Almost immediately, every security within a 10-mile radius surrounded our pen balcony. The alarms were blaring from the blaster's shots that had occurred only a few minutes ago. I didn't see who the person behind the gun was, but sooner or later, they would appear themselves once again.

My thoughts still ran to Clovis. He was always trouble whenever he was close, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was being truthful. In my heart, I felt as he was.

In my hand was a small circular Holocron. The "rules" between the Senate to call the Chancellor whenever any situation occurred. Seeing that my head was almost blasted off this tower, it seemed right to bring the news to the Chancellor.

I told him everything, the message Clovis had translated. The attack. I trusted him, to an extent, of course. The Chancellor had an odd presence, but whenever he was close, you felt attached.

"If what you are saying is true, then this information Clovis is offering is vital to our security." The Chancellor's voice ran through my ears. I shifted my head, looking off to the balcony he had just fallen off.

"I need you to be very clear in this matter, for the Republic." The Chancellor calmly but strictly voiced. My head turned back onto his holographic body. The ways his eyes sagged with a mean demeanor, not to mention his posture was cold.

"Is he telling the truth?" Palpatine asked.

I thought of the core memories Clovis and I shared. He wasn't an awful person; he was kind and polite. We never worked for reasons like me joining the Jedi or him pursuing other things involving politics. It was never a break off of hatred. Of course, I always found myself rather busy looking at other things.

I bit my lower lip, thinking. Until I let out a slight sigh, "Yes, I'm sure of it." I confirmed.

"Perhaps, then, in this scenario, it would be best for you to trust an old friend and do what he suggests." he smiled before disappearing.

I stood there in my thoughts once more. Well, there's only one thing to do now, head back to the Banking Clan council and trust Clovis. Oh, I knew Anakin wasn't going to like this, but what other choice did I have.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The following day, I walked back into the same circular room, and Clovis was already there, to my surprise. I took a quick breath before I finally managed to place myself next to his body. I looked back up onto the tall screens that showed the faces of the Banking Clan members.

"I've decided to accept Clovis as the representative of this transaction, as long as I can go into the vault and accompany the funds throughout the entire process," I demanded. I looked to my sides to see his eyes wide open in shock.

"No outsider is ever allowed in the vaults." One of the Clan members seethed almost immediately.

"I come with the authority of the Supreme Chancellor. If you have something to hide, then that is something we should discuss." My eyes glued themselves back onto the giant screen above my head. The Banking Clan members wore a tall brownish hat and almost rarely came out of whatever room they holed in.

"Hide?" He mocked.

"I think considering last night's attack on the Senator; it is only fair that we are transparent and agree to these terms. What harm will come to it?" Clovis said as he stepped in. He inched his body closer to mind before taking one step forward, almost like he was protecting me from being yelled at.

The members of the Clan took a brief moment of silence before nodding their heads. "The vault will be opened first thing in the morning. Please make sure you are here, Senator." The Clan member concluded. Well, well, well, Clovis does undoubtedly know a thing or two on persuasion.

I bowed down before leaving the council's room. I peered over my left shoulder, seeing a broad smile on Clovis's face. Automatically I found a smile on mine.

We reached the outside of the enormous Banking Clan tower when Clovis's hand touched my wrist for a mere second. I looked almost immediately about to burst into another argument. However, his words came out first. "Come with me. I have the perfect place to discuss more what will happen tomorrow morning." He spat out.

"Where is this place exactly?" I asked. One eyebrow lifted while my hands crossed onto my stomach.

"Let me show you. I have a ship ready to depart." He smiled before pointing in the direction of his ship.

I softly smiled back before inching my ways towards his face. From the view, his cheeks turned a bit pink. The nervous tension was something I could feel. My mouth became inches away from his ear when his muscles quickly contracted themselves, "If you try anything stupid, the blade that is on my belt will meet your face again." I whispered.

"Understood," he gulped before nervously chuckling. "This way," he added.

But before he could walk, I stopped him once more. "I'm also taking Teckla."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It took a few long minutes, and everything we had passed seemed to lead nowhere. I had my doubts. Maybe Clovis brought me out here to be poisoned once again. It was snowy in Scipio, and we were far from the mountains. It was rather strange Clovis would have any place this far from the Clan.

The clouds finally seemed to have vanished and in the far distance was a small modern home. I squinted to see a far better view, but the house was covered with built-up snow.

He landed the ship on his small dock and quickly looked in my direction before opening the doors. "Please," he gestured towards the exit.

When I stepped outside, the cold chilling weather hit me harder than ever.

"Where, exactly, are we, Clovis?" I asked, shivering. I wrapped my arms around myself, hoping it would warm me up just a tiny bit more.

"This is my personal residence. A bit remote, but we'll have more privacy here." Clovis responded. He jumped onto the platform, walking the long narrow bridge that led to his front doorsteps. I looked at Teckla, knowing she was also as nervous as I was.

The inside of his residence was rather lovely. It wasn't cold like the outside, but rather, it was comfortable and warm. He set out a small fire near the couches we were sitting on. He then placed a small device on the coffee table. Before us came a large screen, a map of the building we were just in.

"Once I denote the charge here at the main power source," He pointed a few levels up from where the vault was precisely located. "... the vault will go into immediate shutdown," he added. He played a playthrough of what areas of the vault will be in full shut down. What doors will be locked, and what vaults will be open.

"No one will get in or out. This will give you very little time before the emergency generator cycles and takes over." Clovis then added. His green eyes locked into mine before I quickly looked back onto the map that had changed.

"You'll then use this to locate the exact files and download them from the mainframe." he handed me a small USB that would connect into whatever terminal I find myself at. Well, this is going to be fun. Nothing like some sneaking around I'm not used to.

He changed the image again to the Holocron map, showing the front entrance of the vault."The vault is one of the most secure in the galaxy, but it was designed to keep people out." He smiled softly. I was taking notes, well inside my head. He showed another playthrough this time; my body or character was moving in-between the many terminals and safes.

"Once you're inside and the power is shut down, there is little they can do," he added. My character showed me walking along the terminals until I found "the one" where I kneeled and placed the USB downloading and extracting the files.

"You make it sound so easy," I huffed. The Holocron shut off initiating our little meeting was finally over.

"If you don't mind, Senator, I will retire for the night." Teckla voiced as she stood up from the couch. I quickly looked outside and found myself in Clovis's house after dark. I cleared my throat up, smiling at Teckla, "Of course." I responded.

"The information we get tomorrow will go a long way to expose perhaps the real criminals behind this war," Clovis commented. I turned my attention back onto Clovis, "These are war profiteers. Padme has exposed that before, and nobody cared." I sighed.

"Truth is not on the battlefield." He replied.

I placed my hand onto the bottom of my chin, peering from the corner of my eye at the window. "It's late. Good night Clovis." I stood up from the couch we both sat on quickly, wanting to leave as fast as I could. Being alone with Clovis was always a bad idea.