Revan Returns (Ch 26) (Patreon)

We push through the large doors leading into the command center, coming under a hail of blaster fire. Rather than waste the energy needed to stop each bullet, I simply pull the doors closed. I wait for a moment until the only sound I can hear through the doors is shouting. Then I get to work.

I fling the doors open and stride in, taking in the numbers with a quick glance. Ten droidekas, and twenty of the B1s. I ignite my silver lightsaber and propel it forward with the Force, easily slicing through three of the droidekas. Instead of calling it back to me though, I decide to show off to the Padawan.

I control it from a distance, spinning it into five B1s with a horizontal slash. The droids all turn to the lightsaber, identifying it as the primary danger. Too bad their programming is incapable of accounting for the Force. That’s the problem with basic droids like this. Sure, they work as mindless foot soldiers, but put them in a situation outside their programming and they’re worthless.

I watch as the droids open fire on my lightsaber, hovering in the center of their group. Canderous snort as the bolts either miss and hit other droids, or simply get deflected off of the blade. “Standards really have dropped in everything, haven’t they.”

I simply nod as I cleave the remaining droidekas in half through their shields. Then I turn my attention to the Neimodian hiding behind the holodesk. He quickly stands up, hands raised.

“W-wait! Spare me, I am unarmed!”

I look towards the Queen and call my lightsaber back to my side, deactivating it. Seeing that I’m leaving it to her, she steps forward, her expression blank.

“Viceroy. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I-I apologize for the, the issues our company has caused to the planet of Naboo. Rest assured that we will withdraw immediately and ensure that proper…remunerations are made.” He licks his dry lips, trying to work some moisture into them. His eyes dart around, looking for a way out of his predicament.

“Oh?” The Queen asks. “Remunerations you say? Apologies? Tell me, Viceroy,” she spits his title out. “What happened to the Palace staff? The ones who were left behind when you forced me to flee? I would hear from them what they believe proper…remunerations would be.”

He swallows. “Ah, they are…elsewhere. So I am afraid that you won’t be able to consult with them for quite some time.”

Outside, I listen as the background noises of battle fade. Though it appears that I’m the only one who notices.

“I am perfectly satisfied with waiting until they can be retrieved. In the meantime, why don’t we discuss the terms of your surrender.” She gestures to a table off to the side. With clear reluctance, the Viceroy walks towards it, taking a seat.  He keeps an eye on me and Canderous the entire time. He doesn’t spare more than a glance for Padawan Secura, which clearly irritates her. I place a calming hand on her shoulder and she stops fidgeting.

Sitting across from each other, the Queen stares down the Viceroy. I observe as the Force swirls around her in a turbulent maelstrom, slowly growing as more time passes.

She does nothing for the moment, waiting for the Viceroy to make the first move. When he does nothing, she speaks. “Well? Aren’t you going to call for your people to bring the staff?”

If Neimodians could sweat, I’m  sure the one in front of me would be drenched right now.

“Ah,  I have…already signaled my subordinates to bring them. They should be arriving soon.” There’s silence for a moment, then we all hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

The Queen looks surprised, and hope colors her eyes for a moment. But it dies out as soon as the doors open and a company of droids walks into the room. Seeing them, the Viceroy laughs.

“Haha! See the might of the Trade Federation! I must thank you, Queen Amidala, for delivering yourself so handily to me. And a gift of two Jedi as well! They will sell well on the black market.”

He smiles widely as the droids surround us, only for it to fade as they keep their guns pointed down. “What are you doing? Restrain them!”

I smile at him behind my mask, my voice smug. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I sent an expert hacker and an expert assassin to infiltrate that big ship you have floating in space. And I guess they found the codes to control your droids.”

𝌡𝌡𝌡

“Angered Query: Why were there only thirty meatbags on this ship!? Not only that, but due to our orders, I was only able to properly torture three of them! Really, this is a waste of my incredible skill set.”

“Bee-deet. Bwoo. Boop-boop-dee-doot.”

“Indignation: How dare you! I can assure you that I am just as focused on the quest as you. I am in fact the one who obtained the codes for everything on this ship, as well as its function.”

“Bwoop. Deet. Bee-doo.”

“Exasperation: What does it matter if you’ve managed to hack into the ship and take control of the worthless scrap these meatbags use. The ones on this ship could not even properly identify us as threats until we’d already turned them into slag.”

“Beet.”

“Shock: The nerve! Do you speak to your programmer with that processor!?”

𝌡𝌡𝌡

The Viceroy swears at us, not noticing as the Queen draws the blaster I’d given her earlier.

It’s a good blaster too, it’s the one I took off of Bendak Starkiller after I won our Death Duel. She points it at the suddenly still form of the Viceroy.

“So, Viceroy. Will you be calling for the staff? Or will you tell me the truth?”

His eyes dart all over, looking for an escape. Padawan Secura looks like she wants to say something, but I motion her to stay silent. She does so with a conflicted look.

“I-I am unsure of what you are referring to, Queen Amidala.” The Force builds, rapidly approaching its breaking point.

“I am referring to how you murdered the staff that was left at the palace when I fled. So tell me, what did you do with their bodies?”

“I-”

“Do. Not. Lie.”

He swallows whatever he was about to say, his eyes fixed on the blaster. “I…had them thrown off the cliff, your majesty.”

A moment of stillness, and the Force peaks. “I see.” She alters the angle of the blaster, much to the Viceroy’s distress.

“You cannot do this! I surrendered, your people would not want my blood on-”

*PEW*

There’s a moment of silence, then his body hits the floor with a thud. The Force calms, the fateful decision made. It settles around the Queen like a cloak, no longer the pure blue of the Light, but now interspersed with the red of the Dark.

More balanced than it was before.

The Queen stares at the body for a moment in silence, her face blank. Then she rises from her seat and approaches the holodesk. She pushes a few buttons, making adjustments. A communicator rises from a compartment and she leans in.

“People of Naboo. The Trade Federation’s leader is dead. And their droid army is now under our control. Naboo is free once again.”