"Is there something wrong?" Colonel Seith asked.
"Nothing's wrong." Dratfat insisted, turning back towards his subordinate. "We can talk about this later."
...
For a moment Captain Sugrath looked like he was about to explode. "We need to talk about this now."
Now Dratfat was starting to look angry. He looked between Tan'ya and the Colonel, before bowing in apology. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back."
He hurried away with Sugrath, moving back through the ranks of battle droids to have an animated talk. They were both obviously high strung, the wider Dratfat almost making shushing motions with his hands, until Sugrath dramatically ripped off his hat. With a murderous glare he cast it down at Dratfat's feet. The senior Captain's face hardened, before he snatched it up. He pushed a button on his communicator and a handful of battle droids broke off from the back of the escort.
Sugrath stood in place, staring at his commander defiantly until the battle droids escorted him away. Dratfat looked down at the abandoned hat in his hands, before crumpling it and stuffing it in his pocket as he shook his head and walked back over to Tan'ya and the Colonel.
"What was that about?" Gon Seith asked.
"A last minute disciplinary issue." Dratfat replied, smiling obsequiously. "Nothing to be worried about."
That disciplinary issue seemed to be severe enough for a Captain to be taken to the brig. Unless Tan'ya read that scene incorrectly, him ripping off his own hat was an extreme form of protest, likely objecting to Tan'ya's thirty armed guards being invited onto the ship.
Had Sugrath figured out what Tan'ya was planning?
Tan'ya looked to Seith, and saw he seemed to be reaching the same conclusions. "Perhaps we should arrange this for another day?"
"Oh, no need for that!" Dratfat interrupted. "We've already landed all three ships for inspection purposes. Besides, there's no need to delay the Princess just because someone's a little high strung."
They needed the ships, and Dratfat at least seemed to not know what was happening. Though his greasy sucking up to the client could be an act.
Tan'ya steeled herself. In war there was never certainty, and for the sake of her planet those ships had to be captured.
"Let's continue with the tour, and just get this out of the way." Tan'ya said to Seith. "You know how insistent Father can be about these things." She whined, laying on the spoiled princess persona a little more.
Orders received, the Colonel nodded, fixing his helmet in place. "Guard, form up!" He said over their encrypted communication channels, and all the House Guards, Serenno and Coruscanti alike, formed up behind their princess in a marching position.
Their helmets were just standard plastoids, but marked with the scales of the Tirra'Takka all over them, and cloudlike bushy brows above the eyes. With vibroblade bayonets at the end of their rifles, and their long capes they looked more decorative than practical. Officers were distinguished from the rest of the crews by the iron chains of office at their neck, similar to the one Tan'ya had to mark her as heir but different in substance to indicate their different role. The crews of the Trade Federation fleet were professionals, but they rarely saw combat. Tan'ya dared to hope they focused on the flamboyant dress of the House Guards, thus failing to spot the deck sweeper stun guns strapped to their hips.
As Tan'ya's escort approached the ship, she watched the starport's hover tractors slowly dragging their manual docking clamps out over the tarmac towards the parked ships. One by one, they were fixed in place, and Tan'ya felt relief as the landing gear of each ship was clamped to the planet with durasteel claws.
At least, if nothing else, the Federation ships wouldn't be able to fly away. As they marched up the ramp into the ship, six of Tan'ya bodyguards wordlessly peeled off the back of their formation to go secure the keys from the port workers, just to be doubly certain that the Federation couldn't take off.
The corridors of the ship were much as Tan'ya remembered them, and to her relief none of the droid deployment stations were open or active. They passed a dozen intersections in the maze of durasteel, Captain Dratfat occasionally glancing at Tan'ya.
The tensions had been so high that she realized he was gauging her reaction. She was his customer and he was looking for feedback.
"Is rust ever a concern?" She asked him, and almost regretted doing so.
"In an oxygenated environment, oxidation is a constant concern. It's a dreadfully corrosive substance that we breathe." He smiled at his own joke, and Tan'ya forced a small giggle. "Durasteel is usually quite resilient though. The rate of decay is very slow, and as long as we keep everything clean and maintain our life support systems, a ship like this could theoretically enjoy centuries of service."
"I see."
"It's rare to see, but occasionally when you're in a busy port, particularly in the Outer Rim, you'll spot someone in a hull so old it could have been from the Old Republic!" He laughed and shook his head. Then he looked to Tan'ya, before saying in a slightly lower voice. "Are you aware of your father's defense plans? The old relics he's having refurbished?"
Ah, he'd heard that Serenno was starting to create its own navy, and now he was probing for information. It didn't matter though, Tan'ya might tell him anything so long as it would keep him talking.
"Yes, as the Advisor to the Defense I was told." Tan'ya said. "I even signed the documents."
"Refurbishing a ship is almost as expensive as buying one new." He said in a knowing tone, shaking his head. "For the cost of a single outdated Hammerhead, he could afford almost a decade of service from one of our much larger ships, and he wouldn't even need to pay for its maintenance and upkeep!"
"Is that so?" Tan'ya demurred, just as they rounded a corner and finally the bridge was up ahead! She glanced back to see her Guards had noticed too, and many were beginning to loosen the straps on their hip holsters. "Do you think perhaps we should rent a larger ship instead then?" Tan'ya asked Dratfat.
"Oh, I don't know if it's my place to offer advice." Dratfat smiled, greasily. "But between you and me, I am authorized to offer discounts to favored customers. I'd be happy to talk to you about the price breaks we have once you're renting a full sized flotilla." He looked at her expectantly.
"I'd love to hear more about that!" Tan'ya quickly agreed. "And I'll be happy to tell my Father about it too."
Dratfat smirked at that, and went to open the bridge door before he hesitated. He turned to look back at Tan'ya thirty guards, and pursed his lip thoughtfully. "I'm not sure there's room for so many in there. Colonel, would you tell your men to wait here?"
"The princess needs her bodyguards." Seith replied.
"I assure you, there's no risk to her here." Dratfat insisted.
"Nevertheless, it's our duty to protect the Princess's person."
Tan'ya spoke up. "It's okay, Colonel!" If he insisted too much Dratfat might become suspicious. "I'm sure we only need a handful of guards. Say… eight of them?"
"I'd prefer all of them, Your Highness." Colonel Seith looked her in the eye.
"Eight will be fine." Tan'ya said to him, then looked to Dratfat. "Will eight be able to fit?"
Dratfat nodded after a moment. "Yes, I suppose eight won't get in the way." Though he sounded reluctant as he said it.
Almost certainly he was hoping to get her alone to try and persuade her on the necessity of a proper flotilla.
Colonel Seith called out a few names over his private channel, and a mix of Serennoan and Coruscanti guards moved to the front of the formation.
Finally, Tan'ya and her Guards stepped onto the bridge. She glanced around the room, counting just eight officers, plus the Captain himself. Relief washed over her, as Tan'ya was pleased to learn her memory of the Federation ships bridge crew was correct.
"As you can see, I run a very tight ship." Dratfat began to explain, stepping forward waving broadly to the different stations. "Here we have Lieutenant Camrad at comms, and Specialist Nondui is working the-"
"Now!" Tan'ya gave the order, and tugged Dratfat towards her with the force. He was large and heavy, but Tan'ya still had to be careful not to pull too hard and injure him. The Captain fell backwards onto his bottom, putting his hand out to stabilize himself just as the House Guards took out the deck sweepers.
...
Don't forget to throw some power stones ;)
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