Chapter 43

Forlorn Hope

There was no point in basic starfighter protocol, not when you were six old fighter craft and a single heavily modified Freighter against twenty four modern TIE fighters. Basic attack patterns and battle lines were not going to work here. So Aayla took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and decided to punch a hole right through them.

The Freighter led the way. The fighters falling into place behind her. It was for protection more than anything. The shields on their ships were nothing compared to the one on hers, so she had no problem playing meat shield so long as they came out guns blazing. The unmistakable cockpit balls and solar panel wings became visible for a split second before the bright emerald flares of their laser cannons lit up the darkness.

The ball turrets on the dorsal and ventral sections lit up in response, streams of crimson light responded as the two sides met. A blossom of flame to the portside signalled the death of a TIE, and them punching through the enemy formations had the desired effect of scattering their number. It would take time for the Imps to reassemble, time they could use.

The second the two sides broke through each other Aayla checked the scanners, two additional TIE's followed their buddy on the opening exchange, but it took a chunk from the forward shields. She pulled a starboard turn and gunned the throttle right for the swarming TIES, her escorts broke off and split up, creating a rough v formation, each choosing a target and letting loose with their own laser cannons just as the Imperials came within range and opened fire.

The second the two sides met it became clear that the TIE's superior numbers couldn't be swept away so easily. Lowie allowed a screech as the Imperials swarmed past, laser cannons firing. In response the rebels managed to stick together for a few seconds before being forced to split up and evade. She saw another TIE blossom in fire and wreckage, but she also saw an emerald blast hit the tail wing of one of the V-18's, the old fighter spiralling out of control with a trail of smoke before going up in flames.

"Aayla this isn't good," Celeste murmured, hands gripping onto the handles of her seat in a death grip. She obviously wasn't used to or didn't like playing the role of co-pilot. "Bank right, force preserve me bank right!"

Aayla scowled but followed her instruction, "I have piloted this Freighter before Celeste."

"Really," she almost screamed as proximity alarms showed three TIE's following them. "I couldn't tell!"

Aayla frowned at her partners lack of forethought before performing a barrel roll and then a steep dive to try and loss her pursuers. A quick look at the sensors would tell you that the skirmish had turned to complete chaos. The TIE's and their own motley assortment of fighter craft were mixed together in a grand old dogfight.

"Hey boys, if you could get those fighters off my back I would be grateful!" she called into the ships internal comlink.

"Working on it!" Jack shouted back over the comm.

"These little assholes are fast!" Seth added. "Torpedo launch!"

The proximity alarms blared a split second later, and Aayla brought the Will of Fire into a steep rolling dive in response. Celeste flipped a few switches and released the countermeasures, flares exploded forth from the rear launcher, confusing the targeting sensors on the proton torpedoes and sending them in the wrong directions. When they exploded it was well before they reached the ship.

Another burst of fire signalled the death of one of their tagalong TIE fighters, followed by a whoop of adrenaline fuelled glee from one of the Jedi, whether it was Jack or Seth she couldn't tell. Aayla watched as the last two TIE fighters closed in on them, guns blazing. She pulled back a little on the throttle, allowing the rear deflector shields to take the damage before unleashing her next weapon.

Half a dozen missiles launched from the same launcher, only these ones weren't your average flares or even concussion missiles but specially designed missiles carrying electromagnetic pulse explosives. The second they exploded everything within a few kilometres which were even remotely electronic went offline. The two fighters lost their systems immediately, and were easy pickings for Seth and Jack who shot them up within moments.

"Well that's that." Aayla sighed in relief. "How are our boys doing."

"They've taken down another six fighters but we've lost two." Celeste answered, gripping the arms of her chair a little harder as Aayla brought the Will of Fire forward at full throttle. "Our Delta-7's are still all there."

"Get the concussion missiles ready, lock on and fire on my command." Aayla ordered as she fully turned the ship around and brought her in line with the main mass of skirmishing fighters, gunning the throttle to full. As they approached she saw another of their fighters go up in a plume of flame, leaving only the three Jedi piloted Aethersprites. Aayla did not hesitate, the moment they were within range she had Celeste lock on and fired all the heat seeking missiles left in the launchers. Of the eight missiles launched three struck their targets, leading to three less TIE's to worry about.

"Order everyone to break off and be as much of a nuisance as they can!" She shouted into the comm. "We're not here to win the fight, only to buy time!"

"We've got another four Imps on our tale!"

Aayla ground her teeth together, hands gripping onto the control yoke. "Time for some good flying."

"Whatever the boys are going to do they're going to need to do it fast!"

The Star Destroyer was right below them, chasing after the limping Blockade Runner like a predator which had smelt blood. It's turbolaser batteries spewed out beams of emerald light. Naruto watched the exchange, knowing that their little Cruiser wouldn't last much longer. It needed a distraction.

That was what they were there for. With the Z-95's in the lead the ragtag Starfighter squadron rolled into a steep dive, aiming for the unmistakable orb shaped shield generators situated on either end of the warships command tower. Those with proton torpedoes were ordered to use them. Those who didn't were to protect those who did.

The Star Destroyers anti-fighter guns opened up, and the rebel fighters were forced to evade them. Naruto did just that, bringing his Z-95 into a barrel roll and then another. Rex and Obi-wan followed suit, performing sudden and fast manoeuvres. The Jedi in their Delta-7's and the rebel volunteers were also moving, but a V-wing met its end, colliding head on with a laser blast and vanishing in a plume of fire.

Muln's voice echoed through the com-link, "Red Leader to Red flight. You got proton's aim for the shield generators, once we take them go for the engines! Do not let that ship near the asteroid!"

Nobody was able to respond by voice, so fierce was the anti-ship barrage, but a quick series of clicks made it clear they got and understood the message. Naruto gripped the control yoke tightly and gunned the throttle, closing the distance between him and the ship. Once close enough he pulled up sharply, feeling the inertia push him back into his bucket seat even with the dampeners working overtime.

He was running along the dorsal section of the Star Destroyer, keeping as low as possible to avoid the laser cannons as he passed the upper decks and brought the command tower into sight. He activated his targeting computer, prepped the proton torpedoes and waited. The target was the generator to his left, take that out and they had a shot at slowing this monster down.

He waited for the ping, and then fired. He fired all of the proton torpedoes his little fighter had before once again gunning the throttle. There was a moment, followed by a series of explosions as the torpedoes smashed into and penetrated the deflector shields and hit their targets. Rex was right behind him, and followed suit, unloading his entire complement of proton torpedoes. The generator exploded in a mess of debris and flame.

"Rogue Leader, we have taken out the shield generator. It'll take them time to recover from that one." Rex's voice echoed through the mic.

"Roger that. All Red's go for the engines! Stop this beast in its tracks!"

"Time to get out of dodge Rex!" Naruto called, gunning his fighter past the command tower and out into open space, banking left and right to avoid the Star Destroyers rear mounted laser cannons.

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"Recall the fighters!" Mahoney shouted. "I want a defensive screen around this ship. No one gets in do you understand!?"

Time seemed to stop for the Captain as the reports flooded through. That blast which shook the very superstructure of his command deck was not his imagination. A small rebel flight of fighters had managed to penetrate their anti-ship defences and destroy their main shield generator. It would take time to reroute the power to the other generator, and until then everything on the ship was exposed.

This was not supposed to happen. The Asteroid was only supposed to be a refuge for a handful of survivors of Order 66, some Jedi and their sympathisers. There was supposed to be no resistance, an easy test of the Empire's newest weapon. Yet once they arrived they found a flotilla of rebel warships and the asteroid modified into a forward base. Scans had shown layers of armour in once weak places, gun batteries and even a shield generator.

Still Lord Vader ordered that the ship will proceed, and the new weapon had been proven effective against a capital-ship but that wasn't enough. The orders had come directly from the Emperor himself. He wanted this new weapon tested on a planetoid. So they advanced, overpowering the Corvette. Nothing seemed capable of stopping them, and Mahoney was about to allow a slight moment of relief. Then the shield generator exploded.

He felt a chill run down his spine, knowing full well that he must have looked pale as a sheet. Rumours were rife within Imperial command about what Lord Vader did to those who disappointed him. He turned his head, resisting the urge to gulp as he looked at the black armoured figure, the terror of the enemies of the Empire.

"Captain." his voice bellowed.

"Yes, My Lord."

"Order my fighter to be prepped." He ordered, turning on his heel and stalking down the command deck towards the turbolift, his black cape flowing behind him like a dark shroud. The more distance put between them the more a heavy weight left the Captain's shoulders.

"At once, My Lord."

Vader entered the waiting tubolift and with a flick of the force pushed the rune for the necessary deck. The moment the lift doors closed and he was alone he balled his artificial hand into a fist with such ferocity that the leather of his glove creaked. He had sensed it, a presence he had been searching for since the duel on Mustafar which seemed like a millennia ago.

"Obi-wan."

"The Imps are breaking away!"

Aayla saw it. One moment they were being hemmed in by four times their number of TIE fighters and the next the solar panelled vessels began breaking off. It took barely a moment for her to realise what was going on and she knew that they needed to press their advantage.

"The boys must have done it," Celeste grinned, relief flooding through her as she sank into her chair. "They stopped it."

"Did you think anything less would do for them?" She asked before turning her attention back to the retreating Imperials. No, not retreating. They were regrouping. She felt it not just in the force but in her very heart that whatever the other group had done it had hit them hard enough to order all of their fighter escort to return.

She knew that they couldn't stay here and lick their wounds. They needed to press the attack. They needed to do as much damage to the enemy as they can before they returned. Naruto was a good pilot, but he wasn't an ace and she would be damned if she would lose him out here.

"They must have been ordered to return. Don't let up, keep pressing them!"

A series of affirmative clicks over the com was the response. The three Delta-7's formed up around them and together they gave chase, laser cannons firing repeatedly at the retreating TIE's. One went up in a ball of flame. Another got clipped and began an out of control spin, pieces of the hit solar panel wing breaking off. The rest broke up their formation into duos and trios, performing well trained evasive manoeuvres and forcing their own formation to break up to give chase.

Licking her lips in determination Aayla concentrated on keeping her targets in sight, a trio of TIE's which moved well together. Celeste too kept her attention firmly on the targeting computers, waiting until the reticules lined up before releasing brief but precise streams of laser fire. The rearmost fighter burst into flames. Still they gave chase, another few tense moments of junking and swerving before the sights were lined up, another three second blast and another TIE exploded. The Will of Fire went through the quickly disintegrating flames, bits of debris smashing against the deflector shield.

"Just one left." Celeste murmured. "Almost got him."

Aayla didn't respond, so much was her own concentration. This last fighter was good. His every movement was well practised to near perfection. The hull, painted black instead of the usual grey, must have had some significance. An ace maybe, or a squadron leader. Every time it looked like they had him in their sights he would make the tinniest alteration to his flight path, evading their laser cannon fire.

"I have you now!" Celeste whooped in triumph, fingers just beginning to press the trigger.

That was when they were hit.

It was immediate. They were taken completely by surprise. Suddenly the very superstructure of the Will of Fire shook violently, an explosion ripped through their ears and if the two women hadn't been secured by crash webbing they would have been thrown out of their chairs. Several consoles sparked, her own consoles lights flickered and flashed as a large object blurred past them from above.

The gunshipssurprise was perfect. It had approached just as the skirmish was starting, powering down its engines and all major systems just before it reached the Will of Fire's sensor-range. It became nothing more than a drifting object in space. Without any power it looked like a small asteroid to anyone who was looking at it. The moment the TIE's broke off it powered back on and shot after them, ascending over them and launching a diving attack when the ship was alone.

An Ion torpedo was the opening salvo, taking out the freighters dorsal shields. It's heavily modified rapid-fire laser cannons then flared, riddling the Will of Fire, destroying its communications dish and shattering the gun turret. Jedi Knight Seth Lo'Kris was dead before the venting atmosphere threw his body out into the void.

The venting atmosphere was immediately felt across the ship, Lowbacca was the only one not strapped into crash webbing but the towering Wookiee was able to hold onto whatever he could to stop himself being sucked out into space. With great effort he forced himself towards the ladder, pawed hand slamming into the necessary switches. The hatch separating the dorsal turret from the rest of the ship snapped shut and they had gravity again.

"Damage report!" Aayla shouted, ignoring the pain of where her flesh had pressed against the crash webbing. "What happened!?"

"We were hit from above." Celeste replied, frantically flicking switches and trying to get as much information from the sparking monitor as she could. "Shields are down, long range communications are down... we had an atmosphere breach!"

Secura felt her blood run cold, dread filling her. She had been so focused on picking off the TIE's that she hadn't paid any attention on anything else. It was a stupid, rookie mistake, one which should not have been possible for one of her experience. "Where?"

"Dorsal turret. I can't get into contact with Knight Lo'Kris."

Aayla could feel it and she knew Celeste could too. They couldn't get into touch with the Jedi Knight because he was already dead. They couldn't feel him anywhere in the force. She craned her neck to the corridor connecting the cockpit to the rest of the ship, suddenly glad she didn't bring Rachi with them. With any luck Master Fy-Tor-Ana had evacuated her by now. "Lowie, Antilles, are you two alright!?"

A roar of affirmative and a few seconds delayed click over the ships internal comlink was the response. Aayla could feel that Jack was anything but okay. His very presence in the force was numb, as if he felt the death of Lo'Kris and couldn't accept it. She couldn't blame him. From what she could tell the two of them had been friends.

"He's coming around for another pass!" Celeste said, voice taut.

Uttering curses Aayla grabbed the control yoke and twisted hard, bringing the Will of Fire into a sudden fierce barrel roll and gunning the engines. Their pursuer followed, laser cannons flaring as it gave chase.

"We aren't going to last long without shields!" Celeste stated grimly.

"I know." Aayla bit out, a fresh sheen of sweat streaming down her brow. "Just hold on!"

"Missile lock!" Celeste shouted in alarm. She reached across the console to activate the countermeasures only for a warning claxon to sound. The opening salvo had taken out the countermeasures as well. Another explosion tore through the freighter and both women were once again thrown painfully into their crash webbing as the ship lurched forward violently. Alarms were going off even as both Celeste and Aayla moved to turn them off and survey the damage.

The engines were gone. Celeste worked frantically on the controls, trying to bypass damaged systems and reboot the console but it was little use. The engines were completely dead. They were now drifting through space, an easy target for their attacker. Aayla turned to Celeste, seeing her determination mirrored in her eyes. "Use short range comms, send out a mayday."

Celeste was already trying, unbuckling herself from her chair and rushing over to the main communications console. She quickly worked over it, flinching when it sparked. "No good, we're being jammed. All I'm getting is static!"

"Emperor's black bones." Aayla cursed under her breath, looking up in time to see a ship swerve around and closing in on their cockpit on a hover. She recognised it as a heavily modified E-54 Phantom Gunship, an elegant creation of three swept forward wings around a cone shaped cockpit, those wings held missile launchers while the lower portion of the cockpit sported three rapid-firing laser cannons and a proton torpedo launcher. At this range without shields there was nothing but a transparisteel frame between them and oblivion.

If their attacker decided to fire now they were dead.

A voice, silky and dangerous crackled through the comlink. "Please don't try anything stupid, my little payday. Power down all but your most necessary systems, raise your hands if you understand."

Aayla raised her hands slowly, showing that she was complying. "Do what she says Celeste."

"She wants us alive, Aayla." The millennia old Jedi replied, raising her own hands. "We can take her."

"She may need us alive but mark my words she'll kill us if we make much of a fuss." She replied, eyes focused on the cockpit and the pale face smirking back at them.

"Do you know her?" Morne asked, intrigued despite the danger.

Aayla nodded, "She's not one to be trifled with."

"Who is she?"

Her eyes hardened, "Aurra Sing."

"Ah you remember me little Jedi. I remember you too. I remember what you did to me on Devaron, the scar still itches." Sing replied, a tremor of threat in her voice.

Laser fire flashed past her, just missing the Phantom and forcing Sing to peel away from them with a curse over the comlink. One of the Jedi Delta-7's was gunning it to their position, laser cannons firing streams of crimson light as it chased after Sing's gunship.

A male voice which Aayla was saddened she did not recognise crackled onto their line, sent out on all channels. "Red-5 to Red Flight. Red-16 has been crippled, communications are down. Currently engaging unknown enemy gunship, need help I repeat-"

"Watch out," Aayla whispered in despair, even as Celeste was screaming warnings into the damaged comm. "Break off... please see him coming."

With their own comlink down Aayla and Celeste could do nothing as they saw another ship swoop down behind the starfighter. Could do nothing but will him to break off and evade and closed their eyes as the new ship opened fire, twin streams of crimson laser bolts riddling the sleek form of the Aethersprite. The interceptor started an out of control spin, smoke trailing from the hits.

The new ship, one Aayla recognised as a Firespray 31 Patrol and Attack Craft settled into a hover in the distance even as the Phantom once again appeared before them. The former Jedi bristled when she felt Sing's smug joy through the force.

Aurra Sing's voice trickled over the comm. "Boba boy. You didn't kill him."

A younger male voice responded over the line. "He'll be dead soon enough."

"I suppose. Now where were we?"

"Red-5 to Red Flight. Red-16 has been crippled, communications are down. Currently engaging unknown enemy gunship, need help I repeat-"

Red-16. The name echoed through Naruto's mind over and over until his crews faces flashed across his eyes. The Will of Fire's designation was Red-16. The Will of Fire had been crippled? The two Jedi boys were on that ship, Antilles and Lo'Kris, and Lowie was there and Celeste and Aayla. Oh Sage help him Aayla was on that ship.

"Did you hear that boss." Rex asked over the comm. His voice worried.

"Yeah, I heard it."Naruto replied with a nod, barely able to keep calm.

"As have I." Obi-wan responded gravely. "Go, both of you. The rest of us will keep the Star Destroyer back."

Any other situation Naruto would have declined. Stopping the Star Destroyer was their first priority. If they didn't hold it off in time hundreds of people, including Rachi, would die. But this wasn't any ordinary circumstance. His crew was in danger. Aayla was in danger. He didn't know what to do with himself if he lost any of them but if he lost her.

Images of Hinata swept through his mind, his first love now dead. He saw his mother and father. He saw Kakashi and Tsunade. he saw old man Sarutobi and the Konoha Eleven. He saw his entire village, a sea of faces all consumed by the flame. He would be damned to hell and back if he let Aayla join them. He pulled back hard on his control yoke and his fighter broke away from the attack run. A moment later Rex joined him. The two Z-95 Headhunters gunned the throttle and burst into motion away from the battle and towards the last known transmission of the distress signal.

Obi-wan watched the two fighters exhausts until they vanished into the dark before turning back to the battle. The TIE's had returned but their numbers had been reduced by the two Delta-7's which had hounded them at every step. Proton torpedoes had been successfully detonated into a few of the secondary engines of the Star Destroyer and the ship had slowed down significantly. Across from them the Blockade Runner had managed to dock with the asteroid and from what he could tell over the comm. the evacuation was almost complete.

They only needed to buy a few more minutes.

"TIE fighter has launched from the Imperial Cruiser."

"The commander must be trying to flee. Someone take him out."

Obi-wan's eyes scanned the ventral section of the capital-ship and found the TIE in question. It was an Interceptor, it's solar collector panel wings were lengthened and angled giving the small fighter a more dagger like look. It was a prototype he had read about, faster and more manoeuvrable but less durable. The moment he caught sight of it he felt an unmistakable presence in the force, one so familiar he could never forget.

Darth Vader was on that ship.

"Master Muln, I will deal with the new fighter." Obi-wan intoned, hands gripping tightly on the control yoke.

"I don't see a problem Master Kinobi, but why?"

"Vader is piloting it."

A moment of silence, "Force me. Red-9 break off pursuit. Do you hear me Red-9!?"

He didn't. The Delta-7 swooped down, already firing its laser cannons. The Interceptor was quick to evade, junking and jerking with expertise born from both experience as well as the use of the force. The TIE then seemed to perform the impossible, shutting off its ion engines and performing a perfect hundred and eighty degree spin. The inertia alone would have blacked out even the most resilient pilot, yet this one did just that, firing emerald laser beams the moment the Delta-7 was in sight. The fighter took several beams before exploding in a bloom of debris and flame.

Obi-wan needed no further proof of who he was fighting. He gunned the throttle of his Z-95 and swooped in, making sure his former apprentice and friend knew he was there. It worked. The TIE Interceptor veered away from the main battle and was coming right towards him.

Here I am Vader. Let's see how much you've changed. Those words surged through Kenobi's mind as he closed the distance between himself and his former apprentice. Once his apprentice. Once his best friend. Now the greatest evidence of his failure as a teacher.

Bounty hunting seemed to be a very lucrative enterprise for those willing to do anything for the next mark. That was what Aayla considered when Sing called in her command ship, a heavily modified CR-90 Corvette. Her Phantom docked with the Blockade Runner first, and a few minutes later their ship was caught in a tractor beam, forcing the wrecked remains of the Will of Fire to dock with the bounty hunters corvette, from there all of their systems were now under Aurra Sing's control, including life support.

She had called what was left of the crew into the central chamber. All seemed ready for a fight but she knew that if they resisted Sing would not hesitate to disengage the docking system and blow the ship into oblivion. She told them as much, and unless she did something they were to comply with whatever the bounty hunter wanted.

Celeste and Lowbacca agreed easily enough, but Antilles remained silent. His eyes were dark and stormy and she felt his conflict in the force. His friend was dead, killed by the very person making demands and they were to do nothing but comply. She knew he was thinking such thoughts, and she wasn't the only one. Celeste kept looking in the young man's direction, a worried frown on her face.

It wasn't long until Aayla realised that Sing wasn't going to be entering the ship, and by the time she knew that the Jedi killer had placed a gas into their air filters it was too late. Lowbacca and Jack were both already lying still on the deck, unmoving, and Celeste was slumped against a chair. Aayla could see her vision tunnel and her mind grow foggy. She managed another few minutes trying to create a bubble of oxygen with the force before she too succumbed.

"This is Command to all rebel forces in the region. We have successfully evacuated the asteroid and are preparing for a hyperspace jump. All rebel forces are to meet at rendezvous point Alpha!"

The message blared across all channels, and anyone looking in the right direction would see the Blockade Runner disembarking the dock and making a run for empty space with a half dozen small transports and freighters following its lead.

Obi-wan did not have this opportunity, so much effort he was putting into his current dogfight with his former apprentice. The Z-95 Headhunter and the TIE Interceptor were continually circling each other in a deadlock, each trying to gain just that little bit more speed to close the distance and defeat their opponent, but neither were willing to give up for that meant destruction.

So Obi-wan continued to play this game, his starfighter continuing to copy that of his former apprentice for the longer Darth Vader's attention was focused on him the more of a chance his fellow pilots and friends had of ending their own skirmishes and retreating to empty space, a clean hyperspace jump and safety.

"Command, this is Taskforce Gamma coming in!"

Two Providence-class Cruisers, two more Recusant-class Destroyers and four Munificent-class Frigates burst into the fray from hyperspace, their own compliments of Vulture Droid Starfighters already launching from hanger bays and the hulls of the ships to reinforce the retreating Blockade Runner.

Obi-wan watched with more than a little relief as Vader gave up his dogfight with him and turned towards his own Star Destroyer, but the relief was short lived and to give chase became impossible as another two ships came into the fray. Both were Imperial-class Star Destroyers and their presence made victory all the more uncertain.

"Confirmed two Imperial-class Star Destroyers, more will be coming in soon!" Master Muln called over the comm. "Order Zulu, all forces retreat!"

obi-wan took one last long look back at his retreating former apprentice then to the two Star Destroyers closing in. They could not afford to lose so many ships so early in the game and he would not force their hand. He turned his Z-95 fighter and set coordinates for the closest fighter carrying vessel.

"Naruto, Rex,"he called over the comm. as he retreated. "Both sides have called in reinforcements and we are in a stalemate, if you can't find the Will of Fire then retreat to the nearest capital-ship. Do you copy!?"

A moment of silence, and then Naruto's voice bristled through the comm. "Sage damn it!"

Rex's voice followed, sounding as angry as his compatriot. "Roger that Command, returning now."

Obi-wan felt his heart drop at the response. That could only mean one thing. They had arrived too late, the battle was over, the enemy was gone and so was the Will of Fire.

When Aayla awoke she was lying on her side, hands bound tightly behind her back. Celeste was lying beside her on her stomach, still out cold from the gas. They were both dressed only in small clothes, a vest and boxer shorts which weren't theirs the only things covering their modesty. Their weapons and utility belts were nowhere in sight.

It took a moment before she heard the unmistakable zapping and crackling noises of lightsaber blades meeting and locking and looked up just in time to see Aurra Sing plunge her crimson blade into the chest of Jack Antilles. The young man gasped, dropping his azure bladed lightsaber which shut off the moment it left his limp hands and fell to the deck, dead.

"Well," Sing sighed in disappointment. "That was not what I wanted to see. No finesse or skill at all."

Aayla gritted her teeth, glaring murderously at the former Jedi turned bounty hunter. Aurra seemed to take notice of this as she turned around. Their eyes met and a vicious grin spread across the bounty hunters face. "You're awake are you? Good. I was hoping for more of an audience for the next fight."

"Sing," Fett's voice resounded through the room. The Mandalorian hunter was standing to the side of the room alongside a young woman with black stripe markings on her cheeks. "The bounty was for Uzumaki's crew alive."

"Oh," Sing replied nonchalantly, kneeling down to lightly slap the dead boys cheek. The woman standing beside him flinched at the treatment. "But this little Jedi dog is not a member of Uzumaki's crew. I've seen the wanted posters as well as you, Boba Boy. Only the Twi'lek bitch and the human girl were posted so the others are fair game, yes?"

"None of them are any use to us dead."

"Oh I disagree." She replied, turning a grin in Aayla's direction. "You see she humiliated me on Devaron, left a pretty nasty scar and chopped off my bio-computer antenna. Not only that but she left me to rot in a prison cell for three years. So I feel I owe her a little payback and what better way than to kill her friends in front of her."

"Sing." Fett warned.

"Oh alright, just one more." She turned to the last standing figure in the room. Aayla struggled to see, eyes widening in horror when she saw Lowbacca. The black furred Wookiee was standing groggily just out of her line of sight, a long vibroblade clutched in his paws. He barely looked capable of standing let alone fighting but the wicked smile on Aurra Sing's face was more than enough evidence to her lack of caring. "Now my little Wookiee friend let's make a deal. If I win you die and your friends are sold to the Empire. If you win I will let all of you go, my life will be forfeit and my friends here will give the three of you a twenty four hour head start. Too good to pass up, huh?"

"Lowie," Aayla gasped, struggling futilely against her binders. She was barely able to stay awake. Her strength was nonexistent and her connection to the force less so. She was defenceless here. "Don't... run!"

Sing laughed, harsh and vicious. "Where can he run too Jedi!? There's nowhere to run too!"

Lowbacca looked at the vibroblade held within his hand, then turned to Sing with an animalistic snarl of contempt. The Vibroblade was thrown to the side and the Wookiee stood at his full height, raised his arms and roared a roar which echoed through the room, ferocious enough to make Sing jump back in surprise. The Wookiee glared right at her, snarled low and charged, claws extended from his furry paws, black as night and sharp as razors.

"Brave," Aurra acknowledged, raising her lightsaber. "Very brave, but also very foolish."

He swiped at her the moment he was in range, claws seemingly blurring with the speed. Yet Sing was too fast for him, she ducked and sidestepped his charge before bringing her lightsaber around in a swipe which sliced clean through the tendons on his right leg. Lowie let out a gasping growl before attempting to backhand her with his right paw, once again he missed and the crimson blade cleaved right through it. Lowbacca fell to his knees. His now severed arm hitting the deck with a meaty slap several meters away.

Sing rose to her full height, smiling a bloodthirsty smile before bringing her lightsaber over her head. Lowie looked at her, then at Aayla and Celeste. The Twi'lek was watching him with wide eyes full of terror and sorrow. Every inch of her screamed at him to run, to flee, to live, but that was not how his people operated.

They lived for their family. They died for their family. Naruto and Aayla were his family. He had sworn a life debt to the blond haired human, and in doing so he promised to protect him and those most precious to him. He looked her in the eye, saw her horror and knew he had failed. He had failed to protect the life his saviour cherished most.

Sing brought her lightsaber down, and Aayla cried.

"That was unexpected," Aurra allowed, shutting down her lightsaber and clipping it to her utility belt. She left the body where it fell, approaching her last two captives and looking Aayla in the eye. She was crying, tears streaming down her face as the one who had sworn a life-debt to her beloved was slain and she was helpless to do anything about it.

Anger, black and raw, awakened in her chest and when she turned to Sing her eyes were glowing with malevolence. It was enough to make the woman hesitate, but not for long. "Stop it."

"Well you do feel after all, eh Jedi?" The woman asked, grinning as she reached down and grabbed Celeste by the hair.

"Enough." Aayla spoke, voice cracking.

"Oh, I don't think so."

"Enough!" She repeated, voice strengthening.

A coarse laugh as Aurra Sing turned, dragging an unconscious Celeste into her killing circle. "What are you going to do, little Jedi!?"

"Enough!" A pulse. That was the only way to describe it. A pulse of pure energy centred around Aayla and the binders holding her at bay broke in two, her strength which was so waning seemed to return and with an outstretched hand she called poor Jack's lightsaber to her, activating it with a snap-hiss and falling into a stance she had known since childhood. "If you want to fight someone to the death. Fight me!"

"That was what I wanted all along, little Jedi."

"Sing." Fett warned.

"Stay out of this Boba Boy, she's mine!" Sing almost shrieked. "I owe her since Devaron!"

Aayla wasn't listening. Her one free hand was already going through a series of well remembered seals, ending in the seal of the tiger. It was a Genjutsu she had been practising since the midpoint of their training on Boz Pity, unnamed when she had perfected it and something she had made a personal oath not to use since.

Well she decided to name it right here, right now. "Forlorn Hope!"

Everything changed for Aurra, one moment she was standing in the middle of her training room, lightsaber at the ready to face her hated foe. The next everything went completely dark. She was standing in a circle of light but there was nothing but darkness all around her, no walls, no ceiling and no floor. There was no Boba Fett or his little squeeze. No corpses of the Jedi boy or the Wookiee.

There was just darkness.

"Momma."

Her eyes widened as she turned around. She was in her mother's small one bedroom apartment on Nar Shaddaa. Walls caked with grime and filth covering the floor. The fickle, Spice-addicted old woman lying in a pool of her own vomit as a three year old Aurra Sing looked on, terrified and in tears.

"Be still young Padawan. It won't hurt for much longer." She spun on her heel and was met with another, more pleasant memory of her childhood. Years later an eight year old Aurra Sing was sitting on a chair too big for her, her topknot of red hair undone and being combed by a much older woman. The Dark Woman, An'ya Kuro, sighed with dramatic impatience when the little girl continued to fidget. "Well, do you want me to finish this or not?"

"No, please finish it Master."

"Good girl."

"Stop," Aurra growled, trying to hide her fear with anger. "Why are you showing this too me? Stop it!"

"Stop it, please!" She spun around once again, now in a dark chamber, lights flickering over nightmarish machines and contraptions designed to torture. Designed to humiliate, hurt and maim. She was only sixteen, kidnapped from her master by pirates and hidden away, strapped to one such device, wrists bound and legs spread. It was a device made for the humiliation of the victim as much as for the ability to torture. "Please stop it, please someone! Anyone help me! Master! Momma! Someone help me!"

"Stop it," she growled, lightsaber flashing as she attacked nothing but darkness. "Stop showing me this! Aren't you a Jedi!? Why are you showing me this!?"

"I stopped being a Jedi, just like you," Aayla's voice echoed through the darkness, but it was different, distorted, unnaturally calm. "This is probably the first Genjutsu I created on my own. It delves deep within your subconscious and makes you live through your strongest memories, good and bad. Kind of like a roulette. I think I have a name for it now. I will call it Forlorn Hope."

"Stop it!" Sing screamed, falling to her knees. Her younger self's screams reverberated through her head and suddenly she saw the faces of each and every person she had killed since then. Be they Jedi, civilian, mercenary or military. She saw the terrified faces of those she left alive but bore witness to her brutality. A young Twi'lek Jedi apprentice, on her knees before the bodies of her master and his friend, sobbing.

"Stop it!"

And suddenly it ended, the darkness flashed out of existence and she was back in her training room, on her knees as her enemy dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Boba Fett stood right behind her, blaster drawn and set to stun. His partner had likewise drawn her blaster and was aiming it for the motionless form of the Twi'lek Jedi.

Fett spun the blaster in his hand before holstering the weapon in a smooth motion. He then turned to Sing. "I take it you've had your fun?"

"Yes, "Aurra allowed as she rose to her feet, feeling shaky and groggy from the sudden assault. "I have had enough."

"Good." Fett allowed before turning to the two battle-droids standing to attention at the entrance to the chamber. "Make sure they are properly confined, protocol thirty nine."

I am so sorry it took me this long to update. I just sat down with some inspiration and when I was double-checking through my story for anything I forgot I realised this hasn't been updated since February. Some of you must be baying for my blood by this point. Well hopefully this should tide you over until the New Year.

Well, I know it's not the kind of chapter to spread joy but... Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year.