Section 1 – Obi-Wan

It had been a fairly uneventful morning. The Jedi High Council was in assembly, considering matters of enough importance to warrant attention, but not so pressing that they created much discussion. Obi-Wan was happy that the meeting wouldn't take very long. He had just gotten in from yet another mission in the Outer Rim and wasn't set to leave for a couple of weeks. He went straight from the hangar to the Council chamber upon arrival and wanted nothing more than to take a nice hot shower, draw the curtains in his room, and sleep for as long as his body and his schedule would permit.

Suddenly, there was a boom so loud that the tower of the Jedi Council actually shook. All assembled grabbed hold of their seats and looked around alarmingly.

A chime on the intercom sounded and a voice far calmer than it should have been said, "Master Windu, if you could please come to the Communications array, we have a situation." The clone sounded as if the situation was typical and nothing was amiss any more than usual.

"What kind of a situation?" Master Windu responded, not nearly as calmly, and clearly of the opinion that something was very amiss.

"Well, sir, you see..." but whatever he was going to say next was drowned out by another loud boom and violent shaking, accompanied by a CS Fighter being chased by a Z-95 Headhunter streaking past the tower so close that it seemed if you could open the windows, you'd almost be able to reach out and touch them.

Just as the two ships passed, the Z-95 fired on the Fighter, making contact with the wing of the other ship and causing a visible amount of damage to the hull. The CS Fighter then banked and changed direction, circling around the towers and heading off in the direction of the Senate while gaining altitude.

The Jedi, in a state of confusion, looked at each other dumbfounded for a couple of seconds. While the Council tower was certainly nowhere near the ground level of the planet, there was no reason for those two ships to have found themselves that low in the atmosphere, not to mention the risk of casualties and damage to property that could result.

Master Windu was the first among them to gather his wits about him, "Master Kenobi, come with me. The rest of you, I suggest you get out of the tower as quickly as possible, just in case those two decide to make an encore appearance."

Windu and Kenobi left the room first, quickly followed by the others. When they got to the Communications Center, a clone, presumably the one who had chimed in on the intercom, gave them a briefing, "We were contacted by the pilot of the CS Fighter, requesting asylum and permission to land at the Temple. Then, out of nowhere, the Z-95 comes into the atmosphere and starts firing on her."

"Asylum? From whom? And why come to the Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked.

The clone shrugged, "Don't know, Sir. Didn't have time to ask before the pilot shut down the channel. You know as much as we do now."

"Is the Z-95 one of ours?" Master Windu asked.

"Negative, Sir. It doesn't match any Republic registration."

Mace looked at Obi-Wan who was stroking his chin. He caught the question in Mace's face and shrugged, "It could be legitimate, but if it were, it seems that they would have attempted to communicate with us by now. More than likely, it's for an organization the Jedi probably shouldn't get involved with," then he paused and added, "On the other hand, the CS Fighter could easily be just as illegitimate, but the pilot is requesting asylum from us. I'm left wondering what our obligation is there and who granting their request temporarily will get us into trouble with."

Mace shook his head and let out a long breath, "There is no easy answer."

"Whatever we do, we need to do it soon. We can't just sit here and see how that will play out, can we?" Another boom, not nearly so bad as the last, shook the Temple.

Mace rubbed his face with his hand, "Can't we? Is there a damage report?"

The clone replied, "The CS Fighter has taken two hits, but so far, nothing major. Don't know how long her luck will hold out, though."

Mace glared at the clone for a second, "That's not the damage report I was talking about."

"Right, Sir," the clone stammered, "so far, no damage to the Jedi Temple or casualties to report. The only damage has been to the fighter, Sir."

Mace looked to Obi-Wan, "What do you think we should do?"

Obi-Wan smirked at him, "I think you already know the answer to that."

Mace considered his options, glanced at the other Jedi and said, "I hope I don't regret this." Then, he told the clone, "See if you can hail the Fighter. Tell them we are temporarily granting asylum. Extend the landing platform on this tower and tell them they are free to land." Then he looked at Obi-Wan, "You're up."

Obi-Wan quickly turned while tapping his communications link on his arm, "Anakin, come in."

After a couple of seconds, a reply, "Anakin here. You're missing a fantastic show out here, Master."

Obi-Wan continued walking toward the hangar as he spoke to his former padawan, "Actually, that's exactly why I'm calling. We're granting temporary asylum to the fighter. I need you and Ahsoka to meet me in the hangar, and hurry. That Z-95 is more maneuverable and probably better armed. I'm surprised the Fighter has lasted this long."

After a few seconds, Anakin responded, "Copy that, Master. Ahsoka and I are already on our way."

After a few more minutes, Anakin and Ahsoka were each getting into a fighter while Obi-Wan was giving them instructions, "Don't fire at the Z-95. We're not sure who they are and we don't need to create an incident. Just hail them and tell them the other ship, and its pilot, is temporarily in Jedi custody. If they want to resolve this issue, they can appeal to the Council," then he added, "Be diplomatic about it."

Anakin gave him a smile, then said, joking, "Sure, you know me, the very model of diplomacy," as he got into the cockpit of his fighter.

Obi-Wan needed not wait too long. As soon as Anakin and Ahsoka hailed the Z-95 and explained the situation, the Headhunter took off out of the Coruscanti atmosphere, leaving his quarry behind. The two Jedi accompanied the CS fighter to the landing platform and into the hangar, where Obi-Wan was waiting for it. Once docked, the pilot waited an uncomfortable amount of time to exit the vessel. Anakin and Ahsoka exited their fighters and went stand next to Obi-Wan while they waited. In the interim, Mace had come up to the hangar to join the other Jedi to find out who their new "guest" was.

Once the landing ramp was down, the swish of black and silver robes greeted the Jedi. Though her lightsaber was still clipped to her belt, the pilot's hands were up in a gesture indicating surrender. Arriving at the foot of the ramp, she took a look at the Jedi standing there and addressed them, "Thank you, Masters. I was not sure that my request would be granted, but you were my last hope. I had to try."

Incredulously, Ahsoka turned to Anakin and half-whispering asked, "Have we just granted asylum to a Sith?"

Anakin shrugged but Obi-Wan responded, "No, she's not a Sith…she's a Blackguard."

The pilot bowed her head to Obi-Wan, indicating that he was correct, "My name is Kayla Vass. I am, or was…it's complicated…an Elite Wilder Marauder with the Blackguard. I'm prepared to cooperate in any way that is necessary to ensure my continued safety here, for however long you deem fit."

"You could start by handing over your light saber," Mace replied.

She nodded and said, "The only reason I still have it is because I wasn't sure if you would attack me if it was in my hand while trying to offer it to you." She unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and handed it to Obi-Wan, "Please, I only ask that you take care of it while I'm here."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said as he took it from her.

"First off, who did we just tick off by granting your request?" Mace asked, probably more strongly than he intended.

Kayla sighed, "Probably no one of consequence, if that's what you're worried about. My guess is a bounty hunter," then she paused and added, "There is a considerable bounty on my head."

Mace shot a glance at Obi-Wan that indicated he was, in fact, already regretting the decision to grant her request. Obi-Wan rubbed his face, feeling himself growing increasingly grumpy over his lack of sleep and now this.

Obi-Wan decided to try and resolve this, or at least come to some point where he could leave it for now, as quickly as possible, "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Anakin and Ahsoka, please escort our guest to one of the assembly rooms." Looking at the Blackguard, he said, "You said you'd cooperate fully. Our first order of business needs to be complete honesty with exactly what you're charged with and why you're here." The Blackguard nodded, indicating that she understood and intended to cooperate. Anakin gestured that she was to follow Ahsoka while he followed the Blackguard.

Once they were out of earshot, looking at Master Windu, Obi-Wan said, "The Chancellor will need to be informed. We don't want to be accused of harboring a fugitive if we can help it."

Mace nodded, "Agreed. I'll inform the Chancellor, personally."

The other Jedi nodded, "If her bounty is that high, it should be easy to dig up a bit of information on her. I'll see what I can find then meet Anakin and Ahsoka and find out what exactly we've gotten ourselves into."

"I'll expect a full report, you know, as will the Council."

"Of course."

The two Jedi departed, each regretting the task set before them.