soooo ummmm Padme and the temple bombing. yeah. that's about it.
They entered the lift, she carrying her helmet and he carrying her visor.
"I suppose I should give this back to you," said Obi-wan. Then he smiled. "Although, I would have liked to see the rest of Act Two."
Soniee grinned shyly. "You really think I was a brilliant Princess of Onderon?"
"Worthy of the praise of a Duchess." He sounded a bit wistful.
Soniee blushed. "She was there to see Korkie. He was the lead. And I'm sure she'd had the opportunity to see much more professional productions than what we did."
"You said Korkie thought of her like a mother."
She nodded.
"It seems like she was very fond of him as well."
"She was."
They were both quiet a moment and then he held out her visor. "Well, this is yours." He cleared his throat.
Soniee took the device in her free hand and looked at it. The lift stopped. They exited and he led her through the main entrance of the Temple, the massive pillars and down the flight of steps. She was distracted and didn't really realize until then that they hadn't gone to the hanger. "Er - am I not flying us to see the Senator?"
"No, I thought we would just take a skycab so we don't have to worry about parking." He winked and then hailed the transport.
She looked down at her two devices again while they waited. "You know I could..." She put on the helmet and then pushed a few buttons on the visor. Then she handed the visor back to him. "There, it'll keep uploading and you can pick up where you left off."
The skycab dropped down to hover in front of them and he smiled. "Thank you."
Soniee didn't mind the quiet trip to the Senate apartment complex. While Kenobi was busy watching the remainder of the play, she was remembering Korkie's performance. Again it seemed that focusing on her betrothed (is that what she should call him now?) was keeping the noise of the city at bay. She also felt safer in the cocoon of her new helmet. She really was going to have to get that commlink system up and working as soon as possible.
They flew into view of the senate district and Soniee had to take off her helmet to see it with her own eyes. She had of course seen holos of the huge domed building but it was nothing to seeing it in person. Around it rose impossibly tall structures and it was toward one of these that they seemed to be veering off the main skyway.
"Is that where we're going?" She asked and after a moment Kenobi lowered the visor from his eyes and looked where she was pointing.
"Yes. That's the senate apartment complex." His voice was subdued but he answered her questions easily enough. "Senator Amidala resides in the penthouse suite when she is here on Coruscant."
He pointed to an even taller building nearby. "And that is 500 Republica. That's where the Chancellor lives."
Soniee had always thought the precariously stacked crystalline cubes of Sundari were impressive but this was... well it was something else entirely. She wished Korkie was here with her to see it.
Their skycab pulled up to the landing platform and they both disembarked. When they had entered the building Kenobi handed back her display visor.
"Thank you again for letting me finish the play. I stand by what I said before. You were a brilliant Princess of Onderon." Then he frowned. "I do apologize for viewing your files without asking first. I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy."
"No, it's - it's fine."
They had reached the doorway to the Senator's apartment and Kenobi touched the panel to signal their presence. After a moment it swished open and Amidala herself stood there to welcome them.
"Obi-wan, what a surprise. To what do I owe..." but then she stopped when she saw the look on his face. "You were going to Mandalore. Anakin said you took the Twilight."
"I'll have to ask him to forgive me for that. It - crashed." He began with almost an attempt at humor but then the heaviness returned to his words as he came right to the point. "Padme, Duchess Satine is..."
"Oh no, not Satine!" Her hands covered her mouth in shock and horror. "Obi, I'm so sorry."
"I was never able to tell you thank you for... Naboo."
Soniee was not sure what that meant but she could tell that Master Kenobi was just barely keeping it together. Without thinking she stretched her hand out and laid it on his arm. She closed her eyes and through the Force she willed him peace and comfort in his sadness. She felt him physically relax. But when she opened her eyes again both the Senator and the Jedi were staring at her. She drew her hand back self-consciously.
Amidala looked back and forth between them. "Have you taken a new Padawan?" She asked.
"No." They both answered at once but Soniee could understand the confusion. She was still wearing the borrowed clothes from the Temple and when she looked down she noticed that one of her braids had come loose and was draped over her shoulder.
"You do look familiar though." The senator observed.
"I'm Soniee Ordo. I - I was once assigned to you as a page during the peace meetings in Sundari."
"Miss Ordo, oh of course. I remember." She smiled in recognition. "You've grown up. But what's all this?" She gestured toward the Jedi-like tunic and Soniee supposed she was really asking about the Jedi-like action that she had shared with the Master.
Kenobi answered so she didn't have to. "Soniee has had quite an ordeal over the past few days. She has just stood before the Council to inform them of the goings-on in Sundari and they have requested that she now take her case before the Senate."
As if to illustrate his words a yawn forced its way from her chest and she covered her her mouth, embarrassed in front of the other two.
"You poor thing. You must be exhausted." The senator reached out and Soniee stepped willingly into the welcoming arms. The Duchess had always been the same way, ready to offer a comforting hug.
"You'll help her prepare then, for her presentation?" Kenobi asked.
"Of course, I'd be more than happy. But I think sleep might be in order first." She gave Soniee a motherly smile.
Kenobi's commlink beeped then. He touched unit on his wrist and a small image of Master Yoda rose into view. "Master?"
Yoda looked stern and worried. "Back to the Temple, you must come."
"Of course. What has happened?"
"The details, unclear still are. A bomb, in the Temple hanger, has been detonated."
Kenobi, Soniee, and Amidala all spoke at once. "The Temple?" "The hanger?" "A bomb?"
"Perhaps it was only an accident," the Senator put forward as a suggestion.
"Our hope, that is." Yoda acknowledged her and then focused on Obi-wan.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Kenobi ended the comm and looked at the two women.
"We'll be fine. Go." Amidala told him and he turned to leave but Soniee put out a hand to stop him.
"The hanger. My ship?"
He patted her hand reassuringly, "I guess you have another reason to stay a little longer. Don't worry we'll see you get home to your - friends as soon as we can."
Then he hurried away but as she watched him go she thought she heard him say her name once more. She heard the words in her head, "I would be honored to have you as a daughter-in-law."
"He knows," Soniee whispered as the Senator wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her into the apartment.
"What's that?"
"Oh nothing," she began but something in the woman's eyes was so inviting of her trust. "It's just something that he said reminded me so much of..."
"Korkie?" Amidala finished for her.
Soniee wondered how she knew but she just nodded. If she and the Duchess had been friends perhaps they had talked...
"You and Korkie are friends? He's told you about his past?"
The younger girl blushed. "We're a bit more than friends and yes I know about his Mother." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I wasn't able to be there with him when he heard the news and now I'm not sure when I'll be able to go back home and I tried to comm him but I've no idea if he got the message." She finished with another yawn and a sob of pure physical and emotional exhaustion.
"Come on." The senator guided her toward a guest bed room. "You should sleep and then we'll talk in the morning."
"I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't you worry about a thing?" She set Soniee on the edge of the bed, took the helmet and visor out of her hands and laid them on a table, and then began removing the pins from her hair. Soniee didn't remember laying down. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.