01.04 : The Light Begins to Dim

[22 BBY]

[Groundside Spaceport, World of Coruscant]

{Breaking Holo-net News: Senator Amidala of Naboo Assassinated? Ship Explodes at Spaceport! Sensational Footage Here! Do You Want to Know More? Y/N?}

"Copy Stormcrow, information received. It's confirming what sensors and surveillance is saying. Main alert status, we'll arrange pickup once Lockdown is lifted" I spoke into communicator inbuilt into my helmet while holding up my right arm to reveal the streaming news of the destruction of the good Senator's now not-so-shiny diplomatic ship. Something I decided to make not of as I turned my head towards the 'trooper' at my side and motioning at the active footage as we stood in the maintenance hangar of one of the station's annexes.

"And this is why we do paranoid things as you call them Senator. Operational Security when the Trade Federation and Banking Clan might want you dead right before a major vote"

She, likely sulking judging from the body language, stayed quiet and I was just glad her head of security hadn't been injured in the detonation of the mostly empty vessel. Well, there were three worker droids with holo-emitters and dressed in dresses but they didn't count as they were non-sentient models. It was creepy how badly this galaxy treat droids that were clearly self aware and sentient, and I'd done my best to ensure I did not build those unless we had options for 'freeing' them down the line. For now though it was a small bill the grumpy Naboo Senator would have to pay at some point in the future; equipment was expensive after all.

My assassin/bodyguard droids Bob and Betty were of similar design, frightening intelligent but not really true AI, and both stood silently nearby disguised as ever in their full body armour like the rest of my personal combat squad. This was not the time or place to take chances as we 'guarded' the technicians loading and unloading goods here in the grubbier and more gray-legal element orientated area of Coruscant. We'd chosen the location at the last moment, switching from the secret alternate, and only let the waiting escort know after we'd landed and secured the place.

"We've got incoming Captain-General..." came into my ear from one of those on watch "...air-car, Jedi looks like from the briefing, robes and all"

'Of course they are' I thought motioning for full alert status and weapons were readied, much to the irritation of our charge who was on the squad's tac-net. That was a mistake on my part; but generally our charges were a bit more experienced in the trade of not wanting to die, unlike the lemming in human form that was Padme Amidala apparently.

"What are you doing, these are Jedi...."

My helmet synthesised voice cut out hers, the masculine sounding whining from hers faintly amusing somehow, along with a gesture with my free hand "Look like Jedi Senator, look like. We confirm their identity and then you change over into their charge. While you are here, you and your two handmaids safety are the responsibility of ESS and we take that rather seriously. Especially since ship just exploded, so bear with us a few moments"

I pressed on the circuit "Patch through the footage to my screen please Specialist Kerdak"

Moments later the holo-net footage was pushed off to the corner and in the centre was the image of a rapidly approaching speeder with two figures from one of our floater droids. I sighed as I recognised the two faces....just as I'd feared unfortunately "Well Senator, you shall be relieved to know these are the Jedi taking charge of your security so follow me....Specialist Veran, open up that hanger door fully if you please. Bob, Betty, either side of the entrance, Vigilance"

"Copy/Copy/Roger that Sir" echoed back as I stepped forward in my combat armour with my 'bodyguard' at my right, and two 'technicians' wheeling forward a cart just behind us. The Stormcrow was being loaded outside, and a few minutes later a speeder/air-car descended to land between my ship and the hanger as there wasn't a care in the world. It was odd, because they could be so good out in the wilds but being in the Core just had be all official like even when visiting the crappier areas like where we were right now. So I merely turned off my holo-screen projection and held up a hand as they neared.

"Greetings Honourable Jedi, I trust you are here for official purposes?"

Obi-wan nodded, one hand coming up to motion for Anakin to relax as he glared about at us looking for the disguised woman to my side "Of course....the Senator?"

"Oh thank the Force Obi-wan, Anakin, I thought I'd never be free of this dreadful suit..." Amidala complained tugging the helmet from her head and letting out a relieved sigh as if she'd escaped some horrible prison "...but you are both here as my protectors?"

Anakin beamed despite attempting to hide it, and Kenobi nodded with a smile "Of course Senator"

"Then I feel much safer then, I could not be in better hands"

'Heh heh, aren't you hilarious' I thought resisting the urge to shake my head as I handed over the data-pad to Kenobi "Please confirm here your taking them into your charge"

With a nod and a fingerprint I nodded back in thanks "Thank you. Job done, off the clock....now Ani, is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

"I'm...sorry?"

Even Kenobi looked confused, so good news was my Force Concealment was good....bad news was they hadn't bothered doing a background check on the people doing security apparently. I pulled the helmet off my head with a tired sigh "Heavens above Anakin, we don't talk for over a year and you don't you know who I am? Damn that's cold! Brr, Freezing Cold all this Jedi emotional suppression taken too far I say!"

'Heh, that's funny looks' I noted to myself enjoying my *big reveal* with an irritated look crossing gold auld Obi-wan's face, and the strange look on Amidala's when she got sight of the confusion then grin, on Anakin's face as we exchanged a handshake. No chance I'd get to lurk around and dragged into whatever mess was about to go down, but it was fun for a moment to mess with them...

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[22 BBY]

[Private Room, Mer'trin'tuls Galactic Bar & Eatery, Groundside, World of Coruscant]

"The question then is do we accept it?" old Jurdan stated as our little group of four Captains sat around the table, and the glowing avatars of available Board members illuminated from two distance locations; Corellia and Solem via the Hyperspace Holo-net. It was costly, damned costly really, to have the security and encryption at such distance, but it that was just the nature of doing business in this particular trade.

"It's a good contract...honestly it's bloody fantastic one, but we're talking a big damned risk here. Promises aside this is another deniable operation, one where they want us to help pirates....yeah, sure, *resistance fighters* they say...against one of the more dangerous members of our competition...." I noted hands together on the table as we all reviewed the new contact we'd been offered by...well, members of the Republics Military and Intelligence Bureaus as best we could tell "...I'm not against this, actually I'm inclined to take it. But there are big risks here, Cavik Toth and Saboath Squadron can bring a lot more to the table than we can in space for instance, and this will come off as retaliation against the Trade Federation for attacking us at home"

Our cheerfully bloodthirsty Mandalorian member of the Board Briaka Chorn's avatar merely grinned and waved with her hand, forming a fist "Even better! They won't think we're being cats-paws for the Republic then! Anyway, lots of groups have been trying to figure out where the raiders hitting the lanes between Eriadu, Chistophsis, and Naboo were basing out of! There's a big damned bounty on it with the ORSF for instance, so bonus there....and we pull in some freelancers for support anyway. By the way I'll want to join this operation in person if we take it"

Shesagora, Captain of the Wicked Witch of Endor took a sip from whatever the vile smelling concoction she was drinking "I'm more worried about the possibility of there being a capital ship range being there. Sabbaoth Squadron are supposed to have at least one, possibly two, and that's nothing compared to the frigates they'll have scattered about. That's not mentioned anywhere in our contract brief"

Jurdan Ironhill snorted, arms folded across his broad chest "Doesn't need to be, details are left to us, as is whatever the plan is. All they say is to help neutralise the Trade Federation facility in the system, the how is left up to us"

I sighed rubbing at the bridge of my nose. The balloon was clearly going up, and this would be our first....and best to avoid being our last...battle of the Clone Wars I expected "Yes, which is good, as I don't and won't trust the info too much from the Lok Revenants' and so-called Mere Resistance filtered through the lens of Republic Intelligence. Ideally we let their ships do the bleeding if it comes to a fight, but based on what's here I think e have to accept. Credits are good yes, but they're basically offering to open up full Republic Military grade deflectors and weapons purchases if we pull this off. None of our barrier and defensive grid legal jumping about, *and* solid contract work with the military"

Shesagora grunted "Someone clearly thinks there's a nasty war about to break out if they're hiring up everyone like this. Us by Republic spooks, Sabboath Squadron and The Protectors by the Trade Federation by all accounts....war by proxy"

"Keeps it out of the public's eyes so the Core and Deep Core can keep being all smug and pretentious while others do their fighting and dying for'em...but I think we're in majority agreement to go ahead with the contract?"

Braika chuckled and I could agree with that in part. I would fully if my mediating on now ancient memories hadn't given some degree of foreknowledge on the hidden clone and droid armies assembled by the Sith. Fighting with mercenaries would make alot of sense for a proxy war, and in the past few weeks it looked like Contract's were there for the picking in that line of work; Anti-Piracy or Strategic Resource Acquisition they called it, but the sub-text had become very clear after we got to Coruscant post-mission.

Even the Jedi were out in force as I didn't get more a few moments talking to Skywalker before they left, and several of the others such as Bariss were apparently off on missions. That or the Council were blanket banning or just delay communications with me again; but I was fairly sure it was missions. There was tension over Coruscant, the Dark Side faintly buzzing, expectant, as if something was about to happen....because it was, and violence was both inevitable and needed because of the dying Republic.

"I vote Aye" I replied and was soon followed by a general round of agreement and two abstentions on the matter as we confirmed the simple contract acceptance a shell company owned by the Office of Republic Naval Commerce Protection. The original plan to head for Corellia had now changed; the new ships and the Gozanti-cruiser we'd sent ahead to deliver and prep the new crews instead joining us here in Coruscant before we'd return back along the Corellian Run to Christophsis and link up more of ESS's vessels there.

'Now is it a trap?' was the big question of course, but one couldn't second guess everything. We'd just have to exercise caution...because this would hopefully be the first of many contracts with the Republic. Something I'd, and the Board because of me, had fought hard for since I'd gotten Executive Security Solutions formed and started recruiting. We had brought this situation about by our actions after all, my own especially, so it would foolish to back out now when far more dangerous battles and plots lay ahead. One just had to ensure we survived and learned from this dark and deadly period of galactic history. I pressed the icon and brought up the star-chart and system information; now I had to plan and fight for a system called Lok...