Opportunity of Coruscant (Ep. #14, Mar. 2012)

Battle on Coruscant! Separatist leader General Grievous has launched a massive full-scale invasion on the capital planet of the Republic. With hundreds of battle cruisers, thousands of fighters and tanks, and millions of battle droids, the few Jedi and clone troopers on-planet are quickly overwhelmed.

What the Jedi don't know, however, is that the battle has been engineered by the secret Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, who plots to take over the galaxy. And, as always, war creates opportunities for criminal minds….

On the bridge of his flagship, the Invisible Hand, General Grievous was listening to a report by the holograms of the battle droid commanders. "What is the status of the battle?" he wheezed.

One of the droids replied, "One of our main attack groups was destroyed by two Jedi, but the other two have broken the clone lines and are pressing towards the Senate district."

Grievous coughed. "Good. Report back to me when you have taken the Senate Building."

Darth Sidious was still keen on destroying the Jedi and taking over the galaxy. And he knew he was getting closer to that pivotal moment. The Battle of Coruscant had been planned by him. It was his intention to use the battle to bring the Republic to its knees, and leave an opening for him.

But, as he surveyed the battlefields, he knew the droid forces wouldn't be enough. He needed more help. And thankfully, he knew just where to get it.

Renowned bounty hunter Cad Bane lived in the slums of Coruscant, like most other criminals. He was currently locked inside his kitchenette, hoping to avoid the battle that was raging outside. He only hoped his starfighter was okay.

Then, his holotransmitter beeped. He pressed the button to activate it and he was surprised by the person who appeared. "Well, well. Didn't expect to hear from you again."

Darth Sidious chuckled. "You always had a sense of humor about you. I am calling because I need the help of what's left of my volunteer army."

Bane sat down. "I'm listening."

"The Separatists have launched an invasion on Coruscant."

Bane scowled. "I noticed."

"I want you to go to the Senate Building, and wipe out anyone inside."

"Even the senators?"

Sidious smiled underneath his hood. "Yes. Wipe them out. All of them."

Senator Padmé Amidala opened her eyes. She realized that she was in a dark room. As her eyes adjusted, the silhouette of a person came into view.

"Captain!" called the woman. "Padmé's awake!"

Padmé tried to sit up, but she fell back down. Once everything had stopped spinning, she groaned, "What happened?"

Senator Mon Mothma replied, "That was a very nasty crash. We were all very worried about you."

Padmé thought back and remembered. She was in a speeder trying to escape the battle, and they were shot down. Then she remembered something else. "Bail! Is he alright? What about Captain Typho?"

"They're fine," responded Mon calmly. "They're outside holding off the battle droids. We wanted to wait until you were awake before setting out."

Ah, yes. They were going to escape in Bail Organa's starship. Padmé struggled to stand up. "Well, we'd better get going."

Mon nodded. "I agree." They both stood and left the shed in which they had been hiding. Padmé saw the wrecked speeder nearby, leaning against a building. She noticed that they were in the Coruscant city streets. All around, there were battle droids and clone troopers shooting at each other. Some civilians had joined the battle and were fighting the droids, too. Nearby, Bail and Typho had found cover behind some crates and were armed with blaster pistols.

"How are we going to get out of here?" asked Padmé.

Bail replied, "Some bus and taxi drivers are being kind enough to ferry people to safety. We need to get to the other side of the plaza."

Padmé nodded. "Fine. I just hope Jar Jar's okay."

Outside the Senate Building, the Gungan representative, Jar Jar Binks, was running for his life. Upon leaving the building, he ran into several battle droids, which had been chasing and shooting at him since he accidently destroyed a droideka – with a vacuum cleaner.

Jar Jar's arms and ear flaps flailed wildly in the air behind him as he ran away from the droids and their blasters. Between his blubbering, he yelled, "Hurry up, Threeso! Run!"

Behind him, Senator Amidala's protocol droid, C-3PO, was trudging behind as fast as his joints would allow. "Wait! Come back! Don't leave me here!"

As Jar Jar ran, he saw a recessed doorway against the building. He skidded to a halt and ducked through the door. As he looked around, he realized it was an armory. The room was small and windowless, numerous blaster weapons were hooked on the walls, and crates full of thermal detonators and ammo packs were stacked all over the floor. But there were no other doors. Jar Jar was trapped!

Outside, the battle droids were gaining on poor C-3PO. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "There's been some horrible mistake! I'm not programmed for attack!" Then he screamed as a super battle droid picked him up and threw him to the ground. "Oh, not again!"

When the droids arrived at the armory, they found that Jar Jar had locked the door. One of them scratched its metal head and said, "This door's locked, move on to the next one?"

The commander shook its head. "Negative. We have to destroy any threat to us. General's orders. Now get this door open."

The first droid nodded. "Roger, roger." The droid pulled the cover off of the control panel and began to fiddle with the wires.

"Uh, this could take a while."

"Don't worry. He has nowhere else to run."

Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda were riding an LAAT gunship to the next battle site. Along the way, they were in a meeting with the holograms of several other Jedi. The first was Kit Fisto, an amphibious Nautolan with green skin, large, unblinking eyes, and numerous head-tresses capable of sensing another being's emotions. The next was Stass Allie, a brown-skinned human wearing a Tholothian headdress. Accompanying her was Agen Kolar, a brown-skinned Zabrak with long, black hair. Another hologram showed Saesee Tiin in the seat of his Jedi interceptor. The final Jedi in the meeting was Shaak Ti.

Kit spoke first. "I'm afraid my forces have been forced to retreat, and the droids are pressing towards the Jedi Temple. I am on my way there now."

Agen nodded. "Our troops are gone, too. It looks like the droids are on their way to the Senate district."

Saesee grunted as he pulled his interceptor into a steep climb. "We have enough cruisers up here, but all the same, I could use a hand."

"I'll get there as soon as I can," assured Agen.

Shaak reported, "The Senate building has already been stormed. I am defending it to the best of my abilities. Master Koth, unfortunately, has died."

"Would you like some help?" asked Stass.

Shaak nodded. "That would be most appreciated, Master Allie."

Mace sighed sadly. "It looks like we may not survive this after all."

Yoda, his eyes closed, shook his head. "Hmmm, a disturbance in the Force, I sense. A greater enemy soon will arrive."

Deep in space, a modified Firespray-class patrol-and-attack ship flew through hyperspace. It was Slave I, piloted by young bounty hunter Boba Fett. After he renounced Darth Sidious' private army and left Republic custody, he began roaming around the galaxy, looking for jobs to do. He needed to keep moving; he didn't want Sidious or his bounty hunters coming after him.

Besides, he had a reputation to uphold. He was known for his merciless, tough-as-a-rock nature. But, deep down inside of him, he was a kind being with a troubled past. He never would have known his true colors if it hadn't been for Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka was the Jedi Padawan who captured him, and later befriended him. The more time they had spent together, the more they understood their true feelings for each other. Thanks to her, Boba learned how to love and be loved. He made a priority of visiting her to thank her for all she did for him….

Suddenly, Slave I's transmitter beeped, indicating that someone was calling. Boba answered the call excitedly. Maybe someone had a job for him! But when the hologram of the caller appeared, Boba wished he hadn't.

Boba tried to cut off the transmission before it could be traced, but Darth Sidious held up a restraining hand. "I do not aim to have you killed, Fett. I am calling to give you a second chance."

Boba's face relaxed and he pulled his hand away from the switch. "What do you want?"

Sidious explained, "I am offering you a full pardon from your betrayal. There is currently a battle on Coruscant. I want you to go and drop seismic charges at the prescribed locations, the coordinates of which I am sending to you. But, that is only your secondary objective. Your job is simple. Your Jedi friend, I want you to eliminate her."

Boba's mouth hung open in shock. Kill Ahsoka? He couldn't do that! Not after all she's done for him! "And if I fail?"

Sidious' mouth twisted into a scowl. "Then I will place a bounty on your head. A bounty so large, you will never be able to be seen again for the rest of your life! Do you understand?"

Boba was torn between his reputation and his inner feelings. If he killed Ahsoka, his soul would be destroyed. But if he didn't, he would be destroyed. Despite the thoughts swimming through his head, he nodded and replied, "Yes, I understand."

When the hologram winked off, Boba let out a heavy exhale. He thought for a minute, and then picked up his Mandalorian helmet, staring into its eyes. "Dad, I need your help. I don't know what I should do."

He heard Jango Fett's voice in his head, repeating a word of advice he had given to his son long ago. "The point of being a bounty hunter is to survive. Don't worry about the law, or any moral conflicts. Do the job right, and you will be redeemed."

That's when Boba made his decision. He deactivated Slave I's hyperdrive and reprogrammed the nav-computer to chart a course to Coruscant. Once he had the coordinates, he pulled a lever, and the field of stars outside the cockpit turned into white streaks of light, then he jumped into hyperspace.

Around the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, a battle was raging. Separatist droid fighters swarmed around the building, firing at it. At the same time, super battle droids with jetpacks flew into a hole in the temple ceiling. The Republic had formed a small defense, and ARC-170 starfighters were shooting at the fighters, while clone troopers and Jedi inside the temple held off the battle droids.

Leading the fighter defense was Padawan Ahsoka Tano. She was in the cockpit of the J-16 Wampa hunter, with clone Captain Rex as the copilot. As the pilot, Ahsoka could fly the ship and fire the laser cannons, while Rex could navigate and launch missiles at the evasive droid fighters.

As he saw an ARC-170 being blown up by a vulture droid, Rex commented, "I think we could use a few more pilots on our side."

Ahsoka agreed. "Too bad Boba left. He could've helped us." In truth, Ahsoka felt the same way about Boba as he did her. Whenever he was around, he inspired a certain confidence in Ahsoka, giving her an edge in combat. She wished he was on Coruscant with her now….

A nearby explosion rocked the ship violently. "Whoa!" exclaimed Rex. "What was that?"

Ahsoka looked around for the source of the torpedo, and then pointed. "Death Watch!"

Dozens of Mandalorian starfighters had joined the battle, piloted by members of the Death Watch, a group of Mandalorian terrorists. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, they had been sent into the battle as part of Darth Sidious' private army. As the fighters swarmed the skies, soldiers in Mandalorian armor jumped out and floated down using their jetpacks.

"What are they doing here?" asked Rex.

"I don't know, but defeating them won't be too hard. Their leader, Pre Viszla, was killed by Mast- Anakin," Ahsoka corrected herself.

But then others came out of the fighters. They weren't living beings, or even droids. They were skeletons animated by the Dark Side of the Force!

Rex groaned. "Seriously? Those again? Is everything coming back to haunt us?"

Back at the Senate Building, the battle droids had almost cut through the door that Jar Jar Binks ran into. The droid holding the fusion cutter droned, "Almost… got it… there!" The door broke free and clattered to the ground.

As the droids began to march inside, a cheerful voice shouted, "Hello, boyos!" Then the room was illuminated with blue laserfire. Jar Jar Binks had picked up a Z-6 rotary cannon and was trying to use it to hold off the battle droids.

Unfortunately, as with most machines he operated, he lost control, and the blaster was firing every which way and that, tearing the droids apart from different angles.

Soon, the weapon ran out of ammo, and all of the droids had been destroyed. Jar Jar sighed in relief and walked back outside. He called out, "Threeso? Threeeeeeeesoooooo!"

"I'm over here!" snapped a whiny voice. Jar Jar turned and saw C-3PO lying on the ground, struggling to stand up.

Jar Jar ran to help him up and exclaimed giddily, "Lookie, lookie! Meesa blasten da droids!"

C-3PO mumbled, "Well, I suppose I should be grateful for that."

Jar Jar smiled. That was the first time C-3PO had actually complemented him that day.

"Well, well," growled a voice from behind them. "What do we have here?"

C-3PO gasped. "Oh my stars! Cad Bane!"

Cad Bane chuckled. "So, you've heard of me, eh?" He tipped his wide-brimmed brown hat. "I was hoping to find people of more importance."

Jar Jar stood as tall and proud as he could. "Meesa culled Jar Jar Binks. Meesa important Gungan Representative."

Bane laughed. "You really think that some amphibian can scare me? Tell me, where are the other Senators?"

"Meesa never talk! Yousa no scaren meesa!" said Jar Jar bravely.

Bane smiled deviously. "Really?" He quickly drew his twin blaster pistols and began firing at Jar Jar, who began to scream and run around. Bane laughed and chased Jar Jar. The Gungan leapt over a tall pile of crates and disappeared, the bounty hunter giving chase with his jet boots.

C-3PO, left alone, shuddered. "Oh, dear. Jar Jar is going to get himself killed."

Padmé Amidala took careful aim and fired. Her shot hit a battle droid squarely in the chest. The droid groaned and fell backwards against a super battle droid. "Get off me!" growled the latter, throwing the former to the ground.

"Good shot, Padmé," complemented Bail Organa. He fired a shot from his own blaster and another droid's head disappeared.

Padmé smiled. "Not bad yourself." She, Bail, Mon Mothma, and Captain Typho continued to shoot down battle droids on their way down the street to the taxi drop-off point. They were glad that they weren't alone; several Coruscanti had also taken up arms and were fighting for their lives.

As they turned a corner, Bail pointed. "There it is!" Four blocks down, some busses and air taxis were parked, loading civilian passengers. "We can make it!" The four began to run the rest of the way. As they drew closer, Padmé's heart began to race. They were saved!

Suddenly, Typho grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back just before a large metal capsule bounced off the ground. Before Padmé could question what it was, the capsule turned into a blue ball of energy in midair and unleashed a seismic blast that tore through the buildings, showering the people in rubble.

When Padmé looked up, she saw what had dropped the seismic charge; Slave I! What was Boba Fett doing here? And why was he destroying the city? But she didn't have time to dwell on this, for the path to the drop-off point was completely blocked by rubble.

"We'll have to go around," said Mon. "This way!" She led them back up the street and then turned into the nearest side street. But their path was blocked by a vulture droid walking towards them!

"Let's try the other way!" suggested Typho, pointing at the opposite street. They ran that way, but another vulture droid landed just when they reached the intersection. They turned back towards the way they came, but it, too, was occupied by a vulture droid.

With droids on three surrounding sides, and the fourth side blocked by the rubble barricade, the people were trapped! The droids opened fire, and a few civilians fought back. One man shot the middle vulture droid in the right eye, causing it to shatter. But the droid responded by shooting that man in the heart, killing him. A five-year-old girl screamed, "Papa!" and ran out to him, be she, too, was shot.

Padmé gasped as the child died. She joined the group of shooters firing at that droid, and it finally succumbed to the lasers two deaths later. But the other two droids would be turning the corner any second now, and the senators would be in its sights.

But then an LAAT gunship flying overhead fired its laser cannons and destroyed the droids. Mon exhaled. "That was too close."

"Let's hurry," said Bail, "before any more droids come." The senators ran through the streets around the barricade until they finally came to a parked taxi. They hopped in and Bail directed the driver to his ship.

As they took off to safety, Padmé took another long look at the battle. She wondered whether it would end happily.

Inside the Jedi Temple, super battle droids were marching through the hallways, shooting at the Jedi and clone troopers inside. The Republic forces defended themselves easily, but the droids just kept coming through the hole a hyena bomber had created in the roof.

As the droids opened a door into the next room, they were met with a charming smile... and a lightsaber! Kit Fisto sliced through the droids and deflected their blaster shots, leading the other Jedi and clones through the halls towards the source of the droids.

When they arrived at the hole, however, the droids had stopped coming. The skeletons had taken their place! "Blast them!" ordered Kit. The clones fired their blaster rifles at the skeletons, while the Jedi ran forward and sliced through them. But no matter how much they cut them up, the skeletons simply reassembled themselves with the Force.

"How do we destroy them?" asked a clone.

"We'll have to think of something," replied Kit. He began thinking. The skeletons were held together by the Force, hence, they could reassemble if they were broken. They would have to be completely destroyed. But how?

Then, a skeleton launched itself onto a Jedi Padawan. As he tried to fight his way free, the skeleton knocked his lightsaber out of his hand. Before it deactivated, however, it sliced through one of the stone pillars lining the hallway. The pillar broke and fell on top of one of the skeletons, crushing it.

That gave Kit an idea. He used the Force to roll the pillar back and forth over the skeleton, reducing its bones to dust. He smiled at the thought that came to him. "We need to lure them out of the temple and round them all up."

"Round them up?" repeated another Jedi. "How?"

"Why, you use the Force!" answered Kit, as though it were obvious. He lashed out with the Force to launch several skeletons out through the hole and throw them over the walls of the temple. He jumped out after them and slid down the steep-sloped walls.

As he slid, he activated his wristcom and called, "Master Windu? Do you copy?"

Mace Windu's voice replied, "Master Fisto, is there a problem?"

"I was wondering if you could capture one of those defoliator tanks and bring it to the Jedi Temple."

Mace sounded confused. "Sorry?"

Kit repeated, "Capture and bring a defoliator tank to the Jedi Temple."

"I suppose so, but why do you need it at the temple?"

"Let's just say, I have a plan." Kit turned off the wristcom and landed on the ground, using the Force to soften his impact. The skeletons, however, broke apart upon landing. Just as Kit had planned. He noticed with approval that the other Jedi had followed suit, and pretty soon, the temple courtyard was dominated by a pile of skeleton bones.

Kit ordered, "Keep fighting them! We need to keep them contained for as long as we can."

Ahsoka Tano was completely confused. For some reason, all of these bounty hunters have joined the battle, plus the skeletons from Korriban. And they were all giving the J-16 Wampa Hunter a hard time. "I don't know how much longer the ship will last, Rex. We're losing power."

In the back seat, Rex added, "We're almost out of missiles, too. And there's too much interference on the computer. An enemy could sneak up and attack us easily!"

In the cockpit of Slave I, Boba Fett was becoming anxious. He was hoping he wouldn't have to find Ahsoka, but Darth Sidious was making him fly all over the city dropping the seismic charges. He could easily run into Ahsoka this way. Then he realized that was exactly what Sidious wanted. That cold-blooded Sith, he was trying to tear the galaxy apart from inside its inhabitants!

The next drop target on the list was near the Jedi Temple. Boba flew Slave I in that direction; still hoping he wouldn't run into Ahsoka. When he arrived, he saw a battle between clone ARC-170 starfighters and vulture droids and tri-fighters.

Another ship in the battle caught his attention. It looked like a large mix between the old Jedi starfighters and the new interceptors. It was poorly constructed, and its green paint was peeling. Who would fly in a ship like that?

But a scan of the ship showed who the pilot was; Ahsoka. And Boba had hoped he wouldn't have to kill her. But a job's a job. So Boba took a deep breath, pulled the joystick to aim at Ahsoka, and pulled the trigger.

The J-16 Wampa Hunter shook as it was hit by blasterfire. "We're under attack!" exclaimed Ahsoka.

"By who?" asked Rex.

Ahsoka pulled the ship around to face the shooter, and gasped when she saw him. "Boba!" Slave I fired more lasers as it flew past. Ahsoka performed a flip and a half-barrel roll so that she was chasing her opponent. She began to return fire.

As Boba dodged Ahsoka's laser blasts, he muttered to himself, "Well, at least I can say I killed her in self-defense." Then he got an idea. He pressed several buttons on Slave I's control console, which caused the engines to cut off. As Boba "floated" in midair, Ahsoka flew right towards him.

At the last second, though, she steered the J-16 away from Boba, but scraped against one of the buildings, chopping off one of the S-foil wings. The ship began to teeter until Ahsoka closed the remaining foils, leveling out.

"We can't fire missiles if the foils are closed," pointed out Rex.

"I don't want to destroy the ship," replied Ahsoka, "I want to shoot it down so I can find out what Boba's playing at."

Slave I was now behind the J-16, firing whenever it could. The two ships wove in and out of the skyscrapers, using whatever tricks the pilots knew to try and lose each other. Finally, as Ahsoka rounded a large building, she pressed a button to reverse the engines, making the ship fly backwards.

Boba didn't see this move behind the building, and the two ships collided with each other, though still remained intact. Warning lights flashed and alarms blared as Slave I spun out of control. Boba swore under his breath as he wrestled with the controls. When the ship finally leveled out, Boba was still panting heavily.

When he looked out the viewport at the J-16, he saw that it was upside-down; and its bottom-mounted shield generator was exposed. "Aha!" He quickly fired a single shot that collided with the generator, causing it to explode.

"The shields are gone!" reported Rex. "We're sitting ducks."

With the J-16 vulnerable, Boba pressed a button that opened the side hatches on Slave I, revealing two missile launchers. He hesitantly targeted his friend's ship and fired two missiles.

Ahsoka maneuvered the ship to try and outrun the missiles. But their speed was dropping, and the projectiles would soon catch up. "He's gone completely mad." Stated Ahsoka blatantly, just before the missiles collided with the engines.

The J-16 shook violently as it began its long descent towards the ground. Rex growled. "It's no use. The ship's done for."

Ahsoka thought quickly. "Then we'll have to bail out." She pressed several buttons and the cockpit detached from the rest of the doomed ship. While she flew the escape pod to a safe landing spot, the J-16 Wampa Hunter crashed into a skyscraper and exploded in a ball of flames.

Cad Bane chased Jar Jar Binks through the Senate Building, firing shots whenever he could. Jar Jar's ear flaps and arms flailed wildly in the air as he ran, screaming for help along the way. But everyone they passed either hid or ran away, that is if Bane didn't shoot them first.

When Jar Jar ran into a large atrium, he became tangled up in a battle between several clone troopers and dozens of battle droids. Jedi Masters Shaak Ti and Stass Allie were on the side of the clones, swinging their lightsabers to deflect blasterfire away from their troops.

Jar Jar's first impulse was to turn away and run someplace else, but it was too late. Bane was almost on top of him, so Jar Jar dove into the atrium and ducked behind a pile of crates. Some of the clones obviously weren't pleased with Jar Jar's arrival.

"You're not supposed to be here!" snapped one clone. "This is a battle zone!"

Jar Jar protested, "But dat der Bane is-a gonna booma meesa!"

The clone didn't understand what Jar Jar said. "What?"

Jar Jar was about to repeat himself when Bane appeared in the doorway. Jar Jar screamed, "Aah! Datsa bombad hunty bounter!"

Stass realized what Jar Jar was saying and whirled around to face Bane. The bounty hunter opened fire on the Jedi, who blocked his attack. Jar Jar, naturally, wanted to help so he picked up a blaster rifle.

"Hey!" exclaimed a clone. "You're not trained to handle that! Put it down before you hurt someone!"

"But meesa helping!" Jar Jar aimed the blaster at Bane and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the force of the blast knocked him over and the shot bounced off of Stass's lightsaber and hit a pile of crates next to the door the battle droids were coming through. The crates fell over and blocked the doorway, preventing more droids from coming in.

"Oh!" gasped Jar Jar excitedly. "Lookie, lookie! Mesa stop-ed da droids!"

With the droids gone, there was only one enemy left; Bane. He was hopelessly outnumbered against several clones, two Jedi, and a representative.

"Surrender, Bane," ordered Shaak. "You've lost. Lay down your weapons."

Bane considered his options. He couldn't fight all of them, nor could he run away without dozens of blaster bolts chasing him. So, with a growl, he dropped his blasters on the ground. But they were still loaded, and fired shots at the clones' feet, knocking two of them into each other. Then Bane raised his left arm and activated his wrist-mounted flamethrower. While the Jedi used the Force to divert the flames, Bane fired his jet-boots and flew up to the atrium balcony.

"Mesa get him!" said Jar Jar, jumping up to the balcony after him. But as he landed, he lost his balance and had to grab onto the hand rail to catch himself. "Mesa okay!" Then the hand rail broke from his weight and Jar Jar found himself holding a long metal pole.

Bane laughed. "You call yourself a representative? You're nothing but a clumsy idiot." He threw a punch at Jar Jar, who blocked it using his pole. Then he had an idea. This wasn't much longer or heavier than a Gungan electrostaff. Jar Jar knew how to use those!

So as Bane attempted another punch, Jar Jar swung his pole to push Bane's hand out of the way, and then swung at Bane's head. The bounty hunter ducked, and became very angry. The two combatants exchanged blows for a while. Once, Bane tried to fire his flamethrower, but Jar Jar's pole crushed it.

Later, Bane tried to escape using his jet-boots, but Jar Jar jumped on top of him and pulled him down to the ground, where the Jedi and clones were waiting with a pair of binders.

"Well done, Representative Binks," congratulated Shaak. "You have successfully captured a dangerous fugitive."

Jar Jar chuckled timidly. "Meesa just wanting to help."

Mace Windu didn't know what Kit Fisto needed a defoliator for, but as the LAAT gunship flew over Coruscant, he kept his eyes out for a Defoliator Deployment Tank. As the gunship was flying over a series of bridges connecting an apartment complex, he saw one terrorizing the residents, flanked by several battle droids.

At the precise moment, he jumped of the gunship and landed in front of the DDT. "Look!" exclaimed one of the droids. "It's a Jedi!"

"What do we do about Jedi?" asked another droid.

"Blast him!" ordered the commander. Upon its command, the droids began firing their blasters at Mace. But the Jedi was too powerful for them, and he sliced through them all in a matter of seconds. Then he hopped onto the DDT and threw the battle droid driver out and off the bridge.

He activated his wristcom. "Command center, this is Windu. Send an unloaded dropship to Apartment Complex Number 22."

Ahsoka Tano crash-landed the J-16 cockpit near the train station. It was a rough landing; Captain Rex was knocked unconscious, and Ahsoka ended up with a large, purple bruise on her head. At least they were still alive. Ahsoka pushed the cockpit canopy open and climbed out. She walked around a bit to get blood circulating through her legs.

But Boba Fett had seen her crash and landed Slave I nearby. The entry hatch opened soon afterward and Boba walked out. Once he and Ahsoka were standing face-to-face, he nodded in acknowledgement. "Hello, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka clenched her teeth. "What in the universe did you think you were doing? I thought we were friends."

Boba replied calmly, "I've been offered a chance at redemption. The only condition they would accept, however, was your murder."

Ahsoka's mouth hung open. "That's it? You think that by killing your own friend you would become a good guy?"

"They threatened to put a bounty on me! The first rule in bounty hunting is survival."

Ahsoka was crushed. "I actually thought you cared for me." She pulled out the two lightsabers attached to her belt. "I'll have to undo that mistake now." She ignited her weapons and assumed a defensive stance.

Boba pulled out his modified EE-3 blaster rifle and pointed it at Ahsoka. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"How about we end this?" Ahsoka leapt into the air and lunged at Boba, who dove out of the way at the last minute. He began firing powerful shots, which Ahsoka deflected with her lightsabers. Then she lashed out with the Force, knocking him to the ground. As Ahsoka rushed towards him, he activated his jetpack and flew into the air.

He fired more shots, and Ahsoka deflected those, too. She jumped with the Force to grab Boba, but he kicked out his foot and hit Ahsoka in the midsection. While she recovered from the blow, Boba flew behind a tower, hiding from sight. Ahsoka held her sabers ready in case he attempted a surprise attack.

He did. He fired a rocket from his jetpack, which Ahsoka narrowly dodged. The force of the explosion threw her across the street. As she landed, she dropped her lightsabers, which rolled in opposite directions. She tried to call them to her using the Force, but a wire wrapped around her green lightsaber in midair and pulled it to the person who fired the clingwire; Boba.

Boba tested the lightsaber in his hand, feeling its size and weight. Ahsoka gave an amused smile as she ignited her yellow lightsaber. "You dare challenge a Jedi?"

Boba replied, "My father taught me lightsaber combat. Of course, that was before you Jedi killed him!" He performed a feint and held his lightsaber in one hand, his blaster in the other. He fired his blaster as Ahsoka charged at him, and then he held up his lightsaber to defend against Ahsoka's swing.

Then it was Boba's turn to strike. Fighting with a lightsaber and a blaster at the same time had not been done in years, mainly because it was so hard to do. But Boba accomplished this task with ease. After every lightsaber swing, he would fire a shot, which Ahsoka would block. But then she had to block another lightsaber swing.

Ahsoka couldn't remember the last time she was kept so busy in a fight. She was beginning to tire. She tried to think of a way to make the fight harder on Boba and even the odds. Then she saw a mag-lev hovertrain pull into the station. That gave her an idea. She pushed Boba away with the Force and ran into the train station. Boba chased her, firing blaster shots the whole time.

Ahsoka ran through the crowd of people rushing to safety from the battle, Boba hot on her tail. Ahsoka stopped on the platform and the two continued their duel. A few minutes later, the train began to move. Ahsoka jumped on top of the train, and Boba followed her using his jetpack. Pretty soon, the train had picked up speed, and the duelers had to keep their balance, or fall hundreds of meters to the ground below.

Back at the Jedi Temple, Kit Fisto and the other Jedi had rounded up the skeletons and were holding them in front of the temple. While they were waiting for Mace Windu to bring the DDT, they had to slice up the skeletons constantly to keep them from escaping. One Padawan wasn't quick enough, and a few skeletons had tackled him and began pulling his limbs out of their sockets.

Then, an LAAT/c dropship flew in and set down a captured DDT, with Mace Windu standing on top. "I believe you wanted this?"

Kit smiled. "Charming. Pull it a safe distance away and load a defoliator capsule." Mace hopped into the tank and drove it backwards away from the fight. Then Kit addressed the other Jedi. "We'd better start running if we don't want to be caught in the blast."

One Jedi asked, "But if we run, won't the skeletons escape?"

"No, I think we can prevent that." As Kit said this, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thermal detonator. He activated it and rolled it into the fray. "Now, run!" Upon his command, all of the Jedi ran away, just before the detonator exploded, blowing all of the skeletons apart.

Once the Jedi were in the safe zone, Mace fired the defoliator capsule. It landed in the middle of the bone pile, and a ring of fire grew outward from it. Once the flames were gone, all that was left of the skeletons was a field of ashes.

Kit smiled triumphantly. "And now, for the finishing touch." He waved his hand and sent a Force wave that blew all of the ashes into the air. As the ashes scattered and disappeared, everyone cheered. The skeletons had been permanently destroyed!

Ahsoka Tano was beginning to think that dueling Boba Fett on top of a moving train wasn't such a good idea. For one thing, whenever the train turned, the duelers nearly lost their balance. Secondly, they couldn't jump, or else they would be carried backwards by the wind. And finally, Boba was still too good.

"You're very creative, aren't you?" said Boba sarcastically.

Ahsoka replied, "Well, this beats killing your own best friend for a living!"

Boba protested, "I'm not doing this for money! I'm doing this so that I can live!"

"But will you be able to live with yourself? Will you not be tormented by this deed that you know is morally wrong?"

Boba paused to ponder these words for a second, and then swung his lightsaber at Ahsoka. Ahsoka blocked with her lightsaber and stabbed at Boba's side. But he sidestepped and punched her in the face. Ahsoka staggered from the blow and fell over. She slid across the train car towards the edge, but she managed to grab hold of the service ladder just in time.

The speed of the train and the force of the air around her caused Ahsoka to slowly lose her grip. She called out, "Boba, help me! Please! Help!" But Boba didn't move. He simply stood and watched Ahsoka slip away. "Boba! I am your friend! Friends are loyal to one another. If you let me die, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

For one second, their eyes met each other's. Boba could see the fear and sadness in Ahsoka's eyes. Of course, he thought, it's only natural. She was about to die, betrayed by the man she loved. Then Ahsoka let go, and she fell. The hundreds of meters would kill her, and nothing would stop her fall. Boba knew that Ahsoka was already dead.

Boba realized he was still holding the lightsaber he had stolen from her. It would be a constant reminder of his selfish act. And the look in Ahsoka's eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life. A life which he gets to keep, he reminded himself, but at what cost?

That's when Boba made his decision. He clipped the lightsaber to his belt and dove off of the train. He activated his jetpack to add speed to his fall. A few seconds later, he saw her. Ahsoka was still falling, but unconscious, and it was only a matter of time before she hit the ground. Boba maneuvered himself so that he was underneath her, and then he eased upward until he held her in his arms. Then he positioned himself upright, hoping the jetpack had enough power to carry both of them upward.

It didn't. Even with the jetpack's power, they were still falling. But then they began to slow. Boba looked downward and saw the ground looming closer. If they hit the ground too hard, too fast, it would be too late. They continued to slow, and Boba kept his fingers crossed. A few seconds before they landed, he squeezed his eyes shut and hoped he would survive the impact.

Finally, they landed. Boba felt his legs go numb and he dropped Ahsoka. At least he was still alive. But what about Ahsoka? Boba threw off his helmet and ran to check her.

She was still unconscious, but Boba couldn't detect any breathing or pulse. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka!" He tried to shake her awake. "Don't be dead!" He waited a few minutes, but nothing happened. Then he realized the terrible truth.

Ahsoka Tano was dead.

Boba's mouth hung open and tears began to sting his eyes. "What have I done?" He had let her fall! "This is all my fault!" He hugged Ahsoka's body close and cried. "It's my fault. Oh, Ahsoka, I'm so sorry."

Boba cried over her body for a while. He knew he had to leave and report to Darth Sidious. He leaned Ahsoka against the wall of a nearby building, placed her lightsaber in her lap, kissed her forehead, and then walked away. He didn't call Sidious just yet; he didn't want to be crying when he gave his report. He decided he would go find Slave I. Maybe the pain will have subsided by then.

He doubted it.

Once Boba was gone, Ahsoka cracked open one eyelid to make sure. In reality, she was never dead. When she saw Boba coming to save her, she used the Force to suppress her vital signs temporarily. She had been conscious and fully functional, but she wanted Boba to think she was dead. If he thought she was, whoever threatened him wouldn't kill him.

Ahsoka was glad that they were both safe and sound, and that Boba cared for her after all. She confessed to herself that she never thought Boba was that nice. She always heard that love changes people.

The tender moment was interrupted by an explosion. Ahsoka realized that the Battle of Coruscant was still raging. She fastened both her lightsabers to her belt and ran towards the fighting. No Jedi would rest until the battle was won.