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So You Have Your Own Planet Now...

((Rather than repeating a bunch of stuff done with male version, ta-dah, on to something new!))

It took a few weeks, but Annabella's fairly certain that she's stamped out the previous group of the ruling elite. She'll keep watch for any who have gone to ground and are plotting a way to claw back power, of course, but it's nothing she can't handle and isn't prepared for. Particularly against this class of opponents. While trained in the Dark Side, these people weren't remotely close to being a match for Sith. Granted, it helped that she took them by surprise, enabling her to take out a large amount in one go, but still.

After indications from the people who now work for her that their end of things on the holo-terminal were secure and ready to go, she straightens and composes a fairly neutral look on her face instead of the expression trying to break loose from imagining the look on Anakin's once what she's had to say has had time to sink in. A nod to the technicians later, and they're on and just waiting for things on Anakin's end to be made secure.

"Sorry about missing our last scheduled meeting," she starts off with before Anakin can even get a single word out. "I've been unexpectedly busy. Taking possession of a planet will do that."

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Annabelle's silence had been vexing on a number of levels. One, he was worried about his wife and counting on her to help him ensure that. More so with Palpatine exposed as a clear threat and the waning days of her pregnancy had him on a brittle edge. The Jedi Council's pressure to expose Palpatine - something he could easily do but didn't trust them to handle was at best causing more friction between him and those who should be his equals, not to mention distance - a large, uncomfortable one - between him and Obi-Wan. Palpatine was also being 'strange' to him, not knowing that Anakin knew he was the Sith that had been attacking but Anakin knowing. It was all a very tiring dance, combined with still being a general who had to lead his troops. And, really, he'd come to care about her, and worried when she was silent. It was an odd feeling, almost traitorous, because he shouldn't be feeling anything but suspicion and mistrust for a Sith. And yet, he DID trust her, did consider her something of a friend, and was feeling more than a little guilty over his threats in the beginning. It all left him uncomfortable.

So the holonet call was something he'd been waiting on, and being overwhelmed with emotion he was often ill-equipped to handle had him ready to snap - something she'd cut off. But her schooled neutral face is also uncomfortable,too close to those worn by most members of the Jedi Council. "That isn't really an excuse for the coms sil-" His words where out, almost barked in full General Skywalker voice, before her sentence full filtered through his agitation and disgruntlement, smacking him mentally into silence as his face ran through various thoughts - confusion, surprise, why am I surprised?, did I even hear that right, is she being serious, all emotions and thoughts almost hitting at once they came so fast, leaving him taken aback.

"You did what now?"

She can't help it and starts laughing, losing the carefully schooled expression she had earlier. Give her a few minutes to get over her giggles.

Once she's certain she's done laughing, she speaks up again. "I took over Dromund Kaas. I didn't like the way the people who replaced us--" 'us' being the Sith, "--were running things so I took over. On that note, I could use a helping hand here."

No, she doesn't really expect Anakin to show up personally to help out. Busy running his part of the war and all that.

Her laughing gets a scowl, but it's mixed with relief - a break from what reminds him of the Council and his increasing friction with them. "Really? You finished?" He grumbles as he waits, huffing. See if he worries about you again.

"You took over Dromund Kaas." Excuse him while he scrubs at his face. "Well. At least if worst comes to worst, I can assure the Council you are far too busy to be of any worry to them." All right, all right maybe he was going to worry. "After all, just a member of the former Dark Council of the Sith Empire who has taken over a planet." No, he didn't believe she meant anything sinister by it, he knew the others would not.

He sighs before asking, "What kind of help do you need?"

"I have a lot of work to do to undo what the people running the place did over the last however long," she says with a nod. "I'll make sure a certain someone else has the coordinates to use the planet as a place to bail to if needed."

Who'd expect Senator Amidala to show up on Dromund Kaas of all places? A planet that had been effectively 'lost' for centuries at the very least.

The last traces of amusement fall away as she looks sober. "Someone you trust not to kriff things up. The ruling class consisted of Dark Siders who took Force-sensitive children and made them like them. I need someone who's a better choice for trying to undo the damage done to them. Along with maybe being able to help with running things for the short term.

"I do have people in mind to help with things, but I need to go recruit them and aren't about to leave things unsupervised here in my absence." Hence needing someone else available to help keep things running smoothly.

Edited 2018-10-18 23:01 (UTC)

"I'm not sure she'll be willing to travel so far from Naboo unless circumstances are dire, at least for another few months." In which case, Anakin would be coming with her. Weighing the lives of his family against the Jedi, the Republic...

It wasn't a choice he needed to think about.

But he's quiet for a moment. "I can think of someone. And she comes with half a legion's worth of troops." Ahsoka might have some choice words for him later, Rex as well, but it would work. And he's certain she could use an army, even if it's just part of one.

"Well, considering this would be an 'in case of emergency' thing and would hopefully happen sometime later after I'm certain things are secure here..." she says before shaking her head. "I was being non-specific about who for a reason, you realize?"

That being in case someone managed to tap things despite the security set up on both ends.

"Who am I expecting and how big a ship? Or ships." So she'll know if she needs to be concerned by whatever vessel appears in-system.

"I worry more about spies in her office, and most about them on Naboo, than I do of the holonet being hacked with one on one communication." General broadcasts sure, it may be possible. But direct lines? If Palpatine has managed that. Well.

"Ahsoka. My former apprentice. Her fleet is twelve strong, smaller than a flagship but all comprised of large ships. My Five Oh First, so you'll recognize them." She'd been his for a reason, both reckless and brash, brilliant and stubborn. And left in charge of half his forces - she wasn't a threat to be taken lightly, never mind her still being a teenager.

"I remember Padme mentioning her before," Annabella notes, ignoring all that came before. "No detail, mind. Basically, all I know about her is that she exists and what you just told me."

At least now she knows how many ships and the approximate size to tell her people to expect. She gives Anakin the coordinates of Dromund Kaas. "It took some time to find since galactic positioning has changed since the last time I was here."

Put mildly. At least she was able to reason out the new location well enough to be able to find a source to give her the right positioning without needing to do blind jumps.

"Anything else I should know before I start getting ready for their arrival?"

"I'll send them to her. She's eighteen standard, and well. We worked together well for a reason." Despite the seriousness, a smile grows on Anakin's face, he loves Ahsoka, he's proud of her, and he's never really managed to learn to hide it. "You'll like her."

"But I'm glad you could find it. I'm sure they are glad you did too." His smile shifted a little, more a smirk. "Well. Most of 'em."

"In other words, I'll be dealing with another you," Annabella says in a bone-dry tone. Yes, she understood the unspoken.

"I think the populace in general is unsure about me. For all they know, I could be just as bad as the previous group or even worse. Proving to them I'm different will take time." She winces slightly. "A small fleet of warships filled with people to take over for the local military probably won't help my case all that much, but there's nothing to be done for it until I've found out who on this planet I can trust and have had time to rebuild local forces."

The people she wants to recruit include people for her own personal security detail, not a military occupation.

"A hair more reckless." Anakin winked as he made a small gap with his thumb and forefinger, "And snippy, so you'll both have some fun." Actually, he wanted to see them snarking at each other, trying to trip each other up, more so because it wouldn't be meant viciously.

"If I remember the briefings, there's been a battle there, although none of us realized which planet it was. The 327th Star Corps, I believe, against Ventress. I didn't put it together until I looked at the coordinates. I can have Ahsoka give you a copy of the report. Considering they were attempting to remove Ventress who was working with others - I assume those you found in power...I don't know if that helps you or not."

She gives Anakin a dry look. "So the Jedi know how to find the planet. Wonderful. A copy can't hurt I suppose. I'll be able to see if any names come up that haven't been accounted for."

Therefore letting her know if there was anyone she needed to make a specific effort to find.

"I-I didn't realize. But at least that means few others probably do as well? Honestly most think the planet is a myth, something made up and repeated to younglings to frighten them." And really, he doubted even fewer would connect it - he was finding he knew more about the Sith than any save the Jedi Council, and until less than fifteen years ago the Sith were extinct. "It's light on names, but there's a lot of descriptions."

"Then the descriptions will have to suffice," she says with a shrug. "There's people here who can go through the report and match them up with those who are confirmed dead to see who I may still need to hunt down."

"I'm sorry." He wished he had more information to give her. More to help. "Other than bodies, do you need anything else? Supplies?" Something, anything.

Especially something which could be a goodwill gesture to the people, and something the Jedi couldn't argue with.

She thinks for a moment. "I can't think of anything specific off-hand. But the people who used to be in charge weren't exactly encouraging of contact with the wider galaxy. So maybe things people might not typically get access to, due to things being fairly self-contained here?

"Doesn't even have to just be things that could actually be useful. New entertainment and such, like music recordings, whatever holos are currently popular, whatever." May as well introduce some fun things people haven't seen before.

Anakin mulls that over. "I know who to turn to for advice there." Holos, music, Padmè would come up with a good set of things to prop Annabella up as ruler. She was gifted there.

"I'll make sure the ships are stocked."

"Thank you." She smiles faintly. "People likely won't complain about some added variety to what they eat, even if said things are relatively easy to transport like different kinds of flour, seasonings and so on."

Just as an idea for something that falls within the 'useful' category that would still have some new things added.

"What about wine? And if you send me a list of what type of seed crops would grow well, I could swing that as well." And wine he knew he could. And some tech - those always seemed to go over well.

"I think we might be getting into things where we need to have people working for us talk to each other," she says, glancing at someone in the room who takes the hint and goes off to try to find someone who would know what sorts of things to ask for that the farmers would find useful.

"Probably. You can always send me a list, you know. I'll be pulling files for you anyway." And snooping to see if anyone would know where she was. And if so, who.

"What else can I do for you?" And he didn't mean in terms of politics - she had to be stressed.

"Mmm, someone's trying to find whoever would best be able to say what's needed." So Anakin may want to do some of his own getting the appropriate person handy.

She gives him a wan smile. "I wouldn't say no to a bottle or two of wine for me."

Because yes, she could use a chance to unwind with a drink some nights. Makes it harder for her to end up laying in bed thinking about what needs doing instead of getting to sleep.

"I figured." Sadly, for him, that meant Artoo, who was present, because this was more Padmè's realm and they'd have to have Artoo coordinate back and forth for a bit.

"I can manage that easily enough." And it would even be very good wine, because he had his wife to consult with.

She nods quietly as she tries to think of anything else she needed to bring up before shaking her head slightly. "Unless you think of something that needs to be covered, I think the part of this I'm needed for is at an end. In which case, I should go start making arrangements for their arrival. Freeing up barracks space for the men and so on."

"Probably. Though you have time, it'll take them a little more than two days, you should probably rest. And I'll need to get ahold of Ahsoka." Anakin gives her a small smile, one reserved for when he's worried and wants to fuss. "Do you want me to check in, before they arrive?"

"I suppose it would be nice to have confirmation beforehand that you remembered to tell her just what she's dealing with so we won't have to argue about who gets to punch you," Annabella says mock-seriously.

"She'd win that argument by tripping you to get to me first if nothing else." Something he was pretty well aware of, even if he was (mostly) joking.

"I'm sure when I tell her where she's going, that will explain a great deal." And speed up what he did have to tell her.

"So basically, she'd realize you're inflicting a Sith on her as soon as the words 'Dromund Kaas' leave your mouth," she says dryly.

"She's the one who grew up with it being a night-time horror story, I didn't. So she probably knows more about the planet than I do." He expected a string of 'are you out of your kirffing MIND' before he'd be able to explain. "Although it wouldn't be the first time we've had to cross the lines, so to speak, although that's mostly concerned Obi-Wan."

"Then she should already know to stay out of the jungles then." She pauses for a moment. "Not everything in them wants to eat you, but a lot does. I'm sure once the planet is properly opened back up to people, there'll be plenty of idiot hunters who like to go after dangerous prey getting eaten."

"Oh I'm sure she knows better. But an exceptional knight who can echolocate? Not bad on a rescue team either." Was that a very un-Jedi like amount of pride in his voice over her? Yes, certainly. Ahsoka was a better Jedi than he could ever be, he was aware of that - and not so quietly proud of the hand he'd played in her education and training.

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "I'll keep that in mind."

Anything further she was going to say gets interrupted by the person who left finally turning up with the individual they'd been looking for in tow. "I think this is my cue to get things started on my end while the specifics of what the farmers need is hammered out."

Anakin waits until Annabella turns her attention back to him. "You know how to send it my way. I'll make a couple calls until then, starting with Snips." Because he needed to handle that one first.

"Until next time," she says, signing off. Time to go get work done.

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So You Have Your Own Planet Now...

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