I hope none were confused about the last chapter. It does fit in with the story as you will see in this chapter. Everything gets juicy from this point on! I just hope no one is disapointed!

"Thordina, darling?" echoed a loud voice from down the elegant halls of the lavish Senator apartment. "Have you seen my jacket?"

There was a tap upon his shoulder which made him turn around. He smiled. Taking the ebony jacket from his wife, the senator let out a sigh. She said nothing when seated upon the bed. He fumbled for his shoes only to receive a point of direction. Finally, the silence was broken. "I really wish you didn't have to leave like this."

"It is only seldom."

"Though it is happening more and more. This is the second time this week you have been called in. I am beginning to wonder about these secret meetings. You're supposed to be semi-retired"

A long pause was all that Gavja could offer. He bent to one knee before his wife, the once smooth forehead now covered in wrinkles. A man at his age was retired but not Senator Pumbbala! The man would die from retirement. "Thordina, please… you know the impact that the clone wars are having upon the senate. Everything is scrambled up with the divisions."

"Yes, I know that! But as one of the Republic…"

"Maybe the Republic isn't what we thought it to be. I am thinking about what I stood for… I am thinking about what I stand for. Maybe…"

Her brow crinkled in confusion. All she ever knew was the Republic and had never known about serving any other force. Memories of being loyal to the Republic flashed through her mind. "The Republic isn't the right way? You want to side with the Separatists? Gavja, please say it isn't so! The Separatists were the ones who…"

"Thordina, listen to me. Allot has been said and done, yet I don't think that we were given the whole story."

"Then that's it." Her brown eyes pierced into his. "You're switching sides? Just like that?"

He mulled over his words. Having a political battle with one of the members of the Senate was a breeze compared to his wife. He hardly knew anything about her past and he speculated that there was more to her then met the eye. Was it the mystery that grasped his heart or her youth? "I must try my best to keep everything in my court together."

"And what of your family? Don't you want to keep it together?"

Her hands now grasped in his, Gavja seemed more serious then any moment of their married life. "My dearest, this is to keep us together."

--

Alone and exhausted, Senator Pumbbala stood in the shadow of a grand column. He had been waiting outside the Senate Rotunda for about an hour and was becoming quite agitated. The message sent was stressed as urgent, yet no one showed. Very few had that line of communication to the Senator; only a few names came to mind.

He leaned against the marble column. If this was a prank, he wasn't enjoying it in the least. Gavja would rather be in his cozy bed.

Just as he turned to leave, a voice piped up. "Senator Pumbbala…"

He spun around only to lock eyes with a figure drenched in black. It was obvious this was a female. Her slender curves and smooth voice was enough to make any man's skin crawl. He folded his hands. "This better be good, it's late at night and I have meetings to get to in the morning."

"Meetings?" She pulled away the leather from her face so her whole facial features were reveled. "They wouldn't have to do with certain dealings with Datanta Musho, would they?"

With face now set to curious, he took a step closer. "And how does that concern you?"

"My boss had a shipment of cargo to be delivered and they never arrived to the buyer. The rumor was… or so it was proven to be truth… you set out a greater bargain for Dingino's hired help."

"Listen lady, I hired Musho, yes. Concerning your bosses lost shipment, which is none of my concern. I didn't know he had other dealings. That's your problem, not mine."

As he turned to leave, he heard the click of a blaster setting to auto. He remained frozen.

"Alright, now it is your turn to listen old man. We lost out on good money because of you… so now it is time that you paid up." She tucked a lose tuff of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry about offering money. Dingino has a more humoring way of going about things."

Gavja locked eyes with her as she took another step closer. This was not how the senator wanted to die. He should have never done dealings with lowlifes such as this woman, but what choice did he have? There was a new game in order and he had to learn to play along. "I'm sure we can talk this out without coming to rash decisions."

"But this isn't a rash decision…"

A sound of blaster fire echoed through the columns. None could hear for the two were all alone, their bodies covered in the shadow of the night. Gavja tried to use this element as a way to escape the bounty hunter's clutches.

The round from the blaster grazed his shoulder; the black material ripping away. He stumbled backward behind a column. The woman dashed over to where he had disappeared only to find a piece of ripped cloth. Her eyes flashed through the darkness. She was not going to let the old fool slip through her fingers so easily

She heard a sharp gasp of breath. Whisking around, she could see the senator racing toward the rotunda doors. She did not run this time. The senator's running was more like a fast walk. A seventy year old man was not tuned for running quite fast.

A blast stuck the marble above his head. As dust crumbled upon his head, Gavja slipped his card key into the slot but nothing happened. "Access denied." The computer declared. "Access denied."

"No…" Gavja banged on the door. "Please…"

"No use old man, your running is up."

The bounty hunter raised her blaster once more and a final round went off. There was no sound after that.

Yunda shot upward from her sleep. Beads of sweat rolled down her brow, soaking the tendrils about her shoulders. "Gavja!" she screamed.