Escape

Jedi Master Aayla Secura was having a very bad day. Losing an entire reconnaissance patrol, thirty-four troopers, was bad enough, but being captured by the Separatists was just the perfect capper to an absolutely terrible day.

The only consolation was that she'd been captured by the Trade Federation, so even if her distress signal had been blocked, she could probably escape on her own, as soon as there was only one Neimoidian in the room. Trying to control all four currently in the room would probably just lead to her being shocked unconscious by the containment field which held her suspended.

She also wouldn't mind if they'd stop yelling at one another. The explosion which had destroyed the command speeder and knocked her unconscious had left with her with an impressive headache. Still, she forced herself to listen as they debated where to send her. She couldn't, apparently, stay on this ship, as it was still, officially, a Trade Federation vessel, not a Separatist one.

Despite being a prisoner for more than three days, they still had not reached a conclusion, but Aayla was beginning to get a clearer view of the internal politics of the Trade Federation, and which of the higher-ups these lower level members wanted to impress. The doors opened and she flicked a gaze over, expecting another servitor droid, bringing them yet more food to argue over, but instead, it was an organic servant. A human, wearing robes marking him as a member of the lowest rank of the Federation. The only word for the man was nondescript. Average height, average weight, brown hair, brown eyes. The only thing that stood out about him at all were the two hidden weapons she could just make out despite his robes. They were well hidden, but she was a Jedi Master.

The Neimoidians turned in curiosity. "What is it?" one of them snapped.

The human frowned slightly and pulled out an ornate scroll, he opened it formally and began to read in accentless Basic, "Pruy, Tilrai, Simlof, and Luf Oglax, you are formally served notice that the reader of this scroll is an operative of the Internal Security Directorate of the Trade Federation and is therefore, your superior in every way," he spun the scroll around so they could see it.

There was a moment of total silence then all four began speaking at once, attempting to blame one of their siblings for whatever it was that had gone wrong. The Human listened for all of thirty seconds then held up a hand, cutting them off sharply. He glanced over at Aayla, and she flinched internally. Escaping from this man would be a lot harder than escaping anyone else on this ship.

"I am shocked, shocked, to discover a kidnapped Jedi on board a loyal, and therefore neutral, Trade Federation vessel," his tone conveyed no shock, nor did his body language. "I can only assume you snuck her onboard as part of your treacherous attempt to entangle the neutral Trade Federation in this war, but failed to realize you had been spotted by Republic agents. How terribly that you would betray the Edict of Neutrality in this fashion."

Two of the Neimiodians were still trying to blame someone else, the third, a little quicker made a break for the nearest door, only to find it sealed, the last, quicker still snapped a command to the droid guards, who did not 'kill the Human!' but rather began explaining that they couldn't target an operative of the Trade Federation.

"The penalty for violation of the Edict of Neutrality is death," the human continued, ignoring the byplay. His blaster came out and four quick shots brought silence to the room, except for the explanations of the droid soldiers, which continued despite the death of the people they'd been speaking to. Alarms began to blare loudly.

"Master Jedi, please understand that the actions of these traitors do not reflect the position of the Trade Federation as a whole," he said, speaking over the alarms, as if he had not just murdered four people.

She considered her response in light of the fact that she was still suspended in the containment field. "A point I will be more willing to entertain with my feet on the ground, agent."

"Ah," he gave a blatantly false smile, "of course, my apologies," he moved over to the control console, shoving the body of one of the Neimoidians off with a casual movement which was rather disturbing, and disabled the field. She dropped, landing nimbly on her feet, then almost fell over. Without looking at her, the man produced a small medpac from the folds of his robes and passed it to her.

"My lightsaber?" she asked, as he continued to fiddle with the controls.

"Already onboard my ship. As we will be as soon as I get these alarms shut off," he said, punching the final control and bringing up an image of the ship's captain, quite a high ranking Neimoidian, by her robes.

"Captain Bina, I regret to inform you that four of your crew were traitors who have violated the Edict of Neutrality by kidnapping a Jedi Master. As an agent of the Internal Security Directorate, I have executed them and will now return this poor woman," he gestured off the screen, "to her people."

Aayla's teeth ground together for a moment before she forced herself to relax. It was obvious what the agent was doing. The Republic had seen her put on this ship, the Trade Federation was trying to prove its neutrality with as little cost as possible. Eliminating four low-level members and releasing one Jedi was cheap at twice the price.

"What the frell are you talking about? I'm delivering that bitch to Dooku myself. Do you know what the bounty is for Jedi? Let alone masters? Run along back to Des and tell him he'll get his cut like usual."

"Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha," the man didn't actually laugh, but instead literally said the words. "You tell an amusing joke, captain. Obviously you are aware that in accordance with the Edict on Executions, everything is being recorded for later review and that the Jedi is witnessing this conversation and therefore choose to make that joke to the widest possible audience. Most amusing. We will be leaving now."

"Jam all communications," the captain ordered, her face flushing with fury. "No witnesses, no problem. Put her back in the containment field and we can talk this out, but any damage to my droids is coming out of Des's cut."

"Captain," the man's fingers danced over the controls now, "I think the joke is exhausted now."

"Who's joking?"

"I see. In accordance with the Edict of Neutrality, the punishment for violation is death."

"I see. You're joking now. Very frelling funny. Put the Jedi back in the containment field and I might even laugh."

The man shook his head slightly and pushed another button. On the screen a shot ripped through the viewscreen behind the captain and through the captain as well, turning her top half into red mist. Aayla snapped back, despite the throbbing of her head, shocked by the image. It wasn't worse than anything else she'd seen, but it was surprising. That had been a shot from a freighter-grade blaster, one shot, from inside the ship's shields, clean through hull, to hit the captain. That was an impossible shot for anyone who wasn't a Force wielder. The bridge began to vent atmosphere until bulkheads moved into placing, sealing off the breach.

"Formerly-Commander, now-Captain Juul," the agent called. It took three calls before another Neimoidian stepped forward.

"I trust you were not involved in this treachery?"

The man shook his head desperately. "Good. Lower the jamming field. We'll be going as soon as you're done. Oh, and captain?"

The Neimoidian looked back at him eyes wide with fear. "Your compliance with the Internal Security Directorate is appreciated. As soon as the jamming field is lowered, I will report it to the Directorate."

The Neimoidian nodded and began giving orders. Moments later communication was restored and the man made good on his word, sending in a report, blatantly making sure that everyone understood that if his ship happened to be blown up after separating, the Directorate would know who was to blame.

"Are you ready to go?" the man asked, standing up and smiling slightly, and falsely, to her. Once she was clear of the containment fields, she was able to feel things more clearly and what came through most clearly from the agent was disinterest in this entire business. When he'd killed the captain, there had been no rush beforehand, no thrill afterwards, no mourning or regret, if not for the occasional flashes of irritation and impatience, she might have thought him a droid.

"What are you?" she asked after a moment of examination.

He cocked his head at her, returning her examination in kind and duration, quite exactly. "An agent of the Trade Federation Internal Security Directorate."

"Who are you?" she asked, continuing to stare at him. Her gaze made people nervous, she knew, when she focused on just one thing, instead of allowing the universe to distract her into her usual air of polite abstraction. He was not nervous, instead she sensed a thread of warm amusement, entirely at odds with his demeanor and which did not show up in his body language at all.

"Leonath Theoprus. Agent Theoprus, or Leo, as you prefer, Master Jedi."

"That was an impressive shot, Agent Theoprus."

"Hardly. I have full access to internal surveillance system and my ship is docked with this one. All it took was the order and an AI capable of doing the math."

"Do you think this will actually convince anyone that the Trade Federation is neutral in this war?" she asked.

"The Trade Federation's neutrality is established by the Edict of Neutrality," he said, the amusement vanishing as if it had never been. "Are you ready to go, Master Jedi?"

"I am more than ready to see the back of this ship."

"This way," he gestured, but neither led the way, nor tried to take a position at her back, instead walking beside her and indicating each turn they needed to make in advance. She found herself intensely aware of his presence and the fact that she didn't have a lightsaber. It took a dozen turns, but they saw no one, even droids, along the way, until they came to an airlock, with a porthole by it. She flicked a glance out the porthole, away from her companion-cum-captor and saw a slick Trade Federation courier. That explained how he'd got here so fast. A report of her capture, a complaint to the Trade Federation, the nearest agent dispatched, it was fast, but do-able.

The ship was much more restrained in its furnishings than any other Trade Federation craft she'd been aboard and the agent was speaking as soon as he entered the ship, "Disconnect and get us back to Coruscant." His voice was clipped and as level as ever, but she felt a loosening of tension in him.

A droid's voice, distinctly feminine, despite its artificial nature, replied, "Yes, sir. Launch in five, hyperspace in thirty-two."

"My lightsaber?" Aayla asked.

The man nodded and took the lead this time, more comfortable within his own ship. The ship only had a bridge, a corridor back to engineering and two passenger compartments off the corridor, but he still led her to bridge and gestured to a lockbox sitting by the pilot's seat, in which a quite expensive droid pilot sat.

Aayla advanced, careful never to give him her back, but unable to control her eagerness and tried to open the lockbox. It didn't open, instead flashing a countdown at her. Her eyes narrowed.

"It'll unlock when we reach Coruscant. It's not that I don't trust you with a ship destroying weapon on my ship, but, Trade Federation safety regulations require the safe storage of any weapon capable of putting a hole in the hull," the agent said as he casually took off the servant's robes to reveal a uniform and rather more than the two weapons she'd originally noticed.

She glanced at the lockbox countdown, then extended a hand. One of the blasters holstered at his hip flew free and into her hand. In the same instant another blaster appeared in his hand, but didn't, quite, point at her.

"It's not that I don't trust you, but I want a blaster," she said with a smile.

She felt warm amusement flare within him and after a moment he returned his weapon to its holster and passed over the holster for the weapon she'd stolen. "I'll expect that back."

"The moment I get my lightsaber."

"Fair enough," he reached into a pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. They flashed through his hands in a shuffle almost too fast for her eyes. "Do you want to play? I figure the head wound puts us about even, despite your magical powers, though SIS here," he clapped the droid on the side as it spun in place and a table rose from the floor, another chair sliding into position for Aayla, "still has a bit of an edge on the math end."

"However, Agent Theoprus is an accomplished cheater," the droid said.

"Lucky, the term is lucky, at least unless you can prove I'm cheating."

His amusement grew into actual affection, which warmed her, even if it wasn't directed at her.

"Thank you, no, I should rest and prepare myself," she paused, "after all, I'm going to have to arrest you when we reach Coruscant."

He smiled, but this time there was no warmth to it, "You can certainly try."

"I think on Coruscant I will have more than sufficient force."

"But insufficient cause."

"I saw you murder five people."

"You saw me execute five Trade Federation members, on a Trade Federation ship, outside claimed space, under a valid Trade Federation warrant and in accordance with Trade Federation law. I committed no crime, certainly not one punishable by the Republic. If I had, I wouldn't have recorded it, or had witnesses. Do trust in my competence, if not my morality."

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember if treating their ships like sovereign territory was one of the concessions made to the Trade Federation in the last round of negotiations. There had been so many concessions and the Trade Federation hadn't been her area of concern at the time. Certainly, executions of their own, on their own planet by a member state of the Republic, would not have been a matter for either the Jedi or the Republic, but solely an internal matter.

"I won't let you get away with this," she said, more to see his reaction than because she actually felt the words.

He shrugged, "Your loss. Well, mine too. Two players is pretty dull after a while," he flashed the cards away.

"Aren't you listening?" She spun his chair around and leaned over him. "I said you're going down for this."

His smile broadened and he gave her a blatantly lascivious leer, but all she felt from him was the cold calm of immediately before he'd killed the captain, "Anytime you ask and don't have a head injury, gorgeous, that's a Leo guarantee," the words had emotion in them, the body language, as a glance confirmed, was quite accurate, but there was either something very wrong with him, or there was something in this situation she was missing.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked after a moment.

"No one's quite sure, mom thought it was dad's fault, dad thought it was the holovids, Director Des thinks it has something to do with being human surrounded by Neimoidian's."

"Your emotions don't match your reactions. I've met plenty of survivors of all forms of abuse, you don't show any of the signs of that. What are you?"

"Like I said, an agent of the Internal Security Directorate. If I said any more Des would kill me, and I like being alive. Look, if you're not going to play cards, so I can evaluate your mental faculties, will you at least let SIS take a look at you? She's got full medical programming and I really don't want you to drop dead before we make it to Coruscant. Even with a recording, that would be hard to explain to your folks."

She glanced over at the droid, which was almost the size of one of the spider droids she'd faced in battle, but it actually had eight legs, rather than the four of the so-called spider droids. Moreover each leg clearly had an omni-directional joint and ended in a manipulator hand. When it had been seated on its side and all arms focused on the console in front of it, its disturbing nature had been far less obvious. What were almost certainly concealed weapon ports were located directly under the glowing visual receptors which encircled its head and a jaunty, painted on smile was under the part of its eight-faceted head which faced her. Its head snapped around about forty-five degrees and now the graffiti facing her was of a doctor's mask.

Aayla blinked. "SIS. I can hear the capitals. What does it stand for?"

"Synthetic Information System. A bit generic, but that's the Trade Federation for you."

"He's lying. He named me," SIS said, head flickering so the smirking smile faced the agent, then back to doctor mode towards Aayla. "He is telling the truth however, in that I am programmed with medical knowledge of all major species, including Twi'leks."

"This, by the way, is why you aren't allowed on field assignments, SIS. Your obsession with honesty just makes things too difficult."

"I thought you liked a challenge," SIS replied with what was almost a pout in its tone, but it kept its doctor facet turned towards Aayla.

"Very well, an examination is acceptable," she said, more to stop the byplay than anything else.

"This way," the droid said, sliding out of the bridge and lead her back into one of the passenger compartments.

The droid's movements were smooth and its touch surprisingly gentle, if cold, as it removed the bacta bandage she'd placed over the wound and began the examination. It was quick, professional and thorough. The door opened a moment later and SIS caroled out. "She's fine. Head as hard as you'd expect from a Jedi."

The agent's laughter echoed through the hall as his amusement echoed in Aayla's aching head.

"You can rest if you like, you're past the point where sleeping is a danger," SIS said, before snatching back the small medpac the agent had passed her and scuttling out of the room and leaving Aayla alone. After a moment, she locked the door, though surely the agent and the droid could override the lock if they wanted, still it made her feel a little better. With the lockbox left on her bed, she took a few minutes for a, painful but ultimately worth it, shower. Curling up in an actual bed, with actual clean sheets, she was asleep before her worries could catch up with her.