AN: This is my first fanfic so be nice. Constructive Criticism please.
Also, I want to explain about the Shilerrian species. They are effectively humans who live a lot longer due to a mutation causing them to be a lot more resistant to the aging effect of oxygen. They grow up at the same rate, however.
I have no idea why people put disclaimers on a fan fiction website, but I don't own Star Wars, just my OCs.

Chapter I

POV: None

"Go. Kill Senator Organa at all costs. If he lives, I foresee that the war will be shortened considerably."

"Master, if I fail, the news will get out. Palpatine will be forced to do something."

"The news will get out anyway. Palpatine can conduct a bigger investigation than is possible in this galaxy, and he will never find us." The master, hidden by the darkness, almost said more, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

"If the Jedi are there?"

"Are you scared of the Jedi?"

"They could hinder the effort temporarily, buying the Senator time to escape."

"Then be a diversion. Hire someone else to kill him."

"I will take it into consideration, master."

POV: Michael Shepherd

I was acting as a bodyguard for Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan whilst he returned home on leave. We have been friends for years now, and he so came to me with a request. Since he had heard that a mysterious figure had been murdering Jedi away from Coruscant, and because he is good friends with and supports many of them, he now worries for his and his family's lives – especially with the growing tension between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He is not a Jedi, so I think that Bail has little reason to worry, and he doesn't seem to. I only know that he does because he came to me expressing his concerns – and making his request.

So that is why I am now meditating on Alderaan, in a guest room in his family's mansion, searching through the Force for the mysterious Sith who has been rumoured to be killing Jedi. I think I know who he is. If I am right, then...then I worry for the Jedi. I know that the Sith have abandoned the Rule of Two. I have met three of them previously: Darth Deimos, Darth Phobos and the Master – Darth Salek. And during the battle of Naboo Qui-Gon Jinn was killed by another. There are more, but I don't know who they are.

I recall back to fourteen years ago, when I was part of the Jedi Order. I was on a mission to Ryloth, attempting to rescue a Twi-lek prince with my Padawan Shira Clindrin. Accompanying me was my close friend, Dex Keen, and his Padawan, Syra Prize. We were on board the captors' ship when he killed her. I will never forget the look of shock on Shira's face as Darth Phobos stabbed her. We were all duelling when he kicked me back and blasted me with force lightning. A few seconds later, Shira managed to slice one of the two blades of his dual bladed lightsaber off, but he whirled around and stuck his second blade into her stomach. At that point, I was arguably the best duellist in the Order, but was lucky to escape after Dex and Syra retrieved the Prince. Yes, I likely could have beaten Phobos had Dex and Syra not knocked him down the shaft of the lift we were fighting near the bottom of, but it was a hard battle and I barely escaped with my life.

But that was fourteen years ago, and I have become a better duellist since. In my meditation, I checked for life forms in the mansion. Bail Organa asleep with his wife. Apart from me and the plants, that was it. I extended my search to the surrounding area outside the mansion. Animals and plant life. Then, from the concentration of sentient beings, was what I took to be a town of some sort. And then I noticed that two of the beings in the town were Force sensitive and shrouded in light. I pushed further through the Force, seeing that they were sleeping in opposite rooms. A human male with dark hair and chocolate skin. In the other room was a human female, quite young (although if she, or the man for that matter, were Shilerrian, like me, they could be a lot older than they look), and with brown hair. The female was strong in the force, although seemed to have less control over her power. Probably a padawan of the older male. His raw power seemed to be less, but more controlled and focused. He could probably use it better than his padawan.

I pulled out of my meditation, satisfied. If the Sith was going to attack the Senator (which I highly doubted), then he would probably go for the Jedi first, to get them out of the way. I was pretty sure he wouldn't sense me due to my powerful masking ability.

Again, I wondered if it could possibly come to a galaxy-wide war. If it did, what should I do? Whose side to join? The Republic? The Jedi would be fighting alongside them, and I did want to see some of my friends in the Order again. Especially Dex.

Dex. I hadn't seen him in person for seven years. We still spoke by hologram relatively often; not recently, however. His padawan, Syra Prize, would almost definitely be a knight by now. Probably a master. She had lots of potential.

Finally deciding to go to sleep, I reinforced my mask through the Force and climbed into bed.

POV: None

It was still dark when Eela Vasharov woke to the feeling of being watched. She glanced around the room, not seeing anyone. Eela felt her master, Zeth Besu, in the other room. Deciding it was nothing, she rolled over and desperately tried to get back to sleep.