Padmé Confronts
Valad had just told Padmé to trust him, yet he had just asked two strangers to come back with them to Naboo. What was going on here? While she respected the Jedi, this was all random to her. How could this lead up to protecting her people? What were they talking about, benefits?
"Why didn't you ask me first?" Padmé asked Valad in a quieted tone as she leaned towards him as they walked back to the Scimitar. Her eyes narrowed on the back of Ky who was calmly making his way up the ramp.
The Droids were watching the parameter as the two came to a stop and looked at one another. "I assumed you trusted me?" Valad chuckled a little bit and closed one eye.
"I knew you were coming here to do this, I just didn't know you were offering them somewhere to stay." Padmé said with a concerned tone that he was trying to take powers into his own hands. He simply shook his head slightly.
"They can either stay in the ship for their room and board, or they can go find a place to stay… Or the Queen can offer them lodging during their stay when we return." Valad said with a quirky smile. "So unless the Jedi talks to his Order, no one will know the difference between him missing or staying in Theed."
Padmé gave a slow nod to what he was saying. Pretty much if she wanted to give the Jedi a place to stay, it was up to her. If she wanted any possible respect from the Jedi, she could also offer them a place to lodge.
Personally she also believed that it would rather beneficial to have Jedi around the Capital City, especially since the Jedi routinely help with criminal investigations across the galaxy. Especially on Coruscant.
Once inside the transport, REED began to take off procedures which had the ramp conceal itself once again beneath the airlock and the aft airlock would close concurrently. As the landing gear pushed off the ground, there was a light shake.
Grasping Padmé by the arm as she stumbled, Valad chuckled a little as he escorted the Queen to the upper deck.
Ky Narec was standing with one arm crossed over his chest and the other holding his chin. His eyes were gazing over the controls and the intricate instruments which were present. What caught his eye though wasn't the Protocol Droid which was standing in the corner charging, but the R9 unit which was there.
Even though he wasn't a mechanic, he definitely knew the difference between a roundabout Astromech droid compared to a more advanced one. While it looked a lot like an R2 unit, its unique dome made him rather curious.
On the other hand the little Ventress was sitting across the co-pilot seat in a tomboyish manner. Her legs dangling over the arm of the seat and her eyes staring out the window. The last time she had been in space was when she an infant.
The excitement could be felt and seen by everyone on the deck and it made Ky a bit happy seeing the child enjoying herself. The ship itself began to leave the atmosphere, cloaking just moments before enemy emplacements from the warlords could get a lock.
Padmé let out a light sigh seeing the little Jedi in her seat before shrugging to herself and walking over to the passenger seat in the third seat from the lift.
In turn, Valad made his way over to the pilots seat and sat down, allowing REED to hand over control to him. As he took control of the transport, Assajj Ventresses eyes moved their gaze to him as he used the instruments available to navigate out of the planet's natural gravity well.
Ky would glance over towards Padmé, sensing her emotions, he became curious about her. Nerac walked over to the seat second from the lift and sat down with one leg crossed over the other.
"So, how'd you meet the guy?" He casually pointed towards Valad who was piloting the ship.
Padmé looked at him as he had casually probed her for information. "He was found unconscious in front of the Royal Palace of Naboo," she said in a low voice. "He then offered to aid the Queen, she accepted."
Nodding slightly, that definitely made him even more curious. "I'm guessing she took him in after finding him?"
Padmé nodded in response without giving much details. She was supposed to be disguised as a handmaiden. On top of that she had only been Queen for three months, it wasn't as if he would even recognize her if he tried. The last time he had been off planet, the ruler of Naboo was a man.
"I see…" Stroking his chin slightly. "He's also very strong in the force. His connection is higher than I've ever felt. Yet it feels unrefined… Have you seen if he me–"
"He was meditating the entire time on the way here," Padmé interrupted the man as if she knew what he was about to ask. Despite how she was known for being polite and courteous to others, it seemed as if she was unable to remain calm talking about Valad.
Ky noticed that he was prying in a bit too quickly and too outgoingly. He sensed the frustration within her, and the disappointment in herself for cutting him off. "Who is he?" He chose to push a little more to see what he could get.
"Valad Katsure, a child of a now extinct noble house. He's the sole proprietor of their estate," Padmé's eyes were locked on the back of Valad's head as she was speaking now, not looking at Ky at all.
Valad of course was hearing this whole conversation, while showing Ventress the instruments and telling her what everything did.
"Hm…" Ky Narec would lean back into the chair and watch the two interacting now as he calmed down on his approach. He could sense that everytime the two of them were close, she became more nervous and Valad on the other hand had a infatuation with the girl. At the same time, he could feel a little bit of deceit from the girl sitting beside him, but wasn't exactly sure what it was.
…
The Scimitar came out of hyperspace several hours later in the Naboo system. All seemed to be peaceful, nothing was bad was sensed which made it so life was going on as it always had.
Breaking through the Naboo atmosphere, the ship would head straight for the Capital City. Unlike last time, Padmé had been awake the entire time. On the other hand Ky Narec was meditating and Assajj was sleeping in the co-pilots seat.
Valad's head bobbed slightly as he gave the controls back to R99D as they were approaching the hangar bay. Moments before entering the Scimitar would uncloak and glide in the air several meters in the air before landing.
With a light jolt as they landed, Assajj Ventresses eyes opened partially, her blue eyes staring out towards the beautiful architecture which surrounded them. "This is Naboo?"
Her personality was much different from what he could recall as an adult. Though the Assajj he knew had fallen to the Dark Side, her life with Narec barely shared except for being found and how he died, causing her to turn.
Valad would let out a small snicker before disengaging the ship's engine systems and getting out of the seat. Patting the R9 unit on the head, the droid would chirp for the first time before sliding on over to the lift and going down to the lower deck.
"So," Valad looked over at Ky for a few moments as Padmé got up and began to make her way out of the seat and over to the lift. Brushing against Valad's arm awkwardly before leaving the three of them alone.
"So." Narec repeated the word as his eyes opened up and scrutinized the young man who was responsible for saving their lives.
Valad lulled his head curiously to the side. "Will you stay, or will you go?"
Ventress was now standing on the co-pilots seat with her hands on the dashboard. Just staring out to the Naboo star fighters from the viewport window. It was like watching a bewildered child stare out the windshield of a car.
"We'll stay here for a short while." He said with a light nod before tilting his head to the side a bit. Curious about the two people who hadn't come out of their rooms since the beginning below deck.
Sensing the curiosity, Valad smiled a little. "They're doing their own things," Just at that moment the woman who had been hired as his supposed Secretary would enter the upper deck and blink a few times at the view of a Jedi and a small Padawan gazing out the window.
"I see we have guests," Looking back and forth between all of them, she would shrug to herself and walk backwards into the lift and go back down to the lower deck.
Moments later she could be sensed leaving the ship. The teenager in the other sleeping compartment followed after a group of maintenance officers came around to the ship and called her out to work on some of the droids.
"What's your angle?" Ky Narec asked curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly opposite to Valad.
"I foresaw that if you stayed on that planet, you would die." Valad's eyes gazed over towards the sidetracked youngling who was Ventress. "And she turned."
The Jedi's eyes lost focus for a moment, this person foresaw his death and went out of the way to save him? No, that wasn't it. Ky Narec's eyes turned to Ventress who was smiling.
Valad could read the moon quite easily, seeing the changes in his expression. "You're right. I didn't do this for you. She didn't deserve to fall like she would have."