A New Jedi in an Old Republic

Mandalore

Obi-wan and Padme reviewed the information recovered by Jan the previous night. The agent in question was still sleeping off her late-night excursion, and the two were more than willing to leave her to her well-earned rest.

"There is no way that her security agencies do not already know about this," Obi-wan walked through his logic out loud. He didn't need it, but he knew that the Senator responded better to such things. "They would know this exists."

"If I went in with a more hostile approach," Padme looked at the next level, "I could use this as blunt pressure on the Duchess with regards to internal security and how her failings are affecting the Republic in a negative manner."

"And the Confederation as well," the Jedi replied. "What affects one here, affects the other as well."

"I agree. I will have 3PO prepare a message for Senate Intelligence. After Agent Ors reviews it, he can send it."

"And I to the Jedi as well," Obi-wan stood up to stretch his legs. "At the very least this will keep both parties in the loop with the same information."

"Still trying to be useful?" Padme questioned without hostility.

"It is not a matter of being useful," the older man pointed out. "It is working to alleviate the poor interactions between the Jedi and the Senate.

"Like how Anakin is with Tarkin?"

Obi-wan paused, a minute gesture. But one that the Senator was able to confirm his feelings with. He still wasn't comfortable with the facts of his student's participation in the war. "We should wait for him to return before we draw any conclusions regarding his choices."

"You're worried about him." Padme made it a statement, not a question.

"He is acting rashly."

"You're still worried," Padme repeated.

"You know just as well as I do that he is the sort of person who thinks with his heart first, and his mind a distant second," the Jedi kept giving non-answers.

"Who are we talking about again?" Jan stifled a yawn as she came into the common room, her shirt and pants tied about her waist in the fashion of Naboo at some point.

"Anakin," Padme said before Obi-wan could deflect.

"Ah." Jan dispensed all the wisdom in the galaxy with a single comment of understanding. "Not my concern. I see you're still looking over the stuff."

"I am surprised you were able to get all this information so quickly," Obi-wan brought the conversation back to subjects he was better with. "I assumed some parts would have been difficult."

"Not as much as it could have been." Jan admitted without revealing Ventress' presence. It was technically her first time meeting the Sith, and she had shown discretion against Kyle, so she was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, and a limited amount of trust. "Anything come of it?"

"Nothing that we can use without being unduly aggressive, nor without being forced to answer questions about where it came from at this time," the Senator said.

Jan knew the answer to that. "Tell them it came from Intelligence." She looked down at her clothes. "Sithspit. Now I got to put on that hideous dress, don't I?"

"It is not ugly!" Padme objected. "The presentation of Naboo Royalty is a part of a well-established diplomatic style. That we can afford to look so elegant implies wealth and strength and dedication."

"Give me my coveralls and goggles any day," Jan turned back to her small room. "I'll be back and you can help with the details."

"I will."

Obi-wan appreciated Jan Ors' dedication to the simple things. While more materialistic in nature, he could see the influence of the Jedi on her. Though he too had long since made his peace with the more ostentatious displays the Senator could invoke, seeing someone else go through the same journey comforted him that he was not alone. "Today's schedule will involve you," he reminded the Republic Agent, even is he believed she was already up to date on it. "It's not much, but the appearances are necessary." He was apologetic.

"I've done work for princesses before," Jan confirmed with a sigh through the open door. "Though thankfully she was very understanding."

"I would like to hear those stories at some point," Padme said. "But I doubt today will be very stressful."

"I hope so as well," Jan agreed. "But I'm not going to expect that. Politics is never as easy as it looks from the outside."

Eriadu, Orbit

"Politics is easy," Tarkin growled as he took his seat beside Anakin, the latter piloting their shuttle back up to the Sathanas. "It is politicians that are hard, for they view power as a means in of itself."

"Politics is a means to do good things," Anakin fell into the habit he had with Obi-wan when he made a challenging statement like that. "It allows people with differences to come together to work for something greater than any could achieve alone."

"A commendable position," the Republic officer agreed as he strapped himself in, careful to not to exacerbate his injuries. "Though all too often, the goals of the many for their benefit can be twisted by the few with disproportional power."

"I take it then, that you did not hear what you wanted to hear?" Once Tarkin was secured, Anakin cleared their flight path and began his ascent. Two fighters quickly fell into formation beside them.

"Black Lead, this is Black 2. We have you," the Clone pilot said over the comms.

"Understood Black 2," Anakin replied. "Just don't give me cause to out-fly you in this."

"I don't doubt that you could, sir." Black 2 replied before closing the channel."

"No, I did not." Tarkin picked up where they left off as they passed through the clouds. "The shipyards have been more focused on civilian contracts, as well as the militia, rather than accepting that was was inevitable and transitioning to military production."

"Which means we can't do a full repair job here." Anakin frowned. "We would have to go to Kuat."

"Not quite." Tarkin smiled. "Someone in the Navy had the foresight – or the corruption – to insist that depot supplies be stashed in various sectors. There is one here in Seswanna, along the Rimma Trade Route, across the border from Sullust in the Bremma sector."

Ever the pilot, Anakin was already plotting the best route to get there. "That is not far," he said. "We can be there in a couple days at the most."

"I know," Tarkin said. "A certain distant family member of mine, one Sander Delvardus, has gone ahead to 'police the border', and will be securing the depot for our arrival. We will make the necessary repairs, and move on to Coruscant."

"You don't sound pleased by that development." The shuttle left the atmosphere behind, and Anakin was able to quickly pick out which of the many lights was his ship, guiding his shuttle by the Force, rather than by the instruments.

"I do not." Tarkin did not elaborate.

Mandalore

The Duchess waited at the long table patiently for the Senator and Obi-wan to arrive for the morning meetings. These were the more official ones, where high level negotiations would happen. Agreements here would be resolved in detail by more minor functionaries, then returned to them for review and signing.

It was tedious, but necessary.

Finishing off her water, she was alerted that the Republic party of Senator, Jedi and hand maid approached. So she took a relaxed stance and waited.

The two entered with all the mutual presence they could muster, and the Duchess had to admit that they could easily cow others with the force of their will. But not her. She was far too trained and experienced for that.

Their helper peeled off to one side to stand beside one of her own people, and was forgotten.

Coruscant

Yoda was caught in the storm of his own thoughts, and there was no way out that he could yet see.

He had returned from the populist meeting, one that had gone on far longer than he had anticipated, and even now, the words of the firebrand affected him. The old Jedi had seen great speakers come and go, and this one was no different. Only the venue and the scale had changed.

Chosen words troubled him.

Machine minds. Machine hearts. On the surface, they spoke of those who acted without feelings, without the Force either.

"Master?"

It was a young voice. Yoda, ever mindful of his teaching of the Jedi Initiates, had long since trained himself to pay attention when they spoke. He opened his eyes. "Ah!" He greeted his guest in the meditation room with an open expression, "Tano! Come! Come! Sit. What bothers you?"

"Master, I met someone I did not expect, and I treated them poorly for it." The Togruta, powerful beyond her years, sat down and shifted uncomfortably. "I do not know how to make ammends."

"Oh? Confusing, you are." Yoda kept his grammar as he learned it to help pace out his response, and give the other party more time to think about what he was saying. It was an old trick of his, one that he used a lot it seemed.

"Do you know of the Iron Knights?"

Yoda turned his head aside. "A failing of ours, yes. Yes they were." He spoke sadly. "Returned to us, they have, but not to rejoin."

"I met one of them in the training halls," Ashoka confessed. "I thought that it was a normal droid, and in doing so, I insulted him. Her. It."

"An apology then!" Yoda gave the simple answer. Not everything needed to be complicated. "Young, you are. Understanding, they will be."

"I wish it were that simple," the youngling complained. "How do I apologize for treating a Jedi like a droid?"

"How as the mistake made, hrm?"

"I ... I made assumptions, Master Yoda."

"Did you?" Yoda confirmed. "Yes, I see."

"I don't know what to do!" Tano did not cry out. She was too good a Jedi for that display of emotion.

Yoda saw an opportunity to teach the young Initiate a good lesson, as well as a chance to put his own problems in order. He thanked the force. "Tell me, young one," he said, his attention on her, "Machine minds and machine hearts. What does that speak to you, hrm?"

"Mach..." Tano paused as she slipped into being a student. "A droid. No. Someone who acts like a machine, right?" She looked to him for guidance, but found on the face of one who was paying attention to what she was saying, and not what they wanted. "Moving with regular precision. Thinking like droids, but being worse than them, somehow." She paused, something occurring to her.

"The Iron Knights are not machines," she confirmed to herself. "They have minds and hearts. I just didn't see it for the skin they wore. What makes them different from some other species that requires a life support system in the majority of the Galaxy?"

"Learned, what have you?"

"That I know how to make amends!" Tano stood up eagerly. "Forgive me master, but I must be off!"

Yoda was now left alone. And he had an idea of his own. First though, he would act in the spirit of cooperation, and contact Senate Intelligence. Perhaps they had a hand already in the actions he saw below the surface of Coruscant. Then, if necessary, he could act.

Sundari

Mandalore

Jan was surprised when Karyl approached her. "Good afternoon," she said with the appropriate gestures of her position.

"Good afternoon, Strange." The Mandalorian bowed as was the custom of his people. "Did you need any help with that?" he gestured at the serving tray Jan was loading. "I was instructed to offer you assistance should you need it."

She didn't need to think before responding to the offer. "Please. And thank you." She offered the tray in her hands to him, then loaded another with lunch for Obi-wan and Padme.

"If you may indulge me a curiosity," Karyl said as he fell in behind her, "why is there only one of you present?"

"The Senator insisted that she dispense with her usual retinue," Jan gave the prepared response. "I was available, so I came."

"Ah. That makes some sense, I suppose."

"That, and the Jedi insisted," she said as they passed through some doors held open by masked ceremonial guards. "Master Kenobi was quite adamant that the Senator's full display would be more threatening than not."

"Which is why a matronly woman such as yourself was chosen to attend her?"

Jan did not respond to being called 'old'. Instead, they entered into the private room where Obi-wan and Padme were discussing the morning's meeting. Jan saw that the jammer she had supplied them was active beside Obi-wan. She didn't say a word, but simply set down the tray beside the Senator and put on her best mask as she offered her lunch.

She was glad that Padme was the nice kind of noble. She had seen first and second hand the results of those who took advantage of those they had power over. Soon, she and Karyl were dismissed, and they retreated from the room in good form, not once having heard anything about the discussions earlier in the day.

But Jan didn't need to. She could talk to them as equals later in the evening.

All she had to do now was figure out if Karyl was a plant, a spy, or just a well intentioned man with a kind heart and a curious disposition.

It was far to easy, she reflected, for people in her position to forget that there are people who are not in her profession, and exist as more than a distraction.

So she did the only thing that was available to her. Something that would keep her cover intact as well as getting the information she needed. She decided to be social.

"So, how did you become employed by the royal house?" she asked, keeping her interest down by not looking at him.

"There was nothing to it," he said. "There was a position open for porter, and I applied. I've since been given a couple promotions based on my skills and determination."

"That's good to hear," she replied. It was a start. And all good things that didn't involve Jedi or Sith could take time. And besides, it was talk or feign boredom. Jan knew which one she would prefer.

Jedi Temple

A proper Jedi knew what they were doing before getting into it. That was what Tano had learned. She had also failed in that lesson by speaking out of place. Therefore, she had to learn more about these Iron Knights before committing to any sort of action.

But what she read was disheartening. The Jedi of the previous generation has cast out the Iron Knights and their leader for the non-crime of being different. While she couldn't access all the files, it was clear that the actions were taken in haste and with no regard for the effects it would have on the sentients turned away from the Order.

And she had been part of the problem, as Master Yoda had pointed out to her. Therefore, she wanted to be part of the solution. And if, in doing so, she proved to be a great candidate as an Apprentice, then even better!

But first, she wanted to make sure the mistakes of the past weren't repeated. She wanted to make sure everything she did was within the Code of the Order, and that meant sitting in the library, reading.

She hated sitting in the library. Reading.