Buckets: A Star Wars Story

14. Murderer

I wandered out of my room with Peek in tow the following morning and found Vesanne in the garden alone. She was sitting on the low wall by the walkway seemingly lost in thought when I walked over and sat beside her. Neither of us spoke for a time before she finally broke the silence, "I always loved the gardens here. For however ugly the politics of Naboo get, the nature is so consistently beautiful." She turned to me with a small smile, "What about your home?"

I shrugged, "Corellia isn't beautiful, but... The ships there were always something awe-inspiring. They let you dream as a child of bigger things."

She smiled and looked back at the garden with a fond shake of her head, "I always hated the industry of big planets like that. They choke out the beauty of it all."

"Sometimes it's all you've got."

"Not arguing that." She paused and glanced back at me as her smile fell, "What's up, soldier boy? You look like you've got something to say."

"I, ah... I do, actually. I think Rana may be in trouble," I looked over at her as she sharply pivoted her body to face me at the suggestion. "I overheard the Director mentioning that they were intercepting Rebel chatter and were anticipating an attack on the estate. Rana's name came up."

"You think they'll hurt her?" She asked me. It was the genuine concern written across her face that told me that I had her.

"Possibly. Maybe they'll just take her as a bargaining chip. We just don't know."

Vesanne turned back out over the garden with her eyebrows low over her eyes and creased with worry. "You are absolutely certain?" She asked me again, her eyes never leaving the garden as she spoke.

"Yes. The Director thinks someone within the estate is organizing it. Could you help me, Vesanne?" Part of me still felt bad. I was still lying to her, even if I had toned it down from where I was originally going to be forced to go with it. The necessity for information was of the utmost importance, especially if the security of the Empire was at risk. Sometimes, little white lies were a necessity. I understood that, even if I didn't like it.

Vesanne frowned and looked away. "Will you promise to help me keep her safe?" She asked me as she turned back to me slowly and slid off the wall. "Her safety is my entire job."

I was beginning to realize that it was beyond hard for me to say no to her. I nodded, "Naturally. It's part of my job, after all."

Vesanne smiled at me again and reached out and patted my shoulder lightly, "Thanks, soldier boy."

*

For several days there wasn't so much as a sound out of Rana or any of our mysterious Rebels. It was more like a solid week, actually. Everyone in our small little group started getting nervous. Thyer and Flora were starting to wonder if Lorias was about to pace an actual rut into the floor or break something. The Death Troopers were getting antsy sitting on their hands and not getting to actually really do their jobs, which was never good. Peek and I were going to actually start breaking into everyone's personal correspondences when I heard a frantic banging on my door.

When I opened it, I found Vesanne standing there and panting as though she had just run a mile. She proffered out a datastick to me and gave me a crooked smile, "Listen to this, soldier boy." I beckoned her into my room as I popped the datastick into Peek. "Caught Rana in the middle of a little chat. You're not going to believe this."

Peek processed it for a moment and his speakers crackled the audio to life.

"...but when will I get to see you?"

"Tonight, but I need you to bring what I asked for."

"I don't understand why you need this stupid thing."