Senate hostage crisis/Legends

"Let's let the scavengers clean this up. Our business is on Coruscant."

- Cad Bane, shortly after the death of Davtokk

Around 22 BBY, Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane organized and led a raid on the Republic Executive Building, located on the galactic capital of Coruscant. Bane sought to force Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to issue a pardon for Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure, who had previously been arrested and imprisoned in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center for his role in the Confederacy kidnapping of his great-nephew Rotta. Bane gathered together a team of bounty hunters, including the Jedi hunter Aurra Sing, the Weequay Shahan Alama, and the piscine technician Robonino, as well as several Confederate droid commandos and sentinel droids. After arranging a test for his team, in the form of combating fellow bounty hunter Davtokk, the Duros deemed his team ready for their mission.

The team infiltrated the Executive Building; disposing of multiple Senate Commando guards, the hunters proceeded to capture several senators during a conference regarding the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill, a piece of Galactic Senate legislation. Robonino shut off the building's power, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Senator Orn Free Taa were trapped in Palpatine's office. Bane issued an ultimatum to the Supreme Chancellor&mdash;Ziro was to be released, or the senators would be executed. Unbeknownst to Bane, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was still in the dome, having been visiting his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala. However, the Jedi was unarmed, and after a struggle, he was knocked out and captured.

Bane ordered Senator Taa to take a pardon disc to the prison in order to release the Hutt; after Ziro was released, the hostages would be released. Taa reluctantly complied, and was escorted to the prison by the sentinel droid 3D. Ziro was freed, returning to the Executive Building with the droid. As a final piece of leverage against Palpatine, Bane and his team set up a system of lasers around the senators&mdash;that would trigger explosives with the slightest touch&mdash;and left the building. As the bounty hunters tried to escape, clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard arrived to apprehend the team, but the hostages allowed the bounty hunters to escape with the Hutt. Bane remotely activated the explosives as payback for the indignities Ziro had gone through during prison. However, a revived Skywalker was able to cut a hole around the senators, and all of them dropped into the room below seconds before the explosives went off.

The hiring of a bounty hunter
"Stop, Ziro! Stop right where you are!"

- Padmé Amidala, as Ziro the Hutt is cornered

In 22 BBY during the Clone Wars, Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure, uncle to Jabba Desilijic Tiure, hoped to gain control of his nephew's criminal empire, and entered into an alliance with the Confederate Head of State and Sith Lord Count Dooku. The Confederacy sought access to hyperspace lanes that ran through Hutt-controlled space, and believed that the kidnapping of Jabba's son and the framing of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order for the crime would remove Jabba as an obstacle; Jabba would take rash actions to punish the Jedi, and would be arrested. Ziro provided information to Dooku and his apprentice, Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, on the whereabouts of Jabba's son, and Ventress traveled to Jabba's home planet of Tatooine to capture the infant.

Once Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, had rescued the Huttlet, Count Dooku was able to use hologram footage of the Jedi in possession of Rotta to convince Jabba that the Jedi were planning to kill his son. To contact Jabba and convince him otherwise on behalf of the Republic, Senator Padmé Amidala, Skywalker's secret wife, sought the help of Ziro. The Hutt resided in a palace on the galactic capital of Coruscant. Fearful of being discovered, Ziro took the advice of Count Dooku and imprisoned Amidala within the palace. However, the senator was able to send a message to her protocol droid, C-3PO, who in turn contacted the Coruscant Guard. Led by Commander Fox, the clone troopers raided Ziro's palace and apprehended the Hutt with the aid of the freed Senator Amidala.

Ziro was incarcerated in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center on Coruscant. To break him out of prison, the renowned Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane was contacted. Bane himself had risen to fame following the death of Jango Fett&mdash;the bounty hunter considered to be the galaxy's best&mdash;during the opening battle of the war. After Bane was recruited, the Duros began to assemble a team of bounty hunters, including the Jedi hunter Aurra Sing, the Weequay Shahan Alama, and the piscine technician Robonino. The team was backed up by several Confederacy BX-series droid commandos and IG-86 sentinel droids.

As the organic members of Bane's team usually worked alone, Bane organized a test for them. A bounty had been placed on Bane's head, which the Duros used to his advantage. Bane set up a trap for bounty hunter Davtokk on the planet Keyorin under the pretense that Bane was seeking recruits, knowing that Davtokk would attempt to kill him for the bounty. To fool Davtokk, Bane set up a battle droid doppelganger of himself, inside an explosive-wired building. Davtokk arrived, and shot the doppelganger, but realized that he had been deceived.

Robobino detonated several pre-planted explosives, and Davtokk was forced outside. Davtokk was caught in a razor net by Shahan Alama, but Davtokk easily cut his way out, and evaded the onrushing Weequay with a flash grenade. However, Davtokk was shot through the knees by sniper fire from Aurra Sing. Robonino, Alama and Sing surrounded Davtokk, and Bane revealed himself, explaining to Davtokk that he had merely been a test for his colleagues. After Davtokk had been disposed of, Bane and his team proceeded to Coruscant to free Ziro. However, Bane did not opt for a straightforward rescue, and instead chose to take senators of the Galactic Senate hostage and force Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to issue a pardon for the Hutt.

A secret meeting
"I have to bring this bill before the Senate. It's important.''" "''Uh-huh. More important than the way you feel about me?"

- Anakin Skywalker teases Senator Padmé Amidala

While he was supposed to be on a meditative retreat, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker visited his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, in her office in the Republic Executive Building. Skywalker suggested that they go on vacation, desiring to be able to truly act as husband and wife, to Amidala's disagreement. Skywalker asserted that there was nothing more important to him than his love for her, and gave Amidala his lightsaber, his weapon and one of his most prized possessions. After Amidala suggested that he leave if he only wanted to tease her, Skywalker refused and kissed her. However, during the passionate moment, Amidala hastened to leave the lightsaber on her desk.

Senator Bail Organa, followed by C-3PO, entered the room, seeking Amidala's presence for a meeting to discuss a piece of Senate legislation, the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill. Skywalker hid behind Amidala's desk, while Amidala herself hastened to hide his lightsaber in her sleeves. Organa told Amidala that Senator Philo had arranged the meeting in the lobby, before the vote on the bill. Amidala followed Organa to the meeting; as she was unable to return Skywalker's lightsaber to him, she took it with her to the meeting.

Entering and taking hostages
"Morning, Senators. You should all consider yourselves to be in my power. As long as everybody behaves, this will be quick and painless. Do nothing, and it will all be over soon."

- Cad Bane, to the senators

Arriving on Coruscant, Bane's team split up to gain entrance to the Senate Building. Cad Bane, Shahan Alama, two droid commandos, and a sentinel droid arrived at the building in an airspeeder, where they were confronted by a squad of Senate Commandos, a detachment within the guards of the Senate. From an adjacent tower, Aurra Sing provided a distraction with covering sniper fire, taking out most of the guards by herself, while Alama and the droids also engaged the guards. Bane eliminated the remaining guard, and the commando droids cleared the platform of bodies and dressed up in the Senate Guards' armor, to ensure that the brawl would go undiscovered. Sing, Robonino and two more sentinel droids arrived at the scene in the second airspeeder. Leaving both BX units outside, the team of bounty hunters made their way into the complex.

The team disposed of the guard stationed at the building's power control room, and also destroyed an assistant droid, a protocol droid, a WED-15 Treadwell and an R5 unit in the room. The bounty hunters left the technician Robonino to sabotage the building's power distribution network while the rest of the team headed to the meeting of senators, intending to take them hostage.

On the way to the East Wing of the building where the senators had gathered, Bane tossed a thermal detonator into the Senate Guards' barracks when two shifts were assembled there. Sing eliminated the only survivor with a merciless shot to the head, despite the guard's plea for help. The group entered the atrium filled with senators, surrounding and taking prisoner Senators Organa, Amidala, Dantum Roohd, Zinn Paulness, a female senator, blue-skinned Gran Philo, Rodian Onaconda Farr, Pantoran Riyo Chuchi, Ithorian Jakker-Sun, and a Christophsian senator, as well as protocol droid C-3PO. Senator Philo objected to being taken hostage, and tried to leave while refusing to "listen to insolence." Bane shot the Gran senator in the back, and ordered the rest of the senators to remove any communication devices in their possession.

Capturing Skywalker and freeing the Hutt
Bane made contact with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his office and demanded him to release Ziro Desilijic Tiure from the detention center. After Palpatine objected, Robonino shut down all power in the building and activated the emergency lockdown. Palpatine and the Twi'lek Senator Orn Free Taa were left trapped in the office with external communications disabled. However, Bane was unaware that Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was still inside the building.

Skywalker was in Amidala's office at the time. Noticing that the red backup lights had activated, Skywalker left the office to find out what was happening. Upon arriving above the atrium, he noticed the bounty hunters surrounding the senators, and spied on the events taking place. When Bane spotted the Jedi Knight above the lobby, he fired at Skywalker, and the Jedi ran. Bane set Shahan Alama and a sentinel droid after him. The Jedi Knight attempted to plug his comlink into a communications output, and was able to make contact with Chancellor Palpatine. Skywalker learned that it was up to him to turn the power back on.

As Alama and the droid approached the room where Skywalker was speaking with Palpatine, Skywalker quickly unplugged his comlink and hid just as the Weequay and the sentinel droid entered the room. The Jedi Knight managed to use a mind trick to get the two off of his trail. As Alama and the droid separated, Skywalker sneaked up on the droid and attacked it. Without a lightsaber, Skywalker was forced to engage it in close combat. Destroying the droid, Skywalker escaped shortly before Alama returned, and found the droid without its attacker. However, by examining the droid's remains, Alama deduced that the Jedi was unarmed.

After reporting this new piece of information to Bane, Alama continued the hunt with the aid of Aurra Sing. Skywalker stumbled upon Robonino, and the technician quickly retreated back into the power control room. Alama found Skywalker trying to break into the room; Skywalker pulled Alama's blaster out of his hand with the Force, but as soon as Skywalker caught the blaster, the unarmed Alama ducked, revealing Sing taking aim at Skywalker from behind the Weequay. Sing shot the blaster out of Skywalker's hand, and with Skywalker backed against the door of the power control room, Robonino joined the fray and shocked the Jedi. The unconscious Jedi Knight was brought to Bane in handcuffs.

Bane instructed Palpatine to make a pardon disc and to give it to Senator Taa, who would deliver the disc to the prison so that the Hutt could be released. Sentinel droid 3D escorted the senator to the landing platform, where a speeder was parked, with a transport attached for the large Hutt. Upon arrival at the detention center, Ziro was released, and was taken by 3D back to the Senate Building, while Taa remained in the safety of the Coruscant Guard at the prison.

A "parting gift"
In the atrium, Bane's team set up their "parting gifts" around the senators: a system of lasers that would trigger explosives upon the slightest touch. The bounty hunters sought to use the hostages as final leverage, if Chancellor Palpatine attempted to apprehend them while they were still on Coruscant. Bane left the building with his team; on the landing platform, a pair of LAAT/i gunships arrived, and clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard piled out and cornered the bounty hunters. Palpatine contacted Bane and ordered him to surrender. Bane revealed the trapped senators, and in order to keep them safe, Palpatine reluctantly relinquished his attempts to apprehend Bane. The clone troopers surrounding the bounty hunters allowed Bane and his team to leave.

Back in the East Wing, Skywalker awoke, and pretending that she had found the Jedi's lightsaber, Amidala cut Skywalker's binders off. Now that they were a safe distance away from the Executive Building, Bane remotely activated the explosives as payback for the indignities Ziro had suffered in prison. Just in time, Skywalker was able to cut a hole in the floor around the senators, allowing all of them to drop into the room below seconds before the explosives went off.

Aftermath


Many of the Senate Commandos throughout the Senate Building had perished because of the bounty hunters, but apart from Philo, none of the senators lost their lives. The East Wing of the Executive Building was left damaged in multiple places because of the explosives; additionally, the power control room was left sabotaged. Ziro the Hutt was free once more, and Cad Bane had garnered a successful mission to add to his reputation.

Following their escape, Bane transferred the reward to his comrades' accounts and ordered them to flee separately, escaping from the eyes of the Republic. However, Alama was attacked by a Confederate Munificent-class frigate over the planet of Florrum. Jedi General Aayla Secura was in the area on reconnaissance, and sent a team of clone troopers under the command of Commander CC-5052 to gather more information.

Behind the scenes
The raid was featured in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' first season finale, "Hostage Crisis." The episode itself garnered the highest ratings since the series' premiere of "Ambush" and "Rising Malevolence." The web comic Invitation Only led into "Hostage Crisis" and depicted Bane's test of his team against Davtokk. The raid notably featured the debut of bounty hunters in the series, as well one of the first appearances of Cad Bane, a bounty hunter who will be appearing more throughout the series' second season. The raid also revealed Bane's ruthlessness, for in planting the laser-activated explosives, the bounty hunter revealed that he never took prisoners.

While it is implied that either Count Dooku, Ziro's Separatist allies, or the crime lord himself contacted Bane to break Ziro out of prison, it is never explicitly stated as to who actually hired Bane for the mission.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part 1)
 * The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part 1)