A couple of hours later, you get the announcement that the Republic cruiser has come out of lightspeed over Naboo, and not a moment too soon. You all had remained in the medical center's waiting area through the trip. Pinkie had fallen asleep.
You wanted to catch a little rest yourself, but you couldn't stop thinking about Hoity Toity and how deep his corruption could be. Sunset could tell that you were deep in thought, but she didn't say anything to you. If you are troubled, or thinking hard about something, she doesn't interrupt your train of thought unless it's urgent. She knows you'll ask her for her input if you need it.
It works when she's thinking hard about something too. You'll be there if she needs you, but you're not going to pry unless you have to. You wanted to talk to her right then, and Pinkie may have been asleep, but you were still on a Republic cruiser, and you were thinking about how you were going to kill a Republic senator.
So, unsurprisingly, the rest of the trip was very quiet.
That said, once they announced that you were coming out of lightspeed, you were very relived.
"Finally." You stand up walk over to Pinkie. She's hanging her head over the back of her chair and snoring. "Pinkie, get up. We're here."
You pat her cheek a few times and she snores herself awake suddenly. "Woah-whaa?"
"We're here. Get up." You say again.
"Oh. Okay." She yawns.
You walk back to your seat and grab your helmet, slipping it on.
Sunset walks over to you, her helmet on as well. "You ready?"
You groan. "I've been ready for hours."
She chuckles a little. "Good to hear."
From down the hallway leading to intensive treatment, one of the guards in front of Octavia's door approaches. "Senator Melody wanted to speak with you all once more before you left."
"Alright. We'll be right in." You reply.
He nods and walks back to Octavia's door and the three of you follow him. You step inside the small room and see Octavia laying in a bed and speaking to another one of the guards at her side.
"...We will be ready to move you to the planet as soon as we touch down, Senator. It will be about five minutes." He says.
"Thank you very much, officer." Octavia replies.
He gets up and moves past you as he walks out into the hallway.
Octavia has a few bandages and bruises on her face and arms. She's now wearing a white hospital tunic, and you can see that she has a few more bandages covering a part of her chest.
Despite this, she smiles softly as she sees you enter. "Hello, you three."
"Hello, Senator." You reply.
You and Sunset stand still and Pinkie moves in front of you both. "Hiya, Senator! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
She giggles a little. "Yes, Pinkie, I'm alright. Thank you very much for asking."
Pinkie smiles and moves to stand at your left. Octavia taps her thumbs together slowly and her smile fades a bit as she thinks of what to say for a few moments.
"I do... greatly appreciate what you all did. Despite going out of line and against regulation, doing so and learning what you did saved more lives that would have been lost otherwise..." She pauses. "My own included."
"Just sitting still and waiting for bad stuff to happen doesn't really seem wise to me, Senator." You tell her. "We were just doing our job as best as we could."
She smiles softly again for a moment and looks to the ground. "As best as you could..."
Her smile fades again and she rubs her shoulder. You know what she's thinking of. Hopefully, the waterworks aren't too big.
"I am no Jedi, but... I suppose it was just... Captain Spitfire's time... Her time to also become a part of the Force..." She closes her eyes and maintains her composure as she speaks. "I had been very close with her. With all of the Wonderbolts... I will miss her greatly."
You look to Sunset for a moment. You can't help but imagine what it would be like if you lost her this way. It would probably tear you apart.
She is more important to you than anyone else in the whole galaxy. Not just because she's an invaluable asset and a magnificent warrior that you're proud to fight with, but she's also a very good friend. The best one you've ever had, in fact. You love everything about her. Life without her would be a life not worth living. When her time does come, you only hope that she dies with honor and glory.
Spitfire's time was cut short. You didn't like her, but she did her job well and with pride. That's admirable. She had so much more to look forward to. So much more she was ready to accomplish, and it was unfairly taken from her from an evil man that she was supposed to trust and look up to.
Sunset looks to you for a moment and you look back to Octavia. "I'm sorry we couldn't save her as well, Senator."
"We tried. We really did." Sunset adds.
She looks up again and nods. "I know you did. I don't blame you." She pauses and thinks for a moment before sitting up straight. "When the one responsible is caught, he will be tried and sentenced to the punishment he deserves."
Hoity Toity.
He will be caught, definitely, and he will get what he deserves, but he won't have a chance to look for a scapegoat and potentially get out of this. The Republic will wait too long. He needs to be dealt with severely, and as soon as possible.
Pinkie speaks up. "So, what's gonna happen with Dantooine now?"
Octavia sighs, looking a bit relieved to change the somber topic. "Honestly, I do not know. I felt like I could have been successful if I had more time. The governor of the planet was being very stubborn with me during our negotiations. He kept insisting that Dantooine could manage on its own. But then... everything happened."
You can't help but think that this attack could be taken both ways. Dantooine can either see this as a sign that they need the Republic's assistance to combat attacks like this in the future, or as a sign that nothing good can come from being associated with them.
Politics are absolutely terrible in every way.
If Mandalorians were involved, they would have just invaded and conquered the planet overnight. It would have been almost too easy. But alas, the Republic isn't as strong-willed the Mando'ade.
"I'm sure everything will work out in time, Senator. You seem pretty resilient to me." You say.
She smiles again. "Thank you, Anonymous."
You nod at her in response.
A second later, the ship rumbles slightly.
The cruiser itself has landed?
"Wow." You comment.
"Must be refueling or something." Sunset adds.
Other than crashes, you haven't actually seen a Republic cruiser of any kind touch down on a planet's surface before. Octavia is looking around the room as well. She probably wasn't expecting this either.
She looks back at you once more. "Well, I suppose this is our stop."
Looks like it.
You face her completely. "Senator, if you ever need our services again in the future, don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't hesitate, thank you." She replies with a smile.
The three of you turn to exit the room. Pinkie calls back to her. "Get better soon!"
Octavia merely giggles and waves goodbye.
You pass another officer as he makes his way into the room as well and starts speaking to Octavia. You only hear the start of his sentence. Apparently, the Queen of Naboo herself wants to know how she's doing.
The three of you leave the room and head down the hallway toward the exit.
Pinkie taps your shoulder. "So, are we gonna talk about the plan now?"
You shake your head and continue facing forward. "Not yet."
You need to get to your ship first.