Note: Ok, There is no way in the world to do ship-to-ship talking and communication without making it feel like Star Trek. I'm sorry, but Star Trek has a monopoly in that regard. There are some things they do so incredibly well, it just simply works.

I am sorry for the extended period of time between last chapter and this one. Worked on a new laptop, and finished chapter 34, and was sick and so on. I HAVE MY REASONS! LEAVE ME ALONE!

Another thing… I did some research.

I have completely misspelled every single name of Darth Nihilus, and Ahsoka Tano. I wrote them as Darth Nihilius and Azhoka Tao.

So I went through every single chapter and fixed a good 300-400 instances of misspelled names.

Nihilius - Nihilus

Azhoka - Ahsoka

Tao - Tano

I honestly thought they were spelled that way. Oops.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the clothes on my back.

Episode 6 - Preserving Dantooine Part 1/3

Previously: Starkiller, apprentice to the deceased Darth Nihilus, was tricked by Darth Sidius into becoming a puppet of the Jedi through a force mind-wipe. He was renamed Varus Wynn and assigned to Anakin Skywalker as his second Padawan alongside Ahsoka Tano.

Following a lead from the former Sith, Starkiller, they found hostile droids unlike anything Skywalker recalled the Confederacy producing and skeletal remains. As well as a Sith Holocron linked to Revan that was implanted into Varus's mind. All with technology that was linked with the Force on a fundamental level.

The following investigation shed light on the fact that the Star Forge was still alive, and the Dantooine Council had left the information classified, hoping no one would investigate too deeply. Anakin Skywalker was assigned to follow the trail of Revan left in Varus's mind to find the Star Forge for the Republic.

Meanwhile, despite the Jedi's hopes, sins of Starkiller's past are catching up to Varus. Maris remembers him after Starkiller murdered her Master, and sees him in the Temple. She has been told it is classified, and to leave it alone.

And an unknown power is having the Jedi be legally stopped and contained in their travels for a very short time. Obi-Wan has investigated the matter and found that a large number of Jedi who are stalled eventually come to find difficulty in the Force for some reason.

I enter through the double doorways onto the bridge and look for Master and Girly. Catching sight of them, I work my way through the people to them at the top of the bridge from where they can see everything.

"You're late." They tell me.

"Sorry… I came across this old lady who-"

"You got lost didn't you?"

"I think my version is a whole heck of a lot better."

Master shrugs and turns back to the viewer screen. No reprimand, no lecture? Nothing? Fair enough.

The clones move around the bridge below us in droves between stations. It is a hotbed of activity as they prepare to leave hyperspace. I choose to just stand behind and watch as Anakin takes up command.

"Pull back on the thrusters, if you don't mind."

"Yes sir!"

A brief feeling of importance hits me at this important step. We had been sent on a long mission, and now was the first step. The first step to finding this Star Forge thing.

The view screen, a visual of white lines buzzing by, suddenly changes to show a planet in the distance and a sun off far to our right. On a small screen at Master's fingertips, it shows the collection of planets and moons. A total of nine planets, and thirteen moons, as well as a small asteroid belt orbiting two planets simultaneously. I don't claim to know much about space science, but I wouldn't want to live on either of those.

"Master." Ahsoka starts. "Shouldn't there be twelve moons?"

Uh-Oh? I got a bad feeling about this.

"There should be. Gentlemen! Head for Dantooine, and scan the region around the planet."

It's a bad guy isn't it?

"Sir! Ships hovering orbit over Dantooine! Mandalorians class!"

Called it.

"Ship ID?" Tree-Hugger asks.

"The Harbinger!" A clone calls up. "Flagship of Clan Ordo!"

"The Harbinger…" Tree-Hugger says to himself thoughtfully.

Something about all of this is sending flags in my head, but I can't tell what. Is it a bad omen? Is it a memory? Seriously, with all of the stuff going on in my head, it's a wonder I can tell what direction's up! What is it about this that is bothering me?...

"Hail them, everyone. Let's see who responds." Tree-Hugger commands.

"Sir! The Star Port on Dantooine has gone black! Their transmissions are being jammed."

OK, not a good sign. "Are they sieging Dantooine?" Ahsoka asks worriedly.

"No sign of battle." A clone denies. "No fighters, no radiation signals, no troop movements outside the port city."

"Doesn't mean there won't be one eventually." Tree-Hugger muses.

"Sir! Harbinger is responding to our hails."

"On screen."

A window popped up on the screen off to the right side. In the middle we could see the ship hovering over Dantooine's orbit. It was turning ever so slightly. In the distance I could practically see the massive guns on it aim at us.

The man in the screen itself was armored from head to… neck. Can't see anything below the neck, but I'd put money on him being armor plated as thickly as a tank. His stature is massive, his shoulders wide, and his armor looks like it weighs a ton. On his back I can see the beginnings of a massive Gatling gun. If he is as physically strong as he looks, he can juggle it. On both of his shoulder plates are knives.

His head is covered in a mask. It looks different from his armor, as though the two don't fit together at all.

"You reputation precedes you, General." The Mandalorians starts as soon as the visual comes up. His arms are crossed together, yet not in a defensive manner. He looks imposing and sure of himself. "Word of your skill and prowess reaches even as far as my people."

Tree-Hugger bows slightly, even though the Mandalorians did not. "You honor me, but you must forgive me. My focus has always been on Separatists… I am not familiar with you."

The sudden stillness of the man's breathing and armor is about as close as I can get to thinking he had just been verbally slapped.

"Understandable." He says eventually, even though it sounds like its coming through clenched teeth. "The Confederacy certainly has you all going for a loop. Unfortunate that DROIDS can do so much against you."

A silence comes over us and I look between the two nervously. Are they actually exchanging pleasantries or trying to insult each other?

"I am Mandalore, the Preserver." The man says at last. This time he sounds calmer. "Leader of Clan Ordo and the Mandalorians people."

I've never heard of them, but the flags in my head are going off more and more. I can't quite place it, but… the man's voice sounds familiar. Have I met him from some place?

Anakin returns the greeting. "It is good to meet you at last, Mandalore. I wish this was under circumstances, but I must ask to know what it is you are doing in Republic space."

"Mandalorians business."

"My planet, my business." Tree-Hugger says shortly before visibly narrowing his eyes at the man. "And you have their transmissions blocked."

"My people." He returns. "Land disputes do not rank amongst much to us… but I will concede." Mandalore unrolls his arms. "Clan Klasin is my enemy, not your people. Klasin took the planet, against my advice, and I have come to uproot them and return them to the fold."

"This clan has the starport?"

Mandalore nodded. "It is not your people whose transmission I am blocking, it is Klasin's. They have the Star Port, and most of the people hostage. They are in league with the Hutts, and have been trying to get reinforcements from them in order to get me off, but as you can see, it has gotten them nowhere."

"Why should I believe you?"

Mandalore stayed silent a long moment. "Should I release their transmissions then?"

"No." Tree-Hugger said quickly. "I do not sense you are lying. Allow us passage, I have no desire for battle."

"Neither do I, General. But battle will come one way or another. Whether it be between you and I, or between us and Klasin. They did not take well to me killing their fanatical leader when he would not listen. Turns out, his officers are as stupid as he was."

Master stayed silent a moment as he thought. "If we help you with Klasin, what would you do?"

"I would leave." The man simply. "I told Klasin to leave the planet alone specifically because I have no desire for hostility with the Republic. I should have just killed him and taken command of his clan myself, but I gave him a moment of trust. I intend to fix that mistake with his officers."

"You promise not a single thing on Dantooine will be stolen or touched? No hostages? No civilian deaths? No one gets hurt."

"I'll even leave my boots behind to leave the sand in the cracks."

Tree-Hugger frowned in thought, but sighed, "Turn down the guns, captain. Move the power into shields. Mandalore! You're welcome on my ship to discuss details."

The man chuckled, "Sorry, Jedi. Let us be frank. I don't trust you. If you truly care for the people I am freeing of Klasin, then meet us on the planet. I have a small outpost set up outside the city if that strikes your delicate fancy. No clones. No Force tricks. Your ship is to keep no less than a ten-thousand meter distance from us. I'll send you the coordinates. No transports or fighters will be touched so long as the Cruiser doesn't move. You have my word as a warrior."

Master looked to one of the clones for confirmation, and received a nod. The coordinates were received.

"Then I bid you well, Mandalore. We shall arrive promptly."

The warrior gave a firm nod and ended the transmission.

"Can anyone confirm his statements?" Anakin inquired. He left us on the ramp and lowered himself down to the troops level.

"There is a set of tents at the location, but unable to ascertain whose." Was the answer.

"Sir! He may be right about the city being held hostage!" Another called.

"How so?"

"I thought it was odd earlier, but there is no movement in the streets. I can't… exactly… zoom in close enough, but there is very little movement at all. Starports should be covered in people."

"True." Tree-Hugger moved to this clone's work chair. Ahsoka jumped down and joined them.

"Zoom in." Master asked. The clone did so as far as he could. Ahsoka and Tree-Hugger both leaned in over the man's shoulders to peer at it. From Tree-Hugger deepening frown, he was right. There were no moving vehicles, no one was piling up on the streets to enter stores and what not; and the most of all, the starport, there was no crowds in front of the doors. Instead there were two… statues?

"There's a tank in the courtyard just in front of the gate…" Ahsoka pointed out. "And what's that thing?" She pointed at a faint shadow behind the gate. "Is that a rancor?" Its shape was similar, but it lacked arms.

"No, it's a Mandalorians Basilisk tank. It can fly and walk easily." Tree-Hugger said deeply. He pinched his nose and sighed. "Ok, so it is true that there is a Mandalorians encampment in the port city… Captain, you're in charge. Keep to the agreement and notify me if anything happens. Use a laser frequency if you have to get through the interference. Varus! Let's go!"

The three of them leave the bridge and head their way to the hanger. All the while I feel I should know who this man was. Mandalore, clearly a rank of the Mandalorian people. He spoke of bringing a clan into his fold, so perhaps a rank superior to that of a single clan, possibly a lord, noble, or king of some kind. He was also the leader of Clan Ordo… Ordo… Canderous Ordo! The dude from Revan's memories!

Damn, small galaxy.

"Tree-Hugger?" I ask. We enter the hanger and he commissions a small, agile ship to carry three to five people. "What is the name scheme of a Mando'a name?"

"Personal and then clan, why?"

"Nothing." So Canderous is a personal name, and Ordo is his clan. Maybe Canderous and this Mandalore guy know each other. If they do, could they help us find this Star Forge? Does he know where Canderous is?

Master and Ahsoka board a small dart-like ship that looks like it could be crushed by the slightest touch. "Varus, come on." Ahsoka eggs me on.

Oh, hell no. I ain't getting in that thing. If I so much as look at it funny, it could snap in half!

"Varus!" Tree-Hugger snaps. "Time is of the essence."

I bite down on my jaw, ignore the red-flags screaming in my head at how ridicules this is, and get in. Immediately a hatch closes over our heads and we lift off. A few minutes later we hit orbit.

Frankly, this shouldn't be possible. Take on several hundred mile-an-hour winds, red-hot burning metal on the outside, and the extra weight of what I had for breakfast, and I can picture the million ways this thing will break. Flimsy pieces of metal are not designed for entering orbit at breakneck speeds! It's possible, because it's happening even while I fight back my nerves, but at the same time: This isn't possible!

Fire sparks outside the ship near the window and there is a very loud screeching sound somewhere. With my luck, it's probably vital; but Ahsoka and Tree-Hugger are calm as can be while the ship is shaking furiously under the gale of winds. I keep my eyes trained on Tree-Hugger's head, and odds are my finger grip is white on the arm rests.

The seconds tick by at agonizingly slow pace, and the fires outside the ship disappear. In its wake is the brightness of the sun and a towering port city nearby with a peak about half the size of Coruscant's own star port.

Ok, so perhaps this cardboard ship can handle entry, but still. "Let's do not that again."

"No promises."

If I had to do a reentry, I think I'd rather walk.

We descend further and I see an sea of green as far as the eye can see filled with little rivers. Pockets of forest dot the land, but mostly it is a green all the way into the horizon.

The sight… I relax into my seat at the sight, and loosen my grip enough to flex my fingers. Few things interest me, and fewer things have any beauty to me. But the calm, simple, lay of the land. Just looking at it reminds me of meditation. (Then again, my meditation, we found, requires a visual.) Maybe the color green is one that settles me.

I sit back, relax, and enjoy it all the way down, while holding on to the handles like my life depends on it.

The three of them flew down a short distance from the Mandalorians encampment. The encampment included concealed Bastilla tanks, artillery, and a hidden entrance to what was undoubtedly a bunker. From the air, they looked to be nothing more than a few tents. But from closer inspection, it was a small army.

Turrets and rifles and rocket launchers aimed at them, but no fire was shot. Instead, two soldiers walked forward slowly, their guns raised and ready. Anakin put his hands up and stepped down, followed by the others. Varus didn't raise his hands, but kept a fair distance.

One of them with a small flag attached to the back of his head put his hand up for them to stop.

"You are the Jedi?" His gun still poised firmly on his shoulder.

"I am. General Anakin Skywalker, these are my Padawans. Ahsoka and Varus."

"I'm Captain Juiwe Ordo. You may call me Captain. Not Juiwe, and not Ordo." He said deeply. His gun lowered scant inches, but stayed ready for the slightest sign.

He cut to the chase: "Twelve hundred meters to the south is a collection of trees. Follow." Captain pointed to the ship with his head, and a number of his soldiers ran to it and lifted it off the ground.

"What they doing with our ship?" Varus asked, but Anakin shushed him. The three of them followed the captain and his men south to the forest. As soon as they entered it, in the depths of it concealed from outside eyes was a hastily made clearing. A tent was erected. They placed the ship in the clearing beside said tent.

Mr. Captain pulled a knife out of his belt and threw it to the ground at their feet. "This place was made for you. Our enemy knows of us, but not of you. It is best they stay that way. Here you will encamp yourselves during your stay. Do not light a fire, we will provide your food if you need anything cooked every night. If there is any need for you to communicate with us, throw the knife into the ground outside the forest and we will come at dusk. Otherwise, we will meet you every night to discuss… things. Do not be seen without permission. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly." Anakin acknowledged with a military snap mimicking theirs, almost.

"Why are we not in the bunker with the rest of you?" Varus asked.

"Varus!" Anakin shushed him.

"No." Captain put his hand up. "The boy speaks his mind. I can respect that. Young Jedi, you are not allowed in because if I let you in, I cannot promise your safety. I, as my leaders, do not hold hatred for the Jedi. Grudge, perhaps. Bad first impressions, definitely, but not hatred. I cannot say the same for all of my men. While our culture respects a strong foe more than a weak ally, hatred still leaks in. Hatred, young man, is, in many ways, more lethal than any foe you can possibly face, both for yourself and for those you hate. I will not tolerate your presence to interfere with our moral, and I have no wish to endanger you. Unnecessarily. Does that answer your question?"

From the boy's held silence, it appeared so.

"Good. Nightfall is in four hours. We shall meet again then." The Captain turned on his soles and left.

"Well that could have gone better…" I mutter. I mean, really, did that man have a stick up his butt or something? Somewhere in there I got the distinct impression we were unwanted.

"Not really." Anakin corrects me.

"How could it have no gone better!?"

"They didn't shoot us, for one. Us being placed here is for our benefit, and for theirs. Considering they only had a few minutes warning, at most, this Captain made a strong decision."

"Did you see all those guns?" Ahsoka wondered. "It was like they had enough for an invasion!"

"More like a siege, in this case." Anakin corrected again. "No, I didn't see it. But if they seek to uproot Klasin from the Zhooda (which is the port cities name.), then it would take a lot. Mandaloriens fight very differently from Republic troops and droids. Droids charge in mindlessly and use overwhelming numbers. The Republic fights largely vary between generals, but most go for objectives and tactics."

"What makes Mandaloriens so different then? Isn't that what a battle is about?" I ask.

Anakin frowned thoughtfully. "There was a scholar once who said there are two kinds of generals. The first leads with tactics and the mind. He leads from the far back where he can see all. The second leads with energy, morale, ruthlessness, and instinct. He leads from the front where his presence alone fuels his men and gives them strength enough to fight many men."

Ok… so Mandaloriens would be the second. But then if the general fights on the front lines, wouldn't they lack tactics? No, then that means they just charge in like idiots.

"That sounds ineffective."

"It's like the difference between maneuvering pieces on a board and hitting with the strength and roar of lightning. Both very different yet very powerful in their own rights."

Varus opened his mouth to comment, but snapped It shut. He looked away in thought, and Anakin felt he got the point through. "These are things you learn, my Padawan, but do not concern yourself with it now. For now… Ahsoka."

"Aye." Ahsoka said from the side.

"I need you to go out of the forest and see what our enemy has. Don't go far. Check primarily to see how secure Klasin has the front door."

"Okie." She slipped into the trees.

"And me?" I ask.

"Varus, I need you to do an exercise. While Snips is good at technical things, you have a much higher… raw impact."

"In other words, I have power." I smile. I like the sound of that.

"More or less. Before there is any battle, I want you to be warming yourself up. I want you to reach out and levitate a single grain of sand."

…

What?

Grains of sand are PUNY. Where's the power and raw impact and UMPH behind it!? What am I going to do? Use them as bullets? Wait, that actually sounds nice, but no, grains of sand are too brittle to act as bullets.

"Why?" I ask. My brows scrunch together in confusion.

Tree-Hugger continues, "When you are able to levitate a single grain. Make it two grains. Keep them separate from each other and hovering at a precise level. When you can for five minutes, make it three separate grains. See how many grains you can keep up with your mind, separately, for as long as possible in the end."

Sounds simple. "What's the catch?"

"It's just a good warm up. It stretches your mind. I don't know what we will be doing, yet, but I want you to be making the largest dents."

Mmm. Making the largest dents. I quite like the sound of that.

Turns out it's a lot harder than I thought.

Levitating a single grain of sand. Sounds simple. Looks simple. It's a piece of sand. Big deal.

Ye, it's not. Trying to levitate something that small and light is like trying to attach a hyper drive to a car and keep it going at precisely one mile per hour with it going at full power, with your eyes.

Half of the attempts so far have involved launching grains into orbit with a small explosion kicking up dust.

"Gently." Tree-Hugger tells me for the five-hundredth time.

Ye… I'll give him gently! I launch a handful into space like a rocket. If any of it hits The Harbinger, they might take it as a death threat. That or wonder who the hell is wasting his time launching sand rockets! (Which would be me!)

Tree-Hugger rolls his eyes and lays down on the ground to watch me. "There is a trick to this, Varus."

"Yea? What? Girly always told me to put the weight of the object into perspective, but no matter how 'light' I touch it, it…" I point up to where the sand is starting to fall. A couple of times I might have accidentally smashed the sand together into a kind of… cannonball on the way up. (I hope none of it is denting the Mandalorian camp.)

"Ok! That's the problem!" Tree-Hugger jumps up in happy realization. "Varus, there is a difference between levitation and pushing. Levitation does not take weight into the equation. Just desire for the sand to be where u want, and it will happen regardless of weight. At some point pump a little more power into it, but that is based on mass, not weight."

Right, mass not weight. Don't Push. Just believe and want. Ok. I REALLY REALLY want this damn grain of sand to hover.

It shoots into the air at the speed of light.

"DAMNIT!"

Somewhere in the middle of my continued efforts to desperately get these damn pieces of sand to just HOLD STILL, Girly is back.

"What you got for us, Snips?"

"Well. From what I could see, there is a fair number of men on the outer walls, and a good ten soldiers at the gate with a gate. Not much, but considering they aren't your average run of the mill foot soldiers…"

"Might be a bit of a handful." Anakin finishes. "Fair enough, was expecting more actually, but this is just one clan they tell us."

"One thing, Master… I reached out with my mind into the city, and it felt… empty. A city is supposed to feel full of life and energy, but it doesn't. Like a ghost town. It does feel like the populous is being held hostage, but I couldn't tell where without getting too close."

"It's ok, Snips. Just checking what we already heard is good enough."

"Which tells us, what?" I ask.

"That the Mandaloriens are not lying to us. They are an abnormally truthful people to begin with, due to their blunt nature, but no one is perfect. Remember this: Always check your information, and then check again." He looks up. "The light is starting to diminish, so the Captain should be coming to meet us soon. Ahsoka, take up perimeter on the edge of the forest and observe. Let us know if anything happens."

She nods and runs off.

"And what do I get to do?" I ask filled with hope. I really really hate this exercise.

"Keep doing what you were already doing. You haven't gotten the first grain yet." He tells me with a teasing smirk.

Damnit!

A few minutes later Mr. Captain arrived under the cover of darkness just after Ahsoka returned telling us of his arrival. He gave us a quick salute. "I apologize for the hold up, Jedi."

"Not at all." Tree-Hugger smiled warmly.

"You are welcome, now, in the bunker. Mandalore himself has come. With him there, the peace should be kept."

With that said, we followed him out of the forest into the night. In the distant city over the hills I can see fires starting and smoke rising. "What's with the fire?" I ask.

"Sabotage efforts." He tells us. A doorway appears in the ground and we descend down steps into the darkness. Immediately, after entering through another doorway, the place brightens up to show a small military outpost underground.

The immediate area has a kind of wheeled-car with a turret on its back, stacked boxes of guns and ammunition in the corners, and a lot of bedrolls on which the men are sitting and waiting. To our left is a small flight of stairs and an elevator up to a second floor, from where you can see everything. Under the second floor is a set of bactatanks and tables on which lay scarce wounded. The second floor itself has a set of screens, computers, and Mandalore. I can't see what is on this screens, but that is probably on purpose.

Mr. Captain leads us past a pair of guards at the elevator, up to the second floor, and over to where Mandalore is gazing at the screens. Behind him is a table with a holoprojector showing the entire landscape for miles centralized around Zhooda. Judging from the imaging, there are four other facilities just like this one surrounding the city. There are also miniature battle cruisers in the air representing The Harbinger, and whatever our Republic Battle cruiser is named. I'll have to find out later. I never bothered asking.

"Jedi." Mandalore greeted with barely contained seething. He didn't turn around. "I am not pleased you are all here."

"I'm sorry if our presence complicates matters." Anakin said coolly.

"It does. Before, it was just clan Klasin and clan Ordo. Them trying to take the planet and resist the Mandalore Call. We trying to get their hands off and not cause a whole lot of collateral damage in the process. Now we have the Republic to add to the mix. The Republic, which has a strong reputation for sticking their grimy hands into things that do not concern them, and along with them. The Jedi. Of which it would take me hours just to describe the complications of having some of those in a room full of their humiliated foes, much less in a ridicules feud between two clans."

He turned around. His hands stayed clasped behind his back. Despite the fact he was speaking through his helmet, he sounded unnaturally deep and filled with dark emotion. "The reason I tolerate you, Jedi, is that I do not wish for this situation to become increasingly complicated. Klasin wants to destroy all of what I am doing by setting us at war with one another. Holding the planet hostage has brought him close, but if you join in this and strike even one of us down, who knows what may happen. That is exactly what he wants, and I do not intend to give him."

"I understand you want us to stay out of this until you get them off, but I can't just sit back and let people be stuck in the middle of the cross fire."

The leader huffed in a mocking laugh. "And what exactly can you promise me that would give me ANY incentive to let you do that? Do not think I intend to hurt you, but I will confine you, if necessary, to keep this from blowing up in both our faces."

At his words, a number of his soldiers stepped behind us. No one raised a weapon, but they were prepared to wrestle us to the ground.

This doesn't make sense… Didn't they already agree to let us down so we… could… help… … Are we hostages?! Did they ask for us to come down here just to imprison us and make sure we don't get in this!

Anakin did not look the least bit bothered by the words and politics being played out. "Mandalore. I sense your intentions to be genuine. I know you may not trust my words, but do trust my intentions. Your… feud… does not sit well with me, but even more so is the involvement of the innocents. We came here searching for something, but that can wait. I want to be of assistance to you."

He put a hand up just as Mandalore started to protest. "I have no intent to adding to the bloodbath, but I want to make sure the innocents are not caught in the cross fire. So long as not a single person is harmed, and not a single of your brothers stay behind when you leave, I will turn a blind eye. You already promised to leave. I trust that, you say you want to free Dantooine of this rogue clan, I trust that. Let us play the part in keeping those in the middle out of the way."

Mandalore quieted himself, but showed nothing in his posture and shoulders. He was relaxed yet firm in his stance. The others behind us though fidgeted nervously. I could faintly taste their unease in the air.

"That may be harder than it sounds, Jedi." He said at last. He turned on his heels and pulled up a screen-err… video. "When they originally took the city, they took the people hostage and hid them away where we couldn't get to them easily." The screen showed the front gates of the city. The gates were slowly opening. "The hostage's being held kept us from invading flat out like we would want. As dishonorable as that was already, we told them: 'If you kill so much as one hostage, you will be Whited-Out.' Which, if you don't know, is as extreme as our dishonor can be." The screen showed three soldiers walking out unarmed followed by three others that were armed. "We sent in three assassins to kill the leader and free the hostages. They killed Klasin himself." The three unarmed soldiers than bolted into a run, and were shot down after ten feet. "But we couldn't free the hostages. Instead the assassins were killed."

"Looks more like executed." I say bluntly.

"Varus!" Tree-Hugger shushes me quietly.

"No, the boy has a point. It was an execution, but those weren't assassins being executed. He took the armor off my own men, put them on civilians… and you can guess the rest."

Those three unarmed soldiers… They weren't assassins or Mandaloriens or even soldiers at all. Son of a-

"Those were civilians?!" Ahsoka gasps.

Anakin mutters. "That was Mandalorian armor, probably your assassin's right?" He receives a nod. "It's a clear signal… Every assassin gets a person killed."

"The officers who made that decision now carry the dishonor of being 'Whited-Out'." The man said angrily. "We will not show them mercy. We will not hold back. When we fight them, they shall be cut down like the dogs they are and left to ROT!" He yells. The man slams his armored fist into the console. "Except… the cowards hide behind unarmed weaklings. They are less than dogs. There is no word in your language that can describe the depths they have sunk. Any, with the slightest shred of honor, who surrender, may be spared. But those officers will not. Tomorrow we shall blow wide open the gates, overrun them, and put them down."

Mandalore turns off the screen and turns back around to us. "So tell me, Jedi. What do you want to do?"

"Send us to the civilians." Anakin repeats for what feels like the fifth time. Seriously, how many times does he have to say this? "Do what you will to the clan, but let us protect the rest. I understand it won't be easy, but if it was easy, then anyone could do it."

"Very well." Mandalore points to the table screen and waves off the extra guards. "The people are being held in the center tower, in a basement. However, it is only the first floor basement. If you can get them as low as level five, we can fight without fear and end everything in one blow."

"Why that low?" Ahsoka asks.

"Aerial bombardment." He says almost with glee. "I'll have Juiwe Ordo escort you to where we are sneaking our assassins in through. Do not attack a single Mandalorian on the streets or on the way until you reach the civilians. I will have a squad handle that."

"Why?" I ask. "We have sabers you know."

"The Klasin want war, little Jedi. A recording of Jedi fighting their brothers on the streets of a lush world like this is exactly what they want. It won't ask questions of why, it won't ask questions of who and under what circumstances. It will only show facts. People and their inborn hatred will put the rest together. Enough to rile up all sides if it becomes public."

"How will that be any different in a basement?"

"No difference, but it will be more obvious your Jedi. I want you three to use vibroblades to help keep any transmissions from being as credible. We have kept their transmissions blocked, but recordings are different. Master Jedi." Anakin looks up at the war chief. "If I let you get involved like this, do you promise to give our side of the story and support our claims?"

"I will."

"Good. Juiwe!"

"Sir!"

"Suit up! I'll lead the men tomorrow an hour before dawn. You know the rest."

"Master Kenobi." The man said respectfully.

Kenobi stopped walking and turned his head to the one referring to him. "Master Windu. It is good to see you."

Windu nodded. "As you." The man looked thoughtful and worried, which took a lot for him to be.

"I take it this is not a social call?"

"If only it were…" Windu sighed. "Walk with me." With that said, he turned on his heel and walked to a more private place. Kenobi followed him. When all was clear, Windu continued, "Have you ever heard of Jedi being restrained at the Star Port?"

Kenobi stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Hmm… Can't say that I have. There are times when we are held back to be checked, since newer guards are not familiar with all of the faces and will confuse Jedi from Sith, but that lasts only a few minutes. Why?"

"We are suddenly having Jedi restrained left and right. At first it was just a few, but it is becoming obvious. Not so much for the general public to notice, but I have received enough complaints to see a pattern."

Kenobi frowned. "Under whose authority? I haven't heard anything."

"Neither have I… I assigned a team to speak with the one in charge at the Star Port, but he denied everything."

"Was he lying?"

"The team did not say either way, only what he said, but it unnerves me all the less. I would ask for the authorization papers to these… restrains… but the problem is that they do not last more than twenty-four hours, or shorter if a Master steps in."

"And anyone can be held for that long without reason…" Kenobi mused sadly. "They won't have authorization papers… What are we going to do? How bad is it?"

Windu shrugged. "It's random, there doesn't seem to be a set pattern to who is restrained and who isn't, but it is increasing in volume." They walked through a hall lined in statues and holographic ancient Jedi. "On the surface it looks like security is being increased against Sith, but there haven't been enough Sith incursions to warrant this."

"All I can think is that whoever is pulling the strings is trying to delay us, or they are looking for someone in particular without any information on an exact time."

Windu stopped walking in mid stride. "Looking for someone…" He whispered to himself. There were a lot of Jedi people would see as worthy 'targets'. Generals, Knights, Masters… Jedi by nature were more elite than the average person so a lot of them were considered targets. The Sith terrorists practically targeted every single one! There's no way to say who among them is being hunted. If that is even the case.

Kenobi continued, "Either way, we have to get to the bottom of this. I'll begin immediately."

Chapter Edited by Aeterna Knight: u/4617921/

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