At the mention of war, Black Widow's eyes narrowed, and she thought back to a conversation she had with Falcon not long ago. A conversation filled with many questions that had been bothering her for a long time.

"Just wanted to ask a question, what do you think of the war?"

"Hmm?" Mothma said.

“I have heard from some others that you and your friends here are part of those who are against the war.

"It should come as no surprise to anyone that we do not support the war in the slightest," Padmé said. "This war is tearing the Republic, the galaxy, and all the innocent people caught in the middle apart. This is not what the Republic is about.

“We know that sometimes conflict is unavoidable,” Organa added. “But this war could have been easily avoided. Everything could have been resolved if we had only had time.”

"True, but most are just greedy and impatient to profit from the war," Hope said. "That trade alliance and those banking clans, I've heard a lot about that."

The other senators nodded bitterly.

"They claim to be neutral," Chucky scoffed. "But it's obvious who they support.

"If it weren't for them, this war could have been resolved earlier," Mothma said.

"There's something that's been bothering me since I got here." Black Widow said with a frown. "Can someone explain this whole clone army to me?"

"What do you mean?" Organa asked.

"I mean where did it come from," Black Widow said. "I mean, just days after your Chancellor called for remilitarization, this clone army just magically appeared, all ready to go. Isn't that a little too smooth?

The senators stared at the Avenger who had been trained as a spy, hesitant to speak, as they thought about what Black Widow had just hinted at.

They also seriously wondered where this clone army came from?

"Well..." Padme crossed her arms, "From what Anakin found out from his Master, the Clone Army was commissioned by another Jedi Council member who died ten years ago. Cypher-Diaz.

"Sefo Diaz?" Chuchi muttered. "I've never heard of this guy."

"Why did he do this?"

Padmé shook her head. "No one knows for sure. It's an unknown to the Jedi Council as well, for they are as in the dark as everyone else."

"So even the Jedi don't know how this clone army appeared?" The Wasp questioned, her brows slightly furrowed. "That... Honestly, that sounds a bit disturbing.

"Indeed," Organa agreed.

“Has anyone investigated this matter?”

"No..." Padmé said, shaking her head. "No one. And no one has the time.

An unusual sense of foreboding now hung over this group of heroes and politicians, and several of them felt vaguely uneasy.

"They appeared out of nowhere when they were needed most," Mothma surmised, "and the Jedi learned about it at about the same time as we did."

"Hopefully we'll have some breathing room to finally look into this." Padmé said as her comm suddenly picked up and she excused herself and walked to the end of the room to answer it.

A holographic projection of Master Yoda soon appeared, and the Naboo Senator smiled.

"Master Yoda?" Padmé asked politely. "What can I do for you?"

Yoda bowed his head and said, "If you can, please wait a moment. Talk, Senator Amidala.

Standing in the Jedi Council's meeting room, Padmé stood beside the Wasp and Black Widow as they accompanied her back to the temple, the three of them looked at the Jedi Knight sitting before them.

"What can I do for you, Master Yoda?" Padmé asked.

"A mission I must ask of you," Yoda began, "It may be dangerous, but necessary."

"Do you know him?" Black Widow whispered, and Hope motioned for her to be quiet.

"Is it dangerous?" Padmé asked.

Next to Yoda are holographic projections from Plo Koon and Mace Windu.

"There's been some intelligence infiltration going on between the Separatists and the Republic," Kun told the Naboo senator. "Someone has been meeting with the Separatist leaders. Someone you know."

"We believe Senator Clovis is conspiring with the Separatists. We need to find out what he is planning," Windu said.

"Clovis?" Padmé said in surprise. "How could you believe that? Rash is an old friend of mine. He entered the Senate with me.

"We understand your doubts and hesitations about this matter, but we wouldn't ask you if we weren't sure," Plough replied soothingly.

"Our intelligence personnel discovered his communications with the Trade Federation," Yoda added.

"Clovis's work with the banking and trade federations does not give us hope for a better future," Windu said bluntly.

"Do you want us to interrogate him?" asked Black Widow.

"No, no, no. Any mistake in this matter could lead to a major accident." Windu rejected the idea.

"It would be harder to find out his plan if we interrogate him hastily."

"That's right," said Kun.

"But why did you come to me?" Padmé asked.

“We know that you both entered the Senate in the same year and served on the same committee.”

Padmé took her hand, fiddled with it, and said hesitantly, "We were...good friends."

Black Widow noticed her body language, the subtle changes in her tone, and other things that suggested that Padmé's "good friend" as she had been called by the Senate was far from the truth. In fact, from what she had already guessed, they had been in a relationship for a while.

"We know this is rude," Windu admitted, "but we hope you will put the greater good first and fulfill your duty to the Republic, just as it is ours."

Padmé thought about it for a long moment, carefully considering it, before looking up at the Jedi Master and nodding her agreement.

"Are you sure, Padmé?" the Wasp asked. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"Clovis is an old friend of mine," Padmé said. "I just want to make sure. I need to make sure he's not betraying the Republic. It's been a long time since I last saw him, and... well, someone needs to find out the truth. As an old friend, I should do this.

"So do you want me to be your agent?" asked Black Widow.

"What do you mean?"

"Then we leave it to you," Windu said, his hologram flickering along with Plo Koon's, as Yoda bade them farewell and closed his eyes in meditation.

The three ladies left the Jedi Council meeting room, discussing a plan of action.

"Give you pointers and tell you exactly what to do in this situation."

"I...don't know. Like I said, it's been years since we last spoke." Padmé admitted.

"What's happening now is basically what I normally do on Earth. I'm helping you on the sidelines, and you're going to do great."

"Did all this happen before or after you joined SHIELD?" the Wasp asked curiously.

Black Widow raised an eyebrow at the Wasp, and that pretty much said it all.

"So what is your main plan?" Black Widow asked, looking at Padmé.

Padmé said simply, "I guess I'll make a phone call first."

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like