Zelina and Obi-Wan stood just outside of the Senate Chamber, watching the proceedings with matching frowns. With the way the Senate had been of late—stuck up, ignorant, and prideful—this meeting was bound to go bad. In fact, it already was going rather horribly, and Zelina hated having no way to fix it. Being a spectator on the sidelines, watching things crumble around her, was not something that Zelina enjoyed. It made her feel much too helpless and vulnerable.

At the moment, Palpatine was addressing the Senate. "It grieves me to say it, but Deathwatch is now a significant, deadly threat."

Satine's pod floated forward, her voice echoing around the chamber. "Mandalore is making great strides to find the leaders of this terrorist movement. They are not powerful enough to destabilize our government," Satine said, her voice powerful and calm. "We will resolve this without conflict. If the Republic gets involved in our affairs, it will only lead to further violence. Thus, I shall reassert our position of neutrality."

"Talk of an idealist," Mas Amedda scoffed.

"I really do not like him," Zelina muttered to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, but said nothing. Satine was speaking again.

"No; those are the words of a pacifist and a people who have chosen non-violent action," she said, her voice slightly pleading.

"That may be so Duchess," Palpatine said. "However, this message was delivered to my staff just this morning. I think you shall find it must illuminating."

The large, blue holoimage of a Mandalorian man suddenly appeared for the entire Senate to see, his voice echoing around the chamber with his words clear and easy to understand.

"The actions by our government have taken us into a period of civil war. To acknowledge it would be to invite panic in the streets," the man said firmly. Zelina saw Padme's pod glide next to Satine's, though what they said was not over the mics that allowed the Senate to hear their words. Zelina leaned over to Obi-Wan.

"Something's not right," she muttered to him.

"I sense it too..." Obi-Wan responded softly. Below them, the man continued.

"It is more than mere possibility, more than eventuality, it is here."

"Stop!" Satine suddenly cried out, and the recording was paused. "Deputy Minister Jerec is an honorable man! He would never commit such lies to the record! The Mandalorian Government holds no secrets from its people."

"If only that were true..." Palpatine said in a voice that mocked mourning in Zelina's eyes. The recording resumed, and things only got worse.

"Deathwatch is far stronger than we once thought. If we are to combat them effectively, we must have Republic assistance," Jerec said. Zelina looked sharply at Obi-Wan.

"A Republic occupation would only make things worse; Obi-Wan, this can't be right..." she said in exasperation. Obi-Wan held up a hand to silence her.

"There's more, shush so we can hear it," he said in a gentle scolding tone.

"Instead this government acts out of pride and rejects the help of the Jedi," Jerec was saying. Satine, however, had found her voice again.

"It's not true! It's not true!" Satine cried out, her voice echoing over the chamber and momentarily overlapping with Jerec's continuous voice.

"Duchess Satine will ultimately cause our defeat; make no mistake. Republic intervention is absolutely necessary!" Jerec finished. The image faded and Satine's voice echoed once again around the room, desperation leaking into her tone.

"This isn't right...something here isn't right! I wish to speak with Jerec immediately!" Satine said adamantly.

"Sadly, Deputy Minister Jerec perished this morning in a Deathwatch bombing on Kalevala," Palpatine announced to the entire Senate.

"No," Satine whispered, though Zelina heard it because the mic happened to pick it up. Everyone else, however, was of course listening to Palpatine.

"Let us ensure that his death was not in vain," Palpatine announced. "Let us commit our military might to defending the Mandalorian people!"

"Defending?" Satine asked in a mixture of scoff and disbelief. "You mean to occupy our home you would trample our right to self-determination!"

"We mean to save your people!" Palpatine responded firmly.

"You will turn our planet into a military target that will bring the war to us. Mandalore must remain a neutral system!" Satine said adamantly.

There was a moment of silence before Palpatine finally spoke again. "The vote shall commence in the next session."

With that, pods began to return to their positions along the Senate Chamber and Zelina turned to Obi-Wan. "This isn't good...I agree with Satine; something is amiss here."

Obi-Wan walked away from the chamber, making his way towards the exit most likely. "I would like to speak to Satine on the matter in person, without the entire Senate listening to what's said. I agree there's more to this than we're seeing but...we're not sure what exactly that is yet."

"Obi-Wan, we've been to Mandalore, we know what it's like there!"

"Without more to go on, nothing can yet be said with what's been brought before the Senate; that's all they have to go on. Jerec's words are rather condemning for Satine's cause."

"There's something wrong with that recording though Obi-Wan, I'm sure of it."

"We'll have to wait in see. Right now, we need to catch Satine before she leaves," Obi-Wan said, picking his pace up slightly. "If we don't hurry we'll miss her."

"Understood," Zelina mumbled, following him even when he suddenly broke into a sprint. Obviously he could sense how close to leaving Satine was.

When the Duchess was finally within view, it was outside of the Senate Building and nigh to the pick-up zone for speeders. Obi-Wan ran a little faster, and Zelina purposely fell behind.

"Duchess!" Obi-Wan cried, trying to get her attention. She didn't turn, but he managed to catch up to her, gently grasping her arm to pull her back. "Satine, wait!"

The guards snapped into action, pointing their activated staffs at Obi-Wan who hardly even spared them a glance. Instead, he was looking intently into Satine's eyes. "We just heard what happened in the Senate..."

Satine waved the guards off, looking down with a small sigh. "You're sweet to be concerned, but I'll be all right..."

"I am concerned; we're friends, are we not?" Obi-Wan asked sincerely.

A wistful look appeared in Satine's eyes; a wistful look that Zelina was all too familiar with. Her heart ached for the Duchess. She knew the pain that such words could cause a woman in love. "Yes...friends, and nothing more."

Obi-Wan was just as oblivious to the way she said that as Anakin was when Zelina said such things. "Satine, as your friend I don't think you should make any decisions in this state of mind," he said seriously. Satine immediately bristled, and Zelina took a subconscious step back. Obi-Wan had started this conversation in a terrible way, and she had the feeling that it was only going to get worse.

"This state of mind?" Satine asked, her voice sharp and warning. "And what state of mind would that be precisely?"

Obi-Wan seemed to realize he was treading in dangerous waters and spoke slowly and cautiously. "What I'm saying is anyone would be hysterical right now—"

"Hysterical?" Satine snapped, turning away from him in her sudden rage. "The Republic is attempting to force its will upon innocent people!"

"I only meant that—" Obi-Wan tried to say, but Satine raged on.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you're not hysterical! Perhaps is more citizens got hysterical, they'd be more inclined to speak up when the Republic tramples on their rights!"

"Rushing in like this, it's...it's foolhardy," Obi-Wan said softly.

"Ironic words from a man who spends his days running hither and yon wielding his lightsaber with deadly force as if on a crusade! Why should I listen to someone who so frequently relies on violence? In my opinion, you're the one who's foolhardy!"

With that, Satine turned and stormed into the speeder that had arrived to take her away, not even glancing back at Obi-Wan, who was obviously wounded. Zelina came even with the elder Jedi, lying a gentle hand on his shoulder. They watched as Satine was flown away.

"Just...give her time to cool down..." Zelina told him gently.

"I'm worried about her...she's going to do something foolish, I just know it," Obi-Wan muttered.

"Perhaps Satine does know what she's doing, and you're just too protective of her at the moment to see it? I will admit some of that just came because of the heat of the moment but...she has a point. The Republic tramples more and more on individual rights as this war progresses..." Zelina noted.

Obi-Wan glanced at her. "That may be so...but that doesn't change the fact that she's putting herself at risk," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "Come on...the next session should start soon; I don't think we should miss it."

"No, I don't either," Zelina muttered softly. With that, the two turned to return to the Senate Building.

***************************

Night fell, but it found Zelina and Obi-Wan not listening to the discussions in the Senate Chambers like they had suspected. No, instead Zelina and Obi-Wan were lingering outside of the Chancellor's office. Zelina had enlisted Padme to tell them what was going on with the Senate in between their discussions, as this was a much more serious matter.

Word had reached them that an attempt had been made on Satine's life; her speeder had been tampered with, though thankfully she was alive. The only casualty had been her driver—unfortunate, but better than everyone in the speeder. Obi-Wan and Zelina were standing tensely outside of the door that lead to the offices in the Chancellor's part of the Senate building, awaiting the moment where Satine would emerge from within.

Zelina glanced at Obi-Wan, who was ramrod straight from tension and nerves. "I'm sure she's all right Obi-Wan."

"I knew something like this was going to happen," he muttered.

"There was nothing you could have done about it. The best you can do is let it go."

"I know, I know," Obi-Wan muttered. "Still, I'm worried about her..."

At that moment, Satine emerged from the Chancellor's office, her two guards predictably flanking her and sticking close to her side. Obi-Wan snapped to attention, his eyes alert as he chased after her for the second time that day. She was obviously in distress and her pace was quick and annoyed.

"Satine!" Obi-Wan called softly, "We just heard about your accident."

"Those two are..." she made a sound of frustration, unable to finish the sentence. "This government will..." Another sound of frustration and disgust.

"I know how you feel," Zelina commented from her place beside Obi-Wan.

"Satine!" Obi-Wan said in exasperation. It seemed the Jedi Master was done fooling around. He grasped Satine's arm once again, spinning the woman around to face him. "Tell me what happened!"

Satine huffed in anger, yanking her arm from Obi-Wan's grip before she gave another huff and regained some control over herself. "I'm fine, I wasn't hurt. I didn't want to worry you," she said quietly.

"Well I'm afraid on that count you failed spectacularly," Obi-Wan said with a small smile. Satine's sad expression did not waver however, and she turned away, resuming her walk. "Look what happened..."

"Look what happened!" Satine repeated sharply, coming to a halt already. "This attack proves I've upset someone! I must be on the right track..."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "This attack proves your enemies are here, even on Coruscant." At the look on Satine's face, realization dawned on Obi-Wan. "You're not going to let Republic Authorities handle this, are you? You're not backing down!"

"Republic Authorities! Certainly not," Satine said with a scoff, continuing her walk through the Senate building halls. "I'm on my way to the Republic Ministry of Intelligence right now to meet my contact."

Obi-Wan reached out to stop her and turn her around once again, though this time he planted his hands firmly yet softly on both of her shoulders, peering right into her eyes. Satine turned her head to the side, avoiding looking Obi-Wan in the eyes to the best of her abilities.

"Don't you see? You need your friends with you, not held at arm's length!" Obi-Wan said firmly. "In your quest to be self-reliant have you decided to cut your friends out of your life?"

"I...I don't...know..." Satine said haltingly. Zelina's eyes were drawn from the emotional scene as Padme suddenly approached them, shattering the spell that Obi-Wan had momentarily held over Satine. Padme looked mournful, and hesitant to say whatever it was she knew as she came to a standstill a few strides away from Satine.

"Padme..." Zelina noted, drawing the attention of the other two to Padme. "What is it?"

"The Senate completed its vote," she said in a soft voice Zelina recognized as the voice she used when delivering bad news. "They've decided in favor of occupation."

"When did this happen!" Satine cried out softly. "The vote was supposed to be tomorrow!"

"It was during your meeting with the Chancellor. Your accident accelerated the Senate's decision," Padme said gently, approaching her with a sympathetic expression. "Republic forces are set to be leave for Mandalore at sunrise tomorrow..."

"You see?" Satine asked Obi-Wan sadly. "I was right before..."

With that, Satine turned away from the trio, starting to leave. She paused and turned back one more time. "Counting on the Republic is a mistake."

As Zelina watched the Duchess leave, she couldn't help but think back to when she was six of a similar event she had been a witness to. Padme had gone to the Republic for help, and they had denied her the help that she needed. Now, the Duchess needed Mandalore to remain neutral, and just as the Senate had ignored Padme, they now ignored Satine. Zelina sighed, turning to Padme.

"I agree with what you said once upon a time; this war represents a failure to listen."

With that, she shook her head and left the group. She needed some time to think things over and meditate. She was sure she could get the much needed privacy in her now personal quarters in the Jedi Temple. Perhaps she could blow some steam and work on her dual lightsaber wielding in the training hall.

********************************************

Zelina walked back into her quarters after a lengthy lightsaber practice. She'd figured cooling down was the best first step of action to take. Now she could actually relax and focus on her meditation.

Zelina tightened her bun, flicking some sweat off of her forehead as she settled down into a meditative pose in front of the window, taking a few deep breaths. She needed this...

After falling into the soothing rhythms of the Force, Zelina started to search around. She could feel something familiar...someone she knew was in distress...

Zelina focused more intently on the source and was startled to realize that the sense of distress was resonating from someone within the Jedi Temple. Her surprise increased when she identified the source as Obi-Wan. Zelina pulled herself out of her meditation with a frown, standing up. She'd have to go see what had the Jedi Master so on edge.

She found him in his quarters. When she knocked, he called softly for her to come in, and the doors slid open to reveal him standing tensely by the window, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared over the expanse of Coruscant. Zelina approached him slowly and cautiously, coming to a standstill behind him and mirroring his stance.

"I sensed your distress...has something happened?" Zelina asked him carefully. Obi-Wan sighed.

"Satine is wanted by the authorities. They think she killed someone and demands that she turn herself in."

Zelina was in shock. "Satine? That doesn't sound right."

Obi-Wan turned to look at her. "She was at the scene of the crime. I don't believe the charges for one moment, but she was there and she did see something. Avoiding the authorities is just going to make her situation worse."

Zelina frowned. "That's true but...she must have a reason for avoiding arrest..."

Behind them, Obi-Wan's communication's system chimed, and a familiar voice echoed from the device.

"Obi-Wan, come in...Obi-Wan, are you there?"

Obi-Wan and Zelina simultaneously turned around, though Obi-Wan was the one to approach the device at the speed of sound, his eyes drinking in Satine's cloaked figure with relief. "Satine! Where are you? Mas Amedda has demanded you turn yourself in."

"I know...listen to me. Obi-Wan, I need your help..."

***********************************************

After Satine's rushed explanation of what was going on, Zelina and Obi-Wan agreed to meet with Satine. Obi-Wan was going to be the one doing the talking, though he was keeping an earpiece and comlink on him so that Zelina could hear the conversation as well. Zelina was going to be scanning the perimeter, making sure that there were no threats to the two while Satine passed on whatever information she was carrying, an earpiece on so that she could communicate with Obi-Wan if necessary and hear everything on the other end.

Apparently another attempt had been made on Satine's life, and whoever had done it was still out there. That was why Zelina was acting as a guard.

At the moment she stood at the top of a square structure, her eyes scanning the crowd below her. Her charcoal black cloak was pulled tight around her, her hood hiding her face from view. She was looking for anyone who seemed Mandalorian, as it was Deathwatch that was trying to kill Satine. Her hand fluttered over her lightsabers and the com link on her utility belt she had already set to call Anakin. All she needed to do, should the circumstance call for it, was press a button and she would be connected to Anakin—wherever he was.

She'd figured it would be handy to be able to call for backup should they need it for some reason.

In her ear, Obi-Wan's voice suddenly sounded. Her eyes automatically went to his brown robed form somewhere in the center of the complex they were meeting Satine.

"Nice disguise," he said softly.

It seemed he had found Satine.

Obi-Wan made his way to a red robed figure sitting on a bench, and now that Zelina knew where Satine was she was able to look for anyone who had a suspicious interest in the woman. The conversation would continue to flow in her ears while she looked.

"Seeing you all right is...well, it's a relief," Obi-Wan said. "You should turn yourself in; we've both sworn a loyalty to the Republic."

Satine's voice came through as well; it was faint, but she could still hear it.

"Believe me, neither one of us is breaking our oath," she told him firmly. There was a moment of silence—probably some interaction Zelina missed because she wasn't watching them—before she spoke again. "And this will prove it. I need to get it into the proper hands."

Not for the first time, Zelina's eyes spotted a trooper. The troopers, police, and other law enforcing individuals and droids were all over this center, making it rather sad that none of them had identified Satine yet.

Zelina touched her earpiece. "This place is crawling with police. However, I haven't found anybody assassin shady yet."

Zelina received no acknowledgement from Obi-Wan, though she did hear more of his conversation with Satine. "But the Republic guards are hunting you, which means..."

"Whoever doctored this recording is likely in the government itself," Satine finished.

"If you set foot within the Senate they'll take you," Obi-Wan said quietly.

Zelina, who had decided to scan the roof as well, spotted a shadowy character across from her. She frowned, starting to move closer as inconspicuously as she could.

"And the disk will be destroyed before anyone can see it; which is why you must take the disk to Padme."

Zelina glanced below and saw a pair of troopers headed towards Satine and Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan; troopers headed in your general direction. I'm checking something out up here; I think there's someone on the roof. Stay alert."

"Copy that," Obi-Wan replied softly.

Below, she saw them stand to move, and she slid closer towards the spot she had seen the movement in the first place. As she drew near, she could see that it was indeed a person she had seen; a humanoid. Just a little closer and...

The figure drew out a sniper rifle, leaning forward enough so that Zelina could see that they were wearing Mandalorian armor. Her hand flew to her earpiece. "Obi-Wan, there's a Deathwatch member here; I think he's spotted Satine. Get out of there, but try to be inconspicuous; he hasn't seen me yet."

"Come on," she heard Obi-Wan say to Satine. "You're friend seems to have found us. We need to get somewhere safe."

"Are you sure?" Satine asked while Zelina crept closer to the Deathwatch assassin.

"Zelina found him; she's handling him right now."

Even as he said it, Zelina finally came within range of the Deathwatch assassin, right behind him.

"Blast it," the assassin muttered, and Zelina assumed that Satine had disappeared from his rifles range of fire. He moved to stand, but Zelina activated her purple lightsaber, holding it at the man's neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned the man, who had gone rigid. "Get up."

Obi-Wan and Satine's conversation continued to come through the earpiece.

"Where will you be while I'm in the Senate? What if they find you?" Obi-Wan asked Satine.

"You shouldn't have done that," the Deathwatch assassin snarled.

"They won't...I'm going to surrender to them," came Satine's answer.

Zelina's sudden surprise as Satine's statement cost her, and the Deathwatch assassin took her distraction as an opportunity to strike out. Her violet lightsaber was knocked out of her hand and rolled away as the assassin lunged at her, knocking her off of her feet. When she hit the ground, she instinctively rolled with the movement, kicking the assassin over her before he could gain too much of an advantage. He was on his feet the next moment, as was Zelina. The man landed a heavy punch to her stomach, and she huffed, grappling at his leg as he tried to move past her and sending him crashing to the ground.

However, he was able to reach his rifle, and Zelina heard a loud crack as he slammed the butt of the rifle into her head with deadly force. She blacked out for a few moments, and when she came back to the assassin was gone. She reached out for her earpiece even as she registered the conversation that was still happening between Obi-Wan and Satine.

"...a Jedi. They wouldn't dare," Obi-Wan was saying firmly.

"Things are changing my dear," Satine responded softly.

"Obi-Wan...the assassin...he got away," Zelina panted out, pulling herself to her knees and fighting the dizziness that threatened to send her facedown back to the ground. "He's coming—"

An explosion on Obi-Wan's end stopped whatever she was about to say, and she reached out a hand, calling her violet lightsaber back into her hands with the Force. The screams elicited by the explosion hurt her already pounding head as she dragged herself to her feet. "All right...all right...I got it head, I'm downed," she muttered as she was forced to lean against the wall. There was no way she'd be of any help to Obi-Wan in her state; she'd be more of a liability like this.

She could hear grunts and groans of multiple kinds coming through Obi-Wan's end, signaling that Obi-Wan had engaged the assassin.

"Obi!" she heard Satine cry faintly. The sound was followed by the ignition of a lightsaber and the sound of blaster fire. Once the chaos had ended, she heard Obi-Wan's voice again.

"Zelina, Zelina are you all right?" he asked urgently.

"I'm sorry Obi-Wan, I can't help," she forced out. "I'm calling Anakin to get me back to the Temple; you two go on ahead, I'll be all right..."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure; just take care of your girlfriend Obi-Wan, don't worry about me," she said with a weak smile.

She purposely turned off the earpiece before Obi-Wan could protest her choice of words. With a sigh, she pulled out her com link and signaled Anakin.

She really hoped she wasn't Halls of Healing injured...

*******************************************

Zelina found herself sitting on the couch in Anakin and Ahsoka's quarters not too long after that, holding ice to the nasty bump that had developed on her head.

"You're lucky he didn't crack your skull or something," Ahsoka said as she sat down next to Zelina. Zelina chuckled.

"I was sure he did considering I blacked out and could hardly stand," she noted.

"Well, you might have a concussion," Anakin noted, standing in front of her with an obvious frown on his face. "I'll be keeping a very close eye on you Zee, you know that right?"

Zelina smiled at him. "I'd be disappointed if you did anything less." The smile slipped from her face and she sighed. "I do want to know what happens though; I need to know if what Satine found will be enough to sway the Republic away from invasion or not. Do you think I could—"

"No way," Anakin said shortly without even waiting to hear the rest of her sentence. "You're staying here tonight. You can go with me in the morning if you're feeling better, but for now you're staying there, on the couch, under my careful watch."

Zelina rolled her eyes. "I never thought I'd say this, but Ani, you're a killjoy."

Anakin smirked. "In this instance, yes. Now relax; I'm going to see what I can find. Ahsoka, don't let her off this couch."

"I thought you were going to keep an eye on me?" Zelina asked with a smirk.

Now it was Anakin's turn to roll his eyes. "We both are. Now hush. I'll be right back you two," he said, turning on his heel to leave the apartment. Zelina sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch.

"I wish I could sleep..." she muttered.

"You heard the boss; no naps till he's certain you don't have a concussion," Ahsoka said cheerily.

Zelina chuckled. "And there's Killjoy's partner in crime. Whatever am I to do?"

Ahsoka laughed and Zelina smiled. Now, so long as Satine's evidence kept her world from invasion, Zelina would be happy.

*****************************************

The morning found a concussion free but still suffering from a nasty headache Zelina in Palpatine's office, along with Padme, Palpatine, Mas Amedda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin. She smiled weakly at her friends, who kept an eye on her, just in case. The headache was killer, and she was looking forward to getting some more rest in her Temple Quarters, but she wasn't going to rest until after this.

It was a relief to know that the evidence Satine found—the un-tampered, real statement by Deputy Minister Jerec—had been enough to bring the Republic occupation of Mandalore to a screeching halt before any damage could be done. It was definitely worth the nasty migraine that had Zelina occasionally scrunching her face up in pain.

"Thankfully, with the revelation of this new information, the occupation of Mandalore is no longer necessary," Palpatine was saying. Zelina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She hadn't missed how eager he had been to force his way into Mandalore, and she wasn't about to forget it either.

"The person to thank is Duchess Satine," Padme said gracefully. "She found the proof."

"I require no thanks," came a familiar voice, and everyone turned as Satine entered the chambers, once more in her Duchess formal attire. Obi-Wan smiled admiringly as Satine approached them.

"Satine," Padme exclaimed happily. "The Senate held an emergency session, and the Republic forces have been ordered to stand down."

Satine inclined her head in thanks, shooting Zelina and Obi-Wan a grateful smile at the same time.

"Allow me to offer a most sincere apology on behalf of the entire Republic," Palpatine added, drawing everyone's attention. Once more, Zelina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You are a most loyal servant, and we are all grateful."

"Yes...grateful," Mas Amedda echoed stiffly. Satine gave the speaker of the house a stiff nod, but gave no other acknowledgement of his words. Padme chose that moment to speak up.

"Chancellor, if you and Mas Amedda would join me for a moment, we have some logistics to discuss in order to ratify the Senate's decision," she said, already stepping to exit the room. Everyone followed after the group but Obi-Wan, Satine, and Zelina. Zelina had started to make her leave, but had lingered when she noticed that Satine and Obi-Wan had not moved.

"But for you, this wouldn't have happened," Satine told them with a small sigh.

"No..." Obi-Wan corrected slowly. "It was your unshakable faith in your people and your determination that brought about this result."

"I...appreciate that," Satine said softly, a small smile on her face. "But still...who was behind all of this? Who tampered with that recording? Who tried to convict me of murder and throw me in jail?"

"I'm not sure..." Obi-Wan murmured. "But as you said yourself...things are changing. And sometimes the line between friend and foe is...blurred. Now more than ever."