THALIA
It had been a week since Padme had arrived on Troska and to say the two women had enjoyed themselves was an understatement. It certainly didn't feel like a war was raging across the galaxy. In fact, the idea felt altogether foreign.
They were currently seated opposite each other at the dining table, engaged in a very animated conversation about their respective governments.
"Look, I know Governor Babble is a bit of a pessimist, but every good council has one." Thalia laughed, taking a sip of her wine. "And besides, someone needs to balance out Senator Binks' giddy optimism."
"Don't get me started." Padme laughed, setting down her spoon. She cast Thalia a contemplative glance, which had her friend raising an eyebrow in question.
"I have a question, which you don't have to answer. But if you don't answer, you're answering it anyway." Padme began slyly.
"What?" Thalia interrupted with a grin.
"I've noticed somewhat of a…friendship between you and Master Kenobi. Do my eyes deceive me, or are you truly just friends?" Padme asked, and instantly regretted it as she watched Thalia's face fall.
"It's…complicated." She replied with a rueful smile.
"Isn't it always?" Padme nodded, echoing Thalia's own words from earlier in the week.
"I don't really know where to start." Thalia admitted and it was the truth. There was so much history between her and Obi-Wan that it felt like she'd be here for weeks. "At one point, during his and Qui-Gonn's extended mission here…he was prepared to leave the Jedi Order and stay."
Padme's eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her head. "We are talking about the same Obi-Wan Kenobi, aren't we? Serious, diplomatic, composed, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
"The one and the same." Thalia replied amusedly.
"My word! That's so…beautiful." Padme smiled. "Why didn't he stay?"
"Because I told him not to." She admitted.
"Thalia!" Padme cried. The look of horror on her face had Thalia trying not to laugh. "How could you?"
"It wasn't fair to ask that of him. The war had just begun, and I knew they needed him. I just didn't expect the war to drag on for fifteen years." Thalia shrugged.
"What do you mean? What happens after the war?" Padme asked.
"Well…he promised he'd leave the Order after the war, and I said I'd wait for him." Thalia explained, grimacing slightly at how fanciful it sounded saying it out loud.
"And is that still the plan?" She asked, staring at Thalia so intensely it looked like she was sitting on the edge of her seat waiting for her answer.
"I…don't know." Thalia admitted. "We haven't exactly talked about it, but sometimes I think I sense it's what he wants, but there are other times when he's so invested in his life at the Order that I can't imagine him ever wanting to leave it."
"Well, what do you want?" Padme asked and Thalia was slightly taken aback by the question. She hadn't outright admitted it to herself yet. She worried that if she made a decision then it was like setting herself up for disappointment.
"I…There's nothing I want more." She finally said. There, it was out in the open. She smiled despite herself, because saying it made it feel like it could really happen. It was no longer some casually entertained thought; it was a clear decision that she would fight to make happen. She just needed to tell Obi-Wan and pray that he felt the same way.
"Look at us, tearing apart the Order one Jedi at a time." Padme grinned sheepishly and raised her glass towards Thalia.
"Complicated is an understatement." Thalia laughed guilty and met Padme's glass with her own over the centre of the table.
As if one que, the moment their glass chinked together, the boom of a far-off explosion echoed around the room and an orange light flicked through the tall windows at the end of the dining room. Slowly, Thalia rose from her seat and made her way over to the window. In the distance, she could see flames and the glow of the explosion still lingering in the air.
"Oh, my goodness." Padme breathed, joining her at the window. "What was that?"
"The palace." Thalia murmured. One hundred thoughts were flying through her head, but the loudest one was, had this been a targeted attack, and were they the targets?
She looked across at Padme, the orange light reflecting off her face and making the frown on her brow even more pronounced.
"I have to go. Please, stay here." Thalia said and to her relief, Padme didn't argue.
. . .
"Captain, what happened?" Thalia was demanding before she'd even gotten out of her speeder.
The throne room was a mess of sandstone and coloured glass from the windows that had been shattered in the explosion. Amidst the rubble glowed a purple symbol, a hologram left behind by the arsons. It was a sun with short, pointed rays, expect the topmost one, which stretched higher, above all the rest.
"It was the Black Sun Clan, your highness." Her captain replied and at Thalia's questioning look, he elaborated.
"They're a crime syndicate." He offered. "Our guards were helpless against them. There have been attacks like this all over Troska."
"All from the one group?" Thalia asked, shocked.
"No, the Pyke Syndicate seems to be involved as well." The Captain sighed, shaking his head.
"Well, what do they want? Why had they attacked?" Thalia demanded, wishing her captain would provide a little more information.
"Don't know." He shrugged, but at Thalia's scowl he straightened and reached into his pocket to pull out a holoprojector. "But you'll want to see this."
Thalia snatched the projector and watched as a tiny hologram showed the lizard-like members of the Pyke Syndicate running from one of Troska's banks. However, before they could get to their ship, three warriors swooped in with jetpacks and blasters to fight the gang.
"How?" Thalia asked simply as she stared at the Class Five warriors. "Our army trapped them on Helwater after reversing the shield technology. It kept them in. No one could get out."
"They must have escaped." The captain said slowly.
"Really?" Thalia gasped sarcastically, losing her temper and tossing the holoprojector back to the captain as another one of her ministers limped over to them.
"Guin, are you alright?" Thalia asked, reaching for the woman. She took Thalia's hands in both of her own, ringing them in worry.
"There are Sith here." She cried and Thalia's heart sank. "They had red lightsabers. They were terrifying."
"Who? Which ones?" Demanded Thalia.
"I don't know. They had horns on their heads. One was red and the other yellow. They had tattoos all over their torsos and the red one had metal legs." Guin gasped through fresh tears.
Thalia didn't recognise her description. She looked to her captain for clarification, but of course, he didn't know.
"Do you know why Class Five are involved, and why they're fighting against the syndicates?" She asked Guin but her minister just shook her head.
"Alright, I need to address the people." And that's exactly what she did. The next morning, as the people were awakening to discover the carnage from the previous night, Thalia appeared on what was left of the palace's balcony.
"I need you all to remain calm." She began. "As we determine the level of threat to Troska, I ask all of you to take extra caution. Do not leave your homes unless it is absolutely necessary. I know many of you are afraid, but we have prepared for this." And they had. When Thalia had secured Troska after it's decimation, she'd had every building, home and piece of infrastructure fitted with shield technology. The people could shield they houses from attack. They would be safe. "Don't take risks, don't panic, use what you have, and you will be fine."
She was relieved to see people place their hands over their hearts and take a long breath as other nodded in understanding. Troska was well protected, and the people knew that. Once they got over the shock, logic would take over and they would look after themselves. It was in times like this that Thalia's faith in her people was strongest, and she hoped the feeling was mutual.
Just as she thought she had the situation managed, the whine of jetpacks filled the courtyard, and six Class Five soldiers flew over the people.
"Your Queen has led you to ruin." One of them began, and Thalia recognised Kaz's voice instantly.
"What are you up to, Kaz? What part have you to play in this attack?" Thalia asked, aware that the people could hear everything that was said.
"No part, my lady. But we can offer a solution." Kaz replied and landed in front of Thalia, turning her back to the Queen to address the people gathered.
"People of Troska." She began, removing her helmet and the crowd frowned at her. "I am Kaz Gunata of Class Five. We are here to save you from these intergalactic gangsters that threaten our great city. This is a war, and we will win."
For a moment, Thalia thought the people would cheer, side with Kaz and the violence she promised to bring in her so called war. But the people stayed silent. Some shook their heads, other shrugged, gesturing to their friends at the ridiculousness of the claim.
"The people of Troska will not be so easily swayed." Thalia smiled. "They have faith in the cause."
"We need action, not pacifism." Kaz continued. "This is no way to live; waiting for the next threat to arrive instead of asserting yourselves as a people not to be crossed. The name Troska should strike fear into the hearts of your enemies. No one will ever threaten you again."
This time, Thalia saw a few people nodding their head in agreement, but the majority still stood defiant. She watched as Kaz pushed her helmet back, over her head and joined her warriors in the sky. Kaz may have claimed to have no part in these attacks, but Thalia had been around long enough to know when things were not always as they seemed. Now, she not only had to worry about these gangsters, Class Five and the so called Sith, but if Kaz was allowed to plead her case for much longer, the people of Troska could side with violence.
The wall of faith she'd felt was so sturdy before, had a crack in the centre, one that couldn't be allowed to grow.