Blurred Sides (COMPLETE)

7.8.4

The Sister jumped to hyperspace then sat back in her seat, fuming, but it wasn't about her duel, no. It wasn't even really about the attack on the new factory. No, what boiled her blood was that the attack was spontaneous. If Sideous had revealed the location of the factory to the Jedi and was planning to set a trap, then he ought to have warned her, or at least the droid in charge of the production. Now they had lost the blueprints to one of the best droids they had ever made. Why did the Republic have to destroy all of her toys?

She stood up and went to the compartment of her ship where she stored her HoloNet console, amongst other things. She pulled out her projector and sent a call to Sideous' office on Coruscant. The Sister wanted answers, and she wasn't going to relent until she had some.

It took a while for the console to connect, but eventually, Sideous, in his Palpatine form, appeared in front of her. She must have interrupted a call between him and his apprentice because Tyrannus appeared at her side as well.

The Sister put on a scowl. She didn't have to respect the Dark Lord the way Tyrannus did, and she planned to mouth off at the one who had cost her her droids.

"Cards on the table, Your Excellency," she demanded. "Why did you not tell me about the attack?"

Beside her, Tyrannus fumed. He longed to be so demanding, so assertive towards his master, but it was this puny child who had the freedom to do so.

Palpatine frowned. The Sister had never acted so hostile before. "I'm afraid I do not understand."

The Sister clenched her fists. She wouldn't have this dodgy behavior, not anymore.

"Two Jedi Masters just attacked and destroyed our factory on Kiros. You failed to warn me beforehand, and now we have lost one of our greatest assets. Why did you not tell me beforehand?" The Inquisitor used the last of her patience not to yell at this moment.

Palpatine turned to his computer. Neither Tyrannus nor the Sister could see what he was looking at, but his face told them enough. He didn't like what he was seeing or hearing.

"I gave no such information to the Jedi. No one should have gone to Kiros. They must have been tipped off."

"By who?" The Sister seethed. "No one knew the location of the factory beside the three of us. You are the only one who has had contact with the Jedi, and-" her voice had risen, almost to a yell, but Tyrannus stood up and interrupted her.

"Yes," he began slowly, stepping close to the Inquisitor's hologram and looking down on her. "No one knew the factory beside the three of us. My master is the only one who has had contact with the Jedi. Unless..." he leaned down so his face was next to hers, which was impressive with his tall figure. "There is something we need to know, Sister."

The Togruta set her face. "The last call I have made to Coruscant was weeks ago, to the same person I am calling now. I have not stepped foot on Coruscant since the day you took me to Dromund Kaas yourself. Unless you are suggesting that I have powers greater than your own, then it would be impossible for me to tell the Jedi anything, much less the location of the factory."

"Your powers are weak!" The Sith apprentice shouted, and he wanted to shove this brat to the floor, be it impossible through hologram. "You can barely conjure Sith Fire, and you dare, YOU DARE TO-"

Both the Sister and Tyrannus were thrown to the floor. When they looked up, Palpatine was reaching an arm out, and his face was contorted with fury. "Enough, both of you! I will not have this bickering in my presence! You hear, I WILL NOT HAVE IT!!!"

"Then how," muttered the Sister, "How did the Jedi know?" She crawled to her feet as Tyrannus rose to a knee.

"The tip was given by someone anonymous, in paper format. Tyrannus, my apprentice," he turned to face him solely, "I have been watching the Sister's ship ever since it was given to her. She has not set down on Coruscant in the ten, almost eleven months since we took her on. If you doubt her loyalty without reason to back yourself up again, there will be consequences."

Tyrannus used all of his willpower to not scream, but answer meekly, "Yes, my master."

"As for you," he turned now to the Sister and walked around his desk so he was towering above the Togruta. "Do not doubt me again. I gave you your power and I gave you my trust. Unless you want both of them taken away, along with your life, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Am I clear?"

The Sister nodded. "Yes, Your Excellency."

"Good. Now, as for the tips," he sat down again. "I will inquire as to the source myself. Both of you continue your work, but keep an eye out for Jedi. I don't know how long it will be before I find whoever is causing this."

"What are my orders?" The Sister asked. "The factory is beyond repair, I cannot return."

"There is a shipment of refined coaxium due to land on Naboo in twelve hours. Commandeer the shipment, and bring it to Lola Sayu. The Citadel is running low."

The Sister nodded, and Palpatine severed their connection. Both Sith disappeared from her ship, but she stayed still for a moment, thinking about her conversation.

She knew Tyrannus didn't trust her, but she didn't care about him. All that matter to her was Sideous' trust. As long as he valued her, for whatever reason, she could not be touched by Tyrannus or any other power-hungry Separatist who wanted her dead.

She turned to leave the room when her console lit up again. She was getting another call.

The Sister turned to answer it, but she didn't need to. Tyrannus' looming figure appeared again.

"If I find any evidence that suggests your betrayal," he threatened slowly, "I will tell my master, let there be no doubt in your mind. I will kill you, slowly, painfully, and no one will hear you scream as you die."

The Sister stared into the holographic eyes of the Sith. He doesn't know, she thought, he doesn't know about Skywalker. He thinks Sideous favors him.

"I would expect nothing less," she told him curtly, and she turned off the projector, leaving before he called again.

~

"So the tips are faithful, then?"

"This one was, at any rate. I don't believe that the Inquisitor was expecting us or it wouldn't have been so easy."

The Council had met again, in good spirits at the safe return of Master Ti and Master Unduli.

"Observe and heed the rest of the information, we will," declared Yoda, pleased with their success. "The upper hand, this may give us."

"But where did this information come from, and from who?" Kenobi asked. "How could someone on Coruscant obtain this information, and why would someone with this information want to share it with us? This can't have come to us without a price."

Windu folded his hands under his chin. "For now, let's just be glad we have this source. If they are willing to give us what we want, they can keep their anonymity for the time being."

Depa turned to speak. "It does raise a question, though, if a civilian is able to obtain this information, why can't we do the same? Wouldn't it be better to not rely on the generosity of someone we do not know, and instead find this source?"

"Perhaps," answered Yoda, "but know the source, we do not. If focus on this we do, lose our advantage, we may."

"He's right," Shaak affirmed. "We can't afford to miss any of the coordinates, or the dates given to us, especially if they lead us to factories like the one Luminara and I found on Kiros."

"Then we will make sure that all of the tips are fulfilled," declared Windu. "But we needed to get started sooner rather than later."

"Then go," said Yoda. "And assign Skywalker to one of the locations, we should."