Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I just created my own little AU sandbox to play in.

AN: Here's part 7! Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Origins: A Forever Destined Vignette

Part 7/?

The Jedi guards performed their routine patrol outside the gates of the Jedi prison on Yavin IV. It was quiet as a tomb, but this was nothing new on the sleepy, largely forested backwater moon where they had built the new prison and new Agri-Corps. Unfortunately, this night would be far from routine and for the first time at this place, the blood of innocents would be spilt. The lead guard, who had survived the massacre on Bandomeer years ago, had a decent midichlorian count of around eight thousand. It had not been enough to get him chosen to train as a padawan when he was a child, but his assignment to Agri-Corps was not seen as a disgrace to him. The farming facility was a very misunderstood place. No one was forced to go there. Those there were not rejects, even though they were the butt of many jokes, especially on the Holonet. They were a community, like any other really. They were not so different from their brothers in the Temple on the capital world. In fact, they were highly respected by most on Coruscant and held in high account by most on the Jedi Council. He was an accomplished duelist and most were. They studied the ways of the Force and had good lives. Those that didn't want to be there simply left to pursue other interests. Those that did want to be there had professions they took pride in. He himself was a lawman, devoting himself to upholding the laws of the Republic and the Jedi by seeing that criminals stay locked away for their atrocities. The others in his community held professions like those in any other community. They had farmers, healers, teachers, business owners, and many others. It was likely the galaxy would never see them as they truly were. But they knew and that was enough. Unfortunately, on this night, they would not see the coming assault until it was too late.

As the guard suddenly saw a menacing looking Duro male, he opened his mouth to call out, as he raised his light saber. But before any sound could come from his mouth or he could ignite his blade, his throat was slit viciously. Blaine smirked with something akin to glee, as the man's blood stained his vibro knife and hands.

"Shooting him is a lot less messy," Jaxxis hissed. Blaine's smirk only widened.

"But a lot less fun," he hissed back, as they slipped inside. But before continuing on, Jaxxis planted two thermal detonators by the entrance. Despite his reckless need for bloodshed, he proved to his shaky partner that he had planned carefully. He led them straight to Bane's cell block. The two were quiet, years in this business had provided them with exceptional skill in stealth. The prisoners in the dark cell blocks slept soundly, except for one. His red eyes glowed in the darkness, as he sat in his solitude like this, night after night. He plotted his revenge on those that put him there. As he saw another pair of red eyes staring back at him, he knew his time had finally come. He rose silently, as his old partner fried the lock and the plasma bars disappeared. And as the thermal detonators went off, distracting the prison guards and Agri-Corps defenders, the three slipped unnoticed back to the ship…

Padme idly read through the Holonet's morning headlines on her datapad, as she sipped at her morning caf. This was her normal routine before she left for her office and she often enjoyed the peaceful lapping of her fountain on the veranda while she read. She set her cup down and smiled, as she felt her husband's lips skim tenderly down her neck, before he sat beside her. He had completed his meditation and cleaned up for the day, now joining her for a quiet breakfast.

"Morning handsome," she greeted.

"Morning angel," he replied, as he set his cup down after taking a sip. She pushed her datapad away, much more eager for his company than that of various reporters.

"You know, you always get wound up when you read the Holonet garbage," he mentioned, noticing the slight frustration in her mood. She sighed.

"I know. I try to stick to the credible articles, but sometimes I get drawn to the garbage articles, as you put it and then it kind of becomes like watching a speeder wreck," Padme responded. He smirked.

"You want to look away, but you can't," he concluded.

"I know we're not supposed to care what they think…but when it comes to our kids, it's just so much harder to not want to throttle them!" she exclaimed. He nodded.

"I know. You remember how I reacted six months ago when I accidentally read that article about how we all supposedly pushed Kimberly into studying as a healer to avoid her being sent to Agri-Corps?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I can't forget that. I wasn't sure even I was going to be able to stop you from storming into that reporter's office. And Bail had to have his security officers practically restrain Shane from doing the same," Padme recalled fondly.

"It's hard for me when they slander you, but it's really hard with the kids. They're just dragging Luke through the mud still. According to them, Luke was out clubbing last night, rebelling against us for forcing him to have this baby," Padme complained. He chuckled.

"Well, he did have a pretty wild time painting the nursery last night," Anakin joked. She smiled and sighed.

"I guess there's no stopping them. Free speech applies to them too," Padme said.

"Yep, and since apparently, according to you, my beautiful wife, I can't Force choke them, cause Force choking is bad," he replied, reciting the last part with an eye roll.

"Yes, Force choking is bad, even though in this case I almost considered letting you at least go scare them a little," Padme replied, watching him perk up in anticipation.

"I said I considered it, but decided against it," she repeated, giggling as he deflated a little. She got up and was about to head to the kitchen to help Threepio get breakfast on the table for the kids, knowing that their two bottomless pit boys were only moments from invading the kitchen in search of sustenance. Anakin latched onto her arm and pulled her into his lap. She relaxed in his embrace, as their lips met with tender passion. Her husband's amazing kisses never failed to make her body tingle all over and her heart sour with love. She knew how most didn't understand what they had between them, but she had long ago stopped caring what they thought. Their love was no farce. Their lips parted and smiled at her.

"You can't listen to what others say," he reminded.

"I know. It's just that they have a lot of nerve when they suggest that somehow what we have isn't real, because we seem perfect," Padme replied. He surprised her by capturing her lips in another searing kiss, before parting their lips again.

"That's funny, because we certainly feel real to me," he stated with his trademark smirk that she loved. She couldn't help the bright smile that encompassed her face and that was his goal.

"We're not perfect, just perfect for each other," he told her. She nodded.

"I guess we just seem perfect to others, because we've been through so much. Some of the normal relationship stuff doesn't plague us like it might with other couples," Padme reasoned.

"We've risen above that stuff, because of everything we've gone through. I'm not saying we're better, but maybe just a little more enlightened when it comes to love," he reasoned with her. She nodded again in agreement.

"Sometimes we are in our own little world," she admitted. He smiled.

"And that's bad?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. And I shouldn't expect others to understand what we have. If they did, then it wouldn't be so special," she replied. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Reality is subjective, angel. What's real to some may not be so real to other," he pointed out. She looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"When did you become so profoundly wise?" she asked. He scoffed.

"I'm a very wise Jedi Master, I'll have you know. Perhaps the wisest," he replied. She raised an eyebrow, questioning his seriousness.

"Okay, so definitely not the wisest, but surely the most fun," he said, wriggling his eyebrows. This was followed by a growling noise, which made her giggle more.

"I also need fed I think," he said, as they got up.

"Yep, we can't have you starving, can we Master Jedi?" she asked rhetorically, as they went to the kitchen.

Natalie's two friends, Cera and Lily, looked at their friend, as they sat at a table in the campus courtyard, eating lunch. Natalie's was nearly untouched and though their studious friend usually tried to study during lunch, she paid her datapad no mind. Instead, she simply stared off into space with a faraway look. Lily looked to Cera and saw their more mischievous friend getting ready to flick a piece of food at the princess to get her attention.

"Don't do that," Lily scolded. Cera rolled her eyes.

"It's a way to get her attention," Cera said.

"There are other ways," Lily insisted.

"Natalie," she called. Nothing. The princess continued to stare off into nothing.

"Coruscant to Natalie!" Cera yelled, snapping her out of her daze and getting the attention of others around them as well.

"What?" she asked.

"What's going on with you? We've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes," Lily said. Natalie looked embarrassed.

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," she apologized.

"Oh, a certain tall, blonde haired Jedi padawan, perhaps?" Cera prodded. Natalie flushed slightly. She had been thinking about Jay at first, but then her thoughts had drifted to her biological mother.

"Some, but I'm also thinking about everything that's happened recently," Natalie answered.

"You mean meeting your biological mom?" Cera blurted out, a little too loudly.

"Shhh…" Natalie scolded.

"Yeah Cera, you have such a big mouth," Lily added.

"Sorry Nat, I forgot. But why are you keeping it a secret anyway?" Cera asked. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"The stupid Holonet already tries to follow Jay and I around, because of our relationship. What do you think they're going to do if they find out who or rather what race my mom belongs to? They'll start in on my parents then," Natalie explained. Lily sighed.

"You look really stressed out, Nat," she said, worried about her friend. Natalie smiled back kindly.

"Thanks Lil, but I'll be okay. I'm just not sure what to do about Day'na. It's just so awkward being around her and I don't know if I'll ever feel toward her the way I feel toward my adoptive mom," Natalie said.

"Then you have to tell her that," Cera replied bluntly.

"But I don't want to hurt her, especially if she is sincere about wanting to be in my life," Natalie stated.

"You don't have to cut her out completely either. I think that you should be honest. Tell her that you would like her to be involved, but perhaps more in the role of an aunt. If she really loves you, she'll respect that," Lily told her.

"Lil is right. Besides, why give up being a Princess to be…" Cera started to say, but Lily and Natalie gave her warning looks.

"To be…well, you know," she finished vaguely. Natalie sighed and nodded.

"Jayden told me pretty much the same thing," Natalie agreed, noticing her friends were suddenly smiling like silly schoolgirls and she felt strong arms wrap around her.

"She has some pretty good advice," Jayden said in his deep tenor voice. She turned and smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as he sat down beside her.

"Grandpa Qui-Gon is in a Council meeting, so I decided to come have lunch with you," he replied. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Don't you have classes?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Maybe," he replied, earning him a smack.

"Jay, you shouldn't skip! Won't you have to run like a million laps for skipping?" she asked. He chuckled.

"Probably and grandpa will probably double my sparring schedule for a while," he mused, as he looked into her eyes.

"But you're worth it," he added. Natalie melted inside, but tried to keep her stern exterior, while her friends swooned.

"Come on, let's go for a walk before you have to go back to class," he suggested. She nodded.

"You two don't mind?" she asked.

"Get out of here," Lily said excitedly.

"And get some for me while you're at it," Cera added, enjoying his sudden shyness.

"You're terrible," Natalie laughed, as she joined hands with her boyfriend and they walked toward the campus path.

Emergency Council meetings were never good and by the look on his father's face, Anakin could tell that something bad had happened.

"Dad, what's happened?" Anakin asked, as they came to order. Qui-Gon sighed.

"A prisoner escaped from Yavin IV last night," Qui-Gon announced, causing commotion to travel through the Council ranks. Anakin clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, his jaw locked in determination.

"It was Cad Bane…wasn't it?" he asked. Kuro's eyes narrowed at the younger Jedi.

"How do you know that?" she questioned.

"Just a hunch," Anakin nearly growled back.

"Yes, Cad Bane is the prisoner that was busted out and the assailants made no effort to disguise themselves before they cut the holocam wires," Mace said, as he pressed a button on the holodisc on the table in front of him. There, an image of a person fully garbed in Mandalorian armor stood behind another Duro male, who was giving the camera a smug look of superiority, taunting them. Obi-Wan squinted his eyes.

"Is that Jaxxis Ord?" he asked. Qui-Gon nodded curtly.

"I thought he was serving a life sentence in prison?" Anakin questioned heatedly.

"He should have been, but somehow, he recently convinced the parole board that he had changed his ways and how is a free man," Qui-Gon stated gravely. Anakin snorted in annoyance.

"He should have never been allowed parole. Now he's just made a mockery of the entire justice system," Anakin spat. Mace nodded, agreeing with the younger Jedi.

"It is clear that their sole intention was to free Bane. Casualties were thankfully light and others sustained only minor injuries from the explosions they set off as a diversion to make their escape. We have already sent Serra and Ferus there to conduct a full investigation," Mace stated.

"How did they even get past the security check points?" Adi Gallia wondered.

"Perhaps Master Skywalker's ingenious security system has failed us," Kuro suggested. Anakin glared at her.

"You would love that, wouldn't you?" Anakin spat back.

"No Master Kuro, nothing in the security system failed. The ship simply slipped past like it wasn't even there," Qui-Gon stated.

"They had a cloaking device then and knew exactly how to bypass all the security points," Anakin stated.

"The question is why would Jaxxis Ord team up with a Mandalorian?" Obi-Wan reminded.

"The only reason Bane or Ord do anything is for money. The Mandalorian has recruited them for whatever he has planned," came the response from Ferus' hologram.

"Ferus is right. They're most likely headed right back here to Coruscant," Qui-Gon said. Anakin looked at his father, who looked back.

"Masters, please excuse my sons and I," Qui-Gon announced, as he rose from his seat. Anakin and Obi-Wan followed him.

"You're just leaving in the middle of a meeting?" Ki-Adi Mundi protested.

"Forgive me Masters, but this has become a serious family matter," Qui-Gon stated, as they walked out and found Riley waiting for them.

"Riley? What's going on?" Anakin asked.

"I found another body down near the Docks last night. Mandalorian," Riley stated, as they began walking.

"Have we identified him?" Anakin asked.

"Yes, but it's a she and her name was Bec'ca," Riley replied.

"Two dead Mandalorians within just days of each other. We have a clan war going on here," Qui-Gon concluded.

"What are the chances that this Bec'ca knew Day'na?" Anakin asked.

"My gut is telling me pretty damn good. And Al'vez was in good with the Fetts, which mean I'm almost positive that his clan is our for revenge on Jayden," Riley stated.

"The Mandalorian that was with Jaxxis Ord is probably the new leader of Al'vez's clan," Obi-Wan suggested.

"Well, Jayden's here in the Temple so I'll just make sure we don't let him out of our sight. I think we need to pull Natalie from her classes early though. They'll go after her to get to my son," Anakin said, noticing his father's wince.

"What?" he asked.

"Jayden's not in his classes. I don't sense him in the Temple," Qui-Gon stated.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, as he searched for his son's life force nearby and realized that his father was right. Qui-Gon quirked an eyebrow.

"He's your son. You invented cutting classes to go gallivanting around the city or sneaking off with girls," Qui-Gon pointed out, causing Obi-Wan to chuckle at the memories. Anakin groaned.

"Of all the times to take after me," he sighed. Riley patted him on the shoulder.

"He probably went straight for the University. Let's get there and see if we can track them down before he convinces Natalie to cut classes with him," Riley said. Anakin nodded.

"We'll go alert the patrols. If they have a cloaking device, they'll probably slip right past the towers undetected," Qui-Gon stated.

"Perhaps I should go visit Day'na and question her about this Bec'ca," Obi-Wan suggested.

"She probably won't tell you anything," Anakin replied.

"Maybe not, but if she cares even a little about Natalie and finds out that her silence could endanger her daughter's life, then she may come clean. Even if she doesn't, I may be able to tell how involved with this she is, even if she tries to hide it from me," Obi-Wan suggested. Anakin nodded.

"It can't hurt," he agreed, as they parted with their individual missions.

Natalie's eyes fluttered open, as their lips parted. They sat beside the campus pond and the lunch hour would soon come to an end. Natalie noticed that many were starting to head back into the building.

"I guess I better get back," she said. He smirked.

"Or you could just stay with me," he suggested. She smiled.

"As nice as that sounds, I really shouldn't be missing any classes and you shouldn't be missing anymore than you already have," Natalie reasoned.

"Come on Nat, you're the smartest girl I know. Missing a few afternoon classes for you won't be a big deal," he said. She looked at his handsome face. It was really tempting.

"But I guess if you want to go back to class instead of cruising the city on a hover board with me, then I guess I'll have to accept that," he said, tempting her.

"Hover board? As in your dad's hover board?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"He let you borrow it and your mom was okay with that?" Natalie asked suspiciously.

"Well…borrowed without asking kind of, but I'll put it back tonight before he notices," Jayden promised.

"Jay, this is your dad we're talking about. He's probably noticing right about now," Natalie said, making her boyfriend wince.

"All the more reason for us to make this a day we'll never forget since I'm going to probably get grounded for a month after this," he replied. She shook her head in amusement.

"You know, you don't have to break all the rules just to be with me. I'm only ever going to want you," she reminded. He nodded.

"I know…I just can't help it. Lately I've just wanted to spend every moment I can with you. And I know we have responsibilities…" he trailed off, as she put her finger up to his lips.

"Our responsibilities will still be there tomorrow," she said, as she kissed his cheek and stood up, while he just looked at her.

"Well, are we going?" she asked. He smiled and jumped up, as he hurried back to his speeder, retrieving the hover board. He hopped on and his feet were strapped into place, before he helped her on. Her feet were strapped into place and he held her close, as they stared into each other's eyes for several long moments.

"Don't let go," she whispered. He smiled.

"Like I ever would," he replied, as they went sailing into the air.

In her quarters that afternoon, Day'na answered a comm call, nearly choking, as she saw her sisters on the other end.

"What are you doing? You know it's too risky calling me on the main comm channel!" she hissed.

"We're sorry, but it's an emergency!" Sal'ma insisted.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's Bec'ca…she's dead," Jay'ma announced.

"What? How?" Day'na exclaimed.

"She disappeared two nights ago and her body was discovered yesterday by the authorities. She was murdered," Tan'na explained.

"Blaine…" Day'na growled, knowing this was his work.

"You need to come back. This is getting out of hand. We can't fight his clan without you," Sal'ma hissed.

"I can't. It will jeopardize everything," Day'na refused.

"There will be nothing to jeopardize if we're all dead! We think they're going to attack any time," Tan'na said.

"And if you were to use your daughter…then you could force the Jedi to help us win," Jay'ma said. Day'na felt taken aback and was even surprised by her sudden feelings of protectiveness for Natalie.

"No…I don't want her near this," Day'na refused. Sal'ma scoffed in annoyance.

"I knew it…you care about the little twit. I knew you weren't strong enough for this," she hissed. Day'na glared back at her.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Day'na roared.

"Are you going soft for some brat you just met?" Sal'ma argued. Day'na steeled her gaze on her potential rival. She clenched her teeth and glared daggers.

"We don't need the Jedi's help to deal with Blaine and his band of dimwitted sleamos. I'm leaving now and we'll end this once and for all. That barbarian is not going to ruin everything we have worked for. Rule of Mandalore will be ours, but Natalie can't help me get in Duchess Satine's good graces if she's dead. We'll rid ourselves of Blaine's, his pathetic clan, and then we'll move forward as planned," Day'na said coldly. Sal'ma smirked.

"You had me worried there for a minute. I thought you had actually developed feelings for the little princess," Sal'ma hissed.

"She means nothing to me, simply a means to our eventual rule. She's no use to us if Blaine kills her," Day'na said, as she cut the transmission. She left quickly, nearly missing Obi-Wan Kenobi, and hopped in her speeder, taking off for their temporary headquarters, located in The Works.

Luke, Marcus, and Jenna were on patrol in the slums. It was actually one of Marcus' first patrols without his father along and he had been extremely excited that his father was trusting him with this new responsibility, as he and Jenna both made their way toward the ranks of senior padawans. For Luke, it was simply another duty that would prove whether or not he was ready for Knighthood. But they weren't getting much action at all and Jenna was getting bored.

"Luke, are you sure about this? I thought this alley was supposed to be where some of the big spice deals went down," Jenna complained. Luke gave her a pointed gaze.

"It is, trust me. This place is usually crawling with activity," he said. They were disguised in civilian clothes as regular young people of course.

"Maybe you two are just too high profile. No one recognizes me, but you two are Skywalkers," he reasoned.

"Normally I might agree with you, but it is never deserted like this unless something big is going down," Luke said.

"Well, I don't see anything," Jenna replied. Suddenly, her big brother grabbed her by the back of the tunic, Marcus too, and hauled them into a nearby crevice.

"What the h…" Jenna started, but his steely look stopped her words.

"Quiet…someone is coming," Luke hissed, as they watched. They spotted a blonde Mandalorian female appear from one of the buildings and a speeder slow down.

"That's Day'na…" Jenna whispered. They watched the brunette woman get in. The two were heatedly discussing something, but the padawans were too far away to hear what they were saying. Soon, they sped off and Luke ran out to see which direction they were going.

"She looks like she's up to no good," Marcus said.

"Yeah, which means Nat could be in danger," Jenna added.

"Whether or not that true, I'm not sure, but she's up to something if she headed toward the Works," Luke replied, as he dashed toward the speeder.

"Get in," he called to them, as he revved the engine. Jenna smirked, as she felt her blood stir. A battle was brewing and Marcus recognized her gleeful look at the possibility of an upcoming fight. He was snapped from his thoughts, but Luke's call. They hopped in and Luke sped off in the same direction Day'na had gone…