Chapter 1: Cotera

Senator Adri lifted her skirt as she walked up the stairs.
"Are you alright?" Daniel asked and he sounded a bit worried, which did not belong among the usual things.
"Why? Am I pale?" she asked and a smirk played in the corner of her mouth. He straightened up and mimicked her smile.
"No senator Yona, you look as radiant as always" the Jedi answered and Adri laughed.

"And you are as polite as always knight Katana" she said as she took the last step and entered the stage. Daniel stayed out of the spotlight just like he always did. Everywhere they went Adri was always recognized, but if it wasn't for his jedi-robes everyone would wonder what he was doing so close to such a famous person. He looked at Adri and he couldn't help but admire her. She was only 22 but had been doing this since she was 16. At the moment she was wearing the traditional senate-dress. It had a big, long, green, purple and black skirt. The top half was more purple but still had some green in it and the two halves was divided by a black ribbon. Over the dress she wore the black mandatory knee-long, long sleeved, unbuttoned coat. She wore a big necklace that cover the entirety of her neck, wrapping several times around it. She had her hair up in an artfully designed knot and she wore a simple gold ring around her head. Despite the fact that she wasn't very tall and small in general people seemed to listen to her. They didn't just hear what she said but actually listen.

They were on one of the distant planets in the galaxy, Cotera of the Oslapara-system, it was the only inhabited planet in the system and also one of the most nationalist planets in the entire galaxy. Right now they were in the city of Gothea where the United-Cotera-general-assembly, well, assembled. And Adri was giving them a speech, with greetings from the galactic senate, encouraging them to get more involved, to look beyond their own planet and send more then a figure-head representative from the planet. Of course that's not exactly how she put it, Adri was way to diplomatic to do that but that's what she meant.

Daniel stood at the edge of the scene waiting for her, just like he always did. He didn't look very much like Adri at all but they were both human. He was very tall, almost half a meter taller then Adri. Where her hair was curly and long his was straight and short. She was very petite, with narrow shoulders and a thin waste while he looked very big with well tones muscles and broad shoulder. Daniel was tanned, while Adri was pale and freckled. Her auburn hair looked like it was on fire in twilight while his brown hair never looked like anything except maybe mud. Her eyes where green while his were light brown. She of course (being a woman and all) had a hairless face while he usually had a couple of days stubble on his chin. While Adri was wearing the not-so-comfortable senate-dress he was wearing his crème-coloured jedi-tunic and his dark brown robe and he only had one and a half hand. He had lost his right hand ring finger, little finger and a chunk of the hand itself. But you couldn't really tell because usually he wore a bionic prostatic.

When half an hour had passed the applause, more or less enthusiastic, filled the room and Adri walked off. She walked down the stairs backstage with one hand on Daniels and the other one holding her skirt up.
"Well that went well" she said sarcastically when the door to her dressing room clicked shut behind him and they were alone.

"How can they be so thick?!" she exclaimed and started pulling hair pins out of her hair, letting it fall freely around her face. Daniel smiled, amused by her distress.
"I don't know" he just said and turned around when he saw that she started undressing. She sighed and hung her coat at the back of the chair. She removed her jewellery and had to stand up to take off the very heavy dress.

"Always the gentleman Dan" she said and laughed. Daniel smiled and shook his head.
"Just a simple Jedi ma'am"
"Don't call me ma'am" she snorted and stepped out of the dress. The skirt was so stiff that even without her shoulders to carry it up it stood by itself.

"Why do you say they are thick?" Daniel asked while he heard Adri rustle around, getting dressed again.

"Because they don't understand anything" She said and her voice got muffled when she pulled her shirt over her head. "They think that they can live here in their corner of the galaxy and won't get affected by anything that the senate decide. They have the UC assembly but really they have nation-states! Can you believe that?! Nations!" She said and had a look in the mirror. She wasn't wearing much makeup but she was wearing the traditional senate lipstick, the upper lip completely covered but only a line in the middle on the lower lip.
"There are people here who think not only that they should withdraw from the federation but also from their internal unification. It is truly madness" she sighed and slipped on the less formal green satin dress. Daniel just laughed and shook his head at her distress.
"I don't think there is anything I can do"
"You can make them change their minds with your lightsaber!" she said and then dropped into the chair and hid her face in her arms. Daniel laughed at her joke but understood her frustration.
"Hardly. Where are we going now?" he said and Adri straightened up in the chair and started to re-do her hair in a less formal way.
"We are going to that interview and then, tonight, dinner with almost the same people that listened to me now. I am dressed now you can help, we had to leave five minutes ago"

"Maybe the schedule's a bit tight?" he asked but did as she asked and turned around. Adri gave up with her hair, it was better that they who knew what they were doing fixed it.

"It must be hard having to change all the time, I assume you will do it again for dinner?" he said and held up her coat, the same one as before. She stuck her arms in it and sighed.
"It's worth it" she said though Daniel wasn't sure she sounded very convinced. Green and purple was the colours of the federation, purple was worn for more formal occasions, like holding speeches, and green for less formal occasions, like interviews. The black jacket signalled that she was a senator, it was all a lot of etiquette and Daniel wasn't sure of all of it.

Much later, some hours after midnight, Daniel parked the speeder on the roof of the house they were staying in. He got out and hurried around to open the door for Adri.
"Thank you, but you don't have to, I am fully capable of getting out on my own" She said and grabbed his hand. He helped her down and they started walking toward their rooms. Just like most times when they were travelling it was just the two of them. At home on Coruscant she had her cabinet with loads of people helping her with all sorts of stuff but she had always preferred to travel alone. At 15 all youths get the chance to try out for an internship at the senate to jumpstart their political careers. Adri had landed one of those and at 16 she had become the elected senator from her home planet Tirahnn. And just like all the other senators she was appointed a jedi-keeper. The Keepers came from a branch of the jediorder specially trained for keeping things, and mostly people safe. Their mark was that all of them had purple lightsabers. And it was decided that because the senator herself was so young she should have a Jedi as young. So it was decided that Daniel's master, Jedi (now master) Isabella Darsten and her padawan, who was jut two years older than Adri, would be a good match, with the intention that Daniel would take over the mission once he became a proper Jedi. It was also a good match because they were both from Tirahnn. So when Daniel was knighted, just as he turned 20, he was appointed the important mission and they had been together ever since, just over 6 years now and they had become really good friends.

They retched the rooms they had been appointed and Daniel held the door open as Adri walked in.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked. He had sentenced something really bothered her ever since she had finished her speech but you never knew who was listening. This room he had searched himself and he was positive it was safe.

"I just hadn't realized how bad it had become until now" she said and they sat down in a pair of chairs close to the panoramic windows. The suite was very beautiful, it had a bedroom with a beautiful king-size bed and doors you could shut to the living-room, which had a big sofa, a HTV (Hologram Television) a desk and a group of three armchairs around a little table, that's where they were sitting, and a beautiful view of the city. Daniel had been appointed a small much simpler room just across the hall.

"What has become bad?" Daniel wondered and Adri hid her face in her hands.
"I knew that discontent had been growing but not until now did I realize the full extent of it. It's really bad Dan and I don't know how to fix it" she said and her voice was lined with hopelessness. Adri wasn't one to despair but with the force the Jedi could feel something was really really wrong. He got up and sat down in the chair next to her and put his arms around her.
"I'm not sure there is anything you can do" he said and rubbed her back. She straightened up and his arm fell away.
"Maybe you're right. I still feel like there is something I should do"
"What did they say then?"
"Didn't you hear them?" she asked and looked up at her friend. Some of the delegates had become really drunk toward the end and had said things, what Adri believed to be their true opinion, they wouldn't have shared if they were sober. Daniel hadn't been sitting at the table but had heard enough to get the message.

"They are really considering leaving the republic and I'm scared that if one leave others will follow" She said and now there was fear in her voice.

"But if they don't want to be a part why make them?"
"It's not that. If they leave they won't be able to uphold democracy. The separatist parties are not democratic. They don't believe in equal rights and they want to close the boarders, making it impossible to travel from one world to another" She said and sighed. Daniel understood just what she felt, hell he could feel what she felt.
"Aren't you exaggerating?" he asked in an attempt to make her feel better. Adri shrugged.
"Maybe I am. But still don't you feel that? Something's wrong, something's happening" She said. She wasn't a Jedi but she was force sensitive if only on a very basic level. Daniel nodded. From the time they had landed on Cotera he had indeed felt something.
"Of course" he said. And Adri sighed.
"But no, maybe you are right. It's very late and we should sleep" She said and they both got up at the same time.
"Sleep, well I will see you tomorrow" Daniel said and headed for the door and his own room.
"Wait! I hate to ask but could you please sleep on the couth?" Adri said and bit her lip. Daniel frowned but nodded.
"Of course I can, but I'll be just across the hall"
"I know that but it's just I don't feel safe here. Please?" She pleaded and Daniels face softened and he nodded.
"Of course I will" He said and walked back toward the couch.
"Thank you Dan. I will se you tomorrow" she said and walked into the bedroom, she closed the doors and Daniel was alone.