Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters within that genre. I Only own the Fey and my own Character Samantha Tilsit.

The Mission

Samantha had been a Jedi for as long as she could remember. For a human this knowledge would have spanned a mere couple of decades, however as a fey, one of the few long-lived species in the galaxy, her knowledge spread over hundreds of years. Her life had thus far been filled with adventure, learning, and mainly peace for the galaxy was now in a calmer state of affairs than it ever had been. The Jedi were thriving, entering a grand golden age of power, and there were more younglings in the temple than there ever had been before. It made her feel a great deal of delight to be part of such an order, and yet she could feel that there was a great deal of change to come - what that would involve however she could not yet say. The force was an ever flowing thing, ever full of change and difficult to predict for those that gazed into the future. Such things had never concerned her before, she'd never been one to meditate on future events, but there was something about this feeling that was different.

It prodded and pried at the very base of her neck, a tingling sensation that lifted the hairs on the back of her neck every time she dared to make sense of the feelings she was having. She had once approached Yoda on the matter, consulting the more powerful Jedi in regards to the matter, and even he had no answers for her and had told her not to fear for that would lead to the dark side. It was something that had lead to slight frustration for she was not afraid of what the feeling meant, more cautious and in her views there was nothing wrong with being cautious and mindful of what the future had to bring. Today she was having another meeting with the wizened green Jedi, though this time it was not to be just the two of them for she had been summoned to the grand council chamber, and she was not looking forward to having gone to such a thing for she knew by now what manner they wished to discuss with her.

As a member of a species with a low birth rate, she'd been long ago granted exception to marry and birth children, and she'd not follow through on the invitation. With the numbers of her people now dwindling the council was likely to now push the matter to her once again - and she was bored of trying to explain to them that it wasn't a matter of just marrying some random male of her kind. Sure she could do as they asked, and marry off to one of the few remained unmarried males of her species, but there would be no children to be gained out of such a marriage of convenience - such a thing could only occur between two people whose souls were compatible. Without the binding of compatible souls, any pregnancy would not be carried to term, and that need to have a compatible soul binding was why so few of her kind remained. Most were already mated, and the ones left found it hard to find their compatible mate in the small pool of unmated fey. She was a member of a species marked out for extinction, and that was nature's way as she'd often said when asked on the matter - a matter that had been quiet for the last two years.

Samantha had dared to hope that she had finally won her argument and would be left in peace to continue her service to those people that needed help most, however it seemed not to be, and she found herself wondering if the feeling she had been getting in the force was a warning that such matters would soon be brought back to the surface. It was a thought that was hastily pushed aside as she reached the doors that lead toward the council chambers which opened as she approached them. The opening of the doors revealed the seated council members to her eyes, and the two forms standing in front of them - a sight that told her that she hadn't been the only person to have been summoned her this day, and calmed her concerns that she had been about to walk into a verbal battle with the council once again.

The shorter of the two turned around to glance at her, his blue eyes flicking over her form from her feet all the way up to her head. She knew what he would see, he would see a slim formed woman that barely topped five foot one tall that had mid-back length silvery hair, and a face that she knew that most humans found attractive. Personally she never saw what the big fuss was all about, When it came to her own species she was not considered to be attractive in the slightest - her face did not have the right shape to it, or that's what her research in the Jedi archives had said. She returned the young man's examination with one of her own, and indeed he was a young man for he was barely into his mid-twenties and still had the face of much younger man which made him look like he was barely out of his teen years. Yet his strong build spoke of his years of training, and the expression in his eyes gave away the fact that he wasn't nearly as young as he seemed to be. His auburn hair was cropped in the traditional style of the padawan, close cropped to the head with a short ponytail at the nape of his neck and a long braid by his right ear.

It was a style she remembered wearing herself, however, the memory was a vague one and buried under hundreds of years of later experience. The young man's wavered attention drew the attention of the rest of the council, as well as the taller man beside him, and it was then that she recognised the pair for she had met Qui-Gon Jinn on many an occasion. The young man had to be his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom she had last seen when he had been but ten years old - she barely even recognised him and by the looks he gave her he had long forgotten her face. "Ah, joined us you have. Much to discuss there is." The gravelly tone of Master Yoda filled the room as Samantha stood on the unoccupied side of Qui-Gon, whom she chanced a glance at, and by the smile on his face she could tell that he was glad to see her again. She felt the same way, though like his apprentice the man was much older than when she had last seen him, and there was now streaks of silver peppered in his hair - though to be fair the peppered silver gave him a much more refined and gentlemanly look.

Resting her gripped hands in front of her she waited for Yoda to continue with his explanation of why they had all been summoned. For a moment the small figure seemed lost in thought, his eyes partially closed as he examined the trio before giving a vague smile and a nod. "On a mission, we are sending you. To Naboo, you must go, blockaded it is by the trade federation. Treat with the Federation, you must, break the blockade of Naboo" It was such a partial explanation, but that was the way it always was with Yoda for he was a male of few words. To be honest she felt like sending three Jedi to talk to the Federation in this regards was a bit of overkill, and by the expression on Obi-Wan's face it was a thought that he too shared. Even Qui-Gon was frowning ever so slightly, the creases of his brow deepening ever so slightly, but he remained silent on the matter for like her he must have assumed that Yoda had his reasons for sending as many Jedi as he had.

"Transport, waiting for you it is, leave shortly you must" It was with those words that she knew that they had been dismissed from the room. Obi-Wan was the first to leave, with Qui-Gon close behind, and she too was about to leave when she heard a slight cough from the old Jedi Master. "Master Tilset, Look you to Padawan Kenobi we ask, remember what we spoke of you will" it was those words that made her stop and turn back to look at the green male for the briefest of moments, her lips pressing into a thin line before she swept out of the room. Was the old master losing his sanity? Was he really suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? Was Yoda seriously trying to hook her up with Obi-Wan? She didn't know what he was trying to pull, perhaps he'd listened to her the last time they had talked, had now accepted there was no males with which she would mate within her own species and was now trying to see if she would pick outside her kind?

It just didn't make sense, surely if Yoda was so passionate about saving her species he would not suggest such a thing? It boggled the mind that the male was suddenly being so aligned with her own thoughts, and she wondered what it was that had changed the green alien's mind in regard to the whole matter. Samantha found in the end that perhaps she didn't want to know what had changed the situation, it was always best not to know what was going on in the green master's mind.

All she needed to do was focus on the mission, help her two male companions break the blockade and get back to the temple so that she could tell Yoda in no uncertain terms that she was not to be set up with anyone ever again! She would be happy to accompany other Jedi on their missions, but she did not appreciate having a side mission of eyeing them up as possible mates - it was just so crass! Walking quickly she soon caught up to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, the pair softly talking in a manner that told her they had been discussing the mission they were about to embark on, and she caught up just in time to hear Obi-Wan's low voice saying that they didn't need a third person for it was just negotiations and thus didn't need so many Jedi.

Her arrival caused him to cough in embarrassment, as he obviously had not wanted to be caught talking about her in such a manner. She felt sorry for the poor young man, sorry that she had to come along when two would have been more than enough, and sorry that he had no idea of Yoda's further plans beyond that mission. "Fear not Padawan Kenobi, I share your frustrations. Something else must be at play here for Master Yoda to send three Jedi for one simple mission" she kept her tone firm, feeling bad that she was not telling him what Yoda had said in regards to them, but to be honest he didn't need know what the green master had said - they were not to be an item romantically and that was that! He didn't need to know about something that would not be affecting him personally, especially as after this mission she didn't think they would be working together again that often.

No - It was best that he did not know. What he didn't know would not hurt him.

Her words on the matter of the mission seemed to calm Obi-Wan, his shoulders relaxing as if relieved that his and his master's feelings were felt by their new companion. Qui-Gon himself was nodding in agreement, one hand raising to rest on his apprentice's shoulder as he himself spoke "With our group numbering three we can complete this mission quickly, besides we will be sure to need Master Tilset's knowledge soon enough." Samantha very much doubted such a thing, Qui-Gon was a knowledgeable fellow and able enough to handle a negotiation without her around, even with hundreds of years more experience she still doubted that her presence would make one jot of difference.

She would have been better used elsewhere in the galaxy, but if Qui-Gon was happy to have her around, then she was happy to go - if anything she could catch up with how life had been for him. Qui-Gon always had amusing stories to tell her, and most seemed to involve his wayward padawan and his antics! Shaking her head she clapped a hand to the taller man's shoulder "Oh stop exaggerating Qui-Gon, You know as much as I do about negotiating with people - now let's get moving or we will miss our ride." With that, she took the lead, her purposeful stride leading them toward the hangar bay, and the waiting Republic Cruiser that stood within it.

Samantha couldn't complain about the trip through hyperspace as being boring. As expected Qui-Gon had indeed told her some new stories about what had happened in his life since they have last seen each other, and to Obi-Wan's embarrassment most of them had involved stories regarding some of the messes he'd gotten them into. Obi-Wan didn't see why the pair needed to talk about such things, but talk about it they did and he eventually had sought solace in one of the Cruisers many chambers - leaving the pair to continue with their stories. Shaking her head in mirth the silvery haired woman tried to regain her composure, one hand gripping her knee in an attempt at stopping the bubbling laughs in her chest from escaping. "Oh Qui-Gon, you and your apprentice certainly know how to get into a sticky situation." She smirked, before glancing at her companion from the corner of her eyes "Are you sure that Yoda didn't just send me to keep you two young'uns in order? You certainly seem to need some adult supervision!"

That certainly got a chuckle from Qui-Gon, she was quite sure that he didn't get to be called young all that often and it must feel doubly odd to hear it some someone that looked as if they were not even thirty yet. A calloused hand brushed through the free hanging section of his hair and he shrugged ever so slightly "Well we do see to get into messes a lot, but we always get out of them with each other's aid - but it is amusing to think that we need babysitting" at first she had thought that she had offended him for he had seemed so serious when he had spoken, but her shocked look soon earned a laugh from him that showed he had been joking with her. Sighing in relief she settled back against the bulkhead of the ship, supporting her body as the ship dropped out of hyperspace - a sure signal that they had arrived at their destination.

Conversation now at an end she pushed herself up to her feet, and made a move toward the cockpit of the craft where the crew of the ship were already hailing the main droid control ship of the federation. Qui-Gon approached in a manner that kept him hidden from the transmitting view, his voice soft as he spoke to the captain of the ship "Tell them we wish to board at once" the simple instruction was met with a barely noticeable nod from the captain as he moved to the screen where the image of Nute Gunray has appeared. The neimoidian's face was hard to read, but from what Samantha could tell the male was not best pleased at his incoming company, as for the captain of their ship he kept his face calm and collected as he addressed Nute "With all due respect, the Ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately." The request was met with a slight scowl by the neimoidian, his lips pulling back slightly in a visible sign of his annoyance. "Yes, yes, of course... as you know, our blockade is perfectly legal, and we'd be happy to receive the Ambassador." The drawling tone of his voice revealed to each of the three listening Jedi that this neimoidian felt himself to the right and that this particular negotiation would be very difficult indeed.

With exchanges made the transmission screen went quiet and their captain started the process of landing in the hangar bay of the trade federation ship, a process that didn't take too long at all thanks to the pilot's and copilot's skill. Once landed the three Jedi left the craft, assuring the crew of the ship that they would not be long, and walked toward the main doors of the hangar bay where they were met by a silver protocol droid that introduced itself as TC-14. The droid turned out was to be their guide as it lead them through the many corridors's of the battleship and eventually into a large conference room where the droid left them to their own devices. So far all seemed to be going well, and Samantha assumed that soon Nute Gunray and his companions would join them to discuss the blockade. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Qui-Gon made himself comfortable in one of the chairs while she moved to stand near one of the windows.

She was vaguely aware of Obi-Wan talking, and turned her head to listen to the conversation that the padawan was having with his master. Part of her told her that she shouldn't be listening in to a conversation between a master and his apprentice, but hearing Obi-Wan's concern about having a bad feeling in the force, a feeling that didn't relate to the mission at hand had drawn her attention - for she had been experiencing the same feeling. It was quite exciting to her to hear that she wasn't the only one to feel that something was off with the force, she was about to say that she felt it too when Qui-Gon told his apprentice to be mindful of the moment and to keep his mind in the present and upon the moment at hand. It seemed that in some regards Qui-Gon and Yoda were on very different wavelengths when it came to the force, and thus explained why the pair were so at odds with one another. It also told her that Yoda had differing feelings about the future, to Obi-Wan he had said to be mindful of the future, and to her he had told her not to dwell too often upon it - sometimes the advice was confusing.

She brushed a hand through her hair slowly, carefully arranging the locks over one shoulder as Obi-Wan joined her at her standing place. "So, how do you think the viceroy will deal with the chancellor's demands?" Obi-Wan's question hung in the air as Qui-Gon got up to join them near the window, his face set in a stern expression as he gazed into space "The viceroy is a coward, the negotiations will be short." Samantha frowned, her eyes closing a moment as she got the distinct impression that the negotiations would not happen at all - if Nute Gunray had any intention of talking to them then he would have been here already, but he was not. It was just her, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan in a large room, a room that felt far too empty with just the three of them in there as they fell into silence.

Eventually it was Obi-Wan that broke the quietness of the room, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked toward the doors "Is it in their nature to keep us waiting this long?" It was a question that made Samantha shake her head instantly "No, it is not" her voice was hushed, and soon joined by that of Qui-Gon's as he elaborated on the matter "I sense an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as this trade dispute." He was right, there was a lot of fear drifting in through the force, fear that told her that her assumption that the negotiations would not happen was a correct one. She frowned, watching as TC-14 walked into the room with a tray of refreshments for them, at least the droid had more sense of manners then it's owner did!

Reaching forward she took one of the cups from the tray and took a sip, the cooling taste of liquid water drifting over her tongue and proving a sense of calm - even if the negotiations didn't go well then they could at least leave and try something else. They still had the Republic Cruiser out in the hangar deck waiting to pick them up, once back they could discuss their next options on how to settle the trade dispute. It was a sense of calm that didn't stay with her long, for moments later she felt a shift in the force as the existence of the crew waiting in the Cruiser vanished in the force, their signatures crying out in shock and panic before suddenly extinguishing in pain. She didn't even notice that she had dropped the glass on the floor, the metal clanging on the floor as she pulled her lightsaber from its clasp on her belt.

The steady thrum of the blade, and the bright yellow hue brought her away from her shock at the loss of their crew even as she a faint hissing reached her ears as some kind of gas was vented in via the ventilation shafts. "Dioxin" the warning from Qui-Gon was hastily noted by the other two Jedi, each on turning off their blades and taking in deep breaths of air before the environment in the room became too hostile for them. All around she could see the thick smoke of the dioxin filling every area of the room, and she could hear the scraping on metal as TC-14 panicked around the room - a panic she tried to ignore.

Instead she focused on her heartbeat, letting it slow slightly as she slipped into a low meditative state in an effort to allow her to make what air she had in her lungs last as she was sure that the doors would not be opened until the neimoidians thought them dead. Eyes closed she listened to the sounds of the ship around her, the hissing of the vents as they continued to fill the room with gas, the slight clicking as TC-14 rushed around the room, the slow thud of her own heart, and then the most glorious sound of all - the sound of the doors to the conference room opening.

TC-14 was the first of them to leave, her arms in the air as she ran out as fast as her legs could carry her. "Oh, Excuse me!" the droid's words drifted through the room, quickly followed by the pitched tones of battle droids somewhere in the main hall beyond the smoke filled room. "Check it out corporal, we'll follow" "roger roger" the orders were a signal to all three Jedi, and one after the other they each ignited their lightsabers. Shafts of Green, Blue, and Yellow piercing the smoke as the order came from the droid's to blast them.

The first red shots of blaster fire wildly piercing the fog even as Sam shot her body forward into the corridor beyond, it was only once she was clear of the fog did she take a breath of clear air, the fresh oxygen feeding her muscles as her lightsaber swung from left to right. The lazy sweep of the weapon cut the waiting droid clean in half, his voice still complaining at how such a thing could not be so even as his body fell to the floor. Stepping over the body she continued the swing of her blade, turning slowly in front of her to swat blaster fire away from her body and directing the flow of her defense into attacks whenever droids came close enough to allow it.

The trio made their way through the corridors of the battleship, quickly dealing with any forms of resistance that came their way, and soon came upon the doors that would lead them to the viceroy and his companions. The dull grey of the closed blast doors were looked at for a moment before Qui-Gon plunged his lazer sword deep within the metal, the intense heat of the blade starting to melt it, something that she sensed was causing a great deal of panic among the creatures behind that door. Soon enough they would be through the obstacle of the blast doors, all they needed was a few moments, and those few moments were not what they had to spare. "Master Droidekas" the warning from Obi-Wan was given almost at the same time as her own, the metallic droids spinning into the corridor and unfurling by the time she had pushed her back defensively to that of the unprotected Qui-Gon.

As the droidekas opened fire the Jedi slipped into their defense, Qui-Gon thanks to the time that Sam had given him was able to pull out his saber from the door and soon too was batting away blaster shots from the droidekas, it was a standoff the three Jedi knew they could not win thanks to the shields of the droidekas and within moments they split away from the room with the fey leading the way. "We go up into the ventilation shafts, they can't reach us there" as she talked the woman swung her saber to open the mesh covered vent just above her, leaving a hole big enough for them to slip into the vent, turned off her saber, and quickly jumped up into the shaft. As small as she was even she had to admit that the shaft was very claustrophobic, the men that soon followed her must have been in even worse a state for they were more muscular than her and had wider shoulders. Crawling on hands and knees she followed the route of the shaft, letting the force lead her for she had no personal idea of the blueprints of this battleship and kept her head down slightly so she wouldn't have to focus on the oppressive feeling of the shaft.

Fey were never very good in small enclosed spaces, they were a people of the open spaces, and the very walls of the shaft where seeming to close in on her from every angle. She pushed the feelings to one side, knowing that she had to keep moving for the sheer fact that they likely didn't have a lot of time. In time they came to a bigger area of the shaft, something that she was happy for as she'd been fighting nausea for the last few minutes, and took a moment to rest and look out of one of the vents they had found themselves at.

The scene in front of them was of a large hangar bay, not unlike the one they had arrived in, however this one was full of landing craft and battle droids. The thousands of droids were filling the waiting landing craft, their mechanical forms moving efficiently and without the chatter that came with a human army. "Battle Droids" Qui-Gon's whispered voice was soon joined by that of Obi-Wan "It's an invisible army" it was an observation that drew a sigh from the Jedi Master, one hand running over his forehead in an exhausted manner "This is an odd play for the Trade Federation. We've got to warn the Naboo and contact Chancellor Valorum. Let's split up. Stow aboard separate ships and meet down on the planet" Obi-Wan nodded his head, and Samantha moved to loosen the cover of the vent so that they could slip down into the hangar bay below. Once she was ready to move she looked up at the two males, and Obi-Wan turned to his master with a sigh "You were right about one thing, master, the negotiations were short."

Samantha looked at the younger man in surprise, was that sarcasm? If the situation were not so dire she would have laughed, instead she dropped nimbly down to the ground, and without waiting for the other two she made her way to the nearest landing craft and snuck on board. Like the vent before the space within the craft was very limited, it was built with carrying droids in mind and thus no comforts were made for biological beings. The best she could do was find a small space in one of the corners and curl up as tightly as possible, one to keep warm in the cold space, and two so that she was hidden in the shadows where the droids would not be able to see her. Once comfortable she wrapped her arms around herself and rested her head on her forearms, all she could do now was wait, and hope that it wouldn't take too long at all for the craft to land on Naboo.

*Note - Samantha leans more toward the teachings of the gray Jedi, thus why she disagrees with the council and more liable to embrace and examine her emotions without fully falling to the sway of the dark side.

**Further Note - I have gone back in and edited this, and broken up the large chunks of text hopefully this will make it easier read. Thanks for the review OfficerDonNZ!