Negotiations of her people... [Omega Pyre Dominion of Naboo]

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

While Tegaea was restraining her urge to bust some heads together, Siobhan had managed to escape from the count's mansion. Of course, the guards pursuing her did not pose an actual threat but having a brawl was not her mission.

So, with guards on her heels and the noblewoman presumably screaming burglary, she leapt on top of a tree, pulling herself up on one of the branches and then jumping across the wall. Civilians scattered at the sight, but Siobhan quickly moved away, dumping the Naboo soldier gear in a dumpster before heading for the assembly. She took a side-entrance, but the royal guards still remembered the Omega mercenary from the battle in palace and gave no grief.

She saw Tegs with the squabbling nobles and quickly pulled her aside into a small chamber. The nobles were so busy arguing that they did not seem to notice.

"Found something," she said quietly, filling Tegs in and producing the datapad, activating the recording. Siobhan frowned. "Count's an arse, but it seems a bit too easy, doesn't it? Even a servant girl could've found it by accident."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea frowned. "Seems fishy to me. But it might just work in our favour! Keep a lookout for anything unusual that might happen. Whoever is behind this is not going to simply drop it. Come on."

When they came back into the room the Count was still arguing loudly with all concerned. It seemed as though this stalemate was going to continue indefinitely, but Tegaea was getting annoyed.

She strode into the middle of the meeting. "Quiet!" she shouted in her best Sergeant's voice. "This nonsense has to end. This is the Queen, she is alive. The assassination failed. Now, I want all of you to return to your homes."
"On whose orders?" the Count demanded.
"The Queen is still ruler of Naboo, and she doesn't need to put up with this anymore."
"Get her in private so you can lure her to your side, is that it?"
"Getting her away from you, Count, because you tried to kill her!" She snatched the datapad from Siobhan and played it.
Gasps came from the crowd, but the Count looked unmoved. "Cheap trickery, just as I would expect. This doesn't connect me to it, I've never seen this before."
Surprisingly Tegaea nodded. "As I suspected. This was found at your house, but it's too obvious a plant. Someone is causing this conflict, bringing the Bando Gora to Naboo and then trying to blame the nobles for it. Count Alkibiades, I need you to join me in a conference with the Queen immediately."
There was silence, and then the Count nodded, taking a couple of his associates with him, they headed to a conference room.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan looked surprised at how Tegaea had employed the recording to turn the situation to their advantage. Admittedly the ex-Jedi had thought the 'evidence' too obvious and easily acquired - even if the count were that stupid not to delete incriminating messages, the Cultists should have been smarter.

But she was impressed nonetheless. "And you say you can't play politics," she said quietly to Tegaea with a small smile as she headed out of the assembly chamber with the royal party, the Count and his followers in toe. Tegs better watch out, or she might end up Lady Protector! Maybe it had not all been a dream after all.

Incidentally as they moved out she thought she could hear a sharp-featured, scowling man dressed in a white suit angrily mutter to a brown-skinned guard commander in a royal blue tunic, "This is an outrage! Attempts on Her Majesty's life, frame-ups to force a rupture between the throne and the peerage. Even if we emerge intact...do the terms 'political shitstorm' mean nothing to you? Confidence in the nobility can only decrease among the masses."

Siobhan paid no attention to these interesting points but stayed close by the Queen, taking up position along the wall when they stepped into the conference room, armed guards standing sentinel at the entrance, with a patrol in the corridor. The situation was tense and the puppeteer remained elusive.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Cira"]

It took Allaina ten minutes to get an Argevant ready and loaded with the supplies the ground team had asked for - food, medicine. Relief supplies. And a strongbox with weapons, just in case they needed some backup. The kicker of it all? She went down with them. She had a blaster pistol strapped to her thigh as a last-ditch weapon, but she knew she didn't have the talent to use it particularly well. To that end, she brought escorts, but only two of them; armed soldiers with bolters, just in case.

The box was full of bolters, among some other assorted trinkets of doom. Eight of them, plus enough ammunition of every kind to arm a small battleforce. There was one for her. She hoped it didn't come to that.

Another ten minutes and the Argevant was making planetfall in Theed, on a hangar pad in the city, near the Palace. Fortunately it was an unarmed shuttle, otherwise they'd be in some serious trouble. Allaina and her troupe disembarked their vessel, the strongbox held up by all three of them as they made their way towards the Palace proper, knowing that they had to just be bringing supplies.

"Alright. I'm down. I've got bacta packs and bolters with me. Got a rendezvous point?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Allaina Mare"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Cira"]

It was Siobhan who answered Allaina's call. It came as quite a surprise to her that Allaina was coming herself, she knew that while her friend was the queen of all that involved ships and fighters and destruction on a massive scale in space, she was not a ground pounder.

"The Admiral herself, welcome to Naboo. The weather is bombing. Things have been crazy here. We're inside the palace, conference room. I'll tell the guards to let you through. Hell, I'll meet you." Surely Tegaea, the Queen and the Count could cope for a few minutes without her! Regardless Siobhan quickly contacted the guard force outside the palace, telling them to let Allaina through and then excused herself, departing so that she could meet the Admiral inside.

 

[Linna Beorht]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

As Colonel Kerrigan left the party to greet Admiral Mare, a certain political consultant slipped into her place alongside the Exarch. The Master of Spin was in the building. In Omega Pyre's terms and command structure, she was still relatively junior, and her face certainly didn't help. Who took a tattooed Zeltron girl seriously?

Well, anyone who paid attention to the somewhat non-public world of interstellar political science, for one. The most desirable guest lecturer in a dozen faculties took a seat beside Tegaea.

She was, for this op, backup. Damage control. Just in case. If the boss said 'fix the nobility's perception problem,' she would do that. If the boss said 'let them drown,' she would do that too. She had about a ream of flimsiplast covering all manner of potential contingencies.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Two guards and a strongbox later, Allaina was at Siobhan's location because they wanted to meet up. She resisted all urges to just hug the crap out of her and be all 'get me out of here'. She didn't like this already. Something seemed... off. Incredibly off. Like there was a problem, a disease, on this world.

"Alright, so I'm assuming you guys are working the problem. Let's find somewhere to stash the goods and we'll get right to work. I'm guessing you guys have use for some warm bodies... that doesn't involve the bedroom this time, you," she told Siobhan with a grin. "I'm guessing we're having a serious problem or two down here."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Allaina Mare"]

"Oh, it doesn't have to be a bed. A desk works just fine. Or the shower," Siobhan quipped with a short smile. "Yeah, we got problems. There's an armoury over here." She gave Allaina a pat on the shoulder, then helped carry the strongbox. The palace armoury would now finally have some guns that were actually useful.

"Bando Gora guys tried to murder the Queen, a noble declared she was dead and I found a recording that links him to 'em, but it looks like he's just dumb and got framed, so we're back to square one," Siobhan briefly filled in her.

"Kinda surprised to see you down here. You ok? You know I'll keep bad guys away from you," she said in a quieter, softer tone. She could get Allaina's unease, she had been just as out of her depth on board the Avenger when they had went on their first mission together.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Before addressing the conference, Tegaea decided to consult @[member="Linna Beorht"], as she had useful insights, and was uniquely gifted to help make sense of the situation. Pulling aside the Zeltron she spoke urgently.
"What is your advice here, Linna? I strongly suspect that there is a traitor here in the palace, but how can I reveal that without bringing down their wrath?"

 

[Linna Beorht]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"The palace's employees number over two hundred people. Finding a traitor this quickly isn't feasible, but I can think of some things that might work. I've been thinking about the man who was yelling earlier about political storms and decreased confidence in the nobility. We can probably assume, or approximate, that a traitor would have close links to Naboo's nobility. That would make them very worried about said decreased confidence.

"And that, in turn, gives us a decent subset of bait for our hypothetical traitor. We could see to it that various subsets of the palace population -- people associated with various noble houses -- are given different data about a potential weakness on our side. Then we see who's most interested. We monitor comm traffic and personnel exits, but we won't find much during the transport phase. Someone, somewhere, will twitch relative to the various data we've given out. Depending who reacts in what ways, and how much, we'll learn more about who's most interested in us -- and most willing to act on that interest. It's not a great plan, I'll admit. An operation like this should take days or weeks, and we don't have that, so this is only an approximation. The alternative is to lock everyone in two hundred rooms, hook them up to lie detectors, and throw in Colonel Kerrigan.

"Make no mistake, Exarch: Fear could be an excellent bait, if you're willing to scare everyone a little. We make them believe that the Colonel is doing Force-based investigations to find a traitor, and someone will panic. Someone will twitch."

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"You always do look after me," Allaina said, honestly and genuinely glad that she had Siobhan for any time she was around solid ground. So much so that she actually squeezed her hand for a moment, which was a very... rare thing from her. Wow, affection from Allaina. Go figure. Universal narration voice did not expect that to happen at all.

"I mean... I'm okay, it's just that something about this bugs me. How does the Bando Gora always know where we're going? It's... It's almost like they have a spy in our systems, planning their every move in order to try and cut us off." She paused. This was a serious consideration. Almost every time a battle was involved with Omega, the Bando Gora were responsible for messing with local conditions. It was almost a total fact. Something was going on, and it was finally starting to bug the Admiral. "I don't think we can win this war against the Bando Gora without actually striking at them. What else are we going to do? We're just flailing, grasping at straws. Even right now we're struggling because of them. Can we keep fighting like that?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Allaina Mare"], @[member="Linna Beorht"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan smiled thinly, but then her mood turned serious and somber. Allaina had a point, the Bando Gora seemed able to pop up everywhere. Admittedly their presence on Eriadu had been a lie. But like it or not they had to take the fight to them.

"You're right," she said softly. "And here on Naboo they've gotten professional. Way I see it, someone high-placed on the planet's working for them...only, well, ain't got leads. I feel like busting heads right about now. I hate this bloody waiting, we gotta find where the bastards are hiding and hit them hard," she said, agreeing with Allaina's assessment.

She frowned a bit, then gestured Allaina to follow. "We'll get the bastards. After all, we got Allaina bloody Mare and me. Nothing can go wrong then, can it?" Well, quite a few things, but she was trying to be encouraging. "Let's get to the conference room. Tegs and our PR chick are there."

 

[Linna Beorht]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
@[member="Allaina Mare"]
@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"And here she is now," said Linna as the Admiral and the Colonel came in. "Yes, the more I think about it, the more feasible it sounds to spread the rumor that Colonel Kerrigan here is capable of Force-assisted interrogation and investigation, and that she's looking into a potential traitor. It's far from foolproof. Fear makes some operatives bolt, others slip up, and still others lock down. We can work with the first two. Depends how professionally trained their operatives are. A real pro will only go to ground if necessary. If they can, they'll just continue as normal. At which point, finding them is a matter for all your esoteric senses. Fear has a stink, in the Force."

She rarely talked about being FS. She rarely acknowledged it to herself, either. Daddy issues.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Linna Beorht"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"Yeah. You're right." Of course she was. Siobhan didn't give herself enough credit, sometimes. This team would be so lost without her and she didn't even know it.

When they untered the room, Allaina nodded. "Boss ma'am. New girl." The newbie was apparently seriously talented - she talked like it, too. She had the experience to back up her claims and the Admiral was one hundred percent cool with that. She knew that, given enough time, she'd probably make a great addition to the team.

"I'm not gonna be of much use to any of you down here. Truth told I just came down to see ow everyone was doing and make sure everything was okay. Sometimes being up on that bridge all by my lonesome and missing all the fun gets boring, so yeah, here I am. I'm gonna leave this one to the experts." She decided it was best. Fortunately, she'd brought them a big supply of guns with which to blow up the Bando Gora. Her role here, for the most part, was done. She wasn't intel or... really a shooter, so what would she do?

All of a sudden, Allaina felt really useless. However, she bottled that in and left it at that, pulling up a chair and watching the conversation unfold.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea listened to @[member="Linna Beorht"] and nodded, surprised at the woman's quick thinking and insight. Still, @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] wasn't exactly the best person to convey Force ESP...but she was good at intimidation. In conjunction with @[member="Cira"] they could do a convincing job of making people believe they were sinning.

"Good idea. Get them together, Minister, I will deal with the Queen and Count myself."

However, she did call Siobhan over and gave her some whispered instructions. "Go with the Minister, then double back and wait outside the door...just in case." Stepping back she said. "Get going, Colonel."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Allaina Mare"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Linna Beorht"]

One might note that the last time Siobhan had carried out an investigation, it resulted in her murdering two Jedi and stealing a holocron. Admittedly at the time she had been possessed and driven insane by an ancient Sith, so according to some it was not entirely her fault. At least she did not annoy people with her angst anymore!

Siobhan looked a bit puzzled at Tegs' instruction, but nodded. "Sure thing, boss. We put the bolters in the armoury," then after giving Allaina's shoulder a brief squeeze gestured to Linna, heading out for the door, where the guards stepped aside to let them through.
"So are we ruining the aristos or making them like loyal, splendid fellows? And we're going to emphasise my heroic prowess, aren't we?" she asked in a sardonic whisper.

Siobhan did not know the Zeltron well, but then her reading materiel tended towards the sordid and not the political, but she could see she was talented at what she did. Besides, she was pretty.

 

[Linna Beorht]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Linna had a hard, fast rule: Don't screw the coworkers. But Kerrigan had a reputation, and she was leaning rather close, so, as they headed for the nearest congregation of nobles, Linna pinched the Colonel's butt to break that particular train of thought.

"Well, that would be the long-term plan, to massage your image. Whether we ruin them or not -- well, depends how hard you want to push, and how long. By the end of this, hopefully they'll feel thoroughly spanked. Slapped, even. Emphasizing your prowess won't be necessary; at this point, it's right there in my face, and they'll be hard pressed to stop thinking about it."

This entendrometer went up to eleven.

"But in all seriousness, Colonel, we need to scare them without damaging your image. I know, and you know, that your Force skills don't tend towards mentalism, but they don't know that you're not fully capable of both ravaging and ravishing their minds. When it comes to taking a side -- well, on this particular trial run, shoot for neutrality. We could be wrong about who our enemies are. Don't lambaste the aristos, don't make them heroes. It'll be difficult, but strike a balance. 'Wherever this investigation leads us,' that kind of language. Make everyone equally afraid.

"In the long run, of course, our main problems are going to be with aristo factions. No question about it. So it could be good to take the clart out of them today, but I'd prefer we pick our targets once we know who our targets are. Nobody here knows exactly how each noble family will react to our control of the planet."

She made assorted announcements, gave assorted orders-

Within about half an hour, they had a conference room full of every important person in the Palace, and most of the less important ones, too.

"Annnd...go."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge had his lakehouse. What he didn't have was peace of mind. Why? His innuendo senses were tingling. And not in the good way. So as fast as he could be grabbed his gear and booked it towards the capital.

It was about halfway there he realized the rest of OP was here.

Resbians...

Soon enough he was watching Siobhan and Linna and company, hidden from sight as always.

This was going to be... most interesting.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Linna Beorht"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Cira"]

Siobhan did indeed have a reputation and it was a well-earned one, the butt pinch just made her smirk. "Massage my image, huh?" she purred. "I like the sound of that. We really gotta go over how to soften it in detail," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, but then turned businesslike when Linna outlined the game plan.

"Sure. I'll talk softly and carry big stick," she quipped as the conference room was soon filled with aristocrats, Government ministers and officers, the elite of Naboo and those who'd like to be a part of it. Some scowled as they saw the Omega members, others looked guarded or gave the time and tested smiles of politicians. A few made effusive declarations of loyalty to the Queen, though the chatter was nothing compared to the pandaemonium in the assembly.


Siobhan made her way through the throngs of aristos. Some of them shot her looks, her expression was neutral but the lightsabre attached to her belt was clearly visible. Moreover, her dark blue uniform was ripped in places and had been stained with dust and blood, along with the scars it gave her quite a martial appearance.

As some aristos parted before her she found the noble lord from the assembly room who just earlier had been complaining about political storms and loss of confidence in the nobility. She smirked, he could be her first victim. He was walking towards the Queen when suddenly she stood right in front of him.

He stiffened in surprise when she spoke up. "Lord...Udina, a moment of your time please," she stated, not directly blocking his way, but also indicating that this was not a simple request.

The aristocrat tensed, but then gave her the usual self-important look. "You are with the Lady Protector, aren't you? You have Naboo's gratitude for aiding our Queen," he said with forced politeness. "If you would excuse me, I have matters of state to discuss with Her Majesty. In the light of the dreadful tribulations she went through,she must know her vassals stand by her."

Siobhan did not budge. "Indeed. It's very important she knows whom to trust. So that she doesn't get put in danger again. There's some questions I'd like to as. No worries, it won't take long," she emphasised 'trust'.

Udina's eyes narrowed. "Questions, about what and on whose authority? I understand that the noble Count was cleared and that you're apprehending those offworlders who brought the cultists here."

"Offworlders, you say?" Siobhan gently took him by the shoulder and led him away into a corner of the room. Her grip was not strong, but it was enough to make the point. Udina turned his eyes to the guards, but they didn't react. "We can't jump to conclusions, but what if I told you there might be a native traitor at the highest levels?"

"You are not implying...I cannot think of any Peer who'd agree to such a dastardly act," Lord Udina almost snapped. "Besides, who is 'we'? If there's even the whiff of treason, our secret service should look into it!"

Siobhan held up her hand. "The Queen has ordered this. We don't know how far the treason goes. So I'm finding out the truth. Whatever it takes. See, the Force is a pathway to many abilities. More than crushing cultists."

"Mind tricks?" Udina scowled. "I am loyal subject of Her Majesty and will not be accused."

"No, course not. We don't know where the investigation will lead us," Siobhan waved his statement aside. "But it must look suspicious how the Bando Gora managed to get past the planetary defences and land here undetected until they struck."

"Of course, but I have no role in military matters. You'll have to consult the commanders for that."

"But back at the assembly you were with the General..."

"Lannister. Yes, he's in charge of our Royal Security Forces. But I was merely deploring the vile acts that had been committed on our soil. Now I must really..."

"Thank you," Siobhan responded. "Just so that we can verify that, would you be willing to get tested?"

Lord Udina looked at her aghast. "Tested?"

"Mental test in the Force. Standard telepathic reading. Non-invasive," said bluntly. Sometimes the blunt force approach was the one that worked.

Udina's mouth fell open, he seemed aghast and like a deer caught in the headlights. "No...I mean, I'm a Peer of the Realm and my record speaks for itself. I've supported the Queen throughout and frankly I consider this..."

"In times like these, people often start pointing fingers. We need to be certain to eliminate suspicions."

"There might've been some untoward activity going on at the Jamilla Spaceport. I'm telling you this in strictest confidence," he suddenly said, in a low whisper. "Suspicious foreigners skulking around, freighters of unclear origin. Since the guard commander was crippled last week in a speeder accident."

"I see. These freighters were connected to whom?"

"Business partners of Lady Elana Targayen," Udina answered. "Now, I'm not casting aspersions on anyone's character. But there are rumours of her dealings with crime cartels, probably baseless. She keeps strange company. Now I must really leave."


"Thank you. Your cooperation is appreciated. Should you hear anything else...call us, lord."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Now it was just the three of them. The Exarch, the Queen and the Count. It sounded like a bad joke's opening.

As Tegaea re-entered the room she smiled politely. "Your Majesty, Count Alkabiades, I do apologise for the delay. My associate Colonel Kerrigan is investigating the various assembled nobles and staff. With her command of the Force it will only be a matter of time before the traitor is found."
Neither reacted, except with bland acceptance.
"These attacks have been a great shock to us all," the Count said. "While I can't say I'm happy that you're here politically, I am glad the Queen is safe."
Tegaea looked to the Queen. "Indeed. I was sorry to hear that some of your handmaidens were hurt, Majesty. They have been a great assistance to you and those before you."
"They have. Now, do you have suspicions on who is the traitor?"
"Oh yes, I do. Colonel Kerrigan tells me that Lady Elana Targayen has been having some unusual business dealings with outsiders. It seems as though the military was compromised also. What do you think of that, your Majesty?"
The Queen looked at her steadily. "I think that Lady Targayen is a traitor and that those I trusted in the army have betrayed me."
"Indeed." Tegaea held the Queen's look for a long moment, then turned away. She reached up and scratched her ear, activating a small commlink concealed there which went straight to Siobhan. "Where are your handmaidens currently?"
"They're being questioned by your people."
"How many are there? I know that one was sadly killed in the battle and another one was injured, but I only saw two outside. I had thought there was six."
"I really could not say. Now, if we might finish here. Arrest the traitors, and you will have the thanks of Naboo."
Tegaea turned back. "Where is the Queen? No, do not protest, you are not her. You are one of her handmaidens. You look similar...but without all of the elaborate decorations, not similar enough."
The Queen's face had gone red. "The Queen is...safe."
"I'm sure she is, for now. I know what your plan is Daneris Targayen, though it took me a while to figure out some of the oddities here. You persuade the Queen to bring us here to Naboo, while at the same time bringing the Bando Gora to attack us. You then implicate the Count here by leaking information of the Queen's death, but it's easily disproved. You then ensure that your sister was in on the plan so that you have have her arrested. But what then? That part made no sense to me until I realised that you never cared for the Bando Gora or us, you just wanted to get yourself in power. When the Queen is found sadly murdered, who better to take over than the woman who tried to save her, who helped expose a conspiracy in the heart of Naboo's government? It also helps that you are related to the Queen of course..you're the next in line either way. And then...well, Protectorate gives you a good deal so why not join it and gain legitimacy for your throne?"
"Why would you bring this accusation up if you assume I would go with you regardless?"
"Because I don't like the ends justifying the means. Betrayal and murder are still wrong."
The Count looked stunned at all of this. When he tried to speak Tegaea held up a hand.
"So what are you going to do?" Daneris asked.
"I don't like monarchs, but I don't like murderers more. We're going to find the Queen and let her decide."
"Best move quickly then, she doesn't have long left." Daneris produced a blaster pistol. "But you won't get the chance. This Protectorate woman attacked me and I was forced to defend myself. Unfortunately Count Alkabiades was slain defending his Queen as well as the outsider." She turned and shot the Count point blank. "And now for you. You were far too clever for your own good," she said.
There was a second blaster shot, a scream...and then silence.