Sisters

Chapter 25

Tip tap. Tip tap.

Rain listened with growing irritation as Grievous' clawed digits beat out a tuneless rhythm on the arm of his chair. He'd been doing it on and off for almost a quarter of an hour now and Rain felt if he didn't stop soon she was going to lose her mind. She'd already given up mustering the courage to try to start a conversation a long time ago.

How am I supposed to gather information like this? she thought frustratedly.

It had been who knows how long since the attack on Dathomir and she hadn't even begun to make any progress on discovering Sidious' identity.

The ship carrying any hope of Dooku rescuing me from this nightmare has long since sailed. Besides, I doubt I ever would have been able to weasel anything out of the dear Count without him catching onto me.

She cast a glance at Grievous.

How does one bring up such a thing in a conversation anyway? Oh, by the way, do you happen to know who this terrifying man shrouded in mystery is? Yeah, I'm just super curious about it.

The recent events certainly didn't help put Rain's mind at ease either. She hardly remembered what had occurred between her and Grievous while they had been stranded together; it was all just a blur, but somehow she had the distinct impression that she had said something she wasn't supposed to.

Why did he hold off on his report to Dooku? I get the feeling he could've easily landed me in the Count's black book.

Rain looked back at the General, who hadn't even spared her a glance in the past several hours. She was beginning to think he'd forgotten she existed.

Maybe it's better that way.

She uttered a long sigh, reaching up to rub her temples as the General's ceaseless tip tap tip tap echoed in her ears. She could swear it was giving her a headache.

What exactly could I learn from Captain Asthma over here? she silently scoffed, Aside from underhanded tactics and cowardice?

But she was stuck with him, and if she ever wanted to get out from under his clawed thumb, she'd have to convince him that she deserved it.

Tip tap. Tip tap.

Rain resisted the urge to scream.

Is this ambassador ever going to arrive?!

The General had received a transmission some time ago from an ambassador for a planet currently under Republic control. They had expressed interest in negotiating a covert arrangement that would allow them to fund the Separatist armies in exchange for being left alone. They had reached an agreement as to where they should meet, and now the Invisible Hand was floating aimlessly in some empty part of space, as it had been for countless hours prior, waiting for any sign of its guest-to-be.

Maybe we got the wrong coordinates. Wouldn't surprise me. Half the droids on this ship act like they need their circuits checked.

Rain was about to suggest as much when a B1 suddenly piped up, "General! Our sensors detect two ships dropping out of hyperspeed."

Finally!

Rain gazed expectantly out the viewport, watching as two Republic battlecruisers materialized in front of them.

She knew at once something was wrong. She turned to see Grievous rising slowly from his chair, and it was obvious there was no need to clue him in to the seriousness of the situation.

"Raise the—"

Grievous' order remained unfinished. Two ion torpedoes shot toward them, striking them just under the nose of the ship. The floor rocked beneath Rain's feet, an alarm blaring in her ears.