Chapter 2: Bounty Hunters

Late at night:

"Did you kill the Senator, Zam?" A man in Mandalorian armor asks a woman.

"No, they used a decoy, Jango, they were expecting it," the woman, Zam, replies.

"Take these. These they won't expect. But be careful. They are highly toxic."

Jango hands her a container. Inside are 2 insects crawling around inside the container.

"I'll meet up with you if you've succeeded. But for now, I have my own target that Tyrannus told me to get. When I have her, we'll have to be quick in the escape. If you're not at my ship, you'll be left behind."

"Understood. I'll be on my way now, Fett."

Jango watched her leave, but had a feeling she wasn't going to succeed. He decides it best to watch her from a distance, to make sure she doesn't fail.

Jango flew his ship Slave I closer to the Coruscant Palace, knowing that he'll have little time after he acquired the target to flee the planet. He landed and left Boba with the ship, telling him to be ready to depart in an instant.

Using his jetpack, he makes it up to the balcony connecting to the target's room. He quietly opened the door and threw in an electric magnetic pulser. It sent an electrical wave through the wave. The wave knocked out the power. The young girl moans in her sleep, grabbing at the back of her head. Knowing he needs to not be noticed for this to work, he grabs the paralysis taser off his belt. She looks up at him, and panicking, starts to get up. He uses the paralysis taser on her, sending her flopping down onto the bed, only being able to move her eyes as she stares at the Mandalorian with fear. Jango moves the sheets so he can pick her up properly, but a knock at the door stops him.

"Your Highness?" The voice of FK-71 sounds from the hallway.

Tara moans, unable to speak due to the hit from the taser. Jango tosses the sheets back over her and crouches down on the other side of the bed from the door, pulling the taser out again should it be necessary.

The door opens a few inches on its own, with FK-71 pushing the door open enough so that she can fit through and see Tara lying on her bed, facing away from her.

"Princess Tara? There's been a slight power outage in your room, and a technician will be coming up to check on it soon."

Tara moans again, louder than the first time.

"Princess Tara, that isn't a polite thing to do. This behavior you are showing, it isn't proper. I'll be back in a few moments with the technician."

A gust of wind comes from the still-open door leading onto the balcony. FK-71 looks at the doorway and says "Don't worry, that door can be closed after we have the power back on, My Lady."

Tara starts to tear up as she hears her servant walk away and down the hallway. Jango sees this as his chance and sets the taser down on the bed. He grabs Tara from under the covers and picks her up in a bridal carry. He leaves out through the balcony door and turns on his jetpack. As he is flying, he pulls out his commlink.

"Boba, fire up the engines. We're leaving."

As the ship starts to ascend, he lands on the ramp, walking through the door into the ship. As the cabins rotate to allow the cockpit to face properly, he opens a side door into the emptied cargo hold. He gently sets the girl in his arms down onto the floor before closing the door and walking towards the cockpit.

The ship Slave I jumps out of hyperspace looking out to the planet Geonosis.

"I'll contact Tyrannus, tell him that the Senator is still alive, but that we have the girl. Boba, go check on her," Jango says.

Boba moves slightly in his chair, having been asleep. "Huh, what?"

"Go check on the girl. We're here. The taser effects should have long worn out by now."

"Yes, dad."

Boba gets up from his chair and walks towards the door on the right, the cargo hold. He opens the door, startling Tara right out of her sleep. She pushes herself off the floor and away from Boba, before she finds herself against the corner furthest from the door.

"Hey, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," Boba stays, feeling startled by her reaction.

"Where am I? Who are you? Was that a Mandalorian? Are you working with him?" Tara asks frantically.

"My name's Boba, and the Mandalorian's my dad. We just exited hyperspace and we're approaching the planet Geonosis."

"Geonosis? Near Tatooine, right?" Tara says, a little bit of the panic dropping from her voice.

"That's right."

"Why are we out here? What do you want with me?"

"My dad was hired by Tyrannus to deliver you safely here."

"Then, you know who I am?"

"Yes, Princess Tara. Daughter of the Republic's King and Queen," Boba pauses. "I thought they were both human, yet-"

"I am part Togruta, and I'm their adopted daughter. I'm from Corellia."

There is a brief silence until Tara asks, "You'd be working for the CIS then, aren't you?"

"Umm-yeah, something like that. But as far as I'm aware, this job was given to my dad by Tyrannus alone."

Boba stares at her, noticing how young she is.

"How old are you?" He asks.

"Wha-what?"

"How old are you? You seem pretty young."

"I'm 10 years old. Birthday in 2 months."

"Same, only mine is in 8," Boba says with a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, but ultimately not effective.

Tara's mind is scrambling. 'Am I being held for ransom? Would this Tyrannus want to hurt me, or worse? How desperate would my parents get to bring me back safely? Will I ever see them again?'

Boba speaking breaks her out of her reverie. "Are you alright? You look like you have something on your shoulder," he says, looking at her right shoulder which is mostly uncovered from the sleeveless nightgown.

Tara instantly covers her shoulder with her left hand. "I'm fine, just concerned because you're kidnapping me," she says rather aggressively.

"I was just- alright, you're alright. That's all I wanted to know."

Boba hears the sound of the ship sliding and looks out the door and sees the cabin shifting. "We're landing. The interior of the ship rotates to line up with either the door or the cockpit window. Cool, isn't it?"

"I don't want to be here, if that's what you're getting at."

"I can't do anything about that, my dad gets mad if I don't help him on these missions where he needs it."

"There's nothing you can do to help me?"

"No, nothing that's realistic."

Tara begins crying. "Please, help me."

Boba doesn't respond. Jango walks up with his helmet off. "Alright kid, time to go. Boba, stay with the ship."

Boba hesitates for a moment before answering, "Yes, dad."

Jango grabs Tara's arm and gently leads her off the ship and into the hangar bay on Geonosis. As she looks back at Boba on the ship, she can see him mouth the words 'I'm sorry.'

Entering the bay, they come across a squad of battle droids. "Is this the target, bounty hunter?" The commander asks Jango.

"Yes, and I have already informed the Count of our arrival."

"Very good. The Count will transmit payment to you." The commander turns to 2 of the other droids. "Take the girl to the holding cell."

"Roger, Roger," one of them says as they both grab Tara above her elbows and force her further in. They take her through a hallway in the far back towards a door, which opens to reveal a holding cell. They shove her in and lock the door, leaving her inside. Tara panics, trying and failing to find a way out before falling in the middle of the cell, crying herself to sleep again.

On the other side of the galaxy, there is a great deal of panic. King Eric is sitting with Queen G'yaté in his office, with the latter being inconsolable. The door opens and Captain Declan, head of palace security, walks in being followed by several other guards. King Eric stands up to meet them.

"What are we working with? There-there must be something that can lead us somewhere, anywhere!" King Eric asks the Captain of Palace Security.

"Sir, we found a paralysis taser in the bed, with indication of usage. Along with the remains of an electric magnetic pulser, which is likely what knocked out the power. The paralysis taser would explain the apparent lack of struggle, Your Majesty."

"Yes, go on," King Eric replies.

"Additionally, the protocol droid stated that the balcony door was already open and the Princess moaned in response to questions being asked of her."

"So could she have already been alerted to the kidnapper's presence? If the paralysis taser would've left her unable to speak and the balcony door was open, that they were already in the room with her? A warning that FK-71 didn't understand?"

"Y-yes, Sire. That is a possibility. Lastly, we have records of a ship taking off from just east of the palace from the top of a building. Model Firespray-31-Class Patrol, Kuat Drive Yards."

"A ship built from Republic shipyards is the suspected getaway vehicle?" King Eric says, raising his voice.

"Sire, someone flew from the direction of the palace to this ship and boarded it, and it took off immediately, and launched into hyperspace only a few minutes afterwards."

King Eric sighs. "Are there any people that could be considered suspects?"

"A report from Master Kenobi says a figure in Mandalorian armor killed the suspect they had caught trying to assassinate Senator Amidala, but the suspect had already said they were hired by a bounty hunter."

"So this is our grand suspect? A bounty hunter in Mandalorian armor? This is my daughter that we're searching for, Captain! And you bring up children's stories of people that the Jedi fought hundreds of years ago and defeated!" King Eric says in a bout of rage.

"I'm sorry, Sire, but that is what we got from Master Kenobi. And as long as we don't have any proof or named suspects, we have to consider every possibility."

"Yes, Captain, you are right," King Eric says, much more calmly than before. "We should discuss this with the Jedi Council and we can figure out a course of action."

"An emergency meeting has been called, Sire. Will you be there?"

"I think it's important that I am, considering the circumstances of the meeting."

"Very good, Your Majesty." He bows quickly before leaving the room. King Eric sits down next to his wife. "Honey?"

"I just don't see how anyone could do this?" G'yaté responds, still crying. "Why, she's just a child!"

"I know, Honey, and we'll find her. We have the Jedi on our side, they'll help us in any way possible."

"Do you think those Separatists led by Dooku could've-"

"Anything is possible, and they certainly have the resources. Why they would hire bounty hunters, I don't know, but if they wanted it to not initially seem like them, then maybe."

There's a brief silence until Queen G'yaté asks, "We'll get her back?"

"Yes, we'll get her back. Now, I have a meeting to attend. Please honey, try and get some sleep."

"I don't know if I'll be able to, without her around. What if, what if they're hurting her?"

"Please, G'yaté. If we start thinking about that, we won't be in any condition to help Tara. Okay?"

He stares into her eyes. "Okay, Eric," she mumbles.

"I'll be back as soon as this meeting ends. I want her back just as much as you do."

He kisses her on the cheek before getting up and leaving the room.

"King Eric, my deepest condolences I give you," Master Yoda says as King Eric joins the meeting via hologram. He lightly smiles at the gesture of kindness.

"Thank you, Master Yoda. Hearing that means more than you know," King Eric says in response.

"Please share with us everything that you know so far, Your Majesty," Mace Windu says.

"This is the full report I have, courtesy of Captain Declan," he says as he hooks up the information pad to transmit to the Council.

"We have confirmed usage of an electric magnetic pulser, along with a paralysis taser. No sign of struggle. A protocol droid that checked in on her after the power failure caused by the pulser stated that the balcony door was open, and that she moaned twice in response when asked questions."

"So the droid saw her, and didn't suspect that anything was wrong?" Ki-Adi Mundi asks.

"Yes Master Mundi, that seems likely. Additionally, we have this ship shown taking off from near the east side of the palace, with someone in a jetpack landing and entering. Model Firespray-31-Class Patrol, Kuat Drive Yards," he explains as a recording plays for everyone to watch.

"Master Kenobi reported a Mandalorian killed the suspect of Senator Amidala's assassination attempts also used a jetpack. Can you enhance this image, Sir?" Plo Koon asks.

"Yes, Master Plo," King Eric responds, enhancing the image to focus on the Mandalorian.

"Mandalorian, the armor is. Where that could lead us, I know not," Yoda says. "Possible, that Mandalorians have gained more power in recent years?"

"I don't think it's simply Mandalorians," Windu says. "The darkness shift, we all felt it. The dark side of the force is growing."

"Could this be the work of the other Sith? The one not defeated by Master Kenobi years ago?" Coleman Trebor asks, speaking up.

"That doesn't lead us anywhere," Windu says. "Saying 'It's the Sith Lord' when we don't know who this Sith Lord is or what they want won't answer any of our questions that we've held for 10 years now."

"Is the CIS a possibility, Masters?" King Eric asks. "With the support that Count Dooku is growing, perhaps he wants some form of ransom?"

"Kidnapping for ransom, not something Dooku would do," Yoda answers. "Once a Jedi, he was. Hold our beliefs, he does."

"So where does this lead us, Master Yoda?" King Eric questions. "What would our next course of action be to get my daughter back safely?"

"We will assign one of our members to lead the search, King Eric," Windu responds.

"I'll lead the search, Master," Even Piell volunteers. "I assure you, Sir, I will use all my skills and knowledge to help me in finding her, and I will keep her safe if I do find her.

King Eric cringes slightly at the word 'if', but says, "Yes, Master Piell. Thank you. Do what you can to find her."

"As for now, we still have to keep focus on the growing conflict between us and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. If something goes wrong, we need to be able to protect the Republic, or put us all at risk. We will also need to be updated on Master Kenobi's dealing with the attempted assassin to see if that leads us anywhere. That will happen tomorrow as scheduled. Council is adjourned."

"Thank you, Master Windu, for having this meeting," King Eric says before leaving.

Yoda turns to look at Windu. "Whoever has the Princess, darkness surrounds them. Great care we must take."

"I understand, Master."

Obi-Wan Kenobi prepares his starfighter for departure. He looks and sees Windu approaching.

"Master, I have everything prepared for my departure to Kamino. Hopefully, we'll get some more information there."

"That is good to hear, Master Kenobi."

"I sense some unease with you. Is something wrong, Master Windu?"

"I don't think Anakin is ready for this mission he has. His emotions, they play a big factor in his decision making."

"Is he not the chosen one? The one who will bring balance to the force?"

"So the prophecy says. But I don't trust him."

"He is very capable. And he has never let me down. He will keep the Senator safe from this- this Mandalorian threat."

"Do you think you will find him on Kamino?"

"I hope I will find him on Kamino. It would make this job a lot easier."

"We should hope that we can find him, and the Princess?"

"Did Master Piell not already leave on account of that mission?"

"Yes, he is currently on his way to Mandalore to speak with their Duchess and to see if they are still neutral in these affairs."

"You're not possibly suggesting that the Duchess of Mandalore would opt to join the Seperatist Alliance?"

"Anything is possible, Obi-Wan. I think the last 24 hours has proven that."

"I suppose you're right. However, if by any chance I do end up stumbling upon her-"

"Bring her back. Quickly and safely."

"Yes, Master, that was my plan."

Obi-Wan looks at his starfighter. "I had best be on my way. May the force be with you."

"And with you."