Naruto felt the laboratory shudder as the first parts of the droid army exploded on the surface of Kamino.
Karin looked strangely guilty.
Naruto knew something was wrong.
"Karin - tell me."
Karin burst into tears. "Sidious has more than one Sith hidden in here. I can feel him - I think he's going for the real Fett!"
Naruto swore in Mando'a and Alterian, darting out.
~:~
One fought by Fett's side as they tried to fight off the Sith approaching. The masters were all busy fighting droids and the general that was leading this operation.
The Sith was a Zabrak male with yellow eyes, which kind of matched his head, which was also yellow.
"Savage! Kill the army's progenitor!"
One swore in Mando'a. "They're after you."
"Let them come," Jango said flatly. "I've killed Jedi before."
Naruto burst into the room, panting a bit. Spotting the Sith, she walked out, activating her lightsaber.
The Sith paused, activating the other side of his dual-bladed lightsaber. The two began circling.
"The Rule of Two has clearly been tossed out the figurative window," Naruto said, a dark glint in her eyes.
"I have no idea of what you speak." The Zabrak stopped where he had been standing before.
"I must say something before we start fighting," Naruto said, her voice poisonously sweet; so sweet it made Jango's hair raise on the back of his neck. "You fucked with the wrong bounty hunter, Zabrak. Jango Fett is mine."
One smirked, grateful Jango couldn't see it.
"And I'm going to hurt you so badly you will be able to only just stand trial."
The Zabrak began laughing.
"I am not Maul."
"No." Naruto shook her head. "You're not, dar'jetii sleemo."
One stared at Naruto as she clashed with the Sith, a feral growl coming from her throat. One who said 'Sith slime' in Mando'a knew much of their language.
"I don't need a Jedi to save me," Jango said, sounding put out.
"I think she's trying to send a message," One revealed, before shooting to the side and a droid dropped. "Should we relocate?"
"Yes," Jango replied; together the duo chose to retreat a little.
~:~
Naruto twirled her blade easily; the Zabrak parried it.
From the surprised look, he hadn't expected this much of a fight. He must have been a new Sith, then; testing his abilities on her.
Honestly, Itachi had been more badass than this guy... And that was sooo not an insult to Itachi; Naruto had heard from Kushina that tachi was a prodigy even there, in Alteria.
(And it was just thrilling to hear that the guy Naruto totally did not have a crush on was Alterian, and that he was a prodigy. But... He was still a jerk.)
Naruto swung her blade, feeling the flow of the Force. She parried his low sweep, steeping back to give two strikes to his head - then she flicked the switch. The dual-bladed saber separated into two, and she stared at a surprised Sith.
"Most Jedi don't have dual-bladed lightsabers - and those that do don't usually make them separate," the Sith admitted.
"I took this from Maul and made it my own," Naruto revealed. "You have a problem with that?"
The Zabrak shook his head. "This will be finished easily."
"I don't think so," Naruto replied with a foxy grin, twirling. Both her sabers missed their target as the Sith back up, but Naruto grinned.
She pressed her advantage, using Master Windu's style. Using her memory, she struck at the Sith, hammering blow after blow and keeping the Sith on his toes.
~:~
"Windu, isn't that your style?" Master Plo Koon stared at the Jedi striking at the Sith on another nearby walkway.
"I never taught it to her," Mace replied as he Force-shoved a line of droids. "But then Alterians have incredible memory."
"That is very true." Plo threw his lightsaber, rendering his half useless. "I have known very few personally, but one thing is true. Force-sensitive or not, they have the uncanny ability to remember most of the things they have seen in their lifetime."
~:~
Naruto stopped pushing the Sith back when he was as far away as a landing platform.
Naruto spotted a gunship coming closer.
"General, get out of the way!"
"No can do," Naruto said, closing her eyes. "Shoot."
A hesitation.
Naruto opened her eyes.
"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, ROOKIE! SHOOT!" She shoved her hands forward, keeping the Sith in place.
The rookie shot.
~:~
Naruto floated in a bacta tank, internal injuries being healed. When the Sith realized he couldn't force his way out of that spot, he'd used his Force powers to drag the airborne craft to fall on top of them while the gunship shot at him.
Naruto had been forced to release the Sith to lessen the impact. She'd been able to do so when the Sith had used the Force to push it on top of her. A wing had crushed her, and when they'd gotten to her during cleanup it was to the pilot trying to get her out from under it.
The med-droid had listed her internal injuries, which included two cracked ribs, one rib completely pulverized, one broken wrist, and a punctured lung. She'd gotten a replacement lung, grown by Lama Su to Naruto's specifications (but obviously younger than Naruto), and a newly grown rib. Her other injuries were easily fixed, but she'd needed the bacta after the surgery.
Anakin was in deep thought. He'd seen the faint burn scar caused by his lightsaber and the marks on her back, and he couldn't help but wonder what the marks on her back were from.
Anora came up behind him.
"The med-droid said she'd be mission-ready in a week," she told him. "We're all leaving before them. A shuttle's going to take us to Coruscant."
"To get more missions?" he asked, resigned.
"We can't always be on the battlefield," Anora said wisely. "The other Knights are leaving. The Masters expect us to rest a little bit, then get back out there."
"I will be staying here." Master Shaak Tii's voice brought the two out of their discussion. "To keep an eye on the Sith girl and the Padawan. Now that it is clear that the Sith are out for the bounty hunter's blood, it would make sense to stay."
Anakin nodded. "Thank you, Master." He stood from his chair, ready to leave -
Anakin froze as the Togurtan master's next comment struck a chord in him.
"Make sure you take care of my daughter, Skywalker."
He turned to reassure her, but she was gone. He smiled to himself.
"Her daughter?" Anora looked shocked.
Anakin laughed a little. "I don't think Master Tii wants us to tell everyone, but yes. Even Master Tii must have, at some point, broken the Code." He looked out at the training soldiers.
Though our paths may separate from now on, Naruto... He sighed and put a hand on the bacta tank. I hope we don't become too different.
Naruto reacted, a flicker of consciousness meeting his mind before settling.