"Do you think they're hurt?"

"No, I think they're okay, just stunned."

"What happened?"

"Those weird people attacked them, that's what! I hope they never come back here again."

Silver heard the voices speaking somewhere nearby and his eyes fluttered open. He felt winded and didn't remember right away why he was lying on the ground. He groaned and sat up; beside him Visse and Misty were stirring as well.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked him. Silver turned and saw it belonged to a purple male twi'lek. A dark skinned human woman stood beside him, looking as concerned as he had sounded.

"Yeah-no!" Silver remembered what had happened and realized that someone was missing. "Where's Cecilia?!"

"Oh shit!" Visse fully came to and sat up.

"Cecilia…!" Misty pushed herself up as well.

"Who?" The woman asked the group.

"Our friend, Cecilia Crimsondragon! Where is she?" Silver asked them.

"The half dragon?" the twi'lek asked. Silver nodded. "…I'm sorry. She's gone; the weird people that attacked you took her away."

"No…!"

"Buncha no-good scum; they've been coming here and harassing people for years, and now this!" the woman angrily commented. "We've already been in contact with New Republic officials; they're sending a squad here to investigate right away. That girl is supposed to be a free citizen."

"Why don't you wait here with us?" the man suggested. "It's important they hear about what happened to you, too."

"We can't just wait around here; we have to go after them!" Visse got to his feet. He saw both Cecilia's robe and her armor on the ground and gathered them up.

"Tell whoever shows up that those people attacked the Drunken Zealot cantina to capture Cecilia Crimsondragon, our friend," Silver said as he stood and then helped Misty up. "Tell them we ran, but they cornered us and forced Cecilia away with them."

"We'll be sure to let them know," the woman assured the three of them.

"Thanks; we really appreciate it," Visse told them.

"What're we gonna do, hon?" Misty quietly asked as they started the short walk back to the Crescent Hawk. Her voice was steady, but she blinked backed tears as she walked.

"We're going to go rescue Cecilia, like Visse said," Silver told her. "No way we're waiting around for the New Republic to do it for us; this is why we became mercs in the first place."

"Yeah, but we don't know where they're taking her. By the time we get off this rock they'll be parsecs away from here," Misty pointed out.

"We don't know where they're going, but Sia and Enzok can find out for us, once we tell Sia what happened. And then we can make a plan of attack and rescue her," Silver sounded more confident than he felt. They spent the rest of the short walk in silence, and as soon as they were back onboard the Crescent Hawk they went straight to the cockpit to call Sia.

In Sia's room on Lothal the chime of the incoming call on her holoprojector unit came with something else; a small disturbance in the Force, no bigger than a tiny ripple made by a grain of sand being dropped into a pond. With it came a distinctive feeling of dread, and Sia knew that whoever was calling, they had bad news for her. She accepted the call, and was met with the grim faces of Silver, Misty, and Visse.

"Sia, we need your help; Cecilia's been captured by the people who've been after her!"

"Oh no…! What happened?"

"We were in a cantina after completing another delivery, and I dunno how they knew she was there, but they suddenly attacked it to try to capture her. We managed to slip out the back and tried to get back to the Hawk, but they overpowered and stunned us, and forced Lia away with them."

"More like completely outnumbered; there were dozens of them," Visse commented. "Just between us, it was absolutely shameful."

"There's no shame in losing to an enemy with greater numbers than yours," Sia told him. "What is it you want me to do?"

"Can you and Enzok find out where they're taking Lia? We've got to rescue her; Lia deserves the same freedoms as everyone else," Silver asked Sia.

"Please? We don't know who else to ask," added Misty.

"We can meditate on the matter, but please understand that I cannot promise a definitive location until after Cecilia arrives at her destination. The present, you see, is constantly in motion, and that makes predicting the future very difficult," she explained to them.

"Any little bit helps, Sia," Silver insisted. "Thank you; we owe you big."

"I'll be in touch as soon as I know more information," Sia promised them. Her hologram disappeared and Misty sat in her usual chair and sighed.

"I know what Sia said, but I feel so restless at the idea of just sitting around while we wait for news," she said as she avoided looking at Cecilia's vacant seat.

"Tell me about it," Visse sat in the co-pilot's chair. "There has to be something we can do in the meantime."

"How about we head to a spaceport or space station outside of New Republic jurisdiction and see if we can acquire some black market supplies?" Silver suggested after thinking it over for a few minutes. "I know we try to stay as legit as possible, but considering we're up against some group operating outside of the New Republic anyways we should be as prepared as possible. Especially since we already know we're outnumbered."

"No objections here, boss," Visse started pulling up lists of nearby star systems. "Have any place specific in mind?"

"No, just some place nearby," Silver said as he sat down in the pilot's chair and commed space traffic control. "Space traffic control, this is the Crescent Hawk requesting permission to take off."

"Stand by one moment please," the space traffic controller replied. The seconds ticked by and the three of them looked at each other feeling confused; space traffic control usually wasn't so slow in the Outer Rim Territories. After more than a minute had passed the man finally came back on the line. "Crescent Hawk, due to heavy traffic volume your request is denied. We're placing you in a queue and will grant permission once traffic has gone down. Do not try to leave without permission or you will be shot down. Do not com us or you'll be bumped to the back of the queue; we'll com you as soon as your turn comes."

"Er, thank you, we understand and will oblige," Silver replied back.

"What the hell? Asahii doesn't seem like it gets nearly enough traffic to have congestion problems," Misty said as soon as the comlink was shut off. "And what's with the threat to shoot down the ship if we try to leave? We've never encountered anything like that before."

"Some star systems with endangered species have measures in place to prevent poaching of said species," Visse explained. "It involves performing an exterior bioscan on all departing ships, and if the bioscan picks up any flagged signatures then the ship is ordered to stay put for an interior search party to scour the ship. Didn't you guys know that?"

"No," Misty and Silver answered together.

"Well, evidentially Asahii is one of those places. It's the only reason I can think of for such strict measures for outgoing traffic, anyhow."

"Yeah, it does make sense," Silver nodded. "But I'm with Misty; I feel restless just sitting here waiting. I can't forget the look of pure terror Lia had on her face when they took her away."

"Me either. Or when she found out that she's only a clone of the original Cecilia. I can't even imagine how horrible she must feel," Misty said softly.

"Same here. Poor Lia…."

"…I don't think that's true, though," Visse said thoughtfully.

"How d'you figure?"

"Because of that big scar she has on her arm. She said she has no idea how she got it, remember?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, cloning doesn't recreate the scars of the donor because that's not a genetic trait. That means the scar predates the gene splicing experiments they performed, which means Cecilia is a clone of her father, not herself," he explained.

"If that's true, then why lie to her about it?" Silver asked.

"Damned if I know."

"I can always try looking it up the Kaminoan databanks," Misty suggested. "Maybe they have more information that would shed some light on this."

"Can you really slice into their databanks through the Holonet?" Silver asked her.

"If they're decent about their data security, I'd have to be there in person for any really good info, like the details about Cecilia's cloning," she explained. "But if there's even anything remotely true about what that man said, an accident resulting in multiple deaths would be a matter of public record. Especially if she was a registered Imperial citizen, which would've been required during the time she was born."

"Here's a thought; did they give Lia the scar on purpose to trick her?" Silver asked Visse as Misty started typing on her datapad. "So that she wouldn't know that she isn't the original Cecilia?"

"No, I don't think so," Visse shook his head. "Clones don't have the memories of their donor, so she wouldn't know if she should have a scar there or not. I don't see a point in going to that much trouble, unless they're really poor geneticists. And given that they have enough knowledge for complicated gene splicing experiments, they should know at least the basics of cloning, which are a lot simpler by comparison."

"I know clones don't have their donor's memories, I'm just trying to think of an explanation for all of this," Silver frowned as he thought about what they knew and didn't know. "Could there have been a minor accident when she was extracted from the tank that gave her the scar, or during the process itself? Like a mishandled needle, or scalpel, or something?"

"I guess it's possible. I doubt it, but it's possible."

"Alright guys, I found something," Misty spoke up.

"You're kidding! What did you find?" Silver asked.

"Not much. It describes whatever happened as an incident rather than an accident, though," Misty frowned slightly as she read what she found. "Guys, take a look at this," she said as she showed them the datapad.

Silver and Visse leaned forward to see what it said. It was a list of those deceased in an incident dated twelve years prior. There were the names of several Kaminoans, a couple of John Does, and also-

"'Cecilia Fett, age five'," Silver read the name out loud. "She really did die."

"Except I really don't think she did," Visse insisted. "Her scar indicates that she didn't. They only made it look like she did, somehow."

"I don't get it, then," Misty frowned at the incident report. "Why fake her death? What's the advantage?"

"To pass themselves off as her legal guardians?" Visse suggested, before immediately shaking his head. "No, on second thought that doesn't make any sense. It'd be a lot easier to forge documents than stage an accident to fake her death. Besides, it wouldn't alter her chain codes, which she would've received after being born as an Imperial citizen."

"Maybe they don't know about chain codes because they came from somewhere in the Unknown Regions or Wild Space, outside of Imperial and New Republic space? They don't seem to have had chain codes of their own, seeing as how there's two John Does on this list anyways."

"Yeah, maybe."

Silver only half listened to them talk as he stared down at the incident report. What was the advantage to faking Cecilia's death? It didn't seem to benefit her captors in any obvious way. It didn't even work as a method of controlling Cecilia since she didn't even know about it until a short time ago. He stared down at her name, but only half seeing it, until a thought jumped into his head.

"Guys, what if the Kaminoans aren't the only ones who think Cecilia died on that day?"

"Why, who else would think Cecilia's dead?" Misty asked only to immediately understand. "Oh, damn," she breathed softly.

"So that's it; so her father wouldn't even attempt to track Cecilia down while they performed their illegal experiments on her," Visse nodded his head. "I guess she was right when she said he never bothered to try to search for her. We'll have to tell Lia that after we rescue her."

"I don't think Lia's the only one we should explain this to," Silver said quietly.

"What- whoa, boss, you can't be serious! This is Boba karking Fett we're talking about, man!"

"I'm not comfortable letting this go. If this really is a misunderstanding, if he really doesn't know Cecilia is alive, then he has a right to know about it."

"Silv's right, Visse. Cecilia's father may be many terrible things, but I don't think he's a complete monster. At least, not where Cecilia is concerned. Not with that sweet smile and friendly nature."

"I really don't get a say in this one, do I?" Visse wilted slightly.

"No, man, you don't," Silver said as he turned back to the holoprojector unit.

"And as you can see, thanks to the Wookiee Krrsantan, activity from the trandoshan gang has decreased significantly in the vicinity of the spaceport," 8D8 gestured to the hologram, which had multiple green dots scattered around the vicinity of Mos Espa's spaceport. "This has made the spaceport a much safer place. There are however still a few reports of activity elsewhere in the upper sprawl of Mos Espa, as well as an isolated incident out in the outskirts of the city," a handful of red dots lit up on the hologram as the droid spoke.

"Good," Boba Fett nodded in approval. "Now that we've eliminated their criminal activity in the spaceport we can work on pushing them out altogether. I want Santo to shift his patrols to the current problem areas while The Mods take over at the spaceport."

The Wookiee bounty hunter growled his approval from where he stood on the other side of the hologram. Boba continued. "As long as I'm here the citizens of Mos Espa and its visitors will sleep in peace, not deal with harassment from some gang that's not even affiliated with me."

As he spoke to 8D8 and Krrsantan he could hear Fennec quietly speaking to someone over her comlink. After the droid turned off the hologram she approached him. "Some people wish to speak with you right away. They say it's of utmost urgency," Fennec told him.

"Are they waiting outside?" Boba asked as he walked back to his throne and sat down. Krrsantan started to move toward the palace entrance, but Fennec shook her head and the Wookiee paused.

"No, they're calling from aboard some ship elsewhere. They refuse to tell me what their business is; they insist only on speaking to you."

"Sir, your next appointment will be-"

"They can wait a few minutes if necessary," Boba interrupted the droid and donned his helmet. "Put them on the full-sized holoprojector unit; let's see what's so urgent."

There was a pause, and then the life-sized holograms of Silver, Visse, and Misty appeared before him. They look familiar. Where have I seen them before? Boba wondered briefly before remembering. That's right; they passed by me when I was attending business incognito in Logar. They had a fourth companion with them then. That robed companion had completely unnerved him at the time because for one wild moment he thought she had sounded just like his deceased daughter Cecilia. But there was no time to be thinking about that, so he brushed that aside and turned his full attention on them.

"Lord Fett, thank you for taking the time to listen to us," Silver respectfully bowed his head. "We have very urgent news to discuss about Cecilia Fett."

A powerful chill descended upon the throne room, and with it came a silence so potent that the gears and machinery of 8D8's inner workings were almost audible on the other side of the room. Krrsantan glanced at Boba while Fennec's eyes flicked over toward him briefly. Even 8D8 was watching him. Boba wasn't just stunned; he felt like he had been slapped in the face.

"Where did you hear that name…?!" Boba sounded equally shocked and pissed. "Cecilia's existence is supposed to have been a secret; I've only told a few people about her!"

Silver took a deep breath before continuing. "We know about her because Cecilia is the one who told us. She's alive; she's our friend!"

Boba felt so lightheaded he hardly noticed his heart was pounding, or that he was trembling ever so slightly, or even that for a few seconds that he had forgotten to breathe. All he noticed was those few words echoing in his head over and over again. She's alive…she's alive…Cecilia's alive!

"How can that be possible…?!" he asked once he finally regained the ability to speak.

"There was an incident on Kamino twelve years ago, right? We think that her captors staged an accident in order to make it look like she had died, so that you wouldn't attempt to track her down. And then they could, er, hold her captive without concern."

"You're going to have to tell him," Visse leaned forward and whispered very quietly.

"Maybe I'd better send him the hologram we took a few months ago," Silver whispered back. "That might be easier for him."

Boba hardly noticed their whispering. It seemed very unlikely that anyone else could tell these people about the incident. Yet he couldn't discount the possibility they were in league with the people behind it either. "Prove it; prove to me that Cecilia is alive and your friend," he told them.

"Yes, we're preparing to send a hologram to you right away. But," Silver hesitated nervously. "Please know that Cecilia has…changed quite a bit. Her captors performed some experiments on her."

"What sort of experiments?" he asked, hearing the warning in his voice.

Silver swallowed hard. "Gene splicing," he said. And then he sent the hologram, and their live image was replaced by the one they had taken on the day of the picnic. Boba didn't realize he had jumped to his feet when the hologram appeared, nor did he notice the look of shock on Fennec's face as she turned to look at him. He only had eyes for the girl. Those dark chocolate brown eyes, and that smile, that sweet smile he thought had gone from the universe forever. His heart soared; it was her, truly, his daughter Cecilia Fett!

"Cecilia…!" he softly breathed her name. As he gazed at her hologram Boba became aware that she had some sort of unusual red, scaly rash on her face. He looked back to her eyes and realized that her pupils had a reptilian look to them now. Then he saw that she had fangs, too, and suddenly Boba breathed in sharply as he realized just what he was looking at. He felt as though he had been slapped in the face a second time, and he felt pure rage bubble up inside him. How dare they do this to my little girl…! He thought as he took in her full appearance, her claws, her long thin tail, and her large crimson and gold wings.

The initial shock of Cecilia's altered appearance wore off and was replaced by acknowledgement of the forbidden thought that Boba had denied, pushed backed, and avoided since the day they had briefly come face to face in Mos Espa's spaceport; that the half-dragon girl looked so much like his daughter. I thought it was just wishful thinking from my subconscious due to grief. That I was only seeing a distant relative. I've been an utter fool…! Cecilia, can you ever possibly forgive me for not trying to track you down, for briefly pursuing you as potential hard merchandise?

The hologram from the day of the picnic vanished, replaced once more by the live transmission from the Hawk. "Where is she?" he asked the crew after noticing that Cecilia had not yet joined the call. "I have to speak to her at once!"

"You can't; she's gone," Silver wilted; he had been dreading that question. "She was recaptured a short while ago. We tried to protect Lia, I swear. But there was just too many for us to deal with. I don't know how they tracked her down either, Lia's always been careful to hide her appearance whenever she leaves the ship."

"Did they really track her down?" Visse crossed his arms and frowned. "Those people said they've been coming here for years; they know all about the 'weird people'. Maybe they happened to be here again when they heard her talking with us in the Drunken Zealot and-"

"You're in Rushalda?!" Boba interrupted Visse.

"I didn't think it was a well-known cantina, but yeah, we're in Rushalda."

"Were the people who captured Cecilia wearing a black uniform with a white star emblem?"

"How did you know?" Silver couldn't keep the amazement out of his voice. As he spoke Misty's datapad gave off a soft chime and she picked it up.

"Because-"

"Oh no!" Misty exclaimed. "All traffic on and off Asahii is completely suspended! It's gonna be ages before we finally leave!"

"You gotta be kidding!" Silver turned to her. "Does it say why?"

"No, of course it doesn't. Let's see if I can slice into the space traffic control database and find out," Misty was typing as she spoke. Silver and Visse didn't notice that the call was still active as they watched her work. "There's mention of an incident a short time ago, but it doesn't give any more details than that," she said after several minutes of work.

"It's not because of what happened with Lia, is it?" Silver asked.

"Maybe," she frowned slightly. "I could find out for sure by slicing into the local New Republic offices."

"That can't be possible over Holonet," Visse commented as he watched her work.

"You'd be surprised at how bad people are about practicing basic Holonet safety protocols. For a developing situation like this all I need is access into someone's email to see what they're talking about," said Misty. The minutes seemed to creep by slowly, but Misty was patient, and at last she was in someone else's email with a message that looked very promising. "Alright, let's see what this says…it's not us. It's something to do with outgoing traffic."

"Collision?" Silver asked, but Misty shook her head.

"No, it's with that endangered species thing Visse was talking about earlier. It says that some transport failed its bioscan and was ordered to a low orbit for a thorough inspection on board. And then…," Misty frowned. "It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but they've arrested everyone on the ship. And they've taken into custody a 'unique biological specimen, origin unknown' and- they've got Cecilia!"

"What?!" Silver gasped.

"That can't be right!" Visse said. "Not after all that talk about how she has the same rights as everyone else!"

"There's no mistaking it; 'the wanted half-dragon woman, source of illegal mutations unknown, identity unconfirmed'," Misty read out loud to them

"Shit!" Silver pounded a fist on his chair's armrest.

"Where are they taking her?!" Boba spoke up at last after quietly watching them.

"Does it say?" Visse asked her.

"It does; they're taking them both to the New Republic's premier research facility."