The news of the Chancellor's assassination started to spread throughout the core worlds in minutes, and hours for the rest of the galaxy. Such a momentous act couldn't be ignored, and even as the Chancellor was transported to the leading medical facility on Coruscant with no word if he survived. The leaders and systems of the CIS were cheering and taking this unexpected victory. Whether it was the CIS or just a simple bounty hunter, no one knows. But as of now, everything has changed.
And it's chaos.
"Are the Jedi here yet?!" yelled one out of the dozen doctors in the room.
They all stood around an square apparatus around the size of a stool situated above a bed. They were all moving quickly as the slow beep echoed above all of the noise, the only thing that gave them some hope. The machine above the bed was hooked up to his chest, acting as his heart and other vital organs in that area, but it was just a holding action. The blaster bolt that blasted through his chest and heart damaged too much internal tissue for any kind of long lasting and successful repair, and since cybernetics would require the removal of the device and hours of surgery, that was also out of the question. So all the doctors could do was keep him alive for as long as they could, and wait for the Jedi, Senate, and Military officials to arrive.
The person on the table was breathing frantically, letting out groans of pain, and was showing great strength for his age as the medical personnel around him diligently worked on him. The only clothing the body was a his pants, his upper body shirtless and revealing the frame of an older man. Wires of all kinds were hooked up to him, a respiratory mask lay over his mouth, and white lights revealed everywhere so everyone could see. The apparatus above him had wires and mesh hanging out of the bottom, all connect to a once gapping hole in the older mans chest.
This person was Sheave Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Republic, and he was hanging on by a thread.
The doors burst open not a second later, Jedi Grand Master Yoda, Grand Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin, Senator Bail Organa and Padme Amidala, all walked in. The last three with a few support staff each. The room was massive so there was still plenty of room for them to be standing on the perimeter of the circle of doctors, the red shock troopers at the edges of the room watching all.
"How is the chancellor fairing?" Tarkin asked loudly to the group of doctors, his eyes watching the body on the bed closely.
A neimoidian next to the Chancellor dressed in white medical clothing with a mask over his mouth quickly turned to them, and raised his arm, gesturing for them to wait. The doctor turned back around and leaned down next to the ear of the Chancellor and said something to him before he made his way to the small group, a little blood on his gloves and shirt obvious to the whole group.
"How is he?" Senator Organa asked the doctor.
"The Chancellor doesn't have much time left, he has asked to speak with Grand Master Yoda and Tarkin immediately," the doctor stated as he mentioned to the bed.
"But what of his condition?" Tarkin pressed calmly.
"His heart is almost completely gone due to the blaster bolt, and his lungs have shut down. Quickly, there is not much time." the doctor said quickly before turning around, the other doctors clearing a path for them.
"Then speak with the chancellor, we will," Yoda said grimly as he started walking forward almost as fast as a regular person.
Tarkin mentioned for one of his aids who quickly gave him a datapad and he followed after the two, and the both of them stopped at the edge of the table, Master Yoda silently jumping onto an empty push cart next to the bed. They quickly noticed that the Chancellor's skin was mostly pale, his chest was barely moving as the apparatus hooked up to his chest did its best to keep everything running for as long as possible. He let out a painful groan, and turned his head towards the two, his eyes barely open.
"He can hear you fine," the doctor piped in.
"Chancellor Palpatine, do you concede your position as Chancellor of the Republic to Mass Ameda, Vice Chancellor of the Republic?" Tarkin asked with his datapad in hand, getting official senate business out of the way first.
It took a moment for him to respond "... Y-yes" he said weakly, the machine making his voice sound mechanical.
"Alright," Tarkin stated as he quickly typed into the datapad.
Next was the question that Senate
"Chancellor, we warned you that something like this could have occured, and despite our own investigations, you decided to go on with your speech, confident that you were safe. So before you pass, we would like to ask if you have any information regarding the individual or organization that shot you today? Any information that would lead to their capture?"
Tarkin asked this because he, the Senate, and the Jedi all knew that his administration set up their own investigation into the credible threat against his administration officials and the Chancellors life, separate from the Republic investigations for security concerns. Despite this separation, it was for this sole reason that he was allowed to move Senators, delegates, staff members, and other Republic officials around and away from danger and under clone protection without the Senate or Jedi raising a big fuss. It didn't save all of those he moved, but it was clear that he had a lead that the rest of the Republic intelligence community did not.
After the first few successful moves and failed attempts by unknown gunmen, the Chancellor still refused to share his intelligence citing security concerns and potential spies. The Senate and Jedi's objected to this, but given the lack of progress in other investigations, they allowed it. But now they need to know, so Tarkin, the Jedi, and the Senate all hoped he would share what he knows before he passed.
Otherwise his offices will be raided.
His eyes closed for a few seconds and he seemed to take a deep breath. His weak old framing seemingly about to collapse from such a simple action.
"I… I do not know who… but I do know who it's not," he struggle to say, the machine letting out a few beeps above him.
"Who is it not?" Yoda asked.
It took him a few seconds "Not… the CIS… someone else… someone new," palpatine wheezed
"Someone new?" Yoda pressed, his eyes not moving from the closed eyes of Palpatine.
Palpatine opened his eyes "A new group... in... in the unknown regions. I gave the… gave the information to Anakin," he said, a harsh cough spewing from his lips immediately after.
The two hid it well, but both Tarkin and Yoda were surprised by this little revelation.
The heart monitor started beeping quicker than before, but not anything to worry about, but whatever remaining color that he had in his skin seemed to fade away to grey. The doctors started moving even more around them, several of the pulling out medical scanning devices.
He coughed again before looking to Tarkin "I ask that… that General Skywalker head the investigation into my assassin…" after another harsh cough and a painful wheeze, he reached out with his hand "as my final request."
Tarkin didn't hesitate "Yes Chancellor Palpatine."
Palpatine looked to Yoda, a hopeful look in his eye. Yoda hesitated for a second, but ultimately nodded, his respect for the man still standing despite his and Jedi's suspicions of him. Palpatine smiled softly and slowly looked above him towards the machine, his soft smile still there as he stared into the light above him. When suddenly, the heart monitor went flat. The Chancellor's head fell back into the pillow and his last breath slowly left his old frame. The doctors started yelling at each other as the room went crazy as doctors flocked to the bed.
His hand falling to his side as he went still.
"The machine should have kept him alive for another 15 minutes at least!?" the doctor said with vivid confusion as he stared down at his datapad with wide eyes.
"Time to leave, it is," Yoda said as he jumped down from the little cart, the doctors filling it with medical supplies a second later.
"Indeed it is," Tarkin said as he looked at the deceased body of the chancellor one last time.
The entire party were quickly escorted out of the room as the doctors prepared the chancellor's body for surgery to try and revive him, a somber and foreboding mood filling the atmosphere around them. The Chancellor was dead and due to that single blaster bolt, the Republic was left in a crisis unlike anything since the start of the Clone Wars. No Chancellor in the history of the Republic has ever been assassinated and this situation is even more strenuous due to the amount of emergency powers that Chancellor Palpatine possessed as well as sectors of the economy he oversaw such as banking. The markets already started to freefall before it was suspended, and what of the CIS?
They slowly made their way out of the facility on the roof, only to come out onto the landing platform with a view of the chaos that Coruscant was currently in, the same as it was when they first arrived at the Republic Medical facility.
Fire raged in buildings for as far as the eye could see which were most likely caused by seedy elements of the lower levels, speeders and ships were frantically flying around out of the usual lanes and off planet, and the dull roar of a million screaming voices reverberated through the air. All as the sun began to set. Tarkin quickly looked down at his datapad to see reports of riots in a thousand places at once, the entire situation seeming as though order in society had completely broken down.
"Senators, I'd advise that you prepare the Senate for Chancellor Mas Amedda's arrival, for until that time, Coruscant will be under a temporary state of martial law," Tarkin stated firmly, his eyes cast on the raging fires before them.
"Martial law-" Senator Amidala started pointedly, disapproval in Bail Organ's eyes as well.
"Do you not see the chaos before you with your own eyes Senator? The Chancellor has been killed, and now Coruscant burns," Tarkin said sharply with a simple gesture to the skyline.
She looked out over the chaos, conflict, anger, and grief all welling up on her face as she looked at the burning buildings.
"Order will be restored Senators, and until it has, I implore you to convene the Senate for Mas Amedda's arrival." Tarkin ordered sternly leaving no room for disagreement.
"Yes... Grand Admiral," she said quietly as she looked down.
"Dark times these are, Senator, but for the best, this course of action is," Yoda said grimly, his eyes also focused on the raging fires.
"Master Yoda, I intend to fulfill the last request of Chancellor Palpatine, do you have any objections?" Tarkin asked as he looked down at Yoda, a duo of gunships made their approach.
"If Skywalker is to head the investigation, involved, the Jedi will be," Yoda stated firmly, looking up a Tarkin unwaveringly.
Tarkin seemed annoyed by his request, given his general dislike for the Jedi involvement in military affairs, but even he couldn't toss aside the skill and prowess that the Jedi offered, at least not realistically.
"Then contact General Skywalker, we are heading for Republic High Command."
"FInd this assassin, we will."
_Captain Rex_
The bay of the gunship was quiet, my brothers, the investigators, and the Jedi all stood silently as we looked out over the city. Our dropship, accompanied by a dozen others flew us through the air towards the area we're going to be searching beyond the target building. We all stood their firmly, watching as a Venator apart of General Skywalkers fleet patrolled the local airspace above the target building ahead, the rest of the 501st already beginning to clear out the target building the sniper was in from top to bottom.
For the first time today, the clouds finally dispersed, basking the city in the orange glow of the sunset, and making the fires almost look nice. The yellow skyline usually filled with thousands of transports and speeders now empty and barren, fires raging off in ever direction as the populace suddenly decided that the death of the Chancellor meant lawlessness.
Our comms lit up "Target not found, I repeat, target not found" General Skywalker said, his voice sounding especially on edge, angry almost.
I sighed and looked back towards the Jedi Temple, clenching my fist in anger as the scene replayed in my head.
We all knew what just happened, it was only 35 minutes ago. Half of us saw it with our own eyes as the Supreme Chancellor was cowardly shot down. Another life in the pile of dead men. A life that leaves us vulnerable and open for a separatist attack, a life that represented so much.
However, we aren't just going to roll over, not now nor in another thousand years. And now? Now we're on the hunt.
"Captain Rex lets go over the plan," General Kenobi stated.
I looked back to the general, his demeanor calm despite the situation "Yes General."
"Opening comms with the other ships now sir," the pilot quickly added.
He pulled out a holodisk and projected a large map of Coruscant in front of us, a good thirty square kilometer area that we were most likely going to be searching for the next week or two for even the smallest clue.
"The rest of the 501st has the target building and immediate area covered, but we fear that the assassin may have made it out of the 8 kilometer perimeter." he crossed his arms and cupped his chin with his hand "So we'll be heading another 10 kilometers north, 20 levels down, and working our way back to see if we can catch this assassin," he explained.
I raised a brow under the helmet, he could go in any direction so… "Just north sir?" I asked.
"Northward presents the clearest path towards nearest spaceport in a 160-kilometer radius. They're most likely heading in that direction if there aim is to get off Coruscant at some point," Kenobi explained.
"Isn't that impossible? The Navy has ordered all ships and transports to remain docked." I asked with a raised brow.
"Despite the order, there are already reports of hundreds of ships trying to leave this sector alone, it'll be some time before we can clamp down on that problem, if at all," Kenobi said with a frown, the worry in his voice clear.
"The navy will do its job, sir… but what about east and west?" I asked with slight confusion, pointing at the two directions on the holo map.
"All of Coruscant planetary security forces are thoroughly searching those areas down to the 126th level. We will be searching along the most direct route, so whoever this assassin is, it will be hard for them to avoid all those who are looking for him." Kenobi said with confidence.
I thought of the plan once again and ultimately nodded my head in agreement as the memory of the blaster bolt plowing through the Chancellor passed through my mind. Determination welling up in my gut, in all of our guts.
"Let's hope we catch this slemo," I said with a scowl, one of Skywalker's insults working perfectly.
"Yes… now prepare your men Rex," General Kenobi ordered.
_UEG space six hours later_
Lord Hood watched with a smile as news reports from across the galaxy started streaming in. 'Martial law' 'Palpatine Shot' 'Will the Chancellor Survive' 'The Republic Leaderless?' 'The war must continue!' were just a few of them. He checked his watch around his wrist. 23:21 it read. He smiled and looked back up at the holo projections in front of him, it only took 6 hours for transmissions to reach the Infinity on the edges of UNSC space, a startling prospect all things considered, but good when it comes to information.
"Did they confirm the kill?" he asked out loud, even though the room full of chairs was empty.
"We don't know sir, we haven't established communications with Sgt Buck or the Rookie as of yet" Roman answered back swiftly, the ships new replacement AI fresh from the techs on Earth.
He narrowed his eyes, his smile gone "What's the probability of them making it off planet?"
"Now that we know they're response, at best, they have a 23% chance of making it out safely." the AI respond quickly, a hologram of Coruscant with delayed tracking data appearing before him.
"That's even less than predicted," he stated with concern, watching as thousands of dots and small triangles moved off and around the planet.
"And when it comes to getting off Coruscant undetected, they only have about an 8% chance," Roman said grimly.
He shook his head, sighing at the depressing familiarity of it all, silently wishing them luck.
"Keep an eye out for their communications. What's the reaction of our Separatist friends?" he asked quickly, the holo-projections quickly switching from fear mongering and terror, to celebration and renewed drive.
Headlines like 'Tyrant shot!' 'War won?' 'The Republic is no more!' 'We will crush the leaderless Republic!' were just a few of them.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary given the two sides were at war. A video popped up next, the newest message from the stream of data, with Dooku standing before CIS Senate. He raised a brow in curiosity, and with the wave of his hand, a still frame of Dooku in the chambers of the Separatist Senate, his face showing a hint of… relief? Or was it irritation?
He raised his hands in front of him, the cheering of the senate members quieting "To the people of the Confederacy, Today is a great day, a glorious day. The heart of the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine, has been struck down!" he said with vigor.
The Senate cheered and clapped their hands for a minute or two, their happiness with the situation obvious, and he waited patiently.
"The Republic is now weakened! Their resolve crushed!" They cheered again, "But I must admit to you now, that it was not us who stuck this tremendous blow," he stated carefully with the slow shake of his head.
Lord Hood watched the recording carefully as the cheering slowed to a stop and talk started to circle the senate chamber, several confused and demanding faces stared up a Dooku for an explanation.
"From what our intelligence has gathered, an assassin from an unknown organization in the Unknown Regions has committed this mighty blow against the Republic, giving us the advantage unlike any before!" several Senators, seemingly accepting this new information and cheered as many others feverously read their holo-pads.
"Do you think he's referring to us Roman?" Hood asked, knowing it to be true but not being able to help himself.
"It seems so sir. Speculation regarding us is circulation throughout CIS communications of both military and civilian channels." Roman explained.
"Is any of it a problem?" he asked, hoping that Palpatine and Dooku weren't able to pin together too much before this.
"From what our dumb AI have been able to gather so far, there's only one point of interest, and that is that the 'unknown organization' is located somewhere in the Unknown Regions," Roman said, several widely known publications with that very bit of information popping up before Lord Hood.
He sighed in slight relief as he read over the titles, glad that was all Palpatine was able to gather from his wealth of sources. But even with a whole galaxy knowing our general location, we were at the edge of what they called wilde space, at the opposite side of the outer-rim, meaning it would take years before they could map an effective route to our territory.
"Resume the recording," he ordered.
The publications unknowingly regarding us started popping up besides the video "To the organization who carried out this glorious act, the Confederacy of Independent Systems welcomes you with open arms, and will provide you with all the resources you may require as we intensify our offensive against the corrupt and weakening Republic!" he said with a final roar of passion as he raised his arms up above him, the rest of the council chamber cheering louder than before.
The recording continued on for several minutes as he covered a few economic issues and up and coming celebrations, before it finally came to an end, the smiling face of Count Dooku staring back at Hood in the end. He observed his face with a searching gaze, thinking over Count Dooku's words, analyzing his words for anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, a thought rose to the forefront of Hoods mind.
'an assassin from an unknown organization in the Unknown Regions'
Hood's eyes widened slightly before he shook his head with a scowl, those words repeating over in his mind.
"The cunning bastard!"
"What is it Sir?" Roman asked.
"Contact the Arbiter, the situation has changed," Hood ordered sharply.
"Yes Sir."
Well. That took a while.
I wrote around four or five versions of this chapter which I will ultimately edit and use in some form later on in this story, but I just couldn't decide on where to go next with this for the longest time, which may explain the staleness of it as well. The chase, the Sangheili, the informant, or a riot of some kind. So many places and things to write about. Be angry, it's your right, but just let me know how the chapter went. I haven't forgot about this rewrite of mine yet, so don't worry, and I will do my best to cut back on my indecisiveness.
Otherwise, I hope you have a good day!