Chapter 134:
Taylor:
I was always uncomfortable coming here.
To be fair, I’m sure Alexandria was equally uncomfortable having me here.
The office was unchanged from my last visit. Wooden desk, red carpet, beautiful depictions of Mandalorian artwork and sculptures. Even a tribal painting of clan Kryze somehow managed to look dignified and regal in the decor.
It didn’t suit Alexandria. Not in my mind. Alexandria was iron, steel and stone. Unbreakable and unyielding. This always felt too soft, even as she tried to change.
Or maybe I was just projecting.
Maybe I was the same. The two of us trying to become something we weren’t before.
As my thoughts swirled in my head, Victoria led the conversation, and I let her. When I sensed the long tale coming to a close, I brought my attention back to the present.
“You don’t seem surprised.” Vicky said after a long moment of quiet.
Truthfully, Alexandria’s stony visage and silence wasn’t the only thing we could barely read. Her cold, icy presence in the Force had gone unnervingly still. Like a monster hiding beneath a placid lake surface.
“‘Surprised’ isn't the word I would use, no.” She said. “But english has always been a limited language.”
I stiffened.
If Alexandria noticed, she didn’t give an outward sign. She stood up from her desk. The Wood was Brylark. Strong as steel. Fitting, I supposed.
Marching towards the window, her hands were clasped behind her back, frowning in thought as she stared out towards the Coruscant skyline.
“A lot of things are clicking into place.” She said. “Little… incongruencies that thinking back on them now, do coincide with certain moves that couldn’t have been made without the Sith Masters direct intervention.”
“You have perfect memory.” I said, trying not to sound accusatory. “This only becomes obvious now?”
She shrugged. “A power hungry politician. What a revelation that would be for your Jedi council. The scandal.” Her sarcasm was dry as bonemeal, but her point was taken. “There were any number of things he could have been doing. Fiscal transactions that needed to be kept discreet, strong-arming rivals or his sycophants. Killing or pushing certain legislation outside of my reach. The Galaxy is much much bigger than the Jedi and Sith.” She paused, considering for a moment. “Why not seize him yourself.”
“The chipped clones.” I said. “Nearly thirty million are on planet.”
Her eyes narrowed, quickly putting the pieces together. “Amidala has control of them. But being from Naboo, you don’t trust her.”
“The Council doesn’t.” Vicky corrected. “I… well… I don’t know her, but I’d like to think she’s an innocent bystander in all this. Caught up in things.”
Translation, like me, she was hoping that at least for Anakin’s sake, that was the case.
“I doubt she’s involved.” Alexandria said. “I sit with her frequently. I’d know if she were lying, especially about something like that.” She nodded. “The Jedi don’t need to worry about her being in Palpatine’s pocket.”
“Doubting she’s involved, isn’t the same as being sure she isn’t.” I answered.
She shrugged. “Fair. However, there might be other concerns.”
That made me raise an eyebrow. “Such as?”
Alexandria leaned back in her seat. “Over the years, additional Clones have been requisitioned from Kamino. Individually none of them are suspicious. A Senator points out that the water treatment facilities are a viable attack vector if the planet ever is attacked. Another proposes a satellite base just beyond the system to scan for approaching ships. Reasonable. Even some of them I agree with.
“Shit.” Vicky hissed. “You think he’s gotten clones that bypass Amidala and have chips he can control?”
“It’s not impossible.” She hedged. “Add to that the… fallout. Going after Palpatine is the equivalent of setting off a nuke, politically speaking. A lot of people have their careers tied up in supporting him. His influence and powerbase is immense and so, we need one of our own to make those individuals either back down or stay quiet along with a mountain of evidence to make them do so.”
“And if we don’t?” I asked. “At the end of the day with him gone what can they do really? The Senate isn’t exactly known for swift and decisive action.”
“No it’s not, but that’s because they’re content with their own power not being threatened. Knocking down Palpatine threatens most if not all. If he can be removed, they can be removed. They will act to avoid that.”
“Give us an example?’ Vicky said, then quickly amended, raising a finger. “No, wait. Worst case scenario. Say we go after him, right now, what happens tomorrow?”
Alexandria raised an eyebrow. “As a start the Jedi lose their funding and standing in the Republic. You’ll be labeled as criminals and hunted down as such. Unwelcome in republic space.Your liquid assets will be frozen, property seized; travel authorization revoked.” She shut her eyes. “The planets that conspire with you, right now being Mandalore, will be removed from the republic if not attacked outright by the Clone legions under republic control. I have no doubt he’d have left orders for that. She grumbled. If he is in control of the separatist, no doubt he’ll have left orders for them to hunt you down as well. And that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head. He’s had years to think of ways to take you down with him if he goes.”
Vicky winced. “Ok, yeah. Bad. Still-.” Vicky said, and I was grateful that I’d brought her with me. “So, will you help us?”
Alexandria turned, looking over her shoulder towards Vicky. “Am I speaking to Victoria? Or Councilor Dallon?”
I felt Vicky’s confusion for a moment, wondering why it would make a difference. Then she shrugged. “Vicky, I suppose.”
Alexandria’s answer was simple and her voice unnervingly familiar. “I’m going to nail the bastard to a fucking wall.”
Vicky didn’t share my disquiet. Barking out a guffawing laugh.
“Still.” Alexandria sighed her frown severe. “He is the Chancellor. He wields a great deal of power. Even with everything I’ve done to slow down the centralization of it around him… It’s a fight I’ve been losing. ”
The admission, for someone like her, must’ve been difficult.
The debacle on Dathomir, which he masked as a political trip to Kamino was the only time I genuinely struck a blow to his hold on the senate. There are very few senators that are willing to openly defy him anymore.”
“You have a plan.” I wasn’t asking.
She nodded. “The beginnings of one.” She sighed. “I’ll need Satine’s help. I’m a known cut throat. Satine however, is viewed differently. She can sway people in a way I can’t. Give the argument legitimacy.”
“Alderaan, Corellia.” She seemed to be thinking aloud when she said it. “Bail is an ally, and Corellia has long started to mistrust Palpatine, especially since Geonosis. Chandrilla, Bothawuwi, Duros. Collectively, it begins to become a very daunting prospect to oppose them as a collective.”
She took a breath. “Naboo would be useful as well, but I assume you’d rather not involve Amidala.”
“Correct.” I answered with a nod. “Even if you trust her, how far do you trust that he doesn’t have a connection to her staff?”
There, she nodded. “You’re right.”
Shutting her eyes again, she took another moment to think, and I wondered, absently if she did that even when she wore her helmet when she faced me, a lifetime ago.
“Maul would be supremely useful.” She muttered. “He needs to be found.”
“We don’t even know where to start with that.” Vicky said.
“Then don’t. You have enough to deal with, and your efforts are best spent elsewhere.” She nodded. “Cook.”
That made me raise an eyebrow. “You’re sending Dennis to capture Maul?”
I didn’t share Obi-Wan’s dread laced opinion of the assassin. But I was pretty sure he was still beyond Dennis’ pay grade.”“I’ll send him to find Maul.” She corrected. “He has underworld contacts we lack. Once he’s found, well-” She shrugged. “We can go from there.” Her eyes tightened in thought. “I assume your council has already contacted Fay?” Alexandria suddenly asked.
“We did.” Vicky answered. “Well, Yoda did. She was one of the first he called actually.”
“And what’s she agreed to?”
Vicky shrugged. “She’s agreed to take on as many crechelings and Padawans as she can on Mandalore. She’s also agreed to be on the Council that would replace the current one if… the worst case scenario happens.”
Alexandria shook her head. “That can’t be all of it.” She answered.
“Hey, I’m being up front her-”
“Not you-” The Senator interrupted with an… irritated frown. “Her. Don’t let the homemaker baker act fool you. She’s cunning in her way. And cagey. I have no doubt she’s making other plans and contingencies she hasn’t told you about.”
I half snorted. “You make her sound like an old asset of yours.”
“I’d have hired her.”
That time I did snort.
Alexandria thought for another moment, eyes closing.
“I’ll need Hannah.” She finally said.
“Miss M?” Vicky asked, curious. “What for?”
Truthfully, I was curious as well. Militia was… well… a family woman now. Even when she worked it was more as an investigator than anything political.
“Satine needs to be kept safe.” Alexandria answered. “Her Royal guard are loyal enough, but I can’t go checking on all of them. Hannah, I know can never be bought or sold. And if she’s threatened she can handle it, or come to me.”
In short, Palpatine couldn’t get to her.
“Shifting the subject back-” I said. “Politically speaking, if he’s alive and we go after him, how do you think he himself will respond.”
Her features went blank for a moment, and what she said next scared the hell out of me.
“Truthfully…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. What does a monster do when you let it out of its cage?”
The question was rhetorical. But I knew the answer. From experience.
It destroys.
It destroys everything.
That’s what Monsters always do.
—
Alexandria
When Hebert and Dallon finally left her alone with her thoughts, Alexandria took a moment to… genuinely marvel at all of it.
As far as masterminds went… it was almost admirable.
Playing both sides, being in control of both. She could see the perfect culmination of everything he wanted.
The Jedi numbers decimated. Their reputation largely destroyed, more and more power resting in his hands to bring the ‘crisis’ to a close.
She’d noticed before, distantly, how the news over the years had less and less positive headlines about the Jedi. Less and less to say about the dangers of the Chancellor’s consolidation of emergency powers.
And how the separatists always managed to get just the victory they needed, just the right nudge to keep the war going that little bit longer.
He’d played… everyone… an entire galaxy dancing on his puppet strings.
Even her. He’d given her exactly what she’d been looking for, a manipulative politician who wanted power. She’d seen it, known it… and looked no further.
Was that his skill? His ‘Force’ powers? Her own carelessness? All three.
She didn’t know. Even now, with her perfect memory, reliving the whole of the years in mere moments… she didn’t know.
…
What a brilliant mind.
She was gonna miss him when he was dead.
But he wasn’t the first brilliant villain she’d had to kill in her lifetime.
She’d get over the loss.
—
Taylor
We sat on an automated shuttle for the return trip to the Jedi temple, Vicky and I both, trapped in our own thoughts and concerns.
“Do you think we should talk to Anakin?”
I turned my head at her question. “Hmm?”
“Anakin.” She repeated. “Should we talk with him? You know, about us knowing about Padme. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now with… you know.”
The possibility that she’s sleeping with him to help our enemy? I didn’t say.
“Privately.” I said after a moment’s consideration. “And… gently.”
She nodded, then turned her gaze out of the window, the shuttle’s viewport still letting us look at the senate dome from a distance.
“He’s right there… ya know?’ She said. “And it still feels like he’s a million miles away.”
“Not a Million.” I promised, shaking my head. “Not even close.”
I thought about Coil, about Jack, about Alexandria herself.
“You know something they all had in common?”
She turned to look at me. Raising an eyebrow. “What who had in common?”
“Everyone.” I said with a shrug. “Everyone who I once called an enemy. Back then. Back when I was skitter. All the supervillains. Something they all had in common?”
She shook her head.
“They always felt invincible…” I answered. “Right up until they weren’t.”
I looked at her. And promised.
“We’re going to kill him.”
She offered a confused, half smile, her lips twitching. “Is this your supervillain way of flirting? Cause I didn’t think we were role-playing… well… not right now anyway..”
I rolled my eyes. A smile pulling at the corner of my lip. “You are ten years old, forever.” I bemoaned.
Her answer was suitably cheeky. “You know you love me.”
“I do… more’s the pity” I teased back.
She leaned over, giving me a kiss that was just between my eye and temple.
Even so, when I opened my eyes and looked again out the window towards the still visible senate building… looking at it now; Knowing what I know now. I could almost see it. A core, of blackness right in the heart of it all. Not just the Republic, but the Galaxy itself.
Once this was done… once it was over. Things needed to change.
Maybe the Republic. Maybe the Jedi.
But I wouldn’t accept simply… letting this sit. Letting it fester and rot and us continuing to wallow in the filth of it all.
Things would need to change.
(X)(X)(X)
And here we go. Alexandria is now brought into the fold :)
Like I said, I will be taking a break soon. I'm not sure if there will be at least an interlude covering Papa Palpatine before I do. Its likely, but I'm not promising.
Once I do take that break, it will be for a month or so to plan everything out and as usual, I will post a poll for the readers to say wether they want these chapters to be released or not out to the public. You all know the drill by now with those.
So hope you all enjoyed, read review and all that good stuff :)