It was about an hour into their five hour journey from Mandalore to Coruscant, and the three Jedi had gathered several of their clone troopers in the cargo hold to debrief them.
"The Duchess's life could still very well be in danger" Obi Wan said. "The Death Watch will stop at nothing to see that she doesn't make it before the Senate".
"We also have good reason to believe that the Death Watch are backed by the separatists," Anakin added.
"And because of that, we don't know what they might try. This is a very large hold, so stay alert and in groups of two or more" Jake also added.
"R2 will be down here as well to scan for any possible droid activity" Anakin said.
"Anything else sir?" Rex asked.
"No, that'll be all" Obi Wan replied.
Rex nodded and Cody gestured to their men. They all turned on their heels and headed off in different directions. Just then, Obi Wan's wrist com started going off.
"Yes," he answered.
"The Duchess and her retinue requests your presence," the voice of one of the Duchess's guards said.
"Very well" Obi Wan replied, and shut off his com.
"No offense Anakin, but maybe you should stay down here with the troopers. You seem like someone who would only be bored spending time with politicians" Jake said with a smile, as he turned and followed Obi Wan to the elevator. Anakin returned a smile.
"You read my mind. We'll let you know if anything turns up" Anakin replied, as he watched the two Jedi board the elevator and head up deck.
"Bored spending time with politicians, that's true" Anakin thought to himself. "For the most part".
As Anakin went to join the troopers, he was unaware of the unwanted company that watched him from the shadows.
"I sense some worry from you about the Duchess. I can assure you, she's as safe as she could be" Jake told Obi Wan assuringly.
"I know," Obi Wan said. A moment of silence passed.
"You know it's okay to care about your friends, especially ones that you've known for so long" Jake said. Obi Wan looked at him with a puzzled look.
"What makes you say that?" he asked.
"I can sense your conflict. You care greatly for her, but at the same time, you don't want to because you don't want to be attached" Jake replied, as the turbo lift came to a stop, and the doors opened. Obi Wan sighed.
"I knew the Duchess a long time ago" Obi Wan said, as they exited the turbolift.
"Well I have a strange feeling that's about to be evident in a moment" Jake replied, as they approached the door to the Duchess's chambers.
As the door slid open and they entered, their presence did not draw attention, as the senators in the room were all focused on the Duchess.
"As the designated regent of fifteen hundred independent systems, I speak for thousands that have urged me to allow them to stay neutral in this war" the Duchess stated.
"And yet some might argue that a strong defense is a swift and decisive offense" Obi Wan interjected, as he stepped forward before the Duchess. She looked at him somewhat thoughtfully, as he bowed to her slightly.
"You are quite the general now, Master Kenobi," Satine replied.
"Forgive me for interrupting your highness, I meant no disrespect" Obi Wan said apologetically.
"Really. Senators, I presume you are well acquainted with the collection of half-truths and hyperbole known as Obi Wan Kenobi" Satine said. Obi Wan bowed slightly to the senators.
"Your highness is too kind," Obi Wan replied.
"You're right, I am," Satine said quickly.
A moment of silence fell upon the room, and Jake raised an eyebrow at the oddness of that remark.
"Allow me to introduce one of my fellow Jedi, Jake Delarus" Obi Wan said, turning as Jake stepped forward.
"Duchess, Senators" he said respectively, bowing slightly.
"I remember a time when Jedi were not generals, but peacekeepers," Satine said, as she took a drink from a servant droid.
"We are protectors of peace, justice, and the innocent of the galaxy" Jake replied, folding his arms over his chest plate. "And currently, yours".
"What Knight Delarus is trying to say is that we are acting on your highnesses behalf, to protect you from the Death Watch and Separatists that don't share your neutral point of view" Obi Wan said diplomatically.
"I did not ask for no such thing," Satine said in protest.
"No, but a majority of your court did," Obi Wan replied. A long moment of silence befell the room.
"I do not remember you as one to hide behind excuses" Satine spat.
"And I don't remember you as one to shrink from responsibilities" Obi Wan shot back coolly.
"I am sure we can all agree," the large blue twi'lek Senator Orn free taa said, stepping in between the two. "Duchess Satine and General Kenobi have proven that there are two sides to every dilemma".
"Indeed" Senator Merrik remarked. Jake turned and looked at Merrik, something about the Senator didn't sit well with him, but he couldn't quite tell what it was.
"Now, in regard to the Senate vote, we think..." Senator Taa started.
"I think a multitude makes for discord, not good counsel" Satine said, cutting him off abruptly.
"Right again, my lady" Senator Taa said defeatingly.
"They may be two sides to every dilemma, but the Duchess only favors her own" Obi Wan whispered to Jake, who slowly nodded in agreement.
Down in the cargohold, things were much quieter. Too quiet in fact. As Anakin patrolled through one of the holds dark corridors, all he had found so far was nothing. Everything was as it should be. And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something down here with him and the troops. Suddenly, his comm started going off.
"Skywalker" he answered.
"General, something is wrong with your droid. He's scared real good" Rex said. "We've also lost contact with two of my men".
"I'm on my way there now. I'll let the others up top know to be alert" Anakin said, as he switched the channels on his wrist comm.
"A Republic military presence is the only sure defense against the Separatists" Obi Wan said, as he approached the Duchess.
"Even extremist's can be reasoned with" Satine replied as she stood up and slowly started towards him as well.
As the two started arguing, over by the door, Jake's wrist comm started going off. "Delarus here".
"Jake, how's everything up top?" Anakin asked.
"Normal. Though you should see Obi Wan and the Duchess going at it" Jake replied. Anakin chuckled slightly.
"I wish I could. But I was letting you and Obi Wan know to stay alert" Anakin said. Jake's brow furrowed.
"What seems to be the trouble?" Jake asked.
"I don't know yet. But something has R2 shaken up, and Rex said two of our troops are missing" Anakin replied.
"Very well, I'll let Obi Wan know. It's just about dinner, so we'll be heading to the dining hall. Keep us informed" Jake said.
"Will do, Skywalker out" Anakin replied, and the comm went silent.
Jake had just enough time to look up, and see a fuming Duchess Satine walk past him. Slowly but surely, the rest of her court began to file out and follow her. Obi Wan walked up to him, and they followed the group out.
"That didn't seem to go well," Jake said. Obi Wan sighed.
"No, it didn't really" Obi Wan replied.
"Anakin wanted us to be on guard. He said that there might be something going on down in the cargo hold" Jake said. Obi Wan nodded.
"Very well. Let's just hope it's nothing" Obi Wan said, as they continued on toward the dining hall.
The doors slid open, as Anakin entered the main area of the cargo hold. In the center of the room was R2, and surrounding him was Commander Cody, Captain Rex and the rest of the clones.
"Alright men, what's the problem?" Anakin asked.
"We're not sure yet sir, there's still no sign of Mixer and Redeye" Rex replied. R2 started slightly shaking and chirping.
"What's the matter buddy?" Anakin asked his faithful companion. R2 beeped a reply.
"I know, I know, but I'm here now. Use your scanners, and see if anything is out of place" Anakin said.
R2 beeped and whirled in affirmation, and activated his short range scanners, along with his small dome light. He dropped his third leg and started through the cargo hold, with Anakin and the troops right behind him. After a few minutes, they eventually found a large, empty opened crate.
"Well what do we have here?" Cody asked.
"Looks like the contents of this box are missing" Rex said.
"Or it got up and walked away," Anakin said in a low tone, and then looked at the troops. "Alright, fan out, separate squads. I'll contact Obi Wan".
By now, dinner had been served, and everyone was seated at the long, wooden elegant dining table. As the politicians conversed with one another, Obi Wan's wrist comm started going off, causing him to excuse himself.
"What did you find Anakin?" Obi Wan asked.
"There's a large open container and the contents are missing. And I still have two two men unaccounted for" Anakin replied.
"That's not good. Keep things quiet. We'll stay with the Senators" Obi Wan said.
"Got it" Anakin replied, and the comm went silent.
As the comm went silent, Anakin turned his attention to R2, as he let out a series of excited beeps.
"What is it R2, did you find something?" he asked, as he followed the little blue astromech droid. But suddenly, the ship jerked slightly, and Anakin realized they had just come out of hyperspace.
"What the…" Anakin said curiously. But as he was about to turn on his comm, his attention was drawn back to the chirping and beeping droid he'd been following.
As R2 turned his domed head to his master and back away from them, Anakin followed the little droids gesturing, and he saw a clone slowly hobbling towards them. He recognized him as Redeye.
"There you are. Redeye where have you been? You've had us all worried" Anakin said. But then he started to feel uneasy. Something was not right.
As he looked closer, he realized that Redeye was not moving on his own, but like a stringed puppet. And as he looked up, he saw the puppetmaster. Instantly he ignited his lightsaber, and its cobalt blade blazed to life, as Anakin saw the thin metal legs that controlled the limp body.
Suddenly, the body was thrown at him, but Anakin was able to dodge it. And as he looked up, he saw what was responsible for what he assumed was, the death of one of his troopers. An SD-K4 assassin droid; a spider-like droid that was known for being efficient at killing quietly, and for being used by the Separatists.
Quickly, Anakin put himself into a fighting stance, as the droid charged him. It tried leaping directly at him, but Anakin sidestepped it, and managed to slice a few of its legs, causing it to go sliding hard into a few crates nearby.
The droid then started to throw several crates at him in response. And though Anakin managed to dodge them, he was unable to dodge the assassin droid as it leaped on him. It managed to knock his saber out of his hand, and Anakin had to hold back the assassin droid's sharp metal legs with his bare hands. He winced slightly as he felt one of the legs cut the top of his left arm.
Anakin struggled with all his might, until he saw the droid on top of him get pelted with blue laser bolts. He kicked off the now dead droid, and looked to see Cody and Rex with several of their troops. Rex extended his hand, and helped Anakin up.
"Are you all right sir?" Rex asked. Anakin nodded.
"I'm fine, thanks for the help" Anakin replied, as he held his slightly bleeding arm.
"Look sir, at the lift!" one of the troopers shouted. The others turned and watched another assassin droid pry open the lift door and head up the lift shaft.
"We need to contact the others," Anakin said as he looked at his arm. But he had to suppress a growl, as he saw that his wrist comm had been destroyed. He turned back to the soldiers. "Try to contact Obi Wan".
Cody nodded, and tried to get his helmet comm working, but was only met with static. "General, our comms are being jammed".
"There must be a jammer placed down here. Everyone fan out in groups of two. And stay alert, we don't know if there are any more of those droids down here" Anakin ordered.
The clones all nodded, and headed off in multiple directions. "Obi Wan, danger is coming. Be prepared" Anakin said telepathically through the Master-Padawan bond that still existed strongly between them. He then reached out, and called his lightsaber to his hand with the force, and headed off to clear the cargo hold.
After Anakin had alerted them of suspicious activity in the cargo hold, Obi Wan had informed everyone to remain in the dining room until he'd been notified it was clear. But for some reason, he had a foreboding feeling. As it turned out that feeling had been justified, as the ship suddenly jerked slightly, and everyone looked out the large dining room window to see that the ship had exited hyperspace. Obi Wan checked a small time piece he kept on his belt.
"That's odd. We're not scheduled to arrive at Coruscant for another three and a half hours" Obi Wan said, as he activated his wrist comm.
"Captain, what seems to be the delay?" Obi Wan asked, but was only met with static.
"I'll head to the bridge and see if I can find out what's going on," Jake said as he stood up from his seat at the table. Obi Wan nodded.
"Very well, but stay alert. I have a bad feeling about this" Obi Wan said. Jake nodded, and exited the dining room.
A few minutes passed after Jake had left, when Obi Wan felt something was wrong. "Obi Wan, danger is coming. Be prepared" we're the words he'd heard through the force, as clearly as if Anakin had been there himself. Suddenly, Obi Wan's senses were on fire.
"Secure the door" he called loudly to the two guards that stood on both sides of the door. Just as the guards readied themselves, the doors slid open and the assassin droid rushed in, leaping on the table. Many of the senators ran and cried out in fear, as the large droid barreled for the Duchess.
But Obi Wan was ready, as he moved in front of the Duchess, his azure bladed lightsaber glowing brightly as he held it in a defensive stance. The droid raised it's forward legs up, and let out an electronic shriek. The droid tried to stab Obi Wan immediately, but the Jedi Master swung his blade upward in a smooth arc, severing the droid's forward metal legs, and then quickly thrust his blade into the center of the droid's head. The droid sputtered several times, and then collapsed onto the table. Seeing the danger eliminated, Obi Wan retracted his blade and deactivated it.
"What the hell is going on? First we pull out of hyperspace, now assassin droids" Obi Wan said, turning to the duchess. "Are you alright?".
"Fine, thank you. But like you, I want to know what's going on" Satine replied. Obi Wan's brow suddenly furrowed.
"Well something tells me that this certainly isn't over" Obi Wan said.
Suddenly, several dozen small spider-like droids emerged quickly from the top of the dead large one. They scurried about in all directions, and Obi Wan quickly reignited his lightsaber and stood defensively in front of the duchess, ready to protect her with his life.
It was all very strange; first there was something going on down in the cargo hold, then their comms weren't working, and now they'd suddenly exited hyperspace way before they were supposed to. And to add on to it, there was something else that he could sense wrong, but it wasn't clear enough to know what it was.
These were the things that Jake Delarus pondered as he reached the bridge door. He was surprised to see the door didn't automatically open when it sensed him there. He reached over and pressed a button on the nearby wall console, but the door remained closed, meaning it had to be locked.
"This is honestly the least oddest thing to happen today" Jake said quietly to himself. He took a few steps back, and raised his arm. He closed his eyes, and used the force to open the door. It worked, and the door slightly hissed as it began to slide open.
But as he opened his eyes, he was met with a very unpleasant sight. There, strewn all across the room on the floor and atop the consoles, laid the bodies of the captain and bridge crew of the Coronet. Jake rushed to the captain to see if he could help him, but it was no use, for he had been killed by a sword strike across the chest. And Jake could sense none of the crew were alive either; killed in the same, gruesome method as their captain.
But then, he also sensed something very ominous. Jake slowly backed away from the captain's corpse, and put a hand on his saber at his side.
When suddenly his senses were on fire, and in one smooth arc, he drew his saber, and it's green blade ignited and caught the metal blade of a vibrosword. He parried the blade away, and stepped back to see his attacker. He was met, with the sight of a dark gold and brown droid. Suddenly, three other identical droids dropped down from the ceiling, and formed a circle around him.
"Commando droids" Jake said, raising his saber in a defensive stance, as the remaining droids drew their swords.
The first commando droid charged him, but Jake spun around at the last second and brought his saber around in a quick arc, beheading the droid and sending its body into the console.
Another droid charged him from behind, and leapt up to bring its blade down on its Jedi enemy. But Jake was able to reach his arm out, and with the help of the force and a squeeze of his hand, crushed the droid's chest easily. He then swung his arm, and sent the droid's metal remains into one of the others, now only having to deal with one.
The droid slashed furiously several times, only for them all to be dodged. The droid then attempted a stab, but Jake spun out of the blade's path, and brought his own down on the droid's hands. The metal hands clattered to the floor, and before the droid could even think what to do next, Jake brought his blade up elegantly, and swung his blade through the center of the droid's neck, and then brought his blade down smoothly through the center of the droids body, cutting it in half.
As the pieces of the droid's body fell to the ground, Jake looked around, and seeing that danger was no longer present, he deactivated his saber and put it back on his belt. Quickly, he made his way over to the ship bridge's main computer.
'If saboteurs have made their way onto the ship, then they're the reason we're out of hyperspace, and why our comms are jammed' Jake thought to himself, as he tapped several of the console buttons. He initiated a ship-wide scan, and after a few moments, the console screen started beeping and flashing. Jake looked at the screen, and sure enough, an anomaly had been detected in the engine room.
He then checked their position, and found they were coincidentally pulled out of hyperspace very close to the Null system, a separatist held world. This only helped the case more, that the Separatists wanted Duchess Satine dead as well. 'We've gotta get out of here as quickly as possible'.
Quickly, Jake turned and sprinted out of the bridge towards the engine room. With any luck, he could get them back on course before the situation worsened.
Meanwhile, with all the commotion on the upper decks happening, Anakin was dealing with his own commotion down in the cargo hold. After they had watched the assassin droid head to the upper decks, Anakin had ordered that he and the clones do a complete sweep of the cargo hold to make sure that nothing else was down there.
As Anakin walked slowly and carefully through the hold; his lightsaber glowing brightly and casting a blueish light in the dark hold, he had an unnerving sense of foreboding. 'Why do I get the feeling things are only going to get worse' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, several crates nearby were launched at him. Quickly and acrobatically, Anakin rolled out of the way and as he got back onto his feet, he was met with a third assassin droid.
The droid scurried toward him, it's front metal arms held high in a striking position. But this droid was smarter than the others; instead of just charging it's target, the droid held back at the last second, to better coordinate its attack.
Anakin held his lightsaber in a defensive manner, as he and the droid stared each other down. The two opponents started to slowly circle each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally the droid attacked, slamming its metal legs into the floor where his opponent stood. Anakin dodged just in time, but then had to dodge several quick swipes of the droid's legs. Though the swipes missed, the droid did not let up on its attack, but finally made a mistake.
As it brought its long legs down in a heavy stroke on its opponent, with perfect timing, Anakin dodged the attack and acrobatically flipped up onto the droid. Quick as he could, he drove his saber through the droid's domed metal head. The droid sputtered and thrashed violently, before going limp, and crashing to the floor.
Anakin hopped down off the droid, and leaned up against a nearby wall, taking several deep breaths as he recovered from the fight. Suddenly he heard a familiar, shrill beeping tone. Anakin looked at his wrist comm, and was astonished to find it flashing and beeping just like normal. Quicker than even he realized, he pressed the answer button and responded, "Hello?".
"General Skywalker, this is Captain Rex," a voice replied. Anakin let out a relieved sigh.
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice Rex," Anakin said.
"Likewise sir" Rex replied. "We found the jammer hidden in a crate not too far from the south holds entrance, and it's disabled. My men have also finished scanning the rest of the cargo hold, and report it's clear".
"Good job Rex. Have you heard from Obi Wan?" Anakin asked.
"No sir. He probably doesn't even know that we have comms back yet" Rex replied.
"Very well. You and Cody gather most of your men, and meet me at the lift. We need to get up top and make sure everything else is okay. I'll contact Obi Wan now, and let him know what's happened" Anakin said, as he quickened his pace towards the center of the cargo hold.
"Understood sir, Rex out" Rex replied, and the comm went silent. Quickly, Anakin switched the channels on his comlink, hoping his master would answer.
Meanwhile up in the dining hall, the only thing being served was chaos. After Obi Wan had defeated the assassin droid, a fail safe activated and released several dozen smaller droids from its head. Now, little droids were running rampant all over.
As Obi Wan stood in front of the Duchess, he saw a wave of micro assassin droids coming at them. Quickly, he took several swipes at them with his saber, cutting the little droids to bits. But just as he had got done cutting through the droids wave, he saw another wave heading at them from behind them.
Obi Wan turned as quickly as he could to meet them, but ended up not having too, as a blue energy blast hit the wave dead in their center. Obi Wan looked to the origin of the blast, and was mildly surprised to see the Duchess holding a small, concealable handheld deactivator pistol. He watched, as she lowered her weapon again, and fired several more shots at the mess of droids all around them. That was enough to cause Obi Wan to bring his concentration back to the situation at hand.
"Do you always carry a deactivator?" Obi Wan asked sarcastically, as he and Satine formed a back to back defensive circle.
"Just because I'm a pacifist, doesn't mean I won't defend myself" Satine snapped back, as she continued to fire at any micro droids that approached them.
"Now you sound like a Jedi" Obi Wan quipped sarcastically, as Satine took aim and shot the last little micro droid.
Seeing as the danger was over, for now, Obi Wan deactivated his lightsaber, and Satine lowered her deactivator. Suddenly, a shrill beeping rang out through the room. Obi Wan looked down at his wrist, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was coming from his wrist comm. Quicker than even he realized, Obi Wan pressed his comlink to open the channel.
"Obi Wan-Obi Wan, are you there?" came the all too familiar voice of his former padawan. Obi Wan let out a sigh of relief.
"Anakin, thank the Force. Are you alright, and what's going on around here?" Obi Wan asked.
"I'm fine, but we encountered another assassin droid in the cargo hold. We managed to destroy it, along with the comms jammer that was hidden down here" Anakin replied.
"Well it's about time we got our comms back, we've got enough problems as it is" came the voice of Jake over the comm.
"Jake, where are you? And what do you mean 'enough problems'?" Obi Wan asked, concerned for what he was about to hear.
"I'm on my way to the engine room" Jake replied. "Commando droids have infiltrated the ship, killed the bridge crew, and have done something in the engine room".
"Wait, commando droids? Who in the seven sith hells oversaw the loading of this ship's cargo?" Anakin exclaimed over the comm line.
"I don't know," Jake said. "That'll surely be something to find out as soon as this is over".
"Obi Wan," Satine said in a low voice. Obi Wan turned to her, and saw her staring out the viewport. He followed her gaze, and his jaw physically dropped in shock.
"I think our problems just got more numerous," Obi Wan finally said into his wrist comm. "We've got more company".
"Great, who's joined the party now?" Jake asked.
"A separatist frigate" Obi Wan replied, as he continued to stare at a Munificent-class frigate…that was heading straight for their currently disabled ship.
To be continued…