Of Love and War Book 4: When Darkness Falls

Chapter 13: Still Water Illusion

Zelina wasn't about to let the incident outside of the cantina slide. She had already lost Gambit and the Ruusanians with nothing to do in order to get them justice, she wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Pollix. However, this time, she had time to step back and breathe, to gather her wits and decide what she was going to do.

This time, when she confronted Palpatine, it would be with a level head as well as with a plan.

She had already gone to the Coruscant Authorities who, as she could have predicted, refused to investigate. As furious as it made her to be repeatedly blocked from getting any kind of justice for so many innocents, she managed to hold her tongue, saving her fury for when she cornered the Chancellor.

By then, she would be able to productively channel that fury towards getting some actual results.

She didn't go alone to the Chancellor's office this time. Instead, she brought back up in the form of two outspoken politicians, a select few of her men that were well enough to come, and a reporter that had been hand-picked by Padme to join them.

After the rumors that had followed her last, hot headed visit, she was going to make sure she wasn't going to get backed into a corner that painted her in some new kind of bad light. Not to mention, she didn't want to do something that gave the Council a reason to turn her over, which meant she had to be extra cautious.

Now, Zelina made her way down the hall towards the Chancellor's office, flanked closely by Padme and Satine, and the reporter Zelina did not know the name of on one hand, and the small group of her men on the other, consisting of Cruiser, Keen-Eye, Nex, and Sentry. She came even with the Red Guards outside of the Chancellor's door, choosing the guard on the right to address.

"We're here to see the Chancellor," Zelina announced in a far calmer voice than last time.

"The Chancellor requested privacy while he spoke with General Skywalker. Either wait until they are finished, or leave," the guard said coolly. He might have been one present for her last collision with the Chancellor, judging by that tone of voice.

Perfect, Zelina mused, something she'd never thought she'd think about Palpatine and Anakin being in the same room together. However, Anakin being in the room as well as a reporter was in her favor—she had been, in part, banking on her friend's presence.

Just another way to back Palpatine into a corner.

There must have been the flicker of a smile across her face, because Padme gave Zelina an inquisitive look as Zelina backed away to wait. Once they were a few paces from the Red Guards, Zelina answered the woman's unspoken question.

"If Anakin's in there, Palpatine might be on best behavior in order not to tarnish Anakin's mental image of him," Zelina murmured. "Normally, I hate the thought of the two of them around each other, but this time I was hoping Anakin would be here."

Padme nodded, and a silence of mixed emotions settled over their group. The reporter seemed mildly impatient, Zelina's men were varying degrees of nervous to be meeting the Supreme Chancellor their General did not have a high opinion of, and Padme and Satine were mildly worried about Zelina, but otherwise seemed to feel like this was simply business as usual.

Zelina allowed herself to drift while she waited, loosing any sense of time as she simply entered a state of light meditation as they waited for admittance. Everyone but the reporter seemed to realize what she was doing—she'd hope so, considering Padme and Satine both had some degree of a romantic relationship with Jedi and her men were around her far more than was normal for Jedi Generals and their soldiers—and gave her space, finding their own way to entertain themselves while they waited.