The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Plans And Propositions

Anakin

"General, we've lost them."

Anakin Skywalker sat bold upright in bed, rubbing his eyes, which had grown strained from staring at the datapad detailing the list of guests to the masked ball for too long. He swatted a sock off of his bedside table and grabbed the comm hiding underneath. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "They both have tracking devices on them. What happened?"

Rex sighed. "The signals from their trackers are being blocked. Who or what by, we can't say for sure. But it's possible it's just a natural phenomenon. There have been reports–"

"Rex, we both know it's no coincidence," Anakin said, cutting him off.

"Yes, sir. Just wanted to consider all the possibilities. I'll have the ground troops ready to move out. We have two cruisers in orbit and a third on the way. Dooku'll need the entire Separatist armada to muscle his way through our defenses."

Anakin's lips tightened into a thin line. Well, he might just have it."

"You and General Kenobi will be leading the offensive, then, sir?"

Anakin thought for a moment. "No. We'll go in quietly. If Dooku has infiltrated the palace, then the whole place will be crawling with droids, probably disguised as partygoers or servants to escape notice. We have to stay under the radar."

Rex chuckled. "Sir, it's a masked ball. We can send a team in to assess the situation with minimal difficulty. We military types can't exactly keep a low profile with the Separatists, but all we have to do is make sure the masks hide our faces completely, and the droids won't be able to recognize us. Backup forces in full body armor can follow behind if necessary."

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but then, there came a murmur of voices on the other end of the comm.

A moment later, Rex cleared his throat again. "The Valiance has just emerged from hyperspace, sir. General Kenobi is ready to patch through."

"Right. Just one question."

"Sir?"

Anakin smirked. "How good is your dancing?"

"With any luck, it's good enough, sir."

Anakin nodded and ended the call. He stood up and began the walk down the hall to the garage where his starfighter waited, the comm clenched in his left hand – he was so on edge that he didn't want to risk crushing it with his right – as he waited for Obi-Wan's cruiser to link up with his communicator.

He bit his lip, reaching out towards Ahsoka in the Force. He had a bad feeling, and the fact that he could hardly sense her presence only made it worse.

Just hang on, Snips. We're coming.

Ahsoka

Ahsoka tried pushing the button on her wrist comm for the umpteenth time, but to no avail. The tiny circle around it that meant a signal had gotten through refused to change from its unresponsive red to green.

She glanced over at Lux, who raised an eyebrow in inquiry. She shook her head minutely, and Dooku smiled.

"Now, to business," he said, and gestured behind him. A moment later, an LEP servant droid waddled forward with a tray. Ahsoka's eyes were immediately drawn to the contents of the two wine glasses that stood upon it