Qui-Gon stalled when he heard him casually order what boiled down to genocide. He didn't snap back to focus until Beatrix exited the throne room.
''What do you mean to kill them all?! You cannot do that!'' Qui-Gon pleaded!
Trilla was still standing in her cell eyes glued to this... man? The situation becoming stranger by the minute. Turning around and looking at Qui-Gon the man had a look of ridicule on his face.
''Why?'' He asked the Jedi. ''Why can't I kill them? I've got the means, the time and the will. Seems quite clear cut to me.''
''Because it's wrong! You can't just decide to murder an entire species, you don't have the right!''
Smiling slightly, Coda walked towards Qui-Gon's cage and sat down in front of it. Suddenly a slap sounded as he smacked his forehead.
''That's right! I forgot to introduce myself'' He said smiling. ''My name is Coda. I'm the owner of this here oversized bucket filled with murderbots, dead people and me!''
Both Qui-Gon and Trilla both became much more alert as soon as Coda finished his sentence. Murderbots?! Dead people?! What the hell is going on in this ship!?
Seeing Qui-Gon's eyes fill up with vigilance and the fear rolling off Trilla behind him it occurred to him that maybe poor attempts at humor from the socially handicapped was not the brightest move.
*Cough*Cough* ''Err, sorry about that. That was supposed to be funny. I tend to gloss over the fact that I'm about as socially adept as water is good at burning.'' Scratching the back of his head Coda explained.
''Anyway, I wouldn't need to even be here if you Oh so wise men could do your fucking job.'' Coda continued. '' You leaving Shmi here and my general dislike for those savages has resulted in this.''
Coda sighed while rubbing his temple. ''I'm sure some of them will survive, I'm not going to sit here and scour the planet for days on end. Putting them aside.'' Now looking directly at Qui-Gon he continued.
''What do you think will happen when a young man going through his first real love loses his mother. Due to the inaction taken by the Jedi Order to secure his kin, he'll become jaded towards the order. He's already more emotionally unstable then regular padawans. This loss and the Sith whispering in his ear will cause tragedies you cannot even begin to foresee Qui-Gon.''
Standing up and looking out towards the planet then back to Qui-Gon he sighed. ''Fine!'' Throwing his hands up in resignation. ''I'll only hit the largest camps, at least thin them out.'' He said with a jolly nod.
Qui-Gon had been listening intently and was thrown off by his monologue. This person is extremely dangerous... Sharpening his eyes and standing up. ''Why are we here Master Coda?''
Eeeeeewwwwwwwww! A chill went through Coda's spine! ''No! No no no! Please don't call me master, it sounds super creepy coming from a middle-aged man. Unacceptable!'' Shaking off the comment. With stifled chuckles coming from the other cell. ''As to why you're here. It's because I asked for the two of you.'' He said with a sunny smile on his face.
Silence followed for a couple of seconds... ''''What?'''' Both Trilla and Qui-Gon asked out loud. Turning his head to look at them both. He had a sad smile on his face. ''Qui-Gon, you've been dead for about ten years.'' Turning from the shocked Qui-Gon and looking into Trilla's eyes. ''Order 66 hasn't happened yet. Right now the younger you is probably following Cere in training or on some mission for the order. Untainted and happy, safe even.''
Trilla had trained for many things. But she wasn't ready for this, she almost shut down as tears started running down the side of her face. Then she saw the sabers shoot across the room into his hands. What's he doing?
Catching both the sabers he held Trilla's doublesaber and frowned. ''This thing reeks.'' Both the guests went reeling as a wave of pure anger shot out from Coda, the wave started concentrating on the saber as cracks in space formed around the hand holding it. It started bending and breaking until it started to fold in on itself. What remained was simply a super dense ball of what used to make up the saber.
A cold fury in his voice ''This is the result of your so-called peacekeepers sleeping on the job, your moral high ground where you wrap yourselves in arrogance causes untold suffering.'' Scoffing he looked at Qui-Gon. ''While the order may be fine with inaction and half measures. I am not.''
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Beatrix was walking back from the combat bridge hidden snugly inside the ship when a strange shudder went through the ship. Instantly she accessed the feeds to the throne room.
Threat assessment: Miniscule.
Danger to Lord Coda: PRIO 1.
Cause of event: Flare in Lord Coda's mental state.
Mental prediction map shows extreme instability, rectify at once.
Conclusion: Lord Coda is suffering massive nutritional deficiency, records show time since last ate. 4Y 2M 4D.
Beatrix stopped in her tracks. Instantly sending dozens of orders all around the ship as she started sprinting towards the lifts.
A silent alarm was tripped, the Lord was in grave danger!
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
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Throne Room.
Something is wrong, I feel off. Overly emotional, this isn't like me. Staring at the sphere in his hands, he seemed slightly confused. Seeing this Qui-Gon moved closer to the energy shield.
''Are you alright Coda?'' Coda slowly turned to him. Still a good man. He does look pretty dope in that robe. ''Yes Qui-Gon, I just feel like I'm forgetting something.''
Suddenly the doors opened up and about twenty infiltrators walked in carrying a table, some chairs and... cutlery? Followed by an arrangement of food and drink. They came in like a hurricane, a very eerie and silent hurricane and left just as fast.
''They sure are creepy huh Trilla?'' Coda said looking over at her shaking his head chuckling.
''I should make sure they know to make sounds when they walk or I'll end up destroying some of them''
''Hungry?'' She slowly nodded. ''How about you maverick?''
Chuckling Qui-Gon answered. ''I could eat.''
Nodding, he stared at Trilla for a couple of seconds until he got close to her cage and started whispering with a deadly serious stare. ''How do I turn them off?''
It took her seconds to comprehend what he said. Before she knew it she guffawed and a stream of laughter started pouring from her. ''Oi! Meanie! Stahp!'' Sighing and looking downwards in resignation. ''Fine, ill ask Beatrix.''
Speak of the devil! Beatrix came flying in through one of the doors and slid on the floor until she was almost next to him. ''Are you doing a comedy routine?'' Tilting her head. ''I do not believe I'm programmed with 'Comedy' routines my lord.''
''You need to eat soon my lord, your state of mind has been compromised since you woke up due to lack of nutrition.'' Nodding in understanding. So that's why I feel off. ''Understood, can you let them out?
''Right away my lord, I had the droids set the table for three.'' Nodding towards her. ''Excellent work Beatrix. Now that I think about it I'm absolutely famished.'' Chucking Qui-Gon's saber towards him as the shield fell. ''We can get you another one later Trilla. For now, let us eat.''
Trilla had already stopped laughing though she now had a slight smile. Answering with a nod as she started following him towards the table. What a strange day this is ending up to be.
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Jedi Temple, Coruscant.
Plo Koon, Windu and Yoda were sitting in the council chambers. ''Master Yoda, have we found out the cause of the disturbance felt two days ago? Is it the same source as the flare of anger we felt earlier today?''
''Strange this anger, directed at us it is.'' Yoda said with a solemn nod towards Windu. ''Anger without hatred, it doesn't feel like sith. But it definitely is a powerful force sensitive at the very least.''
Windu said with a heavy sigh. ''What do you think we should do? I believe we should investigate this.''
''First, we have missing planets from our database, potential sith lurking in the shadows of the force. Now, this? We need to get to the bottom of this.'' Plo Koon said with a deliberate nod.
''With Obi-Wan following the lead on this ghost planet and Anakin protecting Senator Amidala. One of us needs to go.'' All nodding at the same time Plo Koon spoke up. ''I'll go, keep me apprised of what happens. I'll leave immediately.'' Standing up he bowed to the two Jedi Masters and left for the spaceport.
''Do you think he'll be alright?'' As Yoda was about to answer the door opened. Walking in was a padawan learner. ''Master Yoda, Master Windu. We just got word that a massive super capital ship is in orbit above Tatooine and is deploying troops. I have a hologram of the ship here.''
''Please show us padawan'' With Windu's approval, he relayed it into the rooms system. Lighting up they saw a massive ship. Taken aback Windu asked. ''Master Yoda, what manner of ship is this. I've never seen anything quite like it.''
''Unsure I am, recognize it I do not.'' Even the force refused to allow him to try and sense it.
''Its dimensions are gargantuan, I haven't even heard of ships this large. Do you think it's related to the Sith?'' They both felt an immediate response, a whisper from the force. Not sith it spoke matter of factly.
Suprise painted their faces. Looking at each other. ''Plo Koon. Must make haste!''
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In transit to Tatooine.
As soon as he got close enough he felt it. Death. So much death. Even if he didn't have hair to make stand, his whole body got covered in a sheen of sweat. ''G2. How long until we arrive?''
*Beep*Beep*Bwop* An hour? ''Thank you, G2''
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Surface of Tatooine, Night.
Designation T-3X was observing a camp of Tusken Raiders. Opening comms to the eclipse.
''Lady Beatrix, we believe we've found the target. Can we proceed?'' Near instantly a response followed.
''I've gone through the data. Lady Scmi must not come to harm under any cost. To this end, I'm sending you a squad of royal guards. Failure is not an option.''
Raider camp, 20 minutes later.
The chieftain of the camp was happy, they had a lot of successful raids recently. Extra supplies meant a stronger camp, a stronger people. Sitting around a fire was him and his most trusted. They were having a celebration when he noticed five raiders walking towards the tent where they kept the human woman.
I don't recognize them, what's going on? Unfortunately for him, that was the last thought that he ever had.
Near instantly dozens of raiders got hit by purple and blue lasers. After the initial shock and awe, they noticed silver-colored droids coming from the sands on the opposite side of the prisoner's tents.
They looked like walking skeletons, red eyes lit up all over the dune they were walking down. Shrugging off the returning fire like they were just being pelted by rocks.
That wasn't where the unfortunate events ended. Screams sounded from behind them as well, a young raider noticed two taller than usual raiders standing over two dead bodies in front of the prisoners' tent. That wasn't what caught his attention though, two raiders were literally ripping his people apart with swords of some kind instead of arms. Every time they were hit by blaster fire he glimpsed a metallic black skeleton for the briefest of moments, only to have some kind of black substance repair the damage.
Frozen he stood there in shock, unable to make sense of the situation. Fortunately for him, that didn't last long as a hand found its way into his throat and promptly severed his head from his spinal column.
Inside the prisoners' tent, a human male was administering some kind of gel on wounds of torture when his comms opened up. ''RG1 report.''
''Yes, Lady Beatrix. VIP has been secured, extensive structural damage has been detected. But she'll survive long enough to get into medical.'' Walking out with Scmi in his hands he looked around.
Running assessment.
Enemy survivors: 0
Friendly casualties: 0.
Damage to units: Negligible.
Mission parameters: Fulfilled.
''This is RG1, objective accomplished. Returning to ship with VIP. 10 minutes clearance.'' As he walked towards the dropship through the camp. More and more units started assembling around him leaving behind a silent camp.