As war continued to brew across the galaxy, criminal activity also increased in various places. Ruthless mercenaries conspire with the Separatists to disrupt and exploit the unstable situation within the Republic.
Now, Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano were descending into the treacherous gangster havens in an effort to find a corrupt and vile arms dealer who was buying weapons on the black market and selling them to the Republic's enemies. But they didn't go alone. They were accompanied by young Princess Vivian, who was following them as part of her training to be a good hunter. As future Queen of Vulgardia, she needed to be able to sniff out crime from a mile away and trust her instincts in any environment. Thus, her parents thought it appropriate that she spend some time with the Jedi during such a mission.
Vivian walked with Ahsoka and Anakin, wearing a dark cloak to avoid being recognized.
"Car Affa is an arms dealer selling Republic weapons on the black market." Anakin explained.
"Who is he selling them to?" Ahsoka asked.
"The Separatists."
Vivian growled at the mere mention of the word 'Separatists'.
"I don't blame you for growling, Viv." Anakin chuckled. "I don't like 'em any better."
The team came across a drinking joint. "According to intelligence, he's inside this joint." Anakin said, approaching the entrance. "You stay here in case he tried to escape."
"Hmm, just like always." Ahsoka said.
"Typical." Vivian rolled her blue eyes. "Give the lookout job to the girls."
Ahsoka and Vivian looked around and saw some shady characters, but Ahsoka put a hand on her lightsaber, and Vivian bared her sharp teeth as a warning. Suddenly, people ran all about out from the joint. Luckily, Vivian had her falcon wings so she could fly up and out of the trouble, but Ahsoka fell down, and was quick to notice her lightsaber was missing.
"Hey!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Vivian! He's stolen my lightsaber!"
Vivian looked at who Ahsoka was referring to and growled as she started to swoop in to attack the pickpocket, only to crash into more people who came by, and now both she and Ahsoka had lost track of the pickpocket.
"My master's gonna kill me." said Ahsoka.
Vivian shook herself. "I'm okay, thanks for asking." she said sarcastically. "We'd better go back to Anakin before he worries about us."
The girls met Anakin back at the joint where he had the suspect in custody.
"Where were you?" Anakin asked.
"I was... checking out a suspect." Ahsoka said. "I... had a bad feeling about him."
Vivian glared at Ahsoka, knowing that wasn't true.
"And?" said Anakin.
"It was nothing. False alarm." Ahsoka said.
"Ahsoka, if you can't be honest with your master, how do you expect to level up as a Jedi?" Vivian asked.
"What is she talking about?" Anakin asked.
"We'll tell you after we get this scum into custody." Vivian said.
Later, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Vivian arrived at the Jedi Temple.
Ahsoka looked pretty guilty about lying to her master.
"Master? Is it all right if I go to the library and do some research?" Ahsoka asked her master.
"Sure. I'll take care of our little friend here." Anakin said.
"Mind if I accompany her?" Vivian asked.
"Sure. Just don't eat any of the books." Anakin said. "Gabby got pretty upset when you chewed her 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' book."
Vivian's tail went between her legs.
"That happened one time and you never let me forget it!" Vivian said.
Vivian accompanied Ahsoka to the library, where they met Madame Jocasta.
"I'm sure if you explain your loss to your Master, he'll understand." said Madame Jocasta.
"That's what I keep telling her." Vivian said. "In my kingdom, we have a saying. Curiosity will lead to the truth. And I'm pretty sure Anakin will get curious about why you don't have your lightsaber, and Gabby might notice and tell him first. You know she tells him just about everything."
"He tells me over and over 'your lightsaber is your life. Don't lose it.'" Ahsoka said. "Besides, he's already stressed enough with the war and wedding planning."
"I'm pretty sure you could just get a new one." Vivian said.
"Can't you go play with Gabby or something?"
"Nope, I'm interested in seeing where this goes. Plus, you may need a second pair of eyes to find this thief, and I have combined keen sight of a falcon and night vision of a wolf."
Madame Jocasta scrolled through a list of known criminals, but none matched their thief.
"Ugh, there has to be a better way to find this thief." Ahsoka said.
"I'm sorry." said Jocasta. "Pickpockets aren't my field of expertise."
Then Ahsoka thought of something.
"Vivian, did you happen to get a whiff of him when you tried to get him?" Ahsoka asked.
Vivian shook her head. "I didn't get much time to smell him. I could probably recognize it, but I can't be sure."
Ahsoka sighed. "At this rate, it'll take me years before I find him."
"I might have another idea." said the librarian. "There."
Madame Jocasta pointed to an older Jedi sitting at a computer. His name was Tera Sinube, an elder Jedi who happened to be an expert on the Coruscant crime world.
"I think he's sleeping." Ahsoka said.
"Just like my dad when he's going over royal documents." Vivian giggled as she heard the elder Jedi snoring.
"Yes, well, he will be able to help you." said Jocasta.
"Uh, pardon me, Master Sinube?" Ahsoka patted the old man on the back.
"Allow me." Vivian said, and she started licking the Jedi's face like a puppy licking its owner awake.
Master Sinube then woke up.
"What? Who? I was just resting my eyes." said Master Sinube.
"And snoring." Vivian said.
"Hello, Master Sinube." said Jocasta.
"Good morning, Jocasta." said Sinube. Then he looked at the two young girls. "Uh, I don't know you, do I?"
"My name is Ahsoka Tano." said the Togruta.
"And my name is Vivian Bizarra." said the viventia princess.
"We were told you could help me."
"Help you, hmm?" Sinube grew curious.
"I'll leave you three to your business." Jocasta said, and she left.
Ahsoka explained what happened earlier that day.
"A thief stole my lightsaber, and I only got a quick look at him."
"I got a bird's eye view of him, but I'm not sure how to describe him exactly." Vivian added. "Except that he seemed to be of an aquatic species. "
"Yeah. I could tell he definitely came from one of the aquatic planets, you know, one of the water worlds?"
"Yes! I remember now. He definitely smelled like cod, my least favorite seafood."
"So you're saying there was something fishy about him?" Sinube joked.
Vivian laughed with him for a bit, but cleared her throat and said, "Very funny, Master Jedi. But this is a serious matter."
"Well, let's try and see if we can find out where he went, shall we?"
Sinube typed some things into the computer as the girls gave as detailed of a description as they could.
"We were near the slum district, G17." said Ahsoka.
"Where would he go, your little pickpocket?" said Sinube. "To a gangster hideout? Unlikely, but possible. Maybe the gun market to sell the lightsaber, within the radius. Just... Just a moment. Let me see."
Master Sinube did a little research and confirmed the thief was a Patrolian, a fish guy. And he pulled up some pictures of Patrolian criminals and asked the girls if they could match any with their thief.
"That one!" Vivian put her paw on the screen when she saw the right one.
"That's him!" Ahsoka confirmed.
"Interesting, indeed." said Sinube. "According to the file, his name is Bannamu, a petty thief. He hangs out in the slum district."
"Thank you, Master Sinube."
"I'm sure I-"
"Your help has been invaluable."
"Well, you're welcome."
"If there's anything I can do-"
"Yes, there is." Master Sinube got up from his chair and took out a cane. "I haven't been on assignment in years. And if you don't slow down, you're not going to find what you're looking for. I'll come with you."
"Okay, gramps. It would be nice to have company."
"What am I, chopped liver?" Vivian said. "Which actually sounds delicious right about now."
"Vivian, you ate all the rations Anakin and I held and finished the last of the bacon, how can you still be hungry?" Ahsoka asked.
"I'm part horse and part wolf. Both those species can eat a lot in one day."
The two Jedi and the viventia went back to the slum district, Vivian once again putting on a cloak. Something immediately smelled fishy to Vivian. Squid to be exact.
Ahsoka and Master Sinube took a seat by a window, and were approached by a Quarren.
"Can I help you?" the Quarren asked.
"We're looking to buy a lightsaber." said Ahsoka. "Any ideas where we could do that?"
"Come with me."
The Quarren guided the trio out to the side where there was a speeder parked.
"So, you want to buy a lightsaber?" said the Quarren. "How much are you willing to pay?"
"If you have it, you'll give it to me." said Ahsoka.
"What my little friend is saying is, how much?" said Sinube.
"Twenty thousand." said the Quarren.
"Twenty thousand?" said Ahsoka in shock.
"It's a rare weapon, a Jedi weapon."
"Do you have the item with you?" asked Sinube.
"No, but I can get it." said the Quarren.
"From him?" asked Ahsoka, pulling up a hologram of Bannamu.
"Hey, who are these guys?"
"Ah, they are Jedi." said a Twilek.
"And if we are?" said Sinube.
"I don't want to get mixed up with Jedi." said the Quarren. "We were just doing our old friend Bannamu a favor."
Vivian let her hood down and growled at the Quarren.
"Well, I think it's time you forget about him and do me a favor." said Ahsoka. "That's my lightsaber he stole."
Vivian sniffed the Quarren and the Twilek.
"And I'm pretty hungry right now," growled Vivian, drooling as she bared her sharp teeth. "So unless you wanna be made into calamari, I suggest you do us that favor."
"Oh, well, uh, that makes a difference." said the Quarren. "Uh, what do you want me to do?"
"We want you to tell us where he is." said Ahsoka.
"And don't try to throw us off. I have your scents and I know what you look like."
"I hope you remember this and someday do me a favor." said the Twilek. "He's not that far away. He's at the Spider Arms hostel."
So, with the information the Bannamu's 'friends' gave them, Ahsoka, Sinube, and Vivian, headed toward the Spider Arms hostel to find the thief.
They entered the hostel and met a Rodian at the front desk.
"May I help you?" asked the Rodian.
"We know where we're going." Sinube said, performing a Jedi mind trick on the Rodian.
"You know where you're going."
The trio then began walking down the hall.
"We must be careful not to warn him." Sinube said quietly, but loud enough for the girls to hear.
"But, Master, we don't know where we're going." Ahsoka pointed out. "Ugh, he could be in any one of these rooms."
"You need to be more quiet, young one."
"Okay, okay." Ahsoka lowered her voice.
"Not quiet with your mouth, quiet with your mind. You're so anxious to find this pickpocket that your worry is equal to his."
Vivian, meanwhile, started to sniff around each room, searching for a fishy smell.
"You mean if I relax, I can sense Bannamu's anxiety?" said Ahsoka.
"Yes. If you relax," said Sinube. "You would realize he's in this room Vivian is snarling at."
Vivian looked ready to attack her prey. "Do it."
Ahsoka Force-pushed the door off the frame and in the room was Bannamu.
"Well, well. Bannamu, I assume." said the Togruta, anger in her voice.
"Who are you? What do you want? Hey!" Bannamu became terrified as Vivan pounced on him and held him down with her paws, growling and snarling, baring her sharp teeth.
"The lightsaber, you slimy thief." Vivian growled.
"I want it back, now!" Ahsoka demanded.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey." Bannamu said. "I no have it, I swear. I got rid of it. Yeah. I almost kill myself with that thing, ah."
"Tell us what you did with it before I bite you in the neck like I would any prey." Vivian growled, a terrifyingly hungry look in her eyes.
"I don't recall."
"Maybe I can help you recall." Vivian said, and she opened her mouth, preparing to bite the Patrolian.
"Okay! I'll talk!" Bannamu screamed.
"It's not smart to steal from a Jedi." said Ahsoka.
"Uh, you're looking a little too young to be a Jedi." said Bannamu.
Vivian opened her mouth again.
"Okay, okay!" Bannamu whimpered. "His name is Movers. Yes, uh, Nack Movers."
Ahsoka looked at Master Sinube and questioned him on that name.
"He's a very dangerous one," said Sinube. "well known in the underworld."
"Yes, exactly! Yeah." said Bannamu. "I sell it to him, yeah, yeah. You should be afraid. I got a good price, huh? He was very, very motivated. You can find him with his girlfriend. She has a place on the upper-east side of our happy land. I bet he's there now. Oh, he's always there."
"You can stop talking now." said Ahsoka.
"Okay, I shut up." Bannamu whimpered as Vivian glared and growled again. "Please don't eat me."
"Vivian, stop drooling on him." Ahsoka said.
"Well, at least you know where your lightsaber is." said Sinube.
"Yeah, it's in the hands of a killer. This is exactly what I was afraid of."
"Are you forgetting you have someone by your side with literally three different predator animals in her blood?" Vivian said. "We're gonna get him. I don't look part lion, but I've inherited my father's stubbornness towards catching my target all the same."
The Jedi and the animal princess headed for an apartment building on the upper-east side like Bannamu said. But, Master Sinube was still moving slower than both Ahsoka and Vivian.
"Master, we've got to hurry!" Ahsoka said.
"I really wouldn't mind letting you ride me." Vivian said. "I've got a horse's strength for carrying riders four times my own weight."
"Patience, young one." Sinube said more to Ahsoka than to Vivian. "You worry that if people die at the hands of your lightsaber that you will be as guilty for their death as the one that strikes the blow."
"The owner of the weapon doesn't matter so much as what the holder chooses to do with it." said Vivian. "I may have been born with claws and teeth as natural weapons, but I still have a choice as to how I use them."
"Still a valid concern." Sinube said. "And one for Ahsoka to puzzle out."
The elder Jedi stopped at a door, and so did Vivian.
"What? What is it?" Ahsoka asked.
"I believe we've reached our destination," said Sinube.
"I don't need to be a Jedi to see that." Vivian said, motioning to the circle that had obviously been sliced in half by a lightsaber.
Ahsoka pulled the door open and was horrified to see a corpse in there.
"Oh, no." She ran over to the body. "Let me guess. Nack Movers."
"A reasonable assumption." said Sinube.
Ahsoka checked for a pulse and Vivian sniffed the body.
"He's dead." Ahsoka said.
"And judging by his scent, he was killed approximately seventeen minutes ago." said Vivian.
Suddenly, a piece of decorative furniture squeaked and fell, shattering glass on the floor. Vivian got into a defensive position, and then out from behind a wall came an odd purple creature whose eyes blinked sideways.
"Are they gone?" asked the woman.
"Who's gone?" said Sinube.
"The men who killed Nack." the woman sobbed.
"Who are you?" asked Ahsoka.
"Ione Marcy. I came home and found him like this."
"Ione, did you call for help? Why were you hiding?"
"I was afraid."
Sinube motioned for Ahsoka to come closer to him. "She seems terrified." He said quietly. "And yet I sense something else is troubling her."
"I sense it too." Vivian said, her left ear twitching. "Call it animal instinct, but I sense something's off."
"Vivian and I'll search the other rooms," said Ahsoka.
Vivian accompanied Ahsoka on her search through the other rooms. It was dark and shadowy where they went. Luckily, Vivian's night vision came in handy. And they soon came across a bedroom that seemed to be empty.
Ahsoka quietly approached a closet and used the Force to quickly open it. However, Vivian caught a whiff of something, and from the corner of her eye, there came a pale-skinned woman, who tried to hit Ahsoka, only for Vivian to pounce her and wrestle her to the ground.
The new woman managed to pick herself up and pull out something she thought could defend her.
"How does this thing work?" the woman said, not sure how to activate the lightsaber.
"My lightsaber!" exclaimed Ahsoka.
"You're a Jedi?" The woman got scared, and she kicked the glass of the window and fled, sliding down the roof.
Ahsoka and Vivian both gave chase to the thief.
Ahsoka contacted Master Sinube. "You were right. We found the intruder, and she has my lightsaber. She's a Terellian Jango Jumper and hard to keep up with."
"Hard for you, maybe," said Vivian. "But you forget how fast falcons can dive!"
Vivian flew as fast as she could to catch up to the intruder and dove at over 200 miles per hour, managing to attack the intruder once more and bite her wrist, making her drop the lightsaber.
Vivian quickly picked it up with her mouth.
"Give that back!" said the intruder, but Vivian growled at her and activated it herself.
Uh-oh. That didn't look too good for the intruder.
Vivian swung the lightsaber like a baseball bat just to scare the intruder, who then took off running, Ahsoka and Vivian giving chase so they could apprehend her and bring her to justice.
Meanwhile, Master Sinube stayed with Ione in her apartment.
"I'm sure my little friends will catch up to your intruder." said the Jedi. "You have nothing to worry about."
Sinube placed a comforting hand on Ione's shoulder, but actually placed a tracking beacon on her back.
"Right, of course." said Ione, who got up to grab a drink, but her hand was shaking as she picked up the glass.
Sinube knelt down toward Nack Movers' body and poked it with his cane.
"Your friend Nack wasn't a very good fighter, was he? Or maybe he was poisoned."
"What?" said Ione, turning around.
"Well, obviously he's come to an unfortunate end. He'd be stronger than the average man, though, wouldn't you say?"
"I... guess."
The Terrelian jumper was now trapped on the very narrow ledge of a building with Ahsoka, who now had her lightsaber back, and an angry Vivian cornering her.
"You said a group of men killed your friend Nack Movers." said Sinube to Ione. "And yet my Padawan described the assailant as a female."
"There was a group of them." said Ione. "I didn't get a good look."
"I also contacted the authorities to come here and help you with your unfortunate friend."
"Oh. You're very kind."
The girls still chased after the thief, who was proving surprisingly fast for them, even for a fast hunter like Vivian.
"I've had an easier time catching viventias who were part cheetah!" Vivian whined.
Even without the lightsaber, the intruder was pretty fast and good at maneuvering her movement.
The thief jumped across floating screens, and Ahsoka followed, but as she tried to jump to the third one, she didn't jump far enough and fell... until Vivian caught her.
"Something tells me we're gonna need a little more help." said Vivian.
"You should have a seat." said Sinube. "You might have been distraught before, but ever since the intruder left your apartment, you've become even more nervous."
"I'm upset," said Ione. "This whole ordeal I just endured; it's upsetting."
"Or is there a reason you might be concerned?"
While her back was turned to Sinube, Ione hit a button on her bracelet that activated a speeder down below.
"You weren't afraid because you were in danger." said Sinube. "You were afraid we would find your friend hiding in the other room. You're in league with the bounty hunter!"
That was when police droids arrived, and Sinube ordered them to arrest Ione, who escaped in her speeder over the balcony.
"Off she goes, always rushing."
"Cassie, the Jedi know I'm involved." said Ione over the comm to the Terrelian, apparently named Cassie. "I had to run."
"Just get over to J Street and pick me up before their dog gives me rabies." Cassie said as she climbed up a pipe.
Ahsoka rode on Vivian's back, a safe distance away from the bounty hunter. She concentrated on the pipe Cassie was climbing and made it fall to the side towards traffic. But Cassie jumped up and down on the pole until she jumped high enough to land in Ione's speeder.
"You lost the lightsaber?" Ione said in horror.
"That big dog bit me and made me drop it and nearly sliced me with it." said Cassie.
"There they go." Vivian said, sitting down on a wider ledge with Ahsoka. Her wings were tired and she needed a break.
The Togruta and viventia sat down for a while, and then Master Sinube arrived on a speeder.
"I see you've both learned patience, young ones." said Sinube.
"Where did you get that speeder?" Ahsoka asked.
"I asked one of the police droids to lend me some transportation." Ahsoka climbed onto the speeder behind Master Sinube. "They were kind enough to oblige."
And they took off on the speeder, Vivian following close behind.
However, as they drove, many other speeders zipped right by them.
"Hey! Stay in your own lane, you jerk!" Vivian shouted angrily.
"You're driving too slow." Ahsoka told the elder Jedi. "We need to go faster."
"Patience! We'll cut them off at the train station!" said Sinube.
"How do you know they're headed there?"
"Did I mention I planted a tracking device on Ione, the girl that ran away?"
"No."
The orange center jewel on Vivian's tiara glowed as she used it to send a message through her mind, calling for reinforcements.
The group soon arrived at the train station. There were a lot of people there, including Cassie and Ione.
Vivian sniffed the air. "I can smell them," she whispered to the Jedi.
Sinube's tracker beeped to confirm they were getting close. Unfortunately, Cassie spotted the device and destroyed it, but not long before Ahsoka spotted them.
"Stop them!" Ahsoka and Vivian shouted in unison.
And police droids spotted them too.
"Halt. Halt. You're under arrest." said the police droids. They got Ione, but Cassie karate kicked her way out and ran, Ahsoka giving chase.
However, before Cassie could get away, a vine suddenly grew from around the other side of the train and wrapped around her and tightened as she struggled to get away. That was when Ahsoka heard a whinny, and on the roof of the train stood Carousella with a certain human princess on her back.
"You didn't think we would miss all the fun, did you?" Gabby smiled as she held the vine like a lasso around Cassie.
Ahsoka smiled too. She should've guessed that little one would get herself into the action somehow.
"How did you know to come here?" Ahsoka asked.
"Master Sinube might've given me a bit of advice to not be afraid to ask for help." said Vivian. "So, I contacted someone I knew was good at catching things."
"For someone who moves slowly, you always seem to get ahead of me." Ahsoka said as Master Sinube approached.
"The value of moving slowly is that one can always clearly see the way ahead." said Master Sinube.
"Like in the story of the Tortoise and the Hare." Gabby said. "Slow and steady wins the race."
"But we should probably get back to the Temple fast before Anakin sees we're not there." Carousella said. "Gotta dash."
The musicorn then ran and transported herself and her girl back to the Temple in a flash.
And so, Cassie was arrested, and Ahsoka once again had her lightsaber.
The group eventually returned to the Jedi Temple. Ahsoka was so happy to have her lightsaber back, and Vivian was glad to have learned that being a tough creature and tough hunter didn't mean she had to do everything on her own. Being able to ask for help, as it turned out, made her braver and smarter. She didn't need to fight or bite harder, just smarter.
"Well, I best be getting back to my master before he misses me." said Ahsoka.
"Certainly." said Master Sinube. "But first, I need one last favor from you."
"Sure. Name it."
"Pass on what you have learned."
Master Sinube and Ahsoka entered a classroom where some younglings were learning from Master Yoda how to use their lightsabers.
"Hello, old friend." said Master Sinube.
"Greetings, Master Sinube." said Yoda. "Padawan Tano, Princess Vivian, a lesson you have for us today, hmm?"
"Yes." said Ahsoka.
"A lesson in patience." said Sinube.
"And a lesson in true strength." Vivian said.
"Gather round, younglings." said Yoda. "Listen to the padawan and princess, you shall."
Ahsoka took out her lightsaber and told the younglings, "This weapon is your life. But it is also your responsibility. Don't let it out of your sight."
"It's not always going to be easy, and you're bound to find some bumps in the road." said Vivian. "But being strong doesn't mean doing everything on your own. If you know when to ask for help from those you trust, you'll be that much stronger."