TPF Chapter 10

Blu isn’t sure what to think of Silvi’s master, but Silvi’s deference and reverence for her is telling. The pale Togruta is a vain and arrogant showoff, but she is also clearly in awe of this human.

The battleship is eerily quiet. It appears to be crewed entirely by droids, who seldom talk to each other. Blu sits with Laki at a glossy, black table in a meeting room that overlooks the bay where Seiki Ondori is docked. Service droids move around the disguised vessel, performing maintenance and even cleaning the hull.

Silvi stands by the door while Laki lounges comfortably in a chair, gazing across the table at Blu.

“You might say that power is better than money,” Blu tells her frankly. “But I don’t have to agree with you.”

Laki shrugs and fingers her cup of tea. “I don’t want to argue. But I do want your help. Do I have to buy it?”

“I want to know what you have in mind.” Blu taps the table with a finger, looking back and forth between Silvi and Laki. She is under no illusions. These witches are strange, but powerful. She’s no match for them. In most situations, Blu is the best fighter in the room. Not here. So what, exactly, do they want from her?

“Something to do with why you don’t have any wine on this ship?” she asks bitterly.

“I understand why you shun your sensitivity,” Laki says with a nod. “But it hurts to see you squander that talent.”

“It’s not a talent. I have dreams. They’re never good dreams.”

“And they come true?”

“Not always,” Blu replies with a scowl. “They were never a help to me. All they bought me was exile.”

“Would you want to go back?”

Blu snorts. “To what? The Pacifists have my world now. I won’t go to Concordia to be a part of someone’s bid for power. I’m in charge of my own life.”

“You have no love for the Jedi.”

“What self-respecting Mandalorian does?” Blu sighs. “They’re responsible for this new regime. They’re propping it up. They think that if Mandalore isn’t a full-blooded part of the Republic, the Separatists will gain confidence.” Blu’s eyes narrow. “Are you to the Separatists what the Jedi are to Satine Kryze?”

Laki looks impressed. “See what you can be when you aren’t drinking?”

“Talk like that will get you shot,” Blu tells her, pointing a finger.

Blu’s blaster flies out of its holster to Laki’s hand. She examines it with a frown.

“Slugthrower. Why?” she asks, unaware that Blu has another one under the table.

“I like the noise,” Blu tells her, and pulls the trigger.

Silvi jumps and her lightsaber flashes to life, but Laki doesn’t even twitch. Blu was just making a point; she put that slug into the floor, not the woman.

Blu’s smirk fades away as the slug, which clearly hasn’t struck anything, comes floating up into view. The blood drains from her face.

“You caught it with your magic?” she asks.

Laki puts the blaster back on the table, then plucks the slug out of the air and sets it down as well. She slides them both back to Blu.

“Are you still sure that you prefer money to power?” she asks.

Blu licks her lips, then studies the other woman’s face. “Could you teach me to do that?”

“Much more than that,” Laki promises.

Blu glances uncertainly at Silvi, who still has her lightsaber at the ready. She sets her second blaster on the table and leans forward.

“OK. What’s the job?”

“I’m so glad you feel that way,” Laki says warmly, offering her hand. “It’s going to be such a pleasure. Start by going to Modre. I meant to test the waters and mislead the Jedi, but I miscalculated. When I led them there, I projected a Chiss in that place to distract them. It worked too well; they’ve gone back to investigate further. The explosives are being loaded on your ship as we speak.”

Blu looks over sharply to see droids moving a pallet of distinctive cylinders up the ramp, into Seiki Ondori’s cargo area.

“For what?”

“There’s a temple there. It holds clues to our plan,” Laki explains.

“Our plan?”

“Yes.” Laki reaches out and puts her hand on Blu’s. “Our plan. Destroy the temple.”

“Master, what the Jedi are there?” Silvi asks respectfully.

“I hope they aren’t,” Laki says, appearing to mean it. “But if they are, we can’t let them stop us.”

“You just want to use me as a hired gun?” Blu asks.

“I want you to see what you’re capable of with a clear head.” Laki abruptly lets go and gets to her feet. “Hurry. If they figure it out now, things will become very complicated.”