Ketu Tuaggu: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 7

"The death toll is catastrophic." The blue hologram of the Governor of Naboo said, his voice seeming panicked as the image flickered. "I must bow to their wishes, you must contact me." He pleaded before the image disappeared.

Versé's eyes drifted over everyone in the room. The Queen seated on the throne, Panaka and Obi Wan who sat across the room from her. All seemed confused, except the Jedi.

"It's a trick." Obi Wan stated as he stood from his seat, "Send no reply. Send no transmissions of any kind." He ordered before leaving the room, most likely to go speak to his Master.

Versé turned to Sabé, who had already turned to look at her. They all understood that Versé would speak with the Queen's own voice in this moment. Or atleast the logical voice of Amidala.

"We must trust the Jedi." Versé stood, intending to follow Obi Wan. "They know things that we do not and even I feel that this is a trap."

"So we do nothing about the slaughter of our people?" Sabé questioned, Versé nodded with a deep frown creasing her brow.

"It is for the best. Once the Queen has pleaded our case we will return to Naboo...I'm sure of it." Versé said before leaving the room to follow the Jedi.

It didn't take long for Versé to find the Jedi, as he usually spent most of his time either outside of the ship or in the control room, and seeing as there was a storm rattling the ship at this very moment she knew exactly where he was.

It seemed as though the Jedi had just finished speaking to his Master. Versé could feel his uncertainty.

"What are we going to do?" Versé asked as the doors closed behind her. For the oddest reason she trusted the Jedi more than she trusted her own judgement, despite the fact her judgement has never failed her.

Obi Wan turned to the Lieutenant, noting her stiff posture and anxiety clear in her eyes.

"My Master believes that it is bait, if we reply to the message the Trade Federation will have no issues in finding us." Obi Wan replied, seeming sure of his words.

"I fear they have already traced our location." Versé stated, it wasn't very difficult to do considering she had been able to trace people just by them listening to her transmissions. It took years of training but an experienced person could easily do it. Few people knew how to do it but something told Versé that the Federation was not working alone in this. How could they? It was far too perfect, their plan fell into place like dominos.

"How could they do that?" Obi Wan asked, Versé shrugged, turning to look at the computer that was still streaming R2's data. Obi Wan's eyes followed her's and he nodded without needing her to explain herself.

"Someone who has had enough experience can trace the location that the message was sent to without a response. It isn't always correct but on occasion it can be very precise." Versé explained, fearing the truth behind her own words.

"How do you know this?" Obi Wan asked, gesturing to the computer before the woman. Versé shrugged, seeing no reason to lie to the Jedi. A lie would seem more suspicious than a vague form of the truth.

"I wasn't always a Royal Guard. Before I joined the Academy I had a different life." Versé spoke. Obi Wan nodded, sitting down in a chair near her computer and asked, "Did this previous life occur on Tatooine?"

Not even bothering to question how he knew Versé smiled slightly and said, "Yes. I was born here." She decided to leave out the rest of the information about her life here. The Jedi already knew too much and he wouldn't have to try very hard to piece things together.

"But your name is of the Naboo?" The Jedi said, his words sounding more like a question as he looked at her curiously. His mind was working at an alarming rate trying to piece everything together. She was born on Tatooine, lived here long enough to learn several things that most people in the entire galaxy did not know. Qui-gon had told him of her deep connection to the force furthering his curiosity. Why didn't the Jedi take her to the temple as they had done with him when he was not even a year old? Even he could sense the Force in her but it felt significantly different to the Jedi.

"And what was your name before you came to Naboo?" the Jedi asked, causing a slight blush to appear on the Lieutenant's cheeks. Her previous name was something that she had chosen after hearing many many stories about the Jedi and the wars that they fought in thousands of years ago. She had been born with no name, and her family didn't give her one, neither did her masters. Her adoptive father, one of the other slaves, had helped her with her name.

"It is truly very embarrassing." Versé said with a nervous laugh. Obi Wan raised an eyebrow at the woman, waiting to hear what was so embarrassing about a name.

After a few moments of Versé attempting to find a way to change the subject and Obi Wan watching her closely she decided to just get it over with.

"I chose Ketu to be my name when I was 5. I grew up hearing stories about the Jedi from my father and the stories about Master Ketu and the Je'daii were always my favourite." Versé said, turning to avoid the Jedi's eyes and instead chose to focus on the computer in front of her.

"Your parents didn't give you a name?" Obi Wan asked, feeling slightly sad for the woman sitting across from him. He may never have known his parents but he had a name to remember them by, a name his father had given him. Versé merely shrugged and said, "They weren't my real family, I was taken from my biological parents before I could remember them, and since I was taken my family name was taken as well. It happens to most slaves."

Versé's eyes widened when she realised what she had just said, causing panic to spread through her body. A feeling that didn't go unnoticed by the observant Jedi apprentice.

Only Panaka knew that she had been born a slave. No one else in the entire galaxy knew this fact. A bounty hunter had killed her masters and had allowed her to join him, he trained her, taught her everything she knew now. It was because of him that she is who she is to this very day.

Before Obi Wan could say anything Versé quickly stood to her feet and left the control room. Heading to find a secluded place in the ship where she could thoroughly avoid the Jedi and Panaka. If Panaka saw her now he would instantly know what had happened and she didn't want to see the pity in his eyes.

Versé truly hated this planet, if she could she would destroy the entire system and everyone in it. Tatooine was the bane of her very existence. She hated it with everything in her body and soul. Being here awoke something dark and cold inside her and she hated it. Hated it.

The memories of her time on the desolate planet plagued her mind as she sat in the secluded corner, refusing to allow sleep to take over.

Versé had intentionally left Ketu behind when she stowed away on a ship heading for Naboo. She chose a new name for herself and forgot about her previous life, only three years later, at the age of 16 Versé was brought to the Academy by Panaka himself who personally took charge of her training. Now at the age of 22 she was a Lieutenant of the Royal Guard, assigned to be the Queen's personal guard.

How far she had come...from being a slave, to aiding a bounty hunter, then to sneaking around the streets of Theed and stealing in order to survive and now she protects the Queen of Naboo...to the best of her ability.

Shaking her head Versé glanced out the window of the ship, noticing for the first time that it was past midday. The storm had passed halfway through the morning leaving the blistering sun to scorch the desert planet.

Heaving a sigh Versé stood from her crouched position in the little hole she found and headed for the control room, hoping that no one was there.