The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Investigation on Iveria: Out of the Blue

"Hey, buddy, you're looking better!" Skywalker exclaimed, dropping a hand onto R2-D2's freshly scrubbed dome. The white and blue astromech beeped happily. His ocular sensor twitched back and forth at the sight of his master.

Despite being cleaned and having a shiny coating of wax, the droid was still covered in dents and darkened blast marks. Shan smiled at the two. Maybe she would get a droid one day. Less maintenance than a pet, yet still affectionate, and functional too.

She had accompanied Anakin to retrieve Artoo from the maintenance bay while Kenobi briefed the council on what had happened on Iveria and Krytenwulf.

Maul had gotten away, disappearing to who knows where. The Falleen they had captured was of no help. He knew nothing about Maul's plans. Heck, she wasn't even sure if he could have spelled Maul's name right if asked to. He was definitely a muscle lackey rather than a brain one.

Sahrea was happy to have gotten out of that meeting though, thank you four hours in the medbay. Debriefing sessions took forever because you were bombarded with seven different questions after each sentence. She was also glad to get a moment alone with Skywalker. She had a question for him and could sense he also had one for her.

"He's almost done, General Skywalker." the clone mechanic said. "Just need to repair two plates of his exterior armor." Shan leaned to her left. On a table, she could see two large punctures in the plating from the droid's cylindrical body. Whatever made that had some serious teeth.

"Thank you trooper." the general said before turning towards the door. Sahrea followed him out into the hallway. They chatted about trivial things as they walked, but fell quiet as they stepped into a nearby elevator.

"We can sit in one of the garden while we wait. I have a question for you." Shan said as the elevator began to descend.

"Good, cause I have two for you too." he replied. She smirked smugly at her own observation skills.

"Two questions?" she asked with feign surprise. Skywalker flashed her an attractive smile.

"You first." the knight replied as they came to a stop. The door slid open, blinding them both temporarily with sunlight.

As Shan blinked, her vision revealed a long stone walkway that disappeared into a descending staircase. The sun was shining high above in the bright cyan sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen.

Shan wasn't overly fond of the Coruscanti Temple. There was too much going on: billions of lifeforms packed into one area, speeders zooming by, gigantic metal buildings blocking out all nature. It made it hard for her to concentrate. She grew up on Iveria, where it was all lakes and forest, not industrial. But she had to admit, despite these things, it was certainly beautiful.

"How does Satine Kryze fit into the whole Maul-Kenobi equation?" she asked as they passed between two tall, rounded light posts. Qui-Gon was an obvious piece, but Kenobi never mentioned Satine to her. At all. Not even in passing. Skywalker rubbed his jaw.

"How much do you know about her?" he asked. Shan looked out to the vibrant green of the gardens as she responded.

"She was the Queen of Mandalore and was a prominent member of the New Mandalorians. She was a pacifist who tried to erase Mandalore's warrior history." she replied bluntly. Skywalker eyed her as they descended down the steps.

"You sound like you don't approve." he said. Sahrea huffed out her nose.

"That's because I don't." she answered flatly. "My mother grew up as close to an ancient Mandalorian as one could get. A warrior in her own right, even without a saber and the Force." Shan explained as they turned into a garden. A large statue of a Jedi foreign to her stood in the center surrounded by bushes.