Flashback: 15 Years Ago
Location: Mandalore
"Where is she?" One of the handmaids asked frantically as she looked around the large bedroom. "The Duchess will be here any minute."
"I do not know. She was here one minute, then gone the next." Another handmaid said in disbelief.
Just then, as if on cue, the Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze, walked in. She glanced around the room for one calm moment before she asked the dreaded question both handmaids feared was coming:
"Where is she?"
They both sighed, but one answered:
"My Lady, we do not know. She was here for a brief moment before disappearing."
The Duchess sighed. "I have an idea of where she is."
The Duchess walked through the palace in search of the person in question. When she eventually found her, the Duchess was rather displeased. The person she was searching for was in the Throne Room, sitting on top of one of the tall pillars, wearing a helmet that was regarded as a 'terrorist item', even though the helmet was too big for her.
"Aurora Kryze, what are you doing?" Satine said in annoyance.
Aurora turned her head around, still with the helmet on her head. "Being invisible."
Satine sighed in anger. "Get that putrid helmet off of your head and get down here at once!"
Aurora sighed and took the helmet off of her head to reveal her blonde hair and blue eyes. Many leaders who came to visit the Duchess often spoke about how Aurora was a spitting image of her mother…the only thing they didn't realize, in personality, Aurora was nothing like Satine. In fact, Aurora was more like her aunt, Bo-Katan, with her fearlessness, impulsiveness, and strength, which allowed for Aurora and Bo-Katan to become rather close unknowingly to Satine. Satine wasn't thrilled that her daughter and sister were similar, though it wasn't the fact she didn't want the two of them to have little to no relationship. She just didn't want her daughter to believe that Mandalore should be restored to its marital past as her sister did. She then began to climb down from the pillar.
'I should've gone outside and hid.' Aurora thought as she reached the ground once again.
"Thank you." The Duchess commented, and Aurora rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong; I was just playing." Aurora sadly stated.
"With a helmet from an exiled warrior." Satine countered, making her daughter sigh. "Where did you get that?"
Aurora shrugged, as she would never tell her mother that her aunt gave it to her. Bo-Katan was exiled to Mandalore's moon Concordia, along with the rest of the Mandalorians who believed in reestablishing a martial government on the planet. However, even though she was exiled, Bo-Katan continued to make secret trips back to Mandalore for the sake of her niece. It was on one of those trips that Bo-Katan gave Aurora a helmet, and inscribed on it was the symbol of Clan Kryze.
"You'll grow into it eventually, Ro," Bo-Katan reminded. "And when that time comes, you will be trained by using the old ways of Mandalore."
Aurora snapped out of her thoughts when her mother began to lecture.
"You know better. As the Princess and heir to the throne of Mandalore, you should not associate with these ideals as they are outlawed." Satine began. "Now come along; we are going to be late for the party."
"Why do I have to go to the party? All I do is sit there and act proper. I want to go and adventure." Aurora complained.
Satine knelt down. "You will have plenty of time to adventure when you are older. When you become the Grand Duchess, you will visit thousands of worlds. For now, it is best you stay here where you are safe and sound."
Aurora sighed. "Okay."
"Now, if we hurry, we can make it on time," Satine said, grabbing her daughter's left hand and leading her out of the throne room.
Aurora rolled her eyes again and left the helmet in the throne room. Aurora glanced back behind her at the helmet left on the floor.
'One day' She thought, though that day would not be for a while.
Present Day: 15 Years Later
Location: Coruscant
Aurora's Age: (20 Years Old)
Aurora's POV
As I walked through the lower levels of Coruscant, my entire body felt disgusted at the sights I was seeing. The upper levels were what I grew up with. The politicians left and right, leaders and monarchs from other worlds, along with the wealth and luxury I received over the years. But the lower you got on the planet, the more scum you encountered. Thankfully it's not like anyone would recognize me…due to my lovely Mandalorian armor that I was currently wearing…especially the fact that it is a Death Watch armor, though I am highly certain anyone who isn't from the Outer Rim, will probably have no idea what my armor means or stands for.
Ever since I was a child, I was always told by my mother to 'behave yourself in public as you are the heir to the throne' or 'a princess does not believe in war'…truth be told, I'm not your average princess. First and foremost, I'm 100% against my mother's pacifist ideals for Mandalore, and similar to that of my aunt, I'd rather see Mandalore become a marital planet once again. As an act of rebellion against my mother, I trained in secret for years with my aunt and Pre Vizsla (who unbeknownst to the public was the leader of the Death Watch, even though he 'agreed' with my mother's pacifist ways in public) to become the ultimate assassin. Their military knowledge, along with the knowledge they learned from being a part of the Death Watch along with conquering many civilizations within Concordia, allowed me to become rather skilled in combat, which allowed me to earn my own beskar armor that was forged by members of the Death Watch themselves. The only thing that showed that I am, in fact, a Kryze was on my helmet, as our family's crest was on it…but unless you were a Mandalorian, an average citizen would have absolutely no clue what that symbol means.
I continued to walk past all of the poor civilians in poverty until I came to my destination. A bar. I wasn't in the mood for a drink, I was here on an assignment. Unknowingly to my mother, I did some side work bounty hunting here and there just to try and make a name for myself. No one ever knew my name; I just would recommend myself to criminals around different systems in case they needed someone to 'finish a job' for them. This assignment was rather simple, all I had to do was go into this bar, get information from this droid about the location of some lost artifact, bring it back to my contact, and I'd get paid instantly.
As I walked in, I got stares from people instantly. Why? Probably because I haven't taken my helmet off. If I took my helmet off, they'd start the spread that the Princess of Mandalore was among the lower levels of Coruscant bounty hunting. Not going to happen.
I walked towards the bartender, who looked me over up and down before tilting their head to the side.
"What can I get you?" They asked.
"I'm looking for a droid," I said in a monotone voice.
"What kind?"
I rolled my eyes underneath my helmet. "Astromech."
The bartender nodded over to a blue and white Astromech droid. It was an R2 unit, primitive, to say the least. I walked up to it and looked it over. It beeped at me.
"You have something I want," I said in the same monotone.
It beeped at me again before it turned off completely.
"Huh?" I said in confusion.
"Freeze!" A voice from behind me said. "You are wanted on five worlds for the murders of 4 people. You are hereby under arrest under the authority of the Jedi order!"
I slowly turned around to see two Jedi, one male, and one female. One was human, one was a Togruta, and I was about to practically murder both of them. I hit my right vambrace which activated my whipcord, which I successfully wrapped around one Jedi, before sweeping them to the floor on my way out, the other I gave a swift kick to, which sent them flying into the wall.
I then broke out into a run, running out of the bar and onto the street. I started dodging pedestrians left and right before feeling an electric pulse run through my body. I didn't know who gave me the electrocution until I realized that it was the Astromech droid I was originally set up to make the deal with meaning, that this entire meeting was a set-up. As I slowly started to black out, I heard one of the Jedi say:
"Nice work R2, Ahsoka, you should be happy, this is your first Mandalorian."
"Hopefully my last." The other murmured.
I must've fully blacked out because the next thing I remember was hearing multiple voices speaking about me.
"We have to take her helmet off." A voice said.
"Wait until she's awake." Another said.
"Or we take it off now and find out who she is." Another said.
"If you want to take off my helmet," I began. "You better ask nicely."
"Good you're awake." An unfamiliar Jedi said. The two from earlier were there, but this one was different. He was older than the other two, around my mother's age…maybe older.
"We don't want to make you uncomfortable, but may we take your helmet off?" The female Jedi asked.
"I want to take it off myself." I explained before glancing to my hands which were bound to electronic restraints on the ceiling, along with ones on the floor which bound my feet.
"We can't allow you to do that." The other Jedi from earlier explained. "We don't know if we can trust you."
I sighed. "Fine, take the damn helmet off."
The female Jedi walked up to me and slowly took the helmet off. The two men almost gasped when they saw me. The girl just looked confused.
"Masters I don't understand, who is this?" The girl questioned.
"Ahsoka, you don't know who this is?" The Jedi from earlier questioned and the girl shook her head.
"Shocking." I said in a sarcastic yet playful manner. "The entire Outer Rim knows who I am, and I finally found a person who doesn't. I'm flattered."
"Ahsoka, meet Aurora Kryze, the Princess of Mandalore." The older Jedi explained. "Does your mother know about this?"
I rolled my eyes. "Please, if my mother knew about this, I wouldn't be here now, would I?"
"Your mother is one of the most pacific rulers in the galaxy, why are you for violence?" The older Jedi asked.
I rolled my eyes. "I am one of the few Mandalorians who aren't exiled yet that still believe in a martial way of life. If you think I am an exact carbon copy of my mother, you are absolutely wrong. The only thing I inherited from her was my appearance."
"Then you are with the Separatists then?" The girl asked in curiosity. "I've heard some Mandalorians has allied themselves with the Separatists."
I sighed. "That is the only thing I disagree upon, and quite frankly, I do not even know if it is true or not given my mother's political status. Though in these times, I'd rather stay as neutral as I can…at least in the public eye when my helmet is off."
"Enough, what are you doing bounty hunting?" The Jedi from earlier asked, as he was clearly annoyed with my answers.
I rolled my eyes again. "If you asked nicely maybe I'll tell you."
"Why are you bounty hunting?" The older Jedi asked. "You clearly don't need the pay given your social status."
I shrugged as best as I could. "I wanted to make a name for myself along with the fact I kind of have a thing for rebelling against my mother, now I want to ask, why did you capture me?"
"You are wanted as a war criminal on 5 different worlds." The girl explained earlier. "Some punishable by death."
"You sure that wasn't my aunt? We wear identical armor; besides, you won't kill me…Jedi live by a code of honor the last time I checked." I countered.
"That doesn't mean we won't secure you transport to another world to be tried fairly." The older Jedi explained as he got a longing look in his eyes.
"Why are you killing people?" The guy from earlier asked as he crossed his arms.
"They deserve it." I stated with an eyeroll.
"We could kill you," He rebutted in the same tone of annoyance.
"You won't kill me, and you won't let them kill me…because I know something you don't." I explained making them all look at me in confusion.
"What do you mean?" He questioned.
"I have information on a missing Jedi holocron." I said with a smirk making the three Jedi look at me with intrigue.
"That put the fear in you." I said as my smirk grew.
"What are you talking about?" The girl questioned.
I sighed. "Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was to receive information from an Astromech droid here on Coruscant from one of my contacts, I was supposed to receive information on this Jedi holocron, bring it back to my employer and I would get the biggest paygrade of my life."
"Who's your employer?" The guy from earlier said.
My smirk was still plastered on my face. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you, and trust me, I can kill all three of you in the blink of an eye."
"What are you talking about?" The girl asked again as she crossed her arms not believing the words that came out of my mouth.
"Don't you know what Mandalorians are capable of?" I asked.
"Mandalorians and Jedi have not had a good history." The guy from earlier explained. "Most Mandalorians slaughtered Jedi…but then again, Jedi did the same to Mandalorians."
"Mandalorian armor is made up of a steel that is stronger than most…beskar. You Jedi are also hated by most Mandalorians…because you stole an artifact from us…thankfully, it was returned to its rightful owner." I explained.
"What artifact?" The girl asked. She asked most of the questions, and I could tell she was rather curious.
"Something more powerful than your average lightsaber." I sighed.
"Excuse us." The older Jedi said as the three of them all shared a look before exiting the cell.
I smirked internally to myself. They weren't going to kill me if anything they would protect me from being killed. I knew too much. It was a few moments later before the three of them walked back in.
"Alright," The older Jedi began. "Here's the deal, you help us find the Jedi holocron, and we'll make sure that your name is cleared, and your mother doesn't find out about this."
"What about my pay?" I questioned.
He sighed. "We'll make sure you get paid."
I nodded. "Deal, now can you let me down?"
The girl walked over to a button on the wall that freed my wrists and my ankles, allowing me to become free once again.
"Thank you." I said politely.
"You're welcome your highness." The girl responded giving me a slight curtsey.
That made me scowl in disgust. "Ok, first rule of working with me, never bow or curtsey and please don't call me your highness. It's gross."
"I will alert the council of our findings." The older Jedi began. "In the meantime, perhaps you should take her to the archive and perhaps brush up on your knowledge of the holocrons."
"Understood Master." Both of the younger Jedi nodded before the older Jedi walked away.
I rolled my eyes as they just stared at me blankly.
"Are you two going to introduce yourselves?" I questioned with humor dripping in my voice.
"Right, I'm Anakin Skywalker and this is my padawan Ahsoka Tano." The guy from earlier said as he held out his right hand.
I gave both of them a warm smile and shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet both of you."
"The guy you just met, that was Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's a bit stricter than I am." Anakin explained, and I rolled my eyes.
"Please," I began. "Take this as a warning, I kind of have a thing for defiance."
Ahsoka smiled as the three of us started walking down a long corridor within the temple. "Then you'll fit right in with the two of us."
"I'm guessing you two also have a thing for defying your superiors?" I questioned.
"You could say that." Anakin replied and Ahsoka nodded.
"Huh." Was all I could muster.
Eventually, the three of us reached the Jedi archive, which was impressive to say the least. The three of us sat down at one of the tables and as I grabbed a data-pad to begin researching information on the holocron, Anakin immediately grabbed it from my hands.
"You don't need that." He explained.
I tilted my head to the side. "Why?"
"You really think we are going to research holocrons?" Ahsoka chimed in and I nodded.
"With all due respect to the both of you I know little to nothing on these holocrons." I explained. "My job is to retrieve it and bring it to my employer."
"We can tell you everything you need to know, but in the meantime, we want to know about you." Anakin explained and I rolled my eyes.
"Not going to happen." I replied with a cold look. "I'm not sure I can trust both of you yet."
"Likewise." Ahsoka responded in the same tone.
"Tell me about the holocron." I demanded.
Both of them glanced to each other and sighed.
"Alright." Anakin began. "Jedi holocrons are a type of artifact that are used to store teachings and any other type of information from the order. They have this mechanism that only force-sensitive individuals can crack."
"So, I wouldn't be able to open it, even if I saw it?" I questioned and he nodded.
"Exactly. They can contain information that relates to teachings from a former Master to where all of the known jedi temples are within the galaxy." He continued.
"What is on the holocron that I was going after?" I asked quietly.
He sighed. "There was a holocron stolen recently that contains all of the force-sensitive children within the galaxy. It was taken by another bounty hunter."
"Bane." I stated without any emotion.
Both of their eyes widened.
"How do you know who stole it?" Ahsoka questioned.
I tilted my head to the side and rolled my eyes. "Please. My employer wanted me to steal it from Bane. Bane is on route to bringing it to his employer, and my task was to steal it before he got there."
"Who is your employer?" Ahsoka asked.
"I said, if I told you, I'd have to kill you." I explained. "But I can inform you that I trust them more so than I trust either of you at the moment, and I am asking for both of you to trust me."
"Why?" Anakin asked as he crossed his arms.
I sighed. Truly, I didn't know why they should trust me. I mean to be honest, they shouldn't. I'm a wanted criminal. But at the same time, they should trust me due to the amount of knowledge I have about who stole the holocron.
"Does your mother know that you are here?" Ahsoka questioned completely changing the subject when she noticed how tense I got.
I shook my head. "Every time she leaves Mandalore, so do I. Currently she's meeting with the Council of Neutral Systems off world."
"So, every time she leaves Mandalore, you go hunting?" She asked looking for confirmation and I nodded in response. "So, she doesn't know you are here?"
I shook my head again. "No. We need to find this holocron before she returns."
"How long?" Anakin questioned.
"Four days." I replied with a sigh.
"We'll do it in three." He replied as he stood up from his seat as I noticed a beeping coming from the coms device on his wrist. Ahsoka also stood up.
I also stood up. "Where're you two going?"
"To speak with the council. They are requesting the both of us." He explained.
"Stay here." Ahsoka instructed. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
Both of them left and I sat back down in my seat. It felt like they were gone for hours, which allowed me to wander the archive for a while. Thankfully no one was around, so I could walk with my helmet off and even if there were people around, I would still walk around with my helmet off. For some reason I felt more secure here with walking around with my helmet off than I did in any other place on the planet.
"Aurora?" I heard Ahsoka ask.
I turned my head around to see Ahsoka standing there with her arms folded.
"It's time to go." She explained and I nodded.
We both walked out of the archive and began to walk through the temple.
"Where are we going?" I questioned.
"To our Star Destroyer." She quickly and quietly replied.
We eventually reached a landing port outside of the temple, where a Republic Gunship was waiting, along with a few Clones.
"Commander, Your Highness." A Clone greeted making me role my eyes.
"Thank you." Ahsoka replied warmly before stepping on.
I was hesitant, which made her turn around.
"Are you coming?" She asked with a smile.
I took a deep breath and stepped on as well. As soon as I grabbed onto one of the handrails above, Ahsoka did the same, and once the Clones were on board, the door closed, and I felt us lift off the ground. That's when all of the events over the past few hours hit me. Not only was I going to be working with the Jedi, but I was also going to be hunting down one of their artifacts. If my mother found out about any of this, she not only would lecture me till I was essentially 50 years old, but she could quite possibly permanently exile me to Concordia, per the pacifist Mandalorian laws she created. I internally sighed, this assignment better be over within three days…and if its not…the Jedi will once again feel a Mandalorian's wrath.