Burnsk watched the vulture droids touch down on the landing pad through the HUD on his helmet. He zoomed out of the image and tapped the button on his armored bracer making a note of the coordinates of the base. He pulled up his rife and fed the image from his scope into his helmet getting a better look at the base through the better lenses.

That's Ust's ship all right.

He told himself looking at the familiar freighter with the missing escape pod. He slung the rifle off his back and climbed down the high tree where he was scouting from. His tongue kept brushing over the soft gums where Cassus had knocked his teeth out. He made a mental hook to avoid that right hook next time he wound up on the wrong side of a clone trooper. The man delivered a punch like a Fett that was for sure.

He took a seat on a fallen log taking off his helmet and pulling his flask from his hip. The whiskey burned his gums but he savored the burn. Serves him right for trying to help a clone, programmed to serve the Republic to the death. He liked the kid. Four days in hyperspace had felt good with company, being alone on that ship with no company save the armor of his deceased children. He hated how those visors looked at him when he was alone. The thought of that clone filling one of those suits pleased him.

He rarely saw his other two kids anymore, let alone his former wife Ellen on Concord Dawn. Not that he didn't enjoy visiting her or his children. He was still supporting them giving them a large cut of his bounties. And Ellen often told him to stop by more often and visit, their divorce hadn't been pleasant but it had been rather smooth all things considered. After the war, they had drifted apart more and more, their children's deaths at the hands of the jedi and the loss of his hand had changed him since their marriage. Theirs was a broken love but he and Ellen had remained on good terms despite the divorce. His other two children had moved on with their lives and were making their own paths in the universe. His ship was lonely and his job brought him all over the galaxy, sometimes he would spend weeks traveling in hyperspace at a time. He would watch as his cigar butts piled up around his feet and his bottles of whiskey were emptied. He didn't know why he drank alone; he hated drinking by himself more than anything.

But he couldn't sleep, sleeping was the worst thing he could do. When he slept he dreamt, and when he dreamt he imagined losing his hand all over again. Imagined those suits of armor talking to him with his children's voices mocking his lost hand and asking her why they died. He hated being alone, and he liked the kid, missed having a son fighting by his side.

He sighed and stood screwing the lid back on his flask and returning it to his pouch and begun walking again. The jedi was supposed to meet up with him and give her reconnaissance report along with Cassus. They had barely spoken since he knocked his teeth out. He wondered if he was even really thinking about his offer or had shoved it back into his mind.

The sound of an engine roaring above snapped his head up. A separatist transport flew over him low and fast moving towards the landing pad. He continued his walk back to the rendezvous point when his comm was keyed breaking radio silence.

"Burnsk, Tara… are you getting this?" Cassus asked through the comm in his helmet.

"Negative I'm moving back the rendezvous point what ye got"

"I'm not seeing anything either." Said Tara, Burnsk hadn't had more than one voice in his helmet in a long time.

"That transport that just came in is carrying prisoners; I'm looking at around ten clones and if my eyes serve me right a jedi."

"A Jedi!" both Burnsk and Tara exclaimed in unison. "What do they have a jedi here for?"

"I don't know I'm getting all kinds of radio chatter. Let's meet back up and see if we can decode it."

The blue hologram of Ust papered on the ship deck bowing low to the hologram of what could unmistakably be Count Dooku.

Burnsk and Cassus had managed to decode several of the recent transmissions. Most of them had been field reports of their recent encounters with the Ssi-ruuk and their progress driving them off planet.

"Greeting lord Dooku, I am pleased you heeded my requests and have presented me with those prisoners I have asked for."

Dooku raised a threatening eyebrow, "I have no quarrel sending you clones… but a jedi? General Grievous was not very happy to give up his prize. Especially the lightsabre."

They watched the recording and wondered what purpose taking a jedi could serve for this man. "The General has a large enough collection of the jedi weapons if I may be so bold. If these experiments are successful we will have an alternate form of powering our droids, one that will make the Republic regret using clones."

"I still don't see how this warrants a jedi Ust!" growled Dooku; clearly the count was skeptical giving such a prize to this researcher.

"Think of the jedi as a greater investment my lord. If I fail in this test I can merely add another droid to your army… but if I succeed I may be able to harness the power of the jedi and present in a new battle droid. One I think you will be very impressed with."

Cassus paused the holo-recording turning to Tata. "Is that possible? To make a droid like… you?"

Tara shook her head. "I've never heard of inorganic things ever being able to use the force, only things that are living have been able to….."

She trailed off in thought a look of horror on her face. "Tara what is it?" asked Cassus bringing her attention back to the present.

"Those droids… the one's those aliens used, the Ssi-ruuk, their droids were somehow alive… they must have a way of… of taking their life and putting it into the droid."

Cassus felt a tingle crawl up his spine. It didn't seem possible to him but he trusted Tara when she said she felt life in that droid he had executed. His thoughts turned to those clones he had seen being led by blaster point probably not knowing their fates.

"We have to stop this!" said Tara, "We have to stop Ust and save those men… Before it's too late."

"It might already be" Said Burnsk lighting his cigar with a match. "But we can't let that kind of terror leave this planet." Said Cassus pressing a fresh power cell into his rifle and checking the rest of his equipment.

"Listen I'm all fer this chumps but before we start speeding for that landing pad let's think fer a moment. Do ye really think ye can get close to that little base of theirs before they sound all kinds of alarms and make a crater out of us?"

"If we don't move those men will die?" Tara cried as she moved to leave the ship.

"Yer right. But getting yerself killed won't help them or yer Republic. We need a way to close some distance to that base."

"The Caves" said Cassus, "we haven't travel through them farther then the entrances but they seem to be all over. I bet some of them may even lead to the base. When I was scouting I saw a droid patrol come out of one with a tank close behind. I think they are using them to get around faster instead of chopping their way through the jungle or wade through the swamp."

Tara smiled, "Let's try it."

Cassus tried to breathe as the speeder bike rushed through the dark caves. Tara had insisted she take the controls as they traveled through the massive caves trying to find a path to the research center. The green skinned Twi'lek was smirking as she turned the throttle making the bike go faster. He could tell she enjoyed the speed the bike was providing. Burnsk had pulled the two bikes out of his cargo hold for them to use as they traveled the caves. Cassus wished he hadn't. He was fine on a speeder. But this jedi was taking some the corners too tightly and too fast for his taste, he was almost certain he was going to die from the experience. Burnsk was far behind them left behind in the jedi's dust. The bike zoomed along at full speed hugging the wall as it turned into the next tunnel. The split second reactions were amazing but also terrifying.

Cassus breathed as she halted the bike to a stop. In the tunnel. Her head tails had been pulled back by the wind and were draped over his shoulder. He pushed the tendrils off of him and stepped off shouldering the rifle and checking the corners of the cave. In a short few seconds Burnsk pulled up his bike behind them.

"Crazy jedi, I told ye to take it easy, can't keep up with ye speeding off like that. And yer corpse can't very well pay compensate me it ye crash those things. They aren't cheap."

Tara removed the goggles she had been wearing with a grin on her face. "Sorry, I should have told you I get a little crazy on speeder bikes."

Cassus laid his pack down once he was sure the cave was clear of threats and started laying down a long string of charges along the cave wall. They had agreed their best means of escape was through the caves as well; best to set a trap so they couldn't follow.

"How close are we to the landing pad?" asked Tara hiding her bike behind a bolder next to Burnsk's and taking her pack from the saddle bag.

"Were half a click from the target area. One of these tunnels should take us directly there. Since those clunkers have travel through here." Explained Burnsk sitting on his bike and pulling out his flask. "Three hours till dark… should rest until then."

Tara nodded and turned to Cassus. "Get some sleep." She ordered, the lack of sleep Cassus had been recently getting was all too evident to her jedi senses.

The trooper leaned against the wall as ordered his helmet still on. "Take the helmet off… I want to make sure you're getting proper rest and not checking your sensors."

The Trooper sighed and removed the white and green helmet he rested the back of his head on the cave wall and closed his eyes obediently.

….

Tara sat in the pitch black. It was rare she ever experienced any form of darkness this pure. The complete black completely free from light. It was strangely comforting to be able to see absolutely nothing.

A match was lit and Burnsk face came into view in the orange light. He was lighting another cigar and Tara was beginning to wonder just how many he had on him.

He blew out the match and the room was dark again save for the glow of the cigars cherry.

"You should be getting some sleep as well." She said seeing the bags under his eyes from the cigars glow.

"Sleep doesn't agree with me." He said letting the smoke out to disappear into the black. They sat in silence for a long while before Tara again broke it.

"You're right." She said hugging her knee's to her chest. "I know everything about this war is wrong… especially the clones, especially Cassus." She sighed in the dark as the warrior sitting in front of her gave no response.

"The Galaxy is breaking in our very grasp and we're bearing the weight upon those men we made. It's just… they handle that weight so well it amazes me." She smiled to herself, "We jedi are supposed to put away our personal feelings in the face of adversity and pursue what is right. But those clones I see fight and die do just that like it's nothing special. I have a duty to all sentient life in galaxy. Without the clone army so many people would die. But so may clones have already died. No matter what happens someone has to suffer, someone has to bear that weight."

Burnsk blew out a plume of smoke, "Bear the weight?" he said with a slight chuckle. "As jedi that job was supposedly up to ye."

"I can't stop what happening Burnsk… but if Cassus wants to come with you when this is over I won't stop him… I'll say he's dead if I must."

"That's kind… but ye don't want him ta leave do ya?" he smirked as he bit into his cigar.

"I'm… attached to him" she admitted saying the words in shame. "He's strong… he handles all this pain and torment behind that helmet and I would never guess what kind of suffering he was undergoing if I wasn't a jedi. He fascinates me and has made me think."

"Think what?" he asked.

"That with people like him on our side… we can win this war."

"But at what price?" he said, "War consumes everything jedi… it consumed everything I had and it will consume Cassus. If are attached… let him go and find his own destiny."

….

The patrol of B1 droids passed them by quietly. Cassus, Burnsk and Tara stood from their hiding spot

and began moving. The entrance had opened up before them. The Separatists had built their base into the system of caves. Cassus had thought they used an entrance to enter into the caves, he hadn't suspected they had used another cave entrance to move around the jungle. He had never suspected them to have built the facility into the caves themselves.

Tara clicked on her lightsabre and plunged the blue blade into the metal wall was Burnsk and Cassus covered her. They ducked into the perfectly round hole she had cut. The jedi moved through the dull gray halls her sabre moving around cutting the few droids on their security droids. Cassus and Burnsk fired off their pistols taking careful aim at every security camera they spotted. They know the noise of their blasters wouldn't go unheard but they had reached the stage where stealth was almost impossible and they had to make do with the element of surprise and force.

They jogged down the hallways shooting and slicing down the small droids that appeared in their path. "I sense something this way" said Tara turning right and moving down the hallway her sabers deflected a few stun bolts.

She stopped at the doors and spun slicing through the steel and making the metal doors fall at her feet. Several empty tables lined the wall along with spare droid parts and two B1 droids standing guards. Burnsk shot the two droids down with two well-placed shots.

"Empty" she cursed under her breath. Cassus didn't know what possessed him but he grabbed the jedi by her robe and pulled her back as a blaster bolt almost struck her.

From the shadows a tall black droid appeared standing upright on two legs. It looked like a magna guard but with more platting on its legs and torso. In one hand it carried a heavy blaster pistol and in the other a long curving vibro sword. A second sword was strapped to its back. Cassus tossed in a thermal detonator and cleared away from the door as it exploded.

"You're little explosive won't be enough to destroy my new weapon trooper." The sound came from the intercom, He cursed Ust's name under his helmet.

"I was planning to combat test them with some of my droids but you three are perfect. And ARC Trooper and Jedi and a mandalorian. Dooku will be most impressed."

The droid came out of the doorway brandishing its curved blade. Tara's lightsabres moved and parried the sword. He had hopped the weapons would be cut down by the jedi's weapons but hadn't expected Ust to look past such a critical flaw.

Cassus turned and saw three other droids had descended on them. He let Tara continue to battle her foe as he moved to cover him from the other droids. The twin blades twirled and met her lightsabres with remarkable speed and precision. The droid wasn't even bothering with the blaster and had engaged her with the twin blades. Tara pushed the droid with the force trying to blast it back but the droids feet were implanted into the ground keeping it stable..

Burnsk activated his jetpack and rushed forward to another of the droids down the hallway. Cassus had pinned two down with his blaster set on the highest setting for maximum effect and the third was moving up trying to double team the jedi. He slammed into the droid tackling it to the floor. The black droid swung its sword at the mandalorian but the blade harmlessly bounced off the armor. He pulled his axe from his belt and swung down into the machines chest again and a again tearing apart the black steel and silencing the automaton.

"One fer me." He said drawing his pistol and firing at the droid engaged with Tara. Two bolts were blocked by the armor, the droid responded activating to circular ray shields on its shoulders. Turning its body to block the mandalorians view. The arms came together and it attached the blades at the hilts making a double bladed weapon to wield with one hand as it free hand drew its heavy blaster and aimed at the mandalorian from above the shield.

Burnsk took cover around a corner and saw a crowd of B1's heading their way. He sheathed his axe and took up his second blaster laying down a heavy amount of fire on the weaker droids.

Tara saw her opening as it pulled out the blaster. She blocked low and sent her second blade down cutting off the sword hand the machine turned the blaster to her but she blocked the bolt and decapitated the droid and sent her second blade through the monsters chest ending it.

"We have to leave!" she shouted to Cassus as she moved out in front of him deflecting blaster bolts. "I'll cover you make your way to the exit we can't fight them all at once."

Cassus obeyed and retreated slowly keeping a few paces behind Tara as they slowly worked their way down the hallways giving her supporting fire. Burnsk covered the rear with his two heavy blasters keeping the regular droids off their back with great efficiency.

They exited out the hole Tara had cut and Cassus threw in three thermal detonators. Waited for the explosion and tossed a few droid poppers for good measure along with some smoke to cover their retreat.

They sprinted down the tunnel trying to reach their stashed bikes and their trap. "We can lure them into the trap crush everything it we time it right." Said Tara turning back and stopping, she attached her lightsabres and activated the double blade preparing for the onslaught of droids. "Be ready with that detonator." She said.

Suddenly Tara was knocked back and slammed against the wall one of the new droids emerged from the dark and hefted up a sword above the jedi; the droid reached for a silver cylinder at its belt and activated a green lightsabre. Tara's limp winded form was lifted to the air by the force as the droid prepared to strike her down.

Cassus sprinted in not caring if this droid could use the force or not, the blue bolts bounced off the armor. It deflected some of the bolts and slashed at the trooper with its blades. Cassus dropped low and rolled around the droid. His DC-15 was cut in half by the lightsabre as he rolled around. He drew his knife and plunged in into the droids side cutting through metal plating and wires. The machine halted as its systems were cut into.
Cassus smirked, some droids systems froze when cut into by a vibro-knife. He drew his pistol and fired full charge into the droids head decapitating it.

The droid sprung to life headless and alive. Cassus jumped back and in time as Burnsk came him swinging his axe at the droid. Cassus and helped Tara up as Burnsk kept the droid in check. Both sabre and blade couldn't cut through his armor and his axe was managing to block the lightsabre.

"We need to get out of here." He told her as she got up. "Get to the bikes." She commanded as she jumped into the fray. Cassus did as commanded and hopped on one of the bikes ready to blow the trap when commanded. Tara and Burnsk were kept on their toes and the droid blocked their attacks. The droid pushed back Tara again with the force sending her back. The jedi jumped and turned her body her legs easing her as she was forced back into the wall. She sprung off of the wall and back to their foe when the droid spun away from her. Burnsk slashed at the droid and knocked the vibro-blade from its grip. The droid attacked with the lightsabre but Burnsk held it in a block. The droid contorted its arm and pulled out the knife in its side and stuck slipping the blade between the metal plates and into the mandalorian.

Burnsk screamed and fell to the droids feet. The machine picked up the vibro blade and stabbed into the mandalorians shoulder. "NO!" Tara screamed and pushed back the droid with the force away from Burnsk.

"GO!" she commanded Cassus as she parried another attack from the droid. "Leave!" She picked up Burnsk with the force and levitated him closer for Cassus to pick up.

Cassus picked him up and slumped him over his bike.

"COME ON!" he shouted to the jedi.

"I'LL HOLD HIM OFF LEAVE, THAT'S AN ORDER."

Cassus was about to scream a protest when he noticed the trigger on his detonator had been pressed by an unseen hand. Tara had reached out with the force and had detonated his charged. The explosions had knocked him off his feet as more and more rock fell from above blocking the tunnel and Tara. He cursed the jedi under his breath and hopped on the bike looking back to make sure Burnsk was still alive. He was but the wounds would need to be looked at in due time. The medical supplies they needed were back on the ship; he poured some bacta and closed the wound hoping there was no internal damage too deep for the bacta to heal.

He keyed the throttle and speed away praying Tara was alive.

Cassus lay Burnsk back into his chair aboard his ship. The man's shoulder wound was black and rancid. The bacta was having little effect and he was sure the blade that stabbed him was poisoned. Cassus pulled his knife from his side and whipped it clean and returned it to his belt.

He removed his helmet and to get a better look at the wound. It only helped him realize there was nothing he could do. He had some training with poisons but he had neither the knowledge of this poison or the facilities to help him.

The mandalorian groaned and removed his helmet. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He gave Cassus one of his grins. He reached for his cigars and flask.

"Take a seat boy" he grumbled biting the tip of his cigar and lighting it. "Finally done in by a droid… who would have thought."

"You're not dead yet." Said Cassus looking at the cigar he had handed him. The smoke looked ominous in his armored hand. He felt like lighting it would be admitting defeat. He had experienced friends dying on the battlefield before. It was why he avoided having friends. And now the closest friend he had had in a long time was dying drinking whiskey from his flash as if nothing had happened.

"Don't try to comfort me… I've wanted this for a long time now, there's no loneliness in death kid, and I guess I'm not even alone in these final moments. I can feel that damn black poison moving through my veins and killing my slowly… you know… I always thought I'd die as some nameless bounty hunter on some rock, taking a stray blaster bolt and dying with no one around me that gave a Shab. It's nice to be wrong sometimes."

Cassus didn't say anything his eyes refused to meet his; he wished he hadn't thrown his helmet across the room because he felt a tear slip out of the corner of his eyes. "Cassus?" he asked coughing up a few drops of blood.

"Would you… have come with me… would you have liked to be a mandalorian?"

"Yes" he said… "I would have come with you."

Burnsk gave a bloody grin and held out his flask for him to take. Cassus stood and leaned over to take it when Burnsk whispered "ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad." Cassus grabbed the flask and sat down drinking from it.

"Glad I could have a drink with ye… son."

Burnsk had spoken the words… he was dying and he had proclaimed Cassus to be his son. "I wish I could have known ye better Cassus Tal'sung."

After a few moments of silence he was gone.

Cassus swore, loudly as he tears came forth. Farther? How could he call him farther? How could he just go on with his life as a clone? Did Burnsk expect him to walk away from everything and pick up where he left off? He didn't know. Right now he had a duty to perform.

"Cassus?" his hemlet comm chimed in from across the room. He ran and put it on to hear Tara's voice.

"Tara!? You're alive!"

"I managed to get away. Their after me… can you track me?"

"Yeah… I'll arm up and meet you."

"What about Burnsk?" she asked stabbing his heart.

"He… didn't make it… I'm on my way."

He turned the comm off and turned to Burnsk. He put his helmet on and grabbed his flask putting it to his belt. Moving to the door.

He turned and took one last look at the warrior. "Goodbye… Farther."