( 31 BBY )
Tan'ya watched Mace Windu and his thugs put a torch to months of hard work with the sinking feeling that this was all her fault. The Sith was dangerous, Tan'ya knew that, and she hadn't expected them to unfreeze him on the spot, but to wastefully murder him without even a question asked was almost unconscionable.
But she should have known they were nothing but zealots, and the only thing that they could think to do when they encountered a rival sect was destroy it. Why did she let herself forget that for even a moment?
And her father still hadn't even glanced at his phone! She grit her teeth as she stared down at her own unread messages, before quickly dialing Colonel Seith.
"Your Highness." He answered.
Tan'ya quickly gave him her location. "Meet me here with a regiment of men, and bring the deck sweeper stunners, no blasters. And bring Jedi Master Sturn as well."
"Right away, Your Highness."
Hanging up, Tan'ya turned around to see the Jedi were already removing the datacrons. They were lifting them from the tent where they were being cataloged and floating them towards the Jedi ship. Not just the datacrons, but the computer terminals, the flora samples, and even the bones of the dead sith and the old tirra'taka! Months of hard work were going to be lost! Even if they weren't going to be destroyed, Tan'ya had no doubt that at best they would end up in storage somewhere, never to be seen again.
Before her brain had even caught up to her, she was running towards them. "Master Windu! Master Windu!"
He answered her without looking back, watching the items being removed with a tense stance, like he was ready to leap into action if he had to. "It's good that you called us when you did. Sith artifacts are extremely dangerous, and a master being unleashed would be a disaster for the whole Galaxy.
"Master Windu, I must speak with you."
Finally, the stern Jedi turned to regard her, his brows forming a straight line. "Youngling Tan'ya, I can sense that you're becoming agitated."
"Master Windu, those datacrons are all we have to show for months of hard work! This excavation was expensive and dangerous, and I have to insist that Serenno receives the rewards of its own labor."
"Youngling Tan'ya-"
"That's Lady Serenno, to you." She interrupted him, more than a hint of frustration in her voice. "As the heir apparent, I'm acting as head of state until my father returns."
He regarded her for a long moment. "I see. Lady Serenno, excavating Sith ruins is illegal."
"No, it's not. Excavating a known Sith ruin is illegal." Tan'ya corrected him. "Often no one knows what a ruin is until it's already been dug up."
Mace Windu's eyes narrowed. "Whatever loopholes your father uses, this site is clearly too dangerous for you to be here."
"We contacted you when the danger became obvious, and now that you've dealt with it, I thank you, but it's time for you to leave."
"Excuse me?"
"As the acting head of our government, I would like to thank you and your Jedi for the work you've done, but we can take care of things from here."
He stared at her, his discipline in the Force unable to conceal his obvious disapproval. "We have confirmed that this site is a known Sith ruin, and so any further excavation is illegal."
"The datacrons are already above ground. We shall of course comply with Republic regulations, and cease our excavations, but what we've already uncovered is ours to keep." Tan'ya was careful to keep her mind sealed, lest she accidentally let slip to Windu that they'd known it was a Sith ruin almost immediately.
"Lady Serenno, these regulations aren't in place without cause. Sith artifacts are dangerous." Mace Windu warned in a lecturing tone. "The ancient Sith are known to leave behind guardians or experiments, or worse, even Darkside ghosts that have possessed people. It is for the people of Serenno that we're taking the datacrons."
"All the datacrons can contain is data. They're not active in the Force, so there's no risk of Dark Side corruption."
"I understand your frustration, but this is not your decision to make. By the power invested in me by the Republic, we're taking these potentially dangerous artifacts into custody until their purpose can be determined. Once we're certain that they're safe, you can petition for their release." Then he turned his back on her, folding his arms. "Now I suggest you go back to your classes."
Tan'ya teeth were hurting from how much she was grinding them as she watched the damn thieves fly away. Of course they didn't all go. Windu himself had left, but several Jedi remained to keep the site secure, and make sure no one tried to take anything else away.
"This isn't over." She muttered to herself, rushing over to her own speeder. Rain was beginning to fall as she pulled herself into the seat, taking out her holocom. She hesitated, breathing out a few times to bring her temper back under control. Of course Master Yoda wouldn't be impressed by her being upset.
Then she dialed him.
He answered on the first ring, and was obviously relieved to see her. "Youngling Tan'ya, relieved I am to see you safe."
"Yes, Master Yoda. Mace Windu has… swiftly dealt with the threat, and for that the people of Serenno are very grateful. However, he's been a little overzealous, and confiscated all the data from the digsite."
"Good. Very good." Yoda nodded. "Master Windu is being wise. Knowledge of the Sith is dangerous."
Tan'ya struggled to keep her sense of helpless frustration under control. "Master Yoda, my people have dug out that dangerous ruin at serious financial cost and a great deal of effort. Surely we can at least keep a copy of the data."
With a sympathetic expression, Yoda shook his head once, slowly. "Understand I do, your people's great effort, but if the data were to spread, more Sith could be uncovered. The knowledge could be sold to treasure hunters, or worse. In the Galaxy, many dark forces are gathering now, and seeking advantage. Grateful for your people's work, I am. Share this knowledge, the Jedi cannot."
Tan'ya opened her mouth, but realized there was no point trying to argue with the old fool. With a disgusted sigh, she hung up and threw the holocom down beside her. After a moment to collect herself, she left the cover of her speeder and hurried through the jungle drizzle to the main tent where the excavated artifacts had been kept. Not anymore, even the camp's holo-terminals had been ransacked by the marauding jedi.
Sel Lur, the survey supervisor, was pacing around looking distressed. When Tan'ya came in he rushed over. "Lady Serenno, the Jedi! They've taken everything! Even the back ups."
"I know, Sel." Tan'ya agreed. "I can see that."
"But your highness, that includes the survey data. Without it, the Mandalorians and I might have to redo months of scouting. It will delay our mining project in this region for months, and we won't even have our archaeological efforts to show for it."
Tan'ya realized that she was going to have to write up a report for their investors. It was one thing to slow down a potential production site for the sake of another valuable discovery, but another thing to make backwards progress. It wasn't even appropriate for her to be the one writing it, this was something her Father should be overseeing, but he had been out of contact for days now.
"What didn't they take?" Tan'ya asked.
"Only the first lightsaber, which your father has confiscated, and the warbeast samples, which are being stored in a secure facility offsite."
Well, it was only a matter of time until the Jedi reviewed the data they'd confiscated and realized there were living samples of Force Sensitive warbeasts they hadn't ransacked, and a Sith lightsaber. They would be back the moment they knew.
Tan'ya took out her holocom, and sent orders to the secure facility to swap out the eggs. They would have to find another animal egg of a similar size, freeze it in carbonite, and replace the tirra'taka while keeping it off the logs.
She set it at high priority, and included orders to erase the message once the task was complete, then make sure the personnel who knew about the change were not on site when the Jedi arrived. Hopefully that would be enough to throw the damned zealots off the scent of heresy.
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Apparently, chapters write themselves faster when Power Stones are involved. Who knew? Feel free to test the theory go ahead, toss a few my way.
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