Chapter IV

"Alright, men!" shouted the Deathwatch leader. "Today, we are going to fight not only for our freedom, but for Mandalore's freedom!"

"You won't get away with this," said Secura.

"Really? It seems that I'm about to," he replied with a few chuckles. "Alright, we're going to sweep in and fly directly towards the throne room. I don't want any distractions! Is this understood?!"

"Yeah, we got it," replied a soldier. The Deathwatch was dismissed to go put on their armor and acquire their weapons. Their leader grabbed his weaponry, which consisted of an E-33 blaster, a grappling hook, a jetpack, jetpack rockets, wrist rockets, a flamethrower, and his dark magic sword.

"Chuck, stay here and make sure the prisoner doesn't escape," ordered the leader. "As for the rest of us, we're moving out! For Mandalore!" Immediately, all of the soldiers activated their jetpacks and flew off the ground into the sky, followed by a bunch of cheers. Then, they shot off for the capitol.

The capitol of Mandalore had citizens walking about on a bright, sunny day. The park was open, where small children ran chasing after each other while the adults socialized.

"Mama, look up there," pointed a little boy. "It's a spaceship!" His mother laughed and looked up, but when she saw the sight, her expression changed to instant worry.

"That's no ship, son," answered his mother. The citizens heard the roar of the jetpacks as Deathwatch swarmed over the city, heading straight towards the capital building. After the leader gave a signal, three soldiers flew off to the right and dropped detonators at key points of a building, causing it to topple over and explode.

"Good work," said the leader. "We're almost there." They flew until a balcony was is sight. There, they landed and began to sprint inside the skyscraper.

A man was speaking to the duchess when the Deathwatch landed on the balcony.

"My lady, it appears…" he said before the storming of the soldiers broke him off.

"The city is ours now!" demanded the leader. One guard stood up and shot at him, but he missed. By command, the soldiers began shooting at all of the guards, taking them one by one. Two guards tried running towards the exit, but one of the Deathwatch shot two wrist rockets which blew them to bits. BOOM! BOOM!

In the corner, Duchess Satine sent a distress signal to Coruscant where she hoped the Republic would answer. Then, the soldiers grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away to the prison.

"You won't get away with this!" she shouted.

"Yeah, that's what the last one said," answered a soldier with a chuckle. The leader ordered all remaining guards to surrender with their hands up. The only three left did, but they were shot down immediately after doing so.

"Take her away, and make sure she doesn't come into contact with any outside sources," ordered the leader. Satine was taken to a cell and left alone; the soldiers went back to the capital building.

Back on Coruscant, the Jedi Council received the distress call from Mandalore. It contained a hologram of Duchess Satine which spoke. Master Windu activated it for the rest of the council to hear.

"My world has been taken over by the Deathwatch terrorists. My guards are dead and my people in shock. I beg you to please help us eliminate Deathwatch before it's too…"

"Alright, get over here!" said a new voice.

"You won't get away with this!" she shouted.

"Yeah, that's what the last one said." The hologram ended. There was a moment of silence and reflection amongst the masters until Yoda spoke.

"A tragedy, there is on Mandalore," he said. "Aid them, will we?"

"It seems very risky to get involved in something like this which is at a local scale," added Ki-Adi Mundi.

"All very true, but this organization could grow and spread to other worlds," said Windu. "The first question is, should we alert the Chancellor of this situation?"

"Disagree, I do," replied Yoda. "Send support, I suggest. However, from the temple, shall our help come, not the Republic."

"With all due respect, Master Mundi, we can't forget that Aayla Secura has taken much too long "negotiating" with this same terrorist group," said Shaak Ti. "Something went wrong, and we must send more Jedi to investigate."

"I understand where you're getting, Shaak Ti, but we've already sent Master Kenobi out as well to find Denisen," answered Windu. "As far as we know, he could be held captive right as we speak."

"Hmmm." There was another moment of silence. Then Mace Windu spoke.

"In my eyes, we have to rely on Kenobi to get us that bounty hunter," he said. "If he and Kenobi both went to Mandalore, perhaps they could settle a few things and rescue Secura."

"A wise plan, you have, Master Windu," said Yoda. "A difficult lesson, patience is to learn. In these times, one of the most important traits, it is."

"Shall we contact Deathwatch and see if we can reason with them?" asked Mundi.

"It is unlikely that they will be any less hostile, but it is worth a try," answered Windu. Shaak Ti took the projector in the middle of the room and contacted the Mandalore capitol, which is where Deathwatch should be.

"Hello?" answered the leader. He took a moment to look around at his listeners. "Oh, don't tell me it's you Jedi again. I told you to stay out of this!"

"We're here to negotiate for the captured Jedi," said Windu.

"Well, I'm really sorry to hear that because I'm really not in the mood for negotiating," he replied. "Like I was saying, I don't want to risk you coming here and ruining our chances on Mandalore. Therefore, until things have been settled more, we request that your Jedi remain hostage a little while longer."

"This will not be dealt with lightly," said Windu. "Keep in mind that you are dealing with the Jedi Council, and we will send more of us if it means rescuing one of us. In your case, I would be more worried about us interfering with your coup d'état than just planning a rescue."

"So be it, Jedi. It didn't take us long to disable one of you. The question is not if we will disable you, but how long it will take." He then ended the hologram.

"Frustrating, this is, hmmm?" asked Yoda.

"You speak as if it's amusing," accused Windu. Yoda chuckled some more.

"Patience, Master Windu," said Yoda. "Something not even I have mastered, this is. Come, our time will."

"Then for Secura's sake, I hope you are right, Master," said Windu.