I finally have time for editing, so I've gone back through and changed Leslie's relationship to her father. More notes at the bottom.

Chapter Seven

There was something about the 501st general. Something that made Leslie wary. Something that had her guard up. He was nice enough, she figured. Young and handsome and arrogant, but nice enough.

And then there was the youngling.

The Padawan.

She was small and cute and fierce. What she lacked in size or strength or experience, she made up for in attitude and sassiness. Leslie liked her.

The men of the 501st seemed more acclimated to a female presence. She wasn't stared at nearly as much. Her interactions with her men weren't watched as if they were a science experiment. So when the 501st general invited her and her men onto the Resolute for a tactical planning meeting, she accepted.

And she simply remained wary. Because there was something about him.

Leslie hadn't said much during the meeting. It was better, she decided, to watch and wait and learn. Learn how the 501st general worked. Learn how he interacted with his men. Learn how he was.

Her initial assumptions had been correct. He liked straight-forward. He liked "rushing the guns." He lost a lot of men.

Leslie pressed her weight back into her heels.

So many men.

Rev was standing behind her—as directed by military protocol—and saw her slight shift. He knew what she was thinking. He knew how to help her.

Two fingers pressed gently into the small of her back. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she reached one up to grab his fingers. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. She took a silent breath, straightened up slightly.

So many men. Not my men. My men are good.

There was no guilt for that thought, for being thankful it wasn't hers that were dead.

It's not my men.


She could hear the Padawan scampering after her down the hall.

"Miss Leslie!"

Leslie paused. The Padawan caught up to her, breathless.

"Miss Leslie."

Leslie smiled.

"Hi."

The Padawan returned the smile with a bright one of her own.

"Hi."

She didn't say anything else and Leslie laughed.

"Did you need something?"

The Padawan shook her head, the beads hanging from the back of her montrals swinging gently.

"Not really. I just want to talk to you."

Leslie gestured for them to keep walking.

"Oh?"

The Padawan nodded.

"There aren't really a lot of girls on here to talk to."

Leslie smiled sympathetically, biting back more laughter.

"Poor thing."

The Padawan nodded self-pityingly, pouted.

"I know."

Leslie laughed again.

"Well, I'm on my way to get a cup of tea."

The Padawan perked up even more.

"The Resolute has this delicious flower-based tea. It's my favorite."

Leslie winked at the Padawan.

"Then I have to try it."

The girl giggled happily. Leslie smiled.

It's like having a little sister.

She'd grown up as an only child, with only Omari to keep her company. She laughed as the Padawan scurried ahead, tugging her along.

This'll be fun.


It was fun. The Padawan—she asked me to call her Ahsoka—was full of life and laughter and sparkles. Leslie knew if she could use the Force, the Padawan would sparkle with energy.

They were finishing their third cup of tea when she heard a click from the earbead.

"Miss Leslie."

It was Spinner. She gestured for Ahsoka to wait a moment. The Padawan paused in her sentence, watching curiously. Leslie smiled her thanks.

"I'm here. What's up?"

Spinner was quiet for a moment. She could picture him figuring out the best way to give her the information.

"The CIS-activity General Zey sent us out here for has picked up again."

Leslie took a sip of her tea.

"Where?"

She heard clicking from his side of the channel.

"The Xolu system."

She quickly did the calculations in her head.

"The travel time would be about ten hours."

More clicking was heard before Spinner spoke again.

"I can have the ship prepped in two hours."

Leslie smiled, though he couldn't see.

"Spinner, love, you just put a smile on my face."

He chuckled.

"I know."

He ended the call and Leslie turned her attention back to Ahsoka. The Padawan was smiling.

"Master Skywalker gets that look when he gets a new mission."

Leslie laughed and stood up.

"You are welcome to come, if you want, love. We'd just have to ask your master."

Ahsoka's smile widened.

"I'll ask right now."

She scampered off. Leslie watched her go and laughed again.

Like having a little sister.


She got a call from the Padawan right before take-off.

"Master Skywalker says I can't this time."

She sounded so forlorn. Leslie had to bite back more laughter.

"It's okay, love. There are always more bad guys to catch."

She could picture the Padawan perking back up.

"You're right. Good luck, Miss Leslie. May the Force be with you."

Leslie smiled.

"Thank you, love."

She ended the call and nodded to Spinner. He powered up the thrusters, and, after given the all clear, steered their ship out of the Resolute hangar bay.

Leslie settled more comfortably in her chair.

"Ten hours."

Spinner glanced at her. Her voice was thoughtful as she continued.

"I think that's enough time for a few movies and a drink."

He chuckled and she winked at him, exiting the cockpit. He made the jump to hyperspace, set the ship on autopilot, and followed after her.


Landing on the planet was easy. Concealing the ship was easy. Navigating the unknown terrain was exciting—and somewhat easy.

Leslie had made sure her men understood what other dangers they'd be facing on this trip.

"This is Hutt territory we're going into. The Xolu system supports much of their slave enterprise."

Which, of course, just made everything even more exciting.

They remained on high alert as they searched for any signs of "foul play." Finally Leslie stopped. They halted behind her.

"There's a ship."

She narrowed her eyes, leaning forwards slightly. And then she froze, straightened.

"We're going back to the ship."

They didn't question anything until they were in the main room of their rust bucket. She was vibrating with adrenaline and energy. Laughter burbled from her lips. Hysterical laughter. The kind they'd heard when she found out she would be seeing Sev again.

Spinner rest his hand on her wrist. She leaned into him.

"I'm going to go investigate that ship."

Rev crouched on the other side of her.

"Are you certain you're able to do that?"

She stared up at him. Suddenly she wasn't their powerful, dauntless leader. She was small and lost and unsure.

She nodded.

"Go into orbit of the planet. I'll contact you when I'm done."

Rev leaned back onto his heels.

"I have to belay that order, Miss Leslie."

She sighed.

"I know what I'm doing."

He raised an eyebrow. She met his gaze evenly. He sighed.

She gathered a small bag of supplies and started back towards the ship. Behind her, she heard her men leaving the planet surface.

Not one of my best ideas.

She made it to the other ship.

Too late now.

She knew someone was with the ship. She could feel them watching her. She pretended she didn't, though. She acted as if she had no clue they were there.

She circled the ship a few times. The last time she'd seen it—

Last time I saw this ship, I cried for a few hours.

A shadow moved beside her. She slowly turned around. A blaster was eye-to-eye with her. She blinked. The gun fired.

She collapsed.


Waking up bound was never a pleasant experience. Waking up bound after being shot point blank by a stun round was even worse.

She slowly blinked her eyes open. Red light flooded the room she was in, but was dim enough it wasn't painful. Groaning, she sat up, looked around. She knew this room. She'd been in here before.

I'm in the ship.

The door opened and she looked up. A young boy stood in the doorway.

He really is young.

"Who are you?"

His voice was harsh, eyes angry, face hard. She groaned again.

"Leslie Rodriguez."

He stepped into the room. The door shut behind him.

"You're not a Jedi."

She leaned against the wall, stared up at him.

"No."

He approached slowly, cautiously.

"But you work with the clones."

She rotated her wrists.

"Yes."

He hesitantly sat down across from her.

Definitely young. And untrained.

He studied her for a moment.

"Do you know Jedi?"

She met his gaze evenly.

"Yes."

The shudder fell back over his face, dark and hard and angry. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why does that bother you?"

He pushed up from the ground angrily.

"You don't get to ask questions."

He stormed back into the cockpit, locking the door behind him. Leslie sighed and leaned her head back against the wall.

Definitely not one of my best ideas.


She was sleeping when he returned. She blinked awake as she heard the door hiss open. He stood above her with a small pouch of water. He held it out to her wordlessly. Slowly, wincing, she raised her bound hands to take it.

The fall was worse than I thought.

He watched as she gulped half of it. When she was done he took it back.

"I ran your name through the computer."

She waited for him to continue. His fingers fiddled with the water pouch.

"It says you're a student on Coruscant."

She answered his unasked questions.

"I was. Then I was coerced into working with the army."

He hesitated for a moment, sat down again. She sat up straight.

"There's a reason you haven't let me loose yet."

He fiddled with the water pouch. She raised an eyebrow.

"You know I'm not a Jedi. I'm worthless to you."

He put the water pouch down.

"I can use you as bait for the Jedi."

She laughed softly.

"No, love, you can't. The Jedi don't care all too much about me. They'd send my squad to come get me, not one of their own."

She could see him visibly deflate. She took pity on him.

"If you tell me why you want a Jedi so badly, I'll help you."

He stared at her, eyes wide.

"You'd help me kill a Jedi?"

She smiled.

"No, love. I'll help you towards reaching your goal, whatever it may be."

He thought for a moment. The shudder fell back over his face. He stood up and exited the room, locking the door.

Leslie looked down at the floor and smiled.

He'd left her the water pouch.


The third time he came he had a rations cube. She gave him a murmur of thanks and started nibbling on it. He sat down across from her again.

"Will you really help me?"

She swallowed her bite.

"As much as I can."

He seemed indecisive.

"I want to kill a Jedi."

She quirked a brow.

"Any particular reason?"

His small hand clenched into a fist.

"The Jedi killed my father."

Leslie took another bite.

"Ah. It's revenge."

He looked at her. When she didn't say anything else, he spoke.

"The Jedi I want is Mace Windu."

Leslie quirked her other eyebrow.

"He's one of the most powerful Jedi. You'll have trouble killing him."

A look of rage crossed his face and he jumped up.

"You said you'd help me!"

Leslie calmly took another bite.

"I said I'd help as much as I could."

He glared at her for a moment longer before sitting down again.

"How can you help me?"

She chewed thoughtfully.

"I can give you advice."

His glare returned.

"I don't need advice. And I don't need your help."

She sighed as he stormed out of the room once again.

Kids are so dramatic.


It was another thirteen hours before she saw him again. He tried to sneak in, tried to surprise her. Her eyes were closed, head resting back against the wall; she could've been asleep. Except she wasn't.

"Would you like to hear my advice?"

He started slightly. A small smile curled at her lips. He glowered at her.

"No."

Her eyes remained closed, she shrugged, didn't say anything. He stood there for a moment, indecisive, before sitting down in front of her again. She opened her eyes and sat up straight.

"I don't know how to get rid of you."

She smiled slightly.

"Let me contact the nearest Republic base to tell them my location. Then stick me in an escape pod and leave me here for them to find."

He stared at her.

"You aren't going to arrest me?"

She chuckled.

"Accidental kidnapping is hardly a crime worth being arrested for."

He was silent, staring at the floor. She sighed.

"What's your name, love?"

His head snapped up. He was glaring again. She just raised an eyebrow. He echoed her sigh.

"What's your advice?"

She smiled, leaned forward slightly.

"Get a mentor. Someone who can help you kill the Jedi. Someone who knew your father."

He nodded, staring at the floor again. She resumed her relaxed position, closing her eyes. A few minutes later, she heard him get up and leave.

This time the door remained unlocked.


She knocked on the door that led to the cockpit. After a few moments it slid open. She waddled to the co-pilot's seat, the ropes around her ankles making it hard to walk. He glanced at her.

"What?"

She settled comfortably in the chair.

"Can I contact the Republic?"

He shook his head.

"I'm going to Tatooine first. My dad knew some people there. You can get off in Mos Eisley."

She smiled.

"Clever boy."

He glanced at her again. His lips twitched upwards so slightly she thought she might have imagined it. After a few minutes of a silence, she spoke again.

"Can I know your name?"

He shrugged.

"Boba Fett."

She blinked rapidly, swallowed to moisten her suddenly dried throat.

"Are you related to Jango Fett?"

He gave her an odd look, nodded.

"He's my father."

She had to suck in a deep breath to remain level headed.

He can't be dead. He can't be dead.

She breathed out slowly.

He is dead.

Boba was watching her. She gave him a reassuring smile.

He is dead.

The young boy activated the hyperdrive.

"Did you know my father?"

Leslie nodded. He perked up, leaned towards her slightly.

"How?"

She took a moment to figure out the best way to answer.

"He did jobs for my mother when I was younger."

Boba's brow furrowed in thought. He didn't say anything else. Neither did she.


Mos Eisley was smelly and dirty and the perfect place to find a past associate of Jango Fett. Her farewell with Boba was brief. He handed her an extra water pouch, her weapons and credits, and a few extra ration cubes. She ruffled his hair and tossed him a wink.

He wandered off in one direction. She wandered in the other.

Finding a decent cantina was a challenge. Finding a decent cantina where she wasn't watched suspiciously was even more of a challenge. Finding a decent cantina where she wasn't watched suspiciously and where there was a private communications room was—perhaps—one of the biggest challenges she'd faced.

But she did it.

The room was dark and dingy. The walls were damp. There was a hole in the roof. She tried not to wince when she stepped on something squishy.

Making sure the channel was secure before she opened it took time. A lot of time. She did it, though, with a big smile of victory.

"This is a restricted channel. Identify yourself."

She laughed.

"Oh, hello, Jinx."

He blinked, stared at her.

"Ma'am? Where are you? You're squad reported you missing six days ago."

She smiled sheepishly.

"Not missing, love, simply going on an adventure. I'm in Mos Eisley. Can you send someone to pick me up?"

He nodded.

"Right away, ma'am."

She sent him her coordinates and closed the channel. The main room of the cantina was even worse than the communications room.

It could still be worse.

She resigned herself to waiting there until her pick-up team arrived.


Her squad was waiting to meet her in the hanger of the Resolute. Rev's face was dark with fury. She didn't even want to look at the others.

"Are you crazy?"

His voice was loud and angry. Very, very angry. She smiled up at him.

"Possibly."

She thought, for just a moment, he might yell at her again. And then his entire body relaxed.

"I should have belayed your order."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Am I forgiven?"

He just raised an eyebrow. She looked at the others. They simply copied his expression. She smiled.

"I missed you guys, too."


Leslie faced Skywalker, eyebrows raised. The Jedi was being difficult.

"I don't understand why you don't want us to go after him."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"It was a mistake. I wasn't the intended target."

Skywalker glowered at her.

"So we let him go and he gets his intended target."

Leslie's lips curled up into that sarcastically sweet smile.

"I don't know what he's going to do next, love. I didn't ask."

Skywalker's eyes narrowed.

"Well maybe you should have."

Leslie's smile disappeared, ice coming over her features. Her head tipped to the side slightly—that small movement that made her look volatile.

"I don't have to do anything for you, Jedi."

Her voice was soft and sweet and made even the Jedi hesitate with his next sentence. When he didn't say anything, Leslie smiled again. Her hunter's smile.

"Seeing as the Separatist activity I was sent to investigate turned out to be a bounty hunter, my squad and I will be leaving soon."

She turned to exit the room. Skywalker called her back.

"Do you at least know the name of the bounty hunter?"

Leslie shrugged.

"He shot me with a stun blast and dropped me off at Mos Eisley six days later."

She had always prided herself at her ability to avoid answering questions directly, and letting others jump to their own conclusions.

Without another word, she stalked out of the room, closing the door behind her.


Ink passed her the open bottle. She took a long gulp, closing her eyes as the liquor burned down her throat. He sighed.

"I still haven't figured out why you're protecting him."

Leslie opened her eyes, turned to look at him.

"Protecting who?"

He stretched out on his bunk.

"The bounty hunter."

Leslie passed the bottle to Spinner.

"I'd be surprised if you were able to figure it out."

They all looked at her expectantly. She sighed again.

"His name is Boba Fett. He's the son of Jango Fett. He's only eleven, twelve years old."

Ray studied her curiously.

"That doesn't explain why you're protecting him."

Rev eyed her thoughtfully.

"Unless it's because of his age."

Leslie smiled. It was a smile they didn't see often. It wasn't sad. It wasn't happy. It was, it was— bittersweet.

"That's part of the reason."

She didn't say anything else. They waited patiently. She indicated the nearly-empty bottle. Falcon handed it to her and she took another large gulp. She stared at it, that smile still in place. She still didn't say anything. Spinner touched the top of her head softly. She looked up at him. His voice was gentle.

"Why are you protecting him, Miss Leslie?"

She laughed, the bittersweet laugh they'd only heard on Kamino. She shook her head slightly, as if she couldn't believe it herself.

"He's my little brother."


There had been a long moment of silence. Minutes of silence. They all stared at her. She just smiled that bittersweet smile. Finally Rev spoke up.

"Could you tell us the whole story, Miss Leslie?"

She stood up, holding the empty bottle in one hand.

"I'm going to need more alcohol for this."

They had moved to one of the briefing rooms. Leslie was sitting on the table, cradling the fresh bottle of liquor. The others were slouched in chairs around her, waiting. She sighed.

"The short version is this: Jango Fett did jobs for my mother. She was attracted to him. He was attracted to her. I was already born when this happened. Guess something happened so he couldn't have kids; I was a good enough stand-in."

She gulped down almost half of the new bottle. Rev leaned forwards and gently pried it from her hands.

"There is more to the story than that, Miss Leslie."

She nodded.

"There is."

She didn't say anything else. They waited patiently. They knew she'd tell them eventually. She sighed again.

"Family is important in the Mandalorian culture. And Jango Fett was good to my mother and to me. He'd visit as much as he could between jobs. He'd teach me and train me. I remember he'd tell me 'there are bad people, ad'ika, and you need to be ready.'"

She smiled. Her eyes were glassy with tears.

"I called him Buir. He was my buir."

Falcon gently touched her wrist.

"You told me your father was away a lot."

She nodded.

"Now you know why."

Ray was staring at the table, brow furrowed.

"So the first time you saw a clone without his helmet on."

Leslie laughed.

"I was surprised, but I had read a lot on the clone army."

Spinner was tapping the pattern out on the table.

"How did you and the kid not know you were," he stumbled, as if searching for the right word, "related?"

Leslie reached for the bottle again. Rev sighed but relented. She took another swig before answering.

"Because of who my mother was, and who I was, it couldn't be known he was my father. So, even if he managed to have his own kid, they couldn't know we were siblings."

Ink still hadn't said anything. Leslie looked at him. He met her gaze.

"'Mari knew him, too."

It wasn't a question. Leslie nodded.

"We've been together since we were babies. She knew him. She knew who he was, and his relationship with me and my mother."

She was quiet for a moment.

"I didn't know he'd been killed."

The room was silent. Leslie handed the bottle back to Rev. Finally Dagger spoke.

"Was he a good father?"

Leslie smiled, nodded.

"He was."

She didn't say anything else. She didn't need to. They sat in silence, not wanting to leave her alone in the briefing room, not wanting to ask any more questions.

Leslie blinked the tears out of her eyes.

Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. Buir.


Way back when, when I first wrote this, I was so excited to do these plot twists and everything else, I didn't realise that making Leslie Fett's biological child would mean her sexual relationships with the clones would be incest. I forgot about it again until someone commented on it a few weeks back. I've gone back and edited this chapter, and will be going through future chapters to change it up, too. Incest is not something I condone or support, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to have the time to change it.

Read, review, enjoy (and please forgive me).