Yeah... uh... sorry... it's been a while. Happy new year!

Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy the chapter.


She could feel a dark, yet muted presence outside of her cell. If it had not been for the fact that she had seen this man in his full power, she would not have recognized him. Lord Sidious...

Ventress frowned. How had the Sith lord gotten inside of the Jedi Temple? Was he a prisoner now, too?

It doesn't matter. Dooku tried to kill me and this man did nothing to stop him, she thought bitterly. Her plan at revenge had failed. Opress had turned against her and Dooku had nearly killed her again. She had crashed on one of the many moons of Toydaria, where she spent two weeks before the locals alerted the Jedi to her presence.

When she got out of her prison, she would go back and kill them all.

The energy bars deactivated and someone stepped into her cell. Ventress sensed Lord Sidious's Force-signature and looked up. She barely managed to contain her surprise as she saw who stood alone before her.

"Good evening, assassin," Chancellor Palpatine said calmly.

It was him.

The man that worked so hard to bring about the fall of the republic was the Supreme Chancellor.

Ventress leaped to her feet, the anger coursing through making it hard to think straight. "Traitor!"

The Sith hadn't moved. "Sit down," he said mildly, yet coldly, and she felt a chill steal over the cell as he demonstrated a portion of his power. His eyes flashed yellow for a moment and his whole presence seemed to change.

A second later he slid back into the calm Chancellor's mask, but it was enough to remind her of her place. Slowly, she bowed and sat down again.

"My lord... if they catch you..."

"They are not going to find any proof," Sidious said dismissively. "The recording devices have been disabled, the clones are outside and none of the Jedi are near. They will hear nothing unless you say anything. And if you will not keep my secret, then I will not hesitate to destroy you. And believe me-" his eyes glinted yellow again- "I will know if you are lying."

"I am trustworthy, my lord," Ventress said. "But if I may say so, I am sure Dooku is not." She knew she was treading on dangerous ground now, but she was sure Sidious could not do anything to her within the Temple without blowing his cover.

Sidious raised an eyebrow, but nodded, telling her to go on.

"He attempted to kill me in the battle of Sullust," Ventress continued. Boldly she said, "Were you behind this... betrayal?"

The Sith lord merely laughed. "Assassin, if I wanted you dead, you would have been dead long ago."

Ventress forced herself to look him in the eyes. There was nothing there but chilling sincerity.

"I must admit, Lord Tyrannus has been more... careless with his power lately," Sidious commented. I believe he needs to be straightened out."

Revenge. I will get my revenge. A new thought took place. She would overpower her old Master and take her place as Darth Sidious's apprentice. She would be careful, though.

"My lord... allow me to help you."

A smile twisted Sidious's face. "And help me you will."


Ahsoka shifted uncomfortably in the oversize tunic she was wearing. She glared at her Master from underneath her hood. "This is revenge, isn't it?"

Anakin, who was wearing a tunic similar to hers, smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you mean, Terryn."

Ahsoka's scowl deepened. Terryn Makene was the alias she was using. Anakin would be going by Zane Ky. Unfortunately, the real Terryn Makene had been a large person. In order for Ahsoka to resemble the dead criminal, she was forced to wear oversized clothing. Anakin's luck had been better than hers and his outfit was presentable.

"You do realize that if we're discovered, I'll be caught because I can't run in this stupid outfit?"

"Lighten up," Anakin said over his shoulder as their ship dropped out of hyperspace over Vulpter. "We aren't going to be discovered because no one knows Ky and Makene are dead."

"If you say so..." Ahsoka looked out the window at the large planet below. She frowned as she saw that the rings around the planet were actually made of trash and other waste. As they neared the planet's surface, she was shocked to see that most of the cities were in ruins. Factories belched smoke over everything. She had read about Vulpter before they left but she hadn't expected it to be that bad.

"This place looks worse than Coruscant," she said finally.

Anakin nodded. "It's gotten much worse since the separatists took over. But this place is our best bet to find whoever sent that droid. All their sales records are at the headquarters."

Their plan was simple. They would walk into the Arakyd headquarters, say they were looking to buy a ship, then Ahsoka would sneak away while Anakin distracted the Arakyd workers. She would hack into their files and find the name of the person who ordered the assassin droid.

Ahsoka nearly choked when she first breathed the air of Vulpter. It was like breathing in cold soup, only she was sure that this was toxic. "Are you sure... this is worth the trip?" she gasped out.

Anakin nodded determinedly. "What if this guy goes after you again? Or what if he attacks another Jedi? We need to find him."

"He won't have another chance to kill me, Master," Ahsoka said, following him up to Arakyd's factories.

"Oh? What makes you so sure?"

"This air will do the job for him," she replied.

Anakin rolled his eyes, then pressed a button and the door slid open, revealing a plain grey corridor.

Apparently the buildings here are no better than the planet itself, Ahsoka thought as a Vulptereen came up to them.

"State your name and business," he barked in heavily accented Basic.

"I am Zane Ky and this is Terryn Makene," Anakin said, adopting a bored tone. "We'd like to buy a ship."

The worker studied them for a long moment before he spoke. "This way."

Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged glances as they fell into step behind the Vulptereen.

Let me guess, these people have never heard of hospitality, Ahsoka thought sarcastically.

"What type of ship are you looking for?" their host asked.

"We need something fast," Anakin replied. "Something that the republic wont be able to track."

Ahsoka admired his acting skills. He was confident, yet not too bold and he had just insured that they would not be questioned about their allegiance.

The worker nodded, suddenly looking a lot less weary. "Of course, there aren't many ships that can outfly the republic fleet. The ones that are able to... well, they'll cost you."

"We have money," Anakin said, slipping his hand inside a pocket and pulling out some credit chips. The Vulptereen eyed the money greedily. He turned into a side corridor and a door slid open, revealing prototypes for several sleek ships. Ahsoka saw her Master's eyes light up with interest and smirked. Even when they were undercover, trying to track down an assassin, Anakin's love of machinery never failed.

"I'll... take a look around," she said, beginning to move toward another door.

"You aren't going anywhere," the Vulptereen growled. Ahsoka halted, then turned to face the worker.

"You will let me leave," she said, nudging his mind.

"I will... no! You will stay here!"

Anakin held up a hand from behind the Vulptereen, but Ahsoka tried again. She was supposed to be a rough criminal. It was time to start acting the part.

"If I were you," she said slowly, "I would let me through. Surely it isn't worth a few body parts to prevent me from exiting the room?"

The Vulptereen gulped visibly. "O-of course," he stuttered. "But if I find out you've stolen anything..."

He let the words trail off as Ahsoka strode out the door.

That was... a bit much, Snips, Anakin said through their bond. I think you nearly scared him to death.

Good, Ahsoka responded, that's what I was aiming for.

Anakin sent the equivalent of a mental sigh. Just... be more careful. I'll distract him for as long as I can.

Ahsoka peered around a corner to make sure no one was there, then took off at a fast run.


Ventress forced herself to remain calm as the clones roughly shoved her onto the transport. Palpatine had given orders that she was to be moved to the local prison, where she would supposedly have more protection.

To bad she would never see the inside of the place.

Sidious's lackeys were to sabotage the transport and help her escape. The incident would be blamed on the separatists and no one would ever be the wiser. She understood that the Sith lord himself would not be meeting up with her until much later, as he couldn't have anyone so much as suspect that he had given a hand in freeing the assassin. She sat quietly, not reacting to any of the clone troopers' snide comments. They were beneath her and would die soon enough anyway.

The transport gave a great lurch and several of the clones stumbled.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"I don't know, it could be an engine malfunction," another replied as the ship gave another shudder.

"I'll go up to the bridge, see what's going on," said the Jedi Knight that was part of the guard team.

Several moments after he left, all the lights went out. The small space was thrown into darkness. There was the sound of blasters being reloaded and several of the clones activated glow rods. There was a grinding sound and Ventress looked up to see a laser cutter peeling the metal away from the ceiling. Then, three commando droids and four magna guards dropped through the hole. Immediately the clones started firing at the droids and while they were distracted, one of the commando droids used the laser cutter to break the bindings on her wrists.

There was a whine of blasterfire and the droid was shot to pieces, but it's purpose had been served. She was free. In a single Force-push, all the clones had been flattened against the wall. The Jedi was using his lightsaber to cut through the door but Ventress knew he would never make it in time. She jumped through the hole in the roof, shielding her eyes in the sudden sunny atmosphere. Hovering below the transport was a speeder piloted by another commando droid. She leaped off the ship and landed in the back seat. The speeder took off just as the transport began to go down. The collision with a nearby building nearly deafened her and the heat from the flames of the crash pressed against her back but she didn't look back.

The commando droid barely spared her a glance as it handed her a holoprojector. An image of a hooded figure appeared.

"Ventress, am I correct in assuming that you have escaped the Jedi?"

Bowing her head, she replied, " yes Master. The incompetent fools never knew what hit them."

"Good," Sidious said. "I have a mission for you. You are to go to the Vulpter system and capture Tano. I expect you will have no trouble with a Padawan?" Ventress shook her head wordlessly and he continued. "The droid will fly you to your ship, where you will find complete instructions and new weapons." The hologram flickered out.

Ventress nodded. She understood that this was a test, to prove that she was worthy. And she wasn't going to fail.


Ventress is a bit hard to write- I can't get inside her head very well. She's ruthless and clever, but wary and dark... and overall confusing. Oh well. I'm trying my best.

Reviews are wonderful motivation... *hint hint*