"EYAAAAAH!"

Searing pain brought Jango back to his senses. He was shackled to a metal rack and a crude electrical torture device had been pressed against his face. He remembered sneaking into the citadel and then something sharp (most likely a dart) struck his neck. For the first time in his career, he was captured, he was completely helpless. He was glad none of his fellow Mandalorians were here to see this. The clicking of boots alerted him and the two cultists attending him. They stepped aside as a woman stepped into the dim light. She was clad from head to toe in black and had bone-white hair that stood on end. He guessed she was in her thirties based on her figure, though her tortured face made her look much older, she was not at all pleasant to look at. She took notice of his helmet sitting on a nearby table and picked it up.

"The blast helmet of a Mandalore warrior." she said, her voice deep and morbid. "I've not seen one of these since the incident on Galidraan. I must have cut down twenty of your kind that day."

Galidraan?!

Jango did seem to recall a tenacious young Jedi on Galidraan that day; he never guessed he'd be unlucky enough to meet her again, nor would he have expected her to become one of the galaxy's most dangerous criminals.

"You're the first bounty hunter to ever make it this far." said Vosa, tossing his helmet carelessly aside.

She raised her hand and the rack tilted upright so Jango could see her hideous yellow eyes.

"So…who sent you here?"

She waved her hand, no doubt trying to loosen his tongue with her Jedi tricks.

"Tell me who sent you." she growled, clenching her fist.

Jango felt his throat close as though an invisible hand were squeezing it. He wretched and thrashed for a bit, fighting the pain and nausea. After a few moments, Vosa released him.

"Such frustrating tenacity…" she sneered. "Very typical of your sort. I once tried to resist…"

A look of sick pleasure came over her aging face.

"But the Bando Gora have ways of…weakening your mind. In a matter of days, you will be just like the rest of my slaves."

She reached down and started playfully stroking his cheek, making his face contort in disgust.

"Hmmm…perhaps this won't last as long as I thought." she muttered, turning her head toward a pillar. "Care to join us?"

Zam stepped out from behind the pillar, blaster at the ready. He figured she'd find a way out of Gardulla's palace sooner or later, but how she managed to get here was beyond him. One of the cultists took a step toward her and was shot dead in the blink of an eye, followed by its partner. Vosa reached for her hip and drew what Jango knew to be a lightsaber hilt. An encrimsoned white blade shot out and Zam's next bolt was deflected and hit her right in the knee. She was an okay shot, but she was no match for a Jedi's reflexes. She fired again and the bolt bounced right into her chest, dangerously close to her heart. Vosa stepped over to the downed Zam, ready to run her through when Zam blasted the shackles on Jango's wrists. He dropped to floor, dove over the table and seized his Blasters. Vosa drew a second lightsaber as Jango began mashing the triggers, spewing red-hot plasma at her. Not a single bolt made it past Vosa's twin crimson blades, but she was clearly not comfortable fighting in this confined room so she flipped backward and sprinted down the hall.

"Looks like she's all yours, Jango." Zam muttered.

Jango looked down at his would-be partner.

"Stay here."

He went to the table to retrieve his helmet and jetpack, which he refueled with a fuel packet from his belt. He then holstered one of his blasters so he could engage his whipcords or his flamethrower with his free hand. He'd spent all of his missiles in his showdown with Montross and all of his toxic darts and sniper rounds on his way across the canyon. These were all the weapons he had, but they would have to do. He crept down the hall, expecting an ambush at any minute, but none came. He reached a small ravine and leapt over it, on the other side was a pack of cultists. They all scrambled toward him like apes, but he flipped over them and sprayed them with flames. The rags they wore caught alight and they dropped to their knees, writhing and squirming in a macabre dance. Jango stormed toward the inner sanctum, wishing his helmet could filter out the sound of the cultists' deathly shrieks and wails.

He crept down a hall littered with bones and rubble, barely able to see, despite his night-vision visor. He found his way into a chamber with two curved stairways and a blazing blue fire in the center. He was about to make a run for it when a painful zap caused him to topple to his knees. He turned his head to see a cultist carrying a crude tazer-staff. This one was far more imposing than the others; it wore a mask resembling a horned humanoid skull, its eyes were not a dusky red like the others, but a pale and ghostly blue. Jango guessed that it was once human or humanoid like the rest. He rolled to the left before it could strike him again and snared it in his whipcord before setting it ablaze with his flamethrower. It did not shriek like the others but squirmed a bit and let out deep guttural growls and hisses.

Jango rushed up the steps and into a large dingy chapel. Kneeling at the altar, was Vosa seemingly oblivious to Jango's presence (but he knew better than to think that she was). He took a moment to glance at the large mural she was kneeling under, it depicted a hooded cultist pulling an old human man out of a tangle of thorns. He crept toward Vosa with both blasters trained on her, when he was within maybe ten feet of her she opened her eyes and slowly got to her feet.

"The last of the Mandalorians…" she rasped, drawing her lightsabers. "How does it feel to be alone?"

Jango unleashed a barrage of plasma bolts, but this time she reflected them all back at him, forcing him to roll to the right. He then activated his jetpack and flew backward in time to avoid being sliced down the middle and launched his last whipcord. The cord wrapped itself around Vosa's throat and he pulled her to her knees, but she sliced the cord with her blades and sent Jango flying back with a telekinetic push. He got right back up and started blasting away, but she deflected or reflected each bolt.

"My powers are beyond any of your barbaric weapons!" Vosa taunted.

She spiraled toward him, threatening to shred him with both blades, but he dropped to the floor, jetted under her, and blasted her in the back with his flamethrower. She used her Jedi power to hurl him across the room and he retaliated by blasting her right in the eye. She dropped one lightsaber and clutched her eye growling in pain. Wailing like an enraged harpy, she threw herself toward him and tried to skewer him with her other lightsaber, but he rolled to the right and kicked her hard in the jaw. He then jetted around her peppering her with plasma from all sides. She seized him in midair with her power and hurled him into a nearby statue. His jetpack was now cracked and was leaking fuel.

Vosa summoned her other lightsaber back into her hand and charged toward Jango with both blades pointed toward him. When she was within striking distance, he flipped over her and blasted her in the back. She staggered for a bit and managed to deflect one bolt into Jango's chestplate. In less than two seconds, she was after him again, swinging her blades and coming closer to slicing him apart each time. Jango was running out of maneuvers. He had one idea left; it was beyond reckless, but it was all he had.

Just as Vosa was about to swing her sabers down in an X, he rolled under her, bowling her over. They were on their feet again in less time than it took to think about it and Jango dropped his blasters, seized Vosa's wrists and rammed his head into hers, causing her to drop her lightsabers. But he didn't stop there, he cracked her jaw with a right hook and blacked her good eye with a hammerfist. She tried to kick him, but he caught her leg and dug into it with the blades on his gauntlet. She shrieked with rage and telekinetically threw him off of her. He scrambled for his blasters as he seized her sabers and fired volley after volley of bolts until the unthinkable happened, his blasters overheated.

Vosa leapt toward him again and tried to skewer him with both blades, but he rolled to the left and blasted a stream of flame into her face with the last of his fuel. She dropped her lightsabers and clutched her face shrieking in agony. Jango knocked her to the ground with a roundhouse kick. He then snatched up one of her lightsabers and tried to finish her but she seized him by the throat with her dark power and began squeezing. He could barely make out her face; red, raw and full of primal hate. Darkness began clouding his vision, and just when he was certain that he was finished, Vosa's hold over him was broken. He dropped to his knees, tore off his helmet and saw that Vosa was suspended in the air clutching her own throat.

"No…" she wheezed. "Nooo…"

After a moment or two, she flew into the mural, cracking it and leaving a crimson stain on it. He crept over to her and saw that she was dead…but what the hell just happened?

"Congratulations, Jango."

He whirled around and his heart gave him a startled jolt. The man called "Tyranus" was standing not two feet from him.

"I'm impressed." he said in a dignified manner. "No ordinary man can last so long against one trained in the Jedi Arts…especially one trained by me. Komari Vosa was a most promising pupil at first, but her personal feelings for me made her a liability in the end."

"You…" said Jango, clenching his fists. "You knew she was here."

"Yes, I believed her conversion to the dark side would make her useful again, but instead she had become a dangerous rival."

"But why put a price on her head? You could have easily killed her yourself." Jango insisted

"True, but I really wanted to meet you. I have much grander plans for you, Jango."

"I'll have my reward before I do anything else for you." Jango said firmly.

Tyranus picked up Vosa's lightsabers and clipped them to his belt. He then reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a red and silver credit cube.

"This cube is worth five million Republic Credits." he stated. "You may have it now…or much more later, if you'll come with me to Kamino…to be cloned."

"Cloned?"

"Yes…the Kaminoans have perfected the process. The clones will be modified to reach their physical peak in half the time it took you. They will be perfect warriors…just like you."

The idea was intriguing but also somewhat unsettling.

"What makes you think I'd be interested?"

"A chance at immortality, to pass on the Mandalorian legacy to an army crafted in your image…and a great deal of money. How could a man such as you not be interested?"

Immortality…

Jango thought about what Roz had told him before she died.

"Find something to live for, besides money." she told him. "You deserve more."

She was right, Jango did deserve more. He had everything he needed now except for one thing…a successor.

"I'll do it…" he decided. "On one condition."

Tyranus raised an eyebrow.

"I want the first clone for myself, unmodified."

Tyranus blinked only once, perhaps contemplating the logic of Jango's request.

"Very well. If that is what you desire, you shall have it. We'll leave for Kamino immediately. Summon your ship."

"You got it."

It was finally dawn when Jango emerged from Vosa's citadel carrying Zam toward Slave 1. This place looked almost pleasant now…not that he planned on ever coming back.

"Ughhh…did you get her?" she asked weakly.

"You could say that."

"So…" she said as they reached Slave 1. "I get a share of the bounty, right?"

"Don't push your luck." said Jango with a dry chuckle.