Private An Unconventional Request

[Inanna Harth]

It was a crisp, clear morning aboard the Vonnuvi. Inanna sat in her living room, a plate of hot breakfast and a mug of steaming caf on the table in front of her. She balanced her datapad in her lap, the rough draft of a new novel on the screen.

The last twenty or so years had been kind to her - some of the best of her nearly two hundred and twenty five year life. After all the turmoil and grief of the previous decades, it had been hard to accept. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for everything that she loved to be ripped away from her. But gradually the fear and paranoia had faded to a background static; always present, but no longer pressing. Somewhere between the safe and sound walls of the herdship and the warm, strong arms of the man she loved, Inanna settled.

She wasn't idle in this idyll. The past decade had been particularly productive: she'd trained students in the ways of the Jedi, expanded her knowledge and skill with the Force, and raised two children. Now that Serena and Ashur had left the nest, she started writing again. Not that she'd ever truly stopped, but she had more time on her hands and plenty of ideas. She typed away in between sips of caf and bites of toast, penning the tale of a heroine named...

A knock on the door interrupted her flow. She glanced up, brow furrowed. They weren't expecting anybody. Cato was in the shower, the muffled sound of his singing audible from down the hall. Inanna stood up and walked over to the door.

The first person she saw upon opening the door was an old man. White haired and smartly dressed, he peered at her through black spectacles. Beside him was a hooded figure. Even after twenty years as a Jedi, Inanna still couldn't sense the aura of a person right in front of her. But still, something about this one seemed familiar...

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Inanna," The hooded figure revealed herself. It had been a few years since they last talked in person. Amani had aged some, notably around the eyes, but was in good health as she ever was. Inanna looked much the same-- such were the perks of being a shapeshifter-- but consciously or subconsciously some of her subtle features had modified, or at least Amani thought so.

"...Are you busy?" She asked. Her face was difficult to read, but clearly something urgent was on the Queen's mind. Amani shot a side eye at Gram while they waited to be let inside.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

For a few moments, Inanna and the two unexpected visitors just stared at each other. Finally, the old man cleared his throat. "Greetings. Apologies for the unannounced visit..."

"Inanna."

Inanna's gaze flicked to his cloaked companion, recognizing her voice before she pulled back her hood. "Amani?" she said, blinking in surprise. It had been a while since they'd seen or spoken to each other. Several years, in fact. The Organas got busy, and the time just slipped away.

"No, I—Please, come in." Moving aside to let them pass, Inanna closed the door behind them. Caught flat-footed, she hurriedly picked up her breakfast plate from the living room and carried it into the kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you,” the old man replied. “Er, my name is Gram Arranda. I’m the Ambassador for Alderaan to the High Republic.”

“I’m Inanna Harth, the Ambassador for Lao-mon,” Inanna said, smiling politely and shaking his hand. “Not that it means much. Lao-mon is pretty far away from the Republic. They mainly established an embassy to reap the benefits…” They had done the same thing in the Galactic Alliance.

Gram laughed at that, a little awkward but not judging. "I see. Your world suffered terribly under the Mawites, if I recall. You need all the help you can get."

Having gotten the introductions out of the way, Inanna turned to Amani. "So, uh... What brings you to our humble abode?" she asked. Cato was still in the shower, albeit no longer singing.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Thank you." Amani entered ahead of Gram, surveying the living room space and silently appreciating its quaintness. She shook her head at Inanna's offer, but took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Gram and Inanna got their introductions out of the way, and then it was on to business.

"So, uh... What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Well... a lot, actually." The Queen shifted uncomfortably, and was not yet gettin straight to the point, "You're probably aware by now that Alderaan has been trying to curry favor with the High Republic for membership. And that we're trying to escape the shadow of the Sith Covenant. Liana and Gram here even got a treaty signed to make it happen. I'm quite proud of them." She smiled momentarily, but her expression turned severe not a moment later.

"But what you probably aren't aware of is that it won't be enough. The Sith are going to try and take Alderaan anyway. They're sowing deceit within the ranks of the Great Houses. Republic ships can't protect us from that, and definitely not at the pace things are moving."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Amani and Gram each took a seat in one of two armchairs. Inanna resumed her spot on the couch, sliding her datapad underneath a pillow.

She was somewhat familiar with Alderaan's plight, but had no idea how serious it was. Amani's explanation made things much more clear and added context. Their situation sounded truly dire.

"I'm... sorry to hear about all that," she said, though she knew from personal experience that no apology or sympathy could soothe this kind of pain. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

Gram opened his mouth to speak, but then paused and glanced at Amani, evidently making sure she didn't want to be the one to answer. "There is one thing," he finally said. "A major point of contention among the Great Houses is Alicio's disappearance. Her Majesty's detractors view her reign as illegitimate as long as a 'true' Organa is absent from the throne."

"So you need help finding Alicio," Inanna concluded. She wasn't sure how helpful she could be with that, but as his friend she certainly wouldn't mind--

"Er, no." Gram shook his head. "We were actually going to ask if you could... pretend to be Alicio."

Inanna blinked. Then blinked again, as her gaze slowly slid toward Amani for confirmation.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"N-not permanently, or anything. Just enough to assuage concerns, reaffirm our claim to the throne, etcetera," Amani quickly tried to clarify the proposal. It was clearly she was also struggling to come to terms with this plot, be it out of the potential consequences or the sheer absurdity of it, "You're a shapeshifter. And you knew Alicio better than most. Including anyone else who would be capable of pulling something like this off," Referring to the King's shapeshifter guards, albeit indirectly.

"I won't lie and tell you it's going to be easy. But I trust you, and… we're desperate. Alderaan is desperate." She sighed, "I understand this is a lot. It's a lot for me too. Please, if you have any questions, we're ready to answer them. And if the answer by the end of this is 'no', then, I accept that too."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Yeah, this was not at all what she expected to deal with when she woke up that morning. She kept looking from Amani to Gram, half expecting one of them to reveal it was all a prank. But the serious looks on their faces didn't turn into mischievous smiles; the words coming out of their mouths only made it all the more real. All the more surreal.

She bit her lip. Alicio had been gone for a long time now, hadn't he? Longer than she realized. Time ran differently for her, shrinking the weeks and months in her memory. The chances he would miraculously return just in time to save Alderaan were low. Hell, he might never come back. That was an unwelcome, painful thought, but a realistic one.

Still, this was crazy. Pretending to be him. Assuming his role, even temporarily, would be a huge undertaking. She'd have to be careful, discreet - and above all else, completely convincing. Could she pull it off? Pose as a man she had loved and called friend? A man whom the rest of the galaxy called a king?

Running a hand over her hair, she smoothed the shaped strands. Rather than stagnating, her capabilities as a shapeshifter had only gotten better with age. The physicality wouldn't be an issue. Speech and behavior was another thing, but she supposed it was possible. Extremely weird, but doable.

"How... How exactly would this work?" she asked. "I mean, what's the day to day going to look like? How long will I be doing it for? And what happens if people find out I'm not actually Alicio?"

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Good questions. All good questions..." Amani huffed, composing her thoughts, "Well, the hope is that you won't be playing Alicio 24/7. Not only would it just risk more slip-ups, but it's an unrealistic burden on you. We haven't fully worked out the story, both because it's... well, a lot, and because we wanted to make sure you'd be on board to work with us on it. Right now, the plan is to explain that Alicio is the lone returning member of his expedition, and he's still in recovery from what he endured. That gives you an excuse to be out of the limelight more often than not.

Your presence would primarily be for public events. Maybe a few meetings and court holdings," The Queen raised a hand, "Don't worry. We can feed you lines either through an earpiece, or, I could speak to you telepathically.

As for how long... it's hard to say, I'm sorry. But rest assured we are working on a way for you to 'exit' down the line. I don't plan to make you do this until the real Alicio finally shows up..." Amani frowned, no doubt recognizing he may in fact never show up at all.

"If people find out you're not Alicio..." The look in her eyes said, 'we're screwed', "...We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But yeah, uh, a lot is riding on this working. And it is a long shot. And it is a bold-faced lie. But when the consequences are joining with the Sith... I'm willing to take the risk.

I promise whatever happens, you and your family will not be connected to the fallout in any way."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

So, she'd be playing a wounded version of the King of Alderaan. A placeholder to keep the Great Houses at bay. It sounded less strenuous than she expected, but no less stressful. That wasn't a deal breaker for her. Even though she enjoyed settled life, she wouldn't turn down a chance at some excitement. Sometimes you needed to go out and do something a little crazy. Or a lot crazy.

"I can think of a couple snags in the plan," she said. "I don't have mental shielding, so either someone is going to have to protect my mind for me, or any Force User with the desire to read my thoughts will figure everything out. Secondly... Well, you said it yourself. We don't know when Alicio will be back, and it's going to be hard to explain if he reappears and then disappears again once the current crisis is over."

Amani offered assurances for her and her family. "Thanks," Inanna said, standing up. "I like to think that we can take care of ourselves, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

She walked over to a shelf, picking up a small holo projector. The device flowed seamlessly between various holograms of friends and family, memories captured in blue light. She flicked through the images until she found one with Alicio, taken the last time she saw him. He'd come to the Vonnuvi during the Ithorian herd meet. Cais ned'jin, how long ago was that?

"Let me see what I can do right now..." While her back was turned to them, Gram and Amani wouldn't be able to see her face change. But her body underwent a noticeable transformation, growing taller and broader. She turned around, still holding the hologram in her hand. What she had managed to conjure up from memory was a fairly convincing imitation of Alicio Organa, if a little too perfect and youthful. After all, she had known him best when he was young.

"I'll need recordings of him. His face, body language, voice. Right now this is the best I can do. If you want it to be more exact I'll need something to study."

Mouth agape, Gram tilted his head downward to look at her over the rim of his glasses, just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. As her voice gradually deepened into almost Alicio's, he jolted. "Oh," was all that he could think to say.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Alright, I can help with that. We'll be close together for any outing where you're in disguise. It'll make it harder to communicate telepathically if need be, but I think we can make it work. Gram here will be pretty involved. I trust him to feed you lines when need be." Obviously she couldn't stand there muttering everything to Inanna, so when telepathy wasn't an option, they would fall back on the ambassador's expertise.

Inanna stepped away, and Amani could just make out the light of the hologram before Inanna herself began to suddenly change. When she turned around looking much like him, sounding much like him, Amani gasped faintly. She didn't say anything for a few long moments, but seemed to be struggling with something internally, "Sorry," She said weakly, "I just… haven't seen him in a long time." Sure, the replication wasn't exact, but for a fleeting moment, it was enough to make it feel like he had come home.

Doing her best to compose herself, Amani continued, "We can provide you with plenty of… study material," Speeches, interviews, the works. Alicio was an introspective man, but he was not a recluse.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Ahem," A voice suddenly came from behind Inanna. It was Cato, standing in the doorway with nothing but a towel and damp hair. He had grown a beard since Amani had last seen him. It wasn't half bad. "Mas- er, Queen, Amani." He said, then glanced the others, "Guy. And uh, King Alicio?" He wasn't exactly playing close attention to Alderaanian politics, but that dude was definitely still missing last he checked.

"May I ask why so many strangers appeared in my house, mid-shower no less?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Honestly, this plan was starting to seem a lot more doable than Inanna initially thought. Every potential problem had a solution within their grasp. The reactions to her donning Alicio's form only confirmed why they had chosen her as the decoy.

And then... Cato arrived. He had come straight from the shower, clad in only a towel. After more than twenty years of marriage, he apparently couldn't recognize his own wife. Inanna couldn't help but grin.

Oh yeah. I still got it.

"Honey, it's me." She switched back to her usual voice, treating everyone to the incredible sight of Alicio speaking in the sultry tones of Inanna Harth. "They want me to pretend to be Alicio for a little while to save Alderaan from the Sith."

She turned to Amani and Gram. "All right, I'll do it," she said. "When do we start?"

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"They want me to pretend to be Alicio for a little while to save Alderaan from the Sith."

"Pretty much, yeah."

Cato squinted, putting his attention on the force signature of his wife, which was indeed recognizable. She doubly confirmed her identity with the change in voice, which made for a bizarre spectacle to all parties. Cato, as always, took it in stride, "Hm. Alright. It's a helluva plan. Hope it doesn't blow up in your faces." He began to walk down the hall to the bedroom, "Let me know if you require any assistance..."

Amani looked to Inanna, "Soon. We need to finish putting together our 'story' for Alicio's return. We hope you'll join us. In the meantime, do your homework." She stood up, and signaled for Gram to follow, "We'll be in touch." The Queen pulled up her hood, and moved for the door.

Inanna Harth​