Senator and Soldier

A Likely Story

Riyo laughed. "I know that look."

Padmé's eyes flew wide open. "What look?"

"Don't worry, Padmé. I won't tell anyone."

Padmé grabbed her arm and pulled her onto a landing pad. "Wait, you knew?"

"About you and Anakin? I had my suspicions."

Padmé looked both horrified and amused. "I guess I just confirmed those suspicions."

"You did, but it's all right. Like I said, I won't tell anyone. Of course, I want to know how this came to be." Riyo winked.

"All right. I'll tell you, but only because you're so considerate," Padmé laughed, sounding relieved. "Come by my apartments tonight."

"I'll be there," Riyo promised. They split up and boarded their speeders. Her pilot set off towards the Senate Apartments.

Coruscant: 19 BBY
Republic Military Prison
Commander Fox

Fox straightened as Admiral Tarkin approached. The Admiral flicked two fingers and continued on past. "I'll be back," Fox whispered to Clay. He quickly caught up with the Admiral. "I take it the Senate approved the involvement of the military police, then?"

"They did, not that I had any doubts. I will speak with the Jedi while you retrieve the prisoner," Admiral Tarkin said. They stepped into a gunship and the pilot took off, headed towards the Jedi Temple. "I want to know all of the facts. I'm not convinced that the suspect will tell us everything."

"Who is the suspect, Sir?"

"Letta Turmond. She was the wife of one of the victims, from what I've heard."

Fox nodded, then fell silent the rest of the trip. The gunship landed near the detention levels of the Temple. Four Temple guards were waiting for them. Fox followed the guards down a hall and towards a cell, while Admiral Tarkin sought out General Skywalker and his padawan.

One of the guards opened the cell when they reached it. A young woman looked up, fear flooding her gaze. "What's going on?"

"Letta Turmond, you're being transferred to a Republic Military Prison. Come with me," Fox said.

"But the Jedi said they were keeping me here. I thought they were going to question me."

"Let's go." Fox jerked a head towards the cell door. The Temple guards surrounded Letta and forced her out the door. Her gaze flickered back and forth as they walked.

"Please, you have to let me go. This wasn't entirely my fault!" Letta whimpered.

"You can tell us everything at the prison."

"No!" She shook her head. "I can't. She already knows I'm here. It's only a matter of time now."

Fox narrowed his eyes beneath his helmet. What is she talking about?

"Please! There was another person involved!" Letta hissed. "They'll kill me."

They reached the landing pad. The Temple guards seated her in the gunship and retreated. A few minutes later, Admiral Tarkin joined them. "Let's return to the prison," he said to the pilot. They took off again.

Letta swallowed hard, shaking a bit. ""Admiral," Fox whispered. Tarkin gave him an annoyed look. "She said there was someone else involved."

"I find that hard to believe."

"What did the Jedi tell you, Sir?"

"Letta Turmond fed nano-droids to her husband, Jackar Bowmani, essentially making him the bomb. That is all they knew, or all they were willing to tell me."

"Nano-droids? Where would she get her hands on nano-droids?"

"I don't know." Tarkin gave Letta an appraising glance. Her gaze flickered towards him, then back to the floor. "But I intend to find out."

A group of clones were waiting when they landed. They surrounded Letta and marched her into an interrogation room. Fox and Admiral Tarkin entered and sealed the door behind them. Fox activated their recording device. He remained standing, while Tarkin sat down across from Letta.

"You know why you are here," he began. "Tell us everything that led up to the bombing of the Jedi Temple and your husband's death."

Letta twiddled her fingers together, her anxiety written plainly across her face. "I fed Jackar the nano-droids only yesterday," she said finally. "I didn't know when or how they would start to work."

"Where did you get them? Nano-droids are hard to come by," Tarkin prompted.

"They were given to me by someone who had access to them." Letta's voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't want to do it. Jackar loved his job at the Temple. We were mostly happy. I loved him."

"Then why did you?" Fox asked. Tarkin shot him an annoyed look. He ignored it.

"She told me that if I refused, she would kill me and frame Jackar for my murder. I couldn't let him live with something like that," Letta explained. "Please, you have to believe me."

"I find your story to be quite lacking in sufficiency," Admiral Tarkin replied.

"You...you don't believe me? Have you even listened to a word I said?" Letta exclaimed.

"I have. However, here is what I think happened. You were upset in your marriage. You were angry with the Jedi for the war and for the hardships that it brought upon you. You found a black market dealer and purchased the nano-droids, which you then fed to your husband, essentially turning him into a bomb. Am I or am I not correct?" Tarkin asked.

"No!" Letta shook her head. "There was someone else involved. A Jedi!"

"I've heard enough. Take her away. We will question her more thoroughly later." Fox didn't miss the hard glint in Tarkin's eyes, or the shift in his tone.

"No!" Letta gripped the edges of the table as two guards entered the room. They grabbed her by the arms. "I won't talk to you anymore. Where is Commander Tano? I'll talk to her!"

"Sir?" Fox turned to Tarkin as Letta was dragged out of the room. "Maybe you should let her speak with Commander Tano."

Tarkin crossed his arms, thinking. "All right," he said at last. "I'll have her brought here immediately. Return to your post, Commander."

"Yes, Sir." Fox followed Tarkin out of the interrogation room. He headed back up towards the prison's command center. A Jedi...involved in the bombing? Is Letta telling the truth? He wondered. She seemed sincere, but then again, maybe she's trying to point the blame somewhere else so that she can get off with a lighter sentence. He shook his head. Maybe we'll get some real answers when Commander Tano gets here.