Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 3

Prologue

Denali felt like she was going to throw up. Just spew everything inside her stomach all across the Council Chamber floor, like a damned hose.

Did he just say what she thought he had said?

"What?"  

Denali turned to the voice who had spoken and saw that it was her husband. A little bit of ease inched across her heart. Good, this was good. Obi-Wan wasn't going to stand for this. He wasn't going to let this happen. From the look on his face and the emotions she could sense running through his head, it was apparent that his fellow Jedi hadn't let him in on this piece of information. He'd put a stop this act of insanity.

He was on his feet now, his eyes wide as he stared at Master Windu, then Master Yoda.

But then, just as her potential rescuer was about to open his mouth to object to this motion of delusion, he stopped and a wall rose around his heart, guarding his thoughts and feelings from being sensed by the Jedi around him, even her. He wasn't saying anything, wasn't going to. He couldn't, he was too shocked by this turn of events.

This couldn't be true. This wasn't happening. This was just a bad dream, just a nightmare that had gone hay-wire. Her brain was playing tricks on herself, just relaying her worst fears. This wasn't reality. It couldn't be. There was no possible way.

"You are free to leave, Denali." Master Windu told her, her lightsabers in his hands and the smirk never leaving his lips. He had even removed her title of 'Master Bleway', which shouldn't have surprised her one bit. But it still felt like a blow to the gut when he said her name, not the title she'd earned after years and years of training. That formality was long gone, now. That had been stripped from her like the rest of her pride. 

Taking that as her cue to exit the room, she turned around and walked out of the Council's chambers in a dumb-founded faze. It hadn't fully processed as the doors slid open, then closed behind her. She couldn't comprehend it.

"Denali, wait!" Obi-Wan shouted and was about to run after her when Master Fisto's hand grabbed his shoulder, keeping him in one spot and preventing him to leave. His large dark eyes were filled with concern and pain, but he didn't say anything. That shocked Obi-Wan even more, causing him to shake free from Kit's grip. "She was your apprentice, you spent years training her. You're really willing to give that up?"

"Obi-Wan-"

"And why wasn't I included in this little secret of yours? Why wasn't I informed of this decision before it was made?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"We knew which side you were on from the start, Master Kenobi." Master Windu told him. "We all knew that you would've been against this choice. It was for the best, Obi-Wan. She was just a problem waiting to increase in concern." 

Obi-Wan just shook his head, then left the room and started sprinting down the hall. He could just barely see the tail of her cloak as she made a sharp turn over ten yards ahead of him. If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't be able to catch up with her in time. She had always been faster than him, unfortunately for him in this situation. 

He didn't care about all the stares he got from the other Jedi and their padawans as he ran past them, sometimes rudely shoving them to the side when they were in his way. He didn't pay attention to their cries of shock at his actions or their arrogant glares. There was only one thing on his mind at the moment:

the fact that his wife had been removed from the Jedi Order.

Once he had reached that turn Denali had taken, his heart sank as he realized just where it lead to. The hangar. She had taken a ship to escape this horrible place and was gone. Now he had no idea where she was headed or if she'd ever come back. He didn't even know what kind of ship she had taken, all he knew was that there was no sign of her.

* * * * * * * * * *

She walked into her quarters after a long and stressful day of work with the Senate. All they ever spoke of were bills, more bills, the continuation of the cloning facilities on Kamino, increasing the production of soldiers, the continuing fight with the Separatists that didn't seem to be going anywhere, etc. All Padme wanted to do was change into some comfy clothes and go to bed, even though it was only late afternoon.

But little did she know that that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

As soon as she entered her quarters, she saw the woman sitting on her couch, a fighter-ship parked on the little platform Anakin usually used when he would visit her. She nearly cried out in shock at the sudden appearance of the woman and it took her a little while to recognize that sullen and paralyzed face.

She was a Jedi, obviously, from her robes. Her long blonde braid hung over her right shoulder and nearly touched the floor, mainly because she was slouching forward and holding her head in her hands. It was the hair that Padme suddenly remembered who the person sitting on her couch was.

"Oh my gosh, Denali! You nearly gave me a heart-atta-" Padme stopped mis-sentence when Denali looked up and revealed the tears streaming down her cheeks and her puffy eyes. Padme quickly made her way over to the couch, careful not to trip on her long purple dress, and sat down beside the crushed and devastated Jedi master. "What's wrong? What happened?" Denali took a deep breath before working up enough energy to answer her friend.

"I.....Master Windu....he convinced Master Yoda to have me expelled from the Jedi Order."

Padme's hand shot up to her mouth, covering up a gasp, her other finding its place at Denali's knee. 

"I am so sorry, Denali." She said, then embraced her friend. Denali hugged her back and freely sobbed on the woman's shoulder, allowing herself to fully break down from this terrible experience. Who would train Sekhmi? What would Chewie think when he found out? What would Anakin think when he found out that she'd been expelled? "There, there, Denali. There, there." Padme cooed in a supportive manner. 

"What am I going to do, Padme? What am I going to do?" Denali broke down.

"You know what?" Padme began, putting her hands on Denali's shoulders and holding her and arm's length. "You can stay with me." Denali sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hands.

"What?"

"You can stay with me. I'll hire you to be my new security guard. You can live with me here, in my guest bedroom. And I'll pay you with food, water, and a place to stay. How about that?" Denali was speechless. Sure, it was terrible that she'd been expelled less than an hour ago, but the fact that Padme, her closest friend that was of her same gender, had offered her a job and a place to stay faster than the bat of an eyelash was just amazing. She hugged the senator once again.

"Thank you, Padme. Thank you."