Hey guys another chapter. Unlike I expected last chapter I will be splitting the rest of episode 1 into two chapters. This one just ran away from me. I'll talk more about that at the end of the chapter.

Hope you enjoy :)


Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of their intellectual property. I also do not own Bio Ware or their IP

Notes

Speaking: "..."

Thoughts: '...'

Sounds/effects: *...*


Chapter 2: Desert Hell

(3rd Person)

(Phantom)

Mace watched the rest of the crew leave downhearted and shook his head. Even he was still trying to deal with the news. Telling them was a necessity, but also a risk. He couldn't be sure how they would all react.

After Vette had led them into the room, she herself had gone back to the cockpit to await the transmission from Ayillh. She wanted to be alone and he knew it. Rubbing his temples in annoyance he channeled the anger that sprang up under the surface, he would unleash it soon.

Taking in all their reactions Mace could tell who was most affected. Blizz, Nadia and Xalek were the ones that took it the hardest. Nadia's eyes had widened in shock at the news and she stormed out of the room before everyone else.

The rage that was radiating out of her had to be vented immediately. He could feel her just on the other side of the wall. She had moved towards the back of the ship and was standing in front of the training dummy. Mace was sure she was practicing her fighting techniques.

Xalek had been like Blizz, they had both turned quiet. Even though Xalek was acting the same, Mace could feel that something was off about the Kaleesh. 'He had wanted to return home.' Mace quietly thought to himself as his thoughts drifted to Blizz.

Blizz going quiet was the same as a Hutt giving money away, it just wasn't natural and to be honest disturbing. The Jawa had lowered his head leaving his face out of sight and quietly left the room.

The rest of the crew hadn't taken it too bad from Mace's observation, Jaesa's life was dedicated to him, and he knew that. She didn't care where she was as long as he was around. She had gone into a dark place when he had been put on ice for 5 years.

Once he had returned she usually accompanied him on all his missions. Something he was happy to oblige, she was his first apprentice and they were very close. Mace actually found the thought of her being left behind almost funny.

If she had been left in the past there was no telling how much chaos and destruction she might have caused to the galaxy at large. There weren't many that could compare to her prowess; she had come a long way.

Ashara was almost the same as Jaesa. She had joined up with him a long time ago; he had taken over her training when he had to. She didn't have family anymore, if anything, Jaesa, Vette and him where the closest family she had.

Finally there was Vaylin, it was clear that she didn't care about her family. Not anymore anyways. Arcann, Senya and even her father all betray her one way or another. And no matter what they did they couldn't gain her trust again.

And Mace thought. 'They would never have a chance now.' She may have had an attachment to her empire, but she had left that behind when she had submitted to him. To her the only thing that changed was the amount of people she hated. Maybe she would be bitter that she couldn't kill some of those people herself, but that was it.

She had been the last to leave the room and spoke to him just before she left. She wanted to mediate quietly in her room. 'The changes in the force where something she wanted to look into'. Mace respected her decision and would leave her alone for now.

Those 3 had been the calmest at the news, though they also needed time to process what was happening, just like Vette. Giving one last sigh Mace got to his feet and made for the door, it was time to be a leader and lay their fears to rest.

A fractured crew wasn't acceptable.

Walking out the door and taking a hard right he walked past the landing ramp and stepped into the corridor. The small sound of a practice blade smashing into a dummy sounded out as he watched the white haired woman nimbly move around and attack a motionless figure.

Nadia was using a Bo staff to practice her moves as she imbued her body with the force. It was an unconscious effort that imbued her body with the force, something that Mace drilled into her after taking her as an apprentice.

The drainage of force would push her mental abilities to the limit. The continuous use would tell her the limits of her endurance under such a state, as well as make it a natural response in all situations. As Nadia naturally used a double bladed lightsaber, combining her prowess with form 6, or Niman which was most suited to her was a no brainier.

She already had some of the basics down when she had become his apprentice, but she mainly focused on the force and her control of it. Something that Mace attributed to being under the tutelage of the Late Barsen'thor.

Some would say that training without the force was better, and sometimes it was when training the other forms. But for normal training it was better for her to enhance her body and get used to the strain.

Giving her a passing glance as she shouted out her frustration, Mace maneuvered around her and walked into the engine room. Walking past an enraged Nadia, Mace made his way towards Blizz, out of everyone he had been the most affected in his opinion.

Walking into the engine room, Mace stayed at the door for a second ignoring the sound behind him. Mace stayed at the door as he looked at the Jawa hunching over a new piece of equipment. The usual noise that was made when Blizz was working was notably subdued, as only the small sound of sparks came from the technology he was using.

Usually when he was working it wouldn't be unusual for an explosion to go off. Though Blizz knew how to make sure none of what he experimented on damaged the engine.

Blizz was the one with the most to lose by what happened. The shock of losing his crew must have been crushing for the Jawa. Watching his quiet figure as he hunched over his work, Mace didn't interrupt, he could feel the emotions radiating outwards. He needed to be left alone.

Leaving the room behind Mace moved to the Armory and walked in on Xalek. He would talk to Nadia last. Mace was slightly surprised that Xalek was so affected by the news, but supposed, that he had been planning on going back to his home when the mission was over.

Now that so much time had passed, it was possible that his planet, his people weren't the same. Though Mace would like to believe differently, the Sith had been almost completely wiped out, this showed how much could change over time.

Walking into the room, it was dark, the lights had been dimmed. Starring at the center of the room, Xalek was kneeling on a piece of cloth with small candles set up around him. The solemn atmosphere in the room, gave Mace pause.

He had seen Xalek prepare rituals before, some for hunts, some for family, some for power. But he had never seen the ritual that was taking place right now. As he was standing at the cusp of the door Xalek spoke up.

"Please come in my Lord." Walking in slowly Mace moved past the kneeling Kaleesh and also sat down, facing the warrior before him, they both said nothing as Xalek continued to proceed with the ritual.

Mace said nothing as everything went on, Xalek wanted him to be here for the ritual, and he had time. It was another 20 minutes before the ritual was finished; reaching down to blow out the candles Xalek looked to be at Peace as he opened his closed eyes.

Mace had no clue what the Ritual had pertained to, but he knew that it had helped the warrior come to terms with the situation they were in, but underneath those calm eyes that he looked at, there was a storm ready to rage at any given moment. Looking into his cold eyes for a few seconds, mace finally got to his feet and left the room. On the way out he grabbed a practice blade.

Nothing was said between the two, but Mace could feel Xalek's eyes as they tunneled into his leaving figure.

*Hiss* the door closed behind Mace as he starred at the woman still attacking the dummy before her, it had already been an hour. The other doors to the room had been closed, and he knew that Xalek and Blizz wouldn't be leaving for a long time. Enough time to do this.

*Tap* *Tap* Shaking the blade twice, the dull sound of the hull rang out, somehow catching the attention of the enraged woman. Mace could feel the anger that was still gushing forth from her. Her planet had been in a state of rebuilding when she had left, that had been just a few hours ago, but also it had been millennia.

Nadia may have lost her family already but she had also left a lot of friends behind. Turning to look at him, Nadia's eyes were a blood red, a huge contrast to her pale white skin and grey hair. Starring at the blade in his hand she turned to face him.

A solemn look appeared in Mace's eyes as he looked at her form. Even though she was enraged she had entered an almost perfect stance for Niman. Slipping into Form 3 himself, or Soresu, he was ready for an attack.

He didn't have to wait long as the force gathered around Nadia and she sprinted forwards. Mace's eyes sharpened as he readied his blade and reflected the first slash she sent. Unperturbed by the block she rebounded and came back with another upwards slash.

Mace shook his head as he watch the predictable attack, in her anger she had grown sloppy. Repelling that slash, she turned around trying to raise her leg for a kick, which was nimbly dodged. Just as her back was to him, Mace's hand came out and slammed into her.

The force of the blow sent her to the ground as she rolled to get back to her feet. Mace didn't move forwards and only put one foot forwards, waiting for another attack.

Nadia shook her head as she got back to her feet, she wanted to reach for her back to feel where she had been hit, but stopped herself, she couldn't show weakness in front of 'him'. Nadia's hair was long, resting just below her shoulders, as she didn't have it up in a ponytail, which she usually did when fighting, it cascaded in front of her face, shrouding her eyes.

"How pathetic." The smooth whispered out making Nadia's body freeze. She hated being weak, she hated not being able to do anything for her people when they needed her most. She had trained hard, turned to the dark side, increased her power manifold since the days she had been a young impressionable diplomat, but she was still being called weak!

The thought sent a new invigorated wave of anger through her as she thought of all that she left behind. Her planet was left behind, Her Friends left behind, Her everything gone! She couldn't control herself anymore.

"Ragh!"Eyes turned a deeper red she sprang forwards completely forgetting her lightsaber form, all her emotions running amuck. All Nadia wanted to do at that moment was to kill Mace. Deflecting every blow that was sent forwards, Mace was starting to get annoyed.

He had trained her better than that, she was supposed to tame her anger, unleash it like a beast, let it tear apart those she wanted, but now it was controlling her. She was even trying to kill him, he didn't mind that fact, it was just another part of being a sith.

But he couldn't let this continue. Blocking one final blow Mace swapped forms, going from Form 3 to Form 7, or Juyo. One of the most aggressive styles of combat it was especially useful for those of the dark side.

Slash, Parry, cut. The blade flashed out faster and faster as he started to imbue the force into his body. He became faster and quicker as Nadia grit her teeth in surprise and anger. She shouldn't have been surprised that he was overwhelming her, but she was too far gone.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack* The practice blades clashed over and over as Nadia was pushed back again and again. When she couldn't block a move it landed squarely on her body. Because the blades weren't sharp they let out dull thwacks as they impacted.

Nadia grit her teeth in pain as she tried to fight back but it was no use. It was 35 minutes later when the spar finally finished. *Haa* *Haa* Nadia gulped in air as she lay motionless on the floor. All over her body the beginning of bruises were starting to appear.

Mace looked down on her barely breaking a sweat. She looked up into his disappointed eyes and felt a deep well of shame spring up. Her eyes closed as she couldn't move her body as she thought back on the fight.

Assessing al the mistakes, the lapses in judgment, the poor performance, she knew that she had truly failed her master. Finally opening her eyes to look at him, a small amount of communication was done. Mace could tell she knew she had failed him and he would have to punish her for that, more training, disciplinary action, something would have to be done.

Nadia saw the look in his eyes and accepted whatever was to come, she would learn from this and become better, stronger, and faster. She would improve herself.

The small sparring session that occurred had taken her mind off the events and news she received. Her emotions had been vented and all she wanted to do was rest. She would look into what happened to her planet later.

Mace bent down as he picked her body up. Grabbing her he moved through the ship and placed her in the med bay, she would take a while to recover. Jaesa didn't say anything as they entered, but the look in her eyes when she looked at the bruises said everything.

She would interrogate Nadia later. Mace and Jaesa talked for a while before he left and moved towards his own quarters, he needed some of his own time to think about things.

*Hiss* The door to the room opened and Mace stopped for a second as he noticed the Togruta on the bed. With her armour laying off to the side and the sheets underneath her body Mace raised an eye brow for a second, before a calming smile came to his lips.

Moving over to stand in front of the bed he sat down next to Ashara. Her eyes looked at him as he moved closer taking off his own clothes. Once they were all off she wrapped her hands around his body. "The force works in mysterious ways." Her subdued voice spoke out as he reached up to grab her hand, turning towards her.

Not saying a word he leaned down and kissed her. He could feel the emotions that were raging through her heart, uncertainty and anger. With his touch they died down. He whispered to her gently "I am here with you. You don't have to worry."Hearing those words Ashara's racing heart beat calmed down and a dazzling smile coming to her lips.

Just as she was raising her body going in for another kiss. *Beep* *Hiss* The door chimed and opened. *Cough* Taking a peek over his shoulder Mace made out the figure of Vette standing in the door way. She had a teasing smirk on her face as she looked at the two people on the bed.

Giving a small wave to Ashara, who could just see her, she gave her message. "The tracker just started transmitting. They're already in hyper space. They don't look like they're going to Coruscant though, they've veered off in a different direction. Something might be wrong."

'She seems to be better.' Mace thought that as he sat back up and mulled over the information, it didn't change their plan, the force wanted them to follow, so for now they would follow. Turning his full body to Vette he spoke. "Follow the tracker to wherever it goes. Inform us when they reach their destination. Make sure the cloak is working when you leave the atmosphere, I don't want the trade federation seeing us when we depart."

Vette gave a nod, still with a smirk on her face. "Ok then." Just as she was about to leave Ashara's voice spoke out. "If you want, get someone else to watch the signal, you can always join us~" Vette gave a full blow laugh as she exited the room.*Hiss*

Ashara and Vette had been getting closer over the years, their personalities meshing in more ways than one, making them the best of friends. Mace gave a small shake of the head as he turned back to Ashara. It wouldn't have been the first time that Vette had joined them, but for now he would focus just on her.


(Naboo Royal Starship)

(Ayillh PoV)

Standing to the side of the small ceremony in front of me I leaned against the wall. I personally wasn't one to be so lax and laid back in such a situation, especially when I was being so disrespectful to everyone in the room.

It was never good to piss off everyone when infiltrating and creating a good impression, but I had a close friend who was a bounty hunter in his own right. The best in the galaxy actually. Right now though I was undercover as a bounty hunter, I had to act like one, I couldn't help the small smile on my face at the thought, I didn't mind it that much.

I kept my arms crossed and head tilted down as my eyes scanned the room. The fake queen, who I still didn't know the name of, was sitting on a throne already installed into the ship. It wasn't a coincidence that we boarded this ship; it was the queen's personal royal starship.

This fact gave it the slick design and the advanced systems and speed, but sadly it missed out on the weapons and practicality that would have been helpful in our current situation. Wearing a regal dress, she was facing both Jedi and her chief of security, Panaka, who had a small astromech droid next to him.

I was only slightly listening to the conversation for anything important as my eyes shifted over behind the fake queen. The real queen was of course behind her observing the scene, she wouldn't have been absent for the meeting.

I once again was thankful for the mask I wore, personally designed, no one could tell where my eyes were looking while also recording everything I saw, never know when that function would come in handy. It also had other functions that I had been able to fit into the small piece of technology, not one square of its mass was wasted.

While I was in a world of my own, the conversation continued as Panaka stood forwards. "An extremely well put together droid. It is without a doubt the reason we are still alive." The queen gave a nod of appreciation as I just caught the flicker of her eyes in my direction.

Like the rest of the people in the room, who were doing the same thing, everyone was still wary of my presence, something I would have to fix soon. The more comfortable they were with me the better. "It should be commended. Then… What is it's number?" Talking in a deep regal voice the queen continued.

Panaka stood forwards as he read the small droid identification tag. "R2-D2" Giving another nod the queen turned her full attention to the droid. "Thank you R2-D2." *Beep* *Boop* *Deet* The little blue droid beeped in what I would call excitement as the queen turned her head slightly.

"Padme, Clean this droid up as best you can. It deserves our gratitude." *Boop* *Deet* Beep*"Continue Captain." As the droid made some noise and Padme stepped forwards I smiled once again. I finally knew her name.

My eyes flickered to the fake queen for a second, she was trying to throw us off the fact Padme was the real queen. Making her clean a droid would be beneath what a queen should do. It might have actually worked, if I hadn't already made the connection, it just made my assumption more likely.

Next the Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn stepped forwards. Unlike his Padawan, that I could tell was very distrustful of me, I could tell this Jedi was just curios. It was easy to tell who the master and padawan were between the two.

And it was also clear that Obi-Wan wasn't knight material yet. "With your permission your highness, we are heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It is in a system far beyond the reach of the trade federation." Jinn spoke up as he tried to convince the queen to go o Tatooine.

'Conveniently not telling her the dangers the place contains.' Just as the thought passed through my head Panaka stood forwards, the queens safety at the forefront of his head. Ayillh appreciated such loyalty and conviction.

"I do not agree with the Jedi on this." Jinn shook his head."You must trust my judgment, your highness." Starring between the two, the fake queen didn't look to Padme for confirmation before nodding at the Jedi's words.

Something that was still disconcerting. This fake queen would take the word of a Jedi over her own security detail head, without further questions. The blind trust was something I had to get to the bottom of.

Giving the go ahead to land on Tatooine the queen finally turned her attention towards me. "Now for the last order of business." It was time I got them to trust me. Pushing with me back I came off the wall without a noise. The rest of them were also now looking towards me.

It was almost funny the positioning in the room. I was closer to the two Jedi and Panaka now stood closer to the fake queen, finally Padme was behind them right at the back of the room. They were very defensive and it was easy to tell.

I would have to take out everyone before making it to the real queen, well thought out. Though if I wanted, I could make it to her. That just made the smile on my face wider as I walked in front of the group.

Skirting past the Jedi I stood before the fake queen and waited for her to speak. After a few seconds and a look at Panaka she spoke up. "You were hired to make sure that my person is safe?" Giving a mock bow that was suitable for a bounty hunter my distorted voice came out, I could tell it slightly put them on edge.

"Yes I'm being paid a high price to make sure you don't die. Though I guess you could lose a limb or two and I would still get paid, they might dock a bit of my pay though." I spoke with classic dry humor getting the reaction I wanted. Panaka was already frowning and reflexively reached towards his blaster.

I turned my head to him at the action, making sure my voice held a little humor. "A joke captain, a joke." He grunted as his hand moved back. "Not a funny one." Giving a light chuckle myself the queen leaned forwards. "Can you tell me who hired you and what they want to achieve?"

I could feel the intense stares the Jedi were giving from behind me but didn't mind them. Shaking my head I gave a helpless posture. "Sorry, my client paid for discretion. Just know I mean you no harm, I just want my paycheck when this whole situation is resolved." The queen sat back in her throne as she started to think.

"How long will you be protecting the queen?" Jinn's voice spoke from behind and I turned to look at him; that was a rather good question. I was hoping they would gloss over that fact, and then I wouldn't have to come up with an answer. Looking back at the queen though, I knew I would have to give them something.

"Let's just say that this is a long term contract. He's paying me a ridiculous amount each day to make sure you're safe. I don't care how long it lasts, honestly the longer the better. So until I hear otherwise I'm following your entourage around."

The frown on her face told me all I needed to know, they still didn't trust me. Padme who was hidden behind the throne had a scrunched up face, she was trying to figure out what angle I was playing. Well it was about time I went for the pitch.

Before anyone else could speak up I slowly started to raise my hands. Panaka got into position in front of the queen ready for anything as I reached up for my mask. If I couldn't convince them with words, I would convince them with 'sincerity'.

Reaching just to the side of the mask, I pressed on a small pressure pad that released the mask from my face. It was installed with a finger print scanner in case someone else tried to pry it off. *Puff* A small sound escaped the mask at I pulled it from my face.

A smile that was almost a smirk came to my face as I noticed the surprised expressions of all those before me. Panaka almost had a slack jaw, probably didn't think I was so beautiful. Lowering the mask down to my hip I clipped it to my belt as I then took down my hood.

My black hair flourished out as I stood a little straighter. *Gasp* I could hear the gasp of one or two of the handmaidens behind them. Even the Jedi had moved over so they could get a clear view of my face. Jinn had an interested expression while Obi-wan had a dumbfounded look.

I winked his way making him blush a little and turn away from me. Everyone was still stunned from my unique look, not that I could blame them, it was hard to ever meet someone like me, not many races had purple skin.

Seeing that they weren't going to speak first I spoke up. "I promise you your highness, all I want to do is make sure you are safe. I'm getting paid quite well to make sure this happens. I won't make things difficult and stick close to you at all times. I'll just help you when you need it…" I threw another look at the Jedi to the side.

"Besides with 2 Jedi here this'll be an easy pay day." My voice rang out like a bell without the mask changing it. I would almost say that this surprised them more, especially from the looks of surprise I was getting.

Padme, the fake queen and Jinn were the first ones to break out of their surprise. The fake queen looked at me for a long while as I gave them my most sincere look. Finally after a few minutes she nodded her head. "We will gladly take your assistance."

I gave her a bow and a thankful smile. Having the queen's approval was enough for the people in the room, Panaka after seeing my real looks even looked less wary. Sometimes good looks were the best weapon I had.

Just as I pulled my hood back up, Jinn spoke. "I don't wish to be rude. But are you a Mirialan?" I decided not to put my mask back on to garner more trust as I turned my eyes towards him. Before I could respond Obi-Wan spoke up in surprise.

"A Mirialan? But master their skin color is usually green or yellow, maybe a lighter color. But I've never heard of one with purple skin." I felt my eyes roll at the young man's words. I had heard them all too often.

"Yes. My species do usually have such a skin color; I'm something of a rarity." Adding a bit more force and sarcasm in my words, Obi-Wan was surprised for a second before he gave an apologetic look, he realized how rude he had just been. Jinn who stood next to him shook his head at the padawan turning back to me. "I'm very sorry about my Padawans words. I hope we haven't offended you."

Being diplomatic I nodded my head in acceptance as I turned back to the fake queen. She and Padme were watching the conversation closely. "Thank you for your highness's trust, if that will be all, I would like to rest before we make it to Tatooine."

The queen gave me another nod as I made my way out of the room and headed towards the engine room. I had made that my make shift quarters on board. I was interested in the advances in hyperspace travel over the years.

Not much seems to have changed but they had been able to shrink the size of most components. If they could upgrade their tech for my Phantom, the engine efficiency would be enhanced by 15% by her calculations. Blizz would love to get his hands on some of this tech. It was a nice thought knowing that technology had progressed somewhat while they had been gone.

From what she had seen of the blaster, droids and holo net security, technology had regressed instead of advanced, this discovery gave her hope that there was something new that could enhance her performance and deadliness on the field. Though that was still to be seen.


(Naboo royal Starship, later)

(3rd Person)

Ayillh gave it a few minutes before she walked into the room. With a crafty look in her eyes she pressed the button at the side of the door. *Beep* *Hiss* The door slide open as Ayillh stalked into the room. She didn't make noise as she surveyed who was inside.

Quickly spotting her target, Padme crouched down cleaning R2-D2, she looked at the other person in the room. Still not having put her mask on, Ayillh had to control all her facial expression to make sure she gave nothing away, even though she wanted to show how much disgust she had towards the other person in the room.

Jar Jar Binks stood next to the queen as he spoke about something stupid. Ayillh didn't want to pay him any mind, She had run across the strange, dumb creature earlier when he waltzed into the engine room. After many stupid statements and seeing how clumsy he was, even Ayillh with her years of experience almost cracked and killed him on the spot.

She had met some of the most obnoxious, arrogant and sinister beings in the galaxy, but she had never met someone that could make her want to kill them so fast. It took all herself control to not pull one of her knives out and gut him right then and there.

After getting him out of the engine room thankfully he had not returned, or she might have given into her impulses. Not something that would have earned her their trust, seeing as the Jedi and queen seemed to like the stupid creature.

There was nothing she could do, but she hoped she could kill him at a later date. Plans had already started to appear in her head.

Padme looked up from what she was doing and stopped for a second as she watched the bounty hunter walk into the room. She hadn't given her name beforehand which meant everyone just referred to her as 'the bounty hunter' or as some of the pilots had been calling her 'the purple beauty or babe.' Though they made sure she wasn't around before saying that.

Padme's mind was still trying to figure out her angle. Even though she had no reason to question the bounty hunter, hell she was starting to trust her, something in the back of her mind made her stay weary.

Though she was weary she had to admit she was a beautiful woman. It had come as a huge surprise when she had voluntarily taken off her mask. It was expected that she wouldn't let them see her face, as they could identify her later. Most bounty hunters covered their faces if they wanted to stay anonymous.

Only the best would openly show who they were, announcing to the world that they were untouchable even if people knew what they looked like, or they were just stupid thugs. Sometimes it worked, seeing a famed bounty hunter coming after you like Aurra Sing would demoralize the person being hunted, or those that were hired to protect them.

Of course if everyone knew who you were, the law would always be after you on the more civilized planets. With piercing purple eyes and skin, the bounty hunter made her way closer. Jar Jar who she had just been talking to looked at the new comer and slowly stepped backwards.

There was a ting of fear in his voice as he quickly spoke to Padme. "Mesa have something to do. Mesa go this way. Yessss Mesa leavea nowsa."Saying that he almost sprinted out of the room. This reaction caused a small smile to form on Ayillh lips.

She may or may not have threatened him before when he was in the engine room, making him leave. After the encounter Jar Jar was deathly afraid of the beautiful looking woman. The purple eyes sending a shiver down his back.

Giving a small chuckle as she watched the Gungan leave Ayillh walked towards Padme and sat down at the small bench near her. 'May as well be diplomatic.'Thinking that Padme turned towards Ayillh who was inspecting one of her knives.

"I just wanted to say, thank you for looking after our queen. All of us handmaidens are deeply thankful." Ayillh looked at Padme before her and had to nod her head lightly. 'She's a good actor.' Waving off the comment she went back to her knife. "You don't have to thank me, I'm getting paid well to look after the queen. When I promise something, I don't break my promises."

Ayillh gave a smile as Padme looked up from what she was doing. "And I promise to keep the queen safe." Padme gave a nod as a smile came to her face. She was starting to trust the person before her. 'But I don't even know her name…'

"Sorry I don't think anyone has asked you your name, that was very disrespectful of us." Ayillh waved it off again as she looked at the girl in front of her and she really was a girl. She looked young even to her, though she could see the passion and determination in her eyes. 'If she had been born in the empire she would have made a wonderful operative.'

"You don't have to mind. The names Ayillh, I don't think you would have heard of me before." Padme shook her head as they started up a small conversation. Nothing personal or too abrasive, but the two became closer.

After a while though Padme got back to cleaning R2 and Ayillh went back to her knives. They both did their own thing for a while as Padme was now comfortable with the deadly woman sitting near her, pulling out knife after knife from all around her body.

Thinking that she had achieved what she had come to do after a while, Ayillh placed her last knife away and got to her feet starting one last conversation. "Can't be much fun cleaning a droid for so long." Padme looked up at Ayillh as she was about to leave.

She had a calm smile on as she responded. "Cleaning is one of the duties a handmaiden must accomplish. Her highness specifically asked me as well. Also…" Looking down at the droid a brighter smile appeared. "This droid saved everyone on the ship, he deserves such treatment."

Ayillh gave a laugh as she made her way to the door. "That he does…" *Beep* Giving one last look over her shoulder, the door opened. "He almost deserves the Queen personally cleaning him." At those words Padme froze.

Her head tilted slowly to look at Ayillh at the door. Her heart rate sped up as she caught sight of the knowing look in her eyes. With the hood up and at such a distance it was hard to see her mouth, but Padme was sure there was a knowing smirk on her lips.

Padme tried to control her expression but knew she was failing. 'She knows! She Knows!' The thought raced through her mind over and over as she started to slowly continue to wipe R2 down. Ayillh said nothing else as she walked out the door not even waiting for a response. The message she wanted to get across was delivered.

Hearing the door close Padme felt her shoulders slump. 'How did she find out?' Padme would ponder that question for the next hour.


(Tatooine)

(Naboo Royal Starship)

Obi-Wan looked up from where he was working as his master stepped into the room. "The hyperdrive generator is gone Master. We'll need a new one." Jinn stopped for a second as he shifted the cloak over his body. "That'll complicate things. Be wary,that dark disturbance in the force seems to be following us."

Moving his eyes to stare into the distance Jinn was lost in thought as he felt the force. "Not just that, there is another disturbance making its way towards us, something more…primal. "Obi-Wan looked at his master in worry as he replied. "I feel it also master."

Jinn nodded as he was planning to leave the room, but Obi-wan spoke up just before he left. "There was something else master, its about the bounty hunter. There is something weird about her, the way the force moves around her." His voice was unsure as he spoke his worries, something his master instantly picked up on.

Turning back to look at his padawan he reassured him. "I have felt it to, be careful around her. About the force…" Jinn stopped as he thought over his next words. "Mirialans usually have a strong connection to the force, which could be what we are feeling. But keep your guard up."

Saying those words Jinn moved out of the room and made his way to the landing ramp. Jar Jar was already waiting for him with R2 at his feet. "Ready to go Jar Jar?" The Gungan nodded his head excitedly as he moved the small bag on his shoulder. "Mesaaa So Excited!" Jinn just shook his head as he walked down the ramp and they made their way towards the closest settlement.

Just as Jinn was walking away from the ship Padme and her captain, Panaka, were closing in on the ramp. "Are you sure this is the best idea your highness?" Panaka spoke in a whisper just in case anyone heard, but his anxiety was clear.

Padme shook her head as she checked the gear she was taking out. Nothing too flashy and it would hide her identity well. She was excited to see the world they had landed on. She had been stuck on Naboo for so many years, she had never been to such a faraway place. To say that she wanted to see everything was an understatement.

"It'll be fine. They don't know it's me and the Jedi will be the best protection." Panaka wanted to protest again but he saw the determined glint in her eyes, he knew that he wasn't going to convince her otherwise.

Just as he had resigned himself to the inevitable a new presence made itself known. "You guys are also tagging along?" The synthesized voice spoke up from behind them, making Padme freeze and putting Panaka on edge. They both turned around in surprise as they looked at Ayillh behind them.

With her sniper rifle and armour on, the mask was once again on her face making a menacing appearance. "Y-Y-you are going with them as well." Padme stuttered the words from her surprise before calming herself down. But one thought ran through her mind multiple times. 'How long was she behind us! I didn't hear a thing!'

Ayillh turned her expressionless metal mask towards the Queen as her eyes bore into her. "Well I have some business to take care of here." Panaka raised an eyebrow at the news, not having heard this before. While Padme knew exactly why she was coming with her.

Seeing that his charge was getting a bit uncomfortable Panaka spoke up. "Are you not going to stay and protect the queen?" Ayillh turned her head to the man and brushed off the question, having thought of an answer before talking to them.

"She is being protected by a Jedi as well as your security forces. And I truly have to go out this time. While I'm at it I'll protect this handmaiden for the queen." Panaka didn't have to ponder much as hearing that Padme was going to get more protection was all he needed to know. Giving a nod the group walked out from the ship, ready to catch up to the Jedi master.

"The sun is doing murda to messa skin." Jinn and his group had only made it to the second sand dune when a voice spoke behind him. "Wait, wait."Walking closer, Panaka, Ayillh and Padme walked up to the group. Jar Jar seeing Ayillh shivered for a second and backed up a step or two.

Panaka spoke first as they got close. "Her highness commands you to take this handmaiden with you." Jinn shook his head, he didn't have time to look after someone else. "No more commands from her highness today captain, the space port isn't going to be pleasant. And what about her?"

Pointing to Ayillh who was standing next to the two, she turned to the Jedi and talked slowly. "I'll go anywhere I want. And I have a contract I need to finish here." Jinn raised a suspicious eyebrow at the words but didn't say anything else.

If he was going to say anything he didn't get a chance as Panaka cut in forcefully. "The queen wishes it, she's curious about the planet."Jinn thought about it for a little while as his eyes roamed the group. Landing on Ayillh last. 'It would be a good chance to learn more about this woman.' Leaving his eyes on her for a few more seconds he finally nodded his head. "This is not a good idea. Stay close to me Handmaiden."

As the group made their way out Panaka looked on with a worried look, the safety of his queen ever present in his mind.


(Tatooine Orbit)

(Phantom)

Vette watched as space returned to normal and they appeared above a planet she personally hated coming back to. 'God I hope I don't have to leave the ship, the sand always gets everywhere.' Vette began to steer the ship down, tracking the signal that was in the top left of her vision.

Seeing that they were getting close to their target she leaned forwards and flicked 2 switches activating the cloaking device that was newly installed. With some of the most advanced technology in the empire it had just been installed just weeks before the accident occurred.

Knowing that no scanners or eyes would be able to detect them she laid in a course. Pressing one of the buttons on the consol in front of her, the intercom activated and she heard the ruffle of sheets in the background.

"He love birds, we've arrived." The shuffling stopped on the other side of the mic as Vette stifled a giggle; it was always funny every time she interrupted him at times like this. It was only a few seconds later that she got her reply.

"We'll be up in a minute, inform everyone but Vaylin that we will be having a meeting in 10 minutes." Vette couldn't help the laugh that came out as she heard the slight annoyance in his voice. "You sure? We could give you guys another half an hour."

There was some shuffling on the other side, before Ashara's voice spoke up, tired and a bit sultry. "Yes we'll take that time." The other side of the intercom cut off as Vette broke out I laughter. Laughing for the next few minutes, she wiped a small tear from her eye as she landed the ship a good distance away from the tracker.

Standing up from the seat Vette made her way past the bedroom to gather everyone else. She would take her time though.


(Tatooine)

(Phantom, Meeting Room, 42 minutes later)

Mace and Ashara walked into the meeting room not saying a word to the looks everyone else was giving them. They were already used to such looks; Jaesa herself had a suggestive smile on her face. Mace gave her one glance before getting to business.

"This won't be a long meeting." Mace's eyes drifted to Nadia who was looking better than the last time he saw her, the Kolto had done wonders to the starting bruises, though the damage could still slightly be seen.

"We'll be waiting here until Ayillh gets in contact with us. While we wait Vette will try and hack into any holonet that is in range to gather information." Motioning to Vette for a second he continued. "I'm sure some of you would have felt it already, there is a dark presence closing in on the planet. A rival sith is after the queen for some reason. We will leave him alone for now. If he tries anything Ayillh can handle it."

The other around the table nodded their head at the words, even though some were sad they couldn't face a sith from a different era. Mace gave a small smile as he saw the looks of disappointment on their faces.

"However you might have also felt the other force presences on the planet. 2 other Jedi are here and they are close. I think we should test the new Jedi order, see if they are worthy of their titles." Jaesa, Xalek and Ashara gave smiles of confidence as they heard the words.

Not able to contain the battle lust building within her Jaesa spoke up first, her hand brushing against her lightsaber. "Love, Let me test the Jedi, I will see if they are strong or weak." Xalek wasn't far behind. "My Lord, I would appreciate crossing blades with Jedi from this Era." Nadia spoke last. "Master, let me redeem myself for my earlier failings!"

Ashara was the only one that didn't say anything; she sat quietly in her seat. Mace looked at the 3 people ready to battle and shook his head. "You've already had your fun back on Naboo, I will send Vette and Ashara to confront them." Turning to look at the 2 woman, Ashara gave a nod while Vette cringed.

"Do I have to?" Vette's voice whined out as she thought of the amount of sand that was going to clog up her gear. Mace as if reading her mind gave a brilliant smile back. "Yes." Vette slumped to the table as if all the energy was drained out of her.

The others in the room let out sighs of disappointment but didn't question the decision. Seeing that everything was settled mace finished the meeting. "That will be all. Prepare your gear just in case, but don't expect any combat on this mission."

Jaesa let out a sigh as she helped Nadia leave the room, While Xalek, Vette and Ashara went to do their own thing. Mace was about to follow them when Blizz walked up to him. He hadn't said anything throughout the briefing.

"Blizz want to talk to you." Mace raised an eyebrow, before he sat back down. "I'm all ears." Blizz sat up on his own chair which almost looked funny because of his small stature. With a serious expression that Mace didn't usually see, Blizz spoke up.

"Blizz want to go speak with his people, see how world has changed. Blizz want to know history. Blizz want information." A light of understanding passed through Mace's eyes for a second, he didn't mind at all that Blizz wanted to go talk with other Jawas; Tatooine was a perfect place for him to do such a thing.

It would also help him come to terms with what happened and relax. Giving a small smile to the Jawa Mace nodded. "Of course Blizz, you can head out with Ashara and Vette when they leave." Blizz nodded as he got down from his chair. "Blizz thank big sith. Blizz won't take long. Blizz promise."

Saying that he scurried out of the meeting room, Mace watching slightly amused.


(Mos Eisley)

Jinn's group walked into town after covering a few kilometers of sand. Padme had just asked him a question about why there were so many different species in one settlement. Jinn gave the naive Queen a sidelong look before he explained. "Spaceports like these ones are havens for those who don't want to be found." Padme nodded in understanding. "Like us." She said it in a whisper, starting to understand what she was about to walk into.

Ayillh trailed behind the group, begrudgingly tolerating the presence of Jar Jar next to her. As he stepped in a pile of some animals' excrement next to her, she could only roll her eyes and continue to scan the area for threats.

Unlike Padme who was curious about everything around her, Ayillh had been to many places similar and worse than this, Mos Eisley Spaceport. She was keeping an eye out for any unwanted attention, with the added bonus of it distracting her from the buffoon besides her.

Stopping for a few seconds Jinn felt the force around him and scanned the area he was in, nodding towards a certain direction he spoke to the group. "Let's try one of the smaller depots." But before the group got going Ayillh had to speak up. "Wait a minute there Jedi, do you have any credits to pay for the stuff?"

Ayillh was generally curios, it was a well-known fact that hutts only cared about credits, Tatooine being directly controlled by them was the same. For the mission Ayillh had left any spare credits she had back on the Phantom and had no way to get to them. She couldn't bail them out if they didn't have enough.

'But the Jedi wouldn't be so ignorant as to not know this?' Or that's what Ayillh hoped. Jinn turned back to look at the bounty hunter as he considered her words, of course he brought money. "I've got republic credits." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Ayillh had her hand to her mask. The sheer tiredness that overcame her at that moment was something she didn't come across a lot.

In a tone that somehow managed to get through her voice synthesizer as exasperated, she asked directly as if talking to an idiot. "You know they don't take those credits on a planet like this…Right?" Jinn stopped for a second as that piece of information hadn't actually passed his mind, with everything that was going on he hadn't thought about the difference.

His mind raced for a few seconds as he thought over his options. In the end he figured that either way one of the traders would be willing to take republic credits, or he could use some more…unsavory methods. Though he never liked using a mind trick to coerce people, at an urgent time like this it was necessary.

"Don't worry I have a backup plan." Ayillh just rolled her eyes as the group moved off again. Under her breath she couldn't help her sarcasm. "Riiiight."

It didn't take them long before they were at their first shop. The sign, written in galactic basic, told all who owned the shop. "Watto" Walking into the shop, parts and droids littered the area as a blue alien with large wings, a short neck and ragged teeth sat at the counter

Ayillh stayed at the back of the group as Jinn started to talk to the Toydarian. One race that Ayillh had met before, they had one of the rare physiologies that could naturally resist a force persuasion. Some of the most powerful Jedi and Sith had tried but it didn't work on them, something that Ayillh had found interest in many years ago.

She watched as Jinn led the Toydarian outside and hoped that the master knew such a basic fact. Was she hoping for too much?

Just as the two walked out the door a young boy ran into the room and hopped up onto the front desk, Jar Jar was doing something in the other room that Ayillh couldn't be bothered noticing. Stopping everything that she was doing Ayillh starred at the boy.

He was young, maybe about 9-10 years old. With short cut brown hair, blue eyes and chubby cheeks, he looked like any other kid you could find on multiple planets.

But something drew her attention towards the boy, something in the back of her head made her stare at the boy as he sat there cleaning something in his hands. Anakin looked up from what he was doing as he felt the penetrating gaze being sent his way.

Looking at the masked individual staring right at him, he could feel a slight shiver crawl down his spine. There was something about the mask she wore that set him on edge. Having lived on Tatooine all his life he was no stranger to Bounty hunters, pirates and traders. But there was something different about the person before him, something that told Anakin she was dangerous.

They stared at each other for a short while before Anakin's attention was taken away by Padme. His eyes couldn't help but travel to the beautiful woman that was standing in his shop also looking at him. He could feel his cheeks turn slightly red from her gaze.

He shook his head for a second as he got back to cleaning and fixing the small rotor in his hands. But his mind wouldn't leave the person so close by, he hadn't even realized that by that point he was blatantly staring at her. He couldn't help himself as he looked up at her.

"Are you an angle?" Padme looked at the small boy in surprise, checking to make sure she had heard right. "What?" The small sound of Ayillh covering a snort could just be heard behind the two. Not even registering the noise Anakin's eyes only held Padme. "An angle. I heard that deep space pirates talk about them. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Iago I think"

Ayillh shook her head at the boys words he was clearly infatuated with Padme. Padme herself felt flattered by his words as she moved a bit closer, a smile clearly on her face. "You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much."

Anakin felt happy as she moved in closer and couldn't help but brag a bit. "I listen to all the traders and star pilots that come through here. I'm a pilot you know. And some day I'm going to fly away from this rock." He tried not to show off too much though and got back to his cleaning. "You're a pilot?" Padme was generally surprised from his words.

'How could he be a pilot at such a young age?' She didn't say it out loud but she was impressed. Ayillh who was still watching the two shook her head. She had been to too many places in the galaxy, she knew a slave when she saw one, and that was clearly what Anakin was.

If he was an actual pilot he wouldn't be working in such a rundown shop, especially not with that Toydarian that looked like a banthas ass. Hell every second person you see on Tatooine was likely to be a slave, bounty hunter or slimo schutta.

"MMmhhmm. All my life" Anakin replied tersely. "How long have you been here?" Anakin had to think about the question for a few seconds before he responded. "Since I was very little. 3 I think? My mom and I were sold to Gardola the Hutt. But she lost us betting on the pod races." Ayillh felt a sense of disgust rise up as she heard a hutts name but kept down her hatred.

Padme was shocked by the new piece of information. "You're a slave?" Anakin looked at her for a second, the words his most hated nightmare. Gritting his teeth in anger he replied abruptly. "I'm a person and my name is Anakin."

Padme was taken aback for a second at the harshness with which Anakin replied, but realized that she had maybe said the rudest and most hurtful thing she could have said to the boy. "I'm sorry. I don't fully understand. This is a strange place to me." Padme could just hear the small mutter that came from Ayillh behind her. "What a pampered princess. She knows nothing of the real world."

Padme clenched her fists in regret and anger but didn't say anything. 'Ayillh is right' She had been on her home world of Naboo for so long that she didn't know much general knowledge, or how to interact with even the boy in front of her, someone not from the republic.

Before she could dwell on the matter though, a loud crash came from the side. *Bang* Everyone in the room turned their attention towards an activated droid and an annoying Gungan that was trying to stop it.

"Urgh* Ayillh's groan was drown out by the noise the two created. With help from Anakin it wasn't long before the droid was once again deactivated and Jinn walked through the door, a frown on his face. "We're leaving."

Saying nothing else he went right for the door and left. Ayillh and Jar Jar followed him out as Padme held back for but a second. "I was glad to have met you Anakin." Sad to see her leave Anakin shouted to her departing back. "I was glad to meet you to."


(Mos Eisley)

(Later)

"I'm sure another solution will present itself." Closing the link to his holocomm Jinn turned to Ayillh. "Do you have any credits that you could spare?" Ayillh shook her head. "No I traveled light for my contract all my credits were on my ship.I would need access to one of my security caches, I don't have any close by at the minute, you'll have to figure something else out."

Jinn shook his head in disappointment but said nothing else, the force would guide him. As they walked down the street looking for another place to find their parts Jar Jar lagged behind the group. Ayillh walked up besides Jinn as he gave her a side long glance.

Ayillh could feel herself smiling as she spoke to the Jedi Master. "You didn't try and mind trick the Toydarian did you?" Jinn stopped for a moment in shock before he continued forwards. *Cough* Coughing in his hand for a second he looked at the bounty hunter beside him and could feel the smile beneath the mask.

"I may have tried once or twice. It didn't work." Ayillh gave a laugh as they continued. "I can't believe you tried to mind trick a Toydarian, all Jedi should know that they are immune." Padme quietly listened to their conversation as Jinn's eyebrows furrowed.

This was the first time that he had heard this fact. He was annoyed, as well as surprised that Watto had been able to resist his mind trick. But Ayillh had been acting like it should have been common knowledge, knowledge that he should have known.

Looking at the still laughing Ayillh he asked with a quirked eyebrow. "How did you know that a mind trick wouldn't work? I have never heard of Toydarians having an immunity." It was time for Ayillh to stop at the words. She realized her blunder as she looked at the Jedi next to her.

She had been using the old Jedi as a comparison for knowledge and skill to the master beside her. 'It seems that the Jedi no longer know about this fact' Her eye cast down for a second as she began walking again. She would have to cover up this mistake.

"A Jedi told me the last time I met one." Jinn's interest was piqued. "A Jedi told you. When did you meet them?"Ayillh kept her cool. "I ran into them 8 months back on Quesh. No I won't tell you about the details, and no I didn't catch his name. We helped each other for a short while and got to talking."

Jinn held the question he was about to ask and began to think over this new information. He had no information of a Jedi going to Quesh in a long time. Though it could have been one of the Jedi undercover missions that were performed every now and then.

When he returned to the temple he would have to look into it further. If she had met a Jedi before he would be able to glean more information about this mysterious bounty hunter that had helped them. As he was lost in thought he was brought back to reality as a commotion started behind them.

Ayillh hid a smile as she watched Jar Jar get forced to the ground and couldn't help the sad sigh that came out as he was saved by a young Anakin. Shaking her head in disappointment the group moved over to the young boy and Gungan.

What, Ayillh or as a matter of fact anyone else in the group, didn't realize was that 30 meters from them on the other side of a street, right next to an alleyway, there were two figures starring at them.

Both cloaked in brown cloaks covering their faces and parts of their body, they stared intently at the group. One was a man and the other was a woman. It was the man that was staring intently at the group while the Woman was only copying her master.

From under the hood it could just be seen the brown eyes and shaggy black hair that it hid. Across the man's face could be seen a yellow tattoo that went from one cheek to the other, going right over his nose.

His huge arms bulged from under the cloak intimidating anyone that might have nefarious thoughts. A frown was on the tanned man's face as he looked right at Qui-Gon Jinn.

Quinlan Vos looked at his fellow Jedi master and began to contemplate what he was doing on Tatooine. He and his Padawan had been on a mission for the last month to track down a slave trafficking gang that had set up shop in the Hutt territory.

They had taken a few people from republic worlds and the Jedi had been tasked with stopping them. They had found the warehouse where they were storing them and were just days away from disbanding the operation.

Looking at the group that was traveling with the Jedi master and noting that his Padawan Obi-Wan was not with him, he came to the conclusion that he was on his own mission from the temple. He got a funny feeling from the Woman decked out in gear and facing away from him, a feeling that he didn't like.

He looked at her for a few seconds before returning to the Jedi Master. He wondered if he should go over and talk to his old friend but in the end decided that he shouldn't disturb them. They had their own mission that they were about to finish and Jinn had his too.

They could handle some slavers and it was possible that Jinn himself was undercover or incognito. It was better to leave him alone. Sensing the dark presence that was slowly making its way to Tatooine Vos decided that it was better for him and his padawan to complete what was assigned to them.

Lost in his head, he was drawn out as he heard the soft voice of his padawan besides him. "Master?" The two were close enough that she didn't have to say anything else for him to understand. She actually treated him more like a father after spending so many years under his care, something she knew did not fit with the Jedi code, but she didn't care.

Blue skin peeked out from the person next to him. Two Lekku peeked out the back of her head marking her as a Twi'lek. A leather head piece wrapped her head and crisscrossed its way down her lekku. Aayla Secura's Hazel eyes starred up at her master as he turned to look back at her.

The two were getting a few looks from those around just because of the fact that Aayla was a Twi'lek, as the most prolific and sort after slave race in the galaxy many of the denizens of Tatooine eye balled the young padawan.

Shifting the cloak around her to hide her identity better she waited for Vos's decision. Vos gave one last look at the group that was moving off, led by the young boy, before moving in a different direction. "We have a mission to accomplish."

Aayla gave a single nod as she sent one last look at the group as well. Done with that she brushed her hand against the lightsaber strapped to her waist, it gave her a sense of comfort as the force whisper that something dark was coming for herself and her master.


(Skywalker Home)

*Rattle* The door slammed shut behind them as the group piled into the home. The sand storm outside whistled in the air and drowned out any noise outside. A few sighs of relief escaped from the group as they moved in.

A woman walked into the room shocked as she stared at the group of strangers. With black hair tied up in a bun, wrinkles caused by years of stress and calluses oh her hands from hard work, Shim Skywalker was shocked to see the group in front of her.

Jin stepped forwards as the group leader as Anakin walked off into another room, pulling Padme with him. "Hello, your son was kind enough to offer us shelter from the storm outside. My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, this is Padme, R2 and Ayillh."

As those two began to talk to each other and Jar Jr was distracted by something else Ayillh slowly walked to a quiet area of the house. Finding an unoccupied room, that wasn't one of the bedrooms. Making sure that no one was around she reached for her belt and pulled out the small holocomm she kept tucked inside.

There was a small scrambler on the side which she activated before sending the signal. *Beep Beep* *Beep Beep* After a few seconds the other side connected and a small image of Mace appeared before her. Decked out in his full gear, with his mask on, he said nothing as he waited for her report.

In the next few minutes Ayillh spoke of everything that happened, also giving her personal opinion on each of the Jedi, handmaidens, Padme and Anakin. Taking a slight interest in the mention of the boy, Anakin, Mace thought over the information before he replied.

"I will be sending out Blizz, Ashara and Vette 2 days from now on a different mission, there are two more Jedi close by." Ayillh cocked her eyebrow at the information."Do you want me to do anything?" Mace shook his head. "No continue the mission to protect the queen. Add the boy as a second priority target, something about him was drawn to your group. If any opportunities arise in our favor utilize them" Ayillh gave a slow bow as the Holocomm turned itself off. Not wasting any more time Ayillh moved back to the group before they got suspicious.

"…Any attempt to escape and they blow you up! Boom!" Anakin spoke with a surprisingly chipper tone as he described what would happen to him as a slave. Padme was shocked once again hearing his words. "I can't believe there is still slavery in the galaxy. The republics anti-slavery laws..."

Just as Shmi was about to interrupt her; Ayillh stepped in first. "The republic can't enforce law to the whole galaxy, why do you think that places like Tatooine exists? It's because there are powerful people, clans, origination's, worlds, all that can cause trouble for the republic whenever they want."

Padme turned towards Ayillh her eyes widening. "They don't have any rights out here; the hutts control this space, and trust me they would sell their own grandmother if it made them a profit." Shmi looked at Ayillh who was sitting at the table. She hadn't taken her mask off, wasn't eating anything and was talking in a synthesized voice that slightly disturbed her.

Though Shmi was experienced, she had lived on Tatooine for a long time; she had met all kinds of people before Anakin was born. She knew a bounty hunter when she saw one; of course she would know the truth of the planet they were on.

Padme was still trying to process Ayillh words as Shmi turned to her. "Your friend is right. The republic doesn't exist out here." Padme looked as if she couldn't believe the words as she looked at Jar Jar and Jinn. They didn't say a word acknowledging the hard truth.

An awkward silence filled the room for a while before Anakin spoke up, distracting Padme's thoughts. "Has anyone ever seen a pod race?" Jinn looked at the boy, praising his tact as he replied. "There is pod racing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous."

Anakin looked excited as he got another chance to brag in front of Padme. "I'm the only human that can do it." A small knowing smile came to Jinn's face as he looked at the boy. "You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods." And as if to prove a point he caught the tongue of Jar Jar that had been annoying everyone at the table. "Don't do that again."

Jar Jar gave a weak nod at the forceful words. Ayillh ears picked up as she stared at the Jedi master. A small idea of what he was implying. "You're a Jedi knight, aren't you?" Ayillh had to give the kid credit, he wasn't the usually type of stupid, he recognized that Jinn was a Jedi, most likely the only time he could have confirmed this was when Jinn paid an old woman for some fruit. His lightsaber had been shown for a few seconds.

Jinn gave another smile. "What makes you think that?" Anakin had a small smug look. "I saw your laser sword. Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon." Ayillh snorted a bit at the terminology, finding the new name hilarious. 'I'll have to remember that one.'

For a second Ayillh also wanted to interject that Sith also use the weapon, but thought better of it. She still wasn't sure what stories about sith were circulating, if she provided too much personal knowledge about Sith Jinn would get suspicious.

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him." Anakin shook his head at the words as if they were outlandish. "I don't think so; no one can kill a Jedi." This time Ayillh had to laugh out loud, causing everyone to stare at her.

But she really couldn't help it. 'No one can kill a Jedi?' How stupid was that, she herself had taken down many in her time. Seeing everyone staring at her, who still had her mask on. She waved her hand as her distorted voice came out.

"Sorry I was thinking of a joke that someone told me in a bar last week. It just got it now and I couldn't resist laughing." Jinn starred at her with a penetrating stare completely not trusting her words. The way that she laughed had sent a shiver down his spine. The presence of Ayillh had changed in that one second and he didn't like what he felt.

Jin turned away from Ayillh to answer Anakin. "I wish that were so" The conversation continued as the reason for why they came to the planet somehow slipped out. Ayillh couldn't believe that he was just telling a random mother and son what their mission was.

If something like that had happened in imperial intelligence the person who let the information slip would be taken care of, and the mother and son would have an accident in the next few hours as all their communications would be tracked and catalogued.

'Damn even the Jedi back in the day didn't give information out so freely.' Though it did work out in the end. For some reason it was decided that Anakin would race in the 'Boonta Eve' classic that was being held in 2 days.

He had a pod racer that would help win enough money to buy the parts they needed. Ayillh was skeptical about the whole plan. For one why was the young boy racing was a good question, she was sure that Qui-Gon with his own Jedi reflexes should be able to race in his steed, even though Anakin would have the home ground knowledge.

For now Ayillh would go along with her plan, but she was thinking of a few other options should the plan fall through. She always got her mission done, no matter the cost.


(Skywalker House.)

(Night)

Ayillh kept her breath quiet as she stayed flat against the wall. She minimized her presence as she listened to the conversation happening outside.

Jinn sat on a small out cove looking out into the desert as he spoke to his Padawan. He had just taken a blood sample from young Anakin when Ayillh had walked in to the scene. "He has more than 20 thousand midi-chlorians" Jinn became shocked at the news as he started to describe how the current grand master of the order, Yoda, didn't even have that many.

Filing the new information away, Ayillh correlated the knowledge of midi-chlorians and the presence of the force as bullshit. She had never heard of a midi-chlorian. She was trained by sith intelligence, if they knew about a way to measure force powers they would have found it.

Other than that fact she had been around Mace and other sith and Jedi for a very long time, she would have heard if they had a scientific way to test if a person had the force and their potential. Instead they used rituals and premonitions to tell them how powerful someone was.

And the biggest factor telling her that midi-chlorians didn't matter was the fact she had seen multiple Jedi go from nothing to some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. If Mace had been restricted from birth he would have never been able to overcome the odds and increase his powers in the force.

Coming to that logical conclusion Ayillh once again labeled the Jedi of this new era as idiots. 'Though this information will be useful to him.' Sending one last glance at the Jedi outside Ayillh moved back into the house. Jinn didn't realize he had an audience, or that he was labeled as an idiot.


(Tatooine, Desert)

Darth Maul stepped down the landing ramp as he stepped out into the humid temperature of the desert. Even though it was night the temperature didn't drop to a freezing degree. Not minding his surroundings he moved away from the ship and began to scan the area.

He had narrowed down the planet that the Queen had escaped to and he could feel the presence of Jedi nearby, but there were 3 spaceports nearby. Giving each of them a once over he reached down to the small pad on his hand and ordered the probe droids to go and do some reconnaissance.

Watching them as they flew off in to the distance Maul began to think to himself. It wasn't just the presence of Jedi that he could feel on the planet, there was also that dark feeling. The feeling that had appeared a day ago.

He had never felt something like it before in his life; it eclipsed his master, darker than anything he had ever felt. It had even knocked him out while he was training. He had gotten in contact with his master after waking up but even he hadn't given him proper answers.

A primal side of his brain wanted to find the darkness, to prove that he was the stronger of the two but he had to follow his masters wishes. Though he was starting to believe that his master was hiding something from him.

He had always been told that there were no more sith in the galaxy, that it was only him and his master. But this new presence, it was sith that he was sure of. And with the way Sidious had dodged his questions, he was starting to doubt.

Starting to truly wonder if his master was the most powerful being in the galaxy, maybe he wasn't, maybe he was weak like the rest.

Maul started to smile to himself as he considered the possibility of there being someone stronger. He couldn't wait to meet them in battle. But for now, he had a queen to capture and Jedi to kill.


(Tatooine, Pod racer Pit area.)

(2 Days Later.)

Ayillh followed Jinn down to the area as he left earlier than the rest. He wanted to talk to the Toydarian before the race began. Ayillh was sure that he was up to something, but she couldn't tell what. Jar Jar was going to follow them as well, but after Ayillh joined he quietly waited with the others.

Walking into the area Ayillh surveyed the racers and guards that littered the area. Pod racing was a popular sport, they didn't want anything happening before the race started. Shooting a small look at the Dug, Sebulba, that was to be the biggest competition, she thought about quietly getting rid of him.

Before she set that plan in motion though they ran across Watto, watching intently as they got into a small betting deal, her eyes darted to the master as he accepted only freeing Anakin Skywalker. Watto may have said it was up to chance, but as she watched Ayillh easily noticed the small amount of force that was used to rig the odds.

Jinn wanted the boy and he wanted him bad. Mace showed an interest in just the mention of the boy and finally there was something that always drew her attention towards him. It was something that had never happened to her before.

As Watto scurried off after seeing the outcome a new plan started to form in Ayillh mind. She didn't care that Anakin was getting separated from his mother; she had seen it happen multiple times, hell the Jedi were the most prolific organization to ever take children from their parents.

At least in the sith empire children were allowed to visits and stay with their families if they wanted. Most of the families that bred sith were of the aristocrat class and amassed fortunes if their child became a lord of the sith.

But even if she didn't care, there was one person that would care and she could use that to her advantage. A small plan started to form in Ayillh's mind as they walked up to their arriving group. Ayillh's eyes shifted to Shmi for a second before they started to get ready.


(Tatooine, Mos Eisley, Hanger Bay 4)

Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura rushed forwards as they made their way to a specific spaceport. They cloaked their legs in the force making their journey faster. Quinlan grit his teeth in annoyance as they made their way closer.

There had been a tip off to the slaver ring they were going after. They had found out just an hours ago that 2 Jedi had been asking questions about them and the fact that they were also on Tatooine. Vos knew after their presence was leaked it wouldn't take the group long to ship every slave they had off planet.

They had narrowed down where everything was happening, they had even hired some bounty hunters to make sure no one got away. And now the whole plan had gone to shit. The streets were relatively empty as the Boonta eve classic was about to start.

The perfect time for a big trade and dump of slaves. Something which they were going to interrupt, but everything had been accelerated. Aayla kept up with her master as they finally made it to the right hanger bay.

Hired thugs and bounty hunters stood guard as they rushed towards the locked door. Not wasting any words they pulled out their blasters and started shooting. Both Jedi spent no time in activating their lightsabers and headed forwards. *Snap* *Hiss*

Blue and Green flashed to life as fire was reflected back. Their progress was stalled and they didn't have the time. Vos felt his rage spike as he calmed himself down. They had spent too long on this mission for it to end like this.

Gritting his teeth the duo moved ahead.


(Tatooine, Mos Eisley, Close to Hanger Bay 4)

(Ashara PoV)

I walked steadily down the main road, Vette walking with me. The streets were empty as some type of Pod race, a popular sport, was currently taking place. I didn't mind the quiet; it was nice knowing that we weren't being starred at by everyone we passed.

I had been to Tatooine before, it wasn't a good experience. "I told you the sand would get everywhere I can already feel it in my shoes! How is that possible?!" Vette moaned in pain next to me as she shifted her feet in annoyance.

I had my hands behind my head relaxing as I heard her words. Giving out a small snicker of amusement I turned to her. "I don't know, I'm doing just fine. Maybe you're cursed?" Vette shot me an agonized look before huffing and stomping forwards. Just as she made it a few meters ahead though I spoke up.

"This way. I can feel them this way." Vette sent a peek over her shoulder as I moved to the left. Letting out an irritated sigh she corrected course to match me. Just as she stood next to me though, I moved back towards our original path. "Sorry I must have sensed wrong."

Vette stopped dead in her tracks as her mouth gaped open. Seeing the small smile I sent her way as I moved past, she threw her hands up in defeat. "Of for the love of…! Hey get back here!"

Catching up with me once again Vette punch my shoulder lightheartedly. "Meanie." Giving me her best pouting face I could only laugh louder. These type of antics happened many times as we closed in on a specific hanger Bay.

As we got closer I felt the need to ask. "Where do you think Blizz is going?" Vette looked at me before looking into the distance. Letting out a sigh she gave me her thoughts. "He's going to calm down. To be with his people, something familiar, we all need something like that right now."

I sent Vette a worried look; she looked so downtrodden it prickled my heart seeing one of my closest friends, family even, like this. Placing a hand on her shoulder as I moved closer I spoke gently. "You know I'm always here for you. Your big beautiful sister." Vette muttered under her breath. "Ohh you're big alright."

My hand gripped a bit tighter onto her shoulder and the slight groan of metal rang out. "What was that?" I think my voice had dropped a few degrees. Vette gave me a strained smile as she looked up. "N-nothing." I nodded in acceptance. "That what I thought."

My grip weakened on her shoulder after a few seconds though, she still looked a bit down. "I mean it Vette, I'm here for you." Vette looked back at me and I wanted the love I felt for her to be conveyed. We had been close for so many years, she was my sister, I knew that. She let out a soft sign and nodded her head weakly after a while. "I-I-I'll talk to you when I'm ready." I nodded my head. "That's all I ask for."

Moving my hand off Vette's shoulder we both began walking forwards again, changing the subject as we went. "You should have just joined us on the trip to Tatooine. It blows off steam and relaxes you at the same time. I'm feeling so refreshed right now. And I was lonely without you~"

Vette just rolled her eyes at me. There was only one person that could out banter her, me. "Yeah, Yeah. I'll join you next time." Turning around on a dime, I walked up and clasped both of Vette's hands in front of her.

With a bright smile on my face I leaned in and hugged her, like a giddy child. "It's a promise then!" Vette was used to this by now and said nothing else as we went forwards, though I did get a good chuckle in my mind. We had arrived at their destination anyway.

Before us was an entrance to the hanger. On the ground the dead bodies of thugs and bounty hunters littered the ground. In front a door had been sliced open and was laying flat on the ground.

Stepping forwards I looked at the cut marks on the door. "Do you feel them?" I asked without turning around, Vette closed her eyes for a second and began to feel around. This was all new to her, but it was now part of her training.

After a while she finally replied to me "Yes I can." I gave a nod as we walked into the dark corridor. "Your training has been paying off. We will have to move on to the more advanced stuff soon." Vette gave a nod as we waltz in.

Blaster marks scarred the corridor, bodies littered the ground. Every now and then there was an indent in the wall from where a lightsaber had passed. Looking at most of the thugs on the ground both of us felt nothing.

Continuing our journey into the space port, going from one area to the next, at some point Vette had moved to the front. It would have been faster for me to find them, but I let her do as she pleased.

We only took two wrong turns before finally finding what we were looking for. I could feel them on the other side of the door and now so could Vette. Just beyond them I could also feel a different group of people, whatever the Jedi were here for involved them. But I didn't have to care about that I only had one thing to do.

I gave Vette an appreciative nod as we stood before the door for a few seconds. We had talked on the way over Vette didn't really care if she got to fight or not. She was more of the relaxation and fun loving type. Mace wanted us to test the Jedi on the other side, so it was decided that unless I wanted or needed help Vette would leave everything to me. Not that they would likely pay attention to Vette either way.

I gave a small smile as I pressed the button at the side of the door. This one hadn't been sliced apart meaning it worked perfectly. My senses were honed, ready for the fight that was coming. I could tell the Jedi had already felt my presence they were prepared on the other side of the door.

It would be a fun battle, I hoped. *Beep* *Hiss*


(Tatooine Spaceport, Hanger Bay 4 )

(Aayla Secura PoV)

*Snap* *Hiss* I deactivated my Lightsaber as the last slaver fell to the ground. No matter how many times I see it, it would always cause me to stop for a second. The moment when a battle ends and I realize that I have killed a person.

Most of the time we try and take them in without harm or death but fights are ever present. Especially on planets such as Tatooine. This wasn't the first time I had to kill when doing the greater good, when following the force.

Though the first time I killed someone it had really affected me, if Master hadn't been there for me at the time I don't want to think what might have happened. *Huff* *Huff* I hadn't broken a sweat dealing with all the people in the room. My master and I were like a well-oiled machine, helping and covering for each other at all times. They couldn't harm us even though they tried.

And it was when I felt my adrenaline cool down, when I started to attune myself with the force that I felt it. How hadn't I noticed it before?! My body whipped around as I looked at the door we came through, I could feel it, the darkness, the anger that was closing in.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as I felt the darkness of the force coming towards us. Master had already turned in the same direction, his lightsaber still ignited. It buzzed in the quiet room. I had faced dark Jedi before, more than I ever wanted, but something about the darkness coming towards us was different, it was more visceral, vicious.

The person's connection to the dark side was stronger than I have ever felt before. I was going to clip my hilt to my hip, but now I kept it up and ready for whatever was to come. I only peaked over my shoulder for a second as I felt the numerous people on the other side of the room.

We were just about to free the slaves as well; they always came at the worst time. I cleared my head of distraction as I prepared myself, but couldn't help but hear the thunder of my heart as noise finally made its way to my ears.

*Clack* *Clack* The clicking of boots sounded out from the other side of the door, as the stopped before the entrance to the area. We were in the main hanger; the ship they had been hoping to escape on had been grounded off to the side.

With quite a bit of room to move, they had been hoping to stop us with an ambush, using the crates and boxes of equipment as cover, it didn't help them in the end. We waited as the person on the other side of the door took their time. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Master was also tense, never a good sign.

Finally, mercifully, the door opened, as the quiet was starting to get to me. *Hiss* Sliding to the side, the brown door opened and in stepped two woman. My grip on the hilt in my hand tightened as the darkness that the one on the right projected engulfed me.

It was hard to breath under the pressure but I kept my cool and resisted with all I had. After a few seconds the feeling of oppression vanished and I let out a sigh of relief. "Aayla?" The worried voice of my master came from the side as I looked up.

He hadn't turned to me and kept his focus on the opponent in front of us. He was still standing strong after feeling that darkness cover us. I gritted my teeth as I starred at the two women again. "I'm alright master." He gave a small nod, not taking his eyes off the approaching two.

I assessed them now that they moved closer. One was a twi'lek that had red skin, one of the rarest skin colors in the galaxy for her kind. Donning an armored black duster coat that reached her ankles, it looked to have some padded in the shoulders. With an inner vest that hugged her body, one that I had never seen before, at her waist she had a belt that holstered her blaster pistols and other pouches that could have anything in them.

She wore a pair of black armored pants that fit perfectly with the silver and black boots she wore. On her hands she wore a pair of finger less gloves that just showed off the small ring around one of her ring fingers.

Something my eyes stopped on for a moment. She had an easy going expression something I hadn't been expecting. Other than that she also had a small smile on her lips that completely didn't match the tense atmosphere between us.

Next to her was the true threat though. Standing just taller than her twi'lek friend? Was a Togruta; Decked out in an armour I had also never seen before, that radiated the dark side, she covered it with a robe over the top. It was a black robe that held similarities to a Jedi robe, but had a back and red trimming instead of the usual light brown.

The hood was down show casing her Lekku and bright face. On her feet she wore metallic boots that fit perfectly and created a muffled click every time she took a step. Covering her hands were two metallic gloves that looked like they would provide a lot of free movement. 'No doubt for dueling.'

What truly caught my interest was the dark side that was gushing forth from her body and wrapping around us, as if testing us. My back went cold from the feeling and my eyes drifted to her belt. Clipped to it were two beautifully designed lightsabers.

My eyes sharpened as I looked at the hilts for a few seconds before looking back up. Like her companion, there was a small smile on her lips, the feeling of danger starting to settle in my gut just got worse.

As I mentally prepared myself the due stopped 10 meters away from us. The Dark Jedi hadn't even reached for their lightsaber yet, the arrogance. While I was starring at the Togruta, waiting for her to attack my eyes just caught the movement of the person beside her.

*Whistle* *Pew* *Bang* My head snapped to the twi'lek as I watched her slowly put her blaster away. She had been so fast! My apprehension shot through the roof as I only just caught what happened. 'I couldn't discount this twi'lek, she was dangerous.

"You missed one." The chipper voice came from her as I looked at where she was pointing her gun. *Puff* A body slumped to the ground with a blaster shot to the head, as I tried to ignore 2 facts. How she had seen a person hiding there when I hadn't felt them? And why is her voice so happy?

The tone she came out with implied that she was about to play a trick on someone, or prank them, it just wasn't natural for the situation. My eyes drifted between the two as the Twi'leks shoulders slumped. "Haa, I thought that would at least break the ice. They've been very quiet."

The dark Jedi broke the staring contest she had been having with Master as she heard the words. A smile tugging at her lips, she didn't act as if she were about to fight us. "Yeah Vette, I think they're a bit scarred of us." I didn't say anything; I was waiting for my master to speak.

The twi'lek called Vette seemed to take in her words before looking at us again. With a shake of her head she turned her back and walked back over to the door. We didn't stop her and just watched as she put her back to the wall and sat down.

Was this some kind of trick? As I was thinking this she spoke up from her spot, a bit of boredom already on her face. "Ok you can have your fun, just remember why we're here." I shifted my leg back in preparation to battle; a bigger grin had come to the dark siders face.

Her hand reached slowly down to her waist as she grabbed one of the two on her belt. *Snap Hiss* I ignited my lightsaber letting the blue light reflect of my face as my eyes sharpened. Even though her eyes had been focusing on Master, mostly since she walked into the room, once my lightsaber ignited she turned her eyes to me.

I held my breath as I looked at the glowing red eyes looking back, the clearest sign of dark side corruption; it was like her eyes were looking directly into my soul. I cloaked myself in the force but it didn't seem to help with the penetrating look I was getting. Just as her stare was starting to unnerve me, my master finally spoke up.

"Dark Jedi." His husky voice came out in a whisper but took all of her attention away from me. I let out the breath I had been holding and calmed myself down again, that had never happened before, never. Refocusing again it seems that my master's words had amused the woman.

She gave a small chuckle bringing her lightsaber up. "Dark Jedi? It has been a long times since I was a Padawan, before my master found me." A sorrowful look came to her face for a second before she grinned once again.

"No, I am Sith." We both froze at those words. She was a sith? A real sith? But they had been killed off millennia ago! No she must be lying! She was trying to get into our heads! I couldn't accept her words but she continued anyway.

"Darth Zavros, Lord of the sith at your service." The dark side rallied at her words as if celebrating, as if welcoming home an old friend. I felt it press down on me causing the suffocation that was present when she first walked in.

No it couldn't be possible! I tried to deny it, but in my heart the force was whispering that it was true. "The sith have returned?" The words came out of my mouth as the quietest whisper. I couldn't believe what I was saying, but I had to.

For the first time since she walked into the room, I could see that my master was shaken. I had a close connection to him, though he didn't react too much on the outside I knew that there were waves going off in his heart.

And it was as we were both unstable and reeling from her words that she ignited her lightsaber. *Snap* *Hiss* My heart and mind that had been rattled from her words calmed down in seconds, it wasn't natural how calm I felt.

I felt my connection to the force strengthen as I found solace in the calm that was being provided. My eyes widened in disbelief as I looked at the lightsaber in her hands. With a light blue, lighter than anything I had seen before, the blade looked like it turned white in the middle.

And it was the lightsaber that was calming me down! What?! I looked into the eyes that were illuminated from the blue light and the unmistakable red tint was still there. I looked to my master in confusion. He also had a look of confusion on his face.

The calming waves had helped him get back into his top shape once again. "Is that a Pontite Crystal?" it was a crystal I had never heard of before but his voice had turned grim. Zavros looked at her lightsaber as if savoring the color reflected in her eyes, a smile on her soft lips.

"Yes, so you aren't as stupid as I believed." Master bristled from the words, but it wasn't the words exactly, it was the confirmation of his thoughts, I felt his battle to fight flare and in the next second he jumped forwards.

*Shing* *Bizt* Their lightsabers clanged with power as he rushed in with an over head strike. Zavros seemed to block the attack with ease as they locked blades. I started to make my way closer, looking for an opening between the two.

Even from a distance I could hear my masters words to her. "You don't deserve that blade." She just laughed in his face as she forced him back. He leapt away with grace leaving the area of danger in seconds.

Landing close to me we both shared a look before going in. Master was good with form 7, and was the aggressor between us. I would attack from the side and focus on counter attacks and distraction as I was better at form 4 and 5.

Zavros seemed to love the fight as master rushed in once again, me right behind him. The two traded blows as she slipped into a defensive stance blocking all his slashes and thrusts. I tried to get in an attack, but every time she would move back keeping her attention on Master.

She was underestimating me! Backing off and going all the way around her I got to her back leaving her less room to maneuver. As she blocked a side slash from Master I went for a thrust from behind. Just as my blade was closing in on her it was like she had eyes in the back of her head, as she turned her body so fast I couldn't keep up.

Not bothering to counter me she spun narrowly dodging the blade and grabbing my outstretched hand. I tried to pull back as fast as I could, while master came in for a high strike. Yanking me forwards she kept spinning as she threw me towards my attacking master.

He stopped his blade at the last second and dodged my incoming form. As I was going past him I felt the force push sent into my back, sending me a few meters away. My feet were lifted off the ground as I fell and rolled over the ground.

I picked myself up fast though as I turned back to the fight and ran back. *Shing* Buzz* *Blitz* *Ting* They traded more blows as I got back to the side of my master. They had backed off from each other in preparation for the next bout.

I disregarded the cuts and numbness in my shoulder as I brought my lightsaber up. To my irritation I noted that she hadn't brought out her second lightsaber yet. Was she taking us seriously? At this point in time I would usually have my anger rise, but the calming nature of her blade was forcing me to think objectively.

What a powerful crystal. How can a dark side user stand to have such an effect on the blade? It just made no sense, for a sith that thrives in death and destruction to use a blade that calms them down. Unless their anger was so great that it didn't matter anymore. That was a sobering thought.

We both went in again as we utilized the force this time. I watched as my mater rushed forwards to engage as I once more moved to her back. But this time I cloaked the force around me and turned off my blade.

Cloaking myself in the force I crept forwards. Force cloak was one of the best abilities I had learned from master, it could shroud myself in the force basically making myself invisible. As the two clashed I sent a small look towards the twi'lek that was still sitting down by the door.

She seemed to almost be asleep as she sat there, but she hadn't told her companion what I was doing. I had to use this chance while I had it. Creeping closer and closer to her, a flash of recognition came to my masters eyes as he stepped his game up a notch.

They both increased their speed trading blow for blow, neither gaining the upper hand. He was distracting her for me. I made it within 1 meter of her as I slowly raised my lightsaber and moved my finger over the button.

A small sense of relief came over me as I began to press the button. But in the next instant I was on the ground. Just as I was beginning to press the button Zavros dodged one of my master's blows moving in close to his body.

Flicking her hand out she stuck his blade wrist causing him to drop his lightsaber. Before he could react she performed a spinning kick, with such precision that it was certain it wasn't the first time she had pulled it off. Stamping into his sternum with a force imbued kick his body flew backwards. It happened so fast that I barely caught up with them.

Using the momentum from the spin she crouched as she came back around. *Snap* *Hiss* My lightsaber ignited over her lekku as her foot stuck out sweeping me off my feet. I fell on my back but quickly rolled as the force screamed a warning in my ear.

*Crack* *Sizzle* The ground protested for a moment as a lightsaber was shoved right down to the hilt where my chest used to be. I looked up from where I was, right next to the blade, and could feel my labored breath.

Death had been so close to grabbing me. My lightsaber had dropped from my hand as I fell and I looked at it on the other side of her hand. My eyes flickered to hers as I could see the enjoyment she was having hidden in them.

She was having fun almost killing us! Toying with us!

I felt a tendril of fear grab at my heart as I looked into her red eyes but forced it down as I tried to get away. She straightened herself as I scrambled to get back to my feet. I wasn't fast enough though as I felt the force grasp my body.

I looked at her once again as she flung me across the room into one of the crates. *Bang* I crashed head first into one of the crates making me dizzy. I felt myself losing consciousness. No I can't go to sleep! Master needs me! If we don't defeat her we'll be dead!

I tried to rouse myself as my thoughts grew slower and slower. In my vision I could see my master as he pulled his lightsaber from the ground, bringing it back to his hand. That wasn't all; he also grabbed my lightsaber and ignited them both.

Blue and Green flared up as a light blue faced off against them. They clashed again and again as I started to lose focus. The last thing I saw was the sith disarming one of the lightsabers before her own was knocked from her hand.

Hope sprang into my chest as darkness claimed me.


(Mos Eisley, Hanger Bay 4)

(3rd person PoV)

As Aayla was knocked out, Vos spared a glance as his young padawan and grit his teeth. Clashing once again with Ashara they locked blades and starred at each other. Jutting her free hand out to hit him in the side. Vos winced from the hard blow and Aayla's hilt was knocked from his hand.

Not letting that deter him, he used the slight moment as her hand pulled back to moved in close and shoulder her in the chest. She hadn't been expecting the move but still had her lightsaber up to block the following strike.

Off balance her grip loosened as Vos capitalized on this and struck her inner elbow joint. Her hand jerked as it let go of the lightsaber. Ashara's eyes sharpened as she quickly kicked his leg causing him to grunt in pain.

His focus moved down for a second as she knocked the last hilt from his hands. They were both now unarmed as they started to trade blows. Both were masters in unarmed combat, knowing that they won't always have their lightsabers.

*Smack* Crack* Bang* Trading force enhanced blows Ashara finally got a blow into the side of Vos's face splitting his cheek open and forcing him to the ground. He had gotten a powerful palm strike into her body but her armour had absorbed the blow, using the opportunity Ashara knocked him down.

With his body on the ground Ashara finished the fight with a well placed boot to the face, knocking him out. *Puff* *Puff* She gulped in air as she looked down at the Jedi master before looking at the padawan also knocked out.

Vette got off the ground as she made her way over. Ashara hadn't broken too much a sweat, but she was slightly out of breath. 'He was good at dueling.' Ashara admitted this point in her mind, but rated them poorly.

'They didn't use enough of the force' Her usually fights with Jedi would utilize force blasts, pulls, jumps, speed. Everything under the sun was expected in a fight between the sith and Jedi, it was so common to her to fight with the force, seeing that they weren't trying to throw her body around or use the force to throw her body off was weird for her.

Although their dueling skills were good, their utilization of the force was lacking, something she would have to tell Mace. Her eyes turned to the downed padawan as she thought over the fight. 'Even her force cloak was sloppy.'

The best way to illustrate how tough the battle was; was the fact that Ashara didn't use her second lightsaber. It wasn't even necessary to fight them, one was enough. If she had gone all out she thought it would have taken her a quarter of the time to take them down.

'Not to mention the effects of just releasing my aura.' The smile that had been on her face settled down as she snapped her hand out towards her lightsaber hilt. *Shuffle* *Clasp* The hilt flew through the air as she grabbed it and re-clipped it to her belt.

Vette looked down at the downed Jedi master as well before they both got to work. Grabbing both of the unconscious Jedi, they moved their bodies over to a certain corner of the Hanger, leaving their lightsabers with them before leaving.

Mace didn't want the Jedi dead, he only wanted them tested for now. He also wanted them to send a message back to the council, the message that "The sith have returned". Looking at the two one more time they left the area. Leaving the slaves in the other room and locking the door to the hanger.

It would be a few hours before they woke up, and they didn't want anyone coming in before then. Vette and Ashara began talking about random subjects as they made their way back to the ship.


(Tatooine, Naboo Royal Cruiser.)

(Hours later.)

Ayillh stood at the bottom of the landing ramp thinking to herself. After their group had made it back to the ship with their new parts, they had started to immediately prepare to leave. Jinn had to go back to Mos Eisley one more time to pick up the boy before leaving.

Thoughts raced through her mind as she thought about the mother they were leaving behind. She had wanted to follow Jinn to see the reaction of the boy, but it wouldn't have made sense. She had told them that her extra contract had been completed during their little trip.

She had to stay on the ship and protect the queen, someone who she was starting to gain the trust of. She may have been unhappy about some of the comments she provided, but appreciated her unique insight and knowledge.

The reason that she was standing out on the landing ramp though was a different reason. Ayillh had seen Jinn when he went to get the boy, he had been in a rush. Ayillh knew that if he was in a rush it was for a reason. Quite possibly the sith that Mace had sensed was closing in.

Even she could feel as if something was coming closer. As she pondered over this feeling her eyes sharpened under hr mask. Something was moving closer and fast. Her mask zoomed in on the people that were rushing towards them.

Jinn and the boy were running towards the ship, she could just see them over the dune that was obscuring them. And that wasn't all, her mask also picked up the figure on the speeder closing in behind them.

It was easy to tell that they didn't have good intentions. Not wasting any time her imperial training kicked in as she reached for her belt and dropped a small device to the ground. She didn't have to press anything as a small red shield came up from the device.

It was a mini portable shield, perfect for cover when taking a shot. Getting down on one knee as she had done a million times, she easily reached for the rifle strapped to her back and rested it in front of her. She leaned down as she looked through the scope looking past the two running figures.

The boy was slower than Jinn who was slightly ahead, he also looked like he was tired, they had been running for a while. The brown speeder and man atop it were about to reach them. Ayillh brought in a half breath and let her heart rate calm as she aimed her shot.

It didn't even take a second before she fired. The speeder was about to reach the boy. *Pew* The red blaster bolt sped across the desert as it homed in on the approaching figure. I didn't just hit anywhere on the speeder either, it hit right on the energy coil.

Or where Ayillh assumed the energy coil would be. She had assessed the machine in those few Nano seconds and came to a decision. *Bang* The energy overload was instantaneous causing the speeder to blow into a ball of light and shrapnel.

Maul wasn't to be dissuaded and he wasn't that easy to kill. The force screamed a warning at him just before the shot was fired, and even though he didn't see it coming, he leapt from the bike as fast as he could.

One of his boots caught fire as he flew through the air, right over the boy, landing in front of Jinn. Jinn screamed something at the boy as both of them began to duel. Red and Green lights sprang to life and clashed together as they circled each other over and over.

Anakin rushed towards the ship as Ayillh stayed in her position and gave assistance. Aiming her rifle at his arms and legs, she began to slowly fire normal shot towards the sith. But unlucky for her Mauls instincts were a well-honed ability.

Every time a shot was fired Maul would leap backwards or dodge the attack. This was one of the Jedi and sith abilities that Ayillh personally hated. Not that she couldn't use different techniques to still kill the sith, she didn't have time or the want.

She didn't care if the Jedi master lived or died, she was just holding up her part. It would actually be worse for her to easily kill the sith before her. It would raise suspicion and alert the Jedi that she was too dangerous.

Her cover fire had helped Jinn though. Each time the sith had to disengage he got to have a breather. Something that was obvious needed for the man, even from the ship Ayillh could see that he wasn't in the best shape.

"Sloppy." Ayillh voice her thoughts as Anakin rushed by her and into the ship. From the urgency of the running she knew that Jinn had told him to do something. And that thought was proven correct as the ship began to lift from the ground.

Ayillh kept her balance as the ramp didn't close up on her. Taking one last glance at what she could tell was a sith Zabrak, she put her rifle back on her back and picked up her portable cover. She moved back a bit so that she wouldn't lose her balance and watched the continued fight as the ship drew closer.

Once they got close enough, Jinn knocked back Maul as he jumped onto the ramp. Ayillh grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him into the ship as the ramp closed and they started to leave the planet.

Jinn looked at Ayillh for a few seconds once he got on board, he was gasping for air, even though he had been helped during the fight, showing how unfit he truly was. "Thank you." That was all he said as he moved to sit down.

The rush of people sounded out as Anakin and Obi-wan ran into the room. Obi-wan sent Ayillh a glance but she said nothing, making her way to the door. She stayed just long enough to hear their conversation.

Anakin voice was worried as he knelt down. "Are you alright?" Obi-wan did the same as Jinn replied. "I think so." But it was what the padawan said next that caused Ayillh to stop. "What was it?" 'He couldn't be serious, right? "I'm not sure… But it was well trained in the Jedi arts… My guess is it was after the queen."

Ayillh said nothing as she left the room. She couldn't believe that the Jedi, both of them didn't know exactly what was before them. Of course it was a sith, the red lightsaber was an obvious give away. Was this what happens when the Jedi haven't seen a sith in a millennia? They all go stupid?

There were many things to discuss with Mace. She moved off looking for a secluded area, he would want to know what happened.


(Mos Eisley, Hanger Bay 4)

(Night)

It was Quinlan Vos that awoke first. He stared numbly at his surroundings as he found himself in an unfamiliar area. There was still a throbbing pain in his head and he could feel blood on his face. Placing his hand on the dried blood for a second, his mind collected itself before his body stiffened.

His head snapped to the side as he started to observe his surroundings. Right next to him, just 2 meters away was his padawan. He let out a mental sigh of relief as he saw that she was alright. His body was still sore from the fight he had against…. The sith. Darth Zavros.

His mind shuddered as he thought of the ramifications of what he had just been through. But it also brought with it questions. Why weren't they dead? The Sith weren't know to show compassion so why? He pulled himself up as he though over this. At his side he found both their lightsabers.

He reached down and picked them up before he went to wake his Padawan. As her eyes flew open in agitation he calmed her. "It's alright, we are still alive." Aayla was visibly relieved to hear the voice of her master.

Starring at the dark sky around them and the state she was in she couldn't help but ask. "Did we win?" Vos took a few seconds, but in the end shook his head. "No, but we are alive, that is what matters right now."

She looked shocked as she heard the news but in the end after a minute she calmed down and closed her eyes for a few seconds. 'Yes we are alive, that is the most important fact.' Loosening the tension in her body Aayla got back to her feet as Vos gave her back her lightsaber.

She took it and looked down at the surface of her hilt for a few seconds, remembering the feeling of death that encroached upon her in their earlier battle. After a few moments she clipped her lightsaber to her belt.

Vos watched her as she gather herself up. He was proud with how she handled herself, not crumbling under the mental and physical pressure that she had to endure. 'It wouldn't be long before she becomes a knight.'

Looking up into her masters eyes her determination had returned. "What now Master?" Vos looked at the determination in her eyes for a second before looking around the area. It was already night in Mos Eisley, meaning that the Sith was more than likely already off planet.

He stretched his mind into the force as he felt around for the presence of Qui-Gon or his apprentice but got nothing in return. They had already left the planet. 'It would have been nice to contact them, especially after what happened.'

Feeling the presence of so many people still on the other side of the hanger, Vos made his decision. "We will free these slaves and quickly bring them to our contact. They will have to safe guard and make sure they get back to their home worlds. Meanwhile…."

He stopped for a second as he looked into the night sky his own determination flaring up. He looked down at his padawan; he could just feel the force moving around him as if something had suddenly changed as he made the decision.

"We will immediately head back to Coruscant! The Jedi council must learn of what we have encountered!"


So that's the chapter, I really hope you guys enjoy. Just under21K Words; new biggest chapter I have ever written. I don't think the next one will be this big, but we'll see.

So quick talk about midi-chlorians, I did put a scene in about them, I honestly don't care about the whole idea of them so will treat them liberally, with how much talent they give a person, and the fact that even with small amounts of midi-chlorians in a person's body they can still become powerful.

Like a talent vs hard work type of conundrum.


I hope you guys didn't mind the detail with which I went into the first movie. I thought about skipping many of the scenes of the film and rushing them because we have seen the movie, but I thought it flowed better doing it this way, with Ayillh interacting with everyone while stuff was happening. And of course I skipped some scenes like when Maul is sent by Palpatine to Tatooine.


Now I'm not the best at fight scenes but I hope that you liked the fight between Ashara and Vos and Secura. Surprise they are going to be in episode 1! In legends canon I'm pretty sure (Don't quote me) It is mentioned that Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura are on Tatooine at the same time as Jinn and Obi-Wan, going as far as Vos actually seeing them.

I saw it in another novel that I can't remember the name of right now and thought it was a good idea, before I found out it actually happened in legends. And finding out it actually happened in Legends I couldn't help but do it in the story.


As for not killing them, I just didn't want to, hope people won't call me out for that. At the minute Mace has no reason to kill them. I did want Vette to be in the fight originally but I thought that would be over kill and hard to write so I made it a 2v1.

I hope that doesn't disappoint too many people. As I tried to get across in this fight, the Jedi of this era are actually pretty good at dueling that I think makes some sense; it is more of a ritual to the Jedi of the era because they don't fight as many wars and battle ect. Meaning they have more time to perfect their forms and styles.

Though as also mentioned that means that they don't utilize the force as much as back in the day, when Mace and the rest come from. I mean in the moves they just don't use the force. That's not to discount Ashara and the rest in dueling. They are all extremely proficient in fighting, seeing as Mace was one of the best ever (became the wrath of the emperor because of this fact) and has trained them all.

But in the fight I portrayed it did have Ashara going easy on them, because in my head a few shots of force lightning and other abilities would have ended it faster, and she didn't use both lightsabers.


The idea for a Pontite lightsaber was just because I came across it one day. I really liked the idea for the crystal and who better to have it than the past Padawan/Jedi Ashara. You might want to look it up yourself for more details, but in general it calms all those around it and is considered one of the best if not the best crystal to have for a Jedi. (Though that is in Legends) It can destabilize and weaken a sith connection to the dark side ect. So it is very sort after, but as said only in legends, I don't know what current canon says.


If you are wondering about why both Vette and Ayillh have almost a type of force sense towards Jedi, well I'll explain that in later chapters, I gave some hints in the first two chapters.


Ok so next chapter will be the end of Episode 1 And finally the Boss himself Mace will be coming up to bat. And with the inclusion of Secura and Vos, I think you get what's going to happen on Naboo.

Of course before we get to that we'll have Ayillh make it to Coruscant and meeting Palpatine, what will happen? I got a few ideas inspired from other novels I've read that give me an idea of what I want to go down on Coruscant. Of course if I get so much inspiration from others works I will be giving them recognition and all that. I'll just have to find them again.


Also serious talk heading forwards. Originally I was going to have Mace take control of the Separatists and be the leader of the faction facing the republic. But I have been thinking about it while writing chapter 2. I did have a certain way I was thinking of making this happen, but on second thoughts I think I'll make him control a whole different group that interferes with the war at certain moments.

Giving me more control of the group he's in and what he does through the war. Mainly I didn't want to change the characters of general grievous or Dooku much. I like how they written and would love to see grievous interact with Xalek (Same species).

But yeah mostly gives me more freedom to write completely random chapters and happenings in the clone wars and around the galaxy (Though mainly the clones wars) That change the story. I would love to hear your guys thoughts on this. Always love feedback and ideas that people give out.

Because I'm not an avid star wars comic book reader or super fan, after episode 1 is finished I will have to do a lot more research into subjects to create story arcs and plots. Just thought I would tell you now. Which is why the ideas that you might give are important, they can give me story ideas and references while writing.


Well guys until next chapter.