk anyone picking up that you're unofficially investigating the matter as well.

AN: Yes Anakin is supposed to be the focus character this time around, namely to show how things are already going to play out a biiiit differently than people expect (even if I did crib from the episode's script for a lot of this) and to help set up for later when Shit Gets Real.

Suffice it to say you're probably going to be seeing a lot of 'Side Anakin' as it were as this plays out.