OBI-WAN
If someone had asked Obi-Wan his opinion on the new Troska, he wouldn't have been able to think of a single word that could sum up his feeling of awe.
"To say that I'm impressed would be an understatement." Obi-Wan said to Thalia as the trio walked back into the throne room. "What you've done here…it's nothing short of miraculous."
"I appreciate that, Master Kenobi." She smiled across at him, her cool eyes full of pride.
A crackling sound came from behind them and Thalia looked over her shoulder to see Anakin glance down at his comms.
"Go ahead, Rex." He said into his wrist.
"Sir, there's a communication from Chancellor Palpatine waiting for you." A voice crackled in response.
"I'll be right there." Anakin replied, before turning to Thalia. "Your majesty, if you'll excuse me."
Thalia nodded politely and the young Jedi marched towards the door. Both she and Obi-Wan watched him leave before they turned to each other in unison. It had been fifteen years since they'd seen each other and there were so many questions to ask, but Obi-Wan suddenly didn't know where to begin and from the look on her face, neither did Thalia.
"How have you been, Obi-Wan?" She decided to ask.
"In the grand scheme of things, not too bad." He chuckled slightly at the weight behind such a casual question. "As I'm sure you've already surmised, having Anakin around does make things rather…lively."
"He certainly is determined." Thalia said diplomatically.
"That's one way of putting it." He chuckled.
"Would you join me for a walk?" She asked after a pause and he smiled, offering her his arm.
Thalia slipped her hand through his elbow and wrapped her fingers around his forearm, the cool satin of her gown slipping between his fingers.
"Since when did Jedi wear armour?" She asked, eyeing the rock-hard plating he wore on his shoulders and chest.
"Since we started being shot at on a regular basis." He joked, but the weight of his response wasn't lost on Thalia.
The pair left the palace and stepped out onto the street. Obi-Wan had to give the Troskan's credit, they'd rebuilt their city to an even higher standard than what it had been before. He'd remembered how the buildings had been painted in bright colours, but their fresh coats vastly outdid their predecessors. The doors and windows were even brighter than before, as if proving that they couldn't be defeated.
Obi-Wan looked sideways at Thalia. She hadn't changed much, but you could see in her eyes and in her demeanour that she was older, wiser. She was no longer the tentative Princess he'd known fifteen years ago. Now she was a Queen, in every sense of the word; determined, steadfast and impressive.
If he hadn't known her so well, he would have been intimidated by her, but he'd never admit that to anyone.
"I was very sorry to hear about Qui-Gonn. He was one of the finest Jedi in the galaxy. There were funerals held all across the galaxy." Thalia said sincerely, and Obi-Wan inclined his head in appreciation.
"In many ways I see him in Anakin; he's impulsive, reckless and has his own opinions about the way things should be done." He replied.
"I'm sure Master Windu loves that." She said slyly.
"Master Windu is hard to please at the best of times." Obi-Wan admitted, which resulted in a sharp laugh from Thalia.
"Then, I'm sure you're the Jedi Master for Anakin." Thalia assured him.
"I'm hoping that having a Padawan himself soon might straighten him out." He admitted.
"Your Padawan has a Padawan? Now I really feel old." Thalia laughed and Obi-Wan smiled across at her.
"After all these years, you're even more beautiful than ever." Obi-Wan said and Thalia gave him a quick smile before looking away, but not in time to hide the blush that coloured her cheeks.
"Is that to soften the blow of your accusations that I'm working for the Separatists?" She teased, turning back to him, the pink tinge still obvious.
"Come now, I know you can't be swayed like that." Obi-Wan replied smoothly.
"You're very wise, it must be the beard." Thalia replied and he instinctively raised his free hand to stroke his chin.
"You don't like it?" He asked, surprised by how much he hoped she did.
"On the contrary, you look very handsome." She smiled and if it wasn't for the aforementioned beard, she would have seen him blush. Thalia held his gaze, but eventually he looked away and turned his attention to the city beyond them.
"Your peaceful ways have paid off. You're respected throughout the galaxy, by Republican and Separatist alike." Obi-Wan said.
"Unfortunately, not everyone on Troska believes what we're doing is enough. I'd say these are the soldiers who attacked your outpost." Thalia admitted. "There was a group of fundamentalists in one of the training squads a few years ago. Called themselves 'Class Five'. Soon after they graduated, they left Troska for Helwater. If you still want to visit the moon, I can arrange a transport to take us there as soon as possible."
"That would be good. The sooner we can work out what threat they pose and what they intent, the better." Obi-Wan decided.
. . .
Thalia tucked the ribbing of her navy shirt under the hem of her black pants and fixed the belt around her waist. On her way out of her chambers, she grabbed her grey jacket and pulled it around her shoulders, the hem ending just above the belt.
She marched out into the palace's throne room where a squad of Troskan soldiers were standing at attention.
"With me." She said to them, and they followed her out into the courtyard where Obi-Wan was waiting with Anakin.
"Your Majesty." Obi-Wan greeted with a curt bow.
"Master Jedi." Thalia nodded and gestured toward the palace's landing pad. "The guards will accompany us, but I must insist only Master Kenobi and I greet the group. If we need back up, we'll radio in."
"Yes, ma'am." Anakin nodded, which was good because Thalia had aimed that comment at him. She could trust her soldiers to follow her orders, but from what Obi-Wan had told her of the young Jedi's narure, it seemed like a good idea to reinforce them.
They rounded the corner to see a shining, bronze Troskan ship with it's engines running, waiting on the landing pad.
As the group climbed up the steps to the doorway, the soldiers headed towards their quarters while the Jedi and Thalia made for the bridge.
"Oh, no. Not him again." Thalia threw her eyes to the ceiling as the dulcet tones of her droid, C6 echoed from the cockpit.
"It's good to see you too, C6." Obi-Wan smirked as he caught sight of the troublesome droid.
"Need I remind you of last time he…" C6 began.
"No, you don't." Thalia interrupted. "Helwater. And make sure you let them know we're coming."
Thalia took her seat in the co-pilot's chair and the two Jedi sat in the seats behind. As they took off and flew towards the planet's outer atmosphere, a shining, silver mist shimmer in the air in front of them. Thalia took hold of the controls and pulled down three switches on the dashboard in unison. The mist glowed brighter and parted cleanly to reveal a space, just big enough for the ship to pass through.
"Is that a Kyber Shield?" Anakin asked.
"Yes." Thalia nodded as she released the switches.
"I must admit, I had expected to us to take the Millennium Falcon to Helwater." Obi-Wan said from behind her.
"Sadly, I lost it to a smuggler." Thalia replied, spinning around in her chair, a sly look on her face.
"Sabaac?" Obi-Wan asked teasingly.
"Mmm." Thalia agreed smoothly and he smirked, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. She smiled at him, admiring his handsome face. If anyone could spend fifteen years at war and remain just as handsome as they gad at the start, it was Obi-Wan.
Anakin shifted in her peripheral vision and she quickly turned her chair back around, remembering that they weren't alone.
Last time they'd seen each other, he'd promised to leave the Order and stay with her on Troska. She wished she could ask him if he still felt that way, but there hadn't been the right moment yet. She'd thought of him every day, but Thalia would have been lying if she said she'd never had her doubts. It had been fifteen years after all.
It wasn't long till they were flying across Helwater's surface. The moon wasn't far from its main planet but the landscape was significantly different to Troska's. The whole moon was connected by a series of rivers and canals with plots of land dotted between the shallow water. Because of the tricky terrain, horses and speeder bikes were the only forms of transport the inhabitants could use to traverse the land.
"Landing platform up ahead." Thalia said to C6 as the droid brought the ship in for landing. "Raise the shields and keep them up, just in case."
C6 lowered the ship gently onto the landing pad as Thalia and Obi-Wan prepared to leave.
"Are you sure you don't need my help out there?" Thalia heard Anakin ask and she had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Why didn't this Jedi just follow orders?
"Yes, Anakin. Stay here and wait for orders." Obi-Wan said to his apprentice.
With final orders set in concrete, the pair descended the stairs to the floating landing pad where three soldiers in Troskan armour were waiting. They'd painted their armour with intricate designs to make them distinguishable from each other.
Thalia had had dealings with their leader before and was on even terms with her.
"Kaz, thank you for greeting us on such short notice." She said to the centre soldier, who removed her helmet to reveal short, white hair that was combed over in a single wave.
"Your Majesty, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Kaz asked, inclining her head.
"May I introduce Obi-Wan Kenobi." Thalia said, gesturing to the Jedi who greeted Kaz with a smile. "A Republic outpost was attacked a week ago and I thought to ask if you had any ideas as to who it could have been."
"Let's head to the base. We can talk there." Kaz said before turning and heading for the edge of the platform. "I'm sorry. We didn't know you'd have company, so we're one ride short."
"Not to worry, I know how to use a speeder." Obi-Wan assured her but Kan chuckled.
"And by ride, I mean horses." She smirked and the Jedi's face fell.
"Not to worry." Thalia said to him. "I'll show you how it's done."
Kaz and her two soldiers pulled themselves up into the saddles of their brown horses while Obi-Wan made it up in to his a little hazardously. The pale grey horse looked slightly displeased about his inexperienced rider, which Thalia found quite amusing.
Obi-Wan held out his hand out to her and she took it, swinging her leg over the horse's back to sit in front of the Jedi. She shuffled backwards so her back was pressed to his chest and his thighs cradled her hips. She took the reins and clicked to the horse to follow Kaz and the others. They took off at a fast walk which must have taken Obi-Wan by surprise because his hands suddenly gripped Thalia's waist tightly.
"Sorry." He muttered in her ear.
"It's okay." She assured him with a laugh and patted one of his hands with her own, reassuring him. He loosened his grip once he was balanced but kept a hold of her just in case.
"I never thought I'd find something you can't do." Thalia laughed and Obi-Wan made a disgruntled noise behind her.