-Heading Out-

After almost three days of being unconscious, it felt great to get back in the action. We waited until nightfall to put our plan into motion. Master Kenobi and his ship were orbiting above the planet and had sent down a larty to take us to the waterfall. The unique sound of reverberating whumps soon drew near as we waited in the palace hanger. Everyone was quiet, contemplating a harsh reality; Grievous, the Jedi hunter, and killer, could very well be present in that base. I tried to distract myself by looking around at some of the elegant Naboo starfighters in the hanger. I looked up to see the larty bank right, facing the hanger and coming in for a landing. The bright headlamps flashed my eyes, forcing me to squint hard. The agile transport landed soundlessly on the polished, ornate marble floor that reflected all of the light in the hanger back up in our faces. If it wasn't for the rumble of the engines, you'd have never known it was there. The pilot saluted as we neared the craft and came aboard. No troopers were to accompany us, as four skilled Jedi were more than adequate for this mission. Each of us had packs with enough explosives to level the hanger. I stood on the starboard side of the larty, hanging on to the safety strap above me with my left hand.

"We're all set!" Master Skywalker shouted to the pilot over the roar of the engines.

I leaned to the left to get a glimpse of the cockpit, and saw the pilot's hand move and touch something on the control panel. Gravity pressed down hard on my shoulders and my stomach fell from where it was down to my feet as the repulsorlift kicked in, taking us off the ground. Once out of the hanger the pilot gunned the engines and we shot off into the darkness and possibly our death.

The clones were very skilled in all of the areas their specific training, so the pilot, who must've been trained in special ops, switched off the lights and switched off a few things that would've made extra noise. The sound was almost completely gone save the sound of the engines. The doors remained open for the entire trip allowing the wind to whip in and grab at our clothes. My hair blew around more ferociously when I leaned far out of the deckplate, out underneath the starboard wing. I looked down and watched the dark green grass and small rivers pass beneath us at roughly 600 kilometers an hour. We were only 150 kilometers away, about fifteen minutes to go.

My body was pulled forward when the larty decelerated, but I had a firm grip on the safety strap so I didn't fall. The pilot had flown us to the backside of a hill one klick from the waterfall as to avoid being discovered. I jumped off with Master Otarri on my side, and Ahsoka and Master Skywalker jumped off on the port side. The larty took flight immediately and disappeared quickly into the dark.

Master Otarri beckoned us to follow him up the hill. As we neared the top we all dropped to our stomachs and crawled the rest of the way to avoid detection.

"There it is," Otarri said looking out over the plains. I crawled up next to him as he pulled out his macrobinoculars. "It's...0.8 klicks away."

In front of us was a small valley with a an endless, grassy plain on the other side of a roaring river to the right. To the left was a small stream. The waterfall fell from a plateau that, from left to right, gently rose out of the grass, peaked, and gently faded back down level again. Rocks crags poked out from around and through the waterfall, splitting it into multiple falling stream of water.

"See any easy way of getting in there without anything seeing us?" Skywalker asked coming up on the other side of Otarri and pulling out his pair of binoculars.

"Yes. See that stream to the left? The one that diverts from the river?"

"Yeah. Use that for cover? Somehow get up to where it splits from the river and use the rocks the rest of the way?"

"Exactly. Ready?"

"Are we sure that there is a cave, or...an entrance behind the waterfall?" Ahsoka, who had crawled up next to me asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. The target disappeared when it reached the lake and it came heading from our position, so it could have gone through the waterfall or just gone straight through the lake up top," her master replied.

She shrugged, "Works for me."

We set the plan in motion, hiking down and to the left of the plateau and the stream. I dropped down onto the stream's bed and my boots set water and mud into the air, caking my robes. Master Otarri led the way, his long cloak dipping far into the low water and dragging across the muck and mud. The water had carved a wide gully into the plain over years and years of Naboo's rainy season. It was wide enough for three people to walk shoulder to shoulder and tall enough for us to only hunch over to avoid being seen. The rainy season had already come and gone, so the water was trickling by at barely an inch deep. Since we were hunched we had a limited view unless we stopped to crouch. I didn't want to make the group stop so I strained my neck by looking up ahead of us. The moonlight glittered off the shallow water and soaking wet mud.

"Almost there," Skywalker announced.

I could see a tight, right bend up ahead, that I assumed led to the waterfall. We trudged on towards the corner, but soon, I began to notice the rushing sound of water. Master Skywalker disappeared around the corner, then Master Otarri. I heard a yelp and a big splash, followed by another. Hugging the wall of the gully , I took the corner and was met by a large pool of water that I didn't see until I had also fallen in. I surfaced and searched for Masters Otarri and Skywalker. Their heads were bobbing on the surface; their bodies were under the water, acting to stay afloat.

"Whoa!" Ahsoka hollered. A splash quickly followed. The wave from her splash met the side of my face, sending cold water up to my eyes. I sputtered and spit out the water that had gotten into my mouth and down my windpipe.

"What now?" I asked everyone hoarsely.

"Keep going of course!" Skywalker said cheerfully.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ahsoka said sarcastically.

I smiled and slowly made my way through the water after Otarri and Skywalker. As we neared the connection to the river, I could feel the lapping of the water that diverted, slosh up against my neck. The water was chilly, especially when the cold night air came over our clothes as the water became more shallow, and instantly sent chills across our bodies. The water was ankle deep now, but rushed over our feet like wind whipping around a building.

"I don't see an easy way up the- ah!" Master Otarri said, looking left and right, over the river. "Here we are. There's a long narrow strip of sand that looks as if it continues...all the way up the river. Only one person at a time though."

"I'll go first," Skywalker offered.

"I'll follow," Ahsoka added.

"And I'll go last," Otarri said before I could say anything. "After you Tokrin."

My group continued with great care on the strip of sand, less than one meter wide, to bypass falling into the water. The journey up the river was beneficial in fighting off the cold, as our cores began to warm up, additionally heating our clothes as well. It was slow going. It was a comfort that we didn't have to bend over any more. The rocks we saw in our recce of the area gave us sufficient cover for the length of the river. After what seemed like forever, the blasting sound of water crashing against rock reached our ears. The top of the plateau was always visible, but now it loomed overhead like one of the high rises on Triple Zero, Coruscant. We took a bend of the river and before us was the waterfall. It was about 50 meters high; the water was white as it cascaded down to the pool from the lake at the top.

No one would live through a fall from that height- well, unless they had armor, and even then the rocks at the bottom would finish anyone off.

Some rocks to the right formed a sort of walkway only Jedi could use. The type that made the person walking it, Force jump great lengths and heights to get to the next position, and then on. The pool at the base of the waterfall was very deep. Skywalker crossed first, then me, then Ahsoka, followed by Otarri. As I swam across through the strong current, using the Force to deaden the push and pull of the water against me, a crack split through the sound of crashing water. I looked towards the base of the fall to see an orange figure slip off some of the rocks. After a few feet of floating the lump began to sink and disappeared under the water, heading for the bottom. I quickly grabbed my underwater respirator and dove in after it. I opened my eyes in the clean, clear water, but due to the darkness, couldn't see anything. I grabbed my lightsaber, and used only one half, putting the other in it's place on my belt. My finger thumbed the saber on and a hue of blue lit up specs in the water and gave me more light than I had before. I lifted it up in front of me, causing some fish to scatter. Up ahead I could see the rough outline of the figure, which appeared to be a person, arms and legs dangling down. I swam under him to the left and brought my lightsaber up to his face. I figured the person was a man because of his body type. I recoiled when the saber's light lit up the unmistakable t-shaped visor of a Mandalorian.

I deactivated my lightsaber and put it away. Grabbing him with one arm around his torso, I swam towards the surface of the water. We broke through the water gently as I could not swim quickly with so much weight dragging me down. I left my rebreather in place in case I couldn't swim to shore and sank. An arm shimmied its way across mine to help me carry the Mandalorian to shallower water. I glanced over through my repeating strokes to see that Ahsoka was the one helping.

That's surprising. Didn't take her for the get-your-hands-dirty sort.

I was very grateful for the help. The Mando was becoming extremely heavy as I burned up whatever energy I had in reserves. Although the shore was only a short distance away, it seemed like forever before we reached it. Together, with a final grunt, Ahsoka and I heaved the armored man onto the sandy shore. I flopped onto the sand, exhausted. My left arm and my leg muscles ached from the long use. I took the rebreather off and placed it back in my utility belt, but the air was still like a fire when it moved down my throat to fill my lungs.

Our masters were wading towards us to see what we had discovered. Ahsoka, I noticed, had also flopped over and was breathing heavily. She looked up and I nodded the Mando's way, indicating that we need to check out who he was before anything else. She nodded back, getting into position to push the large hunk of armor towards me. On the count of three I pulled on his right shoulder plate to roll him over. Ahsoka grabbed her glowrod, as my bigger lightsaber prevented me from carrying one. She inhaled quickly when she saw the gashes and the blood illuminated by the light. Three shredded holes were ripped into the top of his helmet- right through the durasteel.

"There's no way that's Mandalorian Iron. Stuff's hard as- well, it's lightsaber resistant so nothing could get through it. This di'kut had a durasteel helmet," I said examining the crown of the buy'ce- helmet. There wasn't much blood actually on the helmet, but the area around the holes had some smaller drops of it. Underneath was a different story however. I couldn't much tell the difference between blood and water because it was so dark, but armor like this never got that wet, inside or out. I reached my fingers slowly behind the man's helmet and suddenly felt something very wet, causing me to shiver and close my eyes tight. I had found another hole in the helmet casing. I swallowed hard, my eyes still closed shut, and continued to the right until I had found another, and then another. I allowed my hand to keep moving around the casing, but found that I was back to the front again.

"Six holes," I gasped, letting go of the helmet. I didn't realize that I had held my breath for so long. "What- Who could've done this? Who would've done this to a person, Mando or not?"

Ahsoka swallowed hard and looked down.

"A mix between a person and a machine. Heartless but powerful and strong willed," said Skywalker, motioning to the poor Mando offhandedly. "You said there were six holes. Guess how many talons each are on the lovely general Grievous' feet? Six. This guy is proof that Grievous is present on Naboo. No one- Nothing else would've had motive to do this, other than a thinking being, and certainly no organic could break this armor in such a way."

I wanted so badly to say something reassuring, if not to the group than just to myself, but fear had silenced my mouth and my thoughts. It gripped me hard. I could feel it in my gut; a painful vice that twisted and flexed. I wanted to see who the victim of this atrocity was. I leaned over the body, still on my knees, and put my hands on either side of his buy'ce. I pushed away from his shoulders, sliding the helmet off slowly. I didn't know what or who was underneath, but I had to see. I knew it was wrong to put a face to the person because I would become attached emotionally, rendering me useless in a fight against the one who killed him, but I wanted to know. Needed to know. First a chalky white chin appeared, then a closed mouth, nose, eyes, and one and a half eyebrows. A fleshy sound from inside the helmet made me stop. I kept my mouth shut tight to avoid losing the food we ate just hours before. At the count of three I continued. I whipped off the helmet, set it aside, and gazed at what I had uncovered. Looking down at the face, avoiding the mess at the top, I couldn't help but be stricken with fear.

This could be me. This might be me. Fear was a funny thing. If you let it get a hold on you and listened to the doubt in your mind, you could become a heap of tears or a crippled, useless stone. But if you conquered your fear, if you could overcome the urge to run and hide, you could become a very dangerous opponent. The stories of the Jedi Hunter were quickly catching up with me as I saw what he could do to a Mandalorian bounty hunter, the best trained killers and soldiers in the galaxy. That was it; my gut clenched.

"Uh oh," I said quietly. I moved my hand to my mouth, and despite my screaming muscles, I hurried over behind a rock and vomited uncontrollably. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Master Otarri coming over to assist me. He put his hand on my back and asked me if I was ok. Tears streamed down my face and a bad taste was left in my mouth. "Yeah," I said spitting to try and clear out my mouth, "I'll be ok. I just...Master when clones die, we rarely see anything besides missing armored limbs; bodies are torn apart, but not with intent to be cruel. We hear the screams and they haunt my dreams for days after, but we don't see as much intentional brutality as that!" I sniffed, trying to get a grip.

"I know," my master said kindly. "And that describes our current predicament as Jedi- we aren't meant to fight wars. We are peacekeepers, not soldiers," he said motioning to the dead Mandalorian. "This kind of evil and malice is something we never see. I am proud of you for handling your soldiers' deaths the way that you have. I had a hard time agreeing with this myself, but as Jedi we need to grin and bear it; facing this darkness head on is the only way to stop it."

I was still panting, my stomach muscles contracting while he talked. As he finished I stood from my knees and walked to the river to wash out my mouth. At that point I would've drank anything if would get that taste out of my mouth. The water looked clean enough so I knelt down and dunked my head in, opening my mouth and sucking in as much water as i could. I resurfaced and spewed it back out, then repeated twice more. My legs stood me up, but I kept my head hung to let the water drip off. I shook my head and wiped my face with my hands, also moving back any hair in the way.

"Ok!" I said with a start towards the group. Ahsoka eyed me warily. "Let's go hunt the hunter! First things first though." I walked through the sand to the dead bounty hunter and began taking his armor plates off.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked curiously.

"Just honoring the dead, Master," I said, on the verge of sarcasm. I didn't want to sound rude, but I was filled with resolve. He would get a decent burial one way or another. "The only way I can think of going about that is giving this guy the best burial we can offer him and by remembering him. I'll take his armor to Mandalore and bury it there with his relatives when and if I find them...Anyone object to this? I don't exactly see how this breaks any part of the Jedi Code."

Master Otarri shrugged, "I don't see any problem, so long as you remain unattached. You know how you are about their language and culture; you are constantly enthralled by it."

"I'm impressed Helturus. Quite a noble thing you're doing; even if it is for a killer. I may not be your master, but I still have one condition," Anakin said.

I looked up at him, "And what would that be?"

"Tokrin..." Master said, silently warning me to stop while I was ahead.

Anakin looked from me to Otarri as if waiting for us to finish. He resumed graciously, "That you not do it now."

Master jumped in, "Yes. We are already heavily laden with thermal dets, and you most certainly are not wearing that armor. It was just housing a dead man for who knows how long and I'm not about to let you go full Mando all of a sudden." He looked at me sternly, further emphasizing his point. I wanted to prove him wrong; to tell him that I wasn't getting attached to a culture and heritage that I had so long driven to have, but I couldn't. I tried to keep his gaze, but relented and averted my eyes, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

"Yes, Master."

He looked pleased that the issue was resigned. "Get on with it then."

I nodded my agreement, got on my knees next to the bounty hunter, and began to finish pulling off the rest of his armor plates. I secretly wanted to keep them, but for now, I would listen to my master and hide them until we returned. With the plates stacked and set aside for the moment I could focus on burying the body. I found a spot not too far down the bank which was mostly made of sand. I heard the quiet slush of footsteps in sand behind me saw that Ahsoka was trailing after me. She quickened her pace to catch up and spoke in a low voice.

"I think it's a great thing that you're doing. Can I help at all?"

The offer caught me a little off guard. I thought she would've sided with our masters, but Padawans stick together I suppose.

I smiled, "Of course! The assistance is appreciated. Thanks for helping me out with getting him out of the water."

She returned the smile, "Sure! I was happy too. Besides, it looked like you were about to drown!"

I laughed. It felt good to shrug off the embarrassment of an argument. "Come on, let's get started."

We had reached the area that I had in mind, but we continued to talk anyway. She knelt down next to me and we put our hands out over the sand. I could see the hole forming in my mind- the sand and pebbles moving up and out to pile up a meter or so away from the grave. The Force flowed through me, intensifying my senses. I opened my eyes and the sand and rocks were moved. But when I looked into the hole, a huge rock was smack-dab in the center. Ahsoka used the Force to move it up and over to where my pile was. She opened her eyes and looked up. A moment passed by, and then another, and then another as she smiled at me; I tried to get my bearings but it was useless. I heard myself clearing my throat and standing. It felt like someone else was controlling my body. I wanted so much to go back just a few seconds and be in that out-of-mind moment. The stench of a dead man brought me back to myself.

I coughed and wiped the rising water from my eyes. "Gah- that's a bad smell. You grab the legs."

We returned for the body and hauled him to his grave. Again, using the Force, we shifted the sand and pebbles, but this time filled the trench. The body was gone and there was nothing more to say. I stood and fetched the armor plates. Another hole was buried not far away and the plates hidden for the moment. I doubted anyone would come looking for the Mando or anything of value out here. It would be useless to attempt to memorize the surroundings since it was so dark, so I keyed in our location on my comlink for later.

"Can we move on?" Anakin asked.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," I replied with resolve.

My group and I found a walkable trail along the side of the pool that lead up to the waterfall. Upon arriving at the base, our masters began to climb and jump and vault their way to the top; Ahsoka and I tried to keep up, but did not struggle. Soon we found ourself very high off the ground. A thick curtain of water separated the outside of the waterfall from the inside, and with an agile dash forward, Anakin crossed the threshold. I was the last to be drenched by the curtain and met up with the others. A large hole-one big enough for a speeder to fit through-was now visible in front of us. A thick and pitch black darkness inside the hole was an ominous foreshadowing of what lay beyond. I took a deep breath and followed Ahsoka inside.