"Might be." She glances over her shoulder, and sees Taun-We getting in the elevator, door closing.

"Am I wrong or did you not know you were buying an army?"

She glances at Elesse, then, slowly, "I'm not sure we were." She refuses to - blatantly say she'd ever be involved in buying slaves even as a lie, even if she could pretend to go along with someone else's assumptions for a time.

"Were you the one who sent the distress signal?"

"Yep. The first of my girls are almost ready. Figured it was about time to let someone else know."

"How did you get Sifo-Dyas's key?"

"Man who hired me gave it to me. Called himself Tyrans."

"Has Tyrans been involved in any other part of - this?"

She shakes her head. "Not as far as I know. It's been someone else doing the inspections, and all the Kaminoans talk about is Sifo-Dyas."

Deep breath. Anakin's been maintaining - calm - so far. She needs to keep doing that.

"Do you know what this is all for?"

"To fight a war. No other reason to pick me."

She nods, expression tight, thinking of the tensions lately. This can't help. And even if war's inevitable... This isn't how to fight one.

"Thank you for - bringing our attention here."

"These girls didn't ask to be made. Someone needs to take responsibility for them. And I hear you've got a war brewing."

"People - should have choices about what they do with their lives. It's one thing if they want to fight. But - " She shakes her head. "And, yeah, someone needs to - help them, some way or another."

"They're as Mandalorian as I am. War's in their blood."

"And being a slave's in mine," she says, impulsively, then takes a deep breath.

"I'm not - technically a pacifist. It's good, if they can be Mandalorian and proud of that. But people should fundamentally have the right to get on a fast ship and fuck off if they want to."

"But I also suspect I'm not going to have much of a say in any particular decision about them."

"That's why the Jedi are worth fighting for."

She nods.

"What else do you know about what's going on - is there someone else trying to get a hold of your girls?"

"Your message mentioned something about exclusivity."

"I was just trying to get your attention. As far as I know, we're not involved in any other plots here."

"Simplifies things a bit, at least." If true.

"While still leaving them relatively complicated. I would like to continue the tour."

"Sure. Anything in particular you really want to see?"

She thinks.

"Different age groups. How they're treated. What their education is like, especially outside of military concerns. What medical facilities they have access to. What happens to girls the Kaminoans find imperfect."

She's pretty sure she can avoid getting too angry, without Taun-We in front of her to rage at. And it's important that she faces this. She knows it'll be upsetting - but it'll exist, regardless of whether she faces the scale of everything going on. She won't be able to make good decisions around it unless she knows. She doesn't have to let her fear of her own anger control her.

She glances at Elesse, then, once the spike of almost nauseous fury abates.

Elesse puts a hand on her shoulder and nods, exuding calmness and acceptance.

Small smile.

And, a bit belatedly: "Please."