Trial of the Times

Chapter 39 - Assassin Droids

Not even two seconds later, Anakin's commlink goes off. He answers it immediately. "General!" Rex's voice exclaims, tight with agitation, "Two assassin droids have been spotted. My men chased them, but they managed to get into the lift before we could stop them. They are likely headed towards you."

"I got this," Anakin promises, "Have your men remain on the lookout for further activity and find out how the droids got past the security."

"Yes, sir!" The line goes dead, and Anakin is racing towards the lift, Ahsoka right behind him. He pushes the button to open the doors on their floor, hoping desperately that they haven't already gotten to the top floor with the bedrooms.

His lightsaber is in his hand as the doors begin to open, blade ignited and positioned defensively. The two snap-hisses behind him tell him that Ahsoka's lightsabers are ready as well. The first assassin droid starts firing the second the lift is opened. Anakin leaps towards it, swinging towards its firing arms, but it dodges out of the way, climbing up onto the ceiling.

Cursing, Anakin uses the Force to open the double doors leading onto a patio. If they're going to be fighting, he really doesn't want to do it inside and risk damaging the interior design too much. Ahsoka is defending herself against the second assassin droid. She's successfully severed one of its arms. Anakin Force leaps across the room, sending out a Force shove, sending the first droid flying out through the doors.

He follows, flipping over the railing down to the ground and using the Force to catch himself. The droid rushes towards him immediately, trying to get around him and back towards the mansion. Dodging a bolt, Anakin throws it backwards again, jumping towards it and stabbing his lightsaber through its legs and then higher, cutting off its firing mechanisms.

Anakin steps back, just as the Force screams a warning. He has one second to instinctively spring away when the upper half of the assassin droid blows up, sending out a shockwave mingled with metal shards. Anakin is thrown back against the wall of the mansion hard enough to knock out his breath.

Shaking his head to clear the ringing, he pulls himself back to his feet. In place of the droid, there is only a black crater. The explosive inside it was powerful, and clearly designed to kill Jedi. If he hadn't reacted as fast as he did, he knows he would have been seriously injured and possibly even killed. He only has minor scrapes and bruises – nothing potentially fatal.

Only seconds later, the mutilated body of the second assassin droid comes sailing through the air towards the ground, exploding before it even lands. This time, he's far enough away to avoid being affected. He waits until some clones come to investigate. After instructing them to clean up the mess, he heads back inside to find Ahsoka and get an update from Rex.

"Rex, what's the status?" asks Anakin, spotting the clone captain inside the mansion.

"They were smuggled inside the ship which returned tonight, sir," Rex replies.

Anakin shakes his head, running a hand though his hair. "Well... make sure there aren't any more in the area. They seem to have been built specifically for Jedi."

Rex purses his lips, "Sidious I presume?"

Anakin nods stiffly. "Or one of his new apprentices. We need to be extra cautious for the time being. Call Dooku and Obi-Wan to let them know what happened."

"Yes, sir," Rex agrees.

With one final glance around the room, Anakin enters the lift pushing the buttons to take him to the kitchen floor. Just as he'd suspected, Ahsoka is waiting there, looking around at the damage with a frown. After surveying it for a moment, he turns his attention to his Padawan.