THALIA

Thalia's eyes shot open, which made her head ache from the sudden change in consciousness. Something had woken her from her sleep and it hadn't just been her thoughts. She had spent most of the day discussing plans for the Peace Talks with Padme and it had taken her what had felt like an eternity to finally fall asleep with all the notes flying around her head.

But what had woken her had definitely not been any of those thoughts. All her senses were on full alert and she suddenly became aware that Obi-Wan was no longer there to protect her. He and Qui-Gonn had left that morning to track down the missing holocron. After these past months, she'd gotten used to having her Jedi protectors around to keep her safe.

Now she was alone, and something was most definitely wrong. She tried valiantly to quiet her mind like Obi-Wan had taught her but it was hard to do with her senses heightened so much.

'The Force will help.' She told herself and quietened her mind once again. This time she was able to focus on the room in her mind's eye. She slowly scanned the room for any signs of movement. The lights in the room were sensors, so if there were any sudden moves she'd be ready. All of a sudden, there was a disturbance to her right and she flattened herself against the mattress just in time as a bright red blast flew past her head, burning a hole into the opposite wall. Something heavy landed on her and instinctively she threw his hands up as the lights came on. Crouched on top of her was a terrifying creature with a long, distorted face on a coned head with long, animal like arms that were balled into fists and raised above it's head. Thalia suddenly felt power surge through her, and the creature flew off her and hit the ceiling as Thalia held her hands up towards it.

She clambered out of bed and ran towards the door, still focusing the force on the creature. Before she could reach the door however, a pair of arms wrapped around her neck and yanked her backwards, so she fell on top of another creature. This one looked like it came from one of the aquatic planets. Her concentration had been broken, so as she scrambled away, the first creature dropped from the ceiling and grabbed at her.

"Stay still, little girl. There's a good bounty on your head." The creature snarled in her ear and she managed to get a glimpse at him. It was Moralo Eval, the Bounty Hunter that had stolen the Holocron. She recognised him from the pictures Obi-Wan had shown her,

"Help! Guards!" Thalia screamed and tried to pull away from the strong grasp.

"Shut up." The aquatic creature growled as he pulled out a small dagger. As he advanced on her, she waited until the distance was perfect before leaning back into Eval and putting all her force into a kick that hit the creature in the stomach. He doubled over as the wind was knocked from him. Thalia took her chance and threw her head back, hitting Eval right between the eyes.

"You little…" He growled, and with extraordinary speed, whipped out another knife and slashed it through the air. The tip of the blade pierced the skin at her earlobe and dragged across her cheek.

She cried out in pain as the two assailants recovered themselves. Backed into a corner, Thalia didn't know what else to do. As both Bounty Hunters raised their weapons to strike, she threw her arms above her head and shut her eyes.

There were two screams and Thalia opened her eyes to see the assailants fly away from her, through the air and through the windows at the opposite side of the room. They disappeared into the night and their screams died away with them. In her panic, she seemed to have used the force without even realising it.

Thalia sat down heavily and brought her hand up to her face, feeling the sticky warmth of blood on her fingers. The doors to her chambers slid open and two royal guards ran in carrying their weapons, ready for a fight, but when they saw the room was empty they turned their attention to her.

"I'm alright." She said shakily as one of them knelt down in front of her.

"How could they have gotten in?" Padme demanded as she stood in front of her guards the next morning. "This is supposed to be the most secure building o\in Naboo. You must do better."

Thalia glanced at her reflection in the throne room window. Five stitches followed a small scar from her earlobe to the hollow of her cheekbone. It was only about three centimeters long, but the nurse said it would be a permanent feature.

"This can't have been a coincidence." Thalia said as the guards trooped out of the room. "It's been quiet for weeks, then all of a sudden, now that the Jedi have gone, there's an attack. Someone knows where I am."

"But how is that possible?" Padme asked. "How would anyone know?"

"It would have to be someone who is force sensitive. A Sith perhaps, but I'm reluctant to start pointing fingers when we're neutral." Thalia replied, crossing her arms.

"What about the Jedi? Have you contacted them?" Governor Bibble asked.

"They haven't been answering their communicators. They were supposed to check in three hours ago." Thalia replied.

"That's unlike them." The Governor said thoughtfully. "Do you think something could have gone wrong?"

Thalia had to admit that the thought had crossed her mind. She knew Obi-Wan well enough to know that he wouldn't have just forgotten to check in with her.

"Perhaps they are out of range, or their communications have been scrambled." Padme said reassuringly but Thalia could hear that her heart wasn't quite in it.

Two days later and Thalia still hadn't heard anything. Something must have gone wrong. She stood at the tall windows, which looked straight out over the edge of a waterfall and pressed her palm against the glass, ducking her head. What was she supposed to do now?

Thalia. She lifted her head suddenly and jumped away from the window. She'd expected to look out over a waterfall, but instead she was standing in a dark room, looking out a window into the void of space. A purple and brown swirling planet loomed in the distance with a trail of ships streaming towards it from hyperspace.

Thalia. She heard the voice again and whirled around to see Obi-Wan strapped to a machine with a Separatist probe droid hovering beside him.

"Obi-Wan! What's…how…?" She asked, looking around her.

"I didn't know if it was going to work. It's only possible to do with someone very strong in the force." He replied hoarsely, as the Probe Droid crackled with electricity.

"Where are you? What happened?" Thalia asked, stepping in front of him.

"We were retrieving the Holocron when Count Dooku captured us." He replied.

"Well, let's get out of here." Thalia said determinedly and reached up to release the restraints, but her hand went straight through him as if it were a hologram.

"You're not really here." Obi-Wan strained as she tried again. "Thalia…listen to me…You must stay on Naboo. You're safe there."

"What? No, I'll find you. Where are you?" Thalia urged, shaking her head. She could take a Naboo fleet and rescue him and Qui-Gonn.

"No. Forget about us. You are more important." Obi-Wan said before his eyes suddenly widened. "Dooku is coming. Stay on Naboo."

Suddenly, the scene in front of her disappeared and she was back on Naboo, standing in the middle of the room. Now what? She couldn't just stay on Naboo knowing her friends were in danger. She stood suddenly, remembering the planet she'd seen out the window. There was only one murky looking planet that had a constant stream of ships travelling too and from it. Zygerria, a planet in the outer rim known for it's slave labour industry.

She knew where they were, now all she had to do was get there. For now. The rest could come later.

Hurrying back to her chambers, she changed into her marron shirt and khaki pants before heading off to find Padme. The Queen was in the throne room speaking with Naboo's senator, Palpatine.

"Ah, your highness. I have heard so much about you." Palpatine said with a smile, bowing slightly. "It is an honor to have you here on Naboo."

"Thank you, Senator." Thalia replied and watched the him as he left the room. There was something off about him. If Obi-Wan were there he'd say the force around him was clouded.

"Thalia, what's the matter?" Padme asked, coming to join her friend.

"I have to go." She said apologetically once she'd explained the situation.

"I'm not going to stop you." Padme said, before turning back to her throne and opening a hatch on the arm rest. She reached inside and pulled out a sleek, silver blaster.

"Thank you, but…" Thalia began.

"It's a Stun Blaster." Padme interrupted with a kind smile and pushed it into her hands. "Take care."

"Thank you, Padme. For everything." Thalia said, taking her friend's hands.