"I can't thank you enough for letting us stay the night," said Taran to King Areeja as the group prepared to depart.
"It was no worry my young friend. You are welcome here anytime," said Areeja. "And I hope your quest to find Ahsoka is successful."
"Thank you," said Taran, shaking the king's hand before he boarded their shuttle. The king waved as the shuttle engines roared to life and it hovered above the ground before it was high enough for the wings to unfold and took off towards the sky. Once past the atmosphere and into space, the shuttle shot forward into hyperspace towards the planet Onderon.
On board the ship, everyone settled down to pass the time. Katooni and Byph were playing a game of Dejarik, Petro was practicing his levitation, Ganodi and Gungi were meditating, and Zatt was with R3, tinkering around with some hardware.
Bruck and Tia were talking to each other as Taran meditated.
The fortress was seen again, this time more detailed than before. He saw a glimpse of the outside, noting the desert environment quickly before his vision moved inside. The warden sat in his office, viewing over reports and diagnostics. The torture droid walked into the room.
"Any news?" said the warden.
"The subject still won't talk. She is proving to be resilient to almost every technique, including psychological torment," said the droid.
"Not even the shock treatment?" said the warden.
"Negative," said the droid.
"Try harder. I don't care if she's on the edge of death. She will talk," said the warden.
"Perhaps another mode of getting her to talk," said droid.
"I'm listening," said the warden.
Taran's vision ended abruptly.
"Taran, we're almost there," said Tia. He nodded as he stood up.
"Another vision?" she asked.
"Yes. I got a look at the environment, but that was all," said Taran.
"Where in Onderon do you want to go?" said Bruck.
"The capitol is a good start. Somewhere there will know where Ahsoka went," said Taran. "And I already have an idea who might know."
"Who lives on Onderon that could...Lux," she said.
"Yep," said Taran.
"Are you okay with it?" said Tia.
"I guess," said Taran. Yet, why would she go to Lux? This question kept going on and on in his mind, leading to many "what-if" answers. He hated it when he questioned himself in his head, nothing was ever solved.
The ship descended into one of the many spaceports that dotted the capitol city. The ship landed and Bruck left out first to handle the customs agent. Once their fee was paid, all nine of them headed out towards Unifar Temple, the palace of the King Dendup. Taran hoped they could find Lux without any problems.
As they approached the capital building, a royal guardsmen stopped them.
"Halt. State your business," he said.
"I'm Jedi Padawan Taran Cyneran. We're here to see if Lux Bonteri if he's in the city," said Taran. The guard looked them up and down.
"You don't look like Jedi," said the guard. Taran sighed and moved his jacket over to reveal his two lightsabers, as did the others to reveal theirs.
"Proof enough?" said Taran.
"I still can't let you in without proper clearance," said the guard.
"It's alright, I know him," said a voice behind the guard. The voice belonged to one Lux Bonteri. Lux had let his hair grown out more and stood tall and proud, his attire modeled on that of a Senator.
"It's been awhile Taran," said Lux.
"Likewise," said Taran.
"Please, come inside. We have a lot to talk about," said Lux. They all followed him into the palace, passing by dignitaries and guests alike. Some of them stared as they passed by. Taran didn't blame them; their attires didn't seem like the kind for anyone to enter a palace with. Lux lead them all to a conference room, where they all sat.
"Tell me, what brings you to Onderon," said Lux.
"Well Lux, I'm going to cut to the chase. Have you seen Ahsoka?" said Taran.
"Yes, she was here last month for a few days," said Lux. "Why, hasn't she come back?"
"Come back? What do you mean come back?" said Petro.
"She told me she was going to go back to the Temple," said Lux. Everyone in the room was shocked with that revelation.
"She was going to come back," Taran thought. The statement went on and on in his head on instant repeat.
"Wait, when did she say this?" said Taran.
"Almost a month ago. She was on her home planet before she came here, and while she was here she visited other worlds before she came back here and told me that she was going to go back," said Lux. "I'm surprised you haven't seen her."
"She's been captured Lux," said Taran.
"What? How?" he said, standing up.
"I don't know. We were hoping you would know something to fill in the blanks," said Taran.
"But she...yes, now I remember, she said she had to stop by the planet Florrum," said Lux.
"Florrum?!" said the group simultaneously, this revelation coming straight out of the the farthest parsec.
"Wait, what's in Florrum?" said Bruck.
"Hondo," said Taran and all the younglings. They all had dealings with the pirate before. Yet, why would Ahsoka want to go to Florrum of all places?
"Guess we have another stop," said Taran. "Thanks Lux, you've been a big help."
"It was my pleasure," said Lux.
"On to Florrum," said Bruck. They all sat up and started to make their way towards the exit of the palace.
"Wait, I'm coming with you," said Lux.
"No," said Taran.
"And why not? Ahsoka's just as much my friend as she is all of yours," said Lux.
"Lux, may I speak to you in private?" said Taran. Lux nodded. The rest of the group stepped outside of the room to give the two teenagers some privacy.
"Lux, as much as I know you mean well, I can't bring you on this," said Taran.
"But I must. She would want me to come help her," said Lux.
One nerve.
"I cannot put you in harm's way," said Taran.
"It's my decision," said Lux.
Two nerves.
"Lux, you have no idea what this mission is doing to me. Two of my oldest and dearest friends are volunteering to risk their lives for her, four kids who if anything happened to them I could never show my face at the Temple again, and throwing a Senator into the mix is going to fry my nerves," said Taran.
"Be that as it may, I have to do my part to save her," said Lux.
Three nerves.
Taran sighed. He knew he couldn't bring Lux, but Lux was dead-set on coming with them. His fingers gripped the table as he debated it in his mind.
"You know the consequences of what would happen to you if something happened," said Taran.
"I understand it well, but I'm ready to face them," said Lux.
"Oh spirits help me," said Taran.
The ship zoomed down towards the surface of the planet of Florrum.
"I can't believe we have to go see that pirate again," said Ganodi.
"You're not the only one," said Taran.
"He's not all bad. He did turn around to help us save Ahsoka," Katooni pointed out.
"You do remember he's the reason why we were down there in the first place?" said Petro. Gungi spoke, expressing his displeasure.
"You're right about that," said Zatt.
"Don't worry, this visit will be extremely short," said Taran.
"I take it this Hondo guy is really bad news?" said Tia.
"Yes," said Taran and the younglings.
"Ahsoka told me about him once. He seems like a slippery character," said Lux, his attire changed to his soldier's outfit from the rebellion on Onderon, along with two blasters strapped to his thighs.
"He has some sense of honor, but he will try to capture you and sell you to the highest bidder if he had the chance," said Taran.
"And what happens if things go sour?" said Bruck.
"I'll end the matter permanently," Taran said darkly. They all noticed the dark glint in his eyes, but none of them wished to bring it up. Instead they settled down to their fated encounter with the pirate leader Hondo Ohnaka.
The group made their way to the largest building in the pirate compound. Hondo's pirate organization, the Ohnaka Gang, seemed to have grown in the past months. There seemed to be about a hundred or so pirates from various species around the galaxy. The ones that noticed them pass by glared suspiciously at them. They walked into the entrance where music blared and pirates were drinking or talking to one another. Three dancing girls, one Weequayan, one Twi'lek, and a Human, moved erotically on the dance floor.
As they entered, all the music stopped and everyone inside the main building turned to look at them.
"Ah yes, my Jedi friends, come to visit?" said a voice in the back. A group of pirates moved away to reveal the pirate, Hondo Ohnaka. The pirate hadn't changed a bit since their last meeting. The pirate came forward, some of his men around him as bodyguards.
"More like politely requesting some information," said Taran.
"And that would be?" said Hondo.
"Perhaps you know a friend of ours who came by here recently. You remember Ahsoka right?" said Taran.
"Ah yes. She came by here a month ago. She needed my help for something she needed to do on another planet," said Hondo.
"I'm going to ask you this once, and only once," said Taran, his hand going into his jacket. "Did you have anything to do with her getting captured?"
"Captured? Do I look like the sort to do such a thing?" said Hondo. The whole group, and even some of his own, looked at him incredulously.
"Alright alright, I get the point, but no I did not do any capturing of the sort with her. She came to ask me for some credits to help some friends. I provided her with them, out of the generosity of my heart mind you, and she went on her way," said Hondo.
"To where?" said Taran.
"Something about some planet in the Outer Rim...ah what was it again...ah yes, Mandalore," said Hondo. Taran thought back to Mandalore. She had helped to throw off the corruption on the planet during Duchess Satine's reign. Did she know someone on there?
"And that's all that happened?" said Taran, still unsure about the pirate leader.
"Yes Cyneran. I may be a pirate, but I do have some honor. Now go if that is all you wish to talk to me about," said Hondo.
"Umm, thanks, I guess," said Taran. The whole group had been expecting a fight, and they had all tensed when Taran's hand went into his jacket. They had even thought that Hondo was planning some sort of nasty trick on them.
"It is of no worry. Now be on your way," said Hondo, waving his hand dismissively to the group.
"No problem."
(Mandalore)
Katooni and Zatt weaved their way through the crowd, searching through the crowds of people in Keldabe's marketplace. Since Mandalore was now a part of the Confederacy of Independent Systems after the death of Satine and the seizure of control by Death Watch. Thankfully, they were able to blend in to the hodgepodge of people moving throughout the city, even when patrols of Mandalorian warriors passed by through the streets.
"What exactly are we looking for here?" said Zatt.
"We need to see if we can find the group she was with when she was on her mission here," said Katooni.
"So do we know this group?" said Zatt.
"No. Our only lead so far is to find the nephew of Satine," said Katooni.
"Can't be too hard," said Zatt.
Meanwhile, the others had split up as well. Taran walked with Byph through another part of the city, asking if anyone had seen Korkie Kryze.
"I'm wondering if anyone has seen Korkie Kryze?" said Taran. The locals all shook their head. One person had told them that Korkie was still at large on the planet while another said he was imprisoned after the flight of Obi-Wan when he was captured.
Byph said something to Taran.
"Yes I know, this is frustrating," said Taran. The two of them went around asking questions, but always got ambiguous answers. One time they had to duck when Byph noticed a Mandalorian guard in Mandalorian armor move in their direction. They pulled into an alley and hid as the guard looked around for them, and then moved on.
"That was weird," said Taran. Byph nodded in agreement.
Elsewhere, the others moved throughout the city, Tia with Lux and Bruck with Ganodi. Gungi volunteered to watch the ship this go around.
After four hours of incessant searching, the group met back in the poor district of Keldabe, where plaster and wood buildings stood.
"Any luck?" said Tia.
"None whatsoever," said Taran.
"Should we try searching the different prisons? We all know by now that it's in the Outer Rim," said Bruck.
"It would take too much time; she doesn't have much longer," said Taran, remembering his vision earlier that day. This new one had shown Ahsoka crying out in pain, though he couldn't see her being tortured. It shook him to the core, but he had to put on a strong face, for the others sake.
"What can we do then?" said Petro.
"I don't know. We need answers, and fast," said Taran. At that moment, he noticed the same Mandalorian guard who had went towards him and Byph come back and go towards them, pushing through the crowd. He knew it was the same one because of the red diagonal stripe on the shoulder pad.
"Stay here, act casual," said Taran, getting up and moving quietly away, careful to not make any eye contact on their pursuer. The rest acted normal, talking about pointless things to give the facade of their conversation being meaningful. The guard kept coming to their direction, but stopped. As he wondered where he had went, he got his answer when he felt someone grab his upper body and pull him into an alleyway, slamming him to the wall and a lightsaber held to its throat.
"Who are you and what do you want?" said Taran, his eyes glinting menacingly.
"No stop, I'm a friend!" said the guard. He picked up his helmet and discarded it to the ground to reveal a teenaged boy with a shaved head.
"Who are you?" said Taran.
"I can take you to Korkie," he said. "Him and I were classmates when Ahsoka came to teach us. My name is Amis," Taran sensed for any ill-will from the teen before deciding he was telling the truth and deactivated his lightsaber.
"So that's why you were following us?" said Taran.
"Yes. Ahsoka told us a lot about you, so when I saw you I knew who you were," said Amis.
"Can you tell me what happened to her?" said Taran.
Amis nodded. "Get your friends. It's not safe to tell you in the streets."
Amis took them on a large speeder to the more modern part of the city. He turned off into a low-lying district in the area to conceal them all and brought the speeder to a halt on a ramp that lead into the side of a building.
"Follow me. Korkie's waiting," said Amis. They all followed him into the building. They went into a concrete hallway where a metal door stood. Walking up to it, Amis tapped on the door. A slot at the top of the door opened as a pair of eyes gazed at all of them.
"It's okay, they're all good," said Amis. The slot closed and the door unlocked, revealing a girl with brown hair and green eyes in armor as well.
"Who are they Amis?" said the girl.
"This is Taran and more friends of Ahsoka Soniee," said Amis.
"Oh," said Soniee, her eyes widening as she made way for them. The group filed into the room, where two more teenagers in armor, both with blond hair and blue eyes, were looking over a large set of monitors. One of them, the boy, looked up.
"You must be Taran," said the teenage boy, moving away from the monitor to stand before them.
"Korkie Kryze?" said Taran. The teen nodded.
"I'm sure you're here to find out about Ahsoka," said Korkie. "This is Lagos. I assume you know Amis and Soniee."
"We heard you were captured, or dead," said Tia.
"No, quite the opposite actually. If you can, you all should sit. This is going to be a long story," said Korkie. The younglings sat down in chairs while the teens stood up against the wall.
"Ahsoka was helping us get our situation here together before she went back to Coruscant. She had supplies and money for us to help our movement down on the planet to restore Mandalore back to its pacifist nature before...the death of my aunt," said Korkie. "One day, we were setting up the monitors here, when we were attacked. A group of bounty hunters had come to seize me and collect the bounty on my head. Ahsoka led them away from us to give us time to fall back and meet at a rendezvous point. When she didn't come, we feared the worst. We went out searching for her, but we couldn't find her. Do you know of her whereabouts?" said Korkie.
"She's been captured. She's being held at a Separatist base," said Lux. The four of them hung their heads.
"Don't worry, we're going to get her back," said Bruck.
"And we won't stop until we do," said Petro.
"If you can, we'd like to come too," said Korkie. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. We'll do anything to help."
"That can be arranged, but we need to figure out which prison she is held in. But there's something you know that we don't. Who were the bounty hunters that chased after you?" said Taran.
"It was a group of five. They were various species. I do remember their leader well though. Ahsoka said his name when they first attacked. He had blue skin, red eyes. I think he was a Duros. He wore a wide-brimmed hat," said Korkie, trying to recollect his name. A chill went down Taran's spine as his eyes widened in realization.
"No," said Taran. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Amis went to go check it. Suddenly, all six of the Jedi's senses warned them. A beeping was heard.
"Amis, Soniee, move back!" yelled Taran.
BOOM!
An explosion hurled Amis and Soniee back, as well as causing everyone in the room to lose balance from the shockwave, falling to the floor. The door was blown to large pieces as well as the wall around it. Dust instantly filled the room, hiding everyone's bodies in the dust and debris. Taran groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head under his hat to relieve the headache he just received. In the doorway stood the outline of a man, the dust hiding his form before he walked in.
"Maybe two thermal detonators was a little too much," he said as he looked at the motionless bodies of Amis and Soniee, nudging Soniee with her foot. A groan escaped her lips. He moved forward to find Korkie, but stopped dead when he saw who else was in the room, specifically Taran.
"Well, well, well, this is a nice surprise. I was hoping to get just Kryze, but it seems I'll have another high-priced target to acquire," he said, smiling. Taran grit his teeth in anger, his fist clenching as he looked up at the face of his parent's killer.
"Bane."