Title: "Mentor"

Time Period: Just at the end of Attack of The Clones

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The Clone Wars begin to rage across the galaxy, and a Sith Lord helps a single boy takes his fist step at reaching his destiny.

Author's Notes: This fic came from a discussion I had a few years ago on what happened to Boba right after his father was killed on Geonosis? There appears to be a lot of unwritten history from this time, to when we see him in ESB. I'm not exactly sure if this can be called Alternate Universe, but until proven otherwise..

There are many references that I used to get some background on the key characters here, including:

The Clone Wars 'Micro-Series' on Cartoon Network.
Star Wars: Jango Fett by Dark Horse Comics
Star Wars: Jango Fett, Open Seasons by Dark Horse Comics
Star Wars: Tales #18 by Dark Horse Comics

None of the characters are mine, but if they were, I could kiss my college loans goodbye!

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter One: "The Proposal"

The black pit of space stretched out as far as the eye could see. Here and there stars twinkled randomly to their own rhythm. In the exact center of all this, a single blue-green gem of a planet hung peacefully.

A massive column of collimated energy suddenly lanced out and stopped in a point in space. A second one appeared and joined it at the exact point, a third appeared, then a forth. The main juncture of all the energy glowed briefly, then a titanic emerald beam of energy lanced out at the planet. The beam lanced right through the celestial body, erupting it into a massive explosion, sending pieces or crust and debris flying out into space. Space became littered with the remains of the planet.

A tall, bearded figure stepped into the very center of the devastation.

"As you can see, my lord, this is just an extrapolated simulation of what the weapon can accomplish," Count Dooku said as he leaned over and pressed a switch. The flying debris stopped in mid-air, lost focus, and then returned to the memory of the holographic projector. The area around him brightened briefly then was replaced by a red-hued wire-frame schematic of a massive battlestation.

"Interesting," was all that the black hooded individual sitting on a black throne said. "Have the Geonosians begun construction?" asked Lord Sidious.

The Count shook his head. "No, my lord. Poggle the Lesser was more anxious to get these plans away from the Jedi, than in starting any form of construction."

The other Sith Lord sat back and steepled his fingers. "Just so. A weapon of this magnitude would seriously alter the balance of power between your Confederacy and the Republic."

"It is only a weapon, Lord Sidious," Count Dooku said with a sniff. "It cannot compare to the power of the Force." He frowned slightly. "Although I could see someone in the military getting all choked up over such a 'technological terror'."

The black cowl of the Sith Lord moved only a centimeter in Dooku's direction, but nothing was said. The Count, however, swore he could almost hear an eyebrow rise.

"Quite," Sidious murmured. A slight gesture caused the battlestation diagrams to disappear and be replaced by a massive three-dimensional representation of the galaxy. Within the galaxy, systems here and there began to glow softly in different colors: red for the Confederacy, green for the Republic and yellow for undecided. As expected, most of the Republic systems tended to be near the galactic core, while the Separatists were out on the Rim. Many contested territories between the two were also shown in yellow. Another gesture and more symbols began to appear: Clone Trooper movements, droid factories, weapon caches, bank accounts used by the Separatists, detailed accounts of Trade Federation and Republic cruiser movements, even the location of which Jedi were leading which armies. It was, quite literally, the entire breakdown on the real-time state of the war. Any half-way decent military commander – on either side of the conflict - could've won the war in a matter of days with what the map showed.

But that was not the intent of the Sith Lords.

Sidious leaned forward and stared intently at the map. "Lord Tyranus, we must orchestrate this 'Clone War' to maximum effect. The longer we can draw this conflict, the better. Once we whittle down the ranks of the Jedi, the few that remain will not stand to the might of our battle-proven army." His voice then dropped to a lethal whisper. "The added benefit is the settling of accounts against those idiots in the Trade Federation."

Count Dooku nodded. He knew his Master's utter contempt for the Neimodians as they were the one's responsible for the botched trade blockade 10 years ago with their defeat at Naboo, not to mention the loss of his predecessor, Darth Maul. Sidious bid his time for a very good reason: he didn't want the Trade Federation to be beaten, he wanted them annihilated.

A dark lord never forgot – nor forgave – failure.

A single finger lifted and the hologram disappeared into the memory of the holo-projector, plunging the area into near-darkness. A soft rustle of robes, and the Sith Lord walked past Dooku.

"Walk with me, my friend," his master said. Dooku silently fell in step and to the right of Sidious. Both walked out to a terrace overlooking their decrepit surroundings. In the far distance, both could see the glow of the main hub of the planet. The sector of Coruscant that Darth Sidious setup his headquarters had long ago fallen into disuse and decay. Buildings of various sizes stood silently, incomplete and rusting, and virtually no traffic traveled through here.

How fitting, thought Tyranus that this forgotten sector of the planet would be the birthplace of the new order that is to come.

"How go your plans to recruit allies to your cause, Lord Tyranus?" he asked.

Dooku paused, marshaling his thoughts. "Aside from those who have already signed over, I've begun contacting several Jedi who are of the same mind as I, in terms of the Republic. It should not be too difficult to persuade them to commit fully to my cause."

Sidious smiled and nodded. "Excellent. Dissension will grow in the Senate when they realize that their own 'guardians' cannot even provide a united front against the war."

Dooku smiled at another thought as well. "It will cause even more of a furor in the Jedi Council as well." He could imagine – and quite frankly, relish - Master Yoda's dismay at seeing Jedi defecting over to the Confederacy.

"And what of the people you've chosen to be your lieutenants?" asked Sidious.

"I leave soon for Rattatak. Aside from another possible planet that may secede, it also holds a Dark Jedi who would be an excellent addition to the cause." He smirked darkly. "Asajj Ventress fancies herself a Sith, my lord," Tyranus said lightly. Sidious turned slightly and an ironic look passed between master and apprentice. "Although her raw talent and fierce determination will be more than a match for any Jedi, she will know the full measure of a Sith in due time," Tyranus finished.

Sidious smiled thinly. "I look forward to seeing you put such an upstart in her place, my friend." He brought a single finger up. "However, in this case, I have the final say as to whether or not to allow her to be brought in. If I deem her worthy, you will hone her present skills, Tyranus, but teach her none of the Sith ways. She is to be a tool, nothing more; a useful tool, perhaps, but ultimately, disposable."

"Of course, my lord." Dooku's tone was obedient, but his eyebrows raised a little as if saying, I know my place, my lord.

Sidious nodded. "Who else?"

"The bounty hunter, Durge, should just now be awakening from his long hibernation. It should not be difficult to lure him into my ranks, since he's sworn revenge against the Mandalorians, the very ones who put him into his sleep in the first place. Once he hears that the genetic blueprint for the Clone Army was a Mandalorian, he'll need no coaxing for what needs to be done."

Sidious frowned a little. "Why would you have need of another bounty hunter? Have you not - ?" He stopped as he noticed the expression on his apprentice's face. "Ah, yes, now I see. Jango Fett was lost on Geonosis." It was statement, not a question.

Tyranus nodded curtly. "He was, quite literally, irreplaceable, my lord. Not only did he train the clone army into what it is now, but he also provided the raw material to build that army in the first place."

"Your last report stated that the Kaminoans have another million clones well on the way," Sidious said quietly. "Are you now saying you didn't prepare well enough in advance?" There was now a hint of menace in Sidious' voice.

"Not at all, my lord," Tyranus replied smoothly. "Jango Fett did train a handful of exceptional clones that came as close to the original in that they are not as docile as standard troopers and have been given a higher level of independent thought. These can take over for training from now on, if need be."

Sidious looked away for a moment, then spoke, "Did your colleague not have an unaltered clone made that he could raise as his own son?"

Tyranus' eyebrows rose a bit in slight surprise. Although a disciple of Darth Sidious for the better part of a decade, he still realized that no amount of information was beyond his reach. He looked sideways at his master.

"Yes," he started slowly. "That is true, my lord. Although, with his father dead, I am not altogether sure what he will do now."

"All the more reason to grab the boy now, in case he decides to disappear," Sidious said. "If new troops are needed later on, he can always provide the material. If he doesn't provide it willingly…." He shrugged. "I hear they're doing interesting things with carbonite these days."

Anyone else might have taken that last remark as a joke, but Tyranus knew that his master was deadly serious. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps…we can give the boy sufficient incentive to help us, my lord," he mused.

"Go on," Sidious replied, a little curious.

"Jango Fett was, as you well know, the deadliest man in the galaxy. If you remember I was there on that ill-advised and ill-fated mission, sent by the Jedi council years ago, to stop the Mandalorians on Galidraan." Tyranus looked away, a look of mild disgust on his face as he remembered the battle. "Even though it was a massacre on both sides, I still remember Fett killing many Jedi with his bare hands." He turned and faced his master. "There's no reason to not expect the same kind of skill from his son. It's even possible that, with sufficient training, he could even excel his father."

Sidious' cowled head rose slightly and he slowly rounded on his apprentice, crossing his arms before him.

"You wish to train him? Why?" he asked simply.

"Who better to teach him than a former Jedi?" replied Tyranus.

His master's gaze bore into his eyes. "The boy is only ten years old. Of what possible consequence can he have in this war?"

Tyranus dipped his head in respect. "For the war? Nothing, my lord, but I am thinking ahead. Once the Republic falls, the remaining Jedi will scatter and we will need someone of Fett's skills to ferret them out."

Sidious continued to stare at Tyranus for almost a whole minute. "Let us assume, for the moment, that you do train the boy. If he fails and dies..."

Tyranus shook his head. "In the first place, we would make sure that sufficient genetic material was extracted by the Kaminoans, and in the second," he looked steadily back at his master, "I know, for a fact, that he will not fail, Lord Sidious," he said with the utmost confidence.

"How can you be so certain?" Sidious asked with a hard edge to his voice.

"Because he witnessed his father's death at the hands of Mace Windu," Tyranus replied quietly.

Sidious' eyes widened slightly, then he threw his head back and he laughed a cold hard laugh.

"Well played, my friend, well played!"

Tyranus relaxed slightly. If his master had pushed the issue, he would have, without a moment's hesitation, 'incarcerated' the boy. However, he was trying honor a bargain struck several years ago. His master did not need to know that.

Lord Sidious rubbed his hands slowly. "Very well, I give you leave to train the boy. Let us see what you can make of this…Boba Fett. Bear in mind, however, we are orchestrating a war."

Tyranus, knowing he was dismissed, bowed before his master, tuned on his heel, and walked off. A small smile twitched on his lips.

That went better than he expected.

-Cotinued-