THALIA

If Thalia continued to pace for any longer, surely, she'd ware down the carpet. She walked in circles around the desk in the senate chambers she'd been given thinking over her options. They really were far and few between, and the only one that seemed remotely appealing was for her to disappear to some far-off planet and live a quiet life as a farmer.

As she paced, something pulled her attention away from Troska and to the tall, floor to ceiling windows behind her desk. It was the force. It was the force telling her to pay attention. To look out.

By the time she saw the glint of reflected light from the building beside the Senate, it was too late. The shine from the sniper's rifle hit her right between the eyes and she turned her head to shield her sight from the glare. But no sooner had she turned back to the window, the whole glass wall shattered into a million pieces and tiny shards flew in all directions.

Thalia threw herself away from the window and landed on all fours as glass tinkled to the floor around her. But the sniper had missed. The shot had landed nearly a meter too far to the left. She looked for the blast streak on the opposite wall, but instead, something small, dark and round caught her eye.

The sniper hadn't missed at all.

Thalia barely had time to raise her arms to cover her head before the grenade exploded, hitting her with a wave of hot, bright heat. She was sent flying across the room and landed with a crack against the wooden coffee table in the lounge area of the room. She didn't feel her collarbone break, she was already unconscious by the time she was airborne.

Thalia lay still as the room filled with a foul-smelling smoke and out in the hallway an alarm began to blare.

. . .

At the end of the corridor, Padme Amidala was on her way to visit Thalia. She was concerned about her friend. She knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of the Senate's judgmental eye. She wanted to help Thalia find a way out of the ever-deepening hole she'd managed to find herself in.

As her train of thought lead her closer to Thalia's quarters a loud boom shook the walls of the corridor. Padme stopped in her tracks and looked to her maids in alarm, but they appeared just as confused as she felt.

"Look, my lady." One of them said, pointing to the end of the corridor. A faint plume of smoke had just begun snaking it's way round the corner of the hallway. As Padme watched, the smoke became thicker and an acrid smell accompanied it.

It wasn't until the alarm started blaring that Padme leapt into action. Much to the horror of her maids, she headed for the source of the smoke. She pulled her velvet sleeve up, over her mouth as the smoke filled her nose and she found herself instantly trying to blink away the tears from her burning eyes.

While the explosion could have come from anywhere, Padme had a pretty good idea as to what the intended target was. Just as she'd anticipated, she spotted the brown smoke billowing from the door to Thalia's chambers.

The air was so thick now that Padme had to squint just to be able to make out the bright red doors on either side of the corridor.

Finally, she reached Thalia's chambers. One of the doors had been blown off completely and the other hung by a single of it's hinges. Padme pushed through and was instantly hit with a wall of heat. The smoke wasn't just burning from it'd acidic smell, but it felt physically hot against her exposed skin.

Miraculously, a gust of wind blew through the room, sending the smoke spinning in excited spirals, and parted just long enough for Padme to be able spot Thalia, lying slumped against the wooden coffee table, which had splintered where she'd landed on it.

She stumbled over to where Thalia lay and felt for her neck, searching for a pulse. A steady rhythm beat strongly beneath Padme's fingers, and she would have breathed a sigh of relief if it didn't mean taking in a lungful of smoke.

It was at this point that Padme realised she should have called for back-up, or at least thought of some way to get them both out of there. She then came to the more alarming realisation that it was becoming near impossible for her to take a deep breath. Panic set in, which made her breaths all the more frantic. She grabbed Thalia by the wrist and tried to drag her towards the door, but the second she moved her hand away from her mouth, smoke filled her nose and throat, and she fell to her knees, coughing violently.

She looked around for a way out, but there was nowhere to go.

As Padme tipped forward to brace her hands against the floor, she heard voices out in the corridor. People were shouting. She tried to cry out but all she could manage was another coughing fit.

Suddenly, the door to the quarters blew off it's hinges and a small squad of clone troopers burst into the room, their blasters raised and the small torches on the sides of their helmets gleaming.

"Here!" One of them called and soon, Padme was surrounded. One of them handed her a breathing mask and she clutched to it for dear life, taking steady breaths as the oxygen filled her lungs.

Thalia didn't move a muscle as a trooper lifted her off the ground, while another placed an identical mask over her nose and mouth.

. . .

Thalia had awoken in the middle of the night to find a breathing tube covering her mouth and her arm wrapped against her chest in a sling. She'd woken with a start and cried out as pain shot through her shoulder. A nurse came rushing to her bedside and had filled her in on her situation.

A broken collar bone and a mild concussion. The nurse had advised rest but only restlessness seemed to have found her. Thalia had eventually found a comfortable position with her head facing the tall windows that looked out to the constant stream of Coruscant's chaotic traffic. She watched as the night faded and the first glow of morning began to paint the sky in a dusty purple.

It seemed news travelled fast in the Senate, because no sooner had the day begun, Thalia received word that Chancellor Palpatine wanted to see her in his office if she felt up to it. She'd decided that while every other part of her felt bruised, her ego was well and truly intact. She decided she would present herself as properly as she could if she were addressing her ministers from her throne.

So, Thalia found herself sitting opposite Mas Amedda and Chancellor Palpatine in his office, not at all looking like she'd just survived an explosion, but with every air and grace a Queen should have, not counting the medical sling her left arm was still wrapped in.

"I cannot begin to express how glad I am to see you alright, Your Highness." Palpatine began and offered her a smile that she assumed was supposed to be kind but looked more like he'd eaten a particularly sour lemon.

"This…" He continued. "…was found in your chambers."

As he spoke, he placed the remains of a small, diamond shaped grenade of the edge of his desk. Thalia leant forward and tentatively picked it up. As she turned the device over in her hand, a wave of chills washed over her when she saw the blue, curly '5'. Class Five's symbol.

"It seems Count Dooku sent an assassin to kill you." Palpatine said. Thalia's finger froze on the grenade. How did Palpatine know Class Five was supported by the Separatists? Senator Dichi had overheard, but she hadn't mentioned Dooku. How could Palpatine know?

"You're assuming it was Dooku?" She asked carefully.

"Well, we know Class Five is backed by the Separatists and Dooku has quite the history with Troska." Mas Amedda shrugged.

Thalia was quiet. The Chancellor was watching her closely, his mouth pressed into a thin line as if trying to gauge her thoughts.

"Senator Dichi overheard your conversation with Master Kenobi." He said suddenly but seemed very careful about what he was about to say. His wary look suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a friendly smile. Thalia was alarmed by his sudden change in demeanour. "Dichi, while a loyal member of the Senate, won't hesitate to cause a bit of a stir."

Thalia still sat in silence. She wasn't sure what to say. She was still trying to process the knowledge that Palpatine knew about the Separatists' involvement with Class Five. It didn't help that her head was still muggy from the concussion.

Mas Amedda suddenly sighed a deep sigh and shook his shoulders.

"Well, this proves what I've been saying all along. Troska needs our help. How can you expect to look after your people if your own life is constantly under threat?" He said.

"Wh…that's not your decision to make." Thalia protested, beginning to tire of the rapid changes in conversation.

"Do not worry, my dear. I'm sure everything will work out the way it's meant to." Chancellor Palpatine said with a smile, rising from his seat.

He gestured towards the door and Thalia stood, leaving his office feeling completely stunned. Her head pounded. Dichi knew the Separatists were backing Class Five and he'd told Palpatine. But was it just a chance Palpatine immediately assumed it was Dooku? Thalia knew better than to assume it was merely a coincidence. But how many other people had Dichi told? What did this mean for Troska's neutrality?

All these thoughts whirled around her aching head as she wandered through the Senate building. Vaguely, she registered someone calling her name and she turned numbly to see Obi-Wan trying to catch up with her.

"Thalia, are you alright?" He asked anxiously, stopping in front of her. She wasn't sure. She felt confused and afraid at this feeling she couldn't shake that everything was beginning to unravel. "Thalia?"