Chapter 50: Fact Finding Mission

There’s a brief pause, and then Master Shaak Ti gives him and Aayla a nod before she and her Padawan depart the room. Moving carefully so as to take advantage of the currently VERY lax security, the Jedi Master and Padawan duo leave Tylo behind with his own former Master. Truth be told, it’s not the role he might have chosen for himself. But he’s forced himself to acknowledge that this is the best way of going about things all the same. After all, at the end of the day, while the Kaminoans might not know how long a Knighting Ceremony actually was, they weren’t stupid, nor were they oblivious. They knew WHO the Knighting Ceremony was for, at the very least. Or, those who had any measure of power or authority did anyways. Your average run of the mill Kaminoan probably didn’t know the ceremony was even happening, let alone who it was for. But the ones that mattered were all quite aware of Tylo Vondin’s promotion to Jedi Knight. Just as they were aware that Aayla Secura was his Jedi Master. If either he or Aayla were caught snooping around Tipoca City when they were supposed to be here, in this place, doing the Knighting Ceremony, it would raise red flags and suspicions galore. There would be no talking their way out of it, no explaining anything. They would be expected to be in one place, here, and it would turn out they were in another place entirely. There was no faster way of alerting the Sith to the fact that they were onto them. Not unless one counted Tylo giving Count Dooku a comms call and telling him point blank ‘Hey, we’re on to you’. In the end, the safest thing to do was have Tylo and Aayla stay put. By having them ‘continue’ the Knighting Ceremony, they could always excuse Shaak Ti and Maris’ absence after the fact. So long as the Master-Padawan pair weren’t caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, their absence or discovery anywhere else in the City could be explained away fairly easily. Their ‘part’ in the Knighting Ceremony was already done, simple as that. Of course, the best case scenario was that Shaak Ti and Maris got in and out without being discovered whatsoever. The best case was that they both returned to him and Aayla intact along with actionable information that would help them all plan out their next best step. But it was always good to plan for failure. It was always best to have contingencies in place. One should learn not to rely on redundancies all the time, but that was no excuse not to have them in the first place. … There was just one problem with all of this, with doing everything the smart way. It left Tylo confined in this room, alone with his thoughts and forced to constantly wonder how Master Ti and Padawan Brood were doing. He supposed he could meditate and spread out his awareness to find them though. Or he could- Blinking, Tylo feels a sudden tugging on his pants and blushes as he realizes Aayla is pulling his cock out. Looking at him with a twinkle in her eye, Aayla tilts her head to the side in visible amusement. You seem distracted, Knight Vondin. Tylo flushes a little bit as the only person in his life who knows about his mind-reading uses it to ‘speak’ directly at him. It’s incredibly intimate, having Aayla think her part of the conversation towards him, rather than voicing it out loud. It made him wish that he could do the same back at her, but alas the connection only went one way. “… I am, Master Secura. Understandably so, I should think.” Aayla hums at that, stroking his cock with both hands now as she licks her lips. Somehow, he doesn’t think she’s going to do as Maris did earlier however and let him engage in a bit of… active meditation. Maris was willing to be unobtrusive and let him focus on everything around him EXCEPT for her when they did that sort of thing. Aayla Secura on the other hand, was a lot needier. Let me take your mind off of things, Tylo. You don’t need to worry about Shaak and Maris. They’re going to be just fine. Today is supposed to be about you anyways. So let’s celebrate~ This wasn’t the first time Aayla had ‘voiced’ her concern over turning his Knighting Ceremony into a cover for covert operations. Tylo was well aware that part of why he and Aayla were stuck in here while the other two Jedi went out and did their business, was because his former Master had taken Shaak Ti’s side over his solely because today was supposed to be about him. Still, Tylo can’t help but smile crookedly, easily sensing Aayla’s arousal through the Force. She’s quite good at covering it up most of the time, but with his hard work these past few months, he’s expanded his awareness not just in volume, but also in depth. Aayla might be forcing him to focus all of his attention on her right now, but that just meant he was feeling everything she was feeling on top of hearing her thoughts in his head. With a fond sigh, Tylo reaches up and grabs Aayla by her lekku, yanking none too gently on them and sending the beautiful blue Twi’lek crashing to her knees. “Very well, Master. I see I’ve spoiled you… you can’t help but take what you want these days.” Pouting up at him as he fondles her lekku, rubbing her face against the underside of his cock as it drapes over her features, Aayla lets out a whine through her lips. It’s you who should be doing the taking, Tylo. You’re a Jedi Knight now. Come, Knight Vondin. Take me. Make me yours. Needless to say, he really doesn’t need to be ‘told’ twice. Using her lekku to guide her, Tylo pulls back and then thrusts forward into Aayla’s open mouth. Her tongue was already lolling out like a landing strip, ready to welcome him in as she happily gurgles upon his cock. Tylo, for his part, groans in appreciation, enjoying the tight wet feel of Aayla’s mouth and throat like always, even as her lips suction down upon his cock. Yesssss~ give it to me, my young Jedi Knight! Enjoy the fruits of your labor! Heh, how much of this was for him and how much was for her? He can’t help but wonder, even as he begins to face fuck Aayla right then and there. She, of course, never once lets up on encouraging him. Taking advantage of her ability to ‘speak’ with her mouth full, Aayla Secura gurgles and gags, choking on his cock while BEGGING him to fuck her face even harder with her mind. “Gagkh! Gagkh! Gagkh! More! More, more, MORE! He’s not really surprised by his former Master’s lewdness by this point. Still, he spares one last thought for Shaak Ti and Maris before focusing his attention on Aayla where she wants it. He can only hope they’re doing well and continue to trust that he can count on them to get the job done. -x-X-x- “Come Maris. And remember, keep your steps quiet.” “Yes Master!” As Maris Brood follows after Master Ti, her voice a hissed whisper despite the excitement evident in her tone, she can’t help but be… well, eager for this mission. Sure, she was just a Jedi Padawan… but this was all so cool! Even if it wasn’t exactly Jedi-like to be skulking in the shadows like this. Or rather, so Maris had always thought. That was what her previous Master had always taught her anyways. He was not a great believer in war, but then to be fair, the Jedi Order wasn’t supposed to be either. The outbreak of the Clone Wars, the decision by the Jedi High Council to take up arms… it had broken her Master’s faith in the Republic and the Order. It had led to him abandoning her. Maris had spent much of the last few months getting over that fact. Luckily, Master Shaak Ti was MORE than suitable as a replacement. In fact, in some ways Master Ti… and the relationship Maris had gotten to develop with Master Secura and the newly promoted Knight Vondin, was much better than her previous Master-Padawan Relationship. Master Ti was also willing to share information with Maris that her previous Master never had. Like the fact that the Jedi were NOT all diplomats. In fact, there had once been three major types of Jedi, until time and complacency had caused all three to meld into one. But beyond the ancient terms of Sentinel, Consular, and Guardian, there was even more than that. There was the Jedi Shadow. As Master Ti had explained it, in times long past, Jedi Shadows were specialized Sentinels. They pursued a very unique path in their training and worked directly under the Council of First Knowledge, going on missions to destroy anything and everything connected with the Sith and their followers. Alas, while the Council of First Knowledge existed to this day, the Jedi Shadow had fallen out of sight almost completely. Master Ti wouldn’t tell her if there were still Jedi Shadows in the Order to this day. All she would tell Maris was that the last thousand years had seen a significant drop in all Dark Side activity, so much so that prominent members within the Jedi Order questioned if there was even a need for such ‘focused’ individuals any more. But Maris suspected that even if there was less interest in propping up a sect of Jedi Shadows, they still existed. Because her Master had either been one of them once upon a time or learned at the feet of one. Master Ti had been very clear that the decision was up to Maris, but all the same, she had offered Maris some of the training that a Jedi Shadow might be given. In the end, Maris had accepted. She’d learned how to move through the shadows. How to make them her friends without actually giving into the Dark. The techniques Shaak Ti had taught her were dangerous… or so some in the Jedi Order thought. Because to make the shadows your friend usually meant you had something to hide or be afraid of. Well, Maris had plenty to hide and be afraid of, given all she’d learned working alongside Knight Vondin and Master Secura these past few months. There was a reason Kamino currently had four resident Jedi on it, after all, and it wasn’t just to maintain the security of the Cloning Facilities.

They were here to investigate, plain and simple. But Maris had learned how to let her fear release into the Force. She had also learned to approach the shadows with determination and resolve, rather than fear and anxiety. And so her and her Master make their way through Tipoca, seen by no one, detected by nothing. Master Ti is even better at this than Maris is, which might make one wonder exactly WHY Maris was even on this mission to begin with. That was simple, really… in her off time, Maris had focused on learning slicing, a skill that her Master had neglected. She could slice through most terminals in just a few minutes, though a properly secured system would take a lot longer and be a lot riskier without the proper credentials. That was where Master Ti came in. She’d been the one to get those proper credentials for Maris. Together, they made a great team. Coming to a door, Maris keeps an eye out as her Master puts in a code that causes the door to hiss open. From there, they enter the Prime Minister’s office. He’s not there right now, of course. In fact, he’s currently off-world entirely. All it had taken was making a couple noises a month ago about how they might invite him to Tylo’s Knighting Ceremony, and within a week he had ‘unfortunately’ made other plans that would take him entirely off planet the day of said Ceremony. Piece of pie, really. Once the door is open, it’s Master Ti’s turn to keep an eye out as Maris rushes over to the desk and the terminal embedded in it. In a moment she has it booted up and is using the credentials Shaak Ti got her to gain access. Everything is going to plan. “Master Ti, I’m in! What should I be looking for again?” Glancing over at her, the Togruta Jedi Master’s lips thin out. “Financials only, Padawan. The Republic has… graciously taken over further orders of the Clone Army. Meanwhile, they still think the Jedi Order funded the original order of Clones. But those of us on the High Council know we did not. Just as we also know Master Sifo-Diyas did NOT have the credits for a purchase of this magnitude.” Taking a deep breath, Shaak Ti collects herself, releasing her momentary negative emotions into the force. “Thanks to Tylo, we know with almost absolute certainty that the Sith paid for the initial batches of Clones that we fight along today. Likely through an intermediary of some sort, but it’s the best lead we have. Find the receipts, Padawan. Find out where the credits came from, and we’ll go from there.” Maris nods and begins working away. Everything Master Ti just said makes perfect sense. Financial records are probably the best bet they have of figuring out what the Sith are up to. And Maris herself is just a Padawan. It wouldn’t do to second guess her Master, nor to stray from the path that Shaak Ti has set out before her. The Togruta has been very clear and they’re definitely acting on a limited time table here. … And yet, as Maris roams over the Prime Minister’s private files, she finds herself straying just a little bit. Oh sure, she’s looking for the financial records, just like Master Ti ordered her to. But she’s also looking in other places, too curious for her own good. There’s gotta be something more than just finances, right? Money talks, Maris knows that, but at the same time, the Prime Minister HAS to have more skeletons in his closet than that if he’s working for the Sith… right? Maybe it’s the Force, prodding her down this path. Or maybe it’s just her own anxiety and short attention span. Maris is still young and still training. She’s just a Padawan and not nearly learned enough to say one way or the other. Focusing on the finances is probably the best bet though. Has to be.