Chapter Two

Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Seven weeks had passed since the murder of Representative Burtoni, and with that came the slain of three more senators as well as one fallen judge. The Jedi Council was working tirelessly in trying to find the assassin, but found no leads, not even a clue from the four crime scenes. The case was cold.

"I won't have this assassin make a fool of us." Master Windu proclaimed at an emergency Council meeting, "We need to increase our efforts and focus on finding this criminal now."

"Let the Senate handle this issue, we are busy fighting their war." Master Plo argued.

"We can't standby and allow countless Senators and political officials be murdered, Master!" Anakin, who was allowed into the meeting, along with Ahsoka, because of their involvement with the investigation, rebutted.

"Anakin's right," Obi-Wan agreed, more levelheaded. "We have a duty to the men and women of the Senate. We have to offer our help if they're in danger."

The rest of the Council agreed and moved on.

"Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padawan Tano, you three have investigated all five murders; is there anything you can take away from them as a group that could help us… a common denominator, of sorts?"

Obi_wan and Anakin thought for a while before Ahsoka broke the silence, "Well, I say this with all due respect… but all five victims were corrupt political figures."

Everyone in the room turned towards her.

"Explain, you will, young Ahsoka." Yoda said.

She hesitantly stepped into the center of the group and explained, "Representative Burtoni was swindling resources away from the Republic and spending the money for women and alcohol. We found that the judge had been accepting payments from defendants in exchange for relaxed sentences and early paroles, and the other three senators found loopholes in their respective governments in order to stay in office well passed their terms.

They had spent so much time away from their constituents that they had no idea what the citizens wanted from them; instead they voted for whatever was in their best, personal, interests and their planets have suffered mightily because of it."

The room remained eerily silent for a long time before Yoda smiled, "Done your research, you have, Padewan Tano."

"Very impressive, indeed." Master Windu agreed.

She turned and saw her master smiling with a nod of approval.

"If this information is accurate," Master Windu began, "then it seems as if we have some sort of vigilante on our hands; thinks he has the citizens best interests in mind. We won't tolerate it."

"Doesn't he, though?" Master Mundi responded.

"Explain, Master."

"All five victims clearly should not have been in office and were hurting the citizens of the Republic. It seems the Senate, and maybe even our own Council, has worked vigorously defending the Republic against dangers from foreign governments and overlooked some of the dangers right in front of us, in our own home."

"Well said, Master Mundi. Eradicate this problem we must, but not by murder."

"He needs to be stopped." Master Windu added, with finality.

The room again muttered in agreement.

"Unfortunately we don't even have a trace of him; he's a ghost." Obi-Wan explained.

"We may be in luck," Master Windu began, "Senator Amidala of Naboo is set to make a public speech tomorrow afternoon, on the steps of Town Hall."

Anakin's body went rigid. "So we're just going to use her as bait?!" He spat.

"No. She was already scheduled to make the speech; we'll simply beef up security by putting some of our own around the perimeter. If he shows up, we'll have him surrounded."

"It's not likely that he show up, Anakin," Obi-Wan assured, "Senator Amidala is well respected by both her people and the citizens of Coruscant; she's about as far from corrupt as one can be."

"If it makes you feel any better, Skywalker, we'll allow you and your padawan to head the security." Master Windu suggested.

Anakin composed himself and agreed to the notion, "Ahsoka, Rex, and I will ensure the safety of the Senator."

"Good. I suggest you meet up with the head of her security to synchronize your efforts."

Anakin nodded as he and Ahsoka exited the room.

Master Windu turned to Obi-Wan, "His…passion worries me at times."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Ahsoka keeps him poised and composed. Sometimes I feel she helps him as much as he helps her."

"A healthy and balanced relationship, they do have." Yoda smiled.

"We'd like you to accompany Skywalker on this mission, as well." Master Windu said.

"Oh of course. I don't think Anakin would expect me anywhere else."

"Very well. Then it's settled; let's catch a vigilante."

Coruscant, Town Hall

The sun shone on the beautiful city as its citizens gathered at the town square, eagerly awaiting a speech from Senator Padme Amidala that would surely lend a hand to the creation of a peace treaty in the near future; finally putting an end to the Clone Wars.

Ahsoka watched as her Master anxiously paced the floors behind the podium, reviewing the security protocol under his breath over and over again. This anxiety seemed to be a recurring theme during any mission that involved the Senator. She knew they were good friends, but if the Jedi and the Senate didn't have such strict rules, she could certainly see them together. She laughed at the thought and tried to settle him down.

"Master, it's just a simple security job – we have an entire squadron of Clones surrounding the perimeter as well as the Senator's personal security and the city's law enforcement. If he even does show up, he'd be doing us a favor."

"He's dangerous, Ahsoka."

"How do you-?"

"Why don't you go check the southeast quadrant again? I'm wary about that building directly across from the podium."

"But we already have –." She began to argue but caught herself, feeling that getting further away may not be a bad idea.

The podium at which the Senator would deliver her speech was at the top of the steps to the town hall building. The building Anakin was worried about was directly adjacent to the steps, about half a mile away. As much as Ahsoka didn't want to admit it, Anakin was right to be cautious, as the building's roof acted as the perfect vantage point for a would-be assassin.

Knowing this, they had already sent a couple of teams of Clones to stake out the area hours ago, but, Ahsoka thought, it never hurts to be overly prepared. As Ahsoka approached the building she realized that the door was slightly ajar. No way would an intruder simply walk through the front door…

Upon entering the room she found the team leader lying motionless on the floor, "Domino!" She hurried over and was relieved to feel a slight pulse at the neck.

Relief quickly turned to aggression as she stumbled across two more identical soldiers in the next room. She drew her lightsaber and lit the dark room in a green glow.

"Ahsoka to Master Skywalker, come in." She whispered into her commlink.

Static.

"Ahsoka to base, Master do you read me?"

Again the only answer was static. Whoever was responsible for the intrusion must've blocked communications from the building; which would explain why they weren't notified during the initial attack. It also meant that the intruder was still inside the building… or on top, she thought as she caught a glimpse of a small ray of sunshine on the staircase leading to the roof. Could It be him..?

She quickly cleared the entire building before moving on to the roof. She leapt up the stairs and kicked down the door – and there he was. A man clad in full black armor, kneeling on one knee, peering through the scope of a sniper rifle.

"Stop!" She yelled, "You are under arrest by order of the Jedi Council; step away from the rifle." She proclaimed, confidently.

The man slowly raised his arms and stood up. It can't be this easy, right?

He wasn't necessarily tall, about the same height as Anakin, maybe an inch or two shorter. Ahsoka could now see the dual blasters on either thigh and just above, she caught the gleam of a lightsaber hilt.

In one rapid motion the man back flipped through air, landing behind Ahsoka. Seconds later she could feel the heat emitting from the purple blade of his lightsaber at the knave of her neck.

Ahsoka smiled, grabbing her short blade, spinning, and standing at the ready. The assailant stared at her though a menacing dark mask, but Ahsoka didn't necessarily feel threatened. Must be adrenaline, she thought.

The adversaries circled each other, measuring up their respective opponent. Instead of waiting for him to make the first move, Ahsoka lunged at the assassin and the duel began.

He easily parried her first few attacks, countering every now and again to keep her on her toes. He was impressed by the padewan, who was much more skillful than he had originally expected. Ahsoka couldn't shake the feeling that he was toying with her, though; she also couldn't put a finger on the feeling she sensed from her foe. She had battled Sith Lords before and he was definitely not affiliated with them, but he was most certainly not a Jedi, either.

He focused on emotion to fuel his fighting, a technique the Jedi urge against. But he was not self-fulfilling nor full of rage, characteristics present in all Sith. Ahsoka deflected another soft counter and back flipped to put some distance between them; they now stood on opposite sides of the roof.

"Who are you?" She yelled, not surprised when it yielded no answer. "What are you?"

Again no answer.

"You're definitely not a Sith… but you're also no Jedi."

"Not everything is black and white, padawan." He finally spoke in a deep, but un-menacing, voice.

"Then why are you trying to kill the Senator?"

"You're making assumptions." He suggested.

"You killed Representative Burtoni," She proclaimed.

"I did." He nodded.

"And four others…"

Again, he nodded.

"So why wouldn't you be trying to kill Senator Amidala?"

"Think back to your training, focus your energy… am I really trying to kill her?"

Ahsoka was taken aback at the knowledge he possessed of the Jedi training techniques. Was this some sort of trap to catch her off her guard? Who are you..? "Okay, I'll play; but you have to holster your weapon."

"Very well." The purple blade retracted back into its metal hilt and took its place back on the man's hip.

"Fool." Ahsoka smiled as she sprang across the rooftop. The man calmly grabbed a blaster from his thigh, aimed, and pulled the trigger taking a step aside and watching as the inexperienced Jedi soared passed him, crashing into the ground in a heap.

"Don't worry, I set it to stun. You'll get control back momentarily, but not before I complete my objective."

Ahsoka involuntarily watched in agony as he camped behind his rifle once more, aimed carefully, took account for the wind, and waited.

In the distance she could hear the introduction of the Senator as the cheering echoed through the city. Only a few lines of the speech had been delivered before the assassin pulled the trigger. The echoing cheers quickly turned to hysteria and chaos. Police sirens reverberated throughout the scenic city. Ahsoka had the strength to only muster up a soft, "No."

The announcer's voice could barely be heard over the anxious crowd as he introduced on of their favorite politicians. The people of the Republic had waited for so long for a Senator to finally take significant steps in trying to restore peace throughout the galaxy and putting an end to the Clone Wars. Padme Amidala, of Naboo, was a young, maverick, who was willing to fight for such liberties. Though other senators felt that this should have been a conversation held behind closed doors, she believed that it was counterproductive to keep the citizens out of the loop and in constant fear of an invasion.

Anakin watched as his clandestine wife took to the podium to address the city, and all the billions who watched from other planets, from just meters behind her.

"My fellow citizens, good afternoon. It is under unfortunate circumstances that I stand before you all today, but the actions and ideologies of some of my fellow senators have forced my hand. This war has pushed us all to the brink of survival and suffering and we must do all that is in our power to end it quickly and without anymore bloodshed; to reinstate peace over our great Republic."

The crowd erupted at the notion, having already felt the harsh ramifications of the war in their weekly rations.

"Thank you," She said, politely quieting the crowd, "That is why, today, I stand here looking to propose a new…"

PEW!

The blast from the sniper rifle silenced the thousands in attendance for just a moment before an understanding overtook them and the body of small man crashed down from a ledge, stories above, just feet in front of the Senator.

Padme's head of security quickly grabbed her and forced her inside the town hall building as Anakin and a group of Clones surrounded the victim who was writhing in pain on the stairs of the building; a blaster, much like the one used to shoot him, lay just feet away from his body. A fresh wound carved a hole in his torso, just under his heart.

Anakin turned to his Captain, "Rex, apprehend this man and bring him to the medical droids; I want him alive!"

"Yes, sir." He answered before barking orders to his team.

Pandemonium took hold of the city and Anakin found himself wrestling through waves of crazed citizens as he tried to find the origin of the blaster fire. Canvassing the crowd, he saw several citizens ducking while pointing towards the building directly adjacent to the podium; the same building he had told Ahsoka to inspect before the speech. Ahsoka…

"Ahsoka, come in!" He yelled into his commlink, barely able to hear his own voice. "Ahsoka, do you read me?"

No answer.

"Ahsok-!"

"I'm hear, Master." She finally answered, though the connection was weak, "Is Senator Amidala okay?"

"She's fine; she wasn't the target."

He could hear a faint, but relieving sigh through his commlink, "So he was telling the truth."

"He? Ahsoka, what happened over there?"

"It was him, Master; the vigilante."

"What!? Where is he? Where'd he go?"

"He's gone, Master… He stunned me, I'm just getting feeling back now."

Anakin cursed under his breath, if he was with her they would've been able to capture him… but then would Padme still be alive? "Stay there, Ahsoka; I'm on my way."