Senate Building

Bonny seemed nervous as she approached the Senate Building, it wasn't because she was nervous of her duty. No she nervous of the fact of how much of an impression she would make on the people inside. Bonny was going to be assigned to protect a new Senator that had recently been elected into office by the name of Maria Glina she had been told the woman was trust worthy and uptight.

Senator Glina was probably one of the only senator's that Bonny had met that wasn't snobby, corrupt, or using anything they found useful to their political and pleasurable gain. These thing's disgusted the young Jedi who nearly had such happen to her, but thankfully Glina was there to save the pig of a senator from Bonny. It was amusing to the very much young Senator from Alderaan, she seemed to be enjoying the company of one of the senates new Jedi protectors.

Glina had made her duty for the day to help Bonny by showing her around the senate building, and by introducing her to the many different people she would be protecting or working with. There were actually fewer Jedi here than she thought, but she supposed that was because of the high republic military presence here as well. That and the fact that the war was taking a lot of the Republic's resources to fight, so it was no surprise that there were so few Jedi here keeping the peace when they were clearly needed elsewhere.

It was because of this that Bonny could see why Kellan, and Xinthiss' point of views on the Jedi Order were varied from many others. The Order was once peacemaker's, and peacekeeper's with war however they showed another side that made many in prominent area's like the underworld despise them. To many during war, the Jedi were nothing but puppets to the Republic and the Supreme Chancellor it made her sick just thinking about how many actually thought that, and just how surprisingly true it was.

Though it seemed today would not be going as she had planned. When the tour was over and Glina felt satisfied with the information that her new Jedi friend had learned, she turned toward the woman with a kind expression, she would have continued the tour if it were not for one of her aides telling her that a meeting was currently happening concerning the Republic's economy.

"I understand that there is still much to explore here in the senate building, but as anything with being a senator I must attend to my duties." The Senator ended with a sigh, but none the less smiled at Bonny. She trusted that the young Jedi could handle herself from this point forth, and Bonny did not intend on letting her down. With a subtle wave, and a court nod the Senator was lead away by her aides to the meeting that was clearly private and not a full meeting for the senate.

It seemed that she was alone, and that was fine by her. Bonny while she did enjoy the company of Senator Glina, it seemed as if though she did not need the assistance of a Jedi around the building, much less need to show the woman around the entire senate. Instead of waiting however, Bonny decided to do what she was ordered to do and take guard around the building.

The Senate building was much more glamorous and beautiful than she had thought it would be. The main foyer room was a clear remark of just how much was put into the wealth of the building, complimented with many different decoration's from different world's the foyer was littered with Golden Statues, railing's on the second floor made of gold, it's pillars were made out of Ruusanian Marble, and it's floor was made out of a metal she did not know or could see as it was covered by a red rug flooring.

Taking one last look around, Bonny decided it be best to continue on towards the east wing's of the building. She took note of the few Jedi, and Republic personale stationed in the building then there were the few that actually interested her. These soldier's stood attention at door's, the pillar's, or just guarding different Senators that passed by her and many others. The guard's attire were simple at best, a distinctive and familiar blue armor and robes along with a helmet that reminded her of the elder day's of the Republic. Many of these guard's only had one specific weapon which they kept holstered with them the entire time they stood guard, a force pike if she remembered the name correctly.

The Senate Guard as they were referred too as were as symbolic as she heard, but if Bonny was being honest with herself they looked rather lax in trying to actually defend anyone with their choice of weapons. She wouldn't voice her opinion's however for these men and women had been using the same tactic's for nearly centuries since the birth of the Republic, and she doubt it would change for centuries forward.

She seemed lost in thought as she soon found herself in what she believed was the eastern senatorial wing of the building. The nervousness in her mind was still there as she continued to patrol the halls' of the senate, she was still only nervous because of how unfamiliar the place was and the amount of stare's people gave her due to it.

Bonny thought of how both Xinthiss and Kellan were currently doing, today they all embarked on their journey's and their first assignment's. While her assignment might be considered the safest out of the three, Xin and Kel still had more worrying task's than she did and she couldn't help but to worry for the two people she cared deeply for. Though she made sure not make it known that she cared for them, as it could be her sentence for getting outed from the Order or just to get her in trouble.

That wasn't like her unfortunately as she continued to worry and think about what could be happening to both of them, Xinthiss she knew would most likely come back to her if anything bad happened, but Kellan? He was going into a situation that was problematic, and that worried her just as much as she imagined it worried Xinthiss.

Her thought's however were cut short when she ran into another person, at this point she was clumsy she reckoned. Though it wasn't as bad as when she met Xin, at least this time the two were still standing.

"O-oh I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." She said as she backed up a little, thankfully the person she had run into was merely talking to someone else when she ran into them. That person however turned and looked at Bonny with a curt smile on her face. This woman was tall at least taller than Bonny, but not as tall as Xinthiss nor Kellan. She had long brown hair with red highlights that contrasted to Bonny's raven like hair, this woman also had the bluest eye's that Bonny had ever seen compared to her bright emerald green eyes. To the common eye she was as pretty as Bonny was, maybe even more if she was being honest with herself. This woman had a classically beautiful face and was clearly a willowy type of woman.

However Bonny knew this woman, who knew her name which was Isis she had only met her once, well by technicality she saw her once. Almost knocked out of her thoughts again the two seemingly stared at one another for a brief moment before the stranger chuckled and bowed slightly to Bonny, clearly aware of just who she was.

"There is no need for apologies my friend, I was merely not looking where I was standing with this windbag speaking to me. There is no-one here for need of apology other than him." The woman spoke formally and calmly, but it seemed she had somewhat offended the man she was speaking too. Bonny who had almost thought she was being scrutinous to the man was completely wrong when she took a closer look at the man, who she quickly remembered was the pig headed Senator she had met earlier that day. Almost immediately after seeing Bonny however the man stammered back and retreated, walking away silently from the two women leaving them alone in the hallway.

With a confident yet content sigh the woman that Bonny knew only as Isis turned around after the man had left their view, with a smile that surprised Bonny.

"Thank you, that toad as been following me all day asking me all kind's of disgusting things." She shivered after word's clearly a sign of just how rude the man was, and it was clear to Bonny he had tried to same thing he had with her on this woman.

"There is no need for a thank you, I unfortunately met that man earlier when I first arrived here and he pulled the same thing with me that he did too you I imagine, so giving him a kick in the ass is a pleasure really." Bonny smiled at her cheekiness, but she was happy a little more when the woman giggled at her.

"I imagine so, he is something which I hope is soon changed within in the Senate, but I believe introduction's are in order." The woman spoke once again, clearly showing her disapproval of the current status of the senate for the Republic. However for there conversation to continue Bonny first needed to learn her name, and she needed to give her's as well.

"Bonny Vaile, and you are?" She questioned forgoing the mentioning of her new last name of Skylighter. The reason why was because she did not trust this woman yet, but little did she know at that point she would begin to trust her later on in life. She just didn't know it yet.

"My name? Gayle Isis, soon to be Senator for Coruscant...would you care for a walk, Bonny?" Gayle asked politely all the while motioning for Bonny to walk with her. With a careful look and a curt nod she followed, walking alongside Gayle talking with possibly the only person she could get along with in her new job.

*******

Thing's on board the Kalee Bastion was much more different than Xinthiss had anticipated. Even though he was fairly new to the life of being a Jedi, it defiantly did not come without it's perks. Every time Xinthiss exited his bunk and decided to explore the ship he found himself being greeted and praised by many of the ship's crew. It seemed being a Jedi was something like a celebrity and it was nerve wrecking for him. However he decided to forgo his feeling's on the matter and simply nodded, and smiled at the continuos members of the crew along with stopping to talk with a few as well.

The crew was very different than many other's he had seen. He noticed many different species which was complimented with just how vast the Republic was in the galaxy. Human's, Twi'lek, Duro, Mon Calamari, Chiss, Zabraki, Cathar, and Mirialian were among the many he noted within the vast hall's and rooms of the vessel. Some were nice, while other's were veterans who solely acted on duty more than compassion or favoritism. 

Commander Tejat Thanas was one of the many who seemed to live by this decree. The Duro man seemed to be annoyed by the very mere presence of the Jedi, if Xin was being smart he could tell the Commander was deliberately avoiding him and Azmo. He had no clue why the Duro was constantly avoiding the two Jedi, but he had to assume it was because of a battle or something much worse. Xinthiss supposed with given time he would know the answer to why Tejat hated Jedi so much, and if he didn't he hoped he would survive the mission with the man.

Despite it however the mission came first for them and nothing really mattered than that. The Rishi system had always been abandoned by both the Republic and the Empire. Xin had learned during the journey that the Republic had tried establishing several outpost's and listening posts on the nearby moon of Rishi's main planet, but they along with the several ships had gone quiet. That was what their mission truly entailed, to find out what happened to the Republic forces in the sector, but one question did pop into Xin's head every time he thought about this mission.

Why was only one ship being sent? And why did the Republic high command think it was wise to send it without backup? This was a question he pondered silently and frequently, it just did not make any sense to him.

It seemed that the crew were not worried unlike him, many were fresh faced recruits who seemed like they joined for adventure. The rest of the crew were experienced veteran's, the two most notable of this was Tejat and Captain Varlo Daival. Captain Daival was probably the most kind and most harden of the entire crew while making sure to hear the opinion of many on board. Daival was also a man of duty and honor keeping that in mind he constantly asked Azmo for his advice and opinion on their trip, and it seemed that he and Tejat had some tension between each other. The trip was currently passing by six hour's since their depature from Coruscant, and he had been noticing the tension between Daival and Tejat which seemed to be growing as the trip continued.

It was clear the two had a history together, and it was a history that neither he, Azmo, and the crew did not know very well. The situation that they were heading into did not help lessen their tension either, as both argued on what could happen upon their arrival. Tejat truly believed that the Imperial's were behind the sudden disappearances, and demanded the crew be on alert, Daival however was very unsure of the situation and held off on it. Daival was being as cautious as the Jedi had hoped he would be, but it was apparent that he had the same question's lingering in his mind.

While the ship and it's crew were being tested during this mission, it was a concern that no other ship was accompanying the corvette to the Rishi system. Xinthiss figured that if a system like Rishi was so dangerous they could at least lend some forces, but then he remembered that their fleet's were scattered and Bothawui was more dangerous than Rishi right now. Worry then sat in for Xin as he thought about Kellan and the possible danger he was in, but he subsided those worries as he knew Kellan could handle himself he trusted him to come back and to be safe, and Xin was a confident man.

Xinthiss was relieved when he finally reached the bridge, it was somewhat relaxing to be in probably the most quietest part of the ship. Ironic as it may be the bunk's or quarters were not as quiet as one believed once stepping on the ship, but the bridge was somewhat of a relic considering the layout of it. The ship's command bridge was styled after the Hammerhead Cruiser which the Republic used three hundred years before, it was designed this way to avoid the constant unnecessary space in the Republic starships.

He noticed the amounts of crew who were currently working around the nimble and carefully laid out bridge, noting that both Daival and Azmo were currently speaking at the main tactical board. Making his way around the connected console's Xin made sure that he waited for the two to finish speaking before he began.

"It seems we will be arriving rather sooner than expected Master Jedi, I do hope we are prepared for this." Captain Daival spoke somewhat grimly as he stared at the board, the screen showed a holographic version of the Corvette on a course to the Rishi system. Along with it was the possibilities of what could happen, and what could not happen and if there were reinforcement's or not. Sadly the Kalee Bastion was out here alone.

"I hope as well Captain, I am confident that I and my colleague will be able to preform to the greatest of our ability." Azmo spoke calmly and confidently, stroking his chin and staring at the tactical board he seemed to be lost in thought at what could happen next. Xin had known the older Jedi to be confident in anything, but this was very new as he was clearly questioning something.

"Yes, I beleive you two will help quite a bit." Captain Daival sighed as he looked around at the very fresh faced crew before turning back to the Jedi. "The crew I hope is up for the task, we have many new recruits on board and Tejat has been a pain lately."

Azmo and Xinthiss both seemed to be interested in the mentioning of the Duro commander. However the captain seemed more worried about the many new troop's they had on board the corvette, they were well prepared for this yet the only problem was that many of them were not experienced. Upon seeing the two Jedi flinch at the name of Tejat however he knew it was time to give them an explanation.

"You two already know of Tejat's dislike for the Jedi correct?" He chimed in, but was being careful and slow with the explanation it seemed to be a long story that he wanted to compress.

"Dislike? That's putting it mildly." Xin stated sarcastically while leaning on the consoles behind the two, but he soon silenced when he saw the serious and stern look on Azmo face when he glared at the younger Jedi.

"Yes, Tejat hates the Jedi because of what happened on Begeren mining colony. He was stationed there for nearly several month's defending the planet alongside his battalion, the reason why they were there was because Begeren was in close proximity to Sith space and the fear of it being invaded. Unfortunately it did get invaded by an army of over ten thousand if I remember correctly."

The captain paced as if remembering an old war story he partook in, it wouldn't surprise any of them if he did take part in the battle.

"Havoc Battalion was to protect the governor palace and the governor himself, when they brought the assassin Teneb Kel and their war droid's however it changed the battle, Teneb was able to kill the Governor and Havoc company was falling faster than they hoped for. Tejat was the one who called for assistance from anyone nearby, when he saw two fleet's heading to help him he was ecstatic. That hope and joy was fleeting as while the invasion was happening the battle of Korriban would soon take place, calling all their forces the fleet's abandoned Havoc Company and Begeren to fend for themselves. Only one ship defied it's admirals order's, the Scarlet Redemption....my ship."

Xin looked at the captain as he stopped suddenly, he didn't speak a word as it was clear his mind was clouded with remembering the events of the invasion of Begeren. Azmo and Xinthiss both knew of Begeren as it had only happened seven years prior from now.

"I arrived with my ship to Begeren to find the system defense fleet in complete chaos and near complete destruction. The fleet had been assissting the ground forces since the beginning of the invasion and devastated the Imperial Aurek Battalion with their Liberator starfighter's, but it wasn't enough considering. Within an hour of us arriving and joining the battle, I understood the seriousness of the situation and ordered a full retreat of Republic personale when the capital city was lost."

"Havoc Battalion lost a lot of men that day and Tejat believed it was the Jedi's fault for the loss of so much life, we barely even made it out that day and the remaining forces that were stationed on Begeren were sent to combined fleet to take Korriban. That battle for Korriban though never did go as planned, while Exal Kressh had handed over vital information on the defenses of Korriban the military presences in the region was too weak and too few to take Korriban, we never did recover after words."

"After Begeren however, Tejat became bitter with the Jedi and blamed them for not reinforcing him and his men. As for I and my crew well we were decommissioned along with the Scarlet Redemption, we weren't charged for disobeying order's or court-martialed thankfully. The ship however was far too damaged to continue it's service and was stripped for parts later on. Tejat regardless or not has been assigned to my services since, I believed it was out of appreciation of helping save his life and I was right."

Xinthiss heard the pain still existing in the man as he remembered the event's of everything that happened that day. It was in his voice, his stiffness of stature, and his shaking hand it gave him worry for Kellan even worse. This however did not go unnoticed by the Captain who looked over and knew the young Jedi was worried, not for himself but for someone he knew.

"You are worried my young Jedi friend, tell us who is it that you are worried for?" Daival encouraged for Xinthiss to speak, which made him more interested too do as asked.

"Kellan Barr, a friend I made when we were padawan's he is going to Bothawui." Xin spoke calmly and softly as the clearness of his worry came out for full display to the two elder men before him. Azmo was not surprised as he knew the close bond between the two young men, it reminded him of his own friendship with Strayen.

"Bothawui? This is the second time the Empire have tried invading the planet, if you're friend wishes to survive he must be very lucky."

Xinthiss was surprised by his answer and it didn't really help in lessening his worries, but it didn't matter much longer as one of the bridge commander's approached them. Specifically the captain with news that the ship was exiting hyperspace, but upon exiting hyperspace the ship shook and bucked when the corvette collided with what looked like a large piece of metal.

Almost immediately as the ship had been hit the automatic alarm kicked in and the crew were in full panic, scrambling to their stations and abandoning what they were originally doing. Captain Daival rushed to the head control station's ensuring that the pilot's made sure to clear what their ship was currently heading towards. Xinthiss and Azmo both joined the captain at the control's and looked out the view port at what their ship was facing.

The ships that they had arrived to find where nothing but a graveyard.

******

Bonny had been surprisingly happy with the events that transpired at the Senate today. That was mostly in part because for the last few hours she had been tagging along with Gayle as a temporary protector during the proceeding's that day. When Senator Glina reunited with Bonny and noticed how well the two were getting along, she allowed her former Jedi protector to aid the soon to be senator for the rest of the day. Ever since then Bonny was tagging alongside Gayle, and before long the two seemed to be forming a quick friendship.

They were seen talking a lot for the day, and soon it was clear the two did not wish for anyone else to be helping them. This was the case when several Senate guard's offered to take the protection role from Bonny as a mean's to be cordial. With a quick respite from Gayle however the senate guard's backed off making it clear to the other's that she only wanted the Jedi to help her today. There was something that Gayle made clear when she did speak to the Guard's however, while she knew Bonny was a Jedi the woman treated her as if though she was on her level of status. It made Bonny feel more normal than anything, considering that she had to imply that she did not want to be formally addressed as such.

Bonny had seemed to admire Gayle throughout the day as they continued to travel, and speak with one another. Gayle in her eye's represented what the Republic should be and this gained quite a bit of respect in young Jedi. It was these goal's which fueled Gayle's passion to become the next in line to become Senator of Coruscant after her predecessor died of old age. The alternatives were as Bonny had expected a bunch of well known crook's.

It didn't surprise her one bit if some did try drastic means to remove Gayle from office, but if they did she was sure that either the Senate Guard's or the multiple Jedi around the building would ensure nothing would happen. She was sure of it.

While they did enjoy their touring of the building, they weren't droids and eventually decided to enjoy the rest of the day. If any of the Senator's wanted to find Gayle, they would find her with her current Protector sitting on one of the office balconies staring at the mega city of the Republic.

"Beautiful isn't it? You were born here if I'm not mistaken Bonny." Gayle stated as she took a sip from her drink, which contained Tea that was most likely imported from Alderaan if Bonny could remember correctly.

"Yep, born and raised. I understand you were too?" Bonny acknowledged taking a sip from her cup as well, the aides that had brought them their drink's had poured them both the same beverage. The drink was much more sweeter and delightful than she thought it would be, it was soothing.

"Indeed, I always loved this planet and it's deep history with being the Galactic Center. However even I can't deny its problems within the very government that represents it, I know you do too and I admire that. Tell me what is you're opinion on the war Bonny?"

That question seemed to confuse her as she stammered when taking a drink. Bonny thought for a moment, and made sure not to keep a suspense filled Gayle waiting.

"The war? Well my opinion on it is we are losing badly, we may have some victories but even then it is outweighed by the victories of the Empire. The current member's of the Senate are crook's, vile, and disgusting men and women who only seek personal power. You, Senator Glina, and several other's are the only ones that I consider what the senate needs for leadership, and I do believe the Republic need's new leadership the Invasion of Bothawui and the Battle's of Korriban express that."

Gayle for possibly the first time today seemed surprised by Bonny's response. She had no doubt in her mind that the woman was speaking truthfully, and that made her respect and admire the Jedi even more.

"Thank you that truly mean's a lot, but you know I'm not a Senator yet." Gayle ended with finality and a bit of sadness.

"Not yet. Not until Tomorrow I hear." Bonny chirped and muttered, but loud enough that Gayle gave her a snarky look.

"And where exactly did you hear that?"

"Senator Glina."

"Oh damn her!"

Bonny laughed at the response, chuckling so bad that she eventually had to put her drink down before she dropped it. It wasn't long before she heard the same laughter from Gayle who also seemed quite amused with her statement, but was clearly upset that Glina beat her to the punch.

"I'll make sure to tell her not to do such a thing next time." She said with finality and a pout that made Bonny giggle just a little longer. She would admit outside and inside of her shell, Gayle was enjoyable to be around. She wished the day could continue, but as fate had it the day was ending and soon an aide came waltzing in to tell them so.

"Thank you Beraliz." Gayle said with a sigh as she dismissed the aide. When the woman left, Bonny turned to Gayle and noticed how she was staring at the sunset almost mesmerized before standing up and turning to her Jedi Friend.

"Thank you for the pleasant day Bonny, my inauguration is tomorrow as you already know, will I count on you being there tomorrow my friend?" Gayle asked with sincerity hoping that her new Friend would be there tomorrow.

"I'm a senate guard aren't I? I'll be here tomorrow regardless, I'd love to be there." Bonny said with a smile. When she saw her new friend return it she gave her farewell's for the day and decided it would be best to return home.

Home, that would be something she would have to get used too. She was still getting used to living with Xinthiss as well, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. All she knew was tomorrow would be a busy day and she would need rest.

Rest she very well needed.