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The Slave Queens New Interest	By : Revelnit Category: +S through Z > Star Wars: The Clone Wars Views: 58619 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Clone Wars, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
   Complying with Master Skywalkers orders was a pleasure in some ways and exhausting in others. The looks on her peoples faces when she told them that they had their chance for freedom, was a delight to behold. Once the former slaves new status was confirmed by the command center the whip bearing Zyggerian overseers made themselves scarce quickly. From there it fell to Ahsoka to arrange the evacuation of her people.
   The Togrutans had not been enslaved for very long. They were only in the most initial stages of being broken of their individual will. They were hungry but not starved; physically abused but not so much that they were unable to walk. While most were willing to give all the energy they had left to get away a few had to be carried out and many walked slowly from lack of nutrition. Ahsoka was determined to make sure they all got out, but it took longer than she thought.
   By the time the people had made their way across the hubs support spars and onto the surface of Kadavo most of the time her Master had allowed her to complete this task was gone. There was only a short time to explain to the leader of her people what it was they had to do before she had to head back to the hub. She hoped that they would be alright.
   As the young jedi made the return trip over the support spar she found herself out of breath more easily and quickly than normal. The atmosphere of Kadavo was thin and unsuited to her lungs.
   As she returned to the central complex of buildings Ahsoka heard a dull roar. She watched as several stubby winged fighter craft and a Zyggerian freighter launched from one of the hubs cargo bays. The departing ships were most likely crewed by the overseers and some of the stations guards. Word that a separatist battleship was on it's way must have spread quickly. They may have been abandoning the Queen or had they been ordered away? Ahsoka couldn't imagine why they would be ordered away though. Wouldn't that leave the station defenseless? Was the Queen leaving with them? Had she lost faith in Master Skywalkers plan? With those questions going through her mind she ran faster heedless of the thin air.
   Arriving at the landing pad Ahsoka spotted the Queens yacht. It sat underneath a cluster of buildings near the core of the station. The blunted arrowhead shapes of the buildings towered over the yacht protectively while pointing a warning into the sky. Master Obi-wan was at the foot of the yachts open hatch, spotted her and waved her over frantically. She ran up to and into the ship. Inside was a crowd consisting of Queen Miraj, Rex, Artoo plugged into a computer terminal, the hubs Captain of the guard, the Zyggerian with all of the tools Ahsoka had seen earlier which were still around his belt and once she turned the corner into the cockpit, she finally saw her master. He was was turning on a computer display that he was working to set up. In fact there were several things in the cockpit that she hadn't seen before. A few computers and an antenna.
   Before she ask any questions Anakin spoke up. “Good, you're here, we can begin.”
   She knew that as a padawan learner it wasn't proper to question her masters orders but this time she couldn't help but let one slip out. “Begin what Master? What is all of this?”
   Without answering Anakin turned to the Captain of the guard. “One last time Captain; is the hub completely evacuated?”
   “Confirmed, though I have to say I am as curious as your young jedi friend here about...”
   “Good, then lets do this.” Anakin seemed so involved in what he was touching off he didn't even seem to notice that he had interrupted the Zyggerian. He sat down in the pilots seat and began the preflight activation of the ships systems, as well as activating the new computers that had just been added to the cockpit.
   Stepping back to the where the Queen leaned up against the yachts wall, Ahsoka whispered to her. “Whats going on?”
   Queen Miraj simply shrugged. “I do not know. He said that he needed full control of the hub and that he needed it completely evacuated. Since you left They have been busy setting up the hardware and software necessary to transfer the hubs master controls to here. He has also placed tunneling charges at the midpoint of all four of the facilities support struts. Perhaps he plans on blowing up the hub as the droids board it. I have gotten no further specifics out of him.”
   “Where is Keeper Agruss?”
   The Queen tilted her head towards the year of the yacht. “Tossed quite unceremoniously into the storage compartment. Your master may be keeping his word that Agruss would live but Agruss should have negotiated for some comforts. I, on the other hand would have just killed him after his usefulness was at an end.” Turning her head to the left the Queen fixed Ahsoka with a stare. “Tell me my dear, do you have any idea of where your master is leading us?”
   Just then an alarm started sounding from the cockpit. Grateful for the interruption, Ahsoka went back around the corner to find Master Anakin checking a screen. “Well, here we go. The hubs sensors are tracking a confederate battleship coming out of hyperspace. Extremely close to the system. Time to put the plan in motion. Norult?” The Zyggerian who possessed the panoply of tools leaned forward. “Spool up the hubs power core just like we talked about.”
   The Zyggerian engineer through several switches simultaneously. Ahsoka's finely honed jedi senses detected a hum vibrating through the floor panels of the yacht.
   Anakin also flipped other switches found on the newly attached consoles. Outside the cockpit Ahsoka saw shadows moving across the surface area of the hub as the facilities turbo laser cannons started moving and became operational. Once he had concluded that they tested out sufficiently Skywalker turned to the Zyggerian engineer again.
   “Is the Hubs repulsor assembly online?” The engineer gave a short quick nod.
   Furrowing her brow Ahsoka leaned in towards her master. “What do you mean, repulsor assembly, Master? This is a spaceship it can already fly.”
   “Not the ship Ahsoka, the hub.” When Ahsoka could only muster a look of confusion Skywaker explained further. “A lot of these mining facilities are equipped with repulsor engines. It enables hub operators to move the facility from one ore rich location to the next, just like a land speeder. Otherwise, the facility would need to be completely torn down after a resource rich area was completely played out. Either that or a giant transport ship would need to lift and move it. It's also a handy backup if the physical support struts fail. It's actually a more common practice than you think. When I was a kid I heard gas miners from Bespin bragging away about how their mines stay in the air all the time.”
   “So, you're going to move us somewhere else?” Ahsoka had to admit it was a fairly creative idea. Though she had to wonder exactly how fast this huge facility could go. Ahsoka immediately acquired a mental picture of a ridiculously slow speed chase across the surface of Kadavo. The hub being pursued by the separatist battleship, both going perhaps twenty miles per hour.
   “Unfortunately there are no drives that can move the hub horizontally. I'm told by Norult here that the hubs repulsors are only used to lift the facility off the ground or set it back down. To move it from place to place they need tugs, which of course we don't have.”
   “Master, if the repulsor assembly can't take us anywhere then why start it up? And if you say that it's part of your plan... ”
   Holding up his hands in a defensive gesture towards Ahsoka, Skywalker gave what he incorrectly believed to be a placating smile. “I assure you, the reasons will become clear Ahsoka.”
   He turned back to the controls that operated the hubs lasers. “Alright, the battleship is closing in. It's time to set things in motion. He stabbed one of the buttons near the laser controls.” A bright flash outside the yachts cockpit was followed by a loud 'crump'. The yacht rocked as an explosion rocked the hub outside.
   “None to soon master. The separatists are certainly within range.” Looking out the cockpit window Ahsoka could see that one of the hubs support spars was flaming wreckage. Now only three supports held the hub above it's giant crater.
   “Oh, that wasn't the battleship Ahsoka. That was me.”
   For her part Ahsoka could not have been more surprised if Anakin had just announced he were working for the separatists. “W-what!?! Master, what are you doing?”
   “What any good commander would do if confronted with a similar situation. I'm firing on my own position.” With that by way of explanation Anakin touched the controls that fired the hubs weapons again. Again another one of the spars that connected the hub to the crater rim vanished in a hail of self-inflicted blaster fire. Ahsoka could feel the hub list under her feet. The tilt in the hubs orientation was only a few inches but it was unnerving.
   Outside a larger more menacing shadow appeared over the hub. The separatist battleship had arrived. It slowly moved to take a dominant position over the processing hub.
   Before Ahsoka could point out the inherent madness in what Anakin was doing she noticed a change in the status of the hubs weapons. Much to her chagrin the indicators showed that all of the hubs weapons were down.
   The Queen poked her head around the corner. “What is going on? Are we fighting the droid ship?”
   Anakin responded quite calmly considering the circumstances. “No, the codes that I slipped to the Droid Commander through Agruss have shut down the hubs weapons.”
   The Queen gave Ahsoka a dirty look as if to say he had best not be serious.
   Ahsoka gave a nervous smile and a light unconvincing laugh. “What my Master meant to say is that the droid Commander is in for one heck of a surprise!”
   “He is?” The Queen asked.
   “He is?” Anakin echoed.
   “Yes! Because....” Ahsoka kicked her mind into high gear trying to get inside her Masters thought processes. “Because, they're fake codes! They were given to the droid commander to make him think the hub was under his control. However, when he least expects it, my Master will yank control of the hub back out from under him and blast him with every weapon this place has!” For emphasis Ahsoka punched her fist into her other hand. She turned to her Master with a smile.
   “Hmmm, I'm proud of you there snips. You really do know me pretty well.”
   The smile on Ahsoka's face widened slightly.
   “However, in this case you are incorrect. The codes I gave the droid commander were the right ones. The hubs weapons are offline, probably for good.”
   Ahsoka's face fell. A small twitch appeared on her cheek. “W-what Master?”
   Next to her the Queen crossed her arms over her chest. Ahsoka wondered if they could shoot down the warship with just the power behind the royal woman’s glare alone.
   Master Skywalker pushed a button on the Hubs remote control consoles. Ahsoka saw two indicator bars fill with light seeming to indicate the hubs power was at maximum. A deep hum could be heard all around them, as the deck of the yacht began vibrating even more intensely then she had previously noticed. However, since they seemed virtually defenseless, Ahsoka could only wonder at what good the large reserve of power would be.
   A sigh heaved through Ahsoka. She turned to the Queen. “Well, I suppose there is one upside to the enemy having control of our weapons.” Turning back to her master her next words were aimed at him. “At least we aren't destroying ourselves with them.”
   The Queen gasped and whipped her head around at Skywalker. “That was you!?!”
   Suddenly, Master Skywalkers face lit up, as though he had experienced a sudden revelation. “Oh yes! Thats right, we can't use the guns anymore.” At first Ahsoka thought he was making a sarcastic jab at her last comment, until he brought out what looked like a handle with a button sticking out of it's top. It was connected to a group of wires and batteries at it's base. “Looks like we'll just have to use these explosives then.” With that, he stabbed his finger down on the button.
   Outside two massive explosions rocked the hub. The last two support struts that connected the hub to the crater wall, vanished in fiery destruction.
   Aboard the Queens yacht everyone was shaken as if the yacht were in the maw of a great beast. As the Queen started toppling to the ground Ahsoka reached out and caught her. In doing so she lost her own balance and they both went toppling to the floor.
   The instability aboard the Queens yacht was not solely due to the explosions. With the last of the hubs structural support torn away there was nothing, except the the hubs repulsorlift gear to hold the whole facility above the deep crater upon which it was perched. Without physical attachments, the hub was now bobbing like a huge cork in a bottle courtesy of the artificially generated gravity of the stations repulsors.
   While still atop the young jedi, Queen Miraj looked down upon her lover with her eyes wide open. “Well, this certainly looks familiar.” She whispered down to Ahsoka, who returned a frustrated look. She then raised her voice asking to no one in particular. “What is going on?”
   Skywalker gave his report proudly. “The Hub is now completely free from the crater rim. We can go now.”
   Ahsoka's brow furrowed momentarily before illumination struck her. “Go! We can go!” The Queens face mere inches from her own gave off a puzzled look. Ahsoka hastened to explain. “He means go, as in...” She pointed straight down. The Queen in spite of herself looked down at the yachts deck and her eyes widened. “I think, your majesty, this elevator is headed for the basement. If the hub, the entire hub drops into the crater we can lose them. Isn't that right master?”
   Skywalker looked down at his padawan learner before his head gave the slightest of shaking motions. It couldn't be that she had guessed wrong again could it? “Ahhhhh, Ahsoka...” His hands danced across the yachts controls. The ship then rose about thirty feet off the pitching, rolling floor of the hub. Reaching to his left Skywalker wrapped his hand around the thrust control levers. “...I still have a great deal left to teach you. Not only about tactics...” Shoving the levers forward made the yacht leap towards the horizon. The spacecraft shot out from underneath the hubs superstructure gaining speed rapidly. “...but about never, ever, letting a sucker have an even break.”
   Once the Yacht was a safe enough distance away from the hub, master Skywalker spun the yacht completely around so that the cockpit was now facing the battleship. He then leaned over to one of the jury-rigged panels within arms reached and with what seemed like entirely too much satisfaction, flipped one switch. The gauges that indicated the hubs power level which had before read nearly to maximum suddenly dropped to zero.

   “Results coming in sir.” The battle droid at the sensor station announced with a mild tone of pride in his voice. “It is confirmed. Power readings indicate that their weapons are down.”
   TY-117 motioned to communications and told them to try to get Keeper Agruss on the line again. Now that the hubs weapons were taken care of, it was time to accomplish his mission and locate the Queen. Count Dooku was clear that he wanted a body, alive or dead. Regardless of what Agruss' problems were he had better have some idea of where the Queen is.
   Then the droid manning the sensors called out to TY-117. “Sir! There have been further explosions down below.”
   “What is their cause Ensign?” TY-117 couldn't believe what was going on down on the station. Was the Keeper being threatened by a full scale rising? What was going on down there?
   “There was no indication of weapons fire from the outside. Er, it is possible that the explosions were caused by fighting within the station.” Before TY-117 could point out several objections to that theory the droid hurriedly spoke up again. “Sir! I have a bogey moving away from the station at high speed. Profile of the craft is consistent with that of the Queens personal spacecraft.”
   There was no more consideration of the hub and it's structural status. TY-117 quickly turned to the Bridge window to see if he could locate the royal yacht. “Tractor Beam, stand by. Starboard batteries ten through fifteen, stand by to fire, but only if tractor control is unable to get a hold. You shoot to disable, not destroy, understood?” A chorus of 'roger-rogers' came back at him from the bridge and over the ships communication system.
   Suddenly through the bridge window he saw the bright flame of the yachts engine come out from underneath the battleships superstructure. It was heading away, quickly and at increasing speed. TY-117 calculated that this might be a distraction, with the Queen herself still on the hub. If so, then he needed to confirm it by seizing this ship intact. If not, then he would have the Queen and this would have been one of the quickest, most successful missions he had been on.
   Motioning to the bridge window, TY-117 pointed with his pincer hand. “Tractor beam, enga...”
   The rest of his order was interrupted by the most colossal 'BANG' TY-117 had ever heard. The floor of the bridge heaved upwards. In an instant it was bent several feet closer to the ceiling and stayed that way. Simultaneously the bridge window shattered as if it had been hit by a bomb. TY-117 was thrown down to the deck like a doll tossed away by a fickle child. Just as quickly he was then slammed into the ceiling. The ships artificial gravity must have over-corrected because just as quickly he was thrown back down to the deck again. If TY-117 were not a robot the jostling would have at least knocked him unconscious, if not killed him outright.
   The bridge emergency alert klaxon was screaming out to alert what would normally be an organic crew that something was wrong. Lifting his upper torso up by his arms TY looked to his right to ask the his bridge crewmen to give him a damage report, only to find that the droids in charge of monitoring ships mechanical systems were crushed by the upheaval of the deck into their work niches.
   Turning back to the sensors station gave him little more reassurance. The ensign in charge was shaking his head like a stunned animal. “Ensign; what hit us? I thought you said the Hubs weapons were down.”
   The droid pushed a few buttons on the panel in front of him before looking up. TY-117 noticed a long pause before the droid spoke. “Sir, sensors are in and out. However I think I can can contribute a reasonable hypothesis as to our distress.”
   After waiting a few seconds for the droid to volunteer the information TY-117 finally realized that he need to be prompted, so he simply asked him what it was.
   “Er, sir, correct me if I'm wrong but.... Is that an air traffic control light?” Following the direction of the droids pointing hand, TY-117's gaze was directed to the center of the bridge. For the first time he noticed that sticking out of a jagged hole in the center of the bridge was a large cone shaped structure that TY was unfamiliar with. Atop the structure was a rod bent almost completely horizontally at the end of which was a fist sized light fixture. As TY stared at it, it blinked once.
   As TY-117 tried to take in all the new information he had been given, he heard a long drawn out groan followed by a loud ripping noise. Suddenly, the horizon, visible outside the bridge window, began rising rapidly. Intellectually TY realized the ground wasn't rising so much as the ship was falling.
   With the new information at his disposal TY-117 was able to calculate to a 99.8% certainty the cause of the ships catastrophic damage. It was unfortunate that he could not have seen it coming sooner but the least he could do as a good droid was log the oversight in his memory for future review by his organic masters should they ever find his CPU intact. An event that TY-117 now calculated at a measly .0018%.
   That last calculation would be the last one that TY-117 would make as the crater rim swallowed up the once mighty warship and the sunlight outside the shattered bridge window turned instantly to darkness.

   Neither the Queen nor Ahsoka could easily believe the sight before them. Roughly a mile in front of the yachts cockpit the Separatist battleship bobbed unsteadily, which even with all of the great power at it's disposal was completely understandable, considering it's new attachment.
   They both could clearly recognize the lower half of the once feared mining station sprouting from the underside of the battleships central spherical command section. The central core of administrative buildings were buried deep within the ships interior, not unlike spears driven through the belly of an ancient warrior. The struts that once connected the hub to the lip of the crater now sprouted from the underside of the battleship. From this distance it gave the ship the appearance of a model spaceship that was flying about with it's base still attached.
   In addition to the two women, the whole crew, jedi, zyggerian and clone beheld the spaceship as it tottered drunkenly above what used to be the airspace above the mining hub. It momentarily righted itself, and for a brief moment Ahsoka was worried that the ship had managed to survive her masters impromptu attack. Then, suddenly, the port side wing of the ships horseshoe shaped outer hull snapped at the central section that attached it to the rest of ship. With that section bent awkwardly towards the sky, the ship then fell like a rock, straight into the crater.
   Several seconds passed after the ship disappeared into the crater and out of sight. Finally, a large, black, mushroom cloud slowly rose from the crater. It was followed by a dull thunder-like rumble, that marked the warships final end.
   The yacht was filled with silence for several seconds. Finally Anakin let out a long sigh. Ahsoka shook her head, her mouth opening and closing twice before finally producing words.
   “Master, that was...” She broke off as a short laughed came from her. “So, you needed to give the droids control of the hubs guns because...” Skywalker did not finish her sentence for her. It was obvious that he was giving Ahsoka the chance to piece this together for herself. The young jedi's eyes searched for invisible clues before her eyes. Then her eyes widened. “Of course!” Her Master smiled having realized what she understood.
   The queen looked back and fourth between the two. “What is it? Are you telling me you can justify this madman’s actions?”
   “Your majesty, the hub needed one massive burst of power to do what it just did. In order to get that much energy, absolutely every last bit of power the station could generate would have to be channeled from the power core to the repulsorlift engines all at once. That kind of power reallocation wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the battleships sensors. The shutdown of the hubs weapons diverted the droid commanders attention from the buildup of power necessary to launch the hub. It also gave TY-117 the illusion of control for the few seconds we needed. Otherwise he could have had the battleship take evasive action at the last minute.” Ahsoka had to take a moment to let a smile occupy her face before continuing. “The great thing about it is that by shutting down the guns, the droid commander was also giving Master Skywalker the power he needed to get the hub up to ramming speed.”
   Her master gave off a smile. “Little late snips, but you got there. Ah, I so love a good plan.”
   From behind him Obi-wan Kenobi stepped forward placing his hand appreciatively on Anakins shoulder. “Well done Anakin. Well done.”
   Wearily Anakin Skywalker leaned forward to work the yachts controls. “Let's make sure all the togrutans are alright.”
   The ship swung about and glided downwards to where all the former slaves awaited. It was obvious that they had seen what had happened too. The scattered remnants of the former slave population jumped and waved at the craft as it settled down.
   Once the hatch opened, the saviors of the slaves began filing out of the spaceship. Anakin gestured to get Ahsoka's attention. Once he had it he took her off to the side. Idly the Queen drifted somewhat closer to hear what was said. She did not go unnoticed by Skywalker though. “Ahsoka, we're just going to explain what happened and see if anyone needs any help until the cruiser arrives. Do me a favor and keep an eye on her majesty here, until we get back.” He then walked past the two women into the bright light outdoors and the cheers of the people as they saw him.
   When Ahsoka looked around, she noticed it was just her and the queen left on the spacecraft. Apparently the fresh air and the allure of cheering crowds was too much for everyone. Rex, Obi-wan and the two Zyggerians left with Anakin. Ahsoka looked longingly out of the hatch, shaking her head at having drawn babysitter duty. Seeming to read her mind the queen reached out and closed the hatch. Ahsoka gave a look that questioned.
   “Well, you were told to keep an eye on me.” Reaching behind her back the queen seemed to undo a fastener that loosened the upper part of the dress she wore. A combination of tugging at the upper arms of the garment, along with a few shrugs, worked it free from her shoulders. After just a little more pulling, the dress was clear of the royals breasts. Bare chested, she smiled at the young woman, who nervously smiled back. “I intend to make sure you carry out your duty, to the letter.”
   Gently Queen Miraj took hold of Ahsoka's hand and drew it up so that it cupped her breast. She held the girls hand in place with her own, rocking it slightly over the soft flesh to encourage Ahsoka to feel and explore what she wanted. The combination of awkward nervousness and blush that rose to the young jedis cheeks pleased the queen, it pleased her a great deal.
   Taking her young lovers hand the queen led her back to the opulent bedroom area of the yacht. Having led her over to the bed the queen gently pushed Ahsoka's shoulder until she sat on the bedside. Leaning over her Queen Miraj pressed a kiss onto her cheek. Then she brought her lips close to Ahsoka's ear and whispered. The feel of the woman’s breath made Ahsoka's skin tingle.
   “You know, your people can cheer Skywalker all they want, but I know who my hero is.” The woman’s tongue came out from her mouth and slowly traced a line with it's tip; from the nape of Ahsokas neck to just underneath her ear. From the audible sigh Ahsoka gave out, the queen felt that she had discovered a sweet spot on her young lover. She cataloged the information in her mind for later, while she brought her hand up to the girls shoulder to push her again. This time gently and quite slowly. onto her back.
   The queen leaned with her, until they were both fully horizontal. Propping herself up on her arms above Ahsoka, she lowered her face down to deliver her lips to the girls. After meeting and dancing together their lips parted so as to enable the women to take turns hosting each others tongues. The queens hand slid down and over the smaller girls torso, going lower and lower until it reached a place where it could be busier and naughtier. The soft 'oh!' that Ahsoka gave out along with the drawn out groan that followed let the queen know that her hand still knew how to please a girl.
   From inside the dark storage bin former keeper Agruss was tied up and laying in what he thought was a pile of used laundry. He was getting bored and wanted to complain to someone about the rough treatment he had been getting at the hands of these stinking jedi. He was about to cry out to demand someone pay attention to him, when he thought he heard a noise, a cry of some kind.
   That caught his attention. Was there some sort of struggle going on outside the locked compartment where he was being kept? Perhaps there was some sort of stealth rescue mission taking place? Men loyal to him could be quietly taking the ship from the jedi right now! A few minutes later, he heard another cry. This one high pitched and sounding quite desperate. Perhaps his men had one of the jedi and was torturing him. That was good, very good. He would not distract them. He would merely call out when he heard them close in on his location, so that they could know their search was over.
   He waited quite a while, however much to his disappointment, no one ever came to his rescue.

   Now safely aboard the republic cruiser the heroic band of slave rescuers, along with a few zyggerians, filed off the queens yacht. Around them stood the safe, clean, confines of the cruisers cavernous docking bay.
   Around the yacht dozens of gunships were stored. Hundreds of clone troopers, all wearing the face of the late bounty hunter Jango Fett milled about. For the most part they were engaged in rescue operations.
   Around them transport craft offloaded hundreds of togrutans. They were being met by the clone soldiers who offered the gratefully rescued individuals food, water and blankets.
   Not all of the soldiers were on disaster relief duty. Two clones emerged from the yacht, carrying Agruss by the arms. His stubby feet kicked freely in the air as he ordered the clones to let him go. The clones for the most part were unsympathetic to his 'orders'. Ahsoka and Queen Miraj smiled as he was carried past.
   The two women were then approached by Ahsoka's master. “Well, Ahsoka, it looks like your people are going to be OK. I just talked with the Kirosian leader. He extended his thanks to you for your efforts in freeing his people. Said you were a credit to togrutans everywhere.” Queen Miraj gave Ahsoka a small nudge with her elbow, along with a sneaked smile. Noticing it made Ahsoka try to resist a return smile. “Now, before we leave for Coruscant all we have to do is assign her majesty here quarters and we'll be done.” Skywalker handed Ahsoka a data padd. Reading it, she found the Queens name next to a cell assignment.
   Wait; cell assignment? She looked over the information again. 'Deck 22, cell 3' was the detention level. “M-master, am I reading this right? It says...”
   “Oh there’s no need to be coy Ahsoka. You're reading that correctly. The Queen is going into detention.” He turned so that he was facing the queen. “While we're on that subject. Your majesty, you are under arrest.”
   The Queens mouth dropped open wide for a second before a look of unrestrained anger filled it. “After all I've been through, I am to be subject to legal harassment as well? After all I did, to assist you in fighting off the confederation?”
   The jedis face took on a look of bafflement. “You helped us fight off the separatists?”
   The Queen took a moment to think. “Of course! I let you use one of my mining facilities didn't I?”
   Ahsoka decided to give the queens flailing defense some help. “Master, the Queen is already overthrown from all political power and it's not like she's going anywhere. Do we really need to do this?”
   “I'm surprised by you Ahsoka. It was your people that took the brunt the brunt of this injustice. I'm a little bit surprised you're not demanding her blood. I really can't see anything mitigating here snips. Any assistance she gave us, during the last stand on the hub, could easily be interpreted as her just trying to save herself from the separatists. You were personally held captive by her. You only got a taste of the indignity these people suffered.” Anakins hand swept in the direction of the hub evacuees. “I think that we can refer this one to the courts and politicians. Let them handle it.”
   Ahsoka realized that the queen couldn't talk her way out of this. At least she couldn't negotiate at this point. The former slaves of the Kadavo system were only some dozens of feet away. Could Ahsoka face them while advocating the queens freedom? She looked them over and saw their overworked bodies, the scratches, scrapes and in a few cases bruises. Would it have gotten even worse for them if they had stayed in captivity longer? Did Ahsoka even want to side with someone who countenanced such a system?
   Taking the queen by her elbow, Ahsoka motioned to one of the nearby corridors with her other hand. “Your majesty, would you follow me please?” After a brief pause the queen walked haltingly along with her. Many, many of the hubs former slaves watched them as Ahsoka, a togrutan, escorted the queen across the wide expanse of the docking bay. Queen Miraj did not meet the gazes of any of them, at any point, during her exit from the docking bay.
   Several corridors and one lift ride from the bay later the two were walking in silence, when Queen Miraj slowed to a halt and turned to her escort. “You know my dear, I'm sure there are many ways off this vessel, for someone as talented as yourself. Surely there would even be an escape pod around here.” She moved closer so that her face was only inches from Ahsoka's. “We could escape from this place. You and I together. With us as partners, the galaxy could not resist us. Please, let us go.”
   It was easy to understand the queens meaning. What she really meant was 'let me go'. For a moment, to her surprise Ahsoka considered it. The adventure and excitement of evading the law crossed her mind. Going into hiding, living day to day. Not to mention the limitless rewards of the queens body when nighttime came. It was interesting as a fantasy. Still, Ahsoka took the queens arm and they continued until a door further down the corridor opened.
   Inside was a clone trooper impassively working a security station. He sat across from the queens intended destination. A prison cell, it's force field glowing red, greeted the two as they entered. As soon as the queens eyes caught sight of the actual cell their forward progress stopped.
   The queens nose turned up in apparent disgust at the conditions. Ahsoka with her sensitive hearing, heard a deep swallow emanate from the queens throat. “These quarters are unacceptable. I demand to be shown to something more appropriate.” She turned, with a slightly desperate look at her escort. “I'm sure you can find something can't you?”
   Giving her chin one brief rub with her thumb and forefinger Ahsoka turned to the guard. “Trooper why don't you take a short break?” The soldier, realizing the jedi's intent, departed from the room.
   She then stepped over to the control console and pushed several buttons. The force field covering the prison cell vanished. “Your majesty, would you please step inside.”
   “Well, aren't we efficient all of a sudden? You know, from your businesslike demeanor here, no one seeing us now would be able to tell that I had my tongue tickling your nether lips less than two hours ago. Is that the way you like it? Hmm? Pretending that it didn't happen? I'm afraid you will find that the quartermasters stores aboard this ship will not be able to replace your virginity.”
   Grabbing the queens elbow more roughly than she had intended, Ahsoka started to pull her towards the now open cell. The queen yanked her arm away from the girl. Then of her own volition, she walked into the cell, her head held high. With the push of a button the force field reactivated.
   Turning, she coolly regarded the orange girl. “You will find that Queen Miraj Scintel of the great and everlasting Zyggerian Empire cannot be simply disposed of like some thing. I was queen before. I will be again. Whatever it was I possessed, before I shall repossess.” That last sentence was followed by a smile aimed right at Ahsoka.
   There was a pause as the two women older and younger regarded each other. Finally Ahsoka broke the silence. “I am sorry, that it had to end like this.” She turned and headed for the door. Before she could leave though a voice interrupted her.
   “Not an end my dear. I said, that I was coming back for what is mine and that includes you. Fear not my orange flower. The mistress of the house shall return for you.”
   The door parted and Ahsoka quietly departed. She did not need to look behind her, to know the queens eyes followed her closely out the door. Once the door had closed behind her, she had to stop to breathe for several seconds. She wasn't sure how she felt about the queens bold demeanor. Her primitive claims on Ahsoka. It was strange but she felt, somehow, flattered by it. Shaking her head, she resumed the hike through the long warships corridors, back to her master. Her thoughts continued to be of the queen for a while after she left the detention area.
   Back in the cell Queen Miraj surveyed her new empire. A cot, a sink that emitted a pitiful stream of water, a toilet (ugh) that could be pulled from the wall. Not much else. Where were her pillows? Where were her beautifully plumed pet birds that were able to distract her regardless of the problems in her life? The servants with the cool fruit drinks? No, she did not like this place.
   Above all the things this place did not have, it did not have her bold and beautiful bedroom companion. She knew that with her companion even a place like this could be tolerable.
   She wondered privately to herself if she could make good on all the bold claims she had just made to her former slave. She had to say those things of course, but could she really come back, from all this?
   Before she could think too hard on what the answers would be to her own question, the clone trooper returned to his station across from the queen. She straightened up without realizing she had been slouching. Deliberately she put on a more confident bearing. The kind she normally reserved for state functions with generals and foreign diplomats. Her pose didn't last long though. After a while she relaxed her body after she realized she wasn't impressing anyone.

   It took Count Dooku longer than he expected to return to the separatist capital world. Mopping up after the messy coup on Zyggeria had taken a while. That idiot prime minister had been too heavy handed with those army officers and government officials who did not transfer their loyalty immediately. The fighting had not even really ended by the time Dooku had left, though there was nothing Dooku could do about that. He had a multitude of systems that he had to oversee and couldn't be bogged down by affairs within the Zyggerian system.
   As his beautiful personal yacht came out of hyperspace around Raxus the holographic communications gear in front of his seat in the cockpit came to life. Before him flickered the image of the only individual in the galaxy whose call Dooku was guaranteed to take. Always being the direct type the ghostlike figure in the dark hooded cloak got straight to the point. “Report, Lord Tyranus.”
   “It is confirmed my master, the queen has escaped the grasp of the ship I sent to deal with her. I am afraid I must report that her whereabouts are currently unknown. I am returning to Raxus.”
   The face projecting from the cloaks hood, like an iceberg on a dark sea, bore an unconcerned look. “I would not concern yourself my apprentice. My forces have provided initial reports that the queen is in our custody. There are far greater concerns for you and I.”
   An eyebrow rose on the Counts face. “Master?”
   “The future that I have foreseen Lord Tyrannis, a future of the sith being masters of all the galaxy. The future, which you and I have sought lo these many years is in jeopardy.” From this point forward Lord Sidious had one hundred percent of his apprentice's attention. “In the past, as I have put my plans into effect, I would cast my vision forward to ensure that our grand vision for the galaxy was enhanced by the move that I had made. With each move, the future to which we strive would become clearer, more solid, even within chaotic environment that is the future. That is until your recent mission to Zyggeria.”
   The older sith lords face dropped at most a half a centimeter. Given the siths power and emotional control it almost counted as a hysterical reaction. “Master, are you suggesting that the future now foretells our defeat?”
   “No, there is no clear foretelling of either our ultimate victory or a defeat. Only that there are no signs of victory in the near future. The future has gone back into motion. It's results now unclear. Our ascendancy may still be in the near future but just obscured from view by the turbulent events of the past several days. I will need time to ascertain a new reading of the future.”
   Count Dooku's master was only partly telling the truth. While the future had become unreadable for the siths chances as a whole, one thing about Darth Sidious' own future remained in his foretellings. He was due to receive a new apprentice, one both younger and more powerful. That one event seemed set within the future, regardless of what happened. Since the only way an opening to become his apprentice could appear was for the old one to...leave the scene, he kept this realization a closely guarded secret from Lord Tyranus.
   “I need to review what it is that has occurred in the past several days. That way I can change back whatever event it was that has diverted our cause. I suspect that the governmental upheaval upon Zyggeria may be the cause. If so, then I need to create a plan to counteract this setback.”
   For his part Count Dooku couldn't believe the uncertainty that permeated his masters words. He was also chagrined to hear that the years of work he had put into undermining the security of the galaxy and the accursed jedi had very probably been set back. He hated having to wait to see the future, like some lowly fool who did not have the force at their command.
   There was one unfinished piece of business he had with Lord Sidious. He had almost forgotten to share his information with his master and silently chided himself for his forgetfulness. “Master, there is one more thing that I have for you...” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a metallic disk which he placed in a nearby slot on the console in front of him. The slot was connected with the communicator he was using to talk with his master at this moment. It would allow him to share the holographic contents of the device. “It is something minor, I almost hesitate to bring it to your attention at all.” He then activated the disk.
   A hologram came up, the contents of which included a naked Ahsoka Tanno and the queen of Zyggeria. Together they coupled amorously upon a couch in one of the queens luxurious palaces. It was obvious that they were enjoying each others company a great deal. Far more than was allowed by the jedi code of conduct.
   “As you can see the young padawan of Anakin Skywalker has given in to youthful exuberance, as has the queen. If used correctly, it might give us some leverage over the girl. Perhaps a favor could be extracted from her in the future, in exchange for the jedi council never seeing this of course. It could also embarrass the queen, should she ever be found, however I hearZyggerians are far more tolerant of behavior such as this.”
   It took Count Dooku up until this point to realize, his master was staring at the coupling of the two females. It wasn't the enthused expression that would be on the faces of most males when presented with such exotic material. It was more like his master had seen a ghost. After some seconds, he felt he needed to prompt the powerful sith lord.
   “Master?”
   The cloaked figure took a small almost imperceptible breath. “You have done well Lord Tyranus. I'm sure this material will be of great use in the future.” Dooku could see his master pocketing a recording of the tryst before breaking the connection with his apprentice. The haste with which he withdrew leaving the count blinking with surprise.
   The luxury yacht of Count Dooku made it's final approach to the city, where he pretended to serve the separatist cause. In his mind he reviewed the sheer intensity with which his master greeted the existence of leverage over such a minor jedi warrior. Try as he might, he could not fathom the masters keen interest. As his ship settled down on his personal landing pad, he could only produce a question in response to his masters behavior, rather than an answer. What was that all about?

   Many light years away a medium sized middle-aged man stepped away from his secret hyperspace communicator. He removed his dark cloak, thus transforming himself from a dark lord of the sith to one of the most recognized people in the galaxy. His hand brushed over the incriminating recording of Ahsoka Tanno he carried with him.
   Acquiring recruits to the cause of the sith could be accomplished in many ways. Vengeance or gain were very powerful allies for such goals, however for Lord Sidious nothing was as rewarding as manipulation. The bending of peoples wills through persuasion, fear, blackmail, these were what passed for pleasures in the mind of the dark lord. With Dooku's recording, Sidious saw a new and challenging project ahead oh him, and he looked forward to planning for it, with relish.
   He stepped out of his concealed room into the large government office that his station provided him. Soon, his attention would be preoccupied with the miserable detail work that this ridiculous government forced upon him. Things like, checks of specific types of legislation for their constitutional legality, charming senators from various systems in order to gain their votes, all things that would disappear when the new order finally and inevitably came.
   As the drudgery of mundane work was put before him, the dark lord reviewed in the back of his mind the one premonition left to him by the chaotic circumstances of recent events. A premonition whose realization he looked forward to seeing come true.
   A new apprentice, both younger and more powerful.

                     Authors note: While I have concluded much of the events. This story is still marked WIP for a reason. I will be providing one last addition that I think you folks will like.
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The Slave Queens New Interest