But then I thought better of it. That was a mystery that could wait. For now, I had to save my strength for one of the biggest sales pitches of my life.
And I had once promised myself that I would never work in sales.
...
Before too long, the Little Jedi set down the speeder on a well-lit landing pad outside the Sendoth Ruins. On the other side of the pad, a pair of guards in golden armor came forward to meet us, and I suppressed the urge to laugh.
Golden armor.
I mean honestly.
Mindful of the rather significant drop off the side of the landing pad, I exited the airspeeder and prepared the datapad that contained the documents that I needed to prove that I was, in fact, supposed to be here.
"Sir, ma'am, this is a restricted area," the taller one of the pair said. "I'm going to need you to leave."
"I am aware of that, good sir," I said, holding out the datapad with the relevant documentation pulled up. "Can't just let anyone attend the peace summit, I understand."
"What's this?" he asked, glancing at the documents I had provided.
"Proof of identity," I said simply. "You wouldn't keep the head of a Great House of Alderaan from participating in the peace talks for his own home world, would you?"
The guards exchanged glances. Then the guards gave my documents a long look.
"... I'm going to have to call this in," the taller eventually said. "Please wait here."
He stepped away, speaking into a commlink, leaving the shorter guard looking visibly nervous as he was inconveniencing someone he had every reason to think was a long-missing aristocrat. On a feudal world such as this, it was a valid reason to be worried.
After a long moment, the tall guard returned.
"I don't know how, but it checks out," he announced. "Even though House Varalica was reported extinct years ago."
"Should have checked between the cushions," I commented. "Funny how many things go missing there."
"Quite." Clearly, he was not amused. "If you would follow me, I will bring you to the meeting space. Your pilot will have to wait with the other retainers your lordship's peers brought for safety reasons."
No protest came at this pronouncement. After all, I had no doubt the Little Jedi would cut her way through the entire garrison of these ruins if it came down to it.
Within minutes, I was ushered past security checkpoints and brought to an open courtyard filled with a long table, oversized banners, and a gaggle of well-dressed people. I recognized banners belonging to Ulgo, Thul, Organa, Rist, Panteer, Alde, and Baliss; Those were the great houses negotiating for peace and had sent delegates for that purpose.
The great and noble house of Varalica was not represented, as it had not sent a delegate.
Because they were supposed to be extinct.
Fortunately, Bouris Ulgo had been more than willing to produce a blatantly false document that gave me the right to crash this party.
Unfortunately, Bouris Ulgo had not informed of a certain surprise guest to the summit: a Jedi. A Jedi Master, if the slightly wrinkled face were any indication. I had never met her, though and between pale skin, dark blue eyes, and even darker hair, I had no clue who she was. Mostly because her height and the standard nature of her robes ruled out the more famous possibilities.
Naturally, I resolved to figure it out as I went along.
"I see we have a surprise participant," the Jedi declared, turning to face me as I entered the courtyard. All around us, tall walls of old grey stone surrounded us, and as I met the Jedi Master's gaze, I could not help but feel like I was trapped in here with her. "I was expecting the Teral delegate, but you are not she."
"Very astutely observed, Master Jedi," I commented, unable to resist the obvious retort. Sleep deprivation really was starting to take its toll on me. "Though I am not here to participate in the summit. I am here because I have a proposition for the Great Houses of Alderaan."
"Then how did you get here?" a woman in a blue caped tunic with golden accents asked. "This peace summit is reserved for noble houses and their delegates."
"I, for one, am prepared to hear out what Lord Nestor has to say," a man in the purple regalia of House Thul said.
"Before the delegate of House Teral gets here?" a wrinkled and grey man in brown and blue asked.
"Why not?" the Thul delegate asked. "We're quorate, are we not? Either we can listen to what Lord Nestor has to say or we can start discussing the matter of the war."
"I'm more curious how a Sith Lord has gained access to this summit," another old man, this time in red and purple, said, leaning forward in his seat.
"Yes, it's rather convenient is it not? Peace is on the table, delegates from every great house - sans some stragglers - are in attendance and suddenly a Sith Lord shows up," the woman in blue and gold commented. "It smells like trouble doused in Thul perfume."
"Clearly, the Sith Empire and their Thul stooges have decided that this war was too slow for their liking," the Jedi Master declared, but the Ulgo delegate chose that moment to clear his throat.
"Actually, as the sole known survivor of House Varalica, Lord Nestor has every right to be here," the old man in red and gold mentioned. "After all, the only reason we're here in our lieges' places is because nobody trusts the others not to order a hit."
Blue and Gold did not take kindly to that bit of information "Don't be absurd. House Varalica is extinct!"
"His Highness King Bouris Ulgo vouches that my claim is legitimate," I said, perfectly honest. That it was Bouris Ulgo who was lying was not something they needed to know. "If you are about to accuse the head of House Ulgo, a veteran of the Republic Army of being pa Sith sympathizer, I would love to witness the mental gymnastics to reach that conclusion."
"An Ulgo vouching for a Sith?" Red and Purple asked. "The galaxy's gone mad, I tell you."
"More importantly," Brown and Purple chimed in. "House Varalica's lands have been completely consumed by the Killik infestation. They have no standing in this matter!"
"That infestation is out of control because your people couldn't be bothered to do their duty, Organa!" the Thul delegate spat. Oh, this was going splendidly. No wonder there was a civil war going on when these people were oh-so-willing to go for each others' throats at a moment's notice.
"Which is why I am not here to participate in these negotiations," I said, steering the conversation back on topic. "I have a proposition for the Great Houses of Alderaan, and this was the best opportunity to reach as many of your lieges as possible."
"A likely story," the Jedi said, and I noticed with some alarm that her lightsaber had found its way into her hand. A second later, a yellow cylinder of light sprung to life and was leveled in my direction. "But I will not allow you to spring this trap of yours, Sith."
"Violence at a peace summit?" I asked, keeping my hands away from my own weapon. The image of the Imperial Intelligence Outpost on Nar Shaddaa suddenly rose to prominence in my mind. No doubt the Little Jedi had noticed the spike in alarm. In response, I switched mental gears and hoped I would be heard.
Trap.
A second later, and my mind was once again securely encoded in German, and the Jedi Master in front of me flinched minutely.
...
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