Plot to Assassinate Senator Amidala

"*We'll have to try something more subtle this time, Zam. My client is getting impatient."*

## Plot to Assassinate Senator Amidala

### Key Individuals

Padmé Amidala / Jango Fett / Zam Wesell /

The **Plot to Assassinate Senator Amidala** was a Separatist scheme to kill Padmé Amidala. It was demanded by Nute Gunray, who held a grudge against Padmé following his defeat to her at the Battle of Naboo. The Separatists hired Jango Fett to carry out the task of killing the Senator, who in turn hired Zam Wesell. Zam made several attempts on the Senator, the first attempt successfully killing Cordé, but missing the Senator herself. The second attempt resulted in Zam's death at the hands of Jango after she was caught by the Senator's Jedi guard and questioned about the attacks.

## Prelude

#### Previous: Invasion of Naboo / Separatist Crisis

8 years prior to the Separatist Crisis that caught the entire galaxy on the tense edge of war, the Sith plot to overtake the galaxy lead Nute Gunray to use his leadership of the Trade Federation to create an Invasion of Naboo, a plot to allow Sheev Palpatine manipulate the political scope of the invasion and allow him to rise to the position of Supreme Chancellor. The plot worked, and Nute Gunray was eventually arrested by the Republic after the Battle of Naboo and kept for years within Republic trails. With the help of Darth Sidious, knowing Gunray would help his further cause of insighting war that could tear the Jedi apart, Gunray was found not guilty on his 4th trial and released. He was allowed to retain his titles and powers within the Trade Federation. His hatred for Padmé Amidala however remained as she had defeated him at the Battle of Naboo.

##### Separatist Plot

Two years into the Separatist Crisis, Dooku and Sidious were building their connections within the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Nute Gunray agreed to be part of their Separatist movement and face against the Republic, but on the condition that his loyalty be bought with the death of Amidala, who had become a Senator in the years since the Invasion of Naboo. With war close by already, Dooku agreed to the Trade Federation's terms, sending bounty hunter Jango Fett to kill Senator Amidala on Coruscant as she came to fight against the Military Creation Act at the Senate. Wanting to bury his connection to the plot and protect his connection to Kamino and the Sith, Jango hired another bounty hunter; Zam Wesell to carry out the task.

## Recount

#### Bomb Attempt

The first attempt made by Zam was to bomb the Senator as she arrived on Coruscant from Naboo. Gregar Typho acted as Amidala's head of security, and employed tactics used by Amidala during her time as Queen of Naboo, replacing her with handmaiden decoys, while Padmé Amidala posed as one of her own guard. Cordé posed as the Senator as their ship landed on a landing pad on Coruscant before planning to head to the Galactic Senate where Senator Amidala would vote on the Military Creation Act. From a hidden vantage point, Zam Wesell watched and waited to confirm that Senator Amidala was there. Zam spotted Cordé, mistaking her for Amidala and detonated the bomb as the handmaiden descended the ramp. The explosion took the lives of Cordé, fellow handmaiden Versé, and six members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, including Lieutenant Theomet Danlé and Mett Habble. One of the barge's astromechs, R2-H7, was damaged by debris. Cordé was able to hold onto life just long enough to apologize to Padmé before passing away. Gregar Typho had to pull Amidala away from the devastation site and to safety. Zam made an easy escape.

In the aftermath of the attack, The Jedi started an investigation into the attack. The Jedi intelligence pointed the blame at disgruntled spice miners on the moons of Naboo, however Senator Amidala was not convinced that this was true. She was sure that Count Dooku was to blame. The Jedi refused to consider this as a possibility, not believing that Dooku was capable of assassination due to his history with the Jedi. Chancellor Palpatine suggested that the Jedi place Senator Amidala under their protection. They agreed, sending Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker to protect the Senator again by suggestion of Palpatine.

The Jedi were dispatched to Senator Amidala's apartment complex where they met with the Senator for the first time in 10 years. Anakin quickly found himself enamored with the Senator just as he was on Tatooine. When Obi-Wan expressed that they were there only in the interest of security, not investigate the attack, Anakin challenged the statement. Anakin promised Amidala that they would locate the killer and that investigation was implied by their mandate. Obi-Wan shut down the idea, stating that they would do only as the Council had instructed. Captain Typho thanked the Jedi for their presence and informed them of the security measures he had in place. One the Senator had retired for the night, the Jedi checked the security themselves.

##### Kouhun

In preparation for a second attempt Wesell rendezvoused with Fett on the balcony of a Trade Federation office tower, hidden from public view. Fett, saying that a more subtle attempt would be more desirable, gave Wesell two kouhuns from the jungle planet of Indoumodo capable of easily killing adult humans with their venom. He then warned her that they could not afford to make any mistakes this time, as Fett's client was getting impatient. Wesell placed the kouhuns in her ASN courier droid, ASN-121, and sent it to place the creatures in Amidala's bedroom to kill her in her sleep.

Obi-Wan and Anakin patrolled the apartment of the Senator, having placed cameras in Amidala's bedroom. She did however cover the cameras and left Anakin and Obi-Wan to rely on their sensitivity to the Force to sense what is going on in her room. Obi-Wan deduced that the pair had created a plan to use Padmé as bait. Obi-Wan thought the plan was risky, but conceded to go along with the plan for the first night. Silently, the ASN droid approached Amidala's window, creating a space through which the droid could plant a pair of kouhun into the room and allow them to drop to the floor. They fell undetected into the room and immediately began making their way across the room to where Padmé slept. They approached silently, very nearly reaching Padmé's exposed skin. However, Anakin and Obi-Wan had only just managed to sense the presence of the kouhun, sprinting into the room. Anakin used his lightsaber to slice the kouhuns to the other side of the room.

##### Chase Through Coruscant

Obi-Wan spotted the ASN droid outside the window. As it retreated he ran and leapt through the window, grabbing hold of the droid as it made its escape. Obi-Wan held on as the droid sped away above Coruscant. Anakin told Padmé to stay put while her guard ran into the room to watch over her. The ASN droid was thrown off balance by Obi-Wan, slamming into buildings and almost knocking the Jedi off. Zam Wesell watched the droid through a KiSteer 1284 projectile rifle. Knowing that the droid was bringing Obi-Wan straight to her, she shot down the droid, causing Obi-Wan to fall. He did however spot the sniper before falling. On a parking bay balcony several floors down, Skywalker found and hotwired a convertible airspeeder (an XJ-6 airspeeder owned by the Vorzyd sector's Senator Simon Greyshade) and began pursuit. He searched the traffic lanes for his master, finally spotting him falling through the air. Zam jumped into her Koro-2 all-environment Exodrive airspeeder and began to flee. Anakin flew into the fall path of Obi-Wan allowing his master to grab onto the speeder and climb in. He spotted Zam Wesell's speeder among the traffic and sent Anakin flying after it. A chase began through the Coruscant traffic. Zam did a straight dive down through the Corusca Circus. Anakin mimicked the dive, terrifying his master. Anakin finally pulled up to avoid the *Ultimo Vista.* Anakin then chased the bounty hunter in industrial airspace, weaving through burning exhaust vents of a Kerdos Company recycling plant and into the neighboring Greth Lan-Dwu Corp. electrical power-generating plant. There Wesell drew her KYD-21 blaster pistol and shot a set of power couplings behind her, causing electricity to arc between and shock the two Jedi as they got caught in it. It was enough of a distraction to allow Wesell to reenter the Coruscant traffic and enter into a skytunnel passing through a Huosnoughow Foundation skyscraper. Anakin was confident enough to skip past the skyscraper and use a shortcut to cut off their opponent on the other side of the building.

Anakin's shortcut proved unfruitful for a moment as they seemed to have missed Wesell exiting the other side of the skytunnel. As Obi-Wan chastised his Padawan's shortcut, Anakin leapt from the airspeeder, having spotted Wesell again. He fell and landed onto Wesell's speeder catching her by surprise. Having relaxed and removed her mask, Wesell's face was exposed to the Jedi. Trying to knock the Jedi off her speeder, she hit the brakes and pushed Anakin to fall to the front of the vessel where she could try to shoot him with her blaster. All shots fired missed as Anakin dropped down. She then accelerated, causing Anakin to slide back down to the back. Anakin ignited his lightsaber and attempted to stab the controls of the airspeeder. Zam fired up at Anakin and caused the Padawan to drop his lightsaber. Having been following close behind, Obi-Wan was able to catch his apprentice's lightsaber out of the air. Without his saber, Anakin reached into the cockpit and attempted to wrestle Zam's blaster from her grip. During the wrestle the blaster fired into the speeder's controls. The ship descended and crashed into Vos Gesal Street, hitting a duracrete pole. Anakin had dropped from the airspeeder before the crash, painfully landing on the street and crashing into a group of crates.

Also surviving the crash, Zam disembarked from her flaming speeder and vanished into the crowd of onlookers. Anakin gave chase into the Uscru Entertainment District. She tried to escape into the Outlander Club. Obi-Wan landed the XJ-6 and met with Anakin outside the club where he reminded his apprentice to be patient. He returned Anakin's saber to him before they both went inside. Anakin told Obi-Wan that their culprit was a female changeling. Obi-Wan headed for the bar where he hoped he could lure the bounty hunter into attacking him, while Anakin patrolled the club. While at the bar the Balosar Elan Sel'Sabagno attempted to sell Obi-Wan death sticks. The Jedi used a mind-trick to send him home to rethink his life. Kenobi's plan was successful. When he wasn't looking, Wesell attempted to approach him from behind and shoot him in the back. Before she could do so, Obi-Wan sensed her and whipped around, igniting his saber and cutting through Wesell's right hand. Onlookers of the club watched as the Jedi came together to pick up Wesell and escort her out the back of the building. Anakin told the patrons to return to their drinks and ignore the Jedi business.

Once outside the club, the Jedi lay Zam in a back alley exit of the club, away from most passersby. They began questioning the bounty hunter. She confessed that she knew she had been hired to kill a senator from Naboo. She was more coy about sharing who had hired her. Anakin pressed her for the information. She began to divulge the information, getting as far as revealing she had been hired by another bounty hunter, before Jango Fett, who had been watching from a nearby building, fired a toxic saberdart at Wesell's neck. The dart found its mark and killed Wesell. The Jedi turned to see Jango Fett escape into the sky. Unable to give chase the Jedi sat with the body of Wesell. Obi-Wan removed the toxic dart from Wesell's neck and observed it.

## Aftermath

#### Next: Investigation on Kamino

Obi-Wan and Anakin debriefed the Jedi the following day, informing them of the assassination attempt and their chase through Coruscant. They gave Obi-Wan the job of investigating the bounty hunter who had killed Zam Wesell and learning who hired him. Obi-Wan asked what would happen with Senator Amidala. The Council determined that it best to send her back to Naboo where she could be safer, under the watchful protection of Anakin. Anakin knew it would be difficult to convince her to leave with him. Master Windu told Anakin to speak with Chancellor Palpatine and get him to give Senator Amidala the executive order to leave with Anakin. Anakin did so. Obi-Wan was nervous to leave his Padawan alone on his first assignment, however Yoda and Mace Windu confided confidence in the young apprentice. As she prepared to leave, Senator Amidala left her responsibility with Jar Jar Binks. Anakin and Padmé began their journey together on unregistered transport, traveling as refugees as to avoid detection.

## Event Chronology

* Zam Wesell attempts to bomb Senator Amidala as she arrives on Coruscant.
* Cordé is killed.
* Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect Senator Amidala.
* Zam attempts to assassinate Senator Amidala using kouhun.
* Obi-Wan and Anakin foil the plot and chase after Zam.
* The Jedi capture Zam.
* Zam Wesell is killed, executed by Jango Fett.
* Jango Fett escapes.

## Appearances

1. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones