OBI-WAN
That night, Thalia had given the Jedi a full Troskan welcome. A large banquet with guests from across the royal household. She had been surprised to discover that her advisor, Perxseus had not been there. Obi-Wan thought it troubled her more than it should.
He and Qui-Gonn were speaking in the common area outside the citadel's quarters. It was a large, circular room with a balcony to one side, furniture in the lowered center and sleeping quarters behind sealed doors and short hallways.
As Thalia slept soundly in one of the rooms, she didn't stir when a shadow appeared in the window, and cut a small, round hole in the glass. The droid that hovered at the window pushed a long, narrow tube through the hole and when it hit the ground, all was silent. After a moment, a soft, scuttling sound echoed from the tube, and out from it scrabbled two long worms with a hundred legs each.
They scuttled across the floor of the bedroom and up the sides of the low bed, scrambling across the sheet towards Thalia.
"Do we have a plan, Master? Stay on Troska until something happens and the threat is eliminated?" Obi-Wan asked. The casual way they'd all eaten dinner together had troubled him. Did these people not care that they were constantly in danger.
"Do not center on your anxieties Obi-Wan." Qui-Gonn said, sensing his Padawan's worry. "I think it would be best to go about life as normal. If something happens, we will assess the level of danger the Princess is in and then we will act."
"Yes, master. But if…" Obi-Wan began, but stopped suddenly as he felt a disturbance in the force and he looked over his shoulder in the direction of Thalia's quarters.
"I sense it too." Qui-Gonn agreed as his apprentice turned and ran towards the doors. They slid open calmly as Obi-Wan burst through them. He sprinted down the short hallway and when the partition doors slid open, he ignited his lightsaber.
Quickly scanning the room for the danger he'd sensed, his eyes landed on the scuttling worms. He leapt onto the bed and sliced the first worm near Thalia's arm and then the second near her face, his lightsaber missing her skin by inches.
Thalia sat up suddenly, woken from the commotion.
"It's alright." Obi-Wan said, putting his hand out to steady her as he stepped off the bed.
"What's going on?" She asked startled, and then caught sight of the sliced worms around her. "What are those?"
Standing in the doorway, Qui-Gonn scanned the room. He caught sight of something in the window. Throwing out his hand, he used the force to pull back the fleeing droid. It crashed through the window, shattering glass everywhere.
"Oh my!" The techno-service droid cried as it bounced to a stop on the floor.
"And who might you be?" Qui-Gonn asked as he and Obi-Wan stood over the stunned droid.
"I-uh…" The droid began, but was interrupted by a beeping noise and a flashing red light lit up the droid's storage unit.
"Bomb!" Obi-Wan yelled, and together, he and his master threw the droid back out the window. A second later, it exploded in a fiery ball.
Obi-Wan looked first at his Master, and then back at Thalia, who was standing against the back wall, hugging her chest.
"Are you alright?" He asked her.
"Uh…yes. I think so." She replied, her voice shaking slightly.
"An assassination?" Perxeus asked in disbelief as he paced back and forth in the common area where they all now sat.
"Yes, and the droid was just a pawn. The real threat is still out there." Qui-Gonn nodded and Perxeus slumped into a chair.
"Thank goodness you weren't harmed, my child." He said, taking Thalia's hand.
"I'm afraid the danger's not over yet." Obi-Wan continued. "We need to decide what to do."
"What do you suggest?" Perxeus asked.
"Well, for starters, the droid couldn't have done this on it's own. It would have had a Master somewhere, and the security here is tight, so there's every chance there's someone working on the inside." Obi-Wan considered and Thalia's eyes shot up to meet his, their usual brightness was gone, replaced with something he hadn't expected to see from her, anger.
"That thought is worrying indeed." Perxeus said, and Obi-Wan frowned at the lack of compassion in the man's voice.
He focused closely on the advisor. His face was kind, and he seemed to care deeply for Thalia, but there was just something off about him that Obi-Wan couldn't put his finger on.
"I will speak with my Padawan." Qui-Gonn replied. "We will let you know when we have something."
"Just make it quick." Perxeus said, rising from his seat as Qui-Gonn nodded.
Once Perxeus had left, Obi-Wan turned to his Master.
"I sense something strange about him." He said.
"I agree. There is something clouding my vision of him." Qui-Gonn nodded.
"Perxeus?" Thalia asked, standing. "That's who you're talking about."
Obi-Wan glanced at Qui-Gonn before the Princess cleared her throat and cross her arms over her chest.
"There is no chance he's a part of this. I want him dropped from this investigation. I would trust him with my life." She said finally and marched past, her long, pale-pink hair swinging behind her.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Qui-Gonn said.