Decoy (Rex)

1: The blonde man

She gathered her skirts in her hand and carefully walked down the hallway, her guards at her sides. The heels on her shoes were too high, so she tripped, falling to the floor.

Her face burned as one of her guards helped her up, muttering under his breath about how incompetent senators were.

"Senator Amidala?"

She turned her head to look at the one who spoke, meeting the gaze of a man with blonde hair and white armour with blue paint.

"Yes?" She answered.

"General Skywalker sent me with a message since he's on world," the man said, holding a helmet to his hip.

"And what is the message?" She prompted.

The man's eyes slid to the guards that were pretending not to listen. "It's a sensitive subject."

"Then we shall speak in private," she decided and motioned for the guards to leave them alone. "Come, my quarters are ahead."

The man nodded and followed her down the hallways, his footsteps silent while hers were loud, her heels clinking against the floor. The door slid open in front of her, and she walked inside, while he followed her.

"What was the message?" She asked when the door shut behind them. "I have things to do, and I don't have all day."

"Right," the man's stance was relaxed now, as if in the company of someone he knew well. "He wanted me to tell you he'll be will be late this evening because the Jedi Council wanted to see him."

"Oh, right," she nodded. "If that's all, you may see yourself out. I have matters to attend to."

He frowned, his forehead wrinkling as he stared at her. "Am I not staying to tell you what happened to him this time? Or do you already know what his mood will be like?"

"Oh! Yes. Of course," she said. "You can tell me while we sit."

She lowered herself onto a seat, taking the weight off her heels. She sighed in relief, but quickly straightened when he looked at her oddly.

"Well, there were a lot of casualties," he told her, still standing. "And you know how he handles that."

"Right," she nodded. 

"And he didn't suffer any injuries himself," he continued. "Also, his robotic hand has been bothering him lately, so he might complain about that."

"Uh huh," she hummed.

He tilted his head at her. "And R2D2 ended up getting shot."

"Oh no," she sadly said. "That's a shame."

He suddenly took the blaster out from his belt and pointed it at her, narrowing his eyes. "R2D2 stayed on Coruscant. Who are you, and what did you do to Senator Amidala?"

She froze, her eyes shooting up to his face. "I can assure you, I am Amidala. That was just a small fact I forgot."

"Senator Amidala always asks how my brothers are doing when we meet in the hallways," the man's eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "What's my name?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's my name? Senator Amidala knows my name, and if you truly are her, just say my name to prove it," he demanded.

She lifted her chin at him. "I find this highly offensive. You will leave, and never speak of this again."

The blaster clicked as the safety was turned off.

"So you're admitting to not being Senator Amidala?" His eyes took in her face, searching for any features unlike Amidala's, but they were identical.

"I said no such thing," she firmly said. "Now leave my quarters."

"You will either say my name, proving that you are who you say you are, or I will have you arrested," the man threatened.

Cliffhanger!

:D