Ranger Do'Urden: Thanks for the review, it's reviews that get me motivated to write more and get updates out there. Now that the semester is over and grading is finished I can get down to the work of getting more done on this. I meant what I wrote about the endgame for Obi and Maul and it's my goal to get this done before the next Clone Wars episode on the 6th Jan. I know there is a big Maul thing going to happen and I would like this done so I'm not overly influenced by that when it comes out. Oh, and a very Merry Christmas to you too!

Linnup: Ooh, I hate it when that happens! But the fact that you took the time to post anything is greatly appreciated, so thank you so much. Dear old Obi has some stuff still to deal with, but I'll let you into a little secret…(whispers low into computer keyboard!)…I hate sad endings!

Beloved Daughter: Wow, that was a speedy review, thank you! I only posted the thing a few hours ago! Anyhoo, I thought that might surprise people having those two show up as partners. I also liked the idea of Asajj and Nawe working together and I might do more with that, we'll have to see… And as for Boba, well…

OK, so before I get reviews s#$ting on me for Jango's back story, let me explain that I took some of it from the SW:Bouty Hunter game and added some stuff of my own to account for the switch of Maul being alive and Dooku not involved in the whole clone building process. Some characters do not appear as shown on the box! Also, consider Ahsoka to be younger and less experienced than the one we see in Clone Wars.

"And is that the last they've heard?" asked the young Boba of the clone trooper in front of him.

"Yes, S-," Boba cringed as the trooper began to call him "Sir", but the trooper corrected himself, "I mean, yes, Boba, Kenobi and Nawe are nowhere to be found and Dex has gone silent."

Boba looked thoughtfully out of the Kamino base window at the undulating waves as they crashed against the pilons beneath the super structure. Surrounded by his brothers he had thought he would never feel alone, but he felt more alone and isolated than ever before and although the faces around him were all known to him, he was swimming in a sea of strangers as unfathomable to him as the raging sea beneath him. He turned back to the familiar face of the trooper, seeing the slightly older version of himself.

"Well, let me know the moment you hear anything and keep all our communications open for any news, whether it's from Coruscant or Tatooine. Something big is coming and I want us prepared for it."

"Yes, Sir!" the trooper said once again on automatic pilot, "Oh, erm, sorry S- er Boba S- I mean,"

"Please, just go," said the growing boy and he smiled grudgingly at the trooper as he left. A chuckle from the other side of the room had him turning to see Jango still working on the new uniform plans.

"It's not that funny," he said moving to see how the designs were looking.

"Oh, yes it is," said Jango, satisfied with his work, "Your brothers never treated me with this much respect, Boba, you should feel honored by their show of it."

"But I don't deserve it, all I did was say a few well chosen words, your words, in fact."

"Arr, but I didn't say them. You did, and that makes all the difference to them."

"They're all at least twice my age!" exclaimed Boba, gesturing in the direction the last trooper had disappeared down.

"And you've already seen more than any of them will ever see in their lifetimes! At least I hope they won't see such things." Jango had been truly devastated when, on his reunion with his son, Boba had told him that Maul had shown him the truth behind who this Boba was. They had been distant ever since, Boba finding it very hard to trust Jango and craving terribly the open company he got from Ben. Jango had known that the boy would form a strong bond with the former Jedi, he was just surprised it was as strong as it was and felt tremendously jealous of the man, even though he was absent from their community.

As Boba's ship had left the atmosphere of Coruscant, he had remained by Ben's side as the medics fussed over the ailing man, but the planet's security had sent the bridge crew into a panic for no reason Boba could fathom and the clones had insisted he head for the bridge. That had been the moment that the small group of loyalist clones had slipped away with Ben and the republic guard who had impaled Ben. Dex had stepped in to stop Boba from launching a full on rescue attempt at that instant. He had pointed out that now that Ben was in republic custody there was no way they would hand him over without a fight that would see Boba's brothers slaughtered. He had promised to stay on the surface, revealing his ownership of a small diner that had been a front for his dealings for years. Boba could remember his shock at the admission as this was the first he had heard of it from the basalisk, but knowing how the creature worked it made total sense that he would have a hand in the goings on of Coruscant, and what better way to do business than at a diner.

'Always keep some secrets for a rainy day' had been Dex's reply with a wink as he had disappeared from the ship in one of the escape pods. He had promised to keep Boba apprised of all news from Coruscant, but they hadn't heard anything from him in days. It was becoming obvious to Boba that their communications were being monitored from somewhere outside of the planet and that worried him even more, but it made sense that Dex would remain hidden then if he also suspected such a thing.

As for the Kaminoans, they had put up no resistance whatsoever to the clones taking over the facilities and creating their own nation. The Kaminoans themselves were an innately peaceful people, despite their exceptional training techniques in all forms of warfare. It was clear that Maul had supplied them with much of the training materials they had used on his brothers, but it was their unique teaching styles that had created the army of warriors that he now had at his disposal. A lesser man would have seen this as his opportunity to exploit such in built loyalty in his brothers, but Boba was finding it all very disturbing and humbling that they would have placed all their faith in him after the unlocking of their subtle programming. This was why he needed Ben, he would know how to deal with this all, he could direct them properly, give them advice and lead them to whatever it was they needed to be led to.

"Maul will be coming for us, won't he?" he asked his dad. Jango put down his plans and looked up at the son who had changed so much in the last few weeks. He was taller and loosing that chubbiness to his features that the pre-adolescent clones still had. He had forgotten that this Boba was aging as his fellow clones were, not as the boy he had asked of Maul had been. Jango cursed himself for having to place so much on a five year old boy who was still coming to terms with his status in this new dynamic. He nodded in response.

"And the republic, and the separatists," he sighed heavily, "we really have made some enemies, haven't we!"

"It's not our fault!" exclaimed Boba, "surely the senate at least can see that! If anything we're withdrawing from all this, we just want to be left alone!"

"But as far as they are concerned from what they believe of Palpatine's propaganda, our nation was bought and paid for with republic credit. They feel that we owe them our very existence and so our loyalty."

"Doesn't that amount to slavery? I thought the republic was against that sort of thing!"

"I'm no politician, Boba, but I would guess that's not how they see this situation. We are a commodity, at best, in their eyes, and nothing more. Cannon fodder to face their threats so they don't have to get their hands dirty."

"Well, they'll have to get them dirty now. We're not at their beck and call, we're beings just like everyone else." Boba moved away from the man called 'father', but it sounded so tainted, he couldn't bring himself to call him that.

"Why did you do it, Jango, why did you agree to make us?"

Jango tried to hide the pain of hearing his son call him 'Jango' like that, but Boba saw the hurt he'd caused immediately and looked away, ashamed of his words, but still unable to call the man anything else right now.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I just can't.."

"It's alright Boba," said Jango sadly, "You have a right to know my motivations, and perhaps you'll understand me a little better. That can only be for the good, right?"

Boba shivered in the cool air of the facility. Everything was so prickly between them, the wound Maul had inflicted on them both with his vicious actions still hanging between them, but Jango hoped this would ease things a little between them, feeling that Boba was prepared for the truth of his words.

"I was a man of aimless pursuits, wondering the galaxy and bargaining lives away that were not my own and I was very good at it. I had no ties, no worries and I liked it, a free agent in a galaxy that was trying to bring everything under one order, the republics order and I could seamlessly slip between the lines, just trying to find my way in the universe. But it was never enough, I took on more missions, more dangerous bounties, trying to find something to fill the hole inside myself. I had a Toyderian spotter, Roz I called her, I'd set up on a hidden base who was annoying as hell, but she was the closest thing I had to family and was my constant after every job, after every adventure, she was there to praise my victory or pick up the pieces."

"Pick up the pieces?"

"More times than I'll ever admit! She knew what was missing from my life and I was too blind to get her hints until it was too late. You see, there was this job I started, just a simple recon and recov in the beginning, but it developed into something much more complicated. It was a test, an elaborate test that Maul was putting me through to offer me the ultimate prize, to be the template for a new breed of warrior. Imagine the ego boost! Of course, I wasn't the only test subject, there was another, a man called Montross. He killed Roz and I realized I had no one, nothing left. Suddenly, the money, the fame, nothing had any meaning for me anymore and I realized I needed something, someone in my life to care for, to protect and someone to care for me. That was you and your brothers, Boba, all of you. I had to pass Maul's test, if only to have someone to pass on my knowledge to. And see the work that has been done here, we've built a nation together!"

"And the first Boba?" asked the young clone, "Would you tell me about him." Both Jango and this Boba had been trying to bring this up since their reunion, but this was the first time either of them was in the place to deal with their feelings on the issue. Although Jango's face looked sad, Boba could see a light in his eyes as he began recalling the infant he had cared for, a light that had been in Jango's eyes whenever he looked on this Boba, until the child had revealed what he knew about his past and Maul's cruel trick at revealing the truth. Secretly, Boba hoped his father would look on him again with that light and perhaps this was the start of that journey back to the mutual affection and trust they had experienced before all the horror of their parting.

"Well, I became a father, literally overnight! The Kaminoans were amazingly patient with me as I struggled to raise yo-, I mean raise him," the slip struck a chord of hurt in them both, but Boba held fast, wanting to hear this finally, wanting the love to return to their relationship and so Jango continued, seeing the strength in this Boba so reminiscent of the original and feeling closer to him than he had in a long time.

"He was all limbs, I remember, and could get into anything and everything, but was so quiet, so observant. The first time he threw a tantrum was a complete surprise and mystery to me and the only thing that would calm him down was –"

"The Tilian lullaby!" exclaimed Boba, as a memory of the song came to him, a memory from the long dead Boba's mind, but he found it mingling with one of Jango singing that to him while he tended to his wounded arm on Geonosis while Ben was fixing his Naboo communicator to contact Dooku for the first time. Here was his father, the father of his brothers, a man who had done everything to protect his family, everything physically possible. He had been prepared to sacrifice his life for the boy and his brothers and he had even made sure that Boba had someone to take care of him when he was gone.

"Would you sing that for me now?" he asked tentatively, to which Jango looked on him now with that light in his eyes Boba desperately craved. And he opened his arms to receive his son.

"Yes," he breathed out with a relief that filled the room and calmed the storm outside, "yes, of course."

Boba ran into his father's arms and held on tight as his father began the song that he knew so well.

-NNN-NNN-NNN-

It was pitch black in the room, but the feeling of fresh air flowing through it meant it had to be vast. The droids had dumped Ahsoka there some time ago and she had huddled in on herself once they had left, feeling only the cold of the floor through her leku and damp skin. This dark was in complete contrast to the brilliant white of her cell where she had been unable to sleep under its gaze. Not that sleep was something she really wanted to do anyway. Whenever she slept she would see the decaying face of her former master looming over her and telling her how low she had sunk, how much of a failure she was, how unworthy of the Jedi she was. Just as he seemed to be there now in this oppressive darkness that she couldn't escape.

"Do you know why you are here?" a voice asked much more closely to her head than she liked and she whipped around in the dark to find the source, even lashing out with a force push away from herself. But nothing seemed to be there and she huddled into herself again.

"I'll ask again," came the voice a little more distant this time, "do you know why you are here?"

"I.." she started to say quietly, but she was determined to show that famous defiance that had seen her almost sent to Bandomeer rather than claim a Master. "I suppose I'm here to die."

The laugh was not a pleasant sound, it rattled through her bones as it sank in around her and the darkness.

"Perhaps," came the reply and she shivered, "but certainly not before we've had a chance to get to know each other." She heard something rattled across the floor and she instinctively scurried away from the sound, only to feel the cold metal of a saber hilt gently hit her knee. He clasped it in her hands and raised it up, lighting it and holding it out to try to see more of the room.

"An impressive training blade for one so young," came the voice in the darkness, "your master must have been very pleased when you created that one."

She swung it around in the direction of the voice, but only the swish of the blade was the sound in the room.

"The question is, did he show you how to use it?"

The red blade shot down at her without warning and she had only milliseconds to defend herself from the heavy blow. She wasn't as strong as her classmates, but she was fast, always had been and slipped underneath the blow with her blade raised high to deflect it. She could feel that this had not been the full force attack her assailant was capable of, but he was clearly testing her abilities, probably looking for weaknesses for a final strike.

The red blade had extinguished immediately after her move and she was left in the green light of her own blade again. She looked around, reaching out with the force to try to pinpoint the attacker, but ever since arriving on this ship she had had trouble with her force skills. She suspected they were being dulled on purpose, but why they hadn't been removed from her completely was a mystery to her, until now. Now it was clear this connection was being tested also.

The red blade shot out at her again and she swiftly ducked and parried the blade away from her as it came to rain down a series of increasingly powerful blows. She found herself drawing on the force even more, clasping out for her connection to it and reaching within herself to fend off the blows. The more she fought, the more she could feel the force flowing through her limbs, coming back to her being and guiding her movements. She had always excelled in saber class and it was showing as she took to making more advanced moves. A swelling pride in her own abilities was giving her confidence in her moves as the two blades danced together. She began over reaching her position, trying to gain the upper hand in the fight and found the tables turning in her favor. Now she was no longer defending herself, she was aggressively pursuing the blade as it backed away from her in increasingly desperate back peddling away from her growing power.

Suddenly the blade was gone again and she stumbled forward onto the cold floor, breathing heavily, the sweat beading on her face and dripping down her leku.

"Most impressive," cooed the voice, some distance away from her and, she realized, completely unphazed by the fight. She also realized that the blade had not been held by anyone, it had been floating through the fight, guided by the force in it's assault on her. "I can see why Master Plo took you as his apprentice."

"Don't speak his name!" she screamed as she lashed out at the disembodied voice around her. Her anger even surprised herself and she suddenly felt the coldness of the room oppressively constrict her body to a crumpled heap on the floor, wracking her form with heavy sobs as she remembered the death of her beloved master. He had fought so valiantly at her side as the droids kept coming and coming on them within their hidden cave. And then HE had come, the cyborg menace that she had seen on the holovids before they had left the temple for this disastrous mission. He had twisted and flipped around them while the droids continued their onslaught and to protect his padawan, Master Plo had given his life, sliding off the cyborgs four blades when the monster had been done with him. Ahsoka had tried, how she had tried to stop him, but Greivous had wrenched her blade from her fingers and thrown her into the waiting grip of the numerous battle droids. With a rage she had not known she was capable of, she had ripped herself free of their grasp and shredded metal from metal in an attempt to destroy every droid that had dared to touch her grieving form. Her face off with Greivous, however, had been a disaster. Her anger made her sloppy and wreckless, and he had quickly reduced her to an unmoving carcass under his metal foot. She had woken in the bacta tank on the separatist ship surrounded by battle droids, all strength removed from her body.

"What is it with former Jedi and their master's names?" asked Maul as he approached the shivering child. "You'll have to get over it if you want to survive here." And he lit his blade now securely in his grasp.

"Maybe I don't want to survive," said Ahsoka quietly and unmoving on the floor now beneath him.

"Really," he replied, and he brought his blade down to slice off her head. She instinctively rolled away and her blade was lit to hold his at bay.

"Seems your body is under a different impression," and he smiled down at her, which surprised and angered her at the same time. Now that he had a face she could look into, she saw only a target for her aggression and lashed out in earnest at the visage which merely bobbed and weaved away from her moves, barely lifting his blade to defend himself from her wild attack.

"You have strength and aggression on your side, but you lack the skills to use them to your advantage," he said as she continued to advance and swing at him.

"Let's see how far you can really take this," and he switched on the other half of his blade to spin into her attacks. Immediately he saw the change in her moves to accommodate the new blade, which had him even more intrigued with this adept child. She was truly amazing to watch as her fear was transformed to fuel her attacks into him. He let her lead the fight as they danced around the training room for a good half hour, until he noticed the sag in her shoulders cause her blade not to arch as high as it had and not punch at his blades as strongly.

Now it was his turn to show her what anger and aggression could do as he powered into his attacks with increased fervor. She was stunned as she was forced to stumble back under his blows and the fear began to truly rise within her eyes as she was driven back to the wall of the training room.

"Good, good," Maul continued to attack as he guided her thinking, "now you feel it, the fear within you building. So use it, take me down with it, hit me back with the power you feel welling in that fear, release it into your blade and strike me down with it!"

She couldn't help it, it was such a powerful feeling, it was so easy to just lash that to her blades and find the power to push him back and away from her. But she couldn't, she knew what this led to, what this fight was all about, the fight of the light versus the dark. It was all too easy to give over herself to that feeling of victory quickly won by allowing her fear to consume her and lash out at the sith before her. And she couldn't do it.

Maul saw the hesitation in the child and relished the thought that she had been so close, but she needed to be taught that chances were fleeting and action was needed. He slapped her hard across the face, sending her reeling across the floor way from him. Her blade had slipped from her hands with the shock of the blow and skittered across the floor. He then lifted her up off the floor and pulled her to him, the force grip around her throat constricting her breathing. He called her blade to his hands and clipped it to his belt.

"Well, that was most exhilarating, Miss Tano, and an excellent place to begin, my young apprentice,' he squeezed at her throat as he called her that. "But you still have much to learn, so I suggest you sleep on what we have started here as your true training begins tomorrow."

He released his hold on her and she sank to the floor where he left her in the dark to listen to her inner demons.