The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Twenty-One: Preparations

Lux

"We do not have long to wait now, my Master. At last the moment approaches for us to finally strike a crippling blow against the Republic."

"Do not count your vhalka birds before they hatch, Myarra," a voice said. "There is still much to be done. The Naboo are a people that were made sturdy by all the challenges this war has presented them with, and the Onderonians are a proud race who will fight to the last man standing to defend what they believe is right. You must not underestimate either one."

"I have not, nor will I when the time comes for us to reveal ourselves." Although Lux couldn't see much of anything, he was quite certain that the speaker was smirking. "My time living amongst the Naboo and learning the Senator's habits have proved to be exceptionally beneficial. I know when to push, and exactly how far I can keep pushing without having anything break."

"Your overconfidence sickens me. You will do your part in seeing to the death of Senator Bonteri, or we will go our separate ways."

"You promised to train me."

"I will only do that if you prove your worth to me."

The voice suddenly became somewhat cold, but still wary, as if sensing that they were on unstable ground. "Then you will have your proof tonight."

"Good." There was a pause, as if the second voice was mulling something over. "I suspect he overheard our conversation, Myarra. Make certain that he does not remember any of it. The Jedi must not be made aware of our plans."

"Yes, Master."

Suddenly, it felt like Lux's veins were on fire. He cried out in pain, writhing this way and that, but it was no use – his senses were too deadened to do anything about it.

"Oh, quit your whining." Suddenly, the speaker's voice became soft, and would have been soothing if not for the calculating tone that underlined every syllable it spoke. "See you tonight, Senator. I do hope you'll enjoy yourself... after all, word has it that it's going to be a real night to remember."

Then, helplessly, Lux slipped back into unconsciousness, and the extremely important word that was teetering precariously on the tip of his tongue fell down into the depths of forgetfulness, never to be found again until it was too late.

Ahsoka

The day of the ball had finally arrived, but instead of being excited, Ahsoka was filled with a sense of dread.

"Master, do I really have to do this?" she groaned, rolling over to face him from where she was lying on the bed.

"Yes, you do," Anakin informed her for the umpteenth time. But the patient tone with which he did so was probably due to the fact he was mostly focused on the information on the datapad in front of him and less on her, studying the layout of the Grand Ballroom and the main access points of the Royal Palace of Theed as if in the process of mapping out a battlefield to conceive a plan of attack.

"I don't like wearing long dresses."

"Then you should have chosen a short one."

Ahsoka sat up, fixating him with a vaguely indignant look, which he ignored. "I tried! But Senator Amidala dragged me away to look at the frilly stuff whenever I was within five steps of something even remotely close to functional. Took us hours to find something we actually agreed on."

"Do you have somewhere to put your lightsabers?"

"Boot holsters."

"Then stop complaining. It's a party and you're going there to have fun." Anakin grimaced as he realized what he had just said. "Kriff, I think all this talk about parties is starting to rub off on me... I think it's contagious. You'd better leave now, before I infect you too..."

Anakin did a very bad impression of being deathly ill, and Ahsoka chuckled. At least he was in better spirits than he had been when she had first found out he was here. More awake, despite the fact that he was still using up the majority of his energy keeping his aura concealed.

Suddenly, he sat up as well, shooting a glance at his wrist chrono. His cool cerulean gaze flicked up to meet hers a moment later. "You, my young Padawan, are going to be late if you stay and procrastinate with me for much longer. Go get ready."

"I'm doing my makeup myself. I can go on my own time." Noting his quizzical expression, she tried to give him a brief explanation. "Riyo Chuchi. Long story."

"Oh. Okay. I thought Pad– I mean, Senator Amidala was going to do it, or one of her aides. She's actually pretty good. Well, by my standards at least."

Ahsoka's jaw dropped, but a moment later, a wicked grin came to her face. "Wait. You can do makeup? The Chosen One can do makeup?"

Anakin looked back down at his datapad nervously, every bit as conscious as she was that he wasn't going to be able to take the information he had just shared with her back. "Uh... Long story," he echoed hollowly.

Ahsoka couldn't hide a laugh. "You are so doing it. Now. Get off your butt and make me look pretty."

Anakin sighed, dropping the datapad on the bed and getting slowly to his feet. He shuffled past her to stick his hands under the bed, reemerging a moment later with his boots. "I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

She smiled sunnily at him. "Nope."

*Ooooohhh, things are happening... Lux is in danger from people he can't see or even remember, who wish him and definitely the alliance between Naboo and Onderon harm. I wonder who they are... and whether or not they're going to show up at the party. After all, the unidentifiable assailant did say that it was going to be a night to remember...

And yet another little secret has been revealed about the famous Anakin Skywalker: HE CAN DO HAIR AND MAKEUP. Just figured I'd put that in there because once I came up with it, I was just like, "No way am I not writing that."

But oh, what have we here? Is that ANOTHER CHAPTER?! 

Why yes, I do believe it is... Go forth, and read it and enjoy :D