Since the lad was a sucker for beautiful women, I decided to play on that. (It would have been surprising if it were otherwise.) Outlining the plan to Zara, I sent her after Sheev, while Radiy and I remained to wait for them right in our room. In an hour, the ship would make a scheduled exit from hyperspace for course correction. The KIM would already be waiting there in case we needed to leave. After all, killing Jedi or staging a mass slaughter was absolutely not part of my plans. Besides, I didn't want to pit the TF against Naboo just yet, which meant I shouldn't hit Palpy too hard. Well, we would try to act delicately.
Thus, hidden in the Force, we awaited the guest's arrival. Zara did not disappoint and, for two hours, diligently feigned the part of a playing-hard-to-get individual who was, nonetheless, interested in the man. So as soon as he heard the slippery "well, alright, let's take a walk," the man immediately perked up, and the pair headed in our direction.
The Jedi, having undoubtedly sensed something amiss, tried to question Zara—I could clearly hear this through a hidden communicator—but were delicately told to take a hike by Sheev himself. His personal security followed on their heels right up to the entrance of the cabin, after which they remained standing at the door.
The doors closed like a mousetrap. Before Sheev could realize anything, my hand landed on his shoulder. When he turned to me, I saw stunned eyes, but a light pressure on a point on his neck, and his body fell senseless to the floor. Radiy effortlessly deactivated the devices hidden on the senator, while I carefully seated him in a chair. To my surprise, Sheev did not yet have a lightsaber. This meant either I was wrong, or he hadn't dared to bring it with him. Though... given his affiliation with the Dark Side of the Force, I hoped I wasn't mistaken.
On the other hand, instead of a saber, he had a blaster and a thermal detonator. A senator. With a thermal detonator. I had only one question—how did Sheev smuggle it on board? Then again, it was a Naboo ship; connections, money... I see. Seizing the weapon, the hidden panic button, and the communicator, I sat down opposite the "captive."
"Any problems?" I clarified with Zara.
"No, Ancient One. The boy has fully come to believe in his own perfection."
"And the Jedi?"
"They regarded me with suspicion, but no more than that."
"Good."
"Ancient One, I am more concerned about Sheev's bodyguards," she looked at the door. "It would be just like them to check on their master's peace."
"Don't worry about that. Even if they do disturb us, they'll knock first. Right, Radiy?" I looked at the immortal, and he, jerking his head slightly as if tuning something, spoke mockingly in the voice of young Palpatine:
"They will not dare to cross me. The order was clear and precise—do not disturb."
"See?"
"Yes."
"Zar, please wake our informant."
Leaning back, I watched Zara approach the man and bring him to his senses with some pungent substance from the local medkit.
"A-choo!" Sheev sneezed heartily, instantly waking up.
Wiping his itching nose, the young man evidently remembered what had just happened and slooooowly raised his gaze to me. Holding it for a moment, Palpatine immediately shifted it to Radiy, who was leaning against the wall, and Zara, who was leaning on the back of my chair.
Hearing the emotions that overwhelmed the man, I immediately forestalled him:
"Now, now. You were the one who latched onto her," I spoke up for the woman before he could swear. Swallowing the profanity that was just ready to fly from his lips, Sheev said something else entirely:
"You won't get away with this!" the youth declared with anger and confidence in his own strength, looking past me at Zara nonetheless.
"Get away with what exactly?" I inquired, lazily spreading my hands.
"Kidnapping a member of the Republic Senate," he looked at my hands.
Suppressing the "heh-heh-heh" that was bursting out at those words was not so easy. Not only was I amused by the very fact of a threat from the Republic directed at me, but that same Republic was, at this specific moment, slightly bursting at the seams. Limiting myself to a smile so as not to embarrass Sheev, I asked:
"And who is kidnapping you? Your hands aren't tied, nor are your legs. No one is hitting you, and honestly, you should watch your language, kid."
Freezing at my answer, he scanned us once more.
"Whatever you have planned, whoever hired you, I can pay more. Much more."
"Tsk. That doesn't interest us. And my earnest advice to you—you should lean less on credits and power. They don't solve everything by a long shot," I shook my head. "And in some cases, they even worsen the situation. Like right now. You try first to frighten, then to buy your way out, but what's the use? If I twist your head off right now, how will your money and influence help you?"
Palpatine winced, rubbing his neck. He was alive, not tied up, and not being beaten yet. No money was being demanded, nor any decisions. Putting the whole picture together in his mind, he asked:
"If you aren't mercenaries from the Trade Federation, and you didn't come for me, then why are you here? Why do you need me?"
"We are looking for your master."
At those words, I didn't just feel it—I saw the man turn pale. All his fire was instantly extinguished, and the hair on his head stood on end. Pulling himself together, knitting his brows, Sheev said in a serious, slightly gruff tone:
"Master? I don't understand what you mean!"
"Boy, you may know how to lie, but you won't fool me. It's written all over your face. So don't play the fool. You understood perfectly well that I'm talking about your master—Darth Plagueis, also known as Hego Damask." Sheev swallowed nervously, and a bead of sweat ran down his temple. "I'm sure he told you about his enemies, about those who forced him into hiding. And now you find yourself between us and him."
"Are you insane?! What connection do I have to that madman?"
"A direct one, Sheev," I leaned forward. "Palpatine, understand a simple thing. Right now, you stand in the path of those who will sooner or later find and destroy Plagueis, and with him everyone around him. We already cornered him once and forced him to hide, though the Jedi spoiled our game. He won't escape now. You have a choice—to remain his apprentice posthumously, or to help us."
"..."
Sheev didn't answer. No answer was required. I saw in his terrified eyes that I was right. Palpatine's emotions were giving the boy away completely; due to inexperience, he had lost control over them. Bluffing and striking with guesses, I saw it—Sheev really was connected to Plagueis and was at the very least his assistant, if not his apprentice.
"Well, at least somewhere I didn't manage to ruin the canon..." the thought came, and with it a note of relief.
"Who are you people?" Palpatine asked in a steady tone, pulling himself together and no longer trying to play a part.
"Those you will have to reckon with. Sheev, we will find out what we need in any case; the only difference is whether you tell us yourself, or if I have to make you talk. In the first case, we'll let you go on your way, and you'll go on to fulfill your duties as the Senator from Naboo. In the second case—Naboo will have to find a new senator."
"A fine choice," the boy smirked mirthlessly, looking out the viewport.
It was hard to judge the train of thought of this man from his face, but his emotions... He was thinking hard. Confusion gave way to fear, but for now, it wasn't going anywhere and held the boy's heart firmly. In the short time we had been talking, Sheev still hadn't found the courage to look me in the eye. Having an idea that such people can only be spoken to from a position of strength, I lightly pressed him with my aura, as Mom usually does.
"And can I switch teams?" Sheev inquired, his tone now businesslike.
"Yes... Plagueis found a worthy successor. Truly, forgive me, Tsikuna, a 'Sith'—he'll do anything for his personal goal."
"Sheev, no one likes traitors." I shook my head. "To switch teams, you'll have to prove your loyalty. Prove it seriously. Especially since your biography, to put it mildly, doesn't suit me."
"Mmm..." Palpatine bit his lip.
"But I can give you a chance. A single one. Prove yourself—and we'll talk about your future. If not—it's your own fault. Right now, I need to know where your master is."
"Dathomir. He is on Dathomir."
"How interesting," I thoughtfully drummed my fingers on the armrest.
As far as I knew, the planet had a serious Force background, predominantly dark. Hiding in it would be easy. Furthermore, there were signs of civilization on it. Yes, relatively small, the planet was sparsely populated, but the fact remained. Better than a wild, uninhabited rock in any case.
"What a sly face... Well, you won't be rejoicing for long."
"What else can you tell me that's interesting?"
"The Master made a deal with the powerful 'Nightsisters' clan. They allocated one of their sanctuaries for him and won't give him up easily. And besides, just in case, he hired and stationed a Sun Guard garrison on the planet. I don't know the details, but I assume he has prepared escape routes from there as well. You won't catch him off guard easily."
"That's our concern. What else?"
"As far as I know, Darth Plagueis found something on the planet. At the moment, excavations are underway there, but they are conducted covertly so as not to attract undue attention. He used me to hire mercenaries and purchase equipment; I myself have only been to the planet once."
"Coordinates of the site?"
"I don't know. But I do know where the main temple of the Nightsisters is located. Their coordinates are in my tablet, and that is in my cabin. I will give them to you."
"Zara, would you be so kind as to escort him to his cabin afterward?"
"Of course," the woman bowed.
"What else, Sheev?"
"Dathomir has a moon, Koratas. A small fleet is hiding there in case of unforeseen problems on Dathomir. The Master has insured himself from all sides. The Sisters are loyal to him, there is a ship on the planet for evacuation, and there is a fleet on the moon to either strike the enemy in the back or pick him up. And that's just what I know."
"I expected nothing less from Plagueis," I huffed. "Anything else?"
"That is all from me."
"Good. I thank you for such important information. I hope our conversation remains between us?"
"Of course."
"On that note, you may go," I nodded toward the door.
Standing up, Palpatine took a step toward the exit but stopped. When Zara approached him, he scrutinized her intently, then turned to Radiy.
"You also wield the Force, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Are you Sith?" he turned back to me.
"No."
"Then who are you?"
"We are those who stand above Sith and Jedi combined," I clasped my hands in front of me.
"And how am I to prove myself?"
"Very simple. You only need to remain human."
"What?" the dark adept arched his brows.
"You want power, Sheev. Total, absolute, individual power. But answer me just one single question: what is the purpose of individual power? Once you find the answer, drop by Tatooine; we'll talk there. Now—go."
Watching as Palpatine left the room in Zara's company, I looked thoughtfully toward the small window, beyond which the haze of hyperspace was visible.
"Lord Shade, permission to speak?"
"I'm listening, Radiy."
"I believe that letting this man go was not worth it. There is a high probability he will talk."
"Quite the opposite. Palpatine is no fool, even if he is very hot-headed right now. He understands perfectly who we are. He also understands that it's not in his interest to stay with Plagueis. After all, in these circumstances, a certain Muun by the name of Damask is an extremely toxic figure. The whole galaxy is chasing him, the Jedi Order in particular, and us on top of that. And if someone finds out about Sheev's connections to Plagueis?" I shifted my gaze to him. "How fast do you think Palpatine will have to bury his career?"
"In that case—he won't have to. It will bury him."
"Exactly. And then there's the elementary fear for his own life. We found him; what's stopping us from finding him again? He won't be able to buy his way out, nor defend himself. There are no options here; the boy is simply squeezed from all sides."
"Fine. Permission for another question?"
"Go on."
"How can such a scoundrel help us? He will stop at nothing; he will walk over heads and do anything if it's to his advantage."
"You're right. He's quite the scoundrel. But! He is an extremely talented scoundrel. This boy's potential is hard to overstate and, if given a little push—he will go far. If we manage to take control over him, we'll gain a good asset for the future. And if not, it's no great loss. It's very hard to remain a talented, influential, and skillful politician while preserving what little light you have left."
"I see. Then what are the further orders?"
"Let me think. Our forces are enough to squash him, yes... but I fear that as soon as we land, he'll bolt. Besides, he has the Sun Guard and the Witches as allies. At the very least, these two factions can help him escape, and that doesn't suit me. By the way, what is known about the latter?"
"I have no data at the moment. I will make an inquiry."
"Do that. And I also need information on Dathomir in general. What kind of planet is it? What could Plagueis be digging up there? What's there at all?"
"It will be done."
"As for our actions now, we'll wait a bit. I don't want to risk it. Having to look for him again, running around... No, we'll act for sure. Contact RAVEN; have them mobilize. I need Dathomir's space to be under our complete control. If necessary—recall some of the ships from the raids. And tell Don that I'll need more fighters from the Terrans. If the witches stand in our way, we'll sweep their cult away completely."
***
Transferring back to the KIM on the nearest planet, we changed into our usual clothes and set off to meet the fleet. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to wash off the makeup completely; the paint turned out to be too high-quality, and so my native red skin tone became slightly greenish. I see.
After I made the request to the council of clans, it took them only an hour to coordinate actions and allocate a portion of the ships from the main mass to support me. Recently, their fleet had been considerably replenished. Of course, it couldn't be called unified; from the outside, it looked more like a camp; many ships were of the most diverse specifications and modifications, but who were we taking them from? Exactly. But no matter, very soon our flotilla will consist of our own ships; for now, we'll make do with this.
Looking at the number of ships, the specifications, and most importantly—a couple of Fangs, I wondered if it wasn't a bit much? Dathomir has one single spaceport, planetary defense is non-existent as a class, and if anything—we'd have to intercept two or three ships at most. The Fangs will blow those ships away in one go anyway; the engagement range allows for direct fire, and if they're also placed in different hemispheres—then it's game over for all flyers. And if it's starfighters, then we can use shrapnel; they won't miss there.
A landing force of a thousand RAVEN fighters and forty thousand droids was planned for the planet. The B1-Qs had shown themselves well in battles against all sorts of scum; let's see how they perform against professional mercenaries on a feral planet.
As for vehicles, we didn't take anything heavy, limiting ourselves to Basilisks, which, by the way, every third of those I took on the mission had. Over the past time, MandalMotors had established mass production of these iron beasts, turning out twenty machines a day. Also, the fighters themselves were re-equipped. Each RAVEN fighter received a finished set of standardized armor, rather than modifying their own as before. Since there was no need to sell beskar, it was used for our own needs. Making armor entirely out of it is wasteful, true, but every single suit of armor for the rank-and-file fighters was coated with it. RAVEN is, after all, the elite among Mandalorians, and that status must be maintained. It is my fighters who go into the worst of it during raids; they are the ones who run into the biggest problems and take on the most dangerous work offered by employers. After all, formally, RAVEN remained a private military company. It will be at least interesting to personally see how my soldiers work.
Aala also joined the fray. If anyone could not miss such a chance, it was Aala. We made further plans with her, and before that, Radiy, as ordered, provided me with data on the planet and the local clans.
"Ziro, give me a projection," I ordered the droid, lazily sprawling in my chair and munching on a snack bar. Not a "Sweet Joy," but something similar. Also meat, but... ah, different spices!
The droid immediately executed the order. He peeked from behind my shoulder and projected the planet. As soon as a visual image appeared before me, Radiy began reading the report.
In short, Dathomir is a planet slightly smaller in size than Coruscant and, accordingly, with less gravity. Because of this, the planet's fauna and flora are distinguished by their size. Trees grow up to ninety meters in height, and the rancors reach eight to ten meters. The latter, by the way, are indigenous inhabitants of Dathomir, while everyone else is considered a newcomer.
Besides rancors, there are plenty of other dangerous creatures on the planet, like the Kwi, a sort of small dinosaur. Predatory, intelligent, and dangerous creations. In general, there are many creatures on the planet that would fit this description—quite too many, in fact. Listening to the report, I remembered for a second my own home, where the Force repeatedly interfered with the genetics of living beings, creating quite the monsters.
The cities are considered islands of tranquility. There are only two of them on the planet, one of which has a spaceport. Though, regarding "tranquility," I might have exaggerated. You won't be eaten there; you'll be sacrificed. So one has to keep their eyes peeled. Otherwise—it's a dark and extremely unwelcoming world, where clouds constantly roam, there's a perpetually oppressive gloomy atmosphere, and in some places, things are so bad that the light of Domir—the system's star—never reaches them at all.
And it just had to be that the witch clans settled in such places. As far as is known, there are only three of them. The "Nightsisters," "Singing Mountain," and "Great Canyon." There are two more, but they can't be called full-fledged clans like the first three: the "Fallen" and the "Beastwardens."
"The Nightsisters, the first and most ancient witch clan. They are the dominant force over the entire planet. A powerful and numerous clan consisting exclusively of women. This clan has several villages under its thumb in which male Zabraks live as slaves. They are sacrificed, used to replenish the clan, or as laborers."
"I don't envy the guys with neighbors like that," Warren spoke up, turning a knife in his hands. As the head of RAVEN, he simply could not miss such a brawl, leaving his sister in his place.
"You'll have a chance to help them and ease their suffering," Mom tossed from the sofa.
"Kill them?"
"Exactly!" she snapped her fingers.
"Radiy, continue," I prompted the immortal.
"Who the leader of the Nightsisters is—unknown. What they specialize in—also unknown. Essentially, we know almost nothing about them except for the fact that they use the Dark Side of the Force, erroneously calling it 'Magick.' But all clans without exception suffer from this."
"What about the other clans?"
" 'Singing Mountain' and 'Great Canyon' share influence between themselves and are even less active in making contact with outsiders than the Nightsisters. There is even less information on them."
"Next."
"The 'Fallen,' this is the smallest clan. They are essentially loners. Each sister from this clan lives separately from the others and minds her own business. The last clan, 'Beastwardens,' focus on animals. They have tamed rancors and other beasts. All clans are in close symbiosis with each other. Essentially, the last two clans are offshoots of the Nightsisters who decided to go their own way."
"Not much."
"This information was mostly gathered by the Jedi and is seriously outdated at the moment. Our people have not appeared on the planet."
"Location of the sites?"
"There is a primitive map, updated with data obtained from Sheev Palpatine. On it are marked the cities: Aurilia, Blue Desert City, and the central temple of the Nightsisters. This information is considered correct. Other markers, such as the 'temple of beasts' or the 'Chu'unthor crash site,' have no confirmation from other sources."
"What's the Chu'unthor?"
"A Jedi academy ship. The Jedi removed everything of value from the ship, but the wreckage remained on the planet. Due to conflict with the natives, the Temple prohibited access to this planet."
"The Muun hid himself well," Warren laughed. "Not only is it in the middle of nowhere, but the Jedi are barred from even going there. Magnificent! I wonder if he knew that himself?"
"No data."
"It's a rhetorical question."
"Radiy, did you find out anything about the mercenaries?"
"Information is missing. Reconnaissance is required."
"Disappointing."
"Brother, basically, everything we need, we know. Maybe the old-fashioned way?" Warren struck his fist into an open palm.
"Undoubtedly, it will be so. But first... Mom, how do you feel about taking a walk with me to the Nightsisters' temple?"
"That will be entertaining," the Togruta sat up and lowered her feet to the floor.
"In that case, Ziro, send a message to have the KIM prepared for takeoff. We are heading to Dathomir. We'll try to look for Plagueis on the spot. Warren, I charge you with the assault on Dathomir. Destruction of the main forces, seizure of the excavations, as well as placing the planet under blockade. No one is to fly off it without my permission!"
"Is orbital bombardment authorized?"
"No!"
"Pity."
"I need to see Plagueis's body. In any form, as long as it's recognizable. Is everything clear?"
"Yes."
"Excellent. Radiy, where are the Terrans?"
"Still on the way."
"Once they've gathered, organize them into a squad and have them follow."
"Accepted."
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan