A short and green-skinned alien hobbled around a large chamber, leaning heavily on a cane. Mace Windu watched the figure walk around intently. How ironic it was, that one of the most powerful and respected beings in the galaxy appeared so fragile and weak to the inobservant eye. But beneath that shell laid an awesome power. Then there was the person who was an antipode to Master Yoda, a person who appeared strong, who seemed strong, and who said he was strong, and even believed he was strong, but in the end was ultimately weak. That person was Chancellor Palpatine. But, Mace often wondered to himself, was Palpatine even more complex than Yoda, seeming strong to the inobservant eye, seeming weak to the observant eye, yet strong in the end? There was something within Palpatine, some hidden element that refused to show itself.
Mace then turned to the other figure within the room. He was fairly tall, with a cream-colored tunic and a youthful beard growing on his face. Obi-Wan had been summoned here by Palpatine himself, an urgent matter that needed to be discussed before he and Anakin left on their mission. Mace was surprised that Anakin hadn't come along within him, or perhaps it was just that Anakin was hiding in the shadows like he did on occasion. Mace stretched out with the Force and sure enough he felt Anakin's presence. His presence was as subtle as a raging whirlwind to the Force, he had so much power, most of it still raw power, and destiny too raged around him. Mace squinted into the darkest portion of the room and was able to discern a silhouette within that had Anakin's basic body frame. After doing so Mace then returned his attention to the meeting.
"Unlike Dooku, this is." Yoda said, speaking knowingly of his former apprentice. Mace couldn't help but agree, after Nute Gunray's death almost a quarter of the Seperatist fleet had fallen into disarray. The Trade Federation had also pulled its resources out of the war, calling it a lost cause. Yet Palpatine continued pressing on with his argument.
"Are you saying that Count Dooku, dark lord of the Sith, would not go so low as to kill Nute Gunray. I find that hard to believe. 'Discipline, discipline is all. It conquers pain, it conquers fear. Most importantly, it conquers failure.' Is that not the Sith philosophy?" Palpatine said the words with such power. He was a very charismatic individual. Mace thought less of his charisma though, and more of his knowledge of Sith teachings. Few Jedi even bothered to learn such things, why did Palpatine know it so easily?
"Kill Gunray, Dooku would. Be unprepared for the aftermath, he would not." Yoda stated adamantly. Palpatine was forced to acknowledge the words. Count Dooku was a very calculating individual, and he would have prepared for the ensuing events of Nute Gunray's death had he been wanting to kill the Nemoidian. After giving that some thought Palpatine quickly had his rebuttal.
"Perhaps this is all part of a grander plan for Dooku. Maybe he is weeding out the weaker elements of his organization, appearing to be on the verge of collapse but stronger than ever. The Trade Federation might have brought a considerable amount of money to the Seperatists, but they took out quite a bit of money to maintain their fleet as well. Having them was a minimal gain situation. Letting them go wouldn't hurt too much." Mace was wary of Palpatine's words, they seemed so eager to be believed. He was hiding something, but what? With politicians the answer to such a question was never easy.
Anakin trailed after Obi-Wan as they left the High Council chambers. Palpatine had been having a hard time explaining Gunray's death, and when Mace looked at him near the beginning, it was as though he had been peering straight into Anakin's soul. Had he found out that it was Anakin who killed Gunray? Surely not, the entire time he had controlled his thoughts to prevent anyone from figuring that out. But Mace Windu was a powerful Jedi who would easily see through such barriers.
"Is everything all right? You seem rather tense." Anakin's head jerked in Obi-Wan's direction and he was able to notice the rigid stance he had unconsciously adopted. He dropped back into a more casual stance and instinctively shook his head.
"No Master, everything is just fine. I've just been…thinking."
"About Padme you mean?" Anakin cringed at the words. No matter where he went he was reminded of Padme's injury, of his failure. Every time he heard her name it was like getting a slap in the face. He should've been there, he should've have stopped it before it could happen. Obi-Wan immediately took notice of this and let the subject drop. The two continued to walk in silence until they reached the hangar, where the silence became too awkward for Obi-Wan to handle.
"It's not your fault. You know that, right?" Obi-Wan pointed out, and once more a look of shame spread across Anakin's face.
"Of course it's my fault, Master. I could have been there, I could have saved her entirely. She shouldn't have even been injured.
"Anakin, it's not your-"
"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about! When I say 'there', I don't mean at the scene of the shooting. I mean 'there', in front of the blaster." A look of realization dawned across Obi-Wan's face, and then a confused look came upon it again.
"What do you mean?"
"I arrived a few seconds before the shot was fired. I didn't have time to deflect the bolt with my lightsaber, but I could have leapt out in front of the blaster and taken the hit. But…I choked and got scared. In the moment Padme needed me the most, I choked. All I could do was shift the assassin's aim." Obi-Wan fully realized what was going on then. For months Anakin had been perfecting the art of energy absorption. By the time of the assassination attempt he would almost always absorb a blaster bolt, and on occasion could absorb indirect lightsaber damage. "I was afraid that I wouldn't absorb it, that it would actually hurt me, and because of my selfishness, Padme is trapped in a hospital, waiting for her leg to heal."
"Anakin, the important thing is that she's still alive. And that is only because f you."
"I know, Master. But-"
"No, no 'buts', no matter what else you may think, you did come through for her when it counted. Now then, come on. Our transport will leave without us if we don't board soon." And with that they walked up the ramp to one of the many Republic gunships.
Anakin looked around at his surroundings. He looked at the clone troopers, and as always he got an unsettling feeling when he did so. It was so strange, looking at them. They all looked the exact same on the outside, and Anakin knew that even beneath the armor they were all the same. That they all looked like a dead man made things even worse.
After he could simply not tolerate looking at the clone troopers anymore his gaze wandered downward to the floor, and he began to mentally determine the distance between specks of dust. Just finding dust was a difficulty in itself, the gunships were so clean. They reminded him of hospitals. Hospitals…Padme… Anakin shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. They wouldn't do him any good. He had to focus on the mission at hand.
"And why, exactly, should I employ you for this job?" A deep voice asked to a shadowy figure.
"Because I'm the best there is." answered a youthful voice.
"A child, the best there is? Ha! Do you have any idea of what kind of profession this is, little boy?"
"I know all about the bounty hunter profession. I was raised in it."
"Do not waste my time, little boy. You should learn to respect others. Now then…Mr., and I do say 'Mr.' lightly, Fett, I would ask that you go, before I have to do something I don't want to do."
"I'm not leaving until I have this job."
"So be it." The man then proceeded to push a button under his desk and two security guards immediately entered into the room. The child looked at them and a look of innocence played across his face. The guards hesitated and let their blasters drop to the ground. Boba Fett then smiled wickedly. He quickly pulled out two silver blaster pistols and fired off two shots. The first caught one of the guards right in the heart and he dropped to the ground dead, and the second was hit in the throat. He dropped to the ground desperately trying to breathe for a few seconds before slowly stopping then lying still altogether. The man at the desk was clearly shocked by the display.
Boba then turned back around to him, leveled his blasters and shot him through both eyes. The man collapsed to the ground, two trails of smoke exiting from where his retinas had been.
A man standing amongst the shadows then began to clap and stepped forward.
"Well done, young bounty hunter. Consider the job yours. Now then, you'll understand that for your little show here I'll have to dock your pay a bit, but how does a hundred thousand credits sound?" Boba stared menacingly at the man, and without words rejected the offer.
"Two hundred thousand. No less. You refuse, you join them." Boba then gestured at the three corpses strewn across the floor with his blasters and the man laughed.
"Well then. Feisty, are we? Fine, my master does appreciate such boldness, even in scum such as yourself. I'll go as high as one hundred fifty thousand. No higher." The two stared at each other before Boba lifted his blasters and shot the man, but only in the leg. The man fell to the floor and clutched at his wound, but he refused to show any other signs of pain.
"Deal." Boba concluded, and after taking a datapad with the mission specs on top of the desk in the room he walked out, back into the night city of Coruscant.