Star Wars: Dark Future

I did my best to couch the question in the most diplomatic manner I could manage, because these constables were easily some of the prickliest people I'd ever encountered, and it seemed wise to try and avoid another social tangle.

Frowning a little, the man very bluntly responded, "You're trying to change the subject. Is that because you really think you know what's going on, or are you just trying to close the book on what happened back there?"

...

I had a feeling that the reason this cop was stubbornly refusing to let go of what had happened would have been glaringly obvious, if I'd been either Naboo, or more gifted in the social arena, but I set that dead-end thought aside and pressed onward with the point I was trying to make.

"I'm reasonably certain that Ravara and the two men you just arrested are behind the disappearances.

If you've been running into otherwise inexplicable occurrences during your investigations, such as people vanishing in rooms still locked from within, or witnesses reporting that some of the vanished were acting in an extremely uncharacteristic manner prior to their disappearance, I'd even go as far as saying I'm certain she's to blame."

The policeman's features became the mask of detached professionalism I recognized from the crime scene the moment he recognized the import of what I was saying.

"Those are two very specific examples, Knight Skywalker. Specific enough to make me think you've either been reading our confidential documentation, or that you might have even known what was going to happen here," No sooner had the man finished speaking, than he suddenly blanched.

His mouth pressing itself into a tight line, as he belatedly recognized his cynicism as an investigator had prompted him to speak before he thought through the implications of that hasty chain of reasoning.

Before the man could mire himself in another unnecessary apology, I held up a hand to forestall him, then replied, "Don't worry about it, Constable.

I'd be suspicious of anyone who started pulling confidential findings from thin air myself. Guessing the nature of the mysteries confronting you and your comrades wasn't very hard, because I know all of the most common ways the Force is abused to serve the ends of a Dark Adept.

Unfortunately, it takes neither great power or years of training to, say, work a dead-bolt, or punch a simple alpha-numeric code into a security interface with telekinesis. All a trained Force-sensitive would need is an unobstructed line of sight to the thing they wanted to manipulate, and I've noticed most Naboo homes appear designed to allow in a great deal of natural light."

Pausing to take a breath, I continued my explanation in a pensive tone, "The Bpfasshi you just arrested are both weaker and much less skilled than Ravara was, but neither man would need any tools or climbing gear to gain access to an upper-story window or skylight. Either of them could reach a high-rise balcony or rooftop, as easily as you or one of the other constables could vault a meter-high fence.

Their skills would be more than enough to get them in and out of most homes in this city without a trace, whereas Ravara, on the other hand, could easily determine if a potential victim was susceptible to her vilest power. If they were, she could easily persuade them to go wherever she liked, whenever she liked.

A person whose will has been dominated via the Force can be made to obey almost any command, but that's not the worst of it. A competent mind-bender will often layer multiple hypnotic suggestions over their victim's will. One order will convince the victim to allay the suspicions of friends or loved ones, another to lie about where they're going, you get the idea.

Dominating a person's mind so thoroughly can cause severe damage to the victim's psyche, but the kind of person willing to learn how to do something so evil is nearly always the kind of user who sees other people as disposable tools or toys. Now, have I described anything that doesn't match what you've seen?"

Tapping the left side of his chin thoughtfully with the tip of one thumb, the constable replied like a man reciting something from memory "Back at the crime scene, you stated the deceased was a preferential killer of physically attractive women who'd achieved a degree of professional success.

I'd have to review the list of the missing to give you a precise breakdown of the victim profiles, but speaking generally, less than a quarter of the missing even loosely match this Ravara's alleged preference. Only six or seven of these people possess any significant personal or professional connection to anyone else who's gone missing, so I'd say that's one problem with your theory right there."

"Only if you presuppose that Ravara's main reason for coming here was to indulge in her sick games.

Personally, given the present troubles, I find her presence in the city with the easiest access to Gungan territory extremely suspect. Particularly when you consider the timing of her visit, and the two Bpfasshi Force-sensitives who were clearly functioning in a subordinate capacity to her.

Ravara beginning to haunt this city only a couple weeks before the beginning of the problems with the Gungans is suspicious enough, but there's also the fact she was clearly keeping herself apprised as to the movements of any groups enroute to Lake Paonga.

An emotionally and psychologically disturbed Dark Adept, who has never been known to include others in her nefarious activities, is freed from prison by the CIS, then just happens to not only select Moenia as her present hunting ground, but positions herself and her subordinates to waylay any Jedi headed for Otoh Gunga? I come to that last conclusion due to incriminating statements made by the Bpfasshi, Constable, but even setting aside those statements, there seem to be a troubling number of coincidences here.

All of them seeming to serve the interests of anyone who would like to see the alliance between the Naboo and Gungans crumble," My reply to the peace officer's objection was quiet yet matter of fact. I could sense Padme's disquiet at how much I was revealing to a simple constable without even looking in her direction, but what was I supposed to do?

It might not be my job to supply beat cops with an intelligence briefing on planetary affairs, but I knew just how much I despised the mushroom-treatment. It just wasn't in me to deny relevant facts to someone who might well find themselves in harm's way because of what's happening sometime in the near future. If the good constable chose not to believe me, then at least I'd know that I tried.

Instead of replying immediately, the older man seemed to give the points that had just been raised serious consideration. When he did respond almost a minute later, it was with a nod that became firmer after a moment, and a much more troubled expression.

"I think you're right, Knight Skywalker. I've been on and overseen enough stakeouts to know how all-consuming an activity it is. Especially when manpower is limited, and the operation requires that you be ready to move in on the suspect or suspects at a moment's notice.

If Ravara and her men intercepted you within minutes of your party reaching the first major thoroughfare adjacent to the spaceport, they either knew you were coming, or they've put the time and resources into developing a professional degree of surveillance over the most likely routes to the docks.

I wouldn't have thought three people could pull off something like that, but if you're right about their acting at the behest of the CIS, and I'm willing to defer to your judgment on that as the better-informed party, there's no telling what kind of resources they might have been provided with. Throw enough credits at any problem, and you'll usually find a solution."

Pausing a moment, the police officer went back to scratching the stubble beneath his chin, before eventually continuing in a dissatisfied tone, "There's still one sticking-point in your theory, though. The missing men and women who don't fit the deceased's alleged victim profile.

Why abduct or murder so many people with such high profiles? If, as you contend, the deceased was sent here to watch for any group on its way to Otoh Gunga which contained a Jedi, so as to prevent their intervention in whatever's going on with the Gungans, then abducting and murdering more than two dozen people seems like the very last thing someone tasked with such a mission would want to do.

I'm willing to believe a deranged psychopath might do something counterproductive because of their compulsive need to indulge themselves, but that only explains the minority who match her victim profile. Why would she endanger her mission by drawing so much attention her way, regarding the rest?"

That was a very good point, and it wasn't a question I had an immediate answer for. Considering the problem for a few moments, it seemed to me the rough shape of what Ravara had been about was something my mind could almost grasp, but I needed a question answered to validate my perception of the patterns at work here.

"How did the Constabulary respond, when you first realized the disappearances weren't isolated events?" I asked the short but compact cop who'd been watching me intently as he waited for an answer.

"Well, during the first week, the Chief Constable issued a public safety advisory on the local Holonet. It was really nothing more than a list of suggested safety measures, like not going out alone late at night, double checking that one's windows and doors were locked before turning in, and not meeting with any strangers after dark.

When the number of disappearances only increased during the second week, a second announcement advised the public to conclude even essential business prior to eight pm. The increased patrols we instituted during the first week were doubled again, but they did nothing to curtail the disappearances. Finally, three days ago, a mandatory eight pm curfew was implemented.

Once the curfew went into effect, there were no further disappearances, so we all thought the curfew was somehow stymieing the abductors. At least until the situation we just left behind us convinced me to doubt that conclusion," Constable Kiherri replied in exhaustive detail.

His dark eyes remained focused on me as he spoke. Searching for any hint of the reasoning that had prompted my most recent question.

"There weren't any unusual occurrences after the curfew went into effect? It doesn't have to be anything that seems connected to the disappearances. Just something you'd consider out of the ordinary, if this had been a more normal month in the city," I pressed in response.

I didn't know what exactly I was looking for, but in my mind, I'd managed to establish a tenuous grip on the shape of Ravara's activities here. Now, my intuition was urging me to dig deeper.

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