READ ME FIRST! THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER! I had a lightbulb moment while rewatching the season and added in a new chapter 10 that covers the action in episode 11 The Heiress. That is now the new start of my take on season 2 so you'll need to go and read that one! I'm not sure how reviews will work with the addition so if you can't leave a review on that post you should probably be able to leave one on this post! Enjoy!

A/N: Wow. That's all I can say. How are we going to wait until next December for season 3?! I've gotten several messages about how the finale affects my story and I can assure you it hasn't messed anything up; I've just done a bit of tweaking to what I already had. I have been writing like crazy since that last episode to get my ending down while everything is fresh! All the chapters before this one take place BEFORE season 2 starts. This chapter is picking up with episode 4 of season 2, "The Siege." Yes, I know there are some things that happened before this but I decided to start at this point. Just know that all that happened in episodes 1-3 DID happen I'm just choosing to pick up here. Hold on. It moves fast! Biggest thanks to all the followers and reviewers. I hope y'all enjoy. Let me know what you think and I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas. :)

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TOWG: Thanks for the review. They're off to find someone for sure and she doesn't know what to do about those feelings yet ... she's not against anything but its all very new to her.

joey: Thanks. No, nothing that came in those last episodes really messed anything up. I just had to rethink a few things but nothing too drastic!

Love: Thanks!

multy: Thank you for your reviews! I hope you enjoy my take on what happens in season 2. :)

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All Hail Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau!

Alés had a headache.

Traveling in a ship that could fall apart at any moment would probably do that to anyone. At least they'd delivered the passenger and her eggs safely. They'd also finally found other Mandalorians that had been able to point them towards a Jedi. She wasn't completely sure about Din's plan to stop on Nevarro to have the ship repaired - he said there was no way they'd be able to get to the planet Bo-Katan pointed them to without it - but if he felt it was safe enough she would trust his judgment and try not to think about the time that was slipping by. At least he was no longer trying to get the little one to attempt some electrical fixes. Another large shudder ran through the Crest that had Din fighting with the controls for a few moments and she decided getting the thing fixed would certainly be better than being sucked into the vacuum of space.

She couldn't stop her sigh of relief when they were firmly on solid ground again

"I told you we would make it," Din said and there was a clear 'I told you so' behind his words. All she could do was roll her eyes and follow him out of the ship.

Two figures approached them and from the easy way the man at her side moved she knew these had to be the acquaintances he'd mentioned.

"Mando! I wasn't expecting to see you with a passenger … and such a pretty one at that!" the dark skinned man said with a good natured grin.

"Greef, Cara, this is Alés Shann. She offered to help me find other Jedi." He motioned towards the two newcomers. "Greef Karga and Cara Dune."

The woman, Cara, looked at her a bit suspiously. "And you trust her? How could she help find the Jedi?"

"Because I am one," she replied calmly.

"Then … why are you still looking?" Greef asked. "If you have a Jedi right here why do you need another?"

"I'm afraid I cannot help the little one in the way that he needs. He needs someone more skilled, more knowledgeable than me to train him and keep him safe."

The two didn't seem convinced.

"I trust her fully," Din finally said and that seemed to settle the matter for the moment.

"Looks like someone could use some repairs," Greef said good naturedly to change the subject.

"How's my credit around here?"

"I think something could be arranged. Isn't that right, Marshal?"

Cara smiled and reached out to stroke the child's cheek. "I'm sure we could work something out."

Greef called out to a group of mechanics waiting off to the side with instructions to get started making repairs on the Crest. To Alés's surprise he then easily took the little one from Din, playfully teasing him, and motioned for them to follow him. Walking down the main street through the city she could feel Din's surprise as his helmet swiveled from side to side taking in the bustling trader stalls. She knew he had been here quite a bit before the Child joined him and it made her curious as to what had changed about the place. To her it seemed like a bustling, prosperous town. There were clear signs on some of the buildings and down the alleyways that the prosperity was a rather new development but she couldn't sense anything dangerous around them.

"Looks like you two have been busy."

"I myself have been steeped in clerical work," Greef said with a bit of an aggravated sigh. "Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town."

"What was here before you two took over?" she asked.

"A wretched hive of scum and villainy," Cara replied quickly. "We haven't completely rid ourselves of all the filth, a lot scurry around underground, but we've gotten a handle on the majority of it."

"Any sign of - ?"

"No," was the short response to Din's abbreviated question.

Cara pointed a thumb behind them. "Your ship's not looking too good."

"We had a run in with the New Republic."

"They should leave the Outer Rim alone. If the Empire couldn't settle it what makes them think they can?" Greef replied with irritation in his voice. They approached a freshly painted building that caused Din to pause at the door.

"I'm surprised to see this place still standing."

"Wait til you see inside," Cara told him. Following the two inside Alés was pleasantly surprised to see –

"A school?" Din said in surprise.

"Things have changed a lot around here."

Greef stepped towards an empty desk near the front of the room. "We're gonna leave the little one here so we can talk business."

Din shook his head. "Wait. Wherever I go, he goes."

"Mando, please. Where we're going you don't want to take a child. Trust me."

"He'll be fine here. You have my word." He still hesitated even after Cara's firm assurance.

"Would you like it if I stayed here to keep an eye on him?"

Alés could almost see the appreciative smile under his helmet as he glanced down at her. "I think we may need all the help we can get for whatever these two have in mind."

"If you're sure?"

He nodded, brushing a hand against hers, and they followed Greef and Cara out the door though she did not miss the puzzled look the other woman threw their way.

The next building they entered was much smaller filled with only a couple of work stations and a holotable. There was a Mythrol sitting at one of the stations mumbling about ship registries though he froze when he glanced up at their arrival.

"I believe you two have met," Greef said with some amusement.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Din replied as he stared down at the alien behind the desk.

"Right back at ya," was the nervous response.

"Mythrol here has taken care of my books since he was a pollywog. But then he disappeared one day after a bit of 'creative accounting.'"

"Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt. Thank you, by the way."

Greef gave him a smile that was anything but friendly. "Three hundred and fifty years, but who's counting?"

"Well, if he runs off on you again let me know," Din told him as he moved towards where Cara was waiting by the holotable.

"Let me assure you, I do not wanna spend any more time in carbonite. Still can't see out of my left eye."

She glanced at Din with a raised eyebrow but he just shrugged. Obviously he wasn't too concerned with the fact that one of his former bounties was sitting nearby.

"Can we talk business?" Cara asked, pulling their attention away from the still very nervous Mythrol.

"We're only here for repairs."

"Which will take a while. Which means you'll have free time on your hands, right?" He paused, glancing between the two of them. "We could really use your help. Both of you."

"Help how?"

Cara turned on the holotable and a projection of the planet appeared. "This is Nevarro. We're here. This entire area's a green zone. Completely safe. But over on this side is the problem."

"It's an old Imperial base," Greef explained.

"It's where all those troops came from when we defeated Moff Gideon. This base has been here since the Imperial expansion. It's got a skeleton crew but for some reason it hasn't been abandoned."

"There's a lot of heavy weaponry in that place the black market would love to dismantle and get their hands on."

"And you want to mop up the last of the Imperial force before they do."

"Mando, I just want them off my planet. If we could take out that last base Nevarro would be completely safe. We could be a trade anchor for the entire sector."

"And the planet would finally be free," Cara said, putting emphasis on the last word.

Alés and Din were quiet for a moment. While the thought of breaking into an Imperial base sent a shiver down her spine she could hear in their voices how much this meant to Greef and Cara. If they could rid another planet of the Empire's touch … she gave Din a brief nod and he turned back to the table.

"What are we looking at?"

Mythrol and Greef were bickering about the melted control panel, Cara was still grumbling about Imperial trash, and Din had just used his jetpack to reach the platform above their heads. Alés had tried to stay out of the way and out of the planning as she had no knowledge or experience that could be helpful but as they were still stuck outside the base she decided it was time to step up. Time was wasting and she knew Din was not comfortable with the little one being so far from his side for this long.

With a roll of her eyes she waved a hand at the closed door and it slid open ... thankfully without setting off any alarms. Her three companions turned and stared at her in surprise. At that moment the body of a Stormtrooper crashed to the ground nearby, obviously Din's handy work. Without saying a word she strode into the lift and looked back at them expectantly.

"Are you coming or are you going to wait out here for the next ride?"

Greef grinned and even Cara seemed a bit amused. Mythrol hung back nervously.

"Are you coming in or what?"

"I'll take my chances down here, thank you," he answered, eying the armored body.

Cara smirked. "Well, when the lava tide comes in give us a holler. We'll drop you a rope." The threat of being burned alive apparently was worse to him than facing Stormtroopers and he scurried in behind them though not without some grumbling. Not knowing what they would be facing when the doors reopened Alés unhooked her saber and held it ready to be activated should the need arise. She heard an intake of breath next to her and she glanced over to see Mythrol staring at her weapon with a bit of awe in his eyes. The other two seemed to have the same idea and had their blasters aimed when the door slid open. The sight of Din standing amid the fallen bodies of several Troopers greeted them.

"Guess the base isn't as empty as we thought," she said with a frown. This did not bode well for the rest of their mission.

There was the quick flash of concern in Greef's eyes but he pointed off towards their left. "The reactor should be set in the heat shaft. If we drain the cooling lines this whole base will go up in a matter of minutes."

Mythrol wasn't paying them a bit of attention having taken a few steps towards a bulky vehicle parked on the platform. "Look. It's a mint Trexler Marauder. You know how much we can get for this on the black market?"

"And it's going to get vaporized like the rest of this base. Now let's go."

It didn't take them long to reach the base's command center and in an impressive show of strength Cara had the lone officer dead on the ground within seconds. While she kept watch down the access corridor Din switched off all the security cameras and Greef grabbed the officer's code cylinder.

"This may come in handy. Come on. Let's go before reinforcements arrive."

The reactor core was deeper in the base but somehow they only had to avoid one set of Stormtroopers before they reached their destination. Mythrol used the pilfered code cylinder to open the doors and they were greeted by a blast of hot air. She cautiously peered over the edge of the platform at the lava seam far below and wondered why the Empire never seemed to put safety railings in places like this.

Greef pointed to Mythrol. "Get on the reactor controls, drain the coolant lines. We'll watch the doors."

"Me?" he squeaked.

"Yes, you."

"Well, I'm afraid of heights. And heat. And lava."

"How about I put you back in carbonite? Get over there!"

"That's a long way down and there's no guardrail …"

Uttering a curse under her breath Alés snatched the code cylinder from a startled Mythrol and easily leapt across the expanse to the control tower. They did not have time for more bickering.

"Alés! What are you doing?" Din yelled.

"What we came here to do."

Quickly scanning the control panel in front of her she found the correct switches that operated the core and began powering them down. The readings on the display screen began to drop rapidly and there was the sound of fierce bubbling beneath her. She felt it would probably be best if she didn't look down there.

"Let's get out of here!" Cara yelled. Not needing to be told twice she made the jump again and was greeted on the other side by a slightly irate Mando. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him as they hurried back out the doors.

"Don't ever do something like that again."

"We didn't have time to wait for them to finish their arguing."

"You could've been killed," he admonished.

"I've made far bigger jumps before."

"Over lava?"

She conceded that point with a smirk. "No but some pretty deep ravines."

Hearing another group of Stormtroopers they ducked into a corridor branching off to their left and found themselves in a large room with a duo of Imperial scientists working frantically at the single control station.

"Destroy it!" one of them cried as Cara, Greef, and Din opened fire. In that split second she felt a nudge from the Force and reached out pushing the two men away from the computers before they could erase whatever it was they were trying to hide. The sudden movement startled everyone around her. She saw the surprise on Cara's face before the other woman opened fire again.

"Get over there and see if you can find what they were trying to hide," Greef ordered and for once Mythrol didn't argue. However as they stepped further into the room and were able to see what it contained they froze, peering at the liquid filled windows along the front wall. They slowly moved closer to inspect what they could now see were humanoid forms inside the tubes.

"I thought you said this was a forward operating base," Cara asked Greef.

"I thought it was," he replied, his eyes glued to the windows.

"No, this isn't a military operation. It's a lab." Cara looked pointedly at Mythrol. "We need to get into the system and figure out what's going on."

"What about the reactor?"

"Do it!" He jumped at her tone and scurried behind the control panel, frantically pushing buttons as they continued to inspect what was in front of them.

"I don't like this," Din muttered.

"Neither do I," she agreed. While the forms in the tanks were humanoid as far as they could tell they appeared horribly deformed. A shiver went down her spine. What was the Empire up to before it fell? What were its remnants still up to?

"I think I found something, a transmission."

"Bring it up," Greef ordered.

A holorecording of a skinny dark haired man appeared and she heard Din's sharp intake of breath beside her.

"... replicated the results of the subsequent trials, which also resulted in catastrophic failure. There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we'll find a donor with a higher M-count, though. I recommend that we suspend all experimentation. I fear that the volunteer will meet the same regrettable fate if we proceed with the transfusion. Unfortunately, we have exhausted our initial supply of blood. The child is small, and I was only able to harvest a limited amount without killing him. If these experiments are to continue as requested, we would again require access to the donor. I will not disappoint you again, Moff Gideon."

"What's an M-count?" Cara asked.

"Midichlorian count. All Force users contain midichlorians in their blood. The higher the count, the stronger the being is with the Force, the more powerful their potential," Alés replied, her voice falling. "They're using the child's blood to experiment with midicholrians … but for what purpose?"

"This must be an old transmission. Moff Gideon is dead," Din insisted.

"No. This is three days old."

He looked over at her. "You hit him with your laser sword."

"I only took his hand off. It wasn't enough to kill him."

"If Gideon's alive then -" He didn't get to finish. A patrol of Stormtroopers blasted their way into the room and the next several minutes were spent fighting them off. Igniting her saber Alés stepped in front of Mythrol who was cowering beside the control station.

"Grab a blaster off one of those guys back there!" she yelled, nodding towards the bodies of the scientists against the back wall. He crawled over on hands and knees and tugged one free though he seemed rather reluctant to use it. "Fire at the guys in white armor!" she prodded and he finally joined in the fire fight. Sparks flew as blaster bolts from both sides struck the walls and fried any electronics within, the cacophony of noise trapped in the enclosed space reverberated through her body, and there were flashes of pale pink whenever a red bolt met the white of her blade. It was chaotic and for the brief few minutes it lasted she thanked her lucky stars she had not been old enough to take part in the Clone Wars. When the last trooper hit the ground Din turned to them a bit frantically.

"I need to get the kid."

"Jet back. You're faster that way. We'll head to the speeder and meet you in town," Cara told him. He glanced over at her and she gave a quick nod. Once he had disappeared around the corner she and the other three headed in the opposite direction. Unfortunately the entire base – which had far more Stormtroopers guarding it than Greef had told them – was now alerted to their presence and it took them quite a bit longer to make it back to the shuttle bay. Peering around the still open door it seemed the way was clear but no sooner had they taken two steps beyond its safety the turbolift opened and another patrol of troopers appeared forcing them to take cover behind some storage crates. Between firing she saw Cara glancing towards the Marauder where it was still sitting on the platform. The other woman caught her eye.

"Cover me," was all she said before dashing out from the safety of the storage crates. Alés didn't waste any time positioning herself between the troopers and their now moving target, easily deflecting their blaster fire. A moment later the engines fired to life and the transport slid next to them with a door open and Cara yelling at them to get in.

Greef shoved Mythrol towards the door. "Go! Go go go!" She moved closer to cover both men until they were safely inside before hopping in herself. The transport jerked backwards almost throwing her off her feet and as she grasped at a pipe on the wall it spun completely around to face in the opposite direction.

"You're not seriously considering going over - " Mythrol cried but wasn't given a chance to finish the thought.

"Hang on!" Cara warned them as she jammed the throttle forward. If she hadn't still been hanging on to the wall pipe Alés would've been thrown to the back of the vehicle. As it was she clung to her handhold as they plummeted over the edge of the platform, her stomach feeling like it was rising almost up to her throat, slamming into the valley floor seconds later. There was a distressing crunch from underneath them and she had a sneaking suspicion they'd just landed on Mythrol's parked speeder. They weren't out of danger yet. Scout troopers were quickly on their tail forcing Greef to take up position in the gun turret on the back of the transport. He gave a cheer as his first shot took out the forward speeder bike but it proved to be a lucky shot; no matter how he aimed after that he could not hit another.

"I've lost them!" he yelled.

Biting back a curse Alés turned from watching the way in front of them to focusing on the space around the vehicle they couldn't see. She immediately sensed the biker scouts on either side of them.

"There's one coming up on our right," she called to Cara who immediately jerked the controls to the right and was rewarded by the sound of the speeder bursting into flames as it was slammed into the valley wall. Now there was just … "Greef! He's on the roof! Spin the turret towards the back!" The resulting explosion told them that last trooper had been holding more than just a blaster.

Greef spun to look at her. "How did you know? Is it something like that magic hands thing the kid does?" She just gave him a smile. Just then the ground under the shuttle rumbled and rocks and debris began tumbling down the sides of the valley. That was quickly followed by a muffled but deep roar.

"The base! We did it!" Mythrol exclaimed.

"Headed home, boss!"

Another much less welcome sound met their ears before the vibrations of the exploding base faded.

Mythrol sighed. "I think that might have been a bit premature."

"Ya think?" Cara snapped, flipping switches on a panel above her head.

"Take evasive!" Greef yelled from the gun turret. He had even less luck hitting the pursuing TIE fighters than he had with the speeder bikes. No matter which way he swung the guns the fighters were able to dart away.

"What's going on back there?" Cara yelled from the front.

"You want to come back here and try this? Be my guest!"

"Be ready," she told him and focused on the first in the formation. If she could just hold it steady long enough for him to target it …

"Got him!" was his excited cry but that excitement was immediately cut off as they both realized the wreckage of the fighter was tumbling right at them. Throwing up both hands Alés pushed out with the Force just enough to throw the spinning fireball into the valley wall instead of the gun turret.

"Keep firing! Keep firing! We're about to be out in the open!" she said as he paused to stare at her again.

"We're almost there!" Mythrol cried.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," she mumbled as she watched Greef continue to miss the TIEs. Cara had begun swerving the shuttle back and forth in an effort to evade the incoming shots from above and Alés was having a hard time focusing on the next fighter.

"They've come around in front of us!" Cara warned but before Greef could get the turret turned the right direction one of the TIEs exploded in midair.

She let out a relieved sigh. "Mando."

The Razor Crest zipped past them now the pursuer. The remaining TIEs seemed to forget about the shuttle on the ground as they tried to swing around to attack a new enemy. Cara brought the Marauder to a skidding halt just outside town and the four of them climbed out in order to watch the chase above their heads. He took out one of the fighters almost immediately then went after the final one in a very impressive display of piloting skills. She'd had no idea Din could maneuver the Crest like that and she found herself holding her breath as it hovered in the air then spun downwards straight at the last TIE. She let out a cheer with the others as it erupted into a fireball.

Greef thumbed on his comm. "That was some pretty impressive flying, Mando. What do I owe you?"

"With the repairs let's call it even."

"Can I at least buy you a drink?"

"Sorry. I've only got time to get Alés on board; there's some onboard maintenance I need to take care of as well. Then we've got to hit the road before Gideon catches wise."

"Well, good luck flying, my friend."

The Crest landed right in front of them and while the ramp lowered the engines didn't shut off.

"Stay safe, Alés. Keep Mando out of trouble if you can," Cara said giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"I'll try my best. Let us know if you hear anything about Gideon's whereabouts."

"We will."

She jogged up the ramp and called to Din that she was onboard. As he raised the ramp she climbed the ladder into the cockpit. The little one was slumped a bit in his seat and as she picked him up to sit down she noticed bluish stains on the front of his tunic.

"What happened here?" she asked as they rose through the clouds.

"Cookies and flying do not mix."